Walking Challenge 2012: September and three-fourths of the year of walking…

~Sunday~ 
 

August's Challenge Entry | All Challenge Entries | October's Challenge Entry
Well, I've done it yet again. I've squandered away another month walking for at least 30 minutes a day. And even though New Balance winces whenever they hear me say it, I used a pair of their shoes only to walk between one and three miles a day.

Walking

It's the end of September, which means I have three-quarters of the year behind me in this ambitious Walk Challenge 2012 that I ventured on back on the second day of the year. Although it still bothers me that I had to miss some days in May, it's still all pretty remarkable, and it's an achievement I'll look back on with pride.

Here are the walking numbers for September (click to enlarge):

Background photo: Early this month, it was late in the day, I hadn't gotten in my walking yet, the gym was closed, and it was raining outside. So, in order to get that day's commitment in, I decided to walk around Crabtree Valley Mall. This is a shot of some signs that are posted in the mall at the major intersections.

Eating

It seems rather ironic, or perhaps just coincidental, that I'm devising this section while eating. It certainly isn't as ironic as rain on your wedding day.

I'm on a flight between Chicago and Seattle, and I've just purchased my first plane meal ever. My layover was too short to allow time to buy food in the airport, and I'm not going to make another four hours without eating. Even though I know that as soon as I arrive in Seattle, I will be diving into my host and friend, Casey's, banana bread!

For the record, I got a Bloody Mary and the "Fruit and Cheese Plate: Cheddar, Swiss and Muenster, along with gourmet crackers, red and green grape clusters, almonds, walnuts and cranberries.” And for the detailed record, there was one cranberry in it and no walnuts.

Here's the September chart for calorie intake and calories burned.

The calories burned include those from both my daily walks, and for other exercise I do at the gym, 5-7 days a week, including: 3 stretching exercises, 300 ab crunches (with weights added to the bench), and then either an upper body or a lower body workout.

Weighing

Well, I had high hopes of loosing some more weight this month, but that didn't happen. The good news is that I didn't gain any either.

Here are the official September weigh-in numbers (click to enlarge):

Background photo: A scale intimating some sense of balance between my eating and my activity.

Reflecting

Here are some reflections about this month's experience:

• I suppose there's been slow, continued improvement in the healing of my knee, but it's still not anywhere near 100%, although there are very short bouts where I feel like it has completely healed before the pain sets back in.
• I'm considering, still, getting some physical therapy on it.
• My mall-walking experience was interesting. It's not something I'd ever done before, as I avoid malls like the plague of over-priced merchandise that they are, and it certainly would never be my first choice of a way to get my walking in. With that said, I did do something to keep my mind occupied while I was doing it, and I wrote a blog post about it.
• I once again increased the weights of the strengthening workouts, both a lower body routine and an upper body routine, that I do alternately on my trips to the gym.
• I continue to enjoy my quotes, song titles and lyrics, and poems that I post upon "checking in" to the gym on Facebook and reading the comments when I come out.
• I gave a "Pat on the Back" award to two employees who work in my gym, who have my membership number memorized so I don't have to give it when I enter: "You've got my number! Thanks for making my check-ins more efficient and enjoyable. I appreciate you! Signed: 12367."
• It's a lot of work tracking when and what you eat, how much you walk, how many ab crunches you do, and if you did an upper or lower body workout each day. Sometimes I just don't feel like doing it. But I do.

Concluding

Looking forward to the last quarter of the year, it's going to be an eating challenge.

• I'll be on expense account for part of the first week in October, which will undoubtedly complicate my eating challenges, and I'll be out of town, so won't be going to the gym on a daily basis.
• I'll be in New York [Fucking] City for four days in the second week of August, eating out a lot, again not accessing my gym, and turning a year older, to boot.
• Thanksgiving is coming up.
• Christmas and all the food that it brings forth is coming up.
• &deity help me!

---

August's Challenge Entry | All Challenge Entries | October's Challenge Entry