Spin on Fitness: and Caution for the Hypermobile

Oh...my...word...aie...gasp...ugh...taking my fitness challenge to a new level with a cycling class. I am 99.9% sure my derriere will not be functioning tomorrow. Not to sit on, not to move my legs, nothin'. But just as I start to think maybe one track will be sufficient for my first day of class, the smiling face of my Body Pump teacher stops by; "hey, are you taking up cycling?" -"Yeah," puff, wheez, "just starting, gasp, "think my butt will be sore tomorrow." "Good for you! Buy yourself a pair of padded shorts, that's less weird than a padded seat, right?" "Huh?" Bottom line; I stayed until the end of class; I had no idea whether or not my instructor was lurking in the shadows, waiting to see if I made it all the way through.

...that was a few short days ago, and incredibly, my tush suffered no lasting damage, but I am icing my knee for the 3rd day in a row. It quit. I hate that. Hypermobile individuals are more prone to osteoarthritis.

That knee injury may either be because of the running (just intervals I began again a couple of weeks ago), or the cycling or the crazy elliptical spree I went on for 15 minutes before class on Saturday. Hard to tell. (Update from the physical therapist: it was probably the running, or the standing up while cycling. Serves me right, show-off.)

The point is; I am trying new things, shaking up the routine, upping the ante, and in the process, breaking the barrier of the pounds that would not part ways with my middle. You have to try this once in awhile.

But please: proceed with caution!

Sadly, your body is not as young as it once was, it may take a minute to adjust to a new demand on the joints. So why do it?

Because: it feels like you are starting all over, it is motivating and fun...and even having to ice your knee has advantages; more knitting time! I have lost some weight; that last 15 lbs. I would like to see gone has begun to melt away; ha! That sounds way too easy! It is a process; I'll say healthy food choices and more exercise has been chipping away, very slowly, at it. Keep the faith, change your routine, share your journey below!

                                                                

Humor Help

My sense of humor is something that seems to be tampered by my own (and my family's) intensity much of the time. I want to thank them, as well as my friends, for the many times they crack me up. Some days, I would not survive a minute more without comic relief.

I returned home from a 5-minute, "drop Cate at work," errand on Tuesday to find a car frantically signaling and my friend waving me down as I pulled into the driveway. She just needed to let me know she was kidnapping my children for a minute for a duck rescue...? Here's the story: https://archiedown.wordpress.com/2015/05/05/damsel-in-distress-or-how-to-save-a-duck/

Then there is the daily drama with the squirrels, which, in the winter, is limited to the dog giving chase like a crazed hell hound, but in the summer, takes on a much more dire tone...

The Original Sweater for my Niece

I mentioned the sweater that I made which inspired the dog needing his own sweater. It's been at least a year, but here is the original (she was born with my hair, isn't it cute?) It was very fun to make, as I ran out of yarn, I grabbed another skein of cotton and kept going, and the sheep are simple little fuzz balls.

It is from Stitch n' Bitch Superstar Knitting, but I can't tell you what the name of the pattern is because the person to whom I loaned it did not return the book. Not sure who it might be, but if you are reading this and you have a copy of it with no name in it...well, you know where it lives now.