Running Man!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Ever since the change in my employment status I had to make a few adjustments to my lifestyle in order to curtail and minimize my budget. One of those changes was to give up the gym, yes it was hard, a very difficult decision to make, but it had to be done. My gym fee was very expensive, even after the 20% discount I received through my former employer. As I am now unemployed I no longer have that discount and I recently leaned that the gym fee has once again been increased now to an even more ridiculous level!

As with every trip to the US, I gain weight, and this trip was no different. Being home most of the time I hardly do much physical activity and so I have undone all the hard work I had put in at the gym in past months. Realizing this and considering that this sedentary lifestyle is not good for my health, I needed to take action. I have to look good even once before I real the downhill years, and also to stay healthy since diabetes, hypertension and cancer runs in my family! I can't afford the gym until I get a job, so what am I to do?

I have decided to get some exercise in by doing some running! Yes, I have decided to start running in hopes that this will help me to burn this fat and get toned and also keep me in a healthy state. So today I made my first attempt of the hill and it was totally wonderful, challenging, but wonderful. At first when I arrived at the hill in Hope Pastures, I thought it was a pretty easy hill so after walking a few chains I started to run up the hill. But while I was there running the hill revealed it's true self and it got steeper, and steeper. After a few more exhausting chains, the pace slowed and slowed as I felt my body crack under the pressure and my running pace was watered down to a steady stride with much heavy breathing and the downpour of sweat.

But I never gave up and I made it to the top of the hill with a good steady walking pace. I hated going back down the hill though, as it was pressuring to the knew due to the steep decline, but I made it down and managed to repeat the process up the hill one more time. I am ready to do it again tomorrow and at least three times a week challenging myself every time. It will be rough, it will require dedication, but I have to do it, for my health and for my body.

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Crossed the Finish Line at Sigma 2K9

Monday, March 16, 2009

Crowd at Emancipation Park after the race.

On Sunday I once again participated in the annual Sigma Corporate Run, a full five kilometer of rubber hitting hard tar in the heat of the morning sun. I wasn't as confident as I was a few weeks ago, as my training had been derailed by my recent winter vacation in New York. However, backing down was not an option. I would rather fall flat on my face and get hospitalised than not to show up and attempt the race. So at 5:30 am the alarm went off and I geared up in my shorts and running shoes to the song "Eye of the Tiger" resonating in my mind.

This year had a registration of approximately nine thousand people, even though only some of that number actually participated in the race. However, judging from the huge crowd it was hard to tell that it wasn't the full number of people. Knutsford Boulevard was crammed at the beginning of the race and immediately I had to mentally prepare myself to make my way through the huge throng of people covering the pavement with the soles of their running shoes. The race started as usual. a huge mas of people running out some at their top speed, then one by one they start slowing down to a laboured walk. But even then it was still hard to navigate my way around these sometimes mindless zombies drunk of exhaustion and the piercing morning sun. I persisted at a steady pace and kept on going using my breathing techniques.

By the time I reached over to Waterloo Road I had found myself a running partner, one of my coworkers who was steadily making her way along the route. As I ran she kept up with me and so I continued to keep my pace so I don't fall back. The sun was piercing and the pavement was hard, I felt breathless and my muscles cried out in pain but I persisted. The pressure finally got to me after running up Suthermiere Road and started the slight incline of Hope Road when my steady pace was interrupted by my body feeling like it was about to give way. At this point I slowed to a brisk walk, but this was short-lived, as I heard the call of another coworker and I began to run again trying to block out the agony my body was feeling. I guess that 2 weeks break was much more harmful than I thought!

Souvenirs from the race.

I persevered and found the energy to make a sprint... well kind of sprinted my way to the finish-line to make my photo finish in a spanking 34 minutes and 11 seconds. This placed me at position 385 out of a total of 1594 runners. Not too bad eh? Obviously I didn't medal, but I did get two souvenirs from the race. Well, I wanted to do better and would have if I had done more training, but if I am still employed to the company, I will do it again the next time around and even better my record.

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Three Miles!!!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

I did it! Yes my fellow bloggers, I finally ran 3 miles! It was hard, it was painful, it took every ounce of strength I had, physically and mentally to reach my goal of running 3 miles. I had to coach myself, push myself and breathed as best as I could and it worked. It took me a half hour to accomplish this feat though, but it still feels good. There is a certain feeling one gets when one push himself to the limit and actually reach their goal. But this is just the first big step in my training as i am hoping to do run 4 miles in less than 30 minutes, which will ensure that I am in top shape to really compete. Why am I doing this? Well if you have been reading my blog you would know that I am planning to participate in the 2009 Sigma Corporate Run. The route is 5 kilometers which works out to 3.1 miles so today's feat was indeed a big one for me. however, the training continues.

I read my company email not to long ago and saw that they have sent out the entry form for the Sigma Corporate Run. So tomorrow morning bright and early I will be filling out my form and submitting it, personally. They have also sent out the schedule for training and of course I will have to participate in that too as it will allow me to familiarize myself with the route. Training on the actual route is a lot better than running on the treadmill, as I will be simulating the actual conditions I have to face during the real thing. The route is the same as last year, so I am aware of the challenges and I will be able to formulate the best way to run the route.

So after reaching my goal today, I though there was no better way to celebrate my feat than to have a tasty, nutritious, victory meal! And the best victory meal, is the one you cook yourself. So today I made myself some Stunner's Sweet and Sour Fish, Basmati rice and some fresh lettuce and tomatoes with a little Italian dressing. I also had a half glass of orange juice to wash it down, so now I'm feeling good. just need the sleep to set in now so I can be well rested for another day tomorrow.

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Another Weekend and Camera on My Mind

Friday, January 30, 2009

WOW! Can you believe it's Friday already? The week just flew by so quickly. They say time flies when you are having fun, but I don't recall having any fun during the course of this week and look here, is Friday again already! It seems as if it was just yesterday I was in pain, agony, discomfort and just plain miserable as I suffered from being poisoned by that awful canteen food, and that was exactly one week ago. I think I have said this before, but I will say it again... well ask it again also. Does it seem to you that time is moving faster now than say 10, 15 years ago? Well, it certainly seems and feels that way to me. It's as if I don't have enough hours in the day anymore and behold, there I see old age right in front of me snickering it's shiny dentures at me we wide open, sagging arms. Like is too short star!

With the view of life being short, and defying the economic gloom and doom around me I have set my eyes on getting a new camera. What! A new camera Stunner? Why, is the one you have broken? Doesn't it take good picture? Yes I anticipated those questions so let me tell you why I want a new one. Well, by now you all should know that photography is my passion and I love taking pictures; scenery, people, insects, animals, abstract, the whole works. But the camera I now have is a point-and-shoot and does not give me the flexibility to experiment as much as I want and to improve my skills. So I think it's time for me to upgrade to a Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera, which, I believe with practice and reading, allow me to step up my photography to the next level. So what do I have in mind? Well I have my eyes set on the Nikon D60 DSLR camera. Based on the specs this would be perfect for an amateur like me. The only problem is that the cost is over $US500 (over $JM40,000 and counting), not too easy to come by in these harsh economic times. But this is my passion, something I enjoy doing, and I might just be able to make some money from it in the future... I hope. So I have decided to get it, yuh kno treat myself at least.

Another weekend is in full swing already, but I have no plans for this weekend but to get some rest and recuperate from the week's activities. Speaking of which, even though I did some running this week, but I did not feel accomplished, as I relapsed. Yes, I fell back on my progress of 2 miles last week and one one of the days could only run a half mile. I feel like a failure, failure I tell you! In fact most I did was to run one mile on Tuesday, but despite my disappointing performance this week I am determined to do better next week. I hope to do my 2.5 miles on Monday, so I'll let you know how that goes. Well, let me not keep you any longer, go enjoy yourselves and have a great weekend... however short it is!

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Just Chill, Sigma Comming Up

Thursday, January 22, 2009

If you live in Jamaica, From Negril to Morant Bay, or if you are even close to this fair island, then you can't deny that these past few days have, especially the nights have been rather chilly. it seems we are experiencing our version of the winter here in Jamaica, but not even close to the bitter cold experienced by our friends up north. Rather, it's a lovely cool weather, not too cold, with gentle breeze, not too windy. according to the meteorologists, we are experiencing just the tail end of the cold front the lashed the eastern states of the USA and Canada. Even my apartment, which seems like it has all year round central heating, feels cool in this weather. The bed feels a whole lot better and the sleep so much sweeter.

On another note, I went on the Pan Caribbean website and found out the the Sigma Corporate Run is scheduled for March 15 this year, a little over one month away. As you should know by now, I participated for the first time in the 5K (3 miles) marathon through the corporate city. I didn't medal at all, but I did manage to get a good position, due to the sheer volume of participants. However, this year I want to try and go after a medal, not too sure if I will get it, but I at least want to better my last placement. the medal however would be just wonderful and just be the icing on the cake that will really sweeten the pain of my efforts. So with this in mind I have started my training as of Monday of this week. And I have made some progress as small as it is, as on Tuesday I ran contiguously for 2 miles, just 1 mile short of the target, in a little over 20 minutes. However, this is just the beginning, as I want to be able to do at least 4 miles under 30 minutes to ensure that I will be in medal contention. There are a lot better runners that will be participating, runners that have completed the 20K Reggae Marathon, so I have a lot of competition. And to make things even harder, I had already planned my vacation before knowing the date and will be traveling to the cold foe two weeks, just before the race. So I have a hell of a challenge ahead of me to get in shape as i doubt I will be able to do any running while I'm on vacation in the Big Apple.

As I sit here writing about the Sigma Corporate Run, my mind comes across a certain blogger who has embarked on a fitness mission. So Pepper, I would like to encourage you to sigh up and join in the Sigma Corporate Run this year, it's for a worthy cause and you get a chance to challenge yourself and get fit in the process. And just in case my gentle encouragement doesn't work, I hereby, formally challenge you, Ms. Pepper to do this race! (lol) And my invitation is not just to pepper, but to everyone who can participate this year. Check if your company is entering this year so they can sponsor you. If your company isn't entering and you have some money, you can sponsor yourself. If you can't run the course, there is also a walk race too, and even if you can't walk, there is a wheel chair race too, so you have no excuse. Come on, be brave and challenge yourselves for a good cause.

Well, it's another weekend so take some time to relax, unwind and enjoy yourself... even if you have to work the weekend like me.

P.S. I also noticed that this post makes one year worth of post, in other words, I have reached 365 posts. Which means that if I posted every single day, this post would make one full year's worth of posts. Yay!

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Real Men Do Yoga!

Friday, January 9, 2009

I have been going to the gym now for about a year, on a more regular basis that is. You see my gym attendance has been a very punctuated event, sometimes with breaks longer that a month. However over the past year I have tried to keep my attendance more regular, and as such I have actually seen better results, even though I am still a good way off from my dream body. Most of my gym sessions only involved weight training, since i wanted to look more like those muscular fellows in the fitness magazines. But being somewhat on the fatty side, i kept bulking up without getting the definition I needed to get in the shape I wanted to. So as a result over the past few months I have increased my cardio workouts.

Therefore with this in mind I stopped relying on just only the normal 15-20 minutes on the treadmill before my workout and started to introduce other exercises. Now I have started to do spinning classes at least once a week, then I added kick-boxing to the list, doing that at least once a week too. i have to admit, my first session to either of these classes was a nightmare. i was struggling so much and I sweat like a never ending river. It was a rude awakening as to how unfit I truly was, even though I had been lifting weights for some time now. Even now these classes are a challenge, especially since I do them after I finish my weight training.

But my adventure in fitness didn't stop there, as on Thursday evening I tried something completely new once again, For the first time in my life I attempted Yoga! I often pictured yoga as a female exercise, something easy that women who don't really want to workout would do, something that one would do only to stretch and relax. Bwoy, was I wrong! that shit is hard nuh ra$$! I went into that class with an open mind even though I had my previous preconception and I was certainly enlightened. I stretched body parts I didn't know I could stretch, used up my abdominal almost as much as I did in abs class, and sweat like I was doing spinning or kick-boxing! Looks can be deceiving, as even though it looks like a easy relaxing exercise, it does take a lot of effort. I know I didn't do half of the Yoga positions properly, but I tried to keep up and really enjoyed my first Yoga class. I think I will be adding Yoga to my exercise arsenal in my quest to achieve a better, stranger, fitter, healthier body. I would recommend Yoga to anyone, man, woman, young or old, especially if you do weight training as it helps to stretch those over exerted muscles.

After my gym session yesterday, which included both leg weight training and Yoga, I got home too late and too tired to cook, so I had to buy food. The only thing I could think of which was somewhat healthy and affordable was some Island Grill food. So After having my protein shake I went and got myself some Island Grill which I added my own twist to as i didn't want to undo all the hard work i put in all evening, And this is what I came up with...

Not too bad, eh? BBQ leg & thigh, one festival, lettuce & tomato with zesty Italian dressing and some lime-aid. have a great weekend people!

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Stunner Does Sigma 2008!!!

Sunday, March 9, 2008

On Sunday morning at 5:30 my phone alarm goes off, I grab it and put it on snooze, only ten more minutes, that's all I need. But by the time my head hit the pillow the phone rings. "Yow my yute, yuh up?", said the person on the line. It was my coworker, I had asked him the day before to call me at 5:30 am just in case I did what I just did. "Yeah, mi up.", I replied. I had only a half hour to get a quick bite, a shower and get out of my apartment. Why did I ensure I would be up and out of my house so early on a Sunday morning?

Well, Sunday, March 9 was the 2008 Sigma Corporate Run, and I had registered through my company to participate in the Run Race. The Sigma Corporate Run is a 5 Kilometer (3.1 miles) race through the corporate area of the city of Kingston and St. Andrew which has a two fold purpose, to promote fitness and also to raise money for charity. The race is actually split in two three categories, Run Race, Walk Race and Wheelchair Race. This year the proceeds will be going to the renal units of three of Jamaica's major public hospitals. I have never participated in the race before for several reasons, one I wasn't really interested, I didn't think I was fit enough and I hate getting up early. But this year was different, I felt the urge to challenge myself and to participate in a collective effort for a purpose. Also, I am in a much fitter physical condition than the previous year. So I decided I would be a part of this huge race through the city for charity and fitness.

As I said before the race was a 5K race, a distance I have never ran in my life, but Stunner was up to the challenge. For the previous weeks I have been putting out a little extra effort on the treadmill in the gym. Yes I was in training for the big race... well kinda. I arrived at the staring point, Emancipation Park at approximately 7:00 am for the 7:30 start time and made my way along with my coworkers through the approximately 8000 participants to a spot in the crowd and after one false start, we were on our way along the 5K route which started at the Pan Caribbean Building on Knutsford Boulevard, then it was on to Trafagar Road, Waterloo Road, West Kings House road, Constant Spring Road, Suthermere Road, Hope Road, Winchester Road, Ruthven Road, Half Way Tree Road and then ending on Oxford Road. Here is a map to give you an idea. (Yes Stunner high-tech, brap! brap!)


View Larger Map

I had a strategy to just pace myself and maintain my pace, which worked for the most part, until I reached Winchester Road where I had to start walking briskly for a while to recuperate a bit and then I was back to my running pace again. I wanted to run the entire route with out having to walk, but I didn't do too bad and if I keep fit and participate next year I know I will run the entire way. I must admit that I had a whole lot of motivation throughout the race by various, women who came out to strut their stuff in their tights and short shorts, hehehe.

I know you all are asking, "Suh Stunner how much yuh come in the race?". Well, to tell you the truth I have not the foggiest idea and that doesn't really matter to me. You see, I ran the race not to win, cause God know mi couldn't win, but to challenge myself and to just participate. One thing I know though, is that I wasn't last and I did pass a lot of persons who sprinted out at the beginning of the race! The results should be in during the course of the week or by as early as tomorrow. So I'll let you all know how I placed in the race later in the week. Nevertheless, even if I am placed 1000th, it wouldn't be bad as about 2000 of the estimated 8000 were runners.

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Gym Packed!

Sunday, January 13, 2008

The festive Christmas Holidays are over and everyone seems to have had their fill of all the delicacies associated with the season. A new Year has dawned upon us and New Year's Resolution have started of with a bang... well at least one New Year's Resolution is in full effect! I know you are wondering what the hell mad bwoy Stunner getting at? It is the get back in shape after the over stuffing of the holiday effect!

Let me back track to December and even as far back as November, I remember when I went to the gym there was always a decent amount of people at the gym. I admit, the gym I go to has a decent size crowd during the weekdays but not too much. But since Monday of this month that number has grown to a large multitude! I went into the Gym on Monday of last week and had to wonder if the Gym was giving out free membership, because only when freeness a give weh, suh much Jamaican congregate! The air conditioning units struggled and bawled as they tried to keep a stable tolerable temperature due to the head generated by desperate, sweaty people trying to work of their holiday fat!

It is not just because people want to get back that pre-holiday figure that has got these people in a desperate frenzy to work up a sweat! It is now carnival season here in Jamaica, so people want more than the pre-holiday body, they want the hot, tempting, eye-popping carnival body to parade in those skimpy outfits as the gyrate in the hot sun!

In a few months the gym population will soon die down to it's normal level as people sink back into their normal regimes and the fitness hype will have faded. But until then it will be all room full, all full! If only people would have that same zeal to be fit and in shape all year around!

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Bumper to Bumper Rain, Rain, Rain!

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

My fellow bloggers I have been a bad blogger, all this absence from visiting your blogs and posting regularly. But I can explain... Remember I told you all that I have made my return to the gym? Well I have been sticking to the plan and that is why I have been away from the blog scene somewhat. I have been working the day shifts regularly and after work it's straight to the gym, by the time I get home I'm so tired. Even now I am struggling to type this post, so it wont be long.

On another note, it has been raining like crazy since Sunday afternoon. Not extremely heaving downpours but good long showers punctuated by light drizzle and only a few minutes of just overcast conditions, but for the most part it has been just rain, rain, rain! Monday morning it was so hard to get up out of bed for work, not because I was tired, but because the damn bed feel suh ratid good with the rain falling and the nice cool morning temperature! But I pulled my ass out of the bed yesterday and this morning to face the extremely slow morning traffic in the nice "tan a yuh yard" rain.

On the topic of rain, I can't cant talk about rain without talking about the awful, disgusting, leg numbing, eye closing, miserable, traffic. I think the traffic is my motivation to go to the gym in such cozy weather, one look at the traffic I instantly made a detour to the gym. It's better I spend the time to work out, than make myself miserable sitting in the traffic. Even this evening when I left the gym minutes after eight this evening, and it still took me over half hour to get home and I only live 10 minutes away from the gym. It is crazy in the city of Kingston when it rains especially in the evenings, bumper to pumper traffic, cars stationary for several minutes, vehicles poring out from every crevasse and corner, turning in all kind of directions across the roads! Pure craziness! So just remember this formula when you are in Kingston and you see the rain starting to fall by 3 pm:

From experiments it is proven that traffic varies with the amount of rainfall,

Therefore, in Kinston,

K * r = T

where,
T= Traffic
r = Rain.
K= Kingston factor which is a very large number.

Ok, that's either the engineer in me talking or I'm typing pure foolishness because I'm falling asleep!

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Back to the Gym

Thursday, September 27, 2007

I had plan to drop a post yesterday evening and run through my blog roll, but that just did not happen. Why you ask? Well after feeling very discontent with my physical features and feeling extremely lousy and lazy most of the time I thought to myself that it was time to change from my wayward path and return to the gym. So yesterday evening even after washing a tonne load of clothes and cleaning my entire apartment I dragged my tired lazy ass to the gym.

I know the first day of going back to the gym is hard, but I didn't expect that it would be such a steep hill! So first thing is first, I have to get the muscles warm in an attempt to prevent any injuries. So it was on the treadmill to do a little 15 minutes warming up, but let me tell you I could barely run for three minutes! Within one minute of running I was blowing like a steam train, my heart was racing like a 100 horse power engine and I was struggling to keep myself from falling on my face. Damn I am so unfit! So after that awful experience, I pulled myself up to the weights room. That was no better at all, I was struggling to bench press my warm up weights and was at the point of collapse at the end of the sets.

So today I braved the odds and headed back to the gym once again. Fortunately, even though today was rough as hell, it wasn't not as bad as the first day back. I actually did 5 minutes of running, 2 more minutes more than the previous day! So I am slowly getting back into the groove. Hopefully this time I will be able to keep it going and see some good results. I'll keep you posted on my progress as the weeks go by.

Apart from that, there is nothing all that exciting going on. Just another long weekend at work. Well at least I mustered up the strength to drop a post, but I'll have to visit your blogs tomorrow. I have still been busy with my camera, so you can check out my photos at my photoblog My World My Lens. Enjoy your weekend!

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