Ok, so I already posted about my run the other day but there were a couple of things I needed to mention before I can move on. Overall, it was another great experience but there are a few niggling issues which bugged me. So here I go: Read the rest of this entry »
By Steven Ellison, 22nd September 2008.
Early in 2008 I started walking to help me lose weight. As a 49 year old podgy overweight man who had sat at a desk for the past 20 years and had given up smoking I had decided it was time to start looking after myself. Through the early part of 2008 I started using a treadmill for between 10 and 15 minutes a day. This progressed rapidly over a few months until I was walking 50 KM a week on a treadmill. Keeping motivation going was difficult and so I was switching between seeing how far I could go in a given time to seeing how quick I could walk a certain distance. In early April I realised that the City to Bay fun Run was 12KM in length and that this would be a good comparison for my exercise progress. I managed 12KM on the treadmill in a little over 118 minutes and was happy with that.
Near the end of April I felt quite achieved when managing to complete the 12KM in just on 100. At this stage I had only flirted with the idea of entering the City to Bay. Then the incident that encouraged me to. Read the rest of this entry »
Oh it is that time of year again. Adelaide’s annual City-Bay fun run has sneaked up on me again. Last year I entered for the first time, taking part in the 12km run (why bother otherwise? 6km, 3km walk/run - not interested).
Last year’s entry was a decision made only a couple of days prior to the event and was quite a daunting leap of faith. Can I do it? I asked myself. Oh well, I’ll have a crack I thought.
and have a crack I did, finishing my first City-Bay without stopping to walk at all in the not-too-shabby time of 1 hour 10 minutes and 16 seconds. Nothing flash but not embarassing.
Next year I’ll go under an hour I said. Yeah, I’ll do it properly and train and stuff.
Well that didn’t happen because the run is next Sunday and I haven’t trained for it. I mean, I have gone for a jog on an irregular basis but, if anything, I am probably 5-10 minutes slower than I was last year - and I didn’t train then either.
Now I am tossing up whether or not I should enter again this year. I’ll have to pay the late entry fee again. [argh!!]
In trying to decide, I did dust off the Under Armour compression pants the other day and go for a run. Oh my, my lungs were burning and I was suffering a terrible stitch within 10 minutes but I did survive.
I guess I have to enter this year if for no other reason than to get a better photo of me crossing the finish line. They have camera’s set up to capture that triumphant moment and I knew there were camera but did I look up or raise my arms in the air like an Olympic champion?
No. I basically had my head down. I still bought the photo but this year I’ll be running right under the middle of the finish gates, arms raised and smiling for the cameras.
Yep, OK, I’ve decided. I have to enter now.
