Squeezing the Most from Every Second

I had been a time-waster in terms of running — I would spend hours running slowly to cover longer distance. I did that to enjoy the solitude and to observe the run side activities, which was a mediation-like experience that keeps my mind refreshed and feel peaceful.

The time I spent in running over the years had certainly passed the optimal level. These years, whenever I was running in the tropics for over 20km in one go, the usual result was that I would be exhausted for most of the day and could not be productive even for other kinds of leisure. Apparently being too voracious on how much one can handle, my running habit has crowded out other potentials significantly.

Yet Newton’s First Law — inertia — prevents myself from changing for the better, and I have been dragging on for too long. Without new initiatives that are competitively worthwhile, I am too weary to change the established pattern.

The opportunity came recently when I commenced my third attempt to pick up golf. To put a tedious story reflecting badly on both my commitment and judgment short, I finally bother to find a driving range with an instructor and within 5-minute drive from where I live. Therefore I should be able to practice every day.

So finally there is a competitor to my morning running slot. As the driving range opens at 6am, I can get up at the average 5:30am for reaching there at open. Spend about 40 minutes there and start running a bit. With the curtailed period, I should be able to run 40 minutes max. If I want to cover a longer distance, I better run faster.

Under the time constraint, finally I run faster. Faster enough to (finally) have significant impact to my cardio, according to my Garmin watch. Hopefully the change will have pushed my physique deeper into the healthy zone, though the one thing still bothering me is the cut down calorie spent might cause my weight to creep north…