Skip to main content

Bragging Rights

I joined a new gym yesterday. I tend to have love/hate relationships with the gym. I love the environment--slamming weights, huffing runners, and even the snooty exercise classes. I hate paying for it, thinking I have enough "stuff" at home to run my own gym. Yesterday I decided to go ahead and get a new membership because it will get me out of the house and the unpredictable rain has really hampered my running lately.

So I stopped in today for my short run training. You know how I feel about running. I love the pounding feet and the solitude of being wrapped up in my own head. In fact, I often workout without music because the silent repetitiveness is soothing for me and helps me think through my life in really strange ways. Like, I've been working on my conversational Spanish lately, and I spent the entire time on the treadmill talking to myself in Spanish.

Today I hopped on the treadmill with the goal of completing 1.5 miles. I'm new to this and trying to work up to what I hope will one day be a 13 mile run. I had no expectations today except to finish the distance. Guess what? I did the entire 1.5 miles alternating between 2 minutes of walking at 3 mph and 1 minute of running at 5 mph. By the time I was finished my face was the color of raspberries, my hair was soaked, and I had sweat covering every inch of my body.

I sat in the car and relished the feeling of accomplishment. Of blood pulsating through my veins. Of my heart pounding in my chest. Of endorphins flushing out all the frustration of my day. There was no doubt in my mind that I have found a special place where I can beat out the crap in my head and walk away feeling renewed. I knew today more than ever before just how much I love running and how much I've missed this feeling.

I can't wait for tomorrow when I hit the weights.
Labels:

Comments

Christy said…
Go girl!
6:42 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Restless Soul

Someone recently told me that I have an impulsive streak. ("Just an observation, not a criticism.") My initial reaction was to vehemently deny that statement despite the fact that I had just confessed to walking into Total Wine and buying $200 worth of wine just because it seemed like a good idea at 11:00 on a Thursday morning. Me? Impulsive? Don't answer that, especially if you know the truth. I shared this with my therapist yesterday and his eyes lit up when I said, "I think I have a restless soul." The fact that his eyes lit up is significant since we spend most of my sessions arguing with each other about ideas like whether or not a book he recommended is filled with psychobabble bullsh*t or why I should do a bit more thinking with my heart instead of my head. For once, he agreed with me and quickly pointed out that this is not necessarily a bad trait. In fact, it's what stirs my needs to explore and to write. It's also the reason why I don't, by...
5 comments
Read more

So Not the Party Girl

In an effort to be more social, I agreed to participate in the first annual cookie exchange at work this morning. I've never done an cookie exchange before, and that fact alone didn't bode well for my social phobia, perfectionist tendencies, and leeriness about eating food from other people's kitchens. But I persevered. My grandmother recommended her favorite cookie recipe (which is actually a cake recipe--cut into bars). Last night I whipped up a delightful batch and licked the icing bowl clean...after I spread the bulk of it on the cookies. I wrapped everything in some plastic bowls and topped them with a Christmas bow. All was well until I was 1 dozen cookies short. At 10:45 last night I drove 7 miles to the nearest store (Walgreens) and then drove another mile to the Winn-Dixie for powdered sugar. I washed dishes as I listened to Letterman, and I was finally in bed around 12:30. And up again at 4:45. The cookie exchange was DELIGHTFUL. I laughed as I sipped black coffee...
6 comments
Read more

Gators and Bees and Snakes...Oh My!

Let me preface this by pointing out that we have a deaf, epileptic Great Dane, a one-eyed cat, and a slew of young cats outside that we just haven't been able to part with. Love for animals abounds here. It seems we have a critter fest going on around here lately. In mid-September there was the Great Goose Massacre courtesy of a visiting alligator. Two weeks ago we had the Invasion of the Bees that left nearly 100 dead bees in its wake. Last week was the Demise of the Rattler. Alan heard a strange sound when he walked out on the porch last Sunday. He thought at first that it was a large dragonfly caught in the screen. It turns out that it was a rattle snake, coiled up and ready to strike. He says that he will never get the rattling sound out of his head, but I think he was a bit more freaked out at the thought of watching one of the kittens get struck by the snake. (Bonsai was apparently completely willing to risk his life to investigate the snake.) His first words to me when he pi...
5 comments
Read more