A Sentiment

God knew what He was doing when He sent a gentle breeze and brought a lovely butterfly to set my heart at ease. The happiness of your friendship and the gentleness of your words have touched my life in special ways and now I feel assured. Thank you for your loyalty and for reading everyday. I only hope you find things to make a happy day.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Free Lifetime Pass

Me running at the track....In my mind :)
If you have noticed, I am blogging later in the day, occasionally. Joe and I have been going to the Byron Fitness Center in the morning. In Byron, senior citizens are given a free lifetime pass that provides admission to the Byron PE Center and its track, courts, fitness areas, racquetball courts and the swimming pool. Since we both feel like our bodies are starting to fail us...we decided to start going over most every morning to do our thing. Joe heads for the room with the machines and I head for the indoor track. Some mornings I don't want to go. I just would like to sit here and write my post and then get my housework done. Cooking is a major thing with me. After all, I have to get dinner started. Those feelings have to be put behind me. I feel so good, when I am done at the gym. I was starting to find myself walking like an old woman. There's a spring in my step that hasn't been there for a long time. When I get there, I see other older folks walking around that track. I take off my coat and hang it up and find myself joining them. They spur me on. I pick someone to follow. Someone going at a somewhat fast pace. Pretty soon, I have made 6 laps and sometimes stop to sit on the bench and drink some water. After resting for a bit, I see that person, still going, and I am up and going too. I do another 6 laps and I am finished. I try to push myself until I am sweating. I see people doing all kinds of different things. The kids with their ears plugged in listening to their music, young women pushing strollers, people my age...running!!!, all kinds of exercise clothes, baggy shirts, sweat pants, shorts, stylish first timers. I'll tell you a funny story. The first day, I started walking in a clockwise fashion. I noticed that the few people there.. were going in the opposite direction. A gentleman stopped me and said, "You're going the wrong way...on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday..we go counter clockwise." He said that I could continue on that way, but when the gym was full of people running, I might have a problem. He smiled and said, "You won't get a ticket for this." I promptly turned around and followed him. Joe and I finish about the same time, so we cool down and head for the car. The first day, we passed the restaurant...we hadn't had anything to eat yet. I wondered if he would head for home or make a stop ...he looked the other way and we headed home for cold cereal ...haven't stopped yet. I'm glad that I decided to join Joe...It makes me feel good..this early morning walk. I've been worried about trudging up that incline in our yard all winter. Just walking back to the woods and then back up to the house, has made me winded. I guess there comes a time when our bodies say...enough.... Get out there and shake off this sluggishness and feel alive.

Balisha

7 comments:

Mark said...

I envy you Balisha for being able to do this...


I hope that one of these days, I could start to find time to do some physical activities everyday...

To healthy living!

(my apologies, it's been a looooooong time since my last visit... I missed you and your heartwarming entries)

Balisha said...

Hi Mark...I'm so glad that you commented here. I went to your old blog and you hadn't posted for a while, so I figured that you had stopped blogging.Thanks for reading again and now I can find out where your blog is and what you've been up to. I too missed your comments and your wonderful photography. Balisha

Barbee' said...

Way to go, Balisha!!!

garden girl said...

Yay for you and Joe Balisha! It's not easy staying motivated - I give you both a lot of credit. I definitely feel alot better when I'm getting enough exercise. That's wonderful your membership is free!

acorn hollow said...

oh you are so smart to do this and the more you do it the better you will feel. Thanks for your visit to acorn hollow.
keep up the good work
Cathy

Margie's Musings said...

What a great thing to do. All I do is walk the dog.

Anonymous said...

I am glad I read this. I totally need to get back to my walking in the mornings. I miss it and have let myself get out of shape, too. I wish I had a place close like yours to go to. I usually walk around the neighborhood but am afraid of some of the dogs here. Maybe, I can convince Bob to walk, too, when he visits me!