“Take What the Defense Gives You” – BionicOldGuy

This is a saying about working within your limitations. For example, in American Football, the quarterback wants to make a long pass but that receiver is covered by the defenders, so he makes a shorter pass to someone that is open. I’ve been doing this for years now, but in my case “the defense” is the infirmities of aging. My favorite activity was running, but I had to stop when I got arthritis, and now I’m not allowed to do it because of artificial hips. So I got into hiking and biking. More recently, hiking has not worked out so well because of various lower back and hip issues. But what I liked most about biking was getting deeper into nature and away from an urban setting, and I can accomplish that with mountain biking instead (as long as it’s on easy trails because I’m not that talented of a mountain biker).

Lately it has seemed that even if I stick to biking I can still have a setback when I push too hard. The latest was last Sunday when I did my recumbent group ride. It felt great at the time but later in the day it had become painful to walk, because something felt messed up in my lower back. I think I irritated the SI joint on that side. This one was particularly frustrating because I didn’t really know what I had done, I hadn’t thought I was gone that hard during the ride. So I took it easy for a few days, shorter rides at a slower pace. And by yesterday I was OK again. I think I’m going to have to get used to this. I just have some orthopedic issues that can flare up from time to time and I need to back off when they do. But I reminded myself that what I enjoy the most about exercise is being out in the fresh air and the relaxation that leads to. And, thankfully, I can do that even when I have take it easy during a flare up.