Where There’s a Will
Monday, April 16, 2007 ~ 8 comments so far
After posting about my lack of willpower of the weekend, and receiving some useful and thought provoking comments (thanks!), I think I need to step back and see what else could possibly be the problem.
Or, indeed, if there is a problem at all.
I started jogging last summer, the inspiration for which came about at the end of a 10K race near where I grew up. We happened to turn up at Lomond Shores last June, only to find that it was the finishing line for the Polaroid Balloch 10K which was being marshalled by some local groups, one of which was the Boys Brigade. I bumped into one of the officers that I knew and got chatting in that “haven’t seen you for 10 years” abbreviated kind of way. I asked how long he’d been helping out with the race, and he said he’d been doing it a fair few years now and it was always fun to see ex-members of the Boys Brigade, he then suggested that I should be out there running it but “I guess you’d need to lose that spare tire, eh!”. It was a tongue-in-cheek comment and certainly not meant as an insult.
But boy, did it sting.
Like most fatties, I know that I’m overweight. I know WHY I’m overweight and I really don’t need reminded of it as I’m perfectly aware of the facts. Feeling uncomfortable in clothes, always wondering what other people think of you.. well it’s not the greatest way to live your life. I don’t worry about it all that much, to be honest, but jibes about my weight always hit home hard.
And so, two days later I found myself scanning the local free paper during some.. eh… private time (e.g.), when I stumbled across a small advert. It said that “JogScotland” was starting up soon and was open to everyone, of every level. It made specific mention of the fact that it would help you get from walking to jogging in ten weeks. In a rare act of spontaneity (I DO like to plan things), I phoned up, signed up and two weeks later I was standing about with a bunch of complete strangers. Most of whom were women.
My goal, even then, was simple.
I WILL run that 10K in June 2007.
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Glorious
Wednesday, April 4, 2007 ~ 4 comments so far
Tonight was the start of the next 10 week block of JogScotland. In 10 weeks time I’ll be running for a complete hour. Based on tonight it’s gonna be a hard slog.
On the other hand, if every evening I go out for a run in are as stunningly gorgeous as it was tonight then it’s gonna be a hard slog whilst admiring some gorgeously stunning skies and sunsets.
We occasionally jog alongside the lake in Strathclyde Park, and tonight, as the sun started plunging towards the horizon, we were doubly treated as the ripple-less water reflected every aching inch of the sky in perfect detail. Disturbed only by occasional serenely gliding swan, I could hardly tear my eyes from the surface as it slowly darkened from sunlight blue to peach to orange.
It was just lovely and reminds me of one of the reasons I enjoy running. It’s really quite obvious and I’m not sure why I haven’t realised this before, but the simple fact is that I just love being outdoors.
April Nike+ Challenge
Wednesday, March 28, 2007 ~ 1 comment so far
I was gonna wait a week before doing this figured it would be good to match it to the calendar month (doesn’t make any real difference of course but.. what the hell).
So, I’ve setup an “April Fools” Nike+ challenge. It’s quite simple, most mileage wins. I average around 5-6km a run, 3 times a week, so that’ll give you an idea of whether to join, or not. Richard won the last one, but only because everyone else (um… all two of us) was sick!
Leave a comment or drop me an email if you want to join in. The more the merrier!
Nike+ Collected wisdom
Thursday, February 22, 2007 ~ 6 comments so far
Another post of limited appeal. Regular readers may want to scroll down. Readers who are curious may want to read about the Nike+ iPod Sport Kit first, and then come back here.
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Nike+ Challenge
Monday, February 12, 2007 ~ 12 comments so far
Calling all joggers!
I’ve had the Nike+ system for a while now, and I have to admit that it’s become a key part of my jogging. Being able to track how far I’ve run, and the average pace I run at has been a huge help. Sure the site is a bit big and clunky but with a nice fat broadband connection it’s fairly slick. Mind you I’m still duplicating my run data over on Fetch, as that lets me track other factors (temperature, shoes used, and any comments).
Whilst the Nike+ ‘community’ could do with a lot of work – they seem to be missing the boat when it comes to the social networking side of things – it does have some features and has really helped to keep me motivated.
But it’s time to move things on, there are only so many goals you can set yourself before you realise what you really need is… competition! I know a couple of you have the Nike+ system so how about a challenge? Let’s see who has the highest mileage after 30 days.
Interested?
Leave a comment with your Nike+ id (or email address), or contact me separately. Once I’ve got a list or participants I’ll kick off a new challenge sometime next week.
Let the racing begin!
Basketball
Monday, March 31, 2003 ~ Comments Off
I’ve long preferred the hoops to the ..ehh… goals.. and being starved of NBA action is killing me, watching grainy 30-sec clips via the NBA website is NOT enough.
So my parents to pity on me (and are inflicting this on Louise) and bought as tickets for the Harlem Globetrotters on April 15th. Should be fun if not wholly basketball related. Can’t wait!