Who knew?
Guess where the happening-est place in a hotel is at 5:30 a.m.?
Nope, not the kitchen. Not the janitorial or maid service areas. Not the front desk. Certainly not the bar.
It's the damn fitness center.
I expected (well, hoped really, considering my adorable hairdo) to be the only person dumb/delusional/crazy enough to wake up before dawn and exercise. Boy, was I wrong.
I was the third person in. This was good news because that meant there was room for me on one of the three treadmills. The other two were occupied by Skinny Minnie #1 and Dapper Dan #1, running in a seemingly choreographed stride-for-stride unison.
Their perfect synchronization me a little. They were clearly professional runners.
I just wanted to walk.
All of a sudden I felt like a poser. Or a dork. I felt like they could see the old me and was sure they would be passing judgement on how big my butt is or how floppy my arms are or how I just wasn't cool enough to be in their club.
But then I remembered that I don't need to be in their club. I am in my own. I stuck my chin in the air and pretended I did this sort of thing all the time.
It took me a minute to figure out the buttons on the treadmill. Took me another few to determine that my 4.4 pace at home felt more like a 4.7 on this machine. Just got to thinking maybe I could pull this off when ...
... they started pouring in. Four more Skinny Minnies. One more Dapper Dan. And me.
Just walking.
I panicked a little. I don't know what the appropriate etiquette is for sharing equipment. (My dog never wants to actually get on my treadmill at home and she's the only one that ever witnesses my workout.) I wasn't sure if it was OK to stay on my machine until I was done. I knew I had 45 more minutes to go and the nice, Midwestern girl in me didn't want to break the rules.
Luckily, some started lifting weights, two climbed on ellipticals. And then SM#1 and DD#1 wrapped up their workouts, freeing up the machines for others.
I just kept walking.
But I'm going to get up 15 minutes earlier tomorrow just to be sure I don't have to wait in line.
P.S. The treadmills have little TV screens attached. I found a local news channel and started watching the news. No sound, as to not interfere with anyone else. But guess what the first commercial I saw was? Yup ... one for a fantastic weekend getaway in ... wait for it ... Wisconsin Dells at the Wilderness Resort! Ironic, don'tcha think?
2 comments:
When it comes to me, I would say calm down to myself and run outside.
I love your idea, George ... however, I don't have the fortitude or coordination to make it work. You see, I was in Chicago and they'd gotten about 4 inches of snow the night before. Now, I know people who live here and train outside for marathons this time of year. I think they're nuts.
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