Sunday, May 31, 2026

The gym habit is back, but don't forget the outdoors is there too

Tuesday - rest!
Wednesday morning: 15 mins treadmill with 0.5 mile RUN, then STRENGTH lower body
Wednesday evening!: 15 mins treadmill WALK, ELLIPTICAL 30  mins, some random strength with kids
Thursday rest, legs are sore
Friday SWIM 20 mins, maybe 500-600? My estimate last week of 700-800 was high!
Saturday Ren Faire
Sunday Catchup, nothing but walking, ugh

Wednesday two-a-day! Not by plan. All kids wanted to go to gym at 6am, aurora slept in. Then in afternoon they wanted to go back while Arlette was at her A&P class. The morning thing worked, I can keep doing that since I was there before 9am. And the evening thing worked as we had time to kill anyway. Busy but a learning day. 

Thursday the rest of them took off for a 2-day trip to eastern TN leaving me to plan a SWIM after work if I can get the Letter of Recommedation, World Courier, and ELISA shit finished. Oh, and the Seahorse analysis. 

As for the fast 800, I'm "stuck" (mentally) at 1200 and continue the not-hungry-at-all nibbles. Results, please

Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Memorial Day weekend

Friday SWIM (OMG) 20 mins about 700 uncounted yards
Saturday Treadmille WALK/RUN 30 mins 2 miles, STRENGTH lower body. ELLIPTICAL 20 mins HIIT
Sunday WALK at house 3 miles
Monday Treadmill WALK/RUN 15 mins 1 mile, warm up. STRENGTH upper body. ELLIPTICAL 20 mins another HIIT. Then waterfall hikes.

Walking into work today, I looked back and remembered the TrailNet Memorial Day rides. I miss it. 

I feel great, walking feels strong. But my female hormones are still messed up, upper swollen and painful for over a week now. Legs swollen, but that's due to SALT likely. 

Today a week of trying the Fast800. I keep doing 1200, and that's a way more honest "1200" (really more like 1500-2000+). I was trying for the past year or so. Since Friday 9pm start of summer - no cheese other than babybell, no rice cakes, but not for wanting of having them!

Disappointed that there's not change yet!! Patience? Denial? Hormones? 

Friday, May 22, 2026

I have a gym membership again!

 STRENGTH 25 mins of upper body/posture

WALK/RUN 64 mins in 1(3) intervals, 17 mins of running total

I have a gym membership again! It's been since I left AA two years ago. I kept thinking I'd save the money from a membership and apply it to a home gym. But no, this didn't happen. Walking running and biking are OK from home but the rest of it....not inspiring. Apple Fitness home gym, I tried it but it's not enough. 

So yesterday I did an upper body workout. Today if I can I'll SWIM and holy shit how long has it been - 2023? My last swim in AA in that itty bitty pool wasn't comfortable. I ended up with a headache from poor form and struggled through 20 mins of it. And I'm excited about it now?!

I have a great discount and waived fees, that helps!

Also this week started the 800 fast again. Started Tuesday and yesterday was 0/3 success. I'm closer to 1200 (ha, the original goal I was supposed to be at) but not goal 800. That's the goal for 14 days, then go from there. Two meals isn't hard, but ugh I found rice cakes again after months of no rice cakes. Stop it, as Bob Newhart would say. STOP IT!

The kids arrive tonight! Then summer, I'm excited and nervous, as always. I look forward to doing things with them and hope the feeling is mutual. 

Thursday, April 16, 2026

Right hip MRI

MRI this morning for the right hip. After Dr Fitch said that he expected to find a labral tear, it's as if a veil of denial fell and I have to wonder if I knew all along and ignored it? Because this does feel like an impingement. 

I ran a little bit Tuesday and still on Thursday it hurts more. Walking to the MRI with a limp...

The left foot bunion-ish toe still hurts. My left hip mildly hurts and pops. It's been doing that, but I attributed it to limping and being off balance. 

I reviewed the notes from 2017 surgery. No driving, no work, boarded dog, time with mom, months of PT. I know, it's not confirmed that I'm getting surgery, but my mind is already there. Next step is to wait for the MRI reading, wait to meet with Dr F for a follow up, wait for the inner hip (or outer, if it's a tendon!) injection, then wait to decide on surgery. 

So, wait. 

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Right hip, Menopause, Insulin Resistance

RUN WALK 1.56 miles in 23 mins

Yesterday I saw Dr Fitch in orthopedics about my right hip. He expects to find a labrum tear, mostly because I'm a runner. It may or not be the cause of the pain, but he's suspecting an impingement and that to be one potential source. 

And as I digested this, yes, I might agree. I ignore willfully the fact that inside the joint often hurts too. But I'm holding off on more of this until the MRI is one and read.

I don't have overt menopause symptoms, besides hair loss the last few months. Meno Belly too, I fear. In reading about it and still trying to optimize my diet (I've been 40% protein lately and Unsatisfied) I'm learning that the 16:8 IF and low carb are helpful here. 

I work with AI more now, although ChapGPT is hung up on things in the last 6 months, when I ask Copilot he comes up with suggestions I can work with. 

GPT didn't tell me that high protein is for rebuilding, not energy, and that it drives gluconeogenesis. Es verdad?! So I'm shifting from 40% protein over to 40% fat. 

More later. 

Wednesday, April 1, 2026

No Fooling Here: 1300 days and 2500 days

Yesterday -WALK RUN 2.1 miles in 35 mins!! STRENGTH 10 mins upper and 10 mins core

Nice, a real entry almost. 

3-30 was the day gramma L died, is that what I was thinking of? 

Today April 1st. Tomorrow Full moon, wedding anniversary. Today 1300 days no M and 2498 days no Balrog. 808 days NoS NoF. 

53 days left to my end of May goal. What is the goal? Under 130. I don't think that was a solid goal even just a few mins ago, but that's it. 

I was 129.8 after San Antonio, then back to 132 soon after. I'd quit eating much fiber on the trip. 
LA is down 25 lbs with his changes - very high protein and mostly no junk food. 

I've off grapes, potatoes, gawd what else....why can't I think. Peanut butter, fake butter, bottomless bags of strawberries. 
I'm two days off propowder mal-use. 

I've made so much change - to also a high protein diet - and removed triggers that I'm unsatisfied with food. But I keep wanting more of something, like a date or cheese. Bad choices! But so much change, yet not so much change. Yet. 

Keep running! 

Monday, March 30, 2026

Why does Mar 30th or 3-30 sound so familiar?

It's been bugging me - why does 3-30 sound like an anniversary of something? Well I just went through all the Marchs since 2009 when this started and didn't find a specific event. But I did find some things to look back on. 

On one Mar 30 I was dx'd with T8 compression fracture. Another was Disney shit. Another was a Potowatomie taper. Another a swim challenge. Another some other injury with k tape. 

Oh how the times have changed. 
And but how they haven't.

I can find in the logs times where I'm promising myself yet again to change and fix things. Sit to eat, come home to chores and a real meal. Dear Gawd, that's still a thing. 

So here all this part weekend, I'm lamenting the lack of change. Tomorrow, I tell myself. On 3-30, I'll start. Again?! 

I've changed so much in the past few months. Totally eliminated rice cake, fake butter, peanut butter, grapes, potatoes, chips (mostly, plantains sometimes). Struggling with protein powder, standing, random, etc, cheese, standing. Yeah, I still come home to stand at a counter top to destress.

I can type all I want here, but it's THERE that the change needs to be made.

No running, biking, swimming at all these days. Finding time to walk ain't all that easy either. My right hip hurts still, I think it's a hip flexor. PT didn't help, I see ortho in about two weeks. Nova has been in pain since the end of Feb, and without her walking is even less. LA has radically changed his diet since Jan and lost 20-25 pounds. He wants to run another race, but I have to wait to see what the hip eval says. I want to do another as well!