mundane life things

It is a long time since I have blogged here. So I am using the only productivity strategy I have: just start with any small step. Thus, a post of mundane items. Its sole purpose it to restart a habit. This post has no other intrinsic value.

I have a mosquito bite on my elbow. What an awkward place for a bite. I have learned that I eat with my elbows on the table a lot. My grandfather would sing at me to chastise me if he could see.

I ate spaghetti with tomato sauce for lunch and accompanied this with a bowl of cherry tomatoes. Here's to more tomatoes! I love their summery flavour.

It's almost too hot for running now, except in the early morning. Sadly my running partner can only meet after work. It has been very sweaty recently. Also, I desperately need some sports sunglasses that I can wear while running.

I have started attending a Bible study group again for the first time in more than a year. It feels good to get some weekly Christian input from friends. And we eat together, which is good.

my exercise log

I use this little diary as my exercise log. It's just a small one I got for free from a textbook representative. But it's been invaluable in tracking my exercise this year.


Each day I exercise, I write it down in the diary. (Click on the picture to see a bigger version.) I write a bit about what I did, how much time it took, and how I felt. Usually I include three faces, which show my mood before, during, and after exercise. I have noticed that the "after" face is almost always happy. Now I know that even if I feel rubbish while running, I will feel better at the end. This helps when I am struggling.


And I have been using ticks on the year planner pages to show how my exercise habit is developing. In March, I exercised 23 times! I'm proud of that and it is motivating me to make April also a fit month. I have circled my two big events this year. On January 14 I did the Green Power Hike, which was a 50 km walk along the Hong Kong trail. And on March 4, I ran a 10 km event. Now the next challenge seems to be a half marathon. I am a bit nervous about committing to it, though, so I haven't registered for a race, yet. When I do, I'll circle the date and that will give me something to work towards.

Do you track your exercise?

reasons to keep running

I was reading in Runner's World this month that the best way to stay motivated to exercise is to enjoy it. Well, duh, that sounds a little obvious. But the more I stop to think about it, the more true I see that it is. I can think of four things that I have found really enjoyable this month:

1. I love the fresh air feeling when I run. I am fortunate enough to live in a part of Hong Kong where the air is quite good and I have a sea view as I run. Being outside with the breeze and the water is wonderful and it's a feeling that I can sense as I get out of bed to lace on my shoes.

2. I have found a great source of fun music for my runs: Rock my Run. The DJ-produced mixes that I have downloaded there are upbeat and motivating. They are full of positive and fun songs that make me look forward to running. Sometimes I want to sing along as I run.

3. Running a race recently makes me want to continue training. I ran my first 10 km two weekends ago and it was so fun. My training went really smoothly in the six weeks leading the to race and I managed to pace myself on the race. Anthony came out to congratulate me with a tiny bottle of champagne (and take these pictures). It was such a thrill to finish the race and I felt great. I want to feel that way again!


4. I do a group exercise sessions twice a week and the friends who exercise with me are such fun to be with. Exercising with them is fun like hanging out together. And recently I have been texting Sonya about my running and that's fun, too, because she is also training for a race (20 km!) and we have been encouraging each other.

So I think I am inclined to agree with Runner's World, it's motivating to enjoy your exercise. So find something you enjoy or take steps to make your current routine more enjoyable.

What do you like about exercise?

the gratitude of a runner

I have been running on and off for about a year. I still consider myself a novice. But I finally feel as though I am making progress. For the first six months I could run about ten or fifteen minutes at a time. I took walk breaks for one or two minutes after that. After about six months I could run about 5 km by doing this.

As I was starting running, I also started reading Runner's World and Zest in print and online. More recently I started reading Oxygen as well, a more serious women's fitness magazine. These have inspired me to continue and made me feel so grateful to be able to run. As it turns out, I am finding it spiritually thrilling, too.

I am aware that moving my body in exercise is a gift. Staying injury-free takes some work, too, and I'm grateful when I can do it. I have been listening to a Christian music playlist while running. One song is by Mary Mary and starts off with a spoken voice-over: "Whoa, it sure is hot out here. I don't mind though; just glad to be free." Every time I hear this as I am hot and sweaty, I am overcome with gratitude that I can be free: both free to run, and free to know Jesus. He has set me free from slavery to sin, and moving my legs somehow feels like a celebration of this. The song begins and the lyrics pump out: "You took the shackles off my feet so I can dance! I just want to praise you! I just want to praise you."

I feel as though I am using well the gift of health I have been given by looking after my body and keeping it fit. And so I also want to look after the amazing gift of spiritual freedom, by exercising my faith muscles by talking about Jesus and spending time with him.

Is there any connection for you between physical and spiritual exercise?

my summer holiday in numbers

34: days away from home



5: cities and towns visited:
Kelowna (BC, Canada)
London (UK)
Halifax (NS, Canada)
Miramichi (NB. Canada)
Ann Arbor (MI, USA)
Shanghai (China)

14: take offs and landings


14 hours 52 minutes: longest flight, from Chicago to Hong Kong
1 hour 3 minutes: shortest flight, from Detroit to Ann Arbor

17: sleeping tablets used in the avoidance of jet lag
12: times I went out jogging in the avoidance of jet lag
6: jogging partners: Pari, Judith, Claude, Nyarku, Andrew, and Katie

4: farmers' markets visited



21 kg: luggage with which I left
37 kg: luggage with which I returned
900: the number of snack-sized zip lock bags I brought back to HK to use in my classroom
1.2 kg: mass of 900 snack-sized zip lock bags

1: wedding attended, for Sarah and Eric


1: bridal shower attended, for Dawn
2: baby showers attended, both for Helen


3: pregnant bumps I stroked, and 1 smaller one that I admired: Sonya, Helen, Sara (below), and Carolyn


1: happy-you-finished-your-PhD party attended, for Micah


1: baby baptism attended: Julia Iris



5: novels read: Room by Emma Donoghue, Who Do You Think You Are? by Alice Munro, Safely Home by Randy Alcorn, Still Alice by Lisa Genova, Little Bee by Chris Cleave
0: airline movies watched

1166: photographs taken

five ways to become a no-excuses runner

A few months ago I wrote about how I am not a runner. But I decided to start jogging a little anyway since my bike was no longer a good option for exercise after we moved. I have discovered that being a runner is all about how you think of yourself. Here are the tips I've picked up so far about becoming a regular exerciser.

1. Keep a record. Get a small diary and keep an exercise journal. I just record how long I was out running, where I went, and how I felt. Today's run: "The usual 4.8 km loop, walking four times (1 min each), extra runs up the hill and walked down to recover (1 lamp post, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, and 1). Really tired afterwards but happy." You can do this online, too. Or I'm sure there's an app for that.


This is a photo of me, happy and sweaty, after my run this morning.

2. Get inspired online. One of the food blogs I read is also occasionally about running. I feel more motivated to run after I read it. This is the entry I read yesterday about marathon running. (I don't want to run a marathon, don't get excited!) And last week I found a blog called Healthy Motivation that posts a handful of pictures every day. The photos of fit women who are obviously very committed to training makes me want to shape up, too.

3. Talk about what you've been doing. I don't know if my friends find this annoying... if so, I hope they would say. But when I miss a phone call in the morning I am eager to say, "Sorry I missed you, I was out running." I think that the more I tell people the more they will ask me about it. And then if I stop mentioning it after a while, they will catch me out. It's like a mini version of accountability that I'm encouraging. Also, I want to change and develop the picture of myself in my own mind. I want exercising to be a part of who I am. So it's not really my friends I want to convince, but myself. Then if I feel tempted to stop exercising, I say to myself, "But I'm a runner--this is what I do." It's hard to argue with that kind of logic!

4. Trick yourself into going out to exercise. I often give myself a way out if I don't feel like exercising. "I'll just go out for 10 minutes. Then I can stop if I feel bad." Usually after 10 minutes of getting started I realise that I am fine to carry on. Or I say, "I'll run up the hill and then walk down. That will be enough." On some days I take the easy way out and end up with a very short workout. At least it was better than nothing and it keeps the habit going. But most of the time I actually end up enjoying my run.

5. Put out your workout clothes the night before. When I wake up and see them sitting there, it's like my shorts, shirt and trainers have been waiting for me. My gear wants to go out running! And as soon as the shorts are on, it seems like a shame not to go out for a run. So I try to go directly from my pyjamas to my running clothes, and as quickly as possible, while I am still bleary-eyed. It really reduces the excuses I can use. Another trick is to put my contact lenses ready by the sink. Then when I get up and go to the bathroom, after I wash my hands I put my contacts straight in. Then it seems inevitable that I will go out for a run.

Since I began running in October it seems that I have become a runner! What tips do you have to share?

jogging

Years ago I tried jogging. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for a whole school year I went to the university gym and ran around the indoor track, and found it to be quite strenuous. It's fair to say that I didn't enjoy it at all. My legs hurt, my lungs hurt, and worst of all, it didn't seem to improve as I continued to do it. I don't know why, but eight months later I wasn't any faster or better or more relaxed. Well, I hate this as much now as the day I began, I said to myself, so I'm quitting.

I haven't run since then. I have always been envious of those who see running as such an enjoyable hobby. They talk about letting their mind relax and the time slipping by. Sonya started to run and train for races, and everyone who jogs just seems so jolly about it. Meanwhile, I got into cycling instead, and loved it! I cycled to work every day for three and a half years and also did a cycling trip in France and Belgium.

We brought our bikes to Hong Kong but if I'm perfectly honest, I'm scared of riding here on the roads. I need to find some off-road trails instead. In the meantime, I haven't been doing much exercise. So, I decided it's time to learn to enjoy running.

I have been out for a half hour jog in the mornings about ten times now, spaced over two months. I enjoy it a lot more now than I did at university. The biggest difference is that running outdoors is so much better than that dark, dingy indoor track at university. When I'm running here I go along a road with a beautiful view out to the shipping lanes. Then I turn along a street with treed hills on each side. I also pass a lot of office buildings and residential blocks. (How can anyone enjoy a treadmill? It's so boring!) The scenery is also one thing I liked about cycling, and it makes jogging so much more bearable.

In addition, the fitness I built up from cycling has made jogging less of a chore. I'm actually not a great runner, but I remember how the more I cycled the easier it got, and I feel confident that my jogging will improve. I can already run for five to eight minutes at a time before I take a walking break, up from three minutes when I started. This gives me a great sense of satisfaction.

So, I wouldn't say that I am a committed runner just yet. But I am learning to like it and I can feel its benefits. We are very fortunate here that the weather will allow me to continue running outdoors until next summer (when it becomes much, much too hot again). By then maybe I'll like it enough that I will tolerate the treadmill.