The last time I went jogging was three years ago when we moved back into London from Hertfordshire. My husband took me to the park next to our house and said " Look, if you run around this park 10 times, three times a week, you will start shedding all the excess fat you hate. You see all those athletes from the Olympics, what do they do? They run. They are not lifting weights in the gym, they are running on the field. Imagine this is your field and you are training for a race" I proceeded to scan the park and then looking back at him, I was like, it's not a big deal. I can do that easily. I'm so competitive even with my husband, I never want to look like I'm not up for a challenge. I remember thinking, It's such an easy feat. My beloved brothers and sisters, by the third round, I started seeing the park in a whole new light. It was no longer spacious, airy and green. It now looked like a training ground reserved to punish those of us who have over eaten over the years.
One day, I took the children to their former childminder's house. They like to visit her once in a while and I try to take them there at least once every two months because the children at the childminder's and my children miss themselves a lot. So after bribing them with ice cream and termed the day "fun Friday", I took them to the childminder's house and left. I went home, changed my day clothes into my running gear and proceeded to the park. My husband is abroad at the moment so bear in mind that I had no inspiration and certainly no motivation. Somehow I looked at my ever growing waist line and arms, threw caution in the wind and went jogging. I started from the same place my husband made me start three years prior and I never stopped (before I continue let me clarify what I meant when I say I never stopped). I never give up on sporting exercises but I have never been the sportiest type. I remember in secondary school during our inter-house sports, whenever we had races, I was always second to the last. (Please someone tell me why I was always picked for 100m or 200m when there are people with sprightly Usain Bolt's feet. I even trained for 1.5m after I came top 30 in the whole school for our cross country running exercise- I think they saw winning potential and competitiveness). I think it was was by mere opportunity that God will put someone in my team that is more awful than I was for those races. Oh well. Even during PE classes or anything sport/running related, I literally feel like I'm about to pass out. My heart travels quickly into my mouth and just beats heavily there. I make a conscious effort not to over exert myself. Back to my jogging - when I say I didn't stop for two hours, of course I meant I stopped. I stopped to breathe, yes, pant heavily and I stopped to speed walk and then run again. It really took the pressure off from me feeling I had to run sprints and do it all at once. Jogging felt good. It felt really good. It helped clear my head and I happened to make a few solid decisions about how I intend to achieve a few goals. It felt exhilarating and I must confess, I felt lighter and freer, a little less sluggish. After picking the children, we went home, I put them to sleep and had a well deserved lonnnnnnng bubble bath.
I will go jogging again and hopefully over time, I will not only do it but I will get better and my heart will stay in its rightful place.
So there you have it kids, mummy goes jogging!
Be Inspired
xoxo
No comments:
Post a Comment