Fitness with Friends

I like projects. I live for them. It seems that every time I finish a project or meet a goal, I quickly focus my attention on something new. Most running goals are born that way. You run a 5K, and you then work towards a 10K, a half marathon, and a marathon. Maybe you move on to ultra marathon running. After I ran the marathon though, I knew I needed to give my body a break from running long distances. Some people are cut out for that type of exercise, but I am not. An hour is a good workout for me. Five hours? Never again. I had very little fun and my body was extremely angry at me.

Last September, I did a triathlon in San Diego. It was hands down the greatest physical accomplishment of my life. I had never felt so satisfied and proud after a race. Beforehand, as mentioned in an earlier post, I was terrified. Afterwards, I was floating. Part of that high was due to overcoming the fear of my first open-water swim (in the ocean!), but the more important part is that I was in the very best shape of my life. That summer, I was swimming once a week, biking twice a week, running two or three times a week, strength training twice a week, and eating like a champion. I was determined and motivated to be my best physical self and I got pretty darn close. The marathon training was a huge commitment and I'm proud of putting in the time and miles over those six months, but that kind of exercise did not make me stronger. In fact, most of the time I felt weaker. I was exhausted often and hungry all the time. Although I didn't gain weight, I know I lost muscle and strength and I didn't feel or look as good as I did in the summer. The emotional toll of slogging along the canal for miles and miles without a running partner or even music (Why, God, why did I do that?) eventually zapped my ambition and I could not wait for the marathon to be over so that I could do something.else.besides.run.

Well, I ran the marathon in 5:03. It was pretty much three minutes of fun and five hours of hell. Yes. Never again.

But that's over so what now? First thing I did was ride my bike. Pearl! Remember me? We got reacquainted and fell in love again. We're so in love that we're registered for Bike the Coast, a 100-mile ride along the California coastline in November. I'm really looking forward to doing that with my good friend Jennifer. I also wanted to get back into strength training. A while ago, some friends and I used to meet and do a strength circuit on the weekends. I missed it so I started a group for women who want to get in shape, stay in shape, have fun doing it, and drink coffee afterwards. Fitness with Friends (TM!) was born a month ago and is gaining strength...literally and figuratively. On Saturday mornings we run, walk, or run/walk for 20-30 minutes at our own pace along the trails, and then we meet for a 30-minute, full-body strength circuit. I save workouts from fitness magazines so it's fun to choose one or mix-up a couple and share them with my friends. The park is beautiful and serene and exercising outside is so pleasant. (I loathe treadmills and dingy, dank gyms.) Also, having partners in fitness is more fun than working out alone. We started with three members, and today we had four. Two others are interested so we're growing! It's rewarding to accomplish these workouts AND share them with friends. There's a playlist, too! No more sound of silence. Ever.