Over the hump day

Wednesday, August 13

I got my butt up off of my balance ball and did my morning work walk. 

I walked 1.68 miles in 30:52 minutes  Don't you love seeing these maps?  I do.

Once again, when I got home, it started sprinkling.  No riding again.  I almost feel lost.  I'm missing something.  If you are In another part of the country, can you ride for me?



work walk

Flooded out

Tuesday, August 12.

Before I got up this morning, and all day long, almost until dark, it rained.  And it just didn't rain, it poured.  We haven't seen this much rain in a frickin' long time.

I was not able to walk this morning at work.  I did get my minimum goal of 5000+ steps today, but they were not good steps.  I worked out on my balance ball and that's about all I got accomplished today.  Not much moving.  Not real happy.

And that's the end of today's story.  Sorry.  Pathetic.

Back to the grind

You would think that I'm talking about my biking and walking.  Not!  Back to work it is.  There is quite a bit of rain forecasted for this week so I'm not optimistic about my amount of exercising.

But this morning is nice, I took my normal work walk and did my normal amount of balance ball exercises.  So I did move.  Some.

Here is my walk this morning.

I walked 1.52 miles in 29.58 minutes.  Pretty low numbers.  But a pretty cool map.

my tracks

When I got home after work, the sky was threatening.  It started raining soon after I would have begun riding.  So, as you can tell, I did not ride again.

Get moving, damn it!

Sunday hike day

Let's switch it up a little, shall we?  (I think I say that a lot)

The husband, as he is wont to do, decided Sunday morning that he wanted to head out to Clopper Lake to kayak fish.  He really likes that lake.  And I have to agree with him.

Clopper Lake is a fabulous lake with a boat center, fishing pier, boat launch, and plenty of walking trails.

So I walked.  I think my tracks around this lake look fabulous.

Clopper Lake

I hiked/walked 3.6 miles in 1:11:30 hours.  I call it a hike because a lot of the trail is through the woods around the lake with plenty of changes in elevation.

I think I need to move more.  It sometimes feels like what I am doing is not enough.  Maybe I'm just getting used to it?

Though I do know that I can't overwork myself, that would probably turn out bad.  Or lazy.

Am I doing enough?

This time East

2nd day on my new bike.  I named him Charlie.  Why?  No special reason, he just seemed like a Charlie.  And if I get mad at him, Charles will get a talking to.

Today, I went East on the W&OD.  I made it to the main Park & Ride near Rt 28.  This was just a bit shy of the distance to the West to Belmont Ridge Road.  I'll have to push it to the Rt 28 bridge next time.  (at least)

My ride, again, was great.  Except for it being a weekend and all of the "expert" bikers, family walkers, children learning how to bike, and those that "are not from this country" who stupidly walk on the wrong side of the trail.  Really?  A family of "them" were walking down the left hand side of the trail.  Besides from me, they got a talking to, and I was relatively nice about it.  So I've mentioned that the trail on the weekend is like rush hour.  This is a picture of the trail Park & Ride.  It is packed.  I watched cars circling the lot hoping for people to leave.

W&OD Park & Ride

So, in addition to my My Tracks app on my GS5 and my Schwinn bike computer, I added an app to my iPhone.  Just for comparisons sake, of course.  Today's testing was Map My Ride.  Here are the results.

The distance was different for all of them, as was the time, but still relatively close.



My tracks

Schwinn



Map My Ride

My Tracks had me going 6.54 miles in 33:24 minutes.

Map My Ride had me going 6.68 miles in 37:38 and I had to estimate that because this app does not track your moving time.  It starts and it stops.  And since I started the app before I even left my kitchen and didn't stop it until after I was home and doing things, I had to estimate based on the mileage splits averages - which it does do nicely.  Also, I believe it started tracking my miles while still in the kitchen and after I got the phone back to the kitchen.

helmet

My Schwinn bike computer had me going 6.53 miles in 32:38 minutes.

What apps or devices do you use to track your mileage, time, etc.?

Also, I told you that I finally broke down and bought a helmet.  I can't stand it.  I do not like hats on my head and a helmet is no different.  Don't like.  Here is a picture of my helmet.  It is cute.

helmet

 

So nice riding today and I still love my bike.

Maiden ride - Fabulous!



My new bike - Trek 7.2 FX

Totally awesome, fabulous, terrific, amazing, extraordinary, remarkable, excellent, and outstanding!  That was my first ride on my new bike.  I felt like superwoman!

I still tracked my ride with My Tracks, but I also used my installed Schwinn bike computer.  They were pretty damn close in their stats.  My Tracks said I went 6.66 miled (yah me!) in 34:05 minutes.  My Schwinn bike computer said I went 6.593 miles in 33:56 minutes.  Extremely close and I believe the My Tracks stats also included my stopping point where I probably took a few manual steps while drinking water and talking to a gentleman I met at my turn-around point.

I went the whole way to Belmont Ridge Road!  That's the farthest west I have gone on the W&OD trail.  I seriously love this bike.  My riding gears were between 2-2 and 2-7, not bad at all.  IMHO.



Schwinn info

my tracks



Oh yeah and after I rode, I did the right thing.  I finally got a helmet.  I know, I wasn't being safe, blah, blah, blah.  I don't like hats or anything on my head (except a ponytail holder).  So we'll see how I do tomorrow when I ride with a helmet.

 

 

 

 



Thursday - last work day of the week

Thursday was a pretty normal day.  Same old walking and balance ball workouts.

work walk

I walked 1.82 miles in 34:37 minutes.  Today was a rough day for the balance ball and actually walking also.  It was tough to push myself today.

I'm wondering if I'm pushing too hard.  I know that probably sounds lame, but does your body know when it needs some down time?  I believe it does.  And being my age, I probably need a bit more than someone in a younger age group.

Does that sound right?  I need some help here.

So after work, I did not go biking.  Everyone was asking why I haven't ridden my new bike yet and the only explanation I can give is that I'm beat.  (and I had already planned my maiden ride for Friday)

Does anyone else ever get this way?  I want to keep moving and in the "movement", get fit and lose weight.  But when I get feeling like I did today, I fear that I won't reach my goals.


One good thing was, in the evening, I saw that I was only at 9100 steps on my fitbit.  So I did step that up and cross the 10,000 step line.  That made me feel good.  That's a plus, right?

Tomorrow, maiden bike ride! 

Rest (fail) day

So in my quest to move, on Wednesday, we were hosting my whole division at our satellite office.  One of my co-workers was already waiting outside of the building at 5:30am!!! when I got there.  Can you see where this is leading?

I did not get my daily work walk in, that sort of made me feel a little off.  I did exercise somewhat on my balance ball, but even that was stunted.  My whole day was wrecked.

This was a fail day to say the least, or I could turn that around and say it was a "rest" day.  Yah, that's the correct wording.  Rest days are good.

It was a 90 degree, hazy, hot, and humid day.  A nice day for a rest day.

After work, I started putting my bike together.  No, it was not in pieces, did you not see my picture?  I added my water bottle holder and I connected my new cheap bike computer.  It is a Schwinn something or other.  I got it working, I think.  My maiden ride will be the tell-tale sign that it is correctly hooked up.

I am planning my maiden ride for Friday.  As keeping with my other quest to not lose my "use or lose" leave, I am off on Friday.  Again.

I never did show you a picture of my bike, did I?  Were you dying in anticipation?  I'm sorry.  Here it is!

my bike

I need a name for my new bike.  Yes, I have names for my things.  My vehicles have all had names so it is only fitting that I have a name for my new bike.  Any suggestions?

It's here!

So let's play a little catch up, shall we?

When I last left off, I was anticipating picking up my new bike on Tuesday.  (just wait until you see the picture)

work walk

Tuesday was a pretty good, normal day.  My morning walk was over 2 miles, nice!  I walked 2.05 miles in 39.20 minutes.  These walks are starting to rock.

Matter of fact, I had over 5000 steps before noon!  That's awesome.


won't rotate

After work I am heading directly to the LBS.  Can't wait!

bike rack

I'm getting antsy

I got to share my good news with my co-worker who is a big biking enthusiast.  He and his wife took their first mini-adventure about a month ago.  They travelled from Arlington to somewhere around Harrisonburg where they have a cabin.  I think that is exciting.

Anyhow, I shared my news about my new bike with him.  After that, I kept getting a lot of funny, accessory, and tip type messages from him.  That just makes me more excited.

My bike is due at my LBS somewhere around 6 pm tonight.  I believe I actually won't pick it up until tomorrow after work.  But that's ok.  Just waiting on that phone call.

Today (and most of this week) is supposed to be hazy, hot, and humid with the temperature in the high 80's and low 90's.  So, in reality, that means no type of exercising after work.  No biking (obviously) and no walking.

No worries.  I got my walk in this morning and my usual bunch of balance ball exercising in during the day.  I believe that my walking everyday and working out during work will go a long way towards my goals of getting fit and losing weight.  Don't you?

This morning I walked 1.69 miles in 30:40 minutes.  Here are my tracks.

Morning walk

Longest walk ever (so far)

Still without a bike, but I will make do.  I will continue moving.

It's amazing how many different ways I can walk right in my area.  I never realized that before.  My usual walk has a bunch of branches off of it and today was a good day to just explore one of them.  This particular one took me almost parallel to the bike trail.  I know that there must be a path down to it somewhere close because I can see the paths shooting off when I am riding on the trail.  That will be another explorer day.

Today I walked 4.26 miles in 1:09:55 hours.  This is my longest, single session of walking.  It was a great walk.  Here are my tracks.



4.26 miles walking

I know I've said this before, but I really do love this app.  I love the maps it shows and I love how accurate it is.  My Tracks will always be my go to tracking app.


So I'm wondering, how long until I start to see some progress?  I know I mentioned already that I have a pair shorts that fit now (that didn't 6 weeks ago), but I've been very consistent in my "moving" and would really like to see some real progress.

How long until I see that?

Still not a happy camper, but better

My foul mood has partially carried over to today.  I mean really, I had just installed (double-side tape as recommended) my bike computer on my bike.  I don't even have 1 mile logged on it.  And my bike craps out.

My husband looked at the chain and it came apart at a place where it is supposed to allow removing/adding links, but I lost the pin.  And after inspecting the shifting/derailleurs, it really is in sort of sad shape.  Not perfectly straight, which I could tell when I tried to shift.

My beloved mountain bike (I know I've been complaining about it) is headed for the ????  I could probably spend some money to get it fixed, but is it worth it? 

I got absolutely no moving accomplished yesterday.  That's the first time in 4 weeks that I did nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  That is pathetic and makes my mood even worse.

Got that out of my system and I am over it.  Truly I am.  Because......

My new bike

This is my new bike!  It is a Dark Metallic Blue Trek 7.2 FX.  And it is gorgeous.  I don't actually have it in hand just yet, my store had to contact another store to have them ship the last one available in the size I wanted.  My store had 2, but they were just a size too big.  Don't get me wrong, I would have dealt just fine with the bigger size, and I would have bought it immediately, but I did the right thing and had them check the other stores and I got lucky.

My bike should be at my local store on Monday.  Not until Monday evening though.  The wait will be worth it.  I have heard nothing but good reviews about this bike.  And it turns out that one of my friends has the 7.3 FX and absolutely loves his.

I.  Can't.  Wait!

So, in the meantime, it is a weekend and I may not have biked the trail anyhow.  So, put the feet on my lakes trail and I was off.

I walked 2.47 miles in 46.40 minutes.  I really was planning on walking more but nature was calling.  That just sucked.  Oh well.  I was moving!  I really enjoy walking around the lakes, it is just so calming.

my lakes' tracks

Bike computer (scratch that) I need a new bike!

I went out and bought a cheap (well, can't really say cheap, what I mean is low cost.  We'll see if it is actually cheap or not after I get it hooked up and tested) bike computer.  It is a Cateye Velo 7.  I configured it and am getting ready to install it and test it out.

Here it is:  0 miles.  Does anyone else have one like this?  What is your experience with it?

bike computer

I will still use my fitbit and the My Tracks app on my phone and will compare the 3 of them.

Got my bike computer hooked up to the bike, verified that it captures speed, and I'm ready to test it out.

Seriously?!?  Well, no bike ride today.


broken chain

Here's my tracks.  I biked a whole 242 feet!  Actually, I am really lucky that this happened almost right out of my driveway.

Didn't I tell you earlier that I needed a new bike.  Anyone out there want to help?  I'll advertise for you?  I'll review for you?  I'm talking to you Spokes, Etc.  How about a little love here?

Thanks.



Work gets in the way

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Today is going to be a loooonnnggg day at work.  I got my walking out of the way.  Walked 1.26 miles in 23:34 minutes and saw a friend!



Walking

My friend

I also got as much balance ball exercise in as possible.  I can feel these in my gut/abdomen.  Can't see the effects yet (well, maybe a little), but boy can I feel it.

Had to leave the office at 10:30am and head to DC.  Actually, pretty excited about this adventure.  We are going to assist a law enforcement entity with booking in their arrestees.  There is a demonstration going on at the White House and they expect at least 100 arrests will be made.  This law enforcement entity is one of the users of my law enforcement records management system.

We are going to be there to get hands on with how they enter their information and how we can help to improve this process.  (I got a few ideas already)

I don't talk about my job much, but I absolutely love it!

So biking after work was not happening.  I got home at 7:30pm (after being in the office at 5:30am) and it was a really long day.

I will say, one of the highlights was taking my inaugural ride on the Silver Line.  It just opened 5 days ago.  Nice!

Hump day

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Wednesdays are the roughest day of the week for me, at work.  We have 3 standing meetings (meaning every Wednesday, not that we stand during the meetings, hmmm).  And everyone else always seems to want meetings  that day also.  So not much thinking, developing, configuring type work going on on these days.

Today I walked around the Butterfly Meadows park.  At least that's what I think it is called.  It is some sort of conservation meadowland park or something or other.  It's just a nice little area right in the middle of town.

I walked 1.37 miles in 27:35 minutes.  Did the usual balance ball exercises (I am keeping up with this).  I did not bike when I got home from work.  I am learning that you need to take some rest days here and there (at least weekly) in order to keep your mind fresh.

These are pictures of Butterfly Meadows.



Butterfly Meadows

Butterfly info

 

Conservation info

Flower info



Walking Butterfly Park

Sort of a down day

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

I really am going to catch this blog up to be current, I promise.

In an effort to not be too repetitive, today was a fairly normal day.  Did the usual walking, balance ball exercises, and biking after work.  The difference was I was just not feeling the biking.  Do you ever get that way?  I don't think I am really worn out, but maybe, sometimes, you just aren't feeling it.

So, I did get out on the bike, but I didn't go very far.  At least I kept moving and that's my goal.

I walked 1.73 miles in 34:53 minutes.  I just love all these different tracks.  And if you haven't used it, I use an app on my Galaxy S5 called My Tracks.  I think I have had this app for a couple of years and on multiple phones.  It is easy to use, precise in its maps and stats, and I love it.  I would highly recommend this app to everyone.

My biking this afternoon was a short one.  It was the mood, I guess.  I biked 2.71 miles in 24:52 minutes.

Walking

Biking

A new pair of shorts

Monday, July 28, 2014

About 6 weeks ago or so, I pulled a pair of shorts out of the closet and put them on.  I could button and zip them BUT, OMG, they cut into my sides so bad.  I could hardly move.  Every move made me think that they were going to explode open.

I wore them for about an hour and finally threw in the towel.  Off they came and into a more comfortable (bigger) pair.  I was not happy.  They were a really nice pair of cargo shorts that I had only bought a year before.  So into the dirty clothes basket they went to be washed and put away (far, far away).

So fast forward to today.  Getting dressed and I came across the pair of "shrunken" shorts and thought "you know, I want to see how bad these shorts actually are, I don't quite remember".

AAAGHHH!  Put on the shorts and they fit just fine!  How did that happen?  Yes, they were washed and were not in a pre-worn state.  Wow, so this is a minor body quick-change?  This is a quick win?  This is awesome.

Being able to wear those shorts confirmed (in my mind) that attempting to get in shape was actually working and pushed me to do more  I have not weighed my self since that first Saturday of biking, and I don't intend to for at least a month, but this is a bonus.

It's the little things that reinforce and keep me moving!  Do the little things help you along your way?

Did my normal, tend to the important things at work and then off to walk.  I'm liking this walking, balance ball, and biking routine.  And, I do believe it is working.

Walked 1.49 miles in 27:46 minutes.  I'm trying to do different routes when I walk at work and there are plenty of different roads and parking lots I can walk in my office complex.  Can't let it get monotonous.

Walking

Biking

Did my usual balance ball exercises during work.  Even introduced a couple of new ones that I made up.  Okay, I probably did not make them up, but they are new to me (and pretty intense as they make me huff and puff more than usual).

After work, got back on the bike and off I went to down (or up) the W&OD trail.  I biked 5.44 miles in 45:58 minutes.  I'm not intentionally trying to go faster, but it is happening.

I feel great!  (Please don't get tired of me saying that, it keeps me moving)  :-)

Another switch - hiking

Sunday, July 27, 2014

I woke up early this morning, all ready to hit the trail on my bike and....it's....raining.  Really?  Ok, I can work with this.  I'll just walk the lakes again.  That's a good 3.5 mile walk.

Wait, then it happened.  My husband decided that he was going to go kayak fishing (he does this all the time, it's his favorite pastime, next to hunting).  And he was going to go to Clopper Lake in Maryland.  It is a very nice lake and it has trails all around the lake.  I win!  I'm going with him.

Clopper Lake

The trail around the lake is more like hiking.  You are in the woods, up and down the sides of the lake and hills, across the dam, and circling back to the boat house and launch.

Here's "the man" getting ready to launch.

 

"the man"

I followed the blue trail

Clopper Lake

Hubby on the lake

So, here are my tracks.  I walked/hiked 3.56 miles in 1:24 hours.  Again, and I keep saying this, I felt awesome.

Clopper Lake tracks

What's that saying?  Oh yeah, keep moving!  And I am following that motto.

Lakes, lakes, and more lakes

Saturday, July 26, 2014

I woke up a little late this morning (8:40am) and because of that, had no desire to ride along with throngs of people on the W&OD.  (I've learned this already, that weekends on the trail are a mess.)

So, in order to keep with my "moving" philosophy, I decided to walk.  I think walking is my absolute favorite pastime.

My house backs to a lake that has a path, but the path doesn't go completely around this lake.  One street over, the path actually goes totally around 3 lakes.  It is a gorgeous place to walk.

I walked 3.46 miles in 1:03 hours.  And my legs felt a different kind of squiggly this time.

Oh yeah, have I mentioned that I also have a Fitbit One.  This little piece of technology is simply perfect.  I bought it about 4 months ago and have worn it every day since then.  My goal, is 5,000 steps a day.  Yes, that's low now, but remember, I have a computer job and sit all day long.  Before 3 and 1/2 weeks ago, it was a stretch to make that goal.  Things have really changed in the last 3+ plus weeks.  This is my Fitbit from today, before noon!  Amazing.  (well it's amazing to me)

Here are my tracks and my friends.  I was going to take pictures of all 4 lakes, but after Lake 2, my camera on my phone stopped working.  I couldn't restart my phone because then My Tracks would be interrupted.  Issues, issues, issues.  It was an awesome walk and an awesome day!



Walking my lakes

Lake 1

Lake 2

A great day for a bike ride

Friday, July 25, 2014

It is a beautiful day.  Sunny, no humidity, and low 80s.  A perfect day for a bike ride.

I "practiced" my same ride that I did yesterday.  (Practice makes perfect)  It is so nice to bike on the trail during the week.  There is no rush hour traffic and it is so peaceful.

Biking

On the bridge overlooking the parkway

I want to know what's around that corner

I biked 5.49 miles (darn, just .01 miles shorter than yesterday - I must have cut a corner somewhere) in 48.55 minutes (how it that longer when I rode a shorter distance?).

Felt terrific, I think I am really getting the hang of this thing they call biking.

Most mileage so far

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Decided yesterday that I would take off today and tomorrow.  I have a ton of use or lose leave so I've been trying to take off every Friday that I am already not off and decided to throw a random Thursday in there.  (I work a 4-5-9 schedule - 9 hours M-Th, Friday off or Friday telecommute)

It was a perfect day to be off.  I got up early and got my ride on.  Went both ways on the W&OD trail and pushed it.

My farthest ride yet!  I went 5.20 miles in 48.49 minutes.  Absolutely felt terrific.

Even though my bike is very road ready, I don't like the shifting.  My shifters are not very easy and they do not shift smoothly at all.  I know my bike is old and it is a mountain bike and it will serve its purpose, but I want a new bike.  I want a road bike or a hybrid.  Any suggestions?  No, I can't spend mega bucks on a professional bike, just a nice, average, NEW, bike.

On days when I am not at work, I don't get any balance ball exercising in and I miss that.  So I tried to compensate by doing regular crunches, push ups, and planks.

Gotta keep moving!