Sorry I am a cyberslacker :-(

I am sorry I have not posted anything all week. I have not been on the computer late at like, like I usually am. I will try and be more diligent in the future. I have been getting some walking in at least. on Wednesday the whole family went for a walk. It was great having Dee and Bailey out walking with me. We managed to walk a whole mile (that is a lot for Bailey !) On Thursday I walked another mile, and I went the hard way (mostly uphill) to build up my stamina. On Friday I walked 1.4 miles. Tonight I walked 2 1/4 miles. I am shooting for three miles tomorrow.

Friday night at the gym

I managed to leave work a bit early on Friday, so I got to the gym at a decent hour. I did another "Speed Mile" where I try and go as fast as I can for one mile. I averaged just over 3 miles per hour. Then I did some upper body work too. It was a nice way to end the week.

Two plus miles

Just a quick update today. I went for a walk tonight, I had initially planned to walk a mile, but I felt pretty good after the first mile so I kept going. I ended up walking 2.7 miles in 1 hour and 1 minute. The cooler weather is certainly making it easier to walk in the evenings.

Packed Gym Today

I stopped by the gym on the way home from work today, and it was crazy !! They were having some fort of member appreciation "party" going on. It was full of the usual after work people working out and even more people there for the party. They even had Hooters there catering some food (are Buffalo Wings healthy food ??) I was able to squeeze onto a treadmill and walked just over a mile. I really ramped up my speed to 3.0 mph or higher for the whole 20 minutes. It was pretty intense !! The only bummer was my iPod shoe tracker seems to be out of calibration, it was off by almost 20% I will have to look at recalibrating it.

Two walks today

I spent a nice Sunday with my family. Bailey and I went to the big park a few miles from the house. Bailey played on the playground for a while, then we explored the "Fit Trail." It is a walking trail through the woods, and it has stations every few hundred feet where you do exercises like jumping jacks or sit ups. Bailey really enjoyed it, and had a blast looking for the next station along the trail. On the way back to the car, Bailey kept stopping and drawing on the trail. It was very cute, and she had a good time, but it really messed up my running time on the Nike+ site. We ended up walking 1.42 miles in just over an hour.

After dinner, I washed the dishes and went out for another walk. My goal was to walk 3K (about 1.8 miles.) I walked the three Kilometers and a bit more (I was on the other side of the development when I hit my goal. I walked 2.29 miles in 51 minutes (22'22" per mile or 2.68 mph.) I got a pleasant surprise on my iPod, when I finished my walk, Lance Armstrong came on and said I had set a new record for walking a mile. What a great reward and pick my up !!

No Pain No Gain

The old saying goes "No Pain...No Gain." Well here comes the pain :-( I am really paying for all of the work I did yesterday. My knees and shins are KILLING ME !! They are really sore, along with my feet too. I guess I really over did it. I thought about resting today, but I was really afraid of loosing all of the momentum I had built up this week. I went for a very late walk (@ 11:45pm.) I only walked 1.15 miles, but I walked the "hard way" around the neighborhood to make up for the shorter distance. If you walk clockwise around the outside of the development it is up hill for almost 2/3 of the way. I may have to think twice about going in that direction, unless I am specifically looking for that type of workout.

Whew !! What a day

I had a totally awesome day today !! After picking Bailey up from school, I mowed not one, but TWO lawns. I mowed our yard, and the neighbor's yard too since they are selling their house and are out of town. It was a good workout, especially the back yard since I had to mow up hill going across the yards. After we got back from our neighborhood homeowners association meeting, I put the mower away and ended up cleaning a big chunk of the garage up. Once Bailey was in bed, Dee and I watched the Biggest Loser from last night. The weather has finally cooled off a bit, it was "only" 85 degrees today, so when I left for my walk at 11:15 it was almost cool out. I initially was going to walk a mile, since I had already "worked out" mowing the lawns. The first 1/2 mile was all up hill, and was pretty hard, but I decided to really push myself and actually jogged part of the down hill section. I finished my mile in front of the house, and thought that I could make another 1/2 mile or so. I really started to get my second wind and blew past a 1/2 mile. I figured I would just keep on going until I really started to get tired. I ended up walking 2.83 miles !!!!! It took me just over an hour ( @ 22 minutes per mile or 2.7 mph.) I would have been ecstatic walking 2 miles today, but I went even beyond that :-) I was really starting to get worried about my upcoming Autism Walk, but after today, I feel really confident that I will do great !!

Upping my Mileage

I am going to concentrate on walking farther each day. I keep reminding myself that in less than a month I have to walk 3.75 miles (all at once !!) I have been able to walk a mile fairly consistently, but due to time constraints I have not pushed it much past that lately. All this week I am going to walk a bit farther every day. I started off Monday just over a mile, Tonight I walked 1.55 miles. I am shooting for 2 miles tomorrow. The Nike Shoe attachment for my iPod works great and I think it will help me track my walking much better.

After Dinner Workout

I got stuck a bit late at work again today, so I decided to go to the gym later in the evening. I am glad I made that decision, when I passed the gym on the way home, the parking lot was beyond full. I guess every one feels guilty after the weekend and wants to work it off. I was able to spend some time time with Dee and Bailey and had a nice dinner. I headed out to the gym at 10:45, and the crowds were gone :-) I walked just over a mile and did some upper body work (boy Taco burps suck while working out !!) It was a nice way to start the week.

Sorry for no weekend posts

I apologise for not posting all weekend. We had a pretty full schedule this weekend and I was on Daddy duty Friday and Saturday nights (giving Dee some much deserved grown up time.) I was not able to go to the gym Friday night, I needed to get right home from work so Dee could make her meeting. Bailey and I went to the park for a walk to 7:30 after it cooled off. Unfortunately it was almost dark after we were there for a 1/2 hour, but I was able to walk almost a whole mile (0.9) On Sunday we went to the County Fair, and we did a lot of walking there. Too bad Bailey and I both forgot our pedometers :-( I was kind of proud of myself, I resisted all of the yummy foods they had, except for one Corn Dog I had for my dinner. The Fair Food is what I like best about going to the fair, but I did not partake in any Funnel Cake, Fried Oreos, Cotton Candy, or other fried goodies that usually tempt me, so I see that as a small victory.

One Mile Around

I was able to do a walk around the neighborhood tonight. I literally walked AROUND the neighborhood, I walked the entire street the circles the neighborhood. It clocked at almost exactly one mile (1.07.) and it took me just under a 1/2 and hour. One mile is a nice round number to base some of my walks around, pretty soon I hope to be walking two or three laps around the neighborhood. The only bad thing about that route is the hills. It is mostly up hill the first half or so, with a downhill stretch in the middle, and another hill at the end (just when I am to my tiredest.) With a bit more practice I hope that won't be as big a deal. It was too hot for Baily and I to walk after school so we are going to walk tommorow night at about 7:00pm.

Free Weights

The gym was almost empty tonight (I got stuck in road construction traffic, so I got the the gym pretty late.) so I wandered into the free weight area. I did some heavy (for me anyway) bench presses with 45lb plates on each side. I did some reverse curls and lat pulls, and finished up with some 300lb+ leg presses. I also did a mile on the treadmill as a warm up. Pushing up the intensity of my work outs seems to be going will, I really feel it in my arms and legs. Hopefully Bailey and I will go walking after school.

Walk in the Park

I picked up Bailey from her first full day of school today. Our original plan was to go straight to a near by Park and go walking. I looked at the Thermometer on the Jeep and it said it was 96 degrees outside, and the sun was blazing down on us. We decided to postpone out walk for a little bit and wait for it to cool off. We headed out to the park at 6:15 and it was "only"92 degrees, but at least the sun was starting to go down, and not directly over head. Bailey and I walked one lap around the walking track, and down and back the woods trail. We walked just over a 1/2 mile, not counting the trip out to the bathrooms (I think that was at least another 1/4 mile ;-) I let Bailey play on the playground while I kept walking the track (the playground is in the middle of the walking track.) I managed to walk another mile before we had to go and meet Mommy. I liked the change of scenery walking in the park, and the track was a lot less hilly than our subdivision. Bailey liked it too, she very proudly told me that playing on the playground is good exercise too !! We hope to have a repeat on Thursday, possibly at another park.

Laboring at the gym on Labor Day

I actually managed to leave work a few minutes before the mall closed today, so I was able to get a nice workout in and still get home at a reasonable time, although it was still after Bailey went to bed :-( I did a 1/2 mile on the elliptical machine. I really kicked up my weight training. I still did the same basic exercises, but I notched up the intensity a lot. I have been just doing lighter weights up to now, trying to see what my strength/ fitness level was. Tonight I really pushed myself and bumped up the weight a lot. I felt the burn a lot more and it was a more satisfying workout. I also felt more manly (not that I am there to show off.) Lifting half the wight stack looks better for a big guy like me than just a few weight plates like I was doing before. It was a good way to start the week, and I have a much better schedule this week, so I can geta lot more excercising in.

Sunday Stroll with Daddy

Bailey and I had another great Daddy/ Daughter walk last night. We walked almost 3/4 of a mile before Bailey's legs got tired. We talked again about how important exercising is and what good exercise walking is. Bailey is still really enthusiastic about our walks and I am working really hard to keep that going. Bailey really likes the pedometer I have, and she made sure I had it with me. I made a deal with her, I we do all of our walk over the next two weeks, I will buy her a Sponge Bob pedometer I found on the Internet. Bailey is really excited about getting it !! We are going to try something a bit different on Tuesday, after I pick Bailey up from school, we are going straight to a park close to the house and walk the walking trail there. Wish us luck !!

Walking with the next Generation

I got stuck late at work tonight (2 1/2 hours +) I promised Bailey that we would go for a walk today, and I had missed our "walk date" once already this week due to getting stuck at work. I told Dee and Bailey to go ahead and eat dinner with out me. When I got home at 8:30 I had a pleasant surprise waiting for me... Bailey was sitting there all ready to go for our walk. She had he sneakers on, and was raring to go. Luckily I had changed into my work out clothes before leaving work, so off we went on our walk.

That walk was one of the best times I have spent with Bailey in a long time. She went on and on about how important exercise is and that walking is good exercise. She also talked about eating healthy, and how to make good food choices. She was very proud that the two of us were exercising and "making out tummies smaller." It feels really good that she is learning these important lessons so early. I hope that I can continue out walks and be a positive influence on her.

We walked about a 1/2 mile together, and made a date to go walking again on Sunday when I get home from work. After every one went to bed, I went back out and walked another mile or so. I forgot the pedometer on my walk with Bailey, but brought it on my later walk. Boy do I hate my pedometer !! It seems nice but keeps resetting it's self while I am walking and it is hard to get it on the right setting. I really miss my old Weight Watchers pedometer, it worked much better. Oh well we will see if I can get the new one to work correctly.