Sweat Once a Day

Sweat once a day to regenerate your skin.

~ Lululemon

Sometimes the simplest things in life can become the most complicated overall. When I first read this quote from Lululemon’s manifesto, it caught my eye because it was so simple. There’s no pressure as to exactly how much sweating needs to be done. Nothing to day what a person has to do to get their sweat on. It just is as simple as “sweat once a day.” Easy.


01.05.2011

“Sweat once a day.” Seems simple enough a concept and yet I find myself struggling with it. Maybe it’s the busy schedule that I find I am full of excuses (the most common being that I’m “too tired”). Maybe it’s the increasingly cool weather that causes me to hesitate in getting out of bed in the morning 0 much less leave my cabin. Maybe it’s that I’m just plain lazy. It’s not like anyone is pushing me to work out – plus I’m due to put on a little winter weight – right?

Truth be told – I think the real reason I am struggling is because of the half marathon looming ahead. I’m scared of what it will be like. I’m scared of failing. But the thing is – it’s easier to accept failure when I have control over it (ie: choosing not to train) than it is to give it my all and end up falling short. The reality is – when I really think about it – I want to succeed more than I fear failure. I spose it’s best to get my butt in gear and let a few drops of sweat fall.

*****

Well – the day’s now done and I look ahead to tomorrow knowing I can do better than today. Sure, I did my bit – went to work, drank water, did yoga and sweat on the bike, but I know I can step it up. Take it up a notch. Tomorrow will be the day I stop the “I think I can” and change it to “I will” – I know what I have to do. I just need to do it.

I started off my journey with this portion of the manifesto full of gusto. I was ready to go. I knew I needed to train for the half marathon and having the little voice in the back of my head telling me that my absolute baseline for each day would be to just break a sweat at some point. That was all, and yet that simple baseline I knew was not near enough for what I wanted to be doing for training for the half marathon. It wasn’t just the fact that I was setting out to complete a half marathon (which I have never done before), but it was that I had also just finished walking the length of the country. I didn’t want to be a disappointment – to myself – in completing the half marathon. I knew what I would be capable of doing given what I was doing while completing Te Araroa Trail and I knew that as time has passed, my fitness levels have been slowly dropping due to my lifestyle balancing out and becoming more “normal.”


05.05.2011

Some days I find it really funny how my brain works. As time has gone on, I am finding it more and more difficult to stay motivated to maintain my “sweat once a day” mantra. I’m still doing it – but the motivation is greatly decreasing. Instead of just kicking my butt in gear, I find the excuses building a stockpile in my head. It’s getting colder. The sun is rising later and I don’t like running in the dark. I’m tired – too tired. I’m becoming busier with everything going on. I’m bored. I honestly don’t feel like it.

As all these thoughts go through my head – my exercise has deteriorated to next to nill. As a result, my energy levels continue to drop, my body feeling like that of a slug. I’ve started noticing slight changes in my skin and muscle definition that isn’t so appealing. Not to mention my stress levels are increasing and my outlook on life is struggling to stay upbeat. Like I said – funny how the brain works. Or at least my brain.

Now, I know that my fitness level is still quite high in comparison to the average person and that it’s not as if I’ve completely fallen off the wagon food-wise, but I also know that I am lying to myself if I were to say I’m happy with where I am at. The truth is – I know what I need to do to be on track and the only reason I’m having a tough time is because no one’s telling me what to do. I don’t “have” to push myself nor do I “have” to keep reaching for my goals. It’s all on my shoulders. It’s up to me. So if I know all this –I suppose it’s time for me to just do it and quit stalling as I continuously try to explain myself.




Half marathon to the left; 10km to the right

 As the days continued to fly by me and the day of the half marathon loomed closer, I became increasingly more excited and more terrified of that big day. I knew I could still do better in training, but I also knew that what was done was done and I couldn’t turn back time. I could only make the best of what time I did have left. I switched my treasured morning runs to the afternoons so I could get rid of the excuse that I was “too tired” or it was “too early” or “too cold.” Instead, I did my work-for-accommodation in the morning before heading off to St. James to do housekeeping. Then there were no excuses. By the time I got back to the camp in the afternoon, the day would have warmed up and it was still light enough outside to go running. And so run I did, cramming my last few days with pushing myself a little bit harder in hopes of breaking past the mental block of questioning my ability to do the half marathon.


07.05.2011

Today’s the day. The day of the half marathon. All things considered, I feel pretty chill about the entire thing. I’ve decided to compare the half marathon to some experience I’ve had with Te Araroa Trail and the truth is – there is no comparison. The distance I’ll do today on foot would have taken about 4 hrs with my pack on – today it will take about half that time. There’s no mountains to climb – only 2 small hills. No rivers to cross or trails to find. Plus, at the end of it all it will be the end. A shower and meal is what awaits me.

Not to say that today won’t be difficult. It’s drizzling rain outside and the temperature is cool. But I’m determined to do this. I WILL do it.

Yesterday I concentrated my efforts on sweating my way up the first hill of the route – 2km of up and I was at the top before I knew it. Going into this today knowing that I can do that hill, regardless of the fact that it’s pretty much the beginning of the run, helps tremendously. So yup. 21km. Half a marathon. I’m stoked, but so terrified. My goal in this? Finish it without stopping. Just keep going. And going. And going. Period.

Still all smiles after 2hrs and 20min
running in the rain

And so it is done. Finished. Over. Complete. I find it amazing how I can spend so much time and energy in the buildup of one event only to have it over in the blink of an eye. Okay, maybe it wasn’t over THAT quickly, but still. I did do it. I did what I set out to do. Yesterday I completed the half marathon and did it without stopping. Not only that, but in doing so, I was not the last to finish (not by a long shot) and I managed to finish under my ultimate goal of less than 2.5hrs. I did it in 2hrs and 20min.

I woke up yesterday to find the skies grey and it drizzling rain. I tried to look on the positive side that at least the sun wouldn’t be blinding in my eyes and at least there was no snow on the ground. All I had to run in was my Five Fingers shoes, which aren’t exactly the warmest pair of footwear when the ground is cold. The weather was only a minor part of my thought process. I was stoked that it was the day to do the half marathon. It was time.

Alex and I arrived at the sports complex to get ready to go (she did the 10km run) and by the time the half marathon group set off, the rain was starting to get a little heavier. I was just glad I had previously done the first hill of the route as it allowed me to focus on my pace and forget about all the people stampeding too fast up the hill in the mud that was quickly forming on the track. Making it to the top of that 2km stretch of hill was exhilarating and even more so when I knew that the next few KM would be downhill.

By the time I made it to the first water station around the 5km mark, I was feeling good. The next few KM went just as smoothly until the 2nd hill loomed ahead. Given that this was near the halfway point, it shattered my mental focus – my body wasn’t ready for it. So I made it halfway and then power walked up the rest to the second water station. Then it was downhill again. From then on it was a mission of simply following the people in front of me as we wove our way in and out of the forest, across cold-water streams and around increasingly large muddy patches. By the time I reached the third water station at about 16km my feet were starting to get cold and my muscles tensing up. The air had cooled and the rain had increased, making it a potential recipe for disaster if I didn’t keep going. I didn’t want my muscles to cramp up and I refused to give up. I wanted to finish. I needed to finish.

Eventually I approached the sign to say that there was only 1km left to go. I was stoked. I had made it to the final stretch and I couldn’t be happier. Rounding the corner to the school field, I barely noticed the people cheering everyone over the finish line. I was too busy taking into account the big timer that told me I was finishing under 2.5hrs. I was ecstatic. I had pushed myself further than I ever thought I could go while running and I had done it in miserable weather in Five Finger shoes.



21km in Five Fingers - love it

 That won’t be the end of me either. Getting back to the camp to have a hot shower and put on dry clothes, I knew that I was hooked. I know I am not quite ready to jump into doing full marathons or anything, but the half marathon is definitely something I would love to do again. Sweating once a day in preparation for the half marathon was only the beginning. I want that to become part of my entire lifestyle. The high I get from completing something like that half marathon far exceeds the difficult bits of being tired, cold or otherwise unmotivated. Doing it to regenerate my skin is just a bonus.