Earned sweat is sweeter

174.7
15:00 rowing machine
24:28, 2 sets lifting/upper body
26:06, 2 miles

The whole family went to the gym after a delicious dinner of ribs.  Ironically, the main reason Seth wanted to go to the gym was because he was tired of sweating in our warm house all day! (Our  A/C is 46 years old, and since we went to the time of use plan he is watching it like a hawk!)  Seth tried the rowing machine for about 5 minutes tonight, which made me happy because its becoming one of my favorite exercises.

I am proud of myself tonight because I completed the entire workout that I intended to do, even though it was challenging.  While I was lifting I had a moment of self-doubt when I compared myself to the girl next to me who was lifting heavier weights (she was 10 years younger, and looked like a lifelong athlete so not a fair comparison).  But I was able to shake that monkey off my shoulders and remember that this was about me and my best.  My goals and my story are different from the people sharing the weight room, so my success will look different too.  And tonight I did my best and worked out my plan even when it was hard.  That is my measure of success for the day, and really you have to look at it on a day by day basis.

After all that arms and back type torture exercise, I walked over to my husband on the treadmills, shook pinkies, and informed him that I was heading to the indoor track and I was going to do 2 miles-come hell or high water!  A few laps into my run, about 8:10, he shows up with the kids, and then I had the terrible realization that the child care class ended at 8!  Oops, glad he remembered!  I was tempted to stop earlier so they didn't have to wait on me, and so we wouldn't miss bedtime so terribly, but then I decided I had to finish what I started.  I would have regretted that, and they need to see me run.  Some of the time they ran with me, other times they waited by the door and high-fived me as I completed each lap.  My girls are so good for my morale!  Of course, when I finished my last lap, my oldest hands me my water bottle, and I take a single drink- because they had drank the rest of my electrolyte water!

I want to share a special moment that was sharp for me, although it may seem odd.  We rowed when we first got to the gym, but then Seth got up about 5 minutes in, and I was left contentedly rowing, engrossed in my own rhythm, singing silently along with my music.  A little past halfway through my goal of 15 minutes, I felt the perfect bead of sweat run right down my back.  For some reason, it made me smile.  That drop of earned sweat was nice, it was mine.  All day I got all sticky sweaty when I even took 2 steps outside of the A/C, but this was the sweat of hard work, the sweat of determination in action.  And I relished it.

When I was done rowing, lifting and running, I visited the ladies room.  Looking in the mirror, I smiled.  I was covered in a nice glow of over an hour's worth of earned sweat.  And it was a beautiful thing.