Saturday, March 31, 2012

Fried Green Tomatoes.....Oh Yes....

To run amok means to "act wild or in a dangerous manner".  I often have felt this way.  For those of you familiar with the movie, Fried Green Tomatoes, Kathy Bates, transforms from frumpy housewife into Towanda--mistress of her own destiny.  I haven't run amok in the grocery store parking lot and crashed into a car over and over, or torn down the walls of my house, but I did something that was just as crazy in my world....

In the summer of 2010, I registered for the Princess Half Marathon in Disney World.  This was paramount to crashing my Caddy into a cute sassy girl's VW.  At the time, we could barely make ends meet, and to send the early registration of $95 and commit to a February Hotel room on Disney property, gas, meals, and whatever else.  What was I thinking?!?!  I was thinking about me.  What an alien concept.

Well the money was gone, I had committed (or maybe I needed to be committed).  I also, should say, that I am cheap.  Not fugal, not conservative.  CHEAP.  I will rub pennies together, hoping to make nickels.  I used coupons on my honeymoon.  So once I had committed my money, it was ON.  I also started telling people.  I told my friends at work, business associates,  I told random people in my life, I told my mother, but I hesitated to tell my brother.  At this point, I did not believe I could do it.  So, I was telling enough people that I had no choice.  Once it was "out there", I could not back down.  I was running amok, telling people.  If I had kept it to myself, I could quit and no one would know except me and my husband, maybe the kids wouldn't remember.  Now, I had broadcast it. There is no turning back.

So, time to get to it.  I get on the scales everyday.  I know that you aren't supposed to, but I do.  As great Southerners say, "I was within spittin distance" of 200 lbs.  Work had been very stressful for about two years.  My husband and I had closed our bicycle business due to the downturn of the economy.  Things had taken their toll.  However, like all people who have once been in shape, I felt like I still was in fairly good shape.  You know like the guy who played sports in high school, but now wears a 38-40 waist, but thinks he still has "it", or the woman who ran five miles a day one summer in college and used to mountain bike and road bike before kids came along (me).  They say that people who have eating disorders don't see a skinny person in the mirror.  I think I had an exercise disorder.  In my mind, I was still in good shape.  I had carried exercise clothes in my car, off and on for years.  Every once in a while, I actually used them.  That had to count for something.  I had stairs in my house. I didn't park next to door of stores, cause those spots were already taken.  I mean really....

For all the Disney runs, there is a requirement that you must maintain an average of a 16 minute mile.  No sweat, right!  So, in mid-late July, I got some exercise shorts and a tee shirt, used the running shoes that I already had, and started off.  I planned to walk for about 30 minutes.  I had my Ipod.  It was one of the original series of Ipods,  it is about the size of the current Iphone4s.  We got it when they were closing them out, remember me saying I was cheap.  So, off I go, walking as hard and fast as I can, from the house.  When I returned to the house, I sat down to regain my breath.  I was having a bit of trouble breathing and talking. My family looked at me oddly.  Very oddly. My sweet husband, got up and got me a big plastic cup that we had saved from the Quick Trip gas station and filled it with ice water.  When  I took it from him, I got the sense that I gave him the same look that you get from a grateful golden retriever.  He said gently, "let me go run you a cold bath."  I had finally regained the ability to speak.  I did ask why.  My daughter told me I was the wrong color.  I had turned bright red and passed that up and gone totally white again.  For those not in Georgia, July hosts temperatures in the low 100's and humidity in the 95%.  I could be having a heat exhaustion/stroke.  This mid-life crisis is definitely causing me to act wild and in a dangerous manner.

3 comments:

  1. What's so cool, is that you didn't stop there....you are still running! Most excellent!

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  2. Gooood 4 u! Looking forward to hearing more! I did the same thing as u. I signed up for Tinkerbell 2012 and told EVERYONE - it's what kept me going!!

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  3. I feel like in my 30's I felt I looked bad and looking back I looked great, now in my 40's I look at pictures and think...do I look like that? sigh.....I started to run July 2010 - 2nd go round, also!

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