Oh, hi there.

So, as it turns out, starting a blog about the treadmill did not actually inspire me to, you know, get on a treadmill. Oops.

The Monday after my race, I was still awfully sore, so I gave myself the day off. And then work got busy. And then, and then, and then. It's a lot easier to break a habit than to make one.

And then last week, I was reading another blog, about the blogger's gym pet peeves. It really bothered me, and it's still under my skin, in the worst kind of way. I hate to say it, but sometimes, other people are a big part of the reason why I don't make the extra effort to go to the gym.

The thing that I think a lot of already fit people don't get, especially people who have always been fit, is that just walking into the gym is a horrifying obstacle course of insecurity for a lot of people.

I spent a lot of time actively working on getting past a lot of my gym insecurities. I reasoned that since I'm not at the gym judging other people, they probably aren't judging me, either. That everyone is there for themselves, and surely, I'm just not that important. The other women in the locker room are just as insecure as I am about being half-naked in front of strangers, so they're too busy trying to get dressed to stare at me and judge my body. Right?

And then I read blogs (and the comments) that complain about things like "You're breathing too hard" and "Seriously? Makeup? AT THE GYM?" I hate that stuff like this affects me, because it really, really shouldn't. But it does.

So now, every night when I think "okay, pack a bag for the gym tomorrow" all I can think in response is, "But you'll just be that girl. That girl who breaths too heavily and makes other people uncomfortable. Or someone will think it's crazy pants that you have makeup on. And all those people who you thought weren't judging you? They are. They judge you and then they go home and blog about how gross you make their gym experience."

A big part of me wants to go back to this blog and add a comment of my own. A lone voice in the crowd of "haha! Yeah! I hate the divas with their makeup! And the heavy breathers suck!" comments. A voice that says "I breathe heavily because this is really hard for me. It's so hard, and you judging me from three machines over just makes it harder. And I have makeup on because I came straight from work, and I never remember to pack the makeup remover wipes, and if I wash my face in the sink with the hand soap, I'm going to break out. I had to choose between working out in makeup, or not working out at all."

The rest of me, though? The rest of me knows that ultimately, none of that matters. The people who judge don't care about if there's a reason behind why those things happen. They just want to use me as a reason to feel better about themselves.

And ultimately, none of that matters, because Random Blogger is not the arbiter of who is allowed to work out at the gym. This is the lesson I need to remember, because at the end of the day, Judgey McStupidFace down there at the end? I'm burning calories whether she likes it or not. There's still hope that I won't always be fat, but I'm pretty sure that girl is always going to be the kind of sucky person who judges other people for breathing heavily at the gym.

I just wish that the people who put themselves out there as encouraging a healthy, active lifestyle would maybe...stop alienating a big part of the population that really needs the encouragement.

As far as my own gym pet peeves? People who don't wipe machines down after they sweat on them. People who stare in the locker room. People who are waaaay too naked for waaaay too long in the locker room. Over-enthusiastic lotion appliers. (Those last two groups have a really disturbing overlap. It is the soundtrack to my nightmares, y'all.) People who look at my treadmill stats and openly scoff. Everyone else? Keep on rockin' on, friends.

Now that I've vented all over you, what are your gym peeves? Or just peeves in general. (Slow walkers who take up entire walkways, anyone?)