My Day Ahead – Sept 17, 2019

Today

Today no early class! That’s good for a couple of reasons, rest and we got word we can pick up the 6 year old at school and have him spend the night.

That’ll be plenty of exercise all on its own, lol! ❤️

I may try to do the post about my most viewed images at Fine Art America 2nd week of this month, plus format the files to submit to Old Bakery & Emporium for the Dec ‘19 gallery show.

*

Yesterday

Day Break
(blogging worries, breakfast)
Well, it was bound to happen 😊 my feared potential-drought of ideas for regular non-My Day Ahead posts went full hurricane and flooded me with possibilities –

• my 1st & 2nd most viewed images on Fine Art America 2nd wk of Sept ‘19
• delivering my art work for the U.S. Veterans Art Show
• updating (major update) a great 2011 post
• upload a new poster to eBay
• fill out the online submission form to do the December art show at the Old Bakery & Emporium

And I’ve already forgotten what else, lol 😂

So what to do?!!

Why coffee of course 😊

And prioritize my health and recovery; in the process, listening to me 2011 self in that 2011 post needing updating ❤️

So coffee, breakfast, and onto the Y!

*

Morning
(walk/run at The Y)
Traffic in Austin is redundant, so I won’t bother describing the..no, I won’t do it 😊

Wife & I did experiment on the way back (no class deadline to meet) and found one really nice laid out road we can also try getting to the Y next time. If you live in Austin the name of the street is a secret 🤫 but if you’re out of town, and need to get from deep South Austin to the Y at 290, try Escarpment Blvd 🤫

Sheila went to the morning Zumba Gold class, which I miss dearly, but that muc movement I know way better than try yet!

My task was to walk the track and get myself close to my used-to-be minimal goal of 7500+ steps for the day.

Even walking slow, taking my time, stopping at one of the many indoor water fountains along the upstairs walking track, I knew if I kept it up for at least 30 minutes, I had a shot at hitting 7500 later in the day. I’d been walking consistently enough since Jan this year before the gallbladder decided it’s had it, and I’ve a pretty good idea (worked out over months) how much can be done, well, what I can get done 😊 and in what amt of time.

I started slowly, as I usually do. Pretty rare I’m raring to go fast, even in walking!

I believe in warm-ups and cool-downs & think skipping or being denied them (via the class structure) is not in my best interests.

And for me it’s been very infrequent that one or both were skipped.

My problem stems more from me needed more warm-up or cool-down or both.

So the best solution, but no class I know of can completely satisfy everyone’s need for or adversity to warming up or cooling down. Lot of folks think they can cool down walking back to the car, or sitting in a subway car. Or warmup walking quickly into the exercise room. Or just not caring ‘cause they just don’t see it as necessary for them. It feels like they’re wasting their time not doing it, ie, getting on with exertion.

And there is a school of thought that after a brief warm-up, it’s really good to jump start the heart beat.

These are all legitimate viewpoints, especially for each individual to make.

And that really should be with your medical provider’s feedback.

So at my age with an ongoing recovery, starting slow feels really good 😊

The walking/running lap at the Y has a sign saying 13 laps makes a mile. I pass it at a really slow clip. Get passed by two lady seniors and one wanna-be senior guy, lol! The track itself circles part of the second level. It has periodic windows with wide high views of trees and sky. There’s walls of pictures of participants with positive words of encouragement and acceptance. Nice. There’s a view of the basketball court below on 1/2 the track’s loop. There’s views of rooms of people in yoga poses, seniors doing cha cha in Zumba Gold. My wife’s in there 😊 On the opposite side of the track’s loop is weights and pulley’s area with lots of seniors in it. Even enough floor room for one to comfortably do some yoga mat work.

That took about 3 or so laps to take in.

One walker on the phone lapped me 5 times to my 3.

By lap four I was warming up, reaching overhead, one arm first, then the other, reaching for nothing, happy to stretch. I pulled one arm first then the other across my chest and held it with my other arm. That felt good too.

My goal was 30 minutes and was in less than 10 so far. Thought, might as well settle in. Traffic on the 290 elevated (through one of the windows) was thinning out. A tall young man I thought was playing another guy in the basketball court, but soon realized one was coaching the other, hands on the younger guy’s shoulders to square his approach (I guessed) to the net. The younger guy would swerve left, then right, 2, 3 times, then shoot. All net. He was good, but seemed glad the slightly older man was working his approach to the net.

Stopped for my 1st water break. Nice to have fountains in several places round the track; didn’t have to carry my own bottle like outside. Got lapped by the seniors again, but not as quickly as before. Lady on her cell never looked up, lapped me too, also not quite as quickly as at first.

I increased my arm raises, alternating arms, doing sets of one arm then the other and, when no one was behind me, windmilled them slowly forward, then back, forward, then back, trying to end my sets twirling them back to help lift my chest, straighten my posture.

At 15 minutes in I stopped in the seniors area (though I’m not sure it’s exclusive, just that us old folks were certainly monopolizing it, lol 😊 ). Cubby hole cabinets had yoga equipment, weights, and a few small balls. I grabbed the two lightest weights left, each 3 lbs. Heavier and my arms get stronger but the muscles in my neck expand too much and pinch the nerves round my scoliosis and herniated discs. I eased back onto the track like a Chevette on a race track of Mustangs. I loved my old blue Chevette back in the late 70s & early 80s. Drove my kids and sister and her little girl from Houston to Colorado, the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Garden of the Gods, and back. Only thing I didn’t drive it to was the top of Pike’s Peak. Took a small gauge train up the mountain. So I didn’t mind being the slow car 😊

Kept my pace with the weights and made several laps, again doing arm raises. No twirls, lol! Left arm needed more repetitions, stiffer than my right side. Got lapped again, some by new people on the track. The ones from before noticed I’d added weights and was moving a “little” quicker, and, was lifting them. One senior lady outside one of the exercise rooms who’d watched me circle, smiled. A good smile. I always try to smile back.

20 minutes in I pulled in to the seniors area for another pit stop. Replaced the weights with a soft cushiony ball about 5 inches in diameter, one I could sink my fingers into just slightly for good grip. That way I could hand it hand to hand, right to left, left to right, back and forth, lap after lap. I could feel my left side struggle to match my right side. I really like this kind of ball. Had to search all kinds of categories to find what I wanted then ordered one when I got home. Found therapy balls, tune-up balls, myofascial balls, toning balls, medicine balls. Searched for a soft exercise ball. Read the reviews, questions asked, number of reviews, size. Looked at the pictures, saw where the fingers could pinch softly into the ball – easy to hold, toss, catch. Variety of weight choices, color coded. Oh yeah, and the price 😊

I picked up the pace.

Wasn’t being lapped as much.

30 minutes in, felt comfortable enough to start tossing the ball, hand to hand, right to left, left to right, tossing it across my chest, hands close together. Keeping my pace and tossing felt good. Fun! I had to control my pace, legs, arms, especially circling the railing bordering the huge opening down to the basketball court. I heard the older guy ask the other if he needed to stop for water. “No.” They squared off, older man’s hands on the younger man’s shoulders, directing his swerves left to right, right to left, and then the shot. Net, all net. I passed the exercise rooms and saw my wife hip-shift left to right, right to left, following music filling the room. Her silence was music. All net.

Felt my legs limber, move quicker, concentrated keeping the ball in the air going between my open hands, then switched, handing the ball hand to hand again but behind my back. Tricky. Once, twice. Too tricky. Kept the ball in one hand.

Pulled in to the senior enclave and left off the two balls.

Noticed the yoga lady had left.

The two oldest senior men too.

Several ladies stretched in separate areas.

I rounded the wall with pictures of happy people.

Looked out the tall glass windows at the trees and clouds.

And felt I could do it, what I hadn’t since spring before the surgeries.

I rounded the straightaway to the far windows filled with tree tops, could hear the squeak of tennis shoes on the basketball floor and moved into a slow jog.

The new walking running shoes Sheila bought me cushioned the weight of my step.

I made one lap, lapsed back into a walk, the way I always did on indoor tracks.

Lap walked one lap.

Now I would see where I was now.

Lifted into a jog, felt the slight lift in my legs from before, before my 1st job around.

Sensed my legs stretch their stride, cover more space, more track, than before; went fast enough I caught someone’s eye, but had to concentrate, keep steady, pace, was tempted to sprint finishing the lap, but didn’t.

Lap walked. Breathing harder.

Saw the water fountains. Knew if I stopped, I’d stop.

Rounded the photo wall and 1st window to the world and broke into a run, felt my legs stretch out in a bounce, knew immediately it’d be a fast lap, very fast – sped by the basketball court, sped by a younger man in the slow lane, saw him glance up, smile. A good smile. Sped past the first exercise room, sped past where Sheila swirled, sped toward the seniors area and broke into a sprint, straight into the curve by the 1st large windows and carried into the straightaway and stopped, walked, hands on hips, my breath pushing. I closed my mouth, lips soft, forced air through my nose, into my lungs, kept my belly soft, walked, hands on hips, kept the air filled up into my chest, belly still soft. My breath calmed. Rounded the basketball court, heard the younger guy on the court laugh for the first time, a good laugh. I glanced down. He and his teacher coach were seated on the rim, talking, having water. Members were spilling out the 1st exercise room. Sheila’s was running late. I kept walking. Rounded into the senior area, took a deep breath, headed back to where Sheila was. Drank some water, held it softly in my mouth, let it sink into the linings, between my teeth, on my tongue. There wasn’t much left to swallow. Took another drink from the fountain near the door to the room with Sheila. As I walked toward the room to take a peek, the door opened, and Sheila came out.

My both smiled. Good smiles.

We both knew instantly.

We’d done good.

💕

*

Evening
Sore, both of us, lol!

Sheila’d gone w/friends for lunch and in the evening we had a fruit snack supper. Cut slices of nectarine, couple of Little Cuties (says for kids, but grandparents is close enough 💕 😊 ), a banana, and a sprinkle of grapes. I’ve found when I don’t have some fruit early evening my stomach doesn’t settle as well. Then treated myself (testing it first to see it’d go down) a helping of organic popped popcorn, fresh from the bag!

Watched the dance show finale (SYTYCD). Probably the best top 10 we’ve seen in many many seasons.

And gladly called it a night 🌙 ☺️

*

My Related Blog Posts

• Aging Gracefully – Walking’s Paying Off After Surgery, Step by Step
• Adan’s Gratitudes – Walking With Birds
• Paris in 5 1/2 Weeks : Photos # 7 – Walking to the Eiffel Tower (Day 7, 1 of 2)
• Poetics – A French Twist For Quatorze Juillet, Walking in Paris

Plus –

*

Related Amazon Search & Products

Walking Fitness

I do like to point out I pick my selections to showcase from my Amazon searches. May not always be the case, or wholly always the case, but for now, I prefer picking titles and book covers and gift items that just really appeal to me. There’s lots more to choose from, but only have so much room, lol! I hope you enjoy —

Thanks so much everyone! 😊

Adan

Twitter / Instagram / FB @FelipeAdanLerma
Amazon Author Page – https://amzn.to/2YpgyUf
Fine Art America (FAA) – https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/felipeadan-lerma.html