In 2006 I began to take my own health and well-being more seriously than before. I’ve not exactly been leading a reckless lifestyle! Just that now I want to feel good all the time.
I’ve traditionally been averse to going to the doctor unless I was really sick. Now I don’t wait. Some infrequent but annoying health issues have driven me back to the doctor when in the past I would have toughed it out. Overall I feel great.
This spring saw me engage in a stretch of continuous exercise that I’d not had in a while. When it began to get light enough in the mornings, I would get up early and ride 5-6 miles around the greenways near my house. I would ride at least twice a week, sometimes more, and kept it up right until it got dark again in the mornings. It felt great to look up at the sun rising right in the middle of my ride. It was safe riding on the roads, too, at that time of day. It’s usually too early for drivers to be yapping on their cellphones.
I saw most of the same faces on the greenway path; people whom I’d look forward to seeing and miss when I didn’t. I also dodged a menagere of killer deer and assassin rabbits, who always waited until the last second to jump in front of me. And I lived to tell about it, something the rabbits may not be able to claim now that hawks have moved into the neighborhood.
On weekends, sometimes the whole family would join in. Nothing gets you in shape faster than doing the routine you always do but dragging 100 pounds behind you!
I do a lot of good thinking while riding. Sometimes I come up with innovative new product ideas.
Since its gotten dark in the mornings I haven’t been out. I miss it. My resting heart rate was in the 50s, prompting nurses to ask if I was an athlete. My heart rate is still in the low 60s and my blood pressure is good (122/70) but I don’t feel the same energy as I did when I was riding. I’d like to put myself into shape for riding one of the long local bike rides, like the MS 150.
I will rededicate myself to cycling (and other exercise) in 2007. This may be the year Kelly gets certified in scuba (and I get recertified).