Category Archives: Exercise

May 18, 2013 · 9:53 pm

Minuses and pluses

I am on the road. Travel invariably plays havoc with any effort at self-care. My presentations for tomorrow being complete, this seems a moment to take stock of the past two days.

Minus – I have not reached my goal of 10,000 steps on either day.

Minus – I have not been able to walk for 30 minutes either day.

Minus – I have eaten a bit too much this evening.

Plus – I did not over eat on the trip from New York to Washington, DC. That almost never happens. Airport and train stations transform me into some form of over-sized locust that eats everything in sight.

Plus – Yesterday I ate well. Today I came close.

Plus – I have reflected on how I did rather than just letting it happen.

Plus – I have recorded my numbers even when they were not what I wanted. Usually when I fail to walk or eat too much or my blood sugar is too high, I don’t make a note of it. Denial means it did not happen, perhaps?

I am on the road. Travel invariably plays havoc with any effort at self-care. My presentations for tomorrow being complete, this seems a moment to take stock of the past two days.

Minus – I have not reached my goal 0f 10,000 steps on either day.

Minus – I have not been able to walk for 30 minutes either day.

Minus – I have eaten a bit too much this evening.

Plus – I did not over eat on the trip from New York to Washington, DC. That almost never happens. Airport and train stations transform me into some form of over-sized locust that eats everything in sight.

Plus – Yesterday I ate well. Today I came close.

Plus – I have reflected on how I did rather than just letting it happen.

Plus – I have recorded my numbers even when they were not what I wanted them to be. Usually when I fail to walk or eat too much or my blood sugar is too high, I don’t make a note of it. Denial means it did not happen, perhaps?

See you along the Trail.

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May 15, 2013 · 9:17 pm

Stay healthy

To everything there is a season.

I have entered a season where my heart hangs heavy and my soul aches for friends who face serious health issues.

In an exchange with one friend, I received the advice, or the challenge, “You better stay healthy.”

I appreciate the sentiment but the reality, as my friend knows, is that I need to get healthy.

For almost two days now, I have tried. I ate well yesterday. I walked on the treadmill last night. I installed a number of health apps to measure food intake, exercise, weight, and other bodily functions, I ate well today.

As I type, I recognize the privileges that I carry: access to good food, access to a gym, access to a smart phone and a computer, financial resources to pay for them, freedom to make use of them, safety to practice them, time to devote to them, and more.

Humbled at having so much, I renew my commitment and head to the gym for a second night.

See you along the Trail.

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April 9, 2013 · 7:32 pm

Second (again) chance

“But what about second chances?”

When her son posed that question, Grace Ji-Sun Kim reflected on the role of second chances in life:

Where would I be without second chances? Where would most of us be without second chances in life? Most of us are only where we are because we got second chances. People who experience serious accidents and survive are given second chances in life. When we think about our faith journey, isn’t that a second chance at life? Isn’t that the essence of God’s grace?

Specifically, Grace pondered the role of second chances in her life, particularly in terms of self-care. Her words resonated with me as I fail to do well at that.

I have tried. Over the years I have tried. I have had moments of success. And more moments of failures. Last fall I actually walked 1,000,000 steps over a three-month period. I ate everything in sight. But I did walk.

I have had momentary gains. False starts. Serious backsliding. I am way past a second chance – and even the fourth chance that Grace mentions.

But today … for some reason, I cannot name or explain … today seems a day to try again. I extend myself grace and start anew.

See you along the Trail. 

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January 1, 2013 · 11:40 pm

A new start

By the Gregorian/Western calendar a new year began today. Other calendars, such as lunar calendars or the Christian year, have other starting dates.

Still today provides an opportunity to review and resolve and start anew. Always one to go along with the crowd, I took this moment to refocus my efforts at self-care.

First, a look back. In some ways December 2012 proved a bust. I regularly ate too much – way too much on many occasions. Because of travel and some minor foot issues (already being addressed), I failed to make my step goal most days. I failed to walk 30 minutes at a time most days.

But I did work through it all and made it to my three-month goal of 1,000,000 steps! Between October 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012, I logged 1,000,370 steps.

That feels good. Very, very good.

Rather than dwell on the failures, I plan to build on the success of 1,000,000 in 2013.

The big three goals will remain: eat well, walk 10,000 steps, walk 30 minutes at a stretch. For at least the first 100 days, in support of a friend who is training for a half-marathon, I will eat no desserts or sweets. At least I will try not to do that. Assuming things go well, I have some other goals in mind to add.

I plan to post more regularly – on my other blog – mostly as a motivational tool. If you want to check it out and give me a hard time, that would be fine.

See you along the Trail.

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December 31, 2012 · 4:01 pm

1,000,000

Big NewsOn October 1, I set a goal of walking 10,000 steps each day. After several days, I realized that by increasing the number of steps, it would be possible to walk 1,000,000 total steps between October 1 and today – December 31.

Moments ago, I logged that 1,000,000th step. Goal met. And it feels good.

Now to set some goals for 2013 – goals for healthier living. I have some ideas and my friend Irene has put one out there for me as well. I look forward to what is to come.

See you along the Trail.

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December 1, 2012 · 12:51 pm

November 2012

Big NewsThe effort at self care continued. November proved – well maybe better, maybe not.  The effort continued to focus on walking and eating. I failed to do much in the way of recording my results on another blog. I have continued to annoy family and friends by posting on Facebook. Here’s a summary for the month and you can where there were successes and where there were challenges and where there was a change. And something strange happened. At least it seems strange to me.

GOAL ONE – EAT WELL
Ate well: 1 day
Overate: 29 days (maybe not overate badly on all of those days – just most of them; certainly all of them involved eating more than would have contributed to losing any weight)

GOAL TWO – WALK 30 MINUTES AT A TIME
Walked 30 minutes at a time: 29 days (took one day off)
Note: sometimes this involves using the treadmill, other times it involves walking outside.

GOAL THREE – WALK 11,000 STEPS A DAY
Walked 11,000 steps: 22 days
Note: this is a new goal that was initiated on November 1. When October ended, I realized that it would be possible to reach 1,000,ooo steps from October 1 to December 31. For some reason, that seems cool. To become a 1,000,000 stepper would take about 11,000 steps. Since November 1, that has been the goal.

STEPS FOR THE MONTH
351,745

STEPS 1 OCTOBER THROUGH 30 NOVEMBER
709,142

Despite all the overeating, despite single-handedly eating enough Ben and Jerry’s ice cream to increase their profit margin significantly, I actually lost 4 pounds in November.

That gives me much to ponder for December and beyond.

See you along the Trail.

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November 1, 2012 · 9:46 am

October 2012

Some know that I initiated a new effort at self-care on 1 October 2012. I record my results on another blog – mainly to keep myself accountable. To date, the effort involves walking and addressing eating. All in all, the first month proved successful with significant backsliding over the past week. Here’s a summary for the month:

Ate well: 22 days – overate 9 days

Walked 30 minutes at a time: 31 days

Walked 10,000 steps a day: 29 days – missed 2 days when Hurricane Sandy restricted movement

Total steps 357,396

November will be better.

See you along the Trail.

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October 31, 2012 · 8:47 pm

A long walk

Today I made my first journey to the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations since the arrival of Hurricane Sandy. The Church Center did not open, but we had heard that our office had sustained damage. I wanted to see.

Given that the subway remained closed and acknowledging my aversion to buses (Sam and Dave are Soul Men – I am a train guy), I took a ride in one of the cars licensed by the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission. I negotiated a price – a more than fair price – before entering the car.

The ride – from W. 123rd and Amsterdam to E. 44th and First Avenue took almost two hours. Two long, slow hours. I doubled the price the driver asked. He continued to thank me after I had left the car.

I arrived at the building and one of the management staff let me enter. I went to our office to discover that one of our windows had blown in. It knocked some equipment off the ledge and blew some paper around the office. I made some phone calls, took some pictures, and prepared to leave.

When I departed from the Shire on the Hudson, I wore my tennis shoes in case I had to walk. Faced with another interminable car ride, I decided that walking made sense – walking the whole way home – from E. 44th Street and First Avenue to La Salle and Broadway on the Upper West Side. It totaled about 15,000 steps on my pedometer. Sean told me that it showed as 5.4 miles on the map.

I broke up the walk nicely. I made my way crosstown to Sean’s apartment at W. 52nd between Broadway and 8th Avenue. After a brief stop, Sean came with me. Together we made our way north. We paused to see the crane that hangs over W. 57th Street like a modern-day Sword of Damocles. At W. 72nd we chose to go up Amsterdam – a wise choice. We ate a late lunch at the Amsterdam Ale House. Lunch completed, Sean turned back south and I continued north.

As I made my way, I noticed that many children were trick-or-treating in the businesses along the street. At W. 86th Street and Amsterdam by West-Park Presbyterian Church, I came across my friend Bob Brashear – pastor of the church. We talked a while and then he returned to his task of responding to the trick-or-treaters and I resumed my walk.

About 6:00, I entered the door of the Shire on the Hudson – tired, refreshed, and filled with a spirit of accomplishment. A long walk completed.

See you along the Trail.

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October 16, 2012 · 10:19 pm

Rockefeller Chapel – 16 October

 

It called to me. The chapel called to me. Again my evening walk in Hyde Park, Chicago led me to Rockefeller Chapel. My camera remained behind but the BlackBerry was along. I wandered to a different side of the chapel than last night and came up with another interesting view.

See you along the Trail.

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· 10:13 am

Rockefeller Chapel – 15 October

In Hyde Park, Chicago for McCormick Days where Tricia received the Distinguished Alumna award, I went walking. On October 15, I wandered past Rockefeller Chapel and had to stop for a photo even though my BlackBerry was all I had. It proved a pretty interesting view.

See you along the Trail.

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