Old Friend...New Friend

Last week I wrote about visiting an old friend....my hiking boots.  At the end of the weekend I was taking off my boots and noticed that the tread/sole was coming loose on the one shoe.  We made plans to fix it ourselves....until I realized that I was still within the year exchange policy that REI has for any purchase.  So we headed down toward the city...and an REI mid week.  I exchanged my boots for a new pair.   Of course I got my original ones at a reduced price....when I originally bought them they had just come out with the 2016 model and gave me the 2015 model at a nice discount.  SO I had to pay the difference for the new pair....since they were not discounted.  And well...they didn't even have the 2016 model...which would have been 50 bucks or so more......I had to get the 2017 model......$100 more.    Money I didn't have......and just added to my stress.  But I now have a new pair of boots that are not compromised!  In the long run it was a wise move.

So we went out hiking this weekend in my new shoes.  (They are the same brand and style as the old ones!) Time to break in a new pair!  Knowing that I had new shoes AND that my knee was messed up we tried to find an 'easy' hike.   (During last weekends hike I fell and bungled up my knee.....a week later and it is still black and blue and swollen...joy joy).    We didn't quite succeed with the 'easy' part.  Well...unless you call a path that goes UP on a narrow trail on the side of the mountain 'easy'.   It will be easier each week as we hike more and more....for sure!

The first hike we did was down a fire road (it was down....as we went down I made the comment that "we are going to hate life on the way back up"....I was right!)

We didn't climb down the falls...but it was pretty what we did see!  I loved the ice on the edges of the water!

Next we hiked part of the Dickey Ridge Trail.....and saw the Fort WindhamRocks 

 And we hiked down to the Indian Run Spring (my phone went crazy at the rocks and shut down....it wouldn't restart and I kept getting the picture to plug my phone in that it was totally dead.......I left it alone until I got to the car and looked at it and it started right up and I had 69%...so who knows...but I didn't get a picture of the spring!)

We drove down the Skyline drive for a ways....I thought it would be interesting to get a picture of the same tree as I did last week.....

I was actually closer to the tree last week...but had so much less visibility!!!!

 We did get some flurries while we hiked...and had some flurries (and it started to lay while we were driving).  Love the ice on the tunnel and along the whole edge of the roads on the rocks!

 So I feel a bit better after my weekend with Jason....more peaceful and settled about everything happening in my life with work and my finances.  Hopefully it holds!!!!

Meanwhile...I am more determined to lose weight.  I want cool clothes and neat hiking gear. (I'm so motivated by weird things!)  And I plan on starting working on my upper body strength.  Yeah, I need upper body strength because Jason LOVES to tickle my arches....and it usually sparks a wrestling match.  I put up a good fight...but I need more strength!!!!  (I hate to lose!)  

 Meanwhile...this picture highlights Ethel and her nighttime practices!!!!  Grrrrrr

Bummed

I don't really have much to say today.....

My weight was showing down pretty much all week.   Then today for my official weigh in I was right back up there...so I showed absolutely no lose!  Isn't that ducky?

I have made a discovery....and bare with me while I lay out  the backstory...

I left my marriage pretty much penniless.  I was ok with that.  I bought my way out is how I look at it.   I work full time but the pay is  laughable....seriously.  (And yes I am looking for something different!!). Building a savings is difficult ...near impossible (unless I literally do nothing as in only work and sit at home doing nothing and sucking down the food that my parents have in the house...but if anything comes up...such as buying cat litter and cat food...or a bra...shoes....whatever there is no saving that pay period).   And admittedly a huge chunk of my expenditures is food as I eat out a lot. My savings has consisted of what I get in my tax refunds.   In December I had a huge car repair bill....and it emptied my savings accounts.   (Well not totally emptied...I have 67 cents in one and 44 in the other!!  Woo hoo I was rich!!).  I wasn't too panicked because tax season was soon and I would put the money into savings and voila...back where I began.  But some stroke of misfortune and somehow what was deducted from my check was much less (don't ask me how....I never saw any change in my income that I wasn't expecting!)   So my federal tax refund is $5 Yes I'll be rich!  So no replacement savings.   (As a wonderful side note...I owe money for state taxes....Then my car broke down on Monday and the repair is an estimated $700...that's huge for me!!)

So I sat down and started thinking of a new budget and ways to cut corners.  I had a plan!  And it would still allow me to eat out!  It involved me only spending $10 a day in food.  (and yes jason pays for some of my meals and that was calculated in!). I was doing it.  It was kind of a fun challenge....trying to cut corners...choosing cheaper options when I could to allow for an extra buck here and there for those days when what I wanted to eat something that was 11 or 12 bucks!   It was working too!!!  (Until my car broke down and that budget plan went up in smoke...I haven't really formulated a new one yet..I'm kinda still reeling/depressed/stressed)

But even more than the budget working, I made an amazing discovery!!!!  When we would hit the local Chinese place for food...I would always order the large dinner...and maybe add an egg roll and or soup...12-14 bucks.  But with this newfound budget looming I looked more carefully and ordered their combination meal, a lot cheaper than what I usually ordered; for something like 7 or 8 bucks (perfect because it gave me 2 extra bucks to play with!).  My food came out and I looked in the bag (take out) to check it out!   Wow...it seemed sooo small!!!  I was sure I was going to be hungry!!!  There was no way that would fill me up!!   But hey...that was the budget!   I figured I would supplement with a piece of fruit or something from my mom's kitchen.   But guess what????  It was the perfect amount!!!!!!!   

Yeah I know....blew me away too!!!

I just have to remember this lesson!!!!!  I apparently order waaaaay too much food!!!!

Who knows what the new and improved budget will look like..I'm looking closely at what I can sell! (Luckily I had already started the purge process...so the thought of selling these extraneous stuff isn't a complete shock to the system!). I know that it will work out eventually...but right now I'm just kinda bummed about life in general.    In the meantime....I'm just trying to hang on tight and not succumb to eating my worries away!!!

Meanwhile...the stress of worrying about money....or should I say the lack of money and some other pretty unsavory issues at work and I'm a hot mess.

I was so messed up this morning that I skipped my run...blew my 3 runs this week challenge right out the window.....my eating has been less than stellar...and when I do eat my nerves make me feel ill.   So what have I eaten today...a belvita bar after I got to work...the thought of eating earlier than that made me want to hurl.   I felt fine after I ate that so at about 1:30 I had some mandarin oranges, some apple sauce and some dry cereal....and now I feel icky.  So calorie wise I'm ok...but not the healthiest options (well except for the fruit!!). And biggest of all...I am still tracking my intake!!!!

I know for some crazy reason the stress seems to melt when I'm with jason....so this upcoming weekend is very much anticipated!!!!

Meanwhile I'm just hanging on!!!  (And while my weight hasn't dropped back to where it was all last week it has dropped back from that official weigh in weight...go figure)

Hello Old Friend

Hello old friend...it's been a long time!!!  What old friend do I speak of??  Why my hiking boots of course!!

Yes Jason and I planned to hike this weekend!   We woke up to fog and mist on Saturday morning.  We didn't let it stop us....we hopped on the Appalachian Trail at Keys Gap which is a bit south of Charles Town,WV.    It was pretty much not raining when we started out...but it was foggy!!!  Really foggy!!   The fog was almost mimicking rain though.  All in all it was a delightful first hike of the year...and first hike in a few months!!!

We were so happy to be back outside!!

Our legs actually handled the hike pretty well.   We even had it in us to go swimming st the hotel that night!!!

On Sunday we headed to the Shenandoah National Park...the skyline drive.   It was foggy again...really foggy on the skyline drive!!!  It wasn't raining though!   We crossed our fingers because they were calling for rain!!!!

We hiked the Overrun Falls Trail.   Like most waterfalls...one way is down and one way is up.   This trail was down first. (Boo cuz I prefer to climb first!)  I took a fall within the first mile!   Ouch!  It always amuses me how you can get a brush burn and open cuts inside your pants...but the pants remain intact with no tears!   I could feel the sting of the brush burn in my knee but knew that intrinsically I was ok to go onward....so we kept heading down!  (My elbow and sides were ok because I was wearing a teeshirt, a sweatshirt and a jacket!).     The fog began to lift a bit!!

And finally 3-4 miles DOWN...we came to the falls!

My coat had been stripped by that point!!!  Exertion does that!!

There was a small path down the side to the bottom of the falls but considering it was wet (fog and at that point light rain) we decided not worth it!  

We headed back up...3 miles and some change straight up!!  Ok there were some switchbacks here and there...and some straight up places!!!  I was whipped!   By the time we got to the car my legs were jello!!!

We got in to drive home.   The fog at the top had only intensified as the evening approached!   It was so bad that at places I couldn't see more than 20 feet ahead of the car...yes I drove slow!!!

Here is an overlook....taken a year ago.....

And an overlook taken yesterday!

So while I was out hiking this weekend I drew my line in the sand.  Last week I aimed for two runs...and I accomplished them.  This week I wanted to complete three runs!   My work schedule kind of dictates my running schedule...and to easily get in three runs I needed to run Monday, Wednesday and Friday.   I shared my plans and challenge with jason!   It was out there, no turning back now!!!

Monday morning....

Ethel (my cat....she has been crying loudly in the middle of the night recently awakening me)  woke me up at 4AM...I struggled to get back to sleep...eventually I did...but then overslept.  I woke up at 7:44....and I have to leave for work at 9ish. That's 1 hour and 15 minutes...to run, shower eat breakfast and get ready for work.   

No hesitation.   I jumped out of bed and threw on running clothes and I was out the door by 8AM!!

**It was raining!

**My knees ached ...especially the one I fell upon!

**It wasn't an awesome run.   

**It was slow!!!

**I did it!!!!!

**I ache!!!!

**I arrived at work with wet hair slapped into a braid!!!

**One down...three to go!!

2017 in 2017.

I am still moving and trying to get as many steps in as possible!  I didn't hit my weekly goal/necessary miles last week.  I was about 3-5 miles off what I needed!   But that's better than the first two weeks!!!  

At the end of Saturday I should have had 116.55 miles...I only had 84.52 miles.   That is a deficit of 32.03 miles.   Yup...I need two or three decent bike rides to catch up!!!

And as of right now I have 10.9 for this week .....I'm dead on target for this week!  Yeah yeah yeah, weekdays are sooo hard to get my necessary miles!!!  But no worries...biking and hiking and 3-4 runs a week will catch me up and keep me caught up!!!  

Food intake is important, but for me exercise is king!   Exercise allows me to coexist with this addiction ..this food addiction that is buried inside me!  It covers me when I indulge...but conversely when I'm really active I tend to eat healthier!!!

Today a customer brought in some pastries.  I looked at them and took a half of a cheese danish.  Yes, a half!  That in itself is a victory!!!  I got back to my desk and took a bite.  I won't lie.  It was good, but I kept thinking about the hikes...and the run.   And suddenly the danish kind of lost its pull.   I contemplated throwing it away.  I struggled with that thought for a while...but finally settled on eating half of what I had taken.....a quarter of the danish. I threw the rest away. (Yeah I ate the cheese part..what of it???). 

What swayed my decision to go ahead and indulge with the quarter of the danish?   I knew my lunch was ultra healthy!!!!

And do you know what?  I feel proud of myself!!!

Mental weakness

Well.....another run in the books!   This one was, well....more rough than my run on Tuesday...the first in ages!

So where do I begin?  Rashes or mental weakness?  Maybe squirrels, hip, knee?  What about my toe?

Oh who knows...I guess I will dive right in!

I drug myself out of bed when it got light outside.   Or maybe a half hour or so after it got light...but that's still close enough to say when it got light!!!   I dressed and I didn't take a break to look at my dollhouse....time seems to disappear when that happens!!  Dressed and right out the door I went!!

I got my music on (old playlist that needs to be changed but I can't seem to get my iPhone or iPad to sync with iTunes to change my playlist...grrr) and I started mapmyfitness and I was off.   Ouch! Immediately the arthritic knee screamed out followed quickly by my hip!   Grrrr!   I didn't hesitate!  I know from experience that these will ease up....well,  the hip for sure.  The knee...well probably!   I'm proud of myself...and I'm happy that I kept going.  Those two aches and pains DID dissipate after a while!!!

I was about a half mile in when my body screamed loud enough to make me take a walk break....and thus the intervals began and continued throughout the rest of the run.  I wasn't happy with the walk breaks...I wanted to run the whole thing....that's what I was doing before ....but intervals are actually not a bad thing.  I can't expect to go back to where I was months ago after months of not running!

And then about a mile into the run it happened.....I have had this irrational fear of squirrels while I run for quite a while now.  I fear that a squirrel is going to attack me. Because you know....lots of people get attacked by squirrels every day you know!   Yes, I KNOW it's irrational....but all the same it's a fear!  It has been going on for a while and I've talked about it a few times on this blog. Most notably when I talked about the rogue squirrel.   I can usually squelch down the fear and ignore it...and honestly sometimes it doesn't even come up.  (And ironically enough while walking I have never encountered  this fear..in fact last night I was at the City Park walking with Jason and we saw a squirrel that looked to be eating a styrofoam container and I imagined ways to help it! Luckily it was  just licking some goody off the inside!)   As I run down a certain alley near my home, I always encounter a driveway filled with squirrels.  The homeowners at that house spread corn and nuts on the drive way for them. That is great.  They never seem to care when I run by.  Today was different.  Oh my word.  The chattered and yelled at my presence!  One even went up on the line above my head and ran with me chattering away, giving me a piece of his mind.  I was just sure that he or she was going to launch themselves at me at any moment!   I tell you...traumatic!!!

It was at probably at about a mile and a quarter thatmy neck started burning and stinging!!!!  Ouch!!!!!  I tried to pull my shirt collar away from my neck but nothing helped.   There was really nothing to do but continue running.   I got home and my neck was beat read!!!

I showered and looked at my neck afterward and noticed that I actually had little bumps...it wasn't just red!    An hour after I ran and it wasn't red everywhere but still dramatically red!!

Was it something that was already irritated and my sweat exacerbated it?   Was it a heat rash (my neck was open to the air and it was 40° outside)?   Maybe I ran through some pollen?   Who knows but it was uncomfortable!!!

And then at about a mile and a half I ran into (pun intended) the next issue!  My toe!  Eiiiyiiyii!!!  My toe!  Not the big toe...the second toe..the one next to the big one!  It started to hurt!   Nothing intense and worthy of stopping my run...but hurt!    When I got home I inspected the toe and it doesn't appear to be damaged or visibly hurt in anyway.   Could my toenail be irritating it?   A blister forming? (Yeah it didn't feel like a hot spot...but ya never know!).  Now that I think about it...that may have been the toe that had a black mark on it  while I was training for my aborted half marathon.  Who knows...but I kept trucking with my run.  I was a woman on a mission!!

I was interval running this whole time, through all of the obstacles.  I would run until I could run no more. Then I would stop and walk.  But as soon as I started walking I would pick some point up the road that would mark the place that I would run again...no questions asked.  When I got there I had to run.   This method works for me well...so I was utilizing it!!   I was kicking butt and taking no prisoners!!!   It was at about mile two when I once again reached that point.   The point that said 'I can't run another step or I will die'. So I started to slow it to a walk!   I looked ahead of me and marked my spot where I would once again begin running,  at the end of the alley..   In that split second I realized that the end of the alley I would encounter an incline...and I would be starting to run on an incline.   And the most miraculous thing occurred!!!   Seriously, it was a miracle....I kept running because I didn't want to run that hill.  Seconds earlier I had been  dying and needed to stop!!!!  All of a sudden I could run again!!!!  See miraculous!!!

But that little lesson showed me that this journey really is about mental fortitude and mental weakness!!!    I don't want the weakness!!!!!!

So all in all I did complete 2.35 miles.    I had planned on a trip least a 2 mile loop.  (One loop is 2.2 and the other one is about 2.4).  I had left any 'ads on miles' up to my discretion whilst running...and yes sometimes when a runnis fabulous I will make the extra loop.  Today wasn't fabulous!!!

It was painful and slow...but  when all said and done my pace was a wee bit faster than Tuesday....very little...but I'll take it!!!

I'm on my way back!!!

Last night we walked a few miles!  Felt good to stretch my legs!!!

And last but not least.   My Wednesday weigh in.  I lost .2. Not exactly a huge loss but I will accept it as such and say 'next week is my week!!!!

Baby Steps

Happy Saturday!!!!    It has been a loooong week!!!   Both jason and I have lamented about the length!    We have pondered why and I just today realized that this is the first week that I have worked a full work week in about two or three months due to a plethera of vacation days that I had to use by the end of the year!    Luckily only a few hours of work today (Saturday morning) and I'll be free as a bird until Tuesday morning!!...no work in Tuesday due to Martin Luther King day!)

This morning on the way to work I decided I needed a Pepsi.  I don't know if I accidentally hit the button for regular Pepsi versus diet...or maybe they have the wrong one hooked up.....or if i just haven't had a diet Pepsi in so long that I'm not used to it...but man it tastes so sweet.  I am actually choosing the water more often than I am the pop!  Amazing for me!!!

The weather has been nuts!!!  It was frigid cold last weekend....snowy on Tuesday....66° in Thursday and back to snow and ice forecasted for today.  Nuts I tell you!

I talk about the weather because I do plan on getting my be-hind out and running again.  Seriously...I do!!!   But well...  could and snow just make it difficult for me!  In fairness the warm day I did make it out on my bike. We rode on the canal for a while and walked at the city park too!   The ride was brutal as we were pedaling through mud which honestly feels as if you are riding in flat tires....optimum output of energy!  

The ride emphasized the need for me to get to the gym to ride an exercise bike on days when I am not running (when I start!!). That will make riding this spring (or on warm days this winter) so much more enjoyable!!   I swear...this week for sure!!!

My eating... my choices have gotten better since my sarcastic post!  That is good. There is definitely still room for improvement!!!

Here is the total caloric intake.

And of course the intake netted with my activity...see what a different an active day (Thursday) makes???

My eating has gotten better because I am keeping myself busy in the evenings with my dollhouse projects.  It's easier to it want to snack when my hands are covered in paint or glue!!! 

This week I have made a quilt rack...

and I have worked on building my new dollhouse.  

Baby steps in this journey I am on.   Fixing small problems (like the evening snacking out of boredom)!  This is all going to come together and I will start seeing results!   I know it!!! I am determined!!!

I haven't weighed myself since Thursday. On Thursday I was back at the same weight that I was at last week...so who knows.  Crossing my fingers and praying for the best for my next official weigh in!!!

Avalanche

Grrrrr. Somehow my Saturday post didn't go live!   So I guess another day where we have two posts!!

How do I want to die???

Do I want to die at the age of 50 when my hover-round that I may have to use at that point because of severe obesity, gets struck my lightening???

Do I want to die at the age of 60, after living in a nursing home for a few years all because of complications from my weight...diabetes, heart disease, burned out knees and hips...a body that can no longer stand the pressure and demands of an obese body???

But maybe....just maybe I can be 70 years old and standing on the summit of a mountain that I just hiked....and planning on hiking a thru-trip of the Appalachian trail.

Maybe...just maybe I can be 80 years old and biking the whole length C&O canal on a tandem bike with Jason!

Maybe at 90 or 100 or even plus some  I will die. We are not immortal.  But Maybe I will be the death that everyone talks about...the 100 year old lady that was out extreme skiing and died in a freak avalanche!!  

There is no guarantee as to how long we live. I think we all know that. But there are choices that we make in our life that can influence the when and how....so my question is this....

How do I want to die??

I don't want to die when my hover-round /lark/wheelchair gets struck my lightening!  I want to go out shaking my fist at the world and living life to the fullest!  

So what does that mean?  That means that right here and right now I have to make changes!!!!   Now is the time to fix the unhealthy habits in my life. Now is the time to create healthy habits that will increase the odds of a healthy long lasting active healthy life!

I have slowly been implementing these changes.

I've been tracking my food.

I've been trying to increase my water intake (and tracking it)

I've challenged myself to 2017 miles in the year 2017 in an attempt to move more.

I'm really trying!

I want to live...and with Jason in my life, all of a sudden I want to live even more! I want to grow old with him and have a fun active life!

So this weekend I made a vow.  This weekend I decided that my quest for my steps wasn't enough. I needed to step it up.  I didn't aim big.  I knew that there were two days that I would be leaving for work at 7AM and two days that I wouldn't be leaving until 9AM.  My goal?  Exercise two times!   That is two outside runs.  Optimistically I would like to get to the gym early on those 7AM days...but I set my goal at 2 days.  I want to have a victory and not yet another failure!

This morning I woke up and laid in bed.  It was dark outside.  I knew I wasn't going out to run yet.  I laid there and relaxed. And then I started to try to reason my way out of running!  The weather was probably bad!   It was dark.  Was that a pain in my side???   

Then I read a post on Facebook where some people were putting their daily goals out there.   And they were aiming for 5 times this week!  Or even more!  Yeah...I felt like a wuss!!!  I posted and declared my goals...and furthermore announced my plan to run!!   Oh yeah..as soon as I did it, I kicked myself!!!

But it motivated me to get up and get dressed!!!

And then I looked at the dollhouse I am building. I worked on the porch and bay window last night...it was taped/clamped.  I so wanted to see it.  So I sat down, dressed for my run to check it out!!

Yup..looked good! 

But then I thought about the bathroom and kitchen...the first two rooms I will tackle when it is completely done.  I wanted to see how the bathroom stuff that I have would look and get an idea of the layouts!!!

I laid paper and drew some possible kitchen cabinets on the floor..

Yup..before I knew it it was 7:45...and I had to leave the house for work at 9! (my coworkers usually like me to be showered when I arrive at work..so I was really running out of time!)

I flew...because I was NOT failing!  I stepped outside and my heart stopped!

Wet!!!  It was  raining!!!   But I kept moving and got 2.2 miles in!!!

It was rough....slow...and just not a good run...but does that surprise me?  No, my previous run was on thanksgiving day!!!  That's a lot of time and I didn't expect it to be easy!  

So this weekend was another fabulous one...we tried to stay moving and active with antique shops and looking through junk!  (And antiques).  We also spent a day at Arlington National Cemetery. We walked...no tour bus for us!!!

We saw monuments....

The changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown.....

President kennedy's grave....

President Taft's grave.....

Arlington House (General Lee's home before the civil war) .....

More monuments.....

A gorgeous amphitheater where we each took a turn and sat on the marble throne/seat.....

Row after row of graves....

And a beautiful overlook of our nations capital!  I got my steps in that day for sure!!!!

A good weekend!  The weather is supposed to be fabulous next weekend...do I smell a bike ride or a hike????

Sarcasm alert

Wow!  My weigh in was fantastic today!   I couldn't be any happier!  Seriously!  I mean, who wouldn't be happy with a point 8 pound weight gain!!  Yahoo!!!    Yes 8/10ths of a pound!  Yes there is the sarcasm!!!

Ok.  Looking at it realistically...I'm NOT happy!   I don't want any weight gain!  I can hope that it was simply an anomaly if not drinking enough water yesterday....or something super salty in my diet!  I had been showing a maintain all week long and then this morning...bam a gain!   And let's be honest...I wasn't all that happy with a maintain either!!!

I know where I can and need to cleanup my eating.   I'm doing pretty good for breakfast and lunch but then hit dinner hungry and well I just eat too much.   Still not to bad in the grand scheme of things but too much to lose weight (obviously!)

I need to kick up exercise also!!!  I am trying to pick up more steps but I need to kick it up another notch!!!  Big time!!!

Controlling

Wow I want to have something sweet!  It's killing me!!!!

Ok maybe not killing me...but anyone that has gotten sucked into a habit of eating ice cream each evening, or a cookie after each meal, or really anything sweet that becomes a habit knows.   They know that it becomes something your body really craves and wants!  Big time!!!

I'm on at least day three of no big sweet treat like that.  Yesterday we ate at a place that has a big salad/fruit:/soup/dessert bar.   (Hoss's).  I actually did pretty well with my food.   I had salad - small scoop of macaroni salad, four tortilla chips with cheese,  a half cup of soup, one yeast roll and some cottage cheese.   I really lusted after the dessert bar....bad.   I drooled at the thought of the soft serve ice cream.  But I knew that I needed to cut the sweet treat habit.  So I grabbed a bit of fruit and called that my sweet treat!    Victory!!!

Admittedly, last night I really really really wanted some ice cream, or a cookie, or something sweet!  Anything sweet really!  I did not cave though!!!!

I was thinking on Saturday morning about where I am and how my first week went.  I had some victories for sure!

**** I tracked...every bite....every day!!!

****I actually got an average of 60 ounces of water each day!  (This is huge because I was struggling with even getting in a measley single 16.9 ounce bottle down the hatch!).  

**** I was extremely cognizant of my steps and I worked to really move more!!!

So I had some great victories!!!

Now let's look at the areas for improvement....

**** While I tracked my food I wasn't exactly where I would like to be.  I made better options for sure...but there is room for improvement....and I need to get my calorie count back down!!!

Calorie chart....

**** I was cognizant of my steps and worked to add some into my routine...but I needed 38.5 miles if walking/self propelled activity.   While I did walk 57,286 steps...that only made 25.28 miles.    So I am 13.22 miles shy of my weekly goal.   I know that a trip to the gym and an hour on an exercise bike will catch me up...or in the summer when I am riding I will gain some miles!!!  So I'm not too concerned yet...but I have to fix that wee little deficit!!

So....I finally worked up the final numbers for the year!  

Hiking----180.67 miles
Bike----105.57 miles (not bad considering I only ride the last month of the year)
Running---168.41 miles .
Walking----443.50. (that was just walks...not including all the puddly steps at work and whatnot!)

Total of miles self propelled?  898.15

Soooo I have to more than double my miles for the year 2017  in order for me to reach my 2017 miles!

So on that note....accountability is important...

Please if anyone wants to join me on myfitnesspal I am mfclingan

And I amhttps://www.fitbit.com/user/5B2VZ3 on fitbit!  

Happy blogiversary to me!!!

Happy blogiversary to me!!

Yes, it has been 11 years ago today that I started this blog!  Honestly I sit back and wonder where the time has gone.   But then in the same breath I look back at the girl that started this blog.  How far I've come!

I am not really going to do a look back over the years blog.  If you want to see that you can go visit the ten year blogiversary post. (Happy blogiversary to me!!

Yes, it has been 11 years ago today that I started this blog!  Honestly I sit back and wonder where the time has gone.   But then in the same breath I look back at the girl that started this blog.  How far I've come!

I am not really going to do a look back over the years blog.  If you want to see that you can go visit the ten year blogiversary post.  If you are really rambunctious you can go back to that first post…..which was written in 2006 or maybe just visit them all!

I posted in 2007 but didn't acknowledge the year anniversary.   Or maybe read the post from 2008 where I once again didn't see any significance about the date but where I clearly was ‘restarting’ and spoke of extravagant plans!  2009 was another simple post as I wrote about going back to the gym!!  2010 and I was lamenting about how I swore I would never be over 200 pounds again...yet there I was and restarting.   2011 was the first year I didn't post on my blogiversary (or course I wasn't celebrating it yet!). But I posted in the fourth about ‘day one’.  In fairness on the sixth I wrote about the endless chest pains and the round after round of tests to try to figure out what was wrong with me and how I had been just cleared from the doctor to return to Zumba!  My blogiversary passed in 2012 without any fanfare either….I was on track...I was strong and theoretically I should have been successful….except for the ‘appointment’ I alluded to in the post….it was marriage counseling and while I'm not going to blame that, I know it affected everything!!  In 2013 I was going strong on January 5th.   I was doing great  but in that blog post I talked about the emotions.  My world was unraveling around me and it eventually pulled me away from my efforts for a better me.  2014 was another post about what I was doing to try to get myself back together and on track (weighing daily).  In 2015 I totally missed posting on my blogiversary again.  I did post on January 4th.  I was newly separated and trying to figure out which end was up   And of course 2016...which somehow got on the wrong date of January 3  even though it was posted on the correct date!  (I wrote it a few days earlier and scheduled the post) 

I actually hadn't planned on looking at each year of my posts from this day.  However I'm glad that I did.   What a journey.   A lot of ups and a lot of downs.  So many downs...I can see why jason says he doesn't like to look at pictures of me from back then...he says I just had a sad look in my eyes and the posts were underlyingly sad.  But regardless…. here I am, still ticking and pushing forward.  I am happier and emotionally in a much better place now than I have been in many of the previous years!

What struck me though...I have started over on so many years.   January is always the time to restart for so many people because of that umph that hits us all to restart and get things back on track.   And for that I am glad.   We need that push yea me round.   But this year I am going to focus on every day being my New Year!  I am going to focus on every day being my blogiversary.   If I fall down, I just have to pick myself up and start again the next day...the next hour...the next minute!!!  Waiting for the new year is not acceptable anymore!!!

So I am trucking along on the 2017 in 2017 project.  I'm not quite meeting the mark each day.   I need 5.55 miles each day….10k of steps is roughly 4.5 miles.

  But considering I'm mostly hitting that this week and I will call it a success!!!  (Bike riding should theoretically help me with those missing miles...I hope!) 

And because I'm a geek that needs to see things in black and white, I  put together a binder to keep track of my stats for this challenge 

I have also been religiously tracking my food. 

AND water….I haven't tracked water, it always seemed annoying to to...but they must have updated the app because now I can just click on the 17ounce bottle every time I finish a water bottle and it adds it right in!  Woo hoo!!  Easy peasy!  

I'm making this MY year!!!

My cats think I'm crazy

My cats think I'm crazy....and they may be right!!!!

So I challenged myself (ok I copied the idea....and challenged myself with someone else's idea) with 2017 miles in 2017.   I got a Fitbit for Christmas (gift was received in New Years Eve, just in time for the new year) which was perfect!!!  I know that 2000 steps is roughly a mile...perfect, a 10k step day would be about 5 miles...which is coincidentally almost exactly what I needed each day (ok so I need a bit over 5 miles but we will worry about that later...a nice long bike ride will eat up those bits and pieces of miles!)

On the first and second I easily got my steps in as jason and I were out and about and moving.  (10,264 and 11,985 respectively) and I didn't even have to think about it.   On the third I returned to work.  I wanted to see what an average day for me was.  An average day meaning no exercise and no going out of my way to add steps.   I only took 3575 steps...and I moved a bit more at work than normal.  Whew....I am going to have to step it up on work days!!!      Today, the fourth I was being a lazy bum and had the smaller number of steps (I was at 3k) until after work when Jason (who was recovering from a stomach bug) wanted to take a wee little walk.  All of a sudden a cold stroll around the park skyrocketed my steps and I got home and was sitting within spitting distance of my 10k step goal!!!  

After working on my dollhouse a bit, I sat back and thought about those steps.  I really don't want to get behind in my 2017 miles!   It's easy to say 'oh I'll pick up those missed miles on the bike this summer'. Or 'we will hike an extra mile or two this weekend to make up for those miles'.  It is so easy to do that!  But I don't want to procrastinate myself out of the challenge!  I don't want to get way far behind the 8 ball...aiming for only 5 miles already means that I'm running a bit shy of what I need each week!  If I get too far behind I will give up.   I know me!!! And I will give up!   

So I trotted myself over to my stair stepper...it was given to me and I've used it...ohhh about zero times!!!

I hopped on and started rolling.   3 minutes in and my legs were on FIRE!!!  I hopped off and sat down.  Man I still had 2k steps to go.   So I walked back and forth in my tiny abode to get my steps.  (And I hopped on the demon stair stepper thingy a few more times...my goal is to make it to 4 minutes on it!).   The cats just watched me pace and walk.  I could see the look of curiosity in their eyes as they watched my madness!!

I don't have many steps over 10k....in fact I came to bed to read as soon as I hit 10k....so I will most likely finish my day at 10,004 steps and that's ok....because I'm still in the game!!!!

Tomorrow's goal is to make a chart for me to track my steps/miles!

I started tracking again on myfitnesspal.  And yes...I'm doing more than logging on to hold my streak (I'm only at day four since I let the last one go!!) I am actually logging my food!  Imagine that!!!

Today was my official weigh in day...I showed a slight loss from last week...pretty much a maintain. Regardless, I have my beginning number and I am ready to rock this year and lose this weight once and for all!!!!