THANK GOODNESS

A friend of mine invited me to her gym, she is a fitness animal, treadmill for an hour, kickboxing, dance, weights.. you name it, she's got it. She is even a Sauna/Steam Room Warrior. Traditional gyms have never done anything for me, I just have always been so uncomfortable and overwhelmed there... this is probably why I am a Curves Fanatic. Total body workout, cardio and strength, in 30 minutes.. seriously, you can burn up to 500 Calories in 30 minutes, who would ask for more?

But anyhow, I decided to take her up on her offer, after all, she is the person who motivated me to finally do something about my weight, THANK GOODNESS FOR MOTIVATION! Our plans were to meet at her house at 9am. I decided to hit the Curves Circuit before meeting her, just to be sure I got in my workout... a girls got goals to meet! After my workout, I am about to head to her house and I receive a text from her, she had a few errands to run and was running late. I am pumped and ready to go, so I decided to go ahead and get my bike ride in... off to the park I go. 20 minutes later, I am done with my 2 mile ride, doing a little victory dance because I am feeling good, I am really enjoying the bike... I might like this more than walking. I put up my bike, get in a good stretch and check my phone, no messages, well why not... I have 500 miles to walk this year, I could a mile?!?!?

I hit the pavement and off I go. As my walk comes to an end, my legs are feeling like rubber bands, after stretching they felt stronger and I hoped they might be able to get me back to my car, they made it, whew! I get the text, she is on her way home... Oh man, I am POOPED, I just worked out like a mad woman... but I promised.

I wasn't sure my legs would make it from my car to her front door, I said a little prayer, don't fail me now legs, I was surprised, they were a little tight but overall, feeling pretty strong, and once again, they made it, I was at the door! THANK GOODNESS FOR STRENGTH! Okay, I can do this! Off to the gym we go!

As we pull into the parking lot, I realize, this gym is HUGE! There is no way 3 months ago that I would have ever dreamed going into a gym full of beautifully sculpted people, but the difference now, I know how strong I am, I also realize, to become healthy, I need to work out and frankly, they are not gonna stare at me, I am the last thing on their mind, they are there to get their Fit (the world doesn't revolve around me, all the time, LOL)!

We head into the gym, legs still standing and moving on command, very good sign.... as we walk in, I realize, its even BIGGER on the inside! WOW - ENORMOUS, this gym is gigantic, oh my, what do I do? Are there even instruction manuals for all of these machines? After pulling myself together, I decided to jump on the only machine that I knew I could use... the Elliptical. Before you knew it, I had worked out about 42 minutes and went a little over 3 miles! I was beginning to think my friend was the next Jillian Michaels, pushing me to work harder than humanly possible and then I heard my friend calling my name, she took mercy on me and rescued me, THANK GOODNESS FOR GREAT FRIENDS who will cut their workout short for a friend in need!

I am feeling good but I just wasn't sure I would be able to pick my feet off the ground once I stepped off the elliptical. I slowly put one foot to the floor and then the other, I stand there for a moment, please work, please work! Whew... they did, THANK GOODNESS FOR COORDINATION! The rubber bands were back, but one after the other, they kept walking! I put in another good stretch and they are feeling a little stronger, I won't have to be wheeled outta there after all!

After our workout, we relaxed in the Sauna, it was like going to Phoenix on the hottest day in the summer, it had to be 190 degrees in there and it was just dry as can be, I was sure I had a nose bleed but then realized it was just sweat pouring off of my face. Man, I sure hope this finally gets all the smoking for years crud out of my lungs for once and for all! Is that a nose bleed? Oh no, just sweat, do I have anything left to sweat? I had a little pep talk in my head, you can do this, just don't panic and then I realized, marking that wheel chair off the list was done in haste, the sauna is brutal! After a moment, I began to relax, oh, okay, this isn't so bad, I am actually able to breathe. I was actually beginning to enjoy it and then out of no where... PSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH and steam galore, oh my, I am choking, no no, I am not, just breathe, slowly, in through the nose (OUCH, it hurts) out through the mouth, wait is my nose bleeding again, no, no it's still just sweat. Oh man, that's it, I just can't do it anymore, I stayed as long as I could. THANK GOODNESS FOR TRUE FRIENDS, she was such a trooper and cut her sauna time short, this is saying a LOT for the Sauna Queen. After a good hot shower, she treated me to lunch, Subway! THANK GOODNESS FOR GREAT FRIENDS AND SUBWAY!

After I got home, I rested and cooked dinner. My legs were cooperating completely but were very tight. I asked my so to karate chop my legs after dinner and he said yes, THANK GOODNESS FOR SONS. I then soaked in a nice hot bath, my legs were thankful. THANK GOODNESS FOR HOT BATHS! THANK GOODNESS FOR LEGS AND NEWLY FOUND CALVES!