It was back down in the single digits, with a pretty good breeze this morning for Bennie’s before the sun walk and guess what, he went about 100 yards looked up at me, with that WTFO is going on look, turned around headed back to the house. So I dropped him off and went for a mile walk by myself for the third day in a row.

Sometimes the dogs are smarter than the people are.

I think being out in the dark is not one of his favorite things, because while it was a bit warmer at 9:30, it wasn’t that much warmer, but he did a mile plus, without any complaints. Oh well, nothing really all that serious, plus I get that first walk done faster without him – he is a pokey puppy who stops to sniff and pee on everything.

When I got to the gym I was all full of piss and vinegar to do a certain workout. Actually I was looking forward to beating myself up pretty good on the treadmill this morning. However, when I was warming up, the left hamstring never quite loosened up enough to run well on – it just didn’t feel right. So I took a quick break, did some foam rolling, stretching and then got back on the treadmill figuring I would at least get in a few miles.

No go.

I did about a tenth of a mile and shut it down.

The one thing I do not want to do this year is get laid up for multiple weeks when 1-3 days of relaxing and doing my exercises would have forestalled any long layoff. So stopping the run was the correct choice and one that I might do a bit more often this year. I probably should have gone ahead done a quick thirty minutes on the elliptical, but I was a little frustrated, so I just went home.

I am pretty sure that my Tuesday’s killer workout was a bit much for the old body and I am paying for it today. Basically I did a week 10 tempo workout of a certain training plan and I am more in shape for week 5 – so shame on me, I do know better, but I had to find out something that day to make a choice, which meant pushing the boundaries a bit to see where I am and what I can still do.

Which means today off and some time with the heating pad and foam roller tonight. My hamstrings have been an issue for years now and I actually do know what I am supposed to do to keep them working decently. Now I just have to get around to actually doing what I am supposed to. It might mean 2-3 days off, I will know better tomorrow morning.

It is often the little things in life that are a royal pain in the arse. Today was no exception.

While getting my parka on before leaving the gym, the zipper kept coming undone from the bottom. Crap a warm and comfortable jacket that I actually like wearing, even if it is ugly as sin. The wife looked at it when I got home and it is not salvageable, so I needed another winter parka. Crap! It seems that all that crawling around under the house when Elliott went on his walkabout down there in December messed up the zipper – just enough and I finished it off today somehow or another.

Harold the Destroyer strikes again.

I was headed into Waterville again todo a few errands again, so stopping at Mardens and a couple of other places were part of the plan. TJ Maxx had a nice Marmot parka, but the price was well beyond what I wanted to spend, so I trundled off to Mardens and found a jacket there that will get me through the winter. It certainly is not the quality or warmness of my old parka, but it is good enough and if I put a puffer vest underneath it, it will work just fine. The idea of spending under $30.00 was a point in its favor, especially when filling up the truck was more than that on the way home.

Life really is not always about the big things, often it is the little things that get things bouncing around and frustrate you over the course of the day. Both of those situations in the past would have had me pissing and moaning about how unfair life is and all that other shite. Unfortunately, this kind of stuff happens to everyone and it happens all too often, learning to live with the minor crap, making the best of the situation, fixing what you can and living with the rest is just a part of life.

So I did.

You are what you do.

Originally posted on Aging & Retirement – My Thoughts, written by Harold L. Shaw, Jr.