Running with Depression

As if exercise wasn't hard enough to do or fit into your 'busy' diary, you somehow have to find some inner strength to not only put on some workout clothes but to actually go out and work up a sweat. Quite frankly this has not happened for me.

Where is that inner strength? Where has the passion for fitness gone? ...it's simple, my dog ate it.

I have a black dog and its name is depression. It follows me everywhere and consumes every part of my life. Learning to live with a black dog is difficult. Learning to control your black dog is even harder. Things I used to like, love and enjoy are simply a long cardiac arrest of doing nothing. You just lay there. Motionless. Emotionless.

I keep waiting for the moment the light bulb will come on, the moment you get slapped in the face with reality, the moment you stick up two fingers at your black dog and say I'm going to do what I want.

....but it doesn't come.

My friends do their best with their researched 'things to say (and not) to someone who has depression' but at the end of the day, their lack of understanding my exact position is my ammunition to keep them at arms length.

But something has changed. A change that was bound to happen and a change that only I can change its course. My body has inevitably changed shape due to my lack of exercise. The point has come where I don't like how my body has become. I miss my athletic toning. I miss my physical strength. I miss my endurance. It's time to get it back. It's time to be in charge again.

I've signed up for a half marathon later in the year. In a few months actually. My friends are surprised. 'Why not a 5k or a 10k?' 'You don't make things easy on yourself'. I'm not surprised of their initial lack of support. They know how their 'fitness freak' friend has become the anti-workout one. The fact of the matter is this. I don't see a half marathon as a big deal. No matter what race I signed up for it would still require the same from me; commitment, desire, sticking to a schedule. I don't know if I'm going to run the whole 13.1 miles but I will complete it. The added bonus of this race. It's in a place where I have a great friend. A super added bonus is my great friend has an equally great other half I consider a friend too. So not only will I get to do a race, get another medal for my bedroom post, but also see two friends (of whom I don't see much of due to geography).

13.1 is my number and I'm gunning for it.

Man Eater !!

Here is an exercise routine if you feel adventurous :-)

20 chin ups
30 sit ups
40 push ups
50 squats

5 sets.
1 minute rest between sets.
No rest between reps.

For the animal in you :-)

Photo: my cat. all rights retained

Silver Race

Ready, set.... go !!! Amongst thousands of runners, back in March we ran our socks off round Silverstone race circuit in what for many of us was our preparation for London marathon.

This race is iconic to me. From a little girl spending my Sunday afternoon's with my dad watching Formula 1, the British race has always stood out to me. It's home. Plenty of legends have been here. I'm running where millions of people watch this circuit in their own front rooms. This race wasn't much of a pre race for London marathon. It was a chance to be part of history. To look at the incredible new stand. It was purely breath taking.

I approached this race with not much training. I didn't bank as many miles as I wished but still got to double figures before reaching the start line. My goal here wasn't to run myself ragged and pursue a fast time. It was merely to get round, to soak up the atmosphere and most importantly, to have fun. And to get to the start line of the London marathon in one piece!

This race was important to me. Forget the history, forget next month it was London next and double the distance. This was the first race (of great distance) that my little sisters had come to support me. I will never this day. They caught me by surprise on the home straight and said, 'Kim we have been waiting for over an hour!' I apologised whilst trying to hold as much composure as I could. My sisters' were not finished. 'Kim, we saw fat people finish before you, you're faster than them yet they beat you.' Kids really do say the funniest things! They learnt a valuable lesson this day. Runners who take part in races are not always slim, fast aka what you see on tv. Participants of races are of all running abilities, of all shapes and sizes. The main thing, we are all in it to enjoy ourselves, to encourage the stranger beside you to keep going, to take those steps that you can achieve something if you really want it hard enough.

This race is highly recommended. Great track, highly organised, amazing support and the weather was a nice bonus!

Here are some more photo from the day.

Posture

Posture affects all of us. From the small things like sitting in a chair to standing at the bus stop.

The essence of this blog entry is to stress the importance of strengthening our cores. If you’re one of those people who work out and don’t know what I’m referring to, shame on you! To others who don’t work out or even those who do the odd exercise every now and again, this is a fundamental part of your health.

Training your core isn’t mind boggling, you don’t have to use equipment or attend a Pilates class. The core is mostly referred to as our abs and lower back muscles but as a whole it encompasses lower and upper body. When worked together they help to stabilise and support the spine. For anyone serious about their fitness/performance or just wanting to live healthy, building a strong core will get you there.

Our backs are fundamental to everything we do. Think how many times you slouch on a chair at work, how you sit on the sofa, over time these bad habits creep up on us and we end up at the doctors or whinging to our friends about back pain. Building strong back muscles will help reduce lower back pain and prevent any further damage.

Our core helps us stand upright, improve our balance and increase strength to our workouts. I recently attended a gig and was standing up the whole time with a bag on my back. Half way in I was reminded (by my back) that I wasn’t standing properly. I promptly took my bag off, rolled my shoulders back and stood strong. Being 26 years old and having back pain ages me too quickly! The same applies to the rest of us. A weak core means that other muscles will pick up the slack created and imbalance can occur. This in turn will most certainly mean injuries. *sighs* no injuries I hear you cry. It’s time to pay attention to our cores and getting them strong.

Injuries - yes you can!

So I've been ill recently and it is preventing me from running in prep for my half marathon that is less than 5 weeks away. But it got me thinking about injuries and how people use these injuries to hide behind to prevent them from exercising.

Injuries can make people stay rooted to their sofas and we before they know it... here comes the weight gain! But if you take exercise out of the equation and your nutrition is spot on then weight gain shouldn't happen. If you are putting enough calories in your body that you can burn off without exercise (Base Metabolic Rate) then weight gain will be harder. A great way to keep track of your calories is to download a calorie app. I've recently got one and my life is made so much easier. No more counting! There are other benefits too to having one. My app keeps track of what exercise I do, calculates counts how many calories I lose, a food diary, a diet calendar, weight tracker, recipes, how much of my RDI I have left and even has popular supermarkets and restaurants foods too. I'm sitting here wondering how have I coped without one! Number one rule for weight loss, count your calories. Even more important when you're injured.

Exercise is a great asset for better sleep, helps fights off depression and other health scares. There are so many benefits to exercise. General rule of thumb is, if you are injured lower half of body then work out the upper body and vice versa. If you are suffering an impact issue then do weights, yoga to improve your core or even swim.

The fact of the matter is, there is an alternative when you are injured. Don't hide behind not working out when injured and then have the nerve to complain about weight gain during your injury.

But if you are injured, you can still exercise. The Internet is a world of opportunity to grab a recovery programme for your injury or even see a specialist to put together a programme for you. The fact of the matter is, don't drift from your goals. Like any sports star who is hampered, learn to adapt to change and set yourself with the mindset that you will improve and not step back during the injury process. Injuries can be frustrating, especially long term ones like a broken foot. I know all about that one! But hang in there, do your homework and continue on the path.


As for me, well I've got a head cold that has now spread to my ear and so I am at a no go with any form of exercise. Any head illness generally does prevent you from working out.