This is the first time in a long time that I’ve looked in the mirror and thought I might be getting too lean.

Yesterday, I left my house on my bike at 4:45 am and returned in a wobbly state at 9:45 pm.

I was out cold by 10:10.

Someone called in sick at Lowe’s at the last moment yesterday and they asked (begged) me to stay. Luckily, I had the day off from my cheese mongering job at Fry’s.

Of my two jobs, Lowe’s is clearly the most intense. It is “slam bam” from opening to close. It is hard, mentally and physically challenging work.

Yesterday was a Saturday, D-Day in the home improvement world. It feels like being a floor trader on Wall Street. With your mouth covered.

It is noise, lines and confusion most of the day. The masks are a blight.

All communication is urgently muffled and humping five gallon paint buckets while not receiving enough oxygen through a piece of cloth is hard on the body.

It lasted for 16 hours.

When I rolled my bike out into the warm Arizona night at the end of the day, I was not looking forward to the extra 40 minute aerobic bonus. But it was exhilarating.

There is no way my 74 year old carcass could have withstood such a pounding if I didn’t train and feed my body correctly. No way.

I feel great this morning and I feel I’m ready to do it all over again. After a healthy breakfast and a brief but intense workout, of course.

As I’m fond of saying, aging is not for the faint of heart. The ability to move around this earth unencumbered is a gift.

And if you’re there for for your body, it will be there for you. Left unattended and untrained, it will atrophy and wither and leave withering pain in its wake.

Ask me how I know. 🙂