Today - at Pacific Highway+Walker St Signal

 

8:30am standing at the lights, waiting for green light to cross the road and reach office while typing these lines.

 

Today is the last working day for me before I go on leave and fly to Pakistan tomorrow. So I will be at the airport tomorrow this time and in Pakistan at night with the family. Nothing beats that feeling for me.

 

This always is a pleasant and fascinating thought for me that in a matter of only few hours a person is able to fly from one side of the world to another. Amazes me still despite the decades old science and technology. GOD I love this.

 

Tomorrow, I & Pakisan will be together. Yeeeha !

Run a Little Run a Lot - Just Run !

So since my last post about running, I have continue running and have completed the 8th weeks and next week will be the 9th and last week of the C25K program that I have been following.

It feels great that now I can run for 30 minutes straight, compared to earlier when I started and could run for couple minutes only in one go. I found it to be a continuous argument between your mind and body such as that your body may take you beyond what your mind tells you can actually do. So when it comes to running I like to follow this quote that my work colleague, my running mentor, buddy and motivator (AF) recently have shared with me.

 

So while I was in week 8, I also participated (along with my running buddy) in this charity run Run4Fun that took place in the Sydney Olympic Park on 4th November. Since it was my first ever run, I registered for 3K run only and surprised myself by finishing in 15 mins and 40 secs. Felt great, accomplishing actually.

Got my first medal for participating and finishing the run.










In few weeks, another run is happening in Balmain for 5K which I'm not so sure about yet, only because it is bit far from my place but will see if I can register for that as well.

Next target is surely the 10K mark because after graduating from this #c25k program, I will already be running 5Ks in one go. So 10K is the next target (iff I keep on running that I'm hopeful about).

Until then, my motto is going to be 'Run Shak Run' (self motivation often is the key to achieve what you want).

Run Run Run ..

I have been planning to start running during my lunch hour but have been procrastinating for all the reasons of laziness and slackness :P

But finally last week I have moved my 'butt' and did some running over and around the Sydney Harbor Bridge. On first day, I walked and ran (mixed) over the bridge to the city end and returned that counted for over 6KMs and that made my legs sore the next day. But it was like a case of "his first flight" for me because even sore legs didn't make me not go the next day and I must acknowledge the 'motivational talk' of one of my colleague "MG", that helped me go running despite the aching legs. But it felt great actually afterwards due to that sense of achievement. The total distance from my office (North Sydney) to the end of the bridge (bridge stairs - The Rocks) and back to office is, as per Google maps, just above 6KMs but if I use Sports Tracker then it calculates it to be around 9.5 KMs; don't know - don't ask.

Based on my earlier experiences, I was under the impression that working-out makes me sleepy but I wasn't regular at it, then. Since I've become a regular gym goer and lunch-runner, I have discovered that it actually feels great and refreshing which everyone else agrees to as well. I have found that it is very very important to take a shower after the work-out, otherwise you'll end up feeling sleepy too.

Lunch time run has many benefits for me; 1) There are many people out there running/working-out on/around the track that I follow and I found it encouraging 2) It is also a good time for exercising because stomach is empty and since it is midday usually you still have left enough energy to go out running 3) It feels lively because usually people come out of their offices for lunch break/walk/run/sunbathing /relaxing and that gives the whole atmosphere its hustling bustling look which I like 4) Being a part of the hustle bustle refreshes me as well and helps me relax during a working day full of pressure/stress 5) Above all it helps me burn some calories, lose weight and stay fit which is my main objective to do the lunch-run.

The only drag is that I don't have a partner to join the lunch-run with me, which can be a real drag at times (I know this - knowing self) but nevertheless I have to keep pushing myself out of office regularly for the run and hopefully I will achieve my target (Weight-10) in next 5 months time (no expectations just a try and hope).

Until then,

Happy Running - Shakeel !!!

One Hour of my Lunch Break

During the one hour of lunch break I prefer going out for a brisk walk around the block in North Sydney, where I work. It is beautiful around that time when sun is out and shining.
One one such lunch break, I took this walk through the North Sydney Oval Park and there I got a chance to try the camera of my new mobile because the park had so beautiful and rich colours around and it compelled me to capture these on my mobile. A few of these shots I am posting here. The beauty I see in these just make me praise the nature and the creator of all this, ALMIGHTY ALLAH.
It is just so beautiful – I am loving Sydney !
Beautiful addition of the red pole right in the middle of lush green trees.

Walk way & fallen leaves with beautiful scenery in the backdrop.

Sitting benches among trees