This is a saying about working within your limitations. For example, in American football, the quarterback wants to make a long pass, but that receiver is covered by defensive players, so he makes a shorter pass to someone who is open. I’ve been doing this for years, but in my case the “defense” is the frailties of aging. My favorite activity was running, but I had to stop when I got arthritis, and now I can’t do it because of artificial hips. That’s how I started hiking and cycling. Recently, hiking has not been so good due to various lower back and hip problems. But what I loved most about cycling was getting deeper into nature and away from the urban environment, and I can achieve that by mountain biking instead (provided it’s on easy trails because I’m not that talented of a mountain biker).
Lately it seems that even if I stick to cycling, I can still have a setback when I push too hard. The last time was last Sunday when I did it recumbent group ride. I felt great at the time, but later in the day it became painful to walk because I felt like something was wrong with my lower back. I think I irritated the SI joint on that side. This was especially frustrating because I didn’t really know what I had done, I didn’t think I had fallen that hard while driving. So I took a few days of easy, shorter rides at a slower pace. And until yesterday I was OK again. I guess I’ll have to get used to this. I just have some orthopedic issues that can pop up from time to time and I have to back off when they do. But I reminded myself that what I enjoy most about exercise is being in the fresh air and the relaxation that comes with it. And, thankfully, I can do this even when I’ve calmed down during a flare-up.
