Exercise Helps Reduce Stress

Have you ever heard the saying, "Exercise helps reduce stress". I have, and up till today I believed it.

Today my boss was irking me; he was being irksome. By lunch time I was becoming twisted. So at lunch I went for a ride. It was my normal 10 miles (4 laps at 2.5 miles a lap) ride. I was taking it easy this ride, keeping my heart rate below 135 bpm. I had just done 2.5 laps when I ran over a pebble (a fracking pebble) and I got a flat.

I pulled over to the side of the rode; took off the tire and opened my tool bag. I did have a patch kit, but no tools. So do you know what I wasn't going to do? That's right, I wasn't going to fix my tire. Do you know what else I didn't have in my tool bag? A cell phone. This meant I couldn't call back to the office and have someone pick me up. Do you know what that meant? That right, it meant I had to hoof it back to the office wearing cycling shoes and carrying my bike on my shoulder. In case you didn't notice, I was 2.5 laps through my ride. That means I was as far away from the start(work) as I could be. No matter which way I walked, I was still a mile and a quarter away from the office.

Because it took me alot longer to get back to work, I stayed late. Because I stayed late, my boss came into my office and irked me some more. I don't think my lunch time exercise did anything to reduce my stress. I think it may have raised it.