(no subject)

[auntiemeesh]

Obama's speaking at CMU this morning. Some sort of by-invitation-only economic summit. And the place to have these sorts of talks is Weiland Gymnasium, which is part of the gym complex I use on Tues/Thurs mornings. There were a ton of people floating around already, when we got to the gym at a little before seven this morning, and it was worse when I left at eight-thirty. Security wasn't even allowing people to walk towards the building without showing their invitation.

It's interesting. McCain was here (same building/room) in the madness leading up to the April primary. And yeah, there were a lot of people lined up to hear him speak, and there was the same plethora of news vans, but there was much less overt and overwhelming security. The doors weren't all closed off, and there weren't nearly as many security people swarming all over the place. I suppose part of it is that this is an invitation-only summit, so they don't want just anyone wandering in, but they've also got the metal detectors and wands out, which I didn't see for McCain (not to say they weren't there, just I didn't see them).

Anyway, we were still able to use the locker rooms (directly across the hall from Weiland) and the room with the treadmills, so it was fine. I forced myself to take a break from running, and used the treadmill today. 3.5 miles in 39:50 minutes (the last .25 were a slow cool down). I was doing sprints, and got my steps/min up to 250 during the fastest parts, which surprised me - I've never done that before. I also did some incline intervals, so I think it was a good workout, even though the ellipticals feel a little like fake exercise to me.

Comments

[ani-no-mouse.livejournal.com]

I've read that the secret service folks believe that Obama needs extra security because he is the first African-American major-party presidential nominee. It's a sad comment on the sorry state of racial relations in our country.

It sounds like you had a great workout. I have to take exception to your calling working out on the ellipticals "fake exercise" however. It's only fake if your not making an effort, I say! (Meaning not you personally, but the general lack of interest most people who use ellipticals show toward getting any actual cardiovascular exercise from the experience.)

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

It really does seem sad that Obama needs extra security, not because he's saying terribly inflammatory things or anything, but just because he's African-American and running for president.

[lyda-pearl.livejournal.com]

and you certainly make more effort on those poor helpless machines than anyone I've ever seen!

[whtmtnwmn.livejournal.com]

When I was in high school, the first President Bush was running for office, and came for a visit. As he was the VP at the time, security was extremely high. We, as students, felt violated because the security was so imposing.

I agree with AMN about the state of affairs in our country...and hope that we can overcome them, very soon.

When I was still going to the gym, I thought elliptical machines were great! Of course, I'm not a runner...that's probably why you feel a difference? Keep up the good work(out)!
=D

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

Elliptical machines, at least the ones at the gym, are a one-size fits all kind of machine, and I'm a little on the small size, so they're never quite a perfect fit. That's part of it, I suppose. But I do like getting a break from the much higher impact running.

Fake running, yes; fake exercise, no (says the idiot who works out like a maniac on the ellipticals

[ani-no-mouse.livejournal.com]

I do agree that exercising on an elliptical machine is not the same thing as running. It is a distinctly different, minimally weight-bearing and very joint-forgiving, form of exercise. But to say that it is not exercise at all is kind of like saying that cycling isn't exercise because it isn't running. Which would make it seem very strange that elite world-class cyclists feel the need to use such a wide variety of banned substances in order to maintain or improve their level of performance.

Re: Fake running, yes; fake exercise, no (says the idiot who works out like a maniac on the elliptic

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

Okay, I didn't say it is fake exercise, I said it feels a little like fake exercise. Not because it's not running, but because it doesn't leave me as completely exhausted as the running does. I definitely used my muscles to good effect, elevated my heart rate and built up a very good sweat, all things that come from exercise. It's just that by the time we'd got back to the locker room and changed, all the effects were gone and I felt back to my pre-workout condition (except slightly more awake). However, I did not, in any way, mean to malign your workout of choice.

Re: Fake running, yes; fake exercise, no (says the idiot who works out like a maniac on the elliptic

[lyda-pearl.livejournal.com]

noone uses ellipticals quite like ANM as we know

Re: Fake running, yes; fake exercise, no (says the idiot who works out like a maniac on the elliptic

[ani-no-mouse.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Yeah. Well, just to prove to "you" (i.e., me) that working on the elliptical machine is genuine real no doubt about it exercise, I did 7.25 miles in 35 minutes followed by 4.25 miles in 25 minutes this morning. And I challenge anyone to do that and say they don't feel as if they've really exercised when they are done. (BTW I don't feel totally exhausted, but I suspect that by the time I get home this evening I will feel a bit like I've been hit by a truck. Extreme elliptical training tends to have a bit of a delayed effect like that.)