Hot Sand

I had big plans for a beach walk today, I really did.  I had some errands to run this morning and a sick friend to visit in the hospital, but I really had planned on a beach walk – at least three miles.  So what happened?  It got hot, that’s what happened!  I didn’t get to the beach until almost 2:00 PM.  As I was  trudging across the sand, loaded down like an old, decrepit, lumpy pack mule, I found myself  puzzled to discover that the usual refreshing sea breeze was noticeably absent and the sun left like it was about 200 feet from the surface of the earth.  As soon as I set up my chair and kicked off my flip flops, I found myself doing the hot sand dance. You know this dance - it’s kind of a cross between the Funky Chicken and the quickstep.  And if any of you youngsters ask “What on earth is the the Funky Chicken?” I will personally come to your house and do the Funky Chicken on your head!  Google it.  Nuff said.  Anyway, I knew right away that a three mile walk was going to be particularly miserable today, so I resigned myself (with a certain amount of glee) to simply bobbing in the refreshing Gulf waters to stay cool and drinking about a gallon of iced tea when I was out of the water for short periods of time.  

I knew that if I was to meet my fitness goal, this left me only one option - my trusty elliptical trainer.  I came home, hot and salt encrusted and without benefit of a shower, or any other refreshment, I did my due diligence of 45 minutes on my squeaky elliptical trainer, while watching a DVD to save me from complete and utter boredom.  But seriously- I have to get some WD40 on that thing – STAT!  Afterwards, my shower was nothing short of heaven on earth and I felt no guilt whatsoever when I ate a couple of tacos for dinner.  None. Nada.

My goal tomorrow is to get to the beach before the temperature reaches blast furnace conditions and get in a beach walk.   But if my normally reliable sea breeze is missing, I will consign myself to the Gulf waters without a morsel of guilt or regret, maybe even burning a few measly calories by snorkeling.  But when I come home, my elliptical trainer will be waiting for me, like a dog waiting patiently for its master to come home and take it for a walk.  And I will perform my cardio ritual without complaint, because guess what – I lost a pound and that, my friends, is motivation enough for me.