Reaching. . .

Exercise! Blah!

Running! Blah!

The thought of exercising . . .Blah!

Can you tell? I hate exercising. I know. . . hate is a pretty strong word. I would much rather sit down and get lost in a good novel with a bowl of ice cream.

I know its because I'm not in great shape. I feel like I'm at the bottom of a cliff. A glass cliff. Smooth and shear. I have to climb it. It feels so overwhelming. I don't know where to begin.

I think about my friends who run. There are those who have ran their whole lives. They run marathons, triathlons, relay races. It seems to come natural to them. I think about my friends who recently took up running or other form of exercise. It is not easy. But they are making progress. They all motivate me to want to start. They all show me that I can climb that smooth and shear glass cliff.

Today I ran. And it felt great. I only ran for a minute at a time and walked a minute in between. But still I ran. I thought about other things that motivate me. The feeling of my muscles flexing. The feeling of my heart and lungs expanding. That fat that prevents me from fitting into most jeans waning away. My mind as it clears away the darkness that tends to hold me down. And those that give up on me.

The last one motivates me the most. My stubborn "I'll show them." attitude comes out. And I push myself. I want to prove them wrong.

I still hate to exercise. I still hate to run. But I love even more that feeling I have when I have exercised. When I have ran. When I have reached the top of the mountain.