The Eating/Exercise Thing

The air was thick with humidity and clouds hovered overhead, but it was pleasantly cool early yesterday morning. As I approached the arch at Grand Army Plaza, just outside Prospect Park, I imagined how I would appear to the folks I was meeting. I wore yoga pants, a t-shirt, a baseball cap, and running shoes. I’d kept my sneakers adorned with the bright red strip of paper that the New York Road Runners Club had used to time my last event, thinking it provided some measure of cool — just the way I sometimes leave ski lift passes on jackets until they disintegrate. And I wore my heart rate monitor. Hey, why buy all the gadgets unless you use them when the occasion suits?

The occasion was the start of a free running training program put on by Weight Watchers — I applaud them for this, big time, as I think group support for exercise is a hugely important thing. I’d signed up probably months ago and promptly forgot all about it, until the trainer called me, saying the e-mail address I’d given had been bouncing. One letter had been left out. That call had been the wake-up I needed, perhaps, as it’s been a tough few weeks, emotionally and eating-wise.

I’ve been dealing with everything from job interviews to getting special education services for the boy to slowly winding down breast feeding with the baby (hormones gone wild!). Oh, and that’s not even mentioning the whole “attempting to move across the country and starting a family business” thing, which is posing lots and lots of challenges, both in my own emotions and in my relationship with my husband.

There were around 8 or 10 of us to show up at the meeting spot yesterday, everyone really friendly — mostly women but 2 men, as well. I was probably the biggest person there, or at least equivalent to the biggest. We warmed up, we stretched, and then we alternated walking and running, chatting with each other and enjoying the morning in the leafy green shaded park. Afterwards, I felt amazing, and I exchanged contact info with one of my fellow walk/runners, hoping that we can do some of our “homework” together during the week before our next meeting on Saturday.

This is a very very good thing for me. I’ve always been most successful in exercise when I’ve had a buddy, or even a group, to exercise with. Sure, running is usually pretty solitary, but having someone to meet, and someone to talk with, makes a huge difference to me. Back in the mid-90’s, I completed a marathon doing something similar to this Saturday training program. We met every Saturday and did a long run as a big group, and I trained during the week with a friend who ran at a similar pace. At the time, I was working two jobs. Not quite as challenging of a schedule as I have now, but it was relatively intense.

The culmination of this training program? A 5K run over the Brooklyn Bridge. Sounds fun, huh? I’m looking forward to it.