Make It Count

Wednesday’s Run (8/04/10)

I’m ambivalent about after-work exercise at the apartment complex gym.  On the one hand, it’s great: just get it done and be FREE for the rest of the evening!  Ah, sweet freedom and a delicious sense of accomplishment.  On the other hand, I am almost guaranteed that other people will be there, watching terrible television, which will inspire me to count down the minutes until I can get the heck out of there.

Other people can watch whatever they want on tv—I’m a total libertarian on this general issue.  But I really cannot stand the bulk of pop culture these days, so I do not enjoy watching entertainment news, MTV, or anything along those lines.  Lindsay who?  Justin who?  I’m happy living under my rock and not knowing anything about these industry creations.  Unfortunately, because sometimes I like to do my gym work-outs before dinner, I’m stuck watching updates on Lindsay Lohan’s publicity stunts and Justin Bieber’s hair(!?).

Tonight, though, I think my suffering was worth it.  My treadmill work-out was simple: 5 minute walking warm-up, 10 minute run at an 8:34 mile pace (+/- a few seconds), and 8 minutes or so of walking to cool down.  The running pace made me work, so that was good.  If I’m going to do a short treadmill work-out, I should make it count by running faster. 

Now I’m showered and in my pajamas before 8 PM—whee!  For dinner, I’m making Luisa’s avocado on toast with something else on the side—maybe carrot sticks?  And for dessert, all I’m craving is a smoothie, preferably one with chocolate in it.  It’s so hot down here in Texas now that food seems almost unnecessary compared to cold glasses of water and lying on the couch with the air conditioning rumbling in the background.  But once I’ve got some dinner on the table in front of me, I’ll remember how much I like to eat.