44 minutes for a 5k is a pretty respectable time. My walk around the village is about 5K and takes me a bit over an hour. Much longer if I run into someone to talk to.
One thing I do is walk with a walking stick. It actually makes the walking a lot easier and also - as a guy - gives me something I can use to poke at random stuff I encounter. I found when walking without a stick that the blood would pool in my hands and actually get quite uncomfortable.
In those walking races, can you use a stick and poke at things? "Obviously" not your fellow racers .... I presume. I've seen people who use 2 sticks a la cross-country skiing but find that a single sturdy stick works well for me. If it's long enough you could put a knob on top and pretend you are a wizard too
I'm presuming that the bad weather has stayed on the other side of the mountains from you?
On BD H52, W50 T27, M26 S21, D23 BD-9-Mar-16 D-15-Jan-18 Final-19-Apr-18 I am a storyteller. The story may do you no good. But a story is never for the listener. It is always for the one who tells
Yes, we are enjoying typical beautiful weather and feeling very guilty.
Not sure about stick poking during a race lol. In my skinny youth my fastest race-walking mile was 12 minutes, I’d like to aspire to that although it might be very unrealistic at this age and weight. (Mind you, I was never a real race walker, but I can do the gait).
Don’t be in a rush to fill that space with a dating relationship - a broad group of friends and regular friend activities can fill many of those needs and make you more able to evaluate dates with a clear head. I know that’s hard to do during this pandemic, but soon enough it will be possible.
So I tried a fast half mile during my walking yesterday - 7 minutes. So once I get into better shape (including cardiovascularly) and have better endurance, I should at least be able to get down to a 14 minute race mile, which would put me on track to repeat a 43 minute time on a 5k. That's a good goal at my age I think! Just have to get past the point where all my hip and thigh muscles are grumbling at me lol and to where I can maintain that pace for a whole 5k.
Well, after a slow start in January , yesterday I finally reached the 100 mile mark in my 1,000 mile challenge! I think I’ve figured out how to squeeze it into my schedule - the worst case scenario days I just pace while CMM makes dinner or during TV after. (He cannot handle me walking the neighborhood in the dark, even though it’s a super safe neighborhood; in his mind I think it just fills him with fear that something could happen to me and then where would he be?). I’m on pace to hit my February goal, and if I can keep this pace up, I’ll be able to finish the year with with a little leeway. Hoping to step the pace up slightly so as to give myself a month of leeway.
hit it myself on Valentine's day. Weather here has been uncooperative in terms of outdoor walking. I'm at just over 120 today.
M 20+ T25+ S ~15.5 (BD) BD 4/6/15 D 12/23/16
"Someone I loved once gave me A box full of darkness. It took me years to understand, That this too, was a gift." ~ Mary Oliver
Hit my February goal of 90 intentional walking miles, for a total of 130 so far this year. Got almost nothing else done this weekend though, I'll admit. (Although, to be fair, my Friday off was radiation and chemo day for CMM so pretty much taken up with all that. ) Just felt lazy and went with it.
Although, to be fair, my Friday off was radiation and chemo day for CMM so pretty much taken up with all that.
Bah! Excuses, excuses. Great job on the 90 miles!
I recall you said if CMM gets better, he's out the door. If he doesn't get better, are you going to be okay?? What you are doing is so compassionate, it's mind-boggling. I don't know how I'd handle such a loss.
Oh, he's not going to get better. His disease is terminal. I was just saying theoretically, if some miracle cure was invented in the next few months. He has stage 4 lung cancer, has had several bony metastases (rib first, then hip bone, last fall in his shoulder), is getting radiation to a couple of lung tumors right now that are active despite his chemo since September. He also now has a large lymph node under his jaw that the oncologist and I are pretty sure is a metastasis but the radiation oncologist wants to evaluate it more before deciding whether to irradiate it. Unfortunately his specific type of lung tumor - a KRAS mutated NSCLC - does not have any targeted therapies and is a poor prognosis. Even new experimental trials for KRAS mutations, which are notoriously hard to treat, are for DIFFERENT KRAS mutations than the one he has, so he can't get into an experimental trial. He's also already had a PD-L1 inhibitor too (kinda like Keytruda but newer). His oncologist has been pretty clear that there really aren't any other options than what we are doing now, and none of this is curative, just slowing things down. (And yes, I've already done numerous integrative/alternative treatments which is probably why he's lived so long, but none have cured him.)
Basically, his median life expectancy at time of diagnosis was 6 months, he's now 30+ months in so he's done much better than anyone could have reasonably hoped. His quality of life is still decent although not great. He might still be here next Christmas, but probably not the Christmas after that.
And CW, in so far as handling the loss- it's a funny situation, He was diagnosed just 3 months after we met, so it really doesn't feel the same as losing a long-time love. Our relationship was so new, it just feels like this has always been a part of it. It's not so much "I'm losing someone I love" as it is "I'm dating a dying man". It has taught me to live in the moment - NONE of us are guaranteed tomorrow, so we should all make the most of today. We have already had many more good days together than I would have thought possible. And I feel like it was not a coincidence I was put into his life just before his diagnosis, as a physician with an integrative bent. I'm not personally afraid of death and dying, so it's not a strain on me in that way. And it's a very good thing that I can do for another human being . Even if he's a somewhat difficult human being at times. My Jewish friends would say it's a Mitzvah.
He cooks for me, cleans, does everything he can for me because he feels he's "building up credits" for the future when he will need more care. I think he'll be disappointed in my cooking lol when he's no longer able to do so. (I'm not a bad cook, but he's a very good one. )
Last night I came home from work exhausted and sad. As a physician, it seems like I’ve spent the whole year fighting people’s denial about Covid. My last call yesterday was from a good friend whose very healthy 32 year old nephew contracted Covid a month ago. He had a mild case and was recovering well - until yesterday. A clot in an artery in his leg sent him to the hospital. The first surgery to restore blood flow didn’t work. They were taking him back in for a second, and if that failed, they would have to amputate his leg. I walked three miles last night, even though I didn’t want to, because I could, and he couldn’t.
Please people, I care about all of you and want you all to be safe and well. I was a molecular biologist in my former life. We are not done with this virus, so don’t drop your guard. In probably no more than 60-80 mild to moderate outpatient cases in my practice and personal life, I have seen a shocking percentage with long term consequences - and these weren’t hospitalized patients. It gave my son diabetes. My friend lost hearing in one ear. Orchitis, asthma, severe chronic fatigue, cardiac issues - you wouldn’t believe the variety. So please - continue to mask up and be cautious. I highly recommend the vaccines when it’s your turn. The life you save might be your neighbor’s, or your grocery clerk’s, or your waitress’s mom.
Also - most people don’t know that the monoclonal antibody treatment like Trump got, is available for high risk patients in the U.S. . BUT it works best in the first 72 hours, and they won’t give it if it’s more than 10 days after the onset. So spread the word, high risk people (including anyone 65 and older in my county) need to be tested early, at a lab with a quick turnaround time, then request a referral for this lifesaving treatment.
Please be safe out there. My niece, the ECMO nurse in the ICU treating Covid patients, saw three young patients die this week.
