Not my very Best

The GPS said the reroute would only take 25 extra minutes.

It took an hour....on washboard roads.

I-17 was closed due to a brush fire, minutes before I was to get on it. As I suspected, there were dirt roads that could take me around it.

Which apparently semis decided they could take, too.

I’d always thought there were back routes around sections of the interstate, and recalled recent interstate shutdowns and wondered why state police hadn’t lead people off the highways on these roads to other major roads. (Still a good question!) My first ten miles I had no traffic; my last twenty I crawled with several hundred other vehicles.

The novelty wore off fast.

The scenery was stunning-I’d love to go Jeeping on this road someday-but the dust got monotonous, and the bumps irritating.  It had already been a super long day, and I was cooked.

Kinda like most days:  I’m completely worn out.

Special Olympic golf coaches, year three!

Don’t get me wrong. Life is getting better, but I can’t say that I’ve been giving it my very best.  I want to give it my very best, very much so.  In some areas, I truly am giving it my very best.

But overall?

Not so much.

Giup always gives it his very best, however.  Treats may be involved :)

In recent crisis, the motto to give it my very best *has* pulled me through some very tough spots. I honestly have given my very best to some top priority things, namely the Buckeye’s continued recovery.  Exercise and diet in my life, however, has NOT been one of them.  Instead, they are getting a very different set of rules.

Exercise is strangely becoming a routine.

This guy tags along about half the time.  Only half, not all.

I go to the gym at least once every three days, pretty much without fail.

Seriously.

I’m sticking to the the Arc Trainer, nothing else. 30-45 minutes.  Slowly increasing the level.  Burn about 200 calories a session.  That’s it.

This is not my very best.

My best would be a circuit through the weight machines, another training session with Brad and pushing myself to go longer and harder on the arc trainer.

Of course this is how I feel about that...!

In truth, I’m taking a very different approach to exercise:  I’m starting very slow, but very steady.

My first goal is to not have to use my inhaler.

I taped my gym ID to it so I wouldn’t forget to bring it.

This far. I’ve only used it on one visit-but it was a high pollution day., and early in the workout.  Given I’ve gone over a dozen times, I’m happy with my lungs.

I’ve also learned a huge secret about me and exercise.

YouTube.

Really truly.

I’m not a big fan of videos-everyone in my family will tell you I prefer to read. I rarely watch tv anymore.

But.

The Cleveland Browns

and

Safiya Nygaard

Have changed my life.

Seriously.

I put on one of their videos-and get on the arc trainer. There’s no gym noise. My focus is on something I thoroughly enjoy, not some mindless HGTV show or the local news.

And exercise is easy.

I caught myself looking forward to watching the next Building the Browns and ran to the gym to watch it.  226 calories later, I was pleasantly surprised in how fast the time had gone.  I genuinely hate exercise...but this?

It’s not my very best.

My lungs are not protesting.  My legs and arms do not fell like sore jello the next day, but I know I am getting stronger.  The scale says I’ll fit into jeans for my Hoodie Honeymoon.

And that’s just fine.

I think we stress ourselves out, feeling that in all things we must give our very best.  Yes, when it comes to the Buckeye, he needs that.  My business deserves that. But in somethings, it’s good to just have good habits!

Habitually exercising was never a thing I thought I could do, I dreaded it so much. Watching a video on making a Frankenstein Lipstick, however?! Guilty pleasure.

Add exercise and the guilt is removed. 😏

So for me, although I am months and years out from it being official, I may have found a way change my life for the better.

K-Pop makeovers and football preseason videos.

And lazy Sundays after a workout with the Buckeye and the cat and the dog all piled on the couch.

So it seems my sidetrack into a gym (which I hate) and the realization that not every area of my life has to be my very best (only the most important areas) is slowly paying off.

Well, for certain my lungs and heart are much healthier.

And that gives me hope.

Hope that I’m on the right path, even though it’s very different from the ones I’ve tried before.

“Hike like a Granny” I used to say.  Thinking that was the right path all along....slow and steady.

It’s not my very best. But in this case, it’s the best it can be!