This summer, I am fighting my inactive tendencies!
Kinda. A bit half-heartedly, to be honest.
I am running.
If you know anything about me, you know that I hate this. I hate running. I believe that it should be used only in emergency situations and as punishment for real sports. But when a friend asks says "we should go running! At the park!" what else can you do but take a second to consider your slight jiggly-ness and say "definitely!"
On a good day, I can run for about eight or nine minutes. That's right. Minutes.
On a bad day, I can run for 20-30 before succumbing to my doom and accepting death. ...there's a story here. Allow me to explain:
Last week, Kala and I decided to run someplace different: a trail by our house that goes through the woods, under bridges, and past the movie theater. We parked and started off down the trail.
We ran, I stopped to walk after my lungs stopped working, and I walked until Kala turned around and we met in the middle.
As we started to walk back, the sky started getting unnaturally dark for 6PM and the air was heavy with imminent rainfall. I looked up, and thick, dark clouds loomed overhead. The trees swayed and I noticed a suspicious lack of bird noise.
Storm's comin'.
"Hopefully we'll make it back before the rain hits!" we said.
Hopefully.
The rain hit, hard. Trees thrashed violently. Lightning cracked and thunder boomed threateningly.
But that wasn't so bad. In fact, it was kinda fun to run in the rain. And then the trees started trying to kill us.
It was a bit like that moment in Pac Man: you're chasing a blue ghost and you've almost caught up to it- you feel powerful and like everything is going your way- then (blink) it's pink again and suddenly you're the hunter become the hunted.
The trees which were normally sought as shelter have become the scariest. things. in the world. Like the forest in Snow White, or the poor interpretation of the last Triwizard challenge in Goblet of Fire (where the maze tries to eat Cedric and Harry).
I would say I ran for my life, but if that were true, my life doesn't seem that important to me. I had already run more than normal that day, and when the storm hit and Kala shouted "let's just run back" over the rain, my reaction was "sure!" Actually, I believe at first it was "well, the Mythbusters say you'll get wetter running through rain than walking" but this was no ordinary summer rain. It was no delicate sprinkle, no short-lived shower. This was a monsoon. A monsoon that was hurling trees at me like a kid throws water balloons. Except tree limbs don't splash when they hit pavement, they block the trail or fall directly on top of you.
We managed to finally get out of the Death Woods, Kala running the whole way. I stopped twice to retie my shoes and a few times out of sheer exhaustion. I escaped with only a scrape across my thigh, but I learned something about myself: In the case of a zombie apocalypse*, a visit to Jurassic Park, a mugging, an alien invasion, or a missing-identity spy thriller, I am going to die. I will stop to rest my lungs or tie my shoes and I will get eaten, or beaten, or shot.
I was also reminded why I will never be Sydney Bristow.
not bad for a summer afternoon.
*the Zombieland kind, not the Shaun of the Dead kind. Zombieland zombies can move pretty fast (Rule #1- Cardio). In the event of a SotD Z-day, I might be able to survive by hiding and/or using my sewing machine to bludgeon any that come close to me.
Kinda. A bit half-heartedly, to be honest.
I am running.
If you know anything about me, you know that I hate this. I hate running. I believe that it should be used only in emergency situations and as punishment for real sports. But when a friend asks says "we should go running! At the park!" what else can you do but take a second to consider your slight jiggly-ness and say "definitely!"
On a good day, I can run for about eight or nine minutes. That's right. Minutes.
On a bad day, I can run for 20-30 before succumbing to my doom and accepting death. ...there's a story here. Allow me to explain:
Last week, Kala and I decided to run someplace different: a trail by our house that goes through the woods, under bridges, and past the movie theater. We parked and started off down the trail.
We ran, I stopped to walk after my lungs stopped working, and I walked until Kala turned around and we met in the middle.
As we started to walk back, the sky started getting unnaturally dark for 6PM and the air was heavy with imminent rainfall. I looked up, and thick, dark clouds loomed overhead. The trees swayed and I noticed a suspicious lack of bird noise.
Storm's comin'.
"Hopefully we'll make it back before the rain hits!" we said.
Hopefully.
The rain hit, hard. Trees thrashed violently. Lightning cracked and thunder boomed threateningly.
But that wasn't so bad. In fact, it was kinda fun to run in the rain. And then the trees started trying to kill us.
It was a bit like that moment in Pac Man: you're chasing a blue ghost and you've almost caught up to it- you feel powerful and like everything is going your way- then (blink) it's pink again and suddenly you're the hunter become the hunted.
The trees which were normally sought as shelter have become the scariest. things. in the world. Like the forest in Snow White, or the poor interpretation of the last Triwizard challenge in Goblet of Fire (where the maze tries to eat Cedric and Harry).
 | |
| doesn't look so scary now, but just wait till the trees come to life |
We managed to finally get out of the Death Woods, Kala running the whole way. I stopped twice to retie my shoes and a few times out of sheer exhaustion. I escaped with only a scrape across my thigh, but I learned something about myself: In the case of a zombie apocalypse*, a visit to Jurassic Park, a mugging, an alien invasion, or a missing-identity spy thriller, I am going to die. I will stop to rest my lungs or tie my shoes and I will get eaten, or beaten, or shot.
I was also reminded why I will never be Sydney Bristow.
not bad for a summer afternoon.
*the Zombieland kind, not the Shaun of the Dead kind. Zombieland zombies can move pretty fast (Rule #1- Cardio). In the event of a SotD Z-day, I might be able to survive by hiding and/or using my sewing machine to bludgeon any that come close to me.
I am at once impressed and aghast. I really need to start doing some kind of exercise--I'm eating enough for 3 people here. Everyone assumes that if you go to Africa you'll come back skinny, but that's a flat-out lie. Maybe you should wear a tarp from now on if you're going to insist on jogging.
ReplyDeleteZombieland used non-canonical zombies. Don't worry about them. There's no reason to over prepare in the case of Z-Day. You want to focus on endurance and stamina, not speed.
ReplyDeleteUse the Army Ranger mentality: "Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast."