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Jul. 5th, 2008 02:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jhameiaHaligonians are probably aware of the place where I live: Oxford and Allan St. Both are pretty long streets: Oxford reaches from North St. all the way to South St, which is several blocks. Allan St. is at least three blocks long.
Recently, I purchased a pair of running shoes, which from now on will be used exclusively for running, not for everyday wear like I try to do with every pair of garbage shoes I buy from Malaysia. My plan is to get into the habit of running every other morning, and more importantly, to be able to run a goodly while without getting out of breath.
As a child, I used to sprint a lot (I really just like going really fast). I also did a lot of biking, and hiking with my dad was easy. People who know me today know that occasionally, I get up from my computer and pace around my apartment. Back home in Malaysia, this would translate into me running up and down the staircase, sometimes several times. My waist size in 2003 was 26 inches. I looked good then, and I knew it.
When I came to Canada, I lived in Residence. I ate crappy food. Without realizing it, I put on the Frosh Fifteen. Since then, I've lost half that weight, but I can't get the rest off.
Even worse, since then, I haven't been able to sustain the same stamina for moving as I used to. I can barely keep up with my dad on his hike, which would have been a snap for me when I was in my early teens. I can barely sprint a block without getting out of breath. I'm not as fast anymore. Also, I just don't feel healthy as I am. I feel I move too little.
So, I decided to take up running. My brother also runs for exercise. I've always been more of the biking, hiking kind, but I thought, maybe running will help me get out of the house more. Lots of people run in Halifax. I don't have an awkward body that stops me from running, so why not? The ultimate goal, of course, would be to have a killer body like that of one of my heroes, Renegade Evolution. She, too, runs. RenEv makes me feel better about myself because she hates shopping for clothes, has had her boobs done, and does Society of Creative Anarchronism things.
Now, of course, I'll never really have a body like hers. She does have a physically taxing job: porn, belly dancing, stripping - these are all physical jobs and they probably contribute to her staying in shape. But she still runs, to keep in shape. I'm naturally slender to start with, and for me, it's just a matter of moving a hell lot more than I do now.
There are two other roads perpendicular to Allan St.: Lawrence and Duncan Sts. Like Allan St., they're pretty long streets. And I'm quickly finding that even tackling just these three streets is already quite painful.
This morning, I walked down the length of Allan St., just to get warmed up and started. Then I jogged the next street over, Lawrence St., and found myself very quickly out of breath, and my calves were BURNING about three-quarter way through. I had to stop at some point. And then I walked the next road over, trying to stop my heart from banging so hard in my chest. I crossed back to Allan St., and I sprinted about halfway home because I couldn't stand the thought of being on the road for much longer.
When I got home, I felt... sad and defeated. I kept thinking to myself: "It's three streets... how hard should that really have been? Why am I huffing even briskwalking on the first street? Why are my calves burning midway through jogging? Why can't I sprint without feeling like I'm going to stumble after a few meters?"
Then I recalled an article I read in the June/July New Yorker by Haruki Murakami; when he took up novelling, he had to find a way of staying physically fit, and took up running. He wrote: "When I first started running, I couldn't run long distances. I could run for only about twenty or thirty minutes. Even that left me panting, my heart pouding, my legs shaky. ... I was also a little embarrassed to have people in the neighbourhood see me running."
And I thought, that's just like me. I hadn't exercised in a long time, either. Here I am, barely running twenty minutes before tucking my tail and coming home to curl up back in bed, dead embarrassed by how unfit I am.
Haruki Murakami started to run, and it became part of his daily routine: running, writing, housekeeping, sleeping. It sounds like a good system. He kept it up and his endurance increased, and now he can run marathons.
Another interesting thing he writes: "People who naturally keep the weight off don't need to exercise or watch their diet. Which is why, in many cases, their physical strength deteriorates as they age. Those of us who have a tendency to gain weight should consider ourselves lucky that the red light is so clearly visible. Of course, it's not always easy to see things this way."
I've admitted that I eat a lot. Living on Spring Garden, I would eat Japanese once a week, and MacDonald's every other day. I still eat quite a lot of rice. I love sweets. I baked a lovely, moist, chocolate cake on Canada Day; out of the eight slices I cut, I had three to myself, two in one single day. I eat meat: corned beef, luncheon meat, chicken dark meat, lamb, and of course, plenty of fish. I love love love love love fried fish (but not in batter... it has to be marinated in rice flour), and I have a deep abiding adoration for MacDonald's fries. Good thing Quinpool MacDonald's isn't 24hours. I have difficulty convincing myself to eat my apples. I buy them because they're a healthy snack alternative. But if I leave them in the fridge, I forget about them, so I've taken to putting them on the coffee table where I can't bloody miss them.
But I need to learn not to eat so excessively. (And boy, can I ever eat excessively. Restaurant portions are too much for me, but I'll try to finish it anyway.) I need to cut back on eating until I'm bloated, and I need to pay attention to eating until I'm satisfied... not full. I'll eat some. Then I think, oh, it's time for some more food! When actually, it isn't, and I just feel like eating.
Running is cheap and easy, and starting small like I am right now should be fine. The shoes weren't cheap, though. I hunted all over for a place I felt comfortable buying shoes from, and Aerobics First on Quinpool had the nicest salesperson to help me out. It probably helps that she studies Kinesthetics so she sure as hell knows what she's talking about! The shoes cost me $140, and I asked my dad for permission to get them. He said, "well, remember when I grew up I didn't have such luxuries... but because I don't want you to feel poor, you can get them." (What an awful thing to say, eh?) When it starts snowing, maybe I'll sign up for a couple months' membership at the nearby gym (barely a block away from my place, too) until the snow melts.
I would love to take up hiking again, but there aren't a lot of hiking trails nearby that are accessible by foot. Plus, hiking with a purpose is more fun. More on this another time.
I don't have a weighing scale, because I think they suck, so I'm going to judge the results of my efforts based on how fit I am by the end of summer, and by golly, I'm going to do my damnedest to conquer Allan, Lawrence and Duncan Streets. (Low bar, I know.)
Recently, I purchased a pair of running shoes, which from now on will be used exclusively for running, not for everyday wear like I try to do with every pair of garbage shoes I buy from Malaysia. My plan is to get into the habit of running every other morning, and more importantly, to be able to run a goodly while without getting out of breath.
As a child, I used to sprint a lot (I really just like going really fast). I also did a lot of biking, and hiking with my dad was easy. People who know me today know that occasionally, I get up from my computer and pace around my apartment. Back home in Malaysia, this would translate into me running up and down the staircase, sometimes several times. My waist size in 2003 was 26 inches. I looked good then, and I knew it.
When I came to Canada, I lived in Residence. I ate crappy food. Without realizing it, I put on the Frosh Fifteen. Since then, I've lost half that weight, but I can't get the rest off.
Even worse, since then, I haven't been able to sustain the same stamina for moving as I used to. I can barely keep up with my dad on his hike, which would have been a snap for me when I was in my early teens. I can barely sprint a block without getting out of breath. I'm not as fast anymore. Also, I just don't feel healthy as I am. I feel I move too little.
So, I decided to take up running. My brother also runs for exercise. I've always been more of the biking, hiking kind, but I thought, maybe running will help me get out of the house more. Lots of people run in Halifax. I don't have an awkward body that stops me from running, so why not? The ultimate goal, of course, would be to have a killer body like that of one of my heroes, Renegade Evolution. She, too, runs. RenEv makes me feel better about myself because she hates shopping for clothes, has had her boobs done, and does Society of Creative Anarchronism things.
Now, of course, I'll never really have a body like hers. She does have a physically taxing job: porn, belly dancing, stripping - these are all physical jobs and they probably contribute to her staying in shape. But she still runs, to keep in shape. I'm naturally slender to start with, and for me, it's just a matter of moving a hell lot more than I do now.
There are two other roads perpendicular to Allan St.: Lawrence and Duncan Sts. Like Allan St., they're pretty long streets. And I'm quickly finding that even tackling just these three streets is already quite painful.
This morning, I walked down the length of Allan St., just to get warmed up and started. Then I jogged the next street over, Lawrence St., and found myself very quickly out of breath, and my calves were BURNING about three-quarter way through. I had to stop at some point. And then I walked the next road over, trying to stop my heart from banging so hard in my chest. I crossed back to Allan St., and I sprinted about halfway home because I couldn't stand the thought of being on the road for much longer.
When I got home, I felt... sad and defeated. I kept thinking to myself: "It's three streets... how hard should that really have been? Why am I huffing even briskwalking on the first street? Why are my calves burning midway through jogging? Why can't I sprint without feeling like I'm going to stumble after a few meters?"
Then I recalled an article I read in the June/July New Yorker by Haruki Murakami; when he took up novelling, he had to find a way of staying physically fit, and took up running. He wrote: "When I first started running, I couldn't run long distances. I could run for only about twenty or thirty minutes. Even that left me panting, my heart pouding, my legs shaky. ... I was also a little embarrassed to have people in the neighbourhood see me running."
And I thought, that's just like me. I hadn't exercised in a long time, either. Here I am, barely running twenty minutes before tucking my tail and coming home to curl up back in bed, dead embarrassed by how unfit I am.
Haruki Murakami started to run, and it became part of his daily routine: running, writing, housekeeping, sleeping. It sounds like a good system. He kept it up and his endurance increased, and now he can run marathons.
Another interesting thing he writes: "People who naturally keep the weight off don't need to exercise or watch their diet. Which is why, in many cases, their physical strength deteriorates as they age. Those of us who have a tendency to gain weight should consider ourselves lucky that the red light is so clearly visible. Of course, it's not always easy to see things this way."
I've admitted that I eat a lot. Living on Spring Garden, I would eat Japanese once a week, and MacDonald's every other day. I still eat quite a lot of rice. I love sweets. I baked a lovely, moist, chocolate cake on Canada Day; out of the eight slices I cut, I had three to myself, two in one single day. I eat meat: corned beef, luncheon meat, chicken dark meat, lamb, and of course, plenty of fish. I love love love love love fried fish (but not in batter... it has to be marinated in rice flour), and I have a deep abiding adoration for MacDonald's fries. Good thing Quinpool MacDonald's isn't 24hours. I have difficulty convincing myself to eat my apples. I buy them because they're a healthy snack alternative. But if I leave them in the fridge, I forget about them, so I've taken to putting them on the coffee table where I can't bloody miss them.
But I need to learn not to eat so excessively. (And boy, can I ever eat excessively. Restaurant portions are too much for me, but I'll try to finish it anyway.) I need to cut back on eating until I'm bloated, and I need to pay attention to eating until I'm satisfied... not full. I'll eat some. Then I think, oh, it's time for some more food! When actually, it isn't, and I just feel like eating.
Running is cheap and easy, and starting small like I am right now should be fine. The shoes weren't cheap, though. I hunted all over for a place I felt comfortable buying shoes from, and Aerobics First on Quinpool had the nicest salesperson to help me out. It probably helps that she studies Kinesthetics so she sure as hell knows what she's talking about! The shoes cost me $140, and I asked my dad for permission to get them. He said, "well, remember when I grew up I didn't have such luxuries... but because I don't want you to feel poor, you can get them." (What an awful thing to say, eh?) When it starts snowing, maybe I'll sign up for a couple months' membership at the nearby gym (barely a block away from my place, too) until the snow melts.
I would love to take up hiking again, but there aren't a lot of hiking trails nearby that are accessible by foot. Plus, hiking with a purpose is more fun. More on this another time.
I don't have a weighing scale, because I think they suck, so I'm going to judge the results of my efforts based on how fit I am by the end of summer, and by golly, I'm going to do my damnedest to conquer Allan, Lawrence and Duncan Streets. (Low bar, I know.)
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-06 06:44 am (UTC)At the moment, I can't do very much for exercise but once I'm settled in my new apartment, I plan on joining a gym to exercise there once a week.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-07 02:39 am (UTC)I think, maybe we can go together! It'll get me to actually see you more often than I do too! ;)
(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-07 11:18 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-07 02:15 pm (UTC)I don't know if I could do mornings, but what time do you typically finish work?
(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-07 03:20 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-08 02:35 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-08 12:21 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-07-07 11:22 pm (UTC)