Jo Dee Messina and Me

I will walk early in the morning.

I will walk in the heat.

I will walk in the cold.

But I won't walk in the wet.

When I started my concerted efforts as a walker I always walked in the afternoons after work, because I am not a morning person. It got really, really hot that first summer I was doing this, though, and I was forced to make a decision: quit walking outside, do all my walking on a treadmill in an air-conditioned place, or get up earlier and walk before it got truly horrid.

I did the treadmill thing at our local Y's Up for a while and found it interesting in its own way but an utter bore. It also made it way too easy to quit before I got over that "hump" where you think you have nothing left, and then find that, indeed, you do. When you are out in the neighborhood walking, you kind of have to keep going to get home, and while needing to have that reason to keep going might be seen as a crutch I'm unapologetic about needing to have it. 

Another test of my resolve came this winter. Last winter, if the morning temperatures were 45 or below, I did not go outside to walk. I would head to the treadmills. This winter we had to give up our membership to the Y when my husband lost his job, so I was faced with another decision: quit walking until spring, or suck it up, layer like the world depended on it, and get out there and try.

And I did. And I discovered I love love love walking in the cold weather. I went out one morning when it was 19 degrees, and did decide that 20 would my personal cut-off point, though.  I have the ugliest compression/warm pants in the history of textiles and when I put those and my other cold weather layers on I feel like an Arctic Warrior. I also discovered that I don't really care what I look like when I'm out there since I don't have to see myself. Why it took me 53 years to hit on that bit of brilliance I will never understand.

So yesterday morning when I discovered it was a bit misty outside I thought about ditching but decided to give it a go and was surprised to find I was quite disappointed when it stopped. I got home and began polling friends who are serious about this stuff about what they do when it's raining outside -- what clothes? what precautions?  This would all be helpful to know in case there is rain on on October 1, because one thing I have learned for sure and certain is brilliance of this motto:

PLAN YOUR WORK AND WORK YOUR PLAN.

~~ My Daddy

I spent free time yesterday Googling for answers, tips, suggestions, and as I went to bed last night, with the suggestion of rain in the morning forecast, I began to channel Sister Jo Dee Messina....

And guess what?

A light drizzle does not exactly a rain make, but it was more than a mist, and it got ambitious a time or two and teetered on the fence of true wetness. It lasted the entire time I was out, and I was pretty wet when I got home. I did not melt, and now I find myself hoping for a real rain, just to test myself up against it.

I never seem to stop having to learn the lesson that when I change my can't to won't I give myself the opportunity to go from won't to might was well try all the way to yes, I do. 

***

Yesterday's Walk 

Total Distance: 8.11 miles

Total Time: 2:00:53

Pace: 14:54 per mile 

Today's Walk

Total Distance: 2.89 miles

Total Time: 47:12

Pace: 16:20 per mile

** Check out the tab for my Sunday Stroll playlists! **

Bat Wings and Mockingbirds

I took a day off from walking yesterday to make sure that the issues from Wednesday were fully resolved. It's important to take a day off from almost any exercise endeavor at least once a week, and if you are really pushing the limits, two days isn't unheard of.

I don't push the limits. I generally take one off day a week - sometimes planned, sometimes just because - and I usually allow one day for just enjoying a leisurely walk. If you are really good at listening to your body, and you need to work on that all the time, by the way, you'll know when and why is right for you.

My day begins when my iPhone alarm goes off at 5:15. I scramble for it, and hit the weather icon to see what's what out there. Depending on what I see (Raining? Too hot? Too cold?) I decide whether to ignore it and go back to sleep, or spring out of bed when the I'm Serious About This alarm sounds again at 5:25.

Well, this morning, I peeked at the weather and it said 71 degrees and overcast, and I couldn't wait to get out there. The rain we've had these last few day - yippee! - had worked to make things more bearable out there.

Of course, when I got out of bed when the second alarm went off, feeling certain this would be the best morning out of the whole year so far, I glanced at the icon again, and realized it was 77 degrees.

Perhaps those of us who require reading glasses to tie their shoes need a weather app 

that reads the temperature to us. Aloud. Very, very aloud.

I sighed a deep sigh, and got all ready to go out anyway, and although it was that hot there were some wonderfully cool breezes that whipped up just often enough to make things bearable. Between the overcast skies and those little grace notes, it was a good walk.

Oh. The Bat Wings and Hummingbirds.

There were a whole boatload of people out this morning walking and/or running, most of whom were of the feminine persuasion, none of whom could shop in the junior department without somebody rolling their eyes at us. To all of us, I say GO GIRL!, but also this.....

... when those breezes began to blow, we were all so in need of some relief you began to see us lifting our arms to take full advantage, sort of like you see mockingbirds do?.

... except we did it with our bat wings.

******

Today's Walk

Distance: 5.67 miles

Total Time: 1:20:44

Average Pace: 14:14 per mile

(Intervals.... jogged a total of 10:30) 

Advice from Mr. Fields?

If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again.

Then quit.

There's no use being a damn fool about it. 

~~ W. C. Fields.

I went out this morning with the intention of doing some intervals over the same route I took yesterday. I decided to use my long-time favorite tracking app -- MapMyWalk -- since I made some adjustments on my iPhone (per their advice) to accommodate some changes they had made. 

I was delighted to see a full-on green light from the GPS, but for some reason my music would not load. Well, fine. I thought I'd see how things went without it so I could add some informed thoughts to the music/no music debate. 

About a half mile or so in I really wasn't feeling great. I wasn't sick, I wasn't hurting, I just couldn't get "invested" in my original agenda. Fine - I'm all about going with the flow -- let's press on.

Having decided to ditch my plan I opted to vary the route a bit, too, just for funsies. At 1.5 miles in, I really, really began to realize that my legs were feeling unreliable, and that I was having trouble with my mind wandering. This is not a good combination. At all.  

I took the next half mile or so more slowly, just to see if I couldn't get my mind and body to get over their feud and play together nicely, but it just wasn't happening.

You might be expecting me to say, then, that I quit, but I didn't. I chose to stop. 

There is a huge difference, and if you've ever spent more than an hour with me, you will know how deeply I believe words matter, how much I believe the ones we use either empower us or dishearten us. 

Was it the cumulative effect of several days of crazy-high humidity? Not having my music?  I think it might have been a combination of both, and probably a million other little things I won't even think about.  Whatever is was, I put some time and effort out there this morning, and that counts.

It's okay to stop, but don't you ever quit.

Today's walk:

Distance: 2.63 miles

Time: 38:16

Pace: 14:33 per mile

Yesterday's walk:

Distance: 4.94 miles

Time: 1:13:06

Pace: 14:48 per mile

My 180 Life

One Thought

My Daddy ran. My Mama played tennis. My brothers played baseball, basketball, football. My sister was always on the move doing something or other. I mostly sat around and read stuff like the encyclopedia, or the dictionary, or, in a pinch, the telephone book. I was not inclined to move when it wasn't necessary -- a conserver of energy, if you will.

The running joke in the family was that whatever task might need doing, if it involved sweat you might as well not call on me. Some would say it wasn't really a joke so much as truth. 

I'm still pretty lazy, when you get right down to it. I accept this about myself. It's a sign of maturity.

Another Thought

There are certain scents from my childhood that make me very happy, and remind me of people I loved. One of those is that of Estee Lauder's Youth-Dew, which my Nannaw wore all the time. 

So much did I associate my Nannaw with this fragrance, that when my own granddaughter was born I decided I should start wearing perfume again: just pick a fragrance and wear it always so that when she picked up the slightest whiff of it even years after I'm gone, she might remember me and smile.

I've never quite gotten around to that. I'm just not a perfume kind of girl. I prefer unscented everything. Well, that's no help. It will be very hard for Rosemary to get all teary-eyed from memories of her sainted Grandmama only when something has no scent at all. 

On the other hand.... we keep her frequently on the weekends, and while her Pop fixes her some breakfast, I'm out on my walk. It's always great to see her sweet face light up when I come in the back door, and she loves for her Grandmama to pick her up and give her a big squeeze. 

When I got in from my walk this morning, I realized that she will grow up with a scent memory from me. 

You just can't bottle this stuff. 

Today's Walk

Total Distance: 4.3 miles

Total Time: 1:03:43

Avg Time Per Mile: 14:49

Pace: 4.1 mph

Guilt Free Potato Salad

Today's walk was all about "earning" a little extra 

holiday BBQ, potato salad, and a cold beer.

Sometimes that's as noble as it gets.

***

Let's talk heat, shall we? I know some really physically fit, long time outdoor exercisers don't find this to be much of an issue, but I am not one of those people. It's important for each person to find a way to decide when to take some extra precautions, or maybe even to opt out of outdoor activities. Suffering heat related illness -- or death -- doesn't just happen to out-of-shape folks. Recently, in fact, Chicago's marathon had to be stopped because of the sheer numbers of participants who were in dire medical need, and one young man who was a trained, experienced runner, died from the effects of the heat.  (Read about this HERE.)

Never be embarrassed to take whatever precautionary measures you need, or which make you more confident out there. Note the temperature, humidity, dewpoint, when you head out and listen to your body. Keep notes for a while about how you feel under different conditions. A guide I've taken to using this summer is one I call the "misery index."  I ran across this formula at this WEBSITE, and I have found it to be really helpful. My rule for myself, thus far, is that I will not start a walk if the Misery Index is 150 or above. For the entire month of June I had as my sole intention to not worry about pace or distance. I just wanted to get my body used to the demands our heat and humidity might place on me. I think my plan has paid off. 

Misery Index at start of walk: 147

Misery Index at end of walk: 153

It is critically important to stay hydrated in this heat. The best investment I have made this summer was for a couple of these.....

This holds 10 oz of liquid. If I am going to be out for an hour or less, I fill it with water. It fits in the hand comfortably, and even has a tiny little pocket for a key or something, and another little pocket on the back if energy gels are something you want to have. (I can't stand them, and frankly, don't really need them for what I am doing.) When I knew it was time to begin to bump up the mileage to prepare for the half in October, I bought a second one, which I fill with an electrolyte-replacing beverage. My big distance walk Saturday provided an opportunity to test the first way of managing the two -- I simply left the Gatorade-filled bottle in the beer fridge on our back porch, and when I had depleted the water out of bottle #1 (about 4 miles in) I made my way back home and made the switch. I'm going to try a couple other approaches in the coming weeks to see what works best.

One very important thing I learned about a hydration bottle was this: see the top of this one? You just pull the cap up, tilt the bottle, and drink. I've tried bottles that you had to squeeze, and those with built in straws. These were horrible for this purpose, although they'd be better than nothing, obviously.

Anyway... today's walk accomplished, and now it's on to good food, and good times!

***

Today's Walk:

Total miles: 4.63

Total Time: 1:08:49

Average Pace: 14:50 per mile