Yesterday would have been my brother’s 59th birthday. My sister and I decided we wanted to do something fun to celebrate him. We started out at a casino (he loved going to the casino) where we came out pretty good. We then got together was a large group of friends to enjoy lunch and a few toasts at his favourite pub. It was really just a lovely day.
I had skipped the fitness class yesterday morning because we wanted the day to just be about our brother. I didn’t feel bad about doing this as I knew I would just miss one class this week. As such I was up at the normal 3:30am time and off for my 5km walk by 4:15am. Tuesday is always a strength and mobility class so I try to push myself a bit and use weights that are on the heavier side. Sometimes it takes talking myself into using weights that I’m not sure I can handle but quite frankly I usually can.
Today we started out doing barbell front squats. To do this I cross my arms with my elbows parallel with the floor, rest the barbell basically across my collar bones and do a squat. While normally I would load the bar up with 10lb plates today I decided to grab the 15lb plates instead. Currently I am really focusing on pushing through equally on both legs so that distracted me from the thought that with the bar I was squatting with 65lbs.
The next exercises was good mornings (I have no idea why it has this name) which is where you place a heavy weight just below the nape of your neck and you bend until your chest is parallel to the floor. Again I went heavy with a 25lb weight. To complete this set we finished with single leg glute bridges with the twist that the heel of the leg doing the bridge was elevated on a bench.
I got through the first round ok but then I went to do the second round of good mornings I felt something twinge near my hip. As I continued on I realized it was more like I had pulled something in my groin. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t debilitating just painful enough to let me know something was wrong. I did finish not just this set but 2 other sets of exercises as I knew nothing in these other sets would impact my groin. Oh, and then I walked the 5km home.
But here’s the thing, I also realized on my walk home that my body was saying hey, something hurts here, maybe pull back a bit. I opted to stop my day at 3 hours of exercise including 10km of walking. That’s a lot of exercise already done and more than most people do in a day. Instead I listened to my body and am giving it break for the rest of the day.
I want to be clear, there is a big difference between discomfort and pain. Yes, somedays my body is screaming because I have worked it hard but that just makes me stronger. However, when there is pain in a joint (like my knee or ankle) or pain in an area you haven’t been working on then that is an indication that something is not quite right.
Will I feel bad that I didn’t burn 3,000 calories today? Probably. Will I feel better if tomorrow I don’t have any pain? Abosolutely.
Today I did something I have never done before, I forgot my vest. Normally on week days I am in a bit of a rush to get out the door by 4:15am so I have a schedule that I follow each day. I put everything on in order and am always out the door on time. Saturdays I only do a 10km walk 1st thing which means I sleep in a little and head out the door by 5:00am. I guess because I am not as rushed and don’t need things such as my water belt that things aren’t necessarily done in the same order. I got a couple blocks away and realized my reflective vest was still at home. As the route I was walking on is quite well lit and obviously it was a later start so a little brighter out I decided not to go back to get the vest. I will say I was a bit uncomfortable until the sun rose as I always have reflective gear when it is dark.
Now I have 2 pairs of shoes that I wear for walking/running/fitness class. They are the exact same model just different colours and I change them out at least once a week. I am very cognizant about the fact that you should replace shoes before they start showing signs of breaking down and have always followed that rule in the past. However, I was truly hoping I could hold off replacing these ones until after I got back from Mexico (I’m leaving in about 3 weeks). I think because of that I have been ignoring the usual signs of wear and tear.
The other day I was picking up my shoes off the floor and happened to look at the soles and went oh, oh, need to get to my footwear store ASAP. Now I go to a store where they make my orthotics and where I also buy the brace for my ankle. When I was struggling with the brand of shoe my podiatrist wanted me to wear this store did proper measurements of my feet, increased my size by .5 (this is because my feet swell due to the amount of walking/running) and completely changed the brand. I to this day swear I heard angels singing when I tried on the 1st pair and I have never looked back. Anyways, they only had 1 pair in my size that were wide and that were last year’s models (they are cheaper that way) but found one of their other stores had another pair that they could order in.
Yesterday was my first day with my new shoes. I didn’t try them on in the store because I knew they would fit. I put them on yesterday morning and thought they felt pretty good. By 8am I had walked 12.5km and done a fitness class. I will admit they were pressing a bit on my brace so when I met the gang for coffee I took the brace off to give my foot a break but it was back on 1 1/2 hour later as I headed out for another 6.5km walk. By the end of the day I had walked 22.5km and I added another 10km this morning so I think they are broken in now.
I picked up my 2nd set of shoes this morning (super funky colours as opposed to the 1st pair which are black and grey) and they will be broken in on Monday. After I picked them up the store sent me an email saying they estimate I should replace the shoes in a year. Apparently they have absolutely no idea how much I walk each week. I’m lucky if this set lasts 6 months but here’s hoping because they are not exactly cheap.
I’ve decided to be a little better at checking my shoe health going forward. I’ll go back to the first sign of wear and tear they are changed out for a new set. That way I will always be wearing good, supportive fitness shoes.
I’m sorry I didn’t post last week, I was up at the trailer and hadn’t taken my laptop with me. You know how much I hate trying to type my blog on my iPad. Then of course Tuesday I got myself so busy that I completely forgot to do a blog. I’ll try to do a bit better next week.
Last Wednesday was ‘Wings Over White Rock’. Our Canadian Forces aerobatic team, The Snowbirds, did a 45 minute demostration flying over our water front. I have seen this many times and it is so impressive. While I wasn’t home normally we can just sit on our front stoop and watch the show. My husband said he truly enjoyed watching it from our back deck.
The following day there was a post on Facebook saying the City and Federal Government should have stopped a train coming along the tracks at the end of the show to protect public safety. Now first of all, neither the City nor the Feds have any jurisdiction here. Those tracks, and the area surrounding the tracks, are owned by an American railway. Our Railway Act gives railways full jurisdiction as to what happens on the tracks and the surrounding easement. Still I thought, why was it an issue of public safety?
Well it turns out it was actually an issue of stupidity and lack of common sense. Several years ago a bunch of people living on the waterfront lobbied to have the area declared as a quiet zone (QZ). Eventually the railway agreed to do this but with a caveat, no longer would people simply be able to cross the tracks wherever they wanted. Rather, the tracks would be fenced off with several controlled crossings over the tracks (you know the ones where lights flash and arms come down). That itself caused an uproar as people felt they should have unfettered access to the beach but the railway stood it’s ground and said it was either trains be allowed to blow their whistles or that the fences and crossings be put in. Eventually the QZ was established and all along the fencing it clearly states being inside the fencing or on the track was trespassing and is a Federal offense.
Back to Wednesday. Hundreds of people decided to get on the tracks or stand between the tracks and the fencing. The problem was as the airshow was ending a passenger train was coming through and all those people were trying to get out of the area to get to their cars. The train slowed to an absolute crawl as the train driver violated the QZ by constantly blowing the whistle (good for them for doing that) and yet people still decided to cross in front of the train. I have seen the video and am disgusted that many parents put their children at risk by allowing them to be part of this.
I thought after I had seen the video, where has common sense gone? Let’s analyze the situation, you and your children get struck by a train, how do you think that is going to go? Even though this is a small passenger train, you cross in front of it and it cannot stop on a dime, it needs several hundred feet even if it is going at an ultra slow speed. Seriously, was seeing those planes in the sky worth risking your and your children’s lives? My common sense says no. And to say because people were violating the law that the train should not have been allowed to come through is absolutely ridiculous.
So I ask all of you, run your life with common sense. Don’t expect a train or anything else to adjust because you want to do something dangerous, stupid and quite frankly illegal.
Yesterday was an awesome day. Our City provides excursions to people 55+, a category my sister and I both fall under. During the summer they do what they call ‘Magical Mystery Tours’ in which you get on the City’s bus and have no idea where you are going or what you will doing during the day. We have done several in the past and have always had a great time. Yesterday was no exception as we went to a First Nation/Community museum, a trading post museum and a BC farm museum. All of them were just so interesting.
Now the problem I had was the bus was picking me up at 8:00am which meant I had to be at the meeting place by 7:30am. I got up at the regular time and by 5:20am I headed out for a 2 hour walk. Obviously I had to skip bootcamp because there was just not enough time to do a class along with a long walk. But a 2 hour walk simply does not get me to my active calories goal. I have that goal currently set at 750 calories burned due to exercise. I wasn’t worried about exercise minutes which I have set at 90 nor stand time which means standing and moving during at least 8 hours during the day, those goals I knew I would easily achieve. Once back from the day trip I met my husband at the local Elks lodge for the Friday night meat draw and I realized I was short about 100 calories to meet my active calories. The only solution was as soon as the meat draw was over I hit the road to walk home. I made sure it was at a good clip. I was thrilled when my Apple Watch said the my ‘move ring’ was closed. Phew, that meant 5 consecutive days of closing all 3 of my goal rings.
Today I was up early and hit the road by 5am to get in a 2 hour walk. I got home and was so disappointed. On my walk I only scored 466 active calories. Normally on a 2 hour walk I am closer to 600 calories. I am a bit challenged today as my schedule is pretty tight so I only have time for another 1 hour walk and I am short 284 calories. I headed out again and this time I focused on my pace and getting my heart rate up. Truly I walked hard and it worked because I ended up burning 301 active calories getting me past my 750 goal. I’ve closed my exercise minutes ring and am already at 5 of my 8 stand hours and have no doubt that ring will be closed by the end of the day as well.
But here is why I feel like I am starting to obsess, as I was out on my 2nd walk I was already planning my time tomorrow to make sure I get all 3 rings closed. Seriously? Sunday is supposed to be my recovery day but I am mentally determined that I have to have a perfect week and close all of my exercise goal rings. Unfortunately the way my head works is once I get focused on things I just can’t let it go and this is a prime example. I am literally debating myself about what time I need to get up and how I can get a 2nd walk in. This is despite the fact that I have plans with the family tomorrow. Sigh, yet I know I will figure out a way to get it all done.
I’ve come to realize I have got to do some work around letting this go. It will not be detrimental to not hit my goals every day. Next week I am going to the lake for 5 days and I go there to relax. That means it is unlikely that I will hit my goals any of those days. I’m just going to have to remind myself that doing some recovery days is not a bad thing.
I have so got to be determined, stay fit but to let things go occasionally. Definitely a work in progress.
I’ve been pushing things this week. When I am out walking I really have been walking hard trying to keep my pace up. I get frustrated when my pace is lower than what I think it should be so then I push harder. So far this week I have walked 85.54 km and the last 10 km walk today had the best pace so far. I”m going to keep pushing to make the most of all the walking I am doing.
Today was supposed to be a run day. I had planned to do a 5km run to the gym at 4:15am. The termperature was perfect for doing a run, not too cool and the heat hadn’t really started yet (note it has now). I was kind of excited to get my run done just to keep my momentum. But as they say, the best laid plans.
For those of you who don’t know, it is once again wildfire season. All across our interior, northern BC and even here in the Metro Vancouver area we have forest fires. To top all of those off we have fires south of us in Washington State. The problem with all these fires is the amount of smoke that is in the area. For us in my area, depending on the winds we will get smoke from our Province but also from the USA. It’s no one’s fault, it just depends on how bad the fires are and what way the winds are blowing.
When the Alexa alarm went off this morning it gave me the weather and it sounded perfect for my run. Then it announces, yellow alert for the poor air quality. One of the things with these warnings is that they say not to do heavy exercise outdoors due to the potential damage you can do to your lungs breathing in all the pollutants. I thought about it while I got ready and had breakfast and realized that doing a run potentially could do far more harm than not doing one. Instead, I opted to walk to the gym at a reasonable pace.
During my fitness class the instructor mentioned that she had initially planned on us doing some running intervals. I told her about my decision to forego running today and she felt it was an excellent call. While the smoke was not as bad today as it was yesterday, it is still hanging there.
And so, listen to the warnings, they are there for a reason. I know I have options like toning down an outdoor workout or using the treadmill (ew!). Either of those is better than risking damage from breathing in too much bad air.
Well, it looks like the heat has hit Metro Vancouver. I am always watching the next day’s weather to determing things like appropriate clothing. I looked at what was predicted for today and realized I needed a serious schedule change. Normally on Tuesday’s I walk 5 km to my volunteer gig then walk the 5 km home. However, it said the temperature by time I was to return home would be 27 c and feel like 30 c. And so, after I walked home from the gym I rested for a while and then went out on a 10 km walk. That left me just enough time to shower, eat lunch then head out to volunteer. It was a good choice.
Saturday I was supposed to try and do a 5 km run. I got up at my regular time, had breakfast then hit the road at 5am. It wasn’t the best of days but I was prepared for it. Due to the weather the promenade was quiet so it was really peaceful. I got to km 7 and realized I had completely forgotten I was going to do a run! I’ve so gotten out of the habit of running it never even crossed my mind. Dammit, I had so wanted to see if after not having done a real run in 4 months that I was still up to doing it. I finished what turned into my 10 km walk and went home.
Today I thought I would try longer intervals in my training. Last Thursday I had done 1 block walk 4 blocks run and it went fairly well. So I started running this morning and thought, why do I need to do interval training? Why not just run until I can’t do it any more. I kept running and every time that voice in my head told me to take a break I completely ignored it and just kept encouraging my legs to keep going. Surely if I could walk for 3 consecutive hours that I should be able to run for less than one hour. You know what? I could and I was pretty happy to hear the voice on my Apple Watch tell me I had done 5 km.
Now I am going to admit, at first I was a little upset by how slow my split pace was (it only improved marginally during the run). But I reminded myself, build the endurance then the speed. That is how I have been successful in the past and I want that success again this time. I mentally encouraged myself to disregard the split pace and rather just finish the run.
For the 1st time in a long time I managed to do a run. I’m pretty proud of myself. More importantly there is no pain in my foot or ankle which tells me this is the right time to start training again. Next one will be Thursday and I am looking forward to it.
I saw something incredibly stupid this morning on my walk. We frequently have trains along our waterfront. They are usually long and can be hauling containers, tankers or coal. A number of years ago people living close to the waterfront lobbied to have the tracks in our city be labeled a quiet zone so that trains could not blow their whistles along the waterfront (crazy since trains have been on those tracks longer than any of those people have been alive). Because of the ‘no whistles’ the company that owned the tracks fenced off the tracks and put in a number of crossings with arms that come down to block people from crossing the tracks when a train approaches. I could hear the train as I neared the beach and thought I would just walk in the parking lot until it passes. Some Einstein, however, decided when the lights at a crossing started flashing and the arms started to lower that it would be a good idea to crouch down to get under them to beat the train. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
I mentioned in my last post that doing some running and 2 consecutive classes involving back squats then a brutal strength class on Thursday meant my quads were on fire. I am not kidding, even after soaking in the hot tub Thursday I was still having issues walking up and down our stairs. Don’t get me wrong, I know they were sore because I had ‘fatiqued’ them which is part of the strength process but man, were they rebelling. I decided it was time to change things up a bit.
I canceled my fitness class yesterday. It was a circuit class with the same instructor from my Thursday class. She is really a great instructor but she is brutal. I knew I would get through the class but I also knew my body was looking for a break. And so I opted to do an endurance walk instead. By that I mean starting my day at 5am with a 3 hour, 15 km walk. I had done this the previous week and while my feet were sore by time I was done it was a good experience and I like the fact that I can walk for that long and do it at a good pace.
And so off I went. I walk so much that I know that my normal 2 hour route gets me to almost 10km. I also know how many blocks I need for each km walked so I simply figured out how to add on to my normal route to get me to my goal. I kept my pace nice and steady and counted off the remain blocks I needed to put in. I will acknowledge that my Apple Watch counting out my km’s for me is quite helpful as it ensures the accuracy of my distance calculations. I got to the coffee shop to meet my friends at exactly the correct time and felt pretty good. I rested up for about an hour before hittig the road again to do 5 more km so that I could hit my daily goal. I should note that I was able to do the final walk at an even faster pace so obviously my body was up for it.
While I still put in plenty of workout time yesterday, it was the right decision for my body. When I got up this morning to head out for a 10km walk my legs felt pretty good. Apparently those quads just needed a bit of a break so that they could recover. Sometimes just changing things up can help with the whole fitness process. It also confirmed that I do have endurance so I think I am going to add at least 1 3hour walk in each week just for something different.
Today was a funfilled day shopping at Costco. We try to do it every 6 months or so to stock up on essentials when we are getting low on things. What always seems to be on the list is paper towels, toilet paper, tea and Mrs Dash. Today was no exception though we also stocked up on vitamins for my sister and I. It also gives us an excuse to take a water sample from our hot tub into the dealership to make sure I have the chemicals balanced. Today the levels were pretty good and a quick tweak and everything is back in line.
I have been working hard this week and let me assure you after 2 consecutive fitness classes where back squats were done not to mention a 2nd day of running intervals let me assure you my quads are killing me. I plan on a soak in said hot tub this afternoon and if they aren’t better I will skip circuit class tomorrow to do an endurance walk (3 hours/15 Km). That will hopefully allow my quads to recover enought to attempt a 5km run on Saturday.
During yesterday’s class we were doing sumo back squats. You pick up a weighted barbell, rest it on the meaty area across the bottom of your neck/shoulders, widen your stance, turn your feet outward and squat. Ok, I admit quads weren’t happy but I did it anyways. When I was on my 2nd round the instructor came over and asked if it was my right knee that was bad. I showed her the scars as she showed me how the weight on the right side had shifted from the correct placement to the end of the barbell. She told me that she thought I was subconciously protecting my knee and therefore was lifting mainly through my left leg. Interesting, I thought since we never would have know that if I had put clips on the bar to hold the weights in place.
And so I started round 3 determined that I was going to fix this. Normally when I am doing back squats I focus on butt back first. That is, make sure there is a slight hinge in my hips before I go into the squat. This time instead I thought push through your right foot. Each of those 8 squats I focused on that because I really want to get this right.
I hit the 4th round and unbeknownst to me the instructor was behind me watching what I was doing. She was thrilled that the weight did not once move. Obviously I had balanced out pushing through both legs. Funny, I said to her, I never would have corrected that if I had put the clips on as usual. I also told her that now I am going to be cognizant when doing any squats that I can feel the strength going through both legs when I come up from the squat.
I learned something new yesterday and I am kind of excited that I did so. I now can consistently work on balancing my leg strength until such time as it comes naturally. Oh and doing squats today I used it to stop thinking about the pain in my quads.
I got a panicked call yesterday for the organization where I participate in the Community Volunteer Income Tax Clinic each year during tax time. The daughter of an elderly gentleman came in with the summary of his 2025 income tax and advised that according to the Canada Revenue Agency his taxes had not been electronically filed. This in turn meant he was no longer eligible for the universal dental plan. I was asked if I could resolve this based on the information that had been supplied and I assured them it wasn’t a problem. It took me more time to get in touch with the daughter to provide the information I needed to ensure he got the Provincial rental rebate than it did for me to complete the forms and get them filed. To be on the safe side I even provided the daughter with a pdf showing the taxes were filed and gave the confirmation number. I know taxes and issues with the CRA can be daunting to some people but hell, I’ve successfully battled the IRS which is a whole different ball game.
For the past few weeks I have been doing red light therapy on my foot and ankle. This is the foot where I partially detached a ligament and tore 2 tendons. Then when it was almost back to normal I twisted it while in Mexico and that really set me back. I have a friend who swears by red light therapy and after 6 weeks of healing and still having a ways to go to be back to pre-Mexico I decided what the hell, why not give it a try. I read up on it some and studdies have shown that it can promote healing, reduce swelling and alleviate pain. I was a bit skeptice but the unit wasn’t that expensive so no real loss if it didn’t work.
This is not the only thing I had done to promote healing. I have consistently done exercises given to me by my physio therapist when I first injured my foot. I also have ensured that whenever walking or doing a fitness class that I wear compression socks and my brace. All of that had gotten me close to healed but I needed to cross the finish line so on to the red light therapy. Well guess what, it seems to have worked. I have next to no pain in my foot or ankle and there is only minimum swelling (that is likely do to the fact I have chronic tendonosis).
I decided since this seems to have been so successful it was time to do some training so that I can get back to running. Today was my first training day as I know it would be stupid to try to do even a 5km after not doing a run in months. And so out I went with a 15 minute walk before starting to run. I tried a split 1 minute run/4 minute walk but it was quickly obvious that it was too easy. So instead I opted for 8 minute run/5 minute walk. A few of those and I realized nothing hurt so for the last 1km I just ran. I was surprised that it wasn’t bad at all.
I do want to be clear I am not doing a hard run. I am making sure to stay in areas where it is flat and I am not at all concerned about my speed (ok, I admit my pace is slower than what it should be but hey, 1st training run in a long time). I am going to work on endurance and then speed.
I calculate I probably ran a total of 3km this morning and I felt pretty good. I’m going to try again on Thursday, assuming there is no issues with my foot. If that run goes well Saturday I am going to walk to the beach and try a full 5km. If all of this goes well I’ll be back to running a consistent 3 times per week while building back up to doing a 10km at least once per week.
Yep, I am definitely back to training.
It was quite warm when I left to walk to the fitness centre at 4:15am. I was pretty sweaty by time I got there as I was walking at a good clip. It was high intensity strength training today and when I was doing my last set of exercises one of the other ladies noted it was really hot. I lamented that I was not looking forward to walking home and she offered to give me a ride since she goes right by my street. I thanked her but noted I’m taking a break for a few days so I had to get in at least 15km today and I have done so.
When I went to Mexico in April I took a craft project with me, diamond painting. Now if you are not familiar with diamond painting think paint by numbers using little beads. You have a pattern with number and letters on it and you use a ‘pen’ to place the corresponding bead on the picture (the background of the pattern is sticky so the bead adheres to it). The first one I did was coasters with colourful Christmas gnomes as the pattern. Each of the 8 coasters were different. I had such a good time decorating those coasters that I had to order 2 new sets which my husband brought down for me to complete. Now I should note that during the pandemic I had started a big pattern of 2 wolves but hadn’t enjoyed doing diamond painting. That pattern ended up at the condo but I hadn’t touched it in the 4 years it has been there.
So what changed? A couple of things. First, the coasters are quick to do. I can finish one coaster in a couple hours. Secondly, I didn’t like the wolves as the pattern had so many beads that were dark. That meant they were really difficult to place on the pattern and at times it was hard to distinguish the numbers and letters. But guess what? Once I had finished all of the coaster sets I finished that big pattern as well. And so by time I had left Mexico I had finished 3 sets of coasters (Christmas gnomes, coffee gnomes and humming birds) as well as the wolves.
Once I got home I immediately ordered more coasters to do but I also learned there are all sorts of accessories I could get for my diamond painting. So far I have bought a full kit which comes with almost everything I need including little containers for the beads, lables for those containers and most importantly various pens that allow you to place 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9 beads at one time. I also bought a roller which allows you to press the beads firmly into the sticky surface. Finally, I got a finishing coating that helps to permanently secure the beads. Oh and the next trip to Mexiso I am taking 3 large patterns, a humming bird and 2 different sea turtles. I don’t know what I am doing with all of these once they are finished but it will keep me occupied.
I’m really enjoying this new hobby as I find it quite relaxing. I like seeing the progress as I go along and I have noticed that I am more strategic in which bead number I am going to do next which is making it go even faster. It also lets me clear my head which given my crazy schedule is really helpful. I think I am going to keep doing this for a while.
Just a heads up, there won’t be a post Saturday as I am heading up to do some work at the trailer for the next few days.
gwennefarrell 