This Is My Time

Nothing helps my anxiety like a good workout at the Canyons Athletic Club!
This is my time to be by myself jamming to my tunes. The following entry is so I will never forget this liberating time I get to myself once a week. (It used to be 2-3 times per week but now that I work, I haven't been able to swing it) When we were looking at cutting back on bills, this expense was non-negotiable. This is my health care plan and more than that, my guarantee of sanity.

I hear the beep of my sign-in card and head to the locker room. I take off my BYU sweatshirt to reveal my BYU workout tee. I strap on my arm band and insert ear buds...ahh, the world just goes away. I get on the cross ramp, set the time for 30 minutes and I'm off.

The first song is This Is My Time. Oh how true. I figured out a long time ago that you can't really sing along with your mp3 so I just lip sync and don't care if people think I'm a freak or not. Yeah, I'm the one with pigtails lip-syncing her heart out. Hopefully I provide some source of entertainment to those who have to be around me.

My heart rate starts to pick up now and I'm feeling muscles in my body starting to come alive. I wish I could kick off my shoes and run in bare feet where the grass and the dirt and the gravel all meet....and feed my soul...Where the Black Top Ends. Yes, I can't start my day without a dose of Keith Urban. Now my blood is pumping and ready to push a little bit more with Shake, shake, shake shake it shake it. The endorphins surge through my body...all the tense neck and back muscles relax, a smile spreads across my face, and I am whole again! The fast beat takes me to a whole other level of workout. Now a song to bring me back to earth and hopefully stop the burning in my legs...Pocketful of Sunshine. Take me away!

Now I'm really into my groove and how can you help but be happy with the song I Like to Move It, Move It. And just when I think my body can't go another step, I take it into the Sandstorm. Seven minutes of techno bliss...nothing to sing along to...just rhythmic music as I tune into my inner self, noticing my lungs filling with oxygen and feeling the sweat drain all the toxins from my body. I would cease to exist without this time. And finally coming into the cool down. How very apropos Breathe, Just Breathe! My cardio workout is complete. I slow down my pace as I read the display to see how I did. Energy level...40...Heart Rate 164...Miles 2.25. Yes! I spray down the machine and wipe it down for the next lucky person...hand sanitize and then off to weights.

I don't recall exact songs for weight lifting although there is a lot of counting going on in my head with all the different reps. Sometimes I will even take an ear bud out to have a human conversation every now and again. I joke that all workouts have to be well balanced, so chatting with a friend counts too, right? Then there are the people I don't know. The same faces are there each day but we don't know each others names. Yet somehow there is a sense of safety and security just knowing they are there. Do they notice when I'm not there like I notice them? I get distracted by Save the Last Dance and Beautiful Soul. I finish the last of my hour workout, gulp down the last of my water, listen to the last song, Miracles Happen and I'm ready to face the day!