The doctor (and physical therapist) showed me of X-rays of my arthritic knees. They admonished me to stop the jumping rope, box jumps, and sprints I’ve been doing in exercise classes. Also, forget about my recently renewed interest in running. Waaaaaaa. I LOVE all these things. I’ve loved progressing in my running with dreams of running longer distances. The news really bummed me out.
Now I’m dabbling in lower impact cardio…back to spin class, some swimming, the rowing machine. I’m not falling in love, but I’m trying.
Today was fun (sort of). I planned to drop my car off for a service after spin class. Then I thought… I could bring my bike and ride the 11+ miles home instead. I was apprehensive. I haven’t done this type ride, in high traffic areas, in a long time. My nervousness surprised me. I scouted out where the bike trail began. During the ride I went slow. I walked my bike across quite a few intersections. I worried about falling and sustaining a debilitating injury. The heat bugged me. My hands were numb and my feet hurt. What a baby, I thought. I also thought the only way to like it more and feel less nervousness (and pain) is to do it more.
On the bright side, I also loved the adventure, being out and about. The hills and straight-aways were easy because of my recent cardio and strength workouts. I loved the fresh air, the scenery, and interacting with people along the way.
Here’s something else I loved…using the app Strava. Isn’t this cool? It maps the ride, gives elevations, total minutes, minutes per mile, and more. Here’s my ride.
Next to it is my old school tracking of the same ride…65 minutes on April 20, 2008. 17 minutes faster. I wasn’t much of a cyclist then, either, so it’s clear age and fear is slowing me down.
So now I’m at a crossroads. Step it up? Ride more to regain my confidence on the road? Ride again and beat that slow minutes-per-mile time? There’s always that beginners ride with the Marin Cyclists Club NEXT Saturday. (http://www.marincyclists.com/event-1925570?CalendarViewType=1&SelectedDate=5/1/2015)
Or should this little ole lady stick to safer adventures? TBD.
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