Mad Respect to the Ultimate Fitness People

Crossfit, marathons, body building, triathlons, biathlons, etc. People who take part in those have my utmost respect. I have said in the past that I can’t be someone who does those things, yet I find myself creeping ever so slowly into their camp.

No. Not yet. I said creeping. Please keep reading.

This morning as I ran, I found myself not wanting to get going. I thought about stopping a few times not because I was tired or wore out or even in any pain. I just didn’t feel like doing it. After the first half mile, I still wasn’t into it, but I kept going.  Then, something crazy happened. I not only felt like finishing the run, but I actually added an extra mile to it. It felt good. The last half was a little tough and I started to feel it in my muscles, but then after the last mile was done, I went for another quarter of a mile. Why?

Because I could.

I can’t say I pushed myself with my pace this morning, because I didn’t. I didn’t set out to break any records or make any personal bests. I just set out to run on this brisk (43 degrees!) morning to continue my journey in getting fit. What I found  was that I started getting a good feeling from exceeding a past accomplishment.

This is new.

Since doing my first Whole30 and going Paleo, I’ve been pretty adamant about not needing exercise to lose weight. I still maintain that it is not necessary, and that’s super-important for those who are physically unable to exercise or who are like I used to be and just flat-out refused to exercise. That’s okay: you can still lose weight! But then, it isn’t enough. You lose weight, but you find that you are weak and that you want something more out of your body. You start doing something to get some exercise. The next thing you know, you’re adding miles to your runs and feeling GREAT afterward.

So I get it. You people who do the extreme physical activities; you’re not weird. You’re not so strange to me anymore. You’re just way farther ahead of me in this journey, and far more dedicated. I don’t know that I will ever get to exactly the same level as you super-people, but I am finding that I am enjoying being able to be physically active and to push myself a little here and there.

It feels good. And dammit, I never thought I’d be the person saying this, but I’m glad I started running. It’s one of the best things I’ve done in the past 10 years.