Made it the whole way, one break
Today was a really nice day outside. One of those days when you walk out the door and go, "Ah! What a nice day!" Pretty blue sky, clear air, and a temperature that was coolish but still summery, maybe a degree warmer or cooler than room temperature but just gorgeous. And tonight when I left work it had the feel of a lovely summer evening in my parents' back yard sitting on the patio after dinner.
However, inside I did not feel this way. I'd had another adrenaline-filled day of staying calm and trying to look competent. I've been eating out too much and not exercising enough for the last few days, and once again I had cook's block, just couldn't think of anything I wanted to eat and couldn't bear the thought of shopping for or cooking it. Couldn't even think of any restaurant I wanted to go to. I went to the park across the road from work and sat on a bench and soaked up the atmosphere, and noticed how this perfect lovely evening is kind of beside the point when you're just struggling home from work and thinking about errands and groceries and all the boring mundane obligations of living. But I tried to imagine sitting in my parents' back yard and how that would feel.
I finally got up and moseyed down Crown Street and made all sorts of vows to myself about the virtuous things I would try to do tonight. I tried to soak up more of the perfect evening feel. It was not quite dusk, and kind of still, and the people walking around all seemed pretty happy, even though it's mid-week so it didn't have that festive Thursday or Friday night feel. About half-way home I had got sort of energised, and when I got home, even though by then it was dusk and turning dark, I decided to just keep moving toward fulfilling my vow.
I got my running shoes on and tracksuit pants, and I went for a run. I've been vowing to get up early and do this every morning since I worked out I couldn't afford my gym membership anymore now that they've raised my rent, but I keep resetting the alarm and not going, and feeling as a result lots of pent-up stress and negativity. When people hear about my commute they always say, "But you do all that walking!" but my body knows that 20 minutes each way is not nearly enough to burn off all the work stress. I need some serious cardio activity for that.
I was also putting it off because I remembered the other times in my life when I decided to start running - in San Diego, and on Dornoch Terrace in Brisbane. I remember the burning of the lungs and the heavy legs and vowing to make it to the next light pole and then you can walk. I was expecting even worse this time. And when I was going to the gym, I'd walk on the treadmill mostly and would only run for two-minute bursts. My plan was to head up the road, run around the park, and then home. Walk when I needed to. Which would probably be after the first 10 steps. Just get that far, and we could go from there.
Well, you'll never believe it. I ran the whole way! I only stopped once to re-tie my tracksuit pants because they were falling down, but otherwise I didn't have to walk at all. I had a little bit of lung-burning but felt like I could have kept up the pace for heaps longer. And it's such a nice journey - past lovely Surry Hills houses and around a lovely park on a pretty brick path. Turns out "all that walking" really does raise your base level of fitness. I am amazed. And vowing to set the alarm early tomorrow and go out and do it again!
However, inside I did not feel this way. I'd had another adrenaline-filled day of staying calm and trying to look competent. I've been eating out too much and not exercising enough for the last few days, and once again I had cook's block, just couldn't think of anything I wanted to eat and couldn't bear the thought of shopping for or cooking it. Couldn't even think of any restaurant I wanted to go to. I went to the park across the road from work and sat on a bench and soaked up the atmosphere, and noticed how this perfect lovely evening is kind of beside the point when you're just struggling home from work and thinking about errands and groceries and all the boring mundane obligations of living. But I tried to imagine sitting in my parents' back yard and how that would feel.
I finally got up and moseyed down Crown Street and made all sorts of vows to myself about the virtuous things I would try to do tonight. I tried to soak up more of the perfect evening feel. It was not quite dusk, and kind of still, and the people walking around all seemed pretty happy, even though it's mid-week so it didn't have that festive Thursday or Friday night feel. About half-way home I had got sort of energised, and when I got home, even though by then it was dusk and turning dark, I decided to just keep moving toward fulfilling my vow.
I got my running shoes on and tracksuit pants, and I went for a run. I've been vowing to get up early and do this every morning since I worked out I couldn't afford my gym membership anymore now that they've raised my rent, but I keep resetting the alarm and not going, and feeling as a result lots of pent-up stress and negativity. When people hear about my commute they always say, "But you do all that walking!" but my body knows that 20 minutes each way is not nearly enough to burn off all the work stress. I need some serious cardio activity for that.
I was also putting it off because I remembered the other times in my life when I decided to start running - in San Diego, and on Dornoch Terrace in Brisbane. I remember the burning of the lungs and the heavy legs and vowing to make it to the next light pole and then you can walk. I was expecting even worse this time. And when I was going to the gym, I'd walk on the treadmill mostly and would only run for two-minute bursts. My plan was to head up the road, run around the park, and then home. Walk when I needed to. Which would probably be after the first 10 steps. Just get that far, and we could go from there.
Well, you'll never believe it. I ran the whole way! I only stopped once to re-tie my tracksuit pants because they were falling down, but otherwise I didn't have to walk at all. I had a little bit of lung-burning but felt like I could have kept up the pace for heaps longer. And it's such a nice journey - past lovely Surry Hills houses and around a lovely park on a pretty brick path. Turns out "all that walking" really does raise your base level of fitness. I am amazed. And vowing to set the alarm early tomorrow and go out and do it again!
posted by Ellen at 9:26 pm
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