Taken during an AVA walk on High Island – just outside Houston, TX.
Tag: walk
Wee fringy fan
Posted by miri On 13 April, 2013
Sweet dog
Posted by miri On 12 April, 2013
Taken during an AVA walk on High Island – just outside Houston, TX.
Out for a walk
Posted by miri On 11 April, 2013
Taken during an AVA walk on High Island – just outside Houston, TX.
Bubble bath victory lap
Posted by miri On 9 February, 2013
Lately, I’ve been a little obsessed with bubble baths. This got started when some of my longer walks left me feeling gimpy. I’d pour a bunch of Epsom salt into a tub full of steaming hot water, soak, and later joke about needing to take an old-lady bath in order to be able to move. It was just a joke, though, because old-lady Epsom salts and achy body aside, the bath always feels like a victory lap to me. Why? It’s simple: I fit in the tub. It used to be, my body completely filled the tub from side-to-side; I created a damn around which no water could flow. I could take a bath and end up with my back being totally dry. Also, it was very difficult for me to get up out of the tub. It’s still difficult to do that, but only because I never want to get out of the tub.
I did get a little tired of watching my extra flappy skin/loose fat float around in the water, though. So, in addition to Epsom salt, I now make sure I have ooodles and oooodles of bubbles. Bubbles are fun. Bubbles are happy. You can sculpt things in bubbles. You can blow them around. Every life should have more bubbles in it.
The most recent theories on good muscle recovery include avoiding heat and icing ones muscles instead. To that, I say: “ppppfffft!” I’ll continue with my bubble bath victory laps, thank you very much.
2/2: Cedar Park Volkssport Walk
Posted by miri On 7 February, 2013
Not a lot of blogging about walks recently, huh? Let’s just say the binging urge has been stronger than the walking one lately. I really need to find a way to turn that around as I’ve gained 10 pounds and am freaking out a bit. Last Saturday, however, I did go on a rather long (but very slow) walk in Cedar Park. The Brushy Creek Trail is a wonderful place to walk. It wasn’t super crowded, alternated between paved and non and was quite pleasant. I highly recommend it!
Info from Endomondo:
Photos – on flickr or view the slideshow:
(I just took a few photos.)
1/19: AustinFit Group walk
Posted by miri On 20 January, 2013
Saturday we had a very long walk planned for the half-marathon training walk: 12.8 miles. I got there having just had a few hours of sleep thanks to overnight tennis on TV (darn the time difference between the US and Australia). Once again, about 9 miles in, I felt like I’d had enough. The last bit had me miserable and grumpy. One of my fellow walkers said that I go out too fast. I don’t feel like I’m walking too fast at the start. The early pace is okay for shorter walks, but perhaps not the long ones. She’s going to try and help me pace better next weekend when I participate in the USA FIT Half Marathon. I’ll need to because if I walk in the Austin marathon like I did on Saturday, I won’t finish before the cut off time.
It’s hard to feel as bad as I did at the end of this walk and not feel like I’m failing. I keep having to remind myself that 2 years ago, I had a hard time doing a 5K. Having problems walking 12.8 miles is a huge improvement.
Info from Endomondo:
Info from HRM:
Effect: Fitness and max performance improving
Calories: 1284
Percent of calories fat: 26%
Heart rate average: 127 bpm
Maximum heart rate: 153 bpm
The rest of the week…
Posted by miri On 13 January, 2013
Aside from the ones I blogged about, I did two more walks this week – my Thursday hill walk and a neighborhood walk today. The hill walk was another weird one. For some reason, that one’s often out of sorts. My heart monitor kept dropping out, but when it was working, it was showing my heart rate as being very high. Not sure I trust the readings.
Today I did a walk in my neighborhood. I got to the point where I usually cut across a park type area – it joins a park and a bridge that goes over MoPac. Sometimes, I go up over MoPac, but usually I just go over the slight hump to Shoal Creek. Today, however, I noticed a small dirt path that cut sharply up the hill to the bridge. I thought I’d give that a try. As I started to go up it, I realized it was steeper than I thought and that running it might actually be easier. Since it was dirt, my hip gave me the okay to run. (Well, I’m assuming it did – my brain answered for it.) Up I ran and boy was I out of breath by the time I got to the top. I then went down the hill on the paved path and when I got to the flat part, decided to turn and do the dirt path again. In all, I did it three times. By the third, my legs were a little jelly-like. I don’t want to mislead, it’s not a huge hill or something that would give really fit people a second notice, but I don’t care. I felt damn good about being able to run up that thing.
I’ve started a new thing in my Commitment Day diary. I’ve been putting little arrows next to each day – pointing up, down or just straight across. They are supposed to be a quick way to judge my progress when glimpsing through the diary. Up means food and exercise goals well met and I felt good. Straight across means I missed one of them or it just didn’t feel like a “progress made” day, but it wasn’t a downer either. Down could mean I failed both goals, or that I made one, but failed the other so miserably that it kind of wiped out the good of making the other. The summary for this week: 3 ups, 3 downs and one flat. (That is, if I can manage to not find a way to goof up today later one….evenings have been tough for me lately.)
Thursday hill walk:
HRM info:
Well, the bit it bothered to record (only about half the walk)
Effect: Maximal performance improving
Calories: 249
Percent of fat calories: 19%
Average heart rate: 123 BPM
Maximum heart rate: 163 BPM
Sunday walk:
HRM info:
Effect: Fitness improving
Calories: 620
Percent fat calories: 24%
Average heart rate: 130 BPM
Maximum heart rate: 164 BPM
Playlist:
Soul Coughing: Sleepless
4 Non Blondes: What’s Up
Smashing Pumpkins: Tonight, Tonight
Sex Pistols: Anarchy in the U.K.
Let’s Active: Route 67
John Doe: Grain of Salt
Peter Gabriel: The Drop
The Feelies: When Company Comes
Dead Kennedys: california uber alles
U2: Breathe
Death Cab for Cutie: Home Is A Fire
Paul Westerberg: Call That Gone?
R.E.M.: Letter Never Sent
Elvis Costello: Miss Macbeth
Bob Marley: Could You Be Loved
Elvis Costello: Last Boat Leaving
Pete Townshend: Cat’s In The Cupboard
The Clash: Lover’s Rock
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Around The World
Patti Smith: Nine
X: Drunk In My Past
X: Breathless
The Cure: Love Song
Kings of Leon: Pony Up
U2: Mothers Of The Disappeared
Nirvana: All Apologies
1/12: One day, two walks
Posted by miri On 12 January, 2013
AustinFit Walk
This morning started with a shortened AustinFit Group walk. A lot of the group are walking a half marathon tomorrow, so needed to keep today short. Plus, some of us were going from the group walk down to San Marcos for a Volkssport walk, so we needed to keep it short too. It was supposed to be a 3 mile walk, but my GPS said it wasn’t even 2.5. Quick and easy despite the spitting rain!
Route and info:
HRM info:
Effect: Fitness and max performance improving
Calories: 226
Percent of calories fat: 25%
Average heart rate: 130
Max heart rate: 145
San Marcos Volkssport Walk
Then it was a quick drive down to San Marcos (I stopped in Buda to change clothes). The walk started at Aquarena Center. This used to be a cheesy tourist park when I was growing up, but now it’s a nature and research center (with a few touristy things to help with funding). The weather continued to be sucky (no rain, but the air felt like it was 100% water) which was a shame because the Spring Lake Natural Area is quite nice on a sunny, clear day. My walking buddy, Edwin, and I got a bit confused and ended up doing the second part of the walk first, but I liked that better. It put us in town and on the streets before traffic got to bad and it meant we ended up in the nature area – a much more peaceful end to the walk than all the construction filled streets! We were just walking, but I somehow came home with mud caked on the inside of my legs from my feet all the way up to my knees. Talent!
Route and info:
HRM info:
Effect: Fat burn improving
Calories: 339
Percent of calories fat: 46%
Average heart rate: 101
Max heart rate: 122
We are just going to skip over what I had to eat this afternoon. Let’s just say it wasn’t good – for me or my “no binge” goal.
1/1: Commitment Day 5K
Posted by miri On 1 January, 2013
I was going to start my year with a midnight Volkssport walk in Fredericksburg, but got a little worried about doing the solo drive home at 2 something in the morning. So I signed up for the Commitment Day 5K instead. It turned out to be a coldish and dreary day for a walk, but that didn’t stop me from motoring along. I did one mile 14.28 minutes! That might be my fastest yet.
Scariest thing I saw: toddler fell out of stroller, dad leaned down, grabbed kid’s wrist and kind of flung him back in the stroller all without breaking stride. Seemed like it was a routine thing for them. Might want to strap that tot in next time!
I’m now back home and in my PJs. Not a bad way to start a new year.
Route
Info per Endomondo
Distance 3.06 mi
Duration 45m:12s
Avg. Speed 4.1 mph
Max. Speed 5.3 mph
Calories 356 kcal
Hydration 0.10L
Min. Altitude 380 ft
Max. Altitude 478 ft
Total Ascent 214 ft
Total Descent 203 ft
HRM Info
Effect: Maximal performance improving
Time per zone: 45 minutes in zone 3; 3:48 in zone 2; 4:35 in zone 1
Calories burned: 425
Fat calories: 12%
Average heart rate: 149bmp
Max heart rate: 163
12/29: AustinFit training walk
Posted by miri On 29 December, 2012
Today’s walk was somewhat against medical advice. After two weird heart rate incidents (one where it dropped rapidly to very, very low and one where it was running high for no reason), I went to my doctor who, in turn, referred me to a cardiologist. (I’ll see the heart doctor in January.) I asked the doctor if it was okay for me to do this weekend’s 11 mile group walk. He said that it wasn’t dangerous, but if I had another rapid rate change, I’d be very uncomfortable and, therefore, he couldn’t recommend it. But…after the week I’d had, I felt the need to get back on track. Skipping a group walk would be big emotional hit for me. So, I went. I didn’t go fast (in fact, I’m not sure I’d make it through the half-marathon before the course closes at this pace), but I did it.
If the old me had seen the current me waiting in the parking lot to start the walk, she would have been pointing and laughing. I was wearing: one long sleeved shirt, one short sleeved shirt, one track jacket, leggings, shorts, wool socks, tennis shoes, mondo mittens (complete with inserted hand-warmers), headband and beanie cap….and I was still shivering! I figured I’d take stuff off as I got warm walking. I finished the 11 miles with everything still on.
I stopped at the grocery store on the way home since I was out of yogurt. I need yogurt to get my day started! I manged to make it out of the store without any of those Lofthouse cookies or discount Christmas candy finding their way into my cart. But I was still shivering! It took a good soak in super hot water (with lots of Epsom salt) to finally get warm. Blissfully warm.
Also, thanks to a suggestion by TARfly Martha, I used the Charity Miles app to track my walk and raise money for Autism Speaks – how cool is that? So, in addition to improving my fitness, earning credit at Walgreens via their program, I’m also raising money for charity.
Route:
Info from Endomondo:
Distance 11.60 mi
Duration 3h:05m:33s
Avg. Speed 3.8 mph
Max. Speed 7.2 mph
Calories 1280 kcal
Hydration 0.36L
Min. Altitude 420 ft
Max. Altitude 699 ft
Total Ascent 861 ft
Total Descent 961 ft
HRM info
Effect: Fitness improving
Intensity: 16 mins in zone 3; 1:55 in zone 2; 1:14 in zone 3
Calories: 919
Calories Fat: 30%
Average heart rate: 122bpm
Maximum heart rate: 152bpm