Staying in Shape

Breaks are important.  It helps you recover.  It gives you time to relax.  However, if the break keeps going on and on, it changes from 'break' to 'everyday life' and forces you out of your usual habit.  There are days that I don't run, or do some sort of exercise, and there are days that I jog.  Both can be some sort of breaks, but the jogs helps keep my body in top condition.  When you want to stay in shape so that you can compete in long distance running, your breaks end up being easy runs.  In order for me to stay in good condition, I need to be at a point where my muscles are continually being used so that my breaks keeps me at where I left off.

Just like with debt, your ultimate goal is to pay it off.  However, there are times when money is short.  Every month, you've been paying back and lessening your debt, but the one month where you need the 'break' you may just pay that interest in order to make sure you won't owe more money.  This would mean that you won't backslide... but you won't go forward.  It keeps you at where you were.  Is this an ideal scenario?  No.  But is this better than the other choice?  Yes.  In whatever we do, be it running or finance, we come to a point where we realize that breaks are only good up to a certain point.  Once we go beyond that point, we start to backslide and go away from our goal.  In order to prevent that, you need a foolproof plan to make sure to continue.

The plan to staying in shape is to make sure that your breaks are not just breaks where you do nothing, but instead a time where you'll do a few activities that will keep your body moving.  Our bodies are amazing and can adapt to so many things.  In continuously running every day, our body adapts and gets used to running because it's our lifestyle.  Eventually, running 5 miles becomes a lifestyle and our body gets used to that.  As for me, today, I ran 5.46 miles in 42:21, an average of a 7:45 min/mile.  Not a fast pace, but at the same time, not necessarily a slow pace either.  When you get to that point, compared to the 'you' before, you can go out faster and last longer because your body is already used to it.  Our lifestyle definitely helps us staying in shape, as does us taking a different view on what a break is.  When a break becomes running a couple miles a day, then we are certain that we are in shape.  We adapt, and our views on what a break is changes, and our lifestyle changes.

Your body is like a cup with a small hole.  Keep on putting things in it, no matter how small the amount.