29 January 2011

Sports fanatic

I didn’t have any New Year’s resolutions. But I act as if I did! Who reads the blog would think that, in 2011, I only have been doing science and some caving. Not true! I revived my running habit, with Pete, and it’s expected another colleague will join soon. Running never became a habit in 2010, but now we got into a routine. And it feels good! And Pete is a bloke, so he is quantitative, and he was able to tell me we’re slightly faster every time we run. And as I am always up for a new challenge I put my name down for the half marathon. I never ran that far! But there’s a first time for everything.

This regular habit, though, started to show. As we run from the institute we run on asphalt. With Neil I had already found out my knees object to long distances on asphalt, but many short distances on asphalt was something I started to feel in my ankles. And I will have to be able to do 21 km on asphalt, so I’d better do something about that. And I knew my shoes, emotionally attached to them as I am, were not specifically meant for me, nor for running, nor were they still anywhere near new. So I went to a running shop and got me a new pair. They allowed me to run around on them in the street, which felt somewhat odd; getting out of a shop and legging it feels somewhat suspicious... but I got me a pair, and I look forward to trying them next week.


Don't they look fast!

I also had been wondering for months how I could improve my upper body strength; one needs that for getting out of mine shafts, and I always manage, but I want to be able to do much more demanding trips without running out of arm muscle power. And I was about to risk the wrath of my landlord by screwing a beam into a door frame when suddenly Rob showed me the existence of an apparatus that makes that unnecessary. A chin-up bar that wedges itself into the doorframe! I immediately ordered one, with the result that I had to remove a box adorned with ample sweaty and beefy blokes from my university pigeon hole, with slight embarrassment... but the device in place now, and every time I go through that door opening and I have my hands free I do a pull-up. This is going to work! Bring on the fathomless mine shafts!



One would assume I'll never get into a better shape than when I was 17 and biked to school and back every day, which was 15 km, but I am sure going to give myself a run for my money!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Wauw, Margot. Eerst positieve geluiden over zwemmen, nu een loopvirus opgelopen en fietsen doe je ook al. Zin om een keertje samen aan een triathlon mee te doen?
Veel plezier met je nieuwe schoenen en sport ze! :->

Nienke

Margot said...

Een triathlon! Ik zou voor het stuk zwemmen al een dag nodig hebben. En ik heb nog steeds nooit in mijn leven meer dan 13km achter elkaar gerend. Maar wie weet!

Anonymous said...

http://www.plymouthtriclub.co.uk/

;)

-Jeroen