Pokemon - Capture Quest

Trimming the Fat

Come rain, wind or shine, there had always been a reason for me to fight. Through the burning heat, or the freezing cold, I would fight my inner war, because if I stopped, I would feel guilty for missing a day.

Exercise. Easy for some.

For me, it had always seemed like something I took up too late.

"Haaah... Gaaahh... Tch..." I sucked in air sharply as my feet pounded against the pavement.

I had grown up in a very unhealthy way. As a child, I had been obese. Back then, it didn't bother me so much. Chocolate tasted great – the more, the better, right? What a dumb kid I was.

I felt the sweat on my forehead, and my fringe fluttered in my periphery vision as I picked up the pace.

My biggest weakness, at least physically, had always been my weight. No matter what, I always felt like I was being held back. Even so, I had always liked to think that I was surprisingly acrobatic for someone of my build. I learnt to dive and roll whilst I was still terribly overweight, after all. But accepting that as if it were enough was just another naïve mistake I made back then.

Without breaking stride, I reached up and pushed my right earphone back in place as it began to slip, the red wire bouncing against my chest.

Then, one day, I decided that enough was enough. I had always been shy, and looking back, I was sure it was because of my weight. I always assumed people were looking at me and judging me, noting how big I was in their heads.

"Grr...!" I surged into a sprint in time with the drop in the song playing in my ears.

I had always wanted to be loved. I had always wanted to be a hero. In fact, the reason I had taken up goalkeeping was for that reason – it was never a love of football. I liked being a goalkeeper because it gave me the sense that I was protecting something. Plus, it helped me learn to dive and improve my reaction time. Along with meeting Nelly, it felt like I had been given what I wanted without really having to work for it. But...

I slowed down to a walk as I passed a certain lamppost and tapped it gently, one of five rest spots along my two lap, forty minute run.

Even meeting her so young wasn't an excuse to remain unfit and overweight. In truth, I had always felt terrible, looking around at all the couples and seeing these guys who didn't have a speck of fat in their faces. I had always felt that Nelly would have been happier with one of them instead of me.

The next song came on and I broke into a run once more, before the biting cold could overcome my exposed hands.

Over the past year, I had strived to take exercise seriously, devising my own workout that I could build upon as I got better. I also had to watch what I ate. Growing up a picky eater, there were few 'healthy' foods that I was actually in favour of eating, but consuming the other foods in moderation was a step in the right direction. When I first started out, I could barely run down one street that took two minutes. And now I tore across the block twice each time I decided to run, having worked up from single laps.

I coughed and eased my shoulders back as I slowed down for the final time, home now in front of me. Regaining my breath, I walked up to the front door, debating whether I had the energy to do my workout as well in the same day. A quick glance at my watch told me that it wasn't even lunch time yet. I decided that I would eat, rest, and see how I felt later.

*

Later that day, my workout began. Back when I had first started this about a year ago, I did both a run and my workout on the same day a lot more often, but with the progression of my exercise routine, it was getting harder to keep that going. I only really did so when I had recovered from one or the other. Today was one of those days, it seemed. There was no dedicated room for this, so I had always used our bedroom. For about thirty minutes, I would have the room to myself and go about the workout, with a handmade sign hung over the door handle outside so everyone knew not to disturb me. For this routine, I had recently decided to start wearing my running top so that the floor didn't irritate my skin. My top was a long-sleeve, light-weight running shirt with breathability built into the sides. I had a blue one and a black one, and this time I slipped the blue one over my head. I didn't have shorts, but I also didn't want to overheat, so since the start, I had done my workout in my underwear and socks. Just like with running, I had music fed directly to my ears. I slid my MP3 player into the side of my waistband so that it didn't get in the way or come loose, and slid the earphones up from beneath my top so they came out at the neck, once again out of the way. With that, I warmed up and began.