First Ride

Got in my first 2019 bike ride.

Went down my usual road on the riverfront and was met by part of the levee that isn't usually in place. Weeks before riding, the river crossed my mind and then I forgot about it. We got as far as mile six when we met water on the road. It wasn't that deep but it was muddy. I have memories of being caught in the rain on a hike and how I almost fell several times because of mud.

We saw one of those hardcore bicyclists and his friend had gone through the water but he was like I'm not going through that -- you don't know what's in that water...

We saw many animals on the trail: frogs, turtles and turkeys. A guy at the visitors' center told us that a geese had attacked him. When we approached the geese, I rang my bell. One hissed at  me but no attacks. When we saw the goslings later on, we knew why the geese were on the defensive.

It's amazing how animals and nature make you feel connected.

Oooh, I like the new artwork at the beginning of the trail.

Went to Zumba tonight and saw one of my new Zumba friends. I had noticed her absence and when I talked to her after class, she said that she hadn't been feeling well at all and she talked about how fragile she felt and how she'd barely moved. She also felt guilty for only walking and I told her that's what I did when I first became active again and I reminded her how experts extol the virtues of walking.

Too Much Rallying

Got an invitation to go to an Iyengar yoga class on Friday. I'd had my eye on the studio and wanted to go since I would have someone to go with me but I was feeling tapped out.

I know that yoga would have probably made me feel better but... The class started at 6 and I would have had to get to the studio 20 minutes early. It was just too much rallying for my state of mind so I went home, paused then siphoned water out of the fish tank because I was over a week behind on doing that task. Headed to the to the 'Fugee's after composing myself a bit. Unbelievably, I was sleepy but managed to make it through a short movie then I took a short nap.

As the 'Fugee and I exited, her neighbor came out and was startled. I chuckled and then it was my turn to be startled when her small dog ran toward me. I guess we are all jumpy, she said...

Alison and I went on our first bike outing of the year. It was h than the projected forecast and a little windy but we made it. Alison has such a keen eye. As we bicycled, she spotted two turkeys -- one fanning his tail. Later on, she spotted these tiny, roadrunner-like birds.

Tiny, Fast Bird

House

We stopped around mile eight to have a snack. I brought an orange and Alison brought a mango and we exchange a half. Both were amazing.

Yum

Slightly Obsessed with Bike Sharing Fleet

Cool-ish

As I left the laundromat, thought I haven't done shit today but, in actuality, I had.

Left my house around 9:45 a.m. to rendezvous with Alison on the riverfront trail for bicycling. It was close to 1:00 p.m. when we left. I also did some reading. I'm on the wait list for several books and I'm reading Heather Poole's Cruising Altitude. Since I have a major case of wanderlust right now, it's a good book for me.

The week was eventful as well.

Zumba on Monday and again on Wednesday with a pre-show of outdoor yoga. There were four things (climbing, yoga, Zumba and swimming) that I wanted to do but, of course, there was no way that I could or should do them all.

Ballpark Village Yoga Series, Photo Credit: Tammy

On Thursday, had dinner with Gloria and, on Friday, I was completely knackered.

Since it's cool-ish, took a bath to try to suss out the soreness in my body. Keeping my fingers crossed...

Back and Forth

Alison and I went back and forth about what activity to do on Saturday. I woke up exhausted so ixnay on any possible plans to bicycle. We ended up going to Zumba and I barely made it through the hour but I was not the only one who reported feelings of exhaustion. Something in the air or collective tiredness?

From Zumba, Alison and I went to the opening of a new yoga studio. I was also joining Rosie there. Rosie and I moved on to have lunch at Frida's and even though I know it wasn't a wise thing to do, I went to Trader Joe's in the middle of the day because I was in the area. Trader Joe's wasn't bad but the parking lot was and usually is awful because of PetSmart, World Market, Target, Five Below and every other imaginable store.

Chillaxed a bit then cut the grass because, finally, the heat was not a factor or excuse...

Alison and I got a bike ride in today. We went to a new (to us) trail that was nice and flat and not crowded. Hadn't been bicycling in so long that my tires looked visibly flat so there was the exercise before the bike ride of pumping air into the tires.

After biking I went to Target and the grocery store, drank coffee then cooked and washed the dishes. Went back outside to trim down a small portion of weeds. I'm feeling outnumbered (mixed with bit of ugh) by the tasks that I need to do and then I saw this post...

Today is 29 days into finding out about the Mucosal Melanoma cancer spread.  I completed my second treatment yesterday and I'm visualizing this cancer being GONE. I've lost close to 30 pounds as we still struggle with nausea and pain, but it's in better control than two weeks ago. They placed a drain tube in my stomach so that the fluid build up and draining is more controlled.  We have palliative care nursing coming to the house so we have local in home support for pain management. I am pretty weak, unable to walk unassisted and am almost 100% dependent on my husband and Chase to help with everything.  This has been the hardest for us as a family. We are done trying to make sense out of this and we've switched gears to looking this monster in the face. Most days I spend in bed resting, taking meds, sleeping, trying to eat and just trying to keep focused on my new purpose....to fight.  Chris, the kids and I are so very thankful for every prayer, comment, wish, etc. Thank you for the meals, the cards, gifts. Thank you to our Mom's who have dropped their lives to help. To my boss and staff, who have been so supportive. We will continue to draw strength from all of you.  To all of you, please do one thing for me right this minute. Look around, count your blessings, be thankful for your health, freedom and ability to enjoy your summer. It can be snagged in an instant, and I just want you all to give yourself that gift.  Love to you.❤

A post shared by Heidi Zoltak (@heidiyogi) on Jul 29, 2017 at 12:51pm PDT

The Grape Exercise

We had a mindfulness training at work on Thursday. You know, how to be mindful in your life and at work.

The presenter, Greg, talked about organized forms of mindfulness like yoga and Tai Chi etc. We also did an exercise with a grape -- concentrating and observing it for about three minutes then eating half of it. While we were studying the grape, I kept thinking that if I ate mindfully more often, my clothes wouldn't be shrinking...

I've been feeling pretty confident about the whole take my front wheel off my bicycle but got to the riverfront today and the brake cable wouldn't cooperate. Thought that Alison and I would end up walking but this guy who looked like a hardcore cyclist tried to put it back together and it didn't work for him either. He suggested putting the cable together then deflating the tire which then made it fit between the cable mechanism. Inexplicably, the darn thing worked when I reassembled at home.

Around the five mile mark, we hit the rest stop and there were some other women there with Nutcase helmets on. We chit-chatted with the women a bit and one, a former trauma nurse, gave us a friendly reminder about wearing helmets and then her friend chimed in to say that when you crash, your body is still going 14 miles per hour. Obviously, she hasn't witnessed the speed at which we ride. The little lecture definitely gave me something to think about though.

Went for a float again. It didn't seem as relaxing as last time but I do like the whole ritual of showering, floating then showering again followed by a post-float time-out in the relaxation room. While it wasn't as relaxing, it still felt like a reset.

Float Tank, Filtration System Activated