Back on the Bike

I (sort of accidentally) took three weeks off from exercising. I never mean to do this, but it happens. When it does, it's always so hard to get back into the routines that were so easy to let slip

It started with the fancy dinner party we threw a few weeks back when Chev was in town. We moved the bike to the laundry room so we'd have space to play True American. Then we never quite moved it back. The week ended up being incredibly busy. We were trying to clean up after the party, and then clean up more in preparation for the cleaning people. Plus we had to do laundry and pack and were leaving straight from work on Friday. So, knowing how little time I had anyway, working out was the first sacrifice I made to fit everything else in.

Then we were on vacation and instead of working out every day, I was eating out and drinking with friends and family. I was sick when I got home, which ended up killing another week's worth of exercise as I tried to pull myself back into normality. During this time I also stopped weighing myself. There's this weird fear that builds when you've been weighing yourself every day, trying to lose weight, and then you just stop for a while like this. I dealt by not dealing and took to avoiding the scale along with the bike.

Last weekend, even though I still wasn't feeling 100%, I went to buy a new bike. I'm determined to spend more time riding outside this year, and this seemed like the right weekend to get started on that. I even went for a ride, though it was short because Kevin got another flat tire less than a mile in. It felt good, though, to be back on the bike.

The next week I screwed up my courage and got on the scale, convinced I would find that I'd regained the three pounds I've managed to lose since the new year. To my surprise I'd managed to lose a pound instead.

It makes sense, once I stopped and thought about it. I hadn't really quit exercising as completely as I thought. I still met with my trainer that week after fancy dinner party. In San Diego we went on a 3 mile hike up a hill and along the beach. In Colorado I skied for two full days. Well, almost full days. And last week, sick as I felt, I still managed to get my butt to the gym and walk on the treadmill for half an hour.

Getting back in the habit of riding the bike hasn't been too bad. I've had to work up to it, because my cough is still lingering and breathing has been harder than it should be. Instead of 45 minutes on the bike each day, I managed to do 20. Then 30.

I'm hoping to get out for a ride this weekend, though that will depend a bit on the weather. Despite the warming weather during the week, we might be backtracking to winter for a day or two. Maybe I'll be okay with a sweatshirt and some ear muffs, though. I'm ready for Spring to get here, definitively, so I can go for nice long bike rides. I think  I may even be able to keep up with Kevin this year. Or at least not slow him down too horribly.

That may have to wait until next month though. In the meantime, I'll keep going with the stationary bike. Slowly but steadily losing some weight and getting in better shape.