Flex and Stretch

I've lifted weights since I was an adolescent.

I started running just shy of 50.

I've done a little stretching off and on for as long as I can remember.  I've never been particularly serious about it.

I'm not sure the exact stimulus that got me thinking that stretching might help me run faster, but that was the motivation for looking at stretching routines.  I found the following on YouTube:

This formed the core of a new stretching routine that I started at the beginning of last year in Olympia.

I began to realize that I had been doing other stretching exercises to strengthen my back.  I also became cognizant of the fact that many of these activities fell into the realm of Yoga.  I soon had my own routine that I blended with my floor exercises.  This became my "Flex and Stretch" routine.

Three to five times a week I add a meditation component, complete with Lotus position.  Meditation usually begins with a focus on breathing, but often includes a body scan component, followed by a gratitude component.

I've identified the following yoga forms in my stretching/meditation routine:

1. Bridge
2. Child's pose
3. Cobra
4. Upward Dog
5. Downward Dog
6. Spinal Twist
7. Pigeon
8. Lizard
9. One leg Pigeon (modified)
10. Warrior III (modified)
11. Forward fold
12. Bound Angle Pose
13. Seated Forward Fold
14. Plank
15. Half Plough pose
16. Wind Removing pose
17. Pancake 
18. Side seated angle pose
19. Marichyasana d
20. Tree pose
21. Dancer pose (modified)
22. Lotus (for meditation)

It looks like a lot when I write it out like that, but it goes by very quickly.

I've been trying to touch my nose to the floor in Pancake. I still got a few inches to go.  The Tree pose and Warrior III are very critical to developing proper balance.

The "Flex" part of my routine is a lot of core and arm exercises.  I do crunches, leg raises, and pushups.  The elastic bands  are used for flexing biceps, pectorals, rhomboids, deltoids and latissimus muscles - at least the ones I have remaining.

400 crunches, and 60+ pushups is a good day for me.

El Valle

 El Valle, Panama is a small town situated in the crater of an extinct volcano.  This mountain peak is part of the crater rim.

The elevation here is about 2000 feet and this makes the region cooler than the coast of Panama from whence we came.  However, the humidity is still quite high.  This combination of cool weather and high humidity resulted in difficulties with drying my running gear.

I managed to pick out a 2 mile loop, relatively pot-hole free, close to our rental that resulted in runs a little over 4 miles.  I even did some intervals, hill sprints, and tempo runs. However, the mask restrictions still inhibit me from trying to do more.

Right down the road from our rental was a butterfly house.

I started going with my wife on her bird watching walks after my run.  I wanted to spend more time with her, and it was a great way to add to my weekly mileage, even if it wasn't running.  I don't have a camera that really does a great job with birds.

I couldn't get a good picture of the crested oropendula either.  But we did find their nests.

During one of these walks we came upon a sloth.  We didn't get a good picture.  But the next day we came upon a second that was much closer, and my wife got a great video.

Wally and I decided to give Papaya another try.

The house we rented had a great outdoor gazebo with a grill, outdoor stove top, and hammocks.  We managed a couple of barbecues.  It was tricky getting a fire started with all the humidity.  I let my wife handle the fire starting part because it's something she excels in.  The resulting food wasn't as great as what I could produce in a Primo or even in my little Weber, but it was a nice change.

I made some meatballs.  I'm in Panama and not Sweden, so these are Panish meatballs.

I didn't take any pictures of the outdoor produce market, but it was nice.  Our monthly food expense  has dramatically decreased in Panama, and particularly here in El Valle.  However, I wouldn't say that I'm eating healthier.

A month in El Valle was fun.  Now we need to return to Panama City to pick up our permanent residency cards.