By Fabronte
DAY ONE – Three lengths of the sports park, a little warm-up first (stretches). Everything aches immediately afterward – its been a couple of weeks since I last attempted some running.
Okay I’m over 40 but I’m slim, formerly a high school representative long-distance runner (1500 and 2000 metres), longtime aerobics and dance fanatic – but its been a while since I attempted any serious athletic training or even much non-serious exercise, shamefully, - due to work then study commitments, quakes, and a spell of ennui down here in Dunedin following my experiences in the February 22, 2011, quake in Christchurch. Its time to move forward - in trainers!
I’ve been intensively eating healthily for the past two weeks, the time has come to get training. The Dunedin marathon beckons in September, and although I might not enter, I want to be at least fit enough to attempt the 10km category if I feel like it, so that’s three months away. Go girl!
Also, and here’s the thing – I am occasionally wittering away on facebook and in the real world about the benefits of a healthy diet and exercise, as ya do, – let’s just see how far I can actually push myself. Let’s see what that brings – it will certainly shake off the last vestiges of post-quake post-traumatic stress syndrome and give me some much-needed muscle tone, return my optimistic outlook on life, give me more energy and bounce, and keep me away from the occasional-ciggie habit I revived after the quake, plus too much comfort food.
And it will deal with Dunedin’s unfortunate achilles heel – much as I love this place, its a dark and cold beauty in the winter, where the inhabitants hibernate like bears and tentatively start lurking about outdoors again in the evening come spring. And all that indoors and darkness can lead to a lot of melancholy. Trust me on this.
I wrote health and fitness supplements for “The Evening Post” in Wellington for some years in the 90s. I have no idea if anyone even read them – good advice on exercise from fitness experts, and interviews with people like inspiring author Leslie Kenton.
Health awareness levels in society seem to get worse, not better, people seem to get sick a lot more and face serious illness a lot younger, obesity and prescribing of pills is at an all-time high, and the junk and processed food industries are now a multi-million dollar monster. There is an ill for every pill, a psychologist for everything labelled “psychological”, and a “specialist” for every diet and lifestyle-related illness that could have been avoided with some knowledge and commitment.
The scribe needs once again to walk the talk and to inspire, and to bypass the naysayers. You have to be so strong. Watch this space – I will be chronicling my journey in the coming months.
