[Exercise]

[magid]

I finally got myself out for the first bike ride of the year*, having decided it shouldn't be a long one. I went out Mass Ave. to the middle of Arlington and back (about 8 miles), long enough to realize how out of biking shape I am, but also that using the stationary bikes in the gym hasn't been totally useless (not that I've been dedicated about that, either). It was great to be out with the wind in my face, zig-zagging around the potholes (looking for the smoothest route is more than just for fun when riding on skinny tires), keeping an eye out for traffic. Luckily for me, not only was it cool out, perfect for riding, but not as many drivers out as I'd expected, which made for fairly easy going, even in the underpass by Harvard Yard. And the snazzy new exercise clothes I treated myself to last weekend, that are supposed to wick sweat away, seem to work; so much better than wet cotton. The only down side: I think I managed to pull something on the left side of my neck, which is now sore.
(Note to self: raise the seat one inch, and take off the dead odometer.)

On the plus side, my back, somewhat sore since a full work day of yard work Sunday, is feeling much better since stretching out. (Sunday was tiring, in a good way; it's been ages since I've cut saplings, schlepped branches, or shoveled dirt.)

And I figured out today that last week I finished the walk from Hobbiton to Rivendell, started in early January. Perhaps I'll walk to Lothlorien next, or Bilbo's path to the the Lonely Mountain.

Body-editing goal: each week, manage six days of four miles walking, or two miles walking and a bike ride, or two miles walking and a stop at the gym, or over an hour of some other noticeable exercise. Heck, if I could manage five days a week for this, I'd be doing great.

* Yes, the end of May is far too late for this to be the first ride. Better late....

Comments

[ruthling.livejournal.com]

I was going to walk along I-90, virtually, but now I'm basically sidelined for at least a couple of days :(

[magid.livejournal.com]

I hope you recover quickly...

I-90's a pretty good challenge. It doesn't appeal to me as much, just because highways don't seem to have interesting views as much. Why it should matter for a virtual walk, I don't know, but other routes appeal more to me.

[ruthling.livejournal.com]

google maps and one of the pedometer programs makes it easy to do a virtual walk on a real road. I saved my route from the 22 miles I did last week and it got me surprisingly far. I've driven all of I-90 at one point or another, so it appealed to me, and it's long enough to last me a couple of years :)

[magid.livejournal.com]

I definitely use pedometer programs; I wish they covered more of the world (I thought about walking across Europe, a la Dervla Murphy, or walking the length of Israel (Eilat to the Golan), etc).

I haven't driven so much of I-90; that's probably part of the less appeal.

(Btw, Virtual_tourist is doing a walk from Cambridge to the ANWR, so I've been following another walker's progress too. Interesting stuff.)

[queue.livejournal.com]

I wish they covered more of the world (I thought about walking across Europe, a la Dervla Murphy, or walking the length of Israel (Eilat to the Golan), etc).

They're limited by the data that Google Maps has. That said, they do have street-level maps of Europe (even if you can tell it to jump there, you can just click-and-drag the map across the Atlantic). And while they don't have street-level maps of Israel, you can zoom in on the satellite maps enough to see the major roads.

[queue.livejournal.com]

even if you can tell it

"even if you cannot tell it"

[magid.livejournal.com]

I know Google Maps includes pretty good data on Europe (I hadn't checked Israel). I could work it out myself, but I know I'm lazy enough that I won't bother. (Plus I delude myself by saying that if I wait long enough, there'll be data enough to have pedometer programs lots more places.)

[queue.livejournal.com]

You misunderstand me. All of the data on Google Maps is also on the pedometer sites, since they are based on Google Maps. Go to your pedometer site. Drag the map over to Europe. Zoom in. Click away. Drag the map over to Israel. Click over to the satellite view. Zoom in. Click away.

[magid.livejournal.com]

All that gets me (over Israel, anyway) is "We are sorry, but we do not have maps at this zoom level for this region. Try zooming out for a broader look."

[queue.livejournal.com]

You can zoom down to the 4th zoom level over Israel in satellite mode. Of course, you have to zoom smartly. If you zoom all the way at once, you might find yourself over an area that doesn't have 4th level zooms available. So you need to zoom a little at a time and then re-center over your target.

[majes.livejournal.com]

It was great to be out with the wind in my face

Yeah; I run on the treadmill 5 days a week, but you don't get the whole wind-rushing-pass-you thing. On Saturday, I went to the park with my younger boy; I ran along side of him while he rode his scooter; I had forgotten that running out of doors was fun and exhilarating.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I wish running were nearly as exhilerating for me as biking, but I never get free enough to enjoy it, always worried about my bad knee, etc. Any chance you can run outside during the week, at least during the summer?

[majes.livejournal.com]

Not so much; with the commute and work schedule, any running outside I do is likely to be on the weekends, or in the evenings. Still, I will be doing that certainly.