Moving along

I had an epiphany at Zumba last night.   Ok actually I had a few epiphanies!

Let me start by saying that I have a rather large gap of time between work and my zumba class on Monday nights.  Enough time to go home....for 20 minutes (but would I leave home to go back out?)  There is nothing between work and zumba...it's countryside.  So I end up going to the parking lot and sitting there reading or napping for the hour and a half.  It wasn't too bad in the summer or early fall.  But let me tell you, last night I got COLD and I realized that I couldn't do that too much longer.  It left me wondering how to deal with that time.   

Welcome epiphany number one!    I would drive by zumba and go the extra 10 minutes and go to the gym!   I could get to the gym by 4:15-4:20.   I would have an hour at the gym.....If I left by 5:15 I would have MORE than plenty time to get back by 5:30 which would leave me a half hour before class to rest and shoot the breeze with my com-padres.   Brilliant!

Yes, the thought of doing a workout at the gym and then immediately following it up with a zumba class did make me step back for a few seconds (minutes?) and think.  But I quickly decided that of course I could do it.  I could do a lighter workout at the gym for that hour. I'm not sure I would want to run for the whole hour but maybe a ride on the exercise bike?   Walk on the treadmill?  Something less vigorous for sure.  Why not?   Our bodies are capable of a whole lot more than we give them credit for.   As I squatted, lunged, jumped and danced my way through the class, my mind was going a mile a minute.  Why?   Epiphany number two!!!!

My second epiphany was this?   If I run in the morning there is nothing to keep me from doing a lighter workout in the evening.  If I'm paying for the gym, why not immerse myself in it fully.  I'm usually awake by 6AM.   I usually lay around being a bum until such a time that I am required to get up to get ready for work (a few hours sometimes) or until it is do or die time...meaning I have to go run right then and there or risk not having time to complete it and shower before working.  (And yes, my coworkers usually appreciate when I shower before work).  So get my butt out of bed and to the gym. (On run days if it is nice definitely run outside!)   But why can't I swing by the gym some evenings and pick up a second little workout?  I'm not saying to go and do anything outrageous and crazy and hurt myself....but why not?

You see.....a few weeks back I drew a line in the sand and said I was going to lose a set amount of weight before Christmas.  It was a lofty goal of 25 pounds in something like 10 weeks.    I have 6 weeks and about 18 pounds left to lose to make that goal.   YIKES!  I better get cracking!

So last night before turning off the light and calling it a night, I set my alarm for 6AM.  I knew running outside would be iffy because they were calling for rain....but not worries, the gym is just a few minutes away.   I woke up and boy did I NOT want to go.  I was feeling miserable and sorry for myself (yeah yeah yeah...shush up...I'm allowed those days...the cycle affects it somewhat too!).  But after just a few minutes in bed I drug myself up and got ready to run.   I had checked the weather and it looked like I would have a window until about 8AM to avoid the rain.....I was running on the roads!  WOO HOOO!    I made it upstairs and looked outside....drizzling.  Hmmmm...I don't mind running in the rain when it's 80 or 90 degrees outside...but when the temp is 40 degrees?   When I have access to a treadmill?   I changed my plans and went to the gym. 

I had set a plan of 3 miles.  I started and ran the first two miles at my normal pace.   I so wanted to stop when I hit the two mile mark.  In fact, I actually slowed to a walk and had almost mostly decided to call it quits, or at the bare minimum walk out the last mile.   But then I started to think about how long it would take to walk that mile.  I also started to think about how I had set a 3 mile goal.  So after just a tenth of a mile of walking I cranked it back up to my running pace.   The minutes were dragging.  And then I had another wonderful epiphany!!!   If I run faster, I can get the torture over with that much quicker!  So I cranked up the speed even further!  One more time I cranked it up further.   Admittedly, I would run at my fast clip one or two tenths of a mile and then I would have to back it down a bit....but after just a few seconds of respite, I would crank it back up.  I wanted to be DONE!  And done I was.....after a little bit of sweat and torture.  But ok, I can see how this will be to my advantage to push myself faster to get it done with as I have to fall back on treadmill runs!