Tag Archives: walking

Changes

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“Time may change me
“But I can’t trace time” — David Bowie

Our first morning walk at the beach. There was something very different about it. See that rig in the ocean? Next we saw this sign:

There are oil rigs off the coast of Santa Barbara that are active — but you can barely see them in the distance. I believe they are at least five miles offshore.

On the beach below the house we rent, there are signs like the one above that weren’t around last summer. There are also signs explaining the work that’s going on. They are recapping 100-year-old oil wells a few dozen yards offshore. That’s what the barge with the equipment is for (see top photo.) They are capped but leak when storms hit. We watched two tug boats stop at the barge. Then we noticed tar clumps all over the sand.

The beaches here always have spots of oil and tar, but this year it’s much worse. We keep paper towels and “Goo Gone” next to the hose at the backdoor to clean our feet after our beach excursions.

The other change was our favorite spot for breakfast burritos in Carpinteria — which was inside a liquor store — is gone. We drove for burritos and were stunned. Someone bought the entire block on Linden Ave and demolished the buildings. I wonder what will be built?

On our morning walk on the tar blotched beach, I was relieved to see the driftwood sculpture condos were still in tact. I wrote about them on an earlier beach trip HERE.

There were a few additions this year that I enjoyed:

Words of wisdom: Be More Like My Dog!

Prince Harry lives to the left. That’s a fact. Montecito is to the left of this beach.

Kevin Costner’s $145 million home where his divorced wife refused to leave is to the right around the point.

Lots of changes going on around us. We can’t stop change. Another change: our son and his long-term girlfriend were getting married Thursday. We were flying from Santa Barbara to Oakland for the nuptials. Our son called today and has COVID. No wedding. Change of plans.

What is changing in your life?

Too old to sprint?

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A view before sunrise during my morning walk.

Did you know?

“Exercise Before Surgery Slashes Post-op Complications”

That’s a headline I found for an article written by Lynn Allison. I’m having eye surgery tomorrow. Then in September some minor outpatient surgery. So the article caught my eye.

Researchers from the University of Otago in New Zealand say that intense exercise before surgery reduces the risk of postoperative complications as well as hospital stays by as much as 56%, says Study Finds.

“We have found that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is safe and effective for surgical patients,” says lead investigator Kari Clifford, of the Department of Surgical Sciences at the University of Otago. “A HIIT program can meaningfully improve a patient’s fitness within four to six weeks, and this reduces postoperative complications and length of stay.”

The work analyzed 12 studies including 832 patients who engaged in HIIT before their surgeries. The training involved repeated aerobic interval exercises at about 80% of their maximum heart rate before going into active recovery.

The most significant result was the change in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) — a measure of how well the body takes in oxygen and delivers it to the muscles and organs during prolonged periods of exercise. The significant improvement in CRF lowers the risk of adverse postoperative events, says Clifford, in a university press release.

https://www.newsmax.com/health/health-news/hiit-high-intensity-interval-training-surgery/2023/07/21/id/1128061/

If high-intensity interval training is good for post op recovery, that must transfer to everyday life. I reflected on my own workout routines. I realized that my slow and steady walks and swims are not getting the job done.

When I swam with my Master’s coach, he’d change up the pace. He’d have me swim 75s or 100s alternating “fast and slow.” Like swim 25 easy, 25 sprint, 25 slow for a 75 four times through. I was changing my heart rate. Without a coach, I leisurely swim laps not changing pace, because I’m proud to show up. Period. There’s nobody to push me. Not even my husband. I watch him sprint during his last two hundred yards and worry that he’ll have a heart attack.

We have an assault fitness bike gathering dust. Yesterday I got on it and sprinted for 20 seconds followed by 30 seconds easy a few times. Yes, it got my heart rate going. It’s something I’ll repeat each day and build on. When I swim laps, I’m going to throw in some interval training and sprint a few 25s. It can’t hurt.

What are your thoughts about high-intensity interval training? Is it something you incorporate in your workouts? Do you think you can be too old for HIIT?

Please check out my new blog schedule with posts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Happy Fourth!

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We went to a Fourth of July pool party on Sunday, so today will be a quiet day, me and hubby, going for a walk and grilling burgers.

I spotted two interesting sights during my last walk.

First was this lovely pink blossom in one of our pots in our courtyard. Because our temperatures are well over 100 degrees, most of the blooms have faded away.

Then I saw two desert kingsnakes. They aren’t venomous and they eat rattlesnakes, so I guess that’s a good thing they’re hanging around our neighborhood.

I hope you all have a Happy Fourth of July!

What are your plans today?

A month of care

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A jade plant I bought myself the other day. I’m hoping the bunnies stay away from it.

I made a commitment that July was going to be a self-care month. It’s because I have a physical, blood work, EKG and minor surgery scheduled throughout the month.

Why not be the best I can be and pass all my tests with flying colors?

My husband and I embarked on a new schedule. We’re up before the sun rises to get out the door for a three-mile walk. Add to that, we’ve been consistently going to the YMCA for swims three days a week.

We’re taking a cacophony of supplements which I have no idea if they are helping or not. I’m cutting out excess sugar, starch, wine, diet coke — and my beloved white cheddar cheetos (once the bag is empty of course.)

The new early morning schedule makes me tired. I keep thinking I’ll get used to it, but between the wee early mornings and heat, I feel exhausted.

Then add to that, my vision is fuzzy. I have trouble reading books, looking at the computer, and spotting my golf ball. I had my annual eye exam and my optometrist sent me to an ophthalmologist to schedule a YAG procedure. It’s a simple and easy laser treatment that should restore my once perfect vision.

Right before COVID shutdowns, I had cataract surgery. I was born with extreme myopia and astigmatism. My Rx for glasses and contacts was a -16. In case you don’t know, that’s really, really bad.

Then things got worse. My growing cataracts had me seeing three stop signs stacked like a pyramid. And yes, I was driving!

Fast forward to cataract surgery and it was a miracle! I came out with 20/20 vision. I only needed a slight correction for astigmatism and reading. That was Winter of 2019 — but now things are fuzzy in my right eye. Today things were really extra fuzzy. I held my glasses up to the light and discovered the lenses were smudged. Oops.

According to the doctors I’ve seen, a membrane grows over the implanted lens and a quick laser treatment will get rid of it once and for all. I was surprised to learn that this happens to 40% of cataract patients!

Sunday, July 2, my second day of self care — I woke up with a pulled muscle in my butt! I’m stumbling around in pain and skipped my morning walk. July 1 we swam, so maybe I did something then? Who knows. So far, my month of health is off to a rocky start.

What special plans do you have for the month of July?

Early birds

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House finch enjoying birdseed at my Bird Buddy.

The early birds I’m talking about aren’t these gorgeous creatures in my backyard. I’m talking about me and my hubby.

We’ve become the couple we used to laugh at. You know, the ones who have dinner at 4:30 or 5 p.m. to save money. Now, when we go out, we go early to take advantage of early bird prices that end at 6 p.m. Only these days, it’s no longer called “early bird specials” but “happy hour.”

A neighborhood couple invited us to dinner for restaurant week that features three-course meals at reduced prices. We declined because their reservation was too late for us! It was at the wee hour at night of 6:30 p.m. To be fair, my husband works in the financial world and he’s on east coast time. His work day begins three hours earlier than most people out west.

This is the state bird of Arizona, the cactus wren.

It’s gotten hotter the past couple weeks. I began setting my alarm so that I’m up before sunrise. We’ve changed our walking schedule to avoid the heat. We are heading out the door before 6 a.m. — which also makes us early birds.

One of our neighbors told us her method for walking. (Who knew you needed a method?) She turns right out of her driveway and continues to walk on the right side of the road. By doing that, she said she hits every road and cul-de-sac in the neighborhood — and ends back at her front door. My husband and I have been random walkers, going whichever way our whims take us. But this week, we tried it and not only does it add a little distance to our walk, we’re seeing streets we were previously missing.

I wrote about successful people who are early birds HERE.

What are your thoughts about early bird specials and getting up early?

A video of a juvenile Cardinal.

Things are going swimmingly

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That’s me diving off the blocks at my first US Masters swim meet in 2017. This was a relay and I was anxious I’d dive into one of my teammates in the yellow caps.

I got back in the pool last week and swam Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. I’m proud of myself for being consistent and I’m on track for this week too. I asked my husband to go with me on Sunday and after years of him not swimming, he loved it! So, I’m switching my swims during the week from mornings when he works to the afternoons so he can join me.

It’s a healthy fun alternative to our normal neighborhood walks.

The YMCA has an app where you can see if lanes are available and reserve your spot. However, the app has never worked for me. I can see the open spots, but I can’t reserve them. I have to resort to the old fashioned phone call.

When this first happened, I went to the front desk and a young man tried to get the app to work. He gave up and told me I needed a new phone — that my phone was too old. My phone was less than a year old! I prefer the home button on the iphone and Apple still has a model with it. So, my phone may look old to that kid, but it’s relatively new.

Then I contacted the IT people who made the app. They said I had to get help from the YMCA staff. I promptly gave up and used the phone to call and make reservations.

A few weeks ago the Y went to a new app. I thought my troubles would be over. But, no I still couldn’t make lane reservations.

I decided to give it another try and stopped at the front desk where a new young man sat. He looked at my phone, got on the computer and quickly solved the problem. On their end, a box had to clicked to make me the internet user.

Now I can make reservations for my husband and me. I can also cancel without having to call the YMCA and say my plans changed.

What apps do you use that make things easier. In what ways do you find technology makes things more difficult?

Views from the beach

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Bella Sirena Resort at Puerto Penasco

This is one of the towers at Bella Sirena. They also have single story villas and beach front houses.

Here are some of the photos I took from our beach getaway. The first two days were super windy, but Saturday and Sunday were perfect. We stayed at Bella Sirena, which has towers A through D. We’ve stayed there before and love the amenities of tucked away pools and hot tubs in addition to the central large pool with pool bar and live music. The only downside to Bella Sirena is that the rooms on the ground floor don’t have ocean views. We prefer the ground floor to be able to walk out our room and not wait for elevators. But I’m sure the rooms higher up have spectacular views. In any case, we took several beach walks each day and I sat and read where I had an ocean view.

Sandy Beach

This is Sandy Beach at low tide. The water is warm and there aren’t any waves if there’s no wind.

Ocean view pool at Bella Sirena

Where I liked to hang out and read this past weekend. The ocean view pool.

Patio view at Bella Sirena.

This was our private patio outside our room. Another amazing place to hang out and read.

beach walk

Another beach walk. Notice the waves? This was on a windy day.

The hot tub below our deck. It was 102 degrees hot! There was a cold plunge pool nearby.

Where’s your favorite place to relax and read a good book?