Saturday, May 1, 2010

From Sluggish to Restored in Two Steps

I felt like a complete and utter slug this morning but I like to get my exercise in before Saturday's second act.

Luckily, once I ate oatmeal with a banana in the mix, I felt somewhat like myself again. I usually go rock climbing on Saturday but my belay partner is out of town. Plus, I have considerable soreness in my glutes and thighs. So, of course, it made perfect sense to get on my bike and head to Grant's Trail where I usually come to a screeching halt when I see a cardinal. The braking, of course, is probably why I missed about six pictures but this beauty stood still for me.


I also saw two cats, a bunny and numerous Clydesdales. The Clydesdales make me frequently pause as well.




This clock reminded me of Frida Kahlo. Does anyone remember the name of her painting with a clock? It's a commentary, I think, on her marriage to Diego Rivera and the title is The Hands Were Broken or something like that? I tried to Google it but my phrasing must be off.

What do you brake for?

I pause when swimming because there's this father who's been teaching his son how to swim.

It makes me think of that scene in The Pursuit of Happyness when the son reaches up to touch the dad's face and says you're a good papa (1:58).



The pool father asked his son, who is about four, to do some drill and the son said it was hard and the father said:

Just because something is hard doesn't mean you shouldn't do it.
In addition to knowing that the pool father is a good one, he makes me think of my father and how I think about sitting next to him in conversation.

So, yeah, I started off completely sluggish and, don't misunderstand me, I enjoy slowing down and lingering over a cup of coffee while reading but I was once again surprised how you can feel lethargic then be invigorated by exercise and nature.

How's your weekend shaping up?

10 comments:

  1. What a great day you've had already. :D I went to Yoga and feel much better than I did this morning.

    I can't remember either, but I did love the movie Frida.

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  2. @Fattie Fatterton,

    I felt so much better after bicycling so I'm glad that I forged ahead. I'm glad that you're feeling better after yoga.

    I really enjoyed Frida and hadn't thought about the movie until I saw you mention it. Salma Hayek did a great job.

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  3. This morning I was biking and something made me brake! On a neighbor's driveway was the cutest turtle just standing there. We've had tons of rain so they had a little stream coming down their driveway. The next time I passed their house he had wondered off somewhere!

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  4. Diane,

    I brake for turtles too. :) I went to this place called Johnson's Shut-Ins a few years ago and saw the most beautiful red-speckled turtles...

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  5. Hi 'Drea,
    I woke up this morning feeling so lazy. In fact the past several days I've felt really lazy. But today I decided, "enough is enough"! So I made myself bike in the snow and cold and a little bit of rain. It was invigorating and I think I chased away the lazy ME.

    Hope you have a good week ahead :)

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  6. Diane,

    It's something when you have to chase your lazy self away, isn't it? :) By the way, does that count as exercise -- the chasing of one's self?

    You rock for getting out there in the snow. I went bicycling today sans the elements and thoroughly enjoyed it.

    I hope you have a good week too. I'm looking forward to getting more bicycling in; it's a carrot that I dangle to make it through the day.

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  7. Maybe one year you could join us for the Little Red Riding Hood women only cycling Event?

    di

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  8. Diane,

    :o, Don't go putting another notion in my head. :) Of course, I just went to check out Little Red Riding Hood on Active.com. I love the shero so much that I'm almost inclined to get a tattoo with a woman lifting a bike.

    I also like the fact that you can pick your *poison* -- 18 or 35 or 57 miles etc.

    It would be so cool to meet you at Little Red... :)

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  9. That clock on the fence is SO cool! Whoever lives there must be an artist. I love random crap like that. Just seeing that gets my mind reeling creatively. Thanks for posting! :)

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  10. @Farty Girl,

    I was bicycling along and the clock immediately caught my attention. I didn't take a picture the first time but I didn't pass up the opportunity on the return trip.

    Glad your creative juices are flowing. :)

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