Most Embarrassing Workout Moment

Still coughing up a lung every five minutes, so I thought I'd toss out a gym anecdote since I'm on temporary hiatus from experiencing new material. For me, this one's a contenduh for the Embarrasing Moment Hall o' Fame. Lest my sistahs read the ensuing tale and think I'm wallowing in self-pity (thanks for cheering me up the last few days!), let me assure you I was only reminded of this because of something great that happened recently, and that I find it funny now.

This was about a year ago. I weighed about 245, about a size 22. I was happy, had lost about 25 pounds and a jean size, had worked up to hour-long cardio sessions, and had just registered for my first triathlon. In a nutshell, I was feeling like the shit.

So, I'm on the treadmill, about halfway through a 5K on an incline power-walk. An older gentleman - and I do mean older - saw me working out. He approached me, and said with obvious concern for my well-being "you better be careful, your heart might not be able to take that."

I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. A guy old enough to be my Grandpa, a guy who probably had a pacemaker, was concerned that I was so fat I going to have a heart attack! What I said was "it's ok, my doctor knows what I'm doing." He was mollified by this and went on his way. But I never forgot it and am embarrassed to this day. I am so glad nobody else heard him.

The cool thing that just happened to remind me of this most shameful moment...

I'm at the gym (2 weeks ago today). Two of the six treadmills are out of order and one has the hiccups (status quo). A very young, very fit teenage girl climbed aboard the hiccup treadmill when I was about 5 minutes into my warmup walk. I mentioned to her that one wasn't safe if she planned to do any running (all the girls like her at my gym are there to run, figured I'd save her a broken ankle). She laughed and said no problem, she doesn't run at all. She started walking and a few minutes later I cranked up the speed and embarked on the run that became my first mile ever.

As I finished the mile and slowed back down to a walk, this little girl with the perfect body took off her headphones, looked at me, smiled and said "I was starting to wonder if you were ever gonna stop running."

I sure have come a long way in a year.