The Daily - Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Writing Challenge- Day #21

HEALTH & FITNESS

I had a super fun jog this morning, logging 2.47 miles in 44 minutes. I used Podrunner's "140 BPM - Superconductor." My strategy this week is to vary my pace everyday aiming to increase my speed a little over time. For the month of September I want to at least be able to jog at around 145 BPM once or twice. In October I want to inch up a little, maybe as fast as 150 BPM. I am actually not too hung up on the actual number as long as I keep making progress and, most importantly, remain injury and pain free.

GOALS, DREAMS, HABITS, RITUALS

The multi-factor approach to fitness metrics (having four requirements that need to be met in order to qualify for a "successful day") may not be working the way I had intended. This is not a surprise. Growing in anything we do means making adjustments. Life is like one big project made of a myriad of smaller projects; when we follow the project management cycle (plan, implement, measure/ review, adjust) we can ensure success in whatever we try.

Project Management Cycle: Plan-Do-Check-Act (Source)

My biggest challenge has been missing weight training. It appears I may want to split the four into individual action items and once all four, separately, are achieved, then the goal will be achieved. As I pondered this point I realized that there may be an elegant solution to this: Yoga. Having a daily or regular Yoga practice can help us achieve balance in all four areas I have listed. When I practice Yoga regularly my running also improves. So that is my new fitness goal: at least 10-15 minutes of Yoga everyday.

Here is the Yoga routine I will start tomorrow morning.

For those of you that think Yoga is not something they can do, please watch this short video:

Yoga is something best started with a teacher. A teacher will take care of you, the whole you: the physical you, the mental you, the emotional you, the spiritual you. There is a difference, sometimes a huge difference, between a teacher and an instructor. The latter usually deals with form and technique but may be unable to help with the other aspects of a Yoga practice. Once you learn the basics from a teacher, then you can work with instructors or even videos. I was truly blessed to have started my Yoga practice with an amazing teacher; her name is Juliet Hewitt. There is not a time that I step on my mat that she is not present even if she is not physically there. So, find yourself a teacher, learn the basics, and then take it from there. As Juliet always says, start from where you are right now.

PERSONAL GROWTH

Clutter is a sign of trouble. If we look around, clutter is all around us. For many, it is in our homes, our offices, our cars. Clutter has become a huge industry in the USA. All we have to do is look at all the self-storage businesses opening in almost every neighborhood, or the incredible growth of thrift store chains like Goodwill. Look at this video and you can get a glimpse of the problem.

Soon I will share a bit of the purging I have done at home.

TIPS & TRICKS

The nice hand-written to-do lists I wrote about a few days ago have matured a bit. I moved to a digital version using the "Notes" app on my iPhone. The main advantage I see is the time saving from not having to re-write things left to do at the end of the day. The disadvantage, as I have experienced in the past, is a significant disconnect with the list; it is easier to forget to check the list as often once it is in digital form. Having handwritten notes makes the connection with your brain a lot stronger. However, using digital notes can be just as effective with some discipline. Whichever you choose, having a daily to-do list is a definite must for improved productivity (at least for the majority of us).

PODCASTS / VIDEOS

Chi Running is a running methodology designed to eliminate injuries and improve anybody's running efficiency. I have read parts of the book and love the concept. Here is a video explaining the basics of Chi Running.

INTERESTING TIDBITS

Not all cookware is safe to use. Here is a video about some popular but not so safe items we may have in our kitchens.

STREAKS - For the record

Current list of streaks:

• Writing: day 21
• Blood Pressure Readings: day 8 (down to 111/71)
• Logging to SparkPeople: day 11
• Daily Exercise Routine: day 0
• Cardio: Yes (2.47 miles in 44 minutes)
• Strength Training: No (see above)
• Stretching: Yes
• Meditation: Yes
  
• Meditation: day 8
• Number of tabs open: day 4 (still working on this — today was more of a challenge than in days 1-3, but it is definitely better)

The Daily - Saturday, September 15, 2018

Writing Challenge- Day #17

FLORENCE UPDATE

Florence is down to a Tropical Storm or Tropical Depression, depends on when the measurements are taken. Regardless, we were very fortunate and suffered no damage. Many others are not so fortunate, even some losing their lives to the storm. We are still experiencing very windy conditions and some heavy rain. The center of the storm is scheduled to go over our home about 2 AM tomorrow with sustained winds of 40 miles per hour. It is not over for us, but it is getting close. The storm path just changed and now the storm center will go 20 miles south of our home; I am not sure if that is good or bad in terms of weather conditions; my guess is that the difference will be insignificant. More on that tomorrow.

HEALTH & FITNESS

I enjoyed a great 2.09 mile jog this morning right after sunrise. It was interesting to jog in tropical storm conditions; it felt much like jogging on the beach when you are running into the wind. I jogged to Podrunner's "138 BPM - Driven" track. It was an amazing experience. I used a slightly older pair of Saucony running shoes that I bought at a significant discount many months ago. I figured I would be OK if they were ruined in the storm. They have not been the most comfortable running shoes. As I removed the insoles to let them dry I discovered why they were not very comfortable. The insoles were extremely thin and probably offered little or no cushioning. Once the shoes were dry I replaced the original insoles with some sports insoles. If it continues to rain (as it is forecasted to) then I will use these same shoes with the new insoles for tomorrow's jog. Otherwise I will switch to an older pair of ASICS that I have not used in a while.

My knees have been pain free despite jogging every morning. That is a huge relief. I have been building up speed and feel terrific. Jogging is definitely my cardio of choice. I recognize, however, that I need to mix things up. I intend to add biking to my routines as soon as I feel it is safe to do so; I think my weight may be too much for my inexpensive bike.

GOALS, DREAMS, HABITS, RITUALS

Current list of streaks:

• Writing: day 17
• Blood Pressure Readings: 8 days in a row. 127/79 today. Perhaps too much coffee? Time to switch to tea in the afternoon?
• Logging to SparkPeople: 7 days in a row (began entering food and activity data)
• Intermittent Fasting: 0 days (I ate a snack late last night, so I am back to starting to day)
• Daily Exercise Routine: 0 
• Cardio: Jogged 2.09 miles
• Strength Training: Nope
• Stretching: Yes
• Meditation: Yes, 20 minutes overall.
  
  (In order to count this one, I am making it a bit challenging. A day will only count if it contains at least 30 minutes of cardio, at least 30 minutes of strength training, at least 10 minutes of stretching, at least six hours of sleep, and at least 10 minutes of meditation.)
• Meditation: 4 days (all-time = 40): morning meditation was difficult. I could barely finish the ten minutes because I wanted to get out for a run before the weather turned bad. I had a second meditation period in mid-afternoon to try to bring my blood pressure down a little; that did not work.

PERSONAL GROWTH

My efforts to organize and downsize continued today. My goal was to clean my closet's entrance area. Goal accomplished (and then some). In the process I got rid of about 10 dress shirts, half a dozen shorts, and some t-shirts. I also worked on part of our coat closet downstairs. I am quite pleased with the changes. I should have most of the closet done by tomorrow afternoon. The hardest part will be going through a ton of photos. That will take sometime.

TIPS & TRICKS

This video shows you how to simplify any wardrobe in about 10 minutes. I used this technique today to help me purge clothes from my closet. It worked like a charm. I will do the same thing with another section of the closet tomorrow.

The Daily - Sunday, September 09, 2018

Writing challenge day 11.

Sunday, a day usually reserved for spiritual time and relaxation. Unless it is this Sunday, which was hectic and it lacked a lot of the spirituality that I normally like to focus on.

I joined my Tribe for some beautiful dancing on its fifth anniversary of starting, and also the last time dancing at our current location. Unfortunately, I had to leave early to run errands and pick up my daughter and do some preparations for Hurricane Florence.which seems to be heading straight for SC.

I managed to accomplish a lot today. In the afternoon I went back to Dollar Tree to get more organizing boxes. Here are some before and after pictures:

The shorts are now in nice boxes; top container for sports, bottom for dress shorts.

Before: Shorts (sports and dress) in available cardboard boxes

After: Shorts (sports and dress) in inexpensive nice boxes

The second part is cleaning, purging and organizing the remaining two drawers of my dresser.

Before: second drawer -- what a mess!

After: middle drawer (t-shirts, head wear, swim suits)

 The bottom drawer was last.

Before: bottom drawer -- what a mess!

After: bottom drawer (swim items, run/exercise items, winter wear)

I also managed to cook a yummy Mexican dish called "Mole Verde." It came out great. I will have to share my recipe and tricks will all of you at some time.

Speaking of tricks, I realized during the rolling of many items that one of the tricks to a successful Army roll is to make sure that the area where you begin to roll is narrower than the place where the roll is going to tuck into the garment. The second thing I realized is that you don't really need to roll every single inch of the garment. It works almost as well to fold the part you are going to roll in half and then roll that much smaller amount of garment. In some clothes you can fold the garment into thirds before you begin rolling. Much faster and easier on your hands.

That's it for this post. Much more to clean and organize, but it will wait until tomorrow.

The Daily, September 8, 2018

Writing challenge, Day 10: a busy Saturday, a fun Saturday, a productive Saturday.

Yesterday I stayed up late (past 1 AM) trying to master the new skills needed to do the Ranger Roll for best packing of clothes (please see video below). I managed to roll pants, shirts, sports shorts, and socks; dress shorts and underwear, however, did not work for me. I ended up adapting the concept for those two garments. For dress shorts, I still rolled them and used rubber bands to hold each short neatly tucked in. For underwear I modified the tucking step to make it work. It is not as neat or durable, but it still does the job.

Dress shorts, rolled, rubber band

Sports shorts, rolled, tucked in

All shorts neatly stored in available cardboard boxes (to be replaced with appropriate cubes later)

Learning to do the Ranger/Army Roll lead to videos on organizing clothes. This morning I bought some very inexpensive organizing cubes for my socks and such. I wish I had taken a picture of the before. But here is the after.

Socks and underwear, neatly organized

Socks and underwear, neatly organized, drawer in place

More or less what the top drawer used to look like. This is my project for tomorrow.

PERSONAL GROWTH

Why all the fuss about cleaning and organizing. It is a way to reset my mindset, not just about clothes and drawers, but also about other aspects of life. Just like I started with working on my finances, cleaning other areas of my life is a good exercise in discipline and tidiness.

TIPS & TRICKS

Fantastic clothes folding tricks. I cannot wait to use them the next time I travel!

The Daily, September 7, 2018

SIDE NOTE

I wrote this post on 9/7/2018 and got busy and did not post it until 9/8/2018. Life happens.  :-)

TODAY

I am celebrating day nine of the writing challenge. Speaking of celebrations, September 7 is a very busy day of celebrations:

• National Beer Lover's Day
• National Lazy Mom's Day
• National Food Bank Day
• National Grandma Moses Day
• National Neither Snow Nor Rain Day
• National Salami Day
• National Grateful Patient Day
• National Acorn Squash Day
• National New Hampshire Day

If nothing else, maybe we can bring some donations to a food bank. Perhaps we can then go out and have a salami sandwich and a beer while enjoying a day that has neither snow nor rain, being grateful that we are not a patient (in hospital or nursing home) or that we don't have to endure the New Hampshire winters. I will let you figure out what to do with the Lazy Mom and Grandma Moses part of the list.

HEALTH & FITNESS

I received a nice pair of ASICS running shoes from one of my favorite supplies (Running Warehouse) last night and I went for a nice 2+ mile jog this morning. I am not sure about the new shoes; they feel a bit tight, but it just may be the newer model is cut different than the models I am used to. I will give it one more try on Sunday and then decide if I need to return them. The great thing about Running Warehouse is that returns are hassle free.

FINANCES

So far I am thoroughly enjoying "EveryDollar". Today was my payday, which means entering a whole bunch of manual transactions. I looked at Mint a little today, but I think I am going to stick with "EveryDollar" for now.

TIPS & TRICKS

Excellent tips for times when you are traveling and use a hostel or AirBnB.