Many moons ago I (Slick) joined the military.
I was an inactive teen, other than the occasional bike ride or pool party, my only exercise was walking to and from school. College was even worse. The occasional dance party was the only supplement to walking to and from classes. After I signed the contract…my mother in an attempt to make me understand the physical demands of my new chosen career, started running with me. I didn’t really take to running and I pretty much found every excuse not to go.
Needless to say the reality of basic training hit me pretty hard. I didn’t give up and I made it through. And that pretty much sums up my attitude towards exercise while in the military and the five years after. It was required so I did it. I rarely sought it out and many times avoided it if all possible. Every once in awhile I would get on a kick and go to the gym or long runs. But it never lasted.
When my military contract ended so did most semblance of exercise. I went back to my teen inactive level. Except that my metabolism was no longer that of a teen. Slowly my weight went up.
So where am I going with this? A couple of weeks ago I ran a 5k with my best time (in recent history) of sub 32. Later I noticed an ache in my right knee. After a week I saw the doctor and had some x-rays. She gave strict instructions of no running while awaiting the results and to wear a brace. The next day I walked/jogged a mile in the brace and ended up pulling a muscle. The x-rays came back all good; just an aggravated muscle. My doctor then told me to stay off my knee for a couple of months.
Was she kidding me? There was no way I was going to give up running and Zumba for two months.
My next thought was what the heck happened? Where did that thought come from? I would have loved two months no running while I was in the military. Had I actually matured or was I actually enjoying exercise? Maybe a combination of both. But boy I really wish I had gotten to this point years ago while I was in the military, when I had more energy and more time. I am thankful that I have gotten to the point now where I do want to be out there running and dancing. Maybe I just had to get to a point in my life where I could appreciate working up a good sweat.
Thank you to all my fellow Veterans. Have a great day!
I'm the same way now ... I hate missing a scheduled workout day. When I was in the Navy, I was always happy when rain chased us inside, or it was too hot to PT. I guess it's different when you're doing it strictly for yourself.
ReplyDeleteAnd there is the reason for our blog! You nailed it though, Slick: why couldn't we have been so motivated when we were younger and had no other obligations? Ah, well, here is to starting where we're at now, wherever that may be!
ReplyDeleteGreat post - Happy Veteran's Day!
So true! Hated running then, still do, but we're doing the C25K thing here because we want to now. Hoping to one day be "zen" with running. We're also doing the 100 push up app, which looks better than any I did in the military. I'm also loving weight training. It's never too late to start getting healthy for you!
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