Ostriches don’t fly…
...and tortoises can't run. And neither could I. It is one of those things that people take for granted.
I was born a chubby one but it never got into my way in any way. When I first went to boarding school, I shrunk down so much that people said I looked like one of Somali origin. I have nothing against Somalis, infact, not too long ago, I spent a good 3 weeks on their now war-torn land, installing a computer system. Heck! I even learnt Somali greetings. Well, that is a story for another day.
When adolescensce knocked on my door, it brought back the chubbier me, and some more. Throughout high school, I was a near walking baloon. Cross-country racing was a nightmare for me. I tried, really tried but the best I managed was a walk. There was a handful of us, buddies-in-crime that couldn't run and so we consoled ourselves that we were not genetically inclined to run.
Something interesting happened when I first joined campus. My hall of residence was quite a distance from my lecture halls. This meant that I had to do a good share of walking daily, and on somedays, more than once daily. At first it was torture but with time I got used to the distance. When, after 3 months I went home for a visit, my mum could not believe her eyes. I had completely shrunk down. Those were the days when, if you showed up looking skinny, people thought you had contracted AIDS. One of my aunts even talked to me about being 'careful out there in the world' .
My younger sister on the other hand was born a stick, literally. To prove just how much I shrunk at campus, i managed to fit into her clothes. That was major. Something else interesting happened at campus; a crew from some modelling agency came scouting for models at campus and wanted to enlist me. Yes, me! Ofcourse that was something that had never crossed my mind,-modelling and so I turned down the offer.
In short, the four years I was at varsity, I was my slimmest, and I absolutely loved my body. And yes I had quite a following of suitors. But running remained a challenge. Not too long ago I mentioned on my blog that I am going through a plateau phase in my weight loss efforts. During the just gone by December , I had hoped to shed not less than 3 kgs but it turned out to be not the case.
Even though I have been very diligent in my walking, I came to a point of realization that breaking through past this plateau phase will take more than walking. The thought of running really scared me. There are certain things one would rather not face in life for a second time. For me, that includes being caned by teachers as happened in primary school, working on the farm (my parents absolutely love farming(good for them, but I never enjoyed it), and running.
But running I could not run away from. (pan is deliberate). I recently began slowly, from one street light post to the next, followed by a walk spanning about 3 more street light posts, then a slow run between 2 street light posts. The first thing I noticed was that I saved 10 minutes of my total walking time. Over the past few weeks, my pace has gradually increased to a slow run covering a distance of 4 street light post, followed by a short pause, during which i walk as I try to recapture my breath.
My hubby, who is much fitter than I previously gave him credit for, occassionally joins me in my walk. Yesterday morning, I proudly told him that I have began running, so he was more than glad to 'run' alongside me. (he usually has to slow his pace to accomodate mine while walking(which I attributed to his long legs)). I told him of my sequence ;4 street light posts then a pause then off we went. It looked like nothing to him but for me it was such an accomplishment.
Now the strangest thing is, over the past 30 days, this guy has lost 2 kgs, while he is not even trying to lose weight. Yes, he is very fit, that I now agree. And then he goes like, 'actually, I don't mind losing just 5 kgs', which I know he will lose almost effortlessly. Sounds somewhat unfair, wouldn't you say?
Ostriches don't fly, but maybe they never tried hard enough. I am not giving up!
