People are Getting on my Trail.

Yesterday there was a record number of people on the trail during my walk with 51. Today there were 37 people. This of course doesn't count the dogs and babies which have no say in the matter. One of the funniest ones was a woman that brought her bike with her to the Tesson parking area and just rode her bike to Gravois. That was only a two mile bike ride. I guess it is better than nothing at all but it seems really minor to me. I walked 10.63 miles and I thought I should have gone further.

There seems to be an issue with the livestrong.com website. I have tried several times to get on it to

track my walking and food but the pages keep going blank. I wonder if it will be fixed soon. That is a bit inconvenient.

The ducks were out Today, so were the people.

I saw some ducks in the creek near Grant's Trail near the headend at The Lodge end of the trail. They were all swimming together in their little ducky formation and quacking just as ducks tend to do. It will be interesting to see what sort of facility that is going to be built there and how that will relate to the park and fitness. I should look into what is available at the Clydesdale Park. But I think just walking up the hill is about enough activity for anyone.

It is very quiet in here in the morning.

I went to Grant's National Park for my turn around point. I was joust going to Gravois but I had to use their bathroom. When I was in there I sneezed. I guess it was a bit loud and the Park Ranger stuck his head in the bathroom to see what was going on.

I think I am going to get a scale that works Today. That will help measure my actual weight without having to guess. However, when I was up visiting Cheryl one time we went to Zannie's comedy club and the guy there was selling t-shirts that benefit dog rescues and I got one, The thing is the only size they had was large so I had to got that. I wore that shirt Today. Of course I am fat in it but I can at least wear it somewhat without it being over stretched.

According to my fitness tracker I have walked 331 miles and I am at almost 19 percent of my goal to walk 1750 miles. Just think, almost 20 percent done. Looking back it looks so easy, but looking forward it looks really hard.

I also had a large number of hits on my blog yesterday. I want to say thank you for reading and I hope that you will be returning to see me become successful on my journey to a better me. I couldn't do it without you. Well I could and I am.

Keep on track,

Thomas

Happy Darwin Day

Happy Birthday Charles.

Tomorrow represents the 202^nd anniversary of the birth of naturalist Charles Darwin. Regardless of a persons views on his work concerning natural selection, he certainly is a person that has influenced the world from his life's work. So go out and hug an ape.

Today is going to be another short day as I have got to get ready to go to Collinsville, IL and do some work. Plus Tonight Cheryl is going to be here so I want to be ready for her arrival.

Today was a very short walk. It is funny because it is as long as when I first started out back in December but now it is less than half of the distance that I cover. I weighted myself again Today and it seems like I might be at 256 pounds. That is twelve percent of my body weight that I have lost now and my blood pressure continues to stay in the “green” levels.

I find it so hard to deal with the long slow process of losing the weight. I mean the actual walking and watching food consumption is really hard. Plus when I look in the mirror and see how far I have yet to go to look the way I want to it seem like and unending path. I guess in a way it is.

That is the main reason I began this process of keeping a blog and recording my fitness numbers so I can have clear and tangible proof that I am actually moving toward my goal. How many of us have worked to lose weight and then after reaching a goal slack off and do not even realize that the weight lost comes back? It is that easy to gain weight. You don't have to do anything at all.

I know some people that can eat all they want, it seems, and are still skinny as a rail. That used to be me when I was in high school and college. But I think I was pretty active back then too. I did a lot of walking and was pretty active. Back then you had to go to an arcade and stand up while you played video games. Not these in home couch potato ones they have now. However I guess the manufactures are changing that too.

Highlights, I am at 307 miles which is enough distance to reach where Cheryl lives in Chicago. That also brings me to 17.5 percent of my goal of 1750 miles. This months average blood pressure is 125/77. Not too bad for a fat man, I say.

Keep on track,

Thomas

More Than One Million Steps!

Interstate 44 is at the north end of Grant's Trail in Kirkwood.

Well that alone should be good enough for Today but I also walked all the way to the end of Grant's Trail. I also walked 12.5 miles Today too. That is 283 miles since December 28^th, 2010. Thew one million steps is from all of last year though. So it is from a much longer period of time. I was also surprised to find out that it got colder as the day went on. It was about 26ºF when I started and it was down to 12ºF when I got back home. I thought it was getting colder but I thought it was from the wind chill and not real temperature.

The number of steps I have taken since I began walking again is 567,066. So that is more than a half million in about six weeks. So at this rate I should reach my goal of 1750 miles in November. That has moved up due to the fact that I am walking more than my original goal. I think once I reach the goal I might go back to the 4 miles per day to maintain my weight.

My Starting place is Musick and Gravois.

My total distance Today was 12.5 miles and I think that is the longest I have gone in a long time with out a break somewhere a long the line. I am also feeling better and think I can see some differences in my waist. But it is so big it is going to take a long time. I know when I come in after a long walk like this I want to go in the bathroom and look in the mirror and see it ALL GONE. But it doesn't work that way.

But it sure feels good using the livestrong website for the food tracking and activity tracker. It helps a lot with keeping your totals on your food and calories on track. I know I have mentioned it before but if you have not used it yet or even looked at it it has so much good information that you cannot help but to gain some sort of useful information from it. And donate blood.

9109 Watson Rd, Home of Almon Chiropractic Therapy?

Grant's Trail passes near my niece's new office I am sure it is in the 9109 Watson Rd Building near Applebee's. It looks mighty fancy to me. I think she said she is going to name it Almon Chiropractic Center or Clinic I would name is Almon Chiropractic Therapy so the initials can be ACT. Then she could answer the phone, “Hello, ACT Center. What acting up with you?” Plus I think the name sounds better too.

She still needs Missouri car tags. Oklahoma is OK, Missouri is awesome!

Anyway, I hit 260 pounds Today. So that is more than 10 percent of my weight goal. WHAT? All that work and only 10 percent. I must be one fat tub of lard. Oh yes, I am. Back on track. That is really good news since I was going to stop Today if I wasn't any lighter. [not really] That is 30 pounds since the end of December. I am after all trying to reach a 30 percent goal so I am already one third there. To be honest the 30 percent is just a starting point. Then at that time I have to decide what I am going to do. Either working on weight training or more jogging. After I get under 250 pounds I might start jogging again. I might wait until 240 pounds. I am just concerned about my knees and the extra weight. SO far I have not had any noticeable issue with my feet or knees. However, my back hurts a bit but that has got to be from the 60 to 70 pounds of extra fat I am carrying.

Waiting For That Warmer Weather

This horse ate some freshly tossed alfalfa on the ground.

Someone told me that some animal saw its shadow and it is suppose to be warm now. By the way Groundhog day was my Grandmother's 110^th birthday. Happy birthday Granny Tanner.

With the Super Bowl over and winter still much in effect for much of the country the only thing to do is to walk to entertain each other until some real sports begin. Like say, baseball. All you cricket and soccer and tennis people may say that your sport is worthy to be enjoyed but that is just because you have never enjoyed a good baseball season. But through the magic of time and some other magic, the gr4eenskeepers are transforming the white snow into green grass all across the country. So that on March 31^st real sports can begin again.

OK enough about that. I walked more than 11 miles Today which is the furthers I have gone on Grant's Trail. I went all the way to Watson Road. I think Tomorrow I will try to make it all the way to I-44. That would be the whole length of the trail. That would mark the first time I had done that, even on a bike. Plus it would be a good path to get on. That would make my walk about 13 miles. I just hope it warms up soon.

I have almost walked the distance from St. Louis to the Oklahoma State line following I-44. I should reach the total distance by the end of the week. I hope by Wednesday. I am at 271 miles as of right now. I figured the number of steps that is about 3.5 million to reach my goal distance of 1750 miles. It is odd to think that there are so many steps to that distance when we can drive it in just a few days or fly it in just a few hours.

It takes a lot of feed to feed these big bodies.

I wonder how long it would take me if I was using a Clydesdale to reach the distance. Maybe I should ask the people at Grant's Farm to see if they would let me ride one of their horses.

Oh this was a interesting tidbit. My Army uniform top is much closer to fitting that it has been in a long time. I still can't get it on but I am glad that I kept it all these years because when I can fir into that I know that I am on my way to my weight when I was in the service. I haven't tried the pants yet. I figure the shirt would fit before the pants will.

I found a tape measure and found out my chest is 48 inches and my fat waist is 52 inches and my neck is 18 ½ inches. Being that I have no prior measurements to compare this with I will have to use this as a comparison moving forward.

That's all for Today, Folks.

Thomas

To the United Center and Beyond.

Home of the Bulls and Blackhawks

Today was a bit cold but not too bad. I think Tomorrow will be much colder. I am not looking forward to that. But I will bundle up when I go. As long as I keep walking I stay warm enough. I walked down to the United Center Today and that was about 2 miles from the apartment. On the way I also passed the Bill Goat Grill and Tavern and the Mexican Consulate. The United Center is pretty much out all by itself. Nothing really that significant around it. I guess that is good so they can get people in and out. The bus goes right by it but the “L” is a few blocks away.

Heading north of the Border.

I walked by the Mexican Consulate Today because I saw yesterday that there was some new story on a shooting or something in Wisconsin and they showed a picture of the building so I thought since I was in the neighborhood I would take a look at it.

Cheryl was running late this morning so she didn't being make much of a lunch. She just got a package or Ramon noodles. Not the best thing to eat. They are loaded with sodium so they are not good for a person with high blood pressure. So I told her that I would bring her lunch Today. So after my walk I came back and baked some fish and broccoli and corn and took that with me in my backpack and made her a more healthy and filling lunch. I checked the calories on livestrong.com and it was around 400 calories including the gelatin dessert.

Still there this morning.

I am very please with my blood pressure. The systolic has been under the recommended level for the last four times I have checked and the diastolic has been under most of the time too. My average blood pressure for January is at 132.5/86. It is not where it needs to be yet but at least it is moving in the right direction. That brings me to 131 miles with an average of 12,509 steps per day I walk and 7.5 percent of my total of goal of 1750 miles.

This place really scrambles to keep eggs rolling.

Cheryl works in a food district where trucks are coming in and out on the street all day. The one that is outside the window where Cheryl's works is an egg wholesale distributor. Also, we pass under the “L” on the way to her work at Lake Street.

According to the fitness tracker I made I should have used enough calories to lose six pounds now. I hope that is true. Sadly there are 74 pounds still to go. It sure is a lot more fun gaining weight than losing it. But I need to get it done. {Make it so.} I am hoping by April I am having to buy some new clothes. And able to wear some of my old ones that I like but do not wear due to my size.

View toward downtown from Lake Street where the "L" passes overhead.

The sidewalks were pretty clean Today. I think there is suppose to be snow tonight. I am not sure. I know it it gets too cold it will not snow. I hope so. If it gets much colder I might have to do my walking on the "L" where it is warm.

That is the fun for Today; stay on track,

Thomas

Warmer Work Day and Windy Casualty

Chicago Skyline from Shedd Aquarium.

Today I had my iPod all charged up so I could actually go the distance and know how far I walked. I did go a bit further than I did yesterday but not by that much; only about a mile further I would say. So that means I should add about 4000 steps would be about right. My total steps Today was 17, 014. This is my greatest distance since I began walking again. That is, walking as a means of weight loss.

On an important call.

That reminds me, since I began doing the tracking last March I have walked more then 333 miles. 113 miles of that has been in the past three weeks so the previous amount is not that important. But to reach my goal of 1750 miles I have to walk more then 3.5 million steps. I have reached 6.51 percent of it Today. I guess that is right. It just seems the number is growing faster than I am “un-growing.” But that is 93.49 percent left of my goal. So I guess it isn't as much as it seems.

The first stop Today was at Cheryl's office. We went by Harpo Studios again. The building looks nice. I like the art deco style that is has. After that we went to Cheryl's office. On the way to her office there is a area where several food distributors are located so the street gets a bit filled with parked and moving vehicles. On the way out after Cheryl got to work the snow started to fall again. But it didn't last that long.

The lake wind took me down Today when I hit some ice.

I have my first injury. I was walking the path around the Shedd Aquarium and the wind off Lake Michigan was really coming in and I hit an icy spot and it blow me down. Right on my knee cap too. I have also notice that foot traffic greatly diminishes after you cross Michigan Ave. From there to Lake Michigan there are very few people out walking. I am getting a bit sick of these drivers that don't think they have to stop for pedestrians. I gave a couple of them the “number one” sign.

Hurt Knee

Also I find saying “excuse me” when walking doesn't seem to get anyone out of your way but a good bark does. Everyone wants to see a dog I guess. So they turn to look and it is me walking toward them and they move. Yesterday was not too bad walking since it was Martin L. King Jr day. I guess why so few people where out and about. However, people were out enough this morning enough to make up for the difference of the prior day.

Another bit of good news is the continued downward progression of my blood pressure. I am getting more and more readings that are “in range” of the normal blood pressure. This is the main goal of the entire process to get my blood pressure under control. So these results are quite encouraging. Also my pulse seems to continue in getting stronger, that is lower.

Near Soldier Field, Bear hope to beat the Packers to get to the Super Bowl.

On my walk Today I made it close to Soldier Field and went around the Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum. I was going to try to go all the way to the Alder Planetarium but I couldn't figure out how to walk there. I will look at a map and see how that path works out. From there it would be a good view of the city for a picture. Also Cheryl and I are planning on getting some tickets from the library so I can go for free.

Final thought is this; I am not so please with the warmer weather. I wish it was a bit colder so the ice was frozen solid. Less slipping that way.

Keep on track,

Thomas

Snow Storms, Power Failures and Walking with Cheryl

Snow on yet another of Grant's parks.

Today is my first day to walk somewhere else other than Grant's Trail. I walked with Cheryl to her work and then did some extra walking after that. It was nice really not too many people out. Of course I didn't count the people I saw on the trail but I may do that tomorrow. But there were a few out. It is odd walking in a new place because I haven't got the rhythm of the place yet. But I think I did good for my first Chicago walk.

After I got started there were a few snow flurries. Nothing bad but they did hit me in the eyes a few times. On the way to Cheryl's work we went by the basilica of Oprah where she has several buildings and her Harpo studios. Nothing really outstanding about them from the outside but I am sure they were a anchor to help revitalize the area around there. There is nothing wrong with that.

Stepping out in Chicago.

So we went to Cheryl's office and I got to see that. They have lots of natural lighting and space. Makes you feel like you are in a warehouse of sorts. But it was nice to see. I may try to take a picture Tomorrow when I go there. After all a picture is worth 100,000 words.

So after I left Cheryl's office I came back down and across downtown to the Lake Shore Trail. The trail itself was good and was relativity clear of snow. That is better then Grant's Trail in St. Louis County. Near Monroe Marina the water was frozen but as you went further out into the harbor the water was not and a bunch of flocking birds were sitting in the cold water. What can you say, they have bird brains.

On down the Lake Shore trail I made my way up near the Natural History Museum and close to Adler Planetarium. But that was about the time my iPod decided it didn't want to work without power so none of my steps from there to back to the apartment were counted. So what I have counted for my steps Today is 10106. That is when it decided to turn off. I was hoping that the pedometer would keep track even with the screen off but it didn't and there was no way I could have checked either. So when I walk Tomorrow and go the same path I will be able to update my steps for Today.

Not much water flow Today at the Buckingham Fountain.

I am able to weigh myself more accurately now. Coming off this walk I was 270.5 pounds. That is 6.72 percent of the 30 percent I want to lose. Also I went over my 100 mile mark. I must have done that about the time I reached the Lake Shore trail. I have also reached 6 percent of my distance goal of 1750 miles. Even though my records show my percent just under that I know that due to the power failure of my iPod that I passed that goal.

Warmest Day, Started Late

These are the first two people I saw Today.

Today was the warmest day of the year so far for me to walk. This morning the temperature was an unbelievably warm 36ºF. I saw more people on Grant's Trail than I have ever before but there could be several reasons for that. One, Today is Saturday and more people are off so they have the opportunity to walk in the morning. Two, being as warm as it is more people may have been willing to come out to brave the “cold” weather. I saw one woman, jogging with a man, she was wrapped up with more clothing on than I ever have been. Plus it looked like she had no clue as to what she was about to do.

The third reason may have been I started an hour later then I normally do so maybe I just miss all these people because I am already done with that section of the trail. I doubt it. The footprints in the snow from the past few days doesn't bear that out. So with all that said there were 29 people on the trail Today and five dogs.

Tomorrow I am going to Chicago and will be spending a few days there. I am not going to be doing any fitness running but I may have some to add to the fitness tracker since everyone walks everywhere downtown. Just to get outside the building is almost a half mile. I wonder how the construction is going. I will show a few pictures of that as well.

Walking on the trail may be a good way to pass the time.

Also while in Chicago I will complete a few mile stones. The first one will be my first 100 miles. That will also lead to completion of six percent of my goal. I will also reach more than 200.000 steps total. Actually I may even do that before I leave since I am so close.

Another thing is since I am riding on Amtrak that I may see how many steps I can take on the train walking back and forth. That way I can have a work out ready to go when I sync up on Sunday.

Colder Than Hell.

Weather from Hell.

Yes that's right. Today was colder than Hell, Norway in St. Louis. According to Meteorologisk Institutt of Norway it is -3ºC which converts to 26.6ºF. That is a balmy 16.6ºF warmer than our 10ºF this morning. So you can say with full confidence that it is colder then Hell Today without any fear of strange looks from anyone.

Not many on the trail, but footprints show their evidence.

I did walk the entire path Today but I put on some additional layers before I began. I had on four layers on my torso and four layers on my legs as well and two pair of socks. This is good because it was the coldest day so far to walk. This combine with the snow on Grant's Trail made for a challenging walk. But even with these factors, I was warm after about a mile of walking. After I got off Grant's Trail there were some snow flurries. So the last half mile I had a few flakes blowing in my face.

It is quite good to have this day over with. I would be interested to find out what the forecast is for the next few weeks. I sure wouldn't want to see the temperature drop much more. But the price you pay for warmer weather is storms. So there is that trade off. I am certainly not thrilled about walking in the rain; or any sort of precipitation.

Blowing snow covers covers tracks on Grant's Trail.

Today saw an increase of people. I was quite surprised by this. The trail has been used as is evidenced by the footprints on the trail. I guess some people are keeping to the diet and fitness goals despite the weather. There was a total of five people Today.

I was reading yesterday about the benefits of walking verses jogging. The bottom line seems to be that if you are going the same distance that there is no real benefit to weight loss. Of course there are some factors that can change that such as if you are going up and down hills and if you are wearing ankle weights and things of that sort but the main thing is to have a plan that you can do safely and stick to it.

While getting muscle tone and even bigger muscles sounds like a great plan. In my current state I need to focus on my heart and lung health first and getting the weight down. For that the plan is diet and exercise. But even more important and the most difficult is consistency. The best plan in the world is useless if you do not apply it in a consistent plan. Granted my plan is a bit more then what it typical but I have a lot of fat to lose and it isn't going to go away by wishing it away. Though I wish it would.

My blood pressure has been moving slowly down over the past two weeks which is my main goal.

Getting the blood pressure down helps reduce risk of stoke, heart disease, type II diabetes and other health concerns. Losing the weight just makes me look better. But I can't have one without the other.

According to stltoday.com the forecast for the next few days should be getting warmer. Today could be the coldest day for about a week. January 20 and 21 look to be very cold. But with that being more than a week out that can easily change. But for most of the next week it looks to be in the lower 30º for the highs. I can live with that.

With that in mind I wish everyone the best of luck on their goals and keep on trudging on.

Thomas

Snow Day, Lone Way

This is the snow covered Grant's trail Today. The area in blue are my tracks.

Today due to the snow I had to do a different course for my walking. This is from my house down to Grant's trail then turn around at the halfway point and come on back. This really had a lot more hill walking than normal because I had to walk down the hills from the house to the trail then on the way back I went up Union Rd which has a big hill from the trail to Reavis BRKS Rd. Then of course the hill back to the house so that was quite a bit more hill climbing than normal all together about 200 feet climbing up and down.

Two cold birds this morning.

The trail had some indications of people having been on it. Mostly from the foot prints in the snow. There were some kids playing near the trail in the snow with sleds but that was just having fun on a snow day. I really don't think that it was necessary to have a snow day because the roads were clear and the snow is dry and packs well. But the big news was failure to see anyone else on the trail. So Today is the first day I was the only one on the trail.

Since I had to modify my walking plan Today I had to guess where to turn around and come back but I did pretty well. I an more likely to go further then cut it short if I am to guess on my own. I was close my steps Today were 11, 610 so that was withing a quarter miles of the same distance. I did see many birds on the trail Today and got a few pictures of them. However one of a Cardinal that I wanted to take failed due to me holding the camera upside down and pressing the wrong button on the camera phone.

A cardinal

Not much new fitness wise to report other than progress is still being made. I am over 4% or my distance goal of 1750 now. Of course when you are more than 80 pounds over weight it takes a while to get that gone. It would be nice if I could get it down as fast as my buddy Rob Fahn who has lost a lot of weight at his doctors urging. I just knew I had too. I was having some odd feelings in my body that I decided were indications of being too fat. Not that I really needed any other indication than my clothes and mirror. With Today's walk I am at 73.69 miles for my journey.

Not endorsed by Mayo

I did shovel the drive way this morning too. According to the Mayo Clinic that is a good aerobic exercise too. But it only took about 20 minuets to do. By the time I got back home the wind had blown a couple of drifts back onto the driveway. I will have to try some of my clothes on again to see if any more have mysteriously grown lately.

I did a new style of the cover.

With the snow shoveling in mind and having done my snowy walk Today I must say, in the words of James Brown, “I feel good.”

Keep on the trail,

Thomas