You get what you pay for

Now that I'm firmly into the semi-retired stage of my life, my need to make the 50 mile round-trip from home to Inverness (where my office is located) has drastically reduced.  This has meant that if I wanted to use the gym on days when I wasn't scheduled to work, I had make extra trips into town.  This wasn't as much of a problem when I was running - all of my cardio was outside, and I just used the gym for strength and conditioning when I was in town for work - but during my recovery from this heel injury, this added at least an extra 150 miles (and corresponding petrol costs) to my weekly travels.  So I finally made the change that I had been thinking about for a while:  I cancelled my membership at my posh Inverness gym and signed up for the Highland Council scheme that, for half the price of my posh gym, lets me use any of the Council gyms.  Two of these are within 20 minutes of my house, which is much more practical for a rehabbing runner.

Now, I am someone who likes my luxuries (hence the posh gym), so I was apprehensive about what to expect from the less state-of-the-art facilities provided by a cash-strapped Council.  I've been using the Council gyms for several weeks now, and I needn't have worried.  Here is how it all stacks up:

• If I want state-of-the-art equipment, the Inverness branch of the scheme has just had an extensive upgrade.

• The equipment at the two other branches that I've used is a bit more...well used, shall we say.  A lot of it looks like the equipment that my posh gym got rid of a couple of years ago.  But it all works and does what I need it to do.  

• My only unhappiness is the quality of the videos of outdoor scenes on the cross-training equipment.  At the posh gym, we had videos of trails along beaches, in the mountains, and through the forests in exotic locations.  At the Council gyms, the videos are of paved paths crowded with people who walk into you; paved paths used by dog walkers (at one point, I counted 20 dogs running free - and a couple of dogs having a romantic interlude - and the person doing the filming had to stop several times when passing dogs jumped up on them); and a paved path along side a busy A-road.  Just a bit down market for my tastes.  

• I have had more people say hello to me, strike up a conversation with me, and respond to my own social overtures in the three weeks at the Council gyms than I have in the 10 years that I spent at the posh gym.  It's a much more relaxed setting.

• The changing rooms are all a bit dire and I can't imagine ever using them; in fact, I haven't seen anyone else using them either.  However, there is a positive side to a lonely changing room:  no more being huffed at by ladies-who-lunch because I've taken 'their' locker, and no more ladies-who-lunch walking in on me in my shower cubicle because 'I always use this one' and then waiting outside the cubicle until I finish, even though THE OTHER 9 SHOWERS ARE FREE.  (Yes, that really happened.  And she didn't even apologise.)

So, for a vastly reduced fee, I get access to numerous gyms that are much more convenient to my house; equipment that, while not top of the line, still allows me to do my cross-training with no problems; a friendly and relaxing atmosphere; and no battles over lockers and showers.  I can certainly put up with the uninspiring outdoorsy videos for all of that.  And who knows?  Perhaps navigating those crowds of people and animals will do wonders for my patience.