Week 2: (Not Hurricane) Irene Goes Through Maryland

Results for Week of August 21^st

The scale reads: 144.5 lbs. Goal: 127 lbs.

Miles this week: 33.04 mi.

ADT Progress: 65.91 mi.

Hurricane Irene wasn't the only Irene that started along the East Coast and made its way to Maryland. At least I wasn't destructive in any way or form along my virtual path. OK, maybe some mosquitos were slapped in the progress and I may not have realized there were some ants or other creepy crawlers that perished by "accident."

Week 2 Results. Yay, the first 1up!

I'm proud I reached 10k steps on 6 days out of the week. I'm surprised I conquered so many miles this week. There were more meetings this week that required me to be sedentary. My relatives are in town and that typically means more eating adventures. Where did I find the opportunities to sneak in these steps?

Virtual Beer Tour

Image courtesy of Great Brewers

I should have taken a 7 mi. detour on the first stretch of my virtual walk to the Dogfish Brewery and Restaurant in Rehoboth Beach, DE to settle the mental score of blueberry beers I've tasted. For the longest time, I had forgotten if I had tried Dogfish's Black & Blue or Sea Dog's (which is based out of Maine) Blue Paw. Facebook pictures show the latter. I need to try this Dogfish blackberry/blueberry concoction to augment my list of savory, fruit-infused brews I've experienced.

The Next Stretch
Maryland's stretch of the American Discovery Trail expands across 270 mi. Like Delaware, the first glimpse of Maryland is all open farmland in an unincorporated city called Hobbs (Supposedly, it's an area called "Ringgolds Green, a former community rich with folklore and ghost stories." I have yet to find any internet resources discussing these tales. Maybe it's such an isolated part of the U.S. that its residents don't want tourists flocking there and irking them with inquiries of paranormal activity?).

Image courtesy of Caroline County Office of Tourism

Trails and concrete sidewalks lead you to the town of Denton, MD, which is the county seat (I guess this is East Coast-speak for governmental administrative center for a county. From my limited travels, they call them "parishes" in Louisiana. From what I recall of Los Angeles, we just call them "the county.") of Caroline County.

Random factoids to the max: Texas has the most number of counties at 254. Good ol', little Delaware has the least number at only 3.

Caroline County is pretty intriguing and historically signifcant in my book:

• Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass lived in the county for some time.
  • Freedom seekers passed along the Underground Railroad through here to Delaware.
• It is one of the few counties in the U.S. that existed for more than 300 years being solely dependent on an agriculturally-based economy.
  • The county government is fighting to preserve the rustic quality of the area in response to the exploding growth (due to Chesapeake Bay folks wanting to retire here).
  • It is only 1 of 3 MD counties that do not have an interstate or U.S. highway.
  • It's the only Eastern Shore county that's land-locked - it does not touch either the Chesapeake Bay or Atlantic Ocean.
• The eastern border of the county is the Mason-Dixon line.
• John Smith took a look-see here during his 1608 voyage up the Nanticoke River.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

OK, I had to throw in something musical about walking through Caroline County. Blues/rock vocalist/guitarist George Thorogood of "Who Do You Love" fame (pictured right and singing the tune in a Chevy Camaro commercial) played Caroline County bars while in college at the University of Delaware before making hits that are "B-b-b-bad...bad to the bone."

To whet my museum and foodie appetites, I need to highlight The Lily Pad Café. This Gothic style structure was built in 1883 as a primary school and was accepted onto the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. The school operated until 1925 and was purchased by the Women’s Club of Denton who owned and maintained the property until it was purchased by The Lily Pad Café and Catering in 2007. The menu is eye-catching because:

1. The California wrap does not include avocados, but include ingredients that does not make you think of California at all (Maybe the grapes may make you think of Napa Valley and all the vineyards in California?)
2. You can rent the facilities for a crab feast. (I guess this is the East Coast's equivalent to the south's crawfish boil or the answer to a really formal gathering at a place like The Boiling Crab or Joe's Crab Shack, but more dignified and proper?)
3. What?! No regular Reuben?
4. Their beer garden does not have a variety of local MD brews and a clam bake is involved
5. There is a 20% discount for active military - wow, I haven't heard of a restaurant doing that. Bless their heart!
6. The Pomegranate Spritzer is the most expensive beverage at $3.50 - huh! It makes me want to try it because it's almost too random even for me.

Let's see where my feet, taste buds, ears, and virtual eyes takes me next week.

Week 1: Almost Walked Across All of Delaware

Yesterday's Results

The scale reads: 147 lbs. (Digital scale) Goal: 127 lbs.

ADT Progress: 32.87 mi.

Week 1 Results

I virtually walked through an entire state! Mind you it's not a Texas-sized state, of course. On a side note, I don't know where I found the time and motivation to log in so many miles this week, but I am pleased.

Growing up along the West Coast has made me ignorant of the East Coast. In my simpleton mind, Delaware appears to be swallowed up by neighboring states in physical and historical prominence. I had forgotten its historical importance of being the first state to ratify the Constitution (I guess I'm tipping my hat to the U.S. Mint for circulating commemorative coins of the 50 states in the order the state had penned their approval of this document so the general public can remember this bit of history?). Heck, I didn't know of its musical significance. Delaware's own native son, the astute entrepreneur Eldridge Reeves Johnson, created the Victrola Talking Machine Company and pioneered efforts in the sound recording industry. In addition to RCA, Johnson made Nipper, the dog staring into a phonograph, an icon.

Zwaanendael Museum - modeled after the town hall in Hoorn, the Netherlands

I would have really loved to see the Zwaanendael Museum in Lewes, the first town in the first state. After the native Americans, the Dutch were the first Europeans to settle in the region in hopes of developing their agriculture and whaling industries. The museum showcases the Dutch's maritime, military, and social histories. I guess living in Southern California has made me partial to maritime museums because of exploring life near or in the sea.

Let's see what part of Maryland my virtual travels will take me to next week.

Random factoid: The fantastic Dutch "Z" word the colony and museum is named after means "valley of the swans."

Webwalking USA

Today's Results

The scale reads: 143 lbs. (Digital scale) Goal: 127 lbs.

Image courtesy of
Rick McCharles

Webwalking USA. USA A-OK? A chance to traverse across America, the beautiful, without toughing out the elements and setting aside an $18,000 budget for the adventure? Where else but in America, or possibly Canada, could our family find such opportunity? That's why, whenever I see the Stars and Stripes, I will always be reminded of that wonderful word: flag! Ambulating across U.S. soil should instill greater appreciation/patriotism for the country, yes?

OK, I'm rambling senselessly because I'm awfully excited. What is the new ambitious undertaking adding a sudden verve in my steps?

It is conquering the challenge of (virtually) walking across the continental United States (from the Atlantic to Pacific) along the American Discovery Trail. That's 5,057 miles - one way - taking the southern route that goes through St. Louis.

Image courtesy of about.com

To truly motivate myself, I will walk the full 5,057 miles. I will not base it on 5,057 minutes, 505.7 miles, or even 505,700 steps. This challenge will help me focus on getting at least 10k steps/day. That means:

• Every week, I should log no less than 28 mi.
• Conservatively, I should finish this endeavor in a little over 180 weeks at this pace.
• In other words, it should take me no more than 3.5 years.
• Uh, that means I need to gradually log in 12k-15k steps/day so I don't get impatient with this endeavor.
  • This could end up being a 2.7 years endeavor instead.
  • I would need to walk 35 mi./week.
• I will not let this become a misadventure!

I'll report my weekly progress on Sundays. I'll follow the normal week by starting the tracking on Sundays and ending on Saturdays. For this week, I'm already at ~19 mi. Yes! The awesome pedometer will report 28 mi. by the end of Saturday.

I'll be using this as a marker for achieved milestones on maps. Isn't achieving a milestone like 1upin' yourself?

I'm inspired by this retired couple in their 50s that actually hiked the entire trail in 231 days (~20 mi./day). After the adventure, they created some kind of blog. To maintain my interest in this program, I'll scour the good ol' WWW for images and information about the major milestones I've reached and chronicle it on this blog. The trail connects 5 national scenic trails, 10 national historic trails, 23 national recreation trails, and many local/regional trails, and passes some 10,000 points of historic, scenic, cultural or natural significance. Being the foodie, museum, and aerospace junkie I am, I'll definitely highlight locales related to these topics near and dear to my heart.

As Lao-Tzu says, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Here goes my first 70 thousand steps this week!

10k Steps/Day - Not Enough?

Yesterday's Results

The scale reads: 146 lbs. (Digital scale - whoa oh, it's creeping back up. Darn you, Cici's Pizza Buffet) Goal: 127 lbs.

The awesome pedometer reads: 10731 steps (6047 aerobic steps for 69 minutes), 4.23 mi., 310 calories

Susy made a good point about the horribly, palpable (because you can feel the midsection jiggle) possibility of slacking off on the daily activity level if I set my sights on a weekly goal. I'm banking on that magical gold star system I mentioned in a previous post to keep me in check. September will truly test my mettle with maintaining a weekly goal. There will be more grubbing sessions then and a wedding to top it off!

Man, I'm reading around the interwebs to see if there's a healthy weekly walking-for-weight-loss goal; my 10k steps/day doesn't cut it for long-term weight loss. Why didn't I come across this article when I first started this walking endeavor? The line "If you are already logging 10,000 steps a day and gaining weight or not losing weight, then the key is to add another 2,000 steps per day (and/or eat fewer calories)" struck the conscience the hardest. For the time being, I do not have the discipline to cut calories. I'm more revved up to engage in more physical activity. In addition to that article, I'm seeing more sites recommending trekkers to gradually work up to 12k-15k a day. I'll keep to my walking+dance aerobics combo.

My walking stride seems to be significantly smaller than the average person. One site said 10k steps is equivalent to 5 mi., but for me 10k steps is barely almost 4 mi. Based on third grade math and the 5 mi. figure from the site, a healthy goal would be walking 35 mi./week. Guh, I think counting steps is more feasible with my small, but confident stride.

Bottom line: Initially, keep on attempting the 10k steps/day, but achieve the 70k steps in a week and maintain at least 30 minutes of activity/day to get the gold star for the effort.

Doing Very Well for Vacation Mode

Today's Results

The scale reads: 140 lbs. (Analog scale) Goal: 127 lbs.

Reporting in: I'm still maintaining the weight even though mom's visiting and we grub a lot.

Last week, I logged in a total of ~47,000 steps (~22 miles). Maybe I should set a weekly goal of steps/mileage instead of daily ones? What do you think?

September's around the corner and I'm aching to start that calendar and getting even more physically active.

I Win!!!+Starting Over+Superpower Foods

Today's Results

The scale reads: 145 lbs. Ultimate Goal: 127 lbs.

Mother dearest has been in town for about a week now and I've gained 2 pounds. Not too bad! We did the weigh in this past Monday and I weighed 143. That's a 12 pound difference from the end of last summer.

I win! My wallet is feeling happy. It can now celebrate with a steak dinner <wink wink>.

My mom and cousins are game to compete for another year. It's time to step it up and try something new to make sure I get closer to 127 next summer. The competition won't start until the end of my mother's visit. So... starting in September, I'm going to try and implement a gold star system (described by a blog I follow) to motivate myself to get in the 10k steps or doing some dance aerobic for 30 minutes+ a day (I didn't spend all that mulah amassing my fitness DVD/video collection for nuthin'!). Every day I accomplish this, I'll draw in a gold star on a calendar of sorts.

Seeing a calendar full of "gold stars" would definitely feel good.

In the mean time, while my mother's visiting, my goal is to maintain my weight at a respectable (?) 145. I'm also motivated to maintain this weight or lose some more for the wedding in early September. I need to look somewhat decent as a groomsmaid, right?

Hmm, any suggestions on maintaining the weight while being on this pseudo-vacation with my mom? You know this is a challenge because we're a foodie family!

With the frequent travels across Houston in the last week, I've been feeling a little low on the energy levels. I probably need to incorporate more "superpower foods" into my diet. According to Valery Satterwhite, here are eight foods that help replenish what your body wants, slows the aging process and helps to prevent chronic disease:

• Walnuts - Contain lots of alpha-linolenic acid which turns into healthy omega-3 fatty acid once digested
• Salmon - Also rich in omega-3 fatty acids
• Yogurt - rich in calcium and the 'good' kind of bacteria that helps keep your digestive system healthy
• Raspberries - Packed with immune-boosting antioxidants, Vitamin C and pectic which has been shown to lower cholesterol
• Kidney Beans - Enriched with more antioxidant protection per serving than any other food
• Broccoli - has something in it I can't spell or pronounce that lowers cholesterol and triglyceride levels
• Oats - major source of complex carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins to protect against degenerative diseases, especially cancer
• Pumpkin - Infused with beta-carotene, alpha-carotene and lutein which your body converts to Vitamin A and can protect you from heart disease