Over-weight, Under-run

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Getting back into running after a lay off is pretty tough I reckon. Not only do you have to go through all the aches and pains again, but there's the frustration of knowing you've already been there done that, and by now you should be up there running effortlessly through the hills and thoroughly enjoying the experience.

Which is not to say that I'm not enjoying starting over. It's infinitely preferable to not running at all. And it is exhilarating. But there's no denying that it's painful and slow. Like bloody Sisyphus rolling the stone up the hill I guess. Some say that's what life is all about. Jeez, I hope not!

My attitudes have changed a bit now. I'm definitely not so paranoid about times and distances, although I still measure them of course, but I'm not going to be so anal about them*. And my goals are less extreme. Now I really am running for fitness... a marathon would be nice, but it's such a distant and largely irrelevant goal that it doesn't really figure. I'm not pushing so hard to run longer and faster, but the aim is to get fit, and enjoy the process.

There is still a need however for some goals to keep the motivation levels up. I think a couple of 10km races would be in order, and I think a half marathon would not be beyond me sometime in the next few months. In the meantime, motivation comes from the bathroom scales and the mirror, which reveal less-than-pretty sights. In fact I weigh more now than I ever have before, and need to shed about 8 kgs fast. I also tentatively tried a few exercises the other day (chin-ups etc) and was horrified how badly I've let myself go. More motivation!

I was up in the hills beyond my home yesterday and found it covered in heavy machinery and work crews transforming the rough trails into beautifully graded gravel roadways to give fire trucks easy access - a result of the severe bushfire season this summer. Whether these will prove a blessing or a curse for running I won't know until I tackle them properly in coming weeks. My quads are still killing me from yesterday's descent, so it won't be for a few days yet.



*Having said that, I'm probably still the quintessential number slut, carefully recording all my runs in a spreadsheet and measuring runs down to a tenth of a kilometre. I have however discarded splits and charts of heart rate progressions. But my family still thinks I need professional help...