320 Calories

So, I've had 3 knee surgeries.

The 1st was in August of 2001 (after my pregnancy with Emily killed my left knee), then in May of 2005 (after my pregnancy with Jacob killed the right) and now in July 2007 (because the 2005 one didn't work, and being pregnant with Jane made it worse.)

This one really needs to work, so I've been RELIGIOUS about going to the gym everyday to swim and use the bike to make sure I don't build up scar tissue, strengthen the supporting muscles, and work it out, etc. Even when I have to pay $15 an hour to put the kids in the babysitting service there, I've done it. (OK, I confess I missed last Sunday, because we had Lindsey & Erin & their families over for dinner. The weather was great, and the food was great & hanging out with them even better - and I felt so relaxed I couldn't gear up for it after everyone left.)

Other than that, I've been a zealot.

I have never loved exercise for it's own sake. I've never taken an aerobics class (am I dating myself), or used a gym before. I've only tried a treadmill once, and even though we owned a Nordic track elliptical machine for about 5 years, I think I used it twice. In my healthier (read; pre-NY) years, I was a runner. A long distance runner. I ran, for the love of running - not for the exercise, that was always just a side benefit. I love the sound of my feet hitting the ground, I love the solitude, I love the sound of my breath, and the rhythm it makes with my feet, I love to feel my leg muscles, and feel strong - I just love running.

I am never supposed to run again.

I have been instructed to do only low-impact exercises, that will preserve my knees for years to come. So, I am mourning the loss of running (& skiing, and those tennis lessons I had been planning on taking) and slogging it out at the gym. The nice thing about the gym, is that the machines tell you how many calories you have burned - OK, maybe it's not so nice. After 35 minutes on the bike, I only burn 200 calories. I'll never look at those "100 calorie" packs of snacks the same way again!

Seriously, only 200!!

So, tonight, mostly out of boredom, I switched to the elliptical machine. MUCH more fun, felt a little more like running and the best news of all; 45 minutes got me 320 calories. That's more like it. So really, the only down side of the elliptical machines, are that they happen to be placed right next to the giant wall-covering mirror! I guess I just won't be glancing to the left anytime soon.