Here we go again

Last time we met, I was full of hope and confidence and optimism. Hillary Clinton had secured the Democratic nomination for President and we were going to elect a woman to the highest office in the land, damn it.

Didn't quite work out that way. Sadly.

Sadly for women, sadly for the country, sadly for the world, in all likelihood. Because the guy who got elected just isn't good for any of us.

IN MY OPINION.

I'm going to do what I can to #resist, but I won't be marching in Washington, D.C. the day after the inauguration. My husband and I had already planned a little winter getaway. Instead of showing up there, I'm knitting hats for the Pussyhat Project. Three done, at least three to go. I've promised six, but hope to get a couple more done. We'll see whether that happens.

As always, when I start blogging at the beginning of the year, it's about my weight. Blogging has helped me lose weight in the past – that old accountability factor – and I'm hoping it will help again in 2017. Other actions which have had a positive effect in the past are:

• Keeping a food log (I'll use the LoseIt app)
• Taking progress pictures (not sure if I'll do this)
• Following a paleo eating template (will begin tomorrow)

I've been counting my steps every day for two years now, using a FitBit One (the little clip-on model), and I'm happy to report that even though I had hip surgery last year, I still walked an average of 4 miles a day in 2016. Total miles = 1,465 and total steps topped out at 3,607,004. Those are TOTAL steps/miles, not intentional ones. I've been using MapMyRun to measure walking distance. 2015 sucked (due to hip pain), but I improved a little bit last year and hope to do much better in 2017. (And you'll note the change in the blog's title – there is no running with artificial hips, but I can certainly improve my walking pace, which is currently a glacial 23-minute mile.)

Why am I not starting back on paleo today, the first of the year, new beginnings and all that? Because we're going to eat Hoppin' John, for dinner and for luck. Legumes are restricted on a paleo plan, but I think we're going to need all the luck we can muster this year.

Besides, diets are supposed to begin on Monday, amirite?

You can help me help myself this year, by leaving an occasional comment, suggesting recipes, and sharing your own struggles and successes. I'm determined, and I know you are, as well. Let's do it.

12 into 40 equals

3.3333333. Ish.

That's my daily average mileage this month, which would get me to 100 miles if I kept it up for the next 19 days. But I did 124 in April. So now I'm competing with myself. Gotta go farther, gotta do more!

I need to just Get. Over. It.

One hundred miles a month is plenty for a woman who is less than a year from Medicare.

My right hip-to-knee begins hurting toward the end of every walk now. So the pain is definitely not food-related because my food is clean, clean, clean, and should have taken care of any inflammation issues by now.

At least that was my previous experience.

Sciatica? That's what my husband thinks. I changed the chair I sit in when I work at my desk. I love my sweet little antique doctor's-office chair, but he points out it wasn't meant for hour-plus-long sessions. His dad sat in it for a couple minutes at a time when the chair was in his office.

I switched to a sturdy oak chair with armrests and a cushioned seat. The seat is also longer than the hardwood circle of the other chair, providing more support to the upper leg.

I've been resting with my right leg elevated for an hour or so every day. I guess it all takes time.

And sciatica might not even be the issue. My pain doesn't travel down the back of my leg. It starts in the back, but goes down the side.

And further, I just don't want to go see a doctor for something as vague as "hip-and-leg pain that begins after I've walked three miles." My doctor is a practical man. He'd tell me to reduce my daily goal from four to three. Problem solved.

Anyway. Today is a clean-the-house and cook-lots-of-food day, because we're having company for dinner. One nice thing about being retired is you can make plans for just about any night of the week. And the recent heat we've been having has taken a hike. It's supposed to be sunny with temperatures topping out in the upper 60s.

Too cold to spend any time outdoors, looking at the weeds that still haven't been pulled. Heh.

Whole 30 DONE!

Aren't you glad? Heh.

I'm not sure why this one went so well. The previous two I've tried were abandoned mid-stream, and the only successful Whole 30 under my belt was the first, in April 2013.

I was so desperate when I started that one. I'd been doing the move-more/eat-less/low-fat plan since Christmas 2012, and by early April had lost seven pounds. To me, that was little reward for great effort. Paleo was my last resort. If that didn't work, I planned to be fat and unhappy the rest of my life.

But it did work, and I kept at it and ended up getting to within 12 pounds of a normal BMI. Oh, that elusive number.

What I need to do is go back and figure out why I quit. What made me think I could maintain a significant weight loss by changing what was working? I blame my slide on the election – too many meals out of my control, too busy to walk, too often choosing food for stress relief.

But there's probably a deeper truth I'm not willing to explore.

At any rate … this month worked, emotionally and physically. I've felt clear-headed, energetic (most of the time), and on task. I still have some right hip pain, occasionally, but it's not debilitating and certainly not as bad as it was last month, when I would have to lie down for an hour after walking a couple miles.

I hit my mileage goal for the year, and have a couple extra miles in the bank. Which is good, since I'm traveling today and Sunday, and I have another short trip planned later this month. I was dedicated to getting my 400th mile in April. I ended up with 124 for the month and I'm at 402 for the year.

YAY, ME!

I'm not planning to stray too far from a Whole 30 plan going forward. I'll add nut flour and honey or maple syrup for an occasional mug muffin. (That one doesn't even use nut flour.) A scoop of banana "ice cream" once in a while. (That one certainly qualifies as Whole 30 as far as ingredients go, except it's served in a dessert bowl, instead of eaten out of hand.) I'll not feel as though my hands are tied when I eat out, or in someone's home.

In other words: 80/20 prevails. Which means four meals per week can be off-template.

Wow, that sounds like a lot. Maybe I'll go with the 90/10 plan. Heh.

Perhaps the best part of a Whole 30 is you only weigh yourself twice – once at the start and once at the finish. If you've been following along, you know I cheated and weighed myself once in the middle, when my enthusiasm began to lag.

But today's weigh-in was the official second one, and produced a grand total of 10 pounds lost.

• That's one pound every three days. 
• That's 2.5 pounds per week. 
• THAT'S 10 POUNDS IN A MONTH!

Day 30 – and Whole 30 – DONE!

But not really. I just won't be yammering about it every day for the rest of my life. Thanks for sticking with me this month, through thick and thinner. I'm off for a little weekend getaway, and not sure if I'll be updating or not. But I'll be back Monday, and I hope you will, as well. Have a GREAT weekend!

Nailed it!

Somewhere along the line last month I agreed to be part of a two-woman effort to log 2015 miles in 2015. And, of course, I'd previously set a 1200-mile personal goal to get my three-year Daily Mile total to 3500.

Busting 100 miles per month would easily accomplish both goals, but hey. It's WINTER.

HOWEVER: The combination of milder-than-normal temperatures (for the most part), the FitBit and a change in my attitude paid off nicely.

I'm .0875 percent of the way toward completing both annual goals.

And we're more than a third of the way through winter. I've no idea what the long-term forecast for the month is, but the next few days look manageable, with maybe one day being a little too cold to walk outdoors.

I gotta tell you though – the FitBit makes a huge difference in whether my get up and go gets up and goes. I'm connected to a few friends who also have the devices and it's fun and a wee bit competitive to make sure I'm at or near the top of the weekly leaderboard. The only way to get and stay there is to keep moving.

I moved very little Thursday (for medical reasons) and Friday (for too-freaking-cold reasons), so I've dropped back to second. But today looks good – 40s and overcast – and I might log more than the customary four miles. February is a short month, and I'll have to miss at least one day due to an out-of-town meeting. (Which means drive-drive-drive-meeting-drive-drive-drive.) Padding the mileage while I can wouldn't hurt.

Time to look for a new knitting project. I'm on the last little bit of finishing work on the felted clogs (other than felting them), and the neck wrap is ready to deliver. And since the Super Bowl is tonight, I'm going to need something to work on. I think I want a new sweater. FOR ME. Which means, since I'm a knitter, I get to go shopping in the yarn closet, rather than the department store.

I used to have a great tunic-length, funnel-neck sweater that I literally wore out. It got so fuzzy and tattered looking I just couldn't bear to be seen in it. But I miss it. And it was all stockinette, top-down, and knitted in the round, so easy to manage while watching the Seahawks beat the Patriots. Heh.

Oh, how I wish it were the Broncos, though. SOB!

My mid-year mileage

I really like the MapMyRun app, and appreciate not having to figure out mileage and time and splits and pace using my questionable mathy skills, which have atrophied over time and which were never my strong suit anyway. I was probably in the art room when I should have been learning long division.

A couple days ago I got a MapMyRun mid-year total.

And when I used my remaining mathy skills, I determined that I've averaged 4.4 miles per workout this year. With 181 days and 829 miles to go in 2014, it's not likely I'll make the 1500-mile goal I recently abandoned. But I could probably do better than last year's 1300.

Heh.

See how crazy I am? That I would even do the math and try to figure it out and what was I thinking?!?!?

Well, who knew we'd have such a brutal winter and I'd lose a month of walking days because of snow and ice and cold, oh my?

Those numbers make me feel good, but they really don't matter. What matters is I'm still committed to walking as frequently as I can, for as long as I'm able. 

I did it, I did it, I did it!

With one day and two miles to spare, I hit my August goal of logging 150 walking/jogging miles. Yay, me!

I won't be repeating this feat in September. But I don't have to. I'm just happy I was able to hit it for August, even skipping three days due to illness.

Did I say yay, me? I think I did!

Another number

Wowie wow wow wow.

Only had to do 4.1 this morning to hit this benchmark. The plan at the beginning of the year was to log 1000 miles in 2013, and I'm well on my way. I could probably change the goal, but the logical shift would be to 1200 – 100/month – and I'm not sure that's possible.

Fall is a busier time of year for us as far as travel goes, and traveling is the biggest roadblock (heh) to logging daily miles. So 1000 it is, and 1000 IT SHALL BE!

Hope y'all have a great day. That is all.

Dwindling miles, a temporary state of affairs

I can see that working just two mornings a week is going to result in a reduction of my weekly miles, unless I'm able to tack a couple extra on when I do manage to get out there. I'd planned to walk after work yesterday, but I came home and collapsed.

It's not that the work is so hard. It's that I'm so old. Heh. And while walking almost daily for three months has been good for my health, it hasn't done much for my stamina, apparently.

I will become accustomed to this routine and I will continue to work toward my goal of walking 1000 miles this year. I'm ahead of schedule by about 25 miles. And if I don't hit the goal? Well, I've probably already walked farther this year than I did for all of 2012.

Hershey and I just chased seven deer out of the back yard. If I weren't such a softie I'd build a doghouse in the middle of the garden and let her live in it during the growing season. Dogs are excellent deer deterrents. Hershey, however, is a house dog. It just wouldn't be fair after all these years to ask her to actually work for her kibble.

I am enjoying working again, despite the fatigue. I've met some interesting customers and welcomed back some old ones. The plants are thriving with the spring rain and warm temperatures we've had lately. Our newest employee is my walking buddy and one of my favorite people, and we'll be working together on Wednesdays. The good stuff multiplies.

Disappointments and tragedies and evil and accidents and bad stuff will always be a part of life. I don't know anyone who can claim otherwise. What we do with it is what makes our life fulfilling and worthy and valuable. An initial shocked or horrified or angry reaction must be channeled toward something better. Light stamps out darkness. Good triumphs over evil. Love is stronger than hate.

And, in the end, miles don't much matter. It's the journey that counts.

Dilemma

So tomorrow is Easter and we're having dinner here and I'm cooking it. And cleaning both before and after the cooking, since I walked this afternoon and wiped myself OUT.

I was just checking my monthly and yearly mileage and discovered that if I walk five miles – JUST five, not impossible at all – I'll have logged a hundred for March.

I was planning to do two tomorrow, in the afternoon, after the dishwasher was loaded and company had gone home.

I'm sure I'll be tired after cooking and cleaning and entertaining. But the OCD part of me would LOVE to hit 100 miles.

Such a dilemma ...

I hope you have a happy Easter. Results will be posted tomorrow evening.

I am, apparently, map-challenged

To be fair to myself, one of Hinton, West Virginia's claims to fame is that it was settled at the confluence of three rivers. There are, therefore, many bridges to navigate when you're looking at a map. I went one bridge too far when I calculated the distance on Willowwood Road yesterday. It is, indeed, eight miles round-trip, just as I thought.

You know what that means, don't you?

I DID IT!

The halfway point, looking
out over the Greenbrier River
from the middle of the bridge. 

On a whim, and because my phone was fully charged, I decided to take and post photos at the beginning and at each mile. If you're not my Facebook friend (search for Debbi Young McNeer) or if you don't follow me on Instagram (search for @shrinkingknitter), you can see my progress here. The first photo is today's photoaday attempt, and not part of the walk, obviously. The next eight are in reverse order.

I had to skip the seventh mile. Despite a fully charged phone, the battery was nearly drained by the time I got to within a couple miles of the finish. In order to have enough juice left to grab a final shot, I decided two pictures of a tunnel weren't really necessary. (The first- (and potentially seventh-) mile tunnel shot is my favorite; most people liked the bamboo, though.)

I guess running a GPS program for nearly three hours – yes, I was that slow – plus uploading a bunch of photos to Instagram will deplete a phone battery. Or at least it did mine. If I have one complaint about my Motorola Electrify it's the rapid battery drain.

ANYWAY. Taking the photos helped pass the time, and it took a LOT of time. Two hours and 49 minutes and 17 seconds of time, and I didn't begin until 3 p.m. The sun was slipping behind the mountain when I got home. Had I been running, I could have completed a half-marathon. (Insert sad face here – I wish I'd been running.)

The most interesting thing that happened is when I passed one small, narrow brown house that's been there a long time, by the looks of it. I've never seen a person or car there; when I trained on this road previously that place was always empty. And there was always music coming from it.

And there still is. Whoever owns it apparently has a radio on all. the. time, perhaps to deter intruders. I'd say about half the dwellings on Willowwood Road are summer homes – cabins or fishing shacks, many built on stilts to avoid the spring floods from the Greenbrier River. If I lived in the shack next door, I surely wouldn't appreciate the constant loud noise coming from my empty neighbor's house.

But I don't, and that's their problem.

My problem was getting in and out of the car. My right hip was so very stiff when I got done. It feels pretty good this morning though, thank goodness, because I have a 2 p.m. date with my walking buddy. I hope to blow the lid off my mileage for this year – never thought I'd be hitting the 200-mile mark this soon!