Friday June 17, 2011

Fitness Goal Day 3...

All right, I'll admit it...today's ride hurt at the end. Perhaps it was the distance increase I convinced myself I could accomplish (Rode a total of 30.2 miles, a 1.7 mile increase over yesterday's ride), or maybe it had something to do with a slightly wonky eating schedule as I adjusted meal times yesterday...probably a combination of both. Nonetheless, I was happy to be done and my legs will definitely need a walk later this evening!

Knowing I burned off 1,690 calories sure rocks my little world, though!

Under the advice of someone far more knowledgeable than I on these matters, I will rest some this weekend...though I am quite certain I will still do SOMETHING, I do see the benefit of allowing the body time to rest and recover when it is being pushed hard on a regular basis.

“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.” ~Amelia Earhart

Fitness goal day 2...

Thursday June 16, 2011

Well, today was a great day! The bike ride felt good for the most part, and the cool-down walk afterward was a relief.

Here's how it played out:

~Burned 375 calories by the 30 minute mark

~Burned 775 calories by the 60 minute mark.

~Burned 1,000 calories by the 80 minute mark, shaving off 4 minutes from my earlier goal.

~Rode a total distance of 28.5 miles

~Burned a total of 1,605 calories!

I think the daily pushups are helping, as my obliques are not hurting so badly at the end of each bike ride. Yay!!

Thanks to my Personal Fitness Guru who has helped me work out my food intake and scheduling of meals around certain times that I ordinarily fast. Working out hard the day after an almost total fast is draining, but I think the new plan we worked out is going to keep me comfortable even on/after those days of extremely low calorie intake.

As a side note, I have also noticed that I am sleeping more. I have typically slept no more than four, maybe five hours a night at the most for many years, but recently I have noticed that I am sleeping more hours and more deeply than I have previously. The last two nights I slept seven hours a night, which is quite unusual for me. Good changes!

A few words of inspiration from a movie I liked..."Enough". It is the story of a woman who fought back...who took charge of protecting herself...who grew into a woman of strength and courage...who refused to accept defeat. A little different context than my own current challenges and goals...but in many ways not so different at all. This exchange occurs during one of her training sessions:

Trainer: "So, how do you win? How?"

Slim: "I attack."

Trainer: "And what do you do after you attack?"

Slim: "Nothing."

Trainer: "Why nothing?"

Slim: "I never stop attacking."
So, I'm taking these words with me into Friday, with that attitude in mind: Go forward. Do something, no matter what, to achieve my goals today. Press closer to that finish line I have stretched in front of myself. Reach further, push harder, require of myself that which I know I am capable of...and NEVER STOP ATTACKING.

With 4.5 more pounds gone, and the need to wear a belt to keep my jeans from falling down, I am looking forward to every bit of forward progress! Blessings to everyone, and may YOU all reach YOUR goals, too!

‎"Be brave. You are the only thing you can control. Really. 

So focus on what you can do, what you need to do, 

to move yourself forward."

Sonny update Thursday June 16, 2011

Happy summer!

Well, here we are again, sunny June and summer is nearly upon us! There has been a lot going on with Sonny I recent weeks, so I will do my best to re-cap it all for those who are at the mercy of this Journal to stay informed...

It seems that we have a great deal of trouble keeping Sonny's new headrest in good working order. No matter how many times it has been repaired and tightened, somehow it mysteriously ends up disconbobulated to the point of being nearly useless. Must be those gremlins again, since no one else seems to be willing to fess up to it.

Meanwhile, it does seem that Sonny is lifting his head up and turning it around more often, which is a good sign. Obviously it means that he is able to physically lift and move his head, but it also shows us that he is interested enough in what goes on around him that he wants to observe and pay attention. Those are big milestones as well, so we are thrilled to see them.

In other news, we have continued with Sonny's regular visits home every other weekend, and added a new activity a couple weeks ago! Our cousin sings in a men's acapella group, and they were performing...so we took Sonny to an afternoon concert! Fortunately the auditorium was very comfortable, and there was a good location to park Sonny's chair next to us so that he could see well. He very frequently lifted up his head and was obviously paying attention when the singing was going on, and he even seemed to look intently at the pictures in the program when I opened it on his lap. He has always really loved music, so we really think it was an enjoyable afternoon for him.

After the concert, we stopped for a good hamburger and got him a milkshake to go with. He did a great job eating the burger and fries, of course! It was very close to his ordinary bedtime when we got him back to North Creek, but he stayed awake the whole day up until then...another important milestone. We thought back to when we first began bringing him out and about, how tired he would become just from a short trip to the house and how he would fall asleep from the fatigue. He doesn't seem to get so tired anymore, so it looks like he has slowly acclimated to the increase in activity and does very well with his outings. We try to be careful not to do too much or get him too tired, as extremes for Sonny are always a possible seizure trigger. Stress is bad for him, so we try to keep things calm and low-key even when doing something fun. So far so good!

Even the sore red areas on his skin seem to be doing better. The staff at North Creek have been much better about putting his cream on regularly, which is a definite help. Of course, once again this keeps him more comfortable, and reduces his general stress level, which leaves him more energy for other things.

With summertime here, we know that everyone gets busy and has lots to do. But we sure hope you all will stay in touch with Sonny, and know how much all of your contact means to him and to us. I recently saved all of the journal entries and guestbook notes to files on my computer so that they will never accidentally be lost...they are a precious keepsake to us, a reminder of just how far he has come from ground zero. So, in Sonny's words:

"Whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger."   Here's to our own personal Superman!

Blessings to all,

Lorrie...for Sonny and the whole fam-damily!

JustLorrie@gmail.com

206.330.3269

Fitness goal Day 1

Wednesday June 15, 2011

Okay, first a reminder of the goals:
1) Ride 35 miles in 2 hours by July 13, 2011
2) Maintain steady progress in time and distance during the next 28 days as I reach for that 35 miles!

So, here is what happened today!
I set a tentative goal of 27 miles for today, since I have been hitting 25. In actual fact, I made 28.4 miles. Whoopee! It feels great to actually surpass what I thought I could do, but this also tells me that as I continue to push myself I am re-gaining strength I already had previously. Sometimes that progress comes in "fits and starts", but it always feels great!
Total calorie burn for the ride was 1,536. Great! But I made a rather unsettling discovery about 75 minutes into the ride...I felt HUNGRY. The banana and glass of milk that previously carried me just fine through 15 miles, simply was not cutting it to get me through 28! So I will definitely be consulting my Favorite Fitness Guru for advice about what exactly to change up there as far as fuel.

Later this evening I will walk a few miles to keep my legs loose, and have added 20 pushups for good measure.

Only 7 miles away from that 35 mile goal, and the Storm King hiking trail beckons me...

“Strength does not come from physical capacity. 

It comes from an indomitable will.”

~Mahatma Gandhi

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”
~Lao Tzu

New fitness goals...

Tuesday June 14, 2011

Well, the results are in! Friday I completed this two week goal by riding 41km, bringing my total to 322km! Having started with a goal of 250km, I must admit I felt awfully good about where I ended up. It is an amazing feeling to look back and realize that though it was a push just to get the 25km at first, I was able to persist and actually exceed my goal by the end. So now comes the next leg of this little journey!

I am a very "result-oriented" type of person...goals are extremely motivating to me. So I realize that I need a new one in order to continue pushing myself forward so that I don't get too comfortable right here. Now, he doesn't know it yet, but I will be counting on a partner-in-crime to assist me with the last leg of this little portion of my journey, because it entails a rather steep hill climb...one that I intend to be able to do by the end of the summer without killing myself or falling over from muscle cramps! Having seen the beginning of that particular climb, and knowing that it is roughly 2.5 miles in length, I believe that two month's time is sufficient to get myself ready to do it.

Meanwhile, how to get there.  New riding and walking goals! Drumroll please...and here we go!
28 days beginning tomorrow, June 15, 2011 and ending July 13, 2011

Biking:

Right now I can hit about 42 km, or slightly over 25 miles in 2 hours. Definitely not breaking any land speed records, but I'm okay with that since I do see pretty steady increases in the distance I can cover in that same period of time. Now, my new goal is going to be to hit the 35 mile mark  by the end of the next 4 weeks. That adds about 2.5 miles per week onto my current ride, and I definitely think that's an attainable goal. I will track each day how many miles I add up. I plan to ride five days each week, so even at the outset I should log no less than 125 miles per week...we'll see how many I can squeeze in.

Walking: 

My ordinary routine is to bike in the morning and then walk in the evening, which is a good pattern for me so I don't plan to change it. I typically walk either 4 or 5 miles, so I think I'll try to press that toward 5 most days and try to get in 25 miles per week. Walking more hills will help me with that trail climb I have my eye on. There are a few steep ones around here, so I'll map the distance and hit those whenever I can instead of walking only on flatter terrain.

Throwing in some pushups at this point because I think it will help my abs to not ache so much from the bike riding, and will also give me the added morale boost of seeing some change in muscle tone. It's time. Yup. No hard pressed goals for those at this point, as I have no intention of re-injuring my left shoulder by pushing too hard too fast.

Meanwhile, green tea with apple cider vinegar added is my dear friend, sweets and potato chips are anathema to my existence, and my path lies clearly before me. Thanks for sharing this little piece of life with me! Here's to all the good things coming!

"Failure is not an option."