A follow-up

So, I did a little treadmill run today after lunch and felt pretty great. My heartrate stayed normal! I did not want to die after a few minutes! Did a version of C25K week 5 part 2, with two 8-minute runs. Yay.

Then I came home, had an early dinner (roast trout and broccoli, easy to prepare quickly and cholesterol approved) and went to an improv class.

I had this idea a couple of days ago. I am really struggling with losing my words, especially when speaking. How do I get that back? How do I work that muscle? So I looked up improv classes, and discovered that Bad Dog Theatre has improv drop-ins every Saturday and Monday. The closest sessions were booked out, but I put myself on the waitlist and got a spot today.

Of course, as soon as I got on the bus there, I started getting a headache, and wished I had brought my new meds (there’s a daily med, and two “rescue” meds to take when you feel something starting). I don’t know if this headache was due to stress, overexertion, the fact that the last dose of the last med was wearing off, or what. But I kept my water bottle handy to keep hydrated and selectively opted out of things like spinning or bowing low. (I really appreciated that they started the session by inviting us to share accessibility needs.) And I got through it! A little nausea by the end, but it was okay. It was great to be in a room full of beginners, none of whom really knew what to expect, so I didn’t feel like “the slow one” or like I was holding anyone back. I did feel like I was getting into the swing of things like “thinking” and “speaking” by the end, and the great thing about improv is that it’s fundamentally supportive, you’re working to build a scene together, and no one is wrong. One of the exercises was even about the value of patience, waiting for your moment, waiting to have someone’s attention, and making sure that you’re connecting and they’ve understood what you’re conveying.

I feel like this could be helpful for me and wish I had thought of it sooner. Maybe there’s a two-day bootcamp I could try? That would at least work as a make-it-or-break-it type of thing?