2013! And my 2012 health/fitness journey

I'm so psyched for 2013... like I have been for 2012, 2011...

 2013 is the year I plan to rev up my health. I guess people who knows me, especially my family, has already seen it coming looong ago. I've always been the health nut in the family, although more often than not I succumbed to my mom's awesome but not exactly healthy dishes. And I love rice, too much. I love oily fried rice too, and I am a huge MILO fan... you get the idea?

3 years ago, I was gifted with the diagnosis of hitting the Pre-Diabetic line. I considered it a gift because it made me 'revolutionize' my eating habit. It came just at the right time; I was not a kid being fed what mom cooked, not a starving and poor university student settling for maggi mee, but getting married, getting paid, and living on my own. I began eliminating fast food. Out went all the mcdonalds, and KFC and Burger King (the only fast food I eat anyways), and reduced my maggi intake so much, that when I had it I felt guilty. I reduced MILO, severely. I cut back on desserts (which wasn't hard alhamdulillah because I don't really have a sweet tooth).

I didn't see any changes. But I felt good, knowing I took control of the food I eat. 2 years ago when I got married and moved in with harris, we cooked, and that's when I tried to cultivate a taste for healthy lifestyle. But it WAS NOT EASY when you have a normal Malay husband who grew up with mamak, gerai, fast food and junk food. I fought tooth and nail to had us only eat brown rice. After nearly 2 years, he is accustomed to it. I had us take a good supplement. Every carb had to be brown, not white. We allow fallbacks and swerving in this journey, once in a while you can see me walloping Nasi Lemak - my key goal is to cultivate not FORCE.

;Last year, I amped up my fitness again but in a different less competitive way. I did yoga religiously, I run and cycle 2 times a week. I began to include green smoothies daily in my diet. I stocked my fridge with fruits and 'malay male' friendly greens and prepared them so it's easy for him to just grab and munch. For his junk food, I invested in expensive but 'healthier' potato chips, less sodium etc etc. It's the least I can do for him. I made up interesting sweet treats to reduce his ice-cream intake - like banana peanut butter ice cream, etc. I went organic as much as I could. Financially it was tough on the budget but I reduced other aspects on my life - clothes, movie outings - and invested in good ingredients instead. I became crazy reading up on nutrition. I read foodie blogs.

I also will try to squeeze in a second workout after work (I workout before work after subuh which gives me a great energy boost) which is crossfit based, and honestly, that improved my overall fitness tremendously! Went cycling and we did a crossfit style loop and I wasn't really tired, in fact I could keep up. I am beating my dad again on uphills (seriously, my dad has improved to the point he is awesome for his age). Wall squat holds for 3 minutes x 6 times is heaven sent for cycling. Always complement it by stretching your hip flexors though!

 Anyway, well, 2013 is already looking good. My 2013 plans? To take up bodywork study seriously. I've always been interested in massages, trigger point theraphy, accupuncture, myofascial system, anatomy, ever since I herniated my cervical disc and also injured my ankle (still not recovering, aaargh!). This is one aspect that I am lacking in knowledge and will see to it that I will improve.

See ya!

How I Enjoy Running

Yesterday was my second run.

 

 It was a short one, just shy of 4km. I took the old route of my neighbourhood. What I like about running in my neighbourhood is the abundance of inclines of varying levels, always a good workout no matter how short your run is. I was careful about running downhill, taking my time to slow it to a light jog. Definitely no ego about slowing down there. I kept to my pace and sometimes surged during uphill runs - those are the best.

 

 After running with 'running aids' for so long I was soo grateful for being able to run without any at all. Pre-recovery, I would have to run with the patella stabilizer on both knees, with deep heat rubbed in and permeated through the pants, and the tub stuffed somewhere in my pockets. But yesterday it was just my running attire and me. It felt like I was a kid again, walking everywhere to my friend's house, the kedai runcit, the playground to play. It definitely did not feel like an exercise.

 

 I have made an important decision regarding my races. I want to stop being competitive. The top 2 goals for most people when they join races are:

 a) to finish, or

 b) to finish faster

 

Before this, when I first started, I was caught up with the need to be faster. It's only natural, everybody is competitive, especially when it is about a race. The need to become better has consumed the fun I wanted out of a run. I was never able to make training run fun. It was only fun if I managed to break my record, or completed my targetted mileage. Although it was hugely satisfying I can't remember doing this when I was in school. Competing with myself took a lot out of me.

 

 So, I am reverting back to why I join races in the first place - so I could just run regularly. My goal from now on would be to just finish the race, no matter what the time is. If I was injured and could not finish, then be it. If I got myself a medal, all the better. I would not pressure myself to run within the specified time, or go crazy over missed running days. I would not bother myself with thoughts of being underprepared or overprepared - I would just run the race, regardless. If I had to be sweeped off by the sweeper bus, I'd enjoy the ride. I want to feel happy and satisfied by just running in a race, not deflated because I missed my chance to make a PB.

 

 My inspiration for this would be my father. We have been running partners for years. When I was 17, we would wake up at the crack of dawn and run at the park, no goals no target nothing but just running. Then last year I started to run 'seriously' and he continued on his ways. My dad runs because he can, and he loves it, and well, it gives him something do to in the morning. If it was raining straight for 3 days and he couldn't run, he would not be in despair. He would tool and toil in the garden, working himself to a sweat. When he runs he has no idea where he is going, making up the route as he goes along. Only recently I noticed the change in him when I persuaded him to join for races. He became competitive and suddenly all his running did not have any 'quality'. He felt pressured to run faster and harder. He began to plan his run and would feel bad if he couldn't fit in a hill run, fearing lack of practice for the next one. He became me. One day he turned to me and said, "I am done in this racing business. Maybe I just want to run."

 

 So me and him would be doing the Energizer Night Race for 10km. And this time around it was way different than it was for Mizuno 10k and Malakoff 12k. This time we did not 'train', but we run instead. He has stopped being obsessive. He did not push himself, sometimes not running for days on end, working on his garden. Slowly, I saw him being himself again, enjoying running with his buddies, making the time to wait for other slow runners. He still runs at a faster pace than me though.

 

 There are a lot of things I wish. I wish I could run a marathon, or have the guts to compete with myself. But I was never an athlete. I am just someone who likes running. I enjoy running without a watch, or with it. I enjoy running towards the finishing line, or towards the direction of my house. I like it all, the pounding of the pavement, camarederie of other runners, or the silence of the sleeping houses.

 

This is how I want to enjoy my run, as you do yours, and I'm very sure all of us are happy with our choices :) May all of us, like Kash said, get a good running workout, whatever our goals are!

 

Lazy Year End

It's less than one week to the new year. So what have you achieved?

I used to go crazy with new year's resolutions. I am a list person - I make lists of my lists - and there's nothing satisfying for a 'lister' to check things off. My list of 'Things To Do in Year So and So' used to be long and somewhat unachievable. Over the years I have wisened up and wrote down small goals that I know I could reach with only a small push or shove.

I used to write, "Run a marathon," even when I wasn't trained for a marathon. And year by year at the last week of December I would stare at that one sentence and feeling shitty because I am unable to cross it off. That's the downside of an obsessive 'lister'. You chuck out your confidence when you didn't cross out a goal.

This year, though, I had a plan. Instead of putting "run a marathon", I wrote, "run in a race". And I made my goals flexible; I could add them on or rephrase them, no pressure. "Run in a race" is much more achievable than trying to run a marathon, which would take dedication and mindset. So I did. McDonalds run.

And then, inspired, I added another one, "Run a 10k race." So this time around I had a running schedule, and I ran until 10k is an ok feat. So I did, and I remember spending the rest of the Sunday hours walking around the house feeling like I could do ANYTHING. I ran a 10k. haha. Crossing it off the list felt even sweeter.

In fitness, I believe short term goals (run in a race) are better and more efficient than long term goals (run a marathon). My sister, for instance, stopped writing "Lose 10kg in 2 months" and wrote "Cut out sugary drinks" instead. The latter goal was easier, accountable, and gives the result you can see. Then she would add more and more goals, "To use brown rice in all meals" or "Have 3 portions of veggies everyday". These small goals, when crossed off a list, make for a motivating push for my sister who has always been failing on her diets. These goals, she could control. But losing 10kgs, she couldn't not.

Anyway, here's to another year of healthy resolutions, goals and achievements. I hardly put much stock in resolutions now, since I always have continuous goals, but if I were to write my fitness resolutions, it would somewhat look like this:

(January)
- Start riding your bike! (group rides)
- Swim up to 3km (minimum)
- Cut down on eating out
- Have oatmeal for breakfast
- Go for a walk (once also good enough)

Happy New Year, everybody.