Feeling Old

In just over a week, I'll be starting my final year of being in my 50s. Yet, these days, I feel much older.

It's hard to believe that less than two years ago, DW and I were walking all over Portugal, climbing the stairs and steep streets of Porto and Lisbon, and hiking over a small mountain in the Douro Valley. We'd be tired at the end of the day but felt ready to do it all over again the next day.

In 2021, I was in better shape.

In 2022, I was on my spin bike almost every day and when I wasn't riding it, I'd be on my road bike, covering even more kilometres. So, yeah, I was pretty fit and feeling good.

On our most recent trip, I was winded just climbing a single set of stairs. Hiking through cloud forests and through jungles, I was constantly out of breath, required many breaks, and was out of energy by lunchtime.

Thankfully, we often had days in between our mountain treks, where we'd either be driving to our next destination—in which case, I was sitting behind the driver's seat—or we'd relax on a beach.

But our last excursions got me thinking: I'm out of shape and it's important that I change that situation. As I head toward my 60s, it's even more important that I take care of myself.

I slowed down on spinning and cycling, last summer, because I had appendicitis and needed to address that issue. Because it was a complicated issue, it wasn't the standard removal operation and the month-long recovery.

When DW and I decided to renovate our second floor and replace our carpeting with hardwood floors, my spin bike, which occupies a corner of our bedroom, became surrounded by the furniture of other rooms while we laid down the hardwood in those rooms. And when we did our own room, things got rearranged and my spin bike was never accessible.

With the flooring finished, my spin bike is back in its spot and I thought that there was no excuse not to use it. Except, we discovered, that the bike could leave marks on the wood and we didn't want to ruin our new floor. Plus, DW didn't want me sweating onto the hardwood.

Excuses, I know.

But returning from Costa Rica, I knew that I had to get myself back into shape. Since we've been home, I've felt joints stiffen and I get tired walking up the stairs. Less than a week after being back, I hurt my left hip and experienced acute pain just climbing up a single stair.

I've been doing some stretching and strength-building exercises, and my hip hurts a lot less. I've decided that getting back on the spin bike is the best way to get me back to where I was before my appendix knocked me down. But I still had the issue of how to protect the floor to solve.

Yesterday, DW made me go with her to IKEA. I hate shopping in that monstrous, labyrinthine store. It's crowded, everybody has to navigate the same aisles to get anywhere, and it always takes us longer to get out than we expect.

But DW had a purpose, knew exactly what she wanted, and said we could go straight to the warehouse section to pick things up. She needed me because she feared some items would be too heavy for one person to lift.

She was right.

We got what she needed and we were through the checkout in no time. But when we were approaching the elevator to get our items to the main floor and out to the car, I saw someone carrying one of those thick, plastic sheets that you place under an office chair to protect a floor, and it was if a light came on.

I pointed to the person and to DW, said, "I can use one of those protectors for the spin bike. I'll take our cart to the car and load it up: you run back and grab one."

It's in place and fits well. Enough coverage, not only to protect the floor from the bottom of the bike but lots of coverage to catch anything that drips from my during a workout.

My return to the spin bike starts today, after work. I'm not going to sign up for a Conqueror virtual challenge but I'm going to turn on the television in our room and watch a one-hour show while I work out. I imagine it'll go slow, at first, as I get used to working out again.

But I'm determined to be in shape that, come spring, when the roads are clear, I'll be able to ride like I used to. And I only have one more year in my 50s. I don't want to hit 60 and feel like I'm 90.

Wish me luck.