Staying Fit in My 60s and Beyond

Wow, another month gone!

I didn't want to do much today because I had a big day yesterday, but I still needed 1.35 mi of running to meet that Garmin challenge. I went out at dawn and ran for 2 mi, then walked it off for another 1.02 mi to keep that streak going too. Done, and done.

I met/surpassed all of my goals for Aug, which were:

Steps: 350,000 (already 34,000 over before today's total)
Walk: 50 miles (14 mi over and will probably get 1 more today)
Run: 50 miles (.65 over as of this morning ... but I made it!)
Total activity miles: 100 (15 over and will probably get 1 more today)

I also had goals for 4 hours each of strength and yoga, and 15 hours of walking, and surpassed all three with time to spare.

All in all, it was a pretty good month for me. How did you do? Will you be finishing off strong? Are you raring to go for a new month tomorrow?

Oooh, these look good! I have everything but the chocolate.

Get the recipe: Such a treat.

Damn you, Garmin challenges! LOL I wasn't going to go for the 15K badge this month, but ... had a GREAT night's sleep last night which is very rare for me, so I couldn't pass it up.

I'm still dealing with the (suspected) piriformis issue, but I did proper stretching before I headed out, and my butt felt pretty good, so I vowed to keep it slow and easy, just wanting to make the distance.

I was feeling pretty good as I moseyed along, felt strong after a couple of miles in, but still reined it in lest I run out of gas before getting home. I suspected the mid couple of miles might have been the fastest, so was VERY surprised to see the negative splits for the whole 15k!

First mile was especially slow because I walked a little more to warm up, then paused to take a couple of pics of the deer. I'm still stupid slow all the way around, but you know what? I can still go the distance. At my age, I don't care much about pace anymore, just want to be able to keep putting one foot in front of the other. I'll take distance over pace any day.

So that's how my Sunday started at daybreak. I still need to get out and walk a mile at some point, and might do that sooner rather than later because bad weather might be moving in this afternoon.

What'll you be doing with your Sunday?

That they are!

I woke at about 2:45am and couldn't get back to sleep, so gave up and decided to be a little more productive.

I ran the dishwasher, did a small load of laundry (stinky workout clothes from yesterday ... ick), and thought about waiting for sunup before hitting the street, but had nothing to fill that short time while waiting.

I laced up and headed out for a walk, the sun finally making an appearance just before I got home. Since it was still dark, I didn't venture far, but made it to 30 min, logging 1.61 miles out of the deal. I might get out for another walk later to break up the day, weather permitting, since I'll still need more steps.

Nothing big planned around here today, but I REALLY need to get my butt into the chair in front of my sewing machine, or at least get my fingers into some fabric to decide on a project to start. It's been a couple of months since I've sewn a stitch or picked up a crochet hook, and that's not good.

So ... what's on the agenda for your Saturday?

Yes! The human connection is so important.

I bring this up with patients more than you’d think, especially the ones dealing with chronic stress, anxiety, or a nervous system that’s stuck in overdrive.

We treat touch like a nice-to-have instead of what it actually is, a direct input into your hormones.

Twenty seconds is the number that keeps showing up in research. Not a quick side hug. A real one, long enough for oxytocin and dopamine to actually rise and cortisol to actually drop.

Most people walking around exhausted and wired aren’t just under-slept, they’re touch-starved and don’t have a name for it.

Go hug someone today ❤️❤️❤️

This! I suck at it by traditional standards, but I do it my way, for ME. And I'm ok with that.

🏃🏼‍♀️🏃🏻‍♂️🙌🏼♥️

Ugh ... I'm still dealing with what I believe is a piriformis issue and it was pretty bad yesterday, so I made sure to do some suggested stretches, and tried not to sit for long periods. I think that, plus a good night's sleep for once, helped a lot. I got up raring to go this morning, and decided to try for the Garmin weekend 10K badge (probably not my smartest idea) and headed out in the moonlight.

I kept it even slower than normal, and shortened my stride even more, and surprisingly, it wasn't bad once I warmed up!

That said ... do as I say, not as I do. I probably shouldn't have gone that distance. In fact, I probably shouldn't have run at all, but kept telling myself if I WAS going to do it, do it right. Follow the run/walk intervals program, and not push it. It worked.

What does Friday look like for you?

Working on it!

Bad night for sleeping again, but I got out for 5k (3.12 mi) of run/walk intervals, then walked it off for another .41 mi.

My butt cheek has been bothering me again lately, and it was especially bad this morning, likely a piriformis issue. I might have to make some serious changes to my routine as running and walking can aggravate it, and the thought of that really hurts more than the pain in my butt.

I might lay off for a couple of days and see if it makes a difference, but will probably still walk my mile slowly and carefully (which I still need to do today), and maybe dust off my recumbent bike for the rest of my activities. We'll see.

What'll you be doing with your Thursday?

I just did!

It would have been another beautiful morning to run (69° again), but I opted for a shorter walk because I have a dental appointment at 9am. I stepped out for 31 min and managed to get 1.68 miles out of it

I haven't run in a couple of days and would have wanted to go for a longer run today because of the great conditions, but I didn't want to have to rush to get cleaned up, eat something, and get to my appointment. I knew if I said I was just going to do a short run, I probably would have stretched it for as long as I could and ended up in a time crunch, so I didn't tempt myself.

So ... walk it was. I'll still need a chunk of steps, so will either get out for another walk later, or hit the rebounder.

What'll you be doing with your Wednesday?

Yes! Pamper yourself.