January 01, 2006

Back on the Wagon

No, this post doesn't have anything to do with alcohol. The wagon I'm back on is a walking wagon. Archi-Sapper remembered my days of training to walk a marathon, when I was walking up to 7 or 8 miles at a time. I like to refer to those days as my days of dementia. At any rate, I was kicking some serious butt until nature intervened and New Orleans insisted upon having summer again. Not one to walk any distance in 90 degree temps with 98% humidity, I stopped walking. I spent the hours I would've normally spent walking on the internet researching treadmills. I ended that project by deciding what I wanted in a treadmill (not a lot) but didn't actually buy one.

So, Archi-Sapper bought me one for Christmas. Since we've been on the road for the past week, I hadn't actually gotten a chance to use it, but today I broke it in. I charged up the new iPod (which I absolutely love), put on my newly-purchased workout clothes and hopped on. Having finished my first session on this machine, I've decided a few things:

1. It's a really good thing that my iPod comes with earbuds and not speakers. As it is, this treadmill is so loud when in use that it sounds like a 310 Cessna has landed next to our kitchen. If you threw in the extremely loud and obnoxious music I tend to listen to when I exercise, we'd likely be evicted, or at the very least cited for violating local noise ordinances.

2. I need better workout music (see point numero uno). When I'm reaching the point of exhaustion, have sweat pouring onto my iPod and start to feel lightheaded, the only thing that keeps me going is upbeat, pounding dance music of the sort that I normally wouldn't be caught dead listening to. There's something about exercising that makes me lose all sense of shame and start to crave anything with a good beat to it. Suggestions of things I could download would be welcome.

3. All this walking makes me tired. When I got on that treadmill this afternoon, I placed my earbuds in my ears (and I'm so glad to finally buy portable electronics equipment from a company that makes earbuds that actually fit in my ears and don't flop out), set the incline setting and ramped up the speed level. I was pushing right along, walking about 3 mph (not a bad start for someone who hasn't walked since, oh, May) and thinking, "This isn't so bad. I can do this. I used to walk 7 ot 8 miles at a stretch. I can't believe it took me months to get there. I'll be there in no time at the rate I'm going! 2006 will definitely be my year to get in serious shape. I could start my own series of workout videos and market my own line of books! I'll take time off my law practice and tour the country, regaling people with my success story. I'll go jogging in Audobon Park and run circles around those svelte college girls who always run around in spandex shorts. I rock!"

It was then that I looked down at the distance calculator and saw that I had walked exactly a half of a mile.

Maybe 2006 will be my year to do something else.

Posted by Kitty at January 1, 2006 04:48 PM

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