Como los pajaritos sentados en un alambre, la gente en tu vida viene y va. Siéntate con ellos que tengan un cantito positivo.

Lifting - Origin Story

It has been 13 years since I started working out consistently.  It began when I was 19 years old.  This was also the year I came out.  Coincidence? I think not.  I lived in a dorm hall that was literally feet away from one of the largest sports/workout complexes in the COUNTRY. Heckin’ yeah! I was going to take full advantage, especially since it was “free” (not really, that singular year at that particular university I paid A LOT for it in my tuition). 

I started going to this gym with a girl friend who had some weight training experience from our high school.  She was also one of the first people I came out to. In high school, she would throw shot put, javelin, and was a competitive swimmer and to top it off she was a very smart person.  In short, she was someone whose opinion I trusted and respected when it came to weight lifting. 

We would go together daily. At first, I remember thinking, I don’t understand the physics of how I’m supposed to hold this weight. Like I couldn’t conceptualize how to hold a dumbell up and behind my head to workout my tricep. After some practice and several visits, I got the hang of it and I was hooked!  I could feel the muscle fatigue so strongly the next day. It felt like I genuinely accomplished something. It wasn’t an abstract goal or idea, it was physical. I could feel it. This was also the time that I finally got my hands on a magical new device called an iPod. So retro. Anyway, after a lifting session I would mechanically get on the treadmill to “get my cardio in.” Not for any reason in particular besides having been told that cardio was also part of a workout. So I would pop in my headphones and jog on the treadmill.

It felt good.

Running - Origin Story 

While I was listening to music, I would also do math in my head to pass the time (I will post about this in the future!).  Before I knew it, I would be on the treadmill for 45 minutes, 1 hour, 1 hour 15 minutes . . . It was great!

In this place and time in my life, I was fortunate enough to meet a new person in my small 8 person oral French class.  We chatted after class one day and we realized we lived in the same dorm hall, on the same floor even!  It was meant to be.  I told her about my new running obsession and she suggested going on a night run which seemed odd but I was intrigued.  

I remember the first night we got together to go running, my Virgo sun wanted a plan.  I asked her, “where are we running? how fast? for how long?” She responded, and I will never forget this, “wherever our legs take us.  If we get tired, we’ll stop.”  A revolutionary idea for someone who was truly struggling mentally in this new environment away from home.  No plan, no mental math, no set goals, no music, just go run goddamnit! 

We quickly became running friends that semester. On one of our initial hangouts she explained to me that running helped her with her form of Tourettes.  I had noticed during our small class sessions that she would have involuntary muscle spasms.  Her leg would kick repeatedly for a few minutes every so often sometimes inadvertently kicking the chair or table leg which would make a loud sound.  It was noticeable. She explained that running helped her.  I did not pry too much but I remember being happy that this new friend found something that made her feel good. At the moment, I did not intellectualize our runs. It was simply a fun activity.

I’ve been running since that first year out of high school. And like my first night running partner, I now can say that running has truly helped me personally in more ways beyond what is outwardly visible.

Gratitude 

13 years ago I began doing something for myself.  I am proud of my progress.  I am proud of who I am.  Over the years, many things have changed - work, friends, schedules, apartments, partners, health - the list goes on and on.  Working out and, particularly running, have been a rock for me. Physical fitness began as a fun hobby to aesthetically improve my physique.  This hobby has morphed into something greater than aesthetics.  It is a means for me to find wellness.

Perhaps I would have found it eventually on my own in some other life’s timeline.  But I know that in this life, the only timeline I know, I am grateful to the young women who introduced me to weight lifting and running.  Thank you.  

My intention is to provide inspiration and encouragement to others as I was inspired years ago.  Now grab your iPod Nano, go for a walk or jog around your block, and play some 2005 bops.  OK, go! (The band too;)