One of the challenges of all the traveling I'm doing these days is not really having much information about where you're going to land. Sure, the hotel has pretty pictures of their gym on the website, but when you get there half the free weights are missing and the elliptical machine is broken, plus it's overrun with ten-year-olds whose parents are in the bar ignoring the "No unsupervised kids under 15" signs. Or your plans to run are foiled by the fact that the neighborhood you find yourself in is too dangerous for such activity. Or you're in the middle of nowhere and it seems like there's not much to do when you're not rehearsing but eat or hang out in the pub with your colleagues.
Wah wah wah. None of these are insurmountable; they are just challenges; and they are challenges I've faced before; but now with more time on the road they seem to pile up with more intensity and I am still working out how to best deal with them. What has worked well for me in the past is an ironclad routine; but that is not always possible under present circumstances. So I am having to reprogram my mind to accept that there are going to be days and even sometimes weeks without working out, but this doesn't mean a big, free-for-all Fitness Vaycay.
It means that on days when I can't fit in a real workout, I do as much walking and "found" exercise as possible --- taking the stairs, walking the long way around, doing a little stretching and maybe a few pushups and calf raises here and there. And it means regular stern talkings-to-myself about what does and doesn't constitute a reasonable food intake.
So, I'm settled into my newest temporary home, which is a really lovely house owned by really lovely people a long, long way from where rehearsals are being held, and kind of a long, long way from just about anything other than other beautiful homes. At least, it's a long, long way when you don't have a car. I am dependent on the company driver to bring me to rehearsals, the grocery store, etc., at least for the time being. And this makes me feel trapped and anxious. But, my hosts are very kind and are letting me borrow a bicycle, and when they leave town next week, they have very generously offered to let me use their car. In the meantime, their luxurious home features, among many other amenities, a small gym in the basement, outfitted with an elliptical machine, a weight station, and some other goodies. It's more than sufficient for me to do my P90X --- still no place for pull-ups, but I can do the alternative, with my resistance band looped over the top of the weight machine. And I'm sure I will hit the elliptical on my lifting days.
My hosts are into fitness, themselves. They met underwater, while scuba diving in Cancun, when she was running out of oxygen and he shared his with her --- so romantic! And Joseph has lost quite a lot of weight himself, the old-fashioned way, so they tend to keep a pretty healthy kitchen and cook very nice, healthy meals. My hostess' sister, who I have not yet met, is very much into organics and healthy food, so when I unpacked my whey protein powder and almond milk and supplements, they exclaimed over them --- apparently I eat just like the sister!
Plus, one of the amenities of this home is a very friendly, sweet little poodle, who loves to cuddle and play and give kisses. I miss my puppies and my husband a lot right now, so it's nice to get the puppy love.
Today I helped Jeannette do a little light gardening, and then I restarted Week 9 of P90X. I'd gotten in three workouts before I left for New York, but then there were several days off. Slowly I am getting over my frustration at the delays --- it's better to just restart, and it's not like those other workouts were wasted. I'm kind of anxious at this point to finish the program just so I can restart it with the cardio emphasis!
But here's what I plan to restart tomorrow: running. I'm going to do the Freeway to 10K program from Podrunner Intervals to get started. If you don't know about this, it's a free series of podcasts with different running programs set to music which changes beat per minute to help you run at the tempo you'd like. The music isn't great, but it has a good beat and it's easy to move to. All you have to do is plug in your IPod, stretch out, and start moving.
I need to hit it hard right now, because when I get home, my opera workshop is going for the next month and I have almost no free time. So, running and P90X, and maybe a little elliptical. I can do this!
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