Monday, September 28, 2009

The Airport Workout

My business trip went really well. The only downside, as I lamented to a co-worker on the last day, was that I wish I could have exercised more during the trip. And then the words “be careful what you wish for,” became all too true for me. My first flight was delayed by about 45 minutes, which gave me less than 20 minutes to try to make my connecting flight, which happened to be at the completely opposite side of the large airport. I was grateful to a co-worker, a former military soldier, who said in a loud voice when we landed, “Can everyone please step aside? This young lady’s flight leaves in 15 minutes.” I gave him a look of sincere gratitude, when everyone moved aside so I could make my way to the front. I sprinted through the airport, lugging my bag with my work laptop and my overstuffed purse. It just so happens that I wore my dress shoes (dumb idea) and a new pair of pants without a belt. So I was simultaneously running, trying to hold up my pants with one hand, and praying to God that I didn’t trip or drop my laptop. I weaved through a sea of people, ran up two flights of stairs, took a bus, and then finally caught the tram. I was down to 5 minutes before the plane left, and I remember thinking that maybe, just maybe, I would make it. And then the tram broke down. A couple of maintenance personnel ran over to us, as the seconds quickly ticked down to take-off time. They finally were able to manually open the doors, and I ran to the gate. I arrived at the gate, sweaty, with my heart pounding. Through panting, I asked if my flight was still there. It just left, she told me. My workout then changed from running through the airport to strolling around the airport, as I had 10 (yes, ten!) hours to kill before the next flight. Let’s just say that I’m no longer going to complain about not being able to work out on a trip.

6 comments:

lola said...

Oh my goodness. What a hell of a workout! I hope those 10 hours weren't too boring!

Allison said...

I hate it when that happens... and it happens to me _every_ time. I've learned to wear sneakers and carry everything in a backpack.

And I've spent 3 nights in nice hotels on the airplane company's dime.

loqi said...

I have done that workout before, but not with stairs and trams involved. Yikes!

Jenna said...

Oh. My. Gosh. You had to hang out for 10 hours?! Whoa! That stinks! The longest I was stranded was 14 hours but I didn't know that it was going to be that long - they kept "postponing" our flight. Had I known that, I would have rented a car because it's only a 5 hour drive. But if I knew I had to sit somewhere for 10 hours I think I'd lose it!

Crazy Shenanigans-JMO said...

That sucks that you missed your flight! That's always the worst feeling! Glad you made it back though!

Amber said...

Oh my gosh you poor thing! What an absolute nightmare. Glad you made it back safely though!