Dear You,
Two hours left here for March 2021.
Still walking every day. Have walked at least 10,000 steps a day since January 1st. Still have a goal of 5 million steps in 2021 along with trying to walk 50 miles in one day this year – when I am physically ready to do so.
On the day of the Equinox, March 20th, I walked 30,000 steps. I thought it was a good day to do so. And, today, I walked 30,000 once again. So for 2021, with 25% of the year gone by, I have walked 1,493,511 steps as recorded with my Fitbit. Before I retired, many days I only walked between 3,000 and 4,000 steps as I sat at my desk staring at a computer monitor breathing the most awful stale, recycled air in a state of the art “green” building. (Windows were not designed to be open.)
I’ve noticed that my strength,at 67 years of age, has really decreased. Opening up a lid off a jar, I look like I am wrestling someone ,trying to get them in a head lock. So, I decided I would start doing push-ups-or should I say push-up. The first day, I worked my way down to the floor, wondering how I was going to get up, and I did, and I mean barely did, one… push…up. That was all I had in me.
So of course I rested for one day; you know, let the lactic acid get out of my muscles from the intense exercise. Then I did two push-ups the next time. Long story short, today I did 18 consecutive push-ups. They ain’t pretty, but we’ll work on form later, right? I think I might have dropped a size with the man bra.
Read 3 books in March too.
I think that is 9 books in 2021 so far. Now time to read a good baseball book!
What have I learned from all this? Well, just keep on keeping on. March On. Oh yes, I also remembered how much I hate push-ups. Each one fills like an insult.
Love,
Me
P.S. That puppy we got 2 days before Christmas turned out not to be a dog, but a floppy moose or horse or something. Benny is taller and longer than Gracie already and Gracie weighs 95 pounds. Benny has the goofiest personality. He just flops on you, like you’re long lost buddies or something. He has developed a bad habit of jumping on my face when I am sound asleep to let me know he would like to go outside at 1 in the morning and again at 4 in the morning. We are going to have a talk about that. Whenever he and Gracie are outside, Linus the cat-dog follows them around all day. It is like an animal version of the Three Stooges. Lucy, the cat-cat, prefers life prior to Benny’s arrival.
(Those tiles are 12 inch squares and Benny is still growing! If I try to take him outside before I go to bed, I literally have to drag him across the floor to the front door. When he goes to sleep, he sleeps. And, when he is awake, he is in constant motion. We are using every inch of this fives acres to keep him busy.)
Another Picture On The Wall 
Kudos on the exercise front, Gary! Not easy, but worth it, I reckon.
Is Benny a shelter mutt or a special breed? He’s big, that’s for sure!
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You are my inspiration, Gary, you are certainly racking up the steps.. Now that we have nicer weather I am taking to the paths again, trying to stretch my body. I have a long way to go. I was never fond of push-ups from the floor, I preferred bench push-ups. But then I’m a wimp. 50 miles in one day would be quite an achievement. Do you have a destination in mind? I used to jog and then walk 10 km (6.2 miles a day) every day for years. Walking 6.2 miles would take me 90 minutes, roughly 15 minutes a mile. So at that pace, I would be walking for around 12 hours for 50 miles. Be interested to hear your thoughts on this.
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I hate push-ups. I feel like my muscles are laughing at me with each one. I got up to 20, so now I am going to concentrate on good form and do less at a time but several times during the day. No, no walking destination yet in mind. It was to be off the pavement and steady ground. My knee is in bad shape, so I have to be careful but I think I can still try. I am thinking I will be around 18 minute miles walking and won’t be ready until the fall, so I might start early at a school track and as it gets lighter head out some where. It is a real stretch goal though and not a guarantee. I figure it would be about 120,000 steps. The other day I got 35,000 steps in, my longest so far. Also figure I would probably have to change shoes several times during the walk. When i was recovering from surgery, the nurse said the quickest way out of here is to walk the hallways as much as possible. I think everything works better when I walk a lot…as long as I don’t injure the injured knee or get that heel spur inflamed again. Lots of stretching. I did notice at the driving range yesterday that I was hitting the golf ball much further than I have for the last five years, so some flexibility returns too, Go for Len! That accountant in us loves keeping track of steps! I just use a fairly cheap Fitbit, no heart rate etc. Honestly, I think walking 10,000 steps for 365 days would be as big of an accomplishment as anything because consistency is really hard to be.
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Sounds like you are really motivated to keep healthy Gary, well done! Im struggling with jar lids and am a fair bit younger so Im not sure what my excuse is 😦 I have a special device of Simons which helps so I either cheat a bit or do what I remember my mum doing and give the jar lid a good strong knock on the worktop. That usually loosens it !
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