Two Types of Tired, State of the Fitness, with a bit of Photography

Awareness of the outside world. Lawyers, Guns, & Money: The unending obesity panic in the face of the data, Campos, August 6, 2026. Hat tip to G.

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The good news. I did second exercise on more than 40% of the days in July (13 exercise/31 days = 42%, 10 bike, 2 swim, 1 5K). Morning horse walks counts as first exercise.

The bad news. It’s kicking my ass.

The interesting news. I have discovered that there are two kinds of tired.

Swimming

Let’s start with swimming. Last month, I swam twice. While that doesn’t sound like much, it’s actually okay. The plan is to go once a week and eventually build up to twice a week. That will hold me for a while.

Five laps once a week is hardly an exercise regimen. Right now, trying to instill the habit of getting out of the house and getting in the pool. For me, swimming is an afternoon thing, once horses & tasks are done. Unfortunately, afternoon thunderstorms are also a thing.

After swimming, I’m tired. Mild aches in places that don’t usually move in those directions. Not inclined to frantic activity. So far, so normal.

Biking

And then there is biking.

I started with all three days of the long weekend at the beginning of July. Husband has been coming home to bike in the evening when it is cooler. I join him at the beginning for a short, proof of concept ride, approx. 4 1/2 miles.

I waited until I had confidence that my right wrist would be able to grab the brake lever if needed. Much in the way they don’t let you drive until you can confidently stomp the brake. Wrist was good to go. [Doctor’s Appointment, Wrist Update]

Oof.

Apparently, biking involves much leaning on the hands, especially when sitting up and holding the handlebars, rather than down in the drops. I was sore before I even got home. Nothing getting damaged, just using the joint in a new way. For me that meant an activity other than typing, riding, or activities of daily living.

After. Took me days to recover. Task completion was minimal. Attitude was low. Not just tired. I sat. I stared into space. This is what I did while the wrist was healing. [The Mental Aspect, Wrist Update]

Got better as the month went along. Not as quickly as I would have liked, but it never does.

Conclusion one. Rehab tired is a different beast than exercise tired.

Conclusion two. Injuries bite the rotten potato.

Walking, Daily Mile

Check. A few days off, here and there, for early lessons & rain.

Walking, Monthly 5K

Hot! I walked the indoor track at the Y. A mile was 14 laps. No way was I going to count to 42 (3 miles = 14 laps/per mile x 3). I have trouble keeping track of single digits. [Counting With Sound 3 & Counting with Pine Cones 5]

I had to measure it. Since I was walking indoors, the measurement was going to be off. I walked for one hour and called it done.

BreyerFest did not have their IRL 5k, so no virtual 5K for me. Using a medal I found online, I made my own. There are some pretty ones celebrating the Year of the Horse. Yes, I am doing the medal thing again. I blame the lack of horse show ribbons.

Did having a medal help? Didn’t hurt.

Ostensibly, many things to look at during the walk. Activities below on the gym floor. Out the window at the wide world. And yet, bored! My fav walks in order, 1) IRL city 5K walking along the streets sans traffic, 2) a nice park, preferably with a big loop, 3) parks surrounding athletic fields, & 4) indoors. Clearly I rank my walks by quality of visual stimuli. The walk got better when I made the mental switch from 1 mile to a 5K. [Moseying to the Music]

OTOH, it was cool in there.

Onwards!
Katherine