Every ten years or so I go on a workout kick, mainly jogging or running.  Since I have gained about thirty pounds since Jill (my wife) and I stopped the diet we went on last year, and since I am just about to turn 70 years old (two months from now), I decided it was time to start my “every ten years or so” workout regime.

When I went on Medicare at age 65 it was pointed out to me that I was eligible to participate in “Silver Sneakers”, an old folks workout program at selected local gyms.  It doesn’t cost you any out of pocket cash in that it is covered by Medicare.  They feel that if you are participating in a Gym program you will be more healthy and they will have less medical coverage for you down the road.

I initially joined Silver Sneakers at a Bally’s Gym about three miles from my house.  To compliment the program I signed up with a trainer for the first few weeks so that someone would be able to show me how to properly use all the gym equipment they had.  They had an indoor track, too, and that allowed me to do walking and jogging.  Unfortunately, within the year that Bally’s was sold to another gym chain and they dropped Silver Sneakers.

After the demise of my local gym, I checked out other gyms in the area with the Silver Sneakers program, but none of them were as close or had an indoor track.  After that I sort of lost interest in the program.  Eventually I began to rationalize my weekly all-day hikes on Agua Fria National Monument as being my workout program.  To an extent, those hikes did help, but they weren’t often enough and they didn’t necessarily always include all the cardio that my body requires.

This last week, after thinking about that weight gain, and beginning to worry about whether at my age I would every get back into shape, I decided to see what was out there in terms of indoor tracks.  Heck, at this time of the year, July and August, the temperatures never get below 105 during the day and frequently exceed 110 degrees.  As a result, you absolutely need to find something that is inside, unless you want to get up and exercise outside in the dark around 4:00am.  Since I sleep until around 7:00am, that isn’t an option.

After looking on-line for gyms with an indoor track offering the Silver Sneaker program in the Phoenix area, I found that the nearest one was about 8 miles away in Glendale.   So, I hopped over there about three weeks ago and checked them out.  They also have a pool, but it is outdoors – which creates somewhat of a problem if I want to utilize it, since I am prone to skin cancers.  But, that is another story.  Anyway, I signed up with them and then promptly left with Jill on a week’s vacation to mid-state New York.

A few days after we returned, I went to the gym for a test run of their track and facilities.  Everything seemed okay, but I was really out of shape.  Couldn’t keep up with the old ladies walking the track.  I did figure out that I’d need a towel, a bottle of water and a hat to avoid the sun while walking from my parking spot to the front door.  Oh, and to fit in with the “In” crowd, I’d need to bring my ear phones so I could listen to music on my iPhone while using the track.

Since then, I’ve logged five days so far, each day traveling more laps on their ’13 laps equals one mile” indoor track.  On the second day I tried to jog one of those laps and got pretty winded.  As of today I’m up to 26 laps (2 miles) and I’m walking three laps and then jogging one lap, repeating the same sequence until I quit for the day.

To put some of this in perspective: My walking/jogging mile is accomplished in between 18 and 19 minutes.   When I was in highschool I could run a mile in 4 minutes and 30 seconds.   Today I quit after two miles.  When I was in the Air Force in Germany in the ’60s, I could run for fifty miles without stopping.  And that was wearing military Brogans (boots).

My intention is to gradually increase the number of laps that I can squeeze into a 30 or 45 minute exercise routine and do that routine 3 to 5 times per week.  By gradually increasing the speed (jogging more laps) and covering more distance, I should be able to build up a little endurance, lose a little weight and improve my physical shape somewhat.  Anyway, that’s the idea – and I’ll work on it some more next week.  Today was Friday and I won’t be able to break away over the weekend, since Jill and I have lots of other plans.

And for sure, I don’t want to wait another ten years until I resume the routine.