The Eye of the iPod
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So last night’s treadmill run started out like every other. I got on with intentions of maybe doing 7 or 8K. So I crank up the tunage, listening to a little Dead or Alive to get me going. I popped half a pack of Sport Beans before the run and had a delightful Inca porridge from Tosca Reno’s Eat Clean book for supper. I…was….ready!
Before I knew it, I was busting into a great pace. My legs felt great, my breathing was even and calm and I was sooo feeling this run! Maybe it was the quinoa from the porridge? Or maybe it was Jon and Richie guiding me along? I am not sure why, but as I continued along, I didn’t feel tired. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I was pumped, burning up the runway, ahem, treadmill like I OWNED it! Ok, I actually do own it, but I digress.
At just about the 7K mark, “Eye Of the Tiger” comes on my iPod. I all of a sudden become Rocky Balboa. I am running up bleachers and hills and chopping wood and yelling “Adriiiiiiiiiannnnnnnn” like nobody’s business. I turn up the speed a notch. I am frikkin’ Balboa! (Minus the boy parts and crooked mouth and hairy legs.) In my mind, I am HARDCORE training here! I. Am. Rocky!
So I made it through to about 8K or 9K and was still going strong. I had to run out to refill my water bottle because I emptied it, as I was sweating up a storm, but in 30 seconds I was back on that treadmill. I cranked the speed up. I cranked up the iPod. I was not tired. Then, my treadmill was transformed. “Sexy Back” comes on, and I was on the runway in Paris, wearing my couture sheath and my delicious Louboutin’s. I was in the zone. Lights were flashing, my hips were strutting, and I felt so J. Lo right now. I was LOVING this run!
Another drink of water (I was halfway through my second bottle and sweating profusely), and I was into the 12th K. I was gettin’ crunk! Missy comes on and—insert DJ record-scratching sounds—I was all OVER that run! Is it worth it. Lemme work it….the treadmill, that is. Get your minds outta the gutter.
I was coming down the home stretch now. Desperate Housewives was coming on soon and I had to finish the run. Plus, I wasn’t tired or sore, just PUMPED!
I was over 13.5K into the run, and I flipped forward to some nice cool down music to get me calmed down. Bon Jovi started to tell me about how he would love to “Pull down the covers and light a couple candles,” and instantly I am going to my happy place. I felt like swooning and giggling, and I was howling to the top of my lungs all the Leann Rimes parts of the song. I didn’t care that the bedroom window was open. I was singing a duet. With Jon here, people! (Sigh!)
As I pulled out the magic blue tab from the treadmill, I completed my 13.75K run—my longest run since I started running in April. I was proud…damn proud. I was not tired, nor sore, just happy and sweaty and wanting to run farther next time.
Was it the porridge? Was it Rocky or J. Lo or Jon? What was so magical about this run? It could just be the eye of the iPod, rising up to the challenge of the treadmill. I went the distance. —Wendy Kennedy
Wendy Kennedy lives in Bow Island, Alberta, Canada and is married with two fabulous kids. She is a foodie and is passionate about fitness and nutrition. Wendy ran her first half marathon in May and also loves weight training. She loves helping others to get healthy and blogs regularly about her fit adventures. She also hosts an active Facebook group called I See Fit People.