Sweatin' to the 80's

It's almost Glory Run time again. A time that I hate. The things I do to support our school. I wish I liked running - I really do. But...I don't.

I was bemoaning that fact at our family brunch two Sundays ago in front of my brother and his wife who have become quite the runners in the last year. Brian somehow convinced me that this year I should give up the wimpy 1 mile Fun Run and take on the 5K. It must have been something I ate.

He told me that if I just bought some new running shoes and trained the right way, I could do it no problem. He wasn't promising that I'd win the race (yeah, no kidding), just that I could finish it. A fact which, at the moment, I am seriously doubting.

He has been emailing me to check on my progress and encourage me. He hooked me up with a website that promises to get you from a couch potato to a 5K in 9 weeks (I have only 7).

I had my first go of it Monday night and did better than I expected. I started with Week 2 of the program since I hardly consider myself a couch potato. I ran longer than they said and faster. I was sweaty, shaky and SORE the next day.

As the muscles stiffened yesterday, I was not looking forward to the run today. I emailed Brian for some help and he suggested taking some music along. Hmm...good idea. Nelson gave me an Ipod I have yet to use. This must be the time.

When I got to the Y and put the earphones in, I realized that I had no idea what kind of music was in store for me. Nelson, technical wizard that he is, loaded all the songs.

I stretched out and started up the treadmill for a warm up walk. Drivin' N' Cryin's "Honeysuckle Rose" came on. The rhythm was good and got me going. Next came Bon Jovi's "I'll Be There For You", not exactly a pump me up song, but it reminded me of my high school days.

It was all coming back to me, my husband's undying affection for music of the 80's...especially of the monster ballad genre. I began to worry. I wasn't sure I could stay on the treadmill while manipulating the forward button on the Ipod. Just as I was getting to the middle of my run and trying to stay motivated to keep going, "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love" came on. Fast forward. Still running, I was hoping for the best when Bob Carlisle started singing about "Butterfly Kisses". Sweet yes. Motivating NO.

By the end of my run I was hating life. My muscles hurt, I was sweating like crazy, and my head was pounding. I needed something, anything, to keep me going that final four minutes. That's when "Twilight Zone" blasted into my ears. Not my first choice, but finally a beat that made my legs move better.

As I was leaving, earphones still in, I was thinking that from now on Nelson is not in charge of workout tunes. That's when I heard my final song of the day. It was Pure Prairie League's "Amy".

Okay, maybe just one or two songs.