I've been a total slacker in the "get fit for the big day" department and I had no excuse to not work out yesterday. We planned to head to the gym, but I threw an audible at the last minute with an ingenious plan: "Why don't I go rollerblading? In fact, you could sit in the park and read and I'll rollerblade around on the trail and sidewalk!" This was a brilliant plan, obviously. Andrew would be able to rest and do no physical activity while I get exercise. FYI: He's working too hard landscaping and is getting ubber toned and lean. So an opportunity for me to work out and him not to is the perfect medicine (just like my plan called Andrew Eat's A Snack/Mini Dinner Before I Get Home From Work So He Can Consume Enough Calories).
Seemed like the perfect idea. In fact the park is probably less than a mile from my apartment so I said, "Let's not drive." Well Genius (me), decides that I don't want to get my socks dirty so I put my roller blades on inside [upstairs]. Andrew had to help me down the interior and exterior stairs only for me to realize that the slope of my street is basically a black diamond to roller blades. Let's not be dramatic, I don't live in San Francisco, but yesterday, it might as well have been! After a good chuckle, some white knuckles, and a death gripe on Andrew's shoulders I said, "You might want to run upstairs and grab my shoes and car keys. We should probably drive."
At this point, Andrew is slightly concerned, but still confident. I'd expect nothing less, you know? I had told him numerous times about how I roller bladed in undergrad through Winter Park on the Cady Way Trail. And that I even roller bladed in grad school in Meadowbrook Park in Urbana numerous times. Well a few things escaped me. 1) We're not in Kansas anymore 2) I'm not as young as I used to be.
We made it safely to the park (via automobile), I got all laced up and then I was "off." Sort of. What looks "flat" on foot is not actually flat when rolling on 8 wheels! Warming up looked more like learning to skate for the first time. It was pa-thetic! I looked like a kid on Christmas trying their skates out for the first time, still trying to get that whole balance thing down. Andrew found a nice bench to sit on with his book and said, "Skate around. I'll be watching you."
"Awesome," I thought, and skated away. About 20 seconds into my "workout" I was skating on the trail, up a little incline and realized I was about to go down at a dangerously high speed. I had no idea how steep it would be or how much difficulty I would have stopping. I diverted into the grass and thought it would absorb nicely like a sand pit (it didn't) and I'd make a crash landing (I did). I looked up and saw Andrew sprinting towards me. He couldn't tell that I was laughing and proceeded to sprint the length of the park to check on me. So much for him not exercising. The park continued to be "hilly" and an utter disaster of a trip. I'll spare you the details, but let's just say it involved many panicked detours into the grass, shoulder grabbing saves, and hand-holding down ramps while clutching on the the hand rails. Needless to say, I won't be planning rollerblading as a primary form of exercise in this state. In fact, I was pretty certain that the day would end ugly; with a scraped up Kim sporting scabs or bruises for the engagement shoot in Chicago! Classy.
All in all, it ended well. Except for Andrew. His relaxing day in the park turned into a multi-mile trek with the additional weight of roly-poly-fiance leaning and pulling on him for safety.
Post-edit: I am okay. I actually didn't fall "accidentally" once! Intentionally, yes, but unintended, no:D
Ok, so you had me laughing pretty hard by the end :)... Maybe I will see you at an unpacking party tonight!
ReplyDeleteI'll contact my Clinique rep for black eye coverup. I remember roller blading with Heather on the Pinellas Trail overpasses and going down is pretty scary if you can stop laughing.
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