Archive for the ‘Walking’ Category

It’s a wonder of nature

Posted: December 1, 2012 in Disney, Exercise, Foot issues, Holidays, Physical activity, Supportive Partner Woman, Travel, Walking
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So, I’m writing this from Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter resort. As I sit here in the half light, the gentle sounds of Supportive Partner Woman’s breathing providing a quiet counterpoint to the hustle and bustle of families getting ready to hit the parks, I realize just how lucky I am.

I spent a lot of time the past few posts basically whining about life in general. I have it pretty good. I have a job, a loving wife, a roof over my head… Ad yes, I do have a few friends. It’s funny how things work out. That united by a common interest I am closer to people I’ve known for a relatively short time than I am to people I’ve known my entire life. I’ve met people in this community who aren’t in it for the right reason, but I’ve also met people who simply ooze character and class from every pore. They give back unflinchingly and always put others first, without fail. I’m proud to call these folks my friends and their friendship is something that I treasure.

So, on to the meat of the post.

Supportive Partner Woman (World’s Most Beautiful Pack Mule!) and I come to Walt Disney World around the same time every year. Not only to meet up with the aforementioned friends, but to get ourselves into the holiday spirit. There are many special events going on with a holiday theme, each of which serve to increase our excitement. There’s the Candlelight Processional, in which an orchestra and massed choir perform while a celebrity narrator recounts the tale of Christmas. SPW and I were fortunate enough to see it on Wednesday evening, and it does not disappoint. Our celebrity narrator was Neil Patrick Harris for the second year in a row… However, this year was actually dry, as opposed to the biblical rains of last December. The orchestra and choir was wonderful, as always, and well, here’s a video clip:

I hope that works… Using the WordPress iPad app is not something I do often. I usually write it in Pages, then just copy and paste it into WordPress.

One of the other points of the Disney holiday trident is the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. This event has some five million lights dancing to well known Christmas songs and is probably the one event that really gets me in the mood. SPW (Osborne fan!) and I had the opportunity, thanks to MEI and Mouse Fan Travel, to take in a private viewing of the lights last evening that was just amazing. I took a lot of video, none of which I’ve gotten uploaded yet, but here’s an example from last year’s Osborne Lights:

The third point of the trident is EPCOT’s nightly show called IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth. Every year, the holiday season adds an extra five minutes of pyrotechnics accompanied by the Boys Choir of Harlem and a narration from the late Walter Cronkite. This really finalizes the prep for me. Just hearing the soaring music of the whole show as the lasers and fire and fireworks burst over the lagoon, topped off with the extra tag just never fails to send shivers up and down my back. I know that one day, the current IllumiNations will go away in the name of change, but believe you me, that will be a sad sad day.

At any rate, I have much more to tell, but suffice it to say that as of now, the feet have shown no blistering. This makes me very happy, especially considering the amount of walking we have done. The only wound is from the first day, when removing the protective moleskin also removed a tiny chunk of Wayne. A little NuSkin and gauze padding has worked wonders.

Well, I’m going to grad a shower and wake up SPW (Sleeps like the dead!) and we’re off to EPCOT for another day of fun and camaraderie.

More in the next few days!

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Vacation…

Posted: November 25, 2012 in Disney, Exercise, Stress, Walking, Weight loss
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all I ever wanted.

Vacation, had to get away…

So, Supportive Partner Woman and I are headed to Florida on Wednesday for our annual WDW Today Reunion trip. We’re really looking forward to it… Lord knows we need it. Between family stuff and SPW’s new job, she’s been under a lot of stress and I have, mainly because I stress when I see SPW is stressed.

It’s only been a couple of months since the last time we were in the World, but there will be a lot of new stuff. There’s been a massive expansion to Fantasyland that will officially open in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, we look forward to soft openings (previews). In addition, it’s a chance to see our friends that we only get to see once a year or so.

I’m really going to focus on eating better during this vacation. I usually strap the feed bag on at Ohana. This time, I’m going to cut down on the amount of meaty refills. I’m also going to try and avoid the grazing that I often fall prey to. Ideally, I would like to actually lose a few pounds while we’re down there. I am prepared for the possibility of blisters, though… I have two huge rolls of moleskin and a box of gauze pads. I also bought a three pack of Nike Dri-fit socks. Supposedly, these should help keep my feet dry and offer some serious support while we’re walking. The other thing that should help is that the temperatures are supposed to be in the low 70’s.

Other things that we are doing include the Candlelight Processional with Neil Patrick Harris as guest narrator. We are dining at Ohana (as mentioned before), Artist Point and a dinner at the new Be Our Guest restaurant in the expanded Fantasyland. Other meals are as we can grab. One of our other events is a special dinner called the Meal of Fortune that should be a lot of fun.

I hope to get a couple more posts in before we jet off to sunny Florida. I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and a peaceful Black Friday.

The importance of climate control

Posted: November 14, 2012 in cold weather, Exercise, Physical activity, Walking
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Climate control… schemes for controlling the environmental elements of an area or region.

This can refer to a refrigerator or freezer used to keep food fresh and beer cold, or it can refer to keeping your house warm or cool, depending on the season.

At my place of employment, it usually translates into keeping one section of the building as the polar zone while the area directly across the hallway feels like the front porch of Hell.

It brings to mind an issue that, being a fattie, I suffer with. Temperature control. At least when it deals with warmth. In cold weather, exertion is quick to make me perspire, which is also uncomfortable, but I really start to wilt as the temperature climbs. I guess I’m really screwed if this global warming stuff keeps up.

Either way, exertion makes me sweat. So does spicy food. So, maybe eating hot wings on a treadmill isn’t the best idea. Granted, that’s never a good idea. What I’m driving at is that with the upcoming winter weather, it’s best to take steps to protect yourself if exercising outdoors. The American Council on Exercise suggests the following tips:

  1. Wear layers. Insulating yourself against the wind and other elements is key, so create a layered barrier instead of a single bulk. (The advantage is you can always remove the outer layer if you get over-heated.) The first layer that’s directly touching your skin should be a lightweight synthetic or polyester material. It will dry quickly and wick away moisture. The second layer should be wool or polyester fleece. The outermost layer — worn in the rain, snow, or wind — should be lighter weight and water-repellent to help you stay dry.
  2. Add a hat. About 50 percent of body heat is lost from an uncovered head when the temperatures hit the freezing mark. Wearing a hat will help your body retain heat.
  3. Don’t forget your gloves. Keeping hands and feet warm is key in the cold temperatures since your body will shunt blood away from extremities to keep your internal organs warm. Gloves will help prevent skin damage and frostbite in sub-zero temperatures. To keep your feet warm, make sure your torso is properly insulated. That will drive blood back down to your lower extremities.
  4. Avoid heavy cotton materials that sop up sweat. These will make you wetter and colder. Stick with wool and polyester fabrics.
  5. Check the forecast. Check the air temperature and wind chill factor before exercising in the cold. The US National Safety Council says there’s little risk when exercising in 20° Fahrenheit  even with 30 miles per hour winds, but that dangers exist when the combined temperature and windchill falls below -20°F.
  6. Consider a face mask or scarf in frigid temperatures. If those temperatures are dipping near the danger zone, protect the skin on your face by covering it up. Having a loose layer over your nose and mouth can also warm frigid air before you inhale, helping to protect your lungs.

Nowadays, I only run if chased (and that might even be doubtful), but these are smart tips to follow even if you’re just taking a walk, or shoveling snow, even hanging Christmas lights on your rain gutters. Any of these activities, no matter how slight the exertion, can cause some unsafe conditions… that’s why it’s important to keep yourself climate controlled. There have been many times that I’ve been outside shoveling snow and ice, drenched in sweat, even though it’s 15 degrees. I’ve been wearing Gore-Tex and Thinsulate heavy gloves and still can’t feel my fingers due to my extremities shutting down because I’m sweating so much I have to keep my jacket open.

The moral of the story is to be careful when out in the cold. Take care of yourself. Frostbite is no picnic, so don’t click on the link if you have a weak stomach.

The final political rant

Posted: November 7, 2012 in Gary Johnson, pet peeves, politics, rants, Walking
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So, here we are. The Day After the Most Important Election in History. At least that’s what CNN says. Granted, they would hype a school board race in Perry County if they thought it would get ratings. I am confused, though… wasn’t 2008 The Most Important Election in History? Either way, the political sheeple are eating it up like Joey Chesnutt scarfing wieners at a Nathan’s hot dog eating contest.

I know this because I used to be one of the political sheeple.

Here’s a news flash:

It doesn’t matter that Barack Obama won.

Does. Not. Matter. One. Bit.

The world will continue to revolve. People will still go to work, worry about the economy, raise a family, try to make ends meet, and continue to live. The only immediate impact of the Obama win is that a boatload of Republicans have retreated to lick their wounds and rail about electoral sabotage and dirty tricks.

Politics is a funny business. We have citizens who think it’s the greatest travesty ever visited on the country that George W. Bush was elected twice. And that if Al Gore or John Kerry had been elected, well, the country would have been that better off and everywhere you’d look, there’d be unicorns shitting gold bars in the streets, free for the taking.

We have citizens who think the same thing about Bill Clinton’s presidency. That if Bush the first had been reelected or Bob Dole had won in 1996, well it would all be good. No recessions, and all that money would trickle down to us poor folks. Voodoo economics, indeed.

Fact is, neither side is right, and neither side is wrong. We view these elections through the “what’s in it for me” lens. What about what’s in it for the country? Has any one of these cretins actually given a shit about the country as a whole? I think not. I hear Barack Obama talking about hope and change and peace and love and dope and god knows what else. I heard Mitt Romney yakking about how he knows how to run things and people need to get back to work and no more welfare and all that rot.

I call bovine scatology.

Lets look at facts. The country is falling apart. The infrastructure is crumbling. Everywhere you look, moral decay, overcrowded prisons, government and other groups monitoring what you do with your body and in your bedroom, schools focused on standardized test scores rather than making sure kids actually learn anything useful, zero tolerance, massive overspending on a broken educational system, unions bitching that they aren’t getting a big enough raise, an increasingly litigious society that thinks it has the constitutional right to be stupid and then has the chutzpah to think the smarter part of society owes it, skyrocketing health care costs and a shrinking middle class shouldering a larger and larger portion of the tax burden.

Where does it end?

Bad news, folks. It will only end when we stop the petty bickering and actually elect some folks who just want to go to Washington, do what they were elected to do, and get the hell out of there.

SPW has said that her political party hasn’t been invented yet. The Personal Responsibility Party. What a concept. Imagine someone shooting themselves in the hand with a nail gun and instead of suing Black & Decker, they say, “Whoops… My bad.” Don’t expect to be handsomely rewarded if you slip on your neighbor’s sidewalk… It’s icy, dumbass. Think maybe it might be a little slippery? Or did you not know that ice was slippery because it wasn’t on the standardized test? Maybe if people would man up and take some responsibility, it might be a different story.

Proud to be part of this 1%

I saw something on Facebook this morning where someone wrote, “Let the healing begin…” We shouldn’t need to be so divided that we need to heal over an election where the candidates are basically opposite sides of the same coin. I heard all sorts of Romney-ites saying that a vote for anyone other than Mittens was a vote for BHO. I disagree. It’s my vote and I voted for what I felt would best benefit the country. I was told that if I voted third-party, I was wasting my vote. Bull. I voted with my conscience.

It’s no secret I have no love for BHO. I think he’s a charlatan issuing empty promises, using one hand to distract the people while using the other to twist the public teat until it’s purple. It’s no secret I harbored similar feelings toward W, though not for the same reason. Each of them has sullied the office, and despite all that, I still respect the office, even if I have trouble respecting the officeholder.

So, you probably wonder what I would do if it were up to me to fix. Here’s my summation of my ideas and the best ideas I’ve seen in social media:

  • Election season would be six months. No more, no less.’
  • Election financing would be provided on an equal basis to each candidate. NO PRIVATE DONATIONS. There would also be a spending cap set by law.
  • All primary elections would take place on the same day.
  • All general elections would take place on the same day. No early voting. Polls would be open longer hours to serve the voters.
  • News outlets would be prohibited BY LAW from predicting winners. This practice can have an effect on an election and discourage West Coast voters from going to the poll if it seems one candidate has a large lead.
  • Instead of campaign advertising, each candidate would be given the opportunity to provide a position statement on a given that would be read, verbatim, by a news anchor, without commentary.
  • One debate each month.

Is it ever going to happen? Not as long as politicians are politicians, but imagine a civilized campaign. And no phone calls from Chuck Norris, Clint Eastwood, Michelle Obama or anyone else. Blessed silence.

This is my last political post/rant for a while. I hope I am proven wrong and the next four years are prosperous for our nation.

I hope.

What’s coming…

Posted: October 12, 2012 in Cooking, Exercise, Lego, Supportive Partner Woman, Walking, Weight loss
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So, I ended the last post saying that I would keep moving forward. Here’s what’s happening.

I got to day work next week. I’ve been working evenings since the beginning of May, and there’s some upside there. Namely getting to see more of Supportive Partner Woman (Sportschick extraordinaire!) and not having to worry about appointment scheduling. The downside is that you miss out on a lot of stuff in the evening and it also really messes with my natural circadian rhythm.

I’m also looking forward to the change in that it gives me more opportunity to cook fish. I love fish, but my co-workers aren’t exactly enthralled when you heat it up in the microwave. Even a plank roasted salmon that primarily smells like wood smoke brings out the great wailing and gnashing of teeth. The challenge, though, will be to not succumb to boredom eating. I’ll either need a second job or some kind of hobby to keep me busy. Sadly, the hobby can’t just be building Legos. That gets to be somewhat expensive.

B-Wing

Speaking of Lego, my most recent project was the B-Wing starfighter from the Star Wars Ultimate Collectors Series. I love the UCS sets… they are usually a more challenging build with lots of pieces and the attention to detail is astounding. They also come with a handy display stand and aren’t plagued with tons of stickers like other lower-end sets. This marks my third UCS set, and while not as challenging as the Imperial shuttle, it still took me a few days to get it together.

One of my main projects will be to adapt to meal planning. All too often, I’m throwing something together with what I have on hand, rather than having what I would really like to have. This will hopefully eliminate the discovery of four year old shrimp in the freezer.

I also have to adjust my workout schedule. My two sanctioned workouts this week are going to be at 7 AM, followed by full shifts. We will see how that winds up going. If it doesn’t fly too well, I can always go after work. I can also walk the neighborhood after work as the temperatures have cooled considerably. It was tough to do in mid afternoon when temperatures and humidity hovered around “boiling”.

All I can promise is that I’ll be making changes. Whether they work remains to be seen. Hopefully it will get the scale moving in the right direction.

Have a great weekend!

That feeling’s back

Posted: August 16, 2012 in Doctors and Dentists and Nurses... oh my!, Exercise, Foot issues, Futility, Physical activity, Stubby the Wonder Toe, Walking
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Morning.

I’d say “Good morning”, but I’d be lying.

I got home from work last night and removed my shoes and socks, only to discover that I had a blister. A big blister. Right on the bottom of Stubby the Wonder Toe. A large piece of skin had sloughed off and, well, it wasn’t particularly pretty. I was tempted to post a picture, but Supportive Partner Woman (photo critic!) put the kibosh on that. You can thank her later.

GAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!

This has my feelings of frustration and futility measuring off the charts. I’ve been doing this for months and no sign of a blister. I was even at the foot doctor yesterday and he didn’t see anything. The toe was fine when I took a shower yesterday, but somehow, while I was at work, I get a blister the approximate size of Los Angeles County and I didn’t even go for a walk. It’s enough to drive you to drink.

My first thought was, “What’s the point?” Why the hell am I doing all this work? I’ll just get another blister, and another, and another. I’ll never reach my goals. This was followed by a general thought of just bailing on our vacation and letting SPW go by herself. I’m sure if I tried that, she’d hurt me.

These feelings are followed immediately by that sense of loathing. Like Stubby is an actual person instead of a toe. I know I joke that my toe has adopted a gangsta personality, but in reality, it’s just a toe. But I hate this toe so much right now. I hate it more than I hate peanut butter. I DESPISE peanut butter. I even confess to wanting to go to the garage get a saw, and take the whole foot off. Then I can’t get any blisters on the toe, right? Yeah… I didn’t think that was an option.

So, what do I do? I emailed my trainer who is sadly off for a long weekend, and I guess the gym is right out for now. I’ll have to rock the Boot of Shame for a while and just have to keep my calories down if I want to make any progress. I see Rachel, the CRNP extraordinaire on Monday… maybe she’ll have some suggestions. I can’t let the blister stop me, though… I’ve come too far for that. Maybe this is nature’s way of telling me I was working too hard. When this heals up, and it will heal up, perhaps I just start using moleskin every day and padding the hell out of my toe. I don’t know. But I’m going to find out.

Hope you have a better day than mine has started out to be.

Wow… what a downer

Posted: August 8, 2012 in Exercise, pet peeves, Physical activity, Walking, Weight loss
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I just reread what I posted earlier and I was struck by how down it seemed. It wasn’t meant to be bitter… I don’t actually know what I was trying to get across, other than it’s NOT futile. It’s a struggle, but most things are.

All in all, not a bad day

So, I went to the gym this morning/afternoon. I wanted to top my previous time best on the treadmill. I started out at around 2.7 miles per hour… faster than my usual walk. Upped it to 2.9 about 7 minutes in, then upped it again to 3.2. It was a good workout… I managed to make it 46 minutes… I’m catching up to my friend Glenn. He’s really been an inspiration to get in some treadmill work. It hurts… I won’t lie, but the pain fades and my ankles will feel better. In fact, the more weight I lose, the better it’s going to be on my joints. I’ve noticed vast improvements in my cardiovascular health… I can walk at a brisk clip, kind of uphill for over two miles and only get to a 120 heartbeat? Wow… whoda thunk?

My biggest gym beefs allude to some people who Supportive Partner Woman (certifiable gym rat-to-be!) has mentioned in the past. Those she refers to as American Stick Insects. These would be the ulta-fit women who show up and make the StairMaster their figurative bitch clad only in spandex shorts, a sports bra and half gloves. I don’t mind that somebody’s fit… I wish I was at the point I could tame the evil beast that is the StairMaster, but what I do mind is that after sweating like the Nototious B.I.G. after he ate a gallon of hot sauce, said Stick Insect did not wipe down the machine, then went to the elliptical and proceeded to pull the same bush league act.

The other people I have issues with are the late 40’s early 50’s midlife crisis guys who walk around like frat boys and act like frat boys, too. SPW (observer of people acting like chumps!) reported seeing the biggest douchenozzle of them all of them go walking out of the gym doing the George Jefferson walk while wearing wraparound shades and his garish yellow shirt. He was probably heading out to his midlife crisis car.

These guys just spend the entire time they are there just trying to show off… it’s kind of, well, immature. Usually I want to gripe about these kids today, but with the exception of some chatty teenage girls who like to text on the elliptical, most of them show up, are serious about the workout, and don’t clown around too much.

Anyways, it’s off to another exciting night at the office. Once again, I apologize for the tone of the earlier post. Anything that makes me healthier is not futile. I know I’m going to have down days, but just have to move on.

The T-shirt contest

Posted: August 3, 2012 in Exercise, Physical activity, Supportive Partner Woman, Walking, Weight loss
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And, no, it’s not wet. Sorry, folks.

It’s been an interesting couple of days here at MOASTBFFG. A few weeks ago, I wrote about how SPW (possessor of lots of clothes!) and I were cleaning out our closets. I had mentioned finding a stack of t-shirts that I hoped to be able to wear again soon. Soon has arrived. I’ve actually busted out a few more since the Alzheimer’s Walk shirt… one that proudly proclaimed that “REAL MEN WEAR KILTS” and a vintage 2009 Scopa Towers tee. The best was this morning, when I thought I’d wear something new to the gym and found a MouseFest 2008 shirt.

They call me… Tim?

The Binge

This has been the single biggest highlight, other than feeling better. Being able to put on stuff and it’s not too tight. I might not always see it on a scale, but the clothes don’t lie. In fact, for general wear today, I actually fit in a Woot! shirt. That’s worth a… woot? It’s a Monty Python tee, as many of my purchases tend to be. This featuring Tim the Enchanter. I have another that has swallows and coconuts and SPW and I share one with the Knights of Ni. Others that I am looking forward to breaking out would be The Binge, featuring the Cookie Monster. I have a soft spot for goofy t-shirts and I’m really looking forward to wearing much of my collection again.

So, for the first time in years, I made it to the gym for five straight days. Plenty of cardio and lifting, and I felt so good after today’s session, I’m thinking of heading over tomorrow morning for some more cardio. I’ll take Sunday off… since SPW (proud attendee of BlogHer 12!) will be coming home, maybe we’ll journey to the Lego Store and Wegman’s… see what’s going on. I know this will be a great opportunity for her to network and see our friend April, but I still miss her terribly.

Well, I think that might wrap it up for today. I hope to continue to fit in stuff and keep up the good gym habits. I’m not going to lie… it’s a struggle to get there most mornings, and the first ten minutes of cardio is an absolute beast, but if I get through that, it gets a lot easier. I have a new goal to strive for, though… my friend and fellow weight warrior Glenn has recently managed to crank out 70 straight minutes on the treadmill. My personal best is 35 straight. I’m going to strive to get to that 70 minute mark. Maybe not next week, but next month? I’m feeling that anything is possible… if I can get my chubby self into a shirt I never thought I’d wear again, well, I can do more. I have to do more.

Shifting focus…

Posted: July 25, 2012 in Disney, Exercise, Physical activity, Walking, Weight loss
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I realized this morning that while I was getting my work in, real world walking isn’t the same as an elliptical or arc trainer. Since one of my goals was to be somewhat remotely in shape for our next trip to Disney (two months from tomorrow), I decided that on my non-ass kicking days, I would concentrate on the treadmill.

Now, the distance around World Showcase Lagoon is 1.2 miles, so I should be able to walk that at a leisurely pace with no problems. That’s my starting point… I’m happy to report that I was able to do 1.4 miles on the treadmill this morning in 30 minutes, AND have my heart rate stay under 122. I had the machine set for random hills, too, to add some challenge. Yes, I’d love to get to a nice hilly 5K in an hour. I think I can do it, but not this week. Baby steps.

I don’t think that this will impact my regular training routine. It’s cardio, and cardio is good. However I get there, I want to avoid the Disney equivalent of the death march. It’s a vacation… it’s supposed to be fun, not torture.

The other big event of the day was our second dental visit of the week. Supportive Partner Woman (possessor of numbed tongue!) and I both had fillings that needed replacement. Mine was upper teeth and didn’t require nearly as much Novocaine as SPW. The sad thing is that SPW was still feeling the aftereffects of the Novocaine she got on Monday during our other dental visit. Also found out that Doogie Howser, DMD is actually 38, married with kids. I’m totally flabbergasted… but I’m betting he still gets carded at the liquor store.

At any rate, that’s all I have for today. Talk to you tomorrow after the Thursday ass-kicking.

My other side project

Posted: July 23, 2012 in Disney, Walking, Weight loss
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Howdy! Here’s a link to an article I did for Enjoying the Magic on the need to get in shape to properly enjoy Disney.

Check out the site, it’s got some good stuff on there. And I’m married to the editor in chief 🙂

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