How to save a life...

Yesterday, I (kind of) had an epiphany.


I had just arrived home from my friend Charlie's wedding weekend and it was hot. 


It was hot and humid. 
It was hot and humid and I was dehydrated. 
It was hot and humid and I was dehydrated and tired.


During my run, I thought back to high school softball. I loved softball and let's be honest, I was a beast. 


Then I thought back to Mr. Barile, my coach. This man did not accept excuses. Ever. On days very similar to yesterday, he used to make me block balls that he shot at the ground using a pitching machine. Hot, sweaty and with dirt in my eyes and mouth, I did not complain. I knew if I did, I would have been out there twice as long. I can still remember him yelling over the din of the machine, "This builds character, Jessie! Just grit your teeth and do it!"


Why couldn't I look at going for a run like going to practice? If I had ever decided not to go to softball practice because I was "tired" or "it's hot", Barile would have crucified me and then cut me from the team. I work 8 hours a day - so what? I went to school for 8 hours a day and then still had to either practice for 2 hours or play a game for longer.


I'm glad I can call out my excuses when they come. Some days will be harder than others but a run is a run, no matter how small.

J




PS. I went for a run at work today.

Hey, Jealousy

I just looked at the date of my last blog post...Feb 22nd! For shame.


This weekend a strange phenomenon happened. Charles and I were out taking Sadie for a walk when I saw two people going for a run together. I was then filled with the strangest emotion: Jealousy. For the first time in my entire life, I was jealous of runners. I thought back to two summers ago when I went for a run every lunch at Hesser and how easy it seemed. I thought back to how fantastic running every day made me feel. 


Sometimes I feel like I make exercising seem harder that it really is. It's taken some hard introspection, but I realized that I am indeed an excuse-maker. It's something I am working on.

Today I went for my first long run in a while and it felt great. I just need to remember two things: 1) The feeling I get after a run and 2) It's not as hard as I think it is.


Until Tomorrow,
J

Rise from the Dead

Well, not that I was on death's door or anything, but I certainly took a much-too-long hiatus from blogging. I have been exercising, but not nearly what I should be (or want to be) doing. 


'What prompted this blog?', you may be asking. Well, let me tell you.


Today, on our walk with Sadie, Charles and I saw a runner coming towards us...in a cycling shirt.


I looked at Charles, "Is that...Judy?"


It was. As soon as I realized it, I wanted to take a left and veer away from what was sure to be an awkward encounter. I did not, because Judy was too damn fast. She's ALWAYS too damn fast.

"Hey guys!" 


Oh god. Oh god oh god. We haven't been spinning in a month. At least. 


"Hey!  We were wondering if that was you! We recognized your jersey" (in my head I am repeating a brand new mantra: don't call her Judy, don't call her Judy, don't call her Judy...).


"Yeah, I'm wearing my cycling jersey. I run too."


Yeah, I know you run, Judy. You talked about your marathons and triathalons all the time at 6am. Guilt-causing conversations that happen that early in the morning take years to repress.


Judy asked where we had been. I explained that staying up late to do my class work combined with getting up at 5am  had caught up with me. Once I was done my classes, we would be back.



So there it was. Who knows why Judy was there that day. For all I know, she got our address from the Y, and had been running by our apartment for weeks trying to "accidentally" run into us and make me feel guilty about not being in spin class. And knowing Judy, she probably had some recording device on her so that if I don't show up for spin class next month, she'll "accidentally" run into me again and play back our conversation. 


Never underestimate Judy.

Well, you win, Judy. Now I shall start running religiously again.


Until Tomorrow,

J

Le Tired

Today truly was a battle.


3.0 miles, a distance I did last week, but today I was exhausted. EXHAUSTED. Not sure why, I think it could have something to do with oversleeping.


But, I persevered, and tomorrow will be 3.5 miles. Gross.

Also: SNOW (but not enough to keep me contented)

Shades

It always seems like whenever I go to the gym in the morning, I always get stuck on the treadmill with the sun burning in my eyes. Why the Y doesn't have a shade you can pull down is still beyond me.


Not only does doing my "Rest Day" workout in the blazing sun kill my retinas, it is also going to give me premature wrinkles from all the squinting I do. Blimey.




Until Tomorrow,

J

Week 2...

of training for a half marathon looks oddly similar to last week's, except every running distance has been upped by half a mile. Therefore, today I ran 2.5 miles (2.2 of that actually spent running). I'm getting faster and I can run longer!


Today I remembered another rule of the gym:

ALWAYS WIPE DOWN YOUR MACHINE AFTER YOU USE IT.

Yes, chick on the treadmill before me, I am talking to YOU. I don't care if you didn't even sweat, you just "glistened" during that workout. I don't want to touch the buttons after you just did. I don't know where those fingers scratched or wiped during your workout, and I don't EVER want to know. Ergo, I DEFINITELY do not want to touch anything you have.


Especially not after I heard a Y employee explaining to a little old lady earlier:


"So say you scratch it, and then touch your arm and touch your face. Then you've already spread it to three other places"

THIS WAS A DIRECT QUOTE.


So, people of the Y: Clean yo'self.


Until Tomorrow,

J

Fan Karma

Well....yesterday was literally a day of rest. After working from 8:30-1 I got home, crawled into bed, and took what I thought would be an hour nap. Fast forward three and half hours, and cue me waking up to realize I need to shower immediately and drive up north for Charles' mom's birthday. Holy cow! Apparently, when I nap; I nap hard.


Today's 3 mile run took a back seat to a lesson in karma.

The YMCA has floor fans, and since running tends to make me sweaty, I like to pick the treadmill that has the fan facing it. So I hopped on my treadmill and began to run. 


Enter a younger male, who was making it painfully obvious that he was a runner. Not only was he wearing obnoxiously short shorts, but he was wearing a teeny-tiny tank top. His entire outfit seemed to say "Look at me! I have 0.1% body fat and chicken legs. Watching me run will be like watching a skeleton run if the skeleton was a model for Dick's Sporting Goods and proactiv (a BEFORE model)." 




Harsh? Don't care. Why? Here's why.

This douche-bag o' bones apparently feels that HE needs the fan more than I need the fan. Excuse me? Who is going to need the fan more? The person with more insulation, that's who. But no, he takes the fan, and points it at him. So I'm stuck watching Christian Bale circa The Machinist run in MY FAN WIND.


But only for about 30 seconds. That's how long it took for karma to kick in and give skeletor a tweaked leg muscle.

Oh, so sad.


The other glorifying moment at the gym today was that I outlasted everyone who got on a machine while I was there. 3.2 miles and counting! :)


Until Tomorrow,

J