Long Time No Post…Again

Well, I was right when I saw myself having to deal with blisters. I first had a regular blister (after I did a mile on November 24), which popped on it’s own. And then I ended up with a blood blister (a few days later), which I had to pop and drain. I’m thinking the socks that I wear are too thin. Strange since I’ve worn them before and have had no problems. This was before the calluses got soft and came off. Anyway, yesterday I wore a pair of new (old, just not really ever worn) socks, and they seem to be OK. I also had a band-aid over the blister area. All was well. I managed .7 mile and spent 25 minutes on the elliptical yesterday.

I haven’t uploaded any of the pictures from the virtual walk site for a while. I got lazy and kept telling myself “I’ll post it later”. Well, you know what “later” means? You won’t do it. When you say “later”, things just end up piling up and then your list of things you’ll do “later” gets longer and longer, and you procrastinate even more. Then you get overwhelmed, and nothing gets accomplished. Time to buckle down and get it done. I get dangerously close to doing this with writing assignments also. I’ve got 8 articles to write by the end of the week. One I can technically extend by sending it back into the queue and claiming it again (giving me 7 more days). Five I can ask the client for more time (he’s the best client ever and is very flexible), and two I have to do by a certain date or my “rating” goes down. So after I post this, I need to get busy. Time to break out the egg timer and set a specific time to write. Once the timer goes off, I’ll give myself a five or ten minute break and then get back to it.

Here are the last several pictures from the virtual walk site.

Mile 201

Mile 202

Mile 202.6 (I went .7, but it registered as .6)

Looks like it’s nice and sunny on the tour. Don’t know if I’ll do any exercise or not today. We’ll see how much I get done the rest of the morning.

I’ve gone a total of 202.6 miles. I’m 3.24 miles from Whitehall, VA Charlottesville City County.

Hope you all have a great week. Don’t procrastinate! Get it done. But remember to take breaks so you don’t burn out.

Long Time No Post…Again

Well, I was right when I saw myself having to deal with blisters. I first had a regular blister (after I did a mile on November 24), which popped on it’s own. And then I ended up with a blood blister (a few days later), which I had to pop and drain. I’m thinking the socks that I wear are too thin. Strange since I’ve worn them before and have had no problems. This was before the calluses got soft and came off. Anyway, yesterday I wore a pair of new (old, just not really ever worn) socks, and they seem to be OK. I also had a band-aid over the blister area. All was well. I managed .7 mile and spent 25 minutes on the elliptical yesterday.

I haven’t uploaded any of the pictures from the virtual walk site for a while. I got lazy and kept telling myself “I’ll post it later”. Well, you know what “later” means? You won’t do it. When you say “later”, things just end up piling up and then your list of things you’ll do “later” gets longer and longer, and you procrastinate even more. Then you get overwhelmed, and nothing gets accomplished. Time to buckle down and get it done. I get dangerously close to doing this with writing assignments also. I’ve got 8 articles to write by the end of the week. One I can technically extend by sending it back into the queue and claiming it again (giving me 7 more days). Five I can ask the client for more time (he’s the best client ever and is very flexible), and two I have to do by a certain date or my “rating” goes down. So after I post this, I need to get busy. Time to break out the egg timer and set a specific time to write. Once the timer goes off, I’ll give myself a five or ten minute break and then get back to it.

Here are the last several pictures from the virtual walk site.

Mile 201



 

Copyright 2006 Lawrence Berkeley Lab

Mile 202



 

Copyright 2006 Lawrence Berkeley Lab

Mile 202.6 (I went .7, but it registered as .6)



 

Copyright 2006 Lawrence Berkeley Lab

Looks like it’s nice and sunny on the tour. Don’t know if I’ll do any exercise or not today. We’ll see how much I get done the rest of the morning.

I’ve gone a total of 202.6 miles. I’m 3.24 miles from Whitehall, VA Charlottesville City County.

Hope you all have a great week. Don’t procrastinate! Get it done. But remember to take breaks so you don’t burn out.

The Big 200 Mile Mark

Well, after two weeks of not exercising, I am back on it. I did do my strength training the first week I was off, but I took last week off from everything. Sunday I decided to get on the elliptical, as I did not feel any pain in my foot on Saturday. Everything went well, and I went .6 mile. The only real issue I had was the folded towel kept slipping around underneath my foot. So I decided to not use it today.

Like I said, yesterday I went .6 mile, and here is the picture for that day from the virtual walk site.

 

And today, I did one full mile. Actually I can't say I did a mile, as I don't know exactly how far I went. The display screen on the elliptical decided to restart about seven times at least in the first 20 minutes. I was using my egg timer as a backup like I usually do, and I'm glad I did. I told myself that I was going to do 1 mile or 35 minutes, whichever came first. And since the screen decided to reset in the first 2 minutes, the decision was made. It was annoying to keep having to stop so I can turn the fan back on, and after the seventh time I decided to just go without a fan. About 2 minutes later, I had to turn it on again.

I did get a little tired the last ten minutes of my workout, but I think that was because I kept stopping and starting to turn the fan on. I can't turn the fan on as I'm using the elliptical. It works the muscles in my thighs to start and stop the pedals, so they got an extra workout. Needless to say, I obviously need to replace the batteries again. It seemed like I just changed them three weeks ago, and I was off for two. I should buy stock in Duracell. I go through a ton of D cell batteries.

I am back to wearing my tennis shoes also, and my next issue I foresee is blisters. Yippee. With the Vibram Five Fingers, the calluses I had developed got softer and ended up falling off (just on my right foot, not the left, weird). So now that I'm back to the tennis shoes, those calluses are going to need to build up. So, my right foot on the inside of the foot up by my big toe is sore. I'll need to buy stock in Band-Aid also, as I'll be the Band-Aid Queen for a while.

But, all in all, my elliptical workout went very well. I needed to get back on it in a big way, as my balance was starting to go bye bye. Saturday my husband and I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One, and my balance and walking were really bad. It wasn't pretty. Not sure what the deal was, but I think part of it was my back was out of alignment. That night, my husband gave me a big bear hug (in an attempt to pop my back), and I heard about 12 pops, from my mid back to upper back. Ahhh...better. I miss my chiropractor in WA State.

So, I'm back to normal, and hopefully won't have another forced time off for a long time. No sign of muscle knots yet, but I expect to get them by the end of next week, at least a little bit.

And hey, I made the big 200 mile mark on the virtual walk today! Took me over two years, but I did it. Still in Virginia, and I have a long way to go still in that state. Here are the stats and the picture from today from the virtual walk site. I'm leaving out the elliptical stats for today since they're not accurate. I went 35 minutes, and I'm guessing I went one mile. At least I seem to be over my obsession problem about mileage.

1 mile today
200 miles since 4/28/08
.72 miles to Mechums River, VA, Charlottesville City County

The Big 200 Mile Mark

Well, after two weeks of not exercising, I am back on it. I did do my strength training the first week I was off, but I took last week off from everything. Sunday I decided to get on the elliptical, as I did not feel any pain in my foot on Saturday. Everything went well, and I went .6 mile. The only real issue I had was the folded towel kept slipping around underneath my foot. So I decided to not use it today.

Like I said, yesterday I went .6 mile, and here is the picture for that day from the virtual walk site.

Copyright 2006 Lawrence Berkeley Lab

And today, I did one full mile. Actually I can't say I did a mile, as I don't know exactly how far I went. The display screen on the elliptical decided to restart about seven times at least in the first 20 minutes. I was using my egg timer as a backup like I usually do, and I'm glad I did. I told myself that I was going to do 1 mile or 35 minutes, whichever came first. And since the screen decided to reset in the first 2 minutes, the decision was made. It was annoying to keep having to stop so I can turn the fan back on, and after the seventh time I decided to just go without a fan. About 2 minutes later, I had to turn it on again.

I did get a little tired the last ten minutes of my workout, but I think that was because I kept stopping and starting to turn the fan on. I can't turn the fan on as I'm using the elliptical. It works the muscles in my thighs to start and stop the pedals, so they got an extra workout. Needless to say, I obviously need to replace the batteries again. It seemed like I just changed them three weeks ago, and I was off for two. I should buy stock in Duracell. I go through a ton of D cell batteries.

I am back to wearing my tennis shoes also, and my next issue I foresee is blisters. Yippee. With the Vibram Five Fingers, the calluses I had developed got softer and ended up falling off (just on my right foot, not the left, weird). So now that I'm back to the tennis shoes, those calluses are going to need to build up. So, my right foot on the inside of the foot up by my big toe is sore. I'll need to buy stock in Band-Aid also, as I'll be the Band-Aid Queen for a while.

But, all in all, my elliptical workout went very well. I needed to get back on it in a big way, as my balance was starting to go bye bye. Saturday my husband and I went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One, and my balance and walking were really bad. It wasn't pretty. Not sure what the deal was, but I think part of it was my back was out of alignment. That night, my husband gave me a big bear hug (in an attempt to pop my back), and I heard about 12 pops, from my mid back to upper back. Ahhh...better. I miss my chiropractor in WA State.

So, I'm back to normal, and hopefully won't have another forced time off for a long time. No sign of muscle knots yet, but I expect to get them by the end of next week, at least a little bit.

And hey, I made the big 200 mile mark on the virtual walk today! Took me over two years, but I did it. Still in Virginia, and I have a long way to go still in that state. Here are the stats and the picture from today from the virtual walk site. I'm leaving out the elliptical stats for today since they're not accurate. I went 35 minutes, and I'm guessing I went one mile. At least I seem to be over my obsession problem about mileage.

1 mile today
200 miles since 4/28/08
.72 miles to Mechums River, VA, Charlottesville City County

Copyright 2006 Lawrence Berkeley Lab

Bah…More Time Off

Well, I hate to say it, but it looks like I'll be taking this week off from the elliptical. Last week, I was feeling a weird muscle ache in my left foot. I thought it was because of the folded hand towel getting scrunched up beneath my foot, but I think it's more than that. I felt the same sort of muscle ache in my right foot back in July when I hurt my ankle. So rather than be stupid (which I have been in the past), I'm taking this week off. I think it will only be one week, as the pain isn't too bad. Not nearly as bad as my right ankle a few months ago.

Unfortunately, that means I'll the switching back to my tennis shoes when I exercise. That's unfortunate because I feel much more stable in my Vibram shoes. I will still wear my Vibram shoes the rest of the day. I am glad that I went slow as a test to my feet and shoes. I did do something earlier when I realized I wasn't going to exercise on the elliptical today. I got off the elliptical, took off my Vibram shoes, put on my tennis shoes, and got back on the elliptical. The ache in my left foot was a lot less, but it was still there. So that gives me a little bit of hope that it will be only one week until I can get back on. Here I was worried about my right ankle, and my left foot is the problem. My injuries seem to switch sides every time I get one.

I think I would rather deal with muscle knots in my lower legs (caused by my tennis shoes), than this weird foot thing. The foot thing could possibly turn into something worse, like plantar faciitis or something (which I think I had a few years ago).

I have thought more than once about changing cardio equipment. I always decide to stick with my elliptical because I want to be upright when I exercise. The only other piece of cardio equipment that I would feel comfortable using on my own (without anyone around) would be a stationary bike. Don't get me wrong, bicycling is great exercise, but I would really like to stay on my feet when I exercise. I keep thinking about it though. I want to stay away from treadmills since I have accidents on those. I've fallen more than a few times, and I do not want to use one when no one else is around in case I have a really nasty fall. I've never fallen off the elliptical before. I've had mine for two and half years (I think) and I've had no problems.

So I'm a bit bummed, but what can you do? You just have to keep rolling with punches. Hey that reminds me of a song that keeps me moving too. Here are the two stanzas that work for me (and yes, it’s a Bon Jovi song):

“I've been pushed around
Been knocked down
Lost a round or three
Life took a couple of things I loved
When I was too blind to see

But I’ll survive
I gave up on luck but I’m still getting by
Yeah I’m going to be alright
You can test my faith
But you can't take my pride
Thorn in my side, thorn in my side.”

I will continue my strength training the rest of the week, on Wednesday and Friday. And we'll see where I am at them. Obviously there's no mileage update or picture of the day, and I will not reach the 200 mile mark this week. I was so close too. Oh well. I'll get there eventually.

Have a great day, and I will see what I can come up with in terms of posts for this week.

Bah…More Time Off

Well, I hate to say it, but it looks like I'll be taking this week off from the elliptical. Last week, I was feeling a weird muscle ache in my left foot. I thought it was because of the folded hand towel getting scrunched up beneath my foot, but I think it's more than that. I felt the same sort of muscle ache in my right foot back in July when I hurt my ankle. So rather than be stupid (which I have been in the past), I'm taking this week off. I think it will only be one week, as the pain isn't too bad. Not nearly as bad as my right ankle a few months ago.

Unfortunately, that means I'll the switching back to my tennis shoes when I exercise. That's unfortunate because I feel much more stable in my Vibram shoes. I will still wear my Vibram shoes the rest of the day. I am glad that I went slow as a test to my feet and shoes. I did do something earlier when I realized I wasn't going to exercise on the elliptical today. I got off the elliptical, took off my Vibram shoes, put on my tennis shoes, and got back on the elliptical. The ache in my left foot was a lot less, but it was still there. So that gives me a little bit of hope that it will be only one week until I can get back on. Here I was worried about my right ankle, and my left foot is the problem. My injuries seem to switch sides every time I get one.

I think I would rather deal with muscle knots in my lower legs (caused by my tennis shoes), than this weird foot thing. The foot thing could possibly turn into something worse, like plantar faciitis or something (which I think I had a few years ago).

I have thought more than once about changing cardio equipment. I always decide to stick with my elliptical because I want to be upright when I exercise. The only other piece of cardio equipment that I would feel comfortable using on my own (without anyone around) would be a stationary bike. Don't get me wrong, bicycling is great exercise, but I would really like to stay on my feet when I exercise. I keep thinking about it though. I want to stay away from treadmills since I have accidents on those. I've fallen more than a few times, and I do not want to use one when no one else is around in case I have a really nasty fall. I've never fallen off the elliptical before. I've had mine for two and half years (I think) and I've had no problems.

So I'm a bit bummed, but what can you do? You just have to keep rolling with punches. Hey that reminds me of a song that keeps me moving too. Here are the two stanzas that work for me (and yes, it’s a Bon Jovi song):

“I've been pushed around
Been knocked down
Lost a round or three
Life took a couple of things I loved
When I was too blind to see

But I’ll survive
I gave up on luck but I’m still getting by
Yeah I’m going to be alright
You can test my faith
But you can't take my pride
Thorn in my side, thorn in my side.”

I will continue my strength training the rest of the week, on Wednesday and Friday. And we'll see where I am at them. Obviously there's no mileage update or picture of the day, and I will not reach the 200 mile mark this week. I was so close too. Oh well. I'll get there eventually.

Have a great day, and I will see what I can come up with in terms of posts for this week.

Tired, Tired, Tired

It's Friday! It does not feel like Friday to me. I'm not sure what day it feels like. My husband hasn't had a day off in almost a month. Good news a is, I think he has this Sunday off. It's not for certain, but he's trying. The days are starting to bleed together. I plan on taking Sunday off from the elliptical. My feet and calves feel achy and tired today, and I feel a little worn out. Got to keep moving though.

I'm still amazed at how my walker is improving my balance and stability. I think I might be ready to try to walk with it with no shoes. Maybe. My Five Fingers shoes had to be washed today, so I am barefoot right now. I could put them on when they're still wet, but I don't feel like sloshing around when I walk. They take about 12 hours to dry completely when they're inside. I'm sure they only take an hour or two if I put them outside in the sun. But I don't feel like doing that right now. All I feel like doing at the moment is relaxing on the couch, and reading my book. It's 1:00 PM right now, but it feels like 7:00 PM. Maybe I'll make a cup of green tea to wake myself up.

Elliptical stats for the day:
Distance- .7 mile
Revolutions-1322
Resistance level-1
Endurance- Great. Got a bit tired the last two and a half minutes.
Injury- None. Feet feel tired and achy, but that's all.
Time-25:10

Virtual walk tour stats for the day:
0.7 miles today
198.4 miles since April 28, 2008
2.89 miles to Mechums River, VA, Charlottesville City County

Here is the picture of the day.