Fit as a Lop

I'm still plugging away at my exercise programme. My primary aim is just to make it more of a habit. Also to survive a 10K race that's coming up next month. However, my real aim is just to make myself stronger and to stay that way.  I had noticed in the last year or so that my balance isn't what it once was. I've never been able to do more than a couple of (girl style - on the knees) push-ups and my best efforts to practice good posture ended in a slump within minutes. So while I am getting ready for a 10K, I also think of it as getting ready for my old age: I want to be healthy and independent for as long as possible.




The good news is, I can see progress; the bad news is that I'm pretty tired most of the time. It has been suggested that I'm pushing myself too hard. I remember reading in a book about running after 40 that it is best to only do one hard session a week. So I'm going to try that for a while and see if it helps.

All this is by way of mentioning a phrase that popped into my head the other day: 'Fit as a lop'. For some reason I've always associated that with lop-earred rabbits and thought it was about rabbits hopping around a lot.  Not so.  Turns out this is a Geordie phrase and that 'lop' is Middle English for a flea. I remember from my dog-owning days that fleas hop a lot, too.