Thursday, March 25, 2010

No more excuses

My main form of exercise these days is tennis. While I used to be a golf nut (too much time, too expensive), and a skier (not a year-round sport, even in Colorado), tennis is the thing I've stuck with for years. I just love whacking the crap out of that fuzzy yellow ball, and cute tennis outfits are a bonus. Lately, though, I've been slacking off.

I used to be a runner, until I my knees and shins quit on me. They got tired of hauling my ass around and I can't blame them. Still, there are times when I regret not having run a marathon. I trained for it, did a half marathon, and did one 16 mile run before I gave it up. I figured if I wanted that much pain I could just smack myself with a hammer or go swimsuit shopping. Today, while running errands, I saw something that almost made me want to get back out there. There were two runners, about six feet apart, one in front of the other. They had a length of rope between them, and the runner in back was wearing a white t-shirt with big red letters--BLIND RUNNER.

Oh man. I thought of all the times I didn't feel like playing tennis because I was too tired or it was too hot or some other lame excuse. I'm betting that blind guy doesn't get up in the morning and say, "Meh. I'm feeling too blind today. I think I'll skip it." Don't get me wrong; I have more than my share of aches and pains, and more cortisone shots than I want to think about, but these are temporary. Sometimes we need a little inspiration to keep us going, and I got mine today. I don't know if my creaky knees can handle running anymore but as long as they can take a little tennis, I'll keep at it and try not to whine. It won't always be pretty and I know there will be days when a six year old could beat me with one hand tied behind his back. But until my knitting gets fast enough that I can call it an aerobic workout, I'm going to get out there as often as I can, smack that tennis ball and be grateful that I can. Even if it hurts, it still beats swimsuit shopping.

3 comments:

  1. Good for you!!!! Isn't it funny how things seem so bad, until we look around. Then we suddenly realize that while things aren't perfect, they are actually pretty darn good. :) Enjoy your tennis!

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  2. I second that! Good for you..!

    Enjoy it and feel great after a good tennis workout...!

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  3. Knit yourself some knee wraps and go for it!! Anything is better than swimsuit shopping...

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