body in motion

Since getting injured, I've come to realize that I am meant to move. This shouldn't surprise me, seeing as I can't take naps and struggle to sit through a movie, and yet I am still kind of shocked every night as I lie in bed, unable to fall asleep, bouncing my leg, with way too much residual energy running through my body. (I now understand why my parents encouraged me and my four similarly high-energy siblings to engage in physical activity. They just wanted to sleep at night.)

I now see the world in two very distinct groups: more mobile and more sedentary. And, for the first time ever, I understand people who prefer to be more sedentary. I used to beg my friends to work out with me, completely unable to understand how they could abstain from exercise. Now, I realize that's just how they were designed.

Since I've drastically cut my movement lately, you can understand my total shock when, after revoking my yoga privileges today, the physical therapist also told me that I needed to do less, and spend more time off my feet.

Wha?

My mind was blown. I can't possibly do any less than I'm already doing without going completely insane. I already feel like I'm missing out on a chunk of life right now without runs, walks and workout classes, and if I do any less than I'm already doing, I might as well throw in the towel on ever falling asleep at night.

However, I hopefully have only four weeks to go, and I'm not going to let the hard work I've put into not working hard go to waste.

While spinning admittedly burns more calories than running, it just doesn't tire me out enough. I think it has to do with the whole sitting thing.

I recently busted out my old Speedo, though, and after a 40 minute swim I was completely and happily exhausted. I laughed when I looked at the clock and realized my entire swim would have once been called warmup, but that's neither here nor there.

I'm just enjoying being in the water again. Regardless of what pool you're in, there's something so familiar about being under water. For so many years it was my own world, where I'd spend hours each day. From the moment I dove in, it felt so good to be back and I quickly remembered that while the runner's high might get more hype, the swimmer's is pretty amazing, too.

PS: 672 hours to go.

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