After the Rain

The landscape is saturated with the smell of warm, wet grass. It was raining an hour ago. I’m going for a quick run.

The Olympic Games

How are you enjoying the Beijing Olympic Games so far? My favourite events (shared by many I’m sure) are gymnastics, track & field athletics (sprints in particular), diving and swimming. Lately I’ve been watching a lot of weightlifting, beach volleyball, archery, fencing and judo.

I’ve never been a fan of long distance events but I watched part of the 245km cycling road race (which saw Spain’s Samuel Sanchez taking the gold) on Saturday and boy was I blown away by the amazing display of endurance – 6 and a half hours of continuous cycling!

As a child I dreamed about becoming a perfect 10 gymnast like Nadia Comaneci – gracefully athletic yet beautifully composed. I’m about two decades too late to start working on that dream so right now my participation is mostly confined to non-competitive sideline activities such as keeping track of the different colours and designs of the dresses worn by the ushers Olympic hostesses, finding out things like “Why do athletes bite their medals?” and guessing how many world records Michael Phelps would break – my guess was 4! Looks like I’m wrong!

Two decades ago, I wouldn’t know about things such as match-fixing, doping or the “Free Tibet” controversy that surrounded this Olympic games. All athletes were like heroes to me and the Olympics, the biggest stage to show the human mettle. Maybe that is the best way to enjoy the games.

What is your favourite Olympic sport? Do you have an Olympic dream?

Running Can Be Fun
Psyching Myself Into Running Regularly

I started running last week. I couldn’t sleep the night after the first run because my knees were in terrible pain. I need better shoes. I need to do this more than twice a week. I want to achieve a healthy, toned body worthy of a Nike ad.

No I do not enjoy running. I love strolling, yes, but not running. When I run, I don’t have time to take in the scenery, smell a flower, or notice a ladybird, nope, no time for that, I have to run. But running is free and an activity I can jump into without much planning – I don’t have to book a tennis court, check whether its a good time to drop by the public pool or find someone to play with. It’s also something I can do without worrying too much about how my bum would look like to the person behind me in aerobics class or accidentally letting out a loud one in the middle of a halasana.

I will not wait for my muscles to atrophy to realise the importance of regular exercise. I do not need an unpleasant wake-up call to shake me into a healthy routine. I do not want to be in a position where I’d say “I should have exercised regularly then”. Until I find a more enjoyable way to keep fit, I will stick to running. No excuses. Health is not something I’d take for granted. It’s something I have to constantly work on because I am solely responsible for my body. I will not run away from my responsibility. Because of that I will simply RUN.

I just checked out The Fit Shack and coincidentally, my latest post is an exercise of the suggestions in JoLynn’s latest post. ;)