Rainy day people
I lost my daily exercise momentum a few months ago and don't know how to get it back. I have been casting around for a ready-made fitness community that's not as expensive as Crossfit. Last night I went to a runners' group I found on Meetup.com. All levels welcome, it said. Wednesday night hill workout. I thought of a hundred reasons not to go as it drew closer, but only one other person had RSVPed and I felt bad about her standing around on the sidewalk, waiting for me to show up. Turns out it's an existing group with Meetup.com as a basically defunct offshoot (the woman from the Meetup posting was nowhere in sight), and it's mostly Serious Runners. "There's usually more people," one of the two women who showed up for it told me, "but everyone's tapering for the Twin Cities Marathon next weekend." Oh. Well.
They explained the route and took off jogging, while I took off walking behind them, with my purse stuffed into my backpack. It was absolutely fantastic weather for a hike -- grey and breezy and drizzly, just cold enough to make you feel tough and virtuous for being outdoors without chilling you enough to be miserable. The neighborhood is very Old Money and was full of other joggers. Of course, I got lost on the second half of the loop -- a fortunate wrong turn that took me off the running route but directly onto my bus line home. But I missed the steep hill that gives the Hill Workout its name. And now I'm obligated to show up again next week to let them know that I survived all right even if I did disappear.
I walked today at lunch, my usual route near the office that hasn't seen much of me lately, in the same damp-enough-to-feel-badass weather. The wind was for once not blowing from the slaughterhouse or the refinery or the waste dump, but the bagel factory up the street, and everything smelled like cinnamon raisin. It was even harder than usual to come back inside.
They explained the route and took off jogging, while I took off walking behind them, with my purse stuffed into my backpack. It was absolutely fantastic weather for a hike -- grey and breezy and drizzly, just cold enough to make you feel tough and virtuous for being outdoors without chilling you enough to be miserable. The neighborhood is very Old Money and was full of other joggers. Of course, I got lost on the second half of the loop -- a fortunate wrong turn that took me off the running route but directly onto my bus line home. But I missed the steep hill that gives the Hill Workout its name. And now I'm obligated to show up again next week to let them know that I survived all right even if I did disappear.
I walked today at lunch, my usual route near the office that hasn't seen much of me lately, in the same damp-enough-to-feel-badass weather. The wind was for once not blowing from the slaughterhouse or the refinery or the waste dump, but the bagel factory up the street, and everything smelled like cinnamon raisin. It was even harder than usual to come back inside.