One thing that I can honestly say I like better about Connecticut than Michigan is I have better running routes. Everyone knows I have been in a fitness rut (hell, for a few months after moving I was just in a general rut). But lately, with the return of sunshine and 50+ degree weather (and a looming half-marathon) I have really made an effort to get outside again. I ran so much over the past week that I realized I was long overdue for new running shoes (shame on me - I've been wearing the same pair since the 2006 Detroit Free Press half-marathon).
Here in New London, I can have water views for a whole run if I like - all I have to do is run down Pequot Avenue. A three-mile round trip run gets me to a white sand beach and back (won't summer be fun with a beach 1.5 miles away?) I could even run to work if wanted to - and I intend to start doing that this week in a desperate attempt to log some miles. I clocked it in my car - it's only about 2.5 miles, and there are sidewalks almost the whole way. A seven or eight mile loop could get me to Harkness State Park and back (and if I can't run an eight mile loop by this weekend, I am in serious trouble for Indy).
So running has been good for me - I have discovered something I can honestly say I prefer to Michigan (running through subdivisions got pretty boring). However, taking up running again has made me realize how out of shape I have truly let myself become, and I am pretty disgusted with myself in that aspect.
The picture above is me and my dad when we ran the half-marathon in Nashville last April. I ran three half-marathons and a couple 10-Ks between October 2006 and August 2007. I was also playing outdoor soccer once a week in the spring and playing tennis up to three times a week in the summer. Believe it or not, this was not my MOST fit. But I was in pretty decent shape considering we had cookouts every Friday and drank beer and mojitos on the porch all summer.
It's not completely my fault - I don't have the sports teams or lessons that I had readily available in Michigan (for those of you who were wondering - I never did find a soccer league, and I asked EVERYONE. Sports in Southeastern Connecticut are only for Electric Boat and Pfizer people). But if I don't have the teams and the lessons, I need to be out there running or walking or going to the gym. I am in such worse shape now I can't even stand to think about it. It's not that I have gained so much weight, but I have lost a lot of my muscle and pretty much all my endurance.
I can't sit here and be unhappy about this anymore. I also can't continue to bitch and moan and use not having a soccer team or tennis lessons as an excuse. It's up to me to fix this problem - but I am allowed to be pissed at myself for letting it get to this point.
1 comment:
You completely lost me with those Red Wings posts, so thank you for posting this. :) If it makes you feel any better, I'm sure you're in much better shape than me! Then again, being in better shape than the gimp isn't exactly something to brag about. :)
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