Zen and the Art of Bicycle Maintenance

When the Peanut’s character Snoopy dons his barnstormer hat and goggles, you know he’s about to go on an adventure in his WWI Sopwith Camel battling the cursed Red Barron. When I don my bike helmet and my blister shoes, I’m on my way to another kind of adventure.

I tried a 45 minute ride the other day. I must preface this by explaining that it’s been about 20 years since I rode more than 20 minutes without pain. Not only did my knees scream at me when going uphill, but my rear end… I don’t know how to describe the sensation. Somewhere between numb and goosed. After doing more time on the bike, I figured I could try 45 minutes. I rode to the park in my neighborhood that has a bike path that winds its way around soccer fields, baseball diamonds, and a playground. I haven’t clocked it, but I think it’s about 1K. It was about 6 AM and, except for a few folks walking their dogs, I had the place to myself.

The first lap went fairly well. I average between 10 and 12 MPH. I spend some time adjusting the gears so that I can maintain my speed. I’ve finally gotten used to the quirky shimano gear system where one set of controls goes from 1-3 and the other goes from 1-7 thus giving me 21 gears. Jonathan will cringe when I say that I don’t. He enjoys “driving.” That is to say he likes to change gears a lot. I still remember my 0 gear bike – on the other hand, I had no hills to climb, and I was a lot lighter as a kid.  Okay – back to my ride. A man was walking his dog off the leash. For the most part, in this park and all by themselves, I have no objection to this. If he has a dog that behaves off leash, more power to him and let the dog roam. Well, it’s a different matter when I whiz by. This dog wanted to be very dog-like and bark and run. I wasn’t quite sure what to do. Do I stop? Will the dog act like a bee and give up once I’m out of its territory? I opted to slow down and let the owner gain control of the hound. When I later passed him, the dog was leashed. I kind of felt sorry for it.

I checked my watch and it seems I’m making better time than the last time. I would have to do considerably more laps. How, will I make this interesting? I’ve already played with the gears, I’ve already settled the dog problem, and there’s not much more to do but to keep pedaling. Then I found the answer. A labyrinth. Labyrinths, when used for meditation and prayer, can be a very enriching experience. I apply Labyrinth principles to my laps. First lap – pray for the world; second the nation; third my friends; fourth my distant family; fifth, sixth, seventh, my immediate family; eighth myself. Before I knew it my time was completed. It wasn’t until I got off the bike that I felt just how much my legs burned. I still have that numb butt and my knees are tender, but I think I just added an unexpected dimension to my ride that I can look forward to.

Sub-Tri or How to Make an Hour Interesting

I get bored easily. I read several books at a time, I change furniture around, I flip around TV channels, and I grow weary of the same kinds of workouts. I have seen the same women walk around the block at 6 AM every day for the past five years. Rain, sleet, snow, they are like clockwork. I, on the other hand, have belonged to 6 gyms. Sometimes I switch because there isn’t enough variety for me as when I belonged to one of those places in the strip malls. I felt like a hamster on a wheel walking on a treadmill. The worst was a huge, national chain which boasts 24 hour availability and row upon row of treadmills, stair climbers, elliptical machines and stationary or recumbent bikes. There’s something dystopian about hundreds of people wearing heart rate monitors and headphones staring at reality TV while plodding, pedaling, and plunging. I must make an exception with the gym I belonged to with individual TV screens on the aerobic machines. I kind of liked watching those shows while I worked out – until I took my eyes off the screen and saw the same glazed over eyes and disconnected attention.

One of the things I enjoy about working out is taking my mind off of my job, my to-do list, and my cares and concerns. I do this best when I am fully engaged in the workout. This means the TV is off. I also like to mix things up. I don’t cross-train because I feel a need to work other muscles even though I know this is important. I cross train because I get bored with the same thing, so when I began this fitness program, I knew I’d have to mix things up, so I decided to do, what I call, a Suburban Triathlon.

Within an hour, I walk, bike, and run in the pool. I gave it my first go after my blister ordeal. I wanted to get an hour’s worth of workout, but I didn’t want to aggravate my blisters. Normally, when I do a short walk around the block, I bring my dogs. They are little and suffer from various joint pains, so I don’t take them on long walks. Also my schnauzer insists on frequent marking which slows things down. I put on my proper walking shoes and headed out. I went around in a little less than 20 minutes; it’s a much lighter task without the dogs pulling, twisting and tripping me up.  I must have been looking like I got a workout because when I came in to get a drink, my daughter, Leona, immediately ran to get some water for me.

Next phase the bike. I thought I was helping myself by setting it out on the driveway readying it for me, but I forgot that my saddle is black and the sun was out. Ouch. It was kind of weird getting on the bike with fatigued legs. I needed to push harder at first, but something that I am learning about biking is that those times when I can coast are sweet. I also like the breeze. I pedaled around and about bringing my total workout time to 40 minutes.

The last set was in the pool. When I workout in the pool, I do a couple of things. It is an above-ground, round pool. I can’t exactly do laps, but I can run in circles creating a whirlpool. It’s fun to do this with a large group of people and then the effect is almost like a lazy river where people can get carried around and around, kind of like a large, flushing, toilet bowl. Anyway, after creating the whirlpool in one direction, I switch directions and force myself and the water to move in the opposite way. It kind of feels like walking in a strong wind or climbing a mountain, and It really intensifies the workout. Another thing I do is jump about. When the kids were small, they loved it when I did “froggie jumps” or “washing machine” because I made big waves. Again, my heart rate is up and I can do things in the pool that I definitely can’t do on land. Well, after 40 minutes of workout, I had little to give to this endeavor and, as you might imagine, running around in circles can get monotonous. I did what I thought was 20 minutes (I didn’t have a timer with me) Surely it must have been 20 minutes, but when I toweled off, I found out that it was only 10. I called that good enough with a promise to add 10 minutes later (I’m not sure if I actually did or not).

Today I did another Sub-Tri. At Patrick’s suggestion, I broke the workout into 25/25/10. This was much easier to handle and I feel like this is fun, interesting, and do-able.

All God's Children Got 'em

I Got Shoes

When I was a child, it was common to have three pairs of shoes: school shoes, Sunday shoes, and gym shoes. In the summer, I wore sandals or went barefoot. After a productive growth spurt, I can remember complaining about my Sunday shoes being too tight. Ever frugal, my mother did not give in to my pleas for new shoes. It must have been close to Easter when I would get new, white patent leather shoes, so I had to wait with my feet pinched into my shoes making me even more fidgety during Church services.

In fifth grade, I added to my charm by having warts and corns on my feet. I guess all that pinching had its effect.  I can remember being in the foot-doctor’s office having my warts burned off. Apparently, the podiatrist’s bedside manner was less than cordial. My dad later told me that he snickered with glee when I vomited on the doctor. After this ordeal, I had to wear snow-boots to school as they were the only shoes I had that did not pinch my feet.

That pinching became more familiar as I entered into adulthood and had jobs where a woman wore a skirt and heels. The fashion of the time called for pointed toes and four-inch heels bringing me to a soaring six-feet-two. I loved wearing high-heels. I loved how my legs looked, I loved how my butt looked, and I loved towering over people and feeling powerful. The enormous ubiquitous shoulder pads of the 1980’s helped perpetuate the look but did nothing for my corns.

I can remember soaking my feet after a day at work and wondering if I’d ever be without foot pain. The answer is no. After I gained weight, I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. Now it felt as if I was stepping on a stone on my heel.  I added some shoe insertions AKA Orthotics (something old people wear) to my accessories with instructions to wear nothing but gym shoes. Lovely.

I have several kinds of gym shoes now. Gone are the flat-rubber-soled, canvas toped Keds. I have gym shoes for walking, for exercise inside the gym, for exercise when I might go outside, and I have the all-purpose gym shoes in basic black. They look stunning with my little black dress. The other day, I needed to take a walk. I was in a hurry and grabbed my indoor/outdoor shoes. I wore these last fall when I took a walk around the block; they wore a blister at my heel, but I attributed it to not wearing socks. The walk I planned was an hour-long walk. I was wearing socks this time, but these shoes will now be referred to as my blister shoes.

I wasn’t even halfway before I felt the tell-tale pain. I had to decide what to do. Clearly, I needed to go home, but when. Should I toughen up and do the full hour? I knew that resting wouldn’t make a difference, and I wasn’t carrying band-aids. After going a little more than halfway, I decided to head back home. There were several times that I almost took my shoes off and risked the barefoot experience, but that would cause other pains with my heels, so I stuck it out.

Sure enough, each of my heels sported a huge blister. Well, so much for more walks. Patrick was not discouraged. He said to double-up my socks and keep going. I switched my workouts to biking and swimming. I haven’t yet walked for an hour. It’s been a week. One side is pretty-much healed, but the other has a yucky scab that sometimes opens up when I wear shoes and my Band-Aids come off. I guess that’s part of no pain no gain if foot pain is any measure.

Choices

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. My daughter, Faith, came back from Germany, my work picked up speed, and I'm trying to fit in all these workouts! This one was actually written on the Sunday that we picked Faith up from the airport. I hope to add more posts later today because it's been two weeks into my life with Patrick.

I needed to walk today, but I have a busy day. I also know that I prefer to get exercise over with early. I do this so that I'll do it and to charge myself up. Well, we needed to get to church early. Actually, Jonathan needed to get to church early which left me with extra time. Guess what I did? First of all, let me go back a bit. Originally I figured on getting to church 15-20 minutes earlier (the time that he originally said that he wanted to get there). As often is the case, we didn't leave the house exactly at that targeted time. I figured on dropping some books off at the library and walking the trail that goes through a natural marsh. It's really a lovely walk  and one I was looking forward to. As I said, we didn't get out of the house on time, and I forgot to bring the library books, so I had some choices to make.

Here are my thoughts: I can do a couple of things with this. I'm already annoyed that my good choice to walk is sabotaged. I'm worried that I won't get the time I need to walk - remember... I'm supposed to exercise one hour each day. Well my irritation won't get the job done or serve to turn back time, so I modify my walk to once around the neighborhood at church. There are beautiful homes to look at, enough variety in the sidewalks that I keep alert and work different parts of my legs and feet, and I can adjust my time as there are lots of short blocks. Even when it started to sprinkle a little, the walk felt good and refreshing. My next concern was changing clothes. I wore workout clothes to church which was a good choice as I was really sweaty after the walk., so when I finished, I grabbed a bag from the car which I packed with a dress, some sandals and a necklace. I went to the most out-of-the way bathroom, locked the door and hoped that no one really need to use it. I proceeded to give myself a paper-towel spongebpath. (note to self- bring a washcloth, and at least a hand-towel next time). Thanks to Mary Kay, the makeup that I applied at the house stayed looking good. So with a freshened up body (all be it still a little moist) I sashayed into church fresh as a daisy and I succeeded in getting in my walk.

You might wonder about the missing 15 minutes. I made those up while walking the dogs with Faith. After a long flight, she was ready for some activity.

Soon to come: Shoes and theSuburban Triathalon or how can I break up the monotony.

A Bicycle Built for Two Big Buns

A few years ago I bought a Schwin from the Schwin Store. Because I'm tall, I don't fit quite right on the bikes I've bought from Target. Of course I figured that if I had the right bike, I'd ride it more. Well, no surprise to my gentle readers, I'm not the next triathlete. But, I wanted something different to do, and Jonathan has been gearing up for some serious rides (pun intended).

So I strapped on my helmet and off I went. For those of you who don't know my neighborhood, the village next to me is called Barrington Hills. Hills is the operative word. Many a weekend morning I have had to maneuver around flocks of riders enjoying the challenge of the rolling hills and stately mc mansions. I mentally pictured the hills as smooth and easy. I suppose they are to some.

My initial plan was to take the road through my subdivision and the one behind mine to avoid the heavier traficked roads and head to the hills. As I made a right-turn onto the anticipated road, I saw my first hill. I shifted my gears into low, or is it high - the plus-signs and minus-signs on my handlebars which indicate what direction I'm shifting still confuse me, I set my helmet for maximum aerodynamic impact and pedaled like the Wicked Witch of the West in a tornado. Then I slowly came to a stop. My legs felt like jelly, and I was defeated.

I walked my bike to the top of the hill and enjoyed the reward of a swift coast towards a local park with a less challenging bike path.

Here's what I know: biking isn't awful, I can still get a good ride in without trying to bike with the big guys, and I have a goal to conquer that hill by the end of the summer.

Day 2 An Hour each day? Really?

 I'm supposed to exercise 1 hour each day. Frankly, I'm intimidated by this. I keep looking for excuses not to. The excuses have nothing to do with my time management - in reality I have the time. Of course I want the path of least resistance, so I tell myself, "I lost weight and got fit before with 3X a week aerobic and 2X a week strenght. Why can't I just exercise 3X a week?" Or I dwell on the experts who say 1/2 hour of walking per day is enough. If that's the case, 1 hour 3X a week gets the job done.
  After all those argments are out on the table, I keep coming back to the fact that I should just do it for as long as I can. There's no harm in getting some form of exercise every day. I can break up the work. Somedays I might walk for the full hour, other days, I could bike and walk. What about a suburban triathalon where I walk for 20, bike for 20 and jump around in the pool (to the extent that I keep my heart rate up) for 20? I kind of like that mix. There's always taking a class at the gym. I have to figure out how my work schedule will work with this and I still have some limitations on my wrist, but it's a posibility.
 I can only assume that I'll see faster and more solid results if I kick this into gear. Who knows, I might just discover an inner zen that I can feed.

Day 1 Will I love you tomorrow?

I clean the house. That means someone who has never been here before is coming over. Like a seven-year-old expecting a favorite friend, I gather my toys together so that we can play. I'm secretly hoping he's excited and impressed that I have these things, but also fear that he will think - well obviously she doesn't use them....

We do our fitness assessment. He has a high tech scale that sends electronic signals through my body and tells me how much of my weight is bone, water, muscle and fat. I think there's a science fiction book or show somewhere that refers to humans as sacs of water. He also takes my measurements. I'm not too concerned with these numbers since I anticipate them moving in the directions that indicate I'm getting fitter.

The workout wasn't awful. It certainly wasn't any worse than his Sunday classes at church and not as intense as Kettle Bell or Kick Boxing. I suspect he was going a little easy on me. Don't get me wrong, I was huffing and puffing and sweating, and my muscles certainly fatigued.

 I like having the one-on-one attention, and I was thrilled that he complimented my form.
Afterwards we talked about his pricing. I don't know what's high or low, but he's giving me a break, and considering how much we paid for dance, gymnastic, art, and music lessons, I'm sure we can swing this.

Then I ask him how much I should be working out thinking he'll say aerobics two times a week. No... he says and hour each day or 10,000 steps. Yes I know that I will see results. There is no doubt in my mind that I'll see results. Is this what I signed up for? Apparently yes. Can I find an hour each day to work out? Sadly yes. It will replace the hour I spend sitting around waiting for someone to notice me or something to happen. I'll make it happen.