Health and Fitness, September, 2015

[Nancy]

Took my vits 2day.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

As of today I've officially lost 20 pounds. Over 130 days. Still have another 32 to go so am not too excited but it is a nice round number. My t-shirt today is too large to look good. Sigh. I like it a lot but am glad to be putting aside the XL and 1X clothing. It will be interesting to see what I have to wear next summer.

[Ramblinrose]

Well I am back from my vacation with Sweetie. The nice thing about being on the beach is that we spend most of our time walking. Walked between 5-8 miles each day. Went to a state park not far from where we were staying and spent 4 hours walking the beach and trails there.
We usually get up early and are on the beach my 7 or so. Sometimes we walk and talk and other times we just walk. We usually stay out till around 11 or so and then come in for lunch. Around 2 or so we head back out and walk some more. The tides changes the beach depending on low or high tides and with a full moon the tides were extreme. This is the first time we didn't have beach chairs or a umbrella and I. Some ways that worked in our favor. Dogs are allowed on the beach so between our nature beach walks and the dogs dodging in and out of the water there was a lot of activities to watch and enjoy.

I leave again in ten days for a girlie reunion in Salt Lake City. Hoping the weather hold as we have some wonderful hikes and outside activities plan. I've never been to this part of the country so I am looking forward to it.

Two of the girls are highly active outdoors. My other two friends enjoy activity classes that take place at a gym. We will be doing a little of both during our week stay.
In the meantime I am back working out in the mornings. I don't know if I am walking or doing a workout in the morning. Have to talk to my friend tonight to find out. Also need to have Sweetie fix my bike's tires. I need to start putting some time on it for the mini-triathlon that takes place Oct 10th.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Was shocked at how badly I did on the bike today. The peddling bothered my knees and I was very sore after. Ended up having to take ibuprofen before preaching because my knees were so sore.

It is upsetting that despite all the hiking my fitness level went down while we were away. I would have thought that the legs would have kept some of the biking muscles but it was as if they were all gone. Sigh...

[Ramblinrose]

Oh Kathryn you're doing so well I wouldn't worry about it. In the long run you're gonna end up being strong and in good shape.

I haven't been doing as much weight work recently and I can tell it as well. Traveling is fun but I am really missing my workouts. The temps should be dropping by the time I get back from my trip and then I can begin to attack again.

This is a life change for me and intend to be doing this for the rest of my life. With that in mind, I know there will be ebbs and flows in my routines. Just need to stay focused and keep on keeping on

[RunKitty]

Kathryn! 20 pounds! That is wonderful. Your knees should be thanking you and not giving you pain. I'm sure you will continue to get stronger.

Your vacation sounds wonderful, RR. I love the beach and dogs on the beach are the best!

[Ramblinrose]

Hi Runkitty... Dogs are always fun to watch as they play in and out of the waves. One guy was teaching his male lab how to surf. Think the dog loved it as much as his owner.

Went to my workout class this morning. I had to write up my monthly goal on a huge white board where everyone else had posted theirs. It was easy for me to do because I already had my goals in mind. First, loose my last 10 lbs by Oct 1., Second, get stronger. Third run faster. When I am at the store later today I will pick up a small notebook and start logging in my progress.

Each day there is a WOD posted on a whiteboard (workout of the day) so I am going to date and write each WOD out and then put the weights and reps I was able to do. We usually run at least 400 meters at the start of the workout...today I had to run 400m 7 different times....and I want to start documenting my time. Will need to buy a cheap stop watch cause I don't want to carry my phone.

Jason, the guy who is training me, is taking the time to show me the correct way to do each exercise. He is so patient with me and I certainly appreciate his help. Today I had to do kettle swings, something I am not very good at, and Jason took the time to work and correct my form.

The WOD today went like this:

Warm Up
* Stretch
* Toy soldiers Stick on foot up in the air, touch it with your other hand...walk as you go
* Toe touches take a step, bend down and touch your toe with your opposite hand

WOD
1. Knee to chest pull ups hanging from the bar. I did 20 while the rest of the class were required to do 30
RUN 400m

2. Deep knee lounges while holding a 20lb over your head,15 times. Since I had never done these before, I started out
with 5lbs over my head with Jason teaching me the right form. I ended up doing more than 25...I lost count after that.
RUN 400m

3. Kettle bell swings. Class did 30 swings with 30lbs. I did more than that, but with a 10lb bell and Jason worked with
me on my form
Run 400 m

4. Ropes You take two huge ropes that are looped around a pole and make wave moments 30 times
RUN 400 m

5. Fire hose pull. Hoist a 25lb fire hose over your shoulder, run 25m, stop, pull the end of the fire hose to you. Repeat
going back to where you started. My brother, who is a fireman and was the town's fire chief for a while, until he retired,
would be proud of me
RUN 400 m

6. Floor wind mills...get in plank position and then bring one knee to your elbow, repeat on the other side. That counts as
ONE rep. Had to do it 30 times.
RUN 400 m

Every day the WOD changes, but the warm ups never do. Its hard work and I'm really tired when I get home, but I'm loving it.

Runkitty... I don't know how you and Helia can run for as long as you can without stopping. Its exhausting.

However, my MOM didn't start running till she was 49 and for years ran 3-5 miles 5-6 times a week. Once she had to start watching over my dad, she had to cut her miles down to 1-3 depending on what was going on at home, and she didn't stop running till she was 80. I've learned to like running, something that has really surprised me, and with each step I take I keep telling myself... I can do this, I can do this, I am strong.

Know that part of running is the mental game that goes on in one's head so I am adjusting to that. And if my friend Monica can't join me tomorrow for our hike, then I will go to the gym in the morning on my own. That is a huge thing for me...but, I can do it, I can do it, I am strong

[helia]

Wow! Congratulations on losing 20 pounds, Kathryn! Woohoo! That is really inspiring! We know you can lose the rest of it too. After all the walking and the strenuous 2 day hike I did in Iceland, I found that I too was out of shape jogging-wise, and it took a while to get back to where I was before I left. I thought that might be b/c I didn't jog while in Iceland, and hiking/walking uses muscles differently than jogging does. Are you hiking as well as you did before?

RRose, your vacations sounds fabulous! Your upcoming one does too! You're also an inspiration. Ha - I don't think I could be as active as you are, and your classes sound a LOT more difficult than jogging for 30 minutes. I go embarrassingly slowly, and I listen to music and enjoy the scenery along the way, so it's not as strenuous as it sounds. It's also inspiring to hear of your mom's running. I'm not even doing 3 miles yet. I'm not always good about pushing myself either. . . . I think when it cools down here, I'll be more willing to do that.

I'll let you know when I dig out my exercise videos, harriet, maybe tomorrow to alternate days with jogging.

This morning, I still weighed 147. I suppose all the eating from the weekend will hit tomorrow or Wed. I tend to eat a lot on the weekends and shape up during the week.

I also know that my body has a strong set point around 147.5 lbs. That is a number my body likes, for some reason. It will be difficult for me to move away from that weight; I've experienced this in the past.

I jogged 2.25 miles in 30:30, and that is close to my old pace.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Tomorrow will be my second uphill hike so we'll see if I've gone backwards with that. It is very humid out and I'm starting to have to accept that the weather will also affect my pain level, although yesterday the pain was definitely from the bike motion. I'm going to buy (or request as a gift) a bike exercise stand so I'll be able to use my bike inside in the winter and not lose those muscles.

I've also decided to buy myself a new bike this month. Yesterday there were times when I needed higher gears as well as lower gears. As well, my wrist/hand got sore from the leaning over onto my handlebars. The new bike will be more upright - not as fast, not good for off-roading (which I don't do) and not good for very long distances (i.e. over 10 miles at a time) but none of those matter to me.

[Ramblinrose]

I'm with you Kathryn with the handlebars on a bike. I just want my old Raleigh racer back. When I was a kid I rode it every where and would sometimes travel 25-35 miles on a Sat with my friend.

I now have one I bought for $25. I want to see how much I will rise it and then will by myself a good one after that.

I'm down 1.5 lbs which means I have 8.5 to go. I'm pleased with that. May or may not go to my gym class this afternoon ... It will depend on the heat at that time. Otherwise I will put some workout time in here at home.