Joy and Nomi took the plunge and signed up for their first 10km running race ever in May 2010 in Singapore at the Sundown Race event...Then they trained for a half marathon in the fall of 2010, Joy's in Canada and Nomi's in Malaysia...Then, they finished their second-ever half marathon in Singapore May 2011 at the Sundown Race event, but this time they ran together!

Then their sporting paths diverged: Nomi went on to run marathons while Joy learned how to ride a bike. This blog charts their progress from 2010 to 2012.

Read their blog to see what their sporting adventures look like or just look at the pictures of Canada's capital city and Malaysia's capital city. You can choose the "follow" option or subscribe via email to be notified of updates. (You can start reading/skimming their first entries from the summer of 2010 or just jump right in, reading from any point you like. The "Archives" will be your guide.)

Thursday, April 7, 2011

"Ah ha" Moment: Just me and my Keyboard

Joy here...Okay, I've written about the "double double" before, basically doing two workouts in one day (what triathletes call a "brick", i.e. stacking one workout discipline upon another, something that is necessary for a three-sport event like triathlon).  I've also written about adding strength training with a personal trainer to my regular regime of running and cycling/spinning to bring in elements of cross training to help build strength and avoid injury.  I even wrote about doing a triple workout - spinning, strength training, and running - all in one day.  So if you have read this blog, or look at some of the archived entries that I've linked to today's entry, you'll be familiar with the fact that while I'm trying to improve my running, I'm also riding my bike, doing strength training exercises, and even going out climbing every week.

What I've now realized is that as I've used this blog to chart my own progress and keep a record for myself, I've also wanted my friends and family (including Nomi in Malaysia) to see what I've been up to and be inspired in their own journeys, whatever they may look like.  However, I think that the more I use this blog as a way of logging training information, the less likely people will be interested in reading it.  You see, I still think of myself as an unfit, average gal just looking for health and balance in life.  But I'm beginning to see that others might think of me as an "athlete."  What is different between being an "average gal" and being an "athlete" is that people are interested/inspired by the "average gal," but not so much by the "athlete."  I totally get this.  I mean, I never watched marathons or was into sports, because I just thought to myself "hell, I'm not some Kenyan; they're like pure bread elite athletes, so what do they have to teach me?"  I mean, I thought that watching elite athletes was just like watching horse racing or something...basically something terribly alien to me and my life.  And I still feel that way.  I'd much rather watch the Iron Man footage of the age group athletes than the professionals.  I'd much rather watch a 10km race and see the people finishing and meeting their own various goals than watching a 2hour marathon runner in peak condition.  Now I don't mean to say I'm in the latter's league (because I'm not emphatically NOT), but I guess I'm having what Oprah would call an "ah ha" moment.

Back in the fall I wrote about asking my friends to head out for an easy peasy 12km run, and having them laugh at me for that.  The assumptions I made at that point is that everyone is more fit than I am, and therefore, if I can do something, so can my friends around me, who are superior to me in every way. Now I find myself making the similar assumption.  I assume that anyone out there reading this blog is a superior athlete or at least capable of doing what I can do, and now I must grapple with the fact that people don't want to read about someone doing something they can't do.  My sister put it to me simply when I asked her if she had read the blog lately and she said:  "I don't read it because I don't want to feel like shit about myself."  How could my journey to run a marathon make her feel like shit about herself?  How is that possible?  I couldn't figure it out, but then I realized that I've lost any audience I might have had, and thus have to reconcile myself to the fact that this writing is for me.  I can no longer imagine a readership of supportive friends and family taking the opportunity to see what goes on inside my little brain.  Instead it's just me and my keyboard.

So this will continue to be my own little diary, and as with all diaries, the reader is also the writer.  A bit solipsistic, yes, I know, but there you have it (or there I have it, I suppose!).

So, Joy, here are your workout stats for today:
(1)  Spinning class:  Rode for 1:03:32 with an average heart rate of 128 beats/min.
(2)  Strength training:  Worked out with our trainer for an hour, lifting weights and doing body weight exercises.
(3)  Running:  Ran for 1:06:33 for a distance of 10.74km with an average pace of 6:12min/km (with 4 strides).

And while I'm proud of my triple workout day, I know that I'm the only one reading this, and so my own pride is as good as it gets!

Over and out,
Joy
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