Let’s start with FITNESS, and in particular SWIMMING, since that’s an easy one: I didn’t swim at all. “Nilesh, how do expect to get better at swimming if you don’t actually go swimming?” you ask, well, that’s a very good question, a very, very good question indeed, that is a good question… Total swimming in January: 0 yards… ok, moving on…
Ok, how about CYCLING you ask? I did at least bike a bit during the month, in fact I rode/commuted to work once a week through January. Yes, it was chilly (generally between 14F and 36F) and windy – but thankfully it’s a relatively short just-under-an-hour ride (each way) – so while my fingers and toes got mighty cold, it was never long enough for anything to, er, fall off… of course there were a couple days when I would get to work in the morning, make my way to my desk and then await that crazy burning sensation of fingers and toes warming up, hurts quite a bit but thankfully only lasts a minute or two. Funny how it’s just the extremities that get cold – all I wear on my legs are cycling shorts over a pair of tights, and on my torso one long sleeve t-shirt and a cycling jacket, and even with that I sweat quite a bit while riding in the bitter cold. Compare that to two sets of gloves, liners under an all-weather glove, and two pairs of socks on my feet with a neoprene bootie over my cycling shoes. Still it never failed, 15 minutes into my ride, fingers and toes were aching cold. Ah well, whaddyagonnado? Total cycling in January: 115 miles.
RUNNING was practically non-existent in January. I went out a couple times in sub 20F temps, wearing shorts instead of long pants, didn’t warm up or stretch well enough, went out too fast (wasn’t wearing my heart rate monitor), and ended up lightly pulling my calf muscle those times. Yeah, slowly walking 1.5 miles home with a tight calf in like 18F temps, not so fun. I took lots of time off from running after each of those attempts, and then managed a few more runs around those injuries. You'd think by now I would have learned my lesson on how to manage running in cold weather, but no, apparently I had to relearn that one this season. Total running in January: 19 miles.
So how about something different? I started ROCK CLIMBING. I was lucky to have the lovely Prema show me the ropes – how to belay, how to tie the climbing knots and a plethora of other climbing knowledge she imparted on me. Went to three different gyms in the greater boston area. Needless to say, I’m hooked on continuing to ‘achieve new heights’ in climbing… As a side-benefit, the climbing really seems to be building up my upper body strength, go figure. So I tried to do some PULL-UPS at home – I started with only 2 at the start of the month, but worked my way up to 5. Yes, in comparison to many others, that is pretty darn weak, but I’ll continue to work on this and have a goal of being able to do at least 12 by the end of the year. I think that’s a very modest goal that I should achieve with consistent training.
One final comment about the month of January… I saw my BODY FAT % drop by 1.4% over that month. I was rather surprised by this significant and relatively sudden drop, and can’t fully explain it yet until I have more data. I’ve certainly worked out a whole lot more (volume) and harder (intensity) in past months than I did during that particular month, and never saw such a drop in BF%. So I guess I’ll have to wait and see how these next couple months go to make any conclusions. Sidenote: Just to be clear, I am by no means trying to lose weight, rather just improve my overall strength and efficiency.
Anyway, what else, READING, yes – I finished a book called One Year Off by David Elliot Cohen. The book was about a married couple and their three children disconnecting from their ‘regular’ lives (quitting their jobs, pulling kids out of school, selling their house, etc.) and traveling abroad for a year. For anyone who has ever wondered if it can be done, well, it can be, even with three kids under the age of 10. The book was adventurous, detailed, a bit freaky at times, but a great, entertaining and easy read.
I’ve really been trying to let loose the artistic and creative side of myself. Some of you know that I have a few of my PAINTINGS lingering on my walls and around my place. I still have that one large empty canvas calling out to me – funny story though, I actually already mounted it on the wall, empty, blank white canvas, er, well, maybe it’s not ‘blank’ but rather an artistic statement about the geopolitical circumstance of the planet needing to reverse the effects of the trend of overconsumption before the third world pushes us past a brink from which we cannot recover, or perhaps it was a precursor to the recent snow-shellacking received on the east coast (‘white out conditions’), or perhaps (and most likely) I just got tired of it sitting on the floor against the wall… but I digress, for this segment is not about that empty, untouched canvas, but rather a story about hope. On a recent Friday night, I decided to stay in and reflect on a few things, and found myself deeply moved by the unfortunate devastation in Haiti. In a breath, I spread out a tarp, grabbed some paint, and started whirring colors (red and black) through the air. I had a spare sheet of clear glass that I painted on (acrylics on glass) and ended up with the following piece which I call “Tear of Hope for Haiti”. Sorry, this is not the best photo, please stay tuned as I strive to take this and my other painting projects a bit further…
So finally, one last pursuit that I picked up recently from years ago. I’ve had an acoustic GUITAR sitting and collecting dust for 10+ years now. I was able to pick it back up and play one song from my beginner's book: Ode To Joy. But in general, I’m hoping to be able to competently play a few chords and be proficient at accompanying impromptu vocal musical stylings (relaxing with friends, campfires, etc.). I have a bit of a musical background from my early years, so let’s just see if I can put in the time and effort to retain some playing ability. One certain thing about playing an acoustic, it sure is a soothing and relaxing sound, even when you barely know what you’re playing.
Well, ok – that’s all I’ve got for now from the month of January. Sorry again to those who mentioned they’ve been waiting for this post. Will try not to disappoint again. Cheers.
