Some Exercise Too Many Excuses

As a kid  I use to participate in Indian runs when we had physical education, in the military they used to call them Fartlek runs.

Fartlek that according to Wikipedia means “speed play” in Swedish, consists of running a certain distance at a higher speed and slowing down your pace or walking for a few minutes in intervals.

Around March I stopped running my usual 6-7 miles a day.  It’s September and almost every day I remind myself I have to get into a routine but I procrastinate and leave it for another day.

An excuse always arises which makes me skip my daily run.  

Some of the excuses in my head can be that my daughter did not take a nap (no excuse because Lucy takes care of her most of the time), or I did not drink enough water for a long run, I have a deadline on a project, I have to write/edit a blog post or three, and the list of excuses can run longer than what I could physically run. Looking at these excuses helps me realize that the real reason I don’t go running is because I make up too many excuses.

In the meantime while I keep thinking of getting back into running, I have been doing quarter to half-mile runs. I also combine them with some sprints when I take Juanga out for walks.

JuanGa, my black Labrador, was used to having a backyard where he could run and play all day. Now being in the apartment, which he seems to enjoy because of the cool ocean breeze and movement of people (he loves to people watch), he does not do much running unless I take him out.

These short runs are a lot more exercise than what I usually get and are probably about the same amount of running that Juanga use to do at the other house.

I know Juanga needs the exercise and I am not prepared to release him off leash; a major reason for this is the many unbalanced dogs that roam the beach. This way I get the benefit of the exercise while I do something fun with Juanga.

I recently went back to the gym. This is another step on the road towards getting myself into a better shape.

So far with a minimum of 3 walks a day plus some running, I have lost some weight and I might need a project soon to be able to upgrade to jeans that can fit me.

With only subtle changes, I am seeing results than were not expected. This makes me feel better and also helps me fit into some clothes I had not used.

As I change one small thing at a time seeking better quality of life, I can see how it accumulates into greater things long term.

What are you going to change today?

Maybe going for a 1-mile walk with your family and/or pets? Go for it!