Running makes me feel good

The good thing about exercising is that once you get over the initial hump of reluctance and pain, it actually becomes a lot of fun. I've always been pretty lucky that, no matter how badly I get out of shape, I usually bounce back pretty quickly once I get serious. In just a month of the gym, I'm already starting to see, and feel, a difference. That said, I didn't make it to the gym at all last week and was a little bummed about it as I was getting into a groove. Today, I used some of the Cybex machines, mostly upper body and then hit the treadmill for the first time. Not the bike or that crazy elliptical thing, just straight running. Hadn't run in a couple of years since the last aborted attempt at working out ended after one week and a twisted ankle. Today, it was good. Only went two miles, averaging 5.25 mph but it felt real good. Running has always been my favorite exercise as it gets the blood flowing, clearing my lungs and my head. I am still amazed at how much damage I could do while I was in the Army, generally getting to bed no earlier than 3am and still get up at 6:30am, do a 3-5 mile run and sweat it all out. At my peak, I could do a 5:11 mile, 10:24 two-mile. Nowadays, I'm lucky to roll out of bed at 6am when I'm asleep by 11pm! And that's sober, after a long day of loafing around! Right this minute, I feel energized and ready to go. I like it. :-)

This evening, I'm taping something for the Bowery All-Stars recording, then meeting with the documentarians for the interview portion of my taping, THEN heading over to 13 for the final bout in the NYC regionals. Was going to stay at the BPC for Bogosian's set but I kind of feel like I should be at 13 tonight to support. Since I stepped down, I've felt less and less compelled to catch a Monday, becoming more feature-oriented (and Maureen-oriented!) than community-focused, like I am with Acentos. Hell, if Maureen ever left, it'd be hard to get up the desire to go at all, unless it was a great feature I hadn't seen before. It's like staying friends with an ex, sometimes it works, sometimes it's just too awkward.

Last time I was there, for Maria Mazziotti Gillan, I had to leave early because Isaac got sick and Salomé had her hands full with my cousin's kids being over, too. Ended up missing Maria and Team Acentos in the slam which sucked as it was the only thing on the calendar of interest through the end of the summer. Tonight, I'm going more as a show of support than anything else. Since I stepped down, I've fallen out of contact with several people I used to talk to regularly. Some are long-time friendships that I suspect were damaged a bit in the whole slam drama. It's been particularly awkward because of the steady comments I've been getting about how things seem to have changed there, as well as my own disagreements with how some things have been handled. That's the nature of things, though. Change. Sometimes it's for the better, sometimes for the worse and sometimes, it's part of an even bigger transition that transcends either. The heart of the thing is still there, though, and I don't see that fading any time soon. Personally, I suspect transition is ultimately what will come of it. For better or worse.

Today's Web site: http://www.costofwar.com/