I won’t lie – I have been horrible to my body since early high school: Eating like crap, relying on hockey and reffing to keep me fit, and not much else. After high school I, of course, stopped playing and reffing and started partying, eating only junk, and being a terrible first year college student. I even fit the bill of the stereotype and ended up being a first-year college drop-out. I gained over fifty pounds since grade twelve, which was five and a half years ago.
So what now? I’m actually realizing the major damage I did to my body and now it’s damage control.
I’m eating healthier (bananas, oatmeal, yogurt, apples, oranges being the favourites right now). Along with that, my sister-in-law introduced me to the most delicious tea ever, by David’s Tea. It is delicious loose-leaf tea that you can buy in (probably) any quantity, it’s fresh, and it’s so super tasty. So rather than there being pop and lemonade and crap in my fridge, now there’s only ever milk, orange juice, and TEA in my cupboards!
I’m doing Yoga multiple times per week – at home and in a class.
(That is not me, and I am definitely not that thin or flexible haha)
And last but certainly not least – RUNNING!
I am so excited about this because I always liked the IDEA of running, but didn’t actually like doing it. I faced my embarrassment at my horrible lifestyle and went to my older brother and sister-in-law, James and Ashley, for help.
How do I even begin running? What do I do? What should I eat? How should I run? What should I wear? How should I stretch? Should I track my time and kilometers? I bombarded them with questions as we ran and walked. It was fantastic. James watched my stride, the way I moved my feet, my arms, and my core, and gently explained how to correct it so I would look (and feel) less like I was flailing about and more like I’m actually exercising the right muscles. Ashley taught me her favorite stretches, and we even dropped on the side-walk mid-way through the run for some yoga stretches to relieve the cramps that I began having shortly into the run. I was (and still am) incredibly out of shape. But I’m on the right path!
So, after a run with James and Ashley and getting some excellent pointers and suggestions, I started running. I only started keeping track of my runs this week, but I’m really happy about them. I might not have the best time, and I might have to run in bursts of running and walking, but I feel really good about myself, and, for once, about my body.
To make it fun for tracking my runs, I’m also keeping track of the first song I listen to on the run. So starting with this week?
15-August-2011: 2.2km, Suck My Kiss by the Red Hot Chili Peppers
16-August-2011: 2.36km, Whip It by Devo
18-August-2011: 5.34km, Kiss With A Fist by Florence and the Machine
I’m loving running, and really hope I can keep myself on this awesome streak!
So my BIG RUNNING GOAL? I am going to be able to run somewhere between 5-6km WITHOUT stopping before it SNOWS.
Cheers,
T.
