It's a Jeep thing; you wouldn't understand

It all started back in July when I was laid off for two weeks. I woke up the first day of layoff and decided that I was tired of being overweight, having low energy, not sleeping well, and... basically, I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. So I decided to join a gym. And it helped substantially. Within two weeks I was feeling a lot better, sleeping better, and had more energy. And my cravings for sweets was lessening as well.

Then, in the beginning of September, I was at the gym at the same time they were getting some new equipment in. Among the new equipment was a stair climber. This is a piece of equipment where three or four steps are moving downward, while you "climb" up. Essentially, it's like trying to go up the down escalator at the mall. I remember thinking to myself, "that has got to be the stupidest piece of equipment on the face of the earth". Then I looked at the stationary bikes, and thought, those are just as stupid. And the same with the treadmills. I was so glad I was using the elliptical! :) And then I looked around at all the weight lifting equipment, and thought, why would you lift up some weights just to put them back down again? This whole thing is ridiculous.

Don't get me wrong, losing fat and toning muscle is a worthy goal. But I need something more concrete. How do I want my body to look? The personal trainer at the gym asked me that when I joined. Do I want to get all big and beefy? Or look more lean? I didn't know. I needed a goal.

My friend Ben is training for the 50 mile run in Door County on October 23. Yes, that's 50 miles. That was not a mistake. As in, ALMOST two WHOLE marathons. And my friend Heather recently started running again after she had her last baby. My co-worker Bruce runs five miles several times per week, and finished two marathons. My good friends Mark and Amy are avid runners; Amy has finished multiple marathons, and Mark just completed the Iron Man in Madison a couple of weeks ago. I used to look at these people and say "why do you run? Why don't you just kneel on a cold stone floor and repeatedly whip yourself? Isn't that the same thing?" I would routinely call them "masochists". But they all just smiled at me and didn't say much. I always left thinking that somehow, they were getting the last laugh. Is there some secret that they know that I don't?

After talking with them, I realized that the only way I will ever know this secret is to become a runner myself. Kinda like that Jeep advertisement: "It's a Jeep Thing; You Wouldn't Understand". Actually, I do understand the Jeep thing, since I work at the engine plant that produced the old inline 6 cylinder cast iron engine that used to power the Jeeps. The Jeep DNA? I get it. But this running thing - I do not understand.

Since I've decided to start running, my friends, the ones that I have heaped tons of derision upon, have accepted me with open arms. They have not laughed at me, poked fun of me, nor shoved any of that back into my face. But I can see something in their eyes and hear something in their voices. They got me. I can't help but feel like I've been reeled in like a fish. Perhaps this was their ploy all along? Let the whippings begin...