Day 70: I Won't Make Promises That I Can't Keep

Today I am keeping a promise. Back during our first week of PCP, Patrick told me to make a promise to myself to go back and look at the posts for Days 7, 8, 9 when I hit Day 70.

It's now Day 70. I remembered.

On Day 7 I was on vacation and we were just about to complete our first week on PCP. As I wrote then:

Today started out with me having a minor heart attack when I realized that the number of jumps really increased from the previous day. Then I had a second minor heart attack trying to complete them.

The Implement of Torture jump rope does not play very well with my body. Right now I can barely do fifty jumps without tripping and then having to take a break so I can stop wheezing. But so far, doing fifty at a time helps. (Then, every time I hit a hundred mark I gave myself the proverbial pat on the back for just surviving!)

Day 8 found me packing camp and on the road, so there wasn't much PCP happening then. Day 9 continued the theme:

This afternoon I managed to do the Day 8 exercises. Yeah, I'm one day behind. Although I did manage to get the Implement of Torture jump rope to cooperate a bit. Two sets of fifty jumps without a single trip (not counting the obligatory wheeze-fest in between the sets). I also discovered that the flat, paved surface of the driveway made it a lot easier than the muddy, grassy uneven hillside I had been using during the week prior.

Then I alternated between the Implement of Torture jump rope and the other exercises. One hundred jumps, sixty-eight squats, one hundred jumps, eighteen incline pull-ups, one hundred jumps, forty-four push-ups, etc. Mixing it up a bit kept it from being dull and repetitious (although my legs still balked at the idea of having to do "only fifty more jumps" during the entire session).

I remember those days so well, and yet at the same time it feels like a lifetime ago. In between so much has changed.

The Implement of Torture my first jumprope met a grisly doom about a day after that post. It was definitely not a good rope. I would highly advise anyone against getting one of those cotton j-ropes—there's too much drag with them. My second j-rope was better, but still kept breaking (and getting repaired) until one day there was no fixing it. J-Rope Mach III (which is a Nike Speed Rope) has served me well for quite some time. It was a little more expensive than the first two, but well worth the price!

It's amazing to see how far I've come since those early days. The jumps felt like killers back then. My lungs would burn, I couldn't catch my breath, and I would be sweating like a pig. Each day I'd wonder how the hell I would survive all 90 days of the program. Sometimes it just required herculean effort to do it, all-the-while praying that I'd get to live for another day.

And here we are at Day 70. I've not only survived, but thrived! The j-rope is no longer the torture device I use to view it. If anything, it's the exercise that I look forward to each day. The wheezing and the lung burning are a thing of the past. I'm in far better shape than I was. What seemed like long arduous months to go are now viewed as having passed in a twinkling of an eye with a sort of sad fondness. Odd how the mind plays games like that.

Day 32: It's A Miracle, A True Blue Spectacle, A Miracle Come True

I can't believe it! I truly can not believe it! I managed to do 1,350 jumps—not perfectly, but smoother than I have ever done before. That's not the amazing part, though. This is: I was able to walk with very little knee pain. I mean, so little that I didn't have to put ice on them or anything! Hell, yeah! I was jumping around the backyard, screaming at the top of my lungs,

"I'm the King of the World!"

I am now working with J-Rope Mark 3 which I picked up last night. I think the combination of my legs getting a bit of jumping rest this past weekend, starting off with a rope fitted for me, and changing the way I jump based upon the suggestions that Patrick gave in his email made this miracle occur.

I was finally managing to hit at least 50 jumps in a row consistently. My legs weren't feeling as tired as they had previously. The jumps didn't seem to require as much effort as before. I swear I feel like I could've continued past 1,350. It was a beautiful thing!

However, I'm not ready to give up the "Bionic Knees". Not just yet. Maybe after a few more wonderful days like this I will, but not now. For the time being, I'll still wear the braces.

This was so cool!

Day 21: Oh No, Not A Wounded Knee

I managed to do all 1,000 jumps on Friday, of which I did the first 500 without a pause between the hundreds! It wasn't the smoothest by far as much tripping, tangling, and false starting occurred—but it was the longest run I've had so far where I haven't been wheezing and gasping for breath! It also felt great to throw five stones simultaneously.

Of course, that amazing feat did require a bunch of ice and rest afterward for the left knee. The right knee is slowly getting better (emphasis on the slowly). However, after reading everyone else's entries, I get the feeling that my knee is contagious!

Day 17: All I Know For Sure Is I'm Trying. I Will Always Stand My Ground

I gave the yard a second chance today. It had been begging me to take it back after it had failed me once, so I was very leary of it's enticing offer. You know what they say—once bitten, twice shy.

But the yard came back to me with a new look, a much shorter 'do. No longer was it the long-haired hippie that greeted me when I came back from vacation. It now was sporting a close-cropped sassy look. Very desirable, but I didn't want a repeat from before.

"C'mon, man!" J-Rope said. "Let's give it another chance. The yard has reformed. No more of those wild days. It's ready to be there for you."

I'm a sucker for second chances and sporty new looks. So me and J-Rope went out into the backyard for some one-on-one-on-one time. Janet Jackson was singing in the background as I grabbed nine rocks out of the flower bed and set them in a row nearby.

The jumps began.

I have to hand it to the yard—it played real nice, not ever once being a tease and flirting with J-Rope. We were there to do some serious work. 100 jumps. I took one of the rocks and tossed it back into the flower bed. 200 jumps. Another rock tossed. 300 jumps. 400. 500. Eventually all the way to 850 jumps, and the nine rocks were back in the flower bed.

The yard had done us good. Maybe it had changed it's ways. It was worth a shot. J-Rope and I decided we would give it another try tomorrow. The yard had earned my trust.

And now, more Creative Cooking from E's Kitchen!

Not-So Devilish Eggs

Ingredients:

2 hard-boiled egg whites
low-fat cottage cheese (enough to fill four egg halves - I used approximately 80g)
curry powder to taste
mustard powder to taste
paprika to taste

Take the low-fat cottage cheese and add about a pinch of curry powder and a pinch of mustard powder to it. Mix it together. (If you like more or less curry or mustard, feel free to adjust the spices to your taste.)

Fill the hollow of the egg with the cottage cheese mixture. Sprinkle a little paprika on the top for some extra color. You can add a parsley sprig for a festive touch.

Day 16: You've Got To Learn To Brace Yourself

I knew that Friday was going to be a hectic day for me, so I decided to do my ropes in the morning instead of my usual late afternoon/evening time. So, I went outside and started jumping. By jump three or four, my right knee totally gave out, sending me sprawling to the ground. After lying there on the driveway for a few minutes, I managed to pick myself up and limp back into the house. My legs had decided there would be no ropes for me that day.

I rested my leg for the remainder of Friday, and most of Saturday. Then I went out and bought a knee stabilizer. (It's like a knee brace, but allows leg movement.) I put it on and went outside to challenge it against the ropes.

800 jumps later, my knees were sore but not the painful mess they had been previously. I still had to take some ibuprofen and rub some IcyHot on it, but a few hours later I was walking just fine, and sometimes better, than I had days before. I was actually able to walk up the stairs, instead of having to take it one step at a time.

My knee stayed pretty happy for most of today—that is until came to be rope time. My partner persuaded me to do my jumps in the house, as the temperature and humidity was really awful outside. I decided I would give it a try.

Big mistake.

Although there is enough room to swing a rope around, there is too much stuff around. I was in constant fear that either I would hit something on the wall or mantle, that the rope would be caught on the couch or the entertainment center, or that I would rip the ceiling fan out of it's socket. That fear influenced my jumping like crazy. I tripped more than I jumped, and the sudden stoppage of movement would twist my knee just enough it would start to ache. I even broke that rope twice, which my partner fixed both times. I got very frustrated, especially since yesterday's jumps had been so good!

Fed up, I finally took my jump rope outdoors and finished my 800 in the driveway with little problem. That seems to be the only place where I can jump rope without major issues. I know that I'll need to create a "rope-safe" space in the house, especially if I want to jump rope in the winter, but for now it'll be the driveway.

Mike's post last week about what to make with the night-time snack got my gears a turning. Here's what I came up with:

BLUEBERRY-BANANA SMOOTHIE

Ingredients:
1/2 of your fruit grams in blueberries
1/2 of your fruit grams in banana
3/4 of your milk grams in plain low-fat yogurt (we make our own here, so there's no sugar in it)
1/4 of your milk grams in low-fat milk
1/2 cup crushed ice

Place all of the ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth. (I used the "grind" setting on my blender in order to really pulverize the ice.) It was a very nice treat on this hot and humid summer day.

Enjoy!

Day 7: A Heart Attack, You're Givin' Me A Heart Attack!

Today started out with me having a minor heart attack when I realized that the number of jumps really increased from the previous day. Then I had a second minor heart attack trying to complete them.

The Implement of Torture jump rope does not play very well with my body. Right now I can barely do fifty jumps without tripping and then having to take a break so I can stop wheezing. But so far, doing fifty at a time helps. (Then, every time I hit a hundred mark I gave myself the proverbial pat on the back for just surviving!)

I did have one moment where I discovered "zen jumping". It was so hot and I was plain tired that I closed my eyes, swung the rope and jumped, surrendering myself to that moment. Amazingly enough, I managed to do fifty jumps non-stop. I couldn't believe it! Of course, I couldn't recreate it either. But hey, you gotta take the little victories whenever you can.

Day 2: And The Rain Falls Down

When you're camping, anything that you do is totally at the will of nature. It's great when you have days full of sunshine, but when it rains things get a little more difficult—and difficult is a far cry from impossible. It's just a challenge to test your will and resolve.

The rain began a few days ago. For the most part it has been just steady, with periodic sprinkles; however, there have been many moments when a torrential downpour has had everyone scrambling to save their tents in an desperate attempt to keep things dry. Some succeed, others do not.

This was the challenge set before me by the 'Verse: attempt the PCP exercises in the most unique situations possible. Well, I'm a long-time camper who has a bit of MacGyver in him. Rain wasn't going to stop me!

My tent provided enough room to handle everything except the jump rope. That was were everything was going to get interesting! The weather did take pity on me and it stopped raining long enough to complete the jumps. It was probably the funniest thing for everyone else to see, though. Jump, squish, jump, squish, jump, squish, jump, SPLASH! Yeah, I invariably found the puddle.

So there I am, in the middle of a mud puddle. What's a person to do? That's an easy answer. Laugh!! After a minute or so of breathless laughter, I crawled out of the puddle, got dry shoes, and continued with the rest of the jumps. The puddle decided to leave me alone for the rest of the exercise.

And the 'Verse smiled.