the rub

I went for a run this afternoon, and it was good - I kept a pretty good intensity over the 4.5 miles I ran, kept the heart rate in a good range. I think I'm getting progressively faster, too. But here in Florida, it's starting to warm up quite a bit, and this entire week, we're seeing highs in the lower to mid 80's. And you know it all feels about 20 degrees hotter when you start pumpin' those legs down a trail.

You know what I dreamt about while I ran? SHORTS. (And a really big glass of water, too.)

One of my many weight-loss goals that does not have a number attached to it is to get rid of The Rub. Those of you who have ever experienced The Rub know exactly what I mean by it: the inner thigh fat that rubs together as you walk or run. It makes you chafe, it feels yucky, and it makes your shorts bunch up into a self-made wedgie. Wedgies are just not cool, no matter how you come by them. And since I have The Rub, shorts are out for me. I have to wear these stretchy capri pant thingies that I think were originally meant to wear as yoga gear, or at least running gear in cooler weather. And I wore them in cooler weather, and they were great for keeping me warm. In the bright Florida sun, though, I really long for the day when I can wear those cute little airy runners shorts, the kind that allow for a lot of ventilation without showing the world your business. I mean, I'm not that crazy about the size of my legs, or the fact that, uncovered, their whiteness could be a leading cause of blindness in the Central Florida area. But it's The Rub that keeps me from shorts. Rub, I curse thee.

When I lose The Rub, I swear I will wear shorts every single day in celebration. I don't know how soon that will be, but hopefully it won't be long, 'cause this running-in-pants thing is getting real OLD.

PS - Jhoon Rhee is still alive and kicking. His son Chun - the one you see winking at the end - now runs a few of his Tae Kwon Do studios in the DC metro area, and Jhoon is still very much the Father of American Tae Kwon Do, considered a master and still in kick-ass shape in his 70s. I read somewhere that the guy does 1000 situps a day when he wakes up. Nobody boddas him, either.