August BP

 

CPAP Day Four

I walked the better part of a mile this morning and included a major hill climb. I stopped briefly in the middle of the hill to rest, but it wasn't any longer than thirty seconds. I think I walked every morning this week.

I just spent my fourth night with a CPAP machine. I managed to wear it for slightly over six hours. I can't say I'm feeling much more rested than before the CPAP, but I am adapting to it better. At some point during the night, it just becomes uncomfortable to wear. I take it off for a while and then put it back on for a few hours.

The worst part of using it is the very dry mouth I often wake up to. I mean, dry! My mouth is so dry I can't immediately produce any saliva to moisten my mouth. I now keep a water bottle on the night stand along with some Chapstick.  

CPAP Day Two

The smaller mask was definitely the way to go. I wore the mask for just over 5 hours. That was not in one session. So far, I've had to wear it, remove it, wear it again. It gives me a dry mouth which is not pleasing to wake up to.   

CPAP Day One

Well, that wasn't very pleasant. I wore it for 3 hours and 33 minutes. I think I used the wrong mask. I used the large one and had a lot of trouble with air leaks. I'm going to try the small one and see how that goes.

It's definitely going to take some getting used to.

C-PAP

 I have just returned from picking up my CPAP machine. I will be using it tonight for the first time. We shall see how this goes. Just so we have all our terms identified, CPAP stands for Continuous Positive Airway Pressure.

I have a manual to read and a machine to assemble.  

Summer is Waning

The morning walk was a little chilly today.  I wore a fleece vest for the first time in a long time. It's been so hot for so long, the cool mornings are refreshing and invigorating. 

I did the mile route and did not keep time.

It looks like it's going to be a nice day with a high in the 80's. I'm going to be inside for the morning though. We made a mess of the house over the weekend because of the Hub Fun Run.

It's my job to clean up. I might get some mowing in this afternoon but vacuuming comes first.

Jurassic Jog

Today was the third annual Hub Tavern .08 Mile Fun Run. The course starts at the Hub and heads two blocks south on Monroe to the Mosey Inn Tavern. There, participants must drink a beer and then return to the Hub...as fast or slow as they would like.

This years theme was Jurassic Jog. There were lots of dinosaurs, dinosaur masks, a lawyer on a porta potty but only two cave persons.

Amazingly, we ended up winning the costume portion of the event. 

We made the outfits last night. We went to the fabric store and bought the leopard skin fabric, and Susan went to town with the sewing machine. My club is Styrofoam and took about an hour to carve and paint. 

It was a fun event with about 50 people taking part. We ended up drinking too much beer.  

New Walking Route

I just returned from my walk. I tried a new course today and I haven't yet measured the distance. I am assuming it is on the proud side of two miles. It took me 44:47 to complete it. I didn't try to go after it very hard so I will be able to beat that number when I try.  

However, I'm not sure that beating the number is all that important. The main thing is that I'm walking and I'm doing it for at least 20 minutes.

The new route threads its way through the neighborhood. I leave the house and walk east to Atlantic. I head north up to Cora. I walk up Cora until Dalton angles into it and I walk all the way down to Wall Street.

At Wall I head south one block and turn east on Euclid and follow that all the way back to Atlantic. Then it's south one block to Park Place and back to the house.

I had one incident worth noting. There is a menacing looking young Rottweiler that is running free just as I turn onto Dalton. It came across the street towards me and circled behind me and started to growl. I turned around and yelled, "Hey!" looking directly at it and that seemed to do the trick.

I may take a walking stick out with me next time.   

G-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-A-L ! ! !

One of the things I've noticed about my short sprints is I tend to do them in front of houses where I know the owners. I guess I must be feeling that they'll see me and really be impressed with the gusto I give to my morning walk.

The short sprints and a new set of gel insoles are what I am attributing to my recent goal achievement. I did two laps around the park (1.6 miles) in 29:48.

I am blown away that I reached that goal when only a few days ago I was doubting I could ever achieve it.      

Short Sprints

With the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan just having ended, it feels appropriate to rate my walks with the presentation of a medal. I'm giving myself a bronze. It was really more of a magnesium performance but they don't give out that medal.

Today was a really good walk. I took over a minute and a half off my previous best time. I definitely feel a bit winded and just the onset of becoming sweaty. And yet, that thrill of victory is a strong motivator. 

Yesterday, I didn't think my goal of twice around the park in 30 minutes was possible. Today, I think I can reach it.

I employed a new strategy I call, "Short Sprints". I pick a spot up ahead of me, maybe a tree, a driveway or a heaved sidewalk and I increase my gate until I get to that spot. Then I slow down a touch and recover. A couple of times this morning, I even extended the spot.

Getting my walk in first thing in the morning is a great way to start my day. I feel like I have accomplished something and it's only 8:36. 

I have another milestone I would like to proclaim to the heavens if modesty didn't prevent me from doing so. I weighed in this morning at 203 pounds. I'm going to make 200...and then gain it all back!   

Good Walk

I'm just in from my walk and today, it was good. Susan and I walked on Saturday and that was a good one as well.

My time was 32:20. That's my best for twice around the park.

I'm not sure I'm ever going to be able to hit my goal of 30 minutes. It would take a pretty fast gate to achieve that and I don't think I have a fast gate in me. At least, I don't now. 

I guess the deal is to keep walking and not worry so much about the time. However, I like to see improvement and timing my walks is the only gauge I have.    

Bad Walk

I'm trying to get out every morning and get in a walk. I had what I consider a bad walk today, even though I took three minutes off my previous time. The problem was that my feet were starting to go numb and I had a pretty good sweat going, which is only now abating, 15 minutes after my walk ended.

However, I think a bad walk is better than no walk at all.

Today's stats are: I walked 1.6 miles in 33:48. My half a lap time was 16:58. The temperature at the time of the walk was 77°.