Christ is the Light

On the way back, during my rest walk, I stopped to talk with Bro. Hardy, and he gave me a small lantern with a statue of Christ inside the lantern. The statue was like the one I gave his son, Landon, when I taught Primary a few years ago. Bro. Hardy put the statue inside the lantern, instead of a candle, so the lantern would represent Christ is the Light.

The temperature was in the low 60s (F) during my walk.

Added a bit to my rest walk

It had been raining during the night, but the sun came out while we were walking, and it was nice to be out. The temperature was in the low 50s (F).

I added about 0.1 miles to my rest walk, making the rest walk about 0.6 miles round trip. I will add the 0.1 miles to my medium walk and my long walk.

I turned around and did an out-back while Judy continued her walk and went around the east block in one big loop . She went further than I did, but she walks faster than I walk. We arrived home at the same time. We walk alone and usually don't have any contact with neighbors who might be outside.  Some times, though, we do stop and talk with neighbors, but on most of our walks we don't see any neighbors. We do wave at cars going past us during our walks, since most of the cars belong to neighbors.

This week in review -- 3.04 miles

This was a nice week for walking. Temperatures were in the 40s and 50s. There was a light rain in the middle of the week, and a very light snow on Saturday during my long walk. On Saturday, I kept on walking and was soon home and in the house, where it was warm and dry.

I did a bit of jogging in the middle of my long walk on Saturday, alternating 20 steps of jogging with 20 steps of walking. It was kinda hard jogging while pushing the walker, because the walker is narrow and I tend to wobble sideways while I jog or run.

My right arm is still sore, but it is less sore than it was last week. I do curls with a can of soup, and I can tell that my right arm is getting stronger.

I did 3.04 miles for the week for 5 days of walking and jogging.

A neighbor was cycling

While I was returning home from doing a rest walk, I saw a neighbor on her bicycle, and I waved at her as she went past. That is the key during these times of COVID-19. Unless you live in one of the states where isolation is mandatory, go outside by yourself to exercise, that is, do it alone, or in small groups of 10 or less people keeping at least 6 feet between persons. However, it is better to exercise alone.

Walks this week

 I walked 4 days this week, for a total of 2.64 miles. Normally, I would walk 5 days for a total of 3.04 miles, but I took an extra rest day to give my right arm extra rest. My legs and body feel fine, but my right arm is sore from pushing my walker. My right arm is connected to my right shoulder, and that shoulder was injured when I fell in Ogden. My right shoulder apparently hasn't fully healed from that injury. Rest helps my right  arm to not give pain when that arm is used a lot. When my right arm gives a bit of pain, I don't push as much with that arm.

Did a long walk

The temperature today was in the low 40s (F), but there was a strong wind, with gusts up to 20-30 mph. The wind was a south wind, which made it difficult to go south but easier when going north. There was a light rain during my walk, but I kept dry because the rain was very light. Also, the wind helped keep me dry.

I like walking with a walker, because the walker gives me stability, and this lets me focus on my distance without fear that I might fall. My wife, Judy, thinks I am walking faster than I was walking, without the walker, prior to my fall in Ogden.

I did my long walk today (going around both loops), doing about 3 miles for the week. My walks are usually uneventful, so in the future I will just give weekly posts with the number of days walked and the total distance for the week.

Did a rest walk

My rest walks (Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday) are south to the corner of my street and 100th South and then back to home. It is about 0.4 miles round trip to the corner and back. They are uneventful walks, but they provide activity to keep my legs active without the stress of longer walks.

Did a medium walk

My plan calls for Wednesdays to have a medium walk, and that is what I did. A medium walk is once around the east block. The distance is 0.62 miles as measured with my GPS. I was out a few minutes before noon, and the temperature was about 50 (F). My legs handle the distance OK, but my arms and shoulder ache a bit. I like the walker, because it allows me to walk without worry that I might fall.

The distance this week (3 days of walking) was about 1.42 miles.

Another rest walk

I went out around 2 pm and did a rest walk up to the corner and back. My wife continued around the east block pushing our great grand daughter in her stroller.

The temperature was in the 50s (F), and there was no wind.  A great day and time to be outside!

Did a rest walk

Today, about noon, I went to my mailbox. Later, around 2 pm, I took a rest walk. I like the walker, because it gives me stability, and I'm not worried about falling down. The walker doesn't make it easier to walk, and I still have to get my legs in shape for the distance I am going.

The wind was still blowing (a south wind), and the temperature was 60 (F).

Did a long walk plus going to my mailbox

I was cloudy and cold during my long walk. I took one rest of a minute on my walker. The gusty wind made if difficult to go south, but going north was nice.

My legs felt pretty good, but my arms and shoulder felt tired and sore a bit from pushing the walker. The total distance for the week was about 2.3 miles, not more because I didn't do rest walks on Monday and Tuesday.

Getting back into walking

Using my walker, I went to my mailbox a bit before noon  and went to the corner during the afternoon. The total distance today was about 0.5 miles.

I'm making a slight adjustment to the plan of walking given earlier. My week now consists of the following:

Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday: a rest walk of about 0.4 miles, to the corner and back.
Wednesday: a medium walk of about 0.62 miles, around my block one time.
Saturday: a long walk of about 1.2 miles, around the block one time and around a different block one time.
Friday and Sunday: rest days of no walking.

The difference is that Thursday (today) was changed from a no-walking day to a rest walk.

This plan gives a total of about 3.02 miles.  This distance will be increased once or twice a month. The basic idea of all of this is to make increases in distance small such that ones body can adjust without being injured. In the meantime, walking is done with lots of rest, such that the body is not injured.

The two blocks that I go around are the blocks east and west and adjacent to the street I live on. The corner I go to during a medium or long walk is part of both the east and west blocks. On my long walk, after I reach the corner, I go left to do the block east and then go right to do the block west. The east and west blocks are  my long walk performed on Saturdays. On the medium walk, I do the east block but not the west block. On the rest walks, I reach the corner and then turn around and return home.

I am still using my cane around my house or elsewhere, such as to church or to the temple. There is a certain rhythm to the proper use of a cane, and I'm getting used to the rhythm such that it is becoming a habit when I walk. The rhythm is proper when my walking is as if I wasn't using the cane.  Since it is my right leg that had the broken bone, I hold the cane with my left hand, and when I move the cane forward, I also move my right leg forward. That is, the cane holds me steady while I move my right leg forward. Then, I move my left leg forward and in front of the right leg. In this way, I move my two legs in normal walking, each leg going in front of the other leg. The cane hits the ground at the same time as my right leg (the one that had been damaged) hits the ground. Thus, I walk with my two legs and with the cane being used simultaneously with the damaged leg to give me stability while I move my damaged leg.

Used the walker to go around the block -- 0.7 miles total (including the mailbox)

The walker worked fine, and I had no stability problems. Used the walker earlier, about noon, to go to my mailbox.

My walker came

My new walker was delivered to my house on the 3rd of March, Tuesday. The walker came to Salt Lake City on Monday but was delivered to me on Tuesday. I haven't used the walker yet.