“Tempus Fugit” When You Stay Active

Paul Stevens

Carpe Diem (but in a relaxed sort of way)

“TEMPUS FUGIT”

I get sucked into the same hole every year. I repeatedly think that the break offered by the holiday season will provide the time to do a bunch of things from odd jobs around the house to sitting by the fire and read a book. Take some time to kick back and relax. Wow, was I wrong – again! Between going out with friends here and getting together with family there, it seems like you have to get back to work to take a break and unwind. At the end of it all, you look back and think, “Where did the time go?” With way too much to eat and therefore an extreme need to exercise self-control, it can be a fatiguing exercise when all is said and done. I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Did anyone make a New Year’s resolution or two? I usually don’t do this if only to save myself the disappointment of losing track of the mission before the first week of January is done. This time around however, I did make one resolution and that was to not get struck by motor vehicles of any type. Once was quite enough as I learned in spades last summer. It still gives me the willies thinking about what could have happened so I count myself as being very fortunate that I was able to recover as well I have with no apparent lingering issues. My wife will remind me that she doesn’t think my head is right but that sentiment precedes my accident by a couple of years at least.

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The next couple of months presents my biggest challenge to maintaining attention to fitness since the cycling season is on hold, likely until spring. When the warmer weather cranks up, our local cycling group, the ‘Manditos’, will start to hit the road and that provides a ready excuse to get out there aided by the prodding offered by the group. Warmer however is a relative term since anything above the freezing point with dry or even dry-ish roads constitutes acceptable conditions.

In the meantime, I have my twice weekly hockey games with my fellow townies and I can combine this with about a month’s worth of remaining physio sessions where I can ride a stationary bike and use the weight equipment. I do this twice a week which gives me four decent workouts over seven days. I have been adding a 3-5 km walk/run with our dog and that has been very helpful in terms of improving my cardio strength. That would bring my weekly workout total to five with a solid two days of rest, if you can count doing household chores, of which there are many, as rest.

When I first started doing some runs about six weeks ago, it was a very different feeling as I had not done any running of any kind for several months, a reflection of working through my cycling accident and preceded by a bout of runner’s knee during the summer. I have done a lot of stationary bike work via the physio sessions and that certainly helped but running is a different motion and uses enough different muscles that I have to admit to some general soreness after each outing.

Complimented by the continuing physio sessions and lots of stretching in between, I am at a point where I am feeling very comfortable after each run and there are no rumblings of runner’s knee which is an added benefit. I have my fingers crossed that this trend continues. I am not about to go out a run a marathon, but I do want to get to a level where I can do at least 5 km without feeling like I have been put through a wringer. No rush on this, I’ll just take just take it in stride and enjoy the ability to get myself outdoors.

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We are looking forward to a ski trip to Mt. Trembant in Quebec at the end of January that I have previously mentioned in earlier articles. We booked accommodations via Airbnb and the cost was very favourable compared to hotel lodgings. We’ll get a nicely equipped townhouse that provides all the comforts of home less than a 10 minute drive from the base village. You can easily see one place from the other.

This is the first time that I have tried Airbnb so I hope all goes smoothly. We’ll do some meals in-house and try a restaurant or two in between but it is very relaxing to come in after a day on the slopes, kick off your boots and enjoy a meal with your friends without the need to get yourself ready to go out again. I hate to admit it but after an active day of skiing and a full belly, bedtime usually beckons around 10 p.m. About two minutes later and a sound sleep is definitely underway.

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Here we are in January and in our immediate area, we have absolutely no snow on the ground. There are just remnants of some snow banks from a snowfall we had around mid-December. That is unusual but there will be no arguments from this quarter. What it means is that we really have about two months left of winter as once we hit March, the trend line is decidedly on the upswing.

If this trend holds, my bike which has been in hibernation for the past several weeks could be called upon to take a mid-winter cruise. Keep the snow away and the temperature even just a bit above the freezing point and I would be game to get out for a spin. Icy roads are a non-starter and is it too much to ask to hold the snow and keep the temperatures up just a bit? Probably but if it happens I’ll take it.

You know how these things work – what looks good this year will cause it to be a virtual lock that things will catch up at some point in the future and we’ll get a long-term blast of snow and cold. Unless of course that global warming thing is the new normal. If so, there will be a lot of disappointed kids who will miss out on the thrill of a good toboggan ride or skating on a frozen pond. I would hate to see that happen!

Your friend, Paul.

And remember – Carpe Diem (but in relaxed sort of way)!

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