Regular moderate exercise log

WD40 is an essential part of my household first aid maintenance kit! That, and duct tape. One or the other fixes most problems.

I had kind of vanished into the depths of the herculean effort of trying to maintain education for shielding students who had suddenly found themselves having to stay in their homes in this lockdown where they hadn't had to previously, along with the ones in the classroom, the never-ending changes, sudden loss of staff/groups, rules, the stress levels of wondering if every time someone is off if we're the next lot to go out... frankly, maintaining the walking is keeping me mentally sane as much as physically fit.

@Japes I’m glad you’re keeping well, I completely agree about walking helping to keep you sane.
@zauberflote yes! WD-40 it’s an essential in my toolkit. Tbh the only other item in it is a hammer. If I can’t fix a problem with one or other I’m flummoxed.
@Goonergal great going with the walking challenge, I hope you can fit those last few miles in. What3words is a great app ( red square with 3 diagonal white lines) The whole world, including oceans, has been divided into 1m squares and assigned 3 random words. For instance the spot I marked ( when I realised I might get lost) in the clay quarry had the marker ‘laugh.available.folders’ there are some hilarious combos. The emergency services use it too which is what prompted me to get it as I walk off grid with Dennis quite often. It would be impossible to direct anyone to my location if I fell in the middle of moorland or woodland. Good idea about marking the car in big car parks too @zauberflote . I used to tie a carrier bag around the car Ariel but quite a lot of people seem to do that.
Back on topic- I’ve continued my shortish steepish walks that don’t annoy my foot but still make me puffed out. Also continuing with the outdoor PT sessions once a week and repeating them at home 2 or 3 more times.
Yesterday I did squats holding a 4kg weight. Dumbbell dead lifts with 15kg, kettle bell swings with 8kg and a resistance band upper body thing. I am definitely improving and managed to chat through some of these. He obviously spotted this because next week he’s putting the weights up and I’ll be doing 30sec each exercise ( instead of 20) with a shorter rest time in between. Wish I’d kept my mouth shut!

Goonergal said:

Morning! Good to see you back @Japes - was wondering how you were getting on.
@zauberflote you do make me laugh! WD-40 is a thing here too.

I am closing in on the 215 miles. 47.85 miles to go in the remaining 6 days, so just about 8 miles a day. My biggest challenge is having enough daylight to walk long enough in the mornings before starting work. I’m not into trudging round any old street and the routes I carved out during lockdown 1 assumed an earlier start than is currently possible.

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Hmmmm. Would you walk circles around the block in the dark if you were shy a few miles? The sun will only rise later and later....

@Japes my DIL is in your boat but so far all kids are virtual. That's bad enough-- some of them have very noisy homes, others are in daycare where all the other kids are schooling too, at least one of them sleeps through every day and she's concerned he might have narcolepsy (she hasn't met a one of them in person), others go AWOL, all have tech issues-- no daycare was ever equipped with the kind of bandwidth they need now! So far we are not locked in our houses, although there was a period where you could only drive for work, and you could walk and exercise around your neighborhood. ...... I looked up deadlifts and was once again assured they are not for me. My spine is not a snake-- and never was! So glad you feel the improvement! But yeah, don't talk, just make whooshing exhale sounds lol.

zauberflote said:

Hmmmm. Would you walk circles around the block in the dark if you were shy a few miles? The sun will only rise later and later....

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No! Has to be an interesting walk

@Japes and @DJC3 I’m in the walking for mental health camp too. Just back from. 9.2 mile walk - from home to Greenwich, through the Greenwich foot tunnel, turn left and along the river to Canary Wharf, cross the Wharf, turn right onto the river and back to the foot tunnel from the opposite side, back through and home. It’s kind of around the bit loop in the Thames you see on the map.

Goonergal said:

No! Has to be an interesting walk

@Japes and @DJC3 I’m in the walking for mental health camp too. Just back from. 9.2 mile walk - from home to Greenwich, through the Greenwich foot tunnel, turn left and along the river to Canary Wharf, cross the Wharf, turn right onto the river and back to the foot tunnel from the opposite side, back through and home. It’s kind of around the bit loop in the Thames you see on the map.

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Every time you mention or map the Greenwich tunnel, I am reminded of a date i had many years ago. He lived north of the river and invited me for dinner but the restaurant was in Greenwich and as he walked me towards and into the tunnel I thought the worst and that my time had come and he was a modern day Jack the Ripper!
Turned out he was very boring accountant. Didnt have a second date, needless to say

I don’t think I’ve ever been through the Greenwich foot tunnel. I can imagine you thinking your date was a modern day Jack the Ripper in there @MrsA2 .
How long is it @Goonergal ? It looks really spooky was there anyone else in the tunnel?

Hat trick barre class, third day in a row. There are classes offered every day this holiday weekend but my body won't do this kind of stuff at 9am so will have to walk. I am also in the exercise/mental health corner. Trying to get my son with depression to start walking again....
Jack theRipper @MrsA2 I think I would have thought the same.
Great news @Goonergal an old railroad tunnel in the mountains 100 miles west of there has been de-vandalized and is part of a walking trail that might (can't tell) also be part of the Appalachian Trail. Should MrZF ever decide to have a few days off I'd like to do that tunnel-- a mile long!

@MrsA2 wasn’t sure which emoji to give for your date story! Must have been momentarily very scary.

@DJC3 the foot tunnel isn’t long - 370 metres according to Google. I could hear people at the other end! It’s very unusual for there to be so few people in there. The Woolwich one is longer - 504 metres - and far less used/much spookier.

Neither are a patch on the Netherton canal tunnel which I walked through in the summer - 1.7 miles and pitch black (did have a head torch)!
@zauberflote that rail tunnel sounds right up my street - something on my bucket list now!

This morning will be a very short walk as I had a disrupted night and was up too late for a longer one. So likely also a lunchtime jaunt and hopefully tonight too as I try to get to the 215 miles.

Goonergal said:

@MrsA2 wasn’t sure which emoji to give for your date story! Must have been momentarily very scary.

@DJC3 the foot tunnel isn’t long - 370 metres according to Google. I could hear people at the other end! It’s very unusual for there to be so few people in there. The Woolwich one is longer - 504 metres - and far less used/much spookier.

Neither are a patch on the Netherton canal tunnel which I walked through in the summer - 1.7 miles and pitch black (did have a head torch)!
@zauberflote that rail tunnel sounds right up my street - something on my bucket list now!

This morning will be a very short walk as I had a disrupted night and was up too late for a longer one. So likely also a lunchtime jaunt and hopefully tonight too as I try to get to the 215 miles.

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I remember you doing the Netherton tunnel and being amazed at the time. I don’t think wild horses would have persuaded me in there on my own. Good luck with your lunchtime jaunt - nearly there now!

Didn’t manage much walking today apart from a few shortish jaunts with Dennis. No car at the moment and the trouble with living in Cornwall is that none of the roads between villages have pavements - they are just narrow winding lanes bordered by stone walls and high hedges so it’s quite dangerous walking along them. I usually drive to somewhere and then walk. Daft really.
Made up for the walking with a 20 minute home Hiit workout. Tried increasing to 30 seconds for each exercise this time with a shorter break between rounds. Felt quite puffed out afterwards.
Struggling with BGs atm and in spite of OMAD and the exercise I still haven’t dropped below 6 all day. 6.4 now which usually means it’ll be in the 6s tomorrow morning. V frustrating!

DJC3 said:

Didn’t manage much walking today apart from a few shortish jaunts with Dennis. No car at the moment and the trouble with living in Cornwall is that none of the roads between villages have pavements - they are just narrow winding lanes bordered by stone walls and high hedges so it’s quite dangerous walking along them. I usually drive to somewhere and then walk. Daft really.
Made up for the walking with a 20 minute home Hiit workout. Tried increasing to 30 seconds for each exercise this time with a shorter break between rounds. Felt quite puffed out afterwards.
Struggling with BGs atm and in spite of OMAD and the exercise I still haven’t dropped below 6 all day. 6.4 now which usually means it’ll be in the 6s tomorrow morning. V frustrating!

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I understand your frustration. When we were dog sitting, and walking everyday my fbg dropped. Back at home a week of daily classes and walks raised up again. This
week I've only managed 3 out of a normal 7 sessions but fbg has gone down again. There's no correlation to exercise in my body as far as I can see, or to food, or to fasting. Its all random

MrsA2 said:

I understand your frustration. When we were dog sitting, and walking everyday my fbg dropped. Back at home a week of daily classes and walks raised up again. This
week I've only managed 3 out of a normal 7 sessions but fbg has gone down again. There's no correlation to exercise in my body as far as I can see, or to food, or to fasting. Its all random

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I Think you’re right - definitely unseen forces at work somewhere.

As soon as I found that anise oil, I dropped everything and went for a walk (too late to start baking). 1.5 miles right before sunset, so full daylight to possible first star, I wasn't thinking to look. Went farther than I intended (meant to be back at house when son delivered groceries) just because it felt so good! We have so many choices of routes because this is a huge neighborhood laid out in the 40's and 50's, and it's all interconnected seamlessly. It's cut in half east to west by a narrow two-lane windy, blind-curve blind-hill blind-hill-on-a-blind-curve road, which people take far too fast for the safety of any walkers or bikers. It has become an alternate route for those wanting to avoid the actual east-west minor main drag. So you have to be very alert when crossing it. But cross it we must, to get to the river. Anyway, the weather was still perfect-- I needed only put my safety vest on top of the fuzzy lightweight fleece I had on. Plenty of Christmas decorations going up too!

Hugs @MrsA2 and @DJC3 for the BG issues. Mine is also a bit higher the past few days than in the past couple of weeks, after I’d started to get it back where I want it.
@zauberflote the walk sounds great. I have several choices of route too and will often change my mind as I go. Sometimes several times.

Had a rest day on Thursday with a 1.2 mile round trip to pick up a rotisserie chicken for lunch the only activity remotely close to exercise.

Yesterday there were 2 walks. A very cold, dark (almost entire walk in the dark) eerie one in the early morning. 5 miles - eerie but pretty with the fog/mist and frost. Bracing too!

Also went out after work for a longer - 9.6 mile - walk which included a ride on the Emirates Airline (cable car) from north to south. First time I’ve done that in the dark. Amazing views with everything lit up. One or two ‘dodgy’ sections of the Thames Path on the way home but very enjoyable.

Just 22.59 miles to go in the next 3 days to hit my 215 mile target. Hoping to knock at least half of them off today. Route to be decided

@Goonergal I see one ship come sailing in-- now you have to find me the other two Those are great pics and glad you got home safe and sound!

I love those night time photos @Goonergal Is that the Curry Sark lit up like a Christmas tree? Looks wonderful.

DJC3 said:

I love those night time photos @Goonergal Is that the Curry Sark lit up like a Christmas tree? Looks wonderful.

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Yes, it’s the Cutty Sark. You can see it from quite a distance in the dark with all those lights.

Got 15.3 miles in today. Bit of a slog - legs/feet were tired from yesterday. Just as well the DLR from Canary Wharf was out of action or I may have bailed.

Just 7.29 miles to go in two days now.

Yay! Finished the challenge today, with a day to spare. Exhausted. Yesterday’s walk and today’s were both a lot tougher than usual and various bits of me are complaining loudly. Feet firmly up tomorrow.

Misty and moody in London and a day of numerous cormorants. Forum still objecting to portrait photos!