Today I appreciated the fact that I tapped trees in this little grove. It's right next to the house, which is a good thing when you're collecting sap in the rain. So I've done snow, I've done rain, what's left but the sun?
I have a new follower who is also an old friend who I have not seen in way too long. Mary B. is a beekeeper now, but back in the day, when we were roommates in the Back Bay, we used to go dancing in clubs and work up the kind of sweat that would make my current workouts look like child's play. Who would have thought we'd both become fuddy-duddys. Well, I speak only for myself, truly, but I know we are both finding our peace in nature.
Yesterday I jumped rope in between the times of tending to my maple syrup. My goal is to be able to do 50 double-unders in a row. A double-under is where you jump once but the rope does two rotations. It's not too hard to do one in the mix of other jumps; it gets more difficult when you do them consecutively, as it requires almost perfect timing. They really get your heart rate up, and are a core part of Crossfit training. I am not a member of Crossfit, but I steal a lot from their web site. I'd join in a heartbeat, except for the fact that the closest gym is a couple of hours away.
This morning I did 150 double-unders, but not in a row. I just did as many as I could, then started over when I messed up. I can do 15 in a row. It won't be long before I reach my goal of 50--that's a promise (to myself). After work I headed back outside to see if I could do a pyramid (where you do one pull-up, two push ups, three sit-ups until you reach 10 pull-ups, 20 push-ups and 30 sit-ups, then head back down to 1, 2, 3). That's 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups and 300 sit-ups. I did the whole mess in 25:34.
How did I feel afterward? Elated and nauseous.