One step up at a time

I am a half marathon woman on a budget true to my word. I have commenced the ascent to the fitness peak. It is my day off so what better time to start. After a quick darning job to rejoin the seams of my running pants I was ready to re-embrace the world of exercise and partial fitness.

 I live in Perth where extreme temperatures commence well before the official start of summer so an early morning jog before the sun cooks up some more melanomas is the only sensible time to go. I’m still fearful of being swooped by territorial magpies so I chose a coastal path- less big trees for them to hide in, and I only need to dodge big men on small bikes, and women sporting ear plugs who insist on walking in the middle of the path. Gotta love Perth people.

I managed about 5kms this morning, not up to my performance from two years back, but a reasonable effort. I also included  some random exercises using the resources provided by the community. Coastal path bench seats are very handy to sit on – but I didn't sit –  said bench seat became my exercise equipment of choice. I used it to stretch on and to rest my feet on while I did sit ups and what I think were leg raises. I used it as a stepper managing 50 step ups on each leg. I felt a bit rude though because this bench had a plaque on it dedicated to someone who used to sit on it a lot and take in the view. I felt like I was stepping on their memories, over and over and over again. On my way back home I did some calf stretches on a set of stairs, patted an over friendly dog who was quite taken with my newly sewn sweaty crotch seam, and felt like I’d achieved something for the day - and all for free. I didn't have to pay anyone to yell at me in a public park or pay to wipe someone else's sweat off a communal exercise machine. How refreshing.

One day closer to completing a half marathon and I'm well within budget.