Wednesday, August 17, 2011

I'm Branching Out - Advice Needed!

I guess I shouldn't act this age anymore???
RR:  I bought vitamins last night. And lettuce! What is wrong with me? I read a freaking book in bed before I went to sleep .... TWO nights in a row.  And I want to join the Y? I'm obviously not well. This Meniere's thing is messing with my brain. I didn't even eat French fries at dinner.

DD:  Perhaps you're finally not going to be a 12 year old anymore.

RR:  Really? Dammit. So this is what 13 is like?

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That is how my morning conversation went with my mom today. All of the above statements are true, well except you should add 20 years to those numbers. Yikes!!

Obviously I've been sidelined from running for way too long, but I think I am feeling well enough that tonight I'm going to venture out for some nice, hard, sweaty miles! It is normal, for me, in the summer to almost hibernate. I get a blubbery layer around me like a bear. It is in the fall and winter that the weight comes off. I'm tired of that. I don't want to feel blimpy just because I have terrible reactions to the sun and heat.  (Seriously, as if I don't puke enough with running as it is, having the sun make me do it too is just unfair!) Every day Rose tells us about her awesome workouts with her trainer. She swims in her badass suit. She bikes. She is my Michael Jordan. "Like Rose, if I could be like Rose ....." (please tell me you remember that song. I can still sing the Trail Blazers Bust a Bucket song, too!)

My latest idea:  Join the YMCA. Okay, I've never passed a swimming lesson in my life (all of this is important information for you at the end of this post, FYI!). I can't go under water without plugging my nose. Diving? What's that? Wait, swimming in public? In a suit designed for that? Are you kidding me??? Obviously I am not well for even considering this.

Also important to note, I have never been in a gym. Sure in PE we did things and had our little tiny weight room, but remember junior high PE? Did you care about working out or were you more into gossiping and talking about boys? I've never used a stationary bike thing when I wasn't just a kid goofing off. 

I want to try to tackle all of this. I already found out there was a water aerobics class MWF at 5:30 am. I could run to the YMCA and zig and zag to make it exactly 1 mile, do the class, run 1 mile home. I could go use weight machines and fix my noodle arms. I could actually, dare I say it?, cross train.

Um.... I don't know ANYTHING about this stuff!! Any advice you have is wanted and welcome. I'm petrified of day one of the swimming class thing. I looked at actual swim lessons - I kid you not I'd have to start at the pre-tadpole level - which is why I figure I can handle the aerobics better than trying to do laps right now. What do I need to know? What etiquette should I be aware of in the water, locker room, gym?

I'm going down there tonight with my mom after work to learn about becoming a member and hopefully getting a tour. I'm just so motivated and excited, I want to start NOW! 

WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH  ME???? I'm supposed to be the slacker that only eats french fries!

8 comments:

  1. Ooh! Have fun at the pool!! I think the aerobics will be a ton of fun.


    Are you still going to do the Pre 10K? Which hotel are you at? My dad actually booked one for us! So I am spending the night there too :))

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  2. LOL, do you have a fever???!!

    i too was terrified of the pool...and i was even a swimmer in high school! something about sharing a pool with strangers freaked me out! but i would definitely take a lesson. im not sure you will get too much out of water aerobics. i may be wrong, ive never done it, but the classes at my Y are full of old ladies. but doing one or two classes may help you get acclimated to the pool in general. be nice to lap swimmers (like me!) we often get bullied out of the pool by recreational/water aerobics ladies. im really enjoying the Y right now. i do a yoga/taichi/pilates class for strength training. i use the treadmill (gasp!!!) because its too effing hot to run outside at all now. good luck, you will enjoy it!

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  3. Locker room etiquette: Don't stand around naked while blow drying your southerly equator. Don't fondle anyone. Actually, these tips apply pretty much to the whole gym.

    (I can't swim either.)

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  4. Locker room: Do not talk to naked people. Do not stare at naked people. AVOID THE NAKED PEOPLE. And man, at the Y, they will ALL BE NAKED.

    As for weights, oh man. Let me see if I can dig up something for you.

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  5. Awwww...it's all this healthy running stuff that's invaded your DNA and now you feel the unavoidable urge to "kick it up a notch" - *grin*

    I say, don't fight it!

    And yeah, just keep your eyes on the ground or at some random spot on the wall, and you'll do just fine.

    Thank you, btw, for your very kind comments over on my blog. :-) I hope the three of us can do another race together soon!

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  6. Good for you! I truly believe that living outside of your comfort zone is where you grow as a person! Grow away!

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  7. I personally love being at a gym. I have been a member of one for 7.5 years now. Gives me NO excuse to miss a workout because of weather... I like the options of other cardio if I have aches/pains and LOVE the classes that are offered. Plus, with A, I really HAVE to do a gym if I want to exercise.

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  8. I hope you love the water aerobics class! I love the AquaFit class I go to. I get to go tomorrow after two weeks away, can't wait! Definitely post about how it goes! Also, I recently started swimming just a few laps after class and that gets your heart pumping, wow!

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Thanks for reading my little blog, your comments rock my compression socks!! ºoº