Never say Never

We've all heard the saying Never say Never.

I said it all the time.

Here is a write up about how in October of 2017 I vowed to never say 'never say never' again.

I Don't Run

https://diabetesstrong.com/started-running-type-1-diabetes/

2015 Exercise Wrap-Up and Plan for 2016

Hey everyone... remember me?  The crazy cat/penguin/walking lady who blogs every now and then?

Life got really hectic there for awhile and some things (like this blog) took a back seat.  It happens.

However, I do want to bring my 2015 exercise competition to a close, and I can't do that without wrapping up the reporting here.  I also need to share the 2016 goals.  We've added a core component to keeps things interesting.. and might I add, a bit more painful.

So without further ado here are the remaining 2015 totals (I did end up winning November and December):

October (goal of 50 miles):

Miles walked: 38.98

Minutes exercised: 800 = 26.67

Water intake 29/31 days = 6.75

TOTAL: 72.4 miles

 

November (goal of 40 miles):

Miles walked: 34.91

Minutes exercised: 630 = 21

Water intake 23/30 days = 4

TOTAL:  59.91 miles

 

December (goal of 40 miles):

Miles walked: 22.34

Minutes exercised: 1035 = 34.50

Water intake 26/31 days = 5.25

TOTAL:  62.09 miles

Notice the trend?  As the holidays approached we stopped moving and by stopping moving we slowed our water intake.  It really isn't a surprise that the two go hand in hand.

The prize for winning the year (most months won) went to Jenna. 

Winning Months:

      Jenna:                                      Jenn:

      January                                    February

      March                                      April

      May                                         August

      July                                         November

      September                              December

      October

 

It was a great year.  I am a little bummed that I didn't win my birthday month, but that is totally okay.  Just increasing our activity and water intake it has assured that I'll have more birthday months in my future.

 

We had so much fun with this competition, not to mention that it's good for us, that we are continuing it.  We have added a core component just to keep things interesting and to add attention to an area that wasn't specifically getting any attention last year.

 

2016 Rules:

 

Miles ran OR walked count the same

*30min workout/exercise = 1 mile

*Bike riding 3:1 (3 miles equals 1 mile credited because of coasting time)

*Water intake of 72oz per day is worth .25 mile.  If not completed, must subtracted .25 mile.

*First person to reach monthly goal gets a $10 gift from the other (must be mailed).

*If you fail to reach monthly goal you have to also send a $5 gift card to a cheesy location (ie: Toys R Us)

*Person with the most miles at the end of the month has bragging rights.

*Person with the most monthly wins at the end of the year gets a $50 gift card to a restaurant of their choice

(and here are the additions)

*Once per quarter we must participate in a virtual 5K (the registration fee goes to different charities based on the 5K you choose).  This will be credited as double miles.  If NOT completed, we must donate $40 to a local charity.

*Daily core completed = .20 miles.  If fail to complete we must subtract .20 miles  Daily core consists of squats, planks, crunches, and wall sits.  These increase quarterly as the year progresses.

• First quarter:  10 squats, ten 10 second planks, 10 crunches, and ten 10 second wall sits
• Second quarter: 20 squats, ten 20 second planks, 20 crunches, and ten 20 second wall sits
• Third quarter: 30 squats, ten 30 second planks, 30 crunches, and ten 30 second wall sits
• Fourth quarter: 40 squats, ten 40 second planks, 40 crunches, and ten 40 second wall sits

2016 Goals:

January through March: 40 miles
April through June = 50 miles
July through September = 60 miles
October = 50 miles
November through December = 40 miles

Once again, our goal is not to necessarily loose weight or fit into a favourite old pair of jeans.  Our goal is to get moving and stay moving.  Moving is key.  



Month 9 of competition

The ninth month of competition is in the books.  It set some records and made me realize that even with fun burnout can happen.

To begin...I did not win. 

It was a bummer to say the least.  I wanted to win September, not just because it is my birthday month, but also because I wanted to win back to back months.  I know where my problem happened.  I got burned out.  I started out really good with my morning walking, and then slacked off.  I did a few evenings of yard work, and then none for a week.  I really truly and honestly wanted to win September, but my physical motivation didn't match my mind set.  I was tired.

I needed a vacation.

We took a vacation.

My birthday weekend was the most fun I've had in a very long time!  My best friend (yup.. the one I'm in competition with) and I went to southern California to bask in the sun on the beach.  A total girl's road trip (without the dead body and driving off a cliff part).  I will be posting about our adventures in #shenanigans and #sodaselfies in the next few days, so stay tuned.

The records set for September: 

• Total miles: 103.38
• number of steps in one day (according to my FitBit): 42,834
• number of floors climbed in one day (according to my FitBit): 68
• PERFECT water month 

September (goal of 60 miles):

Miles walked: 55.88

Minutes exercised: 1200 = 40 miles

Water intake 30/30 days = 7.5 miles

TOTAL: 103.38 miles



The original plan was to drop our mileage goal back down to 40 beginning in October.  When we set this plan up last December, we honestly didn't think 60 miles was achievable with any left over days in the month.  With the temperature getting cooler, we also figured that there would be less yard work to do.  We have since realized we underestimated ourselves.  So while lounging on the beach we made a modification; we would still reduce October's goal, but only by 10 miles down to 50 miles. 

 

So with our new plan in place we are both off and running/walking. 

 

Oh.. and if you're wondering about what we have planned for 2016?  No worries, we aren't stopping, just adding a few extras.  After all, we have to mix it up a little and keep it interesting.

Month 7 of competition

UPDATE:  In my last post I talked about my brother-in-law and the accident he was in.  As of today, he is breathing on his own, and has been for over a week.  He has been moved from the hospital to a long term care facility.  There are some more positive signs; he has more facial expressions and even an eye partially open at times.  However, he still has not yet woken up.  Please continue to pray for him and his wife.                   http://www.gofundme.com/chrischristensen

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The first month back to competition after taking time of for surgery and recovery was a rough one.

Not only had I not been keeping up the same momentum my friend had, it was also the first month with a 60 mile goal.  I was coming off a month of rest and recovery.  Yes, I still got some miles in, but nothing like my best friend did.  For the second month in a row she broke the 100 mile mark.

June (goal of 50 miles):

Miles walked: 14.72

Minutes exercised: 650 = 21.67 miles

Water intake: 21/30 days = 3.00 miles

TOTAL: 39.39 miles

 

I didn't hit the goal, but was still very proud of the mileage I was able to achieve.  The one area where I could have done better was in my water intake.  It is actually rather difficult, for me at least, to drink the proper amount of water if I'm not exercising. 

 

I was all set and psyched for July to begin.  I had been slowly building back up to my daily totals and felt confident...and a bit cocky... about winning.  I started off really well, and then had a long holiday weekend.  Not the easiest time to be thinking about exercising.  It was hot too.  I'm talking 110 and higher.  I pushed through though.  My foot would often remind me that it wasn't back to normal yet.  My other foot was beginning to get cranky, almost like it was jealous of the attention the other one had.  I kept telling it that that type of attention isn't the good kind.  We'll have to wait and see if it listened.

 

I knew I was behind on the mileage a bit, but felt confident that I was close.  When my best friend and I checked in with each other early in the month she was already 11 miles ahead of me.  That wasn't close enough for me, so I stepped up my game.  On the morning of July 19th she messaged me that she was done.  On July 20th, I reached the 60 mile goal.  I was only a day behind and I was honestly very proud of that.  I didn't win, but I sure gave it my best.  I continued to push hard and stretched to see if I could reach 100 miles in one month.  I didn't quite make it.

 

July (goal of 60 miles):

Miles walked: 44.98

Minutes exercised: 1208 = 40.27 miles

Water intake 26/31 days = 4.75 miles

TOTAL: 90 miles

 

I am SO SUPER PROUD of achieving 90 miles.  90 MILES!!  So, yes it is a bonus that it was a perfectly rounded number.  Totally made the organized part of me smile. 

 

August will be another great month. 

I know I can hit the 60 with ease. 

I believe I can push through and reach a total of 100. 

I will do my best to actually win this month.

 

Wish me luck!!

 





Month 5 - A photo finish, with a twist.

Another month's competition is in the books and this one was CLOSE!!  I'm talking only a few hours.

After such momentum in April I was bound and determined to win May.  Neither one of us had won back to back month's yet, and I wanted to be the first.

Can you say Competitive much? 

I was walking, drinking my water, and doing yard work like a crazy woman.  By the end of the first weekend I was already at 17.48 miles.  The monthly goal was 50.  At that pace it would be a record setting month.

Then I went to my foot doctor appointment on May 6th.  This issue I had been dealing with for what felt like forever, was not improving.  In fact, it was getting worse.  The stabbing pain in my heal was happening more frequently.  To rule out, or confirm, additional issues an ultrasound was done on the same foot.  It showed that the plantar fascia was extremely swollen.  Dr. Foot agreed it was time to fix everything surgically.  There was no way to determine if the fasciitis would improve while the nerve was still constricted.  Since he had to go in to fix the tarsal tunnel (like carpal tunnel, only in the foot) he would fix the fascia at the same time.

Surgery was set for May 14th.

This severely cut into my time to finish the monthly goal of 50 miles.  This took 17 days away from me to get mileage in walking.  I asked Dr. Foot when I would be back up to walking my 2+ miles daily.  He said it would be at least 4-5 weeks.

AHH!!  4-5 WEEKS?!?!  That went halfway into June!  I knew it was for the best, but I was also totally bummed.  I had such momentum going.  I just knew this would set me back.

I had to refocus though.  I had a few days left and I needed to at least hit the goal for May.  I modified my walk path a little and  that consistently gave me another 1/4 mile each day.  I made sure I finished my water each day because I couldn't afford to lose a 1/2 mile.  We had dinner a little later so I could get my time in doing PiYo.  Finally, the Sunday before surgery, hubby and I spent 6 hours doing yard work. 

Sunday evening, May 10th, I sat in the garage for about 45 minutes mentally calculating where I was at.  My total was 48.97 miles.  I needed just a breath over one mile.  Another 32 minutes of yard work.  A trip around the block.  Not much at all, but I was spent.  I knew that I'd be getting a 2.25 mile walk in the next day and thought it would be in time.  I had been chatting with my best friend and I knew approximately where she was, and I felt secure.  There was no way she would be able to catch up to me.

Or so I thought.  Never underestimate the will of a competitive woman.  NEVER.

Monday morning came around, the alarm went off, and I was sore from all the yard work the day before.  I hit snooze.  I knew my walk was early-ish in the morning (10am) and thought I would still be okay and win. 

Nope. 

I was pouring my cup of coffee at 6:45 and I received a text stating "DONE!  50.29" with a picture of the treadmill showing 6 miles.  She literally beat me by 4 hours.  (She ended up reaching 105.93 miles for the month!!)

I went ahead and did my walk that morning.  It was 2.39 miles.  I reached the goal of 50 in record time.  I was proud of that but I was bummed that I couldn't have pushed myself just another 30 minutes the night before.  My husband was shaking his head at us.  He knew we were competitive, but didn't expect us to be quite THAT competitive.

Three days later I had foot surgery.  I will post about that soon.

Here are the totals I was able to achieve for May:

May (goal of 50 miles):

Miles walked: 20.78

Minutes exercised: 1359 = 45.3 miles

Water intake 22/31 days = 3.25 miles

TOTAL: 69.33 miles



June's goal is also 50 miles, but in light of the restrictions I have due to foot surgery, we are not awarding a winner for the month.  We are still doing our best to reach our goals but no prize will be sent.

July, however, has my name all over it.



Month 1 of second quarter

Okay.  I know I've not been posting much diabetes related items lately, but that will change soon.  Next week, May 11 through the 17th is Diabetes Blog Week.  Check it out the details here.  I plan on getting a post in everyday. 

That's the plan.

Now.. onto other business.

April was the fourth month in my exercise competition.  It was the first month that the mileage goal was increased.  The goal was 50 miles.  After March's accomplishment I didn't think that 50 miles would be difficult to reach, and it wasn't.

The hard part was reaching it FIRST!

Friday, April 17th, at the end of the work day I was at 45.93 miles.  My best friend was right around the same.  She had planned an evening of exercise and a morning run.  I had family coming into town.  It was going to be tricky.  I wanted to do an evening walk but didn't get that far because ... family.  We stayed up too late and talked. 

However, I was determined. 

I set my alarm for right before sunrise, laid my clothes and shoes out ready to be jumped into, and made sure my iPod was charged.  I listen to a book while walking, and I was coming up on the middle of The Neverending Story.  (Side note:  The movie ends at the middle of the book.  Movie 2 picks up from there to the end.  It's VERY different, but a lot of movie adaptations are)

6:30 am the alarm went off.

6.45 am I was out the door.

I walked.  I saw a great sunrise. 

Some beautiful yards and a great view of a golf course. 

I hadn't walked this area before, so it was all new.  I didn't figure I'd get lost, after all I had my phone with me.  GPS for the win!

When I finished the loop I headed back home.  Other people were now out and walking their dogs and the golf course maintenance crew was out putting the water coolers.

About 3 houses from home I hit the 4.1 mile mark.  I DID IT!!  I was so tempted to text my friend right then, but I wanted to make sure I had the full distance in first.  My front step was 4.21 miles.  That brought me to a total of 50.14.

For those keeping track, that didn't completely confirm my win.  Remember we added water intake goals?  Yup, if I didn't hit my water goal I would have LOST .25 miles.  That would have sucked!  I knew I had until 6pm to drink the water, but that was pushing it way to close for my comfort.  However, I couldn't walk another block.  I've been dealing with some neuropathy in my left heel, and it was letting me know it wasn't happy with me.

Thankfully, my friend didn't run that Saturday morning, so I was basically safe.  I finished my water I plenty of time and my April win was official.

I also still had 12 days left in April.  I didn't quite beat my March total but was darn close.  Had April had 31 days, or I not missed so many water days, I totally would have.

April (goal of 50 miles):

Miles walked: 49.61

Minutes exercised: 945 = 31.5 miles

Water intake 24/31 days = 4.5 miles

TOTAL: 85.61 miles

 

May will be a bit trickier of  a month.  My Wednesday morning yoga class has been cancelled until further notice (the instructor is having serious health issues - if you're a pray-er, please pray for her).  The thermometer is now beginning to work against me.  My afternoon walks at work, have turned into morning walks, and soon they'll be before work walks. 

 

Stay tuned.

My 2015 JDRF walk

The annual JDRF walk for my area was this last Saturday.  It was an absolutely perfect day for a walk.  There were a few puffy clouds, the temperature was about 72 degrees, and I had some of my best Type 3's with me.  (My daughter was not able to join us this year as she is away at college.)  Last year my walk team consisted of me and my best friend, so I was excited to have this year's team bigger.



My husband, my niece, Me, my Best Friend, and her daughter

My fund raising efforts increased this year compared to last, and I actually doubled what I was able to raise.  I consider that good progress.  Maybe next year I can double this year's amount.  Goal is now set.

Last year I didn't have any team t-shirt.  I hadn't thought that far into it.  However, while you're walking you see all sorts of cool shirts and start thinking.. and talking.  My best friend and I decided this year we HAD to have shirts.  So for the next however many months we tasked ourselves with figuring out exactly what we wanted. 

After a bit of research and creativity we finally had it figure out.  It was about a month before the walk.  We were a bit pressed for time, but off to the printers it went. 

The final result was so much more than I expected.  I couldn't have been more pleased or excited with how they turned out.


Perfect, don't you think?



In typical best friend fashion, she went above and beyond.  I logged in to my Facebook Saturday morning and was greeted with a surprise.  The day she drove up for the walk (she lives about 3 hours away), she took the shirts to work and put together a virtual walk team for me.

 

 

She even made sure friends and family were part of the team. 

    

 

   

 

 

Is that not the best virtual team you've seen?  I think it is! 

 

The next surprise I had was when a couple people contact me about possibly buying one of the shirts.  So we did some calculations, $25 and we can have one made and shipped to you.  If you're interested, just leave a comment (or email me at jenn@skyviewmail.com) and I'll get with you for the specifics.

 

This year's walk was amazing.. and next year's will be even better!!



Exercise check in

Here we are at the beginning of February 2015.  How is everyone doing on their new year's goals?

Me?  So far so good, even though I lost.  But losing is just a bigger motivator.

Let me explain.

My best friend and I are in a friendly exercise competition this year.  I talked about it in my last post.  Each month we have a fresh chance to beat the other. 

In January, thanks to a very large home improvement project, my friend was able to get her 40 miles in by the 24th.  I was in the lead just the day before.  It is further proof that exercise is often hiding where we least expect it. 

So on Monday I shipped off the special $10 prize for reaching the goal first.  On Tuesday (27th) I crossed my 40 mile mark.  I ended up finishing the month with a total of 44.49 miles.  I found areas where I could increase my productivity and get more miles in.  This is vitally important because come April our monthly goal is 50 miles.

In the meantime I'm resetting my mile count and trekking along to 40.  So if you need me I'll be outside.

Exercise plan for this year

A new year has started.  Many people use this time to make resolutions to be better, exercise more, read more, go back to school, etc. etc.

For me, goals are better than resolutions.  If I don't quite accomplish what I wrote down, it's ok.  I just keep plugging along until I do.  For this reason my best friend and I set new exercise goals.

Last year we had a friendly competition going to see who could walk/run/exercise the most miles each week.  The "winner" had bragging rights and could rub it in all they wanted to.  (I won more weeks that she did.)  It was a lot of fun, but a bit too easy to be lazy.  This year we wanted to up the anti.  Bragging rights is good and all, but sometimes it just isn't enough.  So a few weeks ago (during an all important girl's weekend of pizza, wine, and hair dye) we came up with this year's goals and rules.

There is no arguing that it is winter, and colder, right now.  Yes, I admit, my area is not nearly as cold as others.  I put on a jacket at temperatures that people in other areas are just barely putting on long pants.  However, we did take into consideration the change in seasons (and holidays) when we set our monthly goals. 

Here they are:

Rules:

Miles ran OR walked count the same

30min workout = 1 mile
Bike riding 3:1 (3 miles equals 1 mile credited because of coasting times)

First person to reach monthly goal gets a $10 gift from the other (must be mailed).

If you fail to reach monthly goal you get a $5 gift card to a cheesy location (ie: Toys R Us)

Person with the most miles at the end of the month has bragging rights.

Person with the most monthly wins at the end of the year gets a $50 gift card to a restaurant of their choice.

Goals:

January through March = 40 miles

April  through June = 50 miles

July through September = 60 miles

October through December = 40 miles

Now I know those miles look like a lot, and they are...if you try to do them all at one time.  But think about it, just 2 miles a day (which takes me about 30 min to walk during my lunch at work) adds up fast.  20 work days/month X 2 miles = 40 miles  That doesn't count ANY weekend time, or workout time, or running-up-and-down-the-street-with-the-nieces-helping-them-learn-to-ride-a-bike-without-training-wheels time.

We don't have a weight loss goal, or a size of jeans to get back into goal, or anything like that.  This is strictly an exercise accomplishment goal, the "side-effects" are a bonus.

Now.. it's time for my walk, I can't let her reach the goal first on our first month!