What A Difference A Day Can Make

On Monday when I went out to walk at 8 PM it was a warm 70 degrees. I was in shorts and a t-shirt and it was entirely comfortable, if not a little warm as I turned around and had the wind at my back.

Two days later, at the same time of night, the temperature has dropped 30 degrees, and the winds are gusting over 30 mph. I'm bundled up in slicks, a long-sleeve shirt, and a jacket. Hat and gloves, too.

Big change. But I suppose this is the end of October, and these are the conditions I need to expect for awhile now.

I'm ready. This is my season, my weather. Bring it on!

Week of Working Out - Nov. 8

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
November 2nd – November 8th.
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Monday: rest

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: rest

Friday: rest

Saturday: rest

Sunday: WALKING – outdoors at 6:00 AM; 4 mile out-and-back course, with 2 loops around the complex for 4.62 miles; 1:02:41.00 hours; temp of 49 with little to no wind; the entire walk was nice and uneventful; felt great to be back exercising after a week off from any activity; 847 calories burned.

Week of Working Out - Nov. 1

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
October 26th – November 1st.
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Monday: WALKING – outdoors at 5:00 PM; 4 mile out-and-back course with 2 loops around the complex for 4.62 miles; 1:03:38.00 hours; temp of 48 with winds from SSW at 5 mph; beautiful walk, if not a bit chilly; 867 calories burned.

Tuesday: RUNNING – outdoors at 5:45 PM; 1 mile WALK to warm up, then run of 4 miles with splits of 9:52.00, 9:31.66, 9:42.53 and 9:30.45, for a total of 38:36.64 minutes running, followed by a 3.62 mile WALK to cool down/additional workout for a total of 1:05:04.52 hours walking; course was 2 loops of the 4 mile route, with 2 loops around the complex to end; temp around 50, winds from SE at 7 mph; both knees hurt terribly bad – grinding pain on the inside bottom part of knees – during the entire first mile (hence the slow first mile split); the slow first mile running set the slower pace for the rest of the run; once the knees warmed up? the rest of the run went better; there was no mental block keeping me from completing the fourth mile; the walk felt chilly from the temp drop with the setting sun and sweat from running, but it was still a great workout; 895 calories burned walking and 627 calories burned running.

Wednesday: WALKING – outdoors at 5:30 PM; 4 mile out-and-back course with 1 loop around complex, then 2 mile out-and-back course with 2 loops around the complex for 6.93 miles; 1:35:40.00 hours; temps from 58 down to 53 with winds from SE at 14 to 21 mph – chilly in that direction; legs felt tired and knees still a little sore – I may be pushing the exercise a bit too far; lot of traffic at every intersection I crossed – it was beginning to piss me off; 1,315 calories burned.

Thursday: Rest – rainy weather all day and not motivated enough to set up the bike trainer in the garage; felt terribly guilty about not netting a low number of calories – those 1,350 calories for the day felt like a massive (but tasty) weight on my consciousness.

Friday: Rest – still rainy (even though the weather man said it wouldn’t be); when it did clear off it was already late and I decided to use the day for another break.

Saturday: RUNNING – outdoors at 1:30 PM; 1 mile WALK to warm up, then an amazingrun of 4 miles with splits of 8:55.54, 8:48.60, 8:48.35, and 8:26.92, for a total of 34:59.41 minutes running, followed by a 5.62 mile WALK to cool down/additional workout for a total of 1:30:01.68 hours walking; course was 2 loops of the 4 mile route and the middle two miles repeated a 3rd time, with 2 loops around the complex to end; temp of 53, winds from W at 10+ mph; the entire workout was fantastic, but the run was especially impressive: each split was quicker than the last, and that includes waiting for traffic and stopping to tie a shoe during the 3rd mile – fastest, best run since the training I did for the marathon a few years ago; everything was perfect; 2 hours later and my legs were tired; 1,238 calories burned walking and 625 calories burned running.

Sunday: WALKING – outdoors at 7:30 AM; 4 mile out-and-back course, and the middle two miles were repeated a 2nd time, with 2 loops around the complex for 6.62 miles; 1:28:08.00 hours; temps of 49 with winds from S at 9 mph; the entire walk was nice and uneventful; 1,191 calories burned.

Week of Working Out - Oct. 25

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
October 19th – October 25th.
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Monday: Rest – physically exhausted; could not bring myself to workout (a mistake because of the rainy weather later in the week).

Tuesday: RUNNING – outdoors at 5:45 PM; 1 mile WALK to warm up, then run of 3 miles with splits of 9:08.35, 9:21.17, and 9:17.35, for a total of 27.46.87 minutes running, followed by a .62 mile WALK to cool down, and then a 2.62 mile WALK out-and-back- course with 2 loops around the complex for a total of 1:00:23.33 hours walking; 58 degrees, and perfect until the last mile or the run and the 2nd workout when a rainy mist arrived, but never got too bad.

Wednesday: WALKING – outdoors at 5:00 PM; 4 mile out-and-back course; 55:52.53 minutes; temp of 62, but with huge drop during the last quarter mile as a rain storm blew in, cutting out my normal 2 loops around the complex; left knee felt a bit sore.

Thursday: Rest – rainy weather all day and not motivated enough to set up the bike trainer in the garage; felt terribly guilty about not working out for the second time this week.

Friday: WALKING – outdoors at 5:15 AM; .31 mile loop around complex; 4:29.08 minutes; too rainy to continue; low 40’s and windy; a bust of a workout, but at least I tried.

RUNNING – outdoors at 7:30 PM; 1 mile WALK to warm up, then run of 3 miles with splits of 9:05.54, 9:22.91, and 9:09.25, for a total of 27:37.53 minutes running, followed by a .62 mile WALK to cool down, and then a 2.62 mile WALK out-and-back- course with 2 loops around the complex for a total of 59:42.47 minutes walking; temp of 41, winds from WNW at 8 mph; could really feel the chill from the west, but had a nice view of the stars above and a shiny crescent moon; leg stiff the first mile of the run, but loosened up after.

Saturday: WALKING – outdoors at 7:15 AM; 7.24 mile out-and-back courses (4 mile loop and 2 mile loop) with 4 loops around complex; 1:42:14.00 hours; temp of 31 with winds from WSW at 5 mph making it a chilly start, but it seemed warmer when the sun came out.

WALKING – outdoors at 4:00 PM; 2.93 mile out-and-back course with 3 loops around complex; 41:28.44 minutes; 54 degrees with light rain sprinkles.

Sunday: RUNNING – outdoors at 3:00 PM; 1 mile WALK to warm up, then run of 4 miles with splits of 8:53.04, 9:11.55, 9:06.32, and 9:23.96, for a total of 36:33.93 minutes running, followed by a 3.62 mile WALK to cool down/additional workout for a total of 1:04:12.07 hours walking; course was 2 loops of the 4 mile route, with 2 loops around the complex to end; temp of 53, winds from N at 10 mph; could really feel the chill and strength from the north; blasted through a longer workout because I felt great coming off my weight loss for the week; later in the night my legs are exhausted after three big days of working out.

Week of Working Out - Oct. 18

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
October 12th – October 18th.
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Monday: WALKING – outdoors at 5:00 PM; 2 mile out-and-back course; 27:08.69 minutes; temp of 42; sore left leg: outside of knee, Achilles tendon, and blister on heel.

Tuesday: RUNNING – outdoors at 5:30 PM; 1 mile WALK to warm up, then run of 3 miles with splits of 9:26.07, 9:59.41, and 10:05.92, for a total of 29:31.40 minutes running, followed by a .62 mile WALK to cool down for a total of 23:24.09 minutes walking.

Wednesday: WALKING – outdoors at 5:00 PM; 2.62 mile out-and-back course with 2 loops around complex; 36:33.97 minutes.

Thursday: RUNNING – outdoors at 5:30 PM; 1 mile WALK to warm up, then run of 3 miles with splits of 9:33.04, 9:47.32, and 9:35.99, for a total of 28:56.35 minutes running, followed by a .62 mile WALK to cool down for a total of 22:59.13 minutes walking; temp of 48, calm but cloudy; run felt quick, but great.

Friday: WALKING – outdoors at 11:00 PM; 2.62 mile out-and-back course with 2 loops around complex; 35:52.19 minutes; temp of 43 with light drizzle, but it was calm; used the stress of the day to power through the walk, and felt amazing afterward.

Saturday: RUNNING – outdoors at 7:00 AM; 1 mile WALK to warm up, then run of 3 miles with splits of 9:33.64, 9:32.93, and 9:30.38, for a total of 28:36.95 minutes running, followed by a .62 mile WALK to cool down for a total of 23:19.89 minutes walking; temp of 39, calm and still dark to start; no leg troubles except for sore blister during the mile warm up.

WALKING – outdoors at 8:00 PM; 2.62 mile out-and-back course with 2 loops around complex; 36:34.38 minutes; nice walk with no leg problems at all – the lanced blister was much improved.

Sunday: WALKING – outdoors at 8:15 PM; 2.62 mile out-and-back course with 2 loops around complex; 36:00.21 minutes; temp of 56 with 11 mph winds from the south; blood blister on left side of waist is sore, but didn’t bother me during the walk; was jumpy in the dark because of scary movie this afternoon – the heart rate was definitely up.

Week of Working Out - Oct. 11

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
October 5th – October 11th.
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Monday: WALKING – outdoors at 8:30 PM; 2 mile out-and-back course; 26:53.21 minutes; temp of 60; felt quick, but was probably due to the fact that I haven’t exercised since the end of July.

Tuesday: WALKING – outdoors at 5:30 PM; 2 mile out-and-back course; 27:27.37 minutes; temp of 52 with winds of 21 mph; out trying to beat the rain – and I succeeded, barely.

Wednesday: WALKING – outdoors at 5:00 PM; 2 mile out-and-back course; 27:42.01 minutes; temp of 66 with winds of 14 mph; legs a little stiff and sore heels where I’ve had blisters from walking in the past.

Thursday: WALKING – outdoors at 4:30 PM; 2 mile out-and-back course; 27:41.81 minutes; temp of 49; just the right amount of chill in the air for a short walk; feeling less stiff, but there’s some new-to-exercise chafing that’s annoying.

Friday: WALKING – outdoors at 4:15 PM; 4 mile out-and-back course; 55:21.57 minutes; temp of 53; perfect, beautiful walk; feet sore from rubbing in shoe on inside of both heels.

Saturday: WALKING – outdoors at 5:30 PM; 2 mile out-and-back course; 27:08.48 minutes; temp of 39; blister on left inside heel is a pain, but not while walking.

Sunday: RUNNING – Run for the Roses XXIII – 5K; 9:00 AM; 30:44.79 minutes – 1st mile split: 9:55; 2nd mile split: 19:35; temp of 30 degrees, but bundled up I was warm by the 2nd mile; very fun run; felt great even hours after the race; no problems at all with blister on left heel; ran with Jeff.

WALKING – outdoors at 12:00 PM; 2 mile out-and-back course; 27:48.70 minutes; temp of 40; nice recovery walk after the run earlier in the day.

Week of Working Out - Apr. 5

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
March 30th – April 5th.
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Monday: rest

Tuesday: rest

Wednesday: WALK - outdoors at 9:00 PM; 2 miles; 27:28.89 minutes; temps in low 40's; calm to no wind; left knee has been sore the past few weeks - don't know if from lack of exercise or what: need to keep an eye on it as I start back exercising with more frequency

Thursday: rest

Friday: rest

Saturday: rest

Sunday: rest

Week of Working Out - Mar. 29

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
March 23rd - March 29th.
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Monday: rest

Tuesday: WALKING – outdoors at 9:45 PM; 2 miles; 26:38.75 minutes; temps low 30’s with a brutal 30 mph wind; just what I needed tonight

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: rest

Friday: rest

Saturday: rest

Sunday: rest

Windy Night Walk

I hesitated turning around tonight on my walk. While walking my first mile I could feel the wind – 30 miles an hour – pushing me along. The problem with an out-and-back course is that at some point you have to turn around and face the force at your back.

It was a different walk home, indeed.

Still, I was happy I forced myself out into the chill and wind and dark. I put in 2 miles. It didn’t seem quick, but with the wind at my back I made good time.

Week of Working Out - Mar. 22

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
March 16th - March 22nd.
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Monday: rest

Tuesday: WALKING – outdoors at 11:50 PM; 2 miles; 25:37.51 minutes; temps pleasant in the 40's; was an amazing, invigorating - and quick - walk after 9 days of no exercise; just what I needed to reignite my drive to workout

Wednesday: rest

Thursday: rest

Friday: rest

Saturday: rest

Sunday:

Wellness Log - Mar. 17

Exercise: walk - 11:50 PM; 2 miles; 25:37.51 minutes; temps pleasant in the 40's; was an amazing, invigorating - and quick - walk after 9 days of no exercise; just what I needed to reignite my drive to workout

Food:
Breakfast – bowl of Fiber One Original
Lunch – Papa John's: 3 large slices of thin crust Ultimate Pepperoni pizza, 1/2 bag of Peppercorn Ranch Sun Chips
Dinner – can of Campbell's Chunky Sirloin Burger soup, can of Cherry Coke Zero Snacks – bag of Act II Buttery Cinnamon popcorn, Keebler Fudge Stripes cookies (26), 2 cans Cherry Coke Zero

Challenges:
30 – 40 grams fiber – 14 + 13 + 8 + 5 = 40 g fiber

Other: Up at 9:00 AM; day of reading and TV watching - lots of both; finally - FINALLY - back to exercising with a quick, 2 mile walk; in bed at 12:50 AM

Week of Working Out - Mar. 8

A new feature I've decided to add - my fitness work, broken down by day and activity.

Here is a list of the exercise I completed during the past week,
March 2nd - March 8th.
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Monday: rest

Tuesday: WEIGHTS - on machines at Anytime Fitness for 22:59.89 minutes; focus upper body w/minimal ab work (hanging crunches, 3 sets of 15 reps); low weight (20-40 lbs.) at 3 sets of 15 reps each machine; focused on breathing and fluidity while lifting…RUNNING - 50 minutes total run/walk; 4.42 miles, 640.8 cal; walk .75 mile warm up, then 2.5 mile run at 6.5 mph: mile 1 was 9:11.88, mile 2 was 9:13.04, and .5 mile was 4:32.10 (last .25 was at 6.7 mph), cool down walk with 1.17 miles to end, all walk was at 4.4 mph, except last 5 min cool at 3.7 mph

Wednesday: WEIGHTS - on machines at Anytime Fitness for 22:59.89 minutes; focus upper body w/minimal ab work (hanging crunches, 3 sets of 15 reps); low weight (20-40 lbs.) at 3 sets of 15 reps each machine; focused on breathing and fluidity while lifting… BIKING - (recumbent) 25 minutes (5 was cool down, but pace was unchanged), 5.64 mi, 210.5 cal, entire ride at a relaxed and easy pace of 80's rpm

Thursday: rest

Friday: rest

Saturday: WEIGHTS - on machines at Anytime Fitness for 21:15.22 minutes; focus upper body w/minimal ab work (hanging crunches, 3 sets of 15 reps); low weight (20-40 lbs.) at 3 sets of 15 reps each machine; focused on breathing and fluidity while lifting…RUNNING - 65 minutes total run/walk; 5.55 miles, 785.9 cal; walk 1 mile warm up, then 2.5 mile run at 6.6 mph: mile 1 was 9:07.06, mile 2 was 9:06.04, and .5 mile was 4:29.00 (last .25 was at 6.8 mph), cool down walk with 2.05 miles to end, all walk was at 4.4 mph, except last 5 min cool at 3.8 mph…BIKING - (recumbent) 65 minutes (5 was cool down, but pace was unchanged), 15.77 mi, 586.4 cal, entire ride at a relaxed and easy pace of 70's rpm…ELLIPTICAL - 15 min total at pace in 6 mph (3 min cool down at pace 4-5.5 mph); 1.54 mi, 154 cal

Sunday: rest

Dreaded Weights

I started lifting weights tonight. And I am dead. My arms a like noodles - completely worthless and flailing around. And when they aren't just hanging lifelessly at my sides, they hurt.

These first few weeks of lifting weights are always the worst. It's a matter of finding the correct weights and then building up a tolerance to the activity. It probably doesn't help that I also threw in some biking and walking. My "easy" night of working out turned out to be almost as intense as my run last night.

It all goes back to the dangers of the gym, and all it's shiny, sweaty equipment to utilize.

Fitness Walk - Feb. 9

Is nice when the weather changes from a forecast of showers into the sunny mid-60’s just in time for a workout after work. It was windy, sure – extremely windy from the South – but when you are walking and the temps are nice, it matters not. It was a beautiful thing, this walk. I had a spring in my step and speed in my feet.
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Workout: 56:06 minutes; 4 miles; average pace 4.3 mph; walked the route from my place, past Summit and over by Ry’s, then back; did some shoe surgery to remove what I now believe to be the cause of my worst blisters and found the walk so much more enjoyable; everything from legs to lungs felt great; if I’d only had more time and not so much work and company, I’d have made a longer workout of the night.