Monday: Every other Monday, I have a full-hour body massage and by the time I take a shower and get to work, I don't have time to workout. I wasn't too worried about it because I had gotten in a great workout the day before. Besides, for some reason, a massage lowers my blood glucose level so much that if I work out, too, I'll need a fourth meal so I don't crash in the night while I'm sleeping. Still, this meant that I had already missed a day of exercise and I was barely getting started.
Tuesday: Tuesdays and Thursdays are long days for me at the University, and I can only eke out enough time for a thirty-minute aerobic session if I stay seriously focused. Unfortunately, on Tuesday morning some student issues came up and cost me that time. Wow. So I was two for two in a row and beginning to wonder how I'm ever going to meet my goal.
Wednesday: I woke up determined to get back on track, but an important business-related conference call that ran longer than I expected ate up my available time. Thinking fast, since I was already in my sneakers, I popped in my telephone earbuds and walked briskly around my apartment for the whole duration of the call, feeling very smug as I did it, but with a real sense of discouragement over how difficult it is to do this one simple thing no matter how much I need to. While chatting with a man in the waiting room at my chiropractor's office, he mentioned that he goes to the gym every day. "You must be retired," I thought with just a twinge of bitterness.
Thursday: I intended to go to work early, which would have made my workout impossible, but then I asked myself, "Will the half hour at work accomplish more than my aerobics routine?" When I decided it wouldn't, I quickly got into my exercise clothes before I could change my mind and got 'er done.
Friday: I woke up feeling less than wonderful Friday morning, so I meditated, danced to some Cuban music for a bit, and spent the rest of the day resting. I had been pushing really hard all week (as I do most weeks), but as I get older, I have to remind myself that the music is not just in the notes; it's in the pauses, too.
Saturday: I had some hard core shopping to do (think: on my feet, with one brief exception, between 10 am and 6 pm!) Whenever I know I'm going to do this, I don't try to exercise, as well. And I add in some tricks, like parking in one central location and walking briskly from store to store -- sometimes blocks apart -- rather than parking at the door.
And here it is Sunday again. I woke up an hour later than usual. It's been pouring the rain all morning, but it's predicted to clear up by 2. So my plan is to hit the park a little later for an hour of laps around the track with the audio book I'm listening to in tow.
You might have noticed that I don't try to schedule work-outs in the evening. That's because I keep a pretty hectic pace in my life most days and, frankly, I'm beat by dinner. On the other hand, my full-time job runs Monday through Thursday, which means that I have three full days every week with the option to exercise any time of the day.
While my exercise week didn't unfold precisely as I had hoped it would, neither did I quit. I used to think that anything short of perfect wasn't worth doing. With age -- and wisdom -- I've come to see that slow and steady wins the most important races. I got in two workouts and briskly walked at least five miles on two other days. I talked myself into a workout on Thursday that wouldn't have occurred if I hadn't been so committed. And I'm off this week, so I might even get to the gym. Kudos to me -- and to all of us who are learning to stay active!
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