Work [out]

I signed up for a membership at the gym two blocks from my workplace yesterday and got up at 5:30am this morning and rode the 23 in for my first workout. I feel like I’m in the worst shape of my life, and I likely am, so I made sure to take it easy. There is a room where they have group exercise, but as none of the classes are scheduled until 8 or so, I have it all to myself for some basic calisthenics and happy-joy fencing footwork. I did that for about twenty minutes, had a good long stretch and then ran for a half hour on the treadmill and watched some dude stab an inflatable snowman on television. A set of crunches later and I hit the showers: without a towel. [This oversight will be remedied tomorrow.] There is also a room at Fitworks [warning: noise] where they show movies, a sort of treadmill cineplex, where people can run in the dark and zone out. They were showing Christmas at the Kranks yesterday. I wonder if I can convince them to play Criterion films…

One block from work is a CVS, where I imagine I’ll be getting my post-workout breakfasts. I bought some yogurt and granola bars today. Riding the gym, in the dark, on the bus, listening to Orion by Metallica, I felt like I was having a real-life training montage.

The city steams on winter mornings
like a spent horse
buses squall
in the dark

lockers hold ties
and work boots

another
heart pumps legs
pump heat hunts for
release—

powering this
restive beast called Cleveland.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 19th, 2006 at 8:23 am and is filed under Journal, Poetry and Other Writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.