Day 223: Crying on the Treadmill

I must keep reminding myself not to program songs that will elicit emotional responses when doing a workout. During the workout, you are trying to be focused on your activity; to clear your mind. Really, the only thing entering your headspace is the music you're playing (or if you're at the JCC today, a 45 minute Billy Blanks infomercial). There are a few songs (rockers, not ballads) that if you're in that mode can really kill you. Today the song "Wonderful" by the band Everclear did it. The reason it's on there is because my niece has been dying for some good work out music so I've been combing through my archives to see if there's any recent rock and roll (because basically, kids hate old music like they hate black and white movies) that she might like. I made a playlist for her and copied it to my iPod to give it a spin. "Wonderful" is a song about divorce, from a broken hearted kid's perspective. Though I am from a divorced household, what really got me was the line "Promises mean everything when you're little and the world is so big", which not only makes me think about my own childhood, but of how I'm raising my children, whether I'm doing a good job, providing a strong, honest, loving example of how a person should be. That whole topic could make you disappear down an emotional swirly-drain from which you might never recover. Aside from that, everyone knows that visibly sobbing on a piece of exercise equipment is a no-no. I switched to Beyonce's "Crazy in Love" and shined it on.

Breakfast
2 Eggs (you can guess at the treatment)
3 Strips Turkey Bacon
2 oz. 50% lite Jalapeno Cheddar
Tea

Snack
Coffee
30 nearly rancid jumbo cashews (that's what I get for leaving them in the car)
1 Fuji apple
2 bites of a cheese stick fed to Magnolia (by now she can eat a whole one)

Lunch
1 Dark meat turkey burger
leeks a la emily

Dinner
Greek salad with Tuna

The above writing should not make one think that I did have a good workout. It was a good one, because I made 5 miles—a new record for me. In all fairness, it was 4+ miles on the elliptical and about a mile on the treadmill (as I was waiting). I also did a bit on the stairmaster—it's not for me. I wasn't sure I was even going to make it to three miles, but the great thing about going fast is you cover a lot more distance more quickly. So after a while of thinking "I can't go on" I made it much farther than I thought I could. So let that be a lesson to all of you.