Overall Fitness

So what is overall fitness anyway. My sister is really into body sculpting and weight training, while Al is really into running, swimming biking...so what makes someone fit...overall? It is a hard one to answer really and my bit of field research in local new agents and local libraries just further confused me. I was bombarded with a myriad of fitness, health and nutrition magazines, as well as all the specialized and specific periodicals focussing on triathlons, running or body building...and the libraries were no different with their endless rows of books on sports, fitness, yoga, nutrition, special diets...the topics were endless. So, quite prophetic really that Al and I had our 11km Resolution Run all around the Olympic park where the Sydney Olympics were held in 2000. It was a glorious location littered with murals of iconic moments of glory that were very inspiring indeed. I must admit, I do love the idea of running and the way it makes me feel after it is all over, but the beforehand and during leave much to be desired. I have found this with many activities while travelling...camping, swinging on trapeze-style swings, getting stuck on slides, sleeping in a van for 7 weeks...to name a few, but I really do want to be fit...someone with overall fitness to be exact. So, I thought this Resolution Run would be a great way to kick it all into high gear...I thought to myself, "I may not have been running regularly, but I have been hiking and swimming so that will suffice for training." Boy, was I wrong.
Firstly, not to complain, but since I have run a few dozen runs in my day (thanks to the ever motivating Alexandra) so I know a few things...well, I know what I like and what I don't like that is. I don't like having to pay for parking on race day and I truly think that free parking should be arranged...or at least information should be given about parking...i.e. where free parking can be found or the fact that if you park in the Olympic aquatic centre and pay for a swim, you get your parking for free...but we were given NO such information and were left to park in a spot for $8...unacceptable...oh, and there were also 2-hour free parking spots just around the corner. I did appreciate the toiletting facilities, as they were clean and there was never a cue and I did appreciate that there was endless water...you may think me strange for enjoying such a human right as water, but when we ran the Edinburgh Marathon, they actually ran out of water and I was forced in true American fashion to go to McDonald's and get 2 large cups of water. The Race Marshals were also a bit disappointing, as they never once clapped or cheered us on (which is what I look forward to) nor did they really even guide us...to be fair, they were guiding the traffic to ensure nobody was run over by cars so I guess I can let that slide.
The race path involved 2 loops around the park...the same 2 that is, but I was so focussed on my lack of overall fitness that I did not even notice the second loop so much, other than the giant hill around the 3 km and then 6 km mark. I felt alright until 2km (which is truly terrible to tank at 2km), but I looked across the pond to the other side of the race track and saw Alex at about the 4km mark...she is very fast and fit, and it got me thinking about overall fitness and what it means. I think there is a genetic factor that must be discussed and Al has it...what can I say, she comes from good stock. As a matter of fact, her whole family comes from good stock...her sister is an avid netball player and swimmer and her brother Matt is a football aficionado and has so much knowledge about sports in general that everyone fights to have him on their pub quiz team...no doubt they get their sports prowess and fitness from their mother, as she is and has been a runner since birth I think and passed her love of sport and fitness down to her children...they also have tall lean bodies to boot. Even Al's step father is a runner and has recently completed 2 half marathons within a week of each other...and he is 60ish. My family is quite athletic too, when I think about it, but in a different way. My father is certainly one fit man...he has run numerous marathons and is a second degree black belt in karate...he has always worked out and been into fitness and is so regimented with his exercise plan, that poor weather and ill health do not keep him from his planned routines. My sister got this gene and she has excelled at body sculpting...she enjoys a run or two, but has really found the passion of weights. My mom is the dancer...and I will not even get into the argument about whether dance is a sport of not...she is also an avid 'worker-outer' as well, but we share the same love/hate relationship with exercise. My mom has never and will never run, but I challenge any runner to get their heart rate as high as mom can get hers when she is cutting a rug...I take after my mom. I am heavily influenced by Alex and her attitude to fitness and running as well, but I love to dance and that fact that I can be talked out of a workout in a heartbeat, does not really follow Alex's Overall Fitness way of life. Today, for example, during the run, I could feel every ache and pain and spasm...and that was after only 2km! I worked hard to keep talking to myself in a positive way and thought about overall fitness and how I would love to be one of those people you see and think, "hey, that is a girl who works out." That is my going to be my goal...I am going to work at being an "all-rounder" and triple threat if you will. I am going to work on the cardio, toning and nutrition aspect of a fit life and make no excuses. Man, that positive talk was really kicking my ass and helping me drag that 100 pound tank that I was dragging behind me up that hill! Then comes the coffee dilemma, which I am always reminded of during a run or workout after a few cups of coffee. I love the pick me up it gives on a race day, but there is the inevitable gut ache that follows and this can either be manageable through the race with a few contractions or totally derail you best efforts to stay focussed causing a frenzied panicked search for a toilet or a bush! I was able to quell the gut ache throughout the race, but there were a few touch and go moments there. Then, there it was...the Muffin Break sign...staring me in the face with a bright orange arrow guiding me right...mmmm....muffins...I bet they have banana nut or even chocolate chip...No! I must remain focussed...but then I remembered that I in fact have to pass this Muffin Break sign again on my second loop. Such a shame...but maybe after my run I can treat myself to a muffin. Thinking about all the different varieties of muffins took me a few more kilometres until I felt someone tailing me...a quick look behind me to see the 80+ year old man and the morbidly obese woman breathing down my neck. I picked up the pace and saw Alex in the distance walking back to find me, as she always does during these races. I began my stride, i was close...whizzing by the Muffin Break sign...I finished! I made it...and it only took me 1 hour and 20...not too shabby for no training other than a few swims and some death hikes...What a rush, then the goody bag with a magazine, shower gels, water packs, a fridge magnet and some pamphlets for free stuff...then i remembered why I love to run these races and why I want live an overall fit lifestyle...the endorphin dump at the end. Despite all the aches and pains and all the mental challenges, there is nothing that compares to the euphoria you feel at the end of a hard workout or race! Al finished in 50 minutes...what a champ! Smiles all around, positive people talking race times and race stories and cuddles from loved ones to boot. Of course, there were photos at the beginning end and even during the race. I actually love the photo guy in the race, as it motivates me to have great posture, a long stride, bright open eyes and a smile for the 2 minutes leading up to him and the rapid succession of snaps he takes only to immediately slump, furrow the brow and drag ass the minute you pass his lens. Al and I decided to ride our race high for a few minutes and walk around the Olympic park for a bit...and you will never guess who we met...2 girls, Tatyana McFadden and Anjali Forber-Pratt, who are going to compete in athletics in the World Championships in Christ Church, New Zealand in a couple of weeks and we are going to go and watch them...we are going to stalk them of course, well I will, but they did give us their names and the hotel they were staying at so they want to be stalked...like all celebrities...you hear that Collin Firth...I know you all want to be stalked...you love it! So, I guess after all that I think that overall fitness is just a positive lifestyle of nutrition and sport...any type really, as long as you love it and can tell great stories about your sporting adventure. What a grand start to the day and you know what...I never went back to get a muffin after all.