Running towards something…

Folks, I did the unthinkable: I gave the link to my blog to someone I’m sort-of seeing in an undefined, yet somewhat exclusive sort of way.  In other words: it’s complicated but I’m happy.  He has a nickname that my friends have heard stories from, but I’ve actually started to call him by his real first name which is a rather big step for me. And we’ll leave it at that.

Anyhow, I mention that because in doing so it sort of forced me to go back and reread some of my older stuff on here to see what kind of picture I might be painting out there to the general masses.   Later posts bitch of lack of romance, family crap, and general everyday fluff.  Earlier posts have this gung-ho, I am woman – hear me roar attitude towards running a marathon that I had all but forgotten about.

Last week I watched the women’s marathon in the Olympics and became somewhat inspired again.  I still have knee issues though, so I decided on Saturday morning to take different inspiration from Michael Phelps and go to the gym for a swim.   I mean, any movement at this point is an improvement- especially since I only have 5 months left of a 12 month membership to a gym that I have been to only a handful of times?  It was time to go. 

So I stopped at my local Walgreens and got some goggles.  I figured, hey… if I’m gonna do this, I’m gonna LOOK like I know what I’m doing, right?  (I refuse to do a swimcap though… I just can’t bring myself to wear one.) I went in the gym and first tried the pool on the roof.  After peering through the window and seeing all around the pool were trixie-looking  girls I decided instead to go to the pool in the basement.   The 3 lanes were full, but there was one girl in the middle lane who offered to share with me.  I thanked her and sat at her lane with my feet in the water at the edge of the deep end of the pool as I adjusted the strap on my new goggles. 

Goggle-strap good to go, I hop in the water.  I forget an important thing as I do this: Gravity.  I wasn’t in the 3′ end of the pool so of course my fat ass immediately gets sucked under water and therefore I end up taking a breath juuuust as my nose hits the water.  You know that lovely feeling where you’ve got water up your nose and you wish someone could invent a blowdryer for your lungs?  That’s about where I was.  I somehow managed to come up for real air, sans water, and not look or sound like a dead seal with my coughing. 

Michael Phelps I most certainly am not.

I still managed to keep myself moving in the water for a full 20 minutes.  I didn’t swim laps the entire time – I did spend part of the time just simply treading water, but again: it was movement and it was good.

Sunday I moved furniture, did not go to the gym.

Monday was the day I shared my blog and got the inspiration and remembered that someone had told me, “You just have to get out there – once you’re there you can choose not to move if you don’t want to,” and therefore went to the gym anyhow.  I didn’t swim for a full 20 minutes, it was about 15 this time, but I did get in a few good laps and capped it all off with 5 minutes in the whirlpool. 

Since I have plans for the next 3 evenings I am planning to hit the water aerobics class on Saturday morning if for no other reason than to get some ideas on other exercises I can do in the pool.  I found some online, but I think some in-person instruction might be the better way to go.  Who knows, maybe I’ll even find a swimming buddy to encourage me to go to the gym more often.