Who Am I?

I'd like to draw everyone's attention to the following quote from my Urban Hiking post: 

"One thing that I think I will always struggle with is exercise.  It's just not something that I enjoy.  Most exercises tend to make me look and feel ridiculous, and I just can't get down with the whole "being sore the day(s) afterwards" thing.  Yeah, all told, you're more likely to see a dog walk on its hind legs than catch me at a traditional gym."

Well, the circus must be in town.  Because this happened:

I can't even believe I am posting this.

Or this. 

Or this.

Yes, friends: this blogger is officially the newest member of the St. Charles Avenue Athletic Club.

Me.

It was necessary.  Urban Hiking is awesome and everything, but the days are getting shorter and with the end of daylight saving's time in sight, there's simply no way that I can walk as much as I need to after work.  New Orleans ain't Mayberry and I have absolutely no interest in being mugged/raped/runover-by-a-car-that-can't-see-me in the name of fitness.

Now that I've taken this final step and joined a gym, I think I have become a bona fide WOP.

I've got an arsenal of dry-fit workout gear and running/walking shorts.  I've even acquired some fancy new gear to carry around the bare-necessities (much more practical and comfortable than carrying a wristlet.

WOPgear is insanely expensive.  But THIS purchase was totally worth it. This was my 10 pound Carrot.

I love this water bottle iPhone thingy. I can even use the phone without taking it out of the case because the clear window is all tech-fancy.

I am signed up for a third 5k three weeks from now.

I exercise at least an hour a day almost every day. I try to workout for 2 hours each day on the weekends.   And I actually like it.   I can't even believe I am writing this.

Now, working out at the gym is definitely going to take some getting used to.  It's not nearly as interesting as taking long walks around the beautiful city of New Orleans.  On my outdoor walks I pass the time by counting lizards, and checking out real estate, and trying to find cats, and counting the number of times someone honks at me (which has been increasing as my waistline shrinks).

At the gym, I am much more keenly aware of how long the workout is taking because the timer on the machine just stares you in the face.   I think if this new gym thing is going to "workout" (ha!), I will have to start bringing an iPad so I can watch Netflix or something. (I seriously wonder how people could stand losing weight before the advent of all this technology.  It just makes it so much easier).

The hard work is definitely paying off.  Just 1 day after the Week 7 Progress Report fiasco, I dropped 2 pounds and have been steady at 147.0 for two days now.

Who am I!?!?!





I'm shrinking!     And it's awesome.