Monday, May 19, 2014

Mileage Monday

It's time for another Mileage Monday post. I skipped the last few weeks it seems. I'm still moving right along across the country on the virtual walk site. I've been entering my mileage consistently now for five years. Hard to believe, it only seems like yesterday that I found that site. Pretty good motivator to keep moving.

Since my last Mileage Monday post, I've passed through Bighill, KY and Berea, KY both in Madison county. I have about 1.9 miles until I reach Kirksville, KY also in Madison county.

I made up my mind about the dilemma I've been having with my Leslie Sansone DVDs. I've decided to go with the mileage from my FitBit. It seems very accurate every single time I do the DVD. Always 3.6 or 3.7 miles for the "5 mile" DVD. I'm also doing my best to get in 10,000 steps a day. And on the days I do Leslie's "5 Mile" DVD I make it. Just doing the DVD gets me up to 8,000 steps.

I'm also going to incorporate "march in place" breaks throughout my day to get up to 10,000 steps. If I notice I've been sitting too long, I'll get up and march in place for 10 minutes. I'll try to do that once every hour. See how that works.

On to the virtual walk pictures!

Mile 258.8 (Leslie Sansone for 2.3 miles)

Mile 759.8 (elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 762.2 (Leslie Sansone for 2.4 miles)

Mile 763.2 (elliptical for 1 mile)

Mile 766.8 (Leslie Sansone for 3.6 miles)

Mile 767.8 (elliptical for 1 mile)

(photo credit - http://exercise.lbl.gov/index.html;jsessionid=1F4E2B8269D80C6DF557FB31D1D6D77B)

Very pretty area. I wonder what it would be like to actually be on that road. It always looks so quiet and empty.

Keep moving!

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Explaining The "Jerk Move" Better.



(photo credit - eofdreams.com)

I had a really rough week last week with my balance. The "jerk move" returned with a vengeance. I actually think it was creeping up on me over a few days, and I didn't notice it until it got BAD. I haven't had it that bad since January of 2013. I'll try and explain what the "jerk move" is a little better than I did before.

What do I feel when the jerk move happens? I feel like someone has a grip on my left hip and is tugging me to the left and backward. It normally happens when I try to take a step with my left foot. My left leg will not swing forward far enough, I'll hesitate, and I'll sort of do this funny looking jerk. After I jerk, I can move for a little bit, until it happens again. I'll often feel this tugging sensation just standing in one spot

Another thing that happens during this"bad balance" time is what I call "spontaneous sit downs". I'll stand up and immediately sit back down uncontrollably. This jerk move sensation is uncomfortable and very annoying. There's absolutely nothing I can do to stop it other than getting my butt into the chiropractor ASAP. And that's what I did.

I talked with my chiropractor back in January 2013 about what would cause this. He said it stems from my neck being out of alignment in a certain way. I always thought it was from my lower back or hip being out of whack. I feel it in my hip and lower back because those muscles are compensating for the bad balance and trying to fight not to fall.

This past Tuesday I went in to get this issue fixed, and I had giant knots in my left hip and lower left back. He worked on that area for a while, and while it was a bit painful, it also felt good to have that area relax. Even now, about five days later, I still feel achy and stiff in that area. I'm also dealing with the lingering lack of confidence due to this.

I'm still anticipating the tugging feeling so I'm hesitating with my movements. Particularly when I'm not wearing shoes. But I don't feel that tugging sensation, so my mind is just being mean to me. I just need to work through it, and keep moving.

Hopefully this is a better explanation than my last attempt. It's hard to explain exactly what it feels like. This is as close as I can get.