Get out of my way, I need to get to the gym before it closes.
It was 9:45, our gym closes at 10:30, and I've been rocking the 90 minute exercise routine lately so the math just wasn't adding up. Thankfully, boyfriend reminded us that our University memberships get us into any University gyms. Sometimes I'm dumb like that and forget that this is a campus with many, many buildings. I prefer to hide in my little corner of Iowa City and pretend like the students don't exist.
The Campus Rec and Wellness Center is located right smack in the middle of campus (that's a lie, it's on the peripherals in between the main campus and the west side dorms, but for the purposes of conveying the inconvenience, let's go with "on campus") and we usually avoid it because:
1. It's new, so everyone wants to go there. Ugh.
2. There's a lazy river, so every child wants to go there. Ugh.
3. Parking is limited, which makes it look exclusive, which makes people want to go there. Ugh.
It's really not far from where we live, maybe 2 miles (in fact I've run the distance before) but the Hawkeye Tennis and Rec Center is a two minute drive from where we live and parking is copious and [usually] free so we frequent that place instead. But CRWC is open later, so we took a chance that most of the students had already left town for Spring Break and headed to campus to get our sweat on. I'm not joking when I say this shit is magical, it's three floors of exercise wonderland. Between the rock climbing wall, the lazy river, the indoor track, and the ENTIRE floor of treadmills, you could want for nothing here (plus, smoothie bar + massage parlor + steam rooms and TVs everywhere). It really is pimp. I'm not big on change though, so the switch-up really threw me off my game.
And then I saw the treadmills.
I need.
I started running on Life Fitness equipment so I'm partial to their stuff, but my current gym is equipped by Precor which I also love. I stumbled onto a section that was entirely Life Fitness which I hadn't used in ages and my heart began to race in excitement. But tucked away in a corner all by its lonesome was a special looking fella... the newest model of Precor treadmill. My usual gym is pretty new by most standards as is the equipment, but this treadmill was special. Magical. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to run on this specific treadmill for the rest of my life. I had a splendid 30 minutes of speed training during which time I increased my incline AND speed... like a boss. I could have kept going but I had other things on my agenda: weights and Pilates.
There are three weight lifting areas spread out over the different floors and each section has different equipment. Needless to say, I had no clue what the fuck I was looking for or where it was.
Uuh... I have no idea what I'm doing.
I fumbled my way through two sets on the seated leg press machine (I know, I know, I should be doing squats - judge me), I'm pretty sure I used the wrong kind of dumbbells (I didn't even know there were different types?!) and I'm almost certain I abused and monopolized the use of a particular space usually reserved for foam rolling but it was the only place I felt comfortable doing my Pilates. This is why I can't have nice things.
At the end of my hour+ workout, I was dripping in sweat, hair soaked from scalp to tip, I was tired, I was beat, I was flushed, but I felt stronger, better, and faster for toughing it through and literally leaving my comfort zone. I could get used to change!
OMG. I did it.
So yeah. I rocked at the gym yesterday, and I'm really excited to go again today.
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