Some Memorable Outings Seem Epic

I still remember the time I heroically ventured out for a walk on the coldest night of the year. The -46 C wind chill was blocked out by carefully chosen winter clothes. It was epic, that walk. Cinematic, even. The sounds, the smells, the adrenaline and the excitement produced a vivid, wonderful memory that won't die anytime soon.

This summer has provided for some epic adventures too. Minor achievements for the non-obese outdoorsy types, but significant and memorable ventures for me, the former "bed potato." (I aspired to be a couch potato a year and a half ago, that's how bad things were.)

Last night a number of things happened to create a perfect storm for me and the kids to attempt something unusual. First of all, my four-year-old fell asleep during supper and had a huge nap which was destined to keep her up late. Secondly, it was a strangely hot night for the end of summer in Saskatchewan. I took the kids out after dark (the sun sets 75 minutes earlier than it did at the beginning of summer) for a bike ride in the night.

The kids and I rode through the hot city streets, among the hurrying cars, lit up like an airliner with bright flashing LED bike lights that assured our safety, at least in my mind. The experience was unusual, even surreal.

It created a memory for me, it certainly must have made an impression on my young girl who pedaled her tag-a-long bike trailer, attached to my bike, through the traffic with me. She chatted relentlessly as we rode, even bonding with me before getting philosophical about how often I get angry at her and how I should take a different approach by comforting her instead. She's four!

It all could have been a dream, for either of us, but it wasn't.

The night before found our whole family on a highway in the Qu'Appelle Valley near Katepwa, one of the most beautiful places in our prairie province. We road the Trans Canada Trail between Katepwa and Sandy Beach. It was beautiful and challenging. Hills are new to me and boy, you'd better be ready for them. Even going down takes full concentration and some braking skill. It was a bit like a roller coaster except there were no guarantees you wouldn't go off the rails.

The sun set, glowing orange over the valley. We were all but alone on our ride on a rare hot night for the end of August. We cycled back on the vacant highway (narrow but with only 70 KM speed limits) in a setting that seemed nothing short of magical.

Doing new things heightens the senses and I like that. Can't get enough of it. I want to do it more. Having a fitter body can get me to that goal. The sedentary, obese me from recent history had NO such experiences. Life was a straight line. A finite line.

I'm hoping to rid myself of more body fat so I can do more and more things and have more epic evenings like I had this week.

From the net...

"A while back, at the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a very thin and beautiful woman. The caption was "This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?"

The story goes, a woman (of clothing size unknown) answered the following way: 

"Dear people, whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, seals, curious humans), they are sexually active and raise their children with great tenderness. 

They entertain like crazy with dolphins and eat lots of prawns. They swim all day and travel to fantastic places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea or the coral reefs of Polynesia. 

They sing incredibly well and sometimes even are on cds. They are impressive and dearly loved animals, which everyone defend and admires.

Mermaids do not exist.""

Does Nike Ad Exploit Obese Boy?

From the Globe and Mail:

"Twelve-year-old Nathan Sorrell jogs down a country road. He’s 5-foot-3 and weighs 200 pounds. He nears the camera, panting. (video link) 

“Greatness is not some rare DNA strand. We’re all capable of it,” a voice intones in the video, an ad for Nike that ran during the Olympics, purporting to highlight everyday feats of greatness."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-hot-button/does-this-nike-ad-exploit-an-obese-boy/article4479445/

No, not in my mind. If someone is improving their health and inspires others, I can't see the fault. Millions of people see these ads during the Olympics and I can't help but think even if one obese kid was inspired to do something, or have hope, it's a good thing regardless if the actor is actually jogging in his own life or not.

Shaking Things Up by Doing the Opposite

When you're trying to correct life-long habits that have led to serious health problems, you have to look inward from time to time and rethink what's going on with you.

There's a popular episode of Seinfeld when George decides to do the opposite. He figures everything he's done so far in life has led to him being a total failure. So he decides to do the opposite of whatever his instincts tell him to do. It works out well for him, for the episode, anyway. 

What I've been doing most of my life with regards to my weight and health hasn't worked out well for me. So why not challenge myself? Why not try new things? Why not re-examine old beliefs? Why not shake things up a little?

In my fitness endeavor today I did the opposite of what my previous instincts would have had me do. For one thing, I did the opposite of sitting on the couch. On this rainy, cool day I went mountain biking on dirt trails outside the city. My previous instincts have always been to stay indoors when it rains and to keep bicycles away from water and mud. However, today I decided to do the opposite.

And boy was it invigorating and just plain different!

I discovered that lowering the air pressure in my tires allowed me to ride off-road with far less vibration and strain on my arms. It reduces your efficiency but allows for a much more comfortable ride when off road.

My bike got so clogged up with mud, I could barely push it, let alone ride it up hill. I might have been a bit freaked out by this in the past. Today, I threw caution to the wind and just went with it. A visit to the car wash later took care of most of the mud.

There was no one out there in the valley, there was no oppressive heat to burden me and the adrenaline involved in the challenge roused my spirit. Wheels slipped around and even spun in place at times. These are things I haven't experienced before in cycling. I was living dangerously.

When you start to get old like I am, time speeds up. A challenge I've given myself apart from my fitness journey, is to slow time down. Doing new things and challenging myself is one way I think I can slow down my rapid decent into old age. If everything's the same every day, time just keeps going by quicker and quicker.

It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. It's hard to break old patterns. It's hard to challenge old beliefs. But doing so, I think, is necessary as part of what it will likely take to permanently change the obese person's destructive course.

It's one of a thousand little things I'm working on to overcome my weight-related health issues. And it's always fun.