Archive for August, 2008
“Harmony and disharmony in rhythm occur in every walk of life. It is imperative to distinguish carefully between the rhythms of flourishing and the rhythms of decline in every single thing.”
Miyamoto Musashi Book of Five Rings (Go Rin No Sho)
I’m going to hold Musashi’s statement close next week. I really felt punky today. Too much too soon–and my husband reminded me that I have a genetic tendency to overdo things.My husband as always been fit and very active (water skiing, dirt bike & mountain bike riding). The most singular achievement I’ve ever attained when I was able to out-pedal him on our mountain bikes.To be fair, it was on asphalt. It it were on the trail, he would have whooped me! Nevertheless, one has to take the small glories where one finds them.A singular achievement in the past quickly morphs into “What have you done lately?”. I overdid it this week is my answer–none too satisfactory and certainly disharmonious to my goal of easing into my fitness goal. Surprisingly, though, I’m finding that my body instantly sprang into its old training patterns–most particularly breath/step synchopations that helped my breath keep pace with my feet. It’s like having a baby–on the first one, the body is charting uncovered territory. On the second….muscle memory kicks in. (I don’t know about the third–in my household, I felt that children should not outnumber adults!).This week, I’ll find some better harmony–and not let my body’s muscle memory get ahead of my lung/heart capabilities. Accordingly, this week there will be a little less cardio, and a little more toning/flexibility–I want the rhythms of flourishing, not the rhythms of decline. I’ll also take my mountain bike in to have it tuned up. That will be one less weapon of my destruction at hand, and I’m just not smart enough to fix the gearing. My husband is very mechanically inclined, and he passes on that too.Here are my running partners, Macy (l) and Daisey (r)
August 31st, 2008
Workout:
- Type: Flexibility
- Date: 08/31/2008
- Time: 09:45:00
- Total Time: 00:00:15.00
August 31st, 2008
Today begins week 3 of my FbF quest. I’ll honor this day by resting–hmmm…let’s see if I can upload a picture.
I mentioned earlier that I was using Sally Edwards’ point system for monitoring my cardio activity. Every point in Z1=1, Z2=2……. It is particularly important to me to not overtrain. I went from being sedentary to doing a very manageable 86 minutes in Week1. I then jumped into Week 2 with 230 minutes of exercise–albeit still low intensity. Perhaps a little ambitious as my body tells me today.
I think today that I’ll PLAN my training for the coming week. I put my hands on some of my older exercise books–Callanetics being one of them. This book has some of the most effective core exercises I’ve ever done. I also brushed off a couple of my Pilates and yoga books. Finding these books is like reuniting with old friends. Now, I just have to schedule some quality time with these friends and catch up!
August 31st, 2008
I’ve been keeping an on-line blog for almost two years. It’s about my personal journey in understanding the markets. Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been writing about my fitness quest, and found Sweat 365 . I logged on and felt that this might be a great venue.
My fitness Quest. When I turned 40 (1990), I elected to move from being a person who lived through my head to a person that did that AND lived through my body. I became unbelievably fit (against MY yardstick!). An injury, a sprained back from water skiing, sidelined me–for too long. It was a real excuse that turned into a tired excuse. I turned 48 on August 15. My commitment is to arrive at my 50th birthday fit.
My avatar is my beloved English Setter, Lucy. She was about 12 when the picture was taken. She transitioned on Jan 6, 2007. To choose her picture as my avatar is special for me. She was my constant outdoor fitness partner. She and I ran many miles together on the trail (railroad fire break) behind my home. She would always run ahead and double back to check on me.
When she saw me donning my trail shoes, she would shiver in anticipation. Greta, my other ES, would also come along, too–but she was never to interested in keeping an eye on me. She’s gone as well–July of 2007. It was so hard to lose both of these dogs in the same year.
My current running companions are my English Setter Daisey and my part Am. Bulldog mix, Macy. Unlike Greta and Lucy, I have to put a leash on these two. It feels like I’ve got a twenty mule team! I tried to upload a pic, but I’m unfamiliar with the blog format. So perhaps I’ll get it done.
August 30th, 2008
I elected NOT to add this as a fitness category–and no I was not handing out pamphlets. I did add run/walk. I’m not fit enough to run, but I’m certainly fit enough to do 2.7 miles without averaging 22 minutes. Half-way through my workout, I ran into a neighbor and forgot to stop my hrm. He remembers when I used to run often. I had my two dogs plus three more that I would pick up along the way–one of them being his! Lucky is still alive, but he’s a very large dog and a very old dog ~ 14. So, no runs for Lucky.
Knowing that he had attacked his diabetes (Type II) with rigor when diagnosed about 4 years ago, I asked how he was doing. He wasn’t doing anything. Chatting moved to evangelizing! I reminded him that managing his diabetes was an important part of taking care of his organs. And….I specifically said penis. (Not that I have any intimacy with his–and hopefully I can say this word on this blog!). His ears perked up.
I explained that diabetes is a contributor to ED and that he could take care of the health of his ‘p’ by ensuring that he controlled his diabetes. Not surprisingly, he was not aware of this. Having worked in chronic care management (on the financial side), I get on a modestly high soap box now and again.
Hopefully, he’ll get back on the wagon. I think that I made an impression. I may have to add a soap box workout.
Today I finished week two of my fitness quest (having turned 48 on 08.15). I’m taking it slowly as (1) I’m not fit and (2) I broke my foot in February. I dusted off my Sally Edward’s books, fired up my heart rate monitor and tested my download interface. (I also did the depressing stuff like weighing in and taking body measurements).To monitor my progress, I’m using Edward’s heart rate zone points which I’m keeping on an Excel spreadsheet. I want to have a good base of low intensity cardio (plus I have some fat to burn!). I also evangelize others about the benefits of a heart rate monitor to ensure that one neither overtrains (and that is my risk now) or undertrains–it will be months before I have to worry about that!I’ve not systematized my workout schedule yet. Right now, I’m getting used to monitoring my nutrition (counting calories) and getting used to moving again.
The spike in my heart rate came at the end of my walk/run. I was cooling down, and I ran into RJ and Toby–two un-neutered large male dogs who were interested in my two spayed beauties. I had them on retractable leashes, but they had managed to get tangled as they both began to snip and snarl, first at their male oglers and then at each other. Daisey had Macey’s leash all about two of her legs. Thankfully, I was able to get her untangled and they responded to my admonishments of “This way”. I had to run…and I was already tired. That it spiked this way means I’ll rest tomorrow.
Workout:
- Type: Walk
- Date: 08/30/2008
- Time: 08:00:00
- Total Time: 00:01:00.00
- Average Heart rate: 144
- Max Heart rate: 172
- Distance: 2.7 miles
- Average Pace: 0:22.22/mile
August 30th, 2008
