For Goodness' Sake

Sbnarnya, previous entry tu nak cerita psl lain, tp terbawa2 plak emosi gi cerita psl Mother-Daughter relationship plak. Xpe lah, it was a very honest piece of writing from my heart. It just means that the Roscoff review is going to have to wait longer (woopsie!).

Asalnya, this is how I had wanted to write it…

.... But one day every week I set that Aisyah goes to nursery pada hari yg aku x kena gi kerja langsung, spt hari ni. This, I treat as ME time hehehe… What do I do?

Well, after Aisyah dah sampai nursery, I jog, heheh. Or brisk-walk, whatever la, tgk kemampuan. Ye tuan2 dan puan2, inspired by Leo Babauta’s book, I have taken up exercising again. I am doing it twice a week, 30 minutes at a time. Not really to lose weight, because a 30-minute session hardly burns any fat, but to get the old heart pumping and improve circulation. I have started this regime early in February, but it was on a temporary hiatus when I went to Roscoff and the week after, bcoz x berapa sihat. Ni sambung balik, Insya Allah.

I had abandoned running for far too long, sbb nya when my gym membership expired early in 2010, I never bothered renewing. Well, actually, I begged Hubs to let me re-new it, but he’d said no every single time bcoz he knew it wasn’t gonna get used. ‘I’d buy you a proper running shoes instead’, he’d said. He never stopped me from exercizing, he just didn’t think I would stay long enough in the gym to get my money’s worth so he didn’t want me to membazir (he was right pon, but don’t tell him this, bcoz the last membership tu aku pegi 3 bulan pertama je kot, lps tu yilek :P).

I thought it was the most absurd idea to run around the neighbourhood just like that. Until I had a conversation with my lab mate Chris, who runs everyday out on the pavement, not in a fancy gym somewhere, come rain or snow. I was quite shocked to hear this, coz to me, kat UK ni mcm mana nak lari, sejuk la, hujan la, kalo gi gym ok la sket. And he was like, kalo hujan, basah. Kalo basah, basuh la baju, then keringkan. It’s just water. And I thought, yes, that made sense.

Kena plak si Leo dlm bukunya menulis, seberat mana pon hati nak start running, just pakai je seluar track tu, and kasut sukan. Bukak pintu and step out. Lps tu mesti akan dtg punya smgt nak berlari2 tu. And like Christ, he was right too. And I like that he encourages us to run just 25-30 minutes a day for the first month, increasing the duration as time goes by, just to get the HABIT fixed first. Jgn focus nak kurus, nak muscle, nak bakar lemak, etc. Just make it a habit. Niat nak sihat, bukan nak cantik. And kalo 25 minit, x la terasa sgt mcm spending too much time kan. Apa la sgt 25 minit from 24 hours?

Mula2 mmg la intimidating gila, we are talking about a fat woman yg x fit berlari2 anak ok. I’m neither slender nor am I fit like I was once anymore. When I run, the Earth moves. When I run, things that were once intact, wobble. When I run, I wear a rundown seluar track yg gedobos instead of those sexy yoga/running pants those slim women wear to show off their bunting padi calves and perfectly sculpted butts. When I run, I wear a man-size sweatshirt instead of those neon-coloured, impossibly small sports camisole yg menampakkan flat-bole-landing-kapal-terbang area between the chin and navel area these young women call breasts (cheh sempat nak kutuk org, padahal jeles – give me a break, 2 tahun menyusu badan penuh ok? You think x de effect ka?). When I run, I wear a tudung that keeps coming down menutup mata (licin), instead of those cool iPod or whatnot yg youngsters nowadays sumbat di telinga. I have an mp3 player, but with my tudung, berselirat sungguh nak masuk lubang telinga. Plus I get scared x dgr enjin kereta kang x psl2 kena langgar, nauzubillah. I’d rather stay alert and aware than look cool – ok, tanda2 penuaan. When I run, I don’t look cool, I look like I dork. As if all those didn’t make me stand out enough, I am a Muslim girl running di kawasan omputih ok? O.M.G…..

But like Nike’s motto, JUST DO IT. Or kempen keselamatan jalan raya – Ingatlah org tersayang, maka tebalkan muka berlari ajo lah, bukan susah pon. 30 minutes of your day in exchange of your health? Good enough bargain for me. Nak2 plak cuaca marbeles mcm hari ni oh, heavenly!

I really should do this more often. Sbb nya, mmg relaxed and tenang je rasa diri bila berlari/berjalan2 tu. I get to walk to areas yg I never would have otherwise walked, sbb there was no business to be walking there in the first place. I get to see keindahan alam ciptaan Allah that I would have otherwise missed. I get to forget my serabut-ness, and just immerse myself with nature. I get to see the beautiful sides of Plymouth, houses kawasan omputih kaya, instead of the ghetto area tempat kitaorg menyewa. I get to know that there are several playgrounds for children dkt2 sini, that I can take Aisyah to this coming summer. Dah dkt 3 tahun duduk x pernah tahu!

So I’m sharing these pics here with you guys of the places so near to home tp x pernah put the time to walk and see. I have several other pics from last runs as well, so maybe I’ll do a weekly post of places I’ve run from now on, just to motivate me to stay running. I always choose a different route, saja2 tukar angin. So here’s this week’s:

[1] Overlooking the rail tracks and Plymouth railway station from above a bridge



[2] Spjg2 rail track. Keretapi ni lalu blkg rumah aku jg. Suka ada keretapi blkg rumah. Terasa even tho kita keseorgan and time stands still, people are still moving and going about their business as usual. It makes the heart feel less lonely, if that at all make sense?




[3] This grande looking building is the Plymouth Royal Eye Infirmary. Dah pernah lalu berkali2, tp naik teksi x pernah dpt nak snap. I would always wonder, ni hospital sakit mata kah? As in conjunctivitis? Cataract? Temporary blindness?



[4] Pastu nampak sign ‘Casualty’ at the side door. Alamak, as in Kassim Selamat tercucuk garfu kah?.



[5] X pernah perasan bgnan ni. I thought it was unique tho’



[6] Jalan yg dilalui hamper hari2 tp dari arah berlainan, terus nmpk lain. Ni la nama nya, seeing from a different perspective. Everything remains constant, tp you understand and appreciate the overall picture better seeing it from a different angle



[7] Rumah2 org middle-class kot. Area aku area low-income/students



[8] Ni Plymouth ke Beverly Hills woh? Cantik dan modern betul rumah2 kat sini, mcm x caya plak x jauh mana daripada rumah aku



[9] Ni plak rumah persinggahan sementara bg yg telah pergi. Siapa sangka jogging bole jg menbawa peringatan terhadap kematian, Astaghfurillah al azim. Cuma terlintas jgk, cemetery omputih ni bole plak diorg buat laluan terbuka utk org jogging or jalan2 ngan anjing, kemas dan rumput nya terjaga, batu nisan nya tersusun. Bukan nak memuji, tp jauh la beza dgn yg kita biasa lihat. Apapon, yg luaran ni sudah pasti tidak menggambarkan keadaan di dalam. Semoga nasib kita org Islam lebih baik drpd mereka ini.





Begitu la adanya cerita jogging hari ni. By the time I was done, I’d seen many things,including org beromen tepi tingkap x tutup langsir, bodoh! and my face was terbakar2 sbb panas terik sgt hari ni. Silap besar ingat sbb suhu 1C hari ni akan sejuk, tp sebab berlari, plak kulit mmg mengelupas kering sbb 2, 3 hari ni sejuk negatif2, mmg mantap ah kena direct sunlight tanpa memakai sunblock. Balik umah bkn setakat basuh muka ngan air sejuk, terus tepek moisturizer tebal2 lps mandi, baru la tahan sket. Kalo x, manjang rasa mcm tersalah pakai produk yg x seswai ngan kulit muka, huhuhuh, pijar!

Btw, did you know that kalo berlari2 outdoor lebih membakar lemak and more stimulating to the brain and body drpd berlari atas treadmill? It's due to the different terrains, heat, weather, humidity, and sights and smells. And all that for free too. Cuma kalo hujan basah la. Dan kalo x berhati2 mungkin terpijak taik anjing some more, ark!

I like this quote on runners:
"I am a runner because I run. Not because I run fast. Not because I run far. I am a runner because I say I am. And no one can tell me I'm not." -- John Bingham

And I run for goodness' sake. Literally. Hence the title of this post. You thought it was gonna be a long rant psl something aku x puas ati kan? kan? kan? oh for goodness' sake, what do your eaders take me for? hehehe...