It's Nice To Be Noticed....To An Extent!

It happened during my honeymoon in Hawaii. It happened during my trip to the Maldives. And, it happened during my most recent trip to the Bahamas. At each of the hotels in these destinations, at least one person on the staff of the hotels' gyms asked me how many miles I run in a day. To some of them, my presence in the gym 2-3 times a day was very impressive indeed. To others, it signaled that I may have something wrong with me mentally. But, no matter what they thought of my gym habits, they did take notice of it and didn't take me for one of these pseudo-gymgoers who goes to a gym to appear healthy but really ends up doing little of anything. By the end of each of the trip, as I entered the gym, the gym staff would already have a locker key ready for me and would ask me how many miles I planned on running that day. It got to the point where, during a meal with my dopeness wife CVSW, if someone from the gym's staff would pass by, they would greet me by name and ask how I was doing while at the same time ignoring CVSW completely. Were this employee to be of the female gender, I would always have to assure CVSW that the lady was only impressed by my gym abilities and not by my devilishly handsome looks.

Unfortunately, however, in my circumstances, this recognition also comes with one major drawback. Because all hotel gyms seek to offer the best service possible, it goes without saying that, unlike in a private gym or an apartment building's gym, the staff at a hotel gym is responsible for cleaning off the equipment after it has been used by a hotel guest. This wouldn't generally be much of a problem and, actually is quite a nice and convenient service...for most users of treadmills. But, alas, not for I. For you see, dear readers, as I have made mention of many-a time, I tend to sweat buckets whenever I run no matter how far or how long that runs is. The consequences of this massive sweat problem should be obvious to all but, for those who don't follow, let me explain to you. Upon the completion of most of my indoor runs, it looks as if the treadmill is surrounded by a shallow stream. Such is the amount of sweat that has dripped from my pores. There is sweat everywhere. On the side handlebars of the treadmill. On the display screen of the treadmill. Even in the bottle holders. But, because of gym policy, it is not my responsibility to wipe away all that sweat and get the treadmill clean for the next user. I always ask one of the employees where the Windex and towels are in an effort to show that I am more than happy to clean up the mess I have left. Looking at me with a mixture of anger and hatred, the employees usually grit there teeth and tell me, "no, sir, it's ok. I'll take care of that for you." As they're saying this, they usually look down and become further enraged when they see the second mess of sweat I have left by my staying within the gym confines and having the conversation we are now having. Suffice it to say, as soon as the gym staff becomes aware of my problem, being recognized is not as much fun as it had been before. Maybe I'm paranoid, but by the end of the vacation, I sense the gym staff looking at me and not being particularly happy as I inch closer and closer to the gym entrance. They see me and know that within the next hour they will be cleaning a treadmill that is covered in sweat.

Despite this drawback, I am never deterred from using a hotel's gym to my running delight. It changes up the surroundings I am used to at home. It allows me to try new treadmills. And, most importantly, it puts my running talents (and addiction) on display for others. Slowly but surely, I am building up a reputation in hotel gyms across the country. Whether that reputation is one that engenders impressiveness or hatefulness remains to be seen. But no matter, I remain resolute, confident and dry....until I step on that next hotel treadmill.