Up hill and down dale....

Adventures in The Ranch's open space today.
Ah, how quickly Thursday night rolls around. It means work looms again tomorrow. With this in my forbrain I find myself increasingly doing odd things on Thursdays. I guess it's to offset the time I cant get out during my 3-day work week.
Today I ventured into the open space trails on the East side of the valley. What is commonly known in these parts as The Hogback is really a misnomer. You have to be more specific than that as there are TWO Hogbacks (Hogsbacks, Hogs Backs?????). To the West side of the highway only one is visible, this is the Dakota Hogback. The other upthrust of land to the West of The Ranch is called the Lyons Hogback. Today's adventure took place on and around the Dakota.
I set out across the open space and the earth dam, a little like yesterday. Instead of turning up towards the equestrian center I went up the bank to the crash barrier at the roadside. I hopped it and set out down hill towards the ambiguously named Hogback Trail.
This is one of the lower points in the valley which means ITS ALL UPHILL FROM HERE. And it was.
As soon as I entered the trail, the world disappears. To the East is the ridge of the Dakota Hogback some 300 feet above. To the West, it the Lyons Hogback Ridge at around a hundred feet above you. This trail sits almost plumb between the two and climbs steadily some 150 feet. This is a nice gentle and constant hill to work against.
It was cooler again today. It was quiet with only the sounds of the birds twittering (where do they get cell phones from?), the chattering of the prairie dogs, the wheezing and the heavy Hippo-like footfalls of me. Fortunately the last two were masked by my companion, the MP3 player.
I made it to the top (it's about 1.5 miles long) and felt great. The trail is basically an infrequently used single track that only the Rangers can access. They do however gang-mow it to almost 3 times the width to allow horses and other users to pass safely. Quite a good thing as it allows people who have trail shoes but prefer NOT to slip-n-slide in the mud to keep clean and safe. I alternated between the center hump of the track and the flattest side I could find.
At the top I looked onwards and upwards. I headed into unknown territory of the more northern area of the valley. They are a little snooty up there so I minded my P's and Q's as I went. The trails followed the terrain and became mere foot tracks that had also been over mowed.
I eventually came to the end of the valleys main trail system. The even-more-northerly-valley (even snootier, it has it's own golf course - Purlease) beckoned. I entered an area that is Jeffco's but The Ranch's Rangers maintain it for them (at least that's what the signs say). I headed up up up to a place where I spotted some flattened grass that was an obvious trail that headed up the dizzying hights of the Dakota. I headed up it and began to climb quickly. That's another 400 feet in 6/10ths of a mile quickly. I reached the scrub line and turned to look South West. This was THE view of the Ranch I had been looking for. A perfect pic. Now if I had only had a camera :)
After taking this in I looked to the North and saw ugly clouds heading over the Lyons Hogback. I decided that I should not be on the highest ridge for miles as this looked like a storm front. (It wasn't). I turned South and West for home heading on as much trail as I could and avoiding the roads.
The stats: 6.83 miles in 1:54:44. Not fast but the trails were harder going. More walking than running but with that high BPM accompaniment of MP3's. The Garmin claimed 1413 Calories for the trip with the miles passing at a sluggish 16.48 pace. However despite these seemingly less than stellar stats I did complete over the distance of a 10k in less than 2 hours. Not too shabby for the state of things. The BGL afterwards was 98! I have even stood on the scale as I cam out of the shower. Down to 227, dripping wet.

Mad dogs and Englishmen............

...... go out in the afternoon drizzle.

OK so it's not quite the line from the song about Brits going out in the midday sun but we have had precious little of that in the past couple of days. It's been the coolest July for ages. We have had so much rain it's looking more like Seattle here than Colorado. 12 months ago we were in drought conditions and we looked like the high plains desert we should. In fact Seattle was 20 degrees warmer than we were today. Weired.
Speaking of weired I have the bug good and proper. The running bug. Going out on the bike and hauling Sam yesterday was ok. It is good for stamina building and it lets my knees rest. It isn't running though. Alone. Feet on the trails and just the world passing by to the sounds on the MP3 player.
It had poured most of the afternoon. Really poured. It's feeling like England here at the moment only the temperature is too high. :) I had waited and waited for a break in the rain because I really wanted to get out there.
After 6pm the break finally came. I changed into the running clothes. Alison looked at me like I was quite, quite mad. I put on my Asics and thanked my foresight in getting a pair of trail shoes that have Gore-tex in them. I am not a fan of cold, wet feet.
After some stretching while the Garmin found it's bearings, I started the Sony MP3 and off I went. Then something happened. I ran
I ran from the house and out onto the open space. I ran out onto the dam and crossed the open space to the other side. I then glanced down at the Roadrunner and stopped. I had been running for three and a half minutes. What the F%*k? What just happened? I stopped and stared. I HAD been running. I had loped along for 3.5 minutes solid.
Now Ok I realize this is no WR or anything but we are talking about me here. The Hippo. Who doesn't run. Wow. The running too is, well, odd. The stiff-leg gait is gone. The knees have come up, the shoulders have dropped and the stride has lengthened. Whats up with that? It's like I came out of third and found fourth.
As the shock cleared I punched the MP3, dialed up some high BPM music and off I went, walk running around the valley.
It felt AMAZING. The feeling of freedom was back. The tension left me. I have read people who describe running as if it's a drug and I think I know what they mean. It's all you. Your muscles. No wheels or bearings helping you along. The machine that is US moving you along. There is effort. There is reward. I think it's the hypoxia talking but hey, this is damn fantastic.

The stats: Ok here we go. 3.02 miles (yes its the short-course) in 40:37. The average speed was 4.5 mph. This is a new PR. (Now there is something I NEVER thought I would write).
OMG Wow. The BGL afterwards was 97. I am SO happy tonight. I am so encouraged.

Hauling a small child.

It's Tuesday and it was time to emerge from the week long lay-off.

We had all travelled down to Durango in South West Colorado for a week long break to help give Sam another railroad "fix". Alison and I had been on the Durango and Silverton railroad a number of years ago but we had travelled in the winter when the train runs only part of the line due to snow slides over the track. We had an incredible time and we were able to indulge ourselves in hours of steam trains, travelling and photography. Some of our family's favourite past times.
We also managed a visit to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. I set out at each overlook with a camera, two lenses and the old Manfrotto tripod. I hiked out both at altitude and relatively high temperature. I felt so good and was able to hike out with abandon. The hours pounding around the valley at home were perhaps starting to show results!
Well we made it home late Thursday night and Friday was a day off with a full and busy day. Saturday and Sunday were the usual work days and Monday was also filled with "stuff". Are you seeing a pattern here?
Well Tuesday opened with overcast promise. Around 3pm I packed Sam, the mountain bike and Sam's replacement trailer into the car and set out for new trails.
Just to the North of us to Bear Creek Park. It has a large lake behind a Corps of Engineers dam, playgrounds, a campsite, a stables and lots of trails.
We arrived and Sam was installed in his new trailer. This is SO much better then the old one yet was made by the same company and cost only $30 more. It has real 20 inch wheels and the interior fittings are better. The safety straps are easier to set too.
I helped Sam put on his new helmet, put on the seat straps and off we went.
It was mostly relatively flat trails with only a couple of off-road excursions along the way. The new trailer sits right behind the bike. Sam is pretty much at rear-wheel mud-in-the-face-level but there is a mesh cover that fits snugly over the front of the trailer. To supplement this there is also a clear plastic cover that clips and Velcro's over the mesh. It makes the trailer totally weatherproof. (And child throwing things out proof too).
We headed out towards the big dam and after a lot of huffing and puffing we reached the top of the dam. Unfortunately that didn't get us very far as the trail stops there. We doubled back and found the much lower trail that took us along the shore level of the dam. We found ourselves on the main road for one section of the ride, that's when we decided to go off road a little. The trailer was fully buttoned up and off we went. Sam was squealing with delight as we ran along the multi-use trails that were heavy with mud. The front of the trailer, the bike and parts of me were plastered.
At one point in the trail we stopped on a bridge over Bear Creek. Sam & I were watching the high water flow beneath us when I felt a sharp pain on my left ankle. Thinking horse fly or mosquito I looked down to see a half dozen wasps hovering around my leg. I spooked and jumped on the pedals. That was when the wasp on my left calf stung me. Two stings, great. Fortunately Sam was safely enclosed in his trailer.
We made it to the end of the trail without further stings! We had made such good time and had covered the ground so quickly we headed for a second tour of the lake. We got to the foot of the dam and I glanced behind me to see a small child sound asleep in the trailer with his helmet still in place.
I took pity on him and turned the bike around and headed back to the car. We had covered 9.6 miles in 1:08:10 When we got home my BGL was 126. Not stellar but before the ride I was 146. Aside from the sings, a ride that will be repeated.

The Work Week Is Over

Well it's Sunday night and another work "week" is over. The longer I do this job the more I realize that, aside from "it's all about the people in pajamas", it should ALWAYS be considered a good day when no one dies. This weekend has been good.

Now I can hear you thinking "What has this got to do with weight loss, running or Hippos?
Well the unit I work in is a long hallway. One end has a nurses station with computer, charts and at the other is a medication preparation room. One hall has 10 rooms and there are 12 in another.

We do a lot of walking in this job. Several of us have carried pedometers during shifts. We have AVERAGED between 13,000 and 17,000 steps per shift. The median of 15,000 steps multiplied by the three shifts equals 45,000 steps. My walking pace sits at about 3 feet. 45,000 times 3 equals 135,000 feet. 135,000 divided by 3 is 45,000 yards. 1,800 yards to a mile equals a whopping 25 miles! Ok, so it's all on the flat but hey, movement is movement and miles are miles.

Keep on waddling.

"Rest day"

Yeah, right.
No running, riding , jogging or purposeful walking today. Today is my Sunday and, as may be tradition in some quarters, I attacked the yard work.
I removed four Aspen trees the HOA decided were dead (they were too). The biggest was as high as the house, some forty odd feet. I chainsawed it onto the drive (after removing the cars first). Just as I made the last cut into the wedge (the direction I wanted the tree to go) the tree decided to make a 180 and head for me. I ran (it has payed off) and killed the saws motor as I went.
The tree twanged onto the roof as it fell. Fortunately there was no real damage. We replaced the roof a couple of years ago with a composite metal one after the hail destroyed our shake shingle. Phew!
Al and Sam appeared at the window having heard the tree hit the metal roof. After gingerly opening the front door Al helpfully suggested I should have called her and she would have gladly pulled on a rope to have prevented the near disaster. Thanks Love!
I was limbing the tree when one of my neighbours stopped to chat. He too offered to pull on ropes. Great. Next time perhaps.
Well after the next three trees toppled to the mighty chainsaw I was left to pick up the hundreds of dry twigs left everywhere. I guess those trees had to come out after all.
I mowed the front yard, repaired three sprinkler heads and finally collapsed after a shower.
Zero miles today BUT the BGL was 98 after all of the work.
Tonight's treat was Pizza!

A Jog in the Sunshine

After the success and failures of Tuesday, the family spent Wednesday shopping.
Ah retail therapy.
We started by finding a replacement for Sam's towable trailer. After parting with a little over $135 we had a replacement for the old one with the disintegrating straps. All is not lost however. The old one is to be converted into a Scottie trailer for use later this year. Al has a cruising bike and this will go behind her. It will be for comfy trail use only!
Sam was very against going out today. I think he was needing a break after the previous two days.
I changed into my Hippo gear and after a reasonable amount of stretching while the Garmin figured out where it was, off I went.
I decided to be a little adventurous and take to the less prepared trails where I could. I set out along the earth dam again and then hit the hard trails.
I was again following the FatLoss4Life.com plan. Kind of. If I felt I could I went further jogging than the plan called for, if the legs were getting tired, then I went short. Let's just call it an adaptation.
What I realized as I went on was that I rely on the speed of the music to really pace me. Some tracks on the MP3 get skipped while others are sought out to help with a difficult stage. I think I need to start a "What got me home" music list.
I felt winded pretty early into the trip. after about a mile and a half I was hurting. I couldn't figure out why but felt a little congested in the upper airways. I though my allergies were done for the year. Maybe not.
I pressed on.
I went higher up the valley and found a gravel trail I had not used before. This is another treat of living here. Lots of places to explore.
I selected a Norman Cook remix of a Tim Deluxe track and went for it. About half way up I spooked a whitetail doe in the long grass and she bounded away. Rabbits were out and the sun was sitting just above the western hill. Magic.
I finally turned for home and was back in 1:06 after 4.38 miles.The pace was not stellar, 14.51. That winded section really did me in. The Garmin claimed 817 Kal so a lot of good hill work on this run/walk. BGL pre was 146 and post it was 100! Way to bring down the A1C.

Ridin 'n' runnin

Well it's been a couple of days since I last sat at the keyboard. Things have been moving forward though, I have not been sitting on my laurels (or anywhere else for that matter).
I took Sam out again on Tuesday. After the success of his jaunt in the ATS I decided to give my knees a break and to pull out Sam's trailer that attaches to my mountain bike. I dragged the thing from the nether reaches of the garage where it had spent the winter and was dismayed to find it a mess. The nylon(?) straps that act as seat belts were almost dust. The grey material disintegrated as I coupled them together. My only guess is they are less than UV resistant.! Kind of an issue at 7,000 feet.
I managed to cobble a set together (the trailer is able to carry 2 kids) and was able to make one set from two. Sam was excited to see his other 'buggy' again and was happy to let me put him inside. Then we found his "Thomas the Tank Engine" helmet really didn't fit him at all. Arrgh! Off with the helmet and after some adjustment of the straps, we were finally ready to hit the trails.
I decided I would repeat some of the route I had taken when testing my knees. I set out from home and went into the open space trails. I have to tell you that we live in a funnel. Almost.
In any direction, road or trail, the elevation is UP! There are though gentle Up's as well as steep Up's. I chose the gentlest up there is. The 40 pound addition to my bike was very noticeable but I was able to make it all the way up the hill without having to get off and push! Thanks Shimano.
We made it up to the main road and followed this flattish route that allows us to enter another valley to the South. Back on the trails away from traffic we made better time. Sam was sitting happily in the back (although he didn't look comfortable) making fire-truck siren sounds as we moved along.
At the end of the trail some two miles later, the trail and the road merge again. After a brief water stop for us both, we made a 180 and set off back along the trail.
The return was harder but the trail makers had made the grade run with some flatter parts between. This allows for some harder peddling followed by flat recovery areas. The road though is a constant incline.
After crossing the main road, we set off down the steep and long descent to the main valley entrance. I kept the speed down for Sam. His trailer has small 12 inch wheels and the tyres don't give a lot of comfort. That trail has has quite a lot of wash-out with the rains this year.
At the bottom we crossed the road and went back up into the open space for a well earned break at one of the play equipment areas. Sam took full advantage of the break. Off came the helmet and slides, swings and running were the order of the day.
It took some persuasion to get him back into the trailer but he bravely sat there for the ride home.
The total trip was 8.23 miles completed in 1:05 (not including the slide stop) with an average pace of 8.05. My Garmin suggested I'd burned 1679 Cal but of course you can't believe that as the last time I checked, the wheels turn for free going downhill. The BGL was 121 at the beginning but 122 at the end.
The best part was no knee pain at all.

Pounding the pavement (and the mud, and the grass)

Another weekend of fun and joy has passed in the world of Progressive Care. I am once again able to not stress about charting, medication interaction and wild 88 year olds who wish to claw the very skin from my face. That's when they are not biting. This did happen to me one week ago. I was able to successfully discharge the patient back to whence she came during this past weekend. My right arm still reminds me of the Tdap had on Tuesday after the clawing.

I was finally able to get out with Sam today, the first time in almost 10 days as I had hurt my knees. The left more than the right it would seem. I rode motorcycles from the time I was 16 until I was 22. I didn't have a car licence until the day my then employer realized I did not. As you know, I have also been overweight most of my life. I also ski on long (200) shaped skis. I have had this love-hate relationship with my knees for a while now. If I am tired they also ache like heck.
This all started 10 days ago I was getting over the snottiest damn cold. I had even left work early one day, I felt that bad. The day of the 'run' I felt just well enough and I was SO motivated to get out and walk/run. (I hope someday to progress to run/walk and to finally achieve "run".) I strapped on my Asics and set out on an invigorating 5.91 mile extravaganza covering the trails and the roads of this great neighbourhood. I returned home. Checked my blood sugar, had LOTS of water and felt really good. Until morning came. Then both my left and right knees began punishing me. That dull ache I usually experience when I am very tired was there upon waking. Uh ho.
After anti-inflammatories and trying a couple of different topical pain relievers, I was able to dig through the web and I found that what I had done was BAD on a number of levels. Very Bad.

1. I had NOT tapered up after a break
2. I had not stretched properly or long enough
3. I had pushed myself WAY too hard after an illness.

As Homer would say, Doh!

I have spent a long time researching how I should get over this and in the intervening days, what was broken may now be healed.

Staring out with the least hilly route from my house, I took Sam out into the open space, over the earth dam that divides it and around the paved trails . He was happy in his ATS (All Terrain Stroller) watching the horses, the bunnys and other assorted wildlife that we share this area with. I was happy with a variety of kikkin tunes on the MP3 Walkman. 2.5 miles later we were back home. Sam was happy to have been out in his buggy again and I was feeling no pain at all. I had done this in daylight though. I just know the local paper will have letters reporting Hippo sightings again.

My Garmin tells me I did this in 39:13, which is no record with a healthy 480 kCal burned. I did not factor the 30+ pound 3 year old or his ATS into the Garmin's calculations. My weight is stubbornly hanging out at 231 pounds. The Blood sugar after exercise was 126. I have fallen behind again. This time though I am going to take it gently.

Introductions all round

As a husband, a father and someone who has changed careers in the past couple of years, I decided I should also change my lifestyle. At 46 I now have a career (RN) that requires me to be able to respond to my patients needs at a moments notice. After 22 years in my previous career (broadcast engineer) that involved mostly sitting on my duff with brief spurts of activity, it was the rising of my HgA1C that truly led to this 'new me'.
I have done something so radical, it's almost funny. No it IS funny. I have taken up running. Ok, I will repeat that, RUNNING.
Now ANYONE who knows me knows I do not run anywhere. For anything. Seriously. It's just not me. From an early age I have been "large'. Ok. Overweight, Fat. Big. I was the kid who would sneak whole cans of baked beans, puddings and other assorted stuff from the larder. I drank Coke. Ah, Coke. I loved Coke. I could drink a 6-pack a day, sometimes more. All through my adult life I could not really understand just why I always was sweating. Always just leaking sweat. Well my blood glucose was probably up in the 200's. My body was trying anything to rid itself of this sugar stuff.
This sudden urge to better myself has come at a cost. My immediate neighbours and fellow inhabitants of this part of the fair State of Colorado have had the unfortunate vision of a large, adult hippo waddling around the neighbourhood. For this sight I can only apologise. Profusely.
Ah well. So much for the past.
I have been married for 12 years to the love of my life Alison. After a number of losses we were able to have Sam. Samuel James was three years old back in March and is the apple of his mom and dad's eye. He has three 'fur siblings'. Angus (10), Ivy (13) and Hamish (11 ish). They are all Scottish Terriers. Angus came with us from England while Ivy and Hamish were both born in the States. Both were rescues from puppy mills. In spite of the two rescues terrible starts in life they now have been with us longer than they were in the mills. All 3 live and play together as if they were all from the same litter. Ivy though is in charge. Scottie World is matriarchal.
We all live in the Foothills to the west of Denver, Colorado.
The purpose of this is to share this journey with those who may be coming along after. After what I am not yet sure but; here it goes.