Do these pants make me look fast?

I weighed in with my support group yesterday; 201 lbs, down 2 lbs since last week. I am very excited because this past weigh in included the Thanksgiving holiday. I was disciplined throughout and managed to lose some weight. Yippee!

I went for a 4 mile run this morning. When I got up the wind chill was 16 degrees. For those who don't know, that is freaking cold. I geared up with some lined workout pants and a sweatshirt, and it all worked well. But the whole time I was dressing for conditions, I was thinking to myself, "I really could use one of those nice running jackets, with the reflective stripes and slot for my iPod." The whole run and much of today I have been thinking about "things" I would like for fitness gear. I signed up on another website to possibly win a bicycle jersey, and last week I was talking to Katie about these sunglasses that have interchangeable lens for bike riding. I know it's Christmas time and that really seems to put everybody in the consumer mindset, but sometimes it is depressing to think about how much stuff I think I need to get fit.

And that is the crux of the matter. I don't need any of these things to get fit. I was born with everything I need to run. But something inside of me tells me that if I had these shoes, or this jacket, or that HR monitor, that somehow I would be faster or the experience would be better. I can ride any bike with 2 wheels to get fit, but if I had a carbon fiber, lighter than air road machine I would be so much more fit, right? My parents basement has an old DP rowing machine and Airodyne exercise bike in it collecting dust. Millions of other folks have nordic tracks rotting away in their homes.

And suddenly I realized something...working out sucks! It is difficult. It is hard to get up at 4:30 every morning to work out. Running in sub-freezing temps is not fun. Biking on a heavy ass steel frame is demoralizing. But no piece of equipment or attire is going to change all of these things. But I do feel better having lost weight. I like having goals of losing more weight. I like the idea of being healthier. It makes me happy to look at my skinny wife. And maybe for me all of the latter NEEDS outweigh the former ones...

...but Santa, I still WANT those sunglasses with the interchangeable lens.