The mystery of the mind

I've started running twice per week with a group of colleagues at work. It's such an encouragement to have that kind of accountability - someone is watching to see if I actually do something I really want to do but don't have the drive to do by myself.


As an upshot of this, earlier this week I did a single circuit of a weightlifting routine, my first in almost a year, I'm ashamed to say. I'm a pretty slim guy, but I have a round butt, which made me assume that I must use my gluteus a lot when walking or running etc. Out of my entire body, after that weightlifting routine, my gluteus and hamstrings are the only muscle group that hurt, and they hurt a lot, where I was almost walking funny.


Anyway, the odd thing is that, because of the DOMs I'm suffering, I want to workout more. I explain this phenomenon thusly: because I feel the effects of a workout, I have evidence that my body is reacting to the exercise, which makes me feel like there is progression, and that feeling of improvement or of movement towards my fitness goals encourages me to do more.


Which is why I have to pace myself. From past experience, I know that I get overly enthusiastic and push myself harder and, having passed the 40 y.o. mark, I injure myself and have to stop. And stopping is the opposite of what I want.


Yesterday, I did not go running, but I did some yoga, the Salute to the Sun which, for some reason, is imprinted on my brain. Even if I haven't done it in years, I still remember the poses and the sequence. For someone who grew up never really playing sports or working out, I find this amazing, perplexing, and comforting.