Give yourself permission to call an Uber of Lyft if you've overdone your outdoor adventure

I gave myself permission to call an Uber if I ever end up completely shagged out during one of my interminable death marches or slow jogs a long time ago. How amazing that I can click a button on my phone and be saved!  In the image below, the light blue is my walking and the dark blue is the Ubering.

While I have abandoned my walkabouts innumerable times thanks to the convenience of bus 16 here in South Arlington or the DC Metro everywhere else. 

Yesterday, though I walked from my apartment, Dominion Towers, along Columbia Pike to Idido's Coffee, spent time working, and then headed down Walter Reed, took a left at Glebe, and then followed it all the way to Eads, then took a left, and petered out at 23rd and Eads, really only a couple hundred yards away from the 16G bus. 

But I had stopped along the way at an Asian street food cafe, called KOVI, on the way, off of Glebe, to have some food and a bottle of water, some A/C and a sit; however, it didn't refresh me.  I really recommend you invest in LMNT hydration salts. So, at the corner of Glebe and 23rd, I called an Uber and it picked me up and took me home. 

Even with permission, I beat myself up about it. It was only a quarter-mile, a couple of hundred yards. I could see it. I was so close.  I had plenty of hydration, there was a pretty good breeze, and it never really topped 88F, so I just think I petered out at around 11,000 steps. 

Maybe it was what I was listening to. What did I listen to while power schlepping? Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis—some light reading. Maybe next time I really need to make that extra quarter-mile, I'll find something a little more motivational than Lewis' earnest moralizing. I mean, good stuff, but heavy. And shouldn't my Sweet Lord have been carrying my, a single pair of footprints on the sand, over that quarter-mile? I feel like I might have failed an important lesson.

It's OK, I had already given myself permission to grab an Uber when I run out of gas. No reason to put myself in peril—just say not to popping out of sinus rhythm and going into afib over an Uber ride—just to prove to myself my manliness. It was neither a race nor even a competition. It's not even something I had planned to do—it was spontaneous!

When I was done at Idido's, I just spontaneously took to the road with all my office gear in a leather bag on my back.

I ended up making it to 11,000 steps in the heat—just 1,000 short of my 12,000 daily goal—but with all my extra body weight and my big leather bag on my back, I was surely carrying close to an extra 200 pounds on my back, fat, bags, computers, etc, combined.

In my handmade raw bridle leather giant messenger bag, I carry my old Otter Green Filson Original Briefcase inside, in which there are my Lenovo ThinkPad X220 laptop and the AC brick and the extended 9-cell battery jacked into a 19+ Slice Tablet Battery and protected by a hard shell camo case. Plus external battery and a 1.5L bottle of water, and all sorts of other stuff. A complete non-ruck ruck.

I ran out of juice just a quarter mile away from a bus stop that would bring me to be building's for. It close enough to say that.  So, I called an Uber instead. I was shagged and even talking sit breaks and after getting some dinner and water, I was not perking back up. Even though I've given myself permission to Uber home, it was the first time.

All of this is approved as I did see my doc last Wednesday and got the okay from him, Doctor Lucks, to do more than walking: spin class, erging, jogging, but I had to beg. But I want to stick with walking for a little while longer. With my body weight, schlepping my gear, I don't know of a better exercise.

What ChatGPT Thinks

It's great that you're pushing yourself to stay active and explore your surroundings, but it's important to listen to your body and not push yourself too far. Giving yourself permission to call an Uber or Lyft when you need a break is a smart move, as it can prevent injury or other health issues.

It's also important to remember that exercise should be enjoyable and not a punishment. If you find yourself struggling to motivate yourself during a walk or jog, try switching up your routine or finding a new activity that you enjoy. And don't be too hard on yourself if you need to take a break or cut a workout short – it's better to take care of yourself than to push too hard and risk injury or burnout.

Additionally, if you're carrying a heavy bag during your walks, consider lightening your load or finding a more comfortable backpack or messenger bag that distributes the weight evenly. And always stay hydrated and take breaks when you need them.

Overall, keep up the good work, but remember to listen to your body and take care of yourself as you stay active.

What Bard Thinks

It sounds like you're doing great with your fitness journey! It's important to listen to your body and rest when you need to. It's also important to be patient and not to beat yourself up if you don't meet your goals every day. Just keep at it and you'll eventually reach your goals.

I also think it's great that you've given yourself permission to call an Uber if you need to. It's important to be safe and to not push yourself too hard. So don't worry about calling an Uber if you need to. Just get home safely and rest up so you can hit the ground running again tomorrow.

I hope this helps!