365 days of good health

As mentioned several times before -- I am a geek.  I love all things gadgets, tech, numbers, stats, and learning.  I have already figured that if my daily mileage continues to average around around 5 miles per day, by this time next year I will have walked a bit over 1900 more miles and will be on track to walking the length of Interstate 40 by my 40th birthday.  When (not if) I continue my 40 push-ups per day, by this time next year I will have completed 14,600 push-ups.  While the numbers might be daunting for some, I find comfort in knowing to where and to what I aspire.  I encourage you to do a bit of number crunching for the new year and find yourself at a healthier, happier, and some resolute place when 2010 rolls in.  Happy New Year to all!

Medication Macala

So after 58 continuous days of exercise, I finally found myself taking a break from the treadmill desk after a long day of moving my mother-in-law into her new apartment yesterday.  I was once again reminded of the importance of preventative health as I sat at the table in her new apartment sorting through a myriad of medications.  The ginormous daily pill boxes my brother-in-law purchased provided the perfect sorting tool and a walk back into elementary school memories as I dropped pill after pill in to the little compartments -- it was a bit like playing macala -- but rather than brightly colored legumes to use as my game pieces I found myself playing with oddly shaped, brightly colored, and helpfully labeled tablets and capsules.  Medication macala.  It took my more than an hour to sort the 20 some medications across the morning and evening med boxes (checking and double checking) and provided a great opportunity to remind myself about the importance of keeping up my treadmill desk and 39 push-up routine on a DAILY basis for the rest of my life. Although I did not feel anxious about missing yesterday (as I might have weeks earlier or with previous routines), I was happy to find time today to jump back on the tread.

and holding...

"So this is your 'and holding...' birthday," a close friend said to me last Thursday on my 39th birthday.  I asked for clarification and she said "you know, 39 and holding..."  I told her that I planned on spending my 40th year working toward my 40th birthday so that I arrive to that day healthier in all aspects of my life - physically, emotionally, spiritually, and professionally.  Little did I know, as I made that statement, that I would be "and holding" sooner than later.  This was the first update in which I had not lost any weight, rather, I was just holding.  And while I continue to close in on other goals (Rimmy Jims, 2M steps, 1M seconds, 500 miles), it was the "and holding" realization that made me re-evaluate my mindset.  With sick kids home from school on Friday, relatives descending upon our guest room on Saturday, and the ongoing move of my mother-in-law in to a new apartment - I had to question my expectations for this week.  Were they realistic? Were my setbacks stress related (even though I feel fairly stress free)?  I did continue to make progress on inches lost and in the end, if I had to choose one or the other, I would like to fit into the new pants I just bought today rather than marry myself to a number on a scale.

50%, 55%, 71%, 80%, 91%, 100%

As a child of a mathematician, I have always been fascinated with numbers and statistics, so as mentioned in an earlier post I track any and every variable I can.  So today marks the half way point (50%) of this journey from 9/22/08 to 01/19/09 -- from the day I fell in love with my treadmill desk and the day that I take it with me on my next adventure.  Today also marks 55% complete on my goal of 2,000,000 steps and 71% complete on my 500 mile goal.  I think goal setting, particularly if you are a person who likes to watch fundraiser thermometers get colored red, is a great way to motivate yourself.  When I started on this adventure I didn't really plan on tracking steps or seconds, but since then I have and each goal (no matter how mundane) serves as a small milestone along the longer path.  Today marked 80% completion of my 1,000,000 second goal and 91% complete of my original 390 mile goal.  And while I have plateaued a bit in other goals (mainly weight loss - currently stuck at 10 lbs loss), the little goals continue to feed the piece in me that likes to watch the numbers change and likes to color the thermometer in red.  Finally, today marks 100% completion of my 39th year and a bright outlook as I charge headlong in to #40.