Paradise by the Elliptical Machine Light

This is my Most Awesome Song I Heard While Working Out for today. "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" by Meatloaf.

I love this song, in large part because it's one of the few songs X and I karaoke together. And we are awesome at it. I'm just sayin.' I don't want to brag. But we are.

Kathy and I went to the actual gym today on campus. We used to spend a lot of time in that gym, back before we both fell off the wagon so hard that we left skidmarks on the highway. We've been doing more walking than anything these days, but the indoor track was closed today. So, we hit the gym.

There is an elliptical machine there that I love. It's a Precor EFX546, and it's like a ride. It's fun. I work up a huge sweat, but I don't feel like I'm going to die. The whole experience feels like play time. It's fabulous.

I bought an elliptical at home (well, I kind of got it free actually, because X fixed some chick's car, and it was like a barter thing, but I might have bought the car parts in exchange or something. I really don't remember.) Anyhow, the important thing is that it is not like a ride. It's like dying a slow and painful death, and I hate it. It's not even a little bit fun.

So, I was on the elliptical going to town, and I had about 5 minutes left when "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" came on my Ipod. I've been trying to add a few sprints once in a while to my walking, when I feel like it. And this song is great for that. It has really super fast parts interspersed with slower parts so you can catch your breath. I basically just tried to make my feet keep pace with the tempo of the music, and I ended up getting a really good workout.

A couple times it got unbelievably fast. At the point where Meatloaf sings, "I couldn't take it any longer. Lord I was crazed..." I was going so fast I thought I was going to propel myself right off the machine and into the air. Which seemed appropriate.

But the best part was right at the end, as the song was winding down and my workout was ending with it. I was exhausted and sweating like crazy, and Meatloaf and the chick (who is that chick anyway? Does anybody know? Did she ever do anything else?) sang, "Prayin' for the end of time, it's all that I can do. oooh ooooooooooh Prayin' for the end of time so I can end myyyy tiiiime wiiiith yooooooooou."

Yes, I was.

But it was fun.