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
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
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
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Back from Injury
Last Sunday I blew up a blister on the back of my heal and I knew that would slow me down. How much I didn't know but at least some.
Monday came and it was apparent that wearing my wingtip shoes to work, simply to tight on the raw skin of my heel, even with a bandage. So I switched to more of a Dockers style of shoe. It only hurt 50% of the time, whenever I took a step with my good foot it didn't hurt. And of course several people are telling me I should go to the doctor, including my wife who has become my home health care practitioner, pouring hydrogen peroxide here and applying liquid bandage there. Needless to say no walking.
Tuesday I wake up to a developing cankle, ok I have had this before and I know this isn't good and of course being male I convince myself that I am invincible and there is nothing wrong with it. But that night my wife makes comments about the lovely colors its turning and she finally gets thru to me and I make a doctor appointment on Wednesday.
Now my doctor is a really good guy who has tried over the years to get me to change bad habits, but I don't make it easy on him. When I quit smoking he suggested a cholesterol test, now I didn't fast like your supposed to and a few weeks later he is calling me with the results, cursing. I am lower than him and he is a avid runner. My blood sugar level is very low and I have an above average resting heart rate. In fact he has declared me one of the healthiest big guys he has met.
So he sees me and first looks at the chart and comments about my weight and blood pressure looking much better, and then asks me if the reason I was there was to see him for an injury due to me trying to get healthy. When I said yes the poor doc nearly fell out of the chair.
The good news was he didn't think it was infected , but could not rule it out. So I get to go on antibiotics. Better news is he gives me a few tips to help prevent the blistering in the future, and tells me I can start walking again once it scabs over well.
Friday morning I new it was scabbed over, so I was good to go. Saturday my wife helps me put a piece of gauze to the injury and applies duct tape to it. It hurts a little but nothing I can't take and nothing causing reblistering. We head to Janesville to take a city streets walk there, with the exception of about 1 mile when we are on a paved portion of the Ice Age Trail, they even have a sign on the trail showing 776 miles to Interstate Park (the drive seems less than that). This is a nice easy walk with just one hill and it felt great to be out walking again, and a 10K none the less.
Sunday we were back at it, this time for the Jingle Bell run/walk and the Milwaukee County Zoo. This was only a 5K but it was with a group that my wife's employee sponsored, so I knew one or two others on the trail. The best part of this walk was when we passed the Brown Bear exhibit two bears were playing. Or at least I hope it was playing, if not they were having a fight. But it was fun to stop a moment and watch.
It felt good to be back out walking, and after a week off I was worried about my weight but when we weighed in on Saturday and did measurements I was happy, nice losses in both areas.
This weekend over 20K steps for a total of 287712 steps since starting and 158 miles walked. I have reached a point where I can see a change in myself, not mentally either, the body is starting to change in a positive way. Exercise and better eating is starting to pay off.
Monday came and it was apparent that wearing my wingtip shoes to work, simply to tight on the raw skin of my heel, even with a bandage. So I switched to more of a Dockers style of shoe. It only hurt 50% of the time, whenever I took a step with my good foot it didn't hurt. And of course several people are telling me I should go to the doctor, including my wife who has become my home health care practitioner, pouring hydrogen peroxide here and applying liquid bandage there. Needless to say no walking.
Tuesday I wake up to a developing cankle, ok I have had this before and I know this isn't good and of course being male I convince myself that I am invincible and there is nothing wrong with it. But that night my wife makes comments about the lovely colors its turning and she finally gets thru to me and I make a doctor appointment on Wednesday.
Now my doctor is a really good guy who has tried over the years to get me to change bad habits, but I don't make it easy on him. When I quit smoking he suggested a cholesterol test, now I didn't fast like your supposed to and a few weeks later he is calling me with the results, cursing. I am lower than him and he is a avid runner. My blood sugar level is very low and I have an above average resting heart rate. In fact he has declared me one of the healthiest big guys he has met.
So he sees me and first looks at the chart and comments about my weight and blood pressure looking much better, and then asks me if the reason I was there was to see him for an injury due to me trying to get healthy. When I said yes the poor doc nearly fell out of the chair.
The good news was he didn't think it was infected , but could not rule it out. So I get to go on antibiotics. Better news is he gives me a few tips to help prevent the blistering in the future, and tells me I can start walking again once it scabs over well.
Friday morning I new it was scabbed over, so I was good to go. Saturday my wife helps me put a piece of gauze to the injury and applies duct tape to it. It hurts a little but nothing I can't take and nothing causing reblistering. We head to Janesville to take a city streets walk there, with the exception of about 1 mile when we are on a paved portion of the Ice Age Trail, they even have a sign on the trail showing 776 miles to Interstate Park (the drive seems less than that). This is a nice easy walk with just one hill and it felt great to be out walking again, and a 10K none the less.
Sunday we were back at it, this time for the Jingle Bell run/walk and the Milwaukee County Zoo. This was only a 5K but it was with a group that my wife's employee sponsored, so I knew one or two others on the trail. The best part of this walk was when we passed the Brown Bear exhibit two bears were playing. Or at least I hope it was playing, if not they were having a fight. But it was fun to stop a moment and watch.
It felt good to be back out walking, and after a week off I was worried about my weight but when we weighed in on Saturday and did measurements I was happy, nice losses in both areas.
This weekend over 20K steps for a total of 287712 steps since starting and 158 miles walked. I have reached a point where I can see a change in myself, not mentally either, the body is starting to change in a positive way. Exercise and better eating is starting to pay off.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
La Crosse, Madison, Caching, Team B& B, oh and a milestone
Busy weekend. On Friday about 2:30 my wife made a off handed comment about going up to a B&B in LaValle , WI a day early. We were planning in getting together with several other caching friends, a partially dangerous group since I am the only male and they can be rather spirited, on Saturday but I had a crummy day at work and I suggested she call. They had a room so we went up a day early.
So on Friday night we stayed up much later than what we normally do as we had some wine and chatted with friends, some new one and some we have known for quite a while longer. They were good for some attitude adjustment and had made my day much better.
Saturday we were up early and headed for La Crosse to do the AVA 11K walk. Get to the start location and ask the young lady working there for the AVA box and she has no clue, great, but her co worker did. We have been in La Crosse a bit in the past both caching and for family stuff (my father in law grew up in La Crosse), but I had never been thru this part of the city before. At about the 3K mark we went off the streets and onto a path that headed us towards the bluff, I started getting a familiar twinge in my heel, a blister starting. One of the coolest things on this walk was on the trail they had young adults (Students at UW LaCrosse I think) passing out candy to Trick or Treaters. Saw plenty of little kids enjoying the candy. The walk would eventually take us thru the UWL campus and past some of the historical homes in La Crosse. Ended our trip by getting our first awards fro caching, a beer stein shaped pin.
From there we headed back to Mauston to do 29 caches with our caching friends. It took us about 3 hours to do them all. Six sets of eyes made this a pretty easier and fun trip. We then headed back to the B&B for more wine, chat, laughs (being the only man I was getting a fair share of teasing) and some really good food, Chicken Enchilada Casserole and Chili, both very good.
Sunday morning took us to Madison to do a second AVA walk, this time around the state capital and the UW Madison Campus. This one a 10K and I had thought I prepared from the blister I got in La Crosse and covered the blister well with duct tape, but before we even get 1K in I know something in wrong. Find a bench pull the shoe and sock off and readjust the tape and it seems to fell better, not. This walk drove us a little nuts for awhile as it was go one block and turn right and then go one block and turn left as we covered the entire area around the capital and got a view of Lake Monona also. Finally we start going several blocks at a time and head toward Lake Mendota. We weave all thru the UW Madison Campus (and feeling slightly old with a bunch of 20 somethings everywhere) even watched somebody driving on the pedestrian walk ways near Bascom Hall (for those who don't know there is no vehicle traffic in this area). We found Madison to be a very walking friendly city and as we headed back at the capital we were getting very hungry as we past many restaurants of many different ethnicities. One good smell after another.
Get back to the car and I want to put my Crocs on, get the shoes and socks off and get to time to pull the tape off. I dont look at the foot but I can tell by the look on the wife's fact that this wasnt going to be a good conclusion. I ripped about a quarter sized piece of skin off the blister, which is larger than a 50 cent piece. Since it is the dentist tomorrow I dont have to worry about it but I would like to get to the gym on Tuesday and right now I am thinking that wont happen.
Cant complain 21K done over the weekend, some caching and some good friends. Hope to have more weekends like that.
Now over 250K step walked for almost 150 miles, oh and that milestone. I have not been under 275 in at least 5 years and maybe as much as 15 years. I will not be there again, Friday the scale rewarded my efforts with 274.8. It maybe only two tenths of a pound under but it is under, now onward to getting under 250. And working on blister maintence
So on Friday night we stayed up much later than what we normally do as we had some wine and chatted with friends, some new one and some we have known for quite a while longer. They were good for some attitude adjustment and had made my day much better.
Saturday we were up early and headed for La Crosse to do the AVA 11K walk. Get to the start location and ask the young lady working there for the AVA box and she has no clue, great, but her co worker did. We have been in La Crosse a bit in the past both caching and for family stuff (my father in law grew up in La Crosse), but I had never been thru this part of the city before. At about the 3K mark we went off the streets and onto a path that headed us towards the bluff, I started getting a familiar twinge in my heel, a blister starting. One of the coolest things on this walk was on the trail they had young adults (Students at UW LaCrosse I think) passing out candy to Trick or Treaters. Saw plenty of little kids enjoying the candy. The walk would eventually take us thru the UWL campus and past some of the historical homes in La Crosse. Ended our trip by getting our first awards fro caching, a beer stein shaped pin.
From there we headed back to Mauston to do 29 caches with our caching friends. It took us about 3 hours to do them all. Six sets of eyes made this a pretty easier and fun trip. We then headed back to the B&B for more wine, chat, laughs (being the only man I was getting a fair share of teasing) and some really good food, Chicken Enchilada Casserole and Chili, both very good.
Sunday morning took us to Madison to do a second AVA walk, this time around the state capital and the UW Madison Campus. This one a 10K and I had thought I prepared from the blister I got in La Crosse and covered the blister well with duct tape, but before we even get 1K in I know something in wrong. Find a bench pull the shoe and sock off and readjust the tape and it seems to fell better, not. This walk drove us a little nuts for awhile as it was go one block and turn right and then go one block and turn left as we covered the entire area around the capital and got a view of Lake Monona also. Finally we start going several blocks at a time and head toward Lake Mendota. We weave all thru the UW Madison Campus (and feeling slightly old with a bunch of 20 somethings everywhere) even watched somebody driving on the pedestrian walk ways near Bascom Hall (for those who don't know there is no vehicle traffic in this area). We found Madison to be a very walking friendly city and as we headed back at the capital we were getting very hungry as we past many restaurants of many different ethnicities. One good smell after another.
Get back to the car and I want to put my Crocs on, get the shoes and socks off and get to time to pull the tape off. I dont look at the foot but I can tell by the look on the wife's fact that this wasnt going to be a good conclusion. I ripped about a quarter sized piece of skin off the blister, which is larger than a 50 cent piece. Since it is the dentist tomorrow I dont have to worry about it but I would like to get to the gym on Tuesday and right now I am thinking that wont happen.
Cant complain 21K done over the weekend, some caching and some good friends. Hope to have more weekends like that.
Now over 250K step walked for almost 150 miles, oh and that milestone. I have not been under 275 in at least 5 years and maybe as much as 15 years. I will not be there again, Friday the scale rewarded my efforts with 274.8. It maybe only two tenths of a pound under but it is under, now onward to getting under 250. And working on blister maintence
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Little Victories
I had hoped to see a milestone weight drop bye but it has not proven to be a good time to have this occur. On Saturday my one sister in law who lives 5 plus hours away had been in town for a job interview and staying with her boyfriend, my other sister in law lives somewhat local, but we didn't have any plans. When my wife sees a posting on Face Book that her cousin from Virginia is in town, next thing you know we are going out for lunch with family. It was a nice visit. But suddenly plans for walking were shot and neither of us felt like going to the gym.
Sunday was more crappy weather so we ran some errands. With all my jeans in the laundry I grabbed a pair from the I used to fit in these stack. I'm hoping that I can just button them and if nothing else I can change later, not quite they way it worked, needed a belt.
Stop at Wally World for some fitness gear and my wife grabs two pair of compression shorts to go try on, one her present size and one of one size smaller. By the smile on her face I can tell it is one pair that she fits into on one pair of her now to big for her size. A pair of nice small victories for us.
Hit the gym and did an hour on the treadmill for both of us and went home to catch up on the DVR. Some how we are watching less TV but there is more stuff on it, we never seem caught up.
Monday the wife went on a trip to buy wine for our get together with Geocaching Team B & B and after being on a 500 calorie per day diet for awhile her little samples of wine had her feeling good.
Tuesday bought the wind and rain, so it was back to the gym for another hour for both of us on the treadmill. The wife was humored by the guy next to her who appeared to be in better shape than either of us, but struggling to keep it at a pace we consider slow. Have we started to change?
Want to get to the gym on Wednesday because I won't on Thursday since I have an appointment with Drs. Drill & Phil
Hoepfully this weekend we can get two 10K walks in and also try one of the WhereIgo caches in Madison
230629 steps and counting
Sunday was more crappy weather so we ran some errands. With all my jeans in the laundry I grabbed a pair from the I used to fit in these stack. I'm hoping that I can just button them and if nothing else I can change later, not quite they way it worked, needed a belt.
Stop at Wally World for some fitness gear and my wife grabs two pair of compression shorts to go try on, one her present size and one of one size smaller. By the smile on her face I can tell it is one pair that she fits into on one pair of her now to big for her size. A pair of nice small victories for us.
Hit the gym and did an hour on the treadmill for both of us and went home to catch up on the DVR. Some how we are watching less TV but there is more stuff on it, we never seem caught up.
Monday the wife went on a trip to buy wine for our get together with Geocaching Team B & B and after being on a 500 calorie per day diet for awhile her little samples of wine had her feeling good.
Tuesday bought the wind and rain, so it was back to the gym for another hour for both of us on the treadmill. The wife was humored by the guy next to her who appeared to be in better shape than either of us, but struggling to keep it at a pace we consider slow. Have we started to change?
Want to get to the gym on Wednesday because I won't on Thursday since I have an appointment with Drs. Drill & Phil
Hoepfully this weekend we can get two 10K walks in and also try one of the WhereIgo caches in Madison
230629 steps and counting
Friday, October 22, 2010
I dont know how many steps
We took a few days off this week because real life took over for a few days. On Tuesday we went to a local running shoe store and got equipped with better footwear, here is to no more blisters (cross my fingers and hope, and no more duct tape on the heels)
On Wednesday I was feeling down and dragging, could it be two days with out walking had gotten to me. It was a long and miserably slow day at work and work didn't seem to be a bad day, so it had to be me. So on the way home I decide to get my blood pumping before the gym. Plugged the Ipod into the car radio and cranked some Rush. Got thru 2112, Fly by Night, Finding My Way and Working Man and I was amped up. Good old heavy metal does the trick for me (and remember to turn the radio down so the wife wouldn't be upset). Changed and off we went.
Hit the treadmill and plugged in a program called Pikes Peak for an hour. Still trying to find the right level of intensity for me so I ended up with something more like Pike's Mounds. But as the course ran along I would increase the incline to make it harder and I usually go at a 3.4 pace, so I started playing with that also. The last minute before cool down I was on flat terrain so I bumped the speed to the point I had to jog. I may have only been for a minute but now I remember what that is supposed to feel like. We will be back to that point again, even if next time its for 2 minutes.
So how many steps? I don't know. Remember him the ghost character from Family Circus that Billy always blamed things on. He must have turned off my pedometer.
Friday night takes us out to Middleton for a 10K AVA walk. This is a group walk so we get to start to meet some of the other AVA members in the local club, most seem to be a very nice group, but there is always one. This walk was a little different it is a night walk and they ask that you don't use your flashlights. We started by going up a unpaved trail that was a long slow hill that twisted and turned until you got to a nice view that featured the State Capital in the distance. We kept near the front of the group and I surprised my self that over uneven and rough terrain I didn't roll my ankle at all, I do that at least twice on flat paved pavement. The trail took us behind some very nice homes in the area and Middleton has done a nice job interlocking its trails together.
The biggest complaint we had was there was another husband and wife that droned on and on and on about politics. Now maybe some of the reason it grated us was their views were different than ours, but there is a time and a place for those discussion. This was neither. I was wishing I had duct taped my heels, I could have used the tape to tape their mouths shut. Thankfully they eventually dropped back into the crowd.
So how many steps? I don't know turned off my pedometer after 343 steps, I need to have a serious discussion with that ghost.
Hopefully the weather holds off on the rain, would like to do the AVA Cedarburg walk and also test our PiGo app on our Iphone and see if we can do The Pharm Girl's WhereIGo Cahce with that app. Hopefully I don't know stays home
On Wednesday I was feeling down and dragging, could it be two days with out walking had gotten to me. It was a long and miserably slow day at work and work didn't seem to be a bad day, so it had to be me. So on the way home I decide to get my blood pumping before the gym. Plugged the Ipod into the car radio and cranked some Rush. Got thru 2112, Fly by Night, Finding My Way and Working Man and I was amped up. Good old heavy metal does the trick for me (and remember to turn the radio down so the wife wouldn't be upset). Changed and off we went.
Hit the treadmill and plugged in a program called Pikes Peak for an hour. Still trying to find the right level of intensity for me so I ended up with something more like Pike's Mounds. But as the course ran along I would increase the incline to make it harder and I usually go at a 3.4 pace, so I started playing with that also. The last minute before cool down I was on flat terrain so I bumped the speed to the point I had to jog. I may have only been for a minute but now I remember what that is supposed to feel like. We will be back to that point again, even if next time its for 2 minutes.
So how many steps? I don't know. Remember him the ghost character from Family Circus that Billy always blamed things on. He must have turned off my pedometer.
Friday night takes us out to Middleton for a 10K AVA walk. This is a group walk so we get to start to meet some of the other AVA members in the local club, most seem to be a very nice group, but there is always one. This walk was a little different it is a night walk and they ask that you don't use your flashlights. We started by going up a unpaved trail that was a long slow hill that twisted and turned until you got to a nice view that featured the State Capital in the distance. We kept near the front of the group and I surprised my self that over uneven and rough terrain I didn't roll my ankle at all, I do that at least twice on flat paved pavement. The trail took us behind some very nice homes in the area and Middleton has done a nice job interlocking its trails together.
The biggest complaint we had was there was another husband and wife that droned on and on and on about politics. Now maybe some of the reason it grated us was their views were different than ours, but there is a time and a place for those discussion. This was neither. I was wishing I had duct taped my heels, I could have used the tape to tape their mouths shut. Thankfully they eventually dropped back into the crowd.
So how many steps? I don't know turned off my pedometer after 343 steps, I need to have a serious discussion with that ghost.
Hopefully the weather holds off on the rain, would like to do the AVA Cedarburg walk and also test our PiGo app on our Iphone and see if we can do The Pharm Girl's WhereIGo Cahce with that app. Hopefully I don't know stays home
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Congrats to my walking partner
Most of you who have read my comments know that I walk most of the time with my wife and most of you know that she is on her own journey to loose weight. She is on a program that for a three week period she lives on about 500 calories a day and then goes 4-6 weeks between and does the 500 calories again.
For my caching friends the West Bend Cache Bash was the end of her second week last time, anybody remember how tired she looked. Well we are at the end of week two of her second session thru this program. She has made one major change in her approach from last time, she is walking most of the time with me.
Earlier this week she hit a milestone for pounds lost, and today while on the HeartWalk she hit 100 miles walked since starting . This week we walked almost 35 miles, so my wife has walked nearly a mile for every 100 calories she has eaten over this last week. Anybody want to try giving that a try?
So congrats to my wife who never ceases to amaze me
For my caching friends the West Bend Cache Bash was the end of her second week last time, anybody remember how tired she looked. Well we are at the end of week two of her second session thru this program. She has made one major change in her approach from last time, she is walking most of the time with me.
Earlier this week she hit a milestone for pounds lost, and today while on the HeartWalk she hit 100 miles walked since starting . This week we walked almost 35 miles, so my wife has walked nearly a mile for every 100 calories she has eaten over this last week. Anybody want to try giving that a try?
So congrats to my wife who never ceases to amaze me
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Go the extra yard. It makes a mile of difference-Mason Cooley
Today started a little busy for us. Some friends were at a nearby craft sale and we wanted to stop and say hello, we wanted to work on The Crippler's Amazing Geo-Race cache series, oh and a little 10K walk around Lake Geneva which is one of the YRE (year round events) they offer.
Geared up and headed to Brookfield to stop by Scrappy Scouts (Its a caching nickname) stand. Seems Scout stayed home and slept but we spent about an hour chatting with Scrappy. Nice and not as interesting as last time we visted with them, no runaway corn trailers this time (yes I am being serious).
Got to Lake Geneva and I assumed it would be slowing down since it is off season, wrong beautiful day and cars everywhere. Found a parking spot and headed to pick up the map for the walk. The start of the walk took us along the north edge of the lake, with a wind that made me wonder if I was wrong in ditching my coat and long pants in the car, I prefer walking in shorts. But soon the route took us on a trail that circles all 26 miles of the lake, the walking is very uneven through this area but the breeze was blocked.
Eventually the route breaks away and we headed into town and near the first cemetery in town (GR8 Eyes you missed placing a cache here) and would eventually start heading south on the east side of the lake. Now the lake front property on the North side is nothing I can dream about owning, and the property on the east side is what the people on the north side dream about never owning. A four floor 50 room mansion built in 1930 for $2 million, that included a mini golf course and a pool on the roof and a Frank Lloyd Wright design would be among the properties we would pass.
After what seemed like and endless distance we get routed back onto the path that circles the lake. This is an interesting area as it basically goes thru peoples back yards. Some have tried to get the path removed and fought it court but the path remains and basically it is public access but everything around it is private property. Some people have put down pavers for the path that cuts thru their yards and some have left it very primitive. In a few spots you are close enough to the lake to get splashed.
The cool part is you get to see all the multi million dollar homes much closer than when we past them on the road earlier. The coolest part of this walk was near that 50 room mansion I mentioned earlier, on the lake path there is one person who has put up a fence on both sides and the fence boards are ornately painted and there are inspirational quotes painted on the fence. From Lynn Redgrave to Michelangelo to Jiminy Cricket to various other thinkers, some religious, some proverbs from foreign county to the quote I have above. Even Munchkins get love here "Follow the Yellow Brick Road". You cant help but walk away from this place with an uplifting feeling in your heart. You owe it to yourself to walk this route once.
We finished the day but doing 2 legs of the geocache series I mentioned. One thought came to us on the second cache, we had to park almost a 1/2 away from one cache and after walking over 6 miles you would have thought we would have groaned about it. I know in the past we would have, before walking that is. No real complaints, except I had some mud to cross and I almost lost my shoe. Times are changing
With todays walk I have over 200K steps into my journey. Tomorrow is the HeartWalk and soon we will be adding walks in Vegas and Pasadena to our list. I have started to wonder can I hit 400K steps yet this year? I know I need to keep a go pace going if I am serious about the marathon walks in May and June.
Anybody want to go for a walk?
Geared up and headed to Brookfield to stop by Scrappy Scouts (Its a caching nickname) stand. Seems Scout stayed home and slept but we spent about an hour chatting with Scrappy. Nice and not as interesting as last time we visted with them, no runaway corn trailers this time (yes I am being serious).
Got to Lake Geneva and I assumed it would be slowing down since it is off season, wrong beautiful day and cars everywhere. Found a parking spot and headed to pick up the map for the walk. The start of the walk took us along the north edge of the lake, with a wind that made me wonder if I was wrong in ditching my coat and long pants in the car, I prefer walking in shorts. But soon the route took us on a trail that circles all 26 miles of the lake, the walking is very uneven through this area but the breeze was blocked.
Eventually the route breaks away and we headed into town and near the first cemetery in town (GR8 Eyes you missed placing a cache here) and would eventually start heading south on the east side of the lake. Now the lake front property on the North side is nothing I can dream about owning, and the property on the east side is what the people on the north side dream about never owning. A four floor 50 room mansion built in 1930 for $2 million, that included a mini golf course and a pool on the roof and a Frank Lloyd Wright design would be among the properties we would pass.
After what seemed like and endless distance we get routed back onto the path that circles the lake. This is an interesting area as it basically goes thru peoples back yards. Some have tried to get the path removed and fought it court but the path remains and basically it is public access but everything around it is private property. Some people have put down pavers for the path that cuts thru their yards and some have left it very primitive. In a few spots you are close enough to the lake to get splashed.
The cool part is you get to see all the multi million dollar homes much closer than when we past them on the road earlier. The coolest part of this walk was near that 50 room mansion I mentioned earlier, on the lake path there is one person who has put up a fence on both sides and the fence boards are ornately painted and there are inspirational quotes painted on the fence. From Lynn Redgrave to Michelangelo to Jiminy Cricket to various other thinkers, some religious, some proverbs from foreign county to the quote I have above. Even Munchkins get love here "Follow the Yellow Brick Road". You cant help but walk away from this place with an uplifting feeling in your heart. You owe it to yourself to walk this route once.
We finished the day but doing 2 legs of the geocache series I mentioned. One thought came to us on the second cache, we had to park almost a 1/2 away from one cache and after walking over 6 miles you would have thought we would have groaned about it. I know in the past we would have, before walking that is. No real complaints, except I had some mud to cross and I almost lost my shoe. Times are changing
With todays walk I have over 200K steps into my journey. Tomorrow is the HeartWalk and soon we will be adding walks in Vegas and Pasadena to our list. I have started to wonder can I hit 400K steps yet this year? I know I need to keep a go pace going if I am serious about the marathon walks in May and June.
Anybody want to go for a walk?
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
100 miles
When I started this in early September I actually wondered how long it would take me to get to 100 miles walked. Today I found out, while on the treadmill at the gym I started my second 100 miles. In about 4 1/2 weeks I have made it to 100 miles, trust me I am shocked byt his, I was hoping maybe 100 by Christmas or so, but never such a short time.
But I now look back and see some very clear cut changes in me. I may not have lost the weight I wanted to, but it is starting to come off, my lifestyle has become healthier. I would have never set health related goals or fitness related goals. Now I am looking at a 17 mile walk near Madison in May and a 26.2 mile walk in June and I am telling mys self that if I want to seriously do these two events (and I am seriously interested) I need to get at least 30 pounds off my body (or under 250) before that date. But I have 6 months so I think I can (guess I need to sound like the little engine that could).
My biggest fear is winter, I normally hibernate and come out 3 months later 10-15 pounds heavier. I can't do that this year, I don't know how not to, but I suspect it will be by putting one foot in front of the other. Other things that will help is we are planning a trip to Vegas and LA, I have already found walks in areas we will be staying. Visiti0gn family up north, already know what trail we can hike. Halloween with caching Team B&B do a walk in La Crosse first, finding a way to still do everything else but to also start to take care of myself.
Thanks Roxy for being there most every step of the way and inspiring me to start and get my butt off the sofa. Thanks Robin for Ourhike, it may have been for your cause, but it has shown me a new path
To date 182041 steps for 102.6 miles. I have now burned enough calories that if you wanted to visualize them in one sense, I could eat one fast food chain specialty Cheeseburger for every day in February, during a leap years an still have not used up my calories burned. Onward to the Heartwalk and The Dairyland Walkers Lake Geneva 10K walk this weekend
But I now look back and see some very clear cut changes in me. I may not have lost the weight I wanted to, but it is starting to come off, my lifestyle has become healthier. I would have never set health related goals or fitness related goals. Now I am looking at a 17 mile walk near Madison in May and a 26.2 mile walk in June and I am telling mys self that if I want to seriously do these two events (and I am seriously interested) I need to get at least 30 pounds off my body (or under 250) before that date. But I have 6 months so I think I can (guess I need to sound like the little engine that could).
My biggest fear is winter, I normally hibernate and come out 3 months later 10-15 pounds heavier. I can't do that this year, I don't know how not to, but I suspect it will be by putting one foot in front of the other. Other things that will help is we are planning a trip to Vegas and LA, I have already found walks in areas we will be staying. Visiti0gn family up north, already know what trail we can hike. Halloween with caching Team B&B do a walk in La Crosse first, finding a way to still do everything else but to also start to take care of myself.
Thanks Roxy for being there most every step of the way and inspiring me to start and get my butt off the sofa. Thanks Robin for Ourhike, it may have been for your cause, but it has shown me a new path
To date 182041 steps for 102.6 miles. I have now burned enough calories that if you wanted to visualize them in one sense, I could eat one fast food chain specialty Cheeseburger for every day in February, during a leap years an still have not used up my calories burned. Onward to the Heartwalk and The Dairyland Walkers Lake Geneva 10K walk this weekend
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Gyms and MIlwaukee AVA walk
With the bustle around Al's Run/Walk I failed to mention other new things that are occurring. Given we live in Wisconsin the likelihood that we will be able to walk thru winter is nil. Between cold,snow and early sunsets it just isn't a good match up. So what to do, join a Gym.
So we go to one place and the guy behind the counter seems annoyed because we ruined his attempted pick up, shows us some prices and none of the equipment, we didn't buy. So we try another place and the manager is about to go off duty but stays to give us the tour. The place is a little small but alot of high quality equipment in it, the same equipment they use on the Biggest Loser in fact. Clean, neat, not a meat market and prices that were good enough, so we bought a membership.
Friday after doing a few things around the house, we grab a bite to eat and hit the gym. Right know just an hour on the treadmill is all I am looking for. Quickly I realize that walking right after dinner isnt smart, as I get a B of a side ache, but I keep going. The other major difference is when your walking a trail you set your own pace and soemtimes have to stop for traffic. The treadmill just keeps going at the pace that I entered in, which in the end seemed much tougher than trail walking. But thru the winter it will work and just 10 minutes from home is all the better.
Sunday we did our second AVA walk. This one was a little different than our first as it is a unsupervised walk (they do many of these). In this case we went to a hotel near Grand Avenue Mall and picked up the start cards and maps. The walks would take us 10K starting down Wisconsin Avenue to the Calatrava, then North on Lincoln Memorial to the snack shop at McKinley Beach, up the hill to the Water tower by Columbia /St. Marys and weaving our way back down to Lincoln Memorial. This time we veer off at the War Memorial (who knew there was a statue of Lincoln in front of the War Memorial?), over to Cathedral Square and finally back to the hotel to stamp our books to show we did the walk.
In the Friday thru Sunday time frame we walked a 5K and two 10Ks, roughly 15 miles. No wonder the wife is tired. Next weekend brings the AVA in Lake Geneva and a 5K Heartwalk.
Its funny on how quickly we have gotten some serious distance accomplished, at times I have been a little bummed that the weight hasnt gone as quickly as the miles have but 280 is near for me and I started at 296 so I cant complain much. People are starting to see it so I know there is some good happening.
To date168316 steps for 94.7miles, Tuesday I should go over 100 miles
So we go to one place and the guy behind the counter seems annoyed because we ruined his attempted pick up, shows us some prices and none of the equipment, we didn't buy. So we try another place and the manager is about to go off duty but stays to give us the tour. The place is a little small but alot of high quality equipment in it, the same equipment they use on the Biggest Loser in fact. Clean, neat, not a meat market and prices that were good enough, so we bought a membership.
Friday after doing a few things around the house, we grab a bite to eat and hit the gym. Right know just an hour on the treadmill is all I am looking for. Quickly I realize that walking right after dinner isnt smart, as I get a B of a side ache, but I keep going. The other major difference is when your walking a trail you set your own pace and soemtimes have to stop for traffic. The treadmill just keeps going at the pace that I entered in, which in the end seemed much tougher than trail walking. But thru the winter it will work and just 10 minutes from home is all the better.
Sunday we did our second AVA walk. This one was a little different than our first as it is a unsupervised walk (they do many of these). In this case we went to a hotel near Grand Avenue Mall and picked up the start cards and maps. The walks would take us 10K starting down Wisconsin Avenue to the Calatrava, then North on Lincoln Memorial to the snack shop at McKinley Beach, up the hill to the Water tower by Columbia /St. Marys and weaving our way back down to Lincoln Memorial. This time we veer off at the War Memorial (who knew there was a statue of Lincoln in front of the War Memorial?), over to Cathedral Square and finally back to the hotel to stamp our books to show we did the walk.
In the Friday thru Sunday time frame we walked a 5K and two 10Ks, roughly 15 miles. No wonder the wife is tired. Next weekend brings the AVA in Lake Geneva and a 5K Heartwalk.
Its funny on how quickly we have gotten some serious distance accomplished, at times I have been a little bummed that the weight hasnt gone as quickly as the miles have but 280 is near for me and I started at 296 so I cant complain much. People are starting to see it so I know there is some good happening.
To date168316 steps for 94.7miles, Tuesday I should go over 100 miles
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Sorry if this one sounds like a PSA
This walk today was personal. Several years ago WKLH radio thru there morning team Dave & Carole started the Miracle Marathon. It was 60 hours of them on the air the days before Memorial Day Weekend, they simply were raising money for Milwaukee's Childrens Hospital. Had a nice little program that with a credit card they took $20.00 per month for a year. Thru job changes and downsizing we have done that now for a while.
They have used this explanation as to why you should give, simply think of it this way if you have a child who never in there lifetime has any reason to use Childrens consider yourself lucky. I am one of those people. But if you are not, or you have a grandchild, niece or nephew who need Childrens this is why you donate. To help them. And recently with Little Man E we have fallen into that second category, we have a loved one that needs Childrens all to often. Or even if you have an friend or acquaintance that has a child that needs Childrens, it is amazing how many of us either directly or indirectly have been effected by Childrens , even if you dont know it.
If what I have wrote to date cant inspire somebody to get off there tail and walk some to get rid of some of that excess weight all to many of us carry, then let me ask you to open the wallet and help the nearest Childrens Hospital to where you live, the loved one you may be helping maybe somebody that will have an effect on your life.
The day was picture perfect and great for a walk. We were going to do two walks so we parked nearer the second walks starting point (and it was free I parked at work), so we had some distance to walk to the starting line. As we approached we could hear Dave & Carole on the speaker system as the MC's of the event. The event is split into several different categories. An 8K wheelchair event, and 8K run and a 5 mile and 3 mile walk. We opted for the 3 mile walk since we had other plans after.
By the time the starters gun (actually an air horn) fired there was 16,000 participants. For those of you who know downtown Milwaukee that is about 5 blocks of people in both the East and West lanes. One item I thought was very cool was thre was a group a of Marines and Sailors running, two across in formation and the ovation the men and woman got as they weaved up to the starting line was quite loud.
Th walk itself was great MU Cheerleaders and Woman's Basketball team cheering you on as you passed the starting line. Several bands set up on the route playing as you went by, even the Milwaukee Festival Choir singing God Bless America. UWM Panther Cheerleaders were also visible as we rounded the last turn into the Summerfest grounds.
I think the one visual that will stay with me for years is when we first came down Wisconsin Avenue and could see the Sunburst statue on the left and the Calatrava with wings opening in front of us and about 8 solid blocks of runners and walkers (it spread out a little bit), the lake glittering in front of us, truly a wonderful thing to be apart of.
Once we made it to Summerfest we walked back to my car and headed to Grand Avenue Mall (are they ever empty three) to get a bite to eat. Between getting dehydrated and being on 500 calories per day said she couldn't go on to do our 10K. But that was ok since our 3 mile walk with going to and from the car was now over 10K itself. We called it a day and will head back downtown tomorrow to do that 10K
11211 steps today-ALL FOR A GREAT CAUSE!!
They have used this explanation as to why you should give, simply think of it this way if you have a child who never in there lifetime has any reason to use Childrens consider yourself lucky. I am one of those people. But if you are not, or you have a grandchild, niece or nephew who need Childrens this is why you donate. To help them. And recently with Little Man E we have fallen into that second category, we have a loved one that needs Childrens all to often. Or even if you have an friend or acquaintance that has a child that needs Childrens, it is amazing how many of us either directly or indirectly have been effected by Childrens , even if you dont know it.
If what I have wrote to date cant inspire somebody to get off there tail and walk some to get rid of some of that excess weight all to many of us carry, then let me ask you to open the wallet and help the nearest Childrens Hospital to where you live, the loved one you may be helping maybe somebody that will have an effect on your life.
The day was picture perfect and great for a walk. We were going to do two walks so we parked nearer the second walks starting point (and it was free I parked at work), so we had some distance to walk to the starting line. As we approached we could hear Dave & Carole on the speaker system as the MC's of the event. The event is split into several different categories. An 8K wheelchair event, and 8K run and a 5 mile and 3 mile walk. We opted for the 3 mile walk since we had other plans after.
By the time the starters gun (actually an air horn) fired there was 16,000 participants. For those of you who know downtown Milwaukee that is about 5 blocks of people in both the East and West lanes. One item I thought was very cool was thre was a group a of Marines and Sailors running, two across in formation and the ovation the men and woman got as they weaved up to the starting line was quite loud.
Th walk itself was great MU Cheerleaders and Woman's Basketball team cheering you on as you passed the starting line. Several bands set up on the route playing as you went by, even the Milwaukee Festival Choir singing God Bless America. UWM Panther Cheerleaders were also visible as we rounded the last turn into the Summerfest grounds.
I think the one visual that will stay with me for years is when we first came down Wisconsin Avenue and could see the Sunburst statue on the left and the Calatrava with wings opening in front of us and about 8 solid blocks of runners and walkers (it spread out a little bit), the lake glittering in front of us, truly a wonderful thing to be apart of.
Once we made it to Summerfest we walked back to my car and headed to Grand Avenue Mall (are they ever empty three) to get a bite to eat. Between getting dehydrated and being on 500 calories per day said she couldn't go on to do our 10K. But that was ok since our 3 mile walk with going to and from the car was now over 10K itself. We called it a day and will head back downtown tomorrow to do that 10K
11211 steps today-ALL FOR A GREAT CAUSE!!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Nice Milestone today
My wife has really surprised me the last two days. I had expected her to cut back on walking due to her 500 calorie days. She has not and we have walked 5K each of the last two nights.
I had wanted to see if I could run a mile but I rather have her by my side than try running. And truthfully on Tuesday I couldn't have run a mile, I could barely walk one. I have been having some serious cramping in the calf, above the ankle on the outside of the leg. Hurts like a SOB but I keep going
Good news for this weekend got our bibs 6601 and 6682 for Al's Run/Walk. They offer a 3 and 5 mile walk. So what would you expect out of us? Well we are doing the three mile. No we are not going soft.
The Dairyland Walkers has a Year Round Event (basically go to a set location get the map and take the hike and get credit upon completion), that is located within a 1/2 block of where we are parking so we are going to go there and after doing the 3 miles do another 10K (6.2 miles)
One thing I like with this walking club is that they are part of an international walking club and therefore if you are say in Nevada walking up the east side of the strip is a YRE that you can get credit for. Plus they have various challenges such as doing a club walk in all Wisconsin Counties, or all states, or one honoring fire and police professionals. One thing I learned from Geocaching is we like challenges so this should help us go more places to find new areas
As for that milestone, since I started I have passed the 75 mile mark. Over the next two weekends I will surpass 100 miles
I had wanted to see if I could run a mile but I rather have her by my side than try running. And truthfully on Tuesday I couldn't have run a mile, I could barely walk one. I have been having some serious cramping in the calf, above the ankle on the outside of the leg. Hurts like a SOB but I keep going
Good news for this weekend got our bibs 6601 and 6682 for Al's Run/Walk. They offer a 3 and 5 mile walk. So what would you expect out of us? Well we are doing the three mile. No we are not going soft.
The Dairyland Walkers has a Year Round Event (basically go to a set location get the map and take the hike and get credit upon completion), that is located within a 1/2 block of where we are parking so we are going to go there and after doing the 3 miles do another 10K (6.2 miles)
One thing I like with this walking club is that they are part of an international walking club and therefore if you are say in Nevada walking up the east side of the strip is a YRE that you can get credit for. Plus they have various challenges such as doing a club walk in all Wisconsin Counties, or all states, or one honoring fire and police professionals. One thing I learned from Geocaching is we like challenges so this should help us go more places to find new areas
As for that milestone, since I started I have passed the 75 mile mark. Over the next two weekends I will surpass 100 miles
Monday, October 4, 2010
2nd 10k in 3 days
My wife has taken most of the steps I have during this journey, but she also has another journey. She has been some seriously hardcore dieting, its three weeks of 500 calories then back to a more normal intake. One side effect of this is lack of stamina and energy, so I don't expect her to go as far or as often as we have during the 3 week period.
The person who is helping her has told her she can continue to walk once she is in her three week cycle since she has built some stamina herself at this point.
So we set out, I am just hoping to see mile marker two on our trip today, the weather is a little chilly but not bad for walking. To help we have gotten some better designed clothing for walking from the Nike Outlet store (finally no chaffing YEAH!!) and it seems to be going pretty smooth. We pass Mile Marker 2 and she wants to keep going.
Past the next road crossing, then the bend in the road the signifies the furthest we have hiked on the Bugline. Then the light goes on, she wants to see Mile Marker 3. How she is doing this on only 500 calories I have no idea, but I respect it. I dont think she has any idea how much she impresses me with her journey and how that makes my journey easier
On the way back she starts dragging and by the time we get home I think she would rather just go to bed than have dinner. We walked just a bit short of our second 10K in three days
No walking for her tomorrow, we will adjust to every other day while she is in her three weeks. I figure that I am going to try to up my game tomorrow, when I started I didnt know if I could walk a mile, many years ago I could run a under 6 minute mile. Tomorrow it is time to see if I can run a mile again, but I won't worry about the six minute mark
11351 steps today for a total of 123248 so far
The person who is helping her has told her she can continue to walk once she is in her three week cycle since she has built some stamina herself at this point.
So we set out, I am just hoping to see mile marker two on our trip today, the weather is a little chilly but not bad for walking. To help we have gotten some better designed clothing for walking from the Nike Outlet store (finally no chaffing YEAH!!) and it seems to be going pretty smooth. We pass Mile Marker 2 and she wants to keep going.
Past the next road crossing, then the bend in the road the signifies the furthest we have hiked on the Bugline. Then the light goes on, she wants to see Mile Marker 3. How she is doing this on only 500 calories I have no idea, but I respect it. I dont think she has any idea how much she impresses me with her journey and how that makes my journey easier
On the way back she starts dragging and by the time we get home I think she would rather just go to bed than have dinner. We walked just a bit short of our second 10K in three days
No walking for her tomorrow, we will adjust to every other day while she is in her three weeks. I figure that I am going to try to up my game tomorrow, when I started I didnt know if I could walk a mile, many years ago I could run a under 6 minute mile. Tomorrow it is time to see if I can run a mile again, but I won't worry about the six minute mark
11351 steps today for a total of 123248 so far
Sunday, October 3, 2010
How I walked 10K to do a 2 terrain Geocache
Been a little tardy and neglectful in my posting-Sorry to anybody who is reading this.
We started geocaching in an attempt to loose weight, that never occurred so now we have started walking. Nice thing is that sometimes these to things can coexist. To non cachers a 2 terrain geocache means there are some hills involved and the terrain is a bit rougher but no big deal, so people normally don't walk 10K (6.2 miles) to do these types of caches, but who said I was normal.
We arrived in Union Center to the Dairyland Walkers (part of the American Volkssports Association) sponsor walk on the Hillsboro spur of the 400 bike trail. We wore our Wisconsin Geocaching Assocication sweatshirts and while we were talking and getting information about the club (which we did join) about the club we were also waiting for a shuttle to take us to the starting point. The sponsor from the club then informs us there is a cache nearby, but it is time to go.
The walk started as a walk around the city streets of Hillsboro for about 4K. I am not a huge fan of walking on city sidewalks as it jars my knees and ankles. But the guy who decided airline seats should be smaller, must have designed the width of the sidewalks in this town, we couldn't walk two across the sidewalk. Finally we get to the access point to the trail (so we thought) and did a tour of a liquid fertilizer plant (good thing I quit smoking years ago, open flame would equal BOOM here). Tried again and found the proper route, the next 6K was on a trail similar to what I am used to walking on and was no problem on the body and completely different from the first portion. This part was heavily wooded around you, there were several bridges you had to cross and most of the time you couldn't hear Highway 33 even though it was just a few 100 feet away.
In the end it took us about 2 hours to do the distance, this make the furthest my wife has gone in one hike and she handled it wonderfully. Oh and we nabbed the cache after walking the trail
On the way homes stopped at the Nike Outlet to get some more cold weather friendly gear for hiking.
Next weekends goals Al's Run/Walk for Children's Hospital and hopefully doing the Dairyland Walkers YRE in downtown Milwaukee which is 10K. Will try to do both in the same day for a total of 15K that day
To date 111897 steps and 62.6 miles, startign to wonder if we can do 250K steps before year end
We started geocaching in an attempt to loose weight, that never occurred so now we have started walking. Nice thing is that sometimes these to things can coexist. To non cachers a 2 terrain geocache means there are some hills involved and the terrain is a bit rougher but no big deal, so people normally don't walk 10K (6.2 miles) to do these types of caches, but who said I was normal.
We arrived in Union Center to the Dairyland Walkers (part of the American Volkssports Association) sponsor walk on the Hillsboro spur of the 400 bike trail. We wore our Wisconsin Geocaching Assocication sweatshirts and while we were talking and getting information about the club (which we did join) about the club we were also waiting for a shuttle to take us to the starting point. The sponsor from the club then informs us there is a cache nearby, but it is time to go.
The walk started as a walk around the city streets of Hillsboro for about 4K. I am not a huge fan of walking on city sidewalks as it jars my knees and ankles. But the guy who decided airline seats should be smaller, must have designed the width of the sidewalks in this town, we couldn't walk two across the sidewalk. Finally we get to the access point to the trail (so we thought) and did a tour of a liquid fertilizer plant (good thing I quit smoking years ago, open flame would equal BOOM here). Tried again and found the proper route, the next 6K was on a trail similar to what I am used to walking on and was no problem on the body and completely different from the first portion. This part was heavily wooded around you, there were several bridges you had to cross and most of the time you couldn't hear Highway 33 even though it was just a few 100 feet away.
In the end it took us about 2 hours to do the distance, this make the furthest my wife has gone in one hike and she handled it wonderfully. Oh and we nabbed the cache after walking the trail
On the way homes stopped at the Nike Outlet to get some more cold weather friendly gear for hiking.
Next weekends goals Al's Run/Walk for Children's Hospital and hopefully doing the Dairyland Walkers YRE in downtown Milwaukee which is 10K. Will try to do both in the same day for a total of 15K that day
To date 111897 steps and 62.6 miles, startign to wonder if we can do 250K steps before year end
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Off the DL or How to effectively use Duct Tape in walking
Well two days off and the body wants to go out but my nagging injuries still nagging at me. So for the chaffing issue my wife picked up some liquid bandage. Worked good but it stung like a SOB when first applied.
My blister was down but the surface skin was still soft so I knew it would fill up again. So I did some looking on line and I saw an odd item that I though ok I can try this, but it wont work.
There is some camo'd Duct Tape that a lot of geocachers buy because it will work so good to hide items with, only thing is this particular brand sticks to nothing, not even itself, well almost nothing, it sticks to your hands pretty well. Well it sitting in the same room as my shoes, this cant work, but then again what can it hurt to try. So I apply camo'd duct tape to the back of my heal and by the end of the hike the blister is starting to fill a tiny bit.
So now the two nagging injuries seem to be under control and we are back on the trails, goal for this weekend is a 10K (6.2 miles) on the 400 trail in Union Center WI, it is a sponsored event of the Dairyland Walkers of which we are joining this weekend
Another 6622 steps on my journey taken. Goals for this week are to get over 60 miles to date and break 100K steps. If we walk nightly we have a very good chance of me doing this
My blister was down but the surface skin was still soft so I knew it would fill up again. So I did some looking on line and I saw an odd item that I though ok I can try this, but it wont work.
There is some camo'd Duct Tape that a lot of geocachers buy because it will work so good to hide items with, only thing is this particular brand sticks to nothing, not even itself, well almost nothing, it sticks to your hands pretty well. Well it sitting in the same room as my shoes, this cant work, but then again what can it hurt to try. So I apply camo'd duct tape to the back of my heal and by the end of the hike the blister is starting to fill a tiny bit.
So now the two nagging injuries seem to be under control and we are back on the trails, goal for this weekend is a 10K (6.2 miles) on the 400 trail in Union Center WI, it is a sponsored event of the Dairyland Walkers of which we are joining this weekend
Another 6622 steps on my journey taken. Goals for this week are to get over 60 miles to date and break 100K steps. If we walk nightly we have a very good chance of me doing this
Sunday, September 26, 2010
What defines an Athlete?
We didn't walk on Friday but Saturday was the Hemophilia Walk at the Milwaukee Mile. Hemophilia is a blood disorder that prevents normal clotting. So a simple bloody nose could be a $7,000 bill for the ER for somebody with one of these disorders. And many of the people afflicted have $200K in medical bills a year.
Now I wish I could say that I walked to help the charity, but just like the ourhike event I did I walked for more selfish reasons, my health. I have found that there is something uniquely rewarding about helping a charity, as I have said in the past my blisters feel good after these events (and I blistered again). But I have found that doing something for these lessor known organizations that deserve the attention but just dont get it is more rewarding also (I am doing a hike for Childrens Hospital, that one is different because it is personal).
Casey Fitzrandolph, who is a gold medal Olympian was the honorary host, let the group on the track for three laps (we did a little more). I was happy that my wife and I were near the front of the group and we even lapped some people. The corners are banked slightly at the mile and we immediately felt the increased angle, even though fairly slight, in our knees and ankles.
But during our walk I saw two guys that made me question what is an Athlete? Most are in excellent physical condition, but these two were not. If you define an Athlete by what is in his heart these two could teach a lot to many. The first was a young man who I don't think was even a teenager, he was walking with a definite purpose, we would later find out he suffers from this disorder. But that was not what made him unique, he had one foot in a walking cast and trudged himself around that course for three laps, did I mention in a WALKING CAST.
The second man was even more inspiring, he arrived in a wheelchair, I do not know what he was afflicted with, but I am guessing that it was MD. He arrived with 5 family members and one carried 2 canes that had the big four foot bottoms. Once the event started they moved him on to the track and helped him to his feet, one cane in each of his hands and somebody following very close with the chair. We lapped him somewhere past the first lap we walked a mile in about 15 minutes, he walked about 1/4 mile this way and would finished at 1/2 mile. I nay have finished the 5K, but what he finished I will never forget
Sunday we didnt walk because I hurt myself at the event. I have a very high pain tolerance, which is not a good thing. I blistered again on my heel (not a big deal I dont feel them). I did have a chaffing issue that I am told that I have ripped away a few layers of skin about the size of a quarter, that has become infected. My wife has helped me clean it up and washed the area with peroxide (twice) and bandaged it up. She has told me it looks better and we will bandage it up tomorrow before I go to work, but it means no walking for at
least Sunday and Monday and hoping to be back to health for an organized walk of 5 or 10K this weekend
Saturday 8435 steps for 5 miles
Now I wish I could say that I walked to help the charity, but just like the ourhike event I did I walked for more selfish reasons, my health. I have found that there is something uniquely rewarding about helping a charity, as I have said in the past my blisters feel good after these events (and I blistered again). But I have found that doing something for these lessor known organizations that deserve the attention but just dont get it is more rewarding also (I am doing a hike for Childrens Hospital, that one is different because it is personal).
Casey Fitzrandolph, who is a gold medal Olympian was the honorary host, let the group on the track for three laps (we did a little more). I was happy that my wife and I were near the front of the group and we even lapped some people. The corners are banked slightly at the mile and we immediately felt the increased angle, even though fairly slight, in our knees and ankles.
But during our walk I saw two guys that made me question what is an Athlete? Most are in excellent physical condition, but these two were not. If you define an Athlete by what is in his heart these two could teach a lot to many. The first was a young man who I don't think was even a teenager, he was walking with a definite purpose, we would later find out he suffers from this disorder. But that was not what made him unique, he had one foot in a walking cast and trudged himself around that course for three laps, did I mention in a WALKING CAST.
The second man was even more inspiring, he arrived in a wheelchair, I do not know what he was afflicted with, but I am guessing that it was MD. He arrived with 5 family members and one carried 2 canes that had the big four foot bottoms. Once the event started they moved him on to the track and helped him to his feet, one cane in each of his hands and somebody following very close with the chair. We lapped him somewhere past the first lap we walked a mile in about 15 minutes, he walked about 1/4 mile this way and would finished at 1/2 mile. I nay have finished the 5K, but what he finished I will never forget
Sunday we didnt walk because I hurt myself at the event. I have a very high pain tolerance, which is not a good thing. I blistered again on my heel (not a big deal I dont feel them). I did have a chaffing issue that I am told that I have ripped away a few layers of skin about the size of a quarter, that has become infected. My wife has helped me clean it up and washed the area with peroxide (twice) and bandaged it up. She has told me it looks better and we will bandage it up tomorrow before I go to work, but it means no walking for at
least Sunday and Monday and hoping to be back to health for an organized walk of 5 or 10K this weekend
Saturday 8435 steps for 5 miles
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Just walk it off
We got started a little late today so we knew we would only have about an hour to hike. Today was a little different however, so far we have not had a hot day, well 85 and humid counts as hot.
I have had a variety of nagging foot issues, 3 blisters (one actually on top of another), turf toe, and having toe nails that were a hair to long. All annoying and somewhat uncomfortable but I would just walk it off. After all if my wife can do it with bursitis in her heal I can man up.
Today was different, about 25 feet in on the trail I could feel my right calf tighten just above the ankle. Cramping ok just walk it off. It just radiated up the leg some, so I changed my gait a little hoping this would help, it did until it felt like I impaled my right right check (yeah the lower one) with a 12 inch knitting needle. Whoever has the voodoo doll with my name on it please knock it off.
At this point my wife asks if I am ok, I promptly lie. She later asks and I confess, by this point I have changed my gait again and at least the pain in the backside is gone, but my leg from ankle to knee is just tight as a drum. Being the kind loving supporting wife she is she offers to turn back. We do not, only have another 10 minutes before we have to turn around and head back so we still have some light when we get back to the car.
Make it to mile marker number 2 in that 10 minutes and head back. I have changed my gait so many times that by the time we get to the last 300 feet my right leg feels like somebody to a bat to it, and suddenly relief it just lets go all cramping gone. Then my wife complains, it seems she started cramping in the same part of the leg I had..
No walking tomorrow, sending off one of Mrs's friends who is starting a new job. Saturday is a Charity walk along with a weigh in (and measurements) to see how far I have come.
Congrats to the wife on her journey as she has now lost 20
Steps today 6656 for 3.7 miles. In 11 hours and 11 minutes I have now walked exactly 40 miles. One way at looking at what I have done so far is if you were to eat 1 Big Mac everyday for the rest of the month, and if your hungry have an extra one or two on the weekend you still would not have eaten the numbers of calories I have lost walking, now over 6000 calories burned
I have had a variety of nagging foot issues, 3 blisters (one actually on top of another), turf toe, and having toe nails that were a hair to long. All annoying and somewhat uncomfortable but I would just walk it off. After all if my wife can do it with bursitis in her heal I can man up.
Today was different, about 25 feet in on the trail I could feel my right calf tighten just above the ankle. Cramping ok just walk it off. It just radiated up the leg some, so I changed my gait a little hoping this would help, it did until it felt like I impaled my right right check (yeah the lower one) with a 12 inch knitting needle. Whoever has the voodoo doll with my name on it please knock it off.
At this point my wife asks if I am ok, I promptly lie. She later asks and I confess, by this point I have changed my gait again and at least the pain in the backside is gone, but my leg from ankle to knee is just tight as a drum. Being the kind loving supporting wife she is she offers to turn back. We do not, only have another 10 minutes before we have to turn around and head back so we still have some light when we get back to the car.
Make it to mile marker number 2 in that 10 minutes and head back. I have changed my gait so many times that by the time we get to the last 300 feet my right leg feels like somebody to a bat to it, and suddenly relief it just lets go all cramping gone. Then my wife complains, it seems she started cramping in the same part of the leg I had..
No walking tomorrow, sending off one of Mrs's friends who is starting a new job. Saturday is a Charity walk along with a weigh in (and measurements) to see how far I have come.
Congrats to the wife on her journey as she has now lost 20
Steps today 6656 for 3.7 miles. In 11 hours and 11 minutes I have now walked exactly 40 miles. One way at looking at what I have done so far is if you were to eat 1 Big Mac everyday for the rest of the month, and if your hungry have an extra one or two on the weekend you still would not have eaten the numbers of calories I have lost walking, now over 6000 calories burned
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Goals
I seem to keep putting off my pet peeves topic, oh well maybe the next time it rains (or tomorrow)
When I first started this my only true goal was not to kill myself on two walks I am yet to do, now I am walking pretty much the same distance as those walks on a daily basis, so obviously this needs to be rethought. The reason I choose steps in the title of this blogs is that my pedometer counts steps and has an accumulating total, so when I started I thought I wonder how long it would take to 50K steps. Which brings us to today:
Same old Bugline but a nice cool evening and my blister has healed nicely. My wife is a little sore since we didn't walk yesterday and has a bit of a nagging headache, so I figure it wont be a hugely long hike, so I am hoping for 3000 steps, that would put me over 60K. Early on she complains about her bursitis so I am thinking 3000 and be happy with it.
But she puts on her pink rabbit outfit and keeps going, we get to mile marker 2 and I figure she will turn back, no still going. Next stop sign, no, she must be the Lithium branded bunny cause she is still going. Actually takes us up further than we have gone one way, which of course we have to head back then. Get back to the car and within minutes it changes from Dusk to night. Watch The Event on DVR, what happened to the plane.
Daily total 5.63 miles, which is 9873 steps. Remember my comment of needing 3K to 60K well I guess it is now 3k to 70K. Now I am starting to wonder how long to 1 million steps. What to do to continue going in winter (snowshoes!!)?
When I first started this my only true goal was not to kill myself on two walks I am yet to do, now I am walking pretty much the same distance as those walks on a daily basis, so obviously this needs to be rethought. The reason I choose steps in the title of this blogs is that my pedometer counts steps and has an accumulating total, so when I started I thought I wonder how long it would take to 50K steps. Which brings us to today:
Same old Bugline but a nice cool evening and my blister has healed nicely. My wife is a little sore since we didn't walk yesterday and has a bit of a nagging headache, so I figure it wont be a hugely long hike, so I am hoping for 3000 steps, that would put me over 60K. Early on she complains about her bursitis so I am thinking 3000 and be happy with it.
But she puts on her pink rabbit outfit and keeps going, we get to mile marker 2 and I figure she will turn back, no still going. Next stop sign, no, she must be the Lithium branded bunny cause she is still going. Actually takes us up further than we have gone one way, which of course we have to head back then. Get back to the car and within minutes it changes from Dusk to night. Watch The Event on DVR, what happened to the plane.
Daily total 5.63 miles, which is 9873 steps. Remember my comment of needing 3K to 60K well I guess it is now 3k to 70K. Now I am starting to wonder how long to 1 million steps. What to do to continue going in winter (snowshoes!!)?
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Its Raining again
Get home from work and throw two steaks on the grill for dinner. The weather has been threatening all day but nothing was materialize so maybe we can get a hike in. By the time the steaks are done the thought of walking is also done. Welcome back rain.
So we figure watch something off the DVR and The Biggest Loser. I made fun of the fact I would eat a pint of Ben and Jerrys while watching that in the past, hey Bob would you approve of a handful of grapes. Mentality is changing.
I have come the realization (actually long ago) that I have what is deemed an addictive personality. I smoked for roughly 20 years, most of that time multiple packs of unfiltered a day. When I quit I traded that addiction for one with food. Even in hobbies I am the same way, when we started geocaching we went nuts with it. Odd that we have had less than two hundred finds in 3 months, when we have had months with 250 finds. That I think was our first attempt at trying to do something more healthy as an activity for us.
Now it seems that addiction may turn to walking. The wife and I were both disappointed when the rain started, we both had wanted to do a 5K, a month ago if we were out geocaching if we couldn't park with in 300 feet we weren't doing it
One other observation today, clothing is is fitting differently. Remember Tim Allen in Home Improvement and how he never seemed to get it right when he fixed things. Well I figure using a power tool for clothing adjustments may not be a good thing, but I need to drill a whole in my belt or we risk a clothing malfunction (nobody wants that). Hopefully next time you see me on the trails my hand isnt bandaged up because the belt and drill won.
Hopefully the rain ends before tomorrow evening, would like to get at least one more good length walk in before the Great Lakes Hemophilia Walk on Saturday
So we figure watch something off the DVR and The Biggest Loser. I made fun of the fact I would eat a pint of Ben and Jerrys while watching that in the past, hey Bob would you approve of a handful of grapes. Mentality is changing.
I have come the realization (actually long ago) that I have what is deemed an addictive personality. I smoked for roughly 20 years, most of that time multiple packs of unfiltered a day. When I quit I traded that addiction for one with food. Even in hobbies I am the same way, when we started geocaching we went nuts with it. Odd that we have had less than two hundred finds in 3 months, when we have had months with 250 finds. That I think was our first attempt at trying to do something more healthy as an activity for us.
Now it seems that addiction may turn to walking. The wife and I were both disappointed when the rain started, we both had wanted to do a 5K, a month ago if we were out geocaching if we couldn't park with in 300 feet we weren't doing it
One other observation today, clothing is is fitting differently. Remember Tim Allen in Home Improvement and how he never seemed to get it right when he fixed things. Well I figure using a power tool for clothing adjustments may not be a good thing, but I need to drill a whole in my belt or we risk a clothing malfunction (nobody wants that). Hopefully next time you see me on the trails my hand isnt bandaged up because the belt and drill won.
Hopefully the rain ends before tomorrow evening, would like to get at least one more good length walk in before the Great Lakes Hemophilia Walk on Saturday
Monday, September 20, 2010
Back to the trails and a supporting wife
After a rainy and gloomy Saturday, Sunday was simply gloomy and both me and the wife couldn't find our motivation. Didn't want to walk the mall again, blister on the heel was bugging and later in the day the wife wasn't feeling well. So we took care of somethings around here. Did stop at the Mall but only to stock up on tea.
Somethings we found that interested us came up. Found a walk on the Milwaukee Mile to Benefit Great Lakes Hemophilia (its a bleeding disorder). Its three time around the track but the track is open for a while so I would like to get 5 laps in, just not at Indy Car speed. The other item we found was Dairyland Walkers they have two events that I would like to participate in but one conflicts with a hike we would like to do in Stevens Point. So over the next several weeks we have the Hemophilia Walk, Moon Walk in Point, Al's Run/Walk for Children's Hospital (this one is personal as we are walking for Little Man E), The Heart Walk and The Dairlyland Walkers Middleton Moonlight Walk. All are 5 K events except the two night time events, the one in Point is 4, 8 or 12 miles (we want to do at least 8) and the Middleton Event is a 5k or 10K, we hope to get there in time to do the 10K.
I got home from work and the wife isn't feeling the best, so we grab a quick dinner and head out, she still wants to hike. So I truly expect it will be a shorter walk, but it is the effort that counts. As we go along she states she is feeling a bit better and is surprised her shins aren't bugging her (she has shin stiffness when we start usually). I have a spot I expect she will turn around, but no she keeps going. To Tweety's bridge (sorry geocaching reference), and she keeps going. To the final for Lifeboat (more geocaching) and she keeps going finally she stops at the stop sign nearest one of our favorite puzzle caches, Music Men. My not felling well wife had donned her pink energizer Bunny Costume and walked the furthest we had walked one way on the Bugline. When asked she claimed she felt better. Then it was time to head back to the car.
Steps today 8210 for 4.7 miles. Total steps to date 57089 for 30.6 miles. One of my goals is to try to maintain an average of 20 miles per week, so far so good.
Join me for a mile or two?
Somethings we found that interested us came up. Found a walk on the Milwaukee Mile to Benefit Great Lakes Hemophilia (its a bleeding disorder). Its three time around the track but the track is open for a while so I would like to get 5 laps in, just not at Indy Car speed. The other item we found was Dairyland Walkers they have two events that I would like to participate in but one conflicts with a hike we would like to do in Stevens Point. So over the next several weeks we have the Hemophilia Walk, Moon Walk in Point, Al's Run/Walk for Children's Hospital (this one is personal as we are walking for Little Man E), The Heart Walk and The Dairlyland Walkers Middleton Moonlight Walk. All are 5 K events except the two night time events, the one in Point is 4, 8 or 12 miles (we want to do at least 8) and the Middleton Event is a 5k or 10K, we hope to get there in time to do the 10K.
I got home from work and the wife isn't feeling the best, so we grab a quick dinner and head out, she still wants to hike. So I truly expect it will be a shorter walk, but it is the effort that counts. As we go along she states she is feeling a bit better and is surprised her shins aren't bugging her (she has shin stiffness when we start usually). I have a spot I expect she will turn around, but no she keeps going. To Tweety's bridge (sorry geocaching reference), and she keeps going. To the final for Lifeboat (more geocaching) and she keeps going finally she stops at the stop sign nearest one of our favorite puzzle caches, Music Men. My not felling well wife had donned her pink energizer Bunny Costume and walked the furthest we had walked one way on the Bugline. When asked she claimed she felt better. Then it was time to head back to the car.
Steps today 8210 for 4.7 miles. Total steps to date 57089 for 30.6 miles. One of my goals is to try to maintain an average of 20 miles per week, so far so good.
Join me for a mile or two?
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Rain takes us indoors to the Mall
Well the morning didn't start off great with it starting with my first check in on weight and somebody measurements. The waist really irked me, it has become a waste line and I was becoming TOM Q. VAXY. Time to stop the insanity.
Next problem was the rain, so we delayed starting the day and when the second round of showers hit we decided to head to Mayfair Mall. Problem is Mayfair was already open. The plan was to do 5 miles, which is just a bit more than 6 laps of the lower level of the mall. Some areas we difficult to pass, like the candy store. Plus there is not much in the Mall sparks my interest, and after passing Victoria's Secret 6 times even that isn't as interesting.
The first few laps weren't bad but then more and more people came into the Mall. I don't mind having to maneuver around kids or seniors but come on adults meandering without a clue. Please Mr. Mall Cap let me run one of them over.
For the first time we both listened to our I pods while walking, normally my wife and I chat and enjoy each others company. But being hard of hearing and some many other noises we figured we would fore go chatting in favor of music. Put on my play list of harder rock and after an hour I know I have to go back and build a list for walking. Going from I Cant Drive 55 to Free Bird just didn't work well together.
Made all six laps and a partial lap for 5 miles, got a blister on my left foot now (it was the right foot last week), our last stop in the mall Tevana (highly recommended). Mrs. got a Blueberry Bliss-Heavenly Vanilla Iced Tea and I got a Papaya, Strawberry , and Lemon Iced Tea
Steps today 9894 for 5.1 miles-Hopefully we can get out tomorrow but with the blister it is wait and see
Next problem was the rain, so we delayed starting the day and when the second round of showers hit we decided to head to Mayfair Mall. Problem is Mayfair was already open. The plan was to do 5 miles, which is just a bit more than 6 laps of the lower level of the mall. Some areas we difficult to pass, like the candy store. Plus there is not much in the Mall sparks my interest, and after passing Victoria's Secret 6 times even that isn't as interesting.
The first few laps weren't bad but then more and more people came into the Mall. I don't mind having to maneuver around kids or seniors but come on adults meandering without a clue. Please Mr. Mall Cap let me run one of them over.
For the first time we both listened to our I pods while walking, normally my wife and I chat and enjoy each others company. But being hard of hearing and some many other noises we figured we would fore go chatting in favor of music. Put on my play list of harder rock and after an hour I know I have to go back and build a list for walking. Going from I Cant Drive 55 to Free Bird just didn't work well together.
Made all six laps and a partial lap for 5 miles, got a blister on my left foot now (it was the right foot last week), our last stop in the mall Tevana (highly recommended). Mrs. got a Blueberry Bliss-Heavenly Vanilla Iced Tea and I got a Papaya, Strawberry , and Lemon Iced Tea
Steps today 9894 for 5.1 miles-Hopefully we can get out tomorrow but with the blister it is wait and see
Friday, September 17, 2010
Starting to streach the distance a bit
As I started this I figured I would try to walk a 5K (3.1 miles) as often as I could and gear up for longer walks on weekends. I have targeted a long walk in October, the Moon Walk in Stevens Point, WI as one I want to do, it is 4,8, or 12 miles. Since 7.5 is my best in a day I have targeted the 8 and would like to try the 12.
Every day when the wife and I go out we add .10 miles to the walk one way, today we decided to go a little further. We walk the Bugline Trail that goes between Menomonee Falls and Sussex, WI and as we have walked along the trail we have commented about the geocaches we have done in that area. We are big into caching and this trail has had many, today we past two one we enjoyed but are no longer active, both parts of Tweety and the final area for Lifeboat. Lifeboat was one of our early favorites.
Nice crisp weather made it pleasant enough to walk, we headed out late since I had called tech support for our Blu Ray earlier so we got the purples of the sunset as we headed west. We could hear the marching band at the local High School football game and heard the band playing at the Big Pig Gig (and smelled the BBQ on the way back). Made for a nice walk, and with compression shorts on the chaffing problem is gone. Upgrade my sock to a non cotton and my recovering blistered feet even feel better.
Hoping for decent weather tomorrow or it is to the Mall to walk, yuck. Well we had to go there anyhow tomorrow we need to stock up on tea. If the weather cooperates we want to do 5 miles on Saturday and 7.5 miles on Sunday.
Also tomorrow is weigh in and measuring chest, waist and hips to give me a reference starting point (I'm not going to like this)
Today 6578 steps for 3.8 miles, since starting walking on September 9, 2010 38985 steps for 20.8 miles
Stats compliments from the All-In Pedometer application for IPhone
Every day when the wife and I go out we add .10 miles to the walk one way, today we decided to go a little further. We walk the Bugline Trail that goes between Menomonee Falls and Sussex, WI and as we have walked along the trail we have commented about the geocaches we have done in that area. We are big into caching and this trail has had many, today we past two one we enjoyed but are no longer active, both parts of Tweety and the final area for Lifeboat. Lifeboat was one of our early favorites.
Nice crisp weather made it pleasant enough to walk, we headed out late since I had called tech support for our Blu Ray earlier so we got the purples of the sunset as we headed west. We could hear the marching band at the local High School football game and heard the band playing at the Big Pig Gig (and smelled the BBQ on the way back). Made for a nice walk, and with compression shorts on the chaffing problem is gone. Upgrade my sock to a non cotton and my recovering blistered feet even feel better.
Hoping for decent weather tomorrow or it is to the Mall to walk, yuck. Well we had to go there anyhow tomorrow we need to stock up on tea. If the weather cooperates we want to do 5 miles on Saturday and 7.5 miles on Sunday.
Also tomorrow is weigh in and measuring chest, waist and hips to give me a reference starting point (I'm not going to like this)
Today 6578 steps for 3.8 miles, since starting walking on September 9, 2010 38985 steps for 20.8 miles
Stats compliments from the All-In Pedometer application for IPhone
Thursday, September 16, 2010
I guess the best way to start is to say why I am doing this
Changing One Step At A Time is how I feel that I need to address an issue in my life. Like many people as I got older I got heavier, like many I said I would do something about it, 250 passed nothing 275 still nothing. I became the guy who would watch the Biggest Loser eating a pint of Ben & Jerry's. Something had to give.
My wife having some of the same issue started her journey thru diet 5 weeks ago and I stepped on the scale, 296. How did this happen, yeah I know. The first few weeks of her diet I watched what I ate and dropped some weight, with no exercise.
Within two days of each other my employer announced they were going to sponsor teams for the local Heart Walk and for Children's Hospital and a friend of mine posted a link about ourhike.com. The Heart walk and the Children's Hospital walks are both shorter walks (5ks) and later in the year. The ourhike.com was coming up, 7.5 miles. Can I do this? Can I even go 1 mile? So I sign up less than 1 week before the event, and take two 1.2 mile hikes as training that week.
At ourhike, I meet Robin Grappa the founder of the event who several years earlier walked from Delaware to California for her charity. During the walk it occurs to me that I can use walking to become a major way to help in my battle in weight. I completed the 7.5 miles know I did something good for the charity in question, and even though my feet are blistered I feel pretty damm good
In the following week I have gone out 3 times, the first day walking on my blisters, Monday 2.4 miles, Tuesday 2.6 and Wednesday 3.2 miles. Now I am looking for some event to walk at this weekend
Things I have learned along the way, it is great to have my wife walking with, get the proper socks and underarmor compression shorts help with a bad chafing issue.
So why am I doing this, well to keep myself accountable. In next May there is a full marathon for walking not far from where I live, I guess that is my first goal,and to do that I will need to have less of me to drag around.
In the meantime if I cant find an event for this weekend I want to find a trail and push myself for another 7.5 or longer
My wife having some of the same issue started her journey thru diet 5 weeks ago and I stepped on the scale, 296. How did this happen, yeah I know. The first few weeks of her diet I watched what I ate and dropped some weight, with no exercise.
Within two days of each other my employer announced they were going to sponsor teams for the local Heart Walk and for Children's Hospital and a friend of mine posted a link about ourhike.com. The Heart walk and the Children's Hospital walks are both shorter walks (5ks) and later in the year. The ourhike.com was coming up, 7.5 miles. Can I do this? Can I even go 1 mile? So I sign up less than 1 week before the event, and take two 1.2 mile hikes as training that week.
At ourhike, I meet Robin Grappa the founder of the event who several years earlier walked from Delaware to California for her charity. During the walk it occurs to me that I can use walking to become a major way to help in my battle in weight. I completed the 7.5 miles know I did something good for the charity in question, and even though my feet are blistered I feel pretty damm good
In the following week I have gone out 3 times, the first day walking on my blisters, Monday 2.4 miles, Tuesday 2.6 and Wednesday 3.2 miles. Now I am looking for some event to walk at this weekend
Things I have learned along the way, it is great to have my wife walking with, get the proper socks and underarmor compression shorts help with a bad chafing issue.
So why am I doing this, well to keep myself accountable. In next May there is a full marathon for walking not far from where I live, I guess that is my first goal,and to do that I will need to have less of me to drag around.
In the meantime if I cant find an event for this weekend I want to find a trail and push myself for another 7.5 or longer
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