On the Road Again

Ok, the fake road. The indoor with AC because it's more humid than humid outside road. The treadmill. Also, raise your hand if you sang the title to this post. 😂

When I turned 50 a while back (ha!) I thought I'd join the senior center instead of a gym because while the gym provides a good deal of eye candy, the senior center would put me in the midst of 'my people' and I thought I'd be way more comfortable with them than the eye candy since the 'eye candy' lot are not 'my people.'

Since NashvilleDaughter and DrummerBoy decided to tie-the-knot I quickly realized I am tired of being the fat MOB (mother-of-the-bride) and yes I used the word fat and it's fine because I'm talking about myself and it is what it is and I am what I am so there.

Why not just walk outside? I used to do that but over the last couple years I've gotten out of the habit and the humidity is putting forth a serious effort to finally kill me so, at least for now, it needs to be inside.

Why didn't I just join the senior center? Because I decided, after my tour, I was not a fan of being shown up on a treadmill by an 85-year-old on an elliptical (which is the evilest machine ever made) so I just became sedentary which was such a great help.

I finally decided to give Planet Fitness a go. I have friends who go there and Y'all, it's only $10/month and they do not bill you annually and you can cancel at any time AND I joined for a mere $1.00. WooHoo! TeacherDaughter also has a membership (though her's is the $20/month because she's fancy. And has a job.) so we've been going together for 3 weeks now which is great because that actually gets me in the gym.

I think it was on our 3rd day that they showed up. Who? Those 85-year-olds. There they were on the ellipticals showing up even the eye candy. These older folks go to town on those things and TALK while doing it! Are you kidding me? I can't talk while I'm on the treadmill because NO BREATH. If that's not bad enough there are people who, now get this---RUN to the gym for their workout and then RUN home. Showoffs. Sadly, I have one of those in my own family. Traitor. Anyway...

Do I like Planet Fitness? I do. The people working out keep to themselves and most of them make sure not to jump on the machine right beside you which I like because I need at least 10-foott radius from others. The employees, so far, are all super friendly and helpful without being the least bit intrusive. The price is RIGHT! The machines are plentiful and there are options when choosing a workout. They do have trainers. I met one after a class he taught but since the younger people who
just took the class looked like they were about to pass out I'm pretty sure you won't see me taking one. He was super perky anyway and when I'm sweating like someone working in a warehouse with no AC wearing wool on the hottest day of the year you don't want to put perky in my face.

The thing I like most about Planet Fitness is how clean it is. Those people know how to keep a place clean and to a germaphobe like me, that's HUGE. I also like that no one in there seems to pay one bit of attention to anyone else in there and I like that because I hate to be watched.

Of course, every gym has THAT ONE person who comes dressed in arrogance and self-importance but she's so far out of my fitness league I should never have to encounter her. Oh and to the middle-aged lady flirting with that middle-aged, MARRIED man---I saw you. You should probably back off. Just sayin'. What can I say? Sometimes people are brazen right in front of my face.

So, Planet Fitness gets a big YES vote from me. It's only been 3 weeks but I don't expect any of this to change. It's fun and I need to get this weight off and getting fit again won't hurt anything so hopefully, I'll keep going even though I'll have to go solo starting next week.

What are y'all doing to get or keep yourselves fit?

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Now, where did I put that bag of potato chips?

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My Little Mountain Getaway, Part 1

I got a little idea in my head that traveling as an empty nester might be an enjoyable thing. So, I found a cabin rental in the mountains of NC and sat back waiting, excitedly, for my first vacation in nearly 30 years.

Finding the cabin was easy via VRBO- (and the fact that my cousin owns the place but I promise this review is honest.) Getting to go alone was not easy. Nor did it happen. Before I knew what hit me, every single one of the lovelies was coming with me as well as SILextraordinaire and DrummerBoy. AND, Dad and my wonderful step-mom said they would come up for a day to celebrate Christmas since we would be there the day after for 7 days. Not to mention Tucker. But he was going anyway.

The cabin is located in Lake Lure, NC. Did y'all know that part of DIRTY DANCING was filmed there? And THE HUNGER GAMES? Yep. Deanie, who LOVES the movie, DIRTY DANCING, wanted to see where, exactly, they filmed in Lake Lure. So, Breezy asked Siri: "Where was DIRTY DANCING filmed?" Siri replied: "I do not see any theaters showing the movie DIRTY DANCING." Siri was NO HELP.

I took this one on one of our little sightseeing trips.

It's a good thing that the cabin could sleep 8 people (technically, 6. But there is a pull out sofa so, 8)

The first two words that came to mind when we walked into the cabin were, clean and cozy. Which meant this vacation was off to a perfect start. Even if I would be sharing it with 6 other people and had to ride up in a clown car (which is the subject of another post entirely.)

This is the view upon entry---

And, when you turn around, you see this (it was much more orderly before we unpacked):

Though some less selfish folks might have given the master bedroom that housed the king size bed in it to those who would be sharing a room, I am not one of those types. I took that one for myself. And Tucker.

The others had to fend for themselves. Not that it was difficult- there was another bedroom next to the master.

And yet another bedroom downstairs.

Then there was the pull out sofa.

There were two full bathrooms. One upstairs---with a bathtub/shower.

One downstairs with a shower stall.

The main room upstairs was cozy and had a lovely view. I bet that, during the summer, you truly feel like you're actually living in a tree house. Except at night. Because night time up there gives dark a whole new meaning. Take a nightlight.

Downstairs was another social area that included a fireplace and second television. (Though I'm not sure why anyone would want to watch it with all the gorgeousness surrounding them outside.)

There is a washer and a dryer in that closet.

The fireplace is behind me in this one.

And then, here's one with the door behind me. The view from the sliding glass doors is lovely. And there is a cement patio out there.

The patio ends and a path around the side to the front begins.

The patio runs the length of the cabin.

The upstairs deck wraps and runs along the side to the front-- my cousin will be making this section into a grilling deck this year.

The back deck will be extended to make it easier to dine outside. Many an hour was spent by all of us on that swing with a hot cuppa and a good book or just some quiet time. The sounds of the birds and the rustling of tiny animals was so relaxing. There was one time when I felt that the rustling might be from a larger animal but I never saw anything. Of course, I had moved to the inside so...It was probably just that bobcat that DoodleBug saw on our last day up there. YIKES!

Some days, the mountains were covered by clouds. It was lovely, regardless. It gave me a nice, peaceful feeling watching the clouds move in and cover the mountains. But then, the whole vacation gave me that feeling from the cabin to the scenery. When I took Tucker for walks or sat out on the deck, and was very quiet, the birds, the rustlings, the wind through the trees...all of it, was like a soothing lullaby. It was quite lovely.

There is a gym RIGHT OUTSIDE THE DOOR. When you leave the cabin and head to the right, you almost immediately embark upon a steep climb but, instead of being cooped up inside a stuffy, stinky gym, you are outside in the fresh, crisp air surrounded by lovely scenery. AND, if it's more scenery you want, there are more steep inclines not that far away. :)

Doesn't look that bad from the top looking down. Only we aren't at the top yet. 

A strong and very important reminder: IF you go down in the mountains, you MUST, at some point, go back up. One morning, on our morning walk, Tucker and I took a different route. It was steeper than I thought going DOWN hill and then, it got worse because I saw the up hill dead ahead. It was at this point that I remembered that IF YOU GO DOWN IN THE MOUNTAIN, YOU MUST GO BACK UP. Ok, the question quickly became, "Do I continue forward or turn around and go back?" When I looked back, I decided to keep moving forward. That hill was KILLER going down. I was NOT climbing back up. But I should have. Because the hill ahead of me, which seemed less steep, seemed so only due to the deceptiveness of the curve at, what I assumed was, the top. Nope. And then, when we FINALLY reached the top and I was able to breathe normally once again due to a leveling off, there was the steepest hill yet right in front of my face.

Should you come to stay in this lovely cabin, AVOID walking on Pheasant Street. A.V.O.I.D.

That entire walk logged only 1653 steps on my Fitbit. But it logged 6 flights of stairs. SIX, people. SIX. I've never been so glad that Tucker has to stop to sniff and pee on everything as those were the only times I could catch what little breath I had left.

All of the roads are steep up and down and curvy. You can get motion sickness in the car. And stop breathing when you walk. Ha! But no matter how you go, EVERYONE you meet greets you with a smile and a wave. Lake Lure is filled with nice, friendly people.

The location of our mountain getaway was perfect. It's pretty much dead center to fun places to visit such as Asheville, Rutherfordton, Hendersonville, Black Mountain, Chimney Rock...Lake Lure itself is a charming little place.

There are nature trails, zip lining, those cute little roadside vendors, river walks, adorable shops in the towns, golf courses...and if that's not enough for you, there are tons more things to do while surrounded by stunning scenery.

This nature trail was closest to the cabin. Don't bother looking at the trail options. They are ALL strenuous. The board lies.

I started the 25 degree morning with a lovely (and by lovely I mean KILLER) walk on the nature trail with Tucker, DoodleBug, and Alex (a friend of DoodleBugs who lives in Asheville). Holy Crap. The Fitbit registered that little walk at 4033 steps and 12 flights of stairs. TWELVE. In about an hour. It. Was. Brutal. B.R.U.T.A.L. At one point they took the strenuous trail and I took the moderate trail. The first up was ridiculous. This was followed by a level out and curve. When I looked ahead (because you really have to pay attention to your steps due to all the exposed roots) I see the next hill. It looked like this:  

Y'all think I'm kidding but I'm not. I didn't take a picture because I wasn't breathing at the time and I might have been a bit pissed about seeing that steep of a hill. 

Nope. Not going to happen. Tucker and I turned around to go back. Much to my mortification, we were pretty dang far in there and had to walk up some more because, come to find out, most of our hike in had been more of a down hill jaunt. Terrific. Let me just say that these people don't know a damn thing about level ground. Nothing. 

The beginning of the trail look easy enough. That was deceiving. 

See? The whole time, we're going at a downward angle going in.

Those signs are misleading. Nothing was easy and, their idea of moderate means that they do not know the definition of 'moderate'.

There was a golf course running alongside the trail and I notice a few idiots enjoying some ice golfing. 

Seriously. 

I will say, proudly (and gratefully because none of this killed me) that, by the end of the week, the Fitbit was registering nearly 6000 steps and 15 flights of stairs. Of course, I was also so sore that I wondered if I'd be able to get in the car for the trip home.

As it must do, the sun set on our sweet mountain vacation. Tucker and I enjoyed our last sunset from the upstairs deck one last time. It was bittersweet. Mostly bitter as I was not ready to give up this little piece of paradise.

I know this was a long post. But just think how long it would have been had I not decided to split it into parts! LOL And I probably left something out of this first one.

Thanks for reading and looking! And stay tuned for Part 2. And Part 3. And...;)

A License To Go SLOW

Over the weekend, on my way to Trader Joe's, I passed three women 'running' down our main road. Coming back from Trader Joe's, I saw another one. These women were 'running' at my speed. Which I like to call walking, with finesse.

I thought I was the only one in town (or maybe even the world) who runs so s-l-o-w-l-y. It's a real issue with me, actually. A runner friend told me that it doesn't matter how fast or slow I go, as long as I keep moving and stay with it. I try to internalize that advice but, no matter how hard I try, I end up trying to run fast and then I get frustrated and/or injured.

I'm sure it doesn't help one bit that everyone I pass when I'm out there is in their 30s and 40s and their slow pace is faster than my fastest pace. Hell, they walk faster than I run. And, when I see them or hear them coming, I speed up because I can hear their thoughts-- "Crazy old woman, why don't you just walk so we don't have to call 911 for you?" Or, "Poor old thing, I guess she's taking the 'slow and steady' philosophy to heart." As soon as I speed up, I regret it. Now I have to keep this ridiculous pace until they catch up and pass me. What an idiot. By time they do, finally, pass by, I can hardly breathe. I want to call someone to come get me. Even though I'm less than a quarter mile from the house.

But now, I've seen them. There are more out there like me. And they're younger. And they're running MY RUN. I feel like I will be running everywhere I go now. It's like these women gave me a license to do so-- freely. Without care or concern about what anyone else has to say or thinks (and, really, I doubt they even notice me).

I just hope it works when that 70+ year old is coming my way. He outruns all of us.

A Few Lessons Learned

This is not all about those life lessons I've learned along the way. Not that it would take me so long because I've learned so much rather, it would take more than a blog post or ten to discuss the frustrations of the lessons that I stubbornly refuse to learn.

No, this is about the lessons I've learned regarding empty nest fitness. Hey, at least I'm learning something.

What I've learned about personal fitness:

• Having a fitness buddy doesn't work for me. I prefer to workout by myself because I work at my own pace and I change, frequently, what I am going to do each day. Right now, I'm working hard on running and having someone doing it with me would be fatal to my efforts. I probably enjoy running because it's such a loner thing to do anyway. 
• No matter what workout I choose, the process is long. It takes a LONG time to get fit once you've been sedentary for years. 
• Noticing the little changes on a daily basis is much better than setting a long term goal for myself. I need to see positive differences as quickly as possible or else I'll get frustrated and shut down. When I run and notice something fitting looser, for example, I am very motivated to run the next time. And I feel good all day long.
• When I do start to get winded or tired while running, I remind myself that there was a time when I could only run about 30 feet before I had to stop. Seriously. Thirty. Feet. This memory drives me to keep going. 
• I can overcome challenges to fitness. At first I had to overcome being so overweight that exercising was rough. Really rough. But I kept going. Now, I'm still overweight (though not as much) but my fitness level has increased a ridiculous amount. I can run up the stairs at school whereas a few years ago I could hardly walk up a flight of stairs. I can for 27 minutes whereas, a few years ago, I couldn't run more than 30 feet at a time. I can walk anywhere for any distance. I can complete a Julian Michaels' workout and feel refreshed instead of doing a half-assed job and feeling like I was dying. There are so many things I can do now. Like, live. 
• I have control over my negative self. I can take him down quicker than the blink of an eye. Seriously, as soon as I even have a remote feeling that he is about to sabotage me, I shut him down. He doesn't even get the first word out of his mouth anymore. 
• I am not one to pick a workout and stick with it. I have changed my workouts so much that I wonder if I could remember them all. And that's ok for me. Right now, running- whether Couch 2 5K or interval-- is working and I enjoy it. But, with my track record, it's subject to change. 
• I finally learned to take a break as soon as something doesn't feel right. This has made a huge difference in the amount of time I have to stay away from working out. Before, I would just go until I was hurt and had to stop for a month or so. Now, it's no more than a day or two. 
• I've learned that ice is my BFF when it comes to working out. 
• I have learned to slow down and appreciate the journey. 

This whole fitness thing has been a long journey. And it's far from over. Once you start it, you never stop. But, really, why would you want to? It makes you feel so much better. It leads to self discovery. It wards off illness. It makes you look better. It will make you life longer. What's not to love about getting fit?!

The Fitness Path is HARD

How can we make a conscious effort to get fit? What, exactly does it take for us to take the first step and keep stepping on a regular basis?

I have to wonder if the answers lie within each of us, individually. I mean, what works for one might not work for another. But it's still good to know what others are doing- just in case something sparks that fire within us to get up and get started. And then, keep going.

I've tried many, many (manymanymanymanymany) different ways to get started on a fitness path consistently for the last 3.5 years (inconsistently before that). I've only recently discovered something that I have been able to stick with.

I remember clearly the days of excuses.

• I don't have time (I wouldn't want exercising getting in the way of watching television of sitting on my duff with the computer)
• I'm tired (of course you are dummy, you're sitting on your duff all day)
• I can't afford the gym membership (and, apparently, you can't afford the free stuff like walking either)
• I'm busy with the kids (no you're not, the kids are all grown up--and, even if they were still little, it would be great for them to see you working out and maybe even doing it with you)
• I'm working (not 24/7 you aren't, fit it in)
• I don't want to (guess that's what will go on your tombstone)
• I'm surrounded by unsupportive people (so what, do you seriously let the attitude and opinion of others influence what you do/say/feel/believe?)
• The weather is too hot/cold/rainy/windy/etc (so do it inside, duh)
• I don't have anything to wear (right, like you don't have any clothes that you can sweat in)

The list of excuses went on and on and on and on... 

There are a gazillion excuses out there for NOT getting started. We all have them. We all use them. Of all the  excuses though, MOTIVATION (or lack thereof) is the big mama. 

No one, not one single soul, can motivate us to get fit other than ourselves. It takes self motivation. That's my take anyway. 

I've begun because a friend was doing it and looking great. It didn't take.

I've begun because a special event was forthcoming and I wanted to look good. It didn't take.

I've begun because I didn't want to be fat anymore. It didn't take.

I've begun because I wanted to enjoy going places and doing things. It didn't take. 

I've begun because I wanted people to think I was really awesome working out at my age. It didn't take.

I've begun out of boredom. It didn't take. 

I've begun because of how I looked in pictures It didn't take.

Blahblahblahblah. Some of you have probably heard it all before as well. 

I've started and stopped so many times I ought to be darn fit by now! I am more fit now than I have been in YEARS. AGES. EONS. Since college probably. Undergrad because in grad school, I partied A LOT. 

I've got a library full of DVDs and VHSs---yep, I've been at this whole start/stop thing since we used VHSs. I've worked out inside and outside. I've gone to the gym (yuck) and to classes (double yuck). I've bought the treadmill and I've bought the cute workout clothes (yes, they come in large, lard ass sizes). I've probably done about all there is to do. Including Richard Simmons Dancin' to the Oldies. 

So what finally happened that put me on the fitness track to stay? 

I think it was when I decided I wanted to get fit just to be fit and not to lose weight. And to do it for myself and no one else. 

I also stopped stressing over it. I just decided I was going to do it. I think it also helped to find something that I could commit too with relative ease --the Synergy plan. 

I thought the running was going to do it for me but no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get my breathing to cooperate. I know it's still a problem because I'm still trying every so often and the breathing is still an issue. 

After committing to the Synergy plan for 8 weeks (well, 7 actually because I got sick that last week) I noticed a HUGE increase in my fitness level. When I started back three weeks later (I hate being sick) my fitness was at an all time high. Which was odd because I thought I'd have to start all over again.

I'm still working out daily. I walk Tucker every single morning for at least one mile and, on the weekday afternoons, I alternate between Sprint 8/weights and plyometrics/stretching.

This plan is working for me because--

• it's doable
• it doesn't take a long time
• I don't have to leave home
• it's FREE
• I enjoy it
• I'm sticking with it
• MY FITNESS LEVEL IS STILL INCREASING
• I've gone down two sizes since I started it

So, yes. It took me starting and stopping for years before I found something I can stick with for longer than a  few weeks. And yes, I still think how far along I would be had I not gone through all that starting and stopping. 

I guess it was all necessary- though I can't see it right now. Other than my motivation was WRONG. And then there were the times it was MISSING. All that led to where I am now- my body is used to the working out and it craves it. I doubt I could stop if I wanted to. Luckily, I don't want to. 

Not right now anyway.

What gets you motivated and keeps you that way where fitness is concerned?