Posted by As I have mentioned the kids are both becoming good at Pickle ball. And of course the better they get the more they like to play. I play with a group of competitive players every morning at 9 a.m. I usually get done around noon. I come home for lunch and the kids are just finishing their school work. After lunch on most days we all head to the pickle ball courts for some family games. Often time’s grandma and grandpa join us. Lately Alexander has gotten so good that we will come in the mornings with me and ask to get into a game with the adults. He is not yet at a level that makes it a competitive game but the others adults really like his efforts and are happy to slow a game down for him to play. They enjoy watching him hitting well and chasing down all of their shots. Alexander leaves those games beaming with pride at being able to play a real game with the good players that he has been watching play competitively for the last few weeks. Victoria is hot on his heels in terms of ability but she chooses to keep her skills focused on crushing mom, dad, and her little brother.
Another of our regular activities is a family workout every three days. We have posted in the past about our trail runs or circuit workouts but they have been only when the conditions or more importantly the locations are right. Here in the Palm Springs area the weather is almost always in the 70’s and sunny. And here at Catalina RV Resort and Spa the location is just about perfect too. The RV park is on about 20-30 acres with nice, level, paved roads all around the park. We have made a 1 mile loop and a ½ mile loop for our measured runs. Our campsite is level and smooth and has plenty of room for all of us to have space to workout. The larger pool also has lots of open concrete space to work out around the pool’s edge.
Every three days one of us chooses our workout. One of our more regular workouts consists of all of us running two ½ mile loops coming back to our campsite. Then we do a series of push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, squats, and so forth. Next, we run two more ½ mile laps. Then back to our site for another round of push-ups, sit-ups, etc. And we finished with not two laps but three and sometimes four laps. Each time we have done this exercise both Alexander and Victoria’s last mile is always faster than their first mile. Sometimes we incorporate laps in the pool in between exercises. This usually attracts spectators as we are jumping into the pool, swimming a lap or two, then jumping out doing 20 push-ups and then jumping back in for another few laps. Then slipping on our shoes and running away only to reappear 10 minutes later and do it all again and then again. They both are consistently running below 10 minute miles. It is really fun watching them taking pride in their good run times, their personal improvements and their sense of accomplishments in a difficult task completed. Not to mention many of the residents of the park have become accustomed to us running by or taking over the pool and are quick to cheer the kids on.
Sailing Samadhi 