Geocaching for Adventure and Health

It is a beautiful day in Middle Tennessee, and the HH and I plan to make the most of it. On our way to look at a potential mini-farm to purchase, we are going to go geocaching.  Have you ever heard of geocaching?  When I first began in 2005, it was a fairly new phenomenon.  If memory serves me, geocaching is celebrating 10 years this year. Geocaches are hidden all over the world and can be found in cities, in the woods, in unusual places in water areas – almost anywhere. Sometimes caches are virtual.  Caches can be found by those who are limited in mobility and by those who enjoy physical challenges.  Men, women, children – it does not matter the age or gender; geocaching is for all.

My daughter at a geocache with me at Edinburgh Castle, Scotland (see the handheld GPS) in 2005

Geocaching was something I did frequently when I first met my husband, and then we geocached together.  He bought me a truck, which I really wanted, and immediately gas prices increased greatly. I felt guilty driving the truck around to geocache when gas was so expensive, so I stopped. We still had two of our six kids in high school and one (daughter above) living at home who was in college. Life happened, but the call of geocaching never fell silent; it was only muffled by all of the junk life threw our way.

Lately, I have been suggesting that we get back to geocaching because it is fun, and it is great exercise for the mind as well as the body. After all, it is much easier now since our phones act as our GPS and camera (some caches, like the one with me below, require photo proof of find). We no longer need three electronic devices with us. The kids are grown and gone, and if we like, we can take the dog with us. We no longer drive the gas-guzzling truck.  Instead, we travel in my Ford Fusion Hybrid.  It is more streamline and economical.

Me at a cache in York, England in 2005

Yesterday, the HH finally said to me that we should go geocaching, and we did.  It was fun. Though the ground was wet and muddy from a heavy rain the night before, we managed to get where we needed to go. The mud and wet made it difficult on our last hunt, but it was fine. We found 2 of 3 attempted. Not only did we enjoy the high-tech scavenger hunt, we also got some much needed exercise and discovered a greenway trail near us that we did not know existed.

The big trip that we hope to take this year is a two-week drive on Route 66 (as close to the original as possible) from Chicago to LA.  We are going to geocache all along the way.  I’ve done some geocaching in other countries, but my husband and I have missed way too many opportunities to geocache in the countries we have visited during the last five or six years.  I don’t want to regret not geocaching in other countries we will visit in the future.

Geocaching is a fun and economical activity that is beneficial to health while providing adventure and excitement.  If you’d like to give it a try, check out www.geocaching.com.  Have fun and watch out for muggles!

Angela

Update on Attempt to Improve Health

Hello World!

It has been a while since I updated my attempts to improve my help.  The good news is that progress has been made; the bad news is that movement toward my goals are not going nearly as fast as I had hoped.

I saw most of my medical doctors this month. The quick summary is that I’ve lost 12 pounds in the past year; my A1C score was 6.4, and all of my other lab work was within normal ranges.  While I have “white coat syndrome,” which makes my BP higher than desired while at the doctor’s office,  it does appear that my blood pressure is still within acceptable ranges.

Though I am nowhere near getting off any of my medications or ready to walk/run a 5k, progress is slowly moving in the correct direction.  Most of the change needed to get things moving more quickly in the right direction requires that I put my feet to the ground more frequently.

All things considered, I can’t be too upset with the progress made. How is your progress going?

Have a blessed and happy day!

Angela

UPDATE 11/14/13: It seems that I “spoke” too soon.  Last night, after posting this article yesterday, my primary care doctor’s office called.  My most recent blood work showed that my thyroid is not working as it should, and that I have hypothyroidism.  Joy!  I get to take another pill. 😦

Backed Up and Let Down

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In my attempt to get more physical activity, my body has been one of my biggest obstacles.  To be more specific, my back has been an obstacle.  I’m backed up  and let down because of back pain.

Photo credit

Two weeks ago today, I was pumped to go to my first strength and conditioning class at FiftyForward.  I was so proud of myself for getting up and there for an 8:00 a.m. class and making it the whole time without having to quit.  The focus of the day was lower body, so we did a ton of squats in a variety of exercises in 45 minutes.  I was extremely sore, as to be expected, but the soreness in my lower back  to the left of my spine continued to hang around.

A week ago today, I had a massage, and instead of the massage making my back feel better; I think I have felt slightly worse, which is unusual. The muscles on my left side of my torso, front and back, have been contrary and almost always tight since muscle and skin was taken from my left side to create a muscle flap after my bilateral mastectomy.  It is going to be a rest-of-my-life challenge to keep those muscle loose and working well; at the moment they are not.

I can feel the discomfort even laying flat on my back in bed or sitting up my my recliner.  I really do not want to go to the doctor again, especially when I more or less know what it is.  According to the University of Maryland’s web site’s article Low back pain, “about 60 – 80% of the adult U.S. population has low back pain, and it is the second most common reason people go to the doctor.”   It makes sense that the article goes on to say that “low back problems affect the spine’s flexibility, stability, and strength, which can cause pain, discomfort, and stiffness.”

Being this common of a problem, there are tons of articles and YouTube videos offering instruction on how to self-treat the condition, so I’m thinking this is what I need to do.  If it gets worse, I can always go to the doctor then.  If it does not get worse and does not get better either, then I have an appointment scheduled in a couple of months; I’ll ask about it then.

What is frustrating to me is that it seems as if every time I have made a true effort to get out and get active in the last two and a half years, my own body has been the reason I have had to stop and try something else.  I’m not giving up, but I am disheartened.

Do you struggle with lower back pain (I’m guessing mine is a herniated disc) and have been able to successfully use exercise to reduce your pain and allow you to be as active as you would like?  If so, I’d like to hear more about what you have done.

Have a blessed and happy day!

Angela

Unwelcome Change After 50

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As we get older, most of us experience changes.  Listing all potential changes one might notice would make for an extremely long post.  Since 40, I have gone through more changes than I even care to list, but there is one change that has become apparent that I don’t like.  It is no longer being an “up and at ’em” morning person.

Photo credit

During the summers when I was a child on the family farm, I’d wake early and want to get up and going.  Often I’d dress and walk to the milk barn at 4:30 or 5:00 in the morning to join my Dad. In college, 8:00 a.m. classes were preferred by me  while other students I knew avoided 8:00 am. classes like the plague. If chaperons were needed for a lock-in, I’d much rather get up and work the 3:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. shift than the 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. shift. Just 10 years ago, I could be at the gym by 5:30 a.m. before going to work. Not much over a year ago, while still teaching, I was usually in my room by 6:30 a.m, but I will admit that my body was beginning to rebel at that time. 

To my chagrin, I am having difficulty getting up and going to make the 8:00 a.m. exercise classes I want to attend. While I used to never sleep past 7:00 a.m. unless sick, now I’m as likely to wake at 7:00 a.m. as I am at 6:00 a.m. unless an alarm is set.  Once I awake, it seems that my body needs additional time to rev up.  My mind kicks into gear reasonably fast, but the idea of jumping straight into the shower and then “hitting the floor running” as soon as out and dressed is repugnant to me – or to be more accurate – to my body.

I went to bed last night with full intention of getting up, dressed, and to the 8:00 a.m. strength and conditioning class at FiftyForward.  I woke at 7:02 a.m., and with rush-hour traffic, I have to allow 30 minutes driving time, even though it is a 10 – 15 minute drive normally.  There was no way I was going to take care of the dog, dress, eat, and be there by 8:00 a.m..  Now, in my defense, since the dog is on meds that make him drink frequently, which means he pees frequently, he woke me every two hours to go out last night. Still, it is more of a rule than an exception now that it takes me about two hours after waking before I am truly ready to “face the world for the day.”

Is this a result of increasing age?  Is it a bad habit? Could forcing myself to get to these particular classes eventually cause my body to be more agreeable to the intents of my mind? Grrrr – I want the energy and physical ability that I had at 35. Hey! I’m not being greedy; I didn’t wish for the energy and physical ability I had at 2o. I find this situation frustrating right now, but I’m not sure if it is better to push myself or to attempt to adjust to this change.  What do you think?

Do any of you find yourself having a harder time getting your body to cooperate?  What have you done to overcome?

Have a blessed and happy day!

Angela

For Health’s Sake

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Yum! the aroma in the house is amazing.  I’m cooking soup for supper (dinner, for you city folks), and I can’t wait to scoop out a bowl to eat with cheese, pita crackers, and green tea.  Most everything in the soup came fresh from the farmers’ market; it’s pretty much a farm to table meal.

Photo Credit

Is what we were taught as children, and may still hear on occasion today, true?  Our we “what we eat?” If true, and I tend to think that it is, shouldn’t we (and I am talking to myself here, also) be more careful about what we eat?

I was blessed to grow up on a working farm.  As a child, I don’t remember my parents having to buy that much at the grocery.  We raised our own beef, pork, and vegetables. As long as my great-grandmother, who lived about 2/10 of a mile away, was living, we had chickens, too, which also meant fresh eggs.  Food was preserved for winter through canning, freezing, or curing in the smoke house. Fresh air and exercise were a daily thing, whether it was helping Dad work on the farm or the fun of saddling my horse and just going for a ride.  It was early to bed and early to rise naturally for me, and I never had trouble going to sleep because at night I was tired.  When it got dark, it was dark, and the sounds that lulled me into slumber land were that of the crickets, frogs, and other night creatures. It was a good, wholesome life, and I did not have a weight problem until I discovered ways of eating and living that were different from the farm.

Thus, it makes sense to me that if I want to regain my health, that I should replicate that lifestyle as much as possible. No, I am not crazy enough to think that I can duplicate it exactly, especially not while living in an apartment in Nashville. However, there are things that can and should be done.

Clarksville Downtown Market
Photo Credit

First, the food we eat should be as much as possible fresh and from local farms, so I visit Farmers’ Markets to buy farm fresh vegetables, fruit, eggs, local honey, grass-fed meat, etc. The best of these  markets that I have found in the state of Tennessee so far is the Downtown Market in Clarksville, Tennessee open 8 to 1 on Saturdays May to October. Having lived in Clarksville many years, I had been a steady customer of this market since it began.   The next best market that I have found in Nashville so far is the Hip Donelson Farmers’ Market that opens only from 4 to 7 PM on Fridays May through October.

While I do not have a farm on which to work nor horses to ride, activity is something of which I need more.  I’ve used the apartment pool for water aerobics, and there is a small exercise facility available for 24/7 free use, but walking on a tread mill is not the same as walking in the fresh air.  I must build up to long walks again, especially if I am to meet my goal of doing a 5k by next July. I’ve emailed the contact person in Nashville to find out more about the walking club associated with the sport of Volksmarching as it would be nice to find a group to join. Sometimes exercise is more fun when shared. (I will admit, being outside is more enjoyable for me during any time of the year other than the middle of summer; humidity with heat is not fun for me.)

As discussed in Indulge in the Benefits of Naps, getting plenty of the right sleep is significant to our overall health, so with better food, fresh air, and good exercise, getting restful sleep is next.  For me, going to bed about the same time each night and waking about the same time each morning seems to work better.

For Health’s Sake, do you need to make changes to the quality of food you eat, of exercise you get, and to the amount of sleep you enjoy?

Have a blessed and happy day!

Angela

Volksmarching Anyone?

Photo credit

Do you get excited when you learn about something new that is quite amazing?  I do, and I have.  WalkTx left a comment on a post, which caused me to ask a question that led me to a new fun way to meet people, exercise, and travel.  It is called Volksmarching (or Volkswalking).  Click here if you want to go to WalkTx’s site to check it out, or you can go to the AVA web site to find out more and locate a club near you.  I did, and I found that there is a Volksmarching club here in Nashville.  I must check this out!

Thanks, WalkTx for sharing this!

Have a blessed and happy day!

Angela

This work by Angela C. Johnson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at livingandlovinglifeafter50.