you'll punish thank me later

So the new Albuquerque Lorn is riding her bike wherever she can, because that's the responsible environmentalist thing to do (not to mention I'm trying not to be a big lazy-ass...oh and also, the cute boy that's really into biking...yeah...ahem) and it's about time I started saving some money on gas when I get to the bank, Blockbuster, the grocery store, the library, and a number of delicious eateries for free.

The first step, I'm finding, is making it up the hills. At this altitude. They aren't particularly big hills (except for maybe the one on Carlisle that nearly killed me today), but Albuquerque sits at about a mile high, just like our neighbor Denver to the north. While I'm for the most part used to this in terms of trombone playing and general day-to-day activity, I haven't broken in my exercise altitude tolerance yet, apparently.

The other option is that I'm just a wee bit out of shape, and I don't like to admit it to myself. Especially not when it comes to biking. For a girl that used to tear around Madison like a bad-ass, struggling to get three miles to Blockbuster and back is a bit of a let-down. As luck would have it, the Bb closer to me is closed for renovations, so I have to go to the one near UNM's campus. A nice dowhill ride...there. Today I compounded my ride with a trip in the opposite direction to drop off some books at the library, and while that's mostly flat, it almost wore me out before I'd even gotten to Carlisle and it'd dreaded incline.

I wonder if there's a point, for New Mexicans, when it all finally kicks in. When you've been working your ass off and feeling like shit for so long and then finally...it breaks, and it feels like flying again. I'm not optimistic that this day is anywhere near for me, but I'm determined to keep working. I want to do a trialthon, for crying out loud, and if I'm struggingly with the biking which for me takes up the least amount of energy (swimming is easy for me, sure, but it's draining, and running...well, that's a whole 'nother story)...I have some work to do.

Next up: I discover that I've also forgotten how to date, or at least be normal around people that might be interested in me. Chaos ensues.