Day 41 1/5: A Happy Dad and ROCKING Walk!

First of all, a quick update on mom and dad.  A family friend loaned us a wheelchair, which not only made it MUCH easier to get my mom around but added to my workout, as I had to lift the heavy thing in and out of the car and wheel her around.  Plus, once I got her to my dad's room and situated into the guest chair, I sat down in it and wheeled myself around for the remainder of the visit - even if I just ended up wheeling myself back and forth inside the room, I was constantly moving for a good couple of hours.  :o)

My Dad's a clean freak - at home, he never takes less than two showers a day and always smells like men's cologne.  Unfortunately, he is on a strict "no shower" policy right now due to the incision.  Plus, due to the unhelpfullness of the rehab facility, they've been telling him that they have no wash cloths or shampoo.  So, yesterday, I poured some shampoo into a wash cloth and packed it into a plastic bag along with his trimmer.  Therefore, when not tooling around in the wheelchair, I spent my time washing, drying and brushing his hair, helping him brush his teeth and shave, and even shaved his back for him.  :o)  (My father has turned into a hairy beast of a man!  lol)  It seemed to really have a positive affect on his outlook.  In addition to being a goofball and making my parents laugh not stop, it was a very nice visit and felt like it helped put everyone in a good mood.

I have not been sleeping well for the past week so, last night, I gave up and took a single Tylenol PM to help me get to sleep at a decent time.  Then, I set my alarm clock for 5 am and took a caffeine pill before going back to sleep.  I DO NOT like or encourage people to set their inner clocks with the use of pills - however, with my return to work this upcoming Tuesday, I really needed help to get my body back on track.  The sleepless nights until 5 am and then sleeping until noon was starting to take a toll.  I know there are other ways to do it but I have enough on my mind right now that I really didn't feel like putting any more effort into it for the time being.  :o\  It was a one time thing and, now that life should slowly be returning to normal, it should no longer be a problem.  :o)

As I was saying, I woke up at 5 am, took a caffeine pill and then went back to sleep for an hour while I waited for the pill to take affect.  I reset my clock for six with the intention of going for a sunrise walk - but the thunder and lightning didn't seem to be in sync with my plans.  Instead I woke up, took care of my pets, took care of my mom (who was sleeping peacefully in her recliner) and did a few other things around the house.  I also ate some oatmeal to help load up on carbs and to balance out my blood sugar.

  The weather was reported to be a delightful 77 degrees outside, but with a humidy level of 90% and increasing chances of rain and thunder storms.  By 11:30 am, the sky was overcast but the rain had yet to fall.  I woke up my mom to check on her, make sure that she didn't need anything and to let her know that I was going for a walk - then I went for a walk in the park for the first time in over a week.  (I've been fitting in walks through hospitals, parking lots and rehab facilities - but this was the first intense walk I've had a chance to take in a while.)

It was hard getting out there, but it felt so good once I started!  My playlist was fantastic today!  Two minutes in I found myself walking 3.7 mph while rocking out to Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit".  I don't know WTH that song means, but the sound is awesome!

 

 

Britney Spears "If You Seek Amy" and "You Wanna Piece of Me" followed that up and helped me to maintain my pace as I bee-bopped on my way through the park  I mean, I had my arms swinging and my hips swaying while I grooved my way through my workout!

 

Because of the persistent chance of rain, I changed the track I walked, choosing to just circle a small parking lot that is perhaps 1/3rd of the track that I usually walk simply for the reason that 1) it is the closest part to my home and 2) there is a shelter with bathrooms at one end, in case I needed to quickly get out of the weather.  I actually think I preferred this track because it is entirely paved, unlike the sandy, broken up and rocky parts of the longer track that always make me nervous that I will sprain my ankle, so I may take this route more often.

I managed to maintain a speed of 3.2 to 3.7 mph for more than half of the walk, thereby FINALLY beating my 19 minute mile!  I'm not sure exactly WHEN I hit the mile mark because my phone app didn't announce it, but I checked the screen at 18 minutes it and I was already at 1.02 miles.  Therefore, I'm estimating that I hit the mile mark somewhere between 17.5 and 18 minutes.  YAY!

 

I felt so freaking incredible - not only was I walking faster and pushing harder than ever before, but my breathing was great and I was having so much fun rocking out to my music that it didn't even really feel like work!  I tried to be smart and slow my pace down gradually during the last ten minutes as a "cool down" period, but according to my app, I was completely comfortable at a 2.9 or 3 mph pace.  All in all, my stats were as follows:

1.54 Miles Walked
Avg Speed of 3.2 mph
Max Speed of 3.7 mph Reached
Min Speed of 2.7 Reached (at 27 minutes in)
2,479 Steps
30 Minutes

Even though I immediately started drinking some Vitamin Water to refresh my electrolytes and had some almonds prepared for a protein snack, I still experienced a little dizziness after the walk.  According to Livestrong.com, this could be because I was dehydrated, because I didn't completely cool down well enough to level out my blood pressure or because my morning oatmeal was not enough to level out my blood sugar, so now I know I need to monitor all of the above before my next walk.  But still - IT WAS SO INVIGORATING!  Can't wait to get out there and do it all again.

Oh, and by the way - I don't know how much of it was humidity and how much of it was sweat, but I was drenched by the end of the 30 minutes.  Let me just say - I don't know what romance writers are going on and on about because there is absolutely NOTHING sexy about "naked bodies glistening with perspiration".  After today, I will never buy that load of crap again!  lol