A 10km Xmas Gift for Me
On this fine Christmas Eve morning, I woke up with a plan. I was going to do my first solo 10km run, using the 10km race mission in Zombies, Run! This would be my Christmas gift to myself. I’ve been working up to doing the 10k race mission over the past few weeks, increasing the lengths of my weekly long run, but I still knew I would be “feeling it” when I did the 10km.
I decided to do the pre-run yoga sequence in the Yoga for Runners App to warm up for my run then off I went. I was happy the roads were completely clear and it wasn’t raining nor was it very cold. It was a perfect day for a run. After I made it to the 8km mark, I was definitely feeling it in my muscles and joints, but I pushed on. I even increased my speed a little at that point, wanting to see how close I could get to doing the 10km in 1 hour. My final was 1 hour and 4 minutes. Not bad, I thought to myself. As I finished my cool-down walk, I knew I needed a good stretch so I finished off with the post-run yoga sequence from Yoga for Runners, which was perfect for stretching me out after the long run. I then made a protein and fruit power shake and brewed myself a nice cup of Rooibos tea. This was my Christmas gift to myself.
I know most people associate Christmas with relaxing, spending time with family and friends, and indulging in holiday treats, and I do too. But that’s not all. It’s also a time for self-reflection, for looking back on the year and thinking about what I’ve done and how I’ve grown. My fitness and physical skills are part of that. These are gifts we give to ourselves to remind us that we’re alive and able to continually stretch our concept of what we think we’re capable of. This time last year I wouldn’t of dreamed of doing a 10km run on my own just because. That’s why today’s run was a gift to myself, to show myself how far I’ve come with my running, among other things.
And it’s only going to get better.
I’ve met a number of people who are interested in trying out some races, like Run for Your Lives, the Spartan Race, and other similar events. Again, last year I wouldn’t have imagined entering a race just for the fun of it. Now, I see it as a fun challenge. Of course, I am still continuing to challenge myself in my martial arts training with a plan to train up and test for dark blue belt in Shorinji Kan Jiu jitsu this coming April (a different style of Jiu jitsu I have been training in), but it’s nice to expand my horizons in other ways, ones that will only complement my martial arts training.
Happy Holidays! Thanks for continuing to read and support our blog. 🙂
Do you maintain your physical training over the holidays or do you prefer to take a break from it to enjoy the season? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please share in the comments. 🙂
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Merry X-mas to you and your family. You seem to have a very positive attitude towards life, I wish I could share your optimism. I guess Plato was right: some people are just natural optimists while others are of another bend. In the end it doesn’t matter anyway (all of us arrive in port without sail and mast as Schopenhauer put it) and we’re really nothing more than a spec of dust in the universe: life to me seems at times a comedy and at other times a tragedy, more often the latter when I consider how much suffering this world contains and how little people actually care aslong as they’re not personally affected.
“To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.” (Shakespeare, Macbeth)
Sorry to be so gloomy, I guess sometimes I’m overtaken by reflection and I don’t really see much reason for cheerfulness, even (or especially) in this season of largely artificial and commercial merriment. I’ll be glad when the madness is over again, I always feel like a bad actor this time of year plus I tend to overeat and drink which I regret later on.