After the Walk
After a fabulous weekend of walking with my daughter in the Pledge the Pink breast cancer walk here in the Lowcountry it is time to settle into life again. What an experience for us both. We were really pleased that all our training paid off and though tired the muscles were pretty good on Monday morning. My legs felt strong, my back was good and my feet were actually very good. No blisters and no pain. Thanks to my wonderful Yoga coach, the stretches and exercises really worked. I did, however, go for an hour and a half restorative Yoga class just to get back into my groove. Believe it or not I am now planning on doing a half marathon in November. Why? Because I can, or at least I think I can. 10 miles is definitely doable, 10 miles a day for three days is doable, so why wouldn’t a half-marathon?
Most of this week has been settling back in to the routine of living here in the south. It has been really, really hot so rather than playing golf in the afternoons, I have spent most of the time at our outdoor pool. In all the years that we have been here I have not been to the pool other than for a stop for lunch at the deli and I had never been in the new pool. It was exactly what was needed post the walk. The pool has a salt water filter so while not a salt water pool per se it is a bit salty and therefore you float very easily. So floating around in the water loosened up some tight muscles and took the pressure off back and legs for a little while.
Since I am now signed up for the half-marathon I can’t stop my conditioning/training so I did go out for a long walk on Friday. It’s interesting that it is hard to find a long walk here that is not just a walk that goes in circles. However, I did manage to find a 7 1/2 mile walk that was interesting and it didn’t take too long. Much too hot for Wyke to go with me the whole way so I dropped him off in the air conditioned house and continued on my way. Wyke and I did go to the beach two days this week and he loved it more than I can say. He was free to run and to jump in the water. No one on the beach so he could go crazy. We will do it again.
I am pleased to report that the ten pounds that I wanted to lose are gone. It took the summer to do it. Walking as much as I do really helped tone things up, trying not to eat foods I know I shouldn’t and the big one was giving up the wine. I am quite happy with no alcohol beer or low alcohol beer and since it is quite filling one or two is just about right, especially when it is hot. So all in all, I think I am in good shape and should be able to accomplish the half-marathon and not embarrass myself with my time.
Fur Family Update
All the four-footed family members seem to have adjusted to being here again. Wyke is so happy to be back among his friends and this week brought a meet-up with his bestest girl, Abby. In my observation I have noticed that dogs who have not seen each other for over four months usually take a little time to sniff each other out and then when they get confirmation that the dog in question is a friend they react positively. The converse could be true as well and they might not like each other. In the case of Abby and Wyke that is NOT how it works. We got within a half block of Abby and she started crying and pulling on her leash to try and get to Wyke. Likewise, Wyke was ready to pull me, face down if need be, to get to Abby. We managed to get them to a safe spot where their greeting of each other exploded. They were all over the place chasing each other, jumping, knocking each other over, wrestling, and smiling. It was truly a joy to watch them. You would never know they hadn’t seen each other in ages. Proof that dogs have no sense of time? Perhaps.
Cleo, kitten number one, was with us here before we went to Canada. She knew where she was and settled in very quickly. Lena, kitten number two, had never been here but you could see that she loved it right away. Lena is a climber and I have found her up the library ladder unsure of how to get back down and more recently she tried to climb the screens. This activity immediately called for a visit to Amazon to get a climbing tree for her which should be here on Tuesday. These kittens cannot go outside for lots of reasons, not the least is that they have absolutely no fear of anything and don’t know how to defend themselves. We won’t talk about the ginormous alligators in the pond that is a 100 yards from our house. Facts say they are only hungry from May to October but I don’t believe it and so don’t go near the ponds. So all is good on the fur front.
Food for Thought
While you are looking at your week and planning out your meals (do you really do this?), you might want to think about this. Blue Zones reported that the results of an enormous study of food and its effect on health are in. The study is called PURE (Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology) and as reported by Blue Zones, it covered 135,335 people from 18 different countries across five continents. They were followed for seven years. The result is no surprise. The world’s healthiest people live on a diet of fruits, beans, seeds, vegetables and whole grains. It is low in refined carbs and sugar. The statistics on the website are a little different but the result is the same. The study was done through McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. If you want to know more please CLICK HERE.
At the end of the walk, and I mean literally the end we were 500 yards from the finish, crossing under highway 278 in a tunnel, we found a table with energy cookies being handed out. We have never tasted anything so good. If you don’t like seeds you probably won’t find these easy to eat but if you need that burst of energy give these a try. Yummy!
Energy Cookies from the Omni Hilton Head Resort
Ingredients:
Oats 11 oz
Toasted Coconut 4.50 oz
Peanut Butter 14 oz
Chocolate Chips 10 oz
Local Honey 12 oz
Vanilla Extract .50 oz
Chia Seeds .50 cup
Flax Seeds .50 cup
Combine all in a large bowl and mix.
Scoop portion onto a lined cookie sheet
Bake at 350 degrees or 8-12 minutes, cool and serve.
