Days Six through Eleven

My wife's grandmother died, so was out of the state for a few days. This is the sort of thing that I've let derail me in the past. Nothing new this time, except my awareness that I'm letting it derail me....

I moved my weight set so I can get at it easier and will lift today. I'm hoping to get in a run or something tonight when Kris gets home. That'll get me back on track. I've got to start my hike on Saturday morning. Kris and I arrive in Kauai on Friday and will spend the night somewhere on the North Shore, then set off early on Saturday morning for our three day trip on the Na Pali Coast. 

Day Five

Rode my loop again in about 40 mins. Lots of foot traffic out there in the early afternoon. Apparently, the SW side of the Portland Hills is a thriving retirement destination, too. They were all old.

Day Four: I get my nails done

Cycled my same loop from day three, but went in the opposite direction and expanded it a little on each end, finishing in about fifty minutes. 

It was Sunday, so I had a couple of beers afterward, followed by three more at the salon. The salon? Yeah, my wife and I went and got pedicures. I went for the matte finish, but the Vietnamese nail technician talked me into a flower on my big toe for my upcoming trip to Hanalei. I look very pretty now.

Went wine tasting after that, followed by a couple of mai tais and a beer at a friend's house on the way home. That's nine drinks today; that can't be helping. Hopefully, that'll be my big day for the week. 

Days Two and Three

So, day two was a bust. I did some curls with a dumbbell on Day One and then did some curls with two PBRs and three bourbon and cherry cokes on Day Two. 

Got up early on Saturday (day three) and did some work around the house. When Kris got home I went for a thirty minute bike ride. That's progress. Going to try and do the same tomorrow and setup the weights so I can do some lifting, too. 

I think a good routine would be like my daily prayer session. I'm not a religious guy, in the organized sense, but I am spiritual. I find my surfing done regularly to be a prayer-like experience, from what I know about prayer. It usually involves a couple of hours of humbling prostrate exertion, subjects me to rhythms I don't create on my own, and changes my mental state. 

Day One

If I were living at home in Hawaii, I would be up each morning before sunrise, passing the old guys near the racks and paddling out in front of the Outrigger to surf each morning at Threes. I'm not there. 

I'm in Portland and I'm not doing a damn thing. 

Here's the place I hope to track what I can do to get myself moving each day. It's not been a problem until now. Up until a about two years ago, running, cycling, and swimming filled my movement needs, subbing in for the surfing that I love. What happened? A combination of things put me in this spot. Probably first was the fact I hit my forties. Not too far in I was driving my car up Grand Avenue in Portland and a woman ran a red light and hit me, knocking me unconscious for fifteen minutes and erasing my recall for about half the day. In the ambulance, riding to the hospital I finally recalled my name. Later my address came back. 

A few weeks into my recovery the mother of my two youngest children moved out and began a two-year long custody battle to try and strip my kids out of my life. 

So, here I am, forty pounds overweight and a couple thousand miles from warm ocean waves. Normally, I'd just start paddling out each morning and getting  my fitness back that way. My favorite wave is about a half-mile out and takes at least fifteen minutes to paddle to, even when my fitness is at it's peak. 

My friend Sarah has started her blog and is calling me up every so often to run. I've done a few with her, but I fear that at this weight, running is probably asking for an injury. I'm giving her the credit, however, since this past weekend I ran and hurt the whole time, but when I was driving home I felt that lovely blissful feeling I get after a great physical discharge. Runner's high? Maybe, I don't know, but I get it and I like it. 

So, I've got a set of weights and a bench in the garage and a couple of bikes on the wall. There's a swimming pool five minutes away and my work is far enough away to make the commute a good workout possibility. 

Now it starts.