RUN FOR THE CURE 2006 Motivation

It matters not why I run for this 5 km charity run. For charity, perhaps?

This post is more about how to motivate oneself to run. People are reported to do physical exercise when they are depressed or idle. But how do you gather enough strength to get up and go?

1. Pick a moment when you're sure nothing is going to happen. Give yourself an hour or so.


2. Drink some water. You're going to need it.


3. Put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. Put on some sport socks. Put on your shoes. Now you have no excuse.


4. Run a bit. Then walk a bit. Then run a bit more. Then heave a couple of breaths and walk a bit. Then run a bit more. But don't turn around.


5. Once you're through for the day, note where you have arrived. Then go home and have a good long drink. OF WATER.


6. Tomorrow, you're going to run to that point.

Here are some downsides to running outside, before you tell me that you experienced such-and-such and never want to do it again:

• Embarrassing moments of tripping on garbage, rocks, sidewalks, your own feet: Check.


• More athletic people passing you: Check.


• Less athletic people passing you: Check.


• Rather ignorant kids taunting you: Check.


• Rather ignorant and stupid kids calling out racial epithets: Check. :(


• Little doggies running at you barking: Check. Hell, I almost kicked it today.

But here are the upsides:

• People walking on the street encouraging you: Check. :):):):):)


• Turning a not-so-pasty white colour: Check.


• Kids actually saying hi for some reason: Check. ?_?


• Noticing your new shoes are dirtier and wearing down: CHECCCCKKK. @_@


• Self-motivated goals more easily achieved: Check.

The last one is because if you are on a treadmill, you can always tell yourself you're through and quit the machine, sit down, and swig some Vector water or Ethos water, or whatever the hell it's called.¹ When you're outside, you don't really have that option, so you mentally have to push yourself to further lengths. Because 5 km is a kind of a long walk home anyway.

¹I condone the buying and selling of water only when it's necessary. For instance, when you're out in the middle of nowhere and dehydration sets in. On the other hand, it makes as much sense to privatize clean water as it does to privatize clean air. Why must we turn to such alternatives? LOLz Anyway, keep hydrated.

The Body is Willing

I've spent a lot of time in the last few years sitting. Sitting. That's not even for a job. Just sitting. And probably a few hours jogging. Then sitting.

There are three things going on in my head. Firstly, I don't really understand how other people are able to secure jobs (in the plural). I don't understand because secondly, I can't see myself knocking on employters' doors or ringing them up and demanding attention because I feel so woefully inadequate for every single job posting that exists. Thirdly, I feel like I haven't learned anything and have regressed to a period when I was similarly being berated in high school for not being ambitious and money-grubbing like "all my peers."

God, I need to get out of this city. *weeps*

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My mum's sushi boss apparently had this happen to her yesterday. She was sleeping and woke up to part of a wall hanging over her head.

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