June 22 - New Baby Steps

After my health crisis, I’ve crept back onto my exercise bike & pedaled along for a bit at a time.  I restarted way back before square one, just leisurely pedaling for 1 mile.  After reassurance from my pulmonologist (lung specialist), I’ve been increasing my efforts in those old, comforting baby steps.  On different days, I cycled 1-1-2-2-2-3-4 miles at a time, and that adds up to 15 miles!

      

June 10 – Not Done Yet

I’ve been feeling so stuck in my journey, my virtual travel adventure, my healthy exercise playtime.  If I can’t exercise enough to make virtual travel mileage, I can’t continue my online explorations & blogging.  I don’t want my medical recovery to take over all of my time & energy & mental exertions either.  

My journey feels stymied.  Dead in the water. 

I keep thinking about the scene in Monty Python & the Holy Grail in which the plague dead are being carted away, but one man insists that he’s not dead & not yet ready to go.  He’s probably near death, but in his efforts to stay with the living he declares more & more healthy optimism.

[excerpted] 

The Dead Collector:  Bring out yer dead.

[a man puts a body on the cart]

Large Man with Dead Body:  Here's one.

The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't:  I'm not dead.

The Dead Collector:  What?

The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't:  I'm not dead.

The Dead Collector:  'Ere, he says he's not dead.

Large Man with Dead Body:  Yes he is.

The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't:  I'm not.

The Dead Collector:  He isn't.

Large Man with Dead Body:  Well, he will be soon, he's very ill.

The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't:  I'm getting better.

Large Man with Dead Body:  No you're not, you'll be stone dead in a moment.

The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't:  I don't want to go on the cart.

Large Man with Dead Body:  Oh, don't be such a baby.

The Dead Collector:  I can't take him.

The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't:  I feel fine.

Large Man with Dead Body:  Well, can you hang around for a couple of minutes? He won't be long.

The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't:  I think I'll go for a walk.

Large Man with Dead Body:  You're not fooling anyone, you know.

The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't:  I feel happy. I feel happy.

It’s a ridiculous scene, and it doesn’t end well for the sick man, but I sometimes feel myself putting on this kind of song & dance act for the doctors, saying “Don’t write me off.”  Don’t throw me into the category of Invalid Patient with nothing left to do but nurse myself along from treatment to checkup.

A good friend reminds me that I have dealt with earlier tribulations by finding creative & subversive ways around obstacles.  I am definitely taking care of myself medically & emotionally, but I’m also looking for ways to move forward in my projects. 

So, I am working on my historical research, even if I don’t post every day.  I am cycling again, even if it’s not every day yet, and even if it’s just one or two miles at a time.  As soon as I’ve completed 15 miles, I’ll be able to resume my virtual travel exploration.  That curiosity & exploration is what makes me feel alive & can pull me forward.

Travel & Exercise Hiatus

I am suddenly seriously ill.  After the initial crisis, I've been told to resume my normal activities as I'm able, but this cannot include cycling 15 miles "uphill" on any day in the foreseeable future.

I hope that I will be able to return to my garden & my playground gym very soon.

I should be able to focus more on my historical research projects for a while, and I will continue to share those discoveries.

May 31 – Ready to Fly ?

My exercise experiment continues to be fun, but I’ve been disappointed in my attempts to simulate a greater variety of ways to travel: rowing, cross-country skiing, kayaking. 

While I was taking a medical respite from rowing, the commercial gym installed a new piece of equipment for a different kind of back extension.  Stand at an angle, then bend down at the hips & straighten up.

Winged Victory (Nike) in Rome, Italy

People using it remind me of the victory stance of the couple at the prow of the Titanic (Rose & Jack in the movie).  It looks like victorious flying!

I was afraid of the equipment.  I was afraid of my own weakness.  Maybe I’d slip & fall off of it.  Maybe my back was too weak, & I’d flop down & be unable to lift my torso up for victory.  Because of these fears & my fascination, I knew I had to approach (cautiously) & continue to explore the possibilities it offered me. 

This equipment doesn’t adjust low enough for my short legs, so can’t use it properly to strengthen my back.   Pooh.  But I was able to get onto it & try a few stances.  I can maintain the victory pose, but it uses my butt & thigh muscles more than my back.  Bending down doesn’t bend me at quite the right angle, and I am, indeed, too weak to use it that way. 

The other back extension equipment that I’ve been using feels good during & after my exercise session.  I can do 3 sets of 15 reps, and I’ve increased the weight I can push with it.  But maybe I should strengthen my back on this before I try again to fly on the prow of this ship.

I had thought that when my virtual bike trip reached Sault Ste. Marie, it would be a good time to buy my plane tickets for my actual trip to Vermont.  But I’m feeling unready in so many ways.  My historical research has not progressed enough to take good advantage of a trip to the Vermont Historical Society archives.  I haven’t saved up enough money to afford a plane ticket.  All of my exercise has strengthened my muscles, but not caused any weight loss for a more comfortable plane ride.  I’m enjoying my journey!  I’m gaining skills in blogging, and it’s bringing me amazing experiences & understandings.  I think I want to finish my virtual trip and enjoy every day intensely before I start planning for my real one.

how-to info:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ3RPHfY5iQ

 images:  Google Image Search

May 28 – Too Much Rowing

I was having so much fun!  I was using the cheap commercial gym and the community gym at the senior center as my own personal playgrounds.  It started with my notion to achieve some of my bike mileage by rowing along Lake Superior.  (Superior Rowing)  

When I explored the different gyms in my vicinity & their equipment (& fees), I didn’t find the perfect rowing simulation, or cross-country skiing either.  So I decided that, for a greater variety of exercise & for more playful opportunities than I was getting from cycling alone, I would use both cheap gyms like children’s playgrounds.  

I did a little of everything fun!  I met with the trainers at each place to set up a program & learn to use their equipment, but I was really looking for a chance to flex muscles & feel stronger & competent.

I was sure that by using machines that cradle my body & keep me in correct position for each exercise, I wouldn’t hurt myself.  I was just enjoying the sense of movement & expecting eventual gradual improvement.  I didn’t strain any muscles, & awoke the next day with a pleasant soreness in the muscles I had used.

But before I knew it, my arms were prickling, like pins-&-needles when a limb “falls asleep” & then wakes up.  And it was getting worse!

I was so afraid that this was a neurological problem, probably progressive & incurable! 

My doctor told me that I must be overworking my shoulders & neck.  I learned that the prickly pins-&-needles feeling, since it’s not really numbness, is called paresthesia.  I felt betrayed by the very thing I was doing to feel better.  I stopped going to the gym for a week to let my shoulder nerves calm down, but continued cycling for mileage. 

After a week, my nerves had, indeed, calmed down, and I went back to the gym to find out what I could do for my back without overworking my shoulders.  I was amazed at how many of the back-strengthening machines involved shoulder action.  I had to cut out 2/3 of them.  I decided to imitate an allergen re-introduction approach: cut out all shoulder activity, then re-introduce one at a time.  I’m moving again!

May 4 – A Young’Un at the Senior Center Gym

After 4 requests and 3 weeks, I got my doctor’s official permission to exercise at the local senior center.  And an appointment to be oriented.  People at the senior center often look at me as if I’m not really old enough to belong there.  I wasn’t sure that I wanted this orientation from an officious gatekeeper, but it’s the price of admission, so I set up the appointment.

The officious gatekeeper disapproves of my shoes (Birkenstock “sandals”), but I insist that these are the only shoes I can wear and, thus, they are the safest option for me.  My feet won’t slide around in them.  We review my health history, and he turns friendly & considerate.  Not patronizing, either.  He is much more inquisitive than the younger fitness trainer at the commercial gym about injuries or weaknesses that may need to be worked around.  At both places, I have to sign away my right to complain (or sue) if unsafe conditions result in a personal injury.

We tour the exercise machines, finding a baseline for my performance on each one that he thinks will be good for me.  I’m surprised at how weak some of my muscle groups are, considering how much I’ve done lately with my cycling & upper body muscles.  And I’m very surprised to discover that some machines at this community center offer muscle workouts that none of the machines at the commercial gym provide!  

I’ve gone far beyond wanting an occasional rowing experience to supplement my cycling exercise.  Now I want a full active playtime and lots of variety from day to day.  I’m wondering how many playtime sessions at the two gyms I can work into my week, along with cycling for mileage.  And gardening.  I feel like I’m really on my way!

May 1 – Teaching the Trainer

I had my introductory session with the trainer at the gym I joined, and we both had some explaining to do. 

I tried to describe my overall health & exercise plan, and how the gym exercise would fit into it.  (I’m too heavy for my strength, and too weak for my body weight.)  So, because I mentioned weight, he wanted to teach me about calories & design a nutrition plan for me.  No thanks, I’m knowledgeable & already working on that end.  I want to get strong enough so that I can walk confidently & climb stairs.  Maybe someday dance gracefully again.

I told him I want to challenge my muscles but protect my joints.  I believe that my stronger muscles will protect my joints. 

I’m riding 14 miles, 2 days of every 3, to strengthen my legs & cardio endurance.  I want a strengthening plan that will complement that.  I’d like to strengthen my core (back & abs), and I’d like to imagine, occasionally, that I’m rowing a boat.  He wants me to start & end every gym workout with cardio exercises.  What part of “14 miles in 16th gear” do you not appreciate?  Beyond a warm-up, I want something different at the gym.

I want to challenge my weak muscles to improve in gentle, baby steps.  That’s how I’ve already improved as much as I have.  I told him about Milo of Croton & the bull calf.  He talked about working the muscles to exhaustion.  He advocates working each muscle group to the point of “failure”.  I want to challenge myself & improve bit by bit, but not set myself up for failure.  I want to set myself up for more & more success.  Incremental achievements keep bringing me back for more!

sustainable improvement

I don’t need to measure myself by objective standards of fitness or normative standards of performance.  I’m not trying to be average; I’m trying to be the best me that I can be now.  And to get there, I strive to be better next week than I am this week.

The trainer showed me which machines he recommends that I focus on.  His ideas & advice are a starting point, at least.  Even though each machine has a sign with simple instructions, finally he was able to show me how to use some that I hadn’t understood before.  This is a distinct disadvantage of the cut-rate gym.  There’s only one trainer, and he can only be there part of the time that the gym is open.  I really wanted a gym orientation earlier.  I wanted his general exercise guidelines & input soon, so that I could begin to individualize & tweak it for myself.

The trainer gave me a checklist of exercises with my particular settings on each machine.  I redesigned it, attached it to a half-sheet clipboard, & plan to take it with me next time.  (If I lived on my teeny phone instead of my laptop, I’d probably use an app for that.)  Now I'm looking forward to designing my own plan for challenging play.

Apr 16 – Rowing through the Gym

I found a commercial membership gym that is friendly to my project goals.  The membership fee is only $10/month, so I can afford to use their equipment as a supplement to my transcontinental cycling.  This gym is “designed for first-time gym users,” rather than obsessive, show-off body-builders.  Much of the equipment is painted a cheerful bright yellow and rich purple, with pictures & instructions for using it.  There’s a trainer on hand to help out anybody, including designing an individual exercise program.  I am looking at their space like a recess playground where I can just try anything for a while, just as long as it’s interesting & fun. 

Today I joined the gym & tried out several different machines.  I found that my mounts & dismounts are the most difficult part.  Each machine required a size adjustment, so I climbed on & off finding the right fit.  A trainer helping me find my way through that process would have been nice, but I had chosen to visit during a time when the trainer was not present.  

The etiquette of communal space was basically the lessons of kindergarten: Wait your turn, be considerate, & clean up after yourself.  Each person that I saw sprayed & wiped the seat & backrest of their machine when they were finished.  The gym management posts friendly positive messages to make everyone feel welcome.  Many messages focus on becoming able to do physical things that you couldn’t do before. 

I found a few different machines that simulate rowing somewhat.  I closed my eyes & thought of Lake Superior.  But I couldn’t convince myself that I was rowing a boat.  For now, I’m not going to try to use these exercises to achieve mileage for my journey.  I’ll use this experience to aid my overall functioning on my non-cycling days & to enhance my inner journey.
 

So, I played & learned, and I’m eager to go back!

Apr 13 – Shopping for Exercise

Today I shopped around for exercise equipment that would simulate rowing, cross-country skiing, or paddling a kayak.  I explored online, then I visited 2 exercise equipment stores, a community center gym & a commercial gym. 

a homemade home gym

At the stores, I thought I’d have a chance to try out a couple of different machines.  Nope.  The simulative experiences I’m looking for don’t exist, I was told.  As I saw online, most rowers are based on pulling a handle straight toward your torso, but not the elliptical pull of real rowing.  And it’s such a specialty item that it’s not available in the store to try out.  Buy it in their online store, assemble at home, then try it out.  For an extra fee, you can buy the privilege of returning it for any reason.  (Disassemble, pack, & ship.)  For a kayak-ish experience, attach a resistance band to a heavy object & make paddling movements.  I was told that elliptical walking equipment replaced cross-country ski machines years ago, & now only used machines can be found.  I haven’t tried any further research about this.  I wasn’t looking for another machine to install in my crowded exercise space at home, anyway.

senior center gym

The community center gym is in my local senior center, with lenient age requirements (must be at least 18).  There were a few guys hanging out the entry desk of the gym, including a qualified trainer.  Several men & women were using different exercise machines.  One man showed me around & let me try out a couple of machines.  I’m told that a commercial gym went out of business, and the seniors got a variety of machines.   The rower had two handles that pull up beside my hips, which may be a little more simulative than the straight center pull.  How would I know?  The usage fees for this gym are a real bargain, but I don’t yet have confidence in the trainer/supervisor.  To begin using the equipment, I need written permission from my doctor.  She should be delighted!  But she’s out of town for a while, so nothing is happening yet.

huge commercial gym

At the huge commercial gym, I was hoping to buy guest privileges for a few days once in a while, if they have the equipment & policies I’m looking for.   When I walked in, the receptionist asked for a driver’s license and multiple types of contact info, then alerted a membership sales person to escort me on my tour.  It took a long time to get a clear answer about the equipment available, but the membership sales guide was interested in my virtual journey, creative exercising, & blog combo, and suggested a personal trainer who would tailor each exercise session to my virtual trip segment.  It sounds pretty cool!  Like having companionable support staff join my trip & cheer me on.  He introduced me to a trainer that I immediately felt comfortable talking to.  We had an immediate, uncanny rapport.  But I was looking for a little variety of movement to supplement & extend my cycling, and this was becoming a recruitment into an immersive cult membership. Twice-a-week trainer sessions, plus nearly-daily workouts at the gym.  What happened to my bike riding at home?  Still, the trainer & I were enjoying the conversation.  And then, after an hour, I finally got to hear about the fee structure.  Initiation fee + monthly fee: manageable if the program fit what I was looking for.  Trainer fees:  yikes!  Way beyond affordability!  They offered lower-priced alternatives and, finally, a 1-week free guest membership.  (Isn’t that what I came in for?)  And an offer for a sample session with the trainer within that week.  Still pretty tempting.  It’s worth pondering…

homemade home gym:  http://thrillblender.com/do-it-yourself-gym-equipment/

Apr 10 – Rowing Lake Superior

I’m still toying with the idea of rowing along the shore of Lake Superior for a while.  Not the whole length from Duluth, Minnesota, to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, of course.  But I have been thinking about rowing on any of the numerous lakes I’ve seen along my way.  

And I’ve been wishing for more variety of exercise.  I’m thinking that there must be more exercise machines that could simulate travelling a distance.  So far, I’ve thought of rowing and cross-country skiing.  Hey!  On future trips, I could plan for rowing across lakes and skiing across winter snow!

On my planned route, the road hugs the shore of Lake Superior for a few days, so this looks like the best opportunity to try rowing.  I’m searching for a way to try it without the commitment of a major equipment purchase.  I’m looking at local gyms and stores and community centers.

I live in a place full of lakes and parks.  Why don’t I just go rent a rowboat at a local park, you ask?  

Well, it’s the hassle of getting ready, wearing a life jacket, getting into the boat & onto the water, keeping my balance, dealing with weather, and learning techniques – all while someone watches me.  These are some reasons that people avoid going outdoors or to a commercial gym for exercise.  They add up to too many stressful real-life experiences for me in this virtual adventure.  And this reminds me of a paddleboat excursion a few years ago.  It seemed like a great fusion of bike pedaling and floating on calm water, until the paddle mechanism broke apart & floated away, leaving us stranded on the lake, literally without a paddle.  I don’t want to feel that helpless & abandoned again.

What I expected from a rowing machine was a simulation of rowing a boat on a lake.  

What I see in images of common machines is a pulling mechanism, straight back and forth down the center. 

This is probably a good exercise, but not optimal for my rowing fantasy.

rowboat painting:  https://kim06111.wordpress.com/2015/03/02/a-destructive-force/

Mar 20 – Superior Rowing

my vision of the U.P. road

I’m approaching the long stretch of road through the woods of Wisconsin & Michigan’s Upper Peninsula along Lake Superior, and feeling daunted.  Lots & lots of cycling with very few towns at all.  The Big Woods with one road built through it.  (I may be wrong about the lack of points of interest, and I won’t know until I start exploring, but this is my expectation.)  And then I had an idea …

If only I had a rowing machine at home, I could set up a virtual rowing trip the length of Lake Superior. 

Measuring nautical miles somehow… Seeing waterfront cottages along the shore… 

Of course, this would probably be even more boring & uneventful than cycling through national forests…

Except that it’s storm-tossed Lake Superior, the “Graveyard of the Great Lakes”.  As I’ve been looking for images of rowing along the shores of Lake Superior, I’ve made exciting discoveries!

Bayfield Sea Caves

I found spectacular waterfalls, best viewed from the water, on Minnesota’s northern stretch of shoreline (not on my route).  Crashing waves & frozen waveforms in winter.  And the Bayfield sea caves!  People can row around and through these caves & tunnels formed by those crashing waves.  I found tourist maps of the peninsula for rowing excursions, scenic overlooks, fall foliage-viewing, & recreational experiences.  

There’s enough weather, geology, and boating to keep my interest for quite a while.  I’ll just have to see how many coastal experiences I can weave into my forest cycling journey.

rowing image:  http://www.clcboats.com/shoptips/fitting_out/yawl_piantedosi.html

Rowing to Lake Superior’s Sea Caves, by Patrick Durkin:  http://www.actionhub.com/stories/2013/07/31/rowing-to-lake-superiors-sea-caves/