(Note: This was originally intended just for Herculaneum, but I'll also be posting it for the general A|N population)

I was at the gym this morning finishing my morning workout. Today is Monday so naturally it's my heavy lift day and afterward I normally do light cardio on the bike so I can read (switching the load every other day). Today however I wasn't feeling sufficiently exhausted after my routine so I decided to do some heavy running on the treadmill for a few minutes because it just doesn't feel right leaving the gym not thoroughly exhausted.

So I sprinted for a few minutes and just as I was getting good and tired a really cute girl hopped on the treadmill right beside mine. Instead of thinking, "oh yes, all this time at the gym is paying off," I thought, "oh shit, now I can't get off."

Looking at the timer, I had been sprinting for a little over four minutes; not a very respectable number to stop at, so I ran on in spite of the fatigue. For eleven more minutes, one minute longer than her, I ran my godless heart out knowing that I never should have gotten on in the first place. With the worst shin splits in the world, I limped back and forth to and from the wipe station to clean off my treadmill before limping out of the gym and into my car.

The worst part in all of this is that in my exhaustion I forgot to get her name OR number.

This is why there are more women in the world and this is why men die earlier.