To misappropriate a quote from Charles Dickens “It was the best of times it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness”, it was 2020 and the age of COVID.
Wellness is widely promoted and encouraged at netlogx and I appreciate this. Personally, I have had a long and winding road walking with and around my own wellness efforts. I’ve been exceptionally fit and active a number of times in my adult life and while I recognize how well I feel and how this wellness has stood me in good stead when family illness and the associated stress came along, I still stop.
I have struggled with prioritizing wellness over other things. For example, after a period of wellness diversion ( stopping) in 2018, I really wanted to go on our empty nest vacation able to run 5k each day with Nick – and I did. I can clearly remember running 4 miles along the ocean on October 31st, 2018 and then going out for a bike ride. So, what happened I hear you ask?…. what happened is I yet again prioritized other things over exercise and stopped working out – which I am clear on is just an excuse.
As we started 2020, I recognized that I was getting older and fitness is really about a healthy old age vs. how I look, and I think mentally I acknowledged a different goal – being active vs. a training goal with an end date. Which brings us to the two treadmills – here in Indianapolis we have a treadmill, but I was spending a lot of time in Santa Fe. Leveraging the netlogx wellness bonus allowed me to get a second treadmill in the New Year sales.
So I then started a commitment to leverage this treadmill to initially run a 5k – as a practiced “returner to exercise” I started a 2020 Goals Google sheet to track the number of days I exercise and had a plan to build up from walking to walking/running to running. Only life had another plan for me, and I got shingles and so was told to take it easy. I only used the Santa Fe treadmill 15 times before flying back to Indy at the end of February! Well we all know what happened then….so I’m proud to say since then I’ve exercised consistently, feel better, sleep better and can run 5k in an ok time for me.
I like the treadmill as it removes weather prevarication and I’ve worked my way through a range of shows on Netflix and Amazon, some shows help the miles go better than others. Interestingly, subtitles help me focus on the show, not the miles! I have made a commitment to exercise 6 out of 7 days at varying levels of intensity and this time is different because I fit it in at some point each day – yes working from home helps BUT I can feel this approach works with life. I am hoping to get a few more miles on the Santa Fe treadmill when travel makes sense, meanwhile I am open to any and all binge worthy TV to watch as a I walk/run! Personally, watching Mad Men was key to getting me to a healthy habit.
