Global Warming

On Thursday my husband pulled open the curtains, raised the blinds, and announced, "We're going for a hike." With only four days of winter vacation left, I was planning on enjoying the warmth of my down comforter and flannel pajamas round the clock.  The only good thing about winter is hibernation. Burrowing down in warm blankets in a warm bed in comfy warm clothes for a "long winter's nap." Waking up to eat something yummy or drink some hot chocolate or curl up with a movie or a book are about as active as it gets.

The forecast for Thursday, January 5, 2012 was sunny and a warm 57 degrees. In other words, it was March.

But hubby won, and we went for a "hike." Well, a walk.  I wasn't particularly interested in going into the state park and truly hiking in the mountains, so instead we just did a little jaunt around the Poudre River. Not very scenic, but it was a walk in the sun nonetheless.

Here's the thing: I am so out of shape it's disgusting. I mean, I knew that I had become pretty sedentary around Thanksgiving. I stopped working out and didn't do much of anything. Bare minimum to keep me going. I was sad because of the holidiays, I didn't really feel like going out for fun or for chores. I just kind of "tanked" if you will, and it's been sort of hard to get back in the swing of things. Well, not sort of hard. REALLY hard. But even armed with the knowledge that I needed to get back to the gym, move my butt off the couch and out of bed, I was not prepared for what happened after my walk. I had sore hamstrings and my knees were killing me.

Nothing screams "over forty and out of shape" like being taken down by a walk on a sunny day. And nothing is a bigger blow to the ego.

I wish I could say that that experience whipped me right into shape and I am a new person. Ha. Even now I am looking at the clock saying to myself, "Ah, it's too bad I'm missing that aerobics class," when I know darn well I am not a bit sorry about the aerobics class. I don't know what happened. I used to love working out and keeping my body healthy and in shape.  Now I have no motivation.  (BTW, if any of you gentle readers have ideas for getting and staying motivated, I'd love to hear them.)

The global warming trend continues, with today's high at about 48 degrees and increasing temps all weekend. I should go for a bike ride or seriously consider my husband's offer to go on a real hike. I mean, if summer is going to hit record highs I don't want to be in shirts where my lovely lunch-lady arms are apparent. Maybe that's my motivation.