When you’re in lockdown, you might as well try something new.
I’ve attempted the Bring Sally Up Challenge.
Week Five Review
When I started this, I didn’t plan on waffling about push ups for five weeks.
Not that I thought lockdown would already be over. Nor did I expect to have completed the challenge by now.
The truth is, I thought I would have given up by this point.
And yet, here I am, about to kick off week six of a challenge that many others would have completed or abandoned long ago.
Week Five saw me peak at 101 seconds. I also started (and completed) the challenge doing squats.
Not bad. But enough to keep going? Maybe one more week.
Day Thirty Six:
No running. No Bring Sally Up Challenge. Just a little, gentle yoga.
Oh, and a beer in the evening. Because, you know, lockdown.
Day Thirty Seven:
Today saw the end of a favourite pair of trainers.
Back in 2018, my soon to be ex-colleagues saw me off with a £100 voucher. I took the opportunity to splash out on a pair of On Clouds.
As much as I enjoy running, I don’t enjoy the cost of most trainers. This was a chance to buy a pair that cost more than I’d usually want to spend.
The danger, of course, was that other, lesser, trainers would seem inadequate in comparison.
After all, they promise the sensation of running on clouds. Who wouldn’t want that experience every day?
As it happened, while I did like them, they weren’t as irreplaceable as I feared.
They took their place in my regular rotation and saw me through 350 miles. Although, at £115, I’m not sure they lasted long enough for the price.
Today’s five and a half miles was a step too far for them. I’m now nursing a blister and a couple of sore toes.
Still, they look good enough to wear for ‘not running’. Which is also a thing, apparently.
Besides that, I could only summon the strength for 89 seconds of the Bring Sally Up Challenge. I don’t think my heart was in it. Or my arms. Or shoulders.
Day Thirty Eight:
I left it late.
Normally, I do these early in the afternoon. It didn’t happen that way today.
Then, once it didn’t happen in the early afternoon, it kept not happening until after 9pm.
With a belly full of slow-cooked lamb Rogan, I forced myself to complete the challenge. 101 seconds later, I was fairly pleased with my efforts.
This challenge is becoming a burden. I can feel the enthusiasm fading by the day. I need fresh impetus to continue. Pushing past 101 seconds would probably help.
Day Thirty Nine:
As my enthusiasm for the Bring Sally Up Challenge wanes, my enjoyment of running increases.
Along with some other Dad La Soul* dad’s, I’m hoping to run at least 100KM this month.
While 100KM isn’t much for some runners, it’s a good distance for me. I hope to hit 1,000KM for the year – something I’ve never previously managed – and, so far, I’m on track.
*Check out the (dads only) Facebook group for more information. Or, have a look at the all-inclusive, public Dad La Soul page for funky tunes, general nonsense and parenting hints, tips and grumbles.
Day Forty:
It seems odd to say it – my legs are missing yoga. I can feel tightness in my calf muscles and my knees are starting to ache. Experience suggests this is best fixed by downward dogs and warrior poses.
It’s the combination of stretching, strengthening and meditation that cures my aches and pains.
Lockdown has deprived me of regular classes and I’m useless for doing it alone. Can anyone remember how to do sun salutations without an instructor talking them through it? I definitely can’t.
As a result, I’ve been looking for decent online classes (ideally free, since lockdown has stripped me of almost my entire income).
I’ll tell you my solution, but first, some waffle.
When we come out of lockdown, it’ll be important to remember how different businesses behaved. Our local, council run, leisure centre will be remembered for behaving impeccably.
Firstly, they froze membership fees as soon as it became clear their centres would close. Arguably, that’s the least they should do. But it came at a time when stress levels and money worries were high.
Secondly, they’ve made many resources available online. This includes video classes, which, for numpties like me, are invaluable.
Today I took a Body Balance class. It’s basically yoga with irritating music.
Afterwards I did the Bring Sally Up Challenge and repeated my best time of 101 seconds.
I’ve definitely peaked.
Day Forty One:
89 seconds.
Nothing more to add.
Day Forty Two:
Another beautiful morning and another 6+ miles to start the day.
I wonder whether these morning runs would be so welcome in the winter. I expect not.
My legs felt weary and there’s a cramp settling into my calf muscles.
More stretching is needed.
Day Forty Three:
How did we cope before YouTube? It seems somehow wrong to have everything at my fingertips. So easily accessible. So little effort.
And yet, if I want a long-ish, deep stretch yoga class, I need only search and I will find.
I feel much better for it. Now to summon some motivation for the Bring Sally Up Challenge.
Maybe later….
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LATER
It, um, didn’t happen.
I did carry four heavy bags of shopping back from the supermarket. That counts for something, right?
Could that be the last time I do the Bring Sally Up Challenge?
Bring Sally Up Challenge – week six summary
At the start of the week, my motivation was low. By the end, it had completely disappeared.
I remember the enthusiasm I first felt for this challenge. I was convinced of success. How could I fail? Even if it took three or four weeks.
Now, six weeks later, I still haven’t succeeded.
Much like the battle against coronavirus, I’ve flattened the curve on my graph (literally – I have a graph that tracks my “success” in this ridiculous challenge).
Unlike the coronavirus battle, my graph has reached an abrupt end.
101 seconds remains my limit and that’s where it’ll stay.
For now.
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