Breathing is Good

I cannot believe summer is half over already, and I feel like I am just starting to get my head in the game.  Where I live, it is so incredibly lush and green everywhere, ripe with wildlife, all kinds of birds chirping happily, and all different pleasant fragrances from the vegetation, there is plenty to do and see.  But it is so very short before the mornings get cold and dark, where warming up the car for 20 minutes becomes a necessity, and before I know it, I will be driving white-knuckled over frozen, slushy, salty ice and snow.  In a way, I feel bad that I was in such a coma that I missed the first half of summer, but in reality, this stupid sun allergy reminds me every time, cloudy fall days are pretty nice, too.

I was concerned about getting myself out of bed this morning, as Monday's tend to be particularly difficult to persuade myself that 4:30 am is indeed a humane hour to be getting out of bed if I want to get things done.  In the past, I have allowed my sun allergy to prevent me from Monday morning workouts, not wanting to aggravate the already-inflamed skin, but today I thought, it is going to be miserable whether or not I go to the gym.  So I went.  It's amazing how effective a music change can be.  I listened to Pandora today, and they played some great songs and I had an awesome back and bicep workout.  The T-bar rows still irritate my knee a little, but they are one of my favorites so I am choosing to just deal with it.  That is what ibuprofen is for.  By the time I finished my workout, the sunrise was in full effect, an orange-purple beauty complimented by a layer of steam/fog from the hot, humid day we are about to experience.  And in the end, my sun allergy didn't feel any worse than when I woke up, but my body felt way better.

There is a lady at the gym that I have noticed a lot lately, because she actually uses the weights and because I see her there consistently.  I'm guessing that she is in her early 60's, and she has the typical overweight build for this area, most of the weight is concentrated on the midsection, with poor posture.  Many mornings we both arrive at the same time, and I am always floored by how labored her breathing is.  I mean, it sounds like she has just finished an all-out sprint.  And as she is changing her clothing, it gets even worse, to the point where I am concerned she will pass out or have a heart attack.  Part of me is happy that she is there, working on her health, but part of me thinks maybe she is starting this too late, maybe the damage is already done.  And it really makes me think of all the quasi-attempts and lackluster workouts I have had.  I am lucky that my health is still good and I can still improve it, after years of being overweight, I haven't permanently damaged my organs.  I realize I am lucky.  And because I am in the right mindset right now, I shake my head in wonder of what could be more important or taste better than that?  I will try to keep my heavy-breathing gym acquaintance in mind next time my body whines that it wants something non-nutritive.

Except for my Thai food on Saturday, which was curry rice with tofu, I have turned down all other off-plan foods right now, realizing that I don't need it, it doesn't provide any benefit to me, and that I am just starting out again, almost from the start.  I don't want to put any obstacles in my own path, there will be enough of them coming at me full force once school for myself and my kids starts back up.  My dream is to get back where I was and then some.  It doesn't seem too unrealistic.  I'm not putting a time limit on myself, because I am fighting this fight for the long haul.  

Happy Monday!  Hope you have a great one!