Trainer is bad for my wallet!

This week kicked off some mild base training. With that kick off, I've had to spend some time on the trainer. I'm not a big fan of the trainer. It's pretty boring, but when you live in the midwest, road rides this time of year are hard to come by.

I fill up my water bottles, get some clean towels and load up the DVD player with some inspiring material - an Ironman race. I'm on the bike now, intently watching IM Florida 2003. I'm caught up in the race and time is flying by. I watch as athlete after athlete crosses the finish line, smiling, pumping their fists in the air, happy to have achieved their goal. Then the DVD is over. This lasted about 17 minutes! Crap, now what? Looking out the window at the empty backyard certainly isn't going to keep me entertained. So I turn off the DVD player and start flipping through the cable channels.

Oh wait, look at this. Some non-stick cookware. Ooooh - look, he can pop out homemade bread easily. He puts a bunch of cinnamon rolls in a bundt pan and I imagine how good that smells while it's cooking. He bakes a sheet of chocolate chip cookies and they slide right off this mat thing he invented. WAIT - get the phone, if I order now, I'll get the extra baking pan PLUS a lid!
Flipping the channel, I find QVC. Well look at those beautiful sterling necklaces. Oh, and then there's the sparkly, matching bracelet. The prices are so cheap, what's to think about? Next come the earrings! Wow, those are all so great. I think I must have them. What's the item number? Wait, no. I don't even wear jewelry. What am I going to do with this stuff? Maybe I'll give it away as gifts. Maybe I'll just remember the item number and order at another time....

I grab the remote to get away from the jewelry and now I see the bowflex. Of course the male model has a 6-pack and is beautifully tan. And the woman also has a tremendous body. All it takes is bowflex and 6 weeks for you to look like that, you know. I start wondering where I can put this in my home. I could really use a bowflex. Look how cool that is. You can target all muscle groups. And it's only how much? Hey, that's what credit cards are for!

The next station has this putty that you can pretty much use for everything. You can use it to replace a chain link, coffee cup handle, and if you're really in a jam, you can use it to hold two big metal pieces together, each attached to a chain and you can haul a big truck! Oh yeah, that could come in handy. What's the phone number for that one?

Frustrated, I turn off the television. My ride is just about over, but I think I need to figure out something else to watch while on the trainer. It might be time to start bringing out some of the old movie collection. But even that doesn't sound all that appealing. I just can't wait for it to get warmer out again...