It’s fair to say I’m easily bored. Or maybe just easily distracted. Probably both. I like trying new things, and the more you try, the more you find out about other new things and before you know it there are so many new things to try that….in my case apathy takes over and I end up either doing nothing.  Either because I don’t know where to start, or i find excuses not to try in case it all goes tits up. At other times, I start lots of things and never finish them. I am nothing if not consistently inconsistent, and as such, extremely annoying, especially to myself, and undoubtedly to others. Often I wish I was different because I frustrate myself, but then again who else would I want to be? I’m also known for starting down some rambling path towards an important point before going off on a tangent and forgetting where I was heading for in the first place (which is pretty much the motto of this blog).

Anyhoo, I like a challenge, and I’ve been thinking about this lately as I’m soon to embark on the second the three courses for an online PgCert that I’m studying. I love learning, and while I’m not the brightest spark there ever was, I know that if I apply myself and spend time assimilating information, and reading around it, I’ll figure out what I need to and be able to write essays or sit exams and pass them. That’s not to say I’ve never failed, but I can usually do fairly well if I set my mind to it. 

For me, facing a mental challenge like that is so much easier than a physical one. Somehow it feels as though I know my brain is capable of a lot more than I usually demand of it, so if I spend time mentally exercising it, it’ll see me right. The thought of physical challenges fill me with much more trepidation. When you’re always the fat kid in class and get slagged off because of it for years, I guess embracing your physicality is never going to be high up your list of priorities. So I’ve never really pushed myself physically. I’ve finished two marathons but the time of the last one was so slow that I think if set off now at a fast walking pace I could complete the distance in the same time, maybe even a bit quicker.  Those days of getting slagged off (to my face at least! Who knows – or cares- what folk say behind my back?) are far back in the past now, but the idea of never pushing myself because  “what’s the point? I’ll never be sporty…” remains, even if most of the time it’s a subconscious thought. 

I do go through periods of being fitter, when I get into a good routine of going to the gym and (funnily enough!) feel the benefits so then I keep at it. Knock out a week though, for whatever reason when life gets in the way, and that lack of toughness when it comes to  pushing myself physically kicks in, and suddenly weeks have gone by and I’ve not been to the gym. 

This year I’ve managed to get back into running, and because I’ve stopped worrying about times, I’ve been enjoying it a lot more. I’ve finished 5 events this year (5 or 10ks) and my 6th is coming up this weekend. I love the feeling of being in amongst a pack of runners (even if they’re all in front of me) and getting a medal makes it all worthwhile. On the downside though, I’ve slacked off totally on the gym work, and it’s come back to bite me in the ass, or should I say the knee, as my left knee has been bothering me lately. Consistent inconsistency rears its idiot head again. 

So the upshot of all of this is that while my mental muscles will soon be getting a good flexing, it’s time I started to embrace the same focus for my body. Body and mind are so linked of course, and recently slacking off the good food/exercise has left me feeling shit and moody and just generally a bit bleurgh. I need to push myself physically, even if that just means increasing daily movement, nailing the weekly run and gym targets to get the consistency back. Once that’s in place and the weight starts coming off again (it has plateaued) then I can start to think about improving speed in my running, weights at the gym etc. 

When I monitor everything it works better, so I figure I might as well use this blog to track progress, use it as a record of what I’m trying out (diet wise etc.) to monitor what works, what doesn’t and plan out ideas for the future. So be prepared for more frequent ramblings in the future 🙂