Activity 2/17 - 2/23

I had another good activity week. I notice that since I've given myself permission to work just any activity into my day, since I've said it's ok if it's just 10 minutes, I've been able to be active nearly every day.  And most days I'm not getting interrupted at 10 minutes.  It's sort of magical. 

Monday - 3.8 miles in 1:04.  I walked to the store and back to get stuff to make dinner.  I love doing that!
Tuesday - Treadmill walk of 1.75 miles in 35 minutes before making dinner for the kids and I.  Then spun while watching the Olympics - 40 minutes.  I did 15 rounds of 1 minute seated climb and 1 minute recovery. 
Wednesday - Busy day with kid well checks and wife chiropractic and working part of the day at home.  I hit the treadmill to get in 3.1 miles walking in an hour. 
Thursday - Awesome spin!  An hour with 3 rounds going 3 minutes standing hill, 3 minute recovery, 2 minutes standing hill, 2 minute recovery, 1 minute standing hill, 1 minute recovery.
Friday - Lunch time walk on an errand.  2.2 miles in 40 minutes.
Saturday - Neighborhood walk sandwiched into a busy day. 3.09 in 58 minutes.
Sunday - Early morning neighborhood walk.  It was lovely out and I waited for the sun to come out and then enjoyed the stillness.3.52 miles in 1:04.

Every week when I go to print that picture above, I notice that some of my workouts are listed on the wrong day and I have to change.  This week it occurred to me that maybe dailymile thinks I'm in another time zone.  Sure enough that was the issue.  Of course now, it shifted my workouts again...

Monday I made my 4th blood platelet donation of the year.  I went for a triple and unfortunately that was a bit too long.  I felt sick and they had to pull the needle quickly.  On the upside, it was a valid donation and my platelets helped numerous patients.  On the downside, I'm now deferred for 8 weeks. 

Steps:
Monday - 11,463
Tuesday - 10,438
Wednesday - 13,759
Thursday - 4,845
Friday - 10,470
Saturday - 12,720
Sunday - 15,148
Total - 78,843

Activity 2/10 - 2/16

It's a few days late to be posting but I wanted to be consistent about posting some activity.  Last week:

Monday - I got up early to fit in 2.55 miles in 50 minutes on the treadmill. 
Tuesday - Treadmill again 3.05 miles in 1 hour while the wife worked and the kids played.
Wednesday - Spin while watching Olympic coverage. I started with 5x3 standing hills with 1 minute recovery. Then 5x2, then 5x1. This ride was a real challenge to my conviction to take whatever I can work in since I had to get off the bike to let the dogs out, let the dogs in, tell the kids to stop clowning around and go to sleep, let the cat through the gate, let the cat back through the gate the other way, check on the clowning kids, and answer the phone.
Thursday - Lunch walk. 1.75 miles in 30 minutes.
Friday - The day was beautiful out so I took a few hours off and took ChocolateDaughter to hike at the park along with out friends and their dog (and a houseguest dog).  We didn't cover many miles but it was beautiful and fun.  I guestimated 3 hours but that's probably high.
Saturday - 3.4 miles in just over an hour. The day was beautiful out and although I felt busy and had a lot to do, I just enjoyed the sun and wind.
Sunday - I indulged in lazy!  I took the kids to cheer at the marathon but otherwise watched Olympics and crocheted. 

Steps:
Monday - 10,835
Tuesday - 11,201
Wednesday - 9,038
Thursday - 8,993
Friday - 11,943
Saturday - 12,691
Sunday - 4,419
Total - 69,120 - Not as good or consistent as the week before. 

Exercise 2/3/2014 - 2/10/2014

I haven't posted an Exercise log in a long time but I've been feeling like it's time to get back to it.  I'm trying to make sure that I get some activity every day or if not every day, 5-6 days a week.  Some days it's 30 minutes walking, some days spin biking.  I re-installed a walking counter on my phone last Monday.  I know that the counter is not accurate (under counting, not over) but it's still a good measure for me and motivates me to go just a little farther every day. 

Monday - I walked for 30 minutes (1.75 miles) at lunch time.  Then spun 45 minutes/9 miles (estimate) in the evening. I was super stressed and upset in the evening so the spin was a matter of mental and emotional health.
Tuesday - I spun an hour while watching Food, Inc. I haven't finished it but am close.  What a very good movie.  Warmed up. Then 15 x 1 standing hill, 1 recovery. Then 5 x 2 standing hill, 1 recovery. And warmed down.
Wednesday - My friend and I walked down to Chipotle for lunch.  30 minutes and 1.75 miles.  Then I got in another 1.5 miles/30 minutes on the treadmill between dinner and kid bedtime.
Thursday - No activity but my normal walking around and folding laundry because I donated platelets.  It was my third donation of 2014 and 2nd triple of the year.  I'm very happy with my donations so far this year.
Friday - Treadmill walk of 3.05 in an hour. 
Saturday - I went for an outside and sunny beautiful walk.  3.50 miles in 1:05. 
Sunday - I again went for a walk on an even more beautiful day.  Chocolate Daughter went with me to start but she has been sick and we didn't want to tire her out.  Total was about 3.25 miles in 1:05.

My step app shows:
Monday - 8,190 but I only installed it around noon so assuming I walked 2000 steps in the morning, I was over 10,000 for the day. Also I did a spin in the evening.
Tuesday - 7,385 steps plus spin.
Wednesday - 12,430
Thursday - 5,980 (platelet donation)
Friday - 13,766
Saturday - 13,648
Sunday - 12,876
Total: 74,275

Weekly Update

I don't have a lot of exercise to report.

Sunday - Cycling 12.73 in 1:05.  I went for a very easy ride and my HRM didn't pick up a signal.  After about 55, I stopped at the store to get a few items and then rode home.  Later I did some stretching and a plank.

I saw my doctor on Wednesday and she diagnosed Achilles Tendinitis.  I'm not surprised by the diagnosis.  She gave me a scrip for a stronger/safer NSAID that she said I can take for a month without even starting to have liver or kidney damage and is getting me a referral to a podiatrist.  When I asked about cycling her answer was that it would be better than walking/running but not as good as swimming.

This week I'd like to fit in more cycling and also do some core work.  My weight at the doctor was 173 but that included slacks, blouse, shoes, belt, etc. so I'd say 170-171.  At least it's down a few from my all time high last month.  Still, I'd like to get the needle moving back into the 160s and lower.

Oh. And I went to donate platelets on Friday afternoon but my Crit/Iron was only 37 so I couldn't donate.  I'll try again when I'm on vacation next week.

Weekly Wrap-up

Weekly Wrap-up:

Monday - 11.9 Cycling in 50 minutes (14.1 mph).  My rides are getting faster.  This one was in 98 degrees and I just went up and down the boulevard which makes it faster because I don't have to deal with dogs and trees.  I did the loops because I didn't want to get too hot too far from home. 

Tuesday - Fitness workout.  My first in a long time. I did legs (squats & lunges), chest, back, shoulders, arms. And about 15 minutes of core.  It felt good and left me sore for a few days.

Wednesday - 3.05 walking on the treadmill. I planned to do some running but 30 seconds on my heel told me that was badness.  Also the kids kept having "emergencies" so I actually did 30 minutes, 6 minutes, 2 minutes, 23 minutes between the emergencies. Also I made and cleaned up from dinner and ate dinner during the workout. 

That was it for my workouts.  Thursday I just wanted to spend with family.  Friday I donated platelets. Saturday it rained and my heel hurt. Sunday my heel hurt. 

I called and made an appointment for Tuesday morning about my heel.  Now I need to fill out a bunch of paperwork. 

Friday I donated platelets - a triple.  I think that is the last time I'll do that. On one hand I love donating whatever I can and I have the platelets to spare. But it takes over 2 hours and I feel significantly crappier after a triple than after a double. I think I'll go back to doubles and just try to get over there more regularly.

Saturday I went to a training and became deputized to register voters in Travis county. I have not done any yet or gone to any registration events but I'm quite excited about it.  My brother went as well and my SIL is already deputized. My nephew has been volunteering with Battleground Texas for weeks and is their phone bank pro!

I took the weekend off from working out due to my heel. 

Exercise 07/15 - 07/21

Not a terrible week but not as good as I would hope.  Had a combination of the rest of the family having a stomach bug and my having one very late evening due to an eye doctor appointment and getting my eyes dilated.

Wednesday - 2.5 miles walking in 50 minutes.  I jammed this one into my day and got what I could. 

Friday - 1.5 miles walking in 30 minutes.  Again, what I could fit in.

Saturday - 18.91 miles cycling in 1:27 (13.1 mph).  A very good ride. I'm getting somewhat faster and stronger. I can ride faster on the streets than in the park but the park is more fun and prettier. 

Saturday - 15 minutes of core work.  My first core work in months. I did a 1:00 plank and a :45 plank and some ball work and crunches.  I need to do more core work.

Sunday - 2.6 miles hiking in 60.  I was planning to go for a run but then I suggested that we take a family hike and we did. We went to Walnut Creek a little later than we would have liked because ChocolateSon needed some hiking shoes.  It was a good hike but everyone got too hot and tired by the end.  We went from the park to Chuys so all was good in the world.

My weight is back "down" to 170.  I think I started this effort at 169, got down to 165, and up as high as 173 (my lifetime high I believe).  I want to be at 155 or 150 so "down" to 170 is not good but it's better. 

I'm reading The 4-Hour Body.  It is much much thicker than I expected but is going very quickly.  So far my very general and preliminary thoughts are:

• *While I am sure it would help me to reduce my intake of "white foods" (starches) I don't intend to eliminate them entirely (his classification of white foods includes brown rice).  More strongly, I'm not going to eliminate fruit from my diet. 
• One thing I am really enjoying from the book is his instruction to just read the parts you are care about and just implement the parts you want to implement. He even says "if you want to lose weight, read these chapters" to build muscle, read these ones, etc.  It's not all or nothing. 
• Another concept he has that I really like is that all goals should be 20 pounds difference (defined as 15 pounds fat lost, 5 pounds muscle gained or 20 pounds muscle gained or whatever as long as it adds to 20).  If someone needs/wants to lose 150 pounds, their goal should be a 20 pound meaningful movement and when that is done they can set a new 20 pound goal. He says some people only need 10 pounds but they are the exception. 

I should probably say that I signed up as an Amazon Affiliate so if you click that link and buy the book or click that link and buy something else, I'll get some small amount of money. 

Workouts 07/08 - 07/14

I have not posted in weeks. I'm not sure why - apathy?  I actually have been getting some exercise but not on a training plan.  Last week was somewhat typical although we had a very busy week. 

Tuesday - Cycling 12.5 miles in 1:02.  After a weekend at the farm with only one walk to show for it and eating too much eggs, cheese, and bread I was dying for some exercise and green vegies.  I left work 2.5 hours early for a hair cut, then rode my bike.  It as between 96-98 degrees out. I rode past the end of town, back to the grocery store where I had to lock my bike to a cart return because there don't seem to be any bike racks in the suburbs.  No kale!  No green beans!  Still I grabbed a few things and rode back home.

Wednesday - Treadmill walk 3.15 in 1:00.  It recorded twice so my pic shows 6 miles in stead of 3.15.  Nice peaceful walk.  The kids played with their visiting cousin and let me walk and read.

Friday - Cycling 13.41 in :57 (14.1 mph).  I woke up feeling crummy but then went out after a few hours. I rode mostly on streets so it was faster than usual. 

Sunday - Cycling 16.44 in 1:16 (13 mph).  I was up a good part of the night with ChocolateDaughter so I set out easy. Even so a better speed than I would have done a month ago.  Lots of runners and riders out.

My weight is up from my starting and certainly my goal.  I started about 165, got to 173 and am now at 171.  Obviously I'm not happy about that.  I need to keep working at it. 

I'm enjoying all the cycling I'm doing.  A month ago my speed to hit was 12.0.  Now it's 13.0 or 13.5 and my legs feel stronger all the time.  I still wouldn't consider myself at all serious and I ride mostly on the bike/walk path which is, by definition, slower than riding on streets.  But it's also more fun and prettier and still burns about 900 calories an hour. 

My step counts are not really worth posting any more. The pedometer app I was using did an update that did not work on my phone and I've pretty much stopped carrying it around all day although I am still taking the long route to/from my desk and around the house, etc. 

Activity 06/10 - 06/16

Monday - 1.5 miles walking while ChocolateDaughter rode her bike.  Fun walk.
Tuesday - 10 miles Cycling in 48 minutes.  A very refreshing and good but hot bike ride. I came home before an hour because I thought I would ride with ChocolateDaughter but she was busy.
Wednesday - 4.05 in 1:00 on the treadmill. Mostly walking. I wanted to run some but just felt too hot. 
Saturday - 15.7 miles Cycling in 1:13.  Nice ride with high humidity.  Got home and CD was riding around so she and I rode another 1.5 miles.
Sunday - 2.06 mile walk in 32 minutes while both kids rode their bikes.  They did really well taking turns leading.


Steps - 53,182
My steps weren't as good as in previous weeks.  I can't post the daily steps because Noom rolled out a new app called Noom Walk and I don't see that I can access daily totals any longer.  So I only see weekly steps. Still, I should be getting >= 70,000.

Activity 06/03 - 06/09

I feel like there are some things not showing up on this pic but ... 

Monday - Strength training workout. Coach Jeff's set up. 
Tuesday - 1.6 walk to library.
Tuesday - 3.56 walk/run in 1:00. Tried to do a treadmill run in the garage. I turned on Doctor Who for the kids and set my watch to zone 2.  It was hot.  Very hot. Extremely hot.  I ran for about 15 minutes.  Then later another 3-4.  Mostly it was walking. 
Wednesday - 2.0 in 40 minutes in the garage.  Ok. Tuesday it was so hot I was afraid I would pass out.  The garage faces West.  So I brought home a thermometer a friend has at work and put it in the sun/out of the sun by the treadmill (half in/half out at that time of day).  Here are the results:

Yeah... we moved the treadmill into the house on Thursday. I think that will be more sane.
Wednesday -  20 minutes core. I usually do 30 minutes but between the heat of the treadmill and getting the kids fed and being hungry myself, I cut it at 20.  Good work though.
Thursday - Cycling 15.5 in 1:17.  I took time off work to donate blood platelets but my iron was low (37). It was my first time in a while to fail the crit check.  Since I was off anyway (and using leave time) I rode my bike.  As I turned onto our street, there was ChocolateDaughter pedaling away on her bike for the first time! 
Sunday - Cycling 12.5 in 1:03.  I got up early to fit a ride into our busy day.  Glad I did too as it was a total downpour shortly after I got home. 

Weight - ?? I don't know. I've been frustrated and feeling blech so I've done no calorie tracking and didn't weigh this week. I will get back to it.

Steps - A lot of either not carrying my phone or it not tracking while I'm on the treadmill but here are the numbers anyway:
Monday - 10,018
Tuesday - 13,379
Wednesday -  7,953
Thursday - 9,980
Friday - 3,087
Saturday - 1,862
Sunday - 8,801

Activity 05/27 - 06/02

It was a bit of a strange week as part of the family was still out of town and then they got back and it stayed a strange week.  I got in some workouts:

Monday - 3.08 Treadmill walk in 1:00.  My son was not very patient. We had an agreement to go get FroYo and he nagged me about when we were going. He also asked if the Santa Claus myth exists just to get kids to go to bed. 
Tuesday - Core work.  30 minutes of good core work on the floor and ball.
Wednesday - 5 miles in 1:15 or so at Walnut creek.  A good mix of running and walking.  Did 1:00/1:00 ratio and sweat like a pig in 86 degrees.  Joy was the portopotty in the parking lot at the end of this one.
Wednesday - I did a short chest/back/legs workout. Basically I did the Coach Jeff workout but skipped the core work since I had done full core the day before.
Friday - 4.0 miles.  I got off work early on because of was our company picnic.  I walked to the store and back with a little bit of food.  Very hot - 90. 
Saturday - Nice bike ride.  15 miles in <1:15.  I didn't push it and it felt great.  I fully intended to do strength training later in the day but had a bad experience at lunch and my stomach did not settle well after that.
Sunday - The best laid intentions and all that...  I woke up with stomach cramps like heartburn and it lasted all day (literally every moment of the day).  The family took a short (30 minute) walk/bike ride around the neighborhood but that was it.

Weight 
My weight was up a few ounces to 167.8.  Arggghh.

Steps
My step count was plagued by times that I didn't have my phone in my pocket and one day that the phone clearly didn't count steps well.  But here are the numbers anyway:
Monday - 11,192
Tuesday - 7,160
Wednesday - 13,107
Thursday - 4,863
Friday - 11,625
Saturday - 6,057
Sunday - 5,901

I'd like to get those counts back up this week. 

Activity 5/20 - 5/26

A pretty good week:

Monday - 1.25 mile walk. I did a quick walk at lunch.  It was hot enough that I actually came inside and walked in the tunnels a bit.
Tuesday - 4.0 run and walk in 1:00.  Jesus it was hot and humid out.  I did my walking warm up and then started 2:00/1:00. Then 1:00/1:00. Finally I just switched to running between the zone 2 beeps on my watch and then walked back to the office.
Tuesday - 30 minute Core Workout.  Such a good core workout.
Wednesday - 1.5 walk.  I would have done more but a hard day at home left my workout out of the question. While the wife laid down with our daughter to put her to bed, I went for a neighborhood walk.
Thursday - 3.3 in 1:05 walk.  I walked to the dry cleaners and back to drop off the clothes.  Very hot out 88 with 85% humidity.  Nice to do an errand.
Friday - 3.05 in 40 minutes run (13:06) plus 1.00 walking warm up/down.  First chance to use the new/used treadmill.  It was too hot and still in the garage so I cut the running short.
Saturday - Strength training. I did the Coach Jeff total body workout for the first time in months.  Very challenging. I need to start doing some strength training at least 2x a week.
Saturday - 3.05 walking in 1:00.  Treadmill walk in the garage. My son watched an episode of Doctor Who, then came out to nag me to stop.
Sunday - 4.5 in 1:00 (12:53) plus .5 walking warm up/down.  A good run at 2:00/1:00 with the fan moving the hot/humid air around. I don't know if I could do this in temps 15 degrees warmer without passing out. I wanted to run longer but my son nagged the entire time for me to stop.  I was not feeling supported at all...

Weight:
Sunday 167.3 so I'm down .3 for the week and 2.7 overall.  Obviously I'd like to be seeing better results....

Steps:
Monday - 10,073
Tuesday - 10,829
Wednesday - 9,600
Thursday - 13,663
Friday - 12,387
Saturday - 8,032*
Sunday - 18,579

* Saturday I checked the step count while I was on the treadmill for an hour.  It recorded around 1000 steps.  By my calculation it should have gotten around 7200.  So that should be well over 13,000 or even 14,000 steps.

Activity 05/13 - 05/19

Yeah... that's what it looks like.  Let's detail:

Monday - Walked 3.15 in 1:00 during lunch. I came in early to take an hour lunch but it is getting too hot to do that until Fall.
Tuesday - Core Work - 30 minutes.  A good session. I was home with the kids all day and all evening. That's very unusual for our family. I think it may be the first time ever in fact that I've had both kids for 12+ hours.  ChocolateWife had a conference, we met her for dinner, and then she saw clients in the evening.  So there was no chance to do any other exercise.
Wednesday/Thursday - I woke up Wednesday feeling crummy with some sort of stomach bug, went work, worked 2 hours and came home. Spent the rest of Wednesday and all Thursday at home eating a lot of starches which were the only thing that sounded/felt ok and hanging out. 
Sunday - 4.5 in 1:25 hiking/running. Finally felt back to normal.  I went for a hike/run at Walnut Creek Park.  It was very humid and I was just enjoying being out and burning some calories.  Did 2:00 walking/1:00 running. 

Weight:
167.6.  I gained 1.8 pounds this week which doesn't surprise me at all.  The carbs/no working out combination is doom to losing weight.  I'm ready to get back on target though. 

Steps:
Monday - 13,247
Tuesday - 8,272
Wednesday - 1,530
Thursday - 4,638
Friday - 4,556
Saturday - 7,455
Sunday - 15,786

Total: 55,484

Also, I bought a used Treadmill on C r a i g s l i s t.  It was $100 and the guy actually brought it over in his car because I would have had to go home and take out the car seats from mine.  It's in the garage and I bought an extension cord.  Basically I want to have more flexibility to fit in a run or even just 20 minutes of walking when leaving the house isn't an option. 

Activity 05/06 - 05/12

I have a very medium week.  No big spectacular workouts but no crashes and burns either.  Not enough steps...

Monday - 1.6 mile walk at lunch time.
Tuesday - 4.0 mile walk at lunch time. I should have run but my stomach was not of the good from the moment I woke up and I didn't want to chance something ugly.  A very nice walk and good pace (17:00 miles).
Tuesday - 30 minute core work.  Very good work.  All the usual suspects.
Wednesday - Bike ride 13.37 in 59.  (13.7 mph). That's fast for me.  Now that I've got my mechanical issues resolved (for a few days) I am riding a bit faster. 
Thursday - 4.0 walk with running in 1:00.  Very slow.  Mostly walking with a bit of running.  I did not feel well before I set out.  Still, I'm amazed at how slowly I'm moving in these run/walks. 
Saturday - 5.05 in 1:20.  I intended to ride my bike but had a hole in my tire and tube so switched to a walk/run.  Felt run down and slow and I was slow.  Again, I find it shocking how slow I am.  Part of me doesn't care about speed because I'd prefer to walk but want the calories burned from running but another part wonders if I'm actually doing "damage" by doing it this way. 
Sunday - I went and volunteered at a race in the morning rather than working out in the morning. And then the family was going to hike but we decided to just not.  Instead we celebrated Mother's day by crafting while watching Downton Abbey and then visiting our friends. 

Weight:

4/8 - 170.0
4/14 - 169.5 (-.5)
4/21 - 166.7 (-2.8)
4/27 - 167.6 (+0.9)
5/4 - 166.2 (-1.4)
5/11 - 165.8 (-.4)

So it's moving and in the right direction.  I think I need to be more active and also eat less candy to lose more.  15.8 pounds to go!

Steps:
Monday - 10,614
Tuesday - 14,304
Wednesday - 7,095
Thursday - 12,613
Friday - 3,933
Saturday - 13,641
Sunday - 4,166

Total - 66,366

Exercise 04/29 - 05/05

Not too pressing but it was a nice week for me. 

Tuesday - 3.9 miles walking in 1:10.  Again I forgot my sports bra and had to walk instead of run.  I printed up a list and will attach it to my gear crate so hopefully this will be the last time.
Wednesday - 11.5 bike in 58.  Lovely ride in a lot of sunshine but having some mechanical issues. I called my brother and asked him about it. From my description he suggested either user error or bad bearings in the rear wheel.  Not to keep any (I don't know if there are any) readers in suspense - I took my bike to the shop Saturday and user error is the answer.  The brake thing was not pulled far enough so it was rubbing and causing issues in tightening down the wheel.  I'm looking forward to riding without dealing with that. 
Thursday - 3.6 miles in 47 (13:03) plus walking warm up/down.  I did 2:00/1:00 throughout and felt really good about it. I was able to keep my HR down throughout and keep it up.  Not fast but felt good.  Oh and it was 53 degrees out with a 14 mph wind.  In Texas! 
Saturday - 30 minute core work.  Then a 4 mile walk to the grocery store and back. 
Sunday - I was feeling somewhat lazy and didn't really want to go for a long bike ride or run so it was perfect when a friend texted to say did we want to hike.  ChocolateDaughter and I met the friend and her dog for an easy hike before gathering the rest of our families and going to a birthday party.  We probably only went about 2 miles but it was lovely. 

Weight:
4/8 - 170.0
4/14 - 169.5 (-.5)
4/21 - 166.7 (-2.8)
4/27 - 167.6 (+0.9)
5/4 - 166.2 (-1.4)

Steps:
Monday - 8,517
Tuesday - 12,189
Wednesday - 8,110
Thursday - 11,655
Friday - 9,712
Saturday - 16,017
Sunday - 9,734
Total - 75,934

I donated a small triple of platelets on Thursday.  Not coincidentally I learned that it is a bad idea to get very cold before donating platelets.  The run done in 53 degree weather immediately before and combined with the cold temperature in the center made my donation very difficult. I will not make that mistake again.

Exercise 04/22 - 04/28

I had another good week although I felt like I ate more (and worse) than I should. That probably shows in my weekly weigh-in (I gained 0.9 pounds at weigh in Saturday).  Still:

Monday - I feel like I probably walked around at lunch hour but I'm not seeing it on the graph.  I also did a 30 minute core workout. I combined exercises from pre-dawn and the box of cards I got. 
Tuesday - 4.2 in 50 (11:54) plus walking warm up/down.  The phone GPS showed less but it was obviously off so I mapped it and came up with slightly more than this. I sort of split the difference.  Ran 1:30/:45 intervals on the hills by the university.  Very humid.
Wednesday - 11.5 in 1:00 biking.  Easy heading out and then hard coming back. Either I hit the wind or was having trouble with my bike again.  Or some combination of the two.
Thursday - 4 miles in 1:00. Mostly just walking with a few minutes of running. Very tired legs. 
Saturday - 4.2 miles in 1:20. All walking.  Very humid out. 
Sunday - 16.28 in 1:20 biking.  Very nice ride but the ground was wet. I hit one spot of mud and started to skid out. I kept myself upright and was quite impressed. 
Sunday - 30 minutes core work.  Very challenging. I mixed the Pre-dawn and the box of fitness cards.  I was already feeling too hot in the house and was pretty much drenched by the end of the core work.  Later ChocolateWife wanted to try some core exercises and noticed that the box shows a few other core moves mixed in. 

As I said my weight was up .9 pounds as of Saturday. But I had worse diet as well as getting my period on Sunday so that probably had some effect. 

I'm still using my phone and Noom to count my steps. I find it very motivating but I'm also aware that it is not all that accurate.  I went for a walk on Saturday and did a few spot checks.  My actual step count was about 120 steps per minute and the phone was logging 70 steps per minute (a very big difference).  Still, it's fun to sort of note the steps and strive to reach the (increasing) goal every day.

Monday - 7,808
Tuesday - 15,320
Wednesday - 9,305
Thursday - 11,652
Friday - 9,502
Saturday - 12,013
Sunday - 9,007

Total: 74,607

As you can see, it is obvious that it's not an accurate count and it awards some steps for bike rides (Wednesday and Sunday) but it's still fun to look at.

Exercise 04/15 - 04/21

Monday - 1.82 miles in 30 minutes. Easy lunch time walk.
Tuesday - 3.7 miles in 1:10 walking. I was going to run but my stomach was very iffy so I walked instead.
Wednesday - 3.6 miles in 45 minutes (12:30) run/walking plus .65 in 15 walking warm up/down.  I started at 2:00 run/1:00 walk but ended up dropping to 1:30/1:00 and finally 1:00/1:00 because of the humidity.  I've got to acclimatize.
Thursday - 2.5 miles in 45 minutes walk to and from lunch.
Friday - Core work for 30 minutes. I combined the exercises from the Pre-dawn runner routine from the ones in the the cards I ordered last week.  It was a nice workout (or as nice as a core workout can reasonably be) and gave me some new exercises. 
Saturday - 20.4 cycling in 1:42.  Lovely ride. I feel like my legs are getting stronger. I'm riding more in 12th and even 13th than a month ago.  I think this was my longest ride ever. 
Sunday - 5 miles hiking/running at Walnut Creek part in 1:40.  Not fast but it was hiking so that's to be expected. The first hour I did 2:00 walking/1:00 running, then I just walked (hiked).  I was going to meet up with a friend and her dog but some days our phones/texting don't play nice together and this was one of those days. 

Other notes about the week:
* I'm really enjoying the combination of the meditation bell reminder to move around and the pedometer tracking.  It's hard to track at much at home because I don't wear pants with pockets that often and it's strange to carry my phone in my hand to get the laundry or get a drink.  Still, my steps according to the phone were:
Monday - 6724
Tuesday - 11,388
Wednesday - 11,199
Thursday - 12,001
Friday - 6,567
Saturday - 7,562 (biking not counted or sort of counted)
Sunday - 14,107

Total: 69,548

Obviously the goal is to get every day > 10,000. 

* I lost 2.6 pounds between my weigh-in 4/14 and 4/21! 

* My heel is acting up.  It gets tight progressively the more I've run and walked.  A day of rest helps tremendously but I don't want to rest my heel. I want to be active every day.  I actually suspect the issue is walking in my running shoes which are low (4 mm) drop shoes.  They are fine to run but I don't think good for walking. I need to just go buy new/more traditional shoes.

* As a part of the running community and the community of Americans and humans, I'm upset by the Boston Marathon bombings.  I think it's particularly scary because it could be anywhere: a race, a little league game, an art show-- any place people are gathered.  Nonetheless, I'm impressed and proud of the running community's reaction that the way to go is to be strong and proud and keep running and cheering. 

Exercise Report 04/08 - 04/14

Monday - I took a quick walk at lunchtime.  1.5 miles in 30 minutes and jogged up the stairs to end it. 
Tuesday - Walk/Run 3.5 miles in 55 minutes.  Again, I mixed in running with walking to do a 1:00/1:00.  I ran over at the track and it was just lovely. 
Wednesday - 1.7 mile walk in 30 minutes ending with the stairs.  It was 40 degrees and had just rained a lot but I walked over to the library to return some books and then to 7-11 for some bananas.  Perfect walk for lunch time.
Thursday - 3.5 miles running in 47 minutes plus warm up/down.  I went to Pease Park and ran on the trails.  Still a 1:00/1:00 so I'm not pushing anything but I'm increasing mileage and calories. 
Saturday - 17.5 miles riding in 1:28.  A lovely day for a bike ride. I adjusted my read wheel and cleaned the brakes so that it was a really smooth ride. 
Sunday - 15.1 miles riding in 1:15.  It was windier and sunnier than the day before but I had a nice ride.  I usually ride in 10-11th gear depending on hills and occasionally 12th.  I noticed that this weekend I was riding primarily in 12th with a few downshifts to 11th for hills.  So I have to assume that my legs are getting stronger. 

I'm maintaining my calories and calorie count. I think I went over calories one day last week by maybe 100 calories. Most days I'm under by 100-300 calories.  I get a baseline allowance of 1500 from the app and then whatever exercise I do, I get 1/2 those calories.  My clothes feel a bit more comfortable but the needle on the scale hasn't moved yet. 

One of my co-workers came by my desk the week before last.  She was one of the people really interested in the stand-up desk and she asked about it.  Then we were talking and she said that she read that you really should get up every 15 minutes - that even every hour is not enough.  Thinking about that I installed a meditation bell timer on my phone. On silent, it lights up every 15 minutes (approximately) and I try to stand up (at minimum) or walk around a few minutes (at best). 

I also started using the Noom app to count my steps daily.  That has some limitations including:

• Obviously the app only counts steps if you have the phone with you.  If you're going to the bathroom or shower or whatever, no counting.
• The step count does not seem accurate when on a run/walk.  One day I calculated that my steps during my lunch time run/walk should have been around 7500.  The app counted about 3500.  It seems to do better in a walk without any running and seems to do better if the phone is in my pocket than if it is on the armband.
• It adds some number of steps to the count when I ride my bike but it's not a # equal to my cadence.  My riding cadence is probably 170-175 per minute (10200 per hour).  It probably added 3500 - 4000 steps per hour to my counts. 

That said, I think for me the two things - meditation/move around reminder and step counting are good for me.  My step counts last week (such as they are were):

Tuesday (partial day) - 8689 (only about 3500 steps for the run/walk).
Wednesday - 7927
Thursday - 12,741
Friday - 7,586
Saturday - 8,482
Sunday - 5,029

So obviously you have to take the #s with a grain of salt when considering the bike riding as well but I think it's a nice measure and incentive, particularly when I'm at work.  Perhaps my goal should be 4000 steps while at work? 

Exercise Summary 04/01 - 04/07

Last week was a better workout week with an unexpected hiccup at the end. 

Monday - I walked 1.2 miles at lunch time. Then rode 8+ miles when I got home from work.  It was all I could manage in the time I had and I don't feel like my bike is as smooth as before I changed the tire.  I need to see if the wheel needs better adjustment.
Tuesday - 3.4 miles walking at lunch time. It was very humid.
Wednesday - 3.15 in 46 minutes.  I did mostly walking but with a little bit of running. 
Thursday - 3.15 in 1:01. Lovely lunchtime walk.
Saturday - Trail hike/run.  4.5 miles in 1:25.  Mostly hiking with a bit of running thrown in.  Basically 1 minute run for every 2 minutes hiked when I was doing that.  Took some time with just walking in the middle when ChocolateWife called to say that ChocolateDaughter fell and hurt her arm. 

I planned the day off on Friday after donating a triple of platelets on Thursday. I'm happy to be able to donate triples the last two visits but it takes longer and I need to account for the extra time.  Technically I could workout on the day after but I was ready for a day off anyway. 

Sunday I missed after being up part of the night and then the entire family going to the ER with CD who has a broken radius.  She got it splinted and we're waiting for a follow up with an orthopedist to get a cast.

My weight is unchanged but I'm optimistic nonetheless.  Even without my weight dropping I actually feel slightly more comfortable in my pants so that's always a good thing.  I'm tracking my food in Noom and my calories burned and trying to do little things that burn calories.  I'm probably nearing the point that I need to change my work schedule and either run/walk in the morning before work or the evenings because it will be too hot and sweaty to go at lunch (even with a shower).  Right now I'm mostly doing my lunch time as walks so I don't have to shower but if I want to intersperse any running, I need to bring my pack and shower. 

Training 03/25 - 03/31

I've been using RunKeeper for my exercise logging and not daily mile.  I'll tell you what: it is not as summary-friendly as DailyMile.  According to RunKeeper, I walked 14.5 miles and it's not easy to see how much on which days or how many days of walking that included.  I'm going to go back to using DailyMile in addition to RunKeeper. I use RunKeeper for 2 reasons: I can track my miles on the GPS and it links to Earndit. 

So...

I don't have my day by day breakdowns but according to RunKeeper, I walked 14.5 miles last week.  That seems low but I can only believe it.  On Friday and Sunday when I walked, I actually did a few minutes of running.  Both days I basically did 1 minute run, 2 minutes walk.  I took it very easy.  What's amazing is that usually in an hour of walking I burn about 450 calories.  Sunday I did 1 minute run/2 minutes walk for 40 minutes so about 13 minutes or running. Instead of 450 calories, I burned 832.  I continued with my stretching and did some core work this week. 

I have nearly finished my Mind Masters Journey program. All I have left to do is the written/journal exercise for day 21.  At the end of the program it did turn into a lot of steps and calorie counting and exercise tracking and all that stuff but I think what makes it different is having the ability to address the habits in a new way and not get discouraged. 

So my weight is 170 now and the goal of my Mind Master Journey is to weigh 150.  I don't have a timeline on that but that's the goal...

Exercise 3/11 - 3/17

I had a much better workout week this past week.  Nothing was particularly intense but it was consistent.

Monday - I'm on a new program (I'll write an entire post about it this week) that includes 20 minutes of exercise followed immediately by a 20 minute walking meditation.  Most days I've done the 20 minutes as walking.  So this was 40 minutes, 2 miles approximately.
Tuesday - Ok, the picture is showing up weird.  Really it should only show the 3.3 miles for my lunch walk which includes 40 minutes and then the 20 minute walking meditation.  For some reason the entry I made originally for Monday is showing on Tuesday and I can't find it to delete it.
Wednesday - 2 miles.  The program of walking and walking meditation.
Thursday - 3.2 miles in 1 hour.  Walking and then the meditation. I also made my first blood platelet donation of the year and actually did a triple. I knew that there were triples but have never been asked/allowed to do one before. The time was 96 minutes for the donation but I figure once I'm there, I might as well do as much as I can. 
Friday - The day was going to be difficult so I took an hour off work to come home early and ride my bike.  I rode about 11.5 miles in under an hour. Then jumped off the bike to do the walking meditation ritual for 20 minutes.
Saturday - I did my 40 minutes walking 2 miles including the meditation ritual. Then later we met up with my sister's family at Monument Hill State Park. We had a picnic and a little hike and then threw around the football.
Sunday - I rode my bike but only about 7.5 miles.  During the ride, I noticed that the air was low in both tires. In the course of trying to air up the tire, I broke off the stem which destroys the tube and lets all the air out.  The family came and picked me up.  Later I did my walk and walking meditation.  Also later the entire family went to play tennis.  I literally had not touched a tennis racket in 10-11 years and was pleasantly surprised at my ability to hit the ball and get it over the net. 

No running but I think I'm ok with that for now.