Next Time Won't You Sing With...

If any of you have been reading my blog for a while you know I am trying to get healthier. Healthy enough to show myself dancing again? I don't think so but you never know.

I joined a gym last Fall. I was supposed to schedule time with a certain person, that is in charge of meeting with new members, and showing them the equipment, before they try it out on their own. Well I'm no spring chicken and this young whippersnapper is like 26 and tall and well. Let's just leave it at tall lest anyone think I'm harboring unhealthy feelings for him. Let's just say I can't let this young kid see that I probably couldn't even bench press 10 pounds. Lord knows I had a hard time lifting 10 pounds with both of my arms put together when I cheated and did one of the arm machines all by myself when no one was looking.

So since I am too proud to schedule an appointment and since it looks like he won't be back for a while I don't know how to use much down there. I've convinced myself I'm "working up to it". I had stayed on the elliptical for my entire gym life. That is until a dear co-worker decided to start trekking down there with me on occasion. She has introduced me to the treadmill.

Ah the treadmill. Forever I have been afraid of that thing. Seriously. I think it's because I watched too many episodes of the Jetson's as a kid. If you aren't familiar just watch this and you will see what I mean...



But I decided that if my friend was going to be there with me I would be okay. I could do this. I could get over my fear of being sucked under the conveyor belt. And do you know what? I did it. I've been doing the treadmill every time since. And do you know what else? I LIKE IT!

This may seem like really small potatoes to some of you but to me it's an awesome feat. I've never been a runner. I've never been athletic. As a kid I couldn't even climb the knotted rope. I was a fatty fatty two-by-four. Just ask my siblings. Growing up is rough and unfortunately, I knew the song all too well.

But three times this week I got on that thing and I found a zone. Not the whole time I was on it mind you but yesterday I peaked at a whole 15 minutes of a zone. (Not bad considering prior I'd done 30 on the elliptical and my treadmill time was 40 minutes) This is new to me and I like it! Do you want to know how I get there? I stop looking at the monitors and I stare a the wall. And since the first time this happened and my friend was not there I started to sing in my head.

I did this so I would not think of how tired I was. Or how much sweat was dripping onro my eyeballs. So I would forget that I didn't have a towel and so I would not concentrate on the fact that I had forgotten my sports underthingy and had doubled up with an underarmor shirt and t-shirt over my regular underthingy so I wasn't flopping all over the place. Or think of how stinking hot I was because of all of the layers I was wearing. I started to sing.

I sang "A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y and Z. Now I know my A-B-C's next time won't you sing with me." Really I did! Over and over and over again and before I knew it I was liking the place I was in. I can't say I wasn't tired but I felt good. Really good.

So far I'm not winning the weight-loss challenge I am a part of but I'm starting to see some lines mixed in with the pudge and though I have a long way to go I am starting to feel like I may actually get there. I'm also finding out there are things I've avoided all my life because getting there was a little painful to start. Amazing.