Three months without posting?! I was closing in on the third anniversary of this blog, with at least one post every month (a bit of a feat for me), and it all went pear-shaped at the end of June. Too many extra-curricular activities (some required for my career shift), and too much overtime at work – preparing for a big annual event. I made time once or twice a day to fulfill my walking challenge commitments, but I just couldn’t find the brain power to blog.
But, hey! My new knee and I walked nearly 200 miles this summer! In early June, I did my first 20 mile week as a fundraiser for the Gathering Place, then I completed 62 miles in 10 days for the Midwest States 100K challenge, then 100 miles in six weeks for the Ornery Mule racing company’s Coyote Summer, 6.2 miles for the virtual Air Force Marathon series, and – to finish out August – a number of early morning 5K hikes to keep the doberman active while her senior golden retriever companion sleeps in, and the two mini-mutts wait for us to get home and take them for a walk on more civilized terrain. We’re still doing those, but I also hopped on the stationary bike at 5:30 many mornings a week in September, to raise money for pediatric cancer research via the Great Cycle Challenge.
Now I have a new (old) challenge for myself. I am going to get myself back to the point where I can do a chin-up, dang it. I’ve gotten the arms somewhat toned up by using trekking poles pretty religiously when I walk (at least when I walk without the aforementioned dober-companion), but all my sitting and desk work has sapped my upper body strength. I struggled to move an antique rocker in our house (in my defense, it’s a behemoth) this week and decided, THAT’S IT! I need to get back into some kind of weight training (which I’ve only been saying since I launched this blog? I start, and then I get myself overbooked and decide to spend my precious exercise time on aerobic stuff). I read this very convincing article about the effectiveness of weight training for fat loss and weight maintenance, and this one that links weight training and cardio health, and decided (again) that I need to alternate my morning exercise options so that weight training makes up 50% of my sessions. I want my strength back, and my bones will thank me, as well. But I especially want to do a chin-up again. So, fully three years after I first said I want to get back into chin-up shape, I am recommitting. I completed each of the other challenges I set for myself in the last four months… Surely I can do this!
50 is the new "forte" 