Last Week of December

My goals for each week of the month.
One Long walk: 0.600 miles (to the second left turn and back )
One  Medium walk: 0.400 miles (to the first left turn and back)
Three Rest walks: 0.200 miles each (to Christen's driveway and back)
Two None: 0.000 miles each
Goal for days walked per week: 5
Goal for the week, starting with Monday: Rest, Rest, Medium, Rest, None, Long, None
Goal for total distance for the week: 1.600 miles

Days actually walked this week: 3
Total  miles for this week: 1.200 miles

Comments: I walked fewer miles/week this in month because I was tired and I aborted twp of my rest walks. My wife (Judy) was glad I aborted the walks and that I didn't try to do the distance that I had planned. Towards the end of the month the temperature was below freezing and the wind was blowing. It was very cold! My legs got awfully tired, although I completed the distance in my goals. Later, my legs felt fine for abut 0.2 miles and then they started getting tired. During the following weeks, my legs were fine, because I drank more water the day before and after my walks. We had company towards the end of the third week of the month, I went running after the company left, and my legs were very tired. We had about 12 inches of snow after the company left, and I didn't walk during that time to give my legs a good rest. I felt weak, though, the whole week. Judy and two neighbors, Mr. Cox and Brother McDonald, they have snow blowers, removed the snow from our driveway and the sidewalk in front of our house. I didn't walk much during the days of snow and cold. Not walking  gave my legs extra rest. I have not been doing stretches after the walks and this omission finally caught up with me. My legs felt like I was walking for the first time. I didn't walk for a couple of days and the I started walking again, although at a shorter distance.

 

Last Week of November

DAYS WALKING: 5
ONE LONG WALK: 0.625 miles (one east loop)
ONE MEDIUM WALK: 0.600 miles (to the second left turn and back
THREE REST WALKS: 0.400 miles each (to the first left turn and back)
TWO NONE: 0.000 miles each
TOTAL DISTANCE THIS WEEK: 2.425 miles

Comments: For my Heavy walks I was going the east loop one time, plus extra distance. For my Light walks, I was going the east loop one time. My legs got quite tired during my walks, so I went to to a different method of weekly walks that reduced the stress on my legs. I changed from alternating Heavy and Light walks (3 walks each) to one Long walk on Saturday, and one Medium walk on Wednesday, with rest walks on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and no walks on Friday, and Sunday. Since Sunday is my Sabbath, it is always a "no run or walk" day. This means, under the new system, that I am walking 5 days per week instead of the 6 days per week that I was doing under the Heavy/Light method.

This week has Thanksgiving, and I'm not sure what effect that holiday will have on this distance. Later: Judy did not go walking all of the days this month because she was busy getting the turkey and apple pies ready for Thanksgiving and a birthday dinner, a few days later for our grand daughter, Annie Grace. My daughter, Sara, and two of her four kids are down from Evanston,WY, and they are available to help my wife with the preparations for Thanksgiving dinner. I did my normal walk on Thanksgiving day, because our Thanksgiving dinner is in the late afternoon. The dinner for Annie Grace, on her day, is in the early afternoon, so I went walking in the morning. With my age and health, I'm not of much help to Judy. I lose my balance while walking on elevation changes, and I try to walk on level ground or on ground that has a gradual change i.e. I try to avoid stairs. In addition, I don't bend over to pick up things. Also, I don't drive any more so Judy does all of the shopping.

We had Good or Moderate air this month, but the sky was cloudy during much of the month, and rain was forecast towards the end of the month. I was usually out and back before the rains came, and the rains, when they did come, were mostly sprinkles. There was some snow in the mountains and a bit of snow here, but the snow here was melted by the time I went out walking. We had a strong frost on a few nights, and the temperature was still below freezing when I went walking after those nights.

My weeks (starting with a Monday) now look like the following: Rest, Rest, Medium, Rest, None, Long, None. This method gives fewer miles per week but puts my focus on the Long and Medium walks

Last week of October

DAYS WALKING: 6
HEAVY WALK: 0.625 (one east loop)
LIGHT WALK: 0.600 (to the second left turn and back)
TOTAL MILES for WEEK: 3.675

Comments: I walked fewer miles during the month due to my having a doctor's appointment and a blood test to learn my PSA, and due to my attending the viewing and funeral of my sister-in-law. Later I had surgery for skin cancers that were on my head.

I went off my cancer medicine of three pills each night because the medicine wasn't keeping my PSA low any more. I then began taking a different medicine of 3 pills per night. I did feel tired after taking the new medicine, and I had a difficult time walking in my house. I'm still taking the new medicine for my prostate cancer, but I have gotten used to the new medicine, and I do OK getting around my house. With a new week starting, I want to increase my distance, so I walked around the east loop for my heavy walk.

I've also been taking a different prescription of one pill twice a day, in addition to taking the 3 pills at night. Recently the doctor decided to ween me from the daytime prescription, and he cut my dose down to 2 pills one day, and one pill the next day day. Starting with yesterday, the doctor cut me down to one pill per day. I'm looking forward to taking no pills at all for that prescription, and thus doing away with the prescription. I still will take 3 pills at night of the new medicine. When I have my blood tested in a couple of weeks, I'll find out if my PSA has gone down or not due to the new medicine. I'm looking forward to the resurrection. Until then, I'm learning more about patience and obedience.

The doctor is trying to keep me off a chemotherapy/radiation treatment like people usually have,  because he feels I wouldn't be able to withstand the stress from that treatment and soon would die from it. He hopes the pills will cause less stress on my body and still control my cancer.

The air has been Good or Moderate so far this month. The smoke from California fires seems to be going some place else.

Last week of September

DAYS WALKED:  6
HEAVY WALK: 0.62
LIGHT WALK: 0.6
TOTAL MILES for WEEK: 3.660

Comments: I used most of the month to work towards my normal distance of 10 miles/week. I still alternate heavy and light walks, but the distance of each walk has slowly increased as I gained my strength back. I felt very weak after drinking a lot of of radioactive water prior to having scans made of my skeleton and body. In addition, part of the month was spent gaining strength from the mho surgery for skin cancers on my face and forehead. I haven't gone walking or running while I've recovered from the surgery, although I did walk today and in the future. I've taken 2 or 3 tablets of Tylenol daily, for two or three days, to reduce the pain of the surgery. The bottle of Tylenol states I shouldn't take more than 8 tablets per day to avoid damage to my liver.

I go walking or running only if I can see the mountains east of SLC or I can see their outlines. This translates to Good or Moderate air. If I can't see the mountains or their outlines, I don't walk or run, because in that case the smoke is pretty thick, and the air is bad. The smoke comes from big fires in California.

The past few days haven't been bad. The mountains were in sight, and some of the details were visible. There was some smoke in the mountains, but not an awfully lot. Today had an increase in smoke, but the mountains were still visible. I guess the fires in California are still raging.

Last week of August

DAYS WALKED: 5
HEAVY WALK: 2.075
LIGHT WALK: 1.450
TOTAL MILES for WEEK: 7.650

Comments: Due to the dirty air from California and Utah fires earlier in the month, not all days were run as scheduled. The air is still dirty, but it is not as bad as it was two weeks ago. At least I now can see the mountains east of SLC and make out some details in the mountains. For the first time in several days, I can see the Oquirrh mountains west of SLC and the details of the open-pit copper mine that is taking over the mountains.. The current temperature in the shade of our deck is 84 (F).

I walked in the evening on Thursday, because I had a doctor's appointment at 9 am. I wore three layers, in the evening, but two layers would have been sufficient. On Saturday I wore two layers, and that was about right.

On Saturday, I planned to walk one lap, but I didn't quite make it. I completed about 0.6 miles, and then I was too tired to do more. The radioactive water I drank just before my body scans on Thursday made me tired for several days. Thanks to four ward members who saw me and took me home.

On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I plan on doing Heavy runs or walks, and on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday I plan on doing Light runs or walks. This schedule alternates Heavy and Light runs or walks, for 6 days of activity per week. Sunday is always a rest day, because it is my Sabbath day. Because of my age I am walking instead of running.

This Post is an explanation of the monthly additions that will be made to this blog

To save me time, rather than making daily additions to this blog, I have been making weekly additions with daily comments within each addition to this blog. In order to further reduce the time required for updating this blog, I am now making monthly additions to this blog, using data from the last week of that month. All of the distances will be in miles.These additions will include the NUMBER OF DAYS that I have walked during that week, plus the length of my HEAVY walks and LIGHT walks plus the TOTAL miles for that week, The Heavy and Light walks are alternated. This will allow me to keep track of my physical exercise with significantly less time in adding to the blog. The first "monthly" entry to this blog is actually for two weeks and then it goes to monthly additions.

The format for each addition to this blog will be similar to the following, for the last week of the month. Due to my age and health, I am walking instead of running:

DAYS WALKED:
HEAVY WALK:
LIGHT WALK:
TOTAL MILES for WEEK:

Comments:

The numbers apply to the last week of the month. Comments will be included in that addition to help you interpret the data for that month.

I'll see you at the end of August for my next addition to this blog.