lmgervais Posted August 25, 2009 Author Share Posted August 25, 2009 Rosalind, thank you for all your positive support for everyone's efforts. Your comments are like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day! I managed to walk for just over 20 minutes at a fairly decent pace today. Not much for some, but more than I usually walk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Liza, starting small and increasing gradually is the secret. We took the new tandem kayak to St Mark and paddled up the Wakulla River as far as it's possible to go (five miles upriver, just North of the "Bloxham cutoff" bridge, Wakulla Springs State Park has strung a chainlink fence from several feet on each shore across the river and below the surface a couple of feet to keep boaters out but allow the critters to go on), and back. GORGEOUS! We saw ospreys and kingfishers and herons and ibis. The river is FULL of manatees, and formerly we have paddled into spring runs and watched the mommas and their calves swim around and under us. Today we found out what happens when an adult manatee surfaces under and ahead of a kayak that just barely touches her flank; or, NEVER startle a seacow weighing 3/4 ton! At least we found out just how stable the new boat is, as she swamped us with a mini-tidal wave of filthy, weedy water; it took five minutes nonstop with the bilge-pump, but we neither rolled, capsized nor sunk! The waitress where we went for early dinner gave us a funny look until I told her what had happened to have us smelling like stale bilgewater... We did see one manatee with a wound, a single shallow horizontal cut that will probably heal; sadder to wee the manatee with a half-dozen white scars across her back from a boat propellor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shy Spirit Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 What a dreadful thing, for a manatee to be injured that way. I'm glad there are some steps (chain link fence) being taken to protect them. Poor Holly - I would have liked to see your faces, never mind the waitress's! I can laugh because no-one was hurt ... and it sounds pretty funny! :jawdrop: Our friend is Lake Steward of their cottage community up north. He built a "beaver baffle" so that the beavers can happily build their dams, and the cottagers can happily keep the lake water level at a decent depth. The "baffle" consists of a large, closed container with holes in it to allow water to flow through, located well away from the beaver's favourite dam site. A large pipe is placed so that the opening is inside the container. That way, the beavers cannot access the opening to block it up. The pipe goes along the lake bottom, well past the dam area and stops on the other side. The end of the pipe enters through a large hole in another closed container, with small holes in it allowing for water flow. The beavers build their dam over the pipe - never dreaming that the water is running free underneath! I'm all for clever ways to please and protect everyone - especially the creatures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 So are we, Rosalind. I felt terrible all day for terrifying that poor manatee, but a lot of kayakers wind up in the water after accidently coming up behind them like that; they're awfully huge! After that we kept a sharp eye out for huge smooth grey shapes in the water, and that way we saw dozens of them. They are SO graceful in the water, and basically very shy & gentle critters; but you definitely don't want to startle one!lol The reason we got started with the outdoor stuff as our main form of exercise is because of all the wonderful things we see. We started out taking short walks and wound up, after a few years, going on hikes. Even when we still take walks in our neighborhood, it's to see which dogs remember I used to carry biscuits for them when the Beautiful Melody went with us, or to see who has let their horses out to pasture, or how many bunnies still survive down amongst the old truck toppers (we live out in the woods; at least it isn't a still!), or who has what other critters (several neighbors at various times have kept goats and one neighbor raised emus for a while). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shy Spirit Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Sounds wonderful, Holly! Emu eggs make wonderful display containers for mini scenes. Did you get any? There is a farm not that far from us - I keep meaning to ask them if they sell their "dud" eggs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Never gotany emu eggs, those went straight to craft distributors. I don't recall any baby emus; we had some other friends who raised emus for the meat & leather, so they kept th eggs, too. Both sets of folks were only "into" the emus for a couple of years, back in the mid-90s, and graciously took their losses; neither one wants to talk about what they did with their emus. I didn't miss the constant subsonic "boom" noise they made! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmgervais Posted August 28, 2009 Author Share Posted August 28, 2009 I think I walked longer than I should have today - 1.6 miles in 30 minutes. My legs were sore afterwards, especially the thighs! I think that I will go back to a shorter walk for tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Yipes, Liza! That's more than 3 mph! I go for distance, not speed, and my average speed on flat terrain is about 2.5 mph; if there's any hills I go slower. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shy Spirit Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 I did walking today - but short distances, and over the course of the day. Liza, be careful - don't burn out from overachieving! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachie Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 I walked a mile today... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Outstanding! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shy Spirit Posted August 31, 2009 Share Posted August 31, 2009 Way to go, Peachie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grazhina Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 I haven't done any walking or wii jogging for quite a while. My only excersize has been climbing up and down the stairs ( we have a 3 story house and the stockroom is on the 3rd floor), and shopping. I got very depressed about the fact that I started gaining weight in July even though I had been wii jogging and not eating any more than I had for the past several months. On paper I should have been losing maybe a pound a week since mid April, but I guess my body is an efficient fat hoarding machine, which is great if you're worried about an impending famine, I guess. Anyway, it finally got hot by the end of July, so that was a good excuse to take a break. I don't have air conditioning and the fan blowing right on me just wasn't doing the trick. My daughter decided to train for a marathon, and through her I found this dandy site you walkers may get a kick out of. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/ It's a Google map pedometer. Just zoom into your town and neighborhood and chart a course. It'll give you your milage. I had checked some of the distances in my area with my car last year, and these google estimates are pretty accurate. There's a calorie burn counter too, but I believe it's geared towards runners. For a calorie burn estimater for walkers http://walking.about.com/library/cal/uccalc1.htm and here's a neat chart http://walking.about.com/cs/howtoloseweight/a/howcalburn.htm Here's something else I just saw: Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder confirmed that people burn more calories per mile walking a very leisurely 2 miles per hour than walking a moderate to brisk 3 to 4 miles per hour. Researcher Ray Browning also noted a surprise finding, that obese people have modified their body movement so that they are energy-efficient walkers. While they burn more calories per mile due to moving more weight over that distance, the calories burned per pound of body weight was similar to lean people. Energy efficient walker....I guess that would be me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmgervais Posted September 1, 2009 Author Share Posted September 1, 2009 Still walking most days, but sometimes it is in stores instead of around the neighbourhood. Cut my distance down a bit because I was so tired after doing 1.6 miles, but the pace was comfortable for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grazhina Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Forced my self to go for walk, my son went too. It was 4.8 miles. We did 3mph on our way to the beach, and a more leisurely pace back. Of course, going back is uphill anyway. It took us 2 hours, though we strolled among some rocks, sat a bit on a bench, then stopped at a bakery on the way home. The bakery was not my idea, I swear. I had mentioned the candy store, because I knew I'd be satisfied with one little taste of fudge, but DS opted for the bakery where I could not resist a croissant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grazhina Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 PS the croissant was lunch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shy Spirit Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Grazhina, you did very well to resist all the other goodies that must have been displayed temptingly in that bakery. I really must pull up my socks and get walking properly - I just haven't had the energy lately. I know, I know ... the exercise will give me more energy ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peachie Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 I did my 3 miles today...dr. told me exercise then exercise again...I know Roslind how you feel...I have no energy at all...but exercising does help... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 It pays off, dear. You're building strength & endurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodland_miniatures Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 I do get out and walk some, not nearly enough and not in any kind of pattern. Just trips to the post office or the little store or somewhere else around town. And now with winter just around the corner that'll be much harder because of the deep snow. Oh, the roads are kept plowed and the sidewalks shoveled/snow-blown, but the footing can still be pretty treacherous. This will be my third winter here; the first one I was so ill-equipped I stayed almost completely indoors (no proper footgear, not much in the way of winter outwear, etc.) and I put on 25 pounds - UGH!! Last winter was better, but still, when it's snowing everyday and windy as well, getting out for a walk simply for exercise takes more willpower than I've got LOL! So I just got myself a stair-stepper exerciser and it should be here sometime in the next couple of weeks. Maybe between that and walking the halls and a brisk walk down to the post office several times a week I won't turn into a fat, hibernating bear this winter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmgervais Posted September 6, 2009 Author Share Posted September 6, 2009 I have been trying to get out and take a walk everyday, but it has been difficult some days as I have not really felt like doing anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanaholly Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 Even when you don't feel like going outdoors, y'all who live where it's Winter probably have houses with more than one level; running stairs all day just doing housework or making minis (I have a workshop upstairs and the power saws are all 'way downstairs and I do mini needlework on the main floor in between!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodland_miniatures Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 Nope, no house, just a one-bedroom apartment in a single-story apartment building. But there are LOTS of halls and those halls are kinda neat - whoever designed this place used some imagination. There are windows everywhere, including big, high clerestry windows, and there are actual planting areas with real, live dirt where people have all kinds of plants. The two halls running north/south practically have jungles in them, there are so many tropical plants, including an enormous banana tree at least eight feet tall. Not a house, but an interesting place to walk when the snow's over-your-head high outside! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intrinsicat Posted September 6, 2009 Share Posted September 6, 2009 Grazhina - Thanks for that link to the walking gps... I plugged in my route around the lake - it's 4.296 miles! I manage to run the majority of it now - I've done it every day this week since my final assessment was this past Friday. Cross your fingers guys, I THINK I did pretty well. At least one of the instructors asked if I'd had liposuction. Final numbers - I went from 212 to 181. My body fat percentage went from 41 to 26 (healthy for women is low twenties)! Anyway, they tabulate all your information and give you a final percentage number that indicates your percentage improvement. I can't show anyone that number until October 3rd when they announce the winner. I'll know earlier whether I'm in the running (so to speak)... the top 5 will be asked to do interviews with the local NBC station. Wow, it would be so freakin' cool to win five thousand bucks!! But I keep telling myself what our group instructor said about people hiring personal trainers and joining nutrisystem to ensure a win... so I'm sure someone out there went a little more crazy than I did! But even so, it was SO worth it - and if they do it next Spring I'll join again, even though hopefully I'll be in better shape and consequently not likely to win - it's so much fun, it really keeps me motivated and mostly I'm terribly competitive and the team competitions are a blast! It's been two days since the assessment, and I've still managed to run 4 miles every day - I'm addicted now! But it didn't stop me from celebrating yesterday with a short stack of strawberry pancakes and a bigger stack of pumpkin pancakes at IHOP!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmgervais Posted September 6, 2009 Author Share Posted September 6, 2009 I just got back from a pretty decent walk - 38 minutes at a decent pace. A much longer walk than I expected to do, but I did it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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