September Challenge Is On

I have organized a Monthly Mileage Challenge at work. So far I have enrolled 13 people and I'm hoping to enroll a few more today and tomorrow (this is a tough week to get this going because so many people are on vacation). Here's how it works: All cardio activities will be converted to mileage. Running, walking, elliptical are all straight miles. Biking is 4:1 (bike 4 miles to get "credit" for 1 mile), swimming is 1:4 (swim 1 mile and get credited 4 miles). Stairmaster is 1:2, cardio classes are 4 miles per hour, etc. These conversions may not be perfect, but the idea is to "level the playing field" so anyone can get involved and log some miles with almost any activity. This concept seems to be working because the participants include a few folks who need a little motivation to get started as well as marathoners. Everybody keeps their own log and reports their mileage to me weekly. I will send a weekly update (using aliases) so everyone can see how they are doing (if they are in it to win it). The entry fee is $10. The winner takes 50 percent, 30 percent buys a healthy lunch for participants, and 20 percent is donated to a charity. So if I can get 15 participants, the winner gets $75. Not a bad chunk of change! I'm psyched. I am definitely in it to win it! Especially since I am looking at new road bikes, every little bit helps.

Bike Shopping!

I love the Black Trek but ..... I've started shopping for a new bike. I'm not sure if it's easier or more difficult because of my size. There is certainly less available in my size with a full-sized (700) wheel but getting the proper fit is more difficult. Yesterday DH & I went t the LBS and mostly talked. He only has 1 possible bike in stockin a 44 frame--A Bianchi Eros Donna. I'm going to take it out for a test ride on Tue. Then I will probably wait a week or two for some of the 2007s to come in. I'm not in a rush. I can ride the rest of the season on the Trek, but the idea of a new bike makes me salivate and dream of breaking thru the 13 mph wall.

On Sat DH & I rode with friends A& H. They are riding in a big 3 day charity ride in a few weeks and needed a long ride. We rode 42 miles and they took turns dropping back to ride with me. I don't think they minded, and DH liked it because he felt like he was doing intervals. But it does make me a little self-conscious about my slow pace. It also motivates me to keep working at it. At the same time, I have to tell myself not to get too obsessed about comparing myself to other women. If I want to do that, then how many women my age do I know that can ride 40 miles or something equivalent. So I know I need to stick to doing what's right for me and work toward my own goals. I can be realistic and still have plenty of room to grow.

I haven't ridden in 2 weeks and I really felt it especially in my quads. You don't really get a break riding on my part of the planet. Seems like there is ALWAYS another hill. But that's what riding is all about. It's the hills that make you tough and strong, mentally as well as physically. Sunday was supposed to be a hiking day but it was a wash-out. I used the day to get lots done around the house. I t was another mother’s triathlon—cooking, laundry and (my worst event) ironing.

Monthly Mileage Motivation

I am still struggling to find the motivation to get back to healthy habits with some consistency.  I need to rethink goals.  Having a number as a goal (pounds, percent body fat) is not getting the job done.  I know that if I do the right thing consistently, the pounds and the body fat will take care of themselves.  I need a performance goal.  At the beginning of the summer, it was to run a 10K, but that was shelved due to toe and knee issues.  I am planning on riding 50 miles in a bike tour next month, but I already rode 50 miles last month.  With the summer winding down, performance goals have to be more creative.  These goals need to be short term, or they kinda slip away.  

So, I'm thinking about starting a friendly fitness competition for the month of September in my office.  It would be based on total mileage, but since the idea is to encourage cardio activities of all types, every activity would be converted to mileage.  As an example, walking, running, hiking, elliptical, stair master would all be straight mileage.  Bicycle miles would count 4:1, cardio classes would count 4 miles per hour, etc.  I'm sure conversions could be determined for just about anything (strength training does not qualify).  Indoors or outdoors.  Participants keep track of their own mileage, but have to keep some sort of log and provide weekly updates.  Entry fee $10.  Winner takes 50 PERCENT, 30 PERCENT used to bring in a healthy lunch at the end of the month, 20 PERCENT goes to 1 person chosen at random ( cannot be the winner).  Loser has to buy 2nd place a Jamba Juice?

Anybody have any suggestions? Should this be "ladies only?"  Should the number of entries be limited? How can we "level the playing field" so anyone can participate?

The 2006 Boston Massacre

A couple of months ago, we bought 4 tickets to see the Yanks play at Fenway.  It was very exciting to be there, to be part of the 2006 Boston Massacre. There were plenty of Yankee fans everywhere, so we felt “safe.”  My son did send one Red Sox fan over the edge with his “enthusiasm,” but when the ARSF (asshole Red Sox fan) told my son to “sit the F%&k down,” he exercised sound judgement and complied with the request.  

From the Boston Globe:
The truth is that this has been a very good year to be a Yankee fan. They lost Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui within two weeks in the spring, they also lost the scary-good Robinson Cano for about six weeks, and they had concurrent problems with their starting pitching. They had to wait out a Red Sox surge, knowing there was plenty of time in a long, long season to pull themselves together. In its present form, it is a thoroughly likeable and rootable team.

From the NYTimes:
More than 35,000 sad souls had shuffled out of Fenway Park by 5 p.m. on Monday. There were sea gulls circling the center-field bleachers then, but they might as well have been buzzards. In 75 punishing hours, the Yankees had pounded their rivals into little more than a carcass.

This 3 day trip to Boston included a visit to the Museum of Science to see the Body Worlds exhibit.  I had already seen it in Chicago, but it was just as fascinating and enlightening the second time through.  DH was similarly impressed, son #1 was totally grossed out, and son #2 was underwhelmed.  At least we tried.  We also hopped onboard the Duck Tours and visited Emack and Bolios on Newberry Street.  On the way out of town, we had brunch with some old and dear friends of mine.  That made the weekend a complete success.  

Uterus Is Right

I am so ready for menopause. Bring it on. A couple of months ago I was 2 weeks late. I thought I was done. Yeah, I wish it was that simple. This month I was 2 days late and I was having conversations with my uterus. Don't do this. I will still respect you. I'll compromise, we can adjust the schedule. Everybody else understands that I'm not having anymore babies. Why can't you. Uterus did not listen. In fact, Uterus punished me by getting started at a most inconvenient time and requiring a trip to Walmart to purchase shorts, panties and feminine hygiene products in order to continue road trip to PA. Uterus' final words were You're old enough to know better than to venture forth totally unprepared. Uterus is right. I am in deep denial that I still do this monthly cycle thing.

The Boys are Back in Town

Son #1 came home yesterday and Son #2 came home today. It is wonderful to have them home, but already life is much more structured and filled with obligations. Laundry, dinner, appointments, whys and why nots. Son #1 came home with a letter from the camp director praising his wonderful qualities as a counselor and inviting him back for many summers to come. That made me proud. Son #2 received similar praise for a speech he gave at the banquet as the captain of color war's losing team. That also made me proud.

This weekend was perfect for spending time outdoors, with blue skies, low humidity and temps up to about 80. Yesterday I went for a club ride, 23 miles. Today I got off the bike and went hiking. I emerged from the woods 6 miles and 4 hours later feeling pleasantly tired and yet recharged. The smells and sights of the flora and fauna were wonderful and so vibrant after spending so much time on my bike. It was a nice change.

Chihuly at the Botanical Gardens

This exhibit is extraordinary! Dale Chihuly is an artist known for his glass sculptures. This exhibit was designed specifically for the Botanical Garden's collections and landscapes. Most of the art is displayed in the Haupt Conservatory -- the glasshouse -- but other pieces are placed in outdoor settings. Imagine turquoise ice cubes floating in a green slime covered pond with bullfrogs calling! Some of these sculptures are bound to elicit different responses at different times of the year. It is on display through late October and I might go back in the fall, just to see it against the splendor and colors of that season. Well, here are some images, but a camera (at least one with me as the photographer) does not do this exhibit justice.

Atomic Banana and Scrambled Tofu

Son #1 was home for a doctor’s appt.  His broken ankle is healing very nicely, so the doctor took off his cast. Yahoo!  Now he is wearing an aircast, and he can begin to put a teeny tiny amount of weight on it.  So that’s progress!  I took him back to camp where the entire staff is involved in a game they call Atomic Banana.  Everybody has the name of another person that they are trying to get “out” by pointing a banana at him/her.  If you get that person out, then your next target is the person that your original target was targeting.  Certain locations are “safe,” such as the dining hall or when you are working.  It’s walking between locations and less structured periods of time when you are most at risk! At least half of the staff gets taken out in the first 2 days, then the remaining people get more and more paranoid as they try to run between buildings and locations without getting nuked by a banana.  So yes, every staff person runs around with a banana in their pocket.  Son #1 was very excited that despite his handicap of being on crutches, he survived the first day and then he went home for a day!  I wonder if he is still in the game or if he got taken down.

I cooked this last night, and it was super delicious.  I made the rancheros version, adding 1 cup of salsa at the end.  Served it up as a wrap with cucumber cilantro salad.  And, I had leftovers, so I get to eat it again for lunch today!      

Theatre on the Hudson

Last night I went to see A Midsummer Night's Dream at Boscobel. We picniced before the show on the grounds overlooking Constitution Marsh and the Hudson River. The heat wave had finally broken and it was a perfect night for spending some quality time with a few friends, sitting under the theatre tent and laughing!

Laying Low

Combine the need to recover from an 85 mile bicycle weekend with this f*%$ing heat wave (being outdoors for any length of time--even nanoseconds--is not an option) and you discover new ways to entertain yourself. So, I have been immersing myself in various forms of media-- tunes, books and TV.

This Friday evening I am going to see a local theatre company's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and I never read the play, so I am reading it. I think it might have been really confusing if I didn't already know the storyline, with everyone falling in and out of love with everyone else! Those fairies are quite mischievous. I put aside another book for a day or two to read the play--The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. So far I am not thrilled but I don't hate it either. I will reserve final judgement until I have finished it. I do most of my reading on my train ride into NYC, which is 50 minutes. I would rather read a book than the newspaper, even though I sometimes think I should be educating myself more by reading the paper.

At home, I have been TIVOing my new addiction-- Project Runway. I did not watch the first 2 seasons, and I'm not sure what made we watch the first episode this season, but I love watching these very creative people whip up these incredible designs. The personalities of the designers are now beginning to "explode" as one designer is eliminated each week. I'm not sure its a good idea to give them all sharp scissors. Maybe they should be using the ones like we had in kindergarten that had blunted, rounded ends.

I finalized my playlist for the Summer CD Swap. I still have to burn copies to mail out to all the swappers. Here is the playlist-- the theme is Food and Drink. I am naming this CD No Jimmy Buffet because I avoided the obvious Cheeseburger in Paradise and Margaritaville.

All You Can Eat--Ben Folds
Beans And Corn Bread--Louis Jordan
Busting Up a Starbucks--Mike Doughty
Chicken Man--Indigo Girls
Dirty Martini--Joe Jackson
Elderberry Wine--Elton John
Hospital Food--David Gray
I Saw Elvis ( In A Burger King )--Bob Martinson
Orange crush--REM
Peanut--Squad 51
Please Don't Talk About Murder While I'm Eating--Ben Harper
Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)--Squeeze
Red Beans--Marcia Ball
Rhubarb Pie--John Fogerty
Tea in the Sahara--The Police
The Diner Song--The Contes
Tom's Diner--Suzanne Vega & D.N.A.

New Ride

My new wheels, 4 of them. Subaru Outback. Mine is blue.

Drink or Die

Yesterday was the Harlem Valley Rail Ride. I rode 55 miles at an average speed of 13 mph. That is further and faster than I have ever ridden. I ran into a few WCC riders at registration and I was able to ride with them. I was much happier riding with them than waiting for the 55 mile group ride, especially when Judy told me that 55 miles was going to be a stretch for her (me too!) and that she rides about 11-12 mph (me too!). She then proceeded to become the “rabbit,” taking off at about 17 mph down the rail trail! I guess she underestimates her riding ability (me too!). The second half of the ride was more difficult than the first half, and the last 5 miles were brutal. It was also hot and sunny (drink or die was the day’s mantra), so we slowed down quite a bit. At the 52 mile point ***tired legs*** we were climbing up a fairly long (but not steep) hill ***hot ***riders were stretched out over the entire length of the hill ***long***no one was talking ***water*** everyone put there head down ***hard work**** and just kept those wheels moving ***granny gears***the only sounds were shifting bicycle gears ***grind it out**** and heavy breathing ***arrrrgh***. I made it up that hill and the next 2 hills. I never got off to bike to walk. The whole thing worked out very well--I didn't have to ride alone or with a big group, I was pushed to ride a little bit harder (and proved to myself that I can do it), and DH was able to take off and ride as fast as he wanted. He was perfectly happy to ride 55 miles by himself. But of course he wasn't.really by himself because there were 1300 riders and excellent support services and rest stops. At the end of the ride we jumped into the town pool, had lunch, packed up the bikes, gear, and tired a$$es and then got our iced coffees for the ride home. Pure bliss.

We had decided to make a weekend out of it and stayed at a lovely B&B. There were group rides and some ''tourist'' activities available on Saturday. DH and I joined the 30 mile ride. As the shortest ride, this attracted the full spectrum of riders. We eventually split into 2 groups but stopped often to regroup and have lunch. It was the perfect prelude to the real ride. What could be better than riding down country roads on a beautiful summer day with DH and a group of friendly folks?

That's right, I rode the Black Trek 85 miles this weekend. Go Xena!

Running -- The Mind Game

On Friday, DH and I were all set to ride with the Cycling Club, but we bagged it because of severe T-storm warnings. The weather has been fairly violent over the past 2 weeks, and we decided to stay home. So I went over to the HS track to see what running a few miles would feel like. When I got there, it was just me and the track in the early evening, with ominous skies. After the first half mile, I settled into a nice easy (slow) pace (Mind: wow, this feels pretty good, no pain in toe or knee, I can just keep going! No one else around, I can even sing). At 1.0 miles, it started to rain, but lightly (Mind: this isn't too bad, I can run in this....can I get electrocuted wearing a heart rate monitor and an iPod in the rain? Maybe I should stop). At 1.50 miles, the wind picks up (Mind: this is getting harder, is that my knee I feel getting stiff? 1.5 miles is respectable for a 50 year old lady with a bad toe and a cranky knee.... but I did want to run at least 2). At 1.75 miles, the rain picks up (Mind: I am Xena the Warrior Princess, outrunning the evil storm) At 2.0 miles, the 17-19 year old soccer boys show up, totally ignoring the rain (Mind: ooooooh, I like the change in scenery. Well, if they can play in the rain, I can certainly run in the rain. I don't want them to think the mother of sons #1 and #2 is a total wimp). So I ran 2.5 miles, most of the time thinking positive thoughts. My HR monitor and iPod continued to function and I did not get electrocuted. My knee stiffened up a bit, but it seemed to ease up the next day when I took out my bike. I only ran 2.5 miles, but it was enlightening to think about what I was thinking about! For some reason, I became much more cognizant of the impact of state of mind on performance, and how quickly that state of mind can change. Now what I need to figure out is how much control I have over that "attitude." I want to keep Xena around and banish the fear of electrons. And of course this has other applications to other athletic endeavors and life in general! Yesterday there was a cycling club event which included rides for all level riders followed by a picnic. I had to choose between the D ride (25 miles) and the C ride (40 miles). I was leaning toward the C ride until I was told that the terrain was hillier than usual, so I took the D ride. I know I could have ridden another 15 miles, but I probably would have been on the edge, especially if I was pushing to keep up. Should I have brought forth Xena or is a slight fear of electrons a good thing? The D ride was challenging, and yes we took it slow, but it was still 25 miles! The bottom line, I guess, is that I went for a great bike ride, and had a lovely time at the picnic afterwards. I continue to be impressed by the friendliness and healthy attitude of almost every club member that I have met.

As an aside, DH faced a similar decision, either the C ride (40 miles) or the B ride (58 miles). He chose the B ride and totally rocked it. He came back so revved up and pleased with himself. Although he still needs to lose some weight, he is in very good shape. He attributes much of his success to having spent the "off-season" doing some serious swimming. The decision to hit the pool resulted from the need to rest and rehab his achilles tendon, which was chronically inflamed. Biking (and therefore spinning) and running were totally off-limits. He became a disciple of the Total Immersion approach to swimming and totally retaught himself the "proper" way to swim. When the outdoor cycling season started, I don't think he ever thought he would be able to ride 58 miles in July and ride strong! Although he is still cautious, so far his achilles has not been a problem. I don't know if his achilles will stand up to running, but I'm waiting to hear him say "triathlon." Wondering how long it will take for him to say it out loud.

Tour de Spin

During the Tour de France, spin classes mimic the tour. Yesterday was stage 15, from Gap to L’Alpe (as in mountains) D’Huez. There are 3 climbs; the third is 14 km, 8% incline with 21 switchbacks. In spin class (endurance, 75 minutes) this translated into going uphill for 55 minutes, feeling your heart pounding, wishing for an oxygen tank, and leaving giant sweat puddles on the floor. In other words, it was awesome. As an aside, the 116 mile stage was won by Schleck (Luxenberg) with an average speed of 24 mph! Don’t know how those guys do it, for 21 days. And I don’t know how they can eat enough. They burn on average 6,000 calories per day.

As spin class was starting, we got to watch another Mother Nature spectacular. There was a huge thunderstorm that brought hail that got progressively bigger until golf balls were falling. We had a tornado last week, which is a rare event in New York, so this storm was a little frightening.

On Saturday, I spent most of the day at the Pleasantville Music Festival. There were lots of musicians, many local, but a few big names. Roger McGuinn of the Byrds was the biggest. He opened with my favorite Byrds song of all time—Chestnut Mare—and got around to all their hits. The last band was World Party, which seems to be enjoying a comeback with a new “hit record.” I had a great time, sitting in a beach chair, listening to live music, wandering among all the vendors, picnicking and watching all the kids dancing, galavanting and eating continuously! Then there was dinner at a Thai restaurant to make the day complete.

As an extra perk, I got to introduce myself to a distant cousin who is a bit of a celebrity around NYC. Janet Maslin, long-time film critic and now book critic for the New York Times, introduced Roger McGuinn. We spoke for a few minutes, tried to figure out exactly how we are related. Our best guess is that our grandfathers were first cousins.

Son #2 came home for 2 days, when the camp switches over at the half-season. He devoured all the leftovers in the house—everything from a big bag of chips leftover from the World Cup Party and some chocolate chip cookies in the freezer (no need to defrost, they are good nice and crunchy), to a couple of slices of pizza, and a demented bagel. He was very happy to sit around, play video games and watch baseball games. He was very happy to get back to camp, too.

How to Weigh Yourself Correctly

I can't believe I've been doing it wrong for so many years!

Haiku

Here’s a Haiku for yesterday’s “adventure in fitnessland.”

Four pound hula hoop
It’s much harder than it looks
Need ibuprofen

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had to move my day off around to get son #1 to the doctor (see entry on broken ankle) or to do some training at work. I’ve been using this as an opportunity to try some of the funkier classes at the gym. Last week it was urban rebounding, which involves jumping on a mini-trampoline for a half hour. Yesterday it was a hula hoop class. When I was a kid, I could kick anybody’s a$$ when it came to hula hoping, so I thought this was gonna be easy and fun. Well, it is NOT easy to keep a four pound hula hoop going for 15 minutes, even standing in one place. Try moving around or doing lunges while hula hooping and it gets even more difficult. Last night my waistline was really sore, but not a DOMS kind of sore. I was beaten up by the hula hoop, like getting punched in the arm, except it was consecutive punches around my waistline! OK, it wasn’t THAT bad, but it was bad enough that I certainly didn’t want my DH to embrace me! This morning it was much better, but I won’t be doing any hula hooping for a few days. It was definitely a fun workout and I am told that your waistline gets used to it. So I might try it again. Maybe I’ll take the ibuprofen BEFORE the class.

Tend to Your Garden

The theme of this past weekend was “friends” from my oldest friend to my newest friends. It made me realize how important friends are, and once again I promised myself that I will work harder on my friendships. I have a tendency to neglect my friends. Yes, we are all busy and don’t necessarily live close by, and I hate the telephone, but there really are no excuses for allowing friends to fade away. I remember a colleague, a man of great wisdom, who would often comment, “you have to tend to your garden” when he spoke of family and friends. So this weekend I tended to my garden of friends. I even got to water the family tree a little bit!

On Friday evening I rode with the cycle club. Whoever shows up for the “fling” picks a ride according to their level, given about 2 hours of daylight. Just to be on the safe side, I chose the shortest ride, 15 miles, and rode with 3 other women. We finished well ahead of the other riders, so next time I will probably go on the longer ride. Afterwards, everyone is invited to hit the local pub for food and drinks and assorted chit chat, so I joined the dinner group. It was quite friendly and I’d like to think that I made some new friends.

On Saturday evening, we went to a 50th birthday party for my oldest friend. Judy and I grew up next door to each other and we moved in when we were 2 years old. Over the years, we have drifted apart, but we always drifted back together. Since we’ve gotten married and raised families, we have managed to speak to each other and see each other fairly regularly. Several of my childhood friends were there, some of whom I haven’t seen in years, so we took lots of photos. And of course Judy got out the pictures, including the class photos from elementary school. That was good for more than a few laughs. When we left, I turned to my husband and said, “my friends got fat.” None of them are obese, but they all need to lose at least 15-20 pounds. That was the only disappointment of the evening. I hate to see them struggling with their weight, because you know it isn’t going to get any easier as we get older. None of them have particulary active lifestyles either.

Yesterday, DH and I hosted a World Cup Party and BBQ. For every friend that did make it, at least 1 friend was unable to get there. So we had a small but enthusiastic crowd. Of course I had way too much food, and then one friend who is Indian and has a small catering business brought a small tray of roasted chicken with delicious Indian spices and then made shishkebabs! We finished off with an ice cream cake because Saturday was DH’s 51st birthday. About half of the group actually watched the game!

And on a final note, family. My uncle was recently diagnosed with lung cancer. They discovered something in his lung quite by accident, when they did a CT scan looking at something else. He will require surgery but may not need either radiation or chemotherapy. DH lost his uncle to lung cancer a couple of years ago. He fought the disease for 3 years, and during that time, I would constantly remind (even nag) DH to call him. DH was grateful that I did that, so he is now returning the favor. He has been reminding me that I need to call my uncle, and I finally did. He sounds very upbeat and wants to get on with the surgery so he can get on with his life! The man is 78 years old and behaves as if he is half that age. He works full-time, travels, skiis, hikes, and just lives life to the fullest. Go Uncle Go.

Fitness, Food and a Broken Ankle

We spent the long holiday weekend at Skytop Lodge in the Poconos with my mother, brother, sister-in-law, and 2 nieces. It was loads of fun and quality family time. DH and I brought our road bikes and went out for a nice ride on Saturday. The only problem is that the lodge is on top of a fairly large hill, large enough that the first 5 miles were downhill. As we are coasting along I kept thinking “it’s going to be a tough ride back!” The uphills were steep! The next day we rented mountain bikes and took off on the muddy trails. That was really fun. We were only on relatively flat roads, so I know mountain biking can be much more difficult but I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity too try something different. On the last day we went hiking. There was a guided “fitness” hike which was described with verbiage to keep beginners away. Well, good thing it wasn’t really all that difficult or that guy in penny loafers would not have made it. Or the other people who should not be partaking in anything described as physically demanding. I wish I could get into their heads—do they really think they are “fit” or do they think the description is inaccurate or that there will be options if they can’t climb out of the ravine? Anyway, with hearts pounding, they put one penny loafer in front of the other and made it out alive. Then brother, nieces and I went for a real fitness hike, complete with switchbacks and a gazebo atop the mountain. The view was awesome and we could see all the way to the Delaware Water Gap. In between all these outdoor activities, there was a belly dancing class, water aerobics, and the great indoor sport of eating large quantities of food. In addition to huge buffets for breakfast and lunch, there was the omelet man, the crepe man, and the stir fry guy. Luckily there were lots of healthy choices, so while I definitely ate too much, at least I ate too much good food and not junk. Except for the chocolate obsession dessert, with ice cream.

So at one point I decided to call the kids at camp especially so they could talk to grandma. Son #1 gets on the phone and the first sentence he utters is “I broke my ankle.” That kinda put a damper on things, especially since the camp had called my cell phone but I didn’t have it turned on. To make a long story short, we were not that far away from the camp, so we picked up his xray at the hospital, picked him up at camp, brought him home, had our favorite orthopedist check him out and put a real cast on, and then took him back to camp. The only glitch is that the break is oblique, kinda like a fault line in his bone. The doctor wants to be sure it doesn’t slide out of alignment, so he needs to see the doctor and have it xrayed once a week for the next 3 weeks. Luckily the camp is only 80 miles from home, so DH will pick him up on Monday evenings and I will take him to the doctor and then bring him back to camp on Tuesdays. Ah, keeps life interesting. It’s always something, right?

A Poem about the Lifecycle

In my attempt to appreciate poetry, I found an anthology of poems entitled Boomer Girls: Poems by women of the baby boomer generation.  Edited by Pamela Gemin & Paula Sergi. Here’s one that immediately connected.


Fitness Club: Riding the Lifecycle
By Judith Hougen

The control panel counts time, calories, miles
gone, outlining hills to come, the red lights
beating calmly, saying the place you need to go
is at least 15 pounds from here, how willing

are you?  mile after mile.  I could have pedaled
these phantom wheels across America by now.
Anchored to this amputee of the modern age,
I give away the last thickness of fat to computerized

inclines, to a blinding honesty that must negotiate
with everything I see.  After years of struggling through
a life fed by half-truths, I am laying down the past like
the careful molasses of asphalt: a thick methodical

roadway.  It doesn’t solve everything, but it’s real.
I am willing to hold the sad weight of every lie
I told while raging at the world through my body.
These days movement is no longer

optional.  I have learned to welcome
the sanity of each mile, to love the woman
inside this engine, who reinvents the wheel
daily and now has important places to go.

Hurts So Good

I've spent the last week (since the kids went to camp) kicking my own ass, with a little help from a personal trainer. To prove what a warrior woman I am, today I went to the gym twice! Today I didn't have to commute into NYC and I didn't have to be at work until 9:30, so I went to the gym early, did a little cardio to warm up, then got beaten up by aforementioned personal trainer. I was done with work in the late afternoon, but since the weather has sucked for the last 5 or 6 days and taking the Trek out was not a good option, and DH had to work late, I went back for a spin class. That proved to be the proverbial "icing on the cake." I am officially beat! The abs, the inner thighs, the triceps, you know the feeling. It hurts so good!