This morning I was going to write a blog post about my
fevered anticipation of my imminent transformation into an exercise nut. I
believed this change was about to commence momentarily, as I had just clicked
on my as-yet unused iPhone app called "Couch to 5K," which I had
downloaded some months ago, and I had just read the first instruction.
"Week 1, Day 1" told me to take a walk.
In my as-yet unwritten blog post, I had planned to digress.
I would not be writing, as was my usual practice, with the goal of ironically describing
how the point of using this app is to experience the joy of having a toy to
play with, that one can fiercely delight in simply by choosing to believe the
app is actually going to be helpful in concerting one's efforts to begin an
exercise program.
I was going to, instead, examine, through my writing, the
various forms of unsatisfactory substitutions we make in our daily lives. I
would explore how we convince ourselves that it is not the worst thing in the
world to continue doing the things we are used to doing instead of doing those
things we had planned to do, even though we truly believe we would make
ourselves better people if we actually followed through and did them.
However, before I could begin typing up that blog post,
which was already planned out entirely in my head and needed but to be recorded,
I got sidetracked into thinking that, instead of immediately indulging myself
in enjoying the art of composition—which uses nothing but my trusty computer,
my nimble fingers, and my brain—I should first take a walk outside. A long walk.
For exercise.
This, despite the fact that the Weather app on my iPhone had
warned me, when I got out of bed this bright and sunny winter morning, that the
current temperature was exactly TWO DEGREES BELOW ZERO (Fahrenheit).
However, another quick click on the Weather app on my iPhone
informs me now that, in the four hours since I woke up today, the air has
warmed. It is now a comparatively balmy nine
degrees above zero (Fahrenheit).
It is still so cold that I will not even attempt to convince
my faithful Shih Tzu, Arliss, to join me on a physical journey down the icy
street in search of fresh air and invigoration of my soul.
*
I am happy to report that, this time, I went with my gut.
Before posting this, I got on my sneakers and my coat and
scarf and gloves and I took a walk. A nice walk.
Does that make me an exercise nut?
Now that I'm back, the sun is still brightly shining, the
air is still clear, crisp, and still, not breezy, and it is now eighteen degrees
(Fahrenheit).
My little Arliss was so very happy to take a walk with me.