Gentle Basic Step

So... I went back to the YMCA for my first exercise class since the surgery. I started going back to the Y last week just to begin using the treadmill and getting back to some sort of exercise post-surgery. While I was there, I saw the summer schedule and I scanned the classes to see if there was anything that would be fun without death involved. There is a class that meets on Tuesday nights at 7:30 that was called Gentle Basic Step. I thought this was an encouraging class. The two significant words being "Gentle" and "Basic".

So last night I went to watch the girls play softball and after the first game I head to the Y. I arrived a little earlier than the class starts, so I walked the track as a warm-up. I enter the workout room and select the lowest of the steps (not being an idiot and thinking I could do anything higher) and placed myself in the center of the room hoping to just blend in.

The "basic" part of this class is pretty accurate. There were no step sequences that were too complicated and I wasn't trying to mambo my way out the door. However... GENTLE may be a bit misleading. Knowing this was only a 30 minute class, I was fairly confident that I would be able to make it to the end without fear of collapsing. However, the first time I looked at my watch thinking that I was near the end of the class, we were actually only ten minutes into it.

Ten minutes. I had 20 minutes left and I was looking for the oxygen masks to fall from the ceiling. I then remembered that I was not on a plane. Nor was I dreaming. And I apparently was there on a volunteer basis. I know this because I looked around for the man who had the pistol to my head, and he was nowhere to be found.

I did make it through the entire 30 minutes. I only had to rest once and I considered that a great feat since this was my first real exertion since the Best.Surgeon.Ever. removed an internal organ. I am also excited about the loss of some 20 pounds since the surgery and the fact that I can wear clothes that have not been on my body in over a year.

We'll see if I make a return visit next week.