One year ago I started walking to get healthy. I started at 296.6 with a 54 inch waist. Today 225.4 and a 37 inch waist. I admit I have fallen short of my goal of 100 lbs in a year but, I have enjoyed food this summer and managed to stay within 5 lbs at all times, so I at least know I can maintain it.
A year ago I did a Charity hike called Our Hike, I was one of the last three to finish and was hurting. This year I was one of the first four to finish and I had ran a 5k earlier that day.
Last year I joined a walking club called Dairyland Walkers, in the year I have walked almost every event of theirs. We (my wife also jointed) were some of the slower walkers when we started, now we are in the batsoutofhell club (its not supposed to be competitive but to those who know me know I don't understand how not to be competitive)
Last year walking a 26.2 mile marathon, forget about it. Proudly now done in under 8 hours and 20 minutes
Last year if there was a geocache that required tree climbing, my wife did it. Now I have done one (and after all the sap I got on me she can do them again)
Last year the idea of running a 5K would have been a joke to both me and my wife. I run 5Ks 3 times a week now and my wife will run her first in a day. Events like Warrior Dash would have been something that only foolish thin people did, we are looking forward to doing Warrior Dash in a few days.
If I look at all the distance I have walked and ran in the year I would have walked from home in Milwaukee to Santa Fe NM, that boggles my mind.
So what does the next year bring, I still want to get to 195. Starting in October I am starting to work on Couch Potato to 10K and if all goes right in early next year Couch Potato to 1/2 marathon. One of my goals is to run a 1/2 marathon in the next year (and a full marathon before July 2014 when I turn 50). Anybody want to run a half with me next year?
The person I was a year ago is long gone, and he I hope is never coming back. Taking a year to get healthy was one of the best decisions I have made in years. More work needs to be done , but I now know I can do it.
I put aside a hobby, geocaching, something we both enjoy in order to have the time to get fit, yes we miss the caching but once we get healthy we can always go back, just in much netter shape.
There are many people I owe thanks to those who have kept me motivated and maybe never even knowing it, like Dave of DeeJay for showing me a guy my age can do this. Or Anne for all her fitness challenges. The endless support of BQ, Drhass and all the caching community. To Kevin and Meg for starting their journey, we are rooting you two on. To all the friends we have not seen in months who didn't recognize us or had to do a double take. Dairyland Walkers for accepting us in and being supportive in our efforts. To Robin for having the first event I did and offering her support and showing me strength along the way, as long as their are "Our Hikes" I will be there.
And to my wife, she also has taken on this journey. She has pushed me when I thought I could not go any further. She supported me when I needed it and showed me an inner strength in both of us that I didn't know either of us had. To say I could not have done this without you is a monumental understatement. Thanks You
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Iowa and Cedarburg
The last weekend in March members of the Dairyland Walkers made a trip to Iowa to prewalk three off the AVA Convention walks. The walks in Rock Island/Davenport and Cedar Rapids our club is responsible for manning and the walk in Des Moines many of our members wanted to do since they would be working our booth at the convention that day (us we have to be back at work)
The first walk we did was Rock Island/Davenport which had its strong points and some weak ones. Rock Island is a city that just looks rough, old and tired but I assume that they added the area in so that we could cross the Mississippi (twice). First thought on this, the second crossing was part of the Americas Discovery Trail, a trail that goes from Delaware to California (I think this is the first I stepped foot on it). Second thought, crossing the river was bitter. We liked the Davenport side much better, having been in this are before I hoped the walk would go up by the Putnam Museum, but didnt. It did however go on the skywalk by the casino, in theory this sound nice (and the cache is still in the skywalk) but several hundred people going into this taking the elevator up will cause this to become a choke point. Walked by the Davenport Minor League Stadium which looked real nice, and along the downtown area.
From here we headed to Cedar Rapids, starting by their Minor League Stadium. This walk went thru some areas that were severally damaged by floods in 2008 and you could see it in some neighborhoods. The path took us thru their Czech neighborhoods and onto a River Walk that had a Czech Museum and an African American History Museum. In front of the later was a unique sculpture called Trumpet dedicated to Dr. King with some of the words from his "I Had a Dream" speech. Once off the trail the course took us thru some more residential neighborhoods and into a very ritzy neighborhood that include a historical mansion of one of the city's founders.
Sunday we found our way to Des Moines. The first thing I thought was a little odd is they have a Papa John education center. As we are walking we come to some sculptures that we donate by the found of Papa John and his spouse, well I understand art is abstract and beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but really a 12 foot tall, red garden spade. The walk goes up to and onto the grounds of the Governors mansion and thru many of the streets around the governors mansion, most of which are cobblestone and the streets are very hilly making for tough walking. Finally we ended up back downtown after a long 12.75K walk
I can say that Cedar Rapids and Des Moines impressed me, not ever being to either one before the came off as friendly, inviting and seemed like a nice place to visit.
This last weekend we did the clubs Cedarburg walk, with a little twist, we invited friends along. For most of those who came with us the idea of walking a 10K may have seemed a little much, but I have a lot of respect for everybody as they all finished it. Some had some medical issues that prevented them form walking quickly or comfortably but they pushed thru. Kevin and Megan are who we originally challenged and I have to say they did better than I expected, but they have taken their lifestyle changes seriously and have really changed. When I first met Kevin this 10K would have kick his butt, not now. The both of you two continue to impress me.
As for me I saw some new milestones this last week, the 240's are gone and I am getting very close to 60 pounds down, my wife continues to loose at a faster pace than me. Other than one point when I got very ill I think this is the smallest we have both been during our nearly 17 year marriage, its kind of like having a different woman, but in a very good way.
I also eclipsed 900,000 steps walked in this journey. I figure roughly May 14 for 1 million and figure to get to the weight I want to be I am a little over 1/2 of the 1.75 million steps I am thinking I need to go.
Anybody want to go for a walk?
The first walk we did was Rock Island/Davenport which had its strong points and some weak ones. Rock Island is a city that just looks rough, old and tired but I assume that they added the area in so that we could cross the Mississippi (twice). First thought on this, the second crossing was part of the Americas Discovery Trail, a trail that goes from Delaware to California (I think this is the first I stepped foot on it). Second thought, crossing the river was bitter. We liked the Davenport side much better, having been in this are before I hoped the walk would go up by the Putnam Museum, but didnt. It did however go on the skywalk by the casino, in theory this sound nice (and the cache is still in the skywalk) but several hundred people going into this taking the elevator up will cause this to become a choke point. Walked by the Davenport Minor League Stadium which looked real nice, and along the downtown area.
From here we headed to Cedar Rapids, starting by their Minor League Stadium. This walk went thru some areas that were severally damaged by floods in 2008 and you could see it in some neighborhoods. The path took us thru their Czech neighborhoods and onto a River Walk that had a Czech Museum and an African American History Museum. In front of the later was a unique sculpture called Trumpet dedicated to Dr. King with some of the words from his "I Had a Dream" speech. Once off the trail the course took us thru some more residential neighborhoods and into a very ritzy neighborhood that include a historical mansion of one of the city's founders.
Sunday we found our way to Des Moines. The first thing I thought was a little odd is they have a Papa John education center. As we are walking we come to some sculptures that we donate by the found of Papa John and his spouse, well I understand art is abstract and beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but really a 12 foot tall, red garden spade. The walk goes up to and onto the grounds of the Governors mansion and thru many of the streets around the governors mansion, most of which are cobblestone and the streets are very hilly making for tough walking. Finally we ended up back downtown after a long 12.75K walk
I can say that Cedar Rapids and Des Moines impressed me, not ever being to either one before the came off as friendly, inviting and seemed like a nice place to visit.
This last weekend we did the clubs Cedarburg walk, with a little twist, we invited friends along. For most of those who came with us the idea of walking a 10K may have seemed a little much, but I have a lot of respect for everybody as they all finished it. Some had some medical issues that prevented them form walking quickly or comfortably but they pushed thru. Kevin and Megan are who we originally challenged and I have to say they did better than I expected, but they have taken their lifestyle changes seriously and have really changed. When I first met Kevin this 10K would have kick his butt, not now. The both of you two continue to impress me.
As for me I saw some new milestones this last week, the 240's are gone and I am getting very close to 60 pounds down, my wife continues to loose at a faster pace than me. Other than one point when I got very ill I think this is the smallest we have both been during our nearly 17 year marriage, its kind of like having a different woman, but in a very good way.
I also eclipsed 900,000 steps walked in this journey. I figure roughly May 14 for 1 million and figure to get to the weight I want to be I am a little over 1/2 of the 1.75 million steps I am thinking I need to go.
Anybody want to go for a walk?
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Been a long time..but still going strong
Although it has been a long time between posts I am still out there trying. Though there has been an albatross that has been on my back for quite sometime, namely the 250lb mark.
We ended the year with a candlelight walk at Fort Snelling State Park. This walk was sponsored by the North Star Trail Trekkers, which like Dairyland Walkers is a AVA club, but they are out of Minnesota.
Then in January we did a Dairyland Walkers walk in Middleton and did their walk at the West Towne Mall, along with walks in Frankfort and Geneva Illinois, and snowshoed at Lapham Peak State Park
February bought us walks in Coldwater, MI, and the campus at Norte Dame (South Bend, IN) and a 5k Run/walk in Green Bay sponsored by Seroogy's which according to our timing chip we completed in under 50 minutes (walking). Thanks to Robin for alerting us to this one, to bad your experience was not the same as ours. And finally back to Minnesota for a snowshoe event (we hiked due to not enough snow) at the William O'brien State Park near Scandia MN.
Some thanks to put out there, to Anne and her fit club. You kicked me in the a$$ when I needed it and stated to get me going again. Kevin and Megan for starting there journey and helping me remember mine. Hope to see you April 2 for your first 10K.
And always to my wife, who has now started her journey past 60lbs lost.
Somethings I remember saying I could not do. Run a mile, done and doing it pretty regularly. Run a 5K, done for the first time in 30 years this weekend (maybe awhile before I do that one again). Get under 250, done (finally). Loose 50lbs, ok did that to. I started at 296 and now at 245, I am 1/2 to my goal. It certainly feels good. My goal is to now be at goal by the time of the West Bend Cache Bash in August
We ended the year with a candlelight walk at Fort Snelling State Park. This walk was sponsored by the North Star Trail Trekkers, which like Dairyland Walkers is a AVA club, but they are out of Minnesota.
Then in January we did a Dairyland Walkers walk in Middleton and did their walk at the West Towne Mall, along with walks in Frankfort and Geneva Illinois, and snowshoed at Lapham Peak State Park
February bought us walks in Coldwater, MI, and the campus at Norte Dame (South Bend, IN) and a 5k Run/walk in Green Bay sponsored by Seroogy's which according to our timing chip we completed in under 50 minutes (walking). Thanks to Robin for alerting us to this one, to bad your experience was not the same as ours. And finally back to Minnesota for a snowshoe event (we hiked due to not enough snow) at the William O'brien State Park near Scandia MN.
Some thanks to put out there, to Anne and her fit club. You kicked me in the a$$ when I needed it and stated to get me going again. Kevin and Megan for starting there journey and helping me remember mine. Hope to see you April 2 for your first 10K.
And always to my wife, who has now started her journey past 60lbs lost.
Somethings I remember saying I could not do. Run a mile, done and doing it pretty regularly. Run a 5K, done for the first time in 30 years this weekend (maybe awhile before I do that one again). Get under 250, done (finally). Loose 50lbs, ok did that to. I started at 296 and now at 245, I am 1/2 to my goal. It certainly feels good. My goal is to now be at goal by the time of the West Bend Cache Bash in August
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Year in Review
I figure with one hike left to go in 2010 this is a good a time as any to review where I was when I started this adventure and where I will be when 2010 is finished.
When I started walking on Sept 11 I hate to admit I was at 296lbs and a whopping 52 inch waist (or should that be waste). Today 263 and a 42 inch waist. I am hoping to get to 195 and a 32 inch waist in 2011.
The first seriously long walk I did was 7.5 miles and the thought scared me with the thought can I even walk that far (I could) and now I am looking at walks of 18 miles in May and a full 26.2 mile Walk A Thon in June. These don't scare me as we have walked 20K (a little less than 1/2 marathon) in a day on back to back days. So with some training I know I can do it.
Have signed up for something that does scare me a little a running event (sort of) called the Warrior Dash in September. It a 5K run with some insane obstacles to do en route. Two things about this that scare me are can I even run 5K (at least I got 9 months to train) and with my impaired balance how much harder will the obstacles be for me. Regardless I will get by them.
I have discovered how uncomfortable foot injuries can be, but have learned to keep pushing.
Went on a vacation to do some serious caching, weather ruined that plan so we hiked. 110K in 7 days.
I have discovered my wife is a much stronger person than I thought and give her a ton of credit for all her resolve to continue on her journey and keep inspiring me to do better.
Since that first walk-482,391 steps taken, 263.7 miles walked 39,021 calories burned. Total time walked in that period is over three days.
I know some people will go but you have wasted three days of your life, and those people will never get it (I know I was one of them). Yes I may have spent three days but how much time did I add to my life by doing this? My knees that always bothered me, seldom hurt. The reduced stress on the heart and other organs all help. Even if I stop here I have added to my life, only thing is I am not stopping.
I am not sure what size I was when my wife and I married almost 17 years ago, but I know it had to be at least 230, I want to get to a point I am smaller and healthier than she has ever known me.
Finally a sincere and honest thank you to those who inspire me. Some realize it, some don't..but to name a few Robin, Roxy, Anne, Gwyn (you got Warrior Dash in my wife's head), the folks at Dairyland Walkers and many more.
A equally important group that deserves the same thanks are those who spur me on with kind words to my post, some of who have been named above, but Donna, Steve, Mary, Deb, Val and Co Workers who have offered kind words. And of course family
THANK YOU ALL!! I can't do this alone, no man is an island. And I hope that if anybody reading this is inspired to take there first steps towards this type of life style change if you need help or somebody to offer support, even if you decide to try walking a 10K and you need somebody to carry your water, let me know. I intend to pay it forward
When I started walking on Sept 11 I hate to admit I was at 296lbs and a whopping 52 inch waist (or should that be waste). Today 263 and a 42 inch waist. I am hoping to get to 195 and a 32 inch waist in 2011.
The first seriously long walk I did was 7.5 miles and the thought scared me with the thought can I even walk that far (I could) and now I am looking at walks of 18 miles in May and a full 26.2 mile Walk A Thon in June. These don't scare me as we have walked 20K (a little less than 1/2 marathon) in a day on back to back days. So with some training I know I can do it.
Have signed up for something that does scare me a little a running event (sort of) called the Warrior Dash in September. It a 5K run with some insane obstacles to do en route. Two things about this that scare me are can I even run 5K (at least I got 9 months to train) and with my impaired balance how much harder will the obstacles be for me. Regardless I will get by them.
I have discovered how uncomfortable foot injuries can be, but have learned to keep pushing.
Went on a vacation to do some serious caching, weather ruined that plan so we hiked. 110K in 7 days.
I have discovered my wife is a much stronger person than I thought and give her a ton of credit for all her resolve to continue on her journey and keep inspiring me to do better.
Since that first walk-482,391 steps taken, 263.7 miles walked 39,021 calories burned. Total time walked in that period is over three days.
I know some people will go but you have wasted three days of your life, and those people will never get it (I know I was one of them). Yes I may have spent three days but how much time did I add to my life by doing this? My knees that always bothered me, seldom hurt. The reduced stress on the heart and other organs all help. Even if I stop here I have added to my life, only thing is I am not stopping.
I am not sure what size I was when my wife and I married almost 17 years ago, but I know it had to be at least 230, I want to get to a point I am smaller and healthier than she has ever known me.
Finally a sincere and honest thank you to those who inspire me. Some realize it, some don't..but to name a few Robin, Roxy, Anne, Gwyn (you got Warrior Dash in my wife's head), the folks at Dairyland Walkers and many more.
A equally important group that deserves the same thanks are those who spur me on with kind words to my post, some of who have been named above, but Donna, Steve, Mary, Deb, Val and Co Workers who have offered kind words. And of course family
THANK YOU ALL!! I can't do this alone, no man is an island. And I hope that if anybody reading this is inspired to take there first steps towards this type of life style change if you need help or somebody to offer support, even if you decide to try walking a 10K and you need somebody to carry your water, let me know. I intend to pay it forward
Monday, December 6, 2010
Vibrams, Chicago AVA Walk and Dairyland Walkers Holiday Party
After taking a few days off from walking after our trip we went back to the gym on Thursday, hop on the tread mill for an hour and have it timed right that I can watch Jeopardy while walking. However this time I am trying something new on my feet, they are called Vibram's Five Fingers.
Vibrams are to your feet what a glove is to your hand, in one sense. They are a light weight shoe made of mesh material and in this case a 4 mm sole. And if you haven't guessed what makes them unique, they have separate pockets for each of your toes that can move separately and individually. And yes they are intended to be an athletic shoe.
Now I have worn them here and there and love the feel, its almost being barefoot, which I prefer. But this was the first test using them as they are intended. The first thing I noticed is I walk softer or lighter in them, it took me several minutes to quit slamming my feet down as I walked, which ultimately reduced knee stress. Additionally I suffer from turf toe, or hyper extending your toe upwards in both big toes. I always have my big toes hurt when I walk and have figured this was the price of getting fit, after an hour my big toes felt great. I did notice some increased stress to the outside edges of my feet and in the joints of my little toes and hope that is just because I need to become more accustomed to them. One other note, I have very high arches my wife is nearer to being flat footed, she has a pair also and loves the feel, however she has not yet put them to the test in the gym.
On Saturday my company has a yearly bus trip to Chicago for Holiday shopping. If you know me that really doesn't get me excited, last year my wife and I geocached. This year we checked to see if there were any AVA Walks in that area. We found two that started about 5 blocks away from where we were dropped off. The first walk basically went up Michigan Ave and back south and Dearborne with some walking around the LOOP and the neighborhoods north of Michigan Ave. The other went south towards the lake shore, the Field Museum and the Shedd Aquarium. Both walks were 11K so there was no difference there, we went North simply because remember the weather, snowing cold and blustery, I didn't want to see how bad it would be along the lake shore.
Seems going North wasn't much better as the wind howled along Michigan but we were rewarded for our efforts when we got into a neighborhood full of old Brownstones that just felt very comfortable and homey. Did see one for sale sign but I was afraid to look at the price. Once we headed back south we stopped at the only store we did any holiday shopping, found a tea store and perused (and got warm) for a while, they sold some different types of teas that I had not seen before and I will have to check them out on the web. In the end I hate saying we did not enjoy this walk, but I think it was the conditions that made this difficult, cold, snowy and my wife had shoe related problems, it just seemed to take forever. Normally we complete a 10K in about 2 hours, this took us nearly three.
On Sunday we headed out to Madison for the Dairyland Walkers (the local AVA Club we belong to) Holiday party. So first off what do you suppose we do, a quick 5K. Nothing special about the walk or it was just we had more cold windy weather, but it felt good to get out again and walk in successive days. One very positive thing was warm cider when we got back, it helped.
One thing I have found with this club is that they are very supportive and very friendly, they want to share in your adventures and share there adventures with you. My biggest issue I had was forgetting how much I rely on my wife for my hearing in crowded room situations. Being hearing impaired can have its benefits but at times it sucks as it was hard for me to communicate properly
Since we have started walking we have now lost over 70 lbs, I worry over winter if I can keep it up. I had at one point wanted to get below 250 before a walk marathon I want to do in Stevens Point, I need to rethink that amount, I am now aiming for 235.
Congrats to one of our caching friends for completing a 5K run in under 40 minutes. If I can get my tired old knees to work maybe I will have to see if I can do it.
To date 468,679 steps for 255 miles walked since September. 37,590 calories burned
158 days to Syttende Mai, a 17 walk event in the Madison area and 179 days to the Steven's Point 26.2 mile walkathon. I intend to do both.
Links you might be interested in:
www.vibramfivefingers.com
www.ava.org/index.htm
www.dairylandwalkers.com
Wanna go for a walk?
Vibrams are to your feet what a glove is to your hand, in one sense. They are a light weight shoe made of mesh material and in this case a 4 mm sole. And if you haven't guessed what makes them unique, they have separate pockets for each of your toes that can move separately and individually. And yes they are intended to be an athletic shoe.
Now I have worn them here and there and love the feel, its almost being barefoot, which I prefer. But this was the first test using them as they are intended. The first thing I noticed is I walk softer or lighter in them, it took me several minutes to quit slamming my feet down as I walked, which ultimately reduced knee stress. Additionally I suffer from turf toe, or hyper extending your toe upwards in both big toes. I always have my big toes hurt when I walk and have figured this was the price of getting fit, after an hour my big toes felt great. I did notice some increased stress to the outside edges of my feet and in the joints of my little toes and hope that is just because I need to become more accustomed to them. One other note, I have very high arches my wife is nearer to being flat footed, she has a pair also and loves the feel, however she has not yet put them to the test in the gym.
On Saturday my company has a yearly bus trip to Chicago for Holiday shopping. If you know me that really doesn't get me excited, last year my wife and I geocached. This year we checked to see if there were any AVA Walks in that area. We found two that started about 5 blocks away from where we were dropped off. The first walk basically went up Michigan Ave and back south and Dearborne with some walking around the LOOP and the neighborhoods north of Michigan Ave. The other went south towards the lake shore, the Field Museum and the Shedd Aquarium. Both walks were 11K so there was no difference there, we went North simply because remember the weather, snowing cold and blustery, I didn't want to see how bad it would be along the lake shore.
Seems going North wasn't much better as the wind howled along Michigan but we were rewarded for our efforts when we got into a neighborhood full of old Brownstones that just felt very comfortable and homey. Did see one for sale sign but I was afraid to look at the price. Once we headed back south we stopped at the only store we did any holiday shopping, found a tea store and perused (and got warm) for a while, they sold some different types of teas that I had not seen before and I will have to check them out on the web. In the end I hate saying we did not enjoy this walk, but I think it was the conditions that made this difficult, cold, snowy and my wife had shoe related problems, it just seemed to take forever. Normally we complete a 10K in about 2 hours, this took us nearly three.
On Sunday we headed out to Madison for the Dairyland Walkers (the local AVA Club we belong to) Holiday party. So first off what do you suppose we do, a quick 5K. Nothing special about the walk or it was just we had more cold windy weather, but it felt good to get out again and walk in successive days. One very positive thing was warm cider when we got back, it helped.
One thing I have found with this club is that they are very supportive and very friendly, they want to share in your adventures and share there adventures with you. My biggest issue I had was forgetting how much I rely on my wife for my hearing in crowded room situations. Being hearing impaired can have its benefits but at times it sucks as it was hard for me to communicate properly
Since we have started walking we have now lost over 70 lbs, I worry over winter if I can keep it up. I had at one point wanted to get below 250 before a walk marathon I want to do in Stevens Point, I need to rethink that amount, I am now aiming for 235.
Congrats to one of our caching friends for completing a 5K run in under 40 minutes. If I can get my tired old knees to work maybe I will have to see if I can do it.
To date 468,679 steps for 255 miles walked since September. 37,590 calories burned
158 days to Syttende Mai, a 17 walk event in the Madison area and 179 days to the Steven's Point 26.2 mile walkathon. I intend to do both.
Links you might be interested in:
www.vibramfivefingers.com
www.ava.org/index.htm
www.dairylandwalkers.com
Wanna go for a walk?
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Nevada, California, & Utah
Funny how life changes plans, this was supposed to be a trip to go out and attack a 1000 geocache power trail and dinner with a friend in LA. Plans will change, but since we made the original plan before even step one in this journey it would be fair to say we have changed.
We arrived in Las Vegas late Friday and had seen there was an organized walk in Henderson . 10K so what would 2 hours out of our day be. This was an organized club walk but we were slightly disappointed in the turn out. See it was us, the head of the Hawaiian AVA club and her husband plus the head of the Las Vegas Club (he had to leave after 5K). What was cool about this walk was how it took you thru the lobby, pool and casino of the Green Valley Ranch Casino. The other really cool thing was how the Hawaiian couple tried to provide us more knowledge about the AVA and its different walks and events, we hope to get a chance to walk with them again this summer as they will be in our area.
From there we set out geocaching and got the first 100 caches in the series before night fell, so we made the decision to head to Toponah for the night. The 100 mile drive should have bee no problem, but as we mad higher elevations we started getting snow. After a bit it started sticking and there was black ice. Our speeds went from 70 to 40 to finally 25. Along the way we saw a flipped SUV and even did 500 feet going sideways our self. Once in Toponah we found that they do not use salt or sand even very much and the some nearby areas were being closed. The snow finally tapered off about 10 Sunday morning, we stayed stuck there until 4 am the next morning.
We made it into Onatario CA and grabbed lunch and got to our hotel by noon and my wife suggested doing 2 nearby walks in Claremont, both 10K. Until this point we had never done more than 10K in one day. The first walk is a 4 terrain (5 being the highest) and it is called The Hills. The walk instructions indicate the 4 terrain is for a steep hill at the beginning, how bad can this be. The hill was over 2 miles long and rose 1200 feet, before leveling off and allowing 2 more miles on basically flat terrain until a 2 mile downhill descent to the parking lot. Along the way we saw several deer and a tarantula and the walk has some amazing views of the valleys below. In the past there is no way we would have made it up 1 mile of this hill, and yes we were huffing and puffing some, but not like we had done on some smaller hills we climbed while geocaching. We climbed Mount Baldy. The challenge and views make this an immediate favorite.
The second in Claremont came with a bit of bad news, our friend that we had planned to have dinner with contacted us to inform us he had to cancel due to a family emergency. The second walk in Claremont was in the college grounds and the general downtown of Claremont itself. This walk was a treat as the college area is really 4 or 5 schools that share parts of the same campus and each has its own flavor and it has a very nice downtown area of small shops that make you want to peak your head in for a look.
Tuesday bought us first to San Gabriel and then South Pasadena, both 10Ks . The San Gabriel walk lead us thru some of there neighborhoods, much with a mission style of architecture. The highlight of this walk was the San Gabriel Mission itself, a historic old church that has been used in Hollywood for several films including Father of the Bride, and a curious item we saw was a plant that is on the historic register of places. Grapevine Park features a grapevine that was planted in 1861 and is still growing today, the twisted trunk of the vine is bigger around than me.
The Pasedena walk took us thru part of the area that Route 66 is part of and along Arroyo Street. Last year when we went on vacation in LA we cached the park that is below this street, we had 20 finds over a 5 mile hike then and this time we stayed on the street above. This walk started up small blisters for both of us. The start point was a shoe store that sells Vibram Shoes. They are a unique pair of shoes as they have individual areas for each of your toes and have a thin but durable sole to them. Supposedly they make you feel bare foot and supposed to improve balance and posture. We both purchased a pair at home and will be finding our if the claims are true.
Wednesday left us heading for Redlands and Riverside. Redlands was a very nice walk as there are varied architecture from Mission to Victorian right next to another. Many homes had rose bushes growing or fruit trees, we saw grapefruits, limes, oranges and peaches. One part of the walk featured a city park that includes a orange orchard. But by the end we were hurting, our blisters had refilled and gotten bigger. Not wanting to stop after we completed we found a Walmart and stopped to do some blister maintenance.
Stubborn as we are we decided to try Riverside, but we opted out of the 10K and only did 5K. This walk featured a very large hotel called Mission Inn, it was at least two blocks in size and I think we arrived a few days to soon as they were hanging the holiday lights, I think this place would have looked even more amazing all lit up. If I can remember it this would be on my list of a place I would like to stay during a future visit.
Thursday bought us back to Vegas and two 11 K walks, basically Strip East and Strip West, From the Mandalay Bay area to Stratosphere and back going thru a variety of the hotels, liked the fact it went thru new places like Aria. Since we have had been to Vegas before we have done this walk previously, however this time cost us less as we didn't sit down at any location.
Friday we headed for Boulder City to do the Tunnels walk to Hoover Dam, this walk can be as long as 5, 11 or 13K, due to time issues we opted for the 5K. The entire hike we could see Lake Mead as we passed thru two tunnels that were created during the building of Hoover Dam. The 13K takes you thru 5 tunnels, over the Damn and into Arizona. There is a walk for the Grand Canyon that is on my to do list, I am adding this to that list, but I want to do the 13K next time.
Finally we drove to Ivins Utah to do a 10 K there, Ivins is North East of Saint George and this walk takes you into Snow Canyon State Park. This is a fabulously pretty park, lots of red rock all around you, many great views. My only complaint is the first half of this walk is downhill, making the second half a real pain. We really like the Saint George area and have considered moving to this area of the country, this hike may have caused my wife to fall deeper in love with the area.
In all 3 states, 113K and roughly 65 miles inn 7 days. I know I have a friend or two that could do this, but to those who look at this and say I'm nuts (thanks), remember it was a little more than 60 days ago I was on the couch and if I can do it anybody can.
We arrived in Las Vegas late Friday and had seen there was an organized walk in Henderson . 10K so what would 2 hours out of our day be. This was an organized club walk but we were slightly disappointed in the turn out. See it was us, the head of the Hawaiian AVA club and her husband plus the head of the Las Vegas Club (he had to leave after 5K). What was cool about this walk was how it took you thru the lobby, pool and casino of the Green Valley Ranch Casino. The other really cool thing was how the Hawaiian couple tried to provide us more knowledge about the AVA and its different walks and events, we hope to get a chance to walk with them again this summer as they will be in our area.
From there we set out geocaching and got the first 100 caches in the series before night fell, so we made the decision to head to Toponah for the night. The 100 mile drive should have bee no problem, but as we mad higher elevations we started getting snow. After a bit it started sticking and there was black ice. Our speeds went from 70 to 40 to finally 25. Along the way we saw a flipped SUV and even did 500 feet going sideways our self. Once in Toponah we found that they do not use salt or sand even very much and the some nearby areas were being closed. The snow finally tapered off about 10 Sunday morning, we stayed stuck there until 4 am the next morning.
We made it into Onatario CA and grabbed lunch and got to our hotel by noon and my wife suggested doing 2 nearby walks in Claremont, both 10K. Until this point we had never done more than 10K in one day. The first walk is a 4 terrain (5 being the highest) and it is called The Hills. The walk instructions indicate the 4 terrain is for a steep hill at the beginning, how bad can this be. The hill was over 2 miles long and rose 1200 feet, before leveling off and allowing 2 more miles on basically flat terrain until a 2 mile downhill descent to the parking lot. Along the way we saw several deer and a tarantula and the walk has some amazing views of the valleys below. In the past there is no way we would have made it up 1 mile of this hill, and yes we were huffing and puffing some, but not like we had done on some smaller hills we climbed while geocaching. We climbed Mount Baldy. The challenge and views make this an immediate favorite.
The second in Claremont came with a bit of bad news, our friend that we had planned to have dinner with contacted us to inform us he had to cancel due to a family emergency. The second walk in Claremont was in the college grounds and the general downtown of Claremont itself. This walk was a treat as the college area is really 4 or 5 schools that share parts of the same campus and each has its own flavor and it has a very nice downtown area of small shops that make you want to peak your head in for a look.
Tuesday bought us first to San Gabriel and then South Pasadena, both 10Ks . The San Gabriel walk lead us thru some of there neighborhoods, much with a mission style of architecture. The highlight of this walk was the San Gabriel Mission itself, a historic old church that has been used in Hollywood for several films including Father of the Bride, and a curious item we saw was a plant that is on the historic register of places. Grapevine Park features a grapevine that was planted in 1861 and is still growing today, the twisted trunk of the vine is bigger around than me.
The Pasedena walk took us thru part of the area that Route 66 is part of and along Arroyo Street. Last year when we went on vacation in LA we cached the park that is below this street, we had 20 finds over a 5 mile hike then and this time we stayed on the street above. This walk started up small blisters for both of us. The start point was a shoe store that sells Vibram Shoes. They are a unique pair of shoes as they have individual areas for each of your toes and have a thin but durable sole to them. Supposedly they make you feel bare foot and supposed to improve balance and posture. We both purchased a pair at home and will be finding our if the claims are true.
Wednesday left us heading for Redlands and Riverside. Redlands was a very nice walk as there are varied architecture from Mission to Victorian right next to another. Many homes had rose bushes growing or fruit trees, we saw grapefruits, limes, oranges and peaches. One part of the walk featured a city park that includes a orange orchard. But by the end we were hurting, our blisters had refilled and gotten bigger. Not wanting to stop after we completed we found a Walmart and stopped to do some blister maintenance.
Stubborn as we are we decided to try Riverside, but we opted out of the 10K and only did 5K. This walk featured a very large hotel called Mission Inn, it was at least two blocks in size and I think we arrived a few days to soon as they were hanging the holiday lights, I think this place would have looked even more amazing all lit up. If I can remember it this would be on my list of a place I would like to stay during a future visit.
Thursday bought us back to Vegas and two 11 K walks, basically Strip East and Strip West, From the Mandalay Bay area to Stratosphere and back going thru a variety of the hotels, liked the fact it went thru new places like Aria. Since we have had been to Vegas before we have done this walk previously, however this time cost us less as we didn't sit down at any location.
Friday we headed for Boulder City to do the Tunnels walk to Hoover Dam, this walk can be as long as 5, 11 or 13K, due to time issues we opted for the 5K. The entire hike we could see Lake Mead as we passed thru two tunnels that were created during the building of Hoover Dam. The 13K takes you thru 5 tunnels, over the Damn and into Arizona. There is a walk for the Grand Canyon that is on my to do list, I am adding this to that list, but I want to do the 13K next time.
Finally we drove to Ivins Utah to do a 10 K there, Ivins is North East of Saint George and this walk takes you into Snow Canyon State Park. This is a fabulously pretty park, lots of red rock all around you, many great views. My only complaint is the first half of this walk is downhill, making the second half a real pain. We really like the Saint George area and have considered moving to this area of the country, this hike may have caused my wife to fall deeper in love with the area.
In all 3 states, 113K and roughly 65 miles inn 7 days. I know I have a friend or two that could do this, but to those who look at this and say I'm nuts (thanks), remember it was a little more than 60 days ago I was on the couch and if I can do it anybody can.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Gearing up for my biggest walking attempt yet
We haven't been able to get out as much as we would like because things like life and weather have kept us busy. This last weekend we had hoped to do our first AVA walk outside of Wisconsin. We were up at my Father in Laws and were going to leave a little early to do a 10K in St Paul on Sunday.
If you missed it they had a major snowstorm on Saturday, so toss that plan. We drive right by Eau Claire and there is a AVA walk there, that goes on some non paved trails. As we near the city we can see everything is soaked. Strike two. Ok there's Madison and many AVA walks there, and pouring rain. Ok the Snap 24/7 will have to be the option for today.
One of the things we have done is started going thru our closets. Since my waist is down nearly 4 inches I don't want to have a wardrobe malfunction. I was amazed at the number of shirts and pants I grew out of that are now big on me. The nice thing is I saved enough that I can replace my now fat dress clothes with slimmer version that I can hopefully make a temporary stay in. I was at one point nearly a 52 inch waist, now at 44.5 and hoping to get to 34 or so. My wonderful wife of 16 years has never sen me under a 40 inch waist, I graduated some 27 years ago (yikes how did that happen) from high school and that was where I was at then. It would be nice to return to that size.
Over Thanksgiving we have some time off from work and plan on doing some geocaching. Presently we are at 3221 in finds and in the next 10 days we would like to be over 4000 finds and between Saturday the 20th and Saturday the 27th we are hoping to walk 50 miles. Yes I said 50,and before you ask is he nuts, be aware you should not need to ask you should know this answer already. So who thinks we can make both goals? Any bets
If you missed it they had a major snowstorm on Saturday, so toss that plan. We drive right by Eau Claire and there is a AVA walk there, that goes on some non paved trails. As we near the city we can see everything is soaked. Strike two. Ok there's Madison and many AVA walks there, and pouring rain. Ok the Snap 24/7 will have to be the option for today.
One of the things we have done is started going thru our closets. Since my waist is down nearly 4 inches I don't want to have a wardrobe malfunction. I was amazed at the number of shirts and pants I grew out of that are now big on me. The nice thing is I saved enough that I can replace my now fat dress clothes with slimmer version that I can hopefully make a temporary stay in. I was at one point nearly a 52 inch waist, now at 44.5 and hoping to get to 34 or so. My wonderful wife of 16 years has never sen me under a 40 inch waist, I graduated some 27 years ago (yikes how did that happen) from high school and that was where I was at then. It would be nice to return to that size.
Over Thanksgiving we have some time off from work and plan on doing some geocaching. Presently we are at 3221 in finds and in the next 10 days we would like to be over 4000 finds and between Saturday the 20th and Saturday the 27th we are hoping to walk 50 miles. Yes I said 50,and before you ask is he nuts, be aware you should not need to ask you should know this answer already. So who thinks we can make both goals? Any bets
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