I
played golf on 12/30/08 for the first time in about a year and
since my injury of February. The weather was perfect for golf. A mild,
sunny day with little wind. Ryan and I walked 9 holes over about 2
hours. My back held up really well. Fantastic.
But, I have to admit something here. I realized, after playing golf, I had succumbed to the dreaded hedonic treadmill.
The term "hedonic treadmill" refers to the phenomenon of quickly adapting to changed circumstances and no longer appreciating that which you so desperately wanted in the first place. It's what happens when you buy a brand new 57 inch LCD TV and then a couple of months later begin coveting a 65 inch.
I realized this well after the round of golf. It happened when I got back home and was putting my golf gear back up in the garage. It then hit me that about 10 months ago, I could barely walk and today, not only could I walk, I walked for two hours carrying my golf bag filled with clubs and all sorts of other stuff and took at least 30 swings of a golf club at somewhere between 50 and 70 mph.
I had to focus on that thought, oddly enough. I had to really just let it marinate. That lasted about two minutes and then I moved on to whatever was next.
That's the hedonic treadmill. If you don't push the pause button to enjoy the things you have, you'll just keep moving on to the next thing and the next and the next.
The following day, I went to the gym and had to adjust my routine because the place was packed. The bikes and ellipticals are on the second floor and the free weights are on the first so with my routines, I do a lot of shuttling up and down the stairs. On this day, there were too many people going up and down the stairs, waiting for machines and there wasn't much freedom in the free weight area. I could take about a half step in any direction and either run into another person or a bench or something. It's not so bad when there are two or three people in the space but on New Year's Eve, there were about 20.
So, plan "B". Here's what I did:
- 10 minutes of speed intervals on a stationary bike.
- 20 Speed Gunners using a FreeMotion Pulley.
- 20 Pulley Squats.
- 20 Push ups
I completed three rounds of the above in 41 minutes and 15 seconds. I had planned on doing four rounds but I couldn't get to the tools I needed and waiting allowed too much recovery so I left.
The gym was closed on New Years day so I improvised again. I hadn't been out for a run in my Kangoos in a while so I thought I would give it a go. I had forgotten how heavy they are and even though there's a lot of spring in the shoe and substantial cushioning, jogging in them creates a quick spike in my heart rate.
For January 1, 2009, I did:
- 1800 meter Kangoo jog
- 400 meter walk
- 1200 meter Kangoo jog
- 400 meter walk
- 100 push ups
My next session is Sunday, January 4th.
DK
