Gym rat, fitness junkie .. it’s all right there – in the heading of almost every “about me” there is. Though the last few months I have felt like the biggest liar because my 15 x a week gym routine withered to one or two times a week if I was lucky. Running? That received a huge shove to the back burner. And I could feel it. I was hating everything about not being into my fitness routine. But now, I am back into a fitness groove and it feels good.
I’m not sure what happened, or really what spawned the necessity to say enough is enough. Happy Me means Workout Me has to return and it has to do it quickly. I was already up every morning at 5am, whether I wanted to or not – damn Arizona sun and heat! So, why not make the most of it? I kept telling myself it was too hot to run outside. We are hitting 90 degree temps by 8am and the last thing I feel like doing is running. Thankfully that beautiful pool in my back yard comes in quite handy. I said screw it and started jumping in and doing laps in the morning. Yet, something was still lacking.
Friday morning, I woke up at my usual 5am and decided it was time to dust off the running shoes and start training. This laziness had to go. It was time to get back into what I started loving about running in the first place. The thump of my feet on the pavement, the cool {er … warm} breeze in my face and the steady beating of my chest to the ultra loud music blaring in my ears.
Montana is now seven months old and it was time to see if she could tackle three miles. I didn’t want to kill her on her first run. The first mile was like running with a kid with ADD. Look at that leaf, check out this grass, shit, is that a car? What do I do? Let’s run on this side, no, how about this side. I wanted to cry at first but then she got into a rhythm and the next two miles were fierce.
The best part about running every morning again that early is the fact that I jump straight into the pool when we get home and cool off. The pool doesn’t feel quite like bath water and it’s a refreshing end to a grueling session. After 15-20 laps I feel good about myself and by 6:15 I’m ready to shower and start my day.
Being back into a fitness groove is just what the doctor ordered. I was feeling overwhelmed with no escape outlet. Thank you God for giving me feet and a long stretch of road to let out my release.