The Indoor Track

Alright, it is time for a midweek Update! Guess what? I ran every day this week. (This sounds a lot better than it really is, considering it is only Wednesday). My life has been simplified as I have started running on the BYU indoor track. And, if I do say so myself, things are going very well. I decided to amp up my training program as it was designed for people who were really out of shape or had never run before. Considering I've been doing Yoga and Powertone for the past three/four months I decided that I could definitely speed up the process a wee bit.

What I did not anticipate was that running on a track requires a completely different mental state. You see, there is this big area in the middle for people to jump, do running drills and just show off their excellent physique. And then there are these ridiculously fast runners who pass you four to five times, each time more humiliating than the last. And then there are the inevitable desperate men attempting to pick up on some girls. (Why don't guys realize that we women are usually running to escape the world and weirdos like themselves, this is the WORST place to pick up a girl in my opinion. Ok, not the worst. The Dentist or the Hospital are probably the worst.)

So, I step onto the track and am immediately scared for my life as an older gentleman with freakishly muscular legs and a balding head charges up the lane I'm in, making grunting noises that would scare a gorilla. I, of course, try to get out of the way, only to cut off another runner. I get myself off the track for a moment and wait for a lag in the steady stream of runners. I feel somewhat like I am waiting to turn left without a light. Finally, I throw myself into the melee and just make a run for it. Literally. I figure out which lanes are for the slow people, and resolutely promise myself that I will not leave this lane! (this didn't last long. I got bored).

Having found myself where I needed to be, I then became aware of how pathetic I am. Here I am, walking two minutes then running a minute and panting at the end of that minute so loudly I'm sure someone will stop to ask if I am having a heart attack, and passing me are people three times my age, jogging along with a serene look on their face. When they pass me twice, I feel the urgent need to hide but I hold my head up high and focus on the lines of the track. Worse than the old people are the young ones. You know, those guys in such amazing shape that you can see each individual muscles in their legs, (and the rest of their body) and the girls with toned legs and thighs that magically, and it has to be magic or I want a refund on life, don't jiggle at ALL, and as they pass you speed walking they look at you with pity. And I get all fired up and want to run and run, but know that if I try I'll be more pathetic than a fish out of water... so I don't.

I know the people in the track probably aren't running around us slow folk and thinking about their own superiority, but I can't help but think that they are secretly laughing at my little efforts. This, my friends, is a perfect example of my low self-esteem and drastically (according to my husband) skewed perception of myself. So,while huffing and puffing my way around the track, I kept on telling myself "You are awesome. Trust me Jeannie, you rock at life. Look, see this, we made it around the track five seconds fast than last time. Ah! Ignore the old man racing past you. He has been running for years, this is only day two. You can do it!" Only to have this train of thought diminish to "I think I can. I think I can. I think I can."

When my timer beeps and I realize that, by some miracle, a half an hour has passed, I scurry off the track to the random place with the adult monkey bars (I haven't no other way of explaining this...) where people go to stretch and work out the rest of their body. It is, of course, filled with guys attempting to bulk up their already scary large arms. I ignore them, go to a corner, turn the iPod to Enya and start do some Yoga. This is when I notice that someone is staring at me. It turns out to be a guy I went on several dates with, but then abandoned when I realized how fake he was. I had my wedding ring on, and thought that once he saw this he would go away. Nope. He actually interrupted me in the middle of Sun Salutation B to try and talk to me. (NEVER interrupt someone when they are doing Yoga. Seriously, it throws me completely out of my groove and instead of being at peace, I'm grumpy) I won't bore you with details of our conversation. Let's just say, I bragged about my husband for about 2 minutes before he got bored and abruptly said he had to go and finish his push ups. (I'm not sure how push ups can be so demanding, but I was very glad to see him go).

So my friends, I've done it. Two consecutive days of running. The track is only open tonight, and then reopens on Monday, what with the holidays and all, so I am going to have to find some type of alternative. Still, GO ME!

P.S. The hardest part about all of this is still breaking in those amazing running shoes. I love them, but my feet don't. Not yet any ways.