Exercise - finding what works for you.
Saturday, July 5th 2008 @ 9:23 AM
Today I've been formatting the ebook version of our year long DailyBread365 program. In all honesty, it's repetitve and dull work, but there is a 'positive' - and a big one at that...
I am recapping on everything I learnt from Lucy-Ann and though I must have read the information at least 3 times before, I am still being reminded of little nuggets that I'd somehow managed to forget!
An example of this is to do with exercise. I have never been what I refer to as a 'sporty type'. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that I 'hate' sport - though as I write that, I realise that that is far too strong a word, but you know what I mean...
I take The Observer on Sundays and the first thing I do when I sit down to read it, is pull out the Sport section and stick it in the recycling bin!
Having said that, I do love outdoor pursuits. As a child, I spent a few years living on the island of Anglesey. Our house backed onto a lake (in what is now a nature reserve) where I used to canoe and sail, go birdwatching and wild flower spotting. The beach was also close by and I have great memories of body surfing on the huge waves we'd get there. Add to that our family rambles around the stunning Snowdonia National Park and you can see how I developed a love for the great outdoors.
Of course, much of this activity, though not dependent on the location, was certainly inspired by it. In 1989 at the age of 21, I moved to Battersea in London where I lived for 18 years. This urban setting and a 'work hard, play hard' lifestyle didnt really lend itself to outdoorsy pursuits.
Instead, I dabbled with 'the gym', but whilst I'd get really into it for a few months, I'd inevitably drop out after a while. This pattern continued until I left London at the end of 2007 to move back to Wales and its stunning natural beauty.
But the real change in my exercise habits came just 5 months ago when a neighbour's rescue pup was about to be returned to the pound. I had just bought a new house with a garden and 'getting a dog' was always part of the 'moving back to Wales' plan and so, Tallis entered my life.
Tallis is no lap dog. He's a Collie/GSD/Staffie/Lurcher cross so couldn't be more high-energy if he tried. All dogs should have walks twice a day of 30-40 minutes, but a high-energy dog will rarely find that enough. Tallis has 2-3 walks a day, two of those are between 4 and 7 miles long and involve little breaks for swimming, fetching and playing with other dogs. They take about 1.5 - 2 hours - so a total of 3 - 4 hours out of our routine each and every day.
Now previously, when asked why I didn't exercise, I'd say I just didn't have time. I often still think that, but if I don't do it, I have a frustrated and unruly dog on my hands. And actually, if I'm honest, I too become grouchy and stressed.
I've just realised that I've been writing for a while now and still haven't come to my point (no change there then!). We have a guest arriving shortly and I need to tidy up a bit, so I'm going to end here and continue in another post in a couple of days.
See you then...
