An Early Morning

My husband was a little noisier than usual this morning when he left the house around 530 AM. It was just enough extra activity to roust me from my slumber, and I laid in bed thinking to myself it was way too early to get moving. If I closed my eyes, I should have a least another hour of sleep ahead of me. I tried to doze off again, but just as I was about to drift away, I had a flash. Chuck and I had made plans to meet friends for dinner downtown. There would be no time to fit in a work-out after work. I actually needed to get up and get moving if I wanted to fit one in today.

I continued laying there as I struggled with the inner debate...sleep a little longer...stick to my goals...sleep a little longer...stick to my goals. I peeled back the blankets and sat up. There really was no going back to sleep at this point anyway, my guilt would see to that! I slowly got up, pulled on my work-out clothes and headed out the door to my car. It was going to be a gym day.

I drove into the parking lot and looked around. There were a few cars over by the bloom, but not a single one in front of the gym. I had never been to the gym this early before, so I hadn't known what to expect. Apparently there were plenty of people like me who avoided work-outs first thing in the morning. When I entered the gym, it was completely empty and I was the only one there.

I have to admit, while I had often thought I would enjoy the freedom of working out in a  gym without any eyes surveying my progress, a completely empty gym was slightly unnerving. What happened if I suddenly keeled over from a heart attack or perhaps pulled a klutzy moment, fell off the treadmill and broke my leg? Farfetched perhaps, but still....I put my things away and headed to the treadmill. Just as I was hopping on, I heard the sound of the door opening and another patron entering. God must have been a little concerned too.

It turned out that I was just ahead of the morning crowd. By the time I finished my morning run, the gym was bustling with activity and any unease had given way to a sense of accomplishment for not only making it to the gym that morning, but managing to run yet a little farther than the time before. Turned out working out early in the morning wasn't so bad even though I didn't honestly think I would be making it a habit!

Communing with Nature

I said goodbye to my friend this morning and watched her drive off to Huntsville AL to start the next phase of her life. I was going to miss her, but I knew we still had more adventures ahead of us. So instead of letting it ruin my day, I wiped the tears away and headed to the shower to get ready for work. One goodbye down, one more to go. 

I followed with a productive day at work, and when I got home decided that nature was calling me. It wasn't too hot, there was a slight breeze in the air and the sky was a vivid blue. It was definitely an outdoor day. I had learned my lesson from previous walks this summer, however, so before heading out, I chugged a bottle of water. I did not want to get to the other side of the neighborhood only to discover it was hotter than I imagined it to be and find myself struggling to get home, because I was dehydrated. 

I headed out the door and turned to the left. I found I liked to alternate departure routes to keep the walks more interesting. Now that I was walking fairly regularly outside, the enjoyment of seeing the neighborhood children at play, manicured lawns or blossoming bushes wasn't quite as interesting as it had been after months of winter hibernation, but I still found it more interesting than the scenery that a treadmill provided. 

I pushed myself to walk at a pace just below a jog. I was trying to work up to running outside, but knew I wasn't quite there yet. The treadmill provided a soft landing, and I knew sidewalks and roads would provide another level of difficulty I had to work up to. I wound up and down the neighborhood streets and ended up on the backside of the neighborhood. I decided to head off the main roads and hit the walking path that edged the forest. 

I had only gone just a slight way when I realized that the bottle of water I had chugged had managed to make it all the way through me. I was going to have to slow my pace just a little for fear of "leakage". What to do? I was a long way from the house and wasn't particularly close to any of my friends houses. As I pondered my situation I had a vision of my husband telling me multiple times about instances where he had to pull off into the woods midway through a run to relieve himself. Somehow I never imagined I would be in that predicament. In fact, I was fairly sure I had even thought those exact words to myself many times as he relayed his stories; yet here I was actually considering the possibility of communing with nature in a way that I had not imagined when I left the house thirty minutes earlier. 

I considered how far it was to my nearest friend's house, and thought for at least another few steps that I might be able to make it there. Finally the urge was just too great; nature was calling and so was the nearest bush. As I headed home, I thought to myself that apparently there still were some firsts waiting to surprise me on this journey after all.  I'm just not quite sure ducking behind a bush was the kind of first I would count as a milestone.