I Am Stronger Than My Pain Or My Anxieties

  At 0330hrs, I woke up.  I'm not really sure why.  My heart was racing.  Was it a dream?  Was it that strange new bite on my ankle (a spider bite maybe?)  I don't know.  I got up, walked around, and tried to calm myself.  It took a while, but I lay back down and eventually drifted back to sleep.  I rolled over at 0745hrs.  My back was hurting.  Maybe I pushed too hard yesterday.  I was sore, exhausted, and yes...still a bit anxious.  I thought maybe I should just lay in bed and take it easy this morning.
  That thought lasted all of two minutes.  Before I knew it, I was dressing in my gym clothes.  I poured a quick cup of decaf and told my son I was going.  He said okay, then rolled over and went back to sleep.  I knew, deep down, going to the gym would make me feel better.  I hopped up on an open treadmill.  The lady on the machine next to me starting chatting.  She was a very nice British lady.  I really had to focus on the conversation.  She spoke in slang I did not recognize.  Sometimes, I had to ask her to explain.  We talked about timeshares, things to do, the cruise they were about to embark on in Canada, etc.  The first two miles went by quickly.  Before I knew it, I had done four miles and I had inclined up to 8 (at a speed of 4.3).  It was time to head back to the room.  When I got in, my son was still in bed.  I let him sleep in.  I hopped in the shower for a quickie.  Time to start the day.  Oh wait.  I did that at 0330hrs.  : )