CHERI GILLARD
  • Author
  • Speaking
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Editing Services

In the Event of the Apocalypse I’ll Be in the Pool

1/1/2017

3 Comments

 
Picture
This morning I went to the gym early so I could swim some laps. There were about twenty cars in the lot when I arrived at 7:30, a half hour after the club opened.
​Inside, most of the people I saw were on the weights, hardcore musclemen who would be there rain or shine, holiday or apocalypse, certain to pump their iron no matter what. “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” has a funny scene when Steve Carell’s character, Dodge, goes into the gym, trying to keep as much normalcy in his life as possible before the meteorite strikes earth and obliterates mankind. He’s one of the only ones there. He has trouble mustering any enthusiasm for the task and he approaches his workout with little energy. In the background while Dodge struggles to stay on the treadmill, there is a muscleman diligently at work with the free weights, sculpting his guns and pecs, undaunted by the impending doom of the inevitable cataclysm. That’s who I saw this morning when I went to the gym at 7:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day. Gym Rats who must be there. No matter what. It’s an addiction. It’s oxygen to them.
 
Unlike the weightlifting room, the pool area was empty. I had the whole thing to myself. I could have swum diagonally, corner to corner, taking up the entire pool, and no one would have known or cared. One person came along on the deck through the wet area while I was swimming, a guy who just sat in the sauna. Other than him, I didn’t see anyone.
 
As I swam back and forth, I wondered where all the hardcore athlete swimmers were. It was prime time to be there—the first hour of the day the club was opened, the first day of the week, the first day of the year. Where was everyone? As I took another lap, flip turning at the end of the lane to reverse direction and swim back that other way, it dawned on me. I was the hardcore athlete swimmer, such that I was. It was I who represented the pool people who would undauntedly put in the laps while others slept off their previous nights’ celebratory consequences. I’m no athlete, but I am tenacious and determined to keep swimming, even when my body hurts too much to move and when I’m so chronically fatigued that all I want is to be is unconscious. Against those odds, I guess I am a little hardcore. So here’s to resolutions for the new year. Resolutions to keep going. To not give up. To act like you’re hardcore. 
3 Comments
Lori Morrow
1/5/2017 05:42:34 pm

I love this! I need to be more hardcore about exercising! Good for you!!

Reply
Cheri
1/6/2017 03:52:36 pm

"Tis the season for new workouts, right? New Year's resolutions can be fun? It was crazy for me to realize that I was the one working out on a holiday. Amazing for me to have become that person for sure. I'm no athlete. But now maybe I guess I might be...

Reply
Alex Cooks link
12/10/2020 02:14:03 am

Nice bblog thanks for posting

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Want my stories delivered right to your inbox? I can do that! Click the button below to sign up and I'll make sure to send my post right to you each week.
    ​Welcome aboard!
    Click here to sign up!

    Life with Quadruplets

    As a mother of quadruplets, I've had plenty of crazy experiences raising "supertwins." I blog a lot of memories about my kids. Sometimes just my thoughts on things. I get those sometimes—when my brain works. Which is about one third of the time. 

    Archives

    September 2020
    August 2020
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014

    Categories

    All
    Blog Hop
    Book Reviews
    Cakes
    Cooking
    Count Down!
    Eating
    Flash Fiction Friday
    Giveaways
    Growing Up
    Halloween
    Just The Two Of Us
    Life Philosophy
    Mommy Mumday
    National Something Day
    Op Ed
    Photos
    Raising Quadruplets
    Throw Back Thursdays
    Time Travel Trivia Quiz
    Today In History
    Write On!

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Author
  • Speaking
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Editing Services