Sunday, April 26, 2015

The secret handshake…

Last week on Facebook, a bunch of my friends were talking about Lilly Pulitzer.  I had NO IDEA whatsoever what the hell they were talking about.  Actually, I still don’t.  There was some controversy and Target was mentioned.  But I felt like they were speaking in tongues.

I know that there are people out there that truly do not care about belonging or fitting into any groups.  There are people in this world that like a solitary existence for the most part and don’t have much interest in being associated with any sort of groups.

I am most decidedly NOT one of those people.  It’s not about being accepted for the most part, but it’s about feeling bonded with other people.  Especially like-minded people.

Which is why it has been interesting for me – going from a remarkably unfit and sedentary existence to being a part of the fitness community. 

Like many of these groupings, there is no official membership.  There are no dues, no meetings and no secret handshakes.  But there are words and phrases and things that we do in this “club” that other people just don’t get.

Like I could say to a person how excited I was to poop before a race.  A non-runner would think I was crazy or would be grossed out.  Another runner would TOTALLY get it.

Other people I know might be happy for me that I ran 14 miles yesterday or would get why last summer when I ran a mile in under 7 minutes I was so thrilled.  But another runner would understand.

And when I talk to my clients about weight lifting and can laugh with them when they talk about people getting kicked out of Planet Fitness for grunting while lifting – it’s a language I speak.

This is a society that I never EVER imagined I’d be a part of.  If you had told me 5 years ago that I’d be a member of a site called Runkeeper and that a complete stranger from Europe would be writing “Great time, Jen!” under one of my runs,  I would have never believed it!

And I won’t lie – that type of feedback motivates and inspires me.  Seeing other people – at all various levels of fitness – getting out there every day?  And it’s pretty cool that all you have to do to be accepted is to make a choice to join.  Without judgment, without expectations.  Just show up. 

So if you are wondering if you can be part of this super-special, super-secret society, I give you a resounding yes, yes, yes. 

We’re pretty cool.  Even though I can’t tell you who the hell Lilly Pulitzer is….

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