Sports Humor - Lance Armstrong and his Bike, The Contest, and The President's Day Freedom Run

Okay, I am a Lance Armstrong Fan. I also follow him on twitter. He posted this picture about an hour ago and I thought it was funny. Here it is.

The Winner of the Contest
As soon as I get the Pedometer in I will post the winner of the contest, what the answer was, and what my weight actually was. What was the contest? Check that out here.

The President's Day Freedom Run
This is the 5th year this 5k has been done. I founded the race in 2005 to support my boy Scout troop and it has been such a great success.

What a great race. It was my first race in a long time and since my accident. I wogged my way through without too many glitches. By the way, wogging is a combination of walking and jogging. I walked for 2 minutes and ran for two minutes, alternating back and forth. I felt great!

The weather report was for rain that morning and then clear the rest of the day. It was cold and cloudy and it started to drizzle at the beginning of the race, but it turn out to be perfect. I sure hope that did not keep people away.

I was pushing a "Bob". It is a really nice and fancy baby or kid jogger that I borrowed from my Brother-in-law. My "almost 4 year old" was riding. Not to hard of a push and going down hill it was easy to control. At the 1.5 mile mark she started crying and screaming about wanting to go home. I stopped and asked her what was wrong and she said she had to go potty. AHHHH! We found some bushes and took care of business. that took about 3 to 4 minutes. Everything else was fine. I finished in about 45 minutes.

There was a kids fun run. That was great! there are some serious kid runners out there.

Oh! Of course we had our live band again. That is such a bonus! Normally you have to wait about 30 minutes from the time the last person crosses the finish line before you get final time and the band makes that time enjoyable! I can not thank them enough for their playing.

Overall, this race is great! Everyone should run this one. We had 120 runners and 26 kids in the fun run. Lost of age group awards and plenty of prizes for both the kids and the runners!

The Next Race!
Next is the "Get your Rear In Gear" 5k. I mentioned it in a previous post, so check that out here. Since I ran the President's Day Freedom Run, my wife is going to run this one while I keep the kids. that will give me time to video and take pictures. Join Our team and See you there!

Some New Ideas And Race Updates

A New Way To Refer To Walking And Jogging
Okay, I can not take credit for this. A friend of mine (Rinning Mooses) came up with a name for Walking and Jogging. It's Called "Wogging"! I love it. In my posts, I will use it. For those of you whop are "jogging" adverse and insist on using running and not jogging, well use woggin in reference to the comnination anyway.

The 5th Annual President's Day Freedom Run,
This has turned out o be a wonderful event. As a BSA Scout Master, I started this race as a fundraiser for the scout troop and to pay for Summer Camp. Since then the Cub Scout Pack has become involved, there is a new Scout Master, andthis event has really grown. We have been on TV every year and I love it. Please register for the race and join us! It is always the first Saturday before President's Day, that makes it February 14th. Registration starts at 8:00 am and the race starts at 10:00 am. Check it out at President's Day Freedom Run

Get Your Rear In Gear
I talked to theTeam leader ad so foar only 3 people have signed up for the race. Pleas sign up and support the team. This 5k is going to be March 7th. Check it out at get your rear in gear

Do You Have A Question?
If you have a question, feel free to email me at getmyfatbuttinshape@gmail.com and I will answer. If your question is a good one, I will post it to the blogg. Tell Me Your Story!
Many people have told me ho they have changed their activities, their diet, started a running program, started a weight loss program, lost weight, or have just plain were inspired. Please share your stories and email them to getmyfatbuttinshape@gmail.com

Thanks! Keep Walking, wogging, and running. Most importantly don't forget to do your 10,000 steps each day!

Next Post - The Winner of the Contest!

Question and Answer: Shin Splints

Q: Dear Fat Butt:

I have a question or two about walking. First, you say a brisk walk. I walk a 20-minutes mile. I just can't seem to do brisk for any length of time. When I do, my legs in the front hurt, the little muscles just on the outside of the shinbone. Stretching doesn't seem to help. When I stick with my 20-minute pace all is well, but I don't feel like I'm making the most out of my time and very little, if any, weight reduction is forthcoming with this sedate pace. Running doesn't seem to hurt but since I am not in good shape, running for any longer than 1 minute isn't very feasible. I haven't seen a doctor about my legs. I was just starting to see a doctor regularly, and I only went once, then we moved and I haven't found a personal doctor for me yet. Suggestions? Also, it is snowy here now and I don't go outside so I am starting (again) my Walk Away the Pounds videos. So any suggestions I will gladly try...when the snow melts and I won't freeze when I step outside.

Sincerely,

Snowed-In in Iowa

A: Dear Snowed-In

As I always do, first talk to your doctor. When you find a new Doctor where you live, talk to him or her about shin splints. The doctor may refer you to a Physical Therapist or medication might be appropriate.

Walking Mileage
Your mile walking time, is not bad. If a 20 minute mile is the pain threshold, then do go any faster. The last thing you want to do is aggravate a problem and turn it into an injury. I am not sure how far your walks are but I will assume they are about 1 mile in distance. Try walking 2 miles 3 times a week instead.

Stretching
Even though the stretching does not appear to be helping, keep doing it before and after anyway. If the muscle become tight, the pain will only get worse. Stiff muscles can later lead to injury.

Exercise That Muscle
Last there is an exercise you can try that will help strengthen this muscle. As the muscle becomes stronger, you should be able to do longer and faster walks. Basically it is what they call "toe lifts". Stand flat footed and then lift up onto your tip-toes. You want to do a modified toe lift. Instead of standing on lat ground, do it on a stair so that your heel actually becomes lower than the rest of your foot. then lift up on your toes. Only do about 10 of these 3 time. do this exercise on days you are not walking. So walk one day and do toe raises the next.

Walking For Fitness Or Weight Loss
Anytime you take up a walking program, remember to slowly increase your mileage by no more than 10% per week. Walking is most effective when you walk at least every other day, daily if possible. Taking a break is important to allow your body to rest. Weekends are the best time for me to do this. Weight loss through exercise must also come with a proper diet. Cut down on calories, particularly fats. Make sure you eat enough proteins, fruits and vegetables.

Sincerely,

Fat Butt

Today's Activity
I walked 2 miles during lunch and I actually feel great! It took 27 minutes, so not to bad. Assuming I can keep up the pace, I could do a 5k in about 40 minutes. I'm going to try and cut that down. So that is 2 miles for the day and week, 5 miles for the month.

Question and Answer: Starting An Exercise Program

Q: Dear Fat Butt,

What advice do you have for an overweight 30-something who wants to begin an exercise program who has lead a largely sedentary lifestyle for the past few years?

Sincerely,

RunningMooses

A: Dear RunningMooses,

As I tell everyone, please see a medical professional before starting any kind of exercise Program.

Why A Walking Fitness Program
Walking is one of my favorite starting off exercises. People were meant and design to be walkers. When walking we are able to burn fat more efficiently than any other exercise, next to running. Walking can be done with out taxing our body like other sports and generally speaking people walk at about the same pace. That mean we can walk with friends. even at a brisk walking pace you can still have a nice conversation.

How to Get Started With a Walking Fitness Program
I am going to assume you have not been doing any exercise such as walking and I don't know if you have any time constraints. So, to start out with I would suggested walking 2 miles every other day, at a brisk pace. This should take about a half an hour. Try this out and see how you feel at the end of the week.

How Should You Feel At The End Of The Week?
If you just were not able to do it because it was so tiresome, then start again with 1 mile every other day. If you did the 2 miles every other day and feel really tired at the end of the week, or even after the day off you feel tiered, do it again for another week but with only a mile and a half. This should take about 20 minutes. If it took you longer than 30 minutes and you just don't have time, walk briskly for 30 minutes. If it was too easy and you don't feel like you did anything, try 2 and a half miles a week the next week. You should feel like you did some exercise at the end of each walk. Starting out you may feel some muscle soreness, but it should not be painful. Every other day you have a day off. You should feel rested after that break.

Eating Habits
Not only should you exercise, but you need to make sure you are eat properly. You need to be getting enough protein and eat carb as you exercise. With walking, drink a fruit juice before you start and a half of a peanut butter sandwich after. This will help stop the feeling of starvation many people feel after they exercise, and keep you body properly fueled for the walking. Drink water as you feel thirsty. Drinking too little will cause dehydration and too much will make you uncomfortable.

Stretching Is Important
Before and after walking (especially after) there are four stretches I suggest. First stretch you calve muscles. Stand in front of a wall, then with your left foot step back. Keeping your left foot strait and your heel on the ground, lean forward against the wall. Use your arms to brace yourself up and keep your feet strait, pointing at the wall. Don't let your hips turn. you can keep them strait by moving your left hip forward. You should feel a stretching sensation that is not painful. If it hurts the lean less against the wall. Hold this position for 30 seconds, then repeat with the right leg.

Next stretch the front of your leg. Stand about 1 front in front of the wall. Move your left leg forward then squat down on your left leg. your weight should be right over your left knee. you should feel a stretching sensation in the front of your leg and your ankle (at least with my bad ankles I do.) If you feel any pain, let up on your squat. Keep your legs and hip strait. hold for 30 seconds, then repeat with the right leg.

Next sit on the floor with your legs strait in front of you. Keep you feet together and bend forward and try and touch your toes. Many people do this standing up, bending at the waist and touching their toes. Lean as forward as you can. You should feel a stretch down the back of your leg. If it is painful, lean back a little. Hold for 30 seconds.

Last, roll over on you stomach. Lift your left leg and grab it with your left hand. Pull your leg toward your butt. You should feel a stretch in you left thigh. Keeps your hips on the floor and stay flat, don't turn or twist your body. This should not be pain full. If you feel any pain, simply hold your leg in place or pull less.

Debate about Stretches
There is some debate about doing the last two stretches. Most people do both standing up. Some experts argue that when standing, it is too difficult to keep your body in the correct position to stretch properly and there may be additional force against your knees that could cause future problems. These experts suggest doing them on the floor as I described above. I have no real opinion and the debate still goes back and forth. I personally prefer to do them on the floor and find I stretch better when on the floor.

What Next
Increase your daily mileage by a quarter of a mile the each week and keep walking every other day for a total of 4 weeks. After that, email me back at getmyfatbuttinshape@gmail.com and let me know how it is going. We can change your walking form there or we can add in a little jogging. Lets see how you do. I look forward to hearing back from you.

Last, My Daily Activity
I walked another mile to the barbershop and back. Later on I walked another half mile. So for the day I had 1.5 miles, for the week, month and year, I have 3.5 miles total. Yeah!

The Best Distance Mapping Tool On The Web

Gmaps Pedometer
Okay, there is a lot of junk out there on the web. Especially when it comes to walking, running, biking, etc. But I have actually found something good. It is called Gmaps Pedometer. What makes it great? First it uses google maps. Second it is simple to use! I mean simple! If you want to know how far you walk, run or bike, use this tool.

How It Works
When you first go to the site, you type in the address of the starting point. where it says "jump to:". you will notice a "Zoom 12" next to it. change it to 17 by pressing the drop down button and selecting "Zoom:17". In my opinion it gives you the best view. Next, hit the "Start Recording" button. Now simply click on points along your route. It will show you mile marks, and calculate how far you would actually go. It is great and fairly accurate.

Points of Confusion
It took me awhile to figure out how to do it, and I don't see any help menu. You must double click to record a point. There are tow options in the center left. One Says "turn off mile marker" and the other says "Turn off calorie counter." If the line says Turn it "off" then it is on. If you click the link, it turns it off and changes to "Turn on mile marker" or "Turn on Calorie Counter". I think it is backwards, but it might make sense to everyone else. Also, where is says "Draw Map" I selected the "automatically (for cyclists)" and would do so even if I were going to walk or run the course. If you don't, you have to add more point or it will having running through houses. If you do use it, it takes fewer point and automatically follows the road. Use manual if you are going off road.

Things I Don't Like - Elevation Feature
If you select "small" or "large" elevation, the map becomes shorter and a graph appears. Unless I were serious about elevation It doesn't add much. If you want this feature, I would plot the map first and print it, then look at the elevation and print it second.

Things I Don't Like - Calorie Counter
When you turn on the calorie counter it will ask you your weight and then calories burned is calculated and appears bellow that. I have no idea where they get that number from or how the number is calculated. Especially since age, sex, and what exercise your doing, and how long it takes you, changes the amount of calories burned. In my case, I mapped out a course of 1.07 miles and the Gmap Pedometer calculated 170 calories burned. I looked up some formulas, and calculated the calories for running the distance in 15 minutes (what I am actually doing it in right now), and it came out with 147 calories. I also calculated the calories for walking and it came out with 123 calories. So It shoots a little high on the calorie burn, but it looks like a pretty good guide.

Over All
this is a really good walking, running, biking map distance calculate. Simply plot your points and print your map. Google Maps is used by the USA Track and Field to assist officials in measuring road races so I am confident in the distance.

People Were Meant To Walk

Walking and and the Human History
No matter what you believe on the origin of man, one thing is for certain. Until recent history people walked everywhere. Mass migrations across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas have occurred. Towns and cities throughout history have an average distance of five mile. That is what one person can reasonably walk in one day, do work, and walk back. Armies walked to battle, pioneers walk to new homes, workers walked to work, mothers walked to the store, and children walked to school.

Domesticating The Horse
Around 4000 BC humans began to domesticate the horse. Though you could ride a horse, most people used the horse as a work animal. They plowed field, pulled wagons, or moved and lifted heavy objects. Rarely to you ride your horse for transportation.

Mongols Riding the Horse
The great Mongol army of Genghis Khan few road the horse as transportation. The group had soldiers and their families and they walked to combat. Once they arrived near an enemy, the soldiers would mount their horses. As soon as the battle was over, they got off. A few would ride to heard the horses and other farm animals to the next battle.

Hollywood and the Cowboy
In every western I have seen cowboys road horses everywhere. It actually seemed everyone road horses everywhere. Cowboys crossing the plains on unending rides. Horse hitches outside every building. Everyone had a horse.

The Real West and the Horse
Though horses were common, most people walked to town. They would never waste the strength of their horse to go to town. Hitching up a buggy took time also. If you had a buggy, you had a servant that would set it up for you. Even then, you took the buggy to church or to town, and then spent the rest of the day walking around. At the end of the day you took the buggy home. You would still walk to work, to school or to town.

How Far Can A Horse Travel
If you race a horse, it can run almost two miles and then it is to tired to run any farther. If you road a horse at a run, you could reasonably take it 10 miles. This was also the distance used by the pony express to change horses. If you walked a horse it could go 20 to 40 miles. For quick long distance travel the horse was great, but around the home and town. You still walked.

Our Body is Designed to Walk
If you look at the way our bodies are designed you quickly see that walking is the most efficient way for us to travel. You might say "Duh, No Kidding." Though it is obvious, everything behind the design of our body revolves around walking. We burn fat most efficiently when walking. Our legs can take use 10 miles in a day at an easy pace (with a couple of breaks) and you would not feel tired. The way our eyes see allows us focus on an object even when walking at a fast pace.

Why We Don't Walk
Well, someone invented the car and then Ford made them cheep enough for everyone, then the government made roads and freeways every where. Now the store is too far away to walk to. Work is too far away to walk to. School is too far or too dangerous to walk to (though I walked to school, elementary, Junior high, and high school. Even college.) The mall is no longer down the street, the movies are on the other side of town, and we have altered our culture to be about cars. So without a car we are in trouble.

How We can Become A Walking People
First you have to (including me), decide we are going to walk. If it is close enough, walk. My grocery store is a half mile away from my house. Unless I am buying bags of groceries, I walk to the store. Get out your front door and walk with someone. Meet at a park or walkway with friends and walk. When you take kids to the park, don't sit on the benches, walk around the playground. It does all start with deciding to walk.

How Far We Should Walk Every Day
Everything I have read about walking for fitness or walking to loose weight points to one magic number. That number is not a measure of time or miles, but steps. Every person should walk 10,000 steps every day. you are probably thinking "WOW! 10,000 STEPS! ARE YOU HIGH!" Well, I'm not. I put on a pedometer last spring and walked 2000 steps just doing laundry. Walking back and forth between the dirty cloths, the Washer, the dryer, and where I folded cloths, and then putting them away. I walked 2,500 steps just to the store and back. I walked 15,000 steps mowing my lawn (long story).

Here Is The Walking Challenge
I challenge everyone to walk 10,000 steps every day. Even if all you do is walk around the house, walk to the corner and back, or walk around doing house or yard work. You will feel better physically, feel better about yourself, and you will notice that you will loose some weight too. Next post will be about walking and burning calories.

The Prize
Part of the prize is going to be a very nice Omron pedometer. I have one, my wife has one, and they are great. Tell your friends about the contest and have them check out my blog. Post comments about your walking. We want to hear how your doing. Good luck and have fun walking.

Feeling Good Walking and Running

Another Walk and Run
Well, I did it. Another walk and run. I went about 1 mile and a half, in about 18 minutes. It felt really good. Once again I ran 3 minutes and ran 2 1/2 minutes. This will be my additional 10% run and Thursday I will just stick to the 15 minutes. I really don't want to over do it.

Motivation
So many people have email me that they walk or run for fitness, then stop. They just can't seem to keep up with it. then they ask me how I stay motivated. The first part of motivation desire. you have got to want the results more than the inclination to not go out and walk or run. another part is Hope. Do you have the hope that running or walking will actually help you? do you believe it? Well do. when you believe it and want it. you will get it.

Time
Another reason people have told me they don't keep up with running or walking is because they don't have time. These same people have time to read email, surf the net, play on their wii, watch Monday night football, etc. I would suggest 30 minutes a day, and believe me that's not much. It is essentially 2 Saturday morning cartoons. If nothing else 15 minutes a day! That's it. Hope and Desire
While at PT a saw a number of older people that fell down and hurt themselves. Just from falling down. I know of people that just can't do basic physical activity. Walk to the corner, go up stairs, or do house work, because they have slowly become to weak to do them. The lack of exercise could have been from an injury, an illness, or (the most common) time. The older you get the faster time goes by. I don't want to be that guy that is 70 years old and need help getting out of a chair. Well, no matter what your situation is, it is never to late! I know of a women who took up running at 70.

Getting Started
If you have had an illness or injury that has prevented you from exercise of any kind, I suggest you talk to your doctor and get a referral to a Physical Therapist. Physical Therapy will get you on the right path, at the right pace, designed for you. Some long term injuries may require special medical treatment. I would suggest that you get the treatment you need and get on a physical therapy plan. If it has just been a long time since you have done and fitness program, once again consult your doctor first. Once you have been cleared, do a search on my blog for walking and start a walking program. If you choose to run, ease into running.

You Will Be Surprised
Walking and running will help you feel better physically, feel better about yourself, and get your body moving.

Running Is Not For Me
That's fine. I will post about running later, but there are plenty of things you can do other than running.

Walking Is Not For Me.
Okay, now we have a problem. In a post about running I will also talk about walking. But walking is essential to everything we do. We get out of bed and WALK to the bathroom, WALK to the kitchen, and WALK to the car. Every exercise program must include at least walking.

NEW POST AND CONTEST!
In the next week, I will post how much I weigh! email me with how much you think I weigh. the closest guesses will win a prize. Email your guess to getmyfatbuttinshape@gmail.com and get a chance to win something special. i will post the Prize in the next few days. In the mean time I need to get my fat butt in shape.

I Am In Bad Shape!

The Visit
Well, this weekend I had my sister over. She had flown out to Utah to see family, flew in to NC to visit a Brother-in-law, then over to see my family. We had a great time and the entire family had fun!

Shin Splints
My sister has been complaining about shin splints. She gets them from walking, running, etc. Because of the pain she does not work out. Shin splints is the inflammation of the muscle and tendon (the posterior personal tendon) that runs down the front of your leg or shin bone. It is believed that this is cause from additional use of the tendon in running and walking. as you walk or run, this tendon and muscle are used to lift the front of your toe out of the way. With any muscle and tendon use, if you over do the work out, it will become sore and inflamed.

Oh My Gosh!
I showed her some stretches do do and a couple of workouts to help. Oh my gosh! I had a hard time doing them and a couple I couldn't do at all. I am in really bad shape. I have my doctors appointment tomorrow and I will talk with him about my progress. My incision site is improving but I am still really sore and have to be careful. I will especially talk to him about my knee. I am really concerned now since it is sore and stiff.

How To Treat Shin Splints
There are several ways to treat the problem. First we are going to assume that you do want to continue some type of work out, but this muscle and tendon need rest and can not be over worked. This is commonly called relative rest.

Relative Rest
Relative rest is a combination of stretches, exercises, and modified walking or running to help strengthening the muscle and reducing inflammation of the tendon. Doing the Soleus Stand stretch and the runners stretch are important. Check out these stretches also. Next proper exercise of the soleus muscle is needed. Find a step, place you toe on the step and you heel over the edge. then to toe raises, allowing you foot to fall bellow your toe, over the edge of the step. Last modify your running and walking. You can do this by running in a pool with a water belt, or substituting the running and walking with biking. Biking is a great aerobic exercise that builds muscle in the legs and DOES NOT have the impact stress of running and walking. slowly build back into running and walking and I mean slowly. Normally you would increase your mileage by 10%. If you suffer from shin splints, do not increase more than 5%, may even 2.5% would be better.

Time And Miles
It is difficult to translate an equivalent bike ride to walking and running. Generally speaking, 4 miles of biking is equal to 1 mile running or 2 miles walking. So if I run 1 mile, the biking equivalent is 4 miles. If I want to walk to get the same workout as 1 mile, I have to walk 2 miles.
For all of you pros out there, YES THIS IS NOT EXACT. THIS IS INTENDED FOR THE AVERAGE PERSON TO WALK OR RUN TO GET BACK IN SHAPE.
So walk 1 mile. How long does that take you? Lets say it takes you 15 minutes. then do your walking in a pool for 15 minutes. Generally I can bike twice as fast as I can run, So I would bike for 30 minutes on a stationary bike, setting the resistance level to feel like I am using as much energy as I would if I were walking.

Why Not....
I will probably get a lot of emails asking my why not use the odometer on the stationary bike, or why not do this or that or the other. when I was really working out and training for triathlons, I probably WOULD do this that and the other. If you feel that you are at that level, by a book on the subject relating to triathlon training or running. I don't have the time or space on this blog to do and explanation justice. Remember, this is for me and other to just get back into shape.

Last Thoughts
The best way to start is stretching and walking. Slowly build the amount of time or distance you walk. I will keep you posted on my progress as I get my fat butt in shape.

PT - Not A Lot of Progress

Friday Re-Evaluation
Well, I went back to PT on Friday for a re-evaluation. No knee problems, but my ankle and right index finger are like frozen. He worked with both a lot and I really didn't feel any pain. They are just really stuck. But it went well. I finished off some lunges. Well, that I paid for the lunges. Other than soreness, I will explain later.

The Incision Line
Well, when the doctor cut on me of course there is an incision. The inner layers were stitched and the outer layer on the skin was glued. This new surgical glue is used because it has reduced infections by 90%. Hey sounds good to me. Now the incision should have healed by now. The problem is every little thing I do, it make a micro tear on that line. Now from picking up girls, laundry, bending over, getting hit there by the littlest child, etc, I have small tears all the way across the incision line. Of course they bleed like crazy, scab up, and the scab attaches to my underwear, and then when I get up and move or walk, it tears off and it bleeds again. To top it off, I am incredibly sore! My wife mentioned this to her mother and her mother said that it should have healed by now. No kidding!

More PT
I went to PT again yesterday and "oh my gosh!" I have no balance. PT was fine but my knee is not doing so good. It is sudden too. It felt fine and then just yesterday, I would get a sharp pain and it feel like my knee is going to dislocate. I have got to get that looked at.

So... That is where I am. Very little walking, some PT and now the knee problem is back. Leave a comment with any advice.

Today Is A New Day

The Doctors Appointment
I have been waiting for this for some time. A Day when the Doctor would say "Everything looks great, you CT Scan and x-rays look fine, you can't get back to exercising and stop taking that medication." Well, today was that day! I spent most of the day at the hospital. They took 4 x-rays and 4 CT scans. The doctor actually saw me quickly with little wait. He is even going to give me copies of all my CT scans and when I get them, I will post them.

Walking
I have started walking again. I have only been doing about 1/2 a mile to a mile. Last week I did 4 miles and so far this week I have done only 1. I hope to do 5.

Physical Therapy
I start back up on physical Therapy Thursday. I should be clear to do everything (ie walk, run, bike, and get in the pool) in three more weeks. I am still concerned about my right knee, but they are going to check it out at PT.

I Am So Ready
Without needing to take the medication anymore, I won't be so tired and will actually be able to work out and start getting my fat butt back in shape. I will keep you posted. Especially about my knee.

Physical Therapy and My Knee

No Walking I have been pretty worried about me knee. I took it easy Monday and I only had a problem once. I decided to take it easy and rest my legs, just in case I am overworking a muscle.

Good Morning! I still feel terrible when I first get out of bed and try and walk. My feet are swollen and stiff, and my ankles just ache. It takes some time to get going before I feel semi-normal and can really get moving around.

Checked Out The Knee Well, as soon as I got to PT I had Anthony check out my knee. It was not as bad as I thought, but my knee is loose. He told me that if it keeps giving me problems to have the orthopedic Doctor check it out.

The Pool I think they are playing musical chairs with pool therapy. I had a different pool therapist again. But no problems with my knee in the pool. If I can get them to video tape my in the pool I will let you know.

Next... I have surgery coming up and I will be meeting with the doctors Thursday. We will have to see what we are in for.

Walking, Health, and Physical Therapy Update

Weekly Walking Mileage Well this week I did 7 miles, plus a lot of other walking. Just around the house, at a church activity and such. By Saturday I was feeling pretty tired so I did not go out and log miles on Saturday. I figured I needed a rest.

Physical Therapy I am working with a new physical therapist in the pool. Hello to Tiffany. We did a lot of exercises and new jumping exercises I hadn't done before. I am really excited and looking forward to pool workouts. Mostly because I feel like I am actually running and walking as apposed to on land where all I can do is walk.

Rest - Just Taking A Break I really need to take it easy. I have been feeling sore all week. I started to feel pin prick pain in the arch of my left foot. The pin rick sensation is caused by the stretching and micro tearing of the fascia (tendons) in the bottom of my foot. If I over do my walking, the problem can get worse than it already is and I could be laid up even longer. Taking a break will give my muscles a chance to heal and recover. Then I will be refreshed and ready to go by the beginning of next week. When I say rest, I don't mean sit or lay around and do nothing. I still walk around the house, take my medication, keep my feet up, use ice. I just don't go out and see how hard I can walk for 2 miles. It is called active rest, even though I don't feel very active in the first place.

Running at PT I am supposed to be prepared to run on a treadmill (not in a pool) Tuesday. My first attempt at actual running! Yeah! Probably will be for a minute or so, but I am looking forward to it and I will let you know how it goes.

The Start of A New Week

First - A Shout Out!
I would like to give a shout out to my Physical Therapist Anthony! So when I start doing Triathlons and running marathons, you can blame him.

Surgery?
Okay, I was talking to my wife about Surgery. For a number of reasons, Surgery would be best soon. And it is easier to schedule now and cancel later than to schedule later. So right now surgery is is scheduled for OCTOBER 1ST.

Walking So Far
This week, I have only done 1.5 miles and that was yesterday (Monday). I still am try to keep up a brisk pace. I was going to try and walk today but, PT was enough for the day, then It rained, and my sister-in-law and family came in. They are a lot more fun then walking. Besides I had to get the house clean.

Physical Therapy
We started out with a warm up on the stationary bike. Then we moved on to the stretches. Today we did something new. We used a trampoline! I did some running in place, jumping forward and back, left and right, then hopping on each foot. It was a lot harder to keep my balance than expected, and it was a good workout. I am still having trouble with my right index finger. It is better than it was, but I am afraid I might be in a permanent point.

So I Am Having Surgery?
This is the deal. I have it scheduled for October 1st. I have an appointment with the Doctors, September 25th. I have one last question for them and this is it: "You had me NPO (no eating) in the ICU at Chapel Hill for 3 days. You looked at a ton of Cat Scans and x-rays. You decided NOT to do surgery then and that we would wait. NOW you want to do surgery. What has changed to make you want to do Surgery now?" Then answer will hopefully be enlightening.

A Lot Of Miles and New PT Treatment

A Word About Walking
When walking there are two general ways of classifying your pace. There is walking and then there is aerobic walking. Walking is what I do with my kids on Sunday when we go to Grandmas house. Aerobic walking is walking at a pretty brisk pace for at least 10 minutes. If you walk briskly for less than that, you really never get your body into the aerobic mode. Aerobics is the way your body fuels its muscles and not whether or not your winded. I am trying to get in a minimum of 3,000 aerobic steps or 20 minutes of Aerobic walking. That is about 1.5 miles of walking briskly. I want to get 10,000 steps a day. We will get to that in the near future.

The Walking Miles For The Week
I walked 7.7 miles at an aerobic pace. The problem still is that after I am done walking I need to take a nap. That medication is killing me. I see the Doctor next Thursday.

Walking In The Pool
I had Physical Therapy on Tuesday and Wednesday. These two days I did pool work. There is a pool with a treadmill in the floor and I did some walking and running in the pool. What the pool does is reduces the impact of the walking and running, but provided resistance by moving through the water. I still can't run on land. It was a good work out and I felt muscle work out through out my legs. I was very tired when I was done, but it felt great to actually run again.

The Aneurysm

Questions From My Friends
Okay, people have been asking about my aneurysm. Technically, in my case, it is called a dissection. The aorta has several layers of walls to protect it from damage and to contain the blood when blood pressure levels change. There are two holes in the inner wall of my aorta. Blood is running into one hole and has formed a channel inside the wall of the aorta, then running out the other.

Danger!
My dissection measures about 3.75 cm. The danger zone is anything over 5 cm. After it reaches 5 cm, the aorta has a high probability of blowing within 6 months.

Now Or Later?
When first discovered during my accident, the doctors decided to wait and watch. Now after a few months they want to operate. They tell me I could wait, keep monitoring it as I have been, but the doctors want to take care of it now. What was the change? I am not completely sure. It has been determined that the blood is flowing into the bottom of the wall and flowing in backwards up the aorta then out the second whole. At the time the doctors told me they wanted to operate, we decided to ask around, think about the situation, and then make a decision. I have not made one yet.

To Run or Not To Run, That Is The Question
Well, I am on heart medication to keep my blood pressure down. Not that it was high, the doctors just want it low. The problem is the medication makes me super tired and I sleep all the time. So, even though I am walking, I don't get enough exercises so I am gaining mega weight. With additional weight, my blood pressure is getting higher. It all seems quite counter productive. I also want to get back to running, but my right ankle is just not there yet. I still need more mobility before I will be able to run on it. The doctor says running will be no problem. Though your heart rate increases a lot during exercise, your blood pressure has a very small increase as long as you are not over exerting yourself. So first chance I get, I will run!

Question Of The Day
Do I operate now or Later? Stay tuned and find out what I decide!

Walking For Fitness

A Lot Of Miles Well, I walked 6.5 miles this last week. It was a lot more than I had planned. The Rule Of Thumb Remember that rule I mentioned before about not exceeding 20% of miles in one week. Well, I broke that rule. Now I am really tired. I am lucky I didn't hurt myself.

Just Another Walk

Well, I slapped on the pedometer and off I went. I walked just over a half a mile. According to my pedometer most of it was done at an aerobic pace. Yeah! However it said I only burned 47 calories. Booo! That is like one corn flake! It only took 11 minutes, so we are making progress. I will feel better when I am back to running. I so need to get my butt back in shape!

Walking for Exercises

Right Now About all I can really do for exercise is walk. I have a pedometer and I have measured distance on my road so I can track how far I can walk (Actually run, prior to the accident.) Getting Started As soon as I got the Okay to walk, I walked a quarter of a mile. Then I walked a quarter of a mile, four different days. Each week, I would increase the distance. This week I will be walking 5 miles. Ultimately I want to wear my pedometer all the time and walk 10,000 steps a day. Rules of Thumb You should increase you walking by no more than 20% of the miles you walked the previous week. So lets say you walked 10 miles in a week. 20% of 10 miles is 2 miles. That means you shouldn't walk more than 12 miles the next week. That DOES NOT MEAN walk 10 miles on Saturday then walk 12 miles on Monday because it is the next week. What I Did Today I am luck to live close to the grocery store so I walked to the store and picked up a few things for dinner. Total Distance to the store and back is 1.5 miles.

How Far I Walk

I need to get my fat butt in shape, but I do not feel like I am making Progress. The Appointment I had my Vascular (having to do with my Aneurysm) appointment this past Tuesday. Well, in spite of Medication my blood pressure is not where they want it 131/60. The top number needs to be bellow 130. In spite of increased walking, I now way 200.0 lbs. New Information My aneurysm hasn't changed in size or length, but I had a CT scan with a special dye called contrast. What they saw were two holes in the wall of the Aorta wall. One at the bottom of the aneurysm and one at the top. As they watched the dye they saw it enter the bottom hole and move up to the top hole and out. That is right, the blood was flowing the wrong way through the wall of my Aorta. Now they want to do surgery to fix it. We decided to talk about it (We as in my wife and I, and talk to other medical professionals who are our friends.) My biggest concern is that surgery was originally ruled out because in 25 years the hardware would go bad and need to be replaced. That would make me 66. Not a good age for surgery. Doctors said it would be better to wait a few years because medicine was advancing and new technology may be available. Well, now they want me to have surgery, which mean I am looking at surgery again at about 66. One thing is for sure though, it is not getting better and it is not changing fast. But it ca only get worse. Once it gets a centimeter bigger, the odds are 90% chance of this thing blowing with in six months of that change. My Weight Well, the medication I am on to keep my blood pressure down make me tired. So tired that as soon as I finish walking I need to take a nap. The problem is I am gaining weight fast, because I really am quite inactive. I might be up to 3 miles a week, but that isn't crap. And then I get tired and can't do anymore. So I am gaining weight and it is causing my blood presure to go up! We are trying to find a new medication. I will keep you posted.