April 5th, 2007; 4:48 PM
Current mood:
energetic
I was working out in the gym the other day, feeling a little bit like a goob because I was carrying around my workout journal. It keeps track of my weights, reps, sets, goals, intensity level, and other good stuff. I get that it's a good tool for keeping focused, and being accountable. But I hate walking around the gym with it. I never see anyone else with one, except for the occasional trainer who is following around their client writing down info for them. Anyhoo. I got over my embarrassment, and was in the locker room after my weight training session, writing down notes on how it went and which weights felt like a 10 (maximum intensity level) an which weights could be increased; when this really nice girl walked up to me. We had talked a bit in the weight room. She asked me about the book and when I told her what it was she immediately lit up and said "I did that in college! I lost 20 pounds! And I'm doing it now! I wanted to come up and talk to you in the gym but I didn't want to come on too strong!" We started to talk and then two other women approached me and asked about the book. They had all been watching me in the weight room. I totally noticed. But this was a great lesson for me in life. I felt like a goob, so when I noticed people watching me, I thought they were thinking I was a goob. But in actuality, they were watching me in admiration. Wo ho! No way! Waaaay. I really have to hold on to this lesson because all too often, when I imagine what other people are thinking about me, it is always a mean and critical voice that pops up. And I really need to check my info and update it regularly…because who knows, that person might be thinking something nice.
….ooooh and get this. I'm a Buddhist, and every year I write down 100 determinations (they're like goals for the non-Buddhists out there), and this year #66 was to run in a 10K, and #67 was to run a half-marathon (13.1 miles). I ran in my first race last year with my mom. We did a 5K in November. When I did it, it was the max limit of what I could run, but now I could run it every day and often times do. We set the goal of running it kind of as a joke, but really as a goal to inspire us. My mom was really sick last summer and almost died. She was in the hospital for 3 months and during that time, lost the ability to walk. She had to relearn how to walk, talk, think, and speak. For a long time nobody seemed to think that she was going to make it. She is still diagnosed as terminal. Anyhoo. It became our running joke that "we were in training for the race." For my mom who was just learning how to do things like stand and shuffle, that was her training. Trips to the bathroom were her version of running a marathon. When we did the race, she was in a wheelchair and I jogged with her. But I digress…The girl, Liz that I met at the gym is in a women's running group. They're training for a half-marathon coming up at the end of this summer. I'm joining their group and doing it! She said it's a good course for your first time out because it's a lot of gentle rolling hills. She said you need that for a half-marathon. It's a lot easier than just a flat course because that requires consistent effort, and with the hills –yeah, you have to struggle up them but! Then you get to coast downhill for a while, and you get a break. So…how cool is that! I actually have a group of people to run with now! And it looks like I'm actually going to accomplish 2 of my determinations. Yay!
