Early-morning expenses

So, working out this morning, about 20 minutes in.

Heard a "clunk" and the right ski (on the cross country ski exerciser) went all juddery.

DANG.

I had been expecting this for a while; I could tell the rubber bumper wheel the thing rests on had worn badly and was trying to baby it along, but this reached the point today of "If I keep going I'm going to injure myself."

So I shut it down, grabbed a stupid old Sharper Image piece of gear (it's like a very low-tech, small, stairstepper - I guess it does some good) and worked on that for a while more, and then, when whatever the muscles on the fronts of your thighs are started to hurt, I stopped and did some aerobics type moves and walking in place until I felt like I'd done enough of a workout to justify having gotten up at 4:30.

And then I went online. Yeah, Nordic Track still makes ski exercisers (a few years ago it looked like they were planning on dropping them, which would be kind of stupid, seeing as that's how they made their name). They're not as good or nice as the first old original one my family had (which they had for fifteen years before I started using it, and then which I used from 1994 until it broke down around 2000). Since then, I've been through two others including this one.


Oh well. Part of it is it sees heavy use (five miles a day, three to five days a week). Part of it is I have imperfectly-corrected pronation that makes the thing wear funny (it also makes my shoes wear funny). Part of it is probably that I'm not a featherweight. (I wonder what weight these things are rated for, though I bet it's more than what I weigh).

But this is just something I have to pay for occasionally, I guess. I went ahead and ordered one; I feel like I need it for my continued good health (it is the one vigorous exercise I can manage to keep up with over time) and it is easier than going to a gym (no gyms in town open at 4:30 am, and later in the day isn't always an option given how busy I am). I could go cheaper and invest in an exercise dvd, but, meh. I like the ski exerciser.

I will be without one for a week or so until the new one arrives. For now, I think I'll use the stair stepper thing plus do some calisthenic/aerobic moves plus walking in place holding weights. (I don't get Discovery Health any more - boo - so no Gilad workout show on early). I suppose if I surfed around maybe Amazon Prime or some other free-to-me streaming site might have a usable exercise video.

But I'm reminded again of why I'm frugal, and why it makes me happy to have money saved up - I could order a fairly expensive piece of exercise equipment without thinking too hard about it.

And this week is Bulky Hauling day so I guess I can put the old one out to the curb. (I am going to keep the replacement skis I ordered a year or so ago, just in case I need a replacement again at some point)

At least I got free shipping on the thing. (It's not so heavy or complicated I can't set it up myself; you can request set-up for a higher price)

ETA: NOOOOOO. Looking at the website again, there's a tiny "out of stock" written next to the thing. What do I do now? This frustrates me. They sent me a so-called confirmation e-mail but surely that was an automated thing. I wonder if I'll even be able to get one, if they still sell them.

Hm. There's a refurbished version of the better, earlier model on Amazon for less. I might cancel this order and buy that one. 


Well, I called. Got bounced around between several people, which means either (a) it's a very small outfit or (b) they don't quite have their act together. Was assured that "out of stock" meant "They are being delivered to us on Friday and you will have yours the end of the next week" (stupid just-in-time inventory, if that's what this is). I hope they're right but I guess it's a few days of doing whatever I can put together, exercise wise, until I get it.

I decided to keep the order on the new one, even though that might not be entirely wise. Pros: it's a totally new machine with no wear on it. I don't have to hope that the machine is totally repaired and all the parts are there. Cons: the place selling it seems slightly disorganized, and the newer machines seem to be more poorly made than the older ones

Gah. I think eventually I'm going to throw in the towel on this and save my money up and buy the top-of-the-line elliptical or whatever that I can afford.