Today's workout

My busted but trusted trainers. Shoes: Pearl Izumi

I'm all coffe'ed up, (isn't that how you're supposed to get thru your workouts?) and raring to go. Armed with my water bottle, I hop on the stationary bike and start pedaling with my ever active commentator's voice running in my head...

9:00 a.m. ow ow ow... how on earth do these padded seats manage to bruise your bum? They're padded! Squishy. With all the technology we have today, you would think someone somewhere could design a bicycle seat that didn't bruise your bottom. pedal ow pedal ow pedal ow. Alright, alright - distract yourself and think of something else. 

9:01:16 Seriously? My inner thighs are already burning? Oh, right! The trainer who programmed this for me thinks I'm Wonder Woman...let's just quickly knock that down a few levels.

9:13 Woo hoo! Look at all those empty treadmills. Yeah, Baby! (Funny the stuff that can excite a person who's trying to get themselves through a workout.)

9:15 I'm doing great! I'm loving this music. Who is this? Is it just me, or is it easier and more fun when you pedal to the beat? Do other people do this or am I just weird? Maybe this is why so many people have Ipods when they work out. Are they all just secretly running/biking to their own personal sound track? Maybe that means I need another gadget to charge and keep track of. Hey! I can alway's put it on my birthday/anniversary/christmas wish list. Dang. That list is really getting long. 

9:18 Why is that lady putting a sign on that treadmill? "Please do not use..." Bah. Ok it's no big dea...wait, wait, wait. Look ladies - the two of you don't need to be getting on the treadmills really. You look lovely and I need one in just a few more minutes!

9:19 Oh come oooooon! What is this?! The lemming parade to the treadmills?

9:25 GRAB THE WATER AND RUN, RUN, RUN!!! Ha! I snagged the last treadmill. Yay, me! How is that so satisfying?

My 20 minutes on the treadmill weren't as easy as yesterday. In fact, I had to slow down from my target speed and heart rate in order to protect my back (that's a whole different story for another time).  I was a little disappointed for a minute but then I realized I was really grateful that I'd noticed the warning signs before I had an actual problem. I have to thank Janette at New Motion Physical Therapy on Bainbridge Island for teaching me that awareness. (To be honest, there's a lot of people I need to thank.) I got to finish my workout since I didn't hurt myself and regardless of whether or not I hit my target heart rate/speed, something was better than nothing. Right?

Ciao,

xoxo

Remember when...?

I can remember being a kid and running around to play. I didn't think about how far, how long or how many calories I may have burned off. However, I'm no longer a kid. I'm a stereotypical middle aged American woman with body issues, who's decided to fight the good fight to get back into shape. I've sort of given up on being "thin" ever again. I just want to feel strong and capable. Know what I mean?

In an effort to achieve the dream, I've been sporadically working out. I even belong to a gym. When I joined the facility, the trainer who was giving my induction was extremely impressed that I'd managed to find and join a gym after only being in the UK for 2 weeks. I believe his words were, "At least you have your priorities right." That left me grinning ear to ear. I mentally patted myself on the back. If only I'd been using it this whole time. 

  I decided yesterday, that I'd let my attendance lapse too long and I needed to refocus. I had my little program and managed to plough through it but I realized quickly, this could easily become just another false start which I quickly abandon. In order to help myself stick to it a bit longer, I'm going to report on here how it's going. Hopefully, someone might even cheer me on to help me stay motivated. 

My workout is on various pieces of cardio equipment and the first one requires 25 minutes of dedicated effort. It was really gratifying to notice that today was easier than yesterday....until I hit about minute 16. Then it was more a matter of mentally coaxing myself to stay focused. I started to wonder what exactly was happening to my brain as the running commentator inside my head argued with different parts of my body, made observations of other gym users, and the especially odd desperation that seemed to take over as people began taking up the free treadmills (my next piece of equipment in my regimen.) My legs started pushing the pedals of my ridiculous stationary bike faster and faster as each free treadmill was claimed. I think I even muttered "Go away!" under my breath to some poor muscle bound bloke as he lumbered to one of the few remaining machines. I was horrified with myself. And no matter how often I reminded myself that pedaling faster wasn't going to speed the time up on my bike, I couldn't make myself slow down! 

Finally! Victory was mine as I finished my bike session and claimed an empty treadmill. I started my treadmill session and suddenly had the thought, "Oh dear God, please don't let that smell be me." It took finishing the treadmill and moving away before I was certain it wasn't coming from me but more than likely, the smell was coming from the big muscled man who'd turned the treadmill practically vertical to do his run. 

I finished my various cardio machines and made some mental notes to myself. 

Mental note #1: Those reassurances people give about no one else caring about what it is you're doing in the gym, what you look like, how you're dressed....they aren't exactly true. It was one thing when the tiny stick girl 10 years or more younger than me on the treadmill was running like a maniac. I told myself "meh- she's younger than you. It doesn't look bad that you're going about 1/10th the speed she is." I couldn't tell myself the same thing when the white haired old lady climbed up on the treadmill on the other side of me and started keeping pace with Twiggy the Wonder child on the other side. But, I persevered. 

Mental note #2: Spread the word via this blog to avoid direct confrontation and hurting anyone's feelings. For the love of everything that is holy, if you're someone who is particularly sweaty, stinky, and hairy and you use a towel to wipe the sweat off of you as you workout, do not use that same towel to "wipe down" the equipment when you're done and delude yourself into thinking you've done something good. Just go get the disinfectant that the gym supplies. Please.

I felt really great afterwards about my progress and about how I'm beginning to look (even if it's completely self-delusion on my part.) I felt so accomplished and in charge seeing as how I stuck it through to the end. Then this evening I stumbled across this article at Glamour.com

Well, it doesn't matter. I want to run like I did when I was a kid. Without worrying about what's hurting or how many calories I've burned. I just want to run for the sheer joy of running. I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing. I sort of like it. Sometimes. Ok, well I like it after I'm done. Does that count? 

Ciao,

xoxo