Treading the mill

I wasn't able to do any intentional walking yesterday at all, so called it a rest day and gave up the guilt about it. Even so, I logged more than 6000 steps. Not bad for a rest day.

I downloaded an audiobook yesterday from our library commission and set up everything I needed on my phone to listen to it. Heading to the treadmill since the roads are icy and it's f-f-f-freezing outside.

The big mystery I alluded to a couple days ago is that our Medicare Advantage plan covers the fees to join the local gym. I had every intention of getting there one day this week, but the apple cart called Life kind of got turned on end, and that never happened. But it will … I printed out the membership card and my plan is to use the weight machines for a couple months and then move to free weights.

I also want to use the bike, to help build up my leg muscles. The only equipment we have is a rowing machine and a treadmill. The rowing machine is difficult for me to get on and off, because of the artificial hip. I think strengthening my leg muscles will help. I like the results of rowing WAY more than I like rowing, and I'm hoping as time goes on and I lose some weight that the desire for results will motivate me to actually row.

Today, though, all I have to do is get from the house to the second floor of the garage. Which is where I'm headed now. Hope your day goes well and your apple cart runs smoothly.

Back to normal!

It's been 12 weeks today since my hip surgery, and I'm doing just about whatever I want to do. Except running, of course, which is forever prohibited. The physical therapy sessions were very beneficial, and I am again glad my doctor didn't push me into them right away. 

Certain movements are restricted immediately post-surgery – bending, crossing your legs, putting all your weight on the operated limb – and my therapy would have had to respect those limits. Waiting until the restrictions were lifted gave the therapists more leeway to push me a little harder.

At any rate, I'm now able to put my socks on, tie my shoes, enter and exit the car, bend, stretch, stoop, you name it and I can do it without discomfort. Pretty cool, huh? I still tire easily, and that was an issue this weekend.

The other back-to-normal thing is my life. Our county Democratic Executive Committee, of which I am a member, hosted a banquet honoring a retiring state senator this past Saturday, and banquets don't just happen out of thin air, like they do in Disney cartoons. A great deal of planning and preparation went into it. And a great deal of walking and standing ensued. I didn't even eat dinner.

BUT: It was quite the success, both in attendance and in replenishing our treasury so we can do some voter outreach efforts. We learned a lot from the experience – we've never hosted this kind of affair before – and we'll definitely be doing it again.

Just not soon. Heh.

Yesterday my husband and I went to a book reading, which was accompanied by music (lovely, soul-filled music) and followed by a reception at the home of the organizers. The book – Voices from the Appalachian Coalfields – was researched 25 years ago by a man who became ill before he could finish it. His wife eventually completed the project. It's an artistic and educational masterpiece.

And a pretty long day.

Winter returned last week, and I finally had the opportunity to walk on the treadmill instead of outdoors. My fastest outdoor pace – if you want to call it that – is about a 24-minute mile. I can do three miles in an hour on the treadmill, and knock off an episode of House of Cards while I'm at it. I still like outdoor walking better, but I'll gladly hit the machine when the weather doesn't cooperate.

So that's about it from the Middle of Nowhere. Thanks for hanging in there with me for the surgery saga. I probably won't mention it much going forward. We have a primary coming up, and then an important general election. I'll bet you just can't wait to hear what I have to say about that! Heh.

Four weeks

On Sunday, January 17, I'll be admitted and anticipating the insertion of a new hip joint the next day.

When last we met, our new treadmill had just been assembled and I'd given it a trial run. I did fine that first day. I've used it three times since then and, well, maybe it's just not the thing to do. I haven't hurt myself, but I definitely exhaust myself. It's quite astonishing how much it takes out of me.

And even though it's very gentle and slow, I'm so stiff and sore afterward that I can barely move from one position (lying down, for instance) to another (upright).

My walking goal for the year was 1200 miles. According to FitBit, which converts every step to miles, not just the intentional let's-go-for-a-walk ones, I'm very close. At the end of the day yesterday, I'd logged enough steps to equal 1177.69 miles for the year. With 12 days to go, I need only a couple miles a day to reach 1200.

But a normal, non-treadmill day often yields less than a mile. So … what will be, will be, and while I won't shy away from everyday activities, I won't be hopping on the treadmill.

As you may have noticed, I'm having trouble blogging. I've been all about fitness and weight loss since the beginning, and since neither are happening right now, I'm kind of at loose ends. Yes, I still knit. But I'm choosing easy, mindless projects that don't need much brain power. While I love dreaming about intricately cabled sweaters or wraps, I'm actually working on simple caps (two gifts recently completed!) and a garter stitch poncho (for myself).

I worked on one of those caps while watching The Skeleton Twins yesterday (currently available on Amazon Prime). It's a quirky, funny, bittersweet story. I couldn't tell you who the actors are. But I've watched it twice now, and liked it both times. So there's that.

And with that … another journal entry is in the books. I'll be back when something interesting or exciting or blog-worthy happens.

Five weeks from today

If all goes as planned – schedule doesn't change, insurance agrees to pay, surgeon and patient are both present for the procedure – I will have a new hip joint on Martin Luther King day.

Which is, as noted in today's post title, five weeks from today.

Christmas came early for us, with the delivery and assembly of a new treadmill. We literally wore our old one out. You could smell something electrical going on when you walked on it. I'm kind of proud of us for not turning it into a clothes hanger (which would have been kind of hard to do, since it wasn't in the bedroom).

Seriously. How many people do you know who have worn out a treadmill?

Anyway. I decided to try it out yesterday. I don't feel safe walking on the road, and it hurts too much to do that anyway. I figured if walking on the treadmill hurt, I could get off and have a seat on the nearby comfy couch. And I figured holding on to the handrails would give me some extra stability.

Yes, I know you burn fewer calories when you hold on. Burning calories isn't the point of the exercise at this time. Staying mobile is.

My goal was half an hour at 2 mph. Which is laughable compared to some of my epic treadmill workouts of the past. I remember running seven miles on it when it was too icy outside to do a training run for my first half-marathon. SEVEN. MILES.

No matter. I did it.

And then I sat down on the nearby comfy couch, with my knitting, and watched Love Actually.

Christmas can come any time now. Heh.

Well, maybe not. I have some food things to do, and some wrapping and mailing to do. The longest-distance packages will go out today. The rest will go tomorrow. The food things will happen sometime this week, while I still have a wee bit o'freezer space.

And the countdown to January 18 continues.

Tomorrow, tomorrow!

The wait is nearly over. My first appointment with the surgeon is tomorrow at 1:30 in the afternoon. I can't ever remember being so excited about a visit to the doctor.

Everything I've heard from everyone I've talked to, as well as my own experience with this surgeon (he set my mother-in-law's broken arm several years ago) is good good good. The only caveat I've heard is that you will spend a long time in the waiting room. My 1:30 appointment is likely to be 2:30 or later.

Whatevs. We'll deal with it.

So what I've learned about myself is that a busy day is followed by a not-busy day. I'm still wearing my FitBit One, but it hasn't been tracking accurately lately. What's sad is I don't really much care. You can see, though, by this chart, that rest days follow active days, and that's just the way it is.

The 10,000-step-per-day goal has not been met in many months. Oh, well!

My husband and I gave ourselves a treadmill for Christmas, however, and I'm going to attempt very slow walking on it after we get it set up. Our old one began emitting a burning electrical odor when we used it, and in the interest of safety and not burning down our garage, we took it to a recycling center that accepts just about everything. Including burned-out treadmills.

That machine lasted a very long time, though, so we bought the same brand – a Pro-Form – which worked well for us. We are not runners (sad face), and the less-than-stellar reviews point out that this piece of equipment is not suitable for running. So yay! I think.

I continue to add meals to the freezer. I probably have a month's worth stockpiled at this point. I rarely cook just one meal now – it's just as easy to cook twice as much and put the extra away for the future.

If only I could clean the house once and have it stay clean until I'm back to normal. Ah, well. First-world problem. I'm getting a new hip joint … that's a pretty amazing thing that still doesn't happen in much of the world. Best to be grateful.

The treadmill works!

I can’t remember (and am too lazy to check) if I mentioned our treadmill quit working New Year’s Day. I was jogging along and noticed that creepy smell of something electrical burning and then the treadmill suddenly stopped. In less than a minute it started up again, and about a minute later the burning smell was stronger and the machine quit again. I turned it off.

Here we are, two weeks and six pounds later, and we finally had someone come take a look at it. Turns out there’s an automatic cut-off so the motor won’t burn itself up, and the belt is a little off-center. Our friend who knows all things electrical said we can’t hurt it and if it quits again we just have to wait a couple minutes for it to cool down. He didn’t have the right size allen wrench (nor did I, no big surprise there) with him, so next time he comes – next week, to begin remodeling our bathroom – he’ll make the necessary adjustment to the belt and we’ll be good as new.

I can’t even begin to tell you how much I’ve missed the treadmill this week. Seriously! I never thought I’d say that. It’s too cold and windy to walk outside, I still haven’t fixed the rowing machine and I am, frankly, tired of sitting on my ass. Who knew my body craved exercise?

Of course if it was “just” exercise, I could have lifted some dumbbells. I actually did do some crunches and push-ups when I was traveling. So it’s still mind over matter, but with a working treadmill at least I’ll be able to work up a sweat in a way that is, to me, more pleasurable than lifting weights.

I can’t believe I just wrote that. I just hope I remember it in six weeks when winter is still here, it’s still too cold to walk outside and I’m still trying to lose some weight. Y’all have permission to remind me when you hear me bitching about that damned boring treadmill. Heh.