November is a challenge this year. I am well into my NaNoWriMo story, although the character is starting to get a little on my nerves… The way she feels sick every time something or someone scares her… Never mind, she’s getting stronger, and actually hasn’t been sick for a few days now. Although she’s going to a new church, which might make her be sick all over the floor, who knows?
I do sympathise with my main character a tiny bit, as I got myself into something totally out of my comfort zone. My comfort zone is loads of coffee, a military/police type novel and a comfy sofa once the kids are in bed. I know I gained quite a bit of weight since moving to England. I thought it would never happen to me, but somehow after I turned thirty it did. It wasn’t completely bad, as teachers used to check with friends if I had anorexia (which I hadn’t!!) but nobody has asked that for years now! There’s a difference between then and my weight now though, and I have known for a while that I ought to do something about it. Like, next week. I also know that I’m really, really unfit, as in, walking-up-the-slope-to-the-car-and-I’m-out-of-breath unfit. Which in a way annoys me more than the extra pounds that really could do with disappearing.
The problem is, I really cannot stand gyms. I have been three times in my almost 20 years in England, and I just can’t stand them. I’m quite competitive, but not against my self, by myself. Also, being really unfit doesn’t help. I get really bored, it’s not my thing at all. Running is great but I don’t love it, and causes too many issues. Most things are in the evening, and I haven’t many evenings left free. My writing happens in the evening as well, so there’s another great excuse…I need to get fit though. Next week or so. This month I want to get to the 50,000 words to win the NaNoWriMo. I have 14,000 already, so I’m doing well, but of course it will take up a lot of time. It will also involve a lot of sitting down, with a drink, and maybe even a snack… Getting fit has definitely been struck off the list with Goals For November…
My main character for my NaNoWriMo challenge has been taken out of her comfort zone, and is constantly being pushed further and further out, and I roll my eyes at her for making such a big deal of each and every obstacle. Until it was my turn! By answering a questionnaire about a holiday thing the kids had been to I was offered a free PT session in their new gym facility, and I said ‘yes’ for I know I ought to get fit and all that… then I realised what I had done…! I had signed up for an hour session with a personal trainer to do…well, fitness type stuff. When I explain to ‘people like me’ that I’m really unfit they really know what I mean. I just wasn’t sure that ex-commandos would think of unfit in the same terms though…and that what they call a ‘gentle workout’ would actually make that I wouldn’t be able to walk for a week…?
So now I feel a bit guilty towards my main character for my eye rolling and tutting…for I was really, really nervous before my PT session, the sort of “Ave, Imperator, morituri te salutant” Caesar-type greeting nervous… There was no way I would back out though (too stubborn), so I got myself to ACE Commandos, wondering if I would be able to drive home at the end…
It was great! I enjoyed it, loved the challenge, it wasn’t a killer or making me feel embarrassed for be soooo unfit, cringed that the lightest kettle bells were pink…(I hate pink anyway, just thought it was hilarious!), could still move at the end, and actually managed to stop off at Tesco and lug a heavy bag with loads of milk to the car! My next session is in a few weeks, and I honestly can’t wait! It’s set me back on a track that I’m very happy with. Ha, never thought I would count the days till I can do more exercise…!
Now I just need to write another 36,000 words, and get my main character to stop being sick altogether, and to realise that being challenged is good! Honestly, working in sunny Crete should cheer anyone up, you’d think, although she has some scary stuff waiting for her round the corner, which she doesn’t know about yet. It says so in my story notes though…I wonder if she’ll be sick when it gets really dangerous, or whether she’ll be able to handle challenges with more ease by then…?