i thought i could sweat all the germs out--apparently i cannot

so today . . . i went to the gym by myself. it is not as much fun to go alone as it is when diandra is there, but she was busy today. so i went on my own.

i am gratified by the fact that i have been there enough in the last six weeks that most of the staff knows me by name. of course, they all call me ms. miller--probably because they are all young enough to be my children! i am not used to being referred to that way--everyone i know just calls me julie. even my school kids call me ms. julie or teacher or teacher ms. julie. but when the gym employees call me that, it makes me feel like i should pat them on the head and give them a cookie . . . probably not a good idea to bring cookies to the gym though. there are those who would burn me at the stake for even thinking about bringing such yummy sweetness to within 500 yards of them, and then there are those who would knock me down and take the treats forcibly from my fingers. and i am not sure you can tell who would fall into which category just by looking at them . . .

i climbed up onto the elliptical machine and realized i had forgotten to bring water with me! not a good beginning. oh well, i did have my ipod all charged up and ready to go, so off i went. after that i did the stair stepper, and then went to the stationary bikes. although, by then i was starting to feel a little bit like i should just go lay down . . .

i've had something trying to get me for the last few weeks--sore throat, persistent cough--but i've been fighting it off. yesterday i thought it had me in it's evil clutches, as sinus congestion reared it's ugly head. but today was better, so i thought a trip to the gym would be a good thing.

once again, i am wrong.

i am wrong so often, i think i should just start doing the opposite of what i am inclined to do. i think i might have better results that way. but i didn't realize that the gym was a bad idea until i had already parked, changed my clothes, used the elliptical and stair master and was headed for the bikes. maybe a drink would help, so i detoured to the drinking fountain. but you know, it is really hard to slurp up an adequate amount of water from the drinking fountain. it goes down your chin and up your nose and onto the floor . . . i'm guessing only a fraction of the water that flows from a drinking fountain actually makes it into your mouth. and how wasteful is that? it isn't like they are recycling all that water that is going down the drain. i hope.

anyway, the drink didn't help a lot, but i went to the bikes anyway. i like the bikes. you get to sit down while you use them. i started pedaling and put in all the important information--age, weight, program. and that is when i ran into trouble. my heart rate is naturally really fast. so by the time i exercise, it can get kind of high. but the machines don't know that. and so when i get on and it takes my heart rate, it goes ALERT! ALERT! ALERT! THIS WOMAN IS GOING TO DIE!! ANY MINUTE!!! and it adjusts accordingly, making the resistance really easy. you might think this is a good thing, and it kind of is on the elliptical machine. but not on the bike. on the bike what happens is that suddenly there is no resistance at all on the pedals, so they go flying around faster than my feet can go! it is really embarrassing . . .

by the time i got off the bike, i was really feeling bad--hot, headachy, a little congested. but did i go home? nooooo. i know that is just my body trying to take it easy. so i pushed on to the weight room . . .

but it didn't last long. i just couldn't do the weights. i tried, but it just was not happening today. sometimes you have to know when to give up and call it a day.

i went to the locker room, got my gym bag and headed to the car. when i got home, i went straight to the shower, and then curled up on the couch for a nap. no actual sleeping occurred, because you may remember that i live with two dogs who had been alone all day, but my eyeballs did get a little rest.

and now i am headed for bed. because rollie insisted that i make a doctor appointment, which i did, but it isn't until wednesday afternoon. so for now, sleep will have to be my 'drug of choice,' at least until wednesday when i can see an actual health care professional.

if i live that long . . .