When you hear someone say that working out keeps them sane, they could mean one of two things. They could mean that their daily workout is what they need to keep their juices flowing, that their workout jump-starts their system just enough to make it possible for them to sit at a desk and stare at a computer screen eight hours a day. They might also mean that maintaining a degree of fitness allows them to bail into their fantasy land when they absolutely must.

Last week was a challenge. Marcy was out of town on business, I was playing three-on-one with the kids. Three kids that had to be at three different schools, all by 7:25 in the morning, three kids who needed to be picked up between 3 and 3:30 in the afternoon. There were the assorted events they needed to be transported to – guitar practice, teen council, a doctor’s appointment, a football game. There were dinners to fix, groceries to buy, report cards to sign. Oh, and there was work. By week’s end, I was a zombie. I needed a quick escape and I knew just what would do the trick: An overnight paddle/camping trip to Bear Island.

Here’s how maintaining a modicum of decent shape helped me pull off this escape. I left Cary mid-Sunday afternoon under gloomy skies that occasionally wept. By the time I got to the put-in at Hammock’s Beach State Park, there was maybe an hour of daylight remaining, less if the skies finally decided to let loose. I managed to wrestle my 80-pound kayak off the roof rack (light strength training), load the boat quickly (various aerobic activities), and paddle like mad (both). I made the 2.7-mile paddle to campsite No. 12 in 35 minutes , set up camp and make tea (Lemon Lift) all before sundown. I took a decompressing hour-long walk around the island (running), read in my tent for an hour, went to sleep to the sound of the Atlantic knocking on my front door. I woke up the next morning to a cloudless sunrise and walked a deserted beach for three hours, feeling like last week had never happened.

Sanity. It’s worth the sweat.