Whew!
I've -- gasp!!! -- started exercising. I've been thinking about it for a while, but you know how it goes. You can think about exercising for a very long time without actually doing anything about it. The scale has been inching down, though, and I figured I'd help it along. Plus, I'm in awful shape. Might as well kill two birds with one stone.
So yesterday I thought that it might be a good idea to bike around my block five times -- that's five miles. I've been considerably farther lately, so this did not seem to be an extraordinary feat. However -- however -- our block is not flat. You begin the ride with a long, gradual uphill climb and then coast for half a mile (I'm not kidding). Then -- you climb for half a mile. The coasting, of course, is fun. The climbing is torture. Still, I figured I was good for five laps.
Something happened around three-and-a-half miles, though. I started feeling a little nauseated. At about three-point-seven I was seeing stars and knew I had to stop or my body (and gravity) would stop me. We were so close to home, but Bruce had to go get the car. I climbed into the backseat and got horizontal for the short ride home and then spent some time on the couch with a cold washcloth on my forehead. That was really annoying. Seriously.
I was determined to get back in the saddle, though, so this afternoon I got out there determined to do at least four miles. In some ways this was crazy -- it was a little after 1:00 and today is relatively warm -- high 80s or low 90s. I was itching to get it done, though, and just told myself that I'd watch for any signs that I was overdoing it. So -- I did four laps, felt like I still had something in the tank, and did one more. FIVE!!! My original (somewhat pathetic) goal. I don't know what happened last night -- maybe I ate too much before I rode or not enough -- maybe there was just something weird going on, I don't know. But I didn't feel like I did last night, although I was happy enough to roll into the garage after I finished the fifth go-round.
I want to do more -- I really intend to start lifting weights again and to do some yoga, but this is okay for now. I don't have to jump in with both feet all at once.
I've been reading Moby Dick, of all things. Slowly, but steadily. It's nothing like what I thought it was. Of course, I'm only about 20% of the way through (thanks to Kindle's handy-dandy percentage tracker at the bottom of the screen). They're just now getting on board the Pequod and we haven't met Captain Ahab yet. But up to now the book has been a delight. Witty, even. I never knew!!! There are quite a few books that everyone would assume I've read -- but I haven't. I need to diligently pursue them. I've read nothing by Orwell, for instance -- not Animal Farm, not 1984. Haven't read Wuthering Heights. The only Dickens I've read is A Christmas Carol. I could go on, but you get the idea. I've read some good stuff, of course -- don't get me wrong. But there are big gaps. Moby Dick was one gap, and I'm delighted to be filling it.
I also purchased a set of dvds from The Great Courses. I've been tempted to do it for years, but they ain't cheap. I got "How to Listen to and Understand Great Music" -- 48 45-minute lectures. I listened to four right away and haven't gone back, but I'm going to listen to one as soon as I post this. I'm enjoying it very much.
We've been eating leftovers since I last cooked, so there's nothing exciting on that front. I did find a new web site that I like: http://www.theppk.com/ (Post-Punk Kitchen). It's the web site of Isa Chandra Moskowitz, the author of Vegan with a Vengeance, from which several of my favorite recipes have been nabbed. I am still trying to stay with the "only fast recipes" theme for a bit longer (although I've found so many wonderful recipes that I'm DYING to try, so I'm not sure how long I can hold out) and I'm making some lentils from her web site and turning them into burritos the next time I cook (which will probably be tomorrow).
More later...
So yesterday I thought that it might be a good idea to bike around my block five times -- that's five miles. I've been considerably farther lately, so this did not seem to be an extraordinary feat. However -- however -- our block is not flat. You begin the ride with a long, gradual uphill climb and then coast for half a mile (I'm not kidding). Then -- you climb for half a mile. The coasting, of course, is fun. The climbing is torture. Still, I figured I was good for five laps.
Something happened around three-and-a-half miles, though. I started feeling a little nauseated. At about three-point-seven I was seeing stars and knew I had to stop or my body (and gravity) would stop me. We were so close to home, but Bruce had to go get the car. I climbed into the backseat and got horizontal for the short ride home and then spent some time on the couch with a cold washcloth on my forehead. That was really annoying. Seriously.
I was determined to get back in the saddle, though, so this afternoon I got out there determined to do at least four miles. In some ways this was crazy -- it was a little after 1:00 and today is relatively warm -- high 80s or low 90s. I was itching to get it done, though, and just told myself that I'd watch for any signs that I was overdoing it. So -- I did four laps, felt like I still had something in the tank, and did one more. FIVE!!! My original (somewhat pathetic) goal. I don't know what happened last night -- maybe I ate too much before I rode or not enough -- maybe there was just something weird going on, I don't know. But I didn't feel like I did last night, although I was happy enough to roll into the garage after I finished the fifth go-round.
I want to do more -- I really intend to start lifting weights again and to do some yoga, but this is okay for now. I don't have to jump in with both feet all at once.
I've been reading Moby Dick, of all things. Slowly, but steadily. It's nothing like what I thought it was. Of course, I'm only about 20% of the way through (thanks to Kindle's handy-dandy percentage tracker at the bottom of the screen). They're just now getting on board the Pequod and we haven't met Captain Ahab yet. But up to now the book has been a delight. Witty, even. I never knew!!! There are quite a few books that everyone would assume I've read -- but I haven't. I need to diligently pursue them. I've read nothing by Orwell, for instance -- not Animal Farm, not 1984. Haven't read Wuthering Heights. The only Dickens I've read is A Christmas Carol. I could go on, but you get the idea. I've read some good stuff, of course -- don't get me wrong. But there are big gaps. Moby Dick was one gap, and I'm delighted to be filling it.
I also purchased a set of dvds from The Great Courses. I've been tempted to do it for years, but they ain't cheap. I got "How to Listen to and Understand Great Music" -- 48 45-minute lectures. I listened to four right away and haven't gone back, but I'm going to listen to one as soon as I post this. I'm enjoying it very much.
We've been eating leftovers since I last cooked, so there's nothing exciting on that front. I did find a new web site that I like: http://www.theppk.com/ (Post-Punk Kitchen). It's the web site of Isa Chandra Moskowitz, the author of Vegan with a Vengeance, from which several of my favorite recipes have been nabbed. I am still trying to stay with the "only fast recipes" theme for a bit longer (although I've found so many wonderful recipes that I'm DYING to try, so I'm not sure how long I can hold out) and I'm making some lentils from her web site and turning them into burritos the next time I cook (which will probably be tomorrow).
More later...