Am I becoming a couch potato?

THE BAD - What a non-active past week I had. No walking for over a week (awaiting for PT tomorrow). Although boring - I need to start working out indoors (have old elliptical machine).  The medicine makes me drowsy and the supplements are giving me heartburn. Top it off and my knee feels just about the same every time I do any amount of activity. Hope I can check it out with an MRI soon and get this moving along. I am losing my patience for the process because I know I will need to start over building up miles on my feet and legs- it just stinks. 

 THE GOOD - Heck of a weekend with my nephews and brother in-laws. Attended GUYS ONLY 2nd annual take out the Dock weekend at the lake. I know, I know, sounds like work (IT IS), but actually it began with a Saturday golf outing of 4 man scramble (teamed up with my nephews) and ended the day with what can only be described as a drink-fest (my first in years). Good timing - Just what I needed - a guy’s weekend!  FYI - Sunday's hangover helped take mind off my knee (UGH)

Not a bad stretch for my sports viewing experiences either - GO BrewCrew (NL Division champs)and Pack beat DA' Bears!

So hope this week brings me some direction on what I can and cannot do in preparing for that long walkabout next year.   Any words of wisdom or encouragement much appreciated!

OLD GUY

Time to change my routine - try to keep from being a couch potato

Interesting  week.  Was able to walk over 20 miles, great weather if you like a chill in the air, I even saw a few trees with leaves changing orange. Walked the longest single stretch (over 6miles) since my knee acted up and recovered ok- BUT then went to the doctor today and was told to shut it down, maybe try some lower impact activity (time to get in some Biking, even indoor elliptical machine work-outs).  I see a therapy person next Monday morning and was prescribed some anti-inflammatory pills along with supplements that can help with joint aliments (taking I-Flex and Glucosamine) Biggest concerns are that I may have a meniscus tear which is part of the shock absorber for your knees- so a little scary!  Doc basically said that I need to try this first treatment to see if any improvement and then revisit with him in 3 weeks. If no good, next step is to have an MRI and see if they need to clean things out via a scope. Hope I don't need to go that way because recovery from any type of scope will cost me a bunch of time away to reaching my goal. No matter what thou I am committed to doing this even if it means doing it in the hotter part of summer.  I'll just need to bring a bunch of water!

Even thou I'm feeling a little down today, just need to get this thru my thick skull and realize bumps in the road are part of life. Time to pull out the biking shorts and hope for a nice Indian summer stretch.

OLD GUY

    

Great Sports Week - knee not so much

My 2nd post- Wow - still dealing with some decent pain on the inside of my right knee and a week away from seeing the doctor.  Made about 20 miles of walking this past week including a fun walk with my son. I got some great advice from my barber- excuse me Tammy - my hair stylist!  She said to check out a cool shoe place (Fleet Feet) and we also chatted with her friend who was waiting for her haircut appointment.  As a experienced runner she shared some thoughts on sock choices but told me not to skimp on shoes. Going to be looking into winter wear and footwear soon so I really appreciated her insights-thanks.

Aside from this really enjoyed the NFL's return - GO PACK!!  Badger's look awesome. maybe a BCS Bowl ahead.  My BrewCrew had a tough stretch but I still gotta believe.  OH Boy - the best part of Fall (postseason baseball, Big Ten opener and the Green 'N' Gold) can you tell I am a sports nut?- wish me luck in not driving my lovely wife crazy.

Anyway goals remain the same and my plan is to keep up a walking regiment even with potential health concerns. I hope to post good news on the diagnosis next week (crossing my fingers).  FYI - I try to post on my facebook daily what distances/times completed, so please peek in if curious.

As always please send me any helpful tips( thanks Otis) or ideas to make this a better adventure!

OLD GUY

Overcoming Right Knee issues

This is my first post but I wanted to let everyone who tunes in to know I will try posting weekly from this point on.

OH CRAP - My training has been slowed by chronic right knee pain so I will be seeing a doctor in a couple of weeks.

With this issue my current goal is to maintain about 15-20 miles per week with avg walk only about 4 miles while waiting on the right knee to recover.  I was up to 7-8 mile walks only 2 weeks ago when I made the mistake of pushing it to hard by walking over 10 miles in one stretch- since then only stiffness and pain in that knee.  Good things are my legs feel strong and feet no longer an issue (dealt with some blisters early on).

Stats:
Age: older than 53
Height: over 6' 4"
Starting weight was over 360 just last year- current weight under 310 (50lbs with mostly exercise not bad)
on my 5th pair of walking shoes -time to buy new ones (trying to find a water resistant one for winter walking)

My hope is if anyone checking this site has ideas on shoes, training tips, ect, ect-  please post and I will reply right away. Thanks in advance!

OLD GUY
 

Let's Get This Party Started

This is my first post as I am still learning how to do this whole blog thing.  Watch for more updates soon!  Thanks for the support!