Gymming.. was it a good decision

Well, yes.. I did it... I mean I joined a gym finally... but only because running on the streets became harder and harder to do... too many gawkers... too many comments and really too much stress on my knees because I was running on concrete so I opted for the safe thing... gymming... so when did I join? Last Thursday... that was exactly one week ago and I did have a good workout on Thursday, and Friday and also Saturday before I took a break on Sunday. Then I did work out again on Monday and Tuesday and yesterday and today I have just been too busy to go... no really.... am not making excuses... just been too busy... though I must MUST go tomorrow and have a long workout to make up for what I have missed today and yesterday!

And as far as the gym goes, it is good.. it is great in fact.. want to know why? Well firstly, it's close to my work so I can make it a point to drop in on most days during lunch or after work and secondly, the equipment are pretty decent and new and most importantly... it is never crowded... which has now made me come to the conclusion that in this particular culture.. (no we are not mentioning which here) people are just interested in signing up but lose their motivation to go and for the gym, it does not really matter as the memberships have already been paid.. and unlike some gyms where they call you up and make you feel guilty for not turning up for your regular gym session... it does not happen here... in the one week that I have been here, I have found it to be sleepy... no not the music... the music is good... but the place is just practically empty save for one or two people.. and I have not seen the same face twice... either that or I must be going to the gym at really odd times... but I think its the former and not the latter....

Anyway, so I feel better overall now.. knowing that I do go to the gym.. I do make an effort to work out... and I actually do feel like my clothes fit me better....

So what actually brought this on??? I will tell you in my next entry... but I can give you a hint.. it was a trip to a certain hilly country where I started going to the gym and seeing the result of a daily 60 min run and what it can do to my physique...

anyway.. I got to run now ... not literally... but to dinner... will definitely try putting in a new entry tomorrow because it has been way too long and I need to pick up on my act.

It's Friday again!

It's been a week since my last entry. I know... bad.. really bad.... so what have I done in terms of exercise.. well Monday I did zilch, and Tuesday I did do a half hour workout even though it was not running.. and then Wednesday I played badminton for over two hours.. and it was hardcore.. me single playing against 2 players.. so I did manage to do a lot of running.. around the court that is.. but it was a nice 2 hour lond workout... gotta run again.. real busy these days so will be back soon... until then take care, be good and keep that exercise going.

Badminton, garage roller door and me!

Yes, so yesterday was another Badminton day... nothing remarkable to report on that other than the fact that we played good badminton for a while. Given my recent interest in this game, I have even googled to see how many calories I will be lighter after a game. Well, I have found that there are different levels- competitive badminton and social badminton.. no I don't think I am a true fit for either, so I might just settle for something inbetween and assume I must be buring close to 300 calories for an hour of badminton.

Anyway, after a long sweaty match, I head home and thank God! driving was actually not that much of a nightmare because it turned out that there was not much traffic on the road. So I reach home, thinking about a hot shower and my bed and alas I could not open the garage door. I fumbled and fumbled with the remote but no it would just not budge. I then had to resort to the manual over-ride and it was the chain- the rusty chain which took ages of pulling before I could roll the door enought to squeeze my car through. And so I try calling various people and eventually learnt that the problem was not electric, but indeed it was the motor of the door and I had to resort to the people who installed it. Upon calling them and this is the best bit even though it might be a bit hard to believe.. they wanted me to dismantle the motor from high atop the wall on top of the garage door and bring it to them so they can have a look. Reasonable?? I say no, definitely not in the name of customer service! The gentleman tried to make me do it but I refused as politely as I could and somehow they have agreed to come and have a look, not today but tommorow in the morning.. yeah right!!! Would believe it when it actually happens.. as far as I have learnt in this country of very hospitable people, you can forget about getting any service if you are calling an establish for just that- help! So help me God!

The tale of my Nikes

I gotta blog this because my Nike.. the rubber at the back, the sole, is coming off... now would you not call that dodgy? I think it is and in fact I am not even sure its a real Nike anymore... i am dubious, very very dubious.. And its less than a year old and I have not run half as much as I have in any of my other running shoes and the shoe does not look worn out on the outside.. its just the sole which is why I am inclined to say there is something very wrong with this whole thing... so this is another set back in my running.. hmm now it almost seems like I am looking for excuses not to run huh.. no no its totally not the case.. am very much into it and it is really the only way I can stay fit... so gotta get back to him somehow.... but until I can find a good pair of running shoes, I think I will just have to stick with the badminton to try and burn off those calories.

So two hours of badminton is on the cards today... sounds good ei!

Precious legs of mine!

Ok, after countless matches of bandminton and getting my heart rate to burn some serious calories, I figured it was time for a run! A good old run and a long one at that too. So I got prepared, religiously-- ate the right food at the right time so that I would have enough energy and even brough along my ipod. The one thing I did do differently on this run was that I changed my shoes... from my usual Nike Shox to a Reebok I had bought here in Sri Lanka about an year ago.

Anyway, so I leave work early to go on this run and start warming up and I started to feel this pain right away, on both legs mind you and on both foots at the same time. My first reaction? Must have been how I tied the shoe laces and I figured that I could run one whole round around the square (I normally run around a public square these days for a variety of reasons but we can talk about that later). So I did one round, sat down and loosened my laces and got back up and into running some more again. But instead of getting any better, the pain just worsened and travelled right up to my calves where it stayed on my precious legs, throbbing and hurting till I could take it no more and had to completely give up on my run after about 15 minutes. I can tell you it was the one most painful run I have had in my whole life. Even the half marathon I completed in just under 2 hours 2 years back did not even come close in terms of pain. So I stopped and tried to walk and found it impossible to do so.. but I somehow managed to get to my car, opened the door and sat down and the throbbing still continued... finally I took the shoes off and rested sitting there because I did not trust myself to drive.

Finally when the pain started to go away, I left, with my head hanging between my legs reminiscing about my foiled run and what could have gone wrong. When I reached home, right after I said hello to my fiance' I hobbled upstairs to the computer and googled the pain.. yes google.. my saviour on a number of occasions.. though I could not pin point the source of the pain, I am assuming it to be either my shoes, or maybe all the badminton had made my calf grow too big too soon or running on concrete.. whatever it is.. it was painful beyond words, but no I am not willing to give up! And will be on the way to a run again soon, but today once more its back to badminton!

Lousy is the word

Having a bit of a lousy day today, just when I was planning a nice long run after my 45 minute stint at Badminton yesterday. You know, I used to think only "the wuss" played badminton, that it was not active enough for me, but having started playing it about 2 weeks ago, I realise it's a lot of fun and a fun way to keep active. So that was where I was running off to yesterday, to have a Badminton game. I don't think I will do any running today, unfortunately... I really think I should be taking it easy and lying down.. so that's the day's plan. I woke up tired, with every joint in my body achy and a sore throat and no it is not the Badminton from yesterday because it was not the first time.

Also I was feeling good last night and even made it through the movie "An Unfinished Line". It was kind'a cute and a nice little movie and I managed to sit up and watch it without dozing off on the couch which happens more often that not, when I am sitting around on the couch after a long day of work and exercise.

Until next time, ciao! But this is a set-back, even though small, on my running map.

Getting fatter versus getting fitter

I am on a quest! A quest to get fit again! A quest to fit into my best summer clothes! A quest to look and feel good! A quest to have a body that others are envious of! So where am I on this quest?

I started two weeks ago... running, playing Badminton.. and running.. and then running some more... I have a plan and I am hoping that I will atleast be able to stick with it somewhat.. Don't be mistaken.. it's not like I am huge and trying to thin down.. I am actually pretty ok but like most people I have a couple of pounds that I would like to get rid of- for good! I am an appaling 58 kilos from 52 last year and I think to me this is an unacceptable increase for someone like me who loves staying fit.

All my life I have been active- being active is what I do.. I play sport, I swim, I get out there in the sun and have a good time and I would play any sport... that was until about a year ago when I moved to Colombo, Sri Lanka the so called pearl of the Indian Ocean. Suddenly I was living in a country with an ongoing civil war (although the authorities would vehemently deny this despite the many killings of civilians and abductions that happen daily). There are no known running tracks and being out of the home outside daylight hours is not considered safe. So what about gyms?? Yes you could go to a gym, that is if you are willing to put up with all the stares- not the nice kind, and you have to make sure you are properly covered.. but who wants to work out like that? I want to be free, to do whatever I want, and knowing that 5 males are not looking at me, at the gym right there (There is an extent with which we girls to feel uncomfortable with men staring). So I resorted to the only means that seemed available.. being new in the city I did not have many friends, so I started to swim in my small pool and then running.. but I had to stop that too... running in public spaces where others also did it proved difficult.. ask me why? Well firstly, men here have a totally different understanding of what it means when someone is exercising.. I had people follow me.. I had people stop their cars, roll down their windows and look at me running, round and round this square... how much more exciting can it get now... my first instinct was to ignore it, which is how I have learned to deal with many strange things here.. but that did not help things and eventually I was forced to re-think my running... to be continued... 'cos I have to go now.

Back now.. going back to what I was saying, I then hooked up with a friend to run. This was good and was getting better when my dear old friend met a girl and eventually this girl become his girlfriend.. first one really.. and then I was once again left alone and unable to get into this oval that we were running around because my friend belonged to the club that owned it. So there goes! Bye bye to running again! But you can't say I did not try, because I did!