Long-time readers of this blog will remember that about four years ago, my doctor put me a strict diet. It was just before Ash Wednesday; I came home and told Jane, “Guess what? I’m giving up food for Lent.” She also put me on an exercise regimen, to wit, I was required to walk for at least 30 minutes a day.
And, with God’s help, I did those things, and in a year and a half or so had dropped over seventy (70!) pounds. Very cool. Since then I’ve been more or less plateaued, going up and down within about an eight pound window. The high point has usually been in the fall months; in October there’s my wedding anniversary, followed by Jane’s birthday and the annual Tcl/Tk Conference, followed by Halloween and then Thanksgiving, and then, of course, the bane of all dieters that is December. This year was particularly bad–or, rather, I rather let myself go, and now I’ve got some ground to make up. What to do?
What to do. We all know what to do: eat better, exercise more, and be patient. So I’m trying to eat better, and not give in to the excesses of last fall, such as they were–though, annoyingly, they weren’t all that excessive compared to my pre-diet behavior. But what about that exercise?
I’m still putting in that 30 minutes a day, and on weekends I’m often walking 45 minutes to an hour. Well and good. But what happens when you do that for four years? Your body gets used to it. Your muscles build up to it. It’s nothing extraordinary. It’s maintenance.
One day in December I decided to try to extend myself a bit. I walked for a couple of hours, and went a little over seven miles, which might be a personal best. (I wonder how far one walks on a day’s trip to Disneyland?) I was tired at the end, and my feet were a little sore…but here’s the kicker: I didn’t feel it the next day. Or the day after. At all. My body (ahem) took it in stride.
So what to do to step up the exercise program? Walking further isn’t the answer: it simply takes too long. Running/jogging is right out. I’ve never been able to run or jog for any distance without getting seriously out of breath, and past attempts to build up my endurance in that area have been unsuccessful.
So this past week I went out and bought a decent bicycle, what they call a hybrid: better suited for the road than a mountain bike, but with mountain bike gearing. And that’s precisely what I need, because I live on the side of a mountain. (This blog is called “The View from the Foothills”, but it could just as easily be called “The View of the Foothills from Above”.) And my plan is, for the first time in my life, to learn to ride a bike up the hills I live on, rather than just down.
Jane and I used to ride quite a lot, a little over a decade or so; but we always went places where it was flat. We didn’t do any long trips; fifteen miles was a longish ride for us, if I recall correctly. I never did learn how to ride up hills properly, and I never built up the necessary muscles to ride up hills properly. It’s now time to do that.
I’ve read that when starting out (or coming back after a long absence) it’s best to keep the rides short, no more than two to three miles, and then work up. My plan is to try to do that around my house, emphasizing the uphill stretches to the extent that I’m able (which isn’t much yet). I went out this morning, and rode about two-and-a-quarter miles in fifteen minutes (cycle computers are key). Of necessity it was a mixture of uphill and downhill–equal amounts of each, actually, if you remember the Mean Value Theorem–and by the end my legs were done: cycling uses entirely different muscles than walking.
I’m not sure why riding uphill is so hard. I’ve no doubt I could go out and ride the same seven miles I walked in December without too much trouble: there’s a fair amount of downhill, and the rest is flat. But even a short distance uphill is much more difficult. (Note to cyclists: yes, I’m gearing down.)
Well, my first week of walking was awful; I got through it only by sheer willpower and the grace of God. And my endurance improved. I’m presuming that cycling, even uphill, will work the same way. (Say a prayer for me, would you?)
The View from the Foothills 