How Do You Like Them Apples

Morning Workout
BIKE (on the trainer)
1 hour 15-ish minutes
Heart Rate Zone: 25 minutes Lactate Threshold (Zone 2) / 20 minutes Aerobic Conditioning (Zone 3) / 15 minutes SST (Sustained something-or-other) (Zone 4)

Random Comments: I wanted to quit just 10 minutes into the workout this morning. But the thought of Cat kept me going. Catherine would motivate me to keep moving. So I told myself I would pedal for another 5 minutes. Then another 5. Then another. And next thing I knew, I was an hour and fifteen minutes into the workout and had watched one episode of The Daily Show and two episodes of The Office. I'd say it was a pretty good workout. In retrospect, at least.
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I’ve started eating apples. My sister eats a lot of apples, so does my dad. Yet I’ve never been an apple guy. I’ve tried - I really have - but I just never liked them that much. I don’t think it’s so much the flavor as it is a mixture of the consistency combined with the physical act of eating one. The dripping of juices, the sticky fingers, the rebellious pieces that get caught in my teeth or float on my cheek… It’s just not fun for me. It’s why I don’t eat oranges either. Too messy. Too high maintenance. Yet with all of this traveling I do, it is very difficult to maintain a healthy diet. I usually find myself unbearably hungry when I get to airports. I don’t know if it’s some sick Pavlovian response where the act of being in an airport triggers the hunger button in my brain, or if the stress of getting ready and getting to the airport suddenly dissipates once I’m there, at which point I suddenly realize that I haven’t eaten anything in hours, if not days. Once I pass through the security area at the airport, I usually end up mindlessly surveying my food choices as I stroll to the gate. Burger King, Chili’s Too, Starbucks… none of them are ever very appealing to me. Nor do I want yet another one of those prepackaged sandwiches where two thin strips of processed turkey are playing hide-and-seek with a head of wilted lettuce and crammed into what seems to be a half-loaf of two year old white bread. (I don’t like my bread aged. Or my lettuce wilted. While we’re at it, don’t process my Goddam turkey either.) And the thought of buying another over-priced “trail mix” turns my stomach. I’ve trail mixed myself to death lately. I’m one pecan away from going completely postal. Lately I’ve reverted back to the ole standby: Fig Newtons. But even those have approached the point of over-saturation. So I’m trying to be healthy. Which means when I’m hungry in the airports I’m opting for a banana or an apple. You can’t get much more healthy than that without tofu being involved somehow.

I bought some sort of greenish tinted apple when I flew to St. Louis the other day. I don’t know what came over me, what prompted me to buy it. I think I was just ruminating over the fact that apples are so healthy and so good for me. Or perhaps it’s the sense of nausea when thinking of my other airport food choices. At the very least, the fact that my sister and father love them so much, well, there’s GOT to be a way for me to start liking apples. Lo and behold, the apple was pretty good. I shockingly enjoyed the experience for the first time since I can remember. Not a lot of juice leakage, no sticky fingers, and a fairly satisfying taste. Have I picked up a new, healthy habit? One can only wait and see.

When I got to the St. Louis airport yesterday morning to catch my return flight to LA, I had reached my usual state of extremeairport hunger. I didn’t even bother to look at the so-called-sandwiches, and passed by the Panda Inn and Hot Dog Mania without even a glance. I walked right up to the food kiosk and grabbed myself a Red Delicious apple. It’s temptingly large, beautifully red and has got “delicious” right in the name – I mean, how much more obvious can you get.

I bit into the apple. Hmmm… tastes a bit sweet. A bit sandy, even. I tried another bite. Juice ran down my fingers. And another. I wiped the apple piece off my chin. It's definitely not the "delicious" that has been advertised. Three bites later I had had enough and threw it away in disgust.

Maybe I’ll start taking the train.
I wonder what my Pavlovia response will be to train stations.