When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say: 'I used everything you gave me.' |
| Run, Susan, Run (Part 1) |
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Susan notes: My friend Yang-May Ooi recently started running. She asked her Fusion View blog readers to share their experiences around how they had begun to run. So I created my first-ever podcast for her to include in HER podcast. Click on the player to hear my experience; read on if you want more detail. BTW, the pic below and left is a "before," to see "after," click to continue :) In
November 2003, I attended an International Business Women’s Group
dinner, which turned out to be the beginning of the end of the life I
had known for 20 years. (At left is a pic of me circa 1998)Representatives of Gulf for Good, a local organization that raises money for charity, made a presentation on their upcoming adventure challenges. On the spur of the moment, I signed up for a six-day, 120-kilometer trek on the Great Wall of China, which I had long wanted to visit. The arduous trek would take place mostly on the “wild” sections of the Great Wall, so “challengers” had to be fit and healthy. I had been quite sporty in my youth (skied competitively, was a good swimmer), and I enjoyed hiking, cycling and squash. But other than irregular workouts at the gym, I wasn’t nearly as active as I had once been. That was about to change. To shape up, I started walking. Compulsively. I arose daily at around 5 a.m. (to beat the heat) and shuffled (at least initially), along the “corniche,” Abu Dhabi’s seaside boardwalk. As the weeks went by, my half hour strolls lengthened and quickened until I was “wogging”  (half
walking, half jogging), for 90 minutes each morning. Several times a
week I ran up and down the stairs of our 12-storey apartment building,
in anticipation of the endless steps on The Wall.I began to eat differently – mostly vegetarian and much less than before. Women tend to gain weight during menopause, but I lost it (the weight AND my mind at times!). Over the course of the next year, I dropped 20 pounds (about 9 kilos), and become “petite,” more muscular and lean. As my body changed, so did I. I began to think, feel, and dress in new ways. I stopped wearing big, baggy conservative clothes in shades of black, blue and beige. Instead, I shimmied into fitted tops and tight jeans. I began wearing bling and sayiing 'dahhhling.' Pink, a colour I had eschewed my entire life, became my trademark hue. (The pic in pink above was taken in 2007) Related links: Amazingwomenrock.com & I (more about my story)
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