How many years has this show been on, and we always make the joke: we're going to sit around and watch fat people get thin! But this year, I decided it was time to get into better shape. No, I have not yet implemented my whole jumping-jacks-during-commercial-breaks scheme (though I still think it's a great idea). I decided to make an exercise schedule and try to stick to it. Last week was my first week and I did a pretty good job, but there was some evaluating that needed to be done, so this evening while I was baking rolls for the chili cook-off tomorrow and catching up on the last two episodes of The Biggest Loser I wrote up a revised Exercise Schedule and posted it on my fridge.
Some of you might be wondering why I, of all people, should need an exercise schedule. But the fact of the matter is that I am not as fit as I once was: I bike slower, I can't lift the things I used to be able to lift, my endurance seems to be less, etc. And most importantly: the job I'm in right now doesn't necessarily offer the same level of activity that I would get at Bodie. There we walked an average of 8 miles a day. Here I'm lucky if I walk regularly at all. So the goal is to try and counteract that.
Aside from the stress of Thursday when I found out about the sudden uncertainty of my job (which, as you read, was all figured out by Saturday afternoon when I got off the river), and aside from being on the river (which is a sort of workout in and of itself), I actually did a pretty good job of keeping "on-task". What I actually struggled most with was my self-delegated bout of pushups, situps, and pull-ups. Surprising? I certainly think so. When I was a kid I was awesome at pull-ups, but as I went through high school they got more and more difficult, as did pushups. I didn't even make it through my first set of 15 pushups, and I have yet to do a full set without a little downward-facing dog rest at least once in there. Situps I pretty much rocked all through high school. I used to be able to do 250 at a time, and then I really only stopped because I had to let my muscles relax so I could breath. Now I'm struggling just to do 20. But back to those pull-ups: I can't actually do them. And perhaps it's a lack of equipment (I'm using the door frame instead of a bar because I just don't have a bar anywhere in my massive house.), but I literally can only get to the point of dangling and have no ability to "pull" myself "up" at all. I've been doing 2 sets of 3, and while I feel like I'm making progress I certainly haven't succeeded in doing a single, real pull-up yet.
My other activities, aside from hiking, are yoga and cycling. I've never been very flexible (not even when I was a kid: I couldn't get the Presidential Award in P.E. because I couldn't meet the v-sit qualifications for girls. It drove me nuts!!) and since I am now the proud owner of a beautiful woven cotton yoga mat, I've decided to make yoga a regular part of my week. I found a podcast program and downloaded it which works up over six weeks from a 20-minute workout to a 90-minute workout and so far it's been going over real well. And then there's the cycling.
It has been quite some time since I have had the kind of out-the-door, open-road opportunity that I have living in Big Bend. The pavement is right there. The open space I crave when I'm riding is there. The hills to challenge me are right there. And there's a riding community to boot. Since I got here I've put in several rides - including a real kick-butt short route down the Boquillas Canyon road which is practically on my doorstep. This week, on my first day off, I participated in the weekly Monday night Burger Bike from Panther Junction to the Starlight Theater in Terlingua. The ride is just shy of 30 miles, the first 20 of which are "mostly" downhill. This week there just so happened to be a 19mph+ headwind the entire way, so I really earned my stripes right there. And of course that 1/2-price burger seemed well worth it by the time I got to stuff that bad boy in my belly.
As I continue to meet more people and get to know them, I am looking forward to the opportunity to maybe do more things with other people. There's been a lot of talk about biking, hiking, and generally hanging out with other people in the park and I'm really hoping that we can make some of those thoughts into realities. In the meantime, I'm working on strengthening my body, staying fit, and getting plenty of rest. The latter of which is why I have to go to bed right now.
;)
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