Increasing Bit By Bit

After some thinking, I went ahead and decided to start increasing how long and how far I go on the elliptical. I think  the added distance and time has helped my endurance. On Thursday, I went a total of .7 mile and managed to do .4 mile without stopping. I also think the two days beforehand I took off helped. Tuesday was a planned rest day, Wednesday was not.

I think on my non strength training days I’ll go a bit longer and see how long I can go before my first break. I think I could have made it the whole 1/2 mile without stopping, but I think it would have been tough. On the days I do strength training, I’ll play it by ear. I’ll go at least a half mile, but I won’t worry about how many breaks I take. If I feel like going longer, I will, if I don’t, I won’t.

I am making progress though. I had a mental goal for the end of October. To be able to go 1/2 mile without stopping. I will totally make that goal. I think I’ll be able to do that in the next few days actually.

Making progress on the virtual walk also. Since my last post, I’ve gone 3 more miles. Here are the pictures from the site.

Mile 306.6                                                                Mile 307.2

                 

Mile 307.8                                                                Mile 308.4

                

Mile 309                                                                   Mile 309.6

                

 

(photo credit - Copyright 2006 Lawrence Berkeley Lab)

Have a great weekend, and keep moving!!

I Am The Tortoise, But I Want To Be The Hare Sometimes

I am slow. I move as slow as a turtle, sometimes even as slow as a snail. But I get where I want to go. For the past month, I’ve been getting used to my new elliptical. It’s very surprising to me how slow it’s taking my legs (even my whole body) to get used to it. The new stance is working new leg, arm and back muscles. The longer stride length is working my cardiovascular system like it’s never been worked before (stride length is longer and I’m still going at the same pace, maybe faster than I was). I’m taking more breaks than I’d like.

But I get the job done. I’m only going 1/2 mile at a time, between 15 and 16 minutes, and I’m beginning to feel the impatience. I want to go longer, I want to go farther, but it that smart? I told myself a few weeks ago I would not go more than 1/2 mile until I could do that 1/2 mile with no breaks. I’m still taking two, sometimes three, breaks. But, the other day I did manage to go .3 mile before my first break.

I’m thinking about going longer, but don’t know if I should. My thinking is this. If I go more than 1/2 mile, will that help my endurance and help me do the 1/2 mile with no breaks eventually? Or will going longer cause some sort of pain and injury? Should I just stick with my plan and only do 1/2 mile until I can do it one shot? I don’t know how long that will take. I’ll give it until the end of this week before I decide. And if I do increase my mileage, I’ll only do it in 1/10 increments.

Feet and ankles are still doing fine. I am no longer using the towel under my foot. It wasn’t intentional, but having the towel under my foot made it easier to move my left foot over. The towel slipped off while I was on it, and I was still able to move my foot over without a problem. Big accomplishment there. I’ve never been able to do that before. Maybe it’s partially due to the narrower stance. In any case, I didn’t use the two at all and was able to correct my foot position without it.

We’ll see what I end up doing. I can’t decide yet. I’m flip flopping quite a bit. I might do a longer workout one day to start with, then follow it up the next day with a shorter one. We shall see.

For now though, here are the latest pictures from the virtual walk site.

Mile 303.2                                                               Mile 303.6

                 

Mile 304.2 (motorcycles and tractors)                     Mile 304.6

                 

Mile 305.2                                                               Mile 305.6

                  

Mile 306.2



 

(photo credit - Copyright 2006 Lawrence Berkeley Lab)

Slow Miles…But Still Miles

My mileage accumulation has been slow, but at least it's still happening. And I did in fact pass the 300 mile mark on the virtual walk site.I also passed through the town of Buchanan, VA which is in Botetourt county. I am now making my way towards Troutville, VA which is about 16.75 miles from where I am currently on the walk. Since I’m going 1/2 mile on the elliptical for the time being, it’s going to take a while to get there. But, I will get there.

Good thing about going 1/2 mile at a time, is there are more pictures to share! Here are quite a few pictures I’ve been saving since I’ve been back on the elliptical.

Mile 299.2                                                           Mile 299.6

             

Mile 300.2!!!!                                                      Mile 300.6

             

Mile 301.2                                                           Mile 301.6

             

Mile 302.2                                                          Mile 302.6

            

 

(photo credit - Copyright 2006 Lawrence Berkeley Lab)

I’m taking frequent days off. My muscles in my legs and back are still adjusting, and I think it’s a smart idea to not push too hard yet. It’s tough for me to not get on every day, but I know my back and legs will thank me for it. Just the other day, I did my half mile, and at the end, my legs felt like Jell-O and I could hardly stand up because they were so fatigued. It will get easier, I just need to be patient.