Day 7: A Heart Attack, You're Givin' Me A Heart Attack!

Today started out with me having a minor heart attack when I realized that the number of jumps really increased from the previous day. Then I had a second minor heart attack trying to complete them.

The Implement of Torture jump rope does not play very well with my body. Right now I can barely do fifty jumps without tripping and then having to take a break so I can stop wheezing. But so far, doing fifty at a time helps. (Then, every time I hit a hundred mark I gave myself the proverbial pat on the back for just surviving!)

I did have one moment where I discovered "zen jumping". It was so hot and I was plain tired that I closed my eyes, swung the rope and jumped, surrendering myself to that moment. Amazingly enough, I managed to do fifty jumps non-stop. I couldn't believe it! Of course, I couldn't recreate it either. But hey, you gotta take the little victories whenever you can.

Day 6: A Lost Weekend in Shangri-La

My legs have decided to rebel. Feet are sore, knees are sore, shins are sore. They say they're not use to jumping rope. They demand that I cease all jumping immediately or else.

I counter their argument. I tell them that this is going to be good for my health and well-being. I tell them that their load will be lighter when there is less of me to haul around. I tell them that there will be more energy for them to share.

They don't like my answers. They want to know what's in it for them right now.

I tell them that I'm going to give them an afternoon of decadence. The exercises are done for today, and I will let them have some rest. I am going to treat my feet to a spa in the camp. Bath salts, peppermint foot lotion, scrubs, warm water, roses, the works.

My legs rejoice. The rest of my body starts grumbling. What about it?

Don't worry, I reassure it comfortingly. There will be someone there to give massages. Everyone will be taken care of.

My body leaps for joy! It has worked real hard this week and loves the idea of being pampered for a few hours. It's happy. I'm happy. And it is an indulgence that has nothing to do with food. (Shhhh. Don't tell my stomach. It's still excited about the massage.)

Day 5: Laugh 'Cause The Music Is Funny

Day 4: I Love The (K)night Life, I Want To Boogie

So, what is your idea of camping?

For me it looks a little like this:

I'm part of a group called the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA). It's an international organization that recreates the Middle Ages. Around this time of year, many of us head towards Pennsylvania for the largest gathering of SCAdians for a two week and event, known as the Pennsic War. Usually there will be about 10,000 - 14,000 people in attendance.

In many ways it's a bit more rustic than you're use to -- in other ways it's more modern than you'd think. One of the great things about it is that we try to go back to a simpler time where the best way to travel is by foot and food doesn't come prepackaged. That doesn't mean everyone follows that regimen.

With so many people in attendance, you can see a wide array of body types. Unfortunately there are many who are a bit on the heavy side. It's a helpful reminder for me to push on with a healthier lifestyle. These people can't walk more than a few steps without stopping. They eat many unhealthy options (which there is plenty), drink enormous quantities of alcohol, can barely survive the weather, and have many MANY medical problems.

I don't want to be like that. I want to be able to enjoy life for quite some time.

Yes, this first week has been a little tough with the jump rope. The other exercises have been fine, it's just that damnable piece of rope that loves to threaten my feet.

My legs are sore and really wish I'd stop. I think even my body wants to rebel against me. There have been moments when the passing thought is to quit torturing myself. Then I look at the people around me. That is more than enough incentive to keep pushing onward.

Time for more jumps!

Day 3: I'm A Tangled Up Puppet, Spinning Round In Knots

Day 2: And The Rain Falls Down

When you're camping, anything that you do is totally at the will of nature. It's great when you have days full of sunshine, but when it rains things get a little more difficult—and difficult is a far cry from impossible. It's just a challenge to test your will and resolve.

The rain began a few days ago. For the most part it has been just steady, with periodic sprinkles; however, there have been many moments when a torrential downpour has had everyone scrambling to save their tents in an desperate attempt to keep things dry. Some succeed, others do not.

This was the challenge set before me by the 'Verse: attempt the PCP exercises in the most unique situations possible. Well, I'm a long-time camper who has a bit of MacGyver in him. Rain wasn't going to stop me!

My tent provided enough room to handle everything except the jump rope. That was were everything was going to get interesting! The weather did take pity on me and it stopped raining long enough to complete the jumps. It was probably the funniest thing for everyone else to see, though. Jump, squish, jump, squish, jump, squish, jump, SPLASH! Yeah, I invariably found the puddle.

So there I am, in the middle of a mud puddle. What's a person to do? That's an easy answer. Laugh!! After a minute or so of breathless laughter, I crawled out of the puddle, got dry shoes, and continued with the rest of the jumps. The puddle decided to leave me alone for the rest of the exercise.

And the 'Verse smiled.

Day 1: Might As Well Jump. Jump!

When I read the "Day One" email from Patrick, I thought to myself, "This will be a piece of cake. I can jump rope. I use to do it all the time as a kid. Then I attempted to jump rope. I barely could make it to 25 without tripping or having to stop to catch my breath. Yeah, I had no problems jumping rope as a kid -- but there's a lot more of me now than there was then. But somehow I managed to accomplish the full number of jumps. The other exercises were easy, as I have been doing them on and off for the past year.

The part that I'm going to find hard right now will be trying to eat only half of what I normally eat. The reason this is going to be tricky is that I am currently on vacation and I'm camping. When I'm in the outdoors, I don't eat as much as I usually do. Everything is rationed out and when it's gone, it's gone. There's no cupboard or refrigerator to run to whenever the munchies attack.

So, I'm having to resort to thinking about how much I would usually eat if I were home and then trying to half that. I know there are times when I'll just chow down two veggie burgers, just because I don't want to waste the food since it's cooked -- so for this week, I need to only eat one. Along with that, I'm going to restrain myself to only one helping of side dishes and not go for seconds, as well as eyeballing my portion sizes. (I've done many diets and such over the years, so I remember things like: 4 oz of meat is the size of your palm, butter is the size of a die, and so forth.)

The easy thing for me to get rid of will be the salt. I have an adverse reaction to it, so I tend to not add it to my food. The hardest thing will be sugar. Yes, I have a pretty big sweet tooth. But the time has come for me to start thinking about my health and let go of some of those things that do not enhance my health. That is the journey worth traveling.