Cord's Quest

cherrygarcia said:
hey cord,
so sorry to hear about the rough time your having, and definitely the shift switching wouldn't help with things (i remember my similar shift situation when i was working in the call centre and shudder even just thinking about it). Life sometimes doesn't always go as we plan and we're all allowed to feel a little low now and then but what matters is that you get back up and kick butt like you've been doing these past weeks. just remind yourself what great progress you've made and the last thing you'd want to do is go back to square one. wishing you strength during the rough patch...will check in on you regularly...i know you'll break through. xoxo:grouphug:
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Thanks, cherry.

I think sometimes you just get tired, you know? I'm pretty run down right now, and maybe a little sick. When I got home from my walk yesterday, I put on my slobbiest track pants, a sweatshirt (and I almost never wear long sleeves, even in winter), and made myself some cocoa. Clearly not feeling well.

But I have been making sure I get my walk in every day, and have not succumbed to the junk food urge.

Every day is a new day.
 
It's totally natural to fall out of sorts now and then. It's why this can be so hard, keeping going. Take a day off and treat yourself, not to junk food, but a couple of healthy treats and rest for a day or two. Body (and mind) is going through a lot of changes so it needs a bit of rest every so often. It's not a race, don't beat yourself up about it, you've been kicking ass for the past 8 weeks.
 
Thanks, Feenix, I appreciate it.

May 17

Still feeling bleah and unmotivated. Made myself go and walk in the morning, but didn't have the willpower to do anything else. I feel as long as I keep walking, though, I am not giving up. And I'm keeping on track with food, which is the easy part (at least it is the easy part right now).

Breakfast - 1 buffalo burger on whole wheat bun (was supposed to be my lunch but it smelled so good when I was cooking it I ate it for breakfast instead)

Lunch and daytime snacks - 2 wraps (whole grain tortillas, roast beef and lt cream cheese), 1 pear, big heap o' raw veggies (tomato, cherry tomatoes, carrot, celery, cucumber)

Supper - another buffalo burger (I eat them pretty steadily when we have good buns so that the buns don't go off), with heaps of lettuce, some tomato, and a pineapple ring

Dessert - 1.5 oz dry-roasted peanuts, 1 oz m&m's

Exercise - 45 minutes nordic walking.

Bought some quality Saucony running shoes, because my crappy cheap shoes are not good for my feet and knees, I am sure.
Well, I tried them out and they really hurt my feet. I took them for my walk and my right ankle was in real pain. I don't know if the shoes are inherently pain-inducing, or if it is just my massive weight, flat feet and all that makes it painful to wear shoes that actually give support for a change.
I can still probably take them back if I clean them up really well and don't let them know I wore them outside. Not sure if I should, though, or if I should keep trying them.
 
gotta break em in dude! man you need to sleep for like 10 hrs straight one day. like even if you have to forego the workout and whatever. your body will snap out of it.
 
Wow Cord, I have just read you whole Journal so far.. you have done so well!!! Sorry to hear you are going through a bit of a slump, but I am sure you will pick your self up and charge on back into it again! Don't let it overwhelm you :)

I need some good shoes too, my el cheapo ones are not making walking easier at the moment, the ankles have been really sore, but it sounds like I might find new ones just as painful! ARGH!

Well I just wanted to say Hello and that I think you are doing amazingly well! Those split shifts must be a killer! Hang in there :)
 
It usually takes me a few painful days of breaking in any new footwear. We're talking broken skin and the lot. I usually wear standard leather shoes, but few weeks ago got a pair of kinda half suede shoes/boots (not special or anything) and they're the most comfortable things ever even great for walking.

I think shoes and how you walk are really important. When I started walking I'd get terrible pains in my shins which were apparently from walking flat footed. Once I put my attention to how to step and started using the new shoes/boots I was flying it. There's nothing as bad as walking while your feet are hurting, takes all the enjoyment out of it.
 
Kori said:
Wow Cord, I have just read you whole Journal so far.. you have done so well!!! Sorry to hear you are going through a bit of a slump, but I am sure you will pick your self up and charge on back into it again! Don't let it overwhelm you :)

I need some good shoes too, my el cheapo ones are not making walking easier at the moment, the ankles have been really sore, but it sounds like I might find new ones just as painful! ARGH!

Well I just wanted to say Hello and that I think you are doing amazingly well! Those split shifts must be a killer! Hang in there :)
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Thanks, Kori!

You read my whole journal? Wow, you must be bored. :)

Thanks for stopping in. Glad to find that people find my journal worth reading.

I'm not going to throw these shoes out yet. I'm wearing them at work today to try to break them in. Not walking today as it is f-in' snowing right now.
 
hey with the shoes you bougght, did you talk to anyone before purchasing? I know when i bought my sacounys a few weeks ago he asked me like a million question about how i walk and what touches first when i land and all that stuff. and the pair i got are uber (yes, i said uber) nice. i love them and i can move decently in them. of course, I don't particular run too much, and i also bought tennis shoes separate for tennis, so same thing applied to that. Keep up teh good work man, i'm so proud of all of us sticking it out here!
 
kureransu said:
hey with the shoes you bougght, did you talk to anyone before purchasing? I know when i bought my sacounys a few weeks ago he asked me like a million question about how i walk and what touches first when i land and all that stuff. and the pair i got are uber (yes, i said uber) nice. i love them and i can move decently in them. of course, I don't particular run too much, and i also bought tennis shoes separate for tennis, so same thing applied to that. Keep up teh good work man, i'm so proud of all of us sticking it out here!
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I live in a pretty small town, pop 12000 or so, and the nearest larger town is a three hour drive, so I have to make do with what I can get. That means the big Sportmart chain, and that means teenagers for employees who aren't exactly experts.

However, I have a friend who is an ex-runner (blew his knees in an unrelated accident), and he recommended Sauconys. The girl at the store also recommended them, so I figured I'd give 'em a shot.

Next time I go to Vancouver, I'm going to go to a shop called the Running Room, where there are some real footwear experts. That won't be for a month or two, however.
 
Hey dude, great diary, sorry to read about the bad days, think you just need to recharge your batteries. Is great to read journals like this, really motivating! Keep at it dude! We're all on the same journey-ish
 
Cord the Seeker said:
I live in a pretty small town, pop 12000 or so, and the nearest larger town is a three hour drive, so I have to make do with what I can get. That means the big Sportmart chain, and that means teenagers for employees who aren't exactly experts.

However, I have a friend who is an ex-runner (blew his knees in an unrelated accident), and he recommended Sauconys. The girl at the store also recommended them, so I figured I'd give 'em a shot.

Next time I go to Vancouver, I'm going to go to a shop called the Running Room, where there are some real footwear experts. That won't be for a month or two, however.
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oh i'm not saying they are bad, i bought them myself, but they are made for certain foot types that's all. luckily i ahve a tennis and golf co. locally so i was able to talk to someone. i love my sauconys i hear those and asics are the best you can buy. I don't know if there is anything online where you can look it up to find out the proper shoe for you, but make due with what you have by all means. i was simply providing possible reasons for my they make you ache.
 
kureransu said:
oh i'm not saying they are bad, i bought them myself, but they are made for certain foot types that's all. luckily i ahve a tennis and golf co. locally so i was able to talk to someone. i love my sauconys i hear those and asics are the best you can buy. I don't know if there is anything online where you can look it up to find out the proper shoe for you, but make due with what you have by all means. i was simply providing possible reasons for my they make you ache.
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Well, I have been looking around online, and apparently the kind of shoe I should be looking for (according to Runner's World) is a motion-control shoe. These are made for overpronators (no idea if that is me) and are good for people with flat feet or heavy people (those are definitely both me).

So, looking around, I found several different brands and models, but:
a) I'm not likely to find them in this town
b) The only Canadian prices I could find are, well, unpleasant - $130-150
 
You and all your fancy shoes. Back in my day we'd have to run 20 miles barefoot. Over broken glass. Carrying 5 sacks of potatoes on our backs. Ye have it easy!
 
Ready to kick ass and chew gum - and I'm all out of gum...

First, time to catch up on the last 2 days' entries:

May 18

Still in my slump. Feel bleah and generally wretched.

Breakfast - steel-cut oats with hemp seeds and agave nectar, 1 small square of cornbread

Snack - 1 banana

Lunch - buffalo burger on ww bun, 1 large square of cornbread

Snacks - 1 orange, 1 cup dry cereal

Supper - buffalo burger on 1/2 of a ww bun, a big heap of oven fries, and veggie plate (lettuce/tomato/cucumber/celery/pineapple)

Dessert - 1oz dry roasted peanuts and 1oz m&m's

Nighttime snack - 1 slice ww bread w/almond butter, 1 cup milk

Exercise - 45 minute walk - tried the new shoes. They made my right ankle hurt quite a bit form about 8-15 min in, then it settled down. That afternnon and evening, though my ankle continued to hurt quite a bit.

May 19

Felt more wretched and dispirited than ever before. Wanted to give up and go back to my old ways. Everything was tinged with bleak despair. I didn't try very hard to eat carefully today.

Breakfast - steel-cut oats with hemp seeds and agave nectar, 1 slice ww toast w/margarine, 1/2 cup milk

Lunch - big-ass roast beef sandwich (3-4 oz roast beef, 2 thick slices ww bread, 1tbs lt cream cheese)

Snacks throughout workday - 1 pear, 1 orange, 3/4 cup dry cereal

Supper - gave up and just ate something expedient. 6oz chicken strips, 8 perogies with butter

Evening snacks - 3oz dry roasted peanuts, 1oz m&m's

Exercise - none. zero. zip. nada. squat. bugger all.

Bringing us to today.
Woke up after a half-decent sleep with new determination. Started the day having a lie-in and reading, then hit the Total Gym and the bike for 45 minutes each. Just finished breakfast (more steel-cut oats). Ready to carry on with my life.
Tomorrow I will be going to Kamloops (3 hour drive) with the family to shop, go to the zoo, etc. There is a speciality running store there that should be able to help me find the right kind of shoes to wear.
This also means I am not likely to be posting between Thursday morning and Friday night.
 
Decided to get my actual bike out of the shed and take it for a spin.

Turns out I am more weak and pathetic than I thought possible.

Rode 15 minutes out on the river trail, to the river. The trail in not completely flat, but is at no point steep in any way. To the river it is gently downhill (I'd guess it drops a couple hundred feet over about 3-4 miles).

Took 30 minutes to get back, and yes, there was some walking involved. I had trouble on the gentlest inclines, even in low gear. It was embarrassing - or would have been if anyone had seen me. I felt shame anyway.

Now, it is true that I haven't actually ridden my bike on over four years, and even then I lived in the flat part of town. It is also true that I have a crappy bike that doesn't like to actually change gears.

I still should have been able to do better than that. My body sucks when it comes to actual exertion. That's one of the reasons I walk so much. I can walk for hours and hours - I can run for a few seconds.

Obviously this is something I am going to have to work my way into. Should have known it wasn't as easy as, um, riding a bike.

Oh - and my ass hurts. :)
 
Funny how real life biking is so much harder than on a stationary bike!!! Hey.. you did it though, and good on you for that!

Don't let things get you down Cord :) you are doing great!!! Remember the bigger picture, a few days of being in a funk and even slipping doesn't change why you want to do this!

:)
 
Hi Cord, first time in here. Looks like we're both pretty big fellas. Couple things:
Running shoes: Overpronation refers to a foot, typically with "flat feet", where your ankle tends to roll inwards on striking the ground. A motion control shoe is exactly right. I bought a set of ASICS Gel Foundations, that were specifically designed for this and they are extremely supportive. That being said, my weight is still too high to do any running without doing damage to my knees. Great walking shoes though...

Biking; ahh... now we're talking... us big guys do much better with this sport (most of the time), being as how there is no real impact (we'll discuss our sore asses another time:D). I got back on mine and was huffing and puffing hard the first few times. I'm lucky if I finished 4 miles at about 11 mph. It gets easier. Remember, we own (rent?), a larger percentage of gravity than a lot of people. Because of this, even the low grade hills will cramp our style. Don't give up, it, it gets better, I cycle all the time now and I'm still in the over 300 lb category and a former smoker. I consistently average around 16 mph for 15-25 mile rides. It's all just a matter of getting used to it.

As for the asses... well, yeah, if you don't get used to it, then the saddle may be to blame for some of it. Your body needs to toughen up to a degree, but if that still doesn't work, check out a replacement seat. I use an old style Brooks leather saddle (the leather kind that looks like a mediavel torture device with rivets and such), because I find that while it takes getting used to, it keeps... ahem.. sensitive parts from going numb after a long ride... No self induced need for viagra for me thanks.
 
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