The gym? on the weekend?

I actually made it to the gym this past Saturday. What a strong feeling of accomplishment! I always feel, when I get to the gym on a weekend day, that I am that much ahead of the game for the amount of workouts I can squeeze in during the entire week. *5* days of fitness for me last week. I am thrilled. Woot! Woot!

All I actually did while I was there was 15 grueling minutes on the bike, elliptical, gravitron and treadmill, respectively. And I got to catch up on some news on the cable channels ;)

2 miles at 0 degrees---that's nothing

Well I did run my 4 miles last night, but not as seamlessly as I'd hoped.
I forgot to bring in water and after 2.6 miles, I was desperately parched. I hopped off my treadmill and sprinted to the drinking fountain and back. I 'paused' the treadmill, while leaving my fleece next to it and my ipod hanging off from it. I fly back from the fountain to see some guy on my machine. And this tool is talking on his cellphone.

Argh. He's even reset the machine but looking around as if he feels weird about what he's done. I make direct eye contact with him, clearly indicating with all my body language that he has usurped my machine. He gets off slowly, stands there and watches me get back into place. I see he's already set up his water bottle so I firmly hand it back to him. At this point, he asks "So, you're not done?" Uh, hello? No. I am not. Didn't you see all my stuff? I wasn't even at the 30 minute mark. Of course, I don't say those things, I just coolly reply "no, I'm not done." It's worth noting that there were other tm's available. Ah, the gym can be so exasperating.

Which brings me to today and my 2 mile run. I'm going outside. It may be crystal cold out there but it is a brilliant sun radiating in Plymouth, MI. If I scurry/shuffle/jog/huff fast enough, perhaps I can outrace the impending tentacles of hypothermia. And hey, after a sure 4 miles last night, what's a measly 2?

4 treadmill miles

Today I am psyching myself up to run 4 miles. Obviously, that was my goal last Saturday but the shrieking winds, new environment and unfamiliar route didn't add up to a combination of factors pushing me towards that fleshed out, full-figured 4 miles. I'm ready though. I'll be fueling my system with healthy food all day. I'll peruse some motivational articles at runner's world to keep me focused.

The only bummer is having to use a treadmill at the gym. Our gym only has a paltry 7 treadmills and that's ridiculous. I'm sure if I were out of bed at 6am, I could have easily found one without waiting but, big surprise, I wasn't up then. The treadmills seem to be full even at 730 at night. I hope it's just the first flush of new resolutions in people that is responsible for the greater numbers filling up the gym. I do applaud their fortitude, but if they want to give up, well, hey, it would leave another empty treadmill for me.

So, until I have a house of my own and the extra money to buy a treadmill, I'll be working late on Tuesdays and secretly hoping the newbies are giving in to their cravings to eat bon bons and watch tv. Besides, a run of 4 miles at 8pm is no less wimpy than one at 7am.