Vix_Sundown
Shared on Mon, 03/25/2013 - 15:43
I love video games. Always have, always will. I remember when I was a kid, and my friend Mackie down the street got an Atari 2600. I used to go over there and play Asteroids. Then later, my cousin got one. (He, having cooler parents, always got the good stuff first.) I used to love going to his house and playing for hours. And hours. And hours…
Then came the mighty NES. Again, friends had them first. Then my cousin. Finally, after years of begging, my parents got me one. And my life would never be the same. Zelda, Metroid, Mario… It was a good life. A happy life.
But there was a downside to my love of all things Nintendo. And that is, I didn’t really do much else. I hated sports (still do, actually). I hated gym class. And exercise? Ugh! I avoided that like the plague. And I ate a lot too, which I still struggle with. My preferred thing was to sit on the couch as often as possible and do nothing but play video games.
So I was pretty fat. Not like Jabba the Hutt or anything, but still fat. Coupled with the lack of sunlight, the words “large pasty shapeless worm” comes to mind.
During college, I started to (gasp!) get into some physical activities. I did Fencing a lot, which was really fun. I started jogging every now and then, with a Vietnamese friend. He was super short; otherwise I doubt I could have kept up. And what do you know? I lost a couple of pounds. Then I quit.
Later on, I took a Taekwondo class, and lost still more pounds. I quit that, too.
I found out I had high cholesterol and changed my diet. The pounds started coming off. When my wife and I moved close to a school that had a track, I started running off and on. Maybe twice a week, for 45 minutes, 3 miles minimum. Amazingly, the pounds started dropping off more, and my cholesterol went back to normal. Then we moved to a different town, and I quit.
I bought some exercise equipment. For a month or so, I worked out religiously, following Bill Phillip’s “Body For Life” program. But for some reason, I never got the 6-pack abs that all his other clients seemed to have achieved. I decided that I had failed, tossed the book, and quit.
I dieted, and was no longer fat. (Dieting sucks, BTW.)
We bought a treadmill. I ran on it, a little. But I preferred to just play Halo. After a little stretch of working on it – yep, you guessed it. I quit.
But something happened, and that something is my wife. She started getting up early, almost every morning, and running. She did about 2 miles a day, 5 days a week, and she was consistent. She never nagged me, never said much about it. She just lead by example. And slowly, it started working on me. I started thinking…
“What am I doing? I need to exercise!” And so I did. But it was still inconsistent. For 2013, I finally decided that I had to change that. I set a New Year’s resolution, and I stuck to it.
The hardest part was finding the time. I am not a morning person, but that’s the only time I can get it done. I’ve fooled myself, trying to tell myself I could do otherwise, but no. Mornings it is.
Since the beginning of January, I’ve been getting up early, and running for 30 minutes, 5 days a week. Sometimes 6 days a week, and for longer times on the weekends. The weekends I do 4 to 6 miles, usually. This last weekend I went 9 miles. Took me 85 minutes.
This is the longest I’ve ever stuck with any exercise, ever. I don’t count Taekwondo, because I gave that a half-hearted effort and I know it. This is different. My entire focus here is different. I want something I can stick with for life.
I signed up for a half-marathon in October. I’ve made a training schedule, and so far I’ve stuck with it. I am scared to even miss one day, because I know how easy quitting is.
And yes, my gaming time has suffered. I still play a lot, don’t get me wrong. But not as much as before. And I’ve noticed good things starting to happen. I feel stronger. Happier. I don’t feel tired after a 3-mile run. I don’t ever get that pain in my side while running anymore. And I feel like I started my day off right.
And there have been other benefits. My wife has been inspired, and has started running more. And my son has started running, too.
So yes, I haven’t played so much Xbox lately. But when I look back on my life when I am old, will I really regret that I didn’t spend enough time playing video games?
My ultimate goal: I want to run a marathon. Is that possible? I don’t know. For now, I’m taking it day by day. No quitting.
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Comments
Submitted by FreeRadikal on Mon, 03/25/2013 - 15:46
My favorite cardio is done lying down.
Submitted by Double T on Mon, 03/25/2013 - 15:50
^face down. Zing :)
Submitted by Vix_Sundown on Tue, 03/26/2013 - 09:19
Actually, I wish sex DID burn more calories! At least, I assume that's what you guys were talking about...
Submitted by Caduceus on Mon, 03/25/2013 - 19:43
I've run six marathons in the last eight years or so, a ton of 5Ks and a lot of 10Ks and a few half marathons.
Find a distance and pace that suits you first. Pick a race you think you can finish, six months to train for a half is a good, though difficult, goal.
If you train through, you'll make it.
And yeah, non-runners don't get it. They just don't.
Submitted by Vix_Sundown on Tue, 03/26/2013 - 09:15
Good advice man, thanks!