Say What?

We received a text from Rachel yesterday morning saying, "Jack Martin was born on May 11 at 2:59 a.m., 6 lbs 13 oz. We are resting and doing great!" It was the text we were expecting, as she had begun experiencing contractions more than 24 hours earlier.  We drove down to see them at the hospital in Rochester around noon. She and Drew were both tired, and it showed. It had been a long 36-hour period for them. Jenny was there to help with Cliff, who was being his busy little self. We're watching PJ at our home for the week to help lighten their load however we can.  And Jack! Like any newborn, he's so tiny, with slender little fingers and toes adorned with little nails, and a head of hair that's beginning to show. He was making little noises and cried a little as I held him. Rachel will spend two nights in the hospital before returning home tomorrow.  (As I've noted previously, Rachel prefers that I don't post photos of their children. I would love to show ...

I've been in a funk. While I'm managing to get to the gym most mornings for about an hour, walk Oscar and Rudy 20+ miles (32 km) per week, and get in a few rides (mostly on my indoor trainer this time of year), I'm struggling with motivation. I can admit to my fair share of doomscrolling.  I think back to when I was employed and living a more structured life where every hour of my day was spoken for. I was motivated to stay on task to tick off items on my to-do list before I had to leave for work. Or when I returned home from work, I tried to squeeze as much out of the remaining daylight as possible by taking a few-hour ride. Good or bad, it seemed I was always on the move, and I took pride in that.  These days, I'm more inclined to remind myself that there's a benefit to downtime—to allowing my body to more fully recover between workouts. My Garmin Epix Pro 2 is good at letting me know when I've been too active, and it's mostly right. Having said all that, ...

In my last blog post, I talked about aging in relation to my physical performance on the bike and during my walks. Perhaps it's the Virgo in me—the meticulously organized side that tracks meaningless stuff, such as performance—but the numbers don't lie. The stats tell me I've been slowing down for many years, but a big part of my drop-off was due to my arthritic right knee. Now that I have my knee replacement rehab mostly behind me, I'm beginning to turn up the effort on my workouts, and it feels so nice . Knowing that my days of setting PBs (personal bests) are behind me, and have been for many years, I still know there's a chance my next ride may be one where I put in an effort I haven't seen in years—a solid effort—and that motivates me. I did that yesterday . It may seem like a typical ride to most other fit cyclists, but to me it was a breakthrough. After years of struggling to hold 14 mph (22.5 kph) on a gravel ride, I went out yesterday (on a mixed surfa...

I jynxed us in my last blog post when I spoke about our mild winter. A strong depression came through Saturday night and into Sunday morning, bringing with it about 15" (38 cm) of snow, single-digit temps, and winds gusting in excess of 40 mph (65 kph). It's pretty out there, I'll say that! But a warmup is on the way! My WeatherBug app is forecasting 68°F (20 °C) for Saturday, just two days from now.  As someone who charts the progress of my rides and walks, and has for decades, I've occasionally pondered how I'll cope with diminishing returns as my pace and distance both ebb with age. I'm 68. With respect to cycling, I've mostly moved beyond the pondering stage and to the acceptance stage. I'm not the rider I was just a few years ago. But having said that, it's possible, and likely, that I'll gain speed and distance on my rides compared to recent years now that I've mostly recovered from knee replacement surgery. I'm looking forward to ...

Tammy had surgery on her foot last week to remove bone spurs and bone chips. Her doctor said it was a much-needed surgery for her. Over the past two years, especially, she hasn't been able to work out or walk very far the way she used to (because of pain), so we're hopeful this will give her that ability again. She was supposed to have the surgery last fall, but had to put it off for six months after her cardiac arrest experience last August. She's wearing a protective boot on her surgical foot and must avoid putting weight on it for 6 to 8 weeks. Our goal is to get her fit for a full day at the state fair in August! We're in the waning weeks of another relatively easy winter. Nearly all of our snowfall is gone, and the long-range forecast has us well above freezing. Our last three winters have been nearly identical in terms of snowfall, with each recording less than half our usual amount (between 51 and 54 inches / 130 and 137 cm). There's still a chance that we c...

I've watched my share of Olympic coverage from Milano Cortina, Italy, over the last two-plus weeks. I mostly enjoy watching curling, but also figure skating, snowboarding, and ski jumping. I love the winter Olympics. It's been a nice distraction from our dysfunctional country. I was in a curling league two years ago and became fascinated by the sport. There is so much strategy involved. I still have much to learn about it. I've been going to the gym (Planet Fitness) 4 to 6 days a week. It's nice that it's less than a ten-minute drive from home. I've been working on strengthening my quadriceps muscles in my surgically repaired knee, but I'm also focusing on my core—something I've neglected my entire adult life. I'm pleased with the progress I've made. I see the gym as a regular part of my workout routine for years to come. It's such a good value, too, at only $10 per month. I wish I had begun years ago, but better late than never.  I was putti...