Went out for an hour long walk this morning. I only found only one small section of sidewalk that hadn’t been cleared which was pretty good. However, I quickly realized people are not salting meaning there was some black ice happening. There were some spots where I was doing some slipping and sliding but managed to get through it.
I had a fantastic week last week. I was at Harrison Hot Springs for a labour school. I was asked to facilitate a shop steward level 2 class which I have done many times in the past. These classes are usually participants for a variety of unions and this year was no different. What was different was how awesome these participants were. I’m not kidding when I say it was the best class I have ever facilitated. We even finished off with a discussion on political action and while none of us seemed to be on the same page, everyone felt safe to express their opinions which I thought was fantastic.
I was happy that we hit the road to come home at about 11:00am which should have put us in White Rock around 12:30pm leaving plenty of time to get unpacked and do aa few things around the house. After about 45 minutes of driving we did a quick stop for gas and continued on. Then, suddenly, my SUV started to lose power and it was sputtering. Fortunately this happened near an exit off the freeway and a large mall parking lot was right around the corner. As I was pulling into a parking space I checked my dashboard and the temperature gauge was in the red! What the hell? I just had the water pump replaced a week ago and I did as my mechanic said and checked the fluids before I hit the road and everything looked fine.
I am the type of person who prepares for emergencies so I have a BCAA membership (for my American friends it is the same as AAA). I had joined nearly 2 decades ago when I was doing a lot of traveling with my vehicle throughout the southern part of our province. And, because I went to many rural areas I made sure I upgraded from the basic so that if my vehicle broke down they would tow it up to 160 km (100 miles). So I call BCAA and the agent was great at sorting out where we were and ordering the tow to my mechanic. She said her system was saying a 3 hour wait but since there were only 5 jobs ahead of us she didn’t think it would take that long. Unfortunately she was wrong and we waited for pretty much 3 hours. When the tow truck arrived (it was actually one of those large flatbed trucks) he didn’t have enough room for both my sister and I in the cab. However, with some strategic moving of items we all managed to fit and off we went.
By time we got home we were 4 hours behind schedule between loading the vehicle, driving to the mechanic’s, unloading the vehicle and going over everything it took another hour. We had also previously made arrangements to have a visit with our next door neighbour and we were late for that. Of course it was Valentine’s Day so we had dinner plans which we did make but there was a lot of rushing going on.
My husband would tell you that I am not good when things do not go as I planned. I actually usually get extremely anxious as I am not the go with the flow kind of person. And yet yesterday I was okay. Yes, I had expected a very different kind of day but I didn’t have any control over the vehicle breaking down like that. Other than being anxious at the beginning and realizing I didn’t have my BCAA membership card with me I managed to keep pretty calm. I’m not sure if it was because I was coming off a really good week or because I am just in a better head space but I was patient and ok the entire 4 hours. I had a nice glass of wine with the neighbour and a great dinner and evening with my husband and sister. I guess it also might be that as I get older I don’t see the point in panicking.
So, when things go wrong I think I am going to try to handle it like I did yesterday, stay calm and patient and be thankful that no one was hurt or ill, it’s just life throwing a curve ball.
I didn’t think I would have time to post today as I am currently facilitating a labour course. Add to that the fact that the room the course is in did not seem to have wifi access. However, the wifi has started working and I have a bit of a break while my co-facilitator takes over for an hour.
I had a whole plan for working out this week. Given the plantar fasciitis it seemed a great opportunity to give my foot a break by doing an hour swim each morning using the indoor pool (I am at a hot springs resort so the pool is fabulous). However, when I checked in on Sunday I learned they had changed the indoor pools hours so that instead of opening at 5:30am it is now 6:30am. Unfortunately that time didn’t work for me since I still would need a shower, breakfast and to be in class by 8:00am. And no, there isn’t time during the rest of the day/evening to go for a swim.
Hmm, I decided then I would have to do an hour walk though fortunately I had brought my good shoes and ankle brace. And so up at 5:00am yesterday and out the door by 5:15am. I knew it was going to be below freezing so I had a warm coat, toque and gloves. No problem I thought. Wrong! With the windchill it was actually -13 Celsius. It was bloody freezing! Within 5 minutes tears were streaming down my cheeks and so that walk last exactly 30 minutes. I tried again after lunch but the wind was making it brutal so checking the weather before bed I decided there was no way I was going for a walk first thing this morning (though I did get in a 30 minute walk at lunch).
So, why couldn’t I just go to the gym? Well, I did not pack for that. I have absolutely no workout clothes with me other than my runners/brace. It would have been simply to just throw a pair of shorts and tank top into the suitcase just in case but no, I figured the original plan of swimming combined with the back up plan of walking should have been enough but apparently not. Moreover, I really don’t have sufficient cold weather clothing to do more than a 30 minute walk without being beyond uncomfortable.
Next time I plan on packing appropriately for all possible scenarios. Yes it might mean a bigger suitcase but it will be worth it.
Oh, and tonight I finally have some free time so I am going into the outdoor pool. Ok, it is really just a giant hot tub heated with nature hot spring water but in my head I am going to call it swimming.
My apologies for anyone who has been looking for posts over the past several weeks. I got a little too wrapped up in things in Mexico which really means I was having too good of a time. We actually had 2 sets of guests come stay with us and we did a lot of going out. Sometimes it was for touring and others for food and beverages. We actually ate out far more than we ever have at the condo and my tight clothing is showing it.
But I have to admit, I have been doing some damage to my health and fitness for a while now. It’s been going on for 8 months, since the day my brother died in my arms. Don’t get me wrong, I still exercise pretty much every day but not as much as I used to. As well, I have gone back to some bad eating habits and that is definitely showing. And finally, I have been drinking far too much alcohol over the past 8 months and I am now really not comfortable with it.
While we were in Mexico I did a lot of reflection on all of this and decided it was time to move forward and fix the damage I have done. Don’t get me wrong, it does not mean that I can somehow just walk away from my from my grief, that is not in any way possible. I know because yesterday marked 8 months since we lost my brother and I still feel as destroyed as I did when it happened. I think it has more to do with moving forward with the grief just part of my life and maybe it always will be.
What I really had to decide is do I want to keep living the way I have been and I realized the answer is an emphatic no. I promised myself I would never become obese again yet if I keep doing what I am doing that is exactly what will happen. I promised myself I would keep my diabetes in remission for as long as possible but I fear if I don’t make some drastic changes that it will be back soon. I want to be back to being comfortable with my body and having control over what I am doing hence it is time to fix the damage.
Now, what am I going to do about it. First of all I need to go back to setting goals. By that I mean for exercise, food and alcohol. I’m going out of town tomorrow until Friday and this will be the first challenge for me. I am at an event at a resort hotel, the weather is going to be really cold and on top of that I have developed plantar fasciitis. But, my goal is to do an hour swim or walk everyday. Food is definitely going to be tough but the plan is to be really conscious of my carbs, focus on fruits and veg and keep my meals small. Oh, and stay away from my kryptonite, the Hawkins Cheezies that will be in the facilitator’s lounge.
That leaves alcohol. I really am concerned about how much of a crutch it has really been to me. It will be easy to cut back this coming week because I will be facilitating a course so I have to set the right standard of behaviour. But I don’t want to come home and slip back into the same rut I’ve been in. Instead I have set a goal that no alcohol (with the exception of March 17th but even then I will limit it to 2 Guinness) from February 15th until I return to Mexico on April 2nd. Even then I want far more dry days while I am there unlike this last trip.
How am I going to do this? I’m going to do what I did at the beginning of this journey, I am going to be selfish and focus on me and not the distractions around me. I’ve done this before and I can do it again because I want to be fit and healthy. Oh, and I know I have my biggest champion looking down on me encouraging me to move forward.
It is not really warm in Playa del Carmen right now. Yesterday I actually had to put on a hoodie! I had checked the weather for 6am this morning and it was below 20 C so thought hmm, maybe the long sleeved t-shirt would be a good idea. I can honestly say I am glad I opted to do that because with a bit of a breeze happening it was chilly. I have a feeling I will be in the same situation tomorrow.
As I have mentioned before, I am very conscious of making sure I am easily seen when walking in the dark at home. I try to do the same here by ensuring I am in light coloured clothing and of course always wearing my reflective vest. I do admit since I only walk around our complex and it is early in the morning that there is not a lot of traffic but I like to err on the side of caution. I’d like to say that I only walk in well lit areas but that is, quite frankly, challenge number 1. The maintenance in our complex is not exactly great as while there are a fair number of streetlights, many of them don’t work (it’s a dispute about who is responsible for replacing burnt out bulbs). There is no real way to avoid walking in the areas that are dark but fortunately since it is so early I can see and hear vehicles as they approach.
The next challenge kind of goes with the first one in that I walk on the street and not on the sidewalk (though not all the streets have sidewalks anyways). There are a couple of reasons for this. Firstly, the sidewalks are extremely uneven in places. Think about it, you add uneven pathways to lack of lighting and it is just a trip and fall in the making. Secondly, the upkeep on the trees along the sidewalks is also not so great so in numerous places the branches are quite low hanging and you combine that with the lack of lighting and I am pretty sure my face would be scratched up every day.
The real challenge, however, is the wildlife. Ok, at home I occasionally see a raccoon or more likely a bunny. I can always find a way to give raccoons a wide berth and the bunnies, well those aren’t too threatening (they are not exactly killer bunnies). Here there are several animals that I might encounter on my walks. I acknowledge I have never seen a monkey when it is still dark out (I assume they are sleeping) but I even this morning I saw 2 sereque (a large Mexican rodent). Fortunately sereques are pretty shy so they scurry away when they see you though I admit when it is dark out they often startle me. The other is the coatis which we call Mexican raccoons simply because they have striped tails. These suckers have the longest claws I have ever seen on an animal. They tend to run in very large packs and there is always an older male that is the lookout. The other day there was about 2 dozen of them swarming around me (ok, maybe 2 dozen is a bit of an exaggeration) and it scared the crap out of me as they refused to move. I eventually threw a handful of cat food at them (remember, I feed all the kitties along my route) which at least had them run after the food so that I could quickly walk away.
So yeah, there are challenges walking in the dark here. However, even those challenges are not stopping me from achieving my walking goals each day.
Wow did we get rain yesterday. It was one of those kind of storms where it rains so hard the droplets bounce off the water in the pool. When we went out for a walk later in the day one of the roads had a foot deep pond on it! Oh well, at least it was still pretty warm and I’m sure by time we come back for our next trip everyone here will be begging for it to rain like that.
We’re into the new year and I recognize that I need to be realistic in my goals especially this month while I am at the condo. I’m also working on my husband to do more walking so the 2 of us had to be realistic about what we can do while we are here. I came up with a suggestion, let’s have fun the 1st week and then start working on our goals. And we did exactly that. While we are trying to eat mainly home cooked meals we ate out 3 times last week (and found an awesome taco restaurant). However, when we do eat at home we try to make it as healthy and fresh as possible. As for working out, I still managed to do something most days last week (Jan 1st was an exception) while by the end of the week my husband had started to do some walking.
Now it is time to be realistic about what we will be doing going forward. It can be a bit challenging as this week we have 2 birthdays to celebrate (one being my own) as well as taking neighbours out for lunch to thank them for all the help they give us. I realized I can still manage this by being very conscious of what I am eating especially in terms of carbs. We’re going a step further as well by committing to at least 4 days per week without alcohol. Ok, this one will be the most difficult because we have to pick the days carefully. Having said that, I actually look forward to successfully doing this since that means coming down here does not have to involve tequila every day.
Finally, exercising. Last week I tried walking for at least an hour in the morning and then doing an online exercise class and was somewhat successful. This week I decided that Monday to Friday it would be at least 2 hours of walking (I’m doing 1.5 hours first thing then a 1/2 hour walk with my husband later in the day) and online classes. Saturday I’ll get in at least 2 hours of walking (online classes don’t start until 11:30am Playa time and that is too late in the day for me) with Sunday being my rest day. Not sure what my rest day will look like as normally while I am here I take the day off completely but I want to change that narrative a bit so maybe an hour walk first thing.
I think these are all pretty realistic things to have as my goals while I am here. I will be challenged next week and the following week as we have friends coming down each week to stay with us. In order to keep myself on track in terms of exercising, I have paired up with a couple accountability buddies. We each are posting what our exercise was for the day and I’ll be damned if I have to post that I did nothing.
So be realistic. I will be ecstatic if when I leave here I have accomplished the goals I set out for this trip. And, I know if I stay on track I will feel better both physically and mentally.
So yesterday my husband and I decided to do the Polar Bear swim, a fun tradition that has been done for over a century at home. We’ve done it a few times here in Mexico and usually go to a beach so that we can go in the Caribbean Sea which is nice and warm. Ok, I admit that is a bit different than going into the Pacific Ocean but hey, we are still participating. But yesterday we decided to go in our pool instead. Please know that our pool is like a lazy river pool and is not heated which means this time of year it is freezing cold. I braved the ice water first followed by my husband. I can proudly say I lasted about 10 seconds where as he didn’t even make it 5 seconds. It was hysterical watching the videos afterwards.
I’m finding that the world is getting really scary. There are wars, extremist groups, countries divided, the increase is racism, islamaphobia, homophobia and many other frightening things out there right now. The December 31st terrorist attacks are just one more example of such bad things happening in the world. And to make it even worse, in my opinion, politicians use events such as this to throw dirt on their opposition (seriously, somehow the US border issues played a role in in the New Orleans attack even though the perpetrator was born in the US and even served in their military).
I’m realizing that in order to not let all of the things going on take over too much space in my head, I have to find ways to stay positive. If I start thinking about all the dark things going on around me I fear I will go into serious depression. And so that means finding ways to stay positive. It really is not that bad, all I need to do each day is try and think about something good. I do admit that some days doing so is harder than others but most days I am able to do it.
While I am here in Mexico I think it is a bit easier because the weather is so sunny and warm. At home it can often be cold or even worse, days and days of rainfall. But there are other things here that help me to stay positive. One of the big ones is my cats whom I have been feeding again this week. As a matter of fact as of today they are all accounted for with the exception of the condo kitty who has moved to a new home. I had to laugh as I am convinced there is some sort of kitty communications network here and the cats have all gotten the word because they watch for me and come running when they see me. I also make sure that I am still working out at least 2 hours every day and I know that exercising really helps lift the weight of heavy thoughts.
I’m determined to stay positive. It doesn’t mean ignoring bad things happening around me, it just means protecting myself by being both physically and mentally fit.
We are once again bringing in the new year at the condo. Since 2018 we have only missed doing this once (2020 due to the pandemic). I think back to 2018 and all the changes we have seen in our lives and realize we truly are in a different place right now. It’s not just that we are both retired, ok admittedly my husband much more than I, but our priorities have just so significantly changed. Moreover, we are at a point where we appreciate the good things life has given us.
I have to acknowledge that this past year has been difficult to say the least. The loss of my brother threw me completely off balance and I have struggled to regain my footing. But tomorrow we start a new year and I have committed to getting back on track. Yes, I have not really faltered in terms of trying to stay fit (ok, the 2 weeks off because of that brutal cold did not do any significant damage to my fitness level and was absolutely the right thing to do) but I haven’t done as well in terms of things like healthy living. That is coming to an end as I plan to go back to focusing on my overall well being.
I am not a big believer in doing resolutions for the new year because in my opinion you are setting yourself up for failure. Instead, I like to set realistic goals and stick to them. I know I just need to remain focused on my overall journey which includes doing some more work on my mental health. My mental wellbeing was severally challenged this year and ironically not being able to run due to my ankle didn’t help because running was always so good for me to get rid of the thoughts in my head as all I could focus on was how much I hated running. I just need to find something to provide that distraction for an hour or so each day.
My other goal is going to be finding some new ways to give back to the community. I really am not sure what that is going to look like but I feel I have room to do more. Yes, I already do a fair amount of volunteering but I believe I have the capacity to push that even more (note, my husband will not be happy reading this). Maybe it is even finding some way to volunteer when I am here at the condo, I just have to figure it out.
Finally, I plan this year to not take anything for granted. If there was one thing I learned in 2024 it was your life can change in a second. Sometimes you just need to stop and look at all of the good things around you and give them full appreciation.
Happy New Year to all of you. May 2025 bring you all the joy it can.
Ok, it is Christmas Day so no workouts. Seriously, I cancelled the alarms for the rest of the week and this morning slept in until 6:30am which for me is pretty impressive. We got up following some family traditions and opened our presents and stockings. We all had a great time and appreciated what we received.
This Christmas was hard for us. The hole in our hearts that was left by my brother has not in any way shrunk. As a matter of fact, just the other night my sister and I sat on the couch and started crying because we miss him so much and didn’t know how we would get through the holidays without him. That was even more poignant this morning when normally our tradition would be my brother passing out all of the gifts. My husband took over that role and while he was an excellent fill in it was not my brother.
Now please, don’t think this is a sad post because it isn’t. You see last night we had our annual Christmas house. We had several close friends that came by and frankly when I look at the ‘children’ who have been coming to our place Dec 24th for many years and realized they are now adults I just can’t think of where the time went. I got to do the 1st (of many) toast and when I ended it with ‘to Drew’ there were a lot of tears. That led to some conversations including learning how many of our friends think of my brother often. Some of them even keep his picture or the program from his service on display because that is how much he impacted their lives. He lives on because of the amazing memories they shared with us last night.
And so today, I look at his picture and think of how much I miss him. But I also think of this wonderful man who touched the hearts of so many people. I so hope that when my life is celebrated at Christmas it is with the same adulation and love. Merry Christmas everyone oh and yeah, ‘To Drew!’
Ok, I think one of the instructors broke me. I told you about the 12 days of Christmas theme from Thursday’s fitness class. Yesterday that instructor substituted for the usual Circuit Friday instructor. While some of her exercises were similar to what I have done in the past there was a lot of new and challenging ones such as alternating one armed kettlebell thrusts. By the end I was coated in sweat but appreciated the workout. Then for today’s class it was our usual Saturday instructor and she let me know what we would be doing before I grabbed my weights. I picked up my usual pairs of 10lb, 12.5lb and 15lb knowing I might add something heavier at some point. WRONG. As I was carry those weights I thought holy crap are the muscles in my arms sore. Then when we did our 1st set of squats I realized my quads were feeling highly abused. I can’t remember the last time a fitness class made my muscles ache like that. Needless to say there was a lot of use of the 10lb weights today.
I don’t know if I mentioned this previously but during the summer on several occasions I saw parents running with their young children (I’d say ages 7-9). Now the parents wisely did it as interval running as obviously the kids were not going to run a few km’s at a time. When I saw this I thought good for the parents, I wish someone had started me on my fitness journey when I was young. Today at the fitness centre there were 3 children in attendance and while they did not participate I’ve been to other classes where the young ones do a mini workout with their moms.
I get that often times parents put their kids in organized sports or dance, etc to help keep them physically active and that is a good thing. However, research has shown that children will develop fitness as a lifelong habit if parents have them engaged in their own workouts. Like the parents I mention above who were engaging their children in their own fitness activity, it doesn’t have to be full on at the same level as the adult, it is just showing them how to get moving. And really, it doesn’t have to be a formal exercise session, it can be anything like hey, lets go throw some balls or play some hoops. The point is doing the activity together to imprint fitness on the kids.
So I applaud these parents for doing this with their children. I’d like to think in 20 years I am at the same fitness centre and seeing some of the young girls joining the classes as adults.
I’m not likely going to post on Tuesday simply because it will be Christmas Eve. Having said that, best of the holiday season to all of you and your families.
Tomorrow marks 4 weeks of having this cold. Now don’t get me wrong, compared to a week ago I am so much better. The only thing that still seems to be lingering is the congestion in my ears. It too is far better and I now refer to it as being in the snap/crackle/pop phase because that is what they sound like to me all the time. A little over a week until I fly to Mexico so I am really hoping they have cleared up by then.
I went to my normal 5:30am fitness class today and it was brutal. The instructor called it the ’12 Days of Christmas’. It went like this, there were 12 exercises. The first exercise you did 1 rep, the 2nd exercise you did 2 reps then 1 rep of the first exercise. You can see where this is going, 3rd exercise you did 3 reps, 2 of the 2nd and 1 of the 1st. You kept going until you got to the 12th exercise (you guessed it 12 reps) to work yourself back down through all of them. I thought at first it was pretty easy but trust me when I got to about the 9th exercise I was really feeling it. By time I got through it all I realized it was a great class (of course I realized it as I was thinking I’m too old for this shit).
But there was something I noticed today. In looking in the big wall mirror at the fitness centre I thought wait, where did that posture come from? I realized I was standing tall and straight. Moreover my weight was evenly balanced on both feet, something I haven’t done for years because of the cranky knee and back. And, it wasn’t uncomfortable to be standing like that which is a whole new phenomena for me. I was so used to compensating because of my knee, hip and back and yet somehow I’m not doing that anymore.
I actually do know where this comes from. Firstly, over the past 4 years I have really worked at standing as straight and tall as possible especially when I am walking. On top of that my core is super strong meaning it is much easier to properly balance my weight evenly. Even more important I have been working so hard for the last 4 months at getting better mobility in my knee and it has paid off meaning not just that I can bend it more but I can also straighten it more. That in particular allows me to make sure that my pelvis is properly aligned.
So it shouldn’t be a surprise that my posture has improved this much (but it is). All of this hard work didn’t just eliminate weight, it helped me become strong and taken has away so much pain it has also helped me ensure I can keep myself aligned enough to have that look of confidence I think I was lacking for a while.
Ok, I have so got this going forward.
gwennefarrell 