A try out for fitness
The weather man on TV news Utrecht, he is by the way one of my favorite characters on TV, said it will be a great Saturday, 16C, sunny and dry. This would be a good start, I told myself, a good start for my long overdue running and brisk walking fitness program.
Sporting, exercising, and any activity that requires my bum to vigorously move around are not my usual kind of thing, unfortunately. My mother did not spit me out of this world to torture my muscles. People close to me would laugh seeing me in a sports outfit and a pair of trainers. It’s like that punk singer Pink taking ballet lessons and wearing the tutu with high pointy heels. They just don’t match up.
At home Dutchman would always make fun of me, “When will you ever start this fitness program of yours?” When he puts 80’s music on the player, I would usually jump off the seat and start dancing, and the next thing I know he would burst into trickles of mean laughter, “Tjonge-jonge-jonge, is this what you call fitness program?” Argh! - I tell him to shut up. Hmm, on that note, I can actually combine dancing with running and brisk walking into my fitness program. Brilliant!
So moving on, Saturday, I woke up late, and felt my throat itch. Oh dear, I’m afraid I’m on the verge of catching the bug. At work, it looks like half have been bugged down, and now at home... the carrier, the Dutchman, is down with fever and colds and might possibly inflict me with the virus. He is in a frantic mood right now as two business trips are already scheduled into his agenda, one starting on Monday, and the other, the week thereafter (that’s why the anniversary trip, the stay-in-a-castle-in-France that won the poll will have to wait).
I’m also scheduled for a pleasure trip next weekend, but nevertheless, in the coming two weeks I will be alone again, which I really don’t mind as this gives me the opportunity to stretch my little body generously across the bed and have all the pillows to myself. No more leg obstacles; ahhh, the bed and pillows will be mine... all mine... [followed by an evil laugh].
So Dutchman being sick and all, he stayed in bed, naturally with his dear possession, his laptop propped up on top of his legs, while I went out to do grocery shopping alone.
The shopping list: 1) buy me a pair of trainer shoes, and a trainer set - hooded sweatshirt and pants, 2) have my high-heel black boots’ heel repaired, 3) tissues for the Dutchman at Kruidvat, and lastly, 4) grocery shopping.
Do I look like Missy Eliot or what? And finally... after garnering yearly my high-heels loyalty award, I have a pair of trainers!!! I could not find all-white ones (I canvassed for weeks, only tennis shoes were all-white) so I settled for this.
The domestic tasks went quickly, and I could not wait to step into my new pair of running shoes and trainer set! The weather outside is wonderful and I am going to run. No one is going to stop me. Oh, I am so excited! (lol)
Well, I did run, and when my feet and legs were tired, I switched to brisk walking. So I did alternate running and walking for two hours I think. Right now, my leg muscles are hurting a bit. The Tiger balsam, which I brought from the Philippines, together with my other Asian cures – efficascent oil, white flower, and rubbing alcohol (you can’t get this in the Netherlands), would do justice to my sore muscles tonight.
For a first timer, I think I pushed myself too hard. But even then, I already made up my mind for tomorrow Sunday. I will run-walk again. Maybe I should print down maps of Utrecht and create my own running-walking routes, and perhaps measure too how far the distances I can make for each suggested route.
When I got home after the run, Dutchman was grinning ear to ear behind his laptop, “You finally made your first day of your fitness program, congratulations.” He still wants me to skate though, but I told him it would take me months, maybe years before I can properly skate with him, and even then I would probably not be skating side by side with him as I will for sure be left behind and crawling on the ground. I think skiing is easier than skating.
“It’s time for your steam.”
“It’s not that strong, did you (not) put a lot of menthol in it?” croaked the Dutchman quivering under the thick tiger printed furry fleece blanket, given by the Dutch parents a year ago.
“Don’t complain okay, just inhale.”
I hope the menthol steam technique works, and I hope I have not caught the bug, *clears my itchy throat* - fingers crossed.
Sporting, exercising, and any activity that requires my bum to vigorously move around are not my usual kind of thing, unfortunately. My mother did not spit me out of this world to torture my muscles. People close to me would laugh seeing me in a sports outfit and a pair of trainers. It’s like that punk singer Pink taking ballet lessons and wearing the tutu with high pointy heels. They just don’t match up.
At home Dutchman would always make fun of me, “When will you ever start this fitness program of yours?” When he puts 80’s music on the player, I would usually jump off the seat and start dancing, and the next thing I know he would burst into trickles of mean laughter, “Tjonge-jonge-jonge, is this what you call fitness program?” Argh! - I tell him to shut up. Hmm, on that note, I can actually combine dancing with running and brisk walking into my fitness program. Brilliant!
So moving on, Saturday, I woke up late, and felt my throat itch. Oh dear, I’m afraid I’m on the verge of catching the bug. At work, it looks like half have been bugged down, and now at home... the carrier, the Dutchman, is down with fever and colds and might possibly inflict me with the virus. He is in a frantic mood right now as two business trips are already scheduled into his agenda, one starting on Monday, and the other, the week thereafter (that’s why the anniversary trip, the stay-in-a-castle-in-France that won the poll will have to wait).
I’m also scheduled for a pleasure trip next weekend, but nevertheless, in the coming two weeks I will be alone again, which I really don’t mind as this gives me the opportunity to stretch my little body generously across the bed and have all the pillows to myself. No more leg obstacles; ahhh, the bed and pillows will be mine... all mine... [followed by an evil laugh].
So Dutchman being sick and all, he stayed in bed, naturally with his dear possession, his laptop propped up on top of his legs, while I went out to do grocery shopping alone.
The shopping list: 1) buy me a pair of trainer shoes, and a trainer set - hooded sweatshirt and pants, 2) have my high-heel black boots’ heel repaired, 3) tissues for the Dutchman at Kruidvat, and lastly, 4) grocery shopping.
Do I look like Missy Eliot or what? And finally... after garnering yearly my high-heels loyalty award, I have a pair of trainers!!! I could not find all-white ones (I canvassed for weeks, only tennis shoes were all-white) so I settled for this.
The domestic tasks went quickly, and I could not wait to step into my new pair of running shoes and trainer set! The weather outside is wonderful and I am going to run. No one is going to stop me. Oh, I am so excited! (lol)
Well, I did run, and when my feet and legs were tired, I switched to brisk walking. So I did alternate running and walking for two hours I think. Right now, my leg muscles are hurting a bit. The Tiger balsam, which I brought from the Philippines, together with my other Asian cures – efficascent oil, white flower, and rubbing alcohol (you can’t get this in the Netherlands), would do justice to my sore muscles tonight.
For a first timer, I think I pushed myself too hard. But even then, I already made up my mind for tomorrow Sunday. I will run-walk again. Maybe I should print down maps of Utrecht and create my own running-walking routes, and perhaps measure too how far the distances I can make for each suggested route.
When I got home after the run, Dutchman was grinning ear to ear behind his laptop, “You finally made your first day of your fitness program, congratulations.” He still wants me to skate though, but I told him it would take me months, maybe years before I can properly skate with him, and even then I would probably not be skating side by side with him as I will for sure be left behind and crawling on the ground. I think skiing is easier than skating.
“It’s time for your steam.”
“It’s not that strong, did you (not) put a lot of menthol in it?” croaked the Dutchman quivering under the thick tiger printed furry fleece blanket, given by the Dutch parents a year ago.
“Don’t complain okay, just inhale.”
I hope the menthol steam technique works, and I hope I have not caught the bug, *clears my itchy throat* - fingers crossed.
