Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Not So Best of Small Town Mexico-My Treadmill

I like to stay in shape. I am not a fanatic or anything, but I like to work out. My exercise of choice is running. I vacillate anywhere between a recreational and an avid runner. Right now I am very, very recreational. I credit my mom for instilling in me my "love" of running. She is going to turn 58 this year and is a marathoner. It is hard to be a couch potato when your mom is off training for a marathon.

Anyway, back to my "Not So Best of Small Town Mexico". I prefer to run outside; I like to have the variety of scenery that doesn't come running inside a gym. Unfortunately, my running options are seriously limited here. Running outside is not really an option because:

  1. Too many dogs
  2. Too many bad smells
  3. Way too hot
  4. Too many holes/cracks in the sidewalk
  5. Too many men with too much time on their hands and too many comments (an exercising woman, or man for that matter, is not a common sight here)
Instead I run on my treadmill. Here it is:

We went all out and spent the big bucks on this baby last year. We spent an extra $1000 or so to get the heart monitor thingy. I think I have monitored my heart maybe 5 times.

Here is a list of just a few of the things that that I will do in order to avoid getting on the beast:

  1. pluck my eyebrows
  2. clean out my nightstand
  3. start the laundry
  4. organize my closet
  5. organize my kids' closets
  6. alphabetize my books/dvds/cds
  7. dust my room
  8. wash dishes

You get the idea. Once I finally get my ipod and hop on the machine here is an example of my thought process:

Ok, don't look at the time. That's right. We're doing fine. What? 2 minutes and 14 seconds???? That's it? It's ok, it's always the hardest at the beginning. Ok, I won't look again until the chorus of this song. 3 minutes. Ok, I will not look this entire song. Ok, 6 minutes. 1/5 of the way done. Now we're getting somewhere. Let's see, I'll count to 100 and then look. Whoops, I peeked. Is the phone/doorbell ringing? Ok, I will try not to look for 0.5 miles. Only 0.3?? Crap. Ok. Picture Forrest Gump, he ran accross the country, you can run for a half hour. 10 minutes. I am 1/3 of the way done...

And on and on and on. I go through this process 3 or 4 times a week. I drive myself nuts on that thing.

On the positive side, I can stick the two older kids on it when they're crawling the walls. Margarita (8 yrs) once ran 3 miles. And Juan Carlos loves to use it as a jungle gym:


Got to go. The beast calls.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Keep at it!!! You inspire the rest of us who could only look at your slim frame (and flat abs)with envy. Having your kids run on it to burn off steam is such a great idea. If only for this trick, I'm so tempted to get one. Have fun running!

Anonymous said...

What motivation to keep me moving. The weight is coming on the the type A is changing to a B with all this relaxation. I just packed my running shoes for the trip to Seattle. Remember the words of Forest Gump "Life is Just a Box of Gizzards" or something like that. But do keep Forest Gump in mind.

Zoe said...

LOL!! I am envious that you at least LIKE to run!! I know how hard it is to find motivation. Sadly, I have not exercised at all since I have been pregnant. I think that I am past the point of no return!

You can do it!! I know you can! :)

PS Thanks for visiting my blog!

Grammy said...

Exercise! How I hate it! And how I need it. I have my equipment set up in front of the TV and watch old musicals while I work out (that is WHEN I work out), but I know exactly what you mean. I keep sneaking a look at the cloc and calculating how far along I am to the goal. It's murder!

BTW: What is your new picture? I can't make it out.

Gabriela said...

In the spirit of anominity (sp?) and until I find a better pic, it is a larger lizzard and three smaller ones (me and my three little kids)

Kathryn Thompson said...

That is so funny. I love the idea of your 8-year-old running 3 miles. I am much better at avoiding working out than you...and I have the love handles to prove it.

ShelahBooksIt said...

I have similar pictures of my kids hanging from the treadmill. I'm not sure where you are in Mexico, but just north of the border in Texas, it's already too darn hot to run on my treadmill, so I hit the street every morning.

Good luck!!

Patti said...

Oh. My. Gosh. We must be long lost sisters, because that is the exact same thought process that I have on the treadmill. I have to cover up the screen with a sweatshirt or something in order to keep myself going! Too Funny!