Inspiration v Aspiration. How do you find balance?

I have always aspired to be 2m tall and have the body of a Mens Health cover model.
It did not happen when I was in my 20/30's and at 63,
I am certainly not the "face" of that magazine.
Does it stop me from dreaming about that?
Not really...but I do know that in order to even get close,
work has to be done.

So who do I turn to for inspiration?
The SG group for a start, but more than that,
there are individuals within the group that have achieved more than I ever will.
But, that being said, those are their goals.
Mine, I have learned are different and I have achieved several of them already.
My problem, and I am certain that I am NOT alone,
is that I keep moving my own goal posts!
Let me just drop another kg, lose a couple more cm's
and perhaps shave a few minutes off my 5km time.

Why can I not set goals...and then stick to them?
Perhaps it is the society that we live in.
Many of us aspire to be "that celebrity"
that billionaire or perhaps only your next door neighbour who has a better car than you do.

Each of us struggle with our own demons
I am still doing 22 push-ups per day for those who suffer from PTSD.
I am still in awe of those who have "achieved",
but they too often have a dark side...or an illness that no amount of money can cure.

When I first joined this community, I was seen by some as inspirational.
Not necessarily by me, but by the community.
Why?
Perhaps it was my age or perhaps it was the fact that I was returning
 to road running after a lay off of more than 20 years.
I did not set out to inspire. I set out to get myself healthy again.
Inspiration was perhaps a by product of my quest.

Due to illness, I have not been very active on any of the group
 Facebook pages for the past few months.
This is about to change...and perhaps for somewhat selfish reasons.
I need to be inspired by the group in order to get back
to where I was, fitness wise, in April 2017.


What do I aspire to currently?
Running the Old Eds half marathon in August...
I have realized that it will take me that length of time to get fit once again.
However, I will not allow that to deter me.
I have done it before
and I can do it again!

I started doing the Monday challenge again.
But instead of trying and "failing",
I have reset Eric's goalposts.
Makes the numbers easier to achieve currently
and at the same time I allow myself to "hurt"...just a little.
For instance, I forgot just how long one minute was when planking!

I did take my clothes off in a public space,

when I participated in the Hollard DARE Devil Run.

A first for me in many ways, not least of which was running through

the streets of Johannesburg in a Speedo.

But, running with 3500 other men (of all shapes and sizes)

was truly inspirational and liberating.

Why liberating"? I hear you ask...

Because it is at events like this where you realize that NO-ONE really cares

what you look like!

You body image is your own...and that is what you need to change.

Your own perception of how you believe people see you.

My thoughts post race

Watch the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2FHYlGOHX0&spfreload=10

Yes I can!

My continuing commitment to myself for 2017.

Illness and the long road back.

It is never easy coming back from a lengthy illness.

Especially when I have not been able to identify what put me in bed for almost 3 weeks.

The last time I was this ill was back in 2014, 

when similar symptoms laid me low for a month!

Coming back from illness or injury is difficult.

It has been made more difficult by the fact that my trying to return to training

coincided with the first cold snap of winter here in Johannesburg.

Not only was I feeling sorry for myself, I really did NOT want to be cold as well.

Neither did I want to waste all the good work that I had done thanks to SG.

So a dilemma of sorts...
An upside of me being sick was the fact that food was not a priority.
This as a result of my throat feeling like it was covered in broken glass,
making every mouthful an effort.
But eventually it had to get to a point where I needed to get back to training.
I missed two half marathons, but I knew that there was no way
I would have been capable of running either of those.
(As an aside, with age comes wisdom...back in the day
I would probably gone back to running/training despite my symptoms)
Finally, I have been able to shake off whatever infection had attacked me
and I am gently getting myself back into shape.
The reason for this posting is that I know I am not alone.
This time of year there are many who get colds and flu
and who are too keen to get back to their training routine.
This can have severe repercussions later.
If, like me, you have been out of commission for any length of time,
then please take the long road back.

After 5 weeks of no training at all,

I was able to go out and run this...

Was it easy?

No it was not, but I persevered and completed!

My second run this week.

Perhaps I bit of more than I could chew,

but I have to admit that I did walk for a short distance.

Considering that I had been running 21.1km's just a few months ago,

this might be seen as a "set back".

I would like to see it as a step forward in getting back to full fitness.

I was told that I should only increase my running distance by more than10% a week

 in order to get back to optimal fitness. 

Not easy when all I REALLY want to do is run...fast. 

But a small increase of about 20m this morning saw me running 

a couple of sub 6 minute kms!

I have mapped out my road races for the rest of 2017,

and hopefully I will be back to 100% fitness by the end of July.

I have "forced" myself to return to gym.

It all was so easy 6 weeks ago...now even the rowing machine mocked me.

But I was there...and I did about 30 minutes which is a start.

I thought that I could pick up where I left off 6 weeks ago.

I was sadly mistaken! 

I know from past experience that it takes 21 consecutive days

 to set a habit (either good or bad), so only 20 to go...

Once more the open road beckons,

but it might be a month or two before I am back to "full strength".

That being said, I know that long term victories are better short term gains.

I want to make certain that my come back to full fitness is done correctly.

To this end I will be monitoring my progress carefully.

Getting upset about missing races is not conducive to positive gains 

If necessary, I will re-asses my running goals for the year.

Slowly, slowly...no matter how frustrating is the best option.

Routine...or getting back to it is what is important

and to that end, I am making a concerted effort to reclaim that focus.

There has been an upside to being ill.

I lost 6kg's which has taken me to my goal weight...

after almost two years of "fighting" to rid myself of those final kgs!

I am not certain if I am 100% ready to begin the Monday Challenge yet.

But I am willing to give it a try...

Yes I can!

My continuing commitment to myself for 2017.