Mall Walker

I have decided I need to do something to get some regular exercise, so I went to the mall today.  I walked for about 30 minutes before I got tired, which surprised me.   My recent forays in the neighborhood were 5-10 minutes before I get tired. I picked the mall for several reasons:  plenty of places to sit if I need to rest; climate control; smooth surface to walk on; safety; and available restrooms.

I listened to NPR today while I walked.  At the time of day I was walking, the local station KTTZ was airing The Texas Standard, which I enjoy very much, and helped me not to be bored.  I thought I would be bored walking in the mall, so for that, I am glad. 

Tomorrow, I will see how my day goes and plan to get another walk in. 

The Rawls Course

I do not play golf, but my Thanksgiving company does, so we went to The Rawls Course .  I was able to ride along, and watch my company and two others play golf.  Like my company, these two other golfers were there for a day of pleasure and exercise: no one got cross when they made a bad shot, or could not find a ball in the tall grass.  No one became impatient when we caught up with the group ahead of us.  The scheduler had assigned a 4th to the group, but the golfer, after 2 bad shots on the first hole, decided to go back to the driving range.

It was a pleasant day.

When I walk a great deal, I start to have pain in my lower back.  I suspect it is due to the fact that I am way overweight, and I carry most of that weight in my abdomen.  So, I am pulling on my lower back when I am walking.  I really need to lose weight.

I decided to bring a day pack on the trip to the Yellowstone, and emptied it as much as I could of extraneous materials.  But, a flashlight, extra set of batteries, bird book, sunscreen, bug spray, Kosh, and two wallets adds up in weight.  I was concerned how I was going to manage.

But, I did.  The extra weight is hard to carry, but I think something else is going on here.  I suspect the weight on my upper back counterbalances the weight of my abdomen pulling my body forward.

I may have already documented how certain postures and activities really bother my lower back: vacuuming, raking leaves, sweeping, standing at a counter that is too low, and I have to lear forward to work at it. 

I do not think that I have documented that at work, or shopping, I use a cart that provides me support and prevents me from putting pressure on my lower back by having something to lean on. 

If I have this kind of success walking at home with weight from my backpack counterbalancing the weight from my abdomen, maybe I can do more regular walking!

Exercise

I need to exercise regularly, but for a number of reasons, I had forsaken my exercise routine during much of the month of May.  I decided to resume today, and was able to complete the entire routine, which surprised me.  I think my body needed a rest, because if was not feeling tired or weakened by the time I finished my routine. We shall see what happens tomorrow.

Exercise

Exercising on the Gazelle elliptical is interesting.  If I am watching a baseball game, it is very pedantic.  If I am watching a basketball game, it is very exciting and invigorating. The same is true if I am watching a football game. If I am watching a very interesting TV show, I do not pay much attention to time.  If I am watching something that is sort of blah, I am inclined to check the time often.  If I listen to music while I am exercising, it has to be fast, upbeat, invigorating music, or it defeats the purpose. 

Posture and Pain

I sat at my desk at work today, for a long time, hunched over, writing. I sat that way for too long, and when I stood up, realized it.  I took a quick break and a short walk.  I later went grocery shopping and I can still feel the lower back pain. I took some Aleve and put an analgesic patch on.  The next thing I am going to do is get on the elliptical and exercise for about 44 minutes.  (I am working up to 45 minutes, a day at a time, this week.) I know that will actually help.  I was ready to exercise about 45 minutes ago, but waited for the Aleve to kick in.

Tired

I have been waking up earlier lately.  I have had some changes in habits that I think have contribute to that.  The habit changes also contribute to more energy.  So, today, when I woke up early, got up and got ready for work, it was earlier than I usually leave for work. I did anyway, got there early, and got my work done.  It was not a crammed packed day, and I had some situations that took longer than they should have, but this did not bother me, as I had the time.

After work, I ran a few errands that took about an hour and three-quarters.  I got home, fed the cats, exercised, then cleaned up to run one more errand that I could not run sooner.  By the time I was almost done with my exercise, I was exhausted. My feet burned.  I was very tired.

But, I kept going.  I was not in real pain, and when I stopped the exercise, there was relief all around.  I ran the errand, and had dinner, but again, felt very tired. 

I am still very tired. I want to watch The Late Show with Stephen Colbert http://www.cbs.com/shows/the-late-show-with-stephen-colbert/.  He had a very interesting conversation with Bill O.Reilly, who was originally booked on the show to talk about his series Legend and Lies, The Patriots http://www.foxnews.com/shows/l-and-l. 

Returning to the Lifestyle Center

I have not been to the Covenant Lifestyle Center in months.  it was a combination of factors.  Last fall, while the staff and administration at the Lifestyle Center insisted that the water was "heated," it certainly did not feel that way. I got tired of being cold in the water, and being uncomfortable when I got out.  I was not the only one who complained, to no avail.

Then, I got really, really busy at work and often worked so late that I could not have gone to the Lifestyle Center during the week,  had I wanted to. I blew off weekend sessions. My bad. Then, the cold winter weather moved in.  I have a hard time getting into cold water in cold weather.

Last month, at the Barnes and Noble Book Club, a friend said we needed to return to the Lifestyle Center. I agreed, but did nothing. She said the same thing last night, which motivated me enough to go today. It was a wonderfully warm, sunny day. I could not contact the friend, but went, anyway.

The pool was empty when I arrived, but shortly some pool friends arrived. One told me the pool had been very cold that last 3 days, but was a little warmer today.  And the air in the room was warm. (And the pool heater was on, so the pool warmed as we stayed.) 

I met some new people at the pool tonight. One is a reader and loves mysteries, and expressed an interest in the Barnes and Noble Mystery Book Club.

I was cold when I got out of the pool.  One of my pool friends had a robe that she made out of towels, because she was tired of being cold when she got out of the pool. She mentioned that others have started using cotton robes.  So, I am not the only one who hates being cold in the pool and when I get out.  Hmmmm. I do not sew, but maybe this person will make me a robe, if I buy the towels.

I need the exercise. And I enjoy the people.  Maybe I can motivate myself to start to go to the Lifestyle Center regularly, again.

Walking

I have been doing a lot of sessions at the Lifestyle Center http://www.covenanthealth.org/Our-Services/LifeStyle-Centre.aspx pool, doing the physical therapy routines.  I did three days in a row, and my skin was really dry and itchy tonight.  My eczema has started up again.  I have cream for it, but I decided I needed a chlorine holiday. Also, I wanted to go to the library tonight, and I was not sure how long that would take.

So, I did go to the library. I spent about 45 minutes looking for books.  Then went on to the Lifestyle Center, planning to walk.  I could have gotten into the pool in time to do a physical therapy routine, but I kept with the walking plan.  I have not walked like this in years! It was great.  I got a good cardio work out, a good burn, and a good breathing workout. I suspect I was also producing endorphins in my brain.  The night air was crisp, and the moon was full!  And, although it was dark outside, the track was lit, and I was in as safe an environment as I could be!

The PT routine is good for strengthening my back, but the walking is much more to my liking. I need to remember that. When I walk in the park, I cannot get this umph, mostly because the terrain is uneven enough, and I am still unsteady on uneven ground and steps (curbs up and down) that I cannot get this feeling.  Tonight was good. This is why I like to walk.

I also like to walk for leisure and destination.  But when I want a good work out, this is the kind of walk I like!

The Lifestyle Center

Today was a particularly stressful day at work. 

Because I had my time in by mid-afternoon, and due to circumstances at work that prevented me from being very productive, I left.

I went home, and visited with my cats, but when I am very distressed, they are distressed, and we feed off of each others discomfort. They are very sensitive that way.  Some people say cats can soothe you, but mine are not like that. They really like it when I am mellow and we all just kind of chill.  I know pets are supposed to help de-stress people, but it does not work that way in my house. If I am stressed, my cats are stressed.  I wonder if that is why Taki was so distressed earlier this week that she did not come out from hiding. Because this has been a stressful week for me.

So, when I went home early from work, I decided that going to the Lifestyle Center at Covenant http://www.covenanthealth.org/Our-Services/LifeStyle-Centre.aspx was just the ticket.  And it was. It was not really busy, and the people there were people I knew. We exercised and visited and it was very relaxing and very social.  I so appreciate that experience. I wish I could carry the calmness of that experience over to the rest of my life. I can work on it.

Baseball

I was watching the Texas Rangers baseball game tonight http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=tex because I like baseball, and it was a time filler until the local news started.

I saw an advertisement on the backboard that the New York Yankees http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy and the Boston Red Sox http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=bos will be on ESPN on Monday night.  My original plans for Monday night after work was to go to the pool to exercise, and then go to the Grove Library to get a couple of books on my reading list.

I can exercise on the Gazelle elliptical http://www.gazelleglider.com/how-gazelle-works.php and on Monday night, go to the library on Tuesday night.

A Different Exercise

So, I left work late tonight, not planned but as the result of being "task oriented" and not "time (clock) oriented."  I wanted to finish what I had started.

When I left work, there were storm clouds building, but the storms were some 30 or so miles away.  I had thought to go to the pool tonight, but by the time I got home, fed the cats, and got my swim bag together, it was late enough that a trip to pool was not practical (I would not have had much time in the pool.)  And, if a storm blew in, my time would have been even shortened more.

I decided to use the Gazelle Glider elliptical http://www.gazelleglider.com/gazelle-edge.php. It has been years since I have been able to use the elliptical.  I replaced the batteries in the timer/distance tracker, and went after it.  It took me a while to do a mile.  I had thought I might do more than a mile, but when I reached a mile, I was done. The good thing about the elliptical is that I can exercise while I watch TV.

A friend of mine talked about varying exercise: One benefit is that it prevents boredom with one type of exercise or routine. Another benefit is that it challenges different muscles. 

I am just so pleased that I can exercise again.

Listen to Your Body

I thought I was doing well starting the day today.  A co-worker told me I sounded congested, and as I listened to patients, sometimes their words were muffled, which made me realize I had some head congestion that was affecting my hearing. (Cotton head.) I apologized for same to my patients.

The same co-worker told me I looked "hurried."  Well, I was focused on getting to my office and going to the pod where I was scheduled to do a group.  I am often "tunnel vision focused" when I have a task to accomplish.  Some people think I am rude.  This co-worker recognized it as being goal or task oriented vs. not anti-social.

It was a full day, but not a difficult day. 

I had thought I would go to the Lifestyle Center http://www.covenanthealth.org/Our-Services/LifeStyle-Centre.aspx to walk and/or swim in the pool tonight. I saw the clouds building, but a check of the National Weather Service http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lub/ indicated that there were no storms in the vicinity of Lubbock. I had decided that if there were storms in the area that closed the pool, I would walk. I was set.

But, when I got out to the car, I realized that I had "hit my wall."  I wanted to just sit in the car and close my eyes.  My lower back hurt, which happens when I am tired, and is usually assuaged by analgesic patches or heat. I wanted to close my eyes and rest.  But the parking lot of a prison is not the place to do that.

As I drove home, I debated my plans for the night, and decided that I should 'listen to my body."  I felt feverish for a while when I was home, but did not check my temperature. I did some computering, while I ate a sandwich. Then, I sat back, relaxed, closed my eyes, opened my eyes after a while, read, and just chilled.  I really think this is what I needed to do tonight: relax; chill; just be.

I am not very energetic right now, but feeling less exhausted. I will go to bed early tonight.

As important as it is to stick to a routine, to push yourself, to keep going, it is also important to listen to your body.  Which is what I did tonight.

Swimming

I am really enjoying the opportunity to continue attending the Covenant Lifestyle Center http://www.covenanthealth.org/Our-Services/LifeStyle-Centre.aspx.  Although the water is cooler than I would like, at this time of year, it is indeed refreshing.  I enjoy the social interaction and the physical activity.  This is one investment I am very glad that I have made.

The Lifestyle Center and the West Texas Weather

So, I went to the Lifestyle Center http://www.covenanthealth.org/Our-Services/LifeStyle-Centre.aspx on Sunday afternoon, after I had done some yard work, but before I ran errands.  I went with a fresh change of clothes with the intent of showering, as requested, before getting into the pool, then after doing my physical therapy routine, washing my hair and showering again, changing into fresh, clean clothes, and running errands.  Well, upon my arrival, I saw the notice that the pool was closed due to high levels of chlorine.

So, I went home, showered, and ran errands in fresh, clean clothes.

I had every thought that I would go to the Lifestyle Center tonight.  About mid-afternoon, I noticed the clouds were building to the west, but they did not look bad. When I left work at about 5 PM, an incoming employee said the streets in mid-west Lubbock were flooded.  I saw the clouds, heard the thunder, and watched the lightning as I drove home.  I could see the evidence of a down pour as I drove home, but it was just sprinkling and splatting big drops.  No sooner had I driven into the garage, then a down pour occurred.  I usually walk out the garage, and around the corner to the front porch to pick up my mail. I went inside, opened the front door, and retrieved my mail that way.

The rain waxed and waned for a while, and we were even under a severe storm warning for a while, and when I checked my rain gauge right before dusk, I had an inch and three quarters of rain. A significant amount for Lubbock. I think we may get some more tonight.

There was no damaging hail at my house, no power outages (although there were some flickers) and no serious wind damage, if any wind damage at all. There was hail damage, flooding, power outages, and wind damage in other parts of Lubbock.  My part of town was blessed, this time.

I missed out on going to the pool but I stayed home safe, which is way more important.  And besides, the pool would have been closed due to the severe weather.

Exercising?

Well, I do a prescribed series of exercises or maneuvers to help alleviate my back/hip/buttock pain.  I started this series late tonight, probably about 9:30  PM or so. Which is too late to do this, but it is what it is.

As I was doing the first exercise which is timed, I must have dozed off.  Because I awoke to the timer beeping, well after it was scheduled to go off.   I did the rest of the series in timely order.

I did not sleep well at all last night, so I think I am reaping the consequences of my sleeplessness tonight.  Hopefully, I will sleep well tonight.

Day Off

I had the day off.  It is complicated, but Texas Tech Health Sciences Center does not recognize all of the state holidays like Confederate Hero's Day (which generally coincides with Martin Luther King Day, which the state observes as a national holiday), Texas Independence Day, San Jacinto Day, Juneteenth, or Emancipation Day, LBJ Day.  Because of this, we are granted an extra 24 hours a year of "holiday comp" to make up for the lost holiday time (this is a business decision: the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center clinics need to be open on these days, generally. But this is good, so we can take the time off at our discretion. Personally, I think that is a good idea. And although I work at the Montford Prison, we follow the TTUHSC clinic schedule.) We are supposed to use "holiday comp" before we use annual leave.  "Holiday comp" is good for up to 12 months, and is earned at the rate of 2 hours per month.  So, "holiday comp" I earn in March 2015 needs to be used before March 2016.  My "holiday comp" never lapses.

Even so, as state employees, we have to have the same holiday time off as other state employees.  So, if some of these weird state holidays fall on a weekend, we do not need to get the extra time off.  But if these holidays fall during the week, we do need to get the extra time off. Sometimes, depending upon how the Christmas and New Years holidays fall, we get extra time off during those holidays.

This fiscal year, we needed to get even more time off.  So we were granted a "spring break holiday."  (Some years we are granted 2 spring break holidays, most years, we are granted none.)

So, I had the day off on March 20, 2015.  I did not sleep in, because I had physical therapy at 8 AM at Spectra http://spectraphysicaltherapy.com/.  I always tell my therapist I have as much time as I need to be in therapy, but he worries about schedules for people, and tries to get them out in a timely way. This is amazing, he does not care how much time HE spends with people, he just does not want to impose on their schedules. (How many medical professionals do you know who have this philosophy?) So, sometimes my therapy session lasts an hour; sometimes, like today, it was over an hour.

I did some work for NASW today, getting out snail mail announcements about our annual ethics workshop to local members for whom we have no email addresses.  I sent the brochure out last night to the email addresses.

I reviewed the evaluations for the March South Plains NASW CEU luncheon meeting. I like to do this so we can give the speaker feed back.

I printed the certificates for the "Field of Service" acknowledgements for the South Plains NASW awards banquet on March 24, 2015.

I went out for lunch at Hong Kong http://hongkongsuperbuffettx.com/.  I like the selections on their buffet, (even though they do not always get good marks from the health department) and I usually bring a book, as I did today. I pay attention, and if they get really busy, I leave, but if they have open tables, I sit, eat what I want, and enjoy the hot tea while I read. Which is what I did today.  As I paid my tab, the cashier asked me about my book Team of Rivals http://www.doriskearnsgoodwin.com/books.html#team-of-rivals and I explained it to her, including it was the book that a small part of the movie Lincoln was based on. She remembered the movie, and wrote down the name of the book, and acknowledged she could get it at the library. The last time I ate at the Hong Kong, this same person told me she had seen me come in alone, and read and eat.  She said she did the same thing at a restaurant, and found it very relaxing. That was so nice of her to share.  She is Oriental, and her English is not good, but she is able to make her information known. How neat!

Later, I had the tires on the car rotated at Discount Tire http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/home.do?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=discount%20tires&utm_campaign={campaign}&s_kwcid=AL!3693!10!5370619247!26744860943&cid=1d5e418c-2789-4f35-a8fe-6db8f4d35951&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Brand%20-%20DT%20|%20Exact%20(W.%20Texas)&utm_term=discount%20tires.  I also brought my book, and read.  It was very relaxing to just read while the car was being tended to.

Then, I went to the Lifestyle Center http://www.covenanthealth.org/Our-Services/LifeStyle-Centre.aspx for a swim session .  Since I did physical therapy today, I know that doing another routine would aggravate my pain. So a swim session was calming, relaxing, and the water was very warm, which was an added benefit.

I did my weekly shopping after that, at Wal-Mart.  The clerk who checked me out was fabulous:  she told me to leave all of "the big stuff" in the cart, put the cold stuff in the insulated bag, and even recognized it had a zipper. She even asked me if I needed carry out assistance!  I sent a recognition to Wal-Mart about her, tonight.

I had expected to watch the Celtic and the Spurs  http://www.nba.com/ play tonight on TV, because earlier in the week, the game was advertised. However, tonight, the game was pre-empted by the Dallas Mavericks and the Memphis Grizzlies. Boo Hiss.

Oh well, I did some online puzzles, did some fundraising research for Catholic Charities, Diocese of Lubbock http://cclubbock.org and worked on this blog.

I hope now to settle in and do some reading before I retire.

Tomorrow, I will do some housework, some yard work, and go to the Lifestyle Center to again do some exercise.

A Very Tired Day

I did not sleep well the night of March 17th.  I am not sure what that is about. It is what it is. And this has been going on since last Wednesday, March 11, 205.

I woke up very early the morning of March 18th, and could not go back to sleep, so I showered and dressed for work, then sat on the sofa. Haiku and Sake joined me, and I slept for quite a while, before I fed cats and finished getting ready for work.

I had a busy day at work, but for the most part, it was an easy day. I did two training presentations, and I felt like they were well received, which always makes me feel well.

But, by the end of my work day, I was pretty well wiped out.  Although I would have liked to call it a day, Wednesday night is a good night to get to the Lifestyle Center http://www.covenanthealth.org/Our-Services/LifeStyle-Centre.aspx , as open swim starts at 5:30 PM.  Well, as I worked late, and fed the cats before going to the Center, I did not get there until after  6:30.  The pool room was warm, but the water felt colder than I like. However, as I did my routine, I could feel the relief from the discomfort and pressure on my right hip/side/buttock/leg. I am not sure where the pain is. I just know it hurts.

I think it is true that if you do not feel like doing some self care activity, it is probably a most needed activity, and you should force yourself to do it. So, I usually try to force myself.  Tonight, that was good for me.

I am blessed to have insurance that covers health care modalities that can help me, even if they do not cure me.  I am so thankful that my physical therapist trusts me enough to acknowledge that I can do exercises on my own to help myself, at home, or at the Lifestyle Center.

Some days, it is very difficult to be suffering from pain, disability, injury. I think, as a society, we do not acknowledge enough what people suffer and how it affects their life.  I know for me, on days I have extreme pain, it affects my energy level, my frustration tolerance, my decision making, and even my thinking.  It affects my decisions about physical movement. I hope I do not diminish myself as a person because of my pain. I am in hopes that if I do diminish myself because of my pain, if I do not recognize it, my colleagues will have the courage and humanity to inform me of this, so I can gracefully withdraw from my professional life as a social worker.

It is my hope that my pain and therapy experiences make me more aware and tolerant of the situations my clients experience.  Therapy of any kind is not easy.  As human beings, we do not make changes easily.  We are resistant mentally and physically.  We make excuses. We give up.  I get that. I also get that we need to keep going, one step at a time.  That is what I try.

Buzzed!

It has been an interesting day.  I had a doctor appointment with good results, so that was good, but put me to work 1.5 hours late, for the third time this week (2 other medical appointments.) That was okay, I had a good handle on what I needed to do at work. But the primary ward where I am assigned was "popping" so seeing patients was difficult.  The officers were awesome, and I eventually did see the patients I needed to see.

I could not leave early, because even working until 5 PM, I will use some sick leave this week.  That is okay.  But I like to leave early on Friday and get to the Lifestyle Center pool before going home, for my workout. Well, that did not happen, today.

I did go home and feed the cats.  Then I went to the Lifestyle Center.  I wanted to go to a co-worker's art show, but was afraid if I did, I would not get to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription.  Since I am finally getting the results the provider and I want with my medication, I did not want to miss a dose, and I was out.  Because I am going to a class in the morning, I did my regular Saturday morning shopping on Friday night.  That got me home almost to 9 PM.  I found the Lady Raider basketball game on the radio on the way home. It started late, so I did not miss much. 

Finally, tonight, 2 days late, I had the information I needed to send out the announcement for the NASW meeting next week. Because some people get their emails on their smart phones, and that wakes them up if I send emails out late, I try not to do emails after 9 PM.  But, it is Friday night, so I made an exception, since we are running so late. I also printed up all the snail mail announcements. The envelopes were already printed, so I got those announcements folded, stuffed, sealed and stamped. I can drop these in the mail box at the post office before I head downtown to the class in the morning.

The Lady Raiders lost.  I just shut off the TV. I did not need the noise.  Because I got home so late, and still had so many chores to do, I am a little buzzed, which means it will be difficult for me to go to sleep tonight.

I like being out and about and active.  I just dislike not being able to wind down enough to get to sleep.  Especially when I have a plan for the next morning.  Oh well, it is what it is.

A Leisurely Day

It was a leisurely day, as befitting a day off, and Christmas Eve.  The cats let me sleep in, then after I fed them, I went to the pool for PT, the library, ran an errand and took myself out to lunch.

This afternoon, I alternated between doing chores and reading when I needed to rest. My inclination is power my way through the chores, but that will aggravate my back. So the rests are necessary.  I did not get everything done that I had planned to do, but I did get some extra things done along the way.

I hope Friday will be more of the same. Christmas Day will be all leisure, and maybe, some phone calls.