My calf muscles feel as though I’ve spent my few free hours sprinting around John F. Kennedy Boulevard, probably in an effort to avoid catcalls from sleazy construction workers. This makes no sense, though. As far as running is concerned, I’ve pretty much neglected the treadmill, running a couple of miles once a week, tops, and the last time I did it was Thursday. So why are my legs hurting now? I guess it’s a good kind of pain, but it also could be attributed to wearing heels every day. I mean, I did that at St Andrews, sure, ‘cos that was the style and I’m a sheep like that (even though it really boggled the mind, considering the entire town was paved with cobblestones), but until I started working the corporate world in March, I hadn’t really had the opportunity or the desire to wear heels since November. Meh.

I do need to get back into the exercise groove, though. In an ideal world, I’d get up at five in the morning to run a couple of miles and lift weights before taking a shower and heading to work, but we all know that ain’t gonna happen, being the night-owl that I am. And they tell you to avoid exercising three hours before going to bed, which leaves me with a small window right after I get home from work. That, of course, is precisely the time my body decides to shut down and refuses to respond to anything except the steady hum of the television.

Reading this article on CNN is somewhat of an inspiration. Obviously exercise aids in toning and losing weight (um, duh), but apparently it has other benefits. Working out in the morning, for instance, can let you have a better night’s sleep, something I desperately need as is proven by my semi-reliance on Tylenol PM late at night. Also, the sensations equated with exercising are apparently similar to those getting their nicotine fix. I’m not out of the smokers’ loop yet, so this is particularly interesting to me. Women smokers who exercise are twice as likely to quit, says a recent study. And, finally, working out increases memory, awareness, creativity, and reaction time. What more do I need, now that I’m in the thick of exams?

And the clincher: exercise, and you have better sex. ‘Nuff said.