Munch Madness

Yes, I've been following the basketball games. Why do you ask? ;)

Whenever I watch sports games, I feel bad about my own non-sporty physique. I am losing weight. I am toning up. But it is an incredibly slow process and on bad days, I'm still just another soft flabby person who could stand to lose a few. So I don't really want to look like a basketball player, but I wouldn't mind having a body like those cheerleaders have!

I was reading one of Pastaqueen's recent posts where she talked about her childhood dislike for outside play and sports. That clicked with me, because as a child, I was always the kid that would rather sit inside and read than go outside and play handball or kickball or swing on the monkey bars. It wasn't because those activities weren't fun, because they were. I enjoyed playing four square. I owned my own tetherball. I loved those recess sports, but I never played at school because I was ashamed of how unathletic I was. I was embarassed by how slow I ran, by how uncoordinated my motions were. So I hesitated before playing, and thus never got the practice needed to improve.

I have grown up (a little) since then, however, and I'm now avidly trying to learn all types of sports. I play some basketball with friends, take golf and tennis lessons occasionally, and dabble in whatever sport seems interesting. I'm not good at any of them yet, and I may never be. But you know what? It doesn't really matter if I will never win a tennis game, because I love playing, and that's what counts.

Since I've started really working to lose weight and get healthy, I've also begun trying new sports and forms of exercise that I would never have attempted before. I went on a hike with my roommate one afternoon, on a whim, when before I always shied away from long hikes because I hated being the last one huffing and puffing up a hill. I tried bellydancing, even though I have no dance experience and look like an idiot when trying to dance.

Trying new things just makes me want to try for more and reach further. I'm thinking of taking a dance class next quarter, as well as maybe golf. I also have some lofty long term fitness goals now too, that don't just deal with weight. I'd like to become a fitness instructor at our gym. It takes half a year of training, but I've been to most of the classes and I think I can handle it. I will need to be in better shape though and more familiar with each class in order to handle this, so I won't attempt this until at least next year or the year after. I also have another goal that I haven't told anyone because it's so far off in the future I can't even imagine myself doing it, really. But I would like to.

I want to run a marathon. I'm serious. I want to start with a 5K first, then try a half marathon, and one day, complete an entire marathon run. Great goal right? Too bad I don't have any running experience and passed gym class throughout high school by cheating on the mile run.

I’ve been looking up races and charity runs I could do, if I were in the right shape for it, and there are so many that seem tempting! I love looking at the websites and checking out the race routes, promotional giveaways, schedules, etc, so I can imagine myself actually doing the marathon. You don't know how much time I waste doing this. I'll look up races in my area, look at race maps, check schedules, start planning how to get there, what to bring, etc, and before you know it, an hour will have passed and my English paper will sit sadly unfinished (as it is doing right now).

For example, I recently came across the Wirefly National Marathon. It is a pretty new race and only in its second year. The website for the marathon is interesting to read, and it sounds like last year’s marathon was a lot of fun. This race includes both a marathon and a half marathon, no 5K though, which means that this is one race I’ll have to wait to run. Like most marathons, it’s sponsored by a company. Specifically for this marathon, it’s a company that specializes in selling cell phones (named, you guessed it, Wirefly).

The marathon is sponsoring a lot of prizes as well, which I think is a great incentive for actually running all twenty six miles (although I’d probably never win anything with my slow times). Among the possible prizes you, however, could win if you ran this race are watches, gift cards, and various amounts of cash, from $100 (awarded to the fifth place runner of the half marathon) to $1,000 (given to whoever finishes first in the full marathon).

I think the best part about this marathon is that it runs through the heart of Washington, D.C., so you’ll be able to take in the sights and sounds of the capitol city as you run your heart out. I’m a city girl at heart, so being able to run a marathon like this would be something I would love to do, if I ever possibly could. This year’s Wirefly National Marathon is happening at the end of March, so if you happen to be in the Washington, D.C. area and want to try a marthon, check it out! Here’s the site I went to: http://marathon.wirefly.com. If that doesn’t work, try searching on google.*

Happy (fitness goal) dreaming!

*Hey look, is that google search box I see on the right side of this page? It might be!