exercise – TheMcKeeSpot.

Over the years I have tried many different activities in order to construct an exercise program. There has been biking, hiking, running, weights, swimming, and of course walking. Of late, walking has been the one that has been the most consistent of these endeavors in getting exercise.

Walking allows me to get outdoors, to take the dog with, to go as fast and as far as I can. Of late, I find myself going to the stables, as there are many trails along the Mesa that allows me many different opportunities to cover as many miles as I like. Typically I am walking for about 35 minutes on average and cover about 2 miles based on the app that I have on my iPhone.

Still, it doesn’t appear to be enough to get my weight down. That stays fairly constant. Even as I watch my intake of food, limited soda consumption, and less junk food. But I figure that every day, if I go a little farther, go a little faster, then the pounds will begin to fall off. At least that is what I hope to accomplish this summer. Exercise for the body, reading for the mind. Now to figure out how to address the spirit.

I have several more things to return to and report upon during the course of my journey here. I hope you come back and follow my progress, or my lack thereof.

Since I have started this journey a little over a week ago, when I sit down to write, I have typically had the entire piece written in my mind. Today I find myself in the opposite state of mind. Some subject ideas but nothing about the details of the piece. Not sure if it is because I haven’t thought enough about what specific subject to write about, or was it the frustrating day at work, or is it running for three days on seven hours of sleep, or the fact that there is to much going on.

As I said, I have many subjects to ponder. All of them will hopefully get put into words as we continue on this journey. All of them will provide you, the reader about what kind of person I am. Such topics include financial stuff. Lots of blogs about that. Some offer great advice and I have found the articles to be very helpful. I am not a financial expert so I will not write about that much. At least I can write at some point about my axioms for handling money. History and politics are two areas that I have interest in, but they can easily turn people off, especially when they don’t agree with your position on the issues that confront our nation. Suffice it to say, I characterize myself as being “so far to the right that I end up on the left”. Other topics can be hobbies, travel, people, book reviews. Many ideas of things to ponder and keep me occupied and hopefully, all of you as readers, coming back for more. Of course, there will be more offerings in the future about my kids and our pets. Cannot wait to tell you about the goldfish.

Work can be a dull subject. I have a PhD in Chemistry from a Big 10 school, but I really don’t do much chemistry anymore. Most of what I do is in the area of solving technical problems. These technical problems are often caused by others and thus it becomes my job to “make it work”. You do with what you have and don’t request the Lamborghini when a Ford works.

As for the sleep, that becomes an annual conversation in my medical checkup, along with weight, diet, and exercise. Ever since college some 40 years ago, I have been able to function on 2 to 4 hours of sleep every day. Yes it is odd that when I am on vacation, 8 to 10 hours is the norm. Charging the batteries I guess, but I’m thinking that weight, diet and exercise, would be better controlled if sleep was more normal than what I get at present.

And as always, there is lots going on. While I no longer work the 50 to 60 hour work weeks, there are the kids to consider, life and activities outside work, and the general realization that it’s time to do something different as I reach middle age. Yes I plan on living forever, so I better start working on weight, diet and exercise in order to even remotely live to 150.