Working Out: Do Not Disturb

Working Out: Do Not Disturb

Apr 26, ’07 3:00 AM for everyone

Working Out: Do Not Disturb

 

Felt cranky today.  Wasn’t able to carry out my run which I had so eagerly planned the night before.  I know I shouldn’t let it affect me so I could go on with my day like normal people do. 

 

But alas, it is not to be.  I get annoyed at the guard at the village gate for asking for my ID.  Poor guy was just doing his job.  I retaliate with full-on hostility at my friend when he tries to tease me with his usual “your thighs are humongous” brand of comments.  Sorry dude, I’m just not gonna have a high tolerance for crap at the moment.  I snap or glare at anyone in general who manages to get in my way.  And mind you, getting “the look” from me is not a good thing.

 

Truth is, I’m just mad at myself.  Mad because I allowed other people and other concerns take over my Me Time yet again.  Which reflected badly on my ability to put my foot down when necessary.  And goodness knows—I need that workout.

 

For years I have been training for all sorts of reasons and lofty aspirations.  But now I just want to keep it simple.  I just want to feel good.  And breaking a sweat does the trick for me almost instantly.

 

I struggle through the hodgepodge miscellany of my daily routine but at the back of my mind I am aware that I have to regroup at the end of it and at least try to finish it off in good spirits.

 

Why is it so important that I log in a solo workout regularly, you say?  Because if I don’t, I won’t be able to breathe.   You hear guys say it all the time—I need my space.  And training on my own gives me that, especially since I live in the city and am in constant contact with maddening noise and fumes of one of the most polluted cities in the world.  And I have to exhale it all out at some point.

 

Just like everyone else, I do a lot of my training with other people, and I love being with them too.  It’s a highly energetic group vibe that you feed off from and it’s extremely fun.  This also means, though, that you have to adjust to what the rest of them are doing, and you can’t expect your friends to follow your unique program requirements.

 

I can see why, amongst my different sets of friends, the athletes are the happiest of the bunch.  We hardly have any bottled up stresses and when we do, we can scream it all off in one frenzied physical activity. 

 

Finally, at around 7:30pm, I see an opening.  I run at a relaxed pace sans my watch for six laps around my mile route and suddenly I begin to make sense.  My head is cleared from all unwanted debris and I am whole again.  My surroundings seem more luminous and the stars in the night sky are prettier.  I am connected to the universe.  It’s so not just the endorphins for this girl.

 

Ah, bliss. Sometimes I wonder if the buzz that follows exercise is considered legal.  I could trip on it forever.