Prioritizing

Day 297: When I lost Tippy in early June, I had to make a decision: did I want to sacrifice my summer to raising up a kitten who would require almost constant supervision? The answer came more easily than I imagined, since a house without a cat was simply too much to bear (at this point, I'm going to make it public - I'm a childless cat lady, and you know what that means). To date, the longest I've been away from home was three hours, during which time Merry had to be confined in his carrier to keep him from demolishing the house, and he expressed his opinion of his term in purdah by attacking my leg as soon as I let him out. The legs, you understand, are what takes his mama away. Slowly but surely, we're establishing house rules. "Off!" is a very difficult concept for a four-month old kitten, as is "That's not yours." Much patience is required on my part, obviously. That said, there were certain activities I could not do without, namely getting some form of exercise. We have finally come to the point that Merry will behave himself for twenty minutes unsupervised (well, if he's already worn out from playing) while I ride the exercise bike to keep myself in shape.

Back In The Saddle

Day 90: Today marks the start of the Park's Winter Fitness Challenge for 2016, and I am not (repeat, NOT!) going to go for the Iron Ranger title this year. I've done it two years in a row just to prove that little old ladies are a force to be reckoned with, but it's time to step down and rest on my laurels. For one thing, it's a time-consuming job to achieve the aerobic equivalent of 18 walking miles every day for 12 weeks straight. It may lengthen your life, but it takes a substantial chunk out of it as well. Second and more importantly, I'm developing hip problems, very likely due to the abuses I've piled on this tiny body over the years. Still, I think I can pull off six miles a day for a total of 504 at the end of the run. That will more than cover the 409 miles required from our team of four. Day One is done, anyway!

It

Day 83: It's in the house! The Park's Winter Fitness Challenge begins tomorrow, and while I've made it abundantly clear that I have no intention of trying for the Iron Ranger title again this year, I still intend to kick a lot of much younger behinds with my mileage total.

Since this is the fifth year of the challenge, a lot of fives have crept into the rules. The Proclaimers' "500 Miles" was chosen for the theme music (and incidentally was my personal "power song" last year), and teams of five are expected to complete the equivalent of walking the Scottish National Trail, a 537-mile route which runs from Kirk Yetholm to Cape Wrath (as close to a 500-mile trail as the committee could find, tying in nicely with the nationality of the vocal group). Of course, there is also the additional challenge to "walk 500 more" as specified in the Proclaimers' lyrics. I've joined a team, but nevertheless have set a personal goal of 500 miles with an eye toward that "500 more," something I should be able to achieve if I put in the aerobic equivalent of walking 10-15 miles every day. Last year, I was doing 15-20 miles per day, so barring drenching weather and if I can find a better pad for the seat of the exercise bike, that distance should be a piece of cake. I figure I'll walk five or six of it, and then ride 13-minute miles for the remainder. Remember, the mileage is the aerobic equivalent of walking one mile, not actual "road" miles. That translates to numbers of minutes at specific resistance on the bike.

I'm not exactly looking forward to long walks in the rain, but the benefits to be derived here are enormous. When the hiking season came around last summer, I was already in such good shape that I strode up hills without a gasp, hills which the previous year would have left me puffing. You know what they say: No pain, no gain. That's the philosophy which has kept me fit for almost 70 years, and makes it possible for me to trounce those young bucks and does despite my age.

Banished!

Day 176: Hie thee hence, device of torture! And stay there until next winter! Yep, I have achieved my final mileage goal in the winter physical fitness challenge, and the exercise bike has been sent into exile. When I got up this morning, I only needed the aerobic equivalent of 16.5 walking miles to bring my total to 1500, and between riding the bike for almost two hours and walking 7.5 miles, I'm done!

A few statistics here, because when you're as old as I am, this is something to brag up:

Starting on January 7 and ending today, I rode the exercise bike for 216 hours to earn the aerobic equivalent of walking 891.5 miles. However, the actual odometer reading was significantly greater: 3456 miles "travelled" at an average of 16 MPH. As for the walking portion, I put 602.5 miles on my feet, covering a variety of terrain from pavement to steep, muddy trail. The remaining six miles were accrued with sweat equity while digging holes and planting trees in rocky ground for three hours. Thus the breakdown is 891.5 plus 602.5 plus 6 for a total of 1500 aerobic equivalent miles.

Over the course of the challenge, I lost 12 pounds and am now as trim as I've been at any time in the last five years. My leg strength has increased and my endurance is up significantly. Overall, I feel much perkier and energetic. That's not to say there haven't been a few days when I really had to push myself to get out there, but any program like this is as much a test of resolve as it is of physical ability. Fortunately, I have always enjoyed walking and challenging myself on a physical level. Just like climbing a mountain, the only way you'll get there is by putting one foot in front of the other one, over and over and over.