Muscle Memory

I was.....AM an athlete. My body just doesn't always remember what my heart yearns to feel again. It has been at least two years since I have done any serious exercise. After surrending my body over to my two beautiful children for over two years now, it is time to reclaim what is rightfully mine!

Today for the first time in as long as I can remember, I felt a little of the athlete making a comeback. I hopped on my treadmill, and decided I was going to run. Not long, not hard, but run in intervals. Run one minute, walk for a minute. I really was not sure how long I would last. My knees have become very weak and even walking up stairs can cause me great pain. Never the less, I was game to make this happen even if I ran for one minute. I was going to trust that my muscles would remember and take over for my brain.

As I ran my first minute, it was hard. My knee hurt. I didn't think I would be able to get through the second minute. Second minute came and wasn't as bad as anticipated. Before I knew it, I had ran a minute 10 times! Each minute, my muscles began to remember the motion. Each minute, went by faster. Each minute, my body was a few steps closer to becoming the athlete that is in my heart. I was getting the high I used to get during really intense workouts when I was in my best shape. The feeling took me higher and higher until I thought my heart would burst!

My muscle memory has always been there. I can lay in bed and feel every movement of a triple salchow, every breath of a really hard run and every burn from lifting weights and yet my body can no longer execute. The muscle memory is there, underneath layers of fat and aching joints...I need to dig deep and bring the memories to the surface. My body and my heart will soon be working together again and I am going to enjoy the journey and have lots of hot baths and massages!!