My 20 or so minutes at the gym

My bodyflow class doesn’t exist on Friday mornings. Monday through Thursday I show up at 10:30, spend some time on my mat and then experience the bliss of savasana (ok, most days it’s bliss, other days my mind just won’t shut up or my sinuses are draining and I have to continually come back to focus on my breath).

Today, I opted to try my pull-up and chin up and practice a couple of yoga poses at home. I was playing with my camera trying to learn some settings. I thought I’d go to the bodyflow class at 4:30 or the power yoga at 5:30. As the day progressed, other things came up and I just didn’t think that would work out. I take my son and his friend to the gym every Friday, so I thought I’d just walk the treadmill.

I pick out a treadmill and am disappointed that I didn’t bring my earphones. It’s 4:27. I could still run upstairs and go to bodyflow. I didn’t bring my yoga mat and I have a paranoia about putting my bare feet on the mats due to a really bad staph infection I once got in a pilates class. I check my Fitbit. I really just want to get close to my 10,000 steps. I have a little less than 5,000. I’ve already cranked it up to 4.0. Maybe if I run, it’ll get over faster. I crank it up to 5- something. I’m wondering how people love running. I’m bored out of my mind. I do, however, notice that I’m in better shape than I used to be. I can breathe and go a little longer. I slow back down and see that 4.0 is a 15-minute mile. Maybe I can make it to 15 minutes without going crazy. My face is a little damp. I have makeup on. I’m wondering if it’s melting off of my face. My mascara is waterproof so I’m pretty confident I don’t have raccoon eyes. A lady gets on the treadmill next to me. I just want to be finished. Can I make it to 7,000 steps in 15 minutes? I take it back down to 4.0. I’m at 12 ½ minutes. One more run. I crank it up to 6.1. I have a long stride and I want to see if I can handle this. I can and decide to do it for two minutes. The lady beside me cranks it up to a run. Her feet are loud on the treadmill. I wish that I had earphones. She’s substantially shorter than me so I wonder how fast she’s running. I glance over and it’s 5.0. Man, her feet sound so loud. Will I ever be done? I start to crank it down to my 4.0 and she slows down too. I ponder about the fact that maybe she was running because my feet sound loud. I continually slow down and put in 15 ½ min.

I gather my stuff, check to be sure I don’t have makeup running down my face, and set off in search of my son. I find him and tell him that I’m going to do the stairclimber which is nearby. My son tells me they are going to shoot hoops. I put in 1 ½ minutes. It says that I have climbed 6 flights and yet my Fitbit hasn’t changed. I’m not doing this work for no credit. I go walk 3 flights in the stairwell. I have two sets of stairs at home and I’ll finish the rest when I get home. I exit upstairs and see the closed door to the bodyflow room. I lament the fact that I am not in there. I wonder where my son is and see that my husband has made it to the gym. I ask him if he’s seen the boys. He has not. I ask him if “the monster” is there. “The monster” is what my kids have named some guy who can lift a bunch of weight. His most impressive feat is that he leg presses 1500 or 1600 pounds. I have heard about him for months, but I am never there at night. My husband points him out and I walk past him as I leave. I’m sure his muscles are very large, but in my mind, I’ve imagined him as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. He does not look like that to me. I head toward the front and remember that my son said he’d be shooting hoops in the gym. I round him and his friend up and we head out into the cold, rainy evening.

Let your light shine!

Amy