If I've learned anything today, it's that there's nothing like a mistaken text message in the middle of the night that says "Hey this is Rutger. I'm one of Matt Studley's friends. He told me you could help me out" to make you feel like you've made the right choices in life (I considered responding "What do you need? A 3 hour trail run? A frozen yogurt eating adventure? Yes, I can help." Because I'm pretty sure there are only two things you could possibly need at that hour: a run or dessert.) And that there's nothing like aquafit to make you feel young. And not just because you'll be the youngest person there by a good 20 years. Bouncing around in the pool makes you feel like a kid again.
I have been wanting to try aquafit for a while, but I was a little intimidated to be the only non-AARP member there. So I was excited when Laura and Danielle agreed to be my partners in aqua adventures. This morning we went to the Interval Aquafit class at Penfield Sport & Fitness and it was so much fun. The class was mostly older women and a couple of older men. The instructor seemed surprised to see the three of us and one of the women in the class thought we were college students. I've been out of college for a decade and I have no desire to go back to those days, but I certainly wouldn't mind looking, and especially feeling, younger than I am. The class consisted of sets of 90, 60 and 30 second intervals of running in place, squats, mountain climbers, punches, kicks, etc. With the added resistance of the water, it was a decent workout. And it felt great on my legs. The pool was heated and I was nice and warm the whole time. Afterwards, we sat in the hot tub for a few minutes and chatted with some of the adorable old ladies. One woman was there with her 93 year old mother! Now that's my kind of retirement! I really, really hope I'm still doing this 60 years from now.
As I got ready this morning, I was thinking that putting on a bathing suit after eating my weight in holiday cookies wasn't the most confidence-boosting idea. But then in the locker room before class, two old ladies said to me "I just love your suit. It's so cute. And that body!" Then they started reminiscing about how much they weighed when they got married. It was a good reminder that this is the youngest I'll ever be again and, unless reincarnation is a real thing, this is the only body I'm going to get. Sure, it's got imperfections, but it's also capable of amazing things. It's done everything I've ever asked of it and then some. So I think I owe it more celebration and less criticism.
Lately, I've been reflecting on my life and how to maximize the short time I have here. I'm hoping that if I keep moving, I can trick my body into staying young for as long as possible. And that if I keep saving aggressively, I can retire while I'm still healthy enough to get up to all sorts of shenanigans.
Lyric of the moment: "I am young and I'm alive. I want to talk about things. I am young and I own my life. I need to talk about it, baby...I'm right on track...I wanna do it right this time..."
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