On track

I've been getting up early for the last week and a half. It all started with the "fall back". Instead of sleeping in I just woke up that much earlier. The trip to the airport at 3am last week I'm sure did not help. I went to bed around 10pm on Wednesday night (skipping "Lost" by the way...don't worry, I taped it) and waking around 2:30 am. I stayed up the whole day and went to bed at 11 that night. Still, I woke up really early. So I decided to start going down to the track at MJC.

Now, I did a stint at the track earlier this year which many of you will remember resulted in my knee not working for a while and my doctor laughing at me and while shaking his head saying, "You tried to run?! Let me settle it for you for all of time, you are NOT a runner." Then after giving me some ibuprofin he sent me on my limping way saying something about the pain being a good teacher for me.

Ok, so I'm not a runner. I just assumed I was. I got close to being able to go a mile when I blew out my knee. So I'm a walker. I like the track. It's much better than walking through a neighborhood. For one, the track gives way. Concrete is unforgiving. What I like most about it is that the 12 or so people there when I am there are all there for the same thing. Everyone is huffing. Everyone is trying to improve and no one is looking down at you.

In a neighborhood, the runners are all sending a silent message..."I'm totally better than all you lazy, fat people still in bed!" Ok, maybe that's unfair to say but it feels true. I was walking along a neighborhood road a couple of years ago when a car drove by and some guy inside felt the need to stick his head out the window and say, "You'll never lose weight, Fat %#$!" Wow. What a life that guy must lead. Just driving around discouraging others. "Oh yeah! well...you'll never be...er...nice?"

I was just about to write "I can never think of a good comeback when I need one" when I realized that this entry could very quickly turn in to a Ziggy comic. So I'll just sum up by saying we're out there in the mornings...there's the older lady who runs circles around me, the really skinny girl who floats by me on the wind, the "plus size" lady who looks so determined it's scary, the guy who looks like he's beating on the devil up every time he comes back down the stadium steps, the friends who are strolling and talking, ipod girl and me...the fat "you know what" huffing along resolved (one more time again) to prove that idiots in cars are wrong.