Running in circles

Treadmills are not diagnostic. True, exercise is a great way to burn some steam and get free showers (well, free minus a gym membership). But there's only so much you can learn there.

For instance, I learned that up to 8.5 mph I motivate myself by pretending to be an action heroine or secret agent on one of the many television series that remind us that at any point life might drop us on a surreal tropical island or don a wig to invade some obscure, exotic location. (I like to feel prepared.) I learned that over 8.5 mph is less about the fantasy of survival and more about the real thing. If the world moved that fast, I wouldn't last very long. Like less than a minute.

I learned that if I need to hang on to the little pulse monitor I should probably slow down. It just looks silly. My brother learned that when I run, I look like a duck (I think he's confusing me with my sister). But I've never figured out if I'm running from or to. You probably need a real trail for that.