Springing into Action

I'm more focused now than I probably have been in...well forever.  At least about fitness and health.  Oh, I worked out plenty in my younger years, but I sure wasn't as motivated as I am now.  Back then it was about being slender and also about the "me" time I could carve out.  Now it is about staying cancer free and active so I can run, jump, and play with my kids and grandkids.  I want to be full of vitality and not, as I see so many around me, too tired out to engage in anything after a long days work.

My stint with cancer which culminated in 6 weeks of tiresome radiaton and then immediately going into 6 weeks lolly-gaggin' around the house with pins in my feet meant that I had gained weight (again).  Within just a few days of having the pins out, I painfully began the walking again, determined to get fit.  I had been doing quite well prior to the surgery, but 6 weeks off my feet meant it was slow going for a while.  Well it is now 6 weeks later and I can pretty much walk as many miles as before.  I have even started to run a little.  I can't run far, mostly because my lungs start burning and my legs get heavy, but each week I know I'll do better.  The weight coming back off has been slow; or at least it feels slow.  But I now I just have to be patient, eat right and keep active and it will slowly come off.  I am determined.

I tried golf again the other day.  I hadn't done that in years.  Even when I did, I stuck mostly with the driving range, getting pretty intimidated when golfing with anyone since it took me a gazillion shots just to make it to the the par 3 hole, the one time I did play on a course.  Well, maybe I'll try again. We'll see.  I noticed that it worked out my midriff muscles pretty good.  I like that idea better than doing sit ups. :)

I am very excited about my upcoming trip in August/September to Europe.  The last time I went was in 2008 with James.  We visited Romania (spent a week helping with some orphanages) then on to fun in Istanbul, Kusadasi (near the Ephesus ruins), Greek Islands, and finally Athens.  This trip will start in Paris, then move to Venice where we'll say goodbye to a couple traveling wtih us (Jackie and Dale).  James and I will move on to the South of France to see Nice, Cannes, Monaco, and the Provence region.  We meet up again with Jackie and Dale in Barcelona, after they get off their cruise ship, and then head on down to the south of Spain to see Granada, Malaga, Gibraltar, Tarifa, and a day trip to Tangiers, Morocco.  All-in-all, a 3 week trip that is sure to be warm, beautiful, full of history and architecture: everything James and I love about traveling.

I have most of our hotel reservations done, the main flights to/from Europe booked, and the only thing that remains are rental car, one hotel, and then some smaller flights and trains between the cities. We typically walk a LOT when we travel, so this getting in shape will be important so we can stay energetic throughout our trip.

I am focused.  I am driven.  I WILL be healthy.  Watch me.

Fitness Camp - Day 4 (Wednesday)

O.K., yesterday I was mistaken. I didn't die. Today I woke up dead. I can hardly move, hardly think, hardly anything.

I don't remember breakfast. I don't remember lunch or dinner either, though they are always good. I've been having a good time bonding with various ladies and we're encouraging each other to keep going. I've met Chris from the Buffalo, NY area, Mary Lou from Calgary, Juliet and Trina from Texas, and Heather from Hawaii. We seem to be congealing together as a group. There are lots of folks here that are going to stay for 2 to 8 weeks and more! There are a number of men and even some folks who don't seem like they need to lose any weight, but they love hiking and fitness in general and are zipping through the classes with ease.

Here's a typical schedule:

7:00 a.m. Breakfast
8:00 Hiking
11:30 Aquasize
12:45 Lunch
1:30 Food, exercise lecture, or cooking demo
2:30 Cardio workout
3:30 Kickboxing or pilates
4:30 Gentle stretch or yoga
5:30 Dinner
6:15 Lecture

My hike was grueling. I did the intermediate hike (they call it "moderate") and it was about 7 miles or so. The scenery was beautiful as always, but I am now part of the walking wounded. There was a section where we had to scramble down some steep, narrow passages and my knee popped. The pain was incredible. For about 10 minutes there I thought they'd have to medi-vac me out of there. Thankfully I kept walking and taking care. It slowly numbed up and the swelling helped swaddle my injured knee.

But wait! That's not all! In all the downhill scrambling, my left foot kept sliding some in my shoe and my big toe kept banging the tip of my shoe. By the end of the hike I could tell my toe was in serious danger of falling off. Sure enough, back in my room when I peeled my sock off, the toe nail was loose and I could see blood seeping out around the edges and the top. Thankfully, my beautiful pedicure hid the probable hideousness of it from the casual viewer. But I knew that serious puss-filled toe-jam was in my future if I didn't keep it clean and free of sock lint for the rest of the week.

Now I'm not sure how I'll keep up with the hiking for the next two days. I'll have to plot and scheme to figure out how to keep up with all my classes when my foot hurts so bad; oh yeah, and the knee.

They say most people "hit the wall" either Wednesday or Thursday. I think it was today. I saw a wall, hit it at a dead run and then, splat, my body slowly slithered to a lumpy mass on the floor.

Help, I've fallen, and I can't get up!

I Thought I Died

After great soul searching this last summer, I decided that it was time to do something to really kick myself into a healthier gear. Up until about two years ago, I ate better, exercised more, and generally had my weight under control (except for the ubiquitous last 10 pounds that seems to hang around on most of us). I could point to a number of things that contributed to my spiral into this out-of-control-eat-whatever lifestyle: a couple of bouts of depression, schedule changes with my home-life that meant dinner times weren't consistent, health issues, and so on. However, those are really only excuses. I had become deeply discouraged, embarked on flagellating self-talk, and even considered plastic surgery to remove my butt.

After a few months of watching other parts of my body grow into pudgy marshmellowy lumps, I decided that I'd either better get it together or determine that I could be content being a soft and lovable pillow of mom, and someday grandmother. NOT! So I decided I needed to make some serious changes. I dug around in my closet and found my electrically charged cattle prod and started brainstorming the best ways to use it on myself. (Notice I'm still into the punishing mode).

I did a 3 week detox in Aug/Sept. What do you know! I made it through it, restrictive diet and all; I lived. While I didn't lose any weight, the nearly vegetarian diet that went with it encouraged me to take another step in the right direction. I began looking for fitness camps/spas. I started researching them on the Internet and making a list of what they offered and their program features and costs. My sister, Linda, really wanted to go with me too. Well I decided to do a quick one this fall during the one week my job could spare me. I hope to do another one this spring with her and maybe a few others I could rustle up to make it fun. I chose Fitness Ridge in St. George Utah.

I'll write in my journal entries from that week stay so you can all stay abreast of what it was like, but suffice it to say, I am still here on this planet. I truly thought I had died on day 2. On day 3, I realized I was mistaken. Day 2 was only a little taste of the pain that greeted me early in the a.m. on day 3. By day 4 though my body began to even out and I felt like I could really make it through the week just fine. Friday and Saturday were easier yet.

Now the huge monster in the corner of my mind is this: CAN I KEEP UP THE HEALTHY EATING AND EXERCISING? Of course I can't exercise 5 to 6 hours a day, but it is imperative to keep myself active and moving, particularly since my job is so sedentary. Also, winter is coming and the endless days of gray drizzle that keeps most of us indoors.

I'm going to do this. I can be healthy. I can eat right and be full. I will survive.