This year has been flying by and it’s hard to believe we’re sitting just about 2 months away from Christmas and the beginning of a new year! Brady and I have been trying to soak in all the great weather and fall colors while it lasts. A month ago we hiked the Billy Goat Trail, we were at the beach in Delaware a few weekends ago, then we went backpacking, then hiking with my family, and this past weekend we went out to Western Maryland to ride the rail trail and enjoy some fall colors!
The specific trail we rode on has 2 parts: the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) that runs from Pittsburgh, PA to Cumberland, MD and then it continues on to Washington D.C. via the C&O Towpath for a total of 335 miles. We started at the Eastern Continental Divide and rode the last 25 miles of the GAP trail down into Cumberland on Saturday afternoon. The best thing about this section of the trail is that it’s all downhill (1800 ft elevation drop <- I wouldn’t want to be going the other way!) So it’s not like you can just sit there and coast but even with breaks and minimal effort, you can make the trip in 3-4 hours. The only thing that’ll be sore after this trip is your tailbone if you don’t ride often.
It was a 2 hour drive to get out to Western Maryland and the weather Saturday morning was abysmal. Dreary, misty, foggy, damp and overcast yucky weather. As soon as we started driving up the mountain to our start point, we left the clouds hanging on the mountains behind us and we were in instant sunshine! By the time we rode our bikes into Cumberland a few hours later, it was if it had never been overcast at all. The weather for our ride couldn’t have been more perfect. It was 70 degrees with just enough cool in the breeze to keep you from overheating while riding in the sun.
Hello there and happy Thursday to all you lovelies! I’ve had a bunch of random thoughts lately that aren’t worth turning into a blog post each so here are some of my Thursday Thoughts <– linking up with Running with Spoons.
In my quest to be an overall healthier individual, I’ve been getting quite a few groceries from Whole Foods recently. The last few times I’ve been, they’ve had an enormous jackfruit for sale at $1.99/lb which means those things cost at least $20-30. I know that jackfruit turned into fake meat is a big trend in the plant based world at the moment but it doesn’t look that appealing to me. I haven’t tried it yet and I don’t think I have the desire to either. Maybe it’s because I’ve never had pork (or any meat) so I don’t feel the need to replace it with anything.
Where are you, autumn? This weather is crazy. I live in Maryland and it’s been too hot to even consider running outside this week. 85 degrees outside and 92-100% humidity. Not cool Maryland, not cool. I may be writing this while sipping on a cup of hot cinnamon apple tea but that’s just because it’s supposed to be fall and I’m ready for it. This was fall a year ago…
It’s been a beautiful week around here as all the flowering trees are fully in bloom and the landscape is greening up. Last week was Brady’s birthday and we were able to do a lot of outdoor adventuring to celebrate. I had been planning a weekend backpacking trip to Shenandoah National Park for the weekend but we didn’t end up going because the weather forecasts were looking potentially stormy and I was also dealing with a strained muscle in the hip flexor area. Sad. We’re still hoping to go this summer and we may try doing a shorter and close to home backpacking trip this weekend.
Since Brady worked late on his actual birthday, we went out on Wednesday evening to Brookeside Gardens to see the tulips before meeting up with his family at Cheesecake Factory for dinner.
March has come and gone and another birthday month is in the books. It’s kind of crazy how fast this year has been flying by because I feel like I only just wrote my goals for the whole year and we’re already 1/4 through it! It’s time to move on and share my April goals, but first, a quick March health and fitness recap:
Eat vegetable centered meals for lunches and dinners
Start weight training
Strengthening my back and core
Posture awareness
Keep track of my steps and water intake for this month: Iโd really like to try and be getting my 10,000 daily steps in at least 5 days a week. Iโm obviously in favor of 7, but if I can get 5/7 each week this month, Iโm going to be pretty happy.
Run
I’d say that for most of my goals, they were moderately accomplished and I’m improving in each category. Considering that I was sick for most of the month of March, I’m really happy with what got done.
I’ve only started running in the last week because I felt like I really needed to just be walking. Even now, I’m taking up running slowly because of some issues with my knees. You can see a general workout recap below.
The biggest accomplishment for the month was getting in my daily 10,000 steps! I really had to work for this one because if I wasn’t being proactive or dedicated to the goal, I would have come way under on most days. The crazy thing is, I’ve started to notice changes in my body due to the step taking and I wasn’t expecting much of it to happen at all. Over the last month I’ve realized that –
I’m getting more workouts and walks in. I’m not spending days just sitting around and I’m making less excuses
My back still has the same triggers but overall I’m in a better place
I don’t think I’ve really lost much weight, but I feel that my body is toning and looking a little slimmer.
Sure, some of this could be because I’ve also been working out as well, but I will definitely attribute most of my success this month to taking my 10,000 steps. It’s like having this goal as a central goal is keeping everything else in line.
I didn’t start until March 2nd so for the purpose of making better calculations, March is going to be 30 days long ๐
22/30 days with 10,000+ steps
296,129 steps total
Average of 9,871 steps per day
Most steps in a day: 16,187 steps
Part of the step counting motivation has been to prepare for our Disney World trip next month. We’re going to be in the parks for 5 days and if you’ve ever been, you know that there’s usually a ton of walking. The last 2 times I’ve gone, I’ve ended up in a wheelchair for part/most of the trip. I’d really like to be able to handle all the walking and not have too much pain so I’m trying to prep myself to be ready.
Here are my April Goals:
Again I’m going with trying to get in at least 10,000 steps in for every day in April. I didn’t get a full 7-day streak in last month so I’m attempting to get a really long one this month – maybe even 30 days! ๐
Running 3 times a week.
Getting in a proper stretch after each run and workout — I really need to start doing this because I keep forgetting and I’m paying for it. I need to do more yoga.
Strength training. I have horrible muscular endurance and I’d like to do at least 3 20+ minutes sessions a week with some random throughout the day exercises thrown in to help build up strength
Mindful eating. I’ve been realizing more and more how much of my life is focused on food. I love to eat good food and sometimes I just love to eat which leads to overeating. I’d really like to focus on eating slower, enjoying my food, and not stuffing myself.
Do you count steps?
In terms of overall health, is there any one thing you can point to that keeps you on track to accomplish your goals?
I can’t believe it’s Monday again… especially since last week was a week where all the days blended together and it was hard to keep track of which day was which. I spent the whole week subbing in a first grade classroom where all the kids were sick. I had kids cough right in my face while I was working with them and it wasn’t long before I felt myself fighting against the bug. It finally caught up to me on Friday and by the evening I really wasn’t feeling well. Kind of rough because we were spending the weekend up in Lancaster, PA. It started with my throat and I was extremely fatigued and dizzy whenever I was sitting or standing on Saturday. Sunday had some residual throat discomfort and minor nose stuffiness but it’s been a pretty light cold so far in comparison to what I’m usually hit with. I’m really hoping that this is the extent of it all.
If you need some ideas on how to fight symptoms of a cold, here’s an article with some suggestions – many of which I use whenever I’m feeling yuck.
Because last week was a rough week for my health, I struggled to have any energy to put into working out, but I pushed through a couple anyways including really focusing on getting steps in.
Hello there all ye lovelies. I have some distressing news to share but don’t worry, there’s a happy ending to this tale.
The USPS Story
We ordered our Disney tickets just about a month ago and they were shipped a few days later. I was expecting to get them about 2 weeks ago but they spent an extended period of time “In Transit to Destination” with no location listed. It sat like that for over a week. I began to get worried because that’s $800 just sitting in limbo. Well today they finally arrived, no thanks to the USPS because this is how it came:
Do you see the rip towards the top? It was ripped over 2/3 of the way across the top of the package which makes me feel like someone opened my mail; I mean, these bubble envelopes aren’t easy to rip. Maybe it wasn’t tampered with but I can’t be trusting. I linked them straight up to our account to make sure that no one was already trying to use them and thank goodness I didn’t have to go through the hassle of harassing the post office about stolen tickets.
The happy ending here is that we are less than 2 months away from our Disney vacay!
