I've started a new project. This surprises no one, I'm sure. :P
But this one's a little different. No reading involved. No crafting involved. Instead this one has to do with walking. People familiar with fibromyalgia know that exercise intolerance is generally one facet of it. And yet low-impact aerobic exercise is one of the best things one can do to help in managing fibro. Gotta love those damn catch-22s, huh? :/
Anyway, I've gotten pretty good at putting in my 30 minutes each morning. Mostly using the Wii Fit Plus, doing the stepping and running activities. I hate it, but I do it.
But to make things a little more fun, I just ordered myself a new, hopefully more accurate, pedometer. I generally have a 5-6 hour window of time from late morning through mid-afternoon where I'm feeling as close to normal as I come. And during that window, I'd like to challenge myself to add as many extra little bouts of walking as I can. Now I'm not trying to kid myself--I know that this window of time is when I have to focus on getting the things done that *must* be done on any day. (Not to mention that there are definitely stretches of time when that damn window just doesn't open at all.) So how many extra steps I can add to my day will likely vary widely.
Okay though--the fun part! To keep myself motivated, I've turned it into a little self-amusing game. (Yes, I am quite easily amused, and frankly, I'm grateful for that.) I'm pretending that I'm walking to meet various friends and family. Now I realize I'm inviting myself over to many people's home whom I'm never even met in person--but I'm hoping I picked friends who will gladly let me virtually use their bathroom and give me a nice tall glass of ice water before kicking me out the door and on my way to the next person on my list. And hey, if anyone else would like to invite me by, I promise not to overstay my welcome. ;)
I tried to plot my route in a fashion that made sense, but then I've never really been known for my sense of direction. And I've no idea just how accurate the mileage is between points--just did the best I could using the internet. (If you'd like to see my route, you can click on that link or on the tab above titled "I'm walking") Lu, I hope you don't mind, but I'm heading your way first...not sure how long it will take, but hopefully I'll see you sometime in early fall. :)
12 comments:
Ooh I like the walking game! I've seen games like this before, but it's always "x miles to visit this or that famous city" and that's a bit boring!! I like the idea of virtually visiting blogger friends!! :D Right now, of course, I can't do any walking at all, but probably once my leg heals, for awhile they'll want me to walk rather than run, and I think I want to play a similar game when it gets to that time! :)
What a fun idea! You're more than welcome to "stop by" and visit me in Houston. I think I'll do something like this, too, to get myself motivated again.
you go girl! you know, no matter how little or how temporary something like that is, the fact that you do it at all can only be good. you could come to my place anytime ! except I doubt you'd want to walk in the heat and humidity down here! lol I can hardly wait for the cool weather so I can get outside and walk again!
I saw the new tab a couple of days ago so knew you were doing this. It's nice to know a bit of the background. Will you be sending postcards from each stop? When you "arrive," I'd be glad to send a postcard for you to put on your blog to let the world know you made it here. In fact, I'll propose that each of your stops could do that--send a photo of where you just arrived so that you can post it and we can all celebrate with you. My work here is done. :-0
I LOVE LOVE LOVE Jean's idea of sending you postcards when you arrive at your stop!! And even more than that I love this idea SO much :D :D :D The only thing that would make this better would be to actually have you here :p By the way..just wanted to let you know that I'm sick and that's why I haven't emailed you back yet :/ I'll write soon though!! Love you!!
What a fun idea! And I think Jean's postcard plan is brilliant. :D
I try my best to get regular walks; Thistle makes it much better, but if I don't get up early enough it's just too hot. I have to be done by 8 am at the latest; it doesn't even cool off in the evenings here.
Yes yes yes!! But can you at least stay for coffee? And I have an extra bed.
Love this idea! Definitely think that you should create a google map, though...although I guess that would show where people are and they might not like that. Hmmm.
I'm not sure what your pedometer is capable of, but I got a cheap one at work (and then bought one for Scott on Amazon). It's an Omron HJ-151...tells steps and mileage. Seemed to be pretty accurate. Anyway--if something happens to yours and you're looking for a cheap replacement I recommend it.
Can't wait to hear more!
(and I love you for your projects. Because I love projects too)
Amanda,
I thought it sounded like a fun way to give myself a little incentive. And hey, if you do do it once you get the okay to walk, maybe you can even continue once you can move back into running, too. You'll just get everywhere a lot faster. :D
Somer,
Thanks so much for the invite!!! :D
Pat,
Yeah, I think you're right...even if this only gets me walking half a mile extra a day or something, that's still a good thing, right?
Jean,
I can't tell you how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE your idea!!! I hate to ask people to do even more for me (as I already pestered many of these people for happiness project lists), but this is just too awesome an idea to pass up. :D
Chris,
BOO!!! I'm so sorry you're sick, sweetie!!! Don't you dare give a second thought to emailing me--just feel better!!!
And yeah, I wish so much I was showing up in person, too. SO MUCH!!!
Eva,
I'm impressed that you can even manage to walk early in the morning. I think I would hide away in my house all damn day in heat like you all live with in the summer! But yeah, I'm guessing walking is much more fun with Thistle. Heck, I'm guessing just about everything is much more fun with Thistle! :D
Trish,
Oh, I love you!!! Of course, I already loved you, but your offer of a cup of coffee made me love you even more! :P And I'll take you up on the bed, too. If I stay overnight I'll get to play with Elle. :D Of course, by the time I make it to the southern leg of my journey, she'll likely be off in school and you'll have a couple more babes.
And hey, that's the brand I bought! Not sure if it's the same model though. I love it though, whatever model it is. It not only counts steps and miles, but also keeps track separately of aerobic steps (which they count as walking continuously for 10 minutes+) and how many calories you burned. And it has a 7 day memory, so if I forget to write down my mileage at night, I can always go back and look it up. Good feature for a scatterbrain like me. :P
And Trish, *everything* is more fun when you turn it into a project, isn't it?!! :D
I'm close to you! Separated by a border....come visit up here too! We have cool postcards of Mounties as well lol You can stay for a visit and we can walk by the river - I can't go fast either, my knees won't let me with the osteoarthritis. No more running ever! I had to laugh at your reaction to your list your doctor has for you, i always think of myself as healthy and then have to realize that when they are mentioning people with chronic illnesses, I'm now one of them! ugh!!!
Susan,
Thank you for the invite!!! I'd love to come by!!! I'm just not sure exactly where you are...is it Ottawa? Somewhere around there, am I right? Oh yes, yes, yes, I so want to come by! In fact, I'm going to go add you, and if I find out Ottawa isn't correct, I'll fix it. :)
I am so excited you are stopping by to visit us. Now the only thing that would make it better would be to actually see you in person and give you a big old hug!
Walking is good. YOU are allcaps awesome. You made my day today. Thank you.
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