Nearly There

Today is my final training run before the More Half Marathon in NYC’s Central Park this coming Sunday – three days from today. It has been a long journey to get to this place.

As long time readers know, I began this journey in December, 2010 as a test not only of myself, but also of the video game world. The initial question was: can someone lose weight and get fit simply by using video games? Over the course of a year, I proved to myself and others that it is not only possible, but probable. I lost approximately 60 pounds by changing nothing but adding exergaming to my life.

Sometime in the second half of last year, I incorporated running into my weekly regimen. While I’ve only lost about five more pounds since then, clothing sizes have continued to drop and my endurance and stamina have continued to rise.

I am constantly amazed at how others balance everything with such aplomb and take on more. Stepping to Star Wars and getting out for runs has helped me stay focused on precisely what needed to happen each particular morning, day, and week.

Over the last two months, training for this half marathon has supplanted my exergaming, which continues, but is more sporadic. Exergaming was definitely the bridge to my getting back into fitness, but I have generally reached the other side and am running to the next goal.

New challenges abound. On a business trip to DC two weeks ago, I became one of the people I used to think were either military or insane – the ones who run around the DC Mall. I did it, thrice, and ran up the steps to the capitol building and the Lincoln Memorial. Yes, I have happily become *that* person.

Along the way, I’ve also made many new friends and deepened existing relationships. It’s wonderful how positive people can be when they come together to conquer their individual goals.

It has been extremely gratifying to me to hear from so many of you, who have privately shared your tragedies and triumphs, and who my meager blog has nudged in the direction of picking up your Wii, turning on your Xbox, getting a Gamercize stepper, or hitting the pavement or trails near your homes.

We are all one instant away from becoming healthier versions of ourselves.

Go for it. You can do it.

Acorns

Image by clocker via FlickrThere are many subtle differences between running inside versus outside; the most obvious to me is the engagement of the senses.

Inside treadmill running can be an intense workout. It’s relatively direct in that one may program in hill intervals, varying courses and intense pace. Basically, one can push oneself as hard as one wants via buttons on the machine itself.

It’s also diverting. Now-a-days most people run toward an enormous flat screened TV bracketed to the wall directly ahead of the machine, so one may watch music videos, DVDs or regular programming. Ear pods and headphones allow the runner to listen to what’s on the screen or something completely different. I’m actually surprised that no one has developed a way to play video games while one is on a treadmill, sort of like Gamercize’s step and cycle machines. If someone out there develops the technology, please let me know, as I’d like to try it!

Outside, one must deal with the course that actually exists. The runner has the ability to vary her pace and the route taken depending her fitness level and the level of workout desired. Once you’re on the road, though, it’s much easier to settle into the workout and allow your mind and senses to wander.

I do not run with music. It’s not a hard core thing with me, as I understand it is with others, but more because I like to hear the wind in the leaves, the birds chirping, the deer squealing, etc. One can hear cars approaching and their general speed, so that one can move aside.

Mostly I like the ability to think that running without music gives me. Loud songs with intense bass battle my mind wandering. The quietude that my own breathing and footsteps give me allows me the space to defrag my consciousness like I defrag my desktop once a week. My mind moves through my various To Do lists and I can make mental notes of what goes where, what needs immediate action and what can be put aside for a wee bit.

Image by joshme17 via FlickrToday, as the wind blew across my face, leaves rustled and a rabbit hopped into a bush ahead of me, I dissected an insurance clause of a contract. As that box got moved to its defragged space, I noticed that the air spelled a little less lush and a bit more dry-rustley, like autumn. Looking down, I realized that I was running among the first fallen acorns of the season and thought about the intensity of the impending cooler months. Not only was my entire body occupied in the running experience, but all five senses and my mind were engaged as well. For as long as possible, I look forward to running outside.