Follow My Virtual Walk Progress

Long time no see! It's been since early August since my last post here. I have a plan though, and I will be updating this blog a lot more often now than I usually do. I figure if I can write an update of my mileage on the virtual walk thread on SparkPeople.com, I can update it here also. I plan on updating this blog with how many miles I go on my elliptical each day, and how long it takes. That's basically what I do on the virtual walk thread.

Right now my minimum goal on the elliptical is to go for one mile six days a week. I won't say I will do it everyday, I'm leaving one day open for a rest today. And I won't specify a day as my rest day, I'll just take a rest day when I feel like it. Right now, I'm going about 45 minutes on the elliptical five or six days a week.

I plan on improving the time it takes me to do one mile. For the last four or five days I've been recording the time it takes me to do one mile. My fastest time was actually yesterday in a time of 33 minutes and 20 seconds. My fastest time before that was 33:45.

Today my plan was to do 45 minutes. It was one of those days where I could not stop looking at the display screen to see how far I had gone. So as soon as I hit the one mile mark, I said to myself "OK, you're done". I was a bit tired from yesterday, and I wanted it to be over with.

I like seeing progress on the elliptical. When I first got mine, my average speed was about 45 revolutions per minute. Now my average speed is about 52 revolutions per minute. I remember 52 RPM being the top speed I was able do, and I could only hold that pace for 15 to 30 seconds. Now it feels a lot slower to go less than 52. Yesterday, I had a top speed of 60 RPM. It didn't stay there for very long, but I saw it. My steady high speed now is about 56 to 58.

Today I did one mile in about 34:12 which is about my average time. According to the virtual walk website, I've walked 185 miles since I started.

My elliptical stats for today are:
Distance: 1 mile
Revolutions: 1760
Resistance level: 1
Endurance: OK
Time: 33:12
1 mile time: 33:12

Virtual walk website stats:
Total miles since April 28, 2008: 185 miles
3.04 miles to go until Charlottesville, Virginia, Albermarle County

This is the picture from the website at the point where I am currently. Since I started, the road has been one lane each direction. This is the first two lane road that I've seen. I wonder what it will look like when I hit the city of Charlottesville. I'll find out in about three days at the most.

Stay tuned for more updates on my mileage and pictures from the website.

Vibram Five Fingers Review (KSO)

About a month ago, I bought some new shoes. These shoes are interesting to say the least. They're called Vibram Five Fingers, and if you love walking barefoot, and only put regular shoes on for protection, these shoes are for you. I have a couple of videos I found on YouTube that explain what these shoes are and how they work, but let me just say, I love them. I wanted to wait a while before I wrote a review, but I have found nothing at all to complain about.

As I've said, I've had these shoes (I have the KSO version) for about a month, and so far, I've worn them everywhere. I wore them on our trip to Las Vegas, I've worn them around town, and I've worn them while exercising. The only place I didn't wear them was to the Grand Canyon. Two reasons for that. One, my calves and lower legs were really sore, and two, the ground was very rocky and unstable. My husband has the same shoes, and he did wear them to the Grand Canyon. He said the ground didn't hurt at all. He felt some pressure from the rocky terrain, but it didn't hurt.

The company recommends that you wear these shoes for about an hour or two a day the first few weeks you have them. Well, I ignored that advice, and that's why my calves were sore after the first day or two of our Vegas trip. You need to ease into them and not go all out like I did. I'm all rested from the trip and am having no problems at all with soreness in my legs due to the shoes.

Now, growing up with cerebral palsy, I always figured I needed shoes with “extra support”. I thought that way up until a month ago. Think about this. Thousands of years ago, people walked around barefoot all the time. Shoes were made (even way back then) to protect the feet from harmful objects. As shoes developed over the years, they've been made to squish your toes at the very front of the shoe. Your toes are what stabilize you. They're what give you balance. When they're squished all together, they don't stabilize you as they should.

These shoes bring back the natural state that your feet should be in. As for me and my balance, I feel a huge difference. I'm much more stable in these shoes than I am when I wear “supportive” tennis shoes. I really don't think I'll go back to wearing normal shoes again. These Five Finger shoes have a sole that grips the ground so you have traction when you need it.

She mentions it being a bit difficult to get your toes into the right slots. I definitely agree with that statement. When I first got my shoes, I had a very difficult time getting them on. My pinky toes did not want to separate for the longest time. After a few weeks, they start to conform to your feet and toes. Now, they take me very little time to put on. They're machine washable, and washing them doesn't make them any harder to put on.

I'm not saying these shoes are for everyone, but I would definitely recommend them to people who prefer to be barefoot. Try them on and see what you think.

Vibram Five Fingers Review (KSO)

About a month ago, I bought some new shoes. These shoes are interesting to say the least. They're called Vibram Five Fingers, and if you love walking barefoot, and only put regular shoes on for protection, these shoes are for you. I have a couple of videos I found on YouTube that explain what these shoes are and how they work, but let me just say, I love them. I wanted to wait a while before I wrote a review, but I have found nothing at all to complain about.

As I've said, I've had these shoes (I have the KSO version) for about a month, and so far, I've worn them everywhere. I wore them on our trip to Las Vegas, I've worn them around town, and I've worn them while exercising. The only place I didn't wear them was to the Grand Canyon. Two reasons for that. One, my calves and lower legs were really sore, and two, the ground was very rocky and unstable. My husband has the same shoes, and he did wear them to the Grand Canyon. He said the ground didn't hurt at all. He felt some pressure from the rocky terrain, but it didn't hurt.

The company recommends that you wear these shoes for about an hour or two a day the first few weeks you have them. Well, I ignored that advice, and that's why my calves were sore after the first day or two of our Vegas trip. You need to ease into them and not go all out like I did. I'm all rested from the trip and am having no problems at all with soreness in my legs due to the shoes.

Now, growing up with cerebral palsy, I always figured I needed shoes with “extra support”. I thought that way up until a month ago. Think about this. Thousands of years ago, people walked around barefoot all the time. Shoes were made (even way back then) to protect the feet from harmful objects. As shoes developed over the years, they've been made to squish your toes at the very front of the shoe. Your toes are what stabilize you. They're what give you balance. When they're squished all together, they don't stabilize you as they should.

These shoes bring back the natural state that your feet should be in. As for me and my balance, I feel a huge difference. I'm much more stable in these shoes than I am when I wear “supportive” tennis shoes. I really don't think I'll go back to wearing normal shoes again. These Five Finger shoes have a sole that grips the ground so you have traction when you need it.

She mentions it being a bit difficult to get your toes into the right slots. I definitely agree with that statement. When I first got my shoes, I had a very difficult time getting them on. My pinky toes did not want to separate for the longest time. After a few weeks, they start to conform to your feet and toes. Now, they take me very little time to put on. They're machine washable, and washing them doesn't make them any harder to put on.

I'm not saying these shoes are for everyone, but I would definitely recommend them to people who prefer to be barefoot. Try them on and see what you think.

"Maté Lemon Blast Herbal Tea" Review

Back in June I bought more tea from Teavana. I bought a caffeinated tea called Maté Lemon Blast Herbal Tea. This tea was seen on The Today Show according to the Teavana site.

This tea includes the following ingredients:

Green maté leaves

Lemongrass

I love teas with a short ingredient list. No strange components to this tea at all. What is my opinion of this tea? This is by far, my favorite tea from Teavana. When you open the package, you're smacked in the face by the lemon scent. To paraphrase my husband, it smells like a lemon pie just out of the oven.

To prepare this tea, you use 1.5 teaspoons for every 8 ounces, and let it steep for 5 to 6 minutes. When the tea is brewing, it fills the whole room with a lemon scent that has you itching to taste it. And the taste? Yum! It tastes just like a warm lemon pie. I made this tea last (as long as possible, it was too darn tasty) by only using one teaspoon for my 16 ounce tea maker. Didn't lessen the taste at all!

I will most definitely be buying this tea again. I can't wait to make my next purchase.

Check out my other tea reviews.

"Maté Lemon Blast Herbal Tea" Review

Back in June I bought more tea from Teavana. I bought a caffeinated tea called Maté Lemon Blast Herbal Tea. This tea was seen on The Today Show according to the Teavana site.

This tea includes the following ingredients:

Green maté leaves

Lemongrass

I love teas with a short ingredient list. No strange components to this tea at all. What is my opinion of this tea? This is by far, my favorite tea from Teavana. When you open the package, you're smacked in the face by the lemon scent. To paraphrase my husband, it smells like a lemon pie just out of the oven.

To prepare this tea, you use 1.5 teaspoons for every 8 ounces, and let it steep for 5 to 6 minutes. When the tea is brewing, it fills the whole room with a lemon scent that has you itching to taste it. And the taste? Yum! It tastes just like a warm lemon pie. I made this tea last (as long as possible, it was too darn tasty) by only using one teaspoon for my 16 ounce tea maker. Didn't lessen the taste at all!

I will most definitely be buying this tea again. I can't wait to make my next purchase.

Check out my other tea reviews:

"My Morning Maté"

"Maté Vana"

"Weight To Go Pu-erh Tea"

"Toasted Nut Brulee"

"Roobios Peach Bloom Tea"

"Roobios Peach Bloom Tea" Review

Back in June, I ordered another tea from Teavana. The Roobios Peach Bloom Tea. The website states: “Perfect for hot tea or iced tea” which was what I was looking for. This tea had high ratings so I went for it.

This tea contains the following ingredients:

*Green and red Roobios tea

*Dried peach pieces

*Yellow safflower petals

Simple ingredients, not a lot to it. I tried this tea the first time as a hot drink. First of all, when you open the package, it most definitely smells like peaches. Good sign. To brew this tea, you need to put in 1.5 teaspoons for every 8 ounces, and let it steep for 5 to 6 minutes. After I brewed it and poured it into my cup, I smelled it again. Something seemed off to me. It didn't really smell like peaches. The best way to describe the smell, in my opinion, is that it smelled like Play-Doh. Yeah, not very appealing. But I drank it anyway.

It was OK, nothing more than that. It didn't really taste all that much like peaches. Maybe just a hint. I did try the tea again, only I poured it over ice. It tasted a bit better, but still had the odd smell. I much prefer this tea as an iced tea. I've had it for over one month and I still have a lot of tea leaves left to brew. That says a lot for how much I like it. I'll most likely be drinking this tea over the next few months. I don't hate it, but I have to be in the right mood for it.

I think this is the first tea from Teavana that I have to give a thumbs down to. Maybe my sniffer and taster are off or something, but I don't see how this tea got a 4.5 rating. I'm sort of bummed by it.

Check out my other Teavana tea reviews.

"Roobios Peach Bloom Tea" Review

Back in June, I ordered another tea from Teavana. The Roobios Peach Bloom Tea. The website states: “Perfect for hot tea or iced tea” which was what I was looking for. This tea had high ratings so I went for it.

This tea contains the following ingredients:

*Green and red Roobios tea

*Dried peach pieces

*Yellow safflower petals

Simple ingredients, not a lot to it. I tried this tea the first time as a hot drink. First of all, when you open the package, it most definitely smells like peaches. Good sign. To brew this tea, you need to put in 1.5 teaspoons for every 8 ounces, and let it steep for 5 to 6 minutes. After I brewed it and poured it into my cup, I smelled it again. Something seemed off to me. It didn't really smell like peaches. The best way to describe the smell, in my opinion, is that it smelled like Play-Doh. Yeah, not very appealing. But I drank it anyway.

It was OK, nothing more than that. It didn't really taste all that much like peaches. Maybe just a hint. I did try the tea again, only I poured it over ice. It tasted a bit better, but still had the odd smell. I much prefer this tea as an iced tea. I've had it for over one month and I still have a lot of tea leaves left to brew. That says a lot for how much I like it. I'll most likely be drinking this tea over the next few months. I don't hate it, but I have to be in the right mood for it.

I think this is the first tea from Teavana that I have to give a thumbs down to. Maybe my sniffer and taster are off or something, but I don't see how this tea got a 4.5 rating. I'm sort of bummed by it.

Check out my other Teavana tea reviews.

"My Morning Maté"
"Maté Vana"
"Weight To Go Pu-erh Tea"
"Toasted Nut Brulee"
"Maté Lemon Blast Herbal Tea"