I've been going to the gym for two weeks now, and I have to admit that I didn't do a lot of exercise at all before that. My good shape from last year's cycling trip completely lost, I have to start from scratch again. I think my body is slow to respond to anything. It takes me ages to get it to wake up and get into fitness mode, and after cycling and running it takes ages for it to realize that I've stopped running. It's 3 hours after running now and I'm still in hyperactive mode.
The first few times I went to the gym I really could not find my comfort spot. I just ran around, spent a lot of energy and never felt really comfortable. But today, for the first time in ages, I found the magic zone again: that same zone I used to cycle in back in Japan. Every time I'm in the zone my breathing changes to a more efficient pattern, and I suddenly feel as if I have more sensation in the tips of my fingers and toes. Better blood circulation, perhaps? In any case, once I'm in the zone, I can keep it up forever. I've noticed in the past, when going on cycling trips with friends, that others are much quicker to get in the zone than I am. It takes perhaps up to 5 minutes for them, whereas it takes me easily 10 or 15. But they are easy to snap out of the zone too, whereas my body just keeps going. I guess I'm just slow to react to change.