Exercise for the right side of the brain...

THE TRICK IS TO FIND THE MAN IN THE COFFEE BEANS:
After you find the guy - it's so obvious. Once you find him, you think, "Why didn't I see him immediately?"

Doctors have concluded that if you find the man in the coffee beans in 3 seconds, the right half of your brain is better developed than most people. If you find the man between 3 seconds and 1 minute, the right half of the brain is developed normally. If you find the man between 1 minute and 3 minutes, then the right half of your brain is functioning slowly and you need to eat more protein. If you have not found the man after 3 minutes, the advice is to look for more of this type of exercise to make that part of the brain stronger!
And, yes, the man is really there!!!

Blisters and pride...

This morning I completed my first fun run ever with my friend Heather (that's me on the right and Heather on the left). It was a major achievement for both of us. We are both novice runners and fun run virgins. It was tough. It was. And whilst we both had moments of desperately wanting to walk and allow the legs to recover, I am unashamedly proud to say we ran EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.

ALL 10 K I L O M E T R E S.

Not that long ago another friend Amy convinced me I could run 5kms and I didn't believe her. I said I would never make a runner and that these legs were not built to carry this body at more than walking pace. Inside, I wanted to give it a go and it didn't take much convincing for me to accept her challenge. Once I was 'up and running' (excuse the pun) I convinced Heather, that if I could do it, so could she, and so she joined us.

Within weeks (as promised) Amy had me running 5kms and was saying 10kms was definitely within reach. I listened and nodded with a mixture of enthusiasm and the glazed belief of one newly converted. That very week-end with her words still ringing in my head, I came across a flyer for the Sussans' Women's Classic and before I could think about it for too long, I had registered for the 10km run. By that evening Heather was also registered. Since that date, I have often wondered at why I committed to the 10km run and didn't go for the 5km option, but I guess for me there had to be an element of pushing outside the comfort zone.

If I was hoping for out of the comfort zone, I was not disappointed. As expected, the run was exhausting. It was forecast to be a hot day of 31 degrees and the overnight temp was only 19. By the time we arrived for the 8am start the mercury was on the rise, already hitting 21. The sun was out, and on open streets, there was little protection from the rays. It was a stunning setting along Beaconsfield Parade in Melbourne along the waterfront, but the seaside wind buffeted us nearly every step of the way. Despite the heat and the wind and the inexperience, we did it.

I am proud and amazed and relieved and yes, a little sore. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't glamorous. I have large blisters on both big toes and my face has only just returned to a normal shade 12 hours later. For me it was a major achievement and it has left me feeling somewhat lightheaded. I continue to question the use of Fun and Run in the same phrase, but it was an experience I will never forget.

My official time was 1 hour, 15 minutes and 27 seconds.

Cliff Young shuffle...

I have been running with Amy. I should say jogging. It is a steady (all be it slow) pace.

Amy has great patience and talks to keep me distracted. I try to contribute to the conversation and find it makes it easier if I can concentrate on that and not on how far I have to go. Later in the jog, my responses are a little shorter and puffier, but I am improving. She has a great policy which I love and is giving me results way and above what I was hoping for.

The rule is, no stopping no walking. I always thought the best way to start running would be to incorporate it into my walking and gradually build it up over time. NO. This is allowing the body an easy way out. Too easy to give in and not get the results I want. And so we never stop. We run. We slow down up hills and concentrate on breathing. If I start to struggle, we slow it down and then pick it up again as I recover. But we never ever stop.

I call it my Cliff Young shuffle. For those of you who don't know the name, Cliff Young, at the ripe old age of 61, shuffled his way into the record books, winning the inaugural Sydney-Melbourne ultra marathon. It is an incredible 875 kms. Pretty amazing hey!

So last night we jogged 5km! OK, it's hardly Cliff Young status, and there are probably regular runners out there who may well smirk a little at 5kms, but I am proud (and amazed) beyond belief. Fantastic achievement for someone who 3 weeks ago didn't think she could run 500 meters!

Now 10km is my new goal. Bring it on Ames, bring it on! (By the way, are these the endorphins kicking in or what??)

These 3 things I know...

I know that when I do these 3 things I feel good.
When I eat well (and avoid processed and fast foods).
When I sleep well (a good 8 hours a night or undisturbed horizontal zzzz time).
When I exercise regularly.

When all three are going well, I am energised, I stay posititve, I can deal with all the morons in the world as they don't concern me, and I can generally make it through the day without a diet/zero coke caffeine fix. As an added bonus I feel good about myself and I am SO much easier to get along with. Fewer grumbles and less snappy. There are many advantages to living a life with these small ingredients thrown in for good measure.

Three small things in reality, and yet there are days when I can barely manage one. When I wake in the morning to a foggy head and no enthusiasm for the day ahead, when all I want to do is eat junk and when I curse the day I agreed to meet a friend to go walking every morning. Laziness beckons convincingly. It is easier, is it not, to live a life of ease and distraction. And so the spinning begins and before I know it, I am feeling ordinary and there doesn't seem to be light at the end of the tunnel (is it dark outside, or am I even facing in the right direction!)

Eventually I remind myself what I am doing and that how I feel is within my control. I tell myself to snap out of it. I wake myself from my daze and having reminded myself of the solution I start once again to head along the track that leads to happiness. Seriously. It is (with a little determination) that simple. These things I know...

So. Back on track for me. Time to refocus, get fit, eat well, sleep well, feel good about myself and get happy!

Running with style...

I am not a runner. I would like to be a runner, but for some time, destiny has decided that it is not to be. As a child, my early foray into "little aths" was a mixture of humiliation and disaster. Jeering parents and sniggering fellow students destroyed any dreams of athletic success. I have enjoyed different sports since then, but speed (and endurance) have never been my strength.

Last year I decided to participate in a Melbourne based fun-run of just under 15km, all in the name of charity. I knew if I had to, I could walk the distance within the allocated time, and so I was unconcerned with having to run the entire distance. I began to train. Having been a daily walker for a couple of years now (generally 6kms by 6.30am) I decided the transition would not be THAT difficult. I would continue to walk, jog in sections until I couldn't jog any further and walk again. A slow build up to continual jogging. It all sounded so simple.

Two weeks and one twisted ankle later and my short-lived running career was over (as was my morning walk). It was a tremendous blow and I was genuinely disappointed.

Having tried it and regretted the experience, I decided I would never run a marathon and that fun-run was indeed the oxymoron I suspected it to be. Twisted ankle. Red face. Weak legs. Sweat. It wasn't pretty. And yet - there was a part of me that still wanted to give it another try...

And so, when not that long ago a friend of mine started training and managed to run a 10km fun-run in what I considered to be lightening speed, I was most impressed. I admired her for it. (And whilst it turns out, it wasn't quite lightening speed, for me it was encouraging and she has become my inspiration).

Having since trained a few of her non-running friends, she has now also become my trainer. She has promised that I will be able to run 5km in just a couple of months of regular training. I love her conviction though her confidence in me is somewhat disconcerting. I am just a little bit scared now that I will let her down and I will be her first failure.

Fear is a great motivator, especially the fear of disappointing someone you like and respect so I am now dedicated to at least giving it a go!

It's all in the preparation... and so, last week as the first training session approached, I worried over the important details. Would I be able to make the distance? Would she ever look at me the same once she had had to carry me home after I collapse in a heap? And most importantly, what was I going to wear? We are running along suburban streets and I am in despair about my running attire! OF COURSE! Forget the warm up, forget the diet, forget any preparation, the clothes "the look" are all that matters!

I consider labels, matching colours, hairstyles, head bands, shoes, socks, leggings and hoodies. Do I go the Cindy Crawford (cool and composed) or the Rocky Balboa (I mean business and I don't care what I look like) composition? These are the all important questions when starting out. Forget fitness and weight loss, it's all about looking stylish while my face turns red, I gasp for air, my legs burn and the sweat runs in trails down the side of my face! Wish me luck.