Inside the mind of a woman

There was a time about 3 years ago when I could not imagine a life void of physical activity. I loathe couch potatoes and the TV only serves me at night when I watch late night shows while trying to sleep. I was always on the move, had a busy schedule at and outside work. There was no time for sitting still. I was so much into sports and badminton,  playing with different groups and even training for competitive games. I thrived in competition and the courts was where I lived, breathed and eventually fell in love.

Later on, I was faced with making a difficult decision that resulted in my giving up the regular games, becoming a food blogger, and becoming what I hated most – a couch potato. Years of having my buns sticking on the sofa has cursed me into a sick, overweight, depressed human being.

The opportunity to go back to exercising and eventually to a healthier lifestyle came about two months ago when the doctor told me I was sick and needed to lose weight to become well again. So I started with food. I gave up soda. From someone who had cases in stock of coke zero to someone who doesn’t drink soda at all is a feat. It was a difficult journey to be in but I am still traveling down that road. Just don’t tempt me with an ice cold glass of my favorite soda. I have also now turned to eating mostly fish, chicken and vegetables. I still eat pork sometimes or even beef but stay away from fried or fatty dishes.

As for exercise, well I have signed up at the gym and do 15 minute weight sessions at home with my kettlebell. So I confidently signed up for my first race – the Century Tuna Superbods run 2010. I registered for the 3K as I don’t think my body or my blood pressure can take more than that. I was apprehensive and feared I would not be able to finish even the 3K but my friends cheered me on.

Come race day, I woke up at 4am and set out for Bonifacio High Street. The streets leading BHS were already crowded with cars and I had to settle for parking in one of the open fields surrounding the area. There were tons of runners! Every street and corner was littered with people in their race shirts and running shoes, stretching and warming up before the guns go off.

And we were off. Because of the volume or runners, it took about 2 minutes before we even passed the starting mark. The atmosphere was charged with so much energy as my friends and I jogged with thousands of others. At the first turn, I noticed many had started walking. I myself had to settle for brisk walking as I felt my sides were about to break. I let my friends go ahead as I didn’t want to hold them back. I resolved to finish the race on my own. I found that brisk walking was much harder on my legs and knees so every 2 minutes or so I went back to jogging. What kept me going was the opportunity to people watch. I was amazed at the different people that turned up for the event. It was interesting to watch the different types of personalities that I crossed paths with.

Just when my body and my legs were getting used to the pace, I reached the finish line. I finished the 3K route as one of the last runners but at less than 1 hour (which is what I expected to finish in), I was proud of my time.

My body felt sick for a week and my legs were sore for days after the race but I was on high spirits hopeful that I can turn around my life and go back to being my old self again.