Just sitting down to write this blog is a painful process. I joined a friend at her weekly boot camp this morning. Ouch! There are muscles in my legs and bottom that have clearly been dormant for months inspite of my disciplined and motivated exercise regime. Those very muscles have reacquainted themselves with me in screaming pain. I can't tell you when last I did several squats while lifting a 9kg weight above my head, or throwing a medicine ball (to my so-called friend) while lunging forward.
Since arriving in Australia both Rob and I have kept up with regular workouts. The climate is so amazing and the surroundings are beautiful and safe so there really isn't much of a gym culture here. Most people run, walk, cycle or boot camp outdoors to stay fit. I choose to run and until today thought I was pretty fit and strong. I can do 8km in around 45 minutes and enjoy the experience. It has taken me six months to find other girls who run a similar distance and pace and am only now starting to make a social occasion of a run. Up until recently my run was a chance for solitude away from my very noisy male dominant home and an opportunity to think and process my feelings. It is often a prayer run too. I have only started running with an ipod in the last month for a change of pace and stimulation and have really enjoyed the new approach. Well, all the running has kept me slim and fit but clearly the toning has been neglected. An hour of strenuous core and toning exercises this morning put paid to any ego driven thoughts of peek conditioning. I am sore in many places.
The truth is that as I approach my 40th birthday and as we have just celebrated 16 years of marriage, I realise that I really am no longer a spring chicken. Muscles do forget, the body gets out of shape too quickly and the laugh lines are on the increase. Sadly, I am looking my years but I am doing it with a smile on my face and a great suntan.
The result of this morning's exploits is that I am now going to do boot camp every Tuesday morning to keep a check on my hibernating muscles. When school starts I will have Ava and Hugo every second Tuesday as that isn't a school day for them and they can join the other kids on the spectators' jungle gym next to our workout area. That way I kill the entertainment part of my job portfolio while getting a workout - quite clever really.
But for now, my beauty sleep is required.
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