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A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

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Walking with a purpose: Looking back at 2019

February 19, 2020

As I continue to try and get my health on track, one thing I have done way more of is walking. This is something most medical people stress people should do as it’s one of the easiest forms of exercise. 

And I’ve been doing it more for a while. 

Of course, just because you walk isn’t a foolproof way to get your health back on track. You still have to eat better and watch all other aspects in your life. But walking, by and large, is something we can all do more of. 

Me included. 

This feature, which I mentioned doing a few months ago, will be a monthly log about walking in life. I plan to do this monthly, and it will cover a lot of different things – be it just about walking or about other aspects (apps, technology, shoes, random observations/stories etc.), but more or less a way to talk about walking and how beneficial it has been for me. 

For this first one, however, I’d like to cover 2019. This was the year where I really started to push more at walking. And even though I didn’t do as much as I hoped (there were a few drop off times), I think I stayed pretty focused, especially toward the end of the year. 

It was also the year where I started tracking things when it came to walking, such as a Google spreadsheet to keep track of my miles and different walks. 

Also, as part of my Day Zero Project, I wanted to get 10 million steps over those 1,001 days. I tend to track a bunch of other things as well, though they don’t always work out in a way that makes sense. 

Midway through 2019, I also swapped out my Fitbit for an Apple Watch. I’m glad I made this switch and I will eventually have a post about this and the reasons I switched and stuck it out. 

Anyway … 

In 2019, I logged 1,808.93 miles. Now, take into account, this is everyday life. So this is any dedicated walks, work, travel – any time I am walking. That came down to 4,028,006 steps. That’s a pretty good start to my 10 million goal, I’d say. 

That being said, the year was up and down. My best months were March (171.37 miles) and April  (380,000 steps) in regard to steps and mileage. From there, it started to go down a bit. The lowest point came in October (298,795 steps), though September had been my fourth-best month of the year in regard to steps. The mileage, overall, took a dip when I switched from the Fitbit to the Apple Watch, which I am not sure if it’s because I never got it calibrated right, or if it was because of how I was using it. I think I finally have it set right, and this is a topic I’ll cover down the road. 

All of this is in correlation with my diabetes battle and watching my numbers go all over the place. Up and up, before I finally started paying attention to get them to come down. October wasn’t a good month and I knew it – so November and December were vastly improved when it came to steps. 

I also kept track of my actual walks. These are the ones where I go out with the specific reason to walk or do something in an exercise vantage point – ie hiking, or even shoveling snow. Though a side note, I figured a better way to track exercise such as shoveling snow, so in late 2019 and 2020 so far, they are not registered as walks anymore. 

All in all, I logged 414 walks in 2019, which came out to 824.81 miles. My best month for walks came in January (44) and November (41), which the top mileage coming in September (79.67), March (76.63), and April (76.16). 

So far, in 2020, I’m really pushing myself and am averaging easily two walks per day as I am doing my best to get in a walk in the morning and at night. Those morning ones can be pretty tough at times!

That all in mind, I’ve pushed. And it’s not even February 20th yet, and I’ve already logged nearly 35 walks for the month. If I don’t falter, this month will easily be my best since I started tracking what I am doing with myself. 

I can dig that. 

And when I tackle the Apple Watch in the future, I’ll get way more in-depth about closing the rings and earning badges, but I’d be lying if I said that hasn’t helped me. They are small things, but they motivate. And any type of motivation is good if it gets you out walking and such. There are a few apps, too, that I’ve been using that help me along the way. One of them (Relive), I need to use more, especially in conjunction with some blog posts. 

In 2019, I also took part in my first real 5K. Though I walked it (which, I found out, a lot of people do), I was pretty stoked with myself in doing that. My goal is by the end of 2020 to actually run a 5K, if I can get my feet feeling better (more on that in the future, too) and get myself into the kind of shape where I can at least jog a 5K in the 40 minute range, On a good pace, I can do a 5K in about 50-52 minutes when walking. There’s no reason to think I can’t shave 10-12 minutes or more off that if I’m actually jogging/running. I am actually signed up for two 5Ks in Philadelphia – the Phillies one in March (which I did last year and walkers were aplenty), and the Rocky Run in November (which I will need to run as they have certain time criteria). 

Goal set and I am focused. 

When all came to an end in 2019, I learned a lot. Mainly, I learned about myself and what I was trying to do. Reality is, I haven’t always been the most healthy. Hell, I’m still not. But I’m doing everything I can to move more and to become a better me. I’m trying to do more things that get me moving. This year, my hope is to ride my bike more and get out and kayak. 

Hopefully by the time I do a post like this next year, I’ll have even better results and different aspects to cover. 

How about any of you reading? Are you big walkers? Something more? Or what kinds of things do you do for exercise? I’m always looking to expand!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Filed Under: Health, My world, Walking with a purpose Tagged With: goals, health, health goals, healthy life, healthy things, healthy walking, looking back, waling with a purpose, walk, walking, walking goals

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30 Minus 2 Days of Writing: Little things (19/28)

February 19, 2013

Life is full of curve balls. 

When life throws you a lemon, make lemonade. 

Don’t stress about life too much, you’ll never make it out alive. 

Life sucks. Then you die. 

There are hundreds — if not thousands — of sayings about life. A lot of them try to give you a good grip on what life really is about and how one should take a look at the bigger picture. If you’re a regular reader of this blog — or just have been stopping because of this challenge — you likely know my current status and how I’ve been trying to dig myself out.

I don’t want to repeat everything, so if you don’t know and are curious, see this post I wrote earlier in this challenge.

Anyway…

When you look at the bigger picture about life and how things can go up and down, you really need to focus, as well, on the little things. Because, in all reality, it’s the little things that make life truly bearable.

Life is full of little things to enjoy — such as going out for a pint of the black stuff with family or friends.

The big things — making a major purchase, going on a big vacation, other huge life events — are great. And they take part in shaping who you are. But at the same time, they are often one-time happenings (or rare if done more than once). So as nice as it is to have these situations, the reality is they are things to look forward or backward on.

It’s the little things, however, that really make life worth living.

I was truly reminded of this during a Saturday night photo outing in the Albany area.

After spending a while at the Empire State Plaza, we went to a local Dunkin’ Donuts for a quick bite. We decided to check one more place out as I had hoped it would give us a good place for some shots. The area is a waterfront park on the Hudson River. They’ve built it up nicely with some walkways, some nice views and a small building. I believe the building houses a few bathrooms and an office for summer tours.

When we pulled up, I saw a homeless person sleeping in one of the doorways. All bundled up and with a stroller of sorts, filled with some of her items. We backed away and took a different sidewalk in, so as not to disturb the person. It was, after all, about 10 p.m. or so and we didn’t want to scare her or anything like that.

It made me reflect on things. Despite having no job, no income and having to raid what I have left of a retirement account to pay bills, I reminded myself of a few things: I have a roof over my head, the ability to eat, the technology to keep looking for work and family and friends who have gone beyond what they should have to do to help me out at times.

Playing a little disc golf is another little thing in life that makes me smile.

I’ve stayed current with bills so my credit number doesn’t take a full nosedive and, for the most part, I’ve remained as positive as possible in this situation.

There are many people in this country who have it way worse than I do. In a day and age when politicians make oodles of money to make awful decisions, professional athletes make more in a year than many people will make in a lifetime, and countless amounts of money is dumped into worrying about things in other countries more than our own, I realize — for now — I’m actually OK in a way.

I remind myself of the little things, such as the following:

  • Being able to have a beer with a friend
  • Being able to brew my own beer!
  • Going out and finding a geocache
  • Going for a walk or a bike ride
  • Taking a photograph
  • Playing a round of disc golf
  • Reading a good book

These are all little things in life. Everyday occurrences that can make one smile or be happy to be alive.

And, unfortunately, some people aren’t in the situation to be able to enjoy the little things. It’s my hope, one day, when I get back on my feet that I can find a way to help people who have it worse than me. And  as much as I would love to help people in other countries, I’d really like to give back to my country because I am proud of who I am and where I’m from.

Everybody should have the ability to enjoy the little things. I realize that isn’t always going to be possible, and that’s a shame.

But it makes me reflect. And it makes me appreciate what I do have. And it makes me continue to fight to get ahead again, so one day I can hopefully give back.

Maybe then, the little things will make others happy, too.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Filed Under: blogging, challenges, Life, My world, We Work For Cheese Challenges, Writing Tagged With: 30 Minus 2 Days Of Writing, 30 Minus 2 Days Of Writing challenge, beer, disc golf, geocache, geocaching, life, little things, little things in life, smiling, walk

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A great bark in the park day Sunday at the Bingham A great bark in the park day Sunday at the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. Harper got her first foul ball (as you can see she enjoyed!) and we also had the chance to grab a couple others and give them to some other dogs. All in all, four dogs walked away with balls! 

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One year ago today, I put a down payment on this g One year ago today, I put a down payment on this goof. Two weeks later, she came home … look at her now! 

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Today is a great day to be amazing. Be happy, smile, and say hi to people. Blogger. Photographer. Explorer. #isles #ringthebell

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New blog post: Back to the blog https://hoohaa.com/?p=15683

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New blog post: Photo Blogging Challenge (June 2022): Water. #PBC #PhotoBloggingChallenge #Photography #Challenge https://hoohaa.com/?p=15668

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softball29 P.J. @softball29 ·
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Sharing a hot dog with Harper at bark in the park at @SyracuseMets ! #baseball #barkinthepark #dog #dogsoftwitter #hotdog

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P.J. Harmer
When these boxes come, there usually some excitement. But this one ... is the ultimate unboxing! 

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Music: Happy to be Happy (Dapun)

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I hate being in front of the camera, but also realize sometimes it's not the worst thing in the world. So, I'm getting better with it. Week 4's theme was all about us and having us in front of the camera, so I tried to come up with a creative way to do it. 

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The theme for Week 3 of the 52-week video challenge was "Show your process of making something." Alas, I didn't get the time to do what I wanted to do, so I attacked something I filmed over the summer that I kept putting off. 

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