Instead of posting several short blog updates day-by-day of my activities I thought it would be more efficient to just give a weekend update.
Saturday, March 23rd
This weekend called for rain and scattered storms so I tried to plan my workouts around the weather. It was suppose to rain all day on Saturday so I scheduled a 1-hour appointment to work out at my Snap Fitness now that it is open. I won’t lie. I was a little nervous going back to the gym because I’d be in a public space near people. To Snap Fitnesses credit and kudos, the staff at the my gym did a great job outlining the expected guidelines and rules.
- All members have to make an online appointment to work out and are asked to limit their workout to 1 hour.
- Members must leave gym bags and extras in the car. Their water bottle needs to be filled at home, and gym goers are asked to limit what they bring in with them.
- All members must wash their hands before and after working out. They must wipe down their machines with antibacterial wipes before and after their work out. They must keep 6-8 feet away from other members. (They had every other treadmill off/”out of order” to ensure proper distance.
The gym in my hometown is great. It’s one of the best Snap Fitnesses in the area and I’ve enjoyed going there since I started C25K in September 2019. And since the weather was going to be bad, I finally had a place to go where I could continue my training.
So I chose my favorite treadmill, turned on my audiobook, and set the treadmill to their fancy “run with me” footage. (The tv screen on the machine shows you a runner’s POV as they run through amazing and famous locations.) The only downside was the humidity. Oh God did I sweat buckets.
Also, the new shoes that I bought have been giving me blisters despite the fact that they are the same brand, same style, and same size as my old ones. I hope they just need to be broken in some more because I can’t return them. (I blame the fact that I probably lost weight in my feet — haha).
Once I was done, I walked out of the gym and the sun was shining without a single rain cloud in sight. And it never did rain on Saturday.
Sunday, May 24th
I was trying to beat the rain once again. I had a 1.5 hour bike scheduled and I checked the radar as soon as I woke up. I had a two hour window to get out and bike if I left right then and there. I’ve been avoiding the Gandy Dancer because Memorial Weekend brings tourists and tourists don’t always social distance. So I went back to my new favorite trail: the Hardwood Creek Trail.
Rain looked like a definite possibility the entire ride but my good luck with weather held out and it didn’t rain until I got back to the car.
While biking, I saw a lady on rollerblades who was pulling her dog eat asphalt about 100 meters ahead of me. I slowed down to make sure she was okay (and she said she was) but she back flopped right onto the concrete. She could’ve broken her hip or displaced a vertebrae, and she wasn’t even wearing a helmet!
But I digress…
Once I made it to Forest Lake, I traversed the “Hump” and the “Bump” bridges and saw a red blossom paradise before me. My phone picture doesn’t do it justice and the recent wind blew a lot of the pedals off the trees. (It was gorgeous when I was here last Wednesday). I don’t know if these are cherry blossom tress since those are usually native to Japan, but it made for a lovely bike ride through the city.
I ended up biking 20 miles in 1 hour and 32 minutes, and since January 1st of 2020, I have officially biked 401 miles (198 of that in the May). Only 1800 more to go! I’m thinking if I can maintain a monthly goal of 200 miles per month or more, it will get me pretty close to my goal. My calculations on Google Maps put the biking distance from San Diego, CA to Hayward, Wi at around 1,700 miles which is shorter than I expected. At this point. 1,700 is my primary goal and anything over that is just extra credit. (I was a A/B student and I loved extra credit).
Monday, May 25th
I knew today would be busy in the good ol’ tourist town of St. Croix Falls. I planned for an hour hike but hiking at Interstate was out of the question, as was the Gandy, and so my hike was really just a brisk but enjoyable walk around the residential neighborhoods until I found my way to the Ice Age trail.
Overall the hike was about 4 miles and it was full of sunshine, The Dresden Files, and animal murder. Seriously. I watched a blue jay dive bomb a fledgling cardinal as it was learning to fly. Two adult cardinals attacked the blue jay and it dropped its quarry right in front of me. I had no idea that blue jays were predatory birds (or…just jerks).
Nature man. It’s harsh but it’s also pretty neat.
Couch to 29K: A Health and Fitness Journey 