Fitting Fitness into a Busy Life

I was talking to my friend Saul one day about making it to one of his workouts, and how I just didn't have time ... when he said, "You've just got to tell them (presumably all the people in my life -- like my boss), that you've got something more important to do (meaning workout).

It's the truth. What he said. I remember reading the beginning of a book about whole wheat bread baking, The Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book, which went to great lengths to describe how to incorporate bread baking, or other things, like raising a cow, into one's life. Serious plans for baking bread regardless of work schedules, day care, or any of a variety of other interference.

Making a space in life for the important things, like personal health, is pretty imperative, I suppose. So I quit the climbing gym, and signed up at the Y near my house.

This morning I turned my morning shower in to a workout. I got up, drank some juice and grabbed a hard boiled egg, and brushed my teeth, gym bag, drive, stop for coffee, drive, swim, shower, drive to work.

Normally, it takes me about an hour and a half from my bed to shower, coffee and get the car on the freeway to work. This morning I was up at 6:45 and on the way to work at 8:30, an hour and forty-five minutes. By getting up a few minutes early, I squeezed in a half hour swim. Amen to that.

day/month/year
Swim: 500 yd/100 yd/5650 yd.
Run: 0/0/9.55 mi.
Bike: 0/0/15 mi.
Paddle: 0/4 mi.
Hike: 1.5 mi/11.4 mi/28.8 mi.

today/month/year

Swim: 500 yd/500 yd/5150 yd.
Run: 0/0/9.55 mi.
Bike: 0/0/15 mi.
Paddle: 0/4 mi.
Hike: 2.5 mi/2.5 mi/19 mi.

Weight: 152

Hump Day

today/month

Swim: 500 yd/5150 yd.
Run: 0/4.75 mi. 15:05
Bike: 0/15 mi. (machine)
Paddle: 0/4 mi.
Hike 0/15 mi.

Weight: 154

Monday Wash Day ...

I swam 20 laps in about 30 minutes. Much better than last time.

today/month

Swim: 1000 yd/4650 yd.
Run: 1.25/3.25 mi.
Bike: 0/14 mi.
Paddle: 0/4 mi.
Hike 0/15 mi.

Weight: 154

These are my bike buddies immediately after one of them crashed, shortening what was promising to be about a 10 mile ride, down to about 5. There's blood in that picture -- if you look.

So -- 5 mile cycling and 900 yards swimming. Why, you might ask? Ummm, errr, it's like Sunday.

today/this month

Swim: 900/2650 yds.
Run: 0/1 mi.
Bike: 5/14 mi.
Paddle: 0/4 mi.
Hike 0/15 mi.

20 laps today ... I think I might have had a bit of a break through. It took me about 45 minutes to do that, because I had to stop and catch my breathe a lot. It's to be a 25 yard pool, so that's 1000 yards.

I was actually able to put several laps together without stopping to catch my breath.

Swim: 1000/1750 yds.
Run: 0/1 mi.
Bike: 0/9 mi.
Paddle: 0/4 mi.
Hike 0/15 mi.

Ho Hum ...

So it's Friday night. I remember in college when I didnt have a date on Friday night. I would go and do my laundry at the laundromat and see if I could run into some other person "too busy" to go out on a Friday night. Another option might be to go to the gym, or the pool, or a women's basketball game.

I just got back from the gym, surprisingly it's much busier on Thursday night than Friday. Last night I ran a 1/2 on the elliptical and a 1/2 on the treadmill, 15 minutes on the rowing machine, and did an awesome upper body workout, along with 15 minutes in the spa.

Tonight 15 laps in the pool - mostly freesytyle sprints with a lot of gasping for air in between.

Swim: 750 yrds.
Run: 1 mile
Bike: 0
Paddle: 0