Fan the Fire

I ran into a friend of mine early last week at the grocery store.  We hadn't seen each other in YEARS, even though we live in the same community.  Busy lives.  Yes.  We met in middle school, what, age 13?  14?  Do the math.  That's 40 years ago.  My gosh, has it really been that long. 

I've always adored her joie de vivre, her energy, her uplifting attitude.  A contagious personality.  We shared many common interests and never had to work at our friendship.  It was one of those friendships where silence -- long periods of silence -- was never awkward.  It was if our souls would continue connecting, communicating, even though our voices had fallen silent.  The best chemistry.

She hasn't changed much, at least not in that respect.  It was so good to see her again, as we began talking a mile a minute, laughing, unintentionally holding up traffic in the grocery aisle    "...oh, pardon me...excuse me...oops, sorry!..."  stepping side, forward, and back to dodge shoppers as we chattered on and on.  And on.  As the conversation was coming to an end, we realized we had far more things to catch up on and agreed to meet the following Thursday in the park for a power walk together -- we both thrive on exercise and staying active, another thing I adore about her.  We decided we'd make better use of our time exercising while we talked, rather than sitting on our asses, feeding our faces.  (That's how she's wired too.  She gets my madness!)

And so at 7:30 last night we met at a local park and spent the next 60 minutes power walking on the running/walking trail that meandered up, down and around the outer border.  Our conversation was electric, never slowing -- nor did our feet -- as we breathlessly shared and talked and listened and laughed and purged.  It was a fabulous encounter with her after all this time had passed.  As we were finishing up our third lap around the trail, having been at it for about an hour, it began to rain---large drops of rain, increasingly steady.  We sprinted to her car -- the closest -- and sat inside for the next 30 minutes, dripping with sweat, steaming up the windows as we continued to talk and talk ... and talk.  It was nothing short of cathartic.  And as the last light of day settled in, we grabbed our smart phone calendars, making another "date" for a power walk in two weeks as we said our goodbyes.

I realized as I was driving home how uplifting it had been to me to share a piece of my life with a friend who had the same passion for exercise and healthy living as I do.  That common thread that filled a void in my life.  Her excitement and drive served to inspire me, and vice versa, a reciprocal fanning of flames.  Our fires burning brighter as we parted.

Though my alarm was set for 5:30 this morning, my circadian rhythm aroused me a few minutes before five.  I opened my eyes, glanced at the clock, and decided that rather than going for a run, I needed to hit the gym.  Life had gotten in the way the past couple of weeks or so, and I'd only been to the gym a couple of times.  What?  YOU SLACKER!  Get your ass to the gym!  My conscience had been eating at me the past few days, thinking back to when I was on fire, preparing for my competition, how amazing I felt.  I loved feeling like that.  I loved being lean and strong and exploding with energy.  I want it back.  I.WANT.IT.  I know what I need to do.  I gotta pull myself out of this funk and work my way back to my game.  No drug in the world can make a person feel as good as being clean, lean, strong and fit.  There is no substitute for that incredible feeling of being on top of your game, in control of your mind and body, supercharged with insatiable energy.

I gotta do this right.  I know that it has to be approached one day at a time.  What I do today changes tomorrow, and the next, and the next -- a domino effect that feeds on its own motivation.

I was short on time this morning, and so I wanted to maximize my approach.  I warmed up for ten minutes on the treadmill, increasing the elevation after the first five minutes at 15 second intervals.  The next 30 minutes was spent doing squats, lunges, bicep curl/overhead presses, assisted pullups, weighted kickbacks, and ab work in between, with no more than 30 seconds of rest between each set and each superset.  A blitzing metabolic workout.  My heart and mind had come together, and I left there walking on air.  Life.Is.Good.Again.   Remember this feeling, T?  Go after it, girlfriend.

I have the knowledge.  I have the strength.  But most importantly, I have to have the will to get the job done.  It's mind over matter.  The mind.  The mind has to be in charge, ignoring any protests from the body.  Just do it.  Every damn day just decide:  I'm doing it.

Fanning the flame.

One way or another,

ya gotta keep the fire lit.