getting a leg up

While lots of women are pears (narrow waist, booty, childbearing hips), I'm an apple (thicker in the middle, smaller butt, lean legs). I'm one in a long line of apple-shaped ladies (my grandmother, Estelle, likes to spontaneously belt out "I ain't got no body," an ode to her flamingo-like legs and short, rounder torso. We love it when hemlines rise, celebrated the birth of the pudge-concealing tankini a few years ago and wouldn't get a belly pierce if it came with a 3-carat diamond. Delicate gams can rock a mini-skirt, and they're an undeniable asset when it comes to, say, synchronized swimming (my 'egg beaters' and 'Eiffel towers' earned applause in our swim club's annual water ballet as a child), but they aren't much help when it comes to long-distance running. While the Saturday long runs (13 miles last weekend; 15 miles yesterday) are hard on us all, I'm usually dragging myself around the park grunting and groaning for the last 3 or 4 miles. An elderly mall walker could easily lap me. I love our Tuesday night speed sections, motor through the RoadRunners fun-runs, but these long runs are agony. After last Saturday's particularly painful 13-miles, my fantastic coach Vanessa gently told me that the orthodics I'm anxiously awaiting will only do so much--building up my lower-body strength is key. Enough with the half-hearted attempts at weight-lifting; I need to put some muscles on these popsicle sticks and fast. So Thursday, I took a sports circuit class (think: obstacle course, cone running, crab walking and lots of squats) at NYSC. Only two of us were in the class (no doubt due to the ungodly 7am hour and not a reflection on Ari, the trainer), so it felt like a swanky personal session! And, while yesterday's 15-miler (yes, 15 miles!!!), still left me limping, it felt just ever-so-slightly easier. I'd like to think all those squats, and not just the change of scenery (we left Brooklyn, trekking up the West Side Highway to Central Park) had something to do with it. So this morning, I did a club strength class. See ya later, swan legs!