self motivation

My trainer has had to cancel. As a result no session this week - woohoo - a holiday. But, I should do it, or am I free, after all, this doesn't happen often, shouldn't I enjoy the break. Of course it is not work and it is for my own good, so, with  good attitude I should view this as an opportunity to enjoy the exercise process myself, hmmmmm - what is the right thing to do.........

When a good deed is an excuse

I have to work hard this week and I have some sort of debilitating illness - it is either a virus infection or cancer, I'm not sure which. Anyways I also feel a bit sorry for myself because everybody else left work early and is off till Monday (well everybody except for the many of us who are not that is). So, I got home and took advantage of the exercise that really isn't one - unless the alternative is clicking the remote control- I walked the dog - in fairness to me, it was dark, cold, wet and windy and I walked as far uphill as i could in my city neighbourhood. I know I must be ill though because after about 30 minutes of this i was totally played out. To my amazement mapmyride includes dog walking in it's exercise repertoire - side by side with ultramarathoning, double ironmans, tour de France stages and other kindred workouts - cool. With that, I registered my session and sat down to watch the tellie full of self satisfaction, albeit the nagging thought of being terminally ill hasn't completely gone away even if the symptoms are gradually improving.

no holiday this holiday week

My trainer is going to enjoy thanksgiving so we arranged for my session to move from my usual thursday to today (tuesday). This is good because it means I don't have it ahead of me but of course, i did have my session tonight. I think my trainer is great but I never look forward to the session. At least I now recognize a common pattern, I'm tired and dreading the foray into hard exercise but as quickly wake and always feel better - even when my muscles feel sore. I wish I could afford more than one day a week, then I could buy my way into fitness but I as I noted previously, I know that I am fortunate even to have this. I am working long hours on both wednesday and friday so will need to ensure I replace my thursday training session with a self induced workout. Right now though, my work is done for the night and honestly, I am tired again and so will worry about that on thursday. For those of you living in the United States, may your Thanksgiving be much to be thankful for and for those of you who don't, christmas turkey is not too far away (again assuming you have a christmas celebration - if not, turkeys are plentiful and every non-vegetarian should have to endure them, instead of tasty meat, at least once a year. So, go out and buy one).

It's thanksgiving so it must be summer

Hard to believe that I'm wearing shorts and T shirt today, especially after the snow a couple of weeks ago. Could it be more perfect, I woke at 7am walked the dog and was ready for action. No wind, quiet roads, perfect weather and the virtue of having worked all day saturday - surely a bike ride was in order. Well it would've been but for one problem, my gutters were direly in need of cleaning out and, the weather was also perfect for that. My last foray in the spring was during a quite cold day and putting my fingers into icy sludge for hours was not to be repeated. So I thought to myself, this'll take an hour and then I'm off for a ride. It did take me an hour - to get my 24 foot ladder up the side of the house that is. After having fallen back onto me once and generally fought against it's destiny every step of the way I won, it only took another 3 hours to do the work - I still can't figure out how - I worked hard and diligently - I know because all my bones. joints and muscles ache. My fingers smell swampy form the decayed leaves I had to clear out. And, after all that I was starving so lunch intervened, then daily tasks and now, alas, the sun is setting (4:05pm) I guess it isn't summer after all. Well though I am sore, the question of whether or not my labors count as exercise is perplexing me - and the reason - I have sworn to myself to do at least 30 minutes everyday, so I need to ascertain if I can honestly claim my time or not. right now I am trying to convince myself that 30 minutes of light aerobics would resolve the issue without really causing more pain, hmmmmm.....

Get fit to get fit

Today I took my still bruised bones to a bike shop to get fit for my bike. The problem, (asides from falling off the thing when I chance to ride into tram lines), is that I get sore knees, sore back, sore hands and numb parts whenever I ride. So I figured rather than spending money on saddles, wheels, shorts etc...to fix it (which by the way I've tried - it didn't work) I could get somebody who knows what they are doing to size me up. He could then tell me what I really need (asides from an athletes body).
well the whole process was very impressive. He even had a Retul machine to video and measure me with (this is the gadget that Lance Armstrong and other riders of his ilk (like me) got fitted on. It measures angles, motion and a bunch of other stuff, don't ask me what or how it all works). After and hour my fine fitter told me what was wrong - turns out it was me; and years of uncorrected problems coupled with an imprecise fit from the shop I bought the bike at.  I would note as well that the shop I bought my bike at is rated one of the best in the city and they spent 40 minutes fitting me at time of purchase.

Turns out I only needed 4 tiny changes, 3mm forward on the saddle, 4 mm up on it, a comparable lift to the handlebar and finally a 1mm shim in my shoe. Can  you believe it - the pain disappeared, literally nothing there (that is asides from Saturdays aches and bruises). I can't remember the last time I rode a bike and didn't have knee pain - I assumed it was an injury, well it probably was BUT the new improved customized, off the shelf bike was stress free. and at a fraction of the price of a custom built bike - which I couldn't afford even if I wanted one. If I hadn't experienced it myself I never would have believed it. But, like one of the Monkeys "now I'm a believer" and it wasn't the machine but rather the application of it's findings by an expert who compared the data against his evaluation of me, modified the fit accordingly and cared about doing a good job.

The moral of the story, yet again, is that good people are worth more than gold and of course, to get fit, get fit (at least if you want to bicycle your way there).

fitness by proxy

Is there a better way to exercise than watching others struggle from the comfort of one's couch. Even ridiculous programs like "wicked fit" provide that satisfying feel of imminent good intentions. Nothing beats the sweat and tears of others to make one feel capable of anything.

Where I road onto the rail and off my bike

So capable did I feel that I hopped on my bike (after putting on the multiple layers and gloves etc... needed for an autumn ride in Boston. I should've realized that when my camelback leaked all over my own back that the ride was going to be a difficult one. Still the fates will not be denied and after screwing the cap on properly and hoping that the ride would dry me out I decided to take a local ride in the city. This is a good thing to do as our city is not unattractive. Indeed I went through many of the so called troubled neighbourhoods and thought to myself that despite stabbings and other crime related issues they are actually pretty safe on the whole and the city does a good job keeping them clean and looking pretty decent. I seemed not to have the energy and drive that I was possessed with while watching the exercisers on TV. a bit troubling but my biggest problem came when traversing The Heath St. tram line. i managed to ride my front wheel straight into the track groove and over I went. Not surprisingly, having landed on them, my hands are still quite sore 2 hours later BUT; thanks to the padded bike gloves and the other winter gear, my skin stayed intact. After thanking observers who offered to help after seeing my spill (and embarrassment),  I hirpled to the side of the road, fixed my chain and spent the rest of the ride wondering if the front wheel was out of alignment. I used all the "eye of faith" I could engender to say NO for I cannot afford a new wheel but there is no doubt, the ride back was not right, maybe it was the after effects of the fall on me - hope so, else I will be riding a wobbly wheeled bike for some time.
Anyways, this tells me to get my inspiration to exercise from serious programs and not the one I was watching - "wicked fit". no wonder I was not a serious participant in the game of athleticism today. hmm, should a man even own up to watching this program, even if it is set in the town he lives in.

"It's thursday so I must be weight training" or "when motivation can be bought"

I am fortunate to have a job and even more fortunate that my job allows me a little spending money over my monthly expenses.  The real luxury I allow myself is a personal trainer once a week.
I will admit that I came to the decision after a lot of thought and after much money being spent on gym memberships (some fairly well used and some not so much so).
Alas, no longer being a youth, I am compensated by being allowed the conceit of instead acquiring wisdom. I am not sure I really believe this is so though I ought to, since most of the other acquisitions of aging suck (not all, you'll note; self anointed wisdom asides, finances for some of us, improve to the point of excesses such as personal trainers and for the even luckier, Porsche's or other fancy items.

Now I am a big fan of this luxury, at least once I week I do real exercise and you know, it makes a difference - not as much as if I did the recommended 2-3 x weight session per week, but nonetheless I am reasonably strong thanks to the energy and motivation of my trainer.

The Bike Boston Hub on Wheels ride

Last Sunday it was Bike Boston's Hub on wheels. I was invited to join a group a month ago and said yes - of course ,that was a month ago when the ride was clearly far into the future - at which time I knew I would be fighting fit. Indeed for the first three days after signing up I rode everyday. Thereafter, hmmm, I did not ride at all. I am not sure why, but before I knew it the day was approaching and I was not ready to ride around the city. ....How could I get out of it though ???  I had promised my friend who was sponsoring our team that I would be there. I exercised my brain trying to think of something plausible but since that organ was as out of shape as the muscles I couldn't come up with something and so found myself getting up at the the unseemly hour of 6:30 on Sunday, bike piled into the car for driving into Boston center (no one was surely going to ride to/from their houses into the city before and after the big ride, or so I thought. Turns out that many were doing just that. Great, now I felt like a real loser. Especially when they passed me for dust while I waited in a long line behind other cars filled with bikes at the government center car park (please note that I forebear to accuse these other drivers of being losers as some of them will have travelled much further than I did in order to participate).

The world famous, and only $3, government center garage

but let's face it, even if they are also from the city, at a $3 special for the event who would pass up the cheapest parking in Boston since the tea party (the first one that is, not last years demonstration). Anyways, I eventually got parked, set my bike up and found my group - twenty minutes after the race had started. Mind you, this was not a problem, with at least, oh about half a million riders, there was still a long queue waiting to cross the start line and ride. No matter, despite the promises of the weather men it was not raining -Woohoo!. And, another Woohoo, before we knew it we were under way, and at 3mph I was confident I could make the first 10 miles. Especially as these were on Storrow Drive, the main thoroughfare alongside the Charles river, closed to real traffic. I have to confess that this was the first time I was on the side of the event people and not in my car forced to make a detour by yet another summer charity event. How ironic - for years I have cursed city wide events that close the roads to people that pay theri various car related taxes and need them. In part this is because detours in Boston involve a sign saying "detour" with a confident arrow that shuttles the driver into a side road that is then not marked with anything guiding you back on path. Now that might be OK in modern cities, but roads twist and turn here and even having lived many years in this city I can still get lost. Why can't they put up a couple more signs to get you back on the road.
Never mind, on my bike it was easy, follow the 3 million riders in front of me. This worked out fine, and  we even built up speed, rode past my house (literally) and kept going (my thought to make a quick stop and avoid the delights of portapotties was subverted by my lack of need - ce la vie).
I have to say the ride was overall well managed but I am pleased that the city of Boston had the route go through a few spots that required single lane riding. Even Disney would not try to get 12 million riders through such narrow spots and yet, it worked on the whole. The sun even came out as we reached the coastal part of the ride making for an idyllic scene out on the water -it was almost summery in look and just as good. As we passed Carson beach, as so often, i wondered at why so few people come to this very nice part of the city. Anyways, many hours after setting off, we arrived back at government center to a well planned party. I felt I could ride for the rest of the day, the next day I was mighty glad I hadn't !
So, forced exercise in the right company - how do I repeat the experience.
p.s. only one short commute ride since and my knee has been acting up big time ? linked to the ride or not, i honestly don't know.

Is blogging like exercise

Is blogging like exercise. I guess we will see. If it is, this will be a very stop and start affair with some great weeks but also long periods that lie fallow with daily intentions that will never materialize. Today I did do some exercise, albeit on the mild side, an easy bike ride in perfect evening weather. I should also count my commute to and from work on the bike but I believe that does not count, grueling though it was, indeed on my ride home I felt like this furry fellow in the picture. Still if it does not count, it does not count (though I must confess to uploading the commute onto mapmyride nonetheless, so technically it did count - well I needed the miles to make a respectable ashowing, what if someone views my rides !!!).

So, feeling virtuous I think it can only be a good thing to offer my thoughts and advise to any willing to read. Who knew that a blog would offer one unlimited opportunity to advise others on any and all matters. As I pondered the many arenas in which I am an expert (pretty much everything once I get going) I realized that exercise for those who don't really like it is an area I have squandered years of my life.
I am overweight and fluctuate wildly in my fitness levels. So, I am like many more people than those who pretend, or have deluded themselves, that they really do like exercise and are, as a result, lean mean grilling machines.

Anyways, to the point, the blog is not simply to amuse me but to encourage all peoples, everywhere, to strive towards a better life. not just in exercise but in all manners. I will try, by example or by excuse, to show all you the way to live better, more meaningful lives. i know its a humble goal but somebody has to do it and I believe in taking responsibility and not being one of the sheep (lesson 1 - don't be one of the sheep). more will follow, I think.

And so for todays good example: my exercise was 5 miles of biking - up a hill, around the local farm, to the side of a nicely shaded graveyard, through the park and back home - and all in the city .

The reluctant exerciser