Motivation...beacuse I couldn't come up with a better title :p

As I ran today at the gym, this homosexual man totally caught my eye. I know it may sound terrible that I quickly label him as gay without him assuring it, but if you saw him you would agree with me. Side note: I totally love and support homosexuals.

Anyway, this man had such a sassy walk on the Treadmill. It almost seemed like he would burst into a "Oh yea...get it girl" and raise one arm as he said this. So I started to wonder what kind of music he was listening to that empowered his walk?I often think about this of the people around me when I am running. What is it that they are listening to, reading or what kind of thoughts do they have that keeps them motivated? That gives them the ammo to keep on going that extra mile or minute.

I'd like to think that Mr. Sassy Man was listening to some empowering music like Cher, Madonna, Shakira or Lady Gaga. The girl next to him was this young blond who ran very fast and was in perfect shape. I'd like to believe her motivation was training for a marathon or just to maintain her nice physique. One time my friend (we'll call her Piu Piu) and I saw this old man walking on a treadmill while he looked at a magazine with half naked girls on it. He particularly spent a longer time looking at a brunette's centerfold. Though we found this to be repulsive, in a way his "motivation" should be respected. It was the image of these beautiful girls that helped him stay healthy.

I have several motivations when I run that flood my mind to keep me going. It rarely is ever one thing. I run because I want to be healthy and I want to lose weight. I want to look good and eventually get back to what my body weight pre-college. Sometimes my motivation is my OCDness in wanting to see that I run a full 2 or 3 miles. I hate seeing Total Distance: 2.96. Or sometimes I want to finish a song. It really irks me to stop running while I am listening to an amazing song. So yea, the appropriate running music is also a good motivator. I run because I want to have a baby in the next few years so I want to be able to gain some baby weight and not have to kill myself to lose it afterwards. I also want to look good for the man I am dating. I know he likes me the way I am, but it's kind of hard to not want to be better when he himself is a health nut. Like any average man his pupils expand when he sees an attractive woman. He was enthralled last night by the Miss Universe pageant and he loves the Dallas Cowboys' cheerleaders. Quite frankly, I look nothing like those women. Nor do I believe that I need to look like that for him to care for me, but as a woman it plants a tiny seed of inadequacy. How do you go from finding that pleasing to the eyes to liking me? I also run because it helps me blow off steam and forget things. It's a time where I can work through things and even dream.

When I dance or do any other kind of class at the gym, I have a completely different drive. I push myself because I want to see my body move in a certain way. I want to be able to hold positions in yoga for a longer period of time. I want to be better than the person next to me. The competitive me comes into play.

So what moves you? What keeps you running?