gwennefarrell

Well it was a fun walk down at the beach this morning. I got about 1/2 way along the east beach promenade when a City worker stopped me and advised that I would have to take a detour as part of the promenade was closed. He explained that a backhoe had gone off the promenade and was actually leaning as the ground beneath its weight was sinking. He thought the pier would be open (it was not) and assured me the portion of the promenade west of the pier was still open. Of course after the detour when I got to the pier I had to take pictures. While I prefer to be able to look at the water as I walk, it was still a good walk.

Yesterday was officially the last day of my 6 week challenge. It was actually more than that as it was also the last day I committed to walking at least 20km. I’m going to start by talking about the walking. In the 21 days that I pushed myself there was actually only 1 day that was only 20km, the rest were more like 25+km with the top day being 28km. Overall in those 3 weeks I walked a total of 761,494 steps which was an average of 36,262 per day. This totaled 506km (316 miles) or 24km per day (15 miles). That alone is a massive accomplishment and I am proud at how hard I worked to keep at it.

As for the challenge, this morning was weigh in time and I admit I was nervous. My biggest concern was that I have worked so hard I was worried if the scale hadn’t moved much then I would lose my momentum. Well, the scale moved though maybe I would have been happier with another few pounds, I can definitely say there was a pretty good dip. Moreover, my arms and legs are again getting really buff and you can once again see my collar bones. Overall this challenge has been so good for me and I am so determined to stick with what I have learned.

So what now? Well I am sticking with my daily calorie calculator app because I find that visual has been important for me. I am not going to try and maintain 20km a day simply because this past 3 weeks I have spent 5 hours most days doing bootcamp or walking and that is a bit much. What I have decided to do is start training to run again so that I am getting in some good cardio workouts each week.

I know that if I stick to this plan that I will make my way back to my goal weight and fitness by the end of the year. Once I get there, I plan on staying there.

Yesterday marked the most walking I have ever done in a single day. I did my usual 2 sets of 2 hour walks, walked my dog, walked my senior’s dog and then when I realized where I was at for the day I took a final walk after dinner. The total was 42k steps and 28 km (17.5 miles). I only have 2 more days of walking at least 20 km per day before I scale it back a bit. The problem is I love the fact that I am walking this much so not so sure how successful I will be at scaling it back.

Today I opted not to do the bootcamp course. There were 2 reasons for this, firstly I was in a real time crunch and secondly I was pretty sure what I was about to embark on would make up for it. You see when we were in Mexico in May my husband surprised me for our anniversary by buying me an inflatable paddleboard. The problem was I had no idea how to use it and was concerned that with the bad leg and all, my balance wasn’t good enough. But, I am in the land of no excuses so I had to find a way to be able to successfully paddleboard as part of my ongoing journey.

Today was paddleboard lessons at White Rock beach. I bought the lessons for myself and my husband as he said he wouldn’t mind trying it as well. I have to admit I was nervous as I had tried standing on the paddleboard in Mexico and I wasn’t good at it. However, we are getting a second paddleboard for up at the trailer so I knew I had to master this.

The instructor was awesome. He gave us some on land instructions on what we would be doing as well as taught us how to properly set the paddle length. He was aware of my knee issues and said if I couldn’t master standing up on the board we would find a work around. Fortunately all week during classes I had been practicing how to stand up from a kneeling position which I desperately hoped would get me up on the board. He had us kneel as we paddled out to deeper waters and then it was time to prove what I had in me. Using my hands for balance I got one foot and then the other under me and stood up on the board. Ok, first step accomplished now to try and not end up in the cold ocean (this part did not go well for my husband but as I joked to him he has a very obvious different center of gravity).

I’d be lying if I said I felt comfortable at first on the board. As a matter of fact me legs were literally shaking. However, the instructor coached me through it and got me to relax. He then had me do things like squat, twist my torso, move my feet, and rock the board all to give me confidence that I could balance. Then it was off to the open water learning how to do things like paddle and turn the board. Within about 15 minutes I realized I was no longer worried about my balance and was just focusing on the correct way to paddle. Soon after that it was all about looking at the beautiful scenery all around me.

After an hour and a half the bad leg was tired (ok, not helped by the fact that by 10am I had already walked 20 km) and my balance was starting to fail. As I thought I was about to go into the freezing Pacific Ocean I remembered the instructions I had been given, if you feel like you are going to fall try to drop down flat on the board. Much to my amazement that is absolutely what I managed to do! After laying there for a few seconds I went back to a kneeling position and paddle back to shore joining my husband (who had never successfully gotten up on his board).

All in all this was a great experience for me. The board we have ordered will be here before our next trip to the trailer and I plan on getting in as much practice as possible on the lake (where I note the water is much warmer should I fall off the board). I figure by time I get to Mexico in September I will be a pro at this.

Yep, trying new things sometimes works out pretty well.

Today marks 17 days of walking at least 20 km per day. Ok, in reality most days are more than that. For example, today is the least amount of walking I have done so far this week, only 25 km. Yesterday was the best day I have had clocking in at 27.25 km. My goal is to get through 4 more days at these kind of levels so that I will have done 3 weeks of over 20 km per day. I figure that will be quite the accomplishment but I don’t quite know what I am going to do next to ramp things up.

As I wind down my 6 week challenge I realized this has been one of the best gym experiences that I have ever had. Goodbrand Fitness is entirely different from what I have been used to in the past. Unlike other gyms I have tried, this one doesn’t have a bunch of fitness equipment. As a matter of fact what they mainly have is weights and mats. Instead they seem to believe in using the power of your body to keep you fit.

They operate on a system of doing a range of classes. These include everything from bootcamp, power strength, zumba to yoga. There are ones that they describe as a full body workout that I look forward to trying in the near future (though seriously the power strength class this morning definitely covered the full body). They don’t exaggerate when they say the classes are for all levels of fitness as even the the guest instructors are quick to help with modifications to any exercise. I noticed this morning that the board listing what we were going to do had a lot of sets that involved kneeling. I quietly went to the instructor to advise I can’t kneel and she was like, great, let’s go through what you are going to do. I should note, she did not make things easier for me, she just found a way that I could get the same workout without having to kneel.

I guess the other thing I find unique about all of this is the comradery of the 5:30am class. About 1/2 the participants show up every morning, Monday to Friday. I guess we are all just a group of very early risers because we all seem to be ready to go as soon as the class starts. There seems to be a lot of support amongst this group which helps especially on the tough workouts.

Because this has overall been a very positive experience, I’m pretty sure I am going to stick around to finish this leg of the journey. It has really re-invigorated me to get myself back to my peak level of health and fitness.

Yesterday I headed out for my first walk at 7:30am (after already doing a bootcamp class). I got down to the beach and thought hmm, maybe I should have worn pants and not shorts. By time I hit the end of the pier it was now not only cold but it was windy at which point I had tears streaming down my face. Still I kept going even though I certainly wasn’t comfortable but I kept reminding myself that is the last week of my 6 week challenge and I am going to meet this week’s goals.

I think I mentioned that our usual instructor is off on vacation so we have guest instructors all this week. Today was a lovely woman named Kelly who is on the younger side but is quite buff. She had our workout laid out in circuit style so she demonstrated the first set of 5 exercises (all of them with weights) which we had to do 3 times. It was a really back and shoulder focused but I kind of enjoyed it.

Once we were through that first set she demonstrated the 2nd set of 5 exercises one of which involved doing a plank. I like Kelly because she seemed to be very cognizant of the fact most of us are not anywhere near her fitness level so she provided lots of modifications. When she got to the plank she showed the modifications and ultimately said look, even if you can only do it for 10 seconds just do your best. One of the other participants shouted out no, that isn’t acceptable you have to do better.

Now I want to point out that the woman who said that is in her mid 30’s and is quite fit. She has been doing these workouts since the gym was established 3 years ago and great that she has the ability to do a plank for 45 seconds, many of the others in the class can’t. These classes are comprised of women of all ages, sizes and fitness levels. Some, like me, have physical limitations that no amount of exercising is going to change. Some are just starting down their fitness journey and are trying to find their motivation. The bottom line is everyone in that gym at any given time is at a different point in their fitness.

I thought about the comment that was made and while I know she likely made it in jest, I realized she could have done a lot of damage. We have a woman in the class that is only in week 2 of her challenge and is trying really hard but sometimes needs to catch her breath. We have another woman who would aggravate her shoulder injury if she even had to try a plank. There are others in the class that simply are not at a weight level that would allow them to do this type of exercise. I thought, what if that off the cuff comment caused any one of these women to push themselves too far causing them to quit or even worse injure themselves.

It’s important that we all think about our words and be mindful of how they can impact others. If they are not going to do so positively then maybe those words should not be spoken at all.

Today I decided that after 5 weeks it was time for a splurge day. We had found a fish and chips restaurant the last time we were at the trailer and decided to give it a try. I was happy because the menu had a ‘smaller appetites’ section which meant I could order a small piece of fish which came with fewer fries. It was the perfect amount for me and really didn’t blow my calorie intake out of the water. I don’t call this a ‘cheat’ day because I planned ahead and tonight’s dinner will be a salad with grilled, skinless chicken. I’m confident I’ll be in a good range for my overall calorie intake.

Today is our 3rd full day at the lake and we are heading home tomorrow. The past couple years it has gotten pretty easy to come up to the trailer and kind of let everything go. By that I mean eating things I shouldn’t and not doing many (if any) workouts. The last time we were here I vowed to reverse that behaviour and I was pretty successful. This time I did even better.

The past 3 mornings I have logged at least 20km each day along with 30+k in steps. I have managed to walk at least 4 hours each day all of which has been done by noon. I have also been very careful about what I have eaten (not a single potato chip) and it has all been healthy meals with lots of fruits and veg. I think I have even mastered cooking on the charcoal grill given how Thursday’s pork chops and last night’s steaks turned out. Moreover, I have not once eaten just for the sake of it but rather have only eaten at mealtimes.

So why is it so different this year? I think it is because I have gotten back both my motivation and determination. I am working so hard the rest of the time I don’t want to have to ramp things up just to accommodate bad habits at the trailer. For me holding on to consistency on this leg of the journey has been essential.

And so tomorrow I will be up before dawn to get in a 2 hour walk before heading home. A little more than a week before weigh in and I am getting excited.

I am currently up at my trailer which as you know always concerns me in terms of working out. However, this morning by 11am I had already done 20km which is 30k steps. I got up at 5am and did a 2 hour walk, came back to rest for an hour and re-hydrate then back out for another 2 hour walk. I am doing this first thing in the morning for 2 reasons. 1) if I delay I know I will find a distraction like watching an eagle soar and the not workout and 2) it is bloody hot here so in order not to die in a pool of sweat then I need to beat the heat. I also then followed the walks up with a quick set of weight training. This is my 10th consecutive day of 30+k steps and I have decided everyday from now until the end of my 6 week challenge I will meet that level of walking.

When I started my challenge at Goodbrand Fitness I was really nervous. While they assured me they catered to all fitness levels and could modify exercises to meet my needs I was still sceptical. And, to be honest I hadn’t been to a gym in about 30 years so I was sure things in fitness classes had changed a lot and they had. I attended my first class and felt completely like an uncoordinated buffoon. However, I quickly realized they could modify the exercise to accommodate my bad knee and back. Moreover, they gave less challenging ways to do the exercises so if you weren’t quite as fit so you could still work out.

Now I admit when I started I would often opt for the less challenging methods. Some justification I was able to use is that well, higher intensity is bad for the knee oh and heavier weights could bother the my spinal stenosis so I better use lighter weights. I did that for the first 2 weeks and then told myself that I can actually do this so time to suck it up.

Over the past few weeks I have continued to push myself more (seriously walking at least 20km a day should be proof enough) and decided I need to try exercises in class at a more intense level. Yesterday during the bootcamp class I realized I am absolutely there. When given the chance to modify and making the exercises easier I am declining and pushing myself. Ok, there are exercises I can’t do but I even push the modifications to the max. And I admit, it is not killing me.

So why the change? Well, I’ve come to realize that I can do this shit. I’ve also given myself permission that it is ok if I am working my ass off on something and need to take a 2 second break, then so be it especially if I am pushing myself. It has meant my confidence has grown 10 fold but then so has my determination to see this through.

I have so got this!

This morning I was out on my long walk which included my 2nd walk up Oxford Hill (the first was on Sunday). As my goal this week was 2 walks up that hill and given the fact I am heading to the trailer tomorrow today was pretty much my last chance to get it done. While I was walking along the pier I noticed a gentleman who I had seen out walking earlier. He was stopping all along the pier picking up garbage that had been left lying around. Now I could do a whole rant on that garbage but instead I am going to reflect on what a nice gesture that man was doing, keeping our pier clean and enjoyable for all of us.

Yesterday I started week number 4 of my 6 week challenge. As our normal early morning instructor is heading off on vacation, she had brought in one of the guest instructors to give leading our bootcamp a try. As this particular instructor normally does one on one training, our usual instructor stuck around to give some feedback. The workout was different from what I was used to as this instructor focused heavily on alternating between weights and then lower body strength exercises. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it and got a decent workout, it just went down a different path.

I’ve gotten into the habit of when we are using weights for upper body strength I tend to face the mirrored wall so that I can watch my stance. Because of my chronic back problems I concentrate on making sure my posture is absolutely correct including engaging my core the entire time I am using the weights. Our regular instructor came over to speak to me (I assumed it was because I was doing something wrong) and commented on the fact she noticed me engaging my core and then said, you look like you have really started losing weight. She then asked if I had been weighing myself and when I explained that I hadn’t simply because if the scale wasn’t moving I didn’t want to lose the momentum and motivation that I currently have. She said she understood and can’t wait until my final check-in.

Later yesterday while out having coffee with my seniors’ walking group one of them also commented that I was losing weight. This of course had my husband groaning because he claims that I constantly ask him if I am skinny (this of course is not true). But you know what? This all just validated how I have been feeling. I know I am not losing all the wait I gained just by doing the 6 week challenge. However, I also know that if it is in fact getting me back into shape and to my goal weight then I am in this for the long run.

So, bring on the next 2 weeks. I can hardly wait to see what I manage to accomplish.

Today is Canada Day, a day when Canadians get to celebrate the wonderful country where we live. This morning I did a 2+ hour walk to the beach and back and the promenade was packed. There were all sorts of arts and craft vendors along the way and they were setting up for the fireworks that will happen tonight. Fortunately the weather has decided to cooperate and I’m sure all the families down at the beach will have a fabulous time.

I have one more day left in week 4 of my 6 week challenge and I can’t believe how far I have come with my fitness during that time. I am enjoying my morning fitness classes and have kept my commitment to attend at least 3 classes a week (this past week I made it to 6 but next week it will be 3 because I am heading to the trailer). But it is the the work outside of the gym that has really ramped up. I am back to where I was 2 years ago in terms of walking and each week I seem to push myself farther.

Week 1 of the challenge I walked 72k steps (which was still 10k steps per day) and 48km. Week 2 I doubled that doing 141k steps and 95km. Week 3 I did even more walking 170k steps and 113km. This week I have really pushed because as of right now I am at 205k steps and 136km (note, still have walking to do today). Each week I add some time to my walking and some days I just push myself as hard as I can. For example, yesterday I managed to walk 24km which for my American friends is about 15 miles. This past week I had committed to a 16km walk every day yet Monday was the only day I did less than 20km. I’m going to work hard at keeping that up next week and then I will bump things up so that I am doing a few super walks (for me that is a walk of about 3 hours) to work on endurance.

So yeah, I am definitely back in the game. My motivation level is so high right now and I plan to keep it that way. Only 2 more weeks before my weigh in and I am already in the headspace that it doesn’t really matter how much that scale has moved, what matters is I am proud of the hard work I am putting into this.

To end I have a funny story. Yesterday I went to walk Miss Keeva and found out that the elevators in her building weren’t working. So, I walked up the 4 flights of stairs to pick up Miss Keeva and of course at the end of the walk it was back up those stairs. I said to her owner, apparently I really picked a bad day to have walked 23km before having to take out Miss Keeva.

Happy Canada everyone!

Over the past week I have really kicked things up a notch. Last week I did a fair amount of walking, at least 16km each day. My goal was to do the same this week but all of a sudden on Tuesday by time I was done walking for the day I was just short of 30k steps and 20km. I decided to do a few minutes on the treadmill and lo and behold I had hit those numbers. I felt pretty good about that so yesterday I thought hey, why not do it again. The end result was 31k+ and 21km. Now I am determined that for the next 3 days I keep that up and I am confident that I can do it.

This week I will be taking an early morning class at the gym 6 days (the Sunday class doesn’t challenge me enough). Each class I go to I try and push myself just a little more. Even things that are out of my comfort zone I am trying to make myself do. On Tuesday at the Power Strong class there was a lot of exercises that involved kneeling and I decided I was going to push through the pain in my bad knee and get it done. I did that and later realized it was a very poor decision.

Tuesday was also my Caregiver Support group that I facilitate. The weather was awesome so I walked there which took about an hour (I had already done another 1 hour walk). After the session I walked back home and that is where the problems began, my knee was killing me. This isn’t about overworking it, it was about kneeling for some time on a knee that is not only full of arthritis but also scar tissue which is rock hard. Imagine kneeling for any length of time on rocks, that is what it feels like to me only the rocks are actually in my knee.

I was talking to my husband about this and he told me how proud he is of how hard I am working but reminded me that I have limitations no matter how healthy and fit I am. I had to agree with him. So, yesterday I spoke with the instructor I deal with most of the time and advised I just can’t do anything that involves kneeling. She told me that was good to know and that she would work on some modifications for me so that I can still get in the same workout. I mentioned it to today’s instructor who said she would do the same for me. Neither one questioned me about this, they just committed to find a work around for me.

Ultimately it reminded me that I have limitations and that is ok. This is not an excuse in any way, rather it is just my reality. I still intend to work as hard only some exercises I am just going to have to do differently.

Yesterday I started week 4 of my 6 week bootcamp. At the end of each week I have to submit my goal for the coming week which of course should always be a commitment to improve. This week I have opted to set my goal as walking 16k each day this week. I am well on my way and I really appreciate the weather cooperating. My only challenge is tomorrow when I have a zoom meeting from 9:30am-1pm. I think I have a schedule worked out to still be able to get in the walking I need to do.

The other thing I have to log as part of my weekly check-in is how much water I have drank on average each day. While as part of my program I am supposed to drink 2 litres each day (8 cups) the actual recommended amount is 2.7 litres (11.5 cups) each day. Now hold on a second, I just simply can’t do that. Just the fact that at my age I already tend to pee a lot, if I drank that much I probably would never be able to do a 1 1/2 hour walk. It would also mean I would be up all night which would not be great given my challenge sleeping.

So what to do? Well I did some research and it is not about drinking WATER, it is about taking in fluids. Ok, that’s better because I do drink tea, coffee and non-alcoholic beer on top of the water I drink. I decided to look into this via a reliable source, the Mayo Clinic. According to their website if you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables which can have a high water content and you drink sufficient other fluids then you are likely well hydrated. Oh, and in during research I learned that it is a myth that caffeine is a diuretic so that coffee and tea that I drink absolutely counts towards fluid intake. When I take that into consideration and the fact that my meals include a lot of fruits and vegetables I figure I am getting the right amount of hydration.

There are a couple of things that indicate if you need to hydrate more. The first is do you get thirsty. If so then drink more fluids. The second is the colour of your urine. As a guide, if your urine is completely clear it could indicate that you are drinking too many fluids. If it is pale or transparent (i.e. a light yellow or amber) you probably are getting enough fluids especially if you are not thirsty. Urine that is dark yellow is a sign that you are probably not getting enough fluids. There are other colours and indicators but I thought I would stick to the 3 simplest indicators.

For me I apparently am well hydrated and need to stop worrying about how much ‘water’ I drink each day. I’ll just keep doing what I am doing as I forge ahead on this journey.

A final note, the above information is based on the research I have done (you know, Dr Google). If you are concerned about your own outcomes please consult a medical professional.