Yesterday I went for a walk around this little lake that's over by my apartment. Actually, it's more like a giant cesspool of goose and duck poop covered with water, but to the untrained eye it looks like a lake, and with all of the leaves turning, it's very beautiful to walk around these days. I'm really trying to step up my exercise routine - actually, to develop some sort of routine at all - and the bright sunny day just screamed for me to come out and play, and so I did.
I usually do three laps around the lake, when I go, although I did four on Saturday and so I thought I'd do four again yesterday. Toward the end of my second lap, I saw two women, probably in their early fifties or so, making their way up the trail in the opposite direction and they were totally bookin' it. I mean, just a step or two down from Olympic power walking. I thought I was going along pretty well but I decided to kick it up a notch just to make myself look good. As they passed me, they both smiled and one gave me a very enthusiastic "Good job!" and a thumbs-up. I also passed an elderly couple who was looking for their cat Trevor, which I think is a decidedly odd name for a cat, but that's beside the point.
I passed those ladies again halfway through my third lap, and I got the thumbs-up and a "Woo hoo!", which I returned in kind. When we passed each other again at the beginning of lap four, one of them said, "You go, girl!", and I said, "You guys, too!" I was pretty tired at that point, trying to keep up with these ladies and their crazy pace, but as I passed them that third time, I suddenly got a huge burst of energy and this sense of, well, goodness. Awesomeness, really. I felt like I hadn't been walking at all, and as great as if I had just started. It sounds corny, but I swear, those women were just so inspiring. I stopped worrying about getting home in time to get dinner done and watch "Crossing Jordan," and I just let the breeze and the sunshine move me along into a fifth lap.
Five laps was pretty much all I could handle and I hung it up after that, but I hauled ass that fifth time around the lake. When I passed those ladies for the last time, we all gave each other a thumbs up and a "Woo hoo!" at the same time, and one turned around to shout, "You've got a great pace going, and by the way, you have a beautiful smile!" I breathed out a thank-you and told them to have a great night, and in all my panting and gasping for air, was surprised that I was even smiling at all, let alone had a "great smile."
I went home and felt like I could conquer the world, and I am carrying that feeling with me today. It was just one walk in a long line of thousands that I need to take, and it's not like I was even jogging, but I just felt like I had contributed to something. And then I thought of the cameraderie, of the "sisterhood" of us chicks walking around the lake. Complete strangers, moving and motivating along the way, pushing each other to do their best. And I just felt cool.
And grateful.
Trying to take the advice scrawled across my coffee cup and "Love the moment"...
5 comments:
That's so cool! I love that feeling too. There's something about pushing yourself, physically, that brings out the best in you and others doing the same thing. Not everyone can, or will, do 5 laps around the lake! Bask in your accomplishment, Boonzie, don't minimize it by saying you weren't even jogging. In the big scheme of things, who really cares if you were running or walking? And if you wish to run, in the future, you can't get there without walking today. Trust me! No matter how you look at it, you did something. Something good!
That's so nifty, sister sue. Mia is right, don't sell yourself short on what you did last night. It was a contribution. A contribution to yourself and to those ladies. Our bodies and minds can only heal if we keep contributing.
Great story. At my gym it's about the competition and not the assisting. People are always looking at your treadmill speed, how fast you're going on the elliptical and what level you're at on the bike. Or so it seemed. My friend was the one that was always doing that and I'be like, "who cares?"Sometimes it just takes a smile!And you did contribute to something. Very important too. Your health!Way to go and "woohoo!"
Woo Hoo to you Boonzie!!!It is that kind of encouragement that I think we all need, from time to time, to keep us going. Good job yesterday.
Thanks all you ladies! See, that's what I'm talking about - the sisterhood! Nothing is more motivating than support; I know it's what has been keeping me going.
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