Is it really splurging if it's a really good deal?

I decided I'm tired of being out of shape and flabby. Well, I only really decided that after Ashley mentioned a triathlon she's doing in April and invited me to do it too. I've wanted to participate in one for years now. And here I am, my whole body as sore as your teeth after an orthodontist visit. And it's only been two days.

I started out yesterday kickboxing just to get some pent-up violence and irritation out of my system. There's seriously nothing better than listening to angry music and allowing my mind to scroll through various upsetting past experiences as I beat the sand out of that big canvas bag. I wonder if I look very scary when I do that or if I just look kind of silly. After a while I decided the rest of my frustration would be best spent making my heart pound more and wearing out some muscles I hadn't used in a while. So I pulled off my 12 ounce gloves, left on my hand wraps (knowing it was 33 degrees outside and I'd need something on my hands) and went running. I ran farther than I thought I would. I just kept going farther and farther, trying to judge if it was too far since I'd have to come back the way I was going. I ran to the end of the street I live on, and was really tempted to turn left at the intersection and run down more country roads. I was logical and remembered that I'd only been running once since December, and I didn't want to injure myself and have to recover before I could condition some more. Plus I'd been noticing my right hip was hurting a bit, feeling sort of strained. So instead I crossed over, right where the double yellow line ends, and started back up the hill I'd just come down.

I grabbed the newspaper and mail when I reached my driveway and brought it back in for my mom. Then I called my aunt who knows (or will find out) everything there is to know about herbs and holistic medicine and asked for some recommendations on what I can take to strengthen me in this rigorous two-month feat I'm undertaking. I'm now taking marshmallow root three times a day, eating lots of greens (like kale, spinach, asparagus, etc), and a handful of almonds every day on my bowl of cereal. She also emailed me lots of articles and other information to help me out. She's amazing!

Today I went to the gym with my mom, and she added me onto their membership. Then I changed into my bathing suit and attempted to swim again after not having done so for a few years. I took swimming lessons when I was a kid, and I remember a lot from it, but I quickly discovered that I'm severely out of practice. It's not that I'm so much out of shape, which is true enough, but my problem is that I'm really uncoordinated. I hopped in the water, and after a few seconds of adjusting and deliberation, I made my first attempt across the pool. I had thought I might just practice some different strokes to see how I was doing, but as my mind decided upon a sidestroke my arms and legs did something else, so I just went with whatever that was and did the crawl stroke. That was weird. Then I had to get the timing right so I could breathe. I thought I was doing pretty well, until I realized I couldn't ever get enough air as I lifted my right arm and mouth out of the water. How do swimmers do that? Seriously, it's not that I don't have time to breathe, the problem is that there's water everywhere and I can't get a breath without inhaling some water too from whatever splashing or movement I might be doing. I only did about four laps like that, practiced some other strokes, then lounged briefly in the hot tub and sauna.

My mom and I ended up shopping this afternoon. We weren't gonna buy anything except what I needed for my healthy diet I'm getting into. And then we got distracted at a store next to the herb and vitamin store... and then another store not too far from that one...

And as we were preparing to leave the last place, my mom said, "Can't we just take a look at the shoes before we go?"
"Why? So we can look at what we wished we had and then get depressed over the fact that we can't have it?" I responded as we made our way over to the rows of leather and heels.

My mom got lost looking at adorable heels and other snazzy stuff, and I gravitated toward the athletic shoes. I've been wondering when I could get some new running shoes, because well, I've had mine since my freshman year in high school, I think. And with this event coming up, I feel like I need something more reliable and better for my feet. I picked out some various things and tried them on for fun and put them back.

And then I spotted them. I would never have thought to wear something like them ever until now (mostly because I'd seen lots of my black friends in high school wear stuff like this, and it just seriously was never my style). But they were perfect! Small, light weight, supportive. I tried them on, immediately fell in love, and looked at the price while preparing to be devastated. I had to do a double take! The original price was $69.99. Ouch. Seventy bucks! And then I looked at the sale price: $19.99. I gasped and squealed for joy as my mom came around the corner. She made me try on a few other things, but soon saw that my mind was made up.

Here they are:

I can't wait to go running on Monday!