Back to the fun!

YAY!  had a training session today.  (note the mild enthusiasm)  Worked on the circuit to get back into things.  Assisted ab crunches for a min (45) leg curls at #50 for a min (45), alternate for 3 sets.  Chest press machine at #10 for a min (30-35), lat pulls at #60 for a min (30) and alternate those for 3 sets.  15 min on stationary bike with random intervals–resistance from 1-5.  NAP TIME!  omg.  I’m still about what I was 2 weeks ago, so I didn’t gain any weight.  But, I didn’t get my walking in either.  I’m at 6.9 miles for May.  Don’t think I’ll get to 30 this month.  What’s the point in setting a goal if you have no intention of making any kind of effort to reach it?  Doh!

I got a FITBIT!

What does that mean?  It means that now it counts how many steps it is to the bathroom for me! I figure…2548 trips will get me 1/2 way to my 10k step goal.  *Does her math*  hmmm.  That would be 100 trips an hour if I didn’t sleep.  I don’t think that will work.  I may have to actually go someplace and walk to get my 10k.

Learned about a Keto diet.  It’s generic Atkins.  Have all the bacon and chicken with skin on and steak you want, just don’t eat peaches and bananas, and pop.  I will let you know if I can do this.  Sounds like my kind of diet…bacon diet.  There ya go!

Consequences

I am a great believer in consequences.  If you do A, then B happens.  If you do not do A, then C happens.  I did not do A or B or C… I spent the better part of Memorial day ferrying people to and from Urgent Care and the Hospital.  ???!  Most people go to a Memorial service or visit graves then have a picnic or barbecue.  Kid got sick at his friend’s house.  Friend’s mom is a nurse.  She knows what to do.  Here!  Drink this Gatorade!  Suck on these ice chips.  Take an antacid every hour, and you’ll feel better.  Kid says, “No, I don’t want ice chips.  Gatorade will make me throw up.  Antacids only work for about 15 min.  So I reject your advice.  Blarggggggg.”  We go to the emergency room because now he’s lost feeling in his hands and face.  He says, “oh, by the way, my health insurance isn’t good anymore.”  Screech… turn around head to Urgent Care.  Doctor says, we can’t re-hydrate him, we can give him a prescription but can’t give him the medicine.  Take him to ER.  Zip over to ER.  They put him on saline solution (intravenous Gatorade), morphine for pain, and take this pill (supercharged antacid.)  Ahhh.  That’s better.  What?!  Exactly the same thing as nurse said to do and instead of free will cost you a couple thousand dollars.  How is that better?!  Oh and it’s stress related.  Then, while he’s attached to tubes, I run back to house to pick up hubby and take HIM to urgent care because he blew his knee out.  My daughter, the exercise guru, says to use ice and ibuprofen and wrap it with ace bandage or get a knee brace.  But we go to Urgent Care because we might get a free knee brace.  They gave us an ace bandage.  Guess what the treatment was…  Ice and ibuprofen, and wrap it with ace bandage.  Take hubby with me to hospital to check on kid.  He’s fine, just allowed to eat baby food for a week.  And avoid stress, like getting a job where he can get health care benefits, getting a driver’s license so I don’t have to drive him everywhere especially his job, going to school and learning to be useful to society.  The very things that would alleviate the stress are also major causes of it.  Catch 22.

My “A” is walking and I got a fit bit!  YAY!  Haven’t used it yet because I spent the majority of my time going back and forth to Hospital and Urgent Care!  Which means I won’t get my B: 30 miles this month.  And will get C: my back pain will come back, and my weight will go up and my stress will go up and and and.  How do people do this?!

Busy?

I just checked my run ap on my phone.  It was sneering at me.

I looked at my calendar this week and it doesn’t appear that I was very busy.  How did I miss walking?  OHHHHH.

What shows up on my calendar are things that I must do WITH OTHER PEOPLE.  It doesn’t count things such as finding topics and researching speeches.  It doesn’t include cleaning my computer room or the entry room.  It doesn’t include looking for lesson books.  It doesn’t include the “drop everything and run over to help with the grandkids because we have to get the house cleaned for the realtor visits” runs.  It doesn’t include updating and entering all the names of the folks in my club and sending updates on coming events.  It doesn’t include writing my blog either.

It has been cold and rainy.  Sorry Amanda, I couldn’t do the “even if” this week.  My heart wasn’t in it.  You were moving mountains and I was staring at anthills with dread.

Every time I think, “I must get organized,” I run to the office supplies shop, get markers and white boards and plan out my week.  Then I lose the markers, then the board gets in the way, then I forget to update it, and it gets lost.  I think, if I cleaned up my office/garage/bedroom/storeroom, I would find about 15 of those.  Maybe if I had post it notes everywhere…I don’t have company, so no one would remark on my unusual choice of wall paper.  Hmmmm

So I am waiting for the dryer repairman to come and fix the dryer.  I cannot leave to walk.  I cannot do my errands.  Oooo  I know!  I’ll get Organized!

Tadaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Day 7, 8, 9 of walking

It’s Friday.  How did my walk go on Wednesday?  I didn’t go to the gym.

I went to the Walnut Creek trail!  YAY!  I walked about .9 miles in about 25 min.  It was nice, but my back tightened up about 1/2 way through.  It wasn’t as severe as it has been, but I sat down on a railing and stretched out.  Then I walked up hill back to the car.  *heated seats*  ahhhhhhhh

Thursday, I walked (in the drizzle no less) from the house to the Lied trail, then down to the west edge and then back home.  It was kinda square except I took the shorter hill back.  So that was 1.58 miles and 39 min.  No back pain at all, just a little discomfort but discovered if I control my breathing, it’s not too bad.  Got back in time to give lesson.

Today, day 3 in a row!  Did the Lied trail 2 laps this time.  It’s still a challenge, and when I get back to the car, I’m really stiff!  It started to hurt about the last 1/4 mile and I pressed on anyway and waited until I got to the car to sit down.  Haven’t stepped on the scales yet.  I had one of those chicken flatbread wraps at Applebee’s and was unable to finish it.  Lunch for Saturday.  It was good, but they toast the flatbread and it tends to disintegrate when you try to eat it.

Haven’t done any strength training this week, just the walking.  I don’t get distance credit when I walk on the treadmill because, well, I stay in 1 place…  If I ran a gym, I’d have all the cardio equipment connected to the power grid.  We’d pay clients to run or walk or do elliptical or bike so that it would run the lights and stuff.  Pay less in utilities and get more people running to the gym…  Use local power when too few in gym, and then make and save power when there are lots.  I think that if people knew they could be paid $.10 per mile, they’d come in.  Have them swipe a card before they get on the equipment and it keeps track of the distance, then at the end of the month, you pay them.

It doesn’t count…

I didn’t walk on Sunday.  That’s my official day off on this program.  My hamstrings hurt so bad after that Saturday work out, I doubt I could have done anything but moan!  Monday night is Band.  I play percussion and burnt up about 500 calories.  This is not an exaggeration.  I looked it up.  I did not walk on Monday.  So it’s now 11:30 pm on Tuesday.  I did not walk today.  I had breakfast with my boy, did some paperwork, taught a lesson…Lost some time (OH!!!! that’s what you call playing video games!) and completely spaced out a meeting I was supposed to go to.  Made fish for dinner, and INTENDED to walk after supper.  I waited for my hubby to say, “OK, let’s go,” because he just asked to sit down and veg out after he got home from work.  So he did some stuff on the computer.  I guess he was waiting for me to come up and get him.  I waited, and didn’t nag.  Guess what?  MyFitnessPal doesn’t recognize intentions as actual distances!  I am Shocked!  Shocked, I tell you!!!  What is the difference between asking a 2nd time and nagging?  Tone of voice?  Urgency?  See, I didn’t give him the option of saying no.  He never had to actually make the decision, he just didn’t have to act, and I made the decision not to ask him again thereby granting his deep, unspoken wish…stay in front of computer and not walk.  It also granted my deep unspoken wish, stay inside on this gorgeous day and not walk.  Walking is a pleasant activity.  Except when my back seizes up, and that wouldn’t happen as much if I kept at it.

Tomorrow, I will walk between lessons.  At the gym, meaning I don’t get distance credit for my 90 mile challenge.  So far, I have logged 1 mile.  wheeeeee!  89 miles to go and 17 days to do it.  That means 10k steps every day for the next 17 days.  Ummmmm, oops.

Day 4, Day 5, Day 6

Thursday, I did walking in place.  Since it cannot be measured on MyFitness (I didn’t go anywhere) it doesn’t count toward my 90 miles in 1 month goal.  Walking in place actually was quite uncomfortable on my back.  Friday I was stiff and sore and it was cold and so, I did wall push ups and ab crunches today.  This was a big mistake.

Saturday, had work out with trainer.  YAY  I’m down 2 pounds!  Boo, she really kicked my butt today.  We did super sets.  Ab crunches (see Friday, explains why that was a bad idea) for 1 min, leg curls at 50# for a min, elliptical as fast as possible for 1 min on resistance 5.  2nd set, crunch, curl, elliptical at 10.  3rd set, crunch, curl, elliptical at 15.  Next super set.  Chest presses at 10# for a min, lat pulls at 60# for a min, back to elliptical at 5,  chest, lat, elliptical at 10, chest, lat, elliptical at 15.  I thought I was gonna die.  The cardio is making a difference though.  All that walking I did, even if it was a mile or so instead of the 3 miles I should be at by now, made me strong enough to do 20 strides/min faster than I was doing the last time we did these sets.  I have a goal in mind, but it doesn’t consume me.  I don’t feel bad if I miss a day.  This is not good.  I have a picture in my mind of Walnut Creek trail.  It is so beautiful!  I want to walk that, with water so I don’t get another kidney stone, over the summer.

Considering going on the Metabolic diet.  It seems to be working for my friend, and If I could just get a jumpstart, maybe I could do more and feel better.  I don’t know however.  Prescribed meals until you get to a certain weight does not change the life style that got me to this weight in the 1st place.  Need to think about this some more.

Day 3, oh my knee

ok, that was lame.  (lame, bad knee, see?  OMG what time is it?)

So the weather was not only rainy but windy.  So I did my cardio in the gym.  Good thing/Bad thing.  I did 30 min, but I walked at 2.8 mph!  This is much better than I usually go.  I started off with the mystery hike so I went up and down on the treadmill and sped up and slowed down.  I did that for 10 min before I desperately ran to the bathroom.  Note to self:  NO Taco Bell before a work out even if it is a salad.  Went back and did 20 min at 2.8.  *Grins*  So what’s the down side?  Well, on my 90 mile challenge (10k steps/day by the end of the month) it doesn’t count because I didn’t GO anywhere.  On my runkeeper, it doesn’t count steps or treadmill work.  I have to get a fitbit and get it connected to runkeeper and myfitness.  Right knee is a bit sore, but it’s a muscle thing, not a joint thing, so it will clear up.

Day four will be this afternoon.

Day 2! whoo hoo!

Oh dear, have I started a trend?  Day 3!  whee!  Day 4!  what a bore…

So today I was worried.  Yesterday I walked 1.18 miles in the rain, even if…  And I hurt when I got home.  Last time, I couldn’t go out the 2nd day because I hurt just walking to my car.  But, I jumped in the car and went over to the Lied Center to do the trail there.  I figured it didn’t have big elevation changes and had plenty of benches.  I started out on the South side of the trail so I’d walk the longest stretch with out benches 1st.  In order to do the challenge, I had to go 1/4 mile further today than yesterday.  That would be 1.43 miles, so I’d walk 1 lap, then go around to the bathrooms and behind the building and that would be about right.  It was!  1.37 miles.  I MADE it!

I had one of those chicken taco salads at Don & Millie’s for lunch.  Went to training session at the gym.

We did step-ups with knee lift on the Bosu for a minute, Wall sit with 12 pound free weight biceps curls for a minute.  Did 1 foot on bosu and lean over and do a 1 arm row with kick back and 10 pound weight 12 reps.  Did 15 wall push-ups.  She had me do 3 sets of these.

Confession time though.  This past weekend, I went to a conference and Saturday, I over ate by 1000 calories.  Messed me up good!  Up to 212.9 now.  Bad bad girl.

Even If

I did it!  It was raining, my son had an appointment across town, I had paperwork to do.  And I walked Anyway!  Even if I got soaked.  Even if my back tightened up about 1/2 way through the walk.  Even if I felt as if I couldn’t take another step 1/2 block from home.  Even if I had a meeting that night that I had to prepare for.  I walked!  1.18 miles in my neighborhood which included a 559 foot change in elevation on the last .18 of the walk.  I was soaking wet, and I needed help getting up my stairs.  My dear boy gave me a back massage so I could move again.  I did pretty well at the beginning of the walk, about 26 min/mile, but boy that back stretch!  There were some irises that were blooming and some pale pink tulips too.  So I stopped to take a picture, but it didn’t help me loosen up.  I found some retaining walls to sit in for a couple of minutes then continued on.  It was really really hard.  The challenge will be tomorrow.  Can I do this 2 days in a row?  I have reset the goal for 90 miles by June 4.  I am not Amanda–running for miles and eating special foods.  I am Rebecca, and I am walking and pushing myself to be better and feel better.  I don’t think my weight will drop the 2 pounds/week they say it does when you walk.

I hate it when I’m told, “if you walk such and such amount of time, the weight just melts off.”  If that were true, there’d be a trail of grease behind me and I’d have serious laundry challenges.  I don’t measure my success in this walking program by the amount of change in my weight.  I measure the progress by how long I can walk.  I want to get back to the point where I could do a lap around Walnut Creek (3 miles).  Once I do that, I will endeavor to cut my time down bit by bit.  I hope that this tightening up will eventually go away so that it won’t matter what kind of terrain I’m walking.  I am doing a mild stretch before starting.  My stride is off.  I am extending my leg and pulling my body over my front foot instead of changing my weight forward and catching myself with my front foot.  I believe that’s why hills are so painful.  It’s hard to fall uphill!