SIGHTS ON THE RUN

I've been absolutely in love with instagram.

A few years ago, before dSLRs were this huge thing where everyone had one, I was really amazed and captivated by photography. Not that I was any good, it was just an outlet I found paired really well with my writing to express myself. There's that long used-and-abused saying that A picture is worth a thousand words and while this will sound even more cliche, it was nice to be able to write those (usually less) thousand words. 

Somewhere along the way, I fell out of love with it. Probably around the time that I started taking pictures to try and build a portfolio --- it just seems like when you try to mix business with fun, it can go surprisingly well or horribly wrong. It was no longer serving the same purpose, and I stopped. 

Now, the only use my camera gets is the royal title of being a pain in the ass to carry around in my bag and being on standby when 11:50PM rolls around and I've forgotten to take my 365 picture.

Thank God for instagram.

 

This is basically just along North Harbor Drive towards the airport. Running through this area (especially on the weekends) is never fun as the amount of people and pedicabs explode and you can no longer run along the water.

But isn't it just beautiful? 

And the app just turns the images into polaroid-like photos with the vintage feel (depending on which filter you choose). It makes me want to print out every single one of them and stick them along the walls, or frame them in odd batches as decor. It's a cheap, easy idea ... and probably a lot of work. Nonetheless, they're still fun to look at since I hardly go back to "regular" pictures I've taken and it definitely puts a spin on things you might've seen a thousand times.

I've been getting these weird bouts of hives on my skin ... I'm guessing it's due to the sun exposure, although why, I wouldn't know! I thought I was allergic to the sun screen I was using as that was irritating my skin when I got far enough into a jog/run, but I've stopped applying any for a while now. My legs have been itching a lot, and my arms (especially where my armband is) have the raised bump-like hives that are itchy but they don't disappear. They look like the natural color of my skin (much, much whiter than I am now) and so they're very noticeable, but they aren't RED. Does it still qualify as a sun rash? I don't know, but it's quite a pain in the frickin' ass. 

I've changed nothing except shampoos in the last month, but could that really set it off? 

Either way, on top of the many excuses I've been making not to run (among them --- to not get tan and I'm lazy) ... this weird skin reaction is another one. 

Other than that, I've been settling for easy jogs, with no pressure to keep a certain pace or refrain from walking. In May, I just really, really enjoyed being outside and it was easy to go out every single day/night because I began to look forward to exploring the surroundings. Being here, there is the great perk of being close to the water, and in the future, my next move --- I am glad to say --- might not be an ocean but lucky to have some large body of water.

REASONS | WHY DO YOU DO WHAT YOU DO?

Surfing through the MULTITUDE of health and fitness related blogs lately, I've noticed that everyone generally has the same reason(s) as to why they love to torture themselves are dedicating themselves to a lifestyle that includes healthy eating, regular exercise, and inspiring others to do the same. Whether it's simply to lose a couple of pounds or to push the envelope farther, these people are committed and they're sharing their journey for others to follow along.

I think it's great, and I think it's wonderful, and I wish that I could actually read every single person's story and why they are doing what they're doing. I would love to get to know each writer and understand the circumstances that brought them to who they are presently,, what impact it has made on their lives (and what to speak of themselves?), and etc.

The MOST COMMON reasons are:

1. Weight loss. Whether a person is 125-lbs soaking wet or 125lbs overweight, they generally do expect some sort of weight loss. While it may not be at the very core of their purpose, it's at least a by-product of taking care of oneself. 
2. To be healthy. Who doesn't want to be healthy? Everyone does. That's what they teach you all throughout life. Yet, the pull of those damned potato chips and heavenly powdered donuts are too much! And everyone knows fast food is the complete antithesis of what is considered healthy, even if you order it with vegetables (a slice of lettuce, tomato counts right? Potatoes?) included. People want to be healthy. An unhealthy person is not happy; they're just kidding themselves.
3. They're tired of the life they lived before. Let's face it. All nighters aren't good for you. Getting the latte to get you through the day, everyday, wasn't cutting it. Coming home after work and chowing down on food to help relieve one of a stressful day was not de-stressing at all. They're sick of their present, unhealthy life, and they want to change it.
4. They become inspired. Inspiration comes in many shapes and sizes, but it's so easy to catch on. Seeing someone else do something good for themselves makes us want to reciprocate and do the same. Their happiness flows to you, and you want your own happiness to radiate out.
5. They don't want to become part of a (negative) statistic. Face it. You've heard it all. Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and death. That's something you want to hold off longer, isn't it?

Of course, there are many, many more! There are mothers who don't let the weight pile on after giving birth, despite the harrowing experience of taking care of a newborn baby. One of my favorite things to see on my runs are new mothers with their young infants in strollers. There are parents who realize that being overweight is holding them back from playing with their children and being active with them. These two happen to be the ones I like best.

But then I thought, why do I REALLY want this lifestyle for?

At the Do Life 5K Tour stop in SF, we met a family there who were so friendly and honest. They were great peoples, and we just chatted about how we came to be there, at Shakespeare Garden in the Golden Gate Park. How, seeing as both parties lived more than an hour away from San Francisco, we convened at the location to be part of something (which meant getting up EARLY in the morning and making the 1.5-2.5 hour drive out). 

There, I met Tim (part of said family) and we've added each other on Facebook or exchanged emails. Since, we've had a few conversations on health and fitness, and touched on the intricacies of it. Okay, perhaps not that deep, but it's from that conversation (and the many, many, many I've had with my boyfriend) that DESIRE is the key to success. 

I bet y'all knew that already, right?

However, it's more complicated with being healthy, losing weight, and exercise. Everybody wants it! The question is ... well ...

HOW BAD?

How bad does one want it? What are they willing to give? To give up? What are they willing to do to make sure they get what they supposedly want?

My REASONS are:

1. I want this. Plain and simple. I want this lifestyle. I want to exercise and to keep exercising. I want to eat well, eat good and wholesome foods and to stop craving junk that makes my body function poorly.
2. I'm tired of believing I can't. I want to know that I can. I don't ever want to put myself down thinking that I'll never be able to achieve anything much --- I want ot know that if I set my heart on it, that it's achievable.
3. I'm insecure about myself. I want to change this. I'm my own worst enemy --- I'll be the first one to put myself down and criticize in any situation. It's a reflection of how I see myself, and I no longer want to participate in it.
4. It helps me relieve stress. The world seems less scary and problems are no longer all-consuming when I know that I'm taking care of myself, bettering my life, and that I'm happy. Come what may, come what will, and I'll be able to handle it.
5. It makes me happy. I want to be happy.

What about you?

MY BLOG IS LIKE A DATING SITE

When I first started this blog, I had every intention of keeping the content geared mostly towards the physical aspect of getting fit and thought I'd stay farther away from the mental and emotional counterparts, mentioning it in sprinklings every now and then. Why? Probably because that's what most people would be most interested in. Am I right? At first glance, you might want to see someone who is either visually pleasing to the eyes (re: hottie bo bottie!) or someone who is unique and inspiring in some way --- got both? Even better. 

I mean, you don't even tell all your crazy to someone on a first date! It's the same with your blog. Every time someone does a few click throughs and lands on your page, all of the sudden it becomes a fifteen second date. The next thing you know, you're flashing your pearly whites, flipping your hair back as you laugh and tell witty jokes, flutter your eyelids every minute and a half while suggesting a second date to please, please, please visit my site again. Leave comments! 

Naw, I've got a lot of crazy. I might as well post it. 

This month has been really difficult, but now that it's almost over and I'm coming back to myself, I'm hoping for a lot less "emotional" posts.YAY! And who knows, maybe I'll finally finish that annoying about me page!

I'm trying really hard not to let things (1 & 2) get to me, and the best way is being regulated with food, sleep work, and exercise --- balanced if you will. In the meantime, I want to start getting outside more and trying to get back into running. With August coming up, I think it's great to have goals for each month, but I want to scale it back a little more this time. I think I was doing too much and it was hard to juggle it with whatever was going on in my life that I just gave up!

Whatever! I want to show you guys my dinner.

Why, you might ask? Only because it's like 1lb of yogurt. Hahaha.

You see, I don't want to waste food anymore. And since I'm shopping, cooking, and chowing down for one person, I do waste a lot of food because I don't get around to it. Hence, this yogurt. I had half a container left and I knew if I didn't eat it now, I'd have to throw it all away and so I thought why not? Except that yogurt isn't very appetizing and I really had to throw a whole lot of fruit in it to be able to eat it (I don't like the texture of yogurt so much, and so I have to eat it quickly).

Alright, time to work on other things. Au revoir!

Do you tell your friends and family about your blog? Do you like to advertise or promote your blog for others? What are your hopes for your blog in the future (i.e. would you rather just have regular readers or would you rather be well-known and well-read throughout the internet)?