1500 Kilometers Goal Reached!

As we age, our fitness becomes more of a challenge and objective we need to address more seriously than before. We know the basic elements of diet and working out, but we need to bring this knowledge to action and that is not always so easy.

Never one to have had a true love for team sports and most physical activities, I was lucky to be able to participate in a variety of activities most of my life on an adhoc basis. Weekend skiing, an occasional hike, a bike ride from time to time; these sort of activities seemed enough for my first three decades. But during my mid to late thirties, I realized I needed to have some more regular fitness activities. While living in Arizona, I taught myself the joys of inline skating. Several nights a week after work, I would skate a couple of miles. On weekends, I would try to do at least one 10 to 15 mile skate. I also joined a gym and would regularly go to use the cardio equipment and weight machines. I even would do some free weight workouts with my neighbor in Scottsdale. In 1998, I moved to Glasgow, Scotland and soon realized that I would need to give up my inline skating for weather related reasons. I did join a council gym and later a more upscale health club to continue with my cardio and weight lifting efforts. When I moved to France in 2002, I sort of let everything slide, never really finding the same "body" conscious culture I had known in Arizona or the UK. At the end of 2005, Fred and I decided to invest in some cardio equipment. We bought a Kettler Elliptical Bike cardio machine. We would use the machine regularly and track our results in an excel spreadsheet. Using the iPod, the Polar Heart Rate Monitor and Cardio machine, we have logged over 260 sessions. Fred has had to cut back some, due to some back problems, but I have continued to pursue the rewards of cardio exercise. I listen to my cardio coach, Sean O'Malley and highly recommend using the Cardio Coach method if you have a home cardio machine and need some extra motivation.

Well, I am happy to say that after my workout today, the machine has reached it's 1500KM mark. Thanks to everyone who have helped us reach this goal!