Fitness Fellowship 2024: Week 25 Check-in
Jun. 25th, 2024 05:44 pmGreetings, Friends!
I hope you'll be patient with the lateness of this post. I was home from vacation by yesterday, but we were busy, and I was also in full-on avoidance-of-real-life mode, trying to ease back into my usual routine. I'll try to be more punctual from here on out.
How was your week-and-a-day? I hope it has been a good week for you, that you've met or exceeded your fitness goals, and that you are feeling strong and well. Please share with us how you've been and what your plans are going forward. As always, we're here to listen and not to judge.
Weight: I'm pleased to report that I gained only 5 pounds on this trip, and I'm already down .8 since yesterday's weigh-in. Most of that is directly attributable to all the baked goods I consumed. See below for more detail. ;-)
Exercise: We exercised every day, mostly via walking and/or hiking. It was very hot--we were under a "heat dome"--so that made exertion a challenge, but we went out every day for a walk or more than one, and I'm proud of us. We also climbed some steep hills, scrambled over rocky ground, and didn't balk at trails that took some effort. (We avoided the very strenuous uphill trails, however.) I absolutely believe the incline work I did before the trip allowed me to do better on the long uphill climbs and to have more stamina in general.
Eating plan: Rural Vermont loves its fresh-baked goods. I can make this assertion based on experience. Many places we stopped boasted locally made fresh baked goods. Only 2.5 miles from the cabin was a family-owned farm market, and they made different scones, pies, and cookies each day. Give me strength! Anyway, there were a LOT of baked goods and some snacking outside my eating window. On the plus side, the extreme heat and lack of air conditioning in the cabin made my appetite a little lacking, so I probably didn't overeat as I may have otherwise.
Meditation: Lots of private prayers, some meditation and breathing to help with sleeping in a strange place.
Hydration: I was stupid about this. Rural VT makes up for its massive quantities of baked goods with a dearth of public restrooms, and while I am quite capable of using the wilderness for the intended purpose of a restroom, I do prefer flush toilets when I can get them. For that reason, I often stinted on hydration while out walking, even though it was much hotter and more humid than I was used to. As a result, I had two evenings early in the trip when I suffered the obvious effects of sun-sickness/dehydration. Thereafter, I took water with me wherever we went, even if it did mean having to find a place for the inevitable consequence of all that hydration. ;-)
Sleep: Yeah, uh, no? I mean, of course I slept! But the first couple of nights in a new place are always a challenge for me, and then after that, I often wanted to sit up reading and/or it was rather uncomfortably warm in the room, which made falling and staying asleep a challenge. For as much fun as we had--and we did!--I was ever so glad to get back to my air-conditioned bedroom, wherein lives my comfy mattress (and my upstairs cat, Pixie, who likes to visit me on the bed as part of our night-time ritual).
Plan for the week ahead: I'm already back to my usual fasting window (10a-8p) and am restricting my intake of the remaining baked goods. I'm exercising daily, as usual, specifically trying to get in at least an hour's walk and/or an equivalent amount of time in the garden. (Today, I spent 2+ hours gardening and then also went for a 38-minute fast walk.) I'm on my summer sleep schedule, which means I go to bed between one and two AM and get up around eight or nine AM, but it's regular sleep, so it's good. I am waiting for a water-bottle sling to be delivered, so I can more comfortably carry said bottle while walking/hiking in the heat (it also has pockets for my driver's license, a camera, etc.), so I'll be better about hydrating while exercising in the heat. I have already done some boxing-of-the-breath and meditating while walking this week. And I intend to resume incline and interval work to keep up the cardio. I'm looking forward to establishing my summer routine this week and keeping up with it throughout the rest of the break.
I brought back some magical vacation dust to sprinkle all over this entry, so you can take some of the relaxation and rejuvenation with you into your week!
I hope you'll be patient with the lateness of this post. I was home from vacation by yesterday, but we were busy, and I was also in full-on avoidance-of-real-life mode, trying to ease back into my usual routine. I'll try to be more punctual from here on out.
How was your week-and-a-day? I hope it has been a good week for you, that you've met or exceeded your fitness goals, and that you are feeling strong and well. Please share with us how you've been and what your plans are going forward. As always, we're here to listen and not to judge.
Weight: I'm pleased to report that I gained only 5 pounds on this trip, and I'm already down .8 since yesterday's weigh-in. Most of that is directly attributable to all the baked goods I consumed. See below for more detail. ;-)
Exercise: We exercised every day, mostly via walking and/or hiking. It was very hot--we were under a "heat dome"--so that made exertion a challenge, but we went out every day for a walk or more than one, and I'm proud of us. We also climbed some steep hills, scrambled over rocky ground, and didn't balk at trails that took some effort. (We avoided the very strenuous uphill trails, however.) I absolutely believe the incline work I did before the trip allowed me to do better on the long uphill climbs and to have more stamina in general.
Eating plan: Rural Vermont loves its fresh-baked goods. I can make this assertion based on experience. Many places we stopped boasted locally made fresh baked goods. Only 2.5 miles from the cabin was a family-owned farm market, and they made different scones, pies, and cookies each day. Give me strength! Anyway, there were a LOT of baked goods and some snacking outside my eating window. On the plus side, the extreme heat and lack of air conditioning in the cabin made my appetite a little lacking, so I probably didn't overeat as I may have otherwise.
Meditation: Lots of private prayers, some meditation and breathing to help with sleeping in a strange place.
Hydration: I was stupid about this. Rural VT makes up for its massive quantities of baked goods with a dearth of public restrooms, and while I am quite capable of using the wilderness for the intended purpose of a restroom, I do prefer flush toilets when I can get them. For that reason, I often stinted on hydration while out walking, even though it was much hotter and more humid than I was used to. As a result, I had two evenings early in the trip when I suffered the obvious effects of sun-sickness/dehydration. Thereafter, I took water with me wherever we went, even if it did mean having to find a place for the inevitable consequence of all that hydration. ;-)
Sleep: Yeah, uh, no? I mean, of course I slept! But the first couple of nights in a new place are always a challenge for me, and then after that, I often wanted to sit up reading and/or it was rather uncomfortably warm in the room, which made falling and staying asleep a challenge. For as much fun as we had--and we did!--I was ever so glad to get back to my air-conditioned bedroom, wherein lives my comfy mattress (and my upstairs cat, Pixie, who likes to visit me on the bed as part of our night-time ritual).
Plan for the week ahead: I'm already back to my usual fasting window (10a-8p) and am restricting my intake of the remaining baked goods. I'm exercising daily, as usual, specifically trying to get in at least an hour's walk and/or an equivalent amount of time in the garden. (Today, I spent 2+ hours gardening and then also went for a 38-minute fast walk.) I'm on my summer sleep schedule, which means I go to bed between one and two AM and get up around eight or nine AM, but it's regular sleep, so it's good. I am waiting for a water-bottle sling to be delivered, so I can more comfortably carry said bottle while walking/hiking in the heat (it also has pockets for my driver's license, a camera, etc.), so I'll be better about hydrating while exercising in the heat. I have already done some boxing-of-the-breath and meditating while walking this week. And I intend to resume incline and interval work to keep up the cardio. I'm looking forward to establishing my summer routine this week and keeping up with it throughout the rest of the break.
I brought back some magical vacation dust to sprinkle all over this entry, so you can take some of the relaxation and rejuvenation with you into your week!
(no subject)
Date: Wednesday, 26 June 2024 12:32 pm (UTC)The baked goods sound like heaven! And the trails sound pleasant too.
I use this reusable urinator and it works. Better than the disposable or funnel shaped varieties. The one I've linked is Indian but you might find something similar.
(no subject)
Date: Wednesday, 26 June 2024 08:18 pm (UTC)