Tag: achievement

Ed Whitlock, 85 year old marathoner because he can.

~ Swisa A ~ Leave a comment

Sitting on the plane from Sapporo to Bangkok, I read an interesting article in the Bangkok Post about Ed Whitlock, an 85 year old marathoner who ran the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 3:56:34. It’s inspirational. He doesn’t do any specific training, doesn’t adhere to any strict diet or use any gadgets to monitor his heart rate and training. All he does is run by the cemetery by his house in 15- year old shoes. He doesn’t run for his health, or gets runner’s high. He runs because “the real feeling of enjoyment is getting across the finish line and finding that you’ve done OK.”

Numerous tests have been conducted and he apparently has a large VO2Max capacity and good muscle retention for his age. I suspect his genes play a big part in his being able to continue running at such an age. What I find more intriguing though is his attitude which I think is what really keeps him going. In the article he is quoted as saying, ” I believe people can do far more than they think they can. You have to be idiot enough to try it.”
This, to me is probably his secret. If you believe you can do something and truly work at it, I believe you can achieve anything you want to. It’s the story we tell ourselves that determine the story of our lives.

If you tell yourself you can’t do something, then you can’t and you won’t. If you tell yourself, and believe in yourself, you can accomplish whatever your goal is. That said, it might take some time before you accomplish your goal, but if you work at it long enough, you’d be closer to your goal than if you had never started. If you focus on the end goal, you might get frustrated at not being able to reach it, but if you focus on taking action towards those goals, then you’d keep moving forward. As Ed Whitlock showed us, age is not a limit and is not a constraint to living your life because at whatever age you start working towards your goal, you are one day closer to your goal than the day before. 

Thank you Ed Whitlock for reminding us that life has no limitations than those we set for ourselves. Now, the burden is on you. What are your goals in life? Let’s get moving!

A “Good” Time

~ Swisa A ~ Leave a comment

And so the weekend is over. Just like that its done and over before you know it. Just like that and your life will have passed you by.  Just like that you’d have gone through that experience you feared, undergone that operation or crossed that terribly high bridge.  Whatever happened, it didn’t kill you and it was over.  Over just like that.

It’s the same thing with exercise and weightloss.   Many people still ask me how I did it. (Even a year after)  The answer is simple.  You just take a deep breath, decide to do it and DO IT.  Don’t hesitate, don’t waste another minute of your precious life wondering when is a “good” time to do it, when is a “good time” to start that project.

If you just do it, before you know it , you’d have reached your goal and be done with it forever and ever.  There is never a “good” time to do it as when the “good” time arrives,  you’d undoubtedly find another reason why some later time in the future is a “good” time to start that weight loss program instead.  It a “good” time when you start it, whenever it is.

Now is a “good” time.

So if you want to do something you’ve had on your mind and you are just waiting for the “good” and “right” time, my answer to you, is to start doing it “Now.”  For there is no time as good as the present 🙂  Before you know it, you’d be done and wearing that bikini you’ve always been dreaming of 🙂