Looking at my running shoes collecting dust in the basement, yesterday I thought to myself, This is it. I’m going to the gym today. And so I packed up my Pumas and off I went, back to the neighbourhood YMCA that I haven’t visited in two long years.
I got on the treadmill and was pleasantly surprised that I could not only remember how to use it, I could still change tracks on my iPod while adjusting the incline. Now that’s what I call cross-training. After a few minutes of trotting along, I floored it and started huffing and puffing along with my fellow treadmill runners who looked like they were training for marathons.
At best I’ve always been a reluctant exerciser. You’d find me at the gym three times a week to maintain my weight and a modicum of cardiac health rather than from a desire to enjoy the endorphin rush you get from a killer workout. After I had my son a few years ago, I returned to the gym a few times, then not at all as the months trickled by.
But yesterday I turned a corner. As I was running like a lunatic, arms swinging, I suddenly felt great — like I was going to fly. Why had I been gone for so long? I have many excuses, but they all seem pretty flimsy. So I’m going back, for the first time in my life because I like the way it feels, rather than because I “should.”
How about you? What’s the longest you’ve avoided the gym? Do you go because you enjoy it, or for your health?
-Helen
