Event Update: The Good, the Bad, and the Tragic

The Good: I did another 2 miles along the river (for a total of 4 today) and my foot really doesn't hurt that much at all, other than at the injection site. I think I won't have any problem with the 5k next weekend. Yay!

The Bad: I couldn't get any of my minions to join me tonight, other than HFC Squirrel, and he abandoned me when he realized I wasn't going to give him any noms.





The Tragic: I was wearing jeans cause I forgot to change into my gym shorts before I left the house. By the last 1/4 mile I had a wedgie so bad that I had to clear my throat to fix it. Ouch.

Walk tonight, 6:30 at Riverside Park

Anyone who is up for it, we are doing another walk tonight at Riverside Park in Sebabstian. I will park in the spaces on the right just after you come off of 512, across from Hess. Hope you can join me!

Evening Cardio

I decided to add some evening events to the calendar. I know it's last minute, but tonight I will be taking a stroll around Riverview Park in Sebastian. I plan to get there at 6:15, and will park in the spaces just as you come across rte 1 from 512. 

Later this week, I might do an evil outing. Did you know that it's a 3 mile round trip from the public pool parking lot to the DQ on 512? Ask me how I know this:-)

Before you exercise...

I just got back from Colorado. It was an interesting trip. A lot more vertical hiking than in Florida for sure! Just being at the higher altitude affects breathing and such. But I have to say, this was my 4th or 5th trip out there, and other than the plantar faciitis acting up after I stopped and the muscles got cold, this was the first time that I did not have any knee or leg pain from hiking. I have been going to the gym at least 4-5 times a week since January, and this is the first time that I really felt like I saw a HUGE payoff.

However, between working out at the gym and doing two 5k's, I have learned a few things the hard way:

• Stretch before and after you try to do long distance walking/running.  After my first race, I had horribly painful shin splints, and since my second race I have been dealing with plantar faciitis. Neither are fun, and both could have easily been prevented with appropriate stretching. If you are thinking of trying long distance, do a little research and make sure you perform appropriate stretches before and after you work out.
• Make sure you have good shoes. In the past, I would usually wait till my back went out before I bought new shoes. You really can't be cheap if you want to be serious about working out. Also, if you do suspect you have a foot problem, don't screw around buying over the counter orthotics. I tried that twice before I finally saw a podiatrist to find out what kind of orthotics I actually needed. I even took my hiking boots to my podiatrist to make sure that they are appropriate before I went to Colorado.
• Talk to your doctor and make sure you are good to go before you start. If you typically suffer from knee or joint pain, ask your doctor about supplements. I have been taking Glucosamine/MSM/Chondroitin and it really seems to help. (For readers with lap bands, note that many supplements now come in either liquid or chewable form, you don't have to deal with the 8 inch horse pill supplements!)
• Invest in the appropriate clothes for the type of activity you are doing:
• If you are riding a bike, get some padded bike shorts and a helmet. You might look like a goof, but you will be safe and comfortable. 
• If you are rowing (on real water) wear a life jacket. 
• For both rowing and doing upper body work in the gym, get a pair of workout gloves if you blister easily. 
• If you are walking or running, get a pair of spandex (or, from Junonia, "QuickWik") shorts. You aren't gonna win any fashion shows, but after a long run or walk, you won't need a proctologist to surgically remove your shorts from your butt crack either!

I think many people who start out a workout program are like me in that we have tried exercise in the past and quit after a few trips to the gym, so we don't take it seriously when we start again. I realized after a few months that I was taking it seriously this time, and I really wish I had started paying attention to things like stretching, shoes and clothes a little earlier.

My message here is this: Even if you didn't take exercise seriously in the past, you might stick with it this time. So, take care of yourself from the start, don't wait till you have an injury! Make sure that you take care of yourself while you are taking care of yourself.

Event update!

The Garden of the Gods Hike was awesome. If you didn't join us, you missed lots of birds, including a prairie falcon going after some doves. Here is HFC David at the entrance to the park:

I will be posting new events (for Florida) soon. Let me know if you have any suggestions!

This Week's Event!

This week's event will be a hike at Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. We will meet at the Starbucks near GOTG at 8:00 am for noms and start hiking at 9:00. Drop me an email or reply here if you plan to join us!

The Terror of Dress Shopping Continues

So, with only 6 days left till Theresa and Chuck's wedding, I decided it was time to bite the bullet and go shopping for something wear. It didn't seem fair. I went into a thrift shop, they had a really nice slate grey jacket that fit David perfect, was in perfect condition, and cost $6. I went to the women's section. The only thing they had in my size was a lime green shirt that had bizarre hair-like strands hanging from it. Seriously, it looked like someone had eviscerated Kermit the Frog. I was tempted to buy it just take a picture of it for the blog, but I really didn't feel like encouraging this kind of thing.

So, $6 later, we had grown up clothes for David, and I continued my lonely search for clothes alone. After hitting way too many stores, I finally found what I initially thought was a nice dress. Solid purple, v-neck, sleeveless, kind of flouncy skirt. Now, in the store, I thought I looked a little bumpy, but figured, hey, the mirrors are bad, the lighting... it's amazing what I can tell myself when I just want to get out of a store.

I got home and tried on the dress for David. Have you seen the movie Popeye where Olive Oyl is trying to think of all of Bluto's good qualities, and the only one she can think of is, "He's large"? I am fairly certain that it was only David's sense of self-preservation that kept him from quoting that song. He kept ... silent for a minute. I finally said, "Do you think I should get a body shaper?" He is a smart man and remained non-committal.

So, I ordered the body shaper. I learned a few things:

• A "body shaper" is what our mothers used to call "a girdle".
• Never try on a rubber-based undergarment when you are already hot and sweaty. It's amazing how slippery those things can get. Luckily it missed the cat on the rebound.
• When a model is wearing a body shaper in a catalog and doesn't have any bulges, it's because she didn't have any to start with.
• The body shaper doesn't so much smooth out bumps as it moves them around. It's like trying to hang wallpaper and you get an air bubble so you use the little roller to get rid of the air bubble, but the air bubble just moves around. When I put on the body shaper, my thighs started bulging in a spectacularly unnatural way.

So, today, I picked up what is either a fancy scarf/shawl or a picnic blanket. I'm not sure which it actually is, but it matches the dress, and when combined with the body shaper, I... well, honestly, I look like a trannie Pillsbury Doughboy. But at least a slightly less bumpy one! The best I can do is to keep working on the lumpy areas in the gym.

Confidential to V: For the love of all that's holy, please either get married soon while this dress still fits, or get married in a Chuck E. Cheese!