Sunday in the Arboretum

Sunday we had a nice long walk in the Arboretum, an hour and some 40 minutes, although some of that was spent stopping and looking at the map. We came in at the Martin St trail head for the hiking and ski trail. Last year we came in that way in the snow, and walked through the woods to the head of Natural Avenue, but we had only been back once since then. This time we went over the same territory we had covered in the leaves, through the Lost City Forest. The trail was a bit rough (for skiing) but pretty reasonable for boots with yaktrax, with a foot or so of snow cover. We headed in past the new teal ponds and north through Gallistel Woods, crossed the road, and then down past the Indian Mounds to Lake Wingra and the big spring, where watercress was still green in the water. The area where they had been cutting brush in the fall was all cleared up. It's interesting getting the lay of the land in different seasons.

We came back through the parking lot and around a different loop of the woods trail. It looked entirely different in the snow of course, but there's a stone building from the CCC days in the forest. I got entirely turned around looking for signposts coming back through the hollow around the stone building. We had missed out on the Sunday afternoon guided tours the staff was running from the Visitor Center, but they looked to be moving pretty slowly. We came around the other side of a field we had hiked in by, saw some turkeys in the cedar trees, and then got all the way down along Curtis Prairie past where they are cutting alder trees out to the big new settling ponds we inspected last fall, for the runoff from the Beltline Highway. A lot of trails were closed off there, just where we had come through the pine forest last fall, but we found our way back to the loop trail and our car at the trail head. My feet were pretty sore, partly from the roughness of the trail where people have been walking (and skiing) in all kinds of melting and freezing conditions. Otherwise feeling pretty good, but that may be because I'm on drugs.

Saturday

Today I walked over to Monroe St, through the zoo, first to the public library, about 45 minutes. to pick up some books on hold. Annoyed with noise from stadium. I sat and read a couple articles from the current Yoga Journal there. Then up the street to Trader Joe's briefly, no more coffee, and off again down to Vilas Park. Another 45 minutes maybe home again, as I was back in just about two hours altogether. Just about 30 degrees, wind from the north, pleasant enough -- other than the stuff I carry around with me.

Walking around

Today it was right around freezing, wind from the east and south, with a flurry of snow when we started out. Jon and I walked west to the bikepath, past the new dam on Wingra, and then through the zoo, around the rest of Vilas Park, and back home along the bikepath. Out for an hour and a half. I had to lie down for a little stretching when we got back. My arms are sore, like somebody punched me in the left arm, probably just from all that stretching in yoga class. But then I'm pretty much sore all over.

Walked today

It was actually kind of nice today, wind from the south and temperature pushing freezing. I went out walking over all around Vilas Park, up to the bear mound circle on Vilas Ave and then stopped at Karen's for tea, 47 minutes to get over there. Then home for the mile or so along the bay which was 24 minutes.

Still feeling kind of sore all over. I don't know if I want to keep up this exercise journal unless it gets either shorter or more interesting.

Yoga class

Wednesday the 3rd was yoga class, at the Dean West Clinic which is a whole five minutes closer to home than then Edgewood building we have been going to for the last couple years. We're back in the gym, which is kind of chilly and has wood floors instead of industrial carpeting.

We did a lot of shoulder mobility stuff, and high time too. We always start with breathing and centering, then stretching. Table Pose, tiger rolls, Child's Pose, then bending elbow-to-alternate knee and extending to Songbird pose. Did this on each side, with Child's pose between.

Susi discussed shoulder alignment and core bracing, and standing with the belt held in front we stretched arms. This is a thing where you are supposed to be using the muscles between your shoulder blades, which I am pretty much not, using all chest and front shoulder muscles. We did a kind of military press type move to stretch arms overhead, with tension on the belt held with hands shoulder-width apart, more or less. I was having a bad day for pain all over, and started feeling kind of faint. We did another stretch standing close to the wall, with arms extended overhead against the wall, another way to explore range of motion. Then we tried holding the belt behind, to raise it, which extends shoulder and back. Much discussion of postural alignment.

Then we spent a while on the Warrior 2 Pose, with discussion of arm position modifications that we need cause none of us are all that flexible. I am not the only one who can place feet for a wider stance to get a better stretch in the legs. After that we lay down on our backs for Knee-down Twists, and then our 15 minutes of Shavasana.

I wore my houseshoes again, and was sorry later when the parking lots turned out to be slushy and they got wet right through and tracked all over the grocery store and then the kitchen.

No walking.

Missed another

Monday the first of February it was still cold. I didn't go out. I stayed inside and read all day.

Tuesday the cold broke, it got up in the twenties and snowed a bit, and I went out to walk around for 58 minutes. Over to Olin Park, then back up Lakeside with the O'Sheridan loop.

Missed one

The end of January: Thursday the 28th, it was effing cold again, but I went out and walked around (I forget where) for 27 minutes. Friday it was still cold, so after Jon & I went to a movie at Hilldale we walked around the mall for 42 minutes.

Saturday it was still cold. I mean this was the week when I actually put out some frostpainting to freeze on the deck, because it didn't get over twenty degrees even during the day. I stayed inside and read all day. Jon was out amongst it, slashing and burning at Spring Green with a bonfire to keep the crew warm.

Sunday (still cold) we went out to walk around anyway. After fueling up at the coffeeshop for a half hour or so, We walked down the bikepath to Olin Turville Park, then across the causeway to circle the bay. Wind was more or less from the north, and of course there are parts of that walk that are pretty exposed. Such conditions do encourage one to move along pretty fast. It's more or less four miles around the bay, we were gone a couple hours, never did figure out exactly how long.