Busy days

On Thursday I went to gym w/ my niece Abby (6) & nephew Jack (8.5). I thought they'd be bored out of their minds but I also thought it would be fun for them to see what I do while at gym. Since I'm supposed to take it easy, I knew I wouldn't be walking 12 laps so figured it would just be a simple work-out. They thought the rower was funny. Abby took a couple of pictures (bad angles!) and then they watched me do some of the strength machines. I think they felt pretty special how a few people came up to them and were visiting w/ them about things they like to do etc. That was cool! I also asked one of my trainers Kendall, if I could walk 3 laps and he said as long as your foot feels ok - but no running!! So the kids and I walked 3 laps and they were tired after the 3rd lap! Then I did some stretches and they were on a couple machines, just trying them out. They kept asking if they'd get in trouble and I told them I'm watching them so everything should be ok, just be careful.

After gym, Abby came to my place w/ the intent of staying over-night as Friday (today) we had pedicure appointments. So I thought we could just walk over in the morning. After pizza and a treat, she wanted a bubble bath w/ TONS of bubbles. It was pretty cute. Then she had a bit of a melt-down and missed her mom. Long story short, my sister came to get her and Jack stayed over instead. We watched one of his movies; which meant Auntie fell asleep. He was laughing though.

Friday morning I got up and got ready and when the disposal ran, he woke up asking 'what's that noise'. He hears everything and there are all kinds of odd noises in my place which I'm used to now. So we walked to the Salon and for some reason I was having trouble. We just had to cross the street again and we'd be there (it's about 2.5 blocks from my place). So I had to sit on the grass a little bit; which concerned Jack. I said I'm ok - my legs are giving me a bit of trouble. He helped me up as best he could and we made it to the salon. We were a bit early so I was able to sit and I thanked Jack for helping me. I don't know why that came on. I guess my muscles are bound to not cooperate from time to time.

So Traci (my sister) and Abby arrived at the salon and I told her I'd call if we need a ride. So Jack went w/ his mom and Abby and I went back to get our Pedicures. It was Abby's first one and she loved it. She even got her nails done. Thanks Rita! We walked back to my place and I had no problems.

All in all it was a good couple days. Busy but good.

My foot is still a bit swollen but seems better. I'll get it checked next week.

Above photo is of my niece & I soaking our feet!

Have a good weekend everyone.

Whoops!

When I started this journey, I went at it and was very excited. I kept improving every week. It was inspiring to see myself progress in such a way. I did go at it kind of strong. I felt GREAT, so just kept on going. If I didn't feel well, then I would have stopped. It was encouraging feeling all the support at gym and everywhere. Since this is VERY new to me, I should have taken it slower.

Sunday when I put on my sandals I thought this is strange, why does my left shoe feel so much tighter. Once I looked at my foot, it was obvious it was swollen, compared to the right foot. My feet do turn in at the ankles. So I showed my parents and my mom thought it was a stress-fracture. She is concerned about me even attempting this. So I have been keeping my foot elevated at night. I said I'd have someone at gym check it Tuesday.

I saw Al, another Exercise Physiologist Trainer, and I asked if he had a second. He looked at my foot and said it is swollen. He moved it around to see if it caused any pain; which it didn't. He said w/ a stress fracture you'd be in pain especially at night. He said to just take it eay; which bummed me out but I know it is for the best. I said can I do any laps and he said only two, and I said how about 5!! He said you better stick w/ two. So I did two then did other machines and different exercises. As i was leaving Charlotte gave me a bag of ice and they (she and Al) both said I should ice it two times a day 20-30 minutes. Aleve/Ibprofen will also reduce the swelling.

My dad said he has a couple of those frozen ice packets. So when i got home, I took two Ibprofen and laid down with my foot elevated and the ice pack on. I was only supposed to have it on no longer than 30 min due to possible frostbite. i had a towel under the ice and I zonked right out; well after about 15 min. I can never lay on my couch without dozing off. I'll put ice on it again this evening.

When I got home, I saw a new flower popping up on my Gerbera daisy plant. The others had all petered out. And a friend left me flowers from her little girl (6) because I bought her bubbles at the grocery store. Flowers make me happy! Something new to photograph.

Photo above is of the bird I captured on my deck!! He didn't move even when I opened the patio!

Just a mild set back. I will keep at this and I will FINISH even if I'm last! For now, I'll just take care of this foot so it doesn't get worse.

Maintaining

First I have to blog about yesterday. Yesterday was Dystonia Twitter Awareness Day - so if you were on Twitter you were asked to help spread the word about Dystonia which is a rare disorder that not many are aware of. I wasn't sure what to say. Then I saw all these 'tweets' (Twitter talk) coming in from people w/ Dystonia and if you typed in #dystonia in the search box, you'd see all kinds of responses. I was literally blown away! I knew people had it but I never knew how many. I have had this 31 years, so it is what it is. I just try to do my best and keep plugging along. I even changed my staus on Facebook to say if anyone is on Twitter and has questions about Dystonia to please Twitter and join in conversation. A couple people posted comments on my facebook wall asking what is Dystonia, one said she never knew they had a name for my condition. Then i got a message in my facebook inbox from someone asking how i know about Dystonia - she asked if I had it. Then said she too had it!!! So since I know this person we have a lot to talk about!! Our Dystonia's are different. It's so nice to connect w/ people who actually know something of what you are going through. Of course every person is different as is every person w/ Dystonia. I never heard much of anything about this rare disorder, thanks to Twitter we can spread the word!!

Today at gym I did a couple weight machines then started on my walking. My first lap I did 12 laps in 18 min - with some running inbetween. Then I got my wonderful stretch from Charlotte (thanks Charlotte) - very relaxing then I was ready to go at it again and this time I did TWELVE more in 17 40 min! So I did TWO miles again!!! woo-hoo!! I did pretty well for not feeling 100%!

So thats my news for the week. Enjoy your weekend. I appreciate all my new followers - some of you I met on Twitter. Thanks everyone for your support

Staying strong

I lost all the blogs I was following. I wonder how that happened? Ugh!

Anyway, my hip is feeling better. It was still sore by Saturday but took it easy the rest of the weekend.
At gym today I got there a little later than normal and did a few warm-up stretches then I started walking. I know I need to get outside more and walk. Its much easier to keep track of how far I have gone at the gym, as I know how far a mile is. So today I did 12 laps AGAIN and felt good at 18 52 min. Then I took a break and visited and walked another 12 this time in 19 min. I was getting a side cramp so that may have slowed me down. But still another 2 miles. I'm breaking it up, but it seems to work better for me to have a break in-between. I'll keep at the 2 miles and one day I'll be able to walk 24 at once - gradually increasing that is!!
Thanks everyone for the support. I can't thank you enough.
Until next time....
Stay strong!

Fantabulous!

I must say I'm quite impressed with myself. I was feeling good and strong. At gym, I kept making those laps - I passed the 10th lap and wanted to do two more then I'd be at a mile. Woo-hoo!! Did I do it? YES I DID. I felt great after. So I walked a mile in 23 minutes. Not too shabby. Then I took a break, did some stretches and had a little snack. I got ready to do my next laps and said I'm going to try for 12 more! And I DID IT in 18 min! YEAH, 2 miles!!! Faster than my first 12 - I ran a little too. Now this is not a regular gym track, it's kind of going around the gym and down the hall and round and round I go. I felt REALLY good after. While i was walking a lot people were saying I'm walking so good and asking how many laps I have done! It's encouraging seeing the support from the trainers, PT staff and other gym members. I was elated when I told my trainer Kendall I did TWO miles. He said it's not only physical but also mental. When you want something, there's nothing that can stop you from achieving this goal. He did tell me to keep taking it slow. To not rush...I was feeling good so wanted to continue. If I can keep this up and keep decreasing my time, then I can increase my laps in another week or 2.

Every year in July there is a StreetFair in Downtown Fargo. For the past few years i have avoided going just because it is sooooo crowded. People walking every way, they bring their pets, babies in strollers, etc. So it is hard to get around. I wanted to go this year and test out my crowd situation. My mom thought it was a bad idea. I know she was just worried, but just because I had trouble in the past - doesn't mean i will this time. I just wanted to try and I had no fear of going, in fact I wanted to. My sister asked if i wanted to go and i said yes w/o hesitation. The Streetfair is just a fair in downtown Fargo spread across several blocks with craft and food vendors all over. I love to go just to people watch and take pictures (I only got 2 which i haven't uploaded). I thought i did pretty well walking, I did want to sit for awhile and just people watch for a bit, but since it was so busy and crowded my sister didn't know if she would be able to find me again. So I walked and walked w/ her. I did have to sit on curbs or wherever I found a seat if she was looking at something. If I stood by the vendor, then 10 people would be surrounded by me and I couldn't get out. So I just chose to keep on moving and sitting whenever possible. I think we were out there at least an hour an half, pretty close to 2 hours. Towards the end, my right hip was really hurting and I had a shooting pain all the way down to my foot. I would limp when i walked. I was in pain and was holding on to my sisters arm.
By the time I got home, I was feeling much better. I have no idea how much we walked but it was a BIG day. Overall I am pleased w/ my accomplishments.
If I don't try then I'll never know if I can do something. With the Marathon, I realize there will be thousands of people but this will be different as everyone will be walking or running in the same direction. I'm assuming there won't be people stopping in the middle of the race to gab with a friend they haven't seen in years. I know the Marathon will be crowded but we will all be after the same goal. To finish. And that is what I plan to do.

I need to give a shout-out to all my Shutterfly Friends who have left such KIND messages on my Share Site: www.joeyssite.shutterfly.com and on the Blog article I wrote for Shutterfly. I had no idea what to write about and Rachel (the coordinator) said how about writing about your Marathon Journey. I was timid at first as I didn't want them to 'see' me any different. I thought maybe this would be a good idea to share my story and give some information on Dystonia (I didn't talk about that in my article - they would have to read this) and their comments were so nice to read - to have that extra support from people I know only through the Internet. Shutterfly really is a great place. Thanks again everyone for believing in me!

My shutterfly link is below:
http://www.shutterflystorytelling.com/2009/07/08/my-marathon-journey-by-joey-t/

Doing well

It's such a dreary day in the FM area that I didn't really feel up to going to gym. But up and at up I was. I did a little bit of the rower then started walking. i did ten laps in 18 42 min, no stopping in-between just kept on going round and round I go. Then I took a break - did a few stretches and cooled down. Then I did TEN more in 15 min! So that was a little faster.

Yesterday I went to my neighbor's daughters to take pictures of her and her horse. It was so funny having these big horses come and sniff my hair. I was laughing so hard I could hardly stand it. I was sitting in a chair as I wanted to get photos of our family friend in the pasture w/ all the horses. I would sit for most of the photographing (I'm no pro at all - but am learning), but i had better leverage when I sat. I got in some exercising walking around the pasture and big property. Its a photographers dream!

Thats about it for now. Looks like it will be a downpour for my afternoon appointments, so I'm not sure I will be able to walk w/o getting drenched. I don't mind getting wet but since I just got over a cold, it may not be a good idea.

Have a great day & stay positive!

Hanging in...

Yesterday I woke up and didn't feel the best. Was extremley tired and my throat started to hurt towards evening, kind of hard to swallow.

I wasn't sure I'd make it to gym, but even though I still was very tired, I decided to go. I heard exercise is good when one doesn't feel well.

I did a few weight machines and then started walking. I walked 10 laps - no breaks in between at 17.32 min - a little faster than Tuesday. Then I took a break - did 5 more at 8 35 min, another break then 5 more laps at 8 45. I was doing some sprints on that last one, don't know why my time was faster. I felt good while doing these so i just kept at it.

Once I got to my sisters, i started feeling crummy again. So I'm taking it easy tonight.

20 laps isn't too bad especially when I'm not feeling 100%!

Photo above is of nephews Jack (L) and David (R) tubing over the 4th!

Have a great night!

Walking & Walking

I hope everyone had a happy & safe 4th. We went to the ball game Fri night and that gave me a chance to test out walking in slow moving crowds at the end. I shuffled along pretty well, and when I found an open space I went for it! They also had a huge display of fire-works at the end.

We went to the lakes Sat morning and I got lots of walking in going back and forth to beach and camper. I don't think it was any big amounts. I wasn't sitting on my tush the whole weekend! LOL

The kids blew off fireworks at the beach but the mosquitoes were terrible. I did get some good photos of the moon though!

Today at gym I walked TEN laps alone. It took 20 min, but I'm not concerned about time. It's the fact that I'm doing this. My time will increase one day, I'm just doing what I can. I feel fine and could have kept going, but i knew i should stop and rest. Then Charlotte and i walked 5 more laps at 8 35 min. So 15 laps total. I keep increasing laps even though I said I should try to maintain the 13 laps. Then I got my stretch in by Charlotte, my favorite part!! I get very relaxed after!

Then I came home and watched Michael Jackson's memorial. I thought it was done very well w/ great respect to Michael. Some people could give a rip about all this media coverage. I think he deserved this. He was the King of Pop and i will never forget him or his music. I grew up w/ his music so it is a big part of my life. He was a bit odd, but nobody is perfect. This memorial showed him for the human he was.
I didn't mean to go on about Michael, just wanted to share my thoughts.

Be well all!

Hanging in there!

Today I went to gym did my usual rower, then started the walking. I walked 5 laps on my own at 7 min 57 sec. I felt a bit stiff during this walk. But the good thing is I walked w/o sitting down. Charlotte said don't worry so much about the time, its the fact that you are doing it. Maybe the timer I was using is super fast!! LOL Then I rested a bit, did some stretches and some butt crunches. I forget the 'technical name'!! I then decided to try walking more. This time I went NINE more on my own at 18 min 45 sec. Kind of slow, but I shouldn't be so hard on myself. This is just my second week. I'm impressed I went that far w/o sitting down.

My doctor also suggested that I go walk the mall when it's super busy and crowded, like around Christmas!! Sounds like the perfect plan to get me used to crowds and having people stop in front of me etc. Hopefully by Holiday season, I'll be much stronger. So all in all I did 14 laps. Oops, I went one over!

I feel good though. I can for sure feel it in my legs that I worked out! Not used to getting sweaty at gym!

Congrats to Kendall & his wife on their new baby girl Jenna born June 28th. Their 5th daughter!

Happy 4th everyone! Be safe and have FUN!

Above photo is from Charlotte's garden.