should have saved those late night posts

My day involved exercise. But not the walking kind. I kind-of forgot to walk.

The day started with taking my niece to Girl Scouts and lugging cookies to the car, out of the car, sorting them, and putting them back in the car. And taking them out again at her house. And we all know that GS cookies have no calories.

When I fished cookies it was time to use brute strength to take apart the Christmas greens. Lug the can to the porch. Cut, pull and unwrap all kinds of wire. Sort wire/cord and greens and put greens in recycle can. The compost center isn't open, so the can waits in the garage till march, I think.

I spent the bulk of the remaining day grading. At 3:15, it was back to pick up the child. Then make and clean up dinner before grading some more.

It was then I realized I forgot to walk. So instead, I ran up and down the stairs 10 times.

Six thousand steps is pretty lame for a Saturday. But at least I don't feel like I sat on my butt all day.

exploring courtesy of the wpa

This morning we did an early walk in downtown Allentown. The last time we did it there was a huge hole in Hamilton street. Now there is a brand spanking new arena, square and almost a city block. But someone still tried to hit us up for money. I've never seen homeless people in suits before.

Today is was Megan, Lydia, Bonnie and I. The wee one stayed home with daddy. I could get used to this.

We parked near the Parkettes gym and headed towards south Fourth street passing a statue of MLK and his wife. How long has that been there? I go past there frequently and never noticed the zig- zagged sidewalk, stairs or statue.

We headed up Fourth past Trout Hall and the prison then went out Linden to Fifth. We stopped at the Art Park to look at Rise Up Allentown, and went thru the park to Sixth. Up Sixth past what's left of the Americus Hotel, and out Hamilton to the square. There is a Tom Horton's there that kind-of, sort-of looked open and a bagel shop that wasn't. It's Sunday morning and the bagel shop is closed? I guess they depend on the courthouse / office traffic to make their money. Neither are open Sunday's.

We went out Hamilton to Twelfth, and crossed at the Public Library and headed down the hill to Union. We went down the hill to where I had my accident. And there is a tunnel in the WPA wall. I noticed it when I was waiting for the cops that day.

 You can see the tunnel and some of the stairs in this Google Pedometer image.

This is not the stairs from MLK Blvd. The one's that are in need of  repair. These are above those, on Union. In the retaining wall (c. 1937) there is a tunnel. In the tunnel there are stairs. After one flight they Y. The right side is barricaded with railroad ties. They look like they might lead to yards.

The ones on the left go up and up and up.  Damn, I wish I had my camera. They end in an alley going up to Spring Garden Street, near Eleventh. Nobody wanted to explore but me. So I went alone. They waited for me which was nice. I guess I should have given them the car keys.

Boonie must have been getting worried when I didn't come out so she started yelling for me. I yelled back. I'm sure the people in the row houses appreciated it at 9 am on a Sunday.  I was almost at the top and had to find out where they lead to so I was not turning around. What the WPA givith, Gayle explores.

When I came down we headed back on the Fountain Park trail to the Parkettes lot.

Then came home and took the dog out. He was so good we took him almost a mile. He's sleeping. Wore him out.

a walk on the D&L

Thursday Bonnie, Megan, the Wee One, and I walked again to the south side farmers market. We took the scenic route through Fountain Hill to get there.  Again I bought heavy food. Will I ever learn. This time it was a giant head of cauliflower. I almost wished I would have had a knife with me. I could have cored it and left all the leaves there. It probably would have weighed half as much.

I had mail to take to the post office. I put it in my grocery sack to carry it for the first part of the walk. At the farm stand, I took it out, but needed to set it down to get money out. I was nearly to Broughal when I realized I left my mail (and Bonnie's mail) at the farm stand. I ran walked back and it was still there.

Next stop, the post office. I needed to mail the letters, and buy 100 stamps. They have no machine at that branch. There were two people in line and the person in front of me looked aggravated. I can see why. The person in front of him had 50 letters and each one needed to be weighed individually. Because it was lunch time there was only one clerk on. Bonnie and Megan though I got lost.

We finally reconnected and walked home. We were about 2 blocks away when the Wee One decided he no longer wanted to be in his stroller.

Friday I walked with Betsy early in the morning. then Pat and I headed up to the Monroe campus to see the faculty art show.

Yesterday, we all did the D&L tow path from Bethlehem to Freemansburg.  It was advertised as 6 miles. It was a little longer. An no, I didn't get the uniform memo.

We started at the ice house and headed east thru Sand Island to the D&L. The weeds on the side of the trail are giant. You can see that in the group picture. The narrow portion of the trail is very narrow. We arrived at the first Freemansburg bridge in about an hour. We only had one stop with the baby. He was not a happy hiker and cried a lot. By Freemansburg he was asleep.

Megs, Bonnie and I wanted to climb the stairs to the bridge. Lydia didn't. So she took the baby and walked ahead. We'd catch up.

Back when mama was alive if we gave her a grocery cart, she forgot all about her arthristis and flew thru the store like she had wings. Apparently Lydia is the same with a stroller. I had to run to pass her to take the picture. She stopped so Bonnie and Megs were able to catch up.

Megan took over the stroller until we reached the Minsi Trail bridge and the same thing happened. We climbed, she took the baby and flew away.

By the time Lydia gave him back at Sand Island he was awake and unhappy.  Megan took the stroller and kept moving. But he was over the stroller.

When we returned to the road I took him out and I gave him my piggies hat. And we walked back to meet Lydia. She had climbed down some stairs to get a picture of the Steel.  We took selfies. He didn't understand. But he was quiet. In the distance I could see Megs and Bonnie coming down the Fahy bridge stairs. I gave them back the baby and I climbed them. All in all it was about 7 miles.

Bathrooms, according to Lyd were an I-3.5.

When we arrived home, we took Adonis out for another 1/2 mile.

Later in the afternoon, I went out for another mile or so. My total for the day was 20K steps, and 25 stairs.

walking vacation, day 6

Not much walking done on day 6. It was the long drive to Shephardstown, West Virginia. I think Kentucky is nearly as long as Pennsylvania. We tried stopping at the Kentucky Folk Art Museum, but their A/C was broken and they were closed. This train platform is on their property.

We walked a bit a rest stops. At the Maryland Welcome Center we parked at the top of the hill and walked the 60 stairs down to the bottom parking lot. Then walked back up. (Nice butt shot Bonnie!) It was wonderful. I should have done it twice.

one thousand three steps

Yesterday we planned to do the Wegman's walk. Lydia overslept and didn't come, Bonnie was a little late, and the walk evolved into the Lehigh stair climb.

We are nothing, if not flexible.

I left my camera at school, so the photos are from my phone. Actually, they are not half-bad.  We headed up the hill to Sioux and out Sioux to Wyandotte. Since this walk is traditionally short, we walked down the Wyandotte street hill to Broadway.

The sidewalks on Wyandotte are a mess. Almost as bad as Fiot.

We headed out Broadway to Fourth, and then to New.  We headed up New to Campus Square. And started our stair climb. Problem is we didn't start counting until we almost arrived at Packer Avenue. Oops. bonnie guess-timated 35. I think it was closer to 75. But oh, well. I was not walking down and redoing them! We took the selfie in front of the Love sculpture.

 Then we started climbing stairs. I have no idea where we were on campus. The picture below is Bonnie going up a long flight next to Grace Hall. We came back down on the other side of the Neuman House and went back up next to Zoellner.

Ultimately we ended up at the top of the hill where the frats and sororities are. Then we had to come back down, trying not to go down stairs.

On our way up we were at about 700+. I said we need to get to 800. But then we were at about 850. So of course we had to get to 900. Which turned into about 925, then we had to get to 1000. It's a horrible mind game.

We were at about 975 so we went down the hill and came back up to 8th Street via  the stairs betweent eh parking deck and Chi Psi. We were three short. So we went down a flight and back up.

Total stairs: 1003.
Total Distance: 4.1 miles.

Then we headed home.

Afterwards I went to New Balance and bought new sneakers. Made in the USA of course.

Tomorrow, I'm off to the St. Patrick's Day 5K in Allentown.

reflections .... realizations

I've been blogging since about 2007. My brother had started to blog about boomerangs and the blog was free from RCN. I think it was called the RCN Journal. I signed up (Tall and Fat Tales) and had nothing to write about. It laid dormant until that summer when my international student, her friend, Bonnie, my brother and his wife went tubing on the Delaware. The story was unbelievable. I finally had something to blog about. My first post was "Tubing on Willy Wonka's Chocolate River".  It included stories on graffiti on my garage, and the "do not use or you will die" sign on my 50-year old furnace, and some walking adventures. Normal, mundane stuff. Nothing on a regular basis.

Then high blood pressure happened in October of 2008. One of the family curses. I needed to get serious about exercise and diet. I was 256 pounds. My blood pressure was over 200.


I found quickly that I could not just walk for the sake of walking. I bored easily. Everyone who reads this blog knows that. I needed a goal. I saw one of the sappy commercial for the Koman  Breast Cancer 3-Day in winter of 2009, did a little research, and signed up for the 3-Day. My friend Karen was dying of the disease. It was perfect. Plus she lived in Philly. She'd meet me at the finish and I'd collapse at her place. Sadly she died before that could happen.

Regardless, I was motivated and began training. Part of the online fundraising platform was a blog, and it was a way to keep me accountable. If I missed a day of training, and then blogging, my sister was sure to call. "Didn't you walk yesterday?" she'd ask. After it was over, I printed it all out and stuck it in my photo album because once the 3-Day was over, it would be gone.

At the same time the mundane stuff remained on Tall and Fat Tales.

I liked blogging and finally had something to talk about. Training for the 3-day I lost about 10 pounds and 3 dress sizes. In one summer. Clearly I was all fat. (I wonder what the number is. My BMI is still 44!) I gave up drinking massive amounts of soda and started to eat better.

After the 3-day I moved my walking adventures to Tall and Fat Tales. Then the notice came from RCN. No more blogs. It didn't occur to me to make a copy. All that is gone. Now I have books printed.

When I did the Walk Your Butt Off test program in fall 2011-winter 2012 I weighed in at about 236 pounds. I didn't even notice I had lost another 10 pounds. How is that possible?

Still I was discouraged. I was still FAT. I am still fat. Nothing I did — at least in my head—seemed to take the weight off. I was still wearing the same sizes I wore after that first 3-Day.  I was walking my ass off and doing half marathons, climbing stairs, changing my diet over and over, going to nutritionists and to no avail. That's what motivated me to sign up for the Sugar Crushers test panel.

When I started the Sugar Crushers test panel I weighed in again. This time I was about 226. I don't remember. Numbers aren't my thing. But it looks like I had kept off the WYBO weight loss. This time I lost 8 pounds in a month. But dang it was hard. The restrictions nearly drove me screaming down the street. I can't function like that.

That being said, over the weekend the light bulb went off. In four years I have lost 40 pounds and kept it off. (Sorry, no pixs of me in 2007-08. Clearly avoiding camera. Or maybe deleted them.) I'm not really sure if I can see it. (Though I do remember thinking I looked hot in the black and white. Clearly that was a mirage.) I am going to own and embrace that fact. Forty pounds is not insignificant. Perhaps I am not failing at this after all. I'm just doing it really, really, slowly. I only have 18 more pounds to go before I hit my goal of "onederland". Anything after that, pardon the pun, is gravy.

I will do this. Hopefully it won't take two more years.

a beautiful weekend

I had the weather on my computer set for Nome, Alaska. It is -22 today as we "await" Bonnie's arrival.  Back at home it's 58. Home is better.

This weekend we concentrated on training for our upcoming 10K, 5K and the stair climb. We also wanted to get Bonnie closer to Nome. She's only 75 miles away after this weekend!

Today we left my house, headed out Cherokee to Brighton, over the Hill-to-Hill Bridge and I gave her these choices: Fahy or Mini Trail Bridges. She Took the Fahy. So we went up Second Ave. to Prospect, past West Side Moravian, up Third to Union Blvd, and back Conestoga.  Up spring, thru the "pee-pee" tunnel and the blacksmith's grounds. Then up the stairs thru Zinzendorf Plaza.  As we headed up Main, Bonnie noticed the Season's was open and we went in and tasted oils, vinegars and salts. Bonnie bought two and I carried them home. Weight training.  We then headed up Broad, down High and Church and finally over the bridge. When we started we were three or four blocks away!

Back on the south side we went down the ramp, out Adams and caught the Greenway. Went out Graham Place and picked up Broadway, headed way up Ontario, down Sioux and home. Total mileage 5.5+ and 120 minutes.

After passing so many markers today, we decided to do all of the history trails this summer. I hope I can get the audio files unzipped. Then I'll need to find an iPod to put them on.

Next weekend is the St. Patty's Day 5K, so I hopped into the car and went to the dollar store. I wanted the Dr. Suess type hats, but Pat told me I'd carry it. Ended up buying dilly boppers. Bonnie's say "Kiss Me I'm Irish." Also stopped at Piggie Park for my Diamond Diva gear. More pink!

Speaking of Divas, I need to get tank tops and start putting the edging on for the stair climb. I have to do five. I'm going to use fun fur yarn and crochet strings. Maybe two or three rows long. I need to also go to Party City and get tiaras to wear. Our team is Dicks Darling Diva's. We're named for Lydia's dad. I also need to dig out pictures of Dick, Henry and Dad to send in for the tribute walk.

Back to walking. Yesterday we did a disappointing 3.75 miles in 90 minutes. But it was almost all hills. Since I don't have time to do 30 miles practice walks, I add lots of hills. Think it might be good for my endurance. I have no science to back it up, but that 100K is in 6 weeks. Gotta try something.

It was a great weekend for walking and Bonnie's totals zoomed up this weekend 210 minutes!

training for the stairclimb

My friend Baron posted this pix on her facebook page yesterday. I have no idea where she got it from, but I think it's funny.

Not doing as many steps as I should. I need to kick it into high gear. The stair climb is in 23 days. I also have a doctors appointment about then.  I'd like her to be happy when I get on the scale. And like the air-head I am, I made a tax appointment for the same day as the stair climb. Must change that today!

Kathy is close to "nome" and will be joining me at the finish line soon. Lydia and David both have about 200 miles to go. Dave was at 815 yesterday, which according to the checkpoints puts him past Koyuk. Maybe they will meet each other and finish together?

No walking for me on today or Saturday. Today I'll be climbing stairs for an hour or so. Saturday I have an all-day Girl Scout Event. I'll be itching to go out Sunday!

I also need to get back on the stick about eating. Now that there isn't a weigh-in hanging over my head I'm slipping back into my old habits. Snacking at night, soda, candy. Birch beer and salty pretzels at Bingo. It. Must. Stop. Now.

Considering Weight Watchers again. The whole accountability thing.

new personal bests!

Saturday was a let's get physical kind of day. A stair climb and a 5K.

The 5K was in the morning at Coplay park, near the limestone kilns. It was an 8K run, 5K walk, 1//2 mile run for wee ones. I picked up Bonnie and Megan in Allentown and Kathy joined us at the park. She lives in Jim Thorpe. The walk was for pediatric cancer and had 1200 participants. The park was packed with people and the neighborhood with cars.

The start time was posted as 9:00. Kathy had picked up our packets on Friday so we got to avoid the registration line. There looked like there would be enough time to get to the car and back.

I totally dislike carrying the "goodie" bags. Actually I wish they were discontinued totally. Usually all they have in them are ads from the sponsors or maybe literature on the cause.Actually I really don't need another t-shirt either. My sister wears all mine. Kind of ironic. The person that sits in a yellow chair all day wears race shirts. Mostly because she's too cheap to buy clothes. It would also involve standing up.

I'm walking back from the car, the second time. And I can hear the loudspeaker, but didn't understand what they were saying. It wasn't good. The run would start at 9, the kid run at 9:15 and the walk at 9:30. Say what? It was cold standing around.

During the last mile I called Lyd and told her to meet us at the parking spot....The Log Cabin on 2nd Street.

Our finish times:
Megan cleaned our clocks and came in at 45 minutes.
Bonnie finished ahead of me at 47.06.
I came in at 47.08 a personal best
Kathy (Lyd's Barri Buddy) came in at 49.41. Also a personal best.

When we arrived back at the car Lyd was waiting and we headed to Wilkes Barre.

We were going to tailgate at the arena, but it was cold. We ate in the car.

The have one section of stairs for a tribute walk. It features pixs of climbers loved ones. I had emailed Dicks photo the night before with a message that said I knew it was past the deadline but I'd give it a shot.

After we took this group pix the organizer, Donna Reifler, came over and talked to Lydia. We had our photo taken by there photographer.  I hadn't told her about emailing the photo. Donna told her that is was in the tribute walk. Then we said silly GS songs to uplift the mood.

The firefighters go first, then the "elite" competitive group, and then the regular people.

Lyd hadn't trained because her dad was so sick, so she did half plus the finish flight in 18:38. Just wait till next year! Megan, cleaned our clocks again at 14:19. Bonnie was 18:01. And I brought up the rear at 18:46.

While we were waiting to pick up our shirts, A reporter from the Wilkes Barre Times Leader interviewed her. You can find the link here. In the bottom pix, to the right of the firefighter, you can see her day. He's in the second row.

When I got home my roomie dared me to do the steps in the house. So I did fifty step ups too!

and we're off ...

Bonnie got hung up on the phone. That's why she was so late. She's a nurse and it's on-call week.

We went downtown and walked the three mile loop, with a stop for cheese for lunch, at the Wawa in an hour. Pretty dang good. We should do well next weekend at the 5K.

Bonnie kept asking how far we went. So from the City Center to the Wawa is 1.25 miles. Back to Main street makes it 2.5 miles and then back to the City Center makes it 2.9 miles. I call that 3!

Later in the afternoon I did 15 minutes on the stairs.

I forgot to mention in the last post that Megan will be in town and also doing the 5K and the stair climb. The 30-year-old is gonna wipe our clocks!

waiting

I'm waiting for Bonnie to come. She was supposed to be here at 11 to go walking. It's now 11:45 and no sign of her.  Sharon got tired of waiting and left.

We have a big day next Friday. We kick off the 5K season with a walk for pancreatic cancer and then in the afternoon is the arena climb. I have to get in solid workouts every day this week.

Yesterday it felt like someone was sitting on my face. I took a walk. He was still there. So I finally broke down and took some sinus medicine. It helped a lot. But I still have the headache. I think it's stress.  There's been another funeral. Piles of grading. Looming lab work and doctors appointments. Those damn drug commercials that tell me if I don't take their medicine that I will have a stroke any second. And it's March. It seems like in my family people tend to die in March. I think the headache will go away April 1. I hope so.

Bonnie just walked in. It's time to get off my lazy butt and start moving. Maybe I'll feel better. Maybe I'll kick some demons to the curb.

i finished before bonnie!

Just barely, but I beat "Jillian" at the CF Climb for Life in Philly—53 floors, 1019 steps.

We arrived in Philly at 8, and found a place to park on the street. Philly meters are no longer individual, so we had to locate the meter box, pay, get a ticket, and then place it on Aretha's windshield. But the graffiti artists had covered up the instructions with their "art". Bonnie finally figured out how to make it work.

Upon arriving at the Mellon Bank building, we waited in a long sign-in line, and waited some more in the lobby. It was schedules to start at 9, and by the time they were done BS-ing, we started at 9:20.

We decided ahead of time to do what I did last year and stop every five floors for a little break. At the 25th floor, Bonnie started checking her pulse. I didn't check my pulse. If I passed out and fell over it meant that I was working too hard! I drank a lot of water.

I handed the volunteer my camera and she snapped our picture on the last flight of stairs. (See, I'm in front!) Then again at the 53rd floor sign.

Gosh do I look fat in the 53rd floor picture. I need to blow that pix up and hang it on the fridge and cupboards!

it's a lovely day for a walk

Got out much later than usual because I had a shift shuttling homeless people from a church to downtown. That is a subject for another blog. By the time I got home and ate breakfast it was about 9 before I hit the streets.

Sharon and I did about 2 miles and it was fairly level and I made her go fast....for her. If I can build up her speed on the flats, maybe she'll get better on the hills. We'll see.

I haven't exercised much this week. March 1 is the start of my spring training. I have a 5K on the 19th and a stair climb.  Another 5K April 9, and then the big 5K season starts. I'd also like to do my first 10K Volkksport walk.

Tomorrow is the 53 story/101stair climb in Philly. Bonnie and I are going to do it. My goal last year was 25 flight, and I did them all. This year, the camera will be in my pocket. I want evidence! I will not wear those pink pants. Or if I do, my shirt will be long enough to cover my fat gut. Last year's pix was awful. When I pick up Bonnie I need to weigh myself. I was 230 at her house on Christmas Day. I bet I've gained.  I'll let you know tomorrow. Thinking about buying a scale. Scary.

I have a doctors appointment the March 22 which I just realized is a Tuesday. I'm going to have to change it. I have a class at 1 pm. This is what happens when your schedule is set for 3 months at a time, and you schedule six months ahead of time.

She wants a basic metabolic panel done (BMP). Lab Tests Online defines it as "a frequently ordered panel of tests that gives your doctor important information about the current status of your kidneys, blood sugar, and electrolyte and acid/base balance." Huh?

"The BMP includes: Glucose and Calcium, both increased and decreased levels can be significant. Electrolytes: Sodium, Potassium, CO2 (carbon dioxide, bicarbonate) and Chloride. The concentrations of sodium and potassium are tightly regulated by the body as is the balance between the four molecules. Electrolyte (and acid-base) imbalances can be present with a wide variety of acute and chronic illnesses. Chloride and CO2 tests are rarely ordered by themselves. And Kidney Tests BUN (blood urea nitrogen) and Creatinine. BUN and creatinine are waste products filtered out of the blood by the kidneys. Increased concentrations in the blood may indicate a temporary or chronic decrease in kidney function. When not ordered as part of the BMP, they are still usually ordered together. "

Now, I'm never comfortable with blood work and this all makes me even more uncomfortable. So starting March 1 I have to watch carefully what I eat. Kick those GS cookies to the curb. No sugar, salt, low fat, low carb, low everything. I think that means spinach, bananas, plain baked potatoes and broccoli. Okay, maybe not that strict. I don't want her to yell at me so I need to find a way to trick those numbers!

She has also given me a prescription for an EKG. The thought of it terrifies me. Not to mention it probably costs $500 which terrifies me more. So I looked online and it seems to be about $200. I don't like doctors, I certainly don't like tests, and my heart rate is going to look like one of my doodles. A bunch of colored lines with high skinny peaks.

what a difference a week makes!

It's bright, sunny, and a little cold. Most of the snow has melted and we saw crocuses budding. What a difference a week makes!

Bonnie and I walked up to the hospital and did all the stairs in the parking deck and the lot. My estimate is 20 flights. Then we went in the hospital and walked up to the 9th floor, back down to 4 and went and visited my sisters husband who is a patient. Lydia was there, we tried to convince her to come along, but she said NO. So we headed back out and I went to go down the stairs and "Jillian" though it would be a good idea to go back up to nine again! We did. It was really tough because we rested.

All in all we probably did about 40 flights. Good thing because the stair climb is next week.

Friday, I did 15 minutes of step-ups and then walked about three quick miles with Betsy.

Saturday I ate. And Ate. And ate some more.

I had teacher training and they said breakfast and lunch would be served. I though b'fast would be muffins and bagels and donuts. Nope. Bacon, eggs, sausage, potatoes, creamy something, french toast! I had some eggs, bacon, fruit and orange juice. Lunch was another big meal, not party trays. I had some veggie lasagna, salad and a bread stick. And a coke. (oops.) Now, on a normal day I would eat a really light supper. But yesterday I was celebrating the Chinese New Year  with my "daughters" at Asia. Another big meal to finish out the day.

Tomorrow is another day.

stair climbs

I've signed up for two stair climbs. Originally Bonnie was going to climb with me, but with the knee injury and the hernia operation, I'm guessing that won't happen. So I'm on my own. I'm sure Bonnie will come along to eat lunch, cheer, and take blackmail photos!

The first one is February 28 in Philly at the Mellon Bank Building.  53 stories, 1,019 steps. Angel and Bug went with me last year. then we went to the Franklin Institute.

The second one is at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes Barre on March 19 in the afternoon. It's 1,224 steps up and down thru the concourse. Last year the security guard wouldn't let me bring my reusable water bottle in. If you remember, Pat sat in the car and waited for me.

Also this day, in the morning, is the Pediatric Cancer 5k on the Ironton Rail Trail. It will be a physical day and I'll need to be prepared!

Training. Hopefully the steps at Acopian. But they aren't very convenient anymore. And the other will be St. Luke's, both the 9-story part and the parking deck. Also, Lehigh if the snow melts. I'm sure they don't shovel all those stairs.

Plus my daily step-ups in my stairway.

(BTW the sun finally came out at 10:15 am. I guess it finally had breakfast.)

jimmy dean

Do you know the commercials for Jimmy Dean breakfast foods. The main character is the sun, and all the elements play his straight guy. Initially it was just him getting to work. Some are funny. Some are odd. The current one features a rainbow and the leprechaun.

Why is this relevant? Because Sharon and I planned to walk at 7 this morning, and I waited and waited for the sun to come out. We left about 8. I decided it was because the sun didn't eat it's Jimmy Dean.

Yes I am a product of advertising. Maybe that's why I'm a graphic designer.

So we walked. All the slush from yesterday was frozen, but for the most part we stayed in the street. The sidewalks at times are really bad. The city could make up it's deficits if it cited people for not shoveling! Sharon bagged out about half way because she needed a bathroom. Mama would have said you should go before you leave the house.

Then after breakfast I did 50 step-ups on the stairs. I think I did more the other night. But there's no way to time in the hall way, so maybe tonight I'll do 100 and keep increasing it 20 each day.  It will certainly help prepare me for the stair climb.

Friday I went walking with Betsy in her neighborhood. We went mid-day and it warmer and the slush was softer. Again we stayed in the street. Only one time did I slip on a piece of ice.

Then last night I did the first mile with Sharon of her walking video. She bagged out at about 3/4 mile. I sense the video won't get much use. We did it at my house. Pat thought it might be an option for her. She sat on the chair and watched it. At about 1/4 mile she declared it wasn't for her. She didn't even try it.

Tomorrow I guess I'll be taking Sharon to the gym. If not, I'll probably go out by myself.

(As I finished typing this, she asked to go to the gym!)

i stayed the same

Well, maybe I lost a half pound over the holidays. Not bad if I must say so myself.

I started the day with a scenic walk to the southside post office and home. I finished my day at the nutritionist. Thank goodness that's over.

Remember I mentioned she said I should see a psychologists for my stress and food addiction? Last night she suggested overeaters anonymous, mainly because it's free. I told her I'd consider it but didn't hold out much hope. I had checked them out years ago and decided against it. As with all 12-step programs it has a "higher power" component. When I rechecked into it last night almost all steps involve the "higher power". Anybody who knows me, even a little knows this won't work. I also took their little quiz. You needed to say yes to three of the items. I said yes to one.

Another strike against them was my history with Anonymous meetings. I tried AlAnon a couple of times in my late twenties, and also took Sharon to many AA meetings after rehab. I found them to be pointless. People standing around whining about their problems instead of solving them. I also thought they traded one addition for another. At the AA meetings then drank coffee like it was water and chain smoked. You couldn't breath in the rooms. I guess the smoke -filled rooms elements have changed since smoking is now taboo. To this day Sharon drinks coffee like it's water.

I've had about two-weeks off from work for the holiday. My blood pressure went down about twenty points. Is their a correlation? My one job starts today. Another starts Monday. The third in about ten days. I guess well see if it slowly goes back up.

In the meantime I've signed up for the stair climb in Philly. All 53 floors. I'm going over to Acopian today at lunch time to start training. Hopefully I can still make it to the sixth floor without stopping.

stair climbs

Stair climb season is upon us. I'll be doing the tower in Philly again, and then the stadium climb in Wilkes-Barre in March. Bonnie said she might come.

Last year I trained on campus at Acopian running up and down the six flights of stairs each day I was on campus. This year we;ve moved our office off-campus. Acopian is no longer next door. What to do?

I could hike over to Acopian and get the short walk and the stairs. Or maybe just walk up to the hospital and do the nine flights. But I wonder if it's necessary.

Our current building is an old mansion. I work on the third floor. I am up and down those stairs a minimum of three times a day. Usually closer to six or eight. Do I need to do Acopian, or the hospital? I'm not sure. But it certainly wouldn't hurt.

nyc here we come!

Tomorrow is the big day. Our Avon Breast Cancer Walk adventure begins. We'll be leaving Bonnie's office at 12:30. (She has to work in the morning.)

I've taken a few short walks this week, and went to Tai Chi, but other than that, I've been getting ready for the big walk weekend. I'll walk with Sharon in the morning, then get packed.

She's driving. Her first time driving in NYC. Maybe I'll end up driving her car. We'll see.

We're staying in the host hotel in Times Square. Big money, but we're splitting it in three, so it will be better. The Expo will be in the hotel. Saturday and Sunday we walk. Then we cross the finish line and come home.


Then it's over. But I'll still be walking and climbing stairs. The Wilkes Barre stair climb is March 19!

Before I have about $250 to put in my fund-raising account, and then I'll self donate the other $250. Not bad considering I didn't have a fundraiser. Just too much crap this year. I'd walk accross the country if I didn't have to raise money. I love to walk.

I'll try to blog from the event. I have my iPad. All I need is wifi.  If nothing else, I can do the write ups in notepad and copy/paste them when I get home.

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Good luck to all my friends walking tomorrow in the Philly 3-Day. There really will be a pink army out there this weekend.

a different sort of stair climb

My niece posted on FB about a stair climb at Lehigh tomorrow. She just had gastric bypass surgery and is looking for interesting ways to exercise. "I got an invite for a stairs climb at Lehigh University. Am thinking Tuesday is a bit early for me plus work BUT I am thinking next year we should DO IT together!!! It could be alot of fun." Okay girl. You're on.


Then she sent me the invite: "The Lehigh M4M Steps event is going to be Tuesday, July 13 with a rain date of Wednesday the 14th. We will be meeting at the southside boys club on 4th St. in Bethlehem at 11am. We will promptly head to the Lehigh University campus (walking) to begin the climbing of the stairs. This will probably last until 1:30pm.We expect about 100 kids from the Bethlehem Boys and Girls club to be attending and joining Chris Eline as he continues his training for the climb of Mt Rainier in just 5 weeks. The steps are about 600 steps round trip. If you have ever been to the Lehigh U campus you are aware of how many and how high these stairs are. It is a beautiful campus, with brutal hills and stairs. See pics from the last time we were there and the three boys that finished the climb along side of Chris."

But all this got me thinking. I knew there were stairs at Lehigh. It's built into the side of a mountain. So you either have stairs or hills. Modern students, I think, prefer stairs.

So this morning I got up and decided to walk to Lehigh and check out the stairs. They are everywhere. How did I not notice them before? I guess since I wasn't looking. Small groups of three, larger groups of six, and huge series of 80 to 175!

So I went down to Morton street and decided to walk up the hill. I went thru Campus Square and up a series of 80 stairs to Packer Avenue. (#1) I crossed Packer and headed up 60 steps to the University Center (#2). Then I headed toward Grace Hall. Two flights of about 80 there (#5, 6). One one side, by the old Newman house, and by Grace Hall itself.

When I reached the top I noticed a really steep set. They were very old and each one of the 50 or so steps was a different height. They were tough. (#4) I headed back toward Webster Street and somehow ended up in a neighbor hood. I doubled back, discovered even more steps at Zollner (#7), and started looking for 8th Street. I was pooped and ready to go home.

Then, next to a frat I see four stairs. But there's more...it twists and turns and there's still more, They wind up the hill side. I start walking and counting. When I reach the road there was a 100 steps and more to come. So I continue up. It finished at 175. At another frat. That's a whole lot of steps to do for a beer and a frat party!

I returned home about an hour and a half later. Sweating and feeling great.

Thanks Lyd.