Running It

The new year begins in a few reconizable ways each time around. First, it's January, meaning that the holidays have left a good taste in your mouth, but not such a good impression on the figure. The start of a new year also means that we're not even a month past the darkest day of the year, and living in Canada, this seems to have a greater effect on life that it did in more southern places that I've lived before. January in Victoria also generally means rain, and this year, it's been coming down consistantly every day. With this background in mind, I will explain the fun that I found.

On Friday after work, I headed to a community gym - Henderson Rec Centre near the University of Victoria. It's a bit out of my way, but on the weekends, admission costs a mere toonie (two dollars). The demographic of the other gym goers is awesome - the vast majority of men and women working the equipment are over 70. I took to the treadmill and started on my run. Into my workout a mile or two, my heart was racing, my feet hitting the whirling rubber below fast and steady in rhythm to the running mix on my ipod. I'm not an extrodinary runner, but I love that feeling of power and exhiliartion when my collar bone and forehead are glistening with perspiration, and I'm giving it all I have. And in this gym, I felt so athletic! It was amazingly gradifying to be running my heart out along side the other women on the machines, who were gingerly taking a stroll, reading up on the latest gardening fads and home decor. Let other people go to gyms with patrons clad in low cut spandex; I'll take Henderson with the 70 plus crowd anytime.