Lately, I have been feeling more fatigued in the evenings – I attributed it to getting up early and dealing with the emotionally draining aspects of teaching ninth graders in a very challenging high school. Also, I have started waking up in the middle of the night to visit the bathroom almost every night – I have been taking medication for pre-diabetes and started to wonder if the prefix was no longer applicable. My wife is a nurse practitioner and she indicated some concern that there might be something serious going on with my health. So, I visited my doctor this past week. His initial diagnosis: I am getting old – fatigue and peeing more are normal at “my age.” He also indicated that as long as the blood tests come back “clean,” the real issue is being overweight (more than 40 pounds) and diet. Blood tests resulted in good news and bad news. Good news: blood tests are all normal; there is nothing seriously wrong. Bad news: I am old and fat. In a few weeks, I will be 59 years old; and then comes 60. When I turned 30, 40, 50, they were just numbers – I was actually in my best physical shape in those years. Gradually though, the writing was on the wall. In my 50s, my running pace started to slow down and when I retired, I stopped running/training seriously. The weight started accumulating. Last week I saw a photo of myself from the side at our faculty bocce tournament. I was shocked at the fat old man I have become. My mind’s eye still sees myself as that 175 pound fit 30-something soldier in the 10th Mountain Division or the 185 pound 40-year old running his first marathon. The reality: today I am not fit enough to hike even a short section of the Appalachian Trail. The dream: if I am ever going to complete a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, preparation needs to seriously start today. Losing weight and becoming more fit is not one of my reasons in and of itself to hike the Appalachian Trail. Although, proving that I can complete a physical challenge like a thru-hike in my 60s is surely becoming a reason to hike. So, losing weight and becoming more fit needs to be the second step in my journey towards the trail.
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Quiet Man
I don't have a bucket list. At 61 years old, I have already had the adventures of a lifetime, especially after a 30-year Army career, five years of teaching high school, and a 37 year marriage still going strong. But I still have this deep desire to complete the Appalachian Trial. Archives
February 2022
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