So I have finally decided to get back into the whole fitness thing. I genuinely miss the aching muscles the day after a brilliant work out and the feeling I get after a run. It's not even about thinness anymore (okay maybe it is a little, all that chocolate is catching up with me!). I don't think I'll ever be as motivated as I was during my military fitness/healthy eating stint and, seeing as I no longer have the pressure to be beach ready, I know I'll need more than a little push to get back into things.
Luckily my job comes with free gym membership (did I mention I also get free diet coke? Yeah that's job satisfaction for you) and, as most of my office seems to be on some kind of fitness kick, there's certainly no shortage of gym buddies. Funnily enough, I haven't actually made it to the gym yet (what? Talking about exercise isn't enough?) however did manage to go out with the running club last week. I knew it would be a bit of a struggle seeing as I haven't properly exercised yet this year (apart from one pathetic run) however I didn't quite anticipate feeling so sick as we were made to sprint up and down the car park. Nor did I realise I would practically need to be dragged as we ran up and down the steps to the Cathedral (my calves are still not back to normal...).
It was also strange to class myself as a 'beginner' again. Having already trained to a stage where I could complete a half marathon in a decent time, it's kind of disheartening to be back at the start line when it comes to my fitness levels. I mean I wasn't that bad during the running session, however I certainly have my work cut out if I want to enter another race (which I think is pretty essential if I want to stay motivated for longer than a week).
I have actually always wanted to run a marathon however I know I'm not in a place in my life where I could committ so much time to training (that's probably more down to laziness than being particularly busy). Instead I quite like the idea of doing another half marathon but possibly somewhere more exotic than Liverpool this time. I have been talking to Kathyrn about doing one in Paris (a bit Bangs and a Bun style!) however, for me, the main attraction is the number of macaroons we could consume for energy purposes. There's also a 10K through the Mersey Tunnel which I've always wanted to do and might be a more realistic aim for now.
Anyway despite all of this talk, I'm still yet to go for my second run (I'm blaming the aching calves) however I have high hopes for next week! The plan is one running session (with the running club) and two exercise classes a week which I will then step up when I have a bit of discipline back. Despite knowing how great I will feel after some exercise, it's likely I will either need a friend physically dragging me to the gym or a big piece of cake waiting for me at the end of a run (preferably both) in order for me to follow through with this fitness pact. Maybe I should carry some photos of macaroons around with me as a reminder that every run will be one step closer to the Paris Half Marathon- forget thinspiration, foodspiration is where it's at!
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