Striving to be in OK Shape

I ran the other day. This was the first time in a month, probably only the second time in 4 months, and first time on concrete in a year. It was not good.


I often delude myself with the idea that I am still in OK shape because I'm not as bad as I once was. This is a bad thing to do, and sometimes you are lucky enough to get your eyes opened. I ran about a mile and a half at a slow pace, and my legs still hurt days later. How can this be, I do aqua-fit, I do spin classes, I swim (although not often enough), and I ride my bike. This can be, because I am not in OK shape.

I’ve just started getting back into shape. I am working on some goals, and I have developed some rules:
• Ice cream only on the weekend, and in moderation (not the whole carton).
• Beer only on the weekend.
• Workout a minimum 4 days in the week.
• HTFU

Bike Rack

I recently bought a trailer hitch and a bike rack for Carols car.This way I can take one of my bikes on vacation with me. We usually take her car on vacation (it is newer, it gets better mileage, its a/c works better, it has cruse control, and it rides better).

Our next vacation is a beach trip. I am bringing my old road bike so I can go out for some morning rides. Traveling stresses me out, even to the beach. I find that if I can get a workout in I am less stressed, and being less stressed around family is a good thing ( nobody likes a cranky John).

Later in the year we usually visit her uncle in the mountains. He lives in a valley that is accessed by a 26 switchback climb up a mountain. Every time we have gone there I thought about how cool it would be to try and climb it. Lucky for me I never had a bike with me so I never had too. Now that we have a rack I'm going to have to try it, and I'm in no shape for it.

I recently attempted Kennesaw mountain (to gauge my climbing ability). Even though I rode it a number of times in the past, I am not in the same shape as I was. I have a lot of work to do before we go to the mountains.