Submitted by Jon on Wed, 13/08/2008 – 2:28pm
I have finally increased my exercise. I have started what I am calling my credit crunch health and fitness plan. I am doing the following to save money and get fit at the same time:
1. In the morning, I buy a single bus ticket to the station, rather than a return.
2. I am no longer having my morning Medium Black Americano from Starbucks.
3. I am eating a smaller breakfast – usually sausage sandwich
4. I am running home from the railway station.
Yesterday I started this, and it worked well. The run home was pleasant. I think that it took me just over half an hour to run home. I arrived at the station at about 5.50pm, got changed in the station toilets, and arrived home at 6.29pm. I forgot to check my watch before running, but I guess I spent 5 minutes getting changed, then exited the station, walked across the busy roads before starting the run.
I was really tired by the time I got in, but it did feel good. I only stopped to walk once, and that was after attempting a sprint across the park just before getting home. I walked for about 30 paces before jogging home.
So yesterday I managed to save £3.80 in all, which works out to be about £860 a year, if I never get a return ticket again. Likelihood is I will only run 3 times per week, but not drink coffee any morning, so I guess my savings are somewhere around 500 quid a year.
Having a rest today, my son is unwell so I am at home babysitting. Got kung-fu tonight, but my right arm is still seriously bruised from the jump back kick it received on Monday. Maybe I will go along just for the forms…
Also, running has been in the news this week – running helps us live longer!
Enjoying the Benefits of Running Home
Today I almost did not run home. I got changed into my tracksuit bottoms and t-shirt at work, and then hopped on the train. My wife called to say that we needed to do some shopping in Tesco, and that she could pick me up at the station. I agreed, but by the time we got to Tesco I was feeling really tired, and just did not fancy running at all. I wanted to just get in the car and curl up on the sofa.
Anyway, fortunately my wife encouraged me to run, saying “don’t you dare get in the car!”. I helped with the shopping and put our son in his car seat, then headed off on my run home. The route from Tesco is slightly shorter than from the station, but it is still a reasonable distance. I did not time the run, again. I really need to invest in a good heart rate monitor/watch. My wife thinks that we left Tesco at 7pm, and I got home at 7.25pm, so I ran for at least 25 minutes.
It was a good run, and ran steady all the way, and then sped up across the park again – but this time did not have to stop/walk – and then continued jogging after on the last stretch home, before doing a final sprint up the hill to my house.
It felt good. I felt physically exhausted afterwards, but I do not feel so sleepy now. So another benefit of running for me is that it wakes me up a little in the evening after a busy day in the office.
Must bear keep remembering that like martial arts, running is a good way to stay fit long term. By improving my running now, and losing more weight doing so, I put myself in a better position to stay fit and healthy as I get on in years. I am still young, but can see how quickly I could get seriously out of shape if I did not stick to my new fitness and weight loss plan!
Running Home From The Station, and Walking Too
Been busy recently. Too much to do. Managed to run home from the station 3 times. Also walked home once. Today my right ankle got very sore, the one that I broke in 2006. Still struggling to lose weight. Need more sleep. Been following the Olympics, and blogging it too. Inspirational.