I walk Khalee every day. Sometimes we take long walks and sometimes it is just a quick jaunt around the neighbourhood.
Sometimes, I want to take a longer walk and she votes no, turning toward home at every opportunity.
All of these walks feel good for my brain and for my body but they don’t exactly feel like exercise.
Khalee, you see, has two speeds 1) sedate amble (to maximize sniffing possibilities) and 2) all-out gallop (to maximize speed for her and danger for me. I think the danger thing is an accidental side-effect or at least I hope it is.)
The sedate amble, with lots of pauses to do a complete sniffvestigation, is her usual speed but she might break out the all-out gallop if the path is especially snowy or if she sees that my husband has arrived home while we were out.
I enjoy the amble but I find myself wishing I could speed up a bit (without going all-out gallop) and get a bit of a workout in but I don’t want to make her rush. She is, after all, a dog, and sniffing is how she explores the world. And, of course, these walks are supposed to be about her, not about me.
Khalee paused during our Monday walk to contemplate the mysteries of existence…or maybe she was just wondering why I stopped. For the record, the paths and sidewalks are treacherous at the moment so we had to walk in the road. I was super-careful, don’t worry. Image description: Khalee, a light-haired, medium-sized dog with a blue harness on a neon yellow leash, is stopped on a roadway with snow on the sidewalk on the other side of the road. Her body is side-on but she is looking back past the camera as if she is staring into the distance behind me.
On top of my wish to get in a little exercise while I am already moving, I find that, despite my desire to let her amble along and despite my attempts to be mindful about my walk, my ADHD brain sometimes starts grumbling about being borrrrrrrrred.
During one of our walks last week, my brain got especially whiny and I decided it was time to take things up a notch.
I didn’t want to speed up and risk putting Khalee into turbo mode (and myself in peril since her four legs give her way better balance at all-out speed) so I decided to make my slow walk a bit harder, really using the muscles in my legs to pull myself forward with every step instead of just strolling along.
(The nature of my efforts made me think of an 80s or 90s aerobics instructor saying ‘Create resistance. Imagine you are moving through mud.’ so I also managed to make myself laugh a bit in the process.)
At another point in the walk, I tried moving my arms a bit more deliberately. And I also changed our route a little so I had two hills to climb instead of just one.
As a result of these tweaks, my brain stopped whining about being bored AND I felt like I had gotten just a bit more exercise into my day. And that was on top of the generally good feeling I get from knowing that I am taking good care of Khalee and myself by being outdoors for a walk, whether it feels like exercise or not.
Now, I’m not saying that I am going to do this on every walk but on those days when I am feeling a little restless, when our walk feels slower than usual, or when my schedule is so tight that our walk might be my only chance to exercise, I will definitely find ways to work harder without making Khalee rush through her sniffvestigations.
After all, I wouldn’t want her to miss any details. They could be crucial when her case gets to court. 😉
You can tell I am back to the gym. Here are some no say subtle clues:
There are two or three gym bags on the floor of my room, packed with gym clothes, hoodies, and running shoes. There is a large pile of dirty laundry, all gym clothes. And I’m dressing for work in clothes that easily do double duty. I’m wearing yoga pants and black t-shirts with nice suit jackets over top.
I also have sore muscles and I’ve never been so happy about it. Muscle pain, not joint pain.
I’m getting stronger again and that feels good too.
I have visible leg muscles again. And that makes me smile.
Often I’m getting up and out of the house early and that doesn’t always make me smile.
What’s on the agenda is personal training twice a week (during the day) and in person physio at the clinic twice a week (in the evenings). These days even the physio feels like serious exercise. Single leg leg press, weighted sled pushing and pulling, and lots and lots of step ups.
This week I got into a bit of trouble because I was out of town Monday and Friday and so everything ended up crammed into a few days. So many push ups, so many deadlifts!
I’m riding my bike and doing aquafit on the weekends but all of the physio and all of the personal training is weekdays. Usually people worry about being weekend warriors. I’ve got a bit of reverse. I’m the weekday warrior.
And truth be told, I’m very happy to be able to be doing this much physical activity again.
ABOUT LORI CAMPBELL: Lori Campbell is an associate vice president of Indigenous engagement at the University of Regina. A member at Montreal Lake First Nations, she is a survivor of the sixties scoop and has successfully reunited with her birth mother and six of her living siblings who were also adopted out across several provinces. “As an Indigenous TwoSpirit woman I don’t see myself represented in many public spaces and roles. I often have young TwoSpirit people reach out to me because they are struggling and I know how lonely it can feel without role models. Sometimes you just have to step up and be what you can’t see – so that others will hopefully struggle just a little bit less.”
As a 50-year-old woman who works in an office job, Lori stays fit to maintain good mental health. She brings stamina and maturity to the competition, “I just dug deep and thought about all the pain and violence my ancestors went through and thought I can do anything,” she says, ” I didn’t want any Indigenous person to feel like they weren’t good enough!”
We notice that like Sam and Tracy with our “fittest by 50” challenge that you took this challenge on during the year of your 50th birthday? Not a coincidence, right? What’s the significance for you in turning 50?
Well, I had decided that in my 50th year I wanted to do a stronger push to be more fit again. I had maybe just let things slide a little bit partly because I was just getting older and partly because of getting caught up with my career and balancing time. Anyway, I decided that I wanted to not let age or career be a barrier and that I wanted to be “fit at 50”. What I didn’t set out to do was to be cast for Canada’s Ultimate Challenge. That part just happened to coincide with my 50th year and then, how could I say no, after I had already committed to being fit at 50 and reaching new goals!
I feel that sometimes people let their age get in the way of taking opportunities to age well. I see far too many people decide that they are too old to do something, rather than actually being in a position of where there are severe physical limitations to do something. I want to age well, keep my body healthy, and continue to reach new physical goals.
You’re also like us, a university administrator. Does your academic life influence your identity as an athlete at all? How about the other way around?
My academic world has come full circle! I started playing basketball here at the University of Regina with the Cougars in my first year of university. I often say sport was my gateway to university. I wasn’t really interested in furthering my education, but I sure liked playing basketball – and in order to keep playing – I had to come to school. Having a team like that helped me build a community and supported success in university. Eventually, I started realizing how exciting university was and how many amazing things there were to learn – and the rest is history!
Did you have a specific training program before the show?
I did not have a specific training program before the show. When covid hit and the gyms shut down, I started running again and, like many others, accumulated fitness equipment in my home gym. I was just casually working out and running to help pass the time, keep my mental health strong, and working towards new fitness goals. I kept thinking, they won’t pick me for the show. I’m old. I thought I was a bit above average in fitness for my age category, but still, I haven’t competed at anything fitness related in a couple decades! And with age, comes a longer history of injuries, slower recovery, etc. I found out I made it on the show 10 weeks before we had to start. I knew enough to know that I needed to relearn some of the skills that support mobility, agility and movement technique and a friend referred me to a local fitness club called Flux Movement, with Darci Anderson. That was a lifesaver! Darci’s work is all about fitness longevity, body mechanics, and moving well. She even has parkour classes which I started right away because I was sure that training was going to be helpful! Those 10 weeks at Flux helped me build some confidence, advance some skills and my fitness, and reminded me that I could still do some things that I hadn’t tried in decades, like climb a rope to the ceiling!
Did you employ relaxation exercises during the challenge?
Relaxation was very difficult during the challenge. There were a lot of “unknowns”. For example, where we were going or what the challenges were going to be. That made relaxation difficult but also so necessary. I had a specific play list that I used throughout. It was full of empowering songs by artists like Allison Russell, Tracy Chapman, Buffy Sainte-Marie and Fawn Wood. That women on my playlist were my rock!
Was there a part of the challenge that you didn’t expect to be hard, but stood out as a potential obstacle?
There were so many amazing and inspiring athletes on the show and I knew that the best of others would sometimes be better than my best. We all had our own physical and mental strengths and weaknesses. Many of the competitors make their living in the fitness industry – I sit at a desk. I knew that I have very strong mental stamina, but I also knew that I have physical weaknesses that others had strengths in. For example, I couldn’t even come close to doing a chin-up when I went on the show, but now, I am almost there. Others could do one arm chin ups! That was where the beauty of “team” came into play. Where I lacked others were strong and vice versa.
What was your favourite aspect of the challenge?
I think my favorite aspect was really getting to meet the other players. There were so many talented people, each bringing their own stories and skills. Because I was old, I felt like I “auntied” a lot, and I really love that several call me auntie now!
How do you understand fitness within the context of your Indigenous culture and worldview as a member of the Montreal Lake Cree Nation?
Health inequalities have affected Indigenous peoples since European contact. Social determinants of health have harmed us deeply – everything from political assimilation policies and violence, to religion, environmental racism, and lack of access to food sovereignty. To be a healthy, mature Indigenous woman, Two Spirit woman, is an act of resistance – and act of refusal – and it takes so much work. I am grateful to have so many around me who support me.
When I was young, I never saw myself represented and so many Indigenous youth today still, don’t dream. It is difficult to dream to be what you can’t see. I remember that. And, so I decided that I can try to be what I couldn’t see and maybe, it will provide inspiration for an Indigenous Two-Spirit youth to dream.
What might settlers get wrong about how they might think about Indigenous athletes?
There are still a lot of people who believe in the myth of meritocracy and feel that Indigenous peoples need to “just get over it”, “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” attitude. What I wish more people would recognize is that what they see are the symptoms of the ongoing impact of colonization. It is difficult to strive to be an athlete when you have never had clean drinking water or access to a gym or proper nutritious food. It is difficult to strive to be a strong athlete when you are simply struggling to have basic survival needs met.
Do you identify as a feminist and if so, how does that influence your approach to competitive, athletic activity?
For a while I felt like feminism was something that belonged to white women, to the colonizer, and that through a colonized lens I could try to find my feminist Indigeneity. However, in doing so it felt like I was trying to take on a “philosophy” or ‘way of being” that did not belong to me. I tried many times to look through the eyes of the white woman to take up feminism for the good of women but I couldn’t make it work.
But now, yes, I am a feminist. I am an Indigenous Two Spirit feminist. My feminism originates from, and exists outside of the influence of the white feminism that originated in the late 19th century. It is from the learning through my ancestors and the practicing of our ceremonies. It is from knowing who I am and living my life in a good way. I centre my Indigeneity as a Two-Spirit nēhiyaw āpihtākosisān iskwew from mōniyawi-sākahikanihk, Treaty 6 territory – not as an act of decentering white or colonial feminism but as an act of refusing whiteness or colonialism as the normative default from which all else is borne. This is my expression of Indigenous feminism.
Trailer for Canada’s Ultimate Challenge
Canada’s Ultimate Challenge (8×60) is the only competition reality series that turns the entire country into a giant obstacle course. Showcasing iconic locations in British Columbia, Alberta, Yukon, Ontario, Quebec, and the Confederation Bridge between New Brunswick and PEI, six teams of four are coached by Olympians Donovan Bailey, Waneek Horn-Miller, Clara Hughes, Gilmore Junio, Jen Kish, and NFL Super Bowl champion Luke Willson through gruelling physical and mental challenges. Twenty-four Players compete in solo, tandem, and team challenges, pushing themselves to the limit. All the action is anchored by snowboarder and sports analyst Craig McMorris and sports broadcaster Nikki Reyes. CANADA’S ULTIMATE CHALLENGE debuts Thursday, February 16 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC TV and CBC Gem.
We had a wonderful trip to Arizona, with lots of regular movement, hiking and biking galore.
And then I got home and my physiotherapist pronounced that I don’t have to use my cane if I don’t feel I need it. My gait is pretty normal. (And yes, I’ll still use it or my hiking poles outside while it’s snowy and icy.)
I’m feeling confident now that more movement is better than less for my knee after Arizona. I’m going to try to use the trainer everyday and as soon as I can, get back to commuting to work by bike.
Strength training is going well too. I’m starting to feel more like my old self at the gym. You can see muscles in my leg again.
Last Sunday, my friend Norah and I did a 2-hour workshop on yoga designed to help ease tension in head, neck and shoulders.
This is exactly what I need. All the time. Every day. Well, if didn’t have to go to work. In which case, I might be significantly less tense. But I’d want to do the workshop anyway because it felt so good.
Who else feels this way?
Yeah, I thought so. Everyone’s raising their hand. Thanks Gpointstudio for the pic.
First off, we did two variations on savasana, corpse pose. There were loads of props to make us optimally relaxed, including sand bags placed on our hands. In these images, sandbags were used on the elbows and shoulders, which I’ve experienced. It feels even better– like your entire upper body is able to relax into the best position possible. Counterintuitive, I know. But what can I say? It worked.
Yes, those are sandbags. We had smaller ones, but they worked well.Facing down, with arms and head supported so the whole back body can relax.
Standing, we did some shoulder stretches against the wall. They were intense (read sort of painful, but in a stretchy, not ouchy way) but had effects on my shoulders, arms and hands, too.
This can be done against any wall, with arm lower if you want.This pose extends the shoulder and deltoid and triceps, too.
One of my favorite poses was a very prop-intensive but extremely relaxing extended bridge pose.
Using a bolster, blankets, blocks, towel under head, one can achieve peace.
We did a lot more poses and variations, many of which were subtle but (for me) had palpable easing of the tension in my neck and shoulders while doing various lower-body yoga stretches. I’m ordering the book on which this workshop is based, by Iyengar Yoga teacher Lois Stenberg. It’s called Iyengar Yoga Asana Alternatives: The Neck and Shoulders. Many of these poses can be done, unaided, at home. And when I do them, especially the standing hand stretches, they help undo some of the computer-induced crampiness I get (I think you know what I mean).
Have any of you tried some of these? What do you do for your head, neck, shoulders? I’d love to hear from you,
Image description: overhead shot of runing shoes, a resistance band, two sets of dumbbells and a kettle bell beside a yoga mat on a wood floor (Tracy’s home set-up).
Despite fulfilling my January challenge by staying more or less consistent with Yoga with Adriene‘s Center (Canadians and such will need to get over the spelling of “center” as opposed to “centre”) practice, I don’t feel as if I’ve hit my 2023 stride yet. Yoga is fine, but I can’t have yoga be the whole of it. I need strength training. I need regular running. And I have neither in my life in anything like a routine. So earlier this week a co-worker said she uses some trainers on YouTube for her strength training. I asked her to send me some names and she did (thanks Gayle!): Larie Midkiff, Sydney Cummings Houdyshell, and Caroline Girvan. My task this week: to do one session with each of them and report on it.
Wednesday Morning: Larie Midkiff’s “30 Minute Dumbbell Only Full Body Workout | Strength Cardio Endurance | Giant Sets | Low Impact” This was a tough full-body workout that made me sweat. Larie Midkiff is a lowkey trainer who doesn’t talk a lot. There is peppy instrumental music running in the background. She has a sparse set-up, which is reassuring for home workouts. This workout is as described — low impact, full-body, giant sets that develop strength, cardio and endurance. After a short warm-up on the mat, we went straight into the first of four giant sets. Each giant set had two rounds of four exercises. The first round was 30 seconds of each exercise with heavier weights. The second was 60 seconds of each, lighter weights. They all involved combination of moves familiar to me: cleans, thrusters, presses, rows, sumo squats and lunges to name a few. She ended with a short cool down of stretches that felt amazing. Total time: 35 minutes (after which I needed a shower).
Verdict: I liked Larie’s style — quiet, with a sense of purpose. If you are looking for instruction, you won’t find it here (maybe she has other workouts that are more geared in that direction). But if you have experience with weights and feel comfortable with your form on a variety of familiar moves, which is the category I would put myself in, she’s really good. I will definitely go back for more of Larie Midkiff’s workouts.
Thursday Morning: Caroline Girvan’s “20 MIN Dumbbell Full Body Workout – Compound Movements | NO REPEATS“. I chose this in part because I didn’t have tons of time and in part because I wanted to be fair and compare full-body workouts to full-body workouts. This was not quite as challenging as yesterday’s with Larie Midkiff, but it was a clearly presented series of movements, 40 seconds of work followed by 20 seconds of rest. The exact exercises are listed under the video, so you can make an informed decision about whether the workout appeals to you. Other than the preamble, Caroline didn’t talk at all. But she is an upbeat young woman and her energy is palpable throughout. There is music playing throughout the workout and the timer counts down so you know when the move will change. The last three seconds of the timer sounds a tone that indicates it’s about time to switch. The next exercise shows up in the top right corner, the name of it (for example, “goblet squats” or “should press” or “upright rows”) in the bottom right, and Caroline gets into position to do the exercise, which she does with control and perfect form. There is often a form prompt at the beginning of each exercise too, such as for the Single Arm Bent Over Row where it says “CONTROL the lowering portion at all times! Think about moving through a large range of movement.” We covered quite a few minutes within the 20 minutes of active work, including two back-to-back core exercises at the end for 60 seconds each. While there was no warm-up, there was a stretching cooldown for about 3 or 4 minutes after the weight training.
Verdict: I enjoyed this workout a lot. Maybe I’m discovering that the YouTube trainers don’t do a lot of talking as they walk you through the workout. Again, I would say that these workouts assume a baseline of knowledge and experience. But if you have it, then it’s great. I thought the production value here was pretty high. Even though it 40-seconds on and 20-seconds off is a fast pace, I liked her emphasis on deliberate and controlled work, and I didn’t feel rushed. I was able to manage with the weights I have, though over time I will need to take it downstairs to the fitness centre in my building. I will certainly try more workouts with Carline Girvan.
Friday End of Work Day: Sydney Cummings Houdyshell’s “30 Minute Full Body Strong & Fit Workout | Effort – Day 1.” This workout is clearly the beginning of a series called “Effort” and wowza. I had to dial it back a few times. Sydney Cummings Houdyshell is much more what I was expecting from YouTube trainers, where she is talking throughout in that way they do in classes at the gym. She is a high-energy, pep-talking, “you can do it!” style of trainer. She does it with you, but offers enough guidance and prompts to let you know what’s coming. This was a high-intensity workout where you do 45 seconds on with 15 seconds rest for two rounds, then 30 seconds amped up for one more round followed by 30 seconds rest. Then on to the next exercise. It’s a mix of lower, upper, and core, with some cardio (burpees anyone?) thrown in. There is a bit of a warm-up to get the blood flowing and then a stretchy cooldown at the end.
Verdict: This was the hardest, possibly because it was at the end of the day but also because it tested my endurance with the pace of it and the integration of more cardio. Again there is no instruction, so if you are not sure of your form on squats, bicep curls, shoulder presses, one-legged Romanian deadlifts, or burpees you might want to get right with that before you workout with her. In the end, I think I am more likely to opt for one of the other two, but if I’m looking for cardio with some resistance training, I will choose Sydney Cummings Houdyshell.
In the end, I think all three of these trainers have something to recommend them. I imagine I will go back to all of them and over time it will become clearer to me whose programs suit me best. If you decide to check them out, my guess is that you’ll want to do the same. Their styles are different enough that it’s worth trying a few sessions with all three to see where you land.
If you have a favourite YouTube trainer, please let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear about others, or about your experiences with one of these three.
I turned 58 on Wednesday. What is this, this 58 in the year 2023?
When I was a kid, my great aunts were 58, old ladies with the jewel encrusted cat eye glasses and lambswool coats. They smelled like face powder and got their hair “done” once a week, sleeping in curlers and hair nets every night.
They also apparently liked to wear silk and pearls and party in the basement, but that’s another story. (That’s my grandmother on the left. I think she was in her 40s there).
I had a facetime call with my cousin and his wife a couple of weeks ago. “Gosh you two look like Creedes as you age,” she said. The genes that sift to the front as the skin gets less elastic, as everything softens.
I’m away this week, a kind of holiday/ self-structured writing retreat in Sarajevo. A beautiful and friendly city, in a bowl of mountains, scarred with bullet holes and memorial “roses” created out of red paint and bomb scars. The war wasn’t long ago. It’s chilly this week, and Bosnians are relentless smokers. As a result, cafés aren’t quite as welcoming as I’d hoped. After dinner my first day, the smoke blocked my tear ducts and I had to put warm compresses on my eyes to stop my eyes from streaming.
I’m working on a book — finally — because did you know, I’m not getting any younger.
On my birthday, I decided to do a series of 108 sun salutations. I’ve done this a few times, to mark transitions, usually when I’m traveling, sometimes on the solstice guided by a teacher. I’m in a perfectly nice international hotel but the gym is utilitarian and doesn’t have a lot of floor space, and the carpet in my room makes my yoga mat fold up weirdly. So I negotiated my way into a little room off the edge of the sparsely-used spa area (a steam room and sauna and a room with white lounges no one has used since I’ve been here). The spa ladies seemed concerned that I would disturb people with my yoga. I promised not to disturb anyone, blinking my eyes still red from secondhand smoke.
I pushed a table aside and set myself up in the bright corner room, snow fluffing down outside. I scavenged a towel, paper and pen to keep track of my sets and a plastic cup of water.
“What does it mean to be alive in this body, right now?” I thought, as I started. An intention of sorts.
I did sets of 12. The first set was fluid, fast, lithe. “This body is GOOD,” I thought. “I AM STRONG.” A tiny break for water.
Another set of 12. Then another. A little slower, the chatarangas less confident, a tiny bit more collapsey. But I was still hopping back with both feet, making my way back to the top with a hop. Little drips of sweat were hitting my mat periodically. This body is capable. When I paused, 36 seemed like quite a lot. The thermostat on the wall, I noticed for the first time, said it was 30 C.
A pause for water, then another two sets. Right around the same time that I passed 58 — my age, a place I could stop and still consider it a meaningful set — my body answered the question I’d asked. What is it like to be in this body today? Being alive in this body right now is glorious, is lucky, is strong. I have breath, autonomy, health. So much strength. Grit. A great centre of balance.
And it’s aging. Time does things. It’s not the same body even as it was when I turned 55, when I deadlifted 200 pounds. Part of that is COVID — I haven’t really been in a gym in three years. But I’m active every day, yoga and walking and cycling, indoor and out. I’m fit. I walk fast and confident. I cycle hard and far.
And. My skin is crepey and dry and sags when I’m in plank. My body shape is just generally more “middle aged,” belly and boobs and arms thicker despite the underlying muscle. My two auto-immune skin conditions have been plaguing me. I can’t digest the way I could before. My asthma is only vaguely managed, especially in a city of smokers. My eyelids are sagging and I might need that surgery to keep them from blocking my vision. My teeth are fragile and — I hate to admit it — kind of stained, despite regular cleanings and my relentless toothbrushing.
I am an awesome, glorious being, strong and fierce and perseverant. I’m wiser than I have ever been, more settled in my life, happier in my work, creative in my day to day life. Conscious of and connected to my community. Living a meaningful life. Robust and strong and energetic. And I’m aging. It is a thing. Bodies don’t hold still in time. We can nourish them and strengthen them and pamper them, and let them sleep — and we are also in the bodies we are in. And it’s okay.
Somewhere in the 5th and 6th sets of sun salutations — I just had no choice about slowing down. I paused more. I started to modify a little, stepping more instead of hopping. By the 9th set, I just could not chataranga anymore, so I lowered myself to cobra instead. Softly shifted to downward dog. Still beautiful. Modified and present.
I broke the last two sets of 12 into three sets of 8. I hadn’t eaten enough and my blood sugar was dropping. It was hot. I went into child’s pose between these sets, body no longer so willing, but the ferocity of spirit took over. “Ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive.” Bruce Springsteen flickered through my head.
I did the last two sun salutations slowly, mindfully, gratefully. My body is glorious. My body is aging. My body is glorious.
Fieldpoppy is Cate Creede, who normally lives in the part of the world we now call Toronto, which is Treaty 13 territory signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit. Here they are around set three.
We are midway through the season of a new +40 rec soccer league that over 100 women joined because they wanted less aggressive play. As I’ve reported in previous posts, there was an expectation that play would be less rough, but a series of decisions and limitations made it unclear (to me) what mechanisms would actually make that happen.
Has the league met expectations and achieved its goals? I asked the team captains their thoughts in a Facebook group chat they share.
Yes, Less Aggressive Play
Of the eight team captains who were polled, all agreed that the league was either a little or a lot less aggressive than other rec leagues they have played in (Poll 1):
Poll 1 of team captains
According to most team leaders, what has been different from other leagues is the higher frequency of penalty calls (Poll 2).
Some team captains also said they perceived more efforts of teams to be friendly. One or two captains said their teams talk with each other and the opposing teams about aggressive play.
Poll 2 of team captains
I think that team members talking before or during the game about their expectations (rather than just complaining after the game) shows goodwill and is more likely to improve league morale. Because aggressiveness is subjective, it can only help to have a more shared understanding of what aggressive play looks and feels like for each team.
A few captains added in the chat that their teams felt the league was fun. One captain said,
I think it’s going well, not as crazy aggressive as the other groups and no pressure we are just having fun and being active :)
Interestingly, no one said their own teams admit when they have been too aggressive. I didn’t ask whether it is because they genuinely don’t feel or notice when their play is too rough, or if it’s just not a good strategy for games.
Concerns and Reflections
Apparently rough play has not been fully eliminated: over the last few months, folks have brought forward concerns about a few aggressive players.
As league organizer, Cindy usually addresses concerns with team captains, who in turn speak with their own players. So, the process for dealing with the perception of over-aggressive play seems non-confrontational and a shared responsibility. As Cindy said, “Everyone is contributing to its success. It shows great community!”
While I expected Cindy to deal with these league issues kindly, I did not expect that over half of the captains would say “the refs also call out play that our team does not consider aggressive.” In other words, some feel that refs are making too many calls on aggressive play in this “chill” league.
Why might this be a concern for some teams? It can be difficult to avoid accidental contact on an indoor field. As well, some would say that defending space and moving into the opponent’s space is a normal part of soccer. And, every time a play gets stopped for a penalty, it’s less time to play soccer.
This idea that refs are calling aggression that players don’t agree to made me reflect on my own assumptions. A “rec league” suggests it will be social and fun, but for some women fun means competitive play. Have I been assuming that the only way to have a chill and fun league is to reduce aggression to the point of low or no contact?
I have noted in past posts that aggression is in part in the eye of the beholder. Those with less experience may see those with more soccer experience as aggressive, but the reverse can be true as well. At least the refs seem to be calling roughness due to unchecked skill and roughness due to lack of control.
ReDefining a League
This new rec league was organized by the criteria of age and intolerance for aggressive play, but there may be other ways to ensure safety but also give players what they want to have fun. One captain suggested to me that, instead of aggression level, league divisions could be based on experience or skill level. A beginner league for adult women of all ages could teach about safe play and what is appropriate contact. In such a league, frequent stops for penalties and game explanations might be more welcome.
At the same time, an adult beginner league begs the question of when someone is and no longer is a “beginner.” Sometimes experienced soccer players recruit their friends, and of course they want to play together despite skill level differences. (I’ve gotten better mostly by playing with friends more skilled than me.) It’s tough to make everyone happy.
If the “chill” league continues in another season, the norm for play might stay at low- or no-contact. In this case, how the game is played might need to change—and teams who plan to register in this league will have to be ready for that.
The beauty of sports is that they are what we make of them. According to most team captains, right now most members of this “chill” league seem relatively happy with the game that they have made together.
As a kid, my bike was for fun. As an adult, I have always thought of myself as a commuter cyclist. I was never interested in road racing, or cross-country cycling or any of the other specialized cycling options involving fancy bikes and Lycra.
I have realized, however, I actually need my bike as a mobility device. I live close enough to my work place that I can walk. Except:
when it is too hot
or too cold
or when the sidewalks are icy
or when the sidewalks are unploughed.
or I have my laptop and my lunch and who know what else to haul in a backpack.
or when it’s raining
or when my feet (knees, hips) are sore.
My poor sore feet. The left one has a scar from past bunion surgery. The right one show a growing bunion that will eventually need surgery.
I am not the only one. People who have e-bikes use them for far more than short leisurely rides. A recent study about e-bike use in Norway found that “The people who bought e-bikes increased their bicycle use from 2.1 kilometers (1.3 miles) to 9.2 kilometers (5.7 miles) on average per day; a 340% increase. The e-bike’s share of all their transportation increased dramatically too; from 17% to 49%, where they e-biked instead of walking, taking public transit, and driving. You can read more about the study here.
Melissa and Chris Bruntlett are Canadian urban mobility advocates and authors of Building the Cycling City, The Dutch Blueprint for Urban Vitality. In their view “Cycling is, for many people, a powerful mobility tool. Moreover, building wide cycle paths also helps create space for people that are on tricycles, adapted cycles, mobility scooters, and other modes.”
Adult tricycle with two child seats on the back and a wire basket on the handlebars. Photo is by Peter Biczok, who spotted it in Hungary.An older woman with her hair in a ponytail and wearing a large knapsack rides an electric tricycle in Leiden, Netherlands. The tricycle is laden with packages and bags in the back, on the front and from the handlebars. Photo originally shared by Melissa and Chris Bruntlett on Twitter.A woman rides a hand-powered adapted electric tricycle in Amsterdam. She is accompanied by a husky-type dog on a leash. Photo originally shared by Melissa and Chris Bruntlett on Twitter.
For now, I am perfectly content with my regular winter and summer bikes to get around. But I can definitely see a an electric bike or a regular/electric cargo bike or trike in my future.
But, seeing as I have decided that February is self-contained (and is the only real month at the moment), I felt free to just write whatever the hell came to mind (a.k.a. freewriting!) and to not worry about whether I was gathering useful information for my future self.
I just set a timer (to free my ADHD brain from the worry that I would end up writing forever) and got started.
Image description: a photo of the top of the first page of my fitness journal. I coloured the top of my page pink and wrote the words ‘February Fitness 2023‘ in gold marker before outlining them in black. Under the words is a line of narrow washi tape (red with gold dots) and I drew a gold heart outlined in black on each end of the horizontal line of tape and one in between the words February and Fitness.
I wrote about how I was surprised that my evening hip exercises have revealed that my left hip is tighter than my right one, even though my right hip is the one that I have to be careful with.
And I wrote about how I accidentally left my watch timer going on Friday so it seemed like I had done more yoga than I had, which was annoying but which prompted me to take off my watch and do several shorter sessions of yoga and stretching on Saturday so the exercise tracked would match the exercise I had actually done.
That, in turn, prompted me to write about which of those sessions I had found most useful and which ones I would do again.
That made me wonder about the yoga sessions in Apple Fitness + and whether I wanted to try those which reminded me that I chose a longer rowing session in the program the other day. That session was great but I did have to pause a few times – that felt like an important note for my future self.
Writing everything down helped me to feel that all of my efforts were, indeed, part of the biggest picture – my own well-being – even if they weren’t all stepping stones towards a specific outcome.
Yes, I will have a big celebration for anything. Snoopy knows what’s up! Image description – a GIF of Snoopy, the dog from Peanuts comics, smiling as fireworks go off behind him and the word ‘YAAAAY!’ appears above him.
And, intriguingly, I had no self-judgment crop up at all in the process – it just felt like a celebration of what I had done rather than a measurement of what I did against what I had planned.
Note: I am always aiming for that celebration feeling but the questions of ‘Was that enough? Why didn’t I do more? Why can’t I stick to a plan?’ still crop up for me sometimes even though I have lots of practice in self-kindness.
Even though I didn’t have any specific questions in mind when I started, my first foray into reflective fitness journaling worked out marvellously.
I have everything I need for future reference – a few notes about what I did last week and how I felt about it – and – bonus!- I feel gently inspired for the week ahead.
Realistically, I only plan to write in my journal once a week, while continuing to give myself the freedom to follow my train of thought wherever it leads.
However, now that I have established a ‘container’ for that kind of thinking, I wouldn’t be surprised if I end up putting a few thoughts into it more often.
