The Cat's Out of the Bag! The Goal Is...

As many of my blog posts mention, I’m a self-appointed poor runner.  I like running at about 5mph.  Any faster than that and my short stubby legs just refuse to move and time stops.  Running at 5mph is my sweet spot.  I don’t really lose my breath and there are days when I feel like I can run forever because time ceases to exist.  However, forever is usually no more than four miles at this point and time, but it’s a deeply enjoyed and effortless four miles. 

That being said, I’m attempting to pick up my speed and maximize my endurance…by February.  Why?  Because I need a goal.  I need to focus my attention.  And I need to win the Glass Slipper.

In general, people lose interest in their exercise programs (if it’s not an effortless, habitual routine) because there is a lack of focus.  You get to a point where you ask yourself, “well now what?”  Maybe you’ve hit a plateau; maybe you’re incredibly bored with the same ol’, same ol’; maybe your not seeing the same speedy results that you were seeing a month or two ago.  Whatever the reason is, people quit.  And it’s not just with exercise programs – it’s all sorts of “extra curricular activities.” 

The only thing that people don’t seem to quit is the TV shows that they are watching.  I know I’m guilty of this.  There are a few TV shows that are running that I find myself, “WHY AM I WATCHING THIS? THIS IS SO STUPID!”  Usually I dislike shows because the writers seem to have run out of plot ideas, and so you just watch things happen that don’t really make sense or seem a bit jumbled.  Why do we watch these TV shows?  Because we’ve invested so much time and effort into the programs that we feel like we are a part of their fake lives and we want to see this through.

Why don’t we apply this same loyalty to health and well-being?  Because, let’s face it, it’s not as interesting…right?  No. Incorrect.  When you devote a lot of time and effort into your health and wellness lifestyle, you see results.  You notice differences.  You feel better.  You can run farther.  You can lift heavier objects.  So how do you keep it interesting?

By setting goals.  Think of your personal goals as the overarching theme of a TV show.  Today is the beginning, death will be the end.  Shake up your workouts by adding “plot twists” and unexpected challenges.  I mean, that’s why we love “Game of Thrones,” right?  Unexpected challenges question our capabilities.  It focuses us to try harder and to eventually succeed at something that we thought to be impossible.

Earlier I mentioned that I have recently focused my attention, but it wasn’t my doing.  It was an unexpected plot twist.  Next year, we are going to celebrate my sister’s and my niece’s birthday by earning a Glass Slipper medal.  In order to do this, you need to run a 10k on Saturday and a ½ marathon on Sunday and finish within a certain time.  And just for the fun of it, we are going to do the 5k the Friday before.  So it’s three days of running, the last day being the worst.  Honestly, I think this is bat-shit crazy, and I’m in a state of disbelief that I will be able to survive that weekend.  BUT.  I am following my program.  I am being consistent.  I am trying to run a little faster on my short run days, and happily maintaining my 5mph pace on my long run days.  I should be able to run a half marathon by November if my training goes smoothly…but I know there will be twists and turns and other obstacles that will threaten my consistency.  (Like moving back to the US, a wedding in South Dakota, followed by a short visit to Colorado.)  Never-the-less, I am going to be as consistent as possible and earn that Glass Slipper medal!

Exercising Abroad

       As some of you lovely readers may know, I have recently fallen into the job of teaching English in China.  There are many, many challenges connected to teaching in China, but I am going to focus more on my personal health journey here, and the various factors that affect that.  While I mainly want to focus on physical health, mental health is a big part of that, so I wouldn't be surprised if a couple of my future posts turned out to be rambling and off topic. 

While in the United States, I educate people about healthy lifestyles through Personal Training.  Physical activity is great for stress reduction, self esteem, and internal health.  While I'm training other people, I also try to provide easy tips for an overall healthy lifestyle.  I enjoy training those who, like myself, had it rough in PE growing up.  Because of the bullying when you are little, exercise later in life becomes constant head game.  It's a battle that you fight with yourself whether you want to or not.  Each and every exercise session has to be planned, scheduled and forced.  When I know that I want/need to exercise, I usually have to mentally prepare myself for it at least a full day before, maybe even more-so depending on what I am about to do.  I have found that I don't always have to prepare myself; I thoroughly enjoy weights and look forward to a bodybuilding workout.  BUT being in China (and slightly refusing to cough up the cash for a gym membership), I find that I am struggling, again, with my workouts.  It's incredibly annoying, especially because I was making such good progress before coming here.  However, I am trying to take this in stride as a character building experience and to prove that you don't need fancy equipment to stay in shape (although I would absolutely love a pair of 10 lb dumbbells).

Running:

I have been running semi-consistently for about a year now.  I ran my first 5k last June, my first 10k in January, and I plan on running my first 1/2 marathon 5k combo in February 2015 (the races are two separate days, but back to back).  There are a lot of people I know who wouldn't necessarily be impressed by that because it is quite spread out over time (they run athons and have always been serious athletes), but I am super proud of myself.  I don't run very fast (seriously, I'm really not lying about this), but my personal goals do not include speed rather I focus on constancy.  Whenever I choose to run I want to run the full distance, I don't want to have to pause for a couple of minutes while I catch my breath - it takes that much longer to finish!

  Right now, three miles is my sweet spot.  I can run three miles and it's not challenging, but it feels far enough.  I'm not good at running, but I enjoy it.  It took about 6 months for me to be able to say that.  I'm pretty sure it's because I finally reached the point where I can lose myself and "meditate" while running.  But any longer than that and I start to say, "okay, I'm done now."

Now, however, I am facing the challenge of running outside.  In China.  I'm sure that thought may gross you out to some degree.  It should.  BUT not everywhere in China is super air polluted.  In fact, the air quality here in Rugao compared with other cities is down right clean.  Of course if you bust out the AQI and compare here to home (Portland, USA, Keep it weird y'all!) it's like a full 70+ numbers higher on any given day.  So I'm running in not the cleanest of air.  But at least I'm working out, right?  Well according to the internet, the weather last week was over 100 for 2 days, and in the high 90s the rest of the week.  It was 90 degrees at 9:00am on one of those days.  Just, eww.  It's unnatural.  So instead of running in the morning like I had been, I changed to running at night.  Well, that worked for a little bit.  It was much cooler, not too polluted and I felt way better.  But now, I don't know what magic conspired against me, but the pollution is now worse at night.  The town goes to sleep between 9 and 10pm, and when I went running at 10:00pm yesterday, I about died.  It felt like I was running with a straw in my mouth - I couldn't do it.  So now, I'm incredibly annoyed.  I run three or four days a week, not too much, but now I can't even do that because I can't breath.  *Glares at air.* 

And I can't help but think of what the polluted air is doing to my insides, which by running I am trying to keep in prime condition.  According to the literature that I've found on the subject of running and pollution, there is no long term study.  :(  As much as I want to be cheap, and I want to prove to myself how far I've come along, I need to realize that it's not a failure if I buy a membership to a gym while living here in China.  It's continuing on my goal and my journey of health and wellness. 

So tonight I am going to go with my friend and he is going to show me where the gym that is close to my work is located.  I haven't decided whether or not I am going to sign up for the gym for sure because honestly, I'm unsure as to whether or not I will remain in Rugao for much longer.  The people of China are great, but this training center is terribly managed and operated.  It's been a battle these last two months, and just when you think you're safe, they find another way to rile you up - but that's a tale for a different time. ;)

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