Skip to main content

What next?

If I can successfully complete this 21-day diet cleanse (and Sunday's day 21, so I'm pretty confident), then I feel like I can do just about anything.

That was my main motivator when I bopped into the living room last night and declared to Tim: "I'm going to become a runner."

I wasn't quite sure where to go after that. I felt as though I should put on some running shoes and take off down the road like Forrest Gump.

That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd run to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd just run across Greenbow County. And I figured, since I run this far, maybe I'd just run across the great state of Alabama. And that's what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean. And when I got there, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going. When I got to another ocean, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well just turn back, keep right on going. -- FG


Tim and a few fitness-fan friends have offered the basic advice -- start easy to avoid shin splints or other similarly painful setbacks, make sure I wear good shoes, stay hydrated, don't forget to properly warm up, and train with a specific goal in mind.

So this morning, I got up at 5 a.m., grabbed my iPod, stretched my quads and hams and etc., and ran. Technically, it was more a slow jog, but jogging sounds incredibly lame, so I insist it was running. And I did it for a whole mile. I don't know that I'd ever run an entire mile all in one outing in my entire 36 years.

Here we are, 11 hours later, I'm not staggering or flinching or crying out in unbearable pain. Maybe I'm delirious. Delusional? Or manic? That's possible, but, Nah. I think this is what healthy feels like. I'd like to hope this feeling will continue.

I have about a month and a half to train for my specific goal: the Cedar Rapids 5k Fun Run on Labor Day. It was supposed to be held during the Freedom Festival, which would have been impossible given the fact that the streets on which athletes were to run would have been under several feet of flood water.

Are you not sick enough of the flooding references? I know I am. But I suppose I should be thankful that the run was postponed, to better suit my latest bit of fitness madness.

Comments

Brianne said…
More power to you, sista!

Popular posts from this blog

Is it OK to own a Canadian?

In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance. The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, written by a U.S. resident, and posted on the Internet. It's funny, as well as informative: Dear Dr. Laura: Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination ... End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them. 1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexic...

In memoriam...

I remember the first time I heard the name "Les Anderson." A bunch of Wichita State University communication majors were sitting around on campus, talking about classes they planned to take. Several people warned me: watch out for Les Anderson. He was tough. He had a murderous grading scale. It was nearly impossible to get an A. They weren't kidding. But he wasn't tough just to be a tyrant. From his teaching sprang a fleet of incredible, successful journalists, writers, editors, broadcasters, public relations experts, advertisers, non-profit professionals...I could go on and on. Most importantly, he created a legion of people who wanted to make a difference in the world. The greatest gift Les gave to them all? He believed in them, cared about them for their own personal stories as well as the stories they told for class assignments or in the pages of his hometown newspaper. Les was my teacher. My boss. My mentor. My conscience. My champion. My friend. When I started c...

Holy Separated-At-Birth, Batman!

Gary Oldman...meet Uncle Knit-Knots from Imagination Movers.