Monday, August 31, 2009

Virtual Route 10

I'm still plugging along on my trip to New York City. I honestly didn't realize it would take this long to get this far. I mean, I knew it would take awhile, but I thought I'd be closer after 7 months of steady exercising. Oh well. Just for fun, I'm going to put a poll up on my sidebar so you can vote when you think I'll arrive. Again, I stole the idea from Sarah. Without her, I wouldn't have a single good idea. *smile*

Anyhoo, here's where I am:


















As you can see from the picture (if you click on it to enlarge it), I've finally entered Nebraska. I'm pretty excited whenever I enter a new state. It takes so long to get through a state! I'm really looking forward to getting back east; maybe it'll only take me a couple months to exercise my way through some of those smaller states instead of the 4+ it took me to get through Colorado.

Stats:
Start date of this leg: 7.28.09
# of days traveled: 28
# of stationary days: 5 - vast improvement from last month's 12!
Miles traveled: 104.2
Hours on the road: 26.6
Calories burned: 13,595
Total miles traveled: 846.8
Miles 'til NYC: 1509.8

Thoughts:
I definitely feel better with my performance this leg compared to July. I worked really hard to not miss as many days as last month. I didn't quite accomplish my goal of only missing 4 days, but I'm pleased that it was just one day off. I'm also pleased to have accomplished my goal of traveling 100 miles this month, especially since there were several days that I played tennis or racquetball, which I don't count towards my mileage since I don't know how to say how "far" I exercised. It's fun to have some variety, though, and they boost my Calories Burned and Days Traveled, so I'll keep adding them into the mix as often as possible.

Ideally, I'd wake up early every morning and ride my bike or walk, then either play tennis/racquetball or walk every evening. Ideally. The "problem" has been my new friends who are so much fun I stay up late to hang out with them, making it hard to wake up at 6:30. However, they are also the ones with whom I play tennis and racquetball. I just need to get better at saying goodnight earlier. Yeah, wish me luck with that! *smile*

Again, overall I'm pleased with the month. I feel really good and, despite the decreased sleep, feel pretty energetic. Oh, and playing tennis has become so much easier! It's easier to run after balls and even my swing is smoother. I didn't play tennis last year, but I bet I wouldn't have enjoyed it. I was so heavy, I probably wouldn't have been able to play for very long without dying of a heart attack. And, I know I wouldn't have liked racquetball - it takes quite a bit of energy and I wouldn't have had it. Now I love it! I can't help but think about how much better I'll be as I practice AND as I get even lighter! Something to work towards, definitely.

Next Month's Goals:
1. Miss 4 days or fewer. This is such a do-able goal! I'm going to accomplish this one in September even if it kills me!

2. Travel 100 miles or more for a 2nd month in a row. Really, if I'm ever going to get to NYC, this is going to have to become a regular occurrence.

3. Wake up 4 mornings a week to exercise - 3 times during the week (non-weekend). This is also totally do-able, I'm just not doing it lately. If I wake up to exercise, it'll really help out with goal #1.

3 comments:

Mellissa said...

You're in Nebraska - that's great! I want to learn racquetball but my brother-in-law who said he'd teach me one day is way too good and it scared me to watch him play, let alone get in the cage with him. Maybe one day you can teach me? :)

Susan said...

Nebraska! You should stop in Lincoln and see the house I lived in as a girl! (J/K) Yes, waking up early IS do-able IF you go to bed early, but you're having way too much fun every night! What a social gadfly you are.

Anonymous said...

Wow-I love that there are so many days left to vote. Maybe I'll change my answer before the poll closes. :D