A few steps toward "healthy"
Lately I've been trying to get some exercise two or three times a week. That may not sound like much, but I tend to be a sedentary person, and working at home does not exactly encourage me to get out and move my butt.
The convergence of a few different things, however, has gotten me up and about. I started reading the Single Dad Laughing blog, in which the author wrote about losing enough weight and improving his health enough to lead Tough Mudder teams three times. (He's got a whole group on Facebook called "The Single Dad Laughing Health Club," which is full of positive encouragement.) Then Master Liam, a mostly online friend from the SCA's East Kingdom, had to miss Pennsic because he landed in the hospital with pneumonia ... and heart failure. Liam is my age; in our junior year of high school, his high school and my high school did a band and chorus exchange, so technically he's the first SCAdian I ever met, even though we have no memory of interacting with each other. Still ... my mother died of a combination of COPD and heart failure, so to hear of it in someone my age is ... scary. Plus, the August/September "birthday season" in my family of origin reminds me of those who have gone before me -- and the average age at death of my parents' generation is something like 67. So that means I have only about 11 years to go before my body poops out. Needless to say, I'd like to have more years than that.
Earlier this year I did a few yoga classes at a studio some 20 or miles or so from here -- I had gotten a gift certificate in the church auction last fall and had to use it up before it expired. I enjoyed the place and its instructors, but the drive, which took me past No Such Agency at evening rush hour, left something to be desired. Why get all stressed out on the way to my relaxation??? So I started doing twice-weekly deep-water aerobics at the local municipal pool complex. I enjoyed the classes and always felt great afterward.
The summer classes were all held in the indoor pool. Normally, the outdoor pool is closed after Labor Day. However, the indoor pool needed a completely new roof, so the outdoor pool has been staying open through September. Yeah, it was definitely a bit chillier than indoors, plus no hot tub afterward, but I still got some good exercise the last couple of weeks. Class attendance was dropping off, though, so this week the instructors threw in the towel (figuratively) and called off the classes.
So this afternoon I made myself do a *brisk* walk around the neighborhood lake, and when I passed each of the 10 or so position markers on the trail, I made myself jog about 25 steps before going back to walking. I wasn't sure how my knees were going to take that, but I'm not in pain so far. Yay! Maybe I'm not as decrepit as I think I am!
This entry was originally posted at http://luscious-purple.dreamwidth.org/186265.html. Please feel free to comment either here or there.
The convergence of a few different things, however, has gotten me up and about. I started reading the Single Dad Laughing blog, in which the author wrote about losing enough weight and improving his health enough to lead Tough Mudder teams three times. (He's got a whole group on Facebook called "The Single Dad Laughing Health Club," which is full of positive encouragement.) Then Master Liam, a mostly online friend from the SCA's East Kingdom, had to miss Pennsic because he landed in the hospital with pneumonia ... and heart failure. Liam is my age; in our junior year of high school, his high school and my high school did a band and chorus exchange, so technically he's the first SCAdian I ever met, even though we have no memory of interacting with each other. Still ... my mother died of a combination of COPD and heart failure, so to hear of it in someone my age is ... scary. Plus, the August/September "birthday season" in my family of origin reminds me of those who have gone before me -- and the average age at death of my parents' generation is something like 67. So that means I have only about 11 years to go before my body poops out. Needless to say, I'd like to have more years than that.
Earlier this year I did a few yoga classes at a studio some 20 or miles or so from here -- I had gotten a gift certificate in the church auction last fall and had to use it up before it expired. I enjoyed the place and its instructors, but the drive, which took me past No Such Agency at evening rush hour, left something to be desired. Why get all stressed out on the way to my relaxation??? So I started doing twice-weekly deep-water aerobics at the local municipal pool complex. I enjoyed the classes and always felt great afterward.
The summer classes were all held in the indoor pool. Normally, the outdoor pool is closed after Labor Day. However, the indoor pool needed a completely new roof, so the outdoor pool has been staying open through September. Yeah, it was definitely a bit chillier than indoors, plus no hot tub afterward, but I still got some good exercise the last couple of weeks. Class attendance was dropping off, though, so this week the instructors threw in the towel (figuratively) and called off the classes.
So this afternoon I made myself do a *brisk* walk around the neighborhood lake, and when I passed each of the 10 or so position markers on the trail, I made myself jog about 25 steps before going back to walking. I wasn't sure how my knees were going to take that, but I'm not in pain so far. Yay! Maybe I'm not as decrepit as I think I am!
This entry was originally posted at http://luscious-purple.dreamwidth.org/186265.html. Please feel free to comment either here or there.