Losing a part of me

Category: Exercise

  • Forty-Niner in Six!

    Today was another day that I just did not feel like walking. Not only did I not have the get-up-and-go; not only was it hot outside; I woke up with pains in my shin, and figured that if I was overdoing it, I should take a rest before I actually get hurt.

    I also knew that when I woke up with my legs feeling the pain, it was a scant twelve hours since I had finished yesterday’s walk, and if I stayed on schedule – that is, walked toward the end of the afternoon/early evening – then my muscles would have another ten hours to recover. In the end, I decided to go for it. Yes, I was tired… but that did not stop me. Indeed, when I hit the road, I decided to walk further out than I had heretofore ventured. I walked up Walker’s Line to Dundas – a 2.5km jaunt – and then Dundas to Guelph Line, which is about 2km. Looking at a map of my walk, it looks like it is nearly a perfect square (Walkers Line – Dundas – Guelph Line – Upper Middle). I expect there is a group of urban planners out there somewhere who are quite proud of that.

    I was ready to stop for a rest several times, and when I got an urgent call just short of the 7km mark, I saw it as a perfect opportunity to sit for a few minutes. The positioning of my stop had the added benefit of being right near a convenience store, which was good because my water bottle was now empty. Forget the hydration, I needed electrolytes! Seeing the large fridge with every flavour Gatorade could have brought a lesser man to tears. A bottle of Cool Blue G-Zero was exactly what the doctor called for to fuel the last two-kilometres of my excursion.

    • Distance: 9.03 km (8.5 km)
    • Duration: 1:36:44 (1:33:00)
    • Average Pace (Min/km): 10:42 (10:56)
    • Best Split-Pace Kilometre: 10m19s
    • Steps: 11.7k (10.8k)
    • Calories burned: 1,073 (991)
    • Elevation gain: 40.0 (34.1)
    • Average cadence (steps per minute): 120 (116)

    My outing today did not break any records, but I am not competing with anyone but myself, and my goal is not to win races, it is to lose weight and to get into shape. As such, this workout was a resounding success, and I am quite proud of it. I am also proud that today was the sixth consecutive day that I went for a fitness walk, ranging in distance from seven to nine kilometres.

    I have been on the fence all day about something. Yesterday I journaled that I was going to try to reach fifty-five kilometres in seven days. Earlier today, I wavered, thinking that if I did go out today, then I might take a break tomorrow… but if I was able to walk ten kilometres today, then that would give me fifty kilometres in six days. While I fell short of that by one kilometre, that does not mean that I have to be done for the week. I can still go out tomorrow, and even if I stop short at 6 kilometres, I will still achieve my original stated goal of fifty-five kilometres on the week. We will see.

    One thing is certain: while I am proud and thrilled that I have walked six days in a row, I do know that at some point I am going to have to take a day off to let my legs recover. Be that tomorrow or Monday, or even later, it is going to happen in the next few days. I love pushing myself, but I learned in the Army (the hard way) the difference between a pain and an injury. I can obviously endure a little pain, but I am nearly thirty years older than I was in unit training, and at my age when you ignore pains they will lead to injuries. I do not want that.

    My left heel did not bother me at all today. I did feel that my right shoe was a little tight, and that the (much less severe) blister on that foot might be a little bothersome – it is not causing pain, but there is definitely some swelling in my foot, which is causing the heel of my right foot to push against the shoe. If I do go out tomorrow, I will wear one of my more forgiving pair of shoes. I will not get the same performance, but I also want to give any swelling the opportunity to go down.

    It is time to hit the showers folks, and then I have a date with an angel! See you tomorrow!

  • And So It Goes

    What the heck? I was getting ready to finish up my class for the day. I was going to be able to call Leslie and speak with her for a few minutes, and then I was going to hit the road. What is that noise? I looked up, and out of my window I saw a deluge that made me look for Noah and his ark.

    I did speak with Leslie for a bit, and then I got ready to go out. As I walked to the front door, I thought to myself how nice it would be to have a really good meal right about now. I don’t mean something that I prepared at home… I was thinking about the kind of comfort food that I learned to luxuriate in as a child. What a great idea!

    The only problem was that I could not decide if I wanted Chinese food or a large plate of breaded, battered, and deep-fried Buffalo wings. Both are wonderful, both would really hit the spot. Both were within a five-kilometre radius. Decisions, decisions. Wait a minute… why not just do both?! I could combine the two!

    It is settled then… I called the Chinese restaurant on Upper Middle near Brant Street and I ordered a large bowl of hot and sour soup, two large egg rolls, and an order of wok-fried chicken dumplings. They would be ready in fifteen minutes for pick-up. I then rang Montana’s on Guelph Line south of Mainway and ordered the large plate of Buffalo wings with the medium sauce. They would take twenty minutes, but that was perfect because by the time I picked up my Chinese food and drove there, I would pull in just in time for my wings to come out. I would be gone and back in less than thirty minutes, and I would be able to sit at my table and pig out like I used to.

    .

    .

    .

    WAKE UP, MITCH! You were dreaming! Come on, shake the cobwebs and tell us about your walk!?

    Okay, okay. I put on my exercise kit, down to the shoes that I least worry about in the rain. I made sure I had my hat in my satchel, and I added a face cloth, because when it rains it helps to be able to clear off my glasses, as well as wipe the rain from my face.

    I was pushing pretty hard. I did not expect to break any records, which is good because I did not. What I did manage to do was my first split-pace kilometre under 10m00s since last Monday, making this only the second outing that I have been able to accomplish that feat… and while wearing the shoes I consider my slowest and bulkiest pair. I did take a five-minute break after three kilometres, but then I got right back to it, attacking the course with gusto.

    • Distance: 8.5 km (7.03 km)
    • Duration: 1:27:43 (1:12:07)
    • Average Pace (Min/km): 10:19 (10:15)
    • Best Split-Pace Kilometre: 9m57s
    • Steps: 10.6k (9k)
    • Calories burned: 1,156 (725)
    • Elevation gain: 34.6m (29m)
    • Average cadence (steps per minute): 122 (126)

    I should point out that a few days ago I changed my source for the Calories Burned stat. While the MapMyWalk app and the Garmin Connect app report most of the stats nearly identically, the Garmin is detecting calories burned based on my pulse and heart rate, and not just a chart in someone’s book. To show the discrepancy, the MapMyWalk app reported that I burned 494 calories today, while Garmin reported 1,156 calories burned. I tend to trust the one checking my pulse and heart rate, thank you.

    I did have one potentially hazardous encounter along the route. There was a group of teenagers from a Krav Maga school out for a run with what looked like body-shaped weights on their backs. One of the runners miscalculated his cool factor, and instead of missing me by a hair (ha ha! I buzzed the old guy!) he actually bumped into me… and went flying because I saw it happening, anticipated it, and at the moment of impact I threw a defensive arm out, throwing him off balance. He had the good sense to apologize sincerely, and that was the end of the encounter. I am glad I threw him onto the soft grass and not to the concrete, which would have necessarily resulted in my having to stop and explain myself to a supervising adult.

    Okay, it is time for me to hit the shower. I am zonked, I am hungry, and I am dreaming of all of the naughty food that I cannot have, and will have to settle for my evening meal replacement shake after my shower, followed by a cigar on the patio and a video date with my wife. Woohoo!

  • Beating Mother Nature

    I barely beat the rain that was not predicted to come just a few hours earlier. Our story:

    I finished teaching my class around the usual time. As has been the case for the last few days, I made my meal replacement shake, and then called Leslie to chat for a bit while I changed into my exercise kit. I sat down at the computer to continue chatting with her, mostly so that I could make sure that none of my stragglers – by which I mean the students who were assiduously and faithfully staying late to complete the last lab of the day – had any questions. Sure enough, the clock struck, and I was able to end the session completely.

    While that has not always been the case, this time the only reason I was looking at my computer screen while talking with my wife is because I wanted to close the class, which she understood. While looking at the screen, I noticed in the bottom right corner an advisory that rain was coming. My recollection from when I checked this forecast this morning was that there was no precipitation expected today. As we like to say, if you don’t like the weather in Canada… wait a minute.

    I clicked on the advisory and saw that the rain was predicted for just after 7:00pm. Leslie understood that I was going to get going immediately, which I did. I took to the trails, setting out to do a simple and familiar walk around the block… which is actually a seven-kilometre walk that I’ve done several times. Most of the time I supplement the basic rectangle with some added detours, paths, and trails; today my goal was to get home sweating but otherwise dry.

    • Distance: 7.03 km (9 km)
    • Duration: 1:12:07 (1:37:36 minutes)
    • Average Pace (Min/km): 10:15 (10:42)
    • Best Split-Pace Kilometre: 10m02s
    • Steps: 9k (11.6k)
    • Calories burned: 725 (500)
    • Elevation gain: 29m (36m)
    • Average cadence (steps per minute): 126 (118)

    There are some numbers on these stats that do not add up. I have no idea, for example, how I bested my cadence by 8 steps per minute… although looking at the graph it does seem to show that I was walking at a faster pace than usual. Most likely I was taking shorter steps and more of them, which would account for that.

    I am going to hit the showers so I can clean up and then make my evening meal replacement shake, and be ready in time for my date with an angel later this evening. I also want to make a note to call the vet for Princess Sophie, who has been having gastro issues since Saturday. Let’s see if I can get her in to see the doctor over the weekend.

  • Keep Going!

    I had precisely zero interest in walking today. My ankle, my heel, my knees… all hurting. Unfortunately for that plan, I cheated this afternoon. I found a couple of bags of microwave popcorn, and I ate one. I felt bad about that, and I wanted to redeem myself. I suited up after class and I hit the road.

    I did not know how far I would be able to go, but I was going to push myself, if not on speed, then on distance. I doubted from the outset if 10 km was realistic, but I would do what I could.

    I made a mistake with regard to my measuring. At the 5 km mark I took a break, and while I thought I had paused my workout on both my phone and on my watch, it seems I did neither. As such, my measurements for today are cut together as accurately as I could, but they might be a little off.

    • Distance: 9 km (7 km)
    • Duration: 1:37:36 (1: 15:57 minutes)
    • Average Pace (Min/km): 10:42 (10:50)
    • Best Split-Pace Kilometre: 10m00s
    • Steps: 11.6k (9k)
    • Calories burned: 500 (403)
    • Elevation gain: 36m (36m)
    • Average cadence (steps per minute): 118 (118)

    There is no harm or shame in taking a break during a long fitness walk and having to calculate my average pace by hand is not the worst thing in the world. I am proud of my accomplishment, and hope that the numbers on the scale tomorrow morning are forgiving of the popcorn because of the workout.

    One thing that I am curious about is my ankle. It hurts in the apartment; it hurts when I am walking Princess Sophie normally. It feels fine when I am on my fitness walk. I am going to have to add that to the list of fifty-year-old body parts that I need to pay attention to over the next few days. I have definitely had issues with it before, but I do not recall doing anything over the last few days that would have aggravated it.

    It is time to hit the shower, and then have my final meal replacement of the day. I am going to call my wife and have another reasonably early evening.

  • Hit the Trails!

    It was Thursday that I tore up my feet, and it took me until today (Monday) to get back out there… and out there I got. Even though the skies were getting dark, I wanted to get out there. If walking is going to be a habit and not just something I try to do once in a while, I have to keep going.

    I think I mentioned last week that a friend gave me a cap that I like but don’t love, but I rather felt it would be a great hat to keep my head dry while walking in the rain. It does have a fatal flaw though… in order to keep me dry, I have to have it with me when it starts to rain. It was just after the three-kilometre point – rather close to the farthest point from home – that it really started to rain. There was no escape, nowhere to go. I was just going to get wet. By the time I walked into my apartment, my clothes felt like I had gone for a swim in them. No matter, tonight was meant to be laundry night anyways, so they went right into the machine.

    • Distance: 7 km (8.05 km)
    • Duration: 1:15:57 (1:27:37 minutes)
    • Average Pace (Min/km): 10:50 (10:49)
    • Best Split-Pace Kilometre: 10m31s
    • Steps: 9k (10.3k)
    • Calories burned: 403 (466)
    • Elevation gain: 31m (36m)
    • Average cadence (steps per minute): 118 (118)

    I was aware of my heels the entire time I was out there. They were not in pain; they were just letting me know they were not yet completely healed. I am sure they understood that I needed to be out there, and that I would not push myself… but nor would I coddle myself.

    Leslie told me she was proud of me for getting out there today, which feels good. I am not proud of myself, but I am relieved that I was able to do it… rain or shine. I did not meet my 8-kilometre goal (the baseline I want to strive to achieve every time I go out), but that did not account for rain, or the fact that this is my first ‘post-injury’ outing. Hopefully by tomorrow or Wednesday I will be able to wear my faster shoes comfortably… and there will be no rain in the forecast.

  • My Perfect Ten

    When I set out on this evening’s walk, I did not expect to be breaking any records. By the time I arrived home, I had broken every one of my records.

    Despite my resetting all of my apps, it was still reporting my progress every 620 metres or so, which was throwing me off… but what was worse, the first report told me that I was clocking nearly eleven minutes per kilometre, which made no sense to me.

    I decided to pick up the pace. After two kilometres (and then again after three), it was reporting split-pace times well under 9m50s. Remember, prior to today, my best per-kilometre time was ten minutes even. I know I had kicked it into gear, but I was surprised that I was so far ahead of my previous best. I kept going, deciding I was going to leave it all out on the trail, as we say. Looking at the following table, I am proud to say that every measure is in bold, because every single one is a personal best.

    • Distance: 10 km (8 km)
    • Duration: 1:41:27 (1:27 minutes)
    • Average Pace (Min/km): 10:08 (10:52)
    • Best Split-Pace Kilometre: 9m37s
    • Steps: 12.4k (10.1k)
    • Calories burned: 582 (460)
    • Elevation gain: 39.6m (36m)
    • Average cadence (steps per minute): 122 (116)

    While I was aware of my blisters, neither they nor anything else was causing me pain. By the end of eight kilometres, I suspected my times were dropping… but nowhere near the kind of decline I have experienced near the end of my previous walks.

    I will not be walking ten kilometres every night; I will also not be pushing myself to even approach any of these records any time soon. I am thrilled to have achieved them though… and tomorrow is another day.

    Have a great evening folks!

  • Day 187

    Yesterday was more successful than I had planned… and my weight was still up this morning. I was up more than half a pound from yesterday… but as I have said, it is the trend and not the individual points on the graph that are important.

    I suspect that one of the reasons that my weight was up because this morning I did not have a successful bowel movement today. I know, that is not a pleasant topic of conversation, but it is an important one when discussing weight loss. I hope tomorrow will be more successful.

    How can I be more successful than planned? I had my morning meal replacement, I had my mid-day meal (around 2pm really), and after my nap and fitness walk (which was done by about 8:15pm) I had another meal replacement. I could have had a third one, but I decided not to. One fewer meal replacement makes my weight management program more successful, right? Wrong. The nutrition in that shake, both proteins and others, are important for my weight loss. It would have been a bad idea for me to have two meal replacements between the end of my walk and bedtime. What I should have done was have my second one before the walk. Lesson learned.

    Today has gone well so far… I had my breakfast shake, I had lunch at 1:00pm, and when my class is over (around 5:30pm) I will have my second meal replacement, before taking Princess Sophie for her walk. I expect that once she comes back in, I will be able to go for my fitness walk. It might not be the same 7-9 kilometres I did every day last week, but I will try for at least 6-7km. I am not going to map it out, but I will do what I can without hurting myself.

    I mention hurting myself because I drained two blisters on the bottom of my feet this morning, so both feet were feeling it when I took Sophie for her walk. I am sure that as long I choose the proper footwear, I should be okay.

    I hope to get more sleep tonight than I did last night… I had a lot of trouble falling asleep, and there is no reason that I can think of other than my class. Hopefully this evening will be better.

    Have a great day folks!

  • The First 47.5

    I was not feeling energetic today. I had my support call at 11:00am, and then I went shopping. My intention was to come home from shopping, make lunch, and then after lunch I would get dressed and go for my walk. That is not quite how it worked out, because after lunch I sat around like a lazy slob until I finally lay down for a nap.

    I was not going to let today go to waste, but it is my last day before I start teaching again. I also knew that I had walked my tail off all week, and if I decided to take the day off, it would not be a crime.

    NO! I do not know how my schedule is going to work starting tomorrow. I hope I will be able to do my fitness walking in the evenings, but how can I be sure that after a long day of lecturing that I will have the koach in me? Tomorrow will be telling… but today is today.

    I got out of bed, ready to go for a fitness walk… only to be thwarted by a cute little princess who wanted to go for a walk too… only she does not fitness walk, she saunters, sniffs, and pees. Nevertheless, her walking is much more of a priority than my own, so even though I was dressed to work out, I collected her leash and…

    One of my earbuds was gone. I have written a few times about my Jaybird Vista earbuds, and how I have twice lost one, to have the company replace it for me each time. Aside from the fact that I have had them a year and a half and the warranty is long expired, I suspect I have pushed my luck with them as far as I can get away with. I looked everywhere, but it was nowhere to be found. I must have lost it along my walk with Princess Sophie this morning, or on my way in from shopping… which means that in all likelihood, were I to find it, it would be rain drenched and useless. I sighed, resigned to the fact that I would have to invest in a new pair soon enough.

    We walked down through the lobby and … what was sitting on the floor, inside the dry lobby, but an ear bud!? I was thrilled to find it. I am sure that soon enough I will need to invest in a new pair, but I am glad that is not today.

    I took Her Royal Floofness for her walk, and when we came back in, I gave her a treat, and set out again. I was not sure how far I would comfortably walk today, considering a couple of blisters on my feet, and the fact that there were severe thunderstorm warnings for the next couple of hours. The sun was still blue, so I put on my shoes with the thickest soles, along with my thick gym socks, and I headed out.

    While the shoes that I selected are likely the best for walking with blisters, and are likely the only ones that fit with the thick socks, I have never had a good split-pace time wearing them. Today was no different, with an average pace of 10m52s per kilometre.

    • Distance: 8 km (8.06 km)
    • Duration: 1:27 (1:24:05 minutes)
    • Average Pace (Min/km): 10:52 (10:26)
    • Steps: 10.1k (9.9k)
    • Calories burned: 460 (467)
    • Elevation gain: 36m (23m)
    • Average cadence (steps per minute): 116 (118)

    One thing I should mention is that when I adjust the units of measure on my online apps, I should make sure to reset the apps on my phone. The MayMyWalk app decided to let me know my split pace times at intervals of 625 metres, which was really disconcerting. For those who are curious, the best I could come up with is that there are 6.25 miles in 10 kilometres, so when I switched the app units of measure from Imperial to Metric, something weird happened. I’ll reset it now that I am home.

    So why the title, The First 47.5? It is of course a play on words of the title of the television show The First 48; From Monday to Sunday, I walked 47.5 kilometres.

    • Monday: 9.03 km
    • Wednesday: 8.0 km
    • Thursday: 8.0 km
    • Friday: 6.5 km
    • Saturday: 8.06 km
    • Sunday: 8.0 km

    The drive from my apartment to Toronto Pearson International Airport is 46.5km. In the (for Canada) blistering heat, I could have walked to the airport this week… and right to my gate. I am calling this a very successful week, but likely an anomalous one… I do not suspect that the next four weeks, when if I can walk it will be in the evenings after a long day of work, I will be able to walk nearly as far. Not a problem though… as long as I do not quit!

    Tomorrow morning, I will wake up and do my morning routing, and then after I walk Princess Sophie, I will sit down to teach. I am looking forward to being back in front of a class. I do not know if I will be fitness walking tomorrow, both because of the class but also because of the even more blisters on my feet now than I had earlier today. We will have to see.

    Have a great evening folks!

  • Day 186

    I have been on my weight loss journey for 186 days; with that said, it is also possible to look at today as Day 7. The dramatic weight loss that is usually associated with the first few days of a program – often accounted for as the loss of water weight – is what encourages us to keep going, even on the days when we are hungry, tired, and discouraged… not to mention when our bodies are aching from the unaccustomed physical activity.

    I am in an emotional funk these days, and it is not the first time. What is utterly unique about this go around with the blues is that I have not turned to food to try to feel better. Food has been an addiction for as long as I can remember. As a child when I was under the weather my mother my grandmother my nanny would give me a treat to make me feel better. I am not blaming anyone else for my gluttonous addiction, I am just examining the genesis.

    I should mention that while I am not turning to food for comfort, it is not for lack of want. There have been myriad points over the past week when I have thought to myself how nice it would be to indulge in… fill in the blank. I will not list off all of the comfort foods that I have thought of; we can refer to them as ‘the usual suspects’ which have likely all been listed off or alluded to at some point in the past six months. I want to indulge. I cannot indulge. I want to cheat on my diet. I want to throw my hands up and say FUCK IT, I’M EATING! I have wanted to do that every single day.

    I have written so many times of the need to break my unhealthy relationship with food. Until recently, I thought that was going to come organically as a by-product of my self-denial. It is not so easy as that though, is it? No, as Leslie has pointed out to me several times, if I have been using food as a crutch all these years, the only way that I can be successful in the long term is to find a new crutch to replace it with. I am hoping that I can make that crutch exercise… whether that be walking, jogging, Taekwondo, or whatever else it might be. Golf is not a reasonable alternative, owing to the fact that I currently live in a climate where golf courses are buried hip-deep in snow (or at least just closed for business) from November through April. One could make an argument that fitness walking on a cold, blistery winter day is equally unrealistic… but that is not quite true. It is extremely unpleasant, to be sure; with that said, I can bundle myself up in layers of warm clothes and go for a walk every day of the year. Yes, I will have to wear different footwear, but it is possible.

    Will exercise be my crutch? I am working my hardest to make it so. I am also using something else as a crutch for the time being: my eagerness to lose weight. What is more satisfying… the plate of Buffalo wings in the evening, or the weight loss registered on the scale in the morning?

    The gastronomical indulgence will feel good in the moment, although it will often take only a few minutes for me to feel the short-term negative effects – the ‘I ate too much’ feeling, coupled with the ‘they were empty calories’ feelings. How long will it take for heartburn to set in, requiring me to go searching for an antacid? When I overeat at night, I wake up hungry the following morning. Let’s not forget that feeling of dread when I step onto the bathroom scale the following morning… not to mention when I try to wear a shirt or pair of pants that was borderline too-tight.

    The self-restraint might mean that I need to eat nothing in the moment… or a plate of vegetables, or something else equally unsatisfying. If I am not too far from the allotted time, I might be able to enjoy a meal replacement shake. I might go to bed with slight hunger pangs, but the truth is that on my current program, I am eating between 1200-1600 calories per day, which is more than enough for a healthy fifty-year-old male, so the hunger is in my mind more than in my stomach. I seem to be sleeping slightly better (although I miss having Leslie next to me, which always makes sleeping easier) and am having fewer crazy dreams. I wake up in the morning, step onto the bathroom scale, and (more often than not) see a decent weight loss from the previous day. I look in my armoire or closet for a shirt that I know will fit – if it fit last week when I was a couple of pounds heavier, it will definitely fit today. I go about my morning routine, and after walking my pup, I put on a pot of coffee, and make my morning meal replacement. With my coffee and shake close at hand, I sit down to write my daily article on my weight management. During the week, I sit down to my first lecture. Whatever it is, I do it knowing that I might not look any different than I did yesterday… but I look much better than I did just a few short months ago, and if I continue on this path, I will look even better a few short months from now.

    Short-term pleasure versus long-term satisfaction. Which is more valuable to me? I am hoping that in my moments of potential weakness I can remember how important that is. This does not mean that I will not have the occasional cheat-meal… but I have to limit those to very occasionally and only for very special occasions.

    I woke up this morning weighing not only 1.2 lbs less than I did yesterday morning, but also 14.2 lbs less than I did on July 1. That period includes my fiftieth birthday celebrations, one of the most anxiety-filled six-day road trips of my life, and a week of self-loathing and sadness. There is really no reason for me to not be up five-pounds in that time. Instead, my weight is down, and not slightly. By any standard, losing nearly fifteen pounds in just over three weeks is a tremendous success. I have to continue to remember how wonderful that feels, knowing that instead of giving in to my temptations and losing ground on my diet, my actions and choices have led to a huge success.

    According to a quick on-line search, it can take between 18-254 days for a person to form a new habit, and that on average it takes 66 days for a new behaviour to become a habit. I am on Day 7 of that journey. I have a long way to go, but if I am able to then it will be worth it.

    Against tradition, my diet buddy and I are having our weekly check-in today. It is the first time in a month that we are meeting, having had so much travel and such. I hope she is doing well, and I am looking forward to sharing my positive report with her!

    After that, I will head to the supermarket. I have no chicken left in the house, and unless one decides to walk in, strip itself of its feathers, and then commit suicide, I had better go shopping if I want to eat. According to the weather app on my phone, there are only two two-hour windows of cloudy but dry this afternoon, and so I am aiming to go for my walk around 3pm, which means that I will be preparing my main meal prior to exercising. I am interested in seeing how that will affect my progress… and if it will lead to cramps.

    Oh, and I did order a new sling for walking, making sure that this one is adjustable to wear comfortably on either side of my body. Hopefully that will alleviate the discomfort that I am sure is attributed to the sling sitting on the same spot near my kidneys every day.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Saturday’s Shpatzir

    I discovered today that my fitness watch, and the fitness tracker app on my phone, do a pretty good job of staying in synch… except the fitness watch tells me I burn a lot more calories than does the app. I suspect that is because the app wants me to pay for the premium subscription in order to take the weather into account, whereas I paid the fitness watch, so it is not trying to upsell me. Either way, it was another good walk. I was, once again, pretty much done after the seventh kilometre… but even so, my pace for the last (eighth) kilometre was not too bad.

    Once again, I took the hiking trail for a couple of kilometres, and it was good to be away from the traffic. My pace throughout was excellent and constant – I was not breaking records, but with the exception of the final two kilometres all split-times were between 10m11 (5th kilometre) and 10m20 (1st kilometre). Consistency is never a bad thing… especially when you are performing consistently well.

    At the very beginning, or rather before my walk started, I did throw a bit of a fit. I have a fanny pack that I think I bought when I was married to my first wife. It has holders for two small bottles of water, in addition to the main compartment. I decided to wear it today, substituting the two small bottles with one slightly larger one. I was only a few metres out of my apartment building when I realized that Leslie is right… I have absolutely no butt, which means that the fanny pack was not going to stay up. I was quite annoyed by this realization, and after slamming it the ground in frustration, I picked it up and went back into my apartment to get the pack I have been using for the past two years. Remind me to find a new sling, as this one is designed to sling over the left shoulder, and has been known to cause aches when I am not careful.

    • Distance: 8.06 km (6.5 km)
    • Duration: 1:24:05 (1:10:13 minutes)
    • Average Pace (Min/km): 10:26 (10:47)
    • Steps: 9.9k (8k)
    • Calories burned: 467 (375)
    • Elevation gain: 23m (19m)
    • Average cadence (steps per minute): 118 (114)

    I am happy that every statistic is an improvement on yesterday’s walk. I am also very happy that my average pace per kilometre today was the second best since I started tracking (and indeed since I started fitness walking). 10m26s, averaged out over the entire walk, is actually better than any single kilometre I walked in my first ten outings! I am excited to see if I can keep up this pace.

    Speaking of paces, I have walked 39.5 kilometres since Monday (today is Saturday). I am only counting in that the actual fitness walking (and jogging) I have done, not the total steps or distance counted on my fitness watch. That means that tomorrow I could plan an easy 5.5km outing, and have forty-five kilometres in a seven-day period. Not bad, all things being equal. I am likely going to try to do another 7-8kms tomorrow, but we will see. A lot will depend on a lot of factors, not the least being the weather.

    I have been very lucky so far… while there has been rain this week, it has never interfered with my workouts. Looking at tomorrow’s forecast, there is a 50-90% chance or rain all day long. That is not to say that I will not go out walking… only that if it is raining, I will have to make some adjustments. I will have to dress for it, and I am almost certainly going to limit the walking to 5km if it is raining. If that is the case, I think I would walk up Walker’s Line to Dundas, and then turn around and walk right back. According to Google Maps, that is exactly 5km. Hopefully I will be able to get it in and stay dry… but I am not holding out hope.

    I should mention as well that if it is rainy that will affect my selection of footwear. I do not want to get my good running shoes soaked. I have figured out that the shoes do affect my pace, so if it is raining, my statistics will be at an immediate disadvantage. No matter, what is most important is the exercise, and not the numbers. Those are just for my knowledge and enjoyment.

    Have a great afternoon folks! I am going to try to take a nap… and if not, I will just lie down for thirty minutes before continuing on with my day.