Training Delayed

So we are off to a rickety start. I specifically stated that the whole point of this blog is to keep myself accountable to consistency in writing and exercising, yet I have missed the second Friday. Not without good reason, however. Let me tell the whole tale of excuses:

5:00 A.M. the buzzer goes off. I wake up, grab my backpack full of the necessities and head out in the dark of the morning to start the series of traveling to get to Waco, Texas where I will spend most of the weekend. First I get a ride to the bus stop where I ride to downtown Dallas. But it's a bit tricky finding the bus stop, and my ride misses the turn twice. So the second time I tell him to just let me walk back since it's almost time for the bus to leave. And so I walk, my feet sinking into the wet mud. I get on the bus early but with a trail of dirt clumps behind me.

7:20 A.M. I arrive in Dallas, excited to finally see the skyline in person. Despite the raining, the fact that my shoes were wet, and that my umbrella is broken, I walked all across the town. I found another broken umbrella, stranded on the street, it's spine stuck in a gutter. I explored for a few hours, waiting for my train to arrive. For breakfast I went to a hotel and ended up walking into the middle of a Pharmaceutical convention. I ended up feasting on a cheese danish and coffee while people watching/reading.

11:00 A.M. I get to the train station and find out the train will be delayed for an estimated hour, so now it will leave at 12:50. So I go to nearby a nearby diner and eat lunch.

12:30 P.M. again I go to the station and find out the train won't arrive until 4:00. So I leave to explore the town, slightly upset to wait for so long and to have gotten up so needlessly early. Anyway I walked and walked and walked. I believe that could count as exercise. I mean, my feet were sore at the end of the day from all the brisk walking in the midst of downpour. I walked at least a couple of miles, looking at the buildings and trying to find a new umbrella. I ended up finding another broken umbrella in a trashcan and left mine along with it. They looked like flowers in a vase.

4:20 P.M. I wait by the train tracks for the train's arrival. Finally it comes and the next step in the series of traveling takes place, just 4 and 1/2 hours delayed. During the bus ride, which was 4 hours in itself, a blind lady, her guide dog, and her son sat nearby. The whole ride my mind wondered how the life of mother would differ without sight. Imagine... never seeing your baby? Never being able to tell if he looks more like his mother or father, not even knowing the features of you or your husband. Think of all the times he would say "Look mom! Look what I can do!" How depressing and frustrating that would be. What if the kids at school bullied him because of your one wandering eye? What if they shunned him because of you? This lady seemed fine, however, and perfectly capable of coping with her motherhood. She showed no sign of struggle or insecurity.

7:30 the train brakes and stops. I step off the train and proceed to the next step in the series. Kaitlin is waiting in her car and we drive back to Waco for dinner. I'm exhausted by this time, having been up for 14 hours on 2 hours of sleep. So dinner, then a movie which I fall asleep on the couch after a measly third of it has played.

So there is my tale of excuses for delaying the training. Being physically exhausted from the 12 hours it took to travel to Waco, I simply let this one slide. And if you are thinking I should have made up for not exercising on Friday by doing it Saturday, I thought of that too. But I went to Austin with Kaitlin to the baby shower of an old time friend and had no time that day due to the socializing at the baby shower with all the childhood friends. And then that night, I joined Kaitlin, her boyfriend, and his Japanese culture fanatic friends for the evening.

It is an inconsistent beginning, but from now on, I will fulfill my vow to myself and continue on with this commitment.

With Every Bead of Sweat

To begin this blog, I'll explain why I'm doing it: self-discipline with a hint of accountability.

For this whole Spring semester of 2010, I will be spending part of my Friday doing some type of physical activity, then will write about the experience on Saturday. Writing and exercising are two activities that I wish were second nature, but tend to shove onto the back burner. No longer! I found a way to trick myself into doing both every week: give my vow to the public.

You might be wondering who this 'Julien' of "Julie & Julien" is. I didn't know myself until my friend Paul suggested this title for the blog. As Paul and Google explained, Julien Greaux is a super martial arts guy. He looks really intimidating, honestly, like Schwarzenegger mixed with a fake-baked Edward Cullen. But I won't be following his fitness regime as Julie Powell followed Julia Child's cookbook. I was just drawn to the catchy title. In no way do I wish to possess his massive masculine physique by the end of this semester.

For my first day of exercise, I went to some free classes at the Rec center: Core Body Express and Abs & Back. The class descriptions sounded about as intimidating as Julien's protruding veins. And the Core Body Express class was, at first. The title suggests a train, don't you think? Polar Express vs. Core Body Express. Both require a lot of equipment foreign to me. A BOSU ball, a stretchy cord thing, dumbbells, a mat (which is really just a fancy exercising rug), and, most intimidating of all, a barbell. I'd never even touched a barbell in my life, and now I was going to lift one. With weights.

Before the class began, I decided to slyly observe and copy. So I used stretching as my cover as I figured out what in the heck everyone was doing with this BOSU ball and barbell. My cover went smoothly, and I copied with few blunders. I did accidentally do this type of Russian leg kick dance while the rest of the class was stretching their legs the opposite way, but I don't think they noticed.

So I had all my weapons collected, and the battle for fitness began. Fighting the battle came surprisingly natural. Although a few missteps occurred, I didn't fall on my face when we were bouncing on the BOSU ball, or drop the barbell when we were lifting it. And we did jumping jacks! It's always comforting to find something familiar amongst the unknown. Jump rope would have been nice too, though.

I expected to be cripplingly sore after the two classes, but I could even ride Swayze (my bike from the '80s) around campus for a bit afterward. Freshman 15, you better watch out. With every bead of sweat, your existence fades away.