Tuesday 26 April 2011

Just call me Neo...


It’s Tuesday Fit-Day.  An occasional  meditation on fitness goals, successes and failures. 

I think I might almost be a runner.  Or at least a jogger.
The other day I went for a run after a bit of a break (I have got a bit complacent with my WW and exercise, and while I haven’t gained weight these past few weeks, I haven’t lost anymore either) and it was painful. Very painful. I couldn’t find my rhythm and the playlist wasn’t working for me, my mouth was so dry it hurt to swallow (my mouth was so dry because I was panting like a dog), but I kept going.  That’s not the story. The story is that despite this agony, without thinking about it, I took the turn for the longer run.  I was voluntarily opting for more pain.  My body made the decision without me.  It was a very Matrix-Buddhist moment; the body separating from the mind, realizing it can function independently…
…No?...Not going there with me?...I’ll continue on then. 
My body made the decision for me.  It was apparently craving more exercise.  I have become a masochist (or is it sadist? I can never keep those two straight).  Or maybe I am just enjoying this new body.  My clothes are fitting again and I no longer have seam-indentations on my hips and thighs when I get undressed (girls, you know what I’m talking about, don’t deny it).  In fact, a lot of my favourite clothes are too big, which is exciting and sad at the same time.  Have no fear, I have consulted with the Greenwich Phantom and have an appointment with a local seamstress.  
I also appear taller.  I’m not sure how this has come about, but in dropping 15 pounds I have gained at least an inch in visual height.  I think it is because there is more space between my thighs (get your head out of the gutter) and so my legs appear longer when standing.  Whatever it is, I’m feeling good about it and will keep making the turn for the longer run.

In other running news…
A Traveller campsite has gone up along my running route.  It has been there about two weeks now.  At first I was excited about this.  I have a bit of an obsession about caravans and motorhomes now that I have lived in one and am always interested to see what other mobile dwellers have decided upon in terms of their homes and space set-up.  However, this particular group has a lot of little yappy dogs.  At first this was cute, these little things would come out and bark at you in warning to get away from their territory.  The other day, they weren’t tethered to their houses as usual and came running after me.  At first I laughed and then they kept coming and jumping and then started nipping at my ankles and one actually made contact!  Luckily I had long pants on or it would have got me right in the Achilles.  I am no longer amused.  Yesterday when I went by the dogs were tethered but there were at least a dozen bicycles strewn across the sidewalk in various states of disassembly and at least double the amount of discarded bike tires (as you would expect since each bike comes with two tires).  It was like an obstacle course from a football training montage.  I also noticed a new, rather large, hole in the chain-link fence nearby and an extremely long powercord.  I won’t begrudge someone CP*, I have been known to take advantage of it myself and even scale a few fences to come by it, but this is getting ridiculous.  I’m dealing with the dogs and the tires and now I have to jump this new trip wire. 
Although, if I want to put a positive spin on this (it’s a new thing I’m trying out), they do say to change up your fitness routine every few weeks.  Maybe an obstacle course mid-run is just what I need to restart the weight loss. 
UPDATE:  Over the Bank Holiday weekend I tried out a new running route.  When I finished I could barely breathe.  I know I always say that, but this time it was for real.  I was exhausted all day and could barely get up the energy to enjoy a neighbourhood Bar-B-Q.  I later mapped out the new route and, low-and-behold, I had run over 5K!!!  HELLO!!!  I suddenly felt entitled to my exhaustion and rewarded myself with a chocholate muffin.  (I was going to eat it anyway because the batch I made for Pete's birthday last weekend were starting to grow mould dots, but this way I had a little less guilt.  I have really fallen off the WW wagon this week, but more on that later.) 

*CP stands for City Power.  This comes from the circus.  As you may, or may not, know a travelling, tented circus has its own generator but it doesn’t run all the time.  At night, you are usually dependant on a personal generator or your 12 volt battery for electricity.  However, sometimes you may be lucky enough to find an outlet on the side of a building, or wherever, that you can discreetly, or not, plug your house into for the evening.  This is referred to as CP and is always an exciting feature to any circus lot.    

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