There's a Smile on My Face...

...for the whole human race.

Another thing the people who know me best will tell you is that I'm never at a loss for a song lyric / title to match my mood, or a particular moment. So it was with wry humor that I felt the lyrics to this oldie goldie bubbling through my head early this evening.

After spending much of the last month feeling like shit on a shingle-- drug related woes, a tendon tear & a nasty upper respitory bug-- I finally feel like I've gotten back in the swing of things.

Right now I'm on the road again for work (all week) and decided to take advantage of some free time to use the treadmill in the hotel workout room. I was a little hesitant-- the last two times I'd attempted to walk / jog, I'd had to abort on both occasions, as my leg wasn't totally healed. But today, everything was perfect-- despite my headphones crapping out 2 minutes into the workout, I logged 45 minutes on that metal contraption, and it was GOOOOOOOOOD. Heart was pounding, but not too hard. Broke a sweat, but nothing extreme. Achey leg didn't twinge AT ALL, and it was with reluctance that I made myself get off of the machine after 45 minutes (I'd been logging an hour before the recent pestillence). I didn't want to turn a peak experience into a failure by overdoing...

So it was with cheesy grin on puss that I hauled my carcass out of the hotel and down the street to Wendy's for a taco salad (food porn-- the perfect compliment to my workout afterglow). I was proud of myself for working out, despite having sat in classes for 8 hours (normally a great excuse to NOT exercise), thrilled that I had no pain/breathing issues flaring up, and enjoying a ferocious surge of exercise endorphins. I was glowing (ok-- sweating, but with a purpose) & felt better than I have in far more months than I care to count, let alone admit.

I wanted to trap that feeling in a bottle. I wanted to sell it (the feeling, not the sweaty carcass, you pervs) on the streets. It was all I could do to not drunk dial all my friends and shout, "Do you have ANY FREAKIN' CLUE how good I feel right now???" Later, after I'd bagged my erotica and come back to my room, I received a call from a dear friend who just happens to be a fitness junkie. He could tell immediately that I was in a great mood, which surprised him since he knew these training weeks tend to drain me dry. And after recounting my adventure, I begged him to help me remember how I was feeling-- to remind me, the next time I gripe about getting up at 5:30 to throw on my workout gear, just how fan-damn-tabulous I am feeling.

Right now, I'm rediscovering parts of me that have been lost in recent months / years, and finding other bits that I wasn't even aware I posessed. I had hoped that they were, but until you stumble across them, there's always room for doubt, right? All I know is that life is pretty damn good right now-- even if its just for a short stretch.