I was at the pub on Wednesday night, getting red wine, when I returned to my girlfriends mid-conversation. They asked me, "What do you feel guilty about?" I considered it, trying to think of something more profound than my first reaction - exercise - only to finally give in and answer, "I should do more exercise".
They laughed. They had all said the same thing. (Although one girl also felt guilty about not calling her gran more.)
The same niggling guilt hit me today when I walked past my gym this morning on the way to a cafe. Oh well, I thought looking at the time on my mobile, I had missed the 10am pump class - and most certainly the 8am yoga class. Maybe I can go on a jog later. Maybe.
So, I have signed up for an online fitness progam, and am hoping that written goals and someone else paying attention to my outcomes will make me achieve more. (Just like at work. It's hard to get something done if you just have a vague notion of what it is you want to do.)
So, my goal is to run the City to Surf faster than I did last year. It's a 14km run from Sydney's city centre to Bondi Beach. In fact, I think it's the largest fun run in the world.
Last year I surprised myself by running the entire distance. I was only going to run half of it, and then walk. But at each km marker, I thought, I'll just run to the next marker... And then finally I thought, I'm going to run the whole bloody thing. And I did. Even up the famous killer, "heartbreak hill", as most people stopped to walk.
I ran it in just under 90 minutes, which means I can join a faster group this year up the front.I get to wear a differnt coloured bib, identifying me as amazingly special and talented. OK, not really, but it means I won't be running around big groups of walkers, people dressed up as superman and parents with their prams.
So this week started out well. I went for a jog on Sunday (but lost my puff after 20 minutes - mind you, it was all up hill). On Monday, I did a aerobics class with hand held weights... But that's been it... OK maybe I should go on that jog today. Run away the guilt. Or ignore it. Hm. 30 minute run = hours of self righteousness v extra 30 mins of relaxation = niggling guilt.
Stay tuned.
