Saturday, October 13, 2007

Step one: We can have lots of fun

I've had some great runs lately in this cooler weather (I wore my headband thing this week for the first time and got some strange looks, but my ears are really sensitive to cold). But today I decided to mix it up and go to the gym with Matt. I am putting my gym membership on probation, by the way. It has until next spring to prove its worth, or I'm canceling it.

That's another topic. The point of this story is I went to the gym with Matt so I could do the Stairmaster instead of just running. I'm not talking about the elliptical machines, which are fine but don't seem to give me a very good workout. I'm talking about the actual Stairmaster, with revolving steps.

That thing is the hardest workout I know of. I always forget about it, but it really gets your heart rate up. I think part of the reason the difficulty always surprises me is mental: I can read a magazine while I'm on it, so I sort of expect an easier workout. It's not.

And today I had to give up the magazine, too. About 20 minutes in, the machine sped up and it was all I could do to keep up. I was sweating profusely, trying not to trip, listening to my iPod, wishing for some water and halfway reading even though I knew I needed to be watching the steps, when I had this vision of myself totally falling off of the thing. I've done that on the treadmill before, and it's embarrassing. So I tossed the magazine.

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