Quote Originally Posted by jayjay View Post
Sheesh, I'll agree about how much work it is after 45 especially. I am a firm believer though, it's all from the mind , that our physical bodies manifest their health, or lack of it.
I'll agree too -- and I grew up with fitness being a relatively low priority in our family, so I'm not sure I've ever really been! (maybe that's better? I never lost it?)


Quote Originally Posted by jayjay View Post
Starfish~ yes, I want to do the least impact sports at this point ... no running! My daily hikes keeps me sore enough. Adding the road cycling is what I've struggled getting back into (because it doesn't include my dog), but it's just what I'm going to have to do to drop this weight I believe, and without impact injuries. Oy, my feet get a rest!
Dog does make a good motivator, since he'll pester you to go. You mention being plenty sore -- I found myself overwhelmed by soreness the first couple of weeks, and feel like I was pretty fortunate to be able to just "wallow in it." I don't think I did much of ANYTHING else beyond the exercise those first days while I adjusted to what was a HUGE change in the sort of activities I was doing!

So anyhow, ENJOY the aches! It's delightful to know that you're hurting because you're doing good things for yourself. Not like a sore butt from bouncing on the hardpack snow too hard while skiing! My immediate thought was "that's going to be colorful!" and my butt wishes "butt helmets" existed.

(on the other hand, I was doing something good for myself when it happened, so that's better than hurting from sitting on it too much like used to be the case!)


Quote Originally Posted by jayjay View Post
Kano ~ I think you and I see eye to eye a lot because we have the perspective of fitness and fatness as we've been to the bottom (I'm still near there... just crawling out). New to this middle aged ball and chain, but I know I can drop the dead weight and make tracks away and grow old in prime fitness, I just know it, even if I live at the top of the steepest hill on the West Side of the Valley, I can do this because I lived here before and did it!
Your posts strike a very familar chord with me too.

This middle aged crap sure sneaks up on us, doesn't it? The worst part is that it really isn't new -- we just seem to sudeenly realize it's here!

I think I was your age when I decided I really HAD to do something, especially since my family history includes long lives -- I figured it would be better if it's as healthy as possible! Maybe that's a 45-thing, kind of like the 13-thing that happensn to kids? Something about that birthday, and looking at ourselves and saying, what the HEY have I done to myself! It was over a year before I actually started doing anything beyond half-hearted dieting. Then came riding, and now this past eight months or so is when I have actually tackled the weight issue properly. I think you've got a jump on me there!


Quote Originally Posted by jayjay View Post
The 20ish mile loop fro+m my house is probably the most popular riding loop inthe county, it's simply crawling with cyclists, everday. I was one of them before, and now I just drive past.
That's okay! I still do more driving past than I should, and of course have plenty of excuses for that. I had a major hissy about the price of gas at the bottom of our hill yesterday -- 12 cents in one afternoon! I just know they didn't get fresh stuff, but marked up the stuff in their tanks. Work is only about three miles away this afternoon, and I'm going to be wearing my new bike shorts and shoes to work. If I can get by without the car this year, I'm going to make more effort to do that! (and eew, I'll have to be a sidewalk rider -- that particular road is NOT bike friendly!)


Quote Originally Posted by jayjay View Post
and ps. I *do* have pedals and shoes, everything but a working cyclometer, which I need to purchase, as my old one has stopped working.
I've got two bikes with the flat pedals, and I'm going to get a couple more pair -- so I can use those too. I just can't stand riding those pedals anymore! It was so funny when I started out with DH one evening, and wanted to pull up on them and my feet just left, y'know? We took off, and I just hollered AARGH! He asked what the problem was, and I said, pedals! He hadn't noticed either how much you really DO start using the upstroke until I said that!

Karen in Boise