I wanted to get in a run before I went to Florida to visit my Big Little Sister and my niece, so I scheduled a morning run with my Gym Cousin. I called him at 7:45 AM, and to my surprise he answered on the first ring and he actually sounded awake. “Are you dressed I asked?” “Yes,” he replied, “just waiting on your call.” He said “if you hadn’t called, I was taking these clothes off and getting back in the bed.” I laughed and told him, “I’m putting on my socks and I’ll meet you there in a few minutes.” I had all my clothes laid out the night before so that getting ready would be as effortless as possible. I pulled on my Nike hoodie which apparently I’ve worn to the gym one too many times because it smelled a little tart. I was too sleepy to care if my hoodie was kinda stinky, and I wore it anyway, and made a mental note to toss it in the wash later. I sluggishly dragged myself down the stairs and out into the cold. I made a quick detour to the sidewalk to turn around the dumpster roll cart that my tenant consistently faces toward the curb instead of the proper way, facing towards the street. I was already in vacation mode mentally, and simply climbing inside my SUV on a chilly 37° morning took a lot of effort.

My Special Friend called my cell as I was getting out of the car walking into the gym, I was quite proud to brag about my whereabouts, and it made me smile that I was on his mind this early in the morning. I had to wrap up the conversation pretty quickly as my cousin walked in the gym about a minute or two after me. We both have issues with being on time and I couldn’t believe that we actually pulled it off and were in sync this morning. Nothing good was on the treadmill TV at 8 AM, not even the my gym favorite the Kardashian’s, just a Miley Cyrus special that I had zero interest in. I struggled through Week 4, and the five-minute runs were nearly impossible. My cousin finished the 3 minute runs and the 5 minute runs. I was frustrated that I couldn’t do the full 5 minute runs, but not defeated. Nothing could make me feel defeated when I got up early just to run before my flight. He made me swear that I would train on vacation, and I promised that I would. We made plans to run outside when I got back and he was off to work.

I love to travel and I don’t feel any anxiety about flying. Most of my anxiety comes from wondering if the person next to me will be upset that they’re stuck next to a plus size chick and praying that the seat belt will fit without an extender.

20130320-132539.jpgI made it to Florida, sans seat belt extender. I gave my Sis a big hug and jumped in the back seat with my niece, who was so excited to see me that she was bouncing up and down. She didn’t let go of me the whole car ride. Although, that night, she did scare the bejesus out of me when I awoke to her staring at me at 4:30 am. She just wanted to make sure I was still there and asked to sleep with me. I let her climb in, and we slept until I was awakened by the Amazon jungle safari sounds of creepy birds squawking and God only knows what other animals, that I know for a fact we do not have in St. Louis. I put her back in her Dora bed, and mentally hyped myself up to go for a run through the Florida wild life…..

TO BE CONTINUED……

 

 

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1 Comment
  1. I have stopped “planning” to run on my vacations, knowing I will just disappoint myself. Instead, I have to build vacation-style exercise in. For our upcoming vacation (we leave this afternoon!) I plan to do a LOT of hiking, snorkeling, and seek out a yoga class or two. Have a fun trip!

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