Ugh

So I’ve become slightly obsessed with running shorts within the last 36 hours. I really wanted to find a pair of shorts that were not only functional, but also flattering. I looked at what felt like a few hundred pairs of shorts online, only to realize that looking at shorts online doesn’t help since they can look great on the website model and absolutely horrible on your body. So I took my search to the stores and tried on all the shorts that met my criteria: compression shorts with a key pocket.

I’m super cheap, so trying on shorts at sporting goods stores was hard: the majority of the shorts were more expensive than my good jeans. Why would I pay more money for an item of clothing that I was going to sweat in and wear only while working out, most likely not around any of my friends/family? I told myself that I’d probably take my puppy for walks while wearing these shorts, which meant I might run into people from my building, and there would also be potential for me to meet friends for walks while wearing these shorts.

I tried to get past the price factor and focus solely on how I felt about the way I looked in the shorts. After many pairs, I finally found a pair I liked. However, they were expensive (in my opinion), so I filed them in my “maybe” folder in my brain and went to Target. I had seen several pairs of shorts from Target online, but needed to try them on.

All the reasonably-priced shorts didn’t have pockets. I’m going to go off on a tangent here: the idea that these shorts were “reasonably priced” was a new thing because previously, I didn’t think $15 was reasonable — that seemed expensive for something I was going to sweat in. But after seeing the prices of shorts at nearly ever other store, I realized $15 was downright cheap. Back to the story: I was disappointed in Target for carrying running shorts that didn’t have a key pocket, as I had come to believe that all athletic shorts nowadays had key pockets. The shorts that met my criteria at Target (compression and key-pocket) were $25, which I decided was too expensive to pay at Target when I could get something “better” for just a little more than that.

I then went to Old Navy, the site where my obsession with compression shorts began. What I liked about Old Navy’s shorts was that I could buy two and get a third pair for free (and still be cheaper than the more expensive pair) and that they had key pockets. However, I tried them on and unfortunately, realized they looked even worse than I had tried to trick myself into believing. I tried them on three more times before I told myself, “Lindsey, they don’t look good on you — you cannot buy them. Even though you would get three pairs for less than the price of that other pair…but put them back.” So I did. And I went back to the sporting goods store with the expensive and flattering pair.

I found the shorts on the rack and brought them — along with my second-favorite pair — to the dressing room to ensure that they truly did look good. Upon further inspection, I realized that NEITHER of these two expensive pairs of shorts had key pockets.

How ridiculous! I had driven all over town, comparing shorts and talking myself into and out of buying shorts, only to find out that the pair I like the most and that are the most expensive, don’t have the frickin’ pocket that I had just damned Target over. I was so mad at myself for not noticing that hours earlier.

So what did I do? I bought them anyway. In fact, I bought two pairs of them, and one pair of my second-favorite pair. Then I bought a pair of pants too. My self-control had flown right out the window, along with my logic.

I’m going to Mall of America tomorrow (boyfriend wants a pair of shoes from DSW) and I’m hoping I will try on the shorts from Old Navy again and convince myself that they are cute and that I should buy three pairs of those for less than the price of one of the two pairs of shorts I bought today, then return all the expensive stuff. Absolutely ridiculous.

What’s Your Commute Doing to Your Relationship?

I recently read this article by Rosemary Brennan from Glamour’s website. It’s about the effects of commute-time on relationships (namely marriages) as discovered by a Swedish study. The findings stated that individuals who spent 45 minutes or more driving/commuting to work are 40 percent more likely to divorce. It appears that the long-commuting spouse arrives home exhausted and therefore is too tired to handle ‘around-the-house’ duties, making the other spouse feel resentful.

It’s important to note that this study focused mostly on newer relationships where the male was engaging in the long commute and the female had been “forced” to take a low-paying, nearby job (presumably to take care of the children?). Since the man was too tired to do housework, the woman felt even more upset because she was being placed in the stereotypical gender role as the keeper of the home.

I wish the study would have been able to explain what a long commute can do to a relationship, regardless of the gender of the commuter. It’s hard to tell if there is really a story here…maybe it’s just another case of women getting angry with husbands who don’t put the dishes away or pick up their laundry?

Road Blocks

I was chatting with a co-worker about how destructive a bad workout can be and what causes them. I know bad workouts are inevitable and theoretically motivate you to make your next workout better. But sometimes when I have a bad workout, I get psyched out — instead of just psyched — for my next one. I avoid the treadmill because I don’t want to experience what I did last time — when I have a bad workout, it’s like this crushing feeling that lasts all day. I mope around the office, feel extra guilty about any snacks I eat and wish that I could have a day do-over. I’m not sure why I let them get to me so much, since I’ve had them before and I’ve always bounced back and been fine.

Still,  I hate them. In an effort to stop them from happening, I did a little Google research and found a few websites with insight as to why they happen and how to avoid them. I’d like to pretend that reading the sites was like one epiphany after another, but it was all pretty common sense…get enough sleep, get enough rest in between workouts, eat healthy foods and don’t drink/smoke.

So I guess there’s no lesson to be learned here, other than there will be crappy workouts no matter what you do to avoid them, but you’ll get through them. It’s amazing that I know this, yet they still creep inside my brain and rattle me every time they happen.

Article: The Happiness Budget

I came across this article from Women’s Health magazine about the right ways to spend your money to make yourself happier. Their tips:

• Vacation instead of spa treatments.
• Makeup instead of clothes.
• Something for your bedroom instead of something for your living room.
• A gym membership instead of an expensive piece of home equipment.
• Others instead of yourself.

Most of these make sense to me…except the gym membership vs. home equipment. My treadmill is what turned me into a committed, disciplined runner. However, since my new place is so small, I had to leave my treadmill behind and now have to use the building’s workout facility. It’s in my building, so it’s still more convenient than a gym I’d have to drive to, but every trip I make is one where I’m dragging myself there. I really don’t enjoy working out around other people. I smell. I make weird noises. I watch incredibly lame television shows. I don’t want witnesses to that, especially people who I have to regularly see in the elevators or our association meetings.

I also have friends who have purchased gym memberships and watched their money fly out of their checking accounts because they never go. Either they don’t have the energy when they get home or they are embarrassed about themselves and/or their bodies. If this sounds like you, I highly recommend a treadmill/elliptical in your basement where there is no judgment and the only effort you need is whatever is required to walk down the steps.