Do you find that when you don’t have much to do in a day, no appointments to rush to, no deadlines to meet, that you don’t get much done either? A day without some kind of pressure or deadline often means a day without productivity.
And then there are the days where you rush everyone around to their respective places, then you work all day, then bring the kids to soccer practice, somewhere in there a quick trip to the grocery store, make a few wholesome meals, and then power clean the house because the in-laws are coming for dinner! (And all this, of course, before 5:30 pm!) After a day like this, you can look back at all that you accomplished and feel totally amazed and satisfied. You are Wonder Woman! (or Superman).
The same is true when it comes to meeting fitness goals. If you don’t have something to shoot for with some healthy pressure, you will probably end up falling short, or worse, totally missing the mark.
One of the things that works for me to stay in shape and to keep me excited and interested in being fit is entering competitions, tournaments or races. I don’t enter because I think I’ll win, I enter because I know that without something “looming” over my head, I won’t push myself to be as active as I’d like to be. This spring I have so far completed three fun running races and the “Amazing Race.” This summer I plan to complete at least three triathlons and play in a two-day volleyball tournament.
I have no expectations of winning any of these events (well okay, except the beach volleyball...we may have a chance!) but these events make me run a little, bike a little, swim a little and play a little. All of these activities combined means I will be even more fit and healthy than I was in the winter and I am excited about the fun I will have at these events too!
Ashcroft and Cache Creek had a couple of fun active events this past spring: Just last weekend a large group of all ages walked or ran in the Lions’ Skip’s Run, and before that a group of 17 teams participated in the Cache Creek Amazing Race where teams of two ran or walked all over Cache Creek completing challenges at various “Pit Stops” before moving along to the next one.
Some of the Amazing Race pit stops included dressing up in fireman gear and dragging a 150 lb dummy (Cache Creek FireHall), fishing with magnets at the pool, riding a bike at the gym, making a pie at Anies, balancing a tire at Kal Tire, doing math at the Jade Shop, finding a book at the library, drinking a slurpee at the Husky, putting at Semlin Valley Golf Course and driving some balls at the 4 Pins Driving Range. Teams had a great day and hardly realized how far they had travelled, ...until later of course!
Signing up for these kinds of events will help you to be more active and fit.
Which events are you going to sign up for today? How about trying your first Triathlon at Pavilion Lake in mid September? (For more information on the Pavilion Tri, contact Wayne Little)
Or, if you don’t want to swim or bike, try the Spartan Sprint at Sun Peaks at the end of September! Walk or run 5 km while doing Spartan-like obstacles along the way. (For more information on the Spartan Sprint and how to train for it, contact Coach Trill.) Why not try it? You’ve got time – and reason - to train now!