Football Epilogue

Image by Jeon Sang-O from Pixabay Spring is officially here! The vernal equinox was this past week and now we have more daylight than night. It is amazing how fast the days have become long, extending natural light well into the evening hours. One of my favorite things about Minnesota are the long summer evenings with light on the horizon until nearly 10 pm Naturally, the season change, here in Minnesota, was greeted with sub-freezing temperatures. It is also quite blustery out with a stiff north wind with what is perhaps winter's last hurrah. However, it is more likely the penultimate or antepenultimate hurrah. Snow in May has happened in recent memory.  With the weather fluctuating between nice and friggin' freezin' we dance between getting outdoors and hunkering down. The earlier week witnessed temperatures in the 60s F. Comfortable enough for a jog around my favorite little lake (sub-20 minutes for two miles!) in shorts and a light jacket. It was a little cooler a coup...

I've been using this blog to keep on with my fitness journey quite a bit. I've been writing less frequently as habits are being instilled. Still, it's good to check up and it might be getting time to pivot on to other things that this journey is enabling.  First off, a quick check in though. Since the holidays, I've been maintaining my weight fairly well. The added level of consciousness from daily weigh-ins along with having some good baseline habits is making this task easier. In rambling on with a friend this week, as well as some past discussions with others, being able to maintain in challenging times like winter is a victory in and of itself. I'll take it. When the weather warms and heading outside becomes more comfortable, work can continue on the "next level" goals. That's not to say I can't and shouldn't take advantage of some extra walking or cardio time when I can. Nor does it mean I shouldn't keep working on better eating habits...

I think I've caught the golf itch again this year. I'm finding myself wanting to get out and hit and hit and hit. I think it started with a golf-centric Las Vegas weekend in February with one of my good friends from grad school. The view from the first tee at Siena Golf Club. We played two full rounds. The first was Arroyo at Red Rocks and the second was at Siena Golf Club . My game wasn't the greatest, but it was fun; and apparently the flame was (re)lit. Enough so that I signed up as a sub on the golf league I played on a few years ago and I'm playing in a tournament with that group this weekend. The weather here started to cooperate in early April and I was able to get to the driving range shortly thereafter. I've also started watching some YouTube videos trying to improve my play. One thing I noticed from my Vegas golf was my driver seemed dead compared to my friend and the people we were paired up with. I'm still trying to decide if it...

This is not my yard. I'm a big fan of getting exercise in ways that deviate from the typical go to the gym, run a 5K mentality that a lot of people think they have to have to get a workout. While a gym is nicely compartmentalized and structured it's not always necessary. Take a look at this alternate workout I got in on Sunday: Leaf rake rows, 90 minutes. be sure to switch hand positions to work back and arms symmetrically Leaf/yard debris dead lifts, 60 minutes. work gloves accentuate the experience by keeping any mush of animal droppings off of your fingers. Sapling pulling 30 rows minutes. grab unwanted tree/shrub starts at the base and perform bent over row to uproot the unwanted growth. Leaf bag farmers walk. 1 - 7 minutes. carry full leaf bags to trash bin area. Repeat lift on garbage day to get bags to the street for pick up. Stretching and hydration. Workout #2 will commence on the next nice day with planting squats, dethatching rake rows, aeration plyomet...