Changed the Routine Up...

7:00am:...and it didn't work. This morning I decided to do my treatments before my walk (to give Mandi time to get a run in and get her butt over here) and it definitely did not pay off. Like I've said before, the vest and the nebulized meds just don't make me cough like exercise does. Also, when I was breathing in my albuterol/atro and Pulmozyme, it felt like the med wasn't getting deep down into my lungs like usual. I didn't feel nearly as open as I usually do after my walk. So I'll have to make a note: ALWAYS do the morning walk BEFORE my morning treatments. Alright, that settles that.

Mandi finally got here and we took off for J Bell's walk. We decided to only do a mile cause one, it was hot, and two, we were going to head straight to the gym after the walk. Also, my foot was still a little sore from the past couple of days and I didn't want to push it if I didn't have to. We talked about possibly doing another mile walk later on tonight. We'll see how the rest of the day goes. I didn't cough up as much crap as I used to coughing up in the morning. I think it's because my lungs didn't feel as challenged as they usually do by walking before my treatments. The albuterol opened my up enough that I didn't put the normal stress on the ol' airbags. One reason I love walking first thing in the morning is because of all of the mucus clearance I'm able to do. So again, treatment AFTER the walk is what work's for me best.

Total Distance: 1.1 miles

9:00am: We headed to the gym with the intention of turning our arm workout into a cardio one as well. We accomplished this by rotating through bi's and tri's and never taking a break. For example, we would do one set of reverse grip pull-ups and then immediately do one set of dips, and then back to pull-ups etc. We each had our own station as well, so we literally had no break in between sets. By the end of the workout my arms were deader than dead, and if you have any scientific background, you know that that's pretty dead. We both worked up a good sweat and it had me huffing and puffing the whole time at the gym. While I did forearms, Mandi did abs. I'm not sure how or why she did cause my abs still feel torn from two days ago. They are in such pain that I find myself holding back on my cough (which we all know is no good). If they recover by tonight though, I really wouldn't mind getting in a set or two.

Update: We got caught up at a graduation party and it is late...I need sleepy. No abs for me.

Total Distance Walked for Day: 1.1 miles

Random Video of the Day

Video: This is what we like to do on our cross-country road trips.

Mucus Machine

6:00am: So I thought about changing it up a little and heading to the gym in the morning to do some cardio....uhhhh, yeah, that wasn't going to happen this morning. I was still feeling the affects from my butt whooping yesterday so I decided not to get crazy. It was just going to have to be the good ol' 2.1 mile dog walk. Also, I didn't want to upset Jezzabel. She still wasn't over our fight last night over who the best acting dog of all time. I say Benji (from all of the movies), she says the dog from Frasier. The thing is though, I never ever have watched Frasier, so how in the world does she know that the dog acts well in that show? I'd love for you guys to help settle the debate though: Who's better Benji or Eddie(I looked it up) the dog from Frasier?

Anyways, the walk this morning went really well. I was an absolute mucus machine! I could not stop coughing the stuff up. It just kept on coming and coming. It was mostly clear or milky white in color, but there was a lot of it. I think it was a positive residual effect from yesterday's workout! My lungs felt great from the time that I woke up to the time that I sat down to type this out. I had slight foot pain in my left foot that I think was due to the elliptical, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it's been from the running.

Total Distance: 2.1 miles Time: 38'17"

1:00pm: I headed to the gym today looking forward to another day of my new routine. It was chest and back day, which is right up there with arm day in terms of my favorite. I don't like it quite as much as arm day, but you know what they say, "Curls for the girls!". Or maybe I'm the only one that says that and of course I'm only doing them for ONE girl (I know you like that save Mandi). I went non-stop again at the gym today and hardly took a break in between my sets. The only rest I would get was when I would switch out the dumbbells for heavier ones. I was sweating like an absolute mad man. It felt spectacular.

After finishing my chest and back routine, I headed to the elliptical. I wanted to beat my distance from yesterday. And that's exactly what I did! My foot hurt a little while doing it, but I pushed through that to finish at 1.7 miles. That would be exactly .2 more than yesterday. I was also coughing a lot while doing it and I know I was freaking out the people next to me. By a lot, I guess I mean like one time a minute, so before you say it, ok, it was not A LOT. It just felt that way cause every time I would let one go about 6 heads whipped around and gave me that, "I wonder if he has swine flu" look. Current Weight: 185 lbs

Total Distance: 1.7 miles

Total Distance Walked for Day: 3.8 miles

Random Picture of the Day

Picture: 5 pounds of fat compared to 5 pounds of muscle. I found this fascinating!

My Lungs REALLY Opened Up!!!!

6:00am: I don't know why, but the Good Sleep fairy has now visited 3 nights in a row! It feels sooooo good to get a full night's sleep. Just for a little sleep history on me: I've never been able to get to bed before midnight, I would stay awake in my bed for AT LEAST 30 minutes, and then I would wake up about 10 times during the night....oh, and I would generally sleep in till about 9am or 10am. Now fast forward to today: I'm in bed by 10pm, I fall asleep within 5 minutes, I wake up maybe 3 times, and sleeping in would be 7am or 8am but I'm usually up by 6am. You might be asking yourself, "Why such a drastic change?". Answer: I have no clue. Here would be my best guesses though...I'm an "old" man. I'm working out harder than I have for years. I'm wearing oxygen at night. I wake up so early and never slow down during the day. The Sleep Fairy finally remembered my address. That's all I got. Your guess is as good as mine.

The walk went really well this morning. Kind of same ol same ol as far as the mucus goes. I did have a coughing spree about half way through my walk that caused me to dry heave, but I recovered pretty quickly. My foot felt great the whole walk. And lastly, Jezzabel is on a new kick where she poops 3 times now every walk. I don't know if you've noticed, but that's one reason my times have been slower. She literally craps 3 times before 7am. That's better than her daddy, and quite honestly, I'm a bit jealous.

Total Distance: 2.1 miles Time: 38'19"

5:00pm: Today was leg and shoulder day with Mandi in tow, so I was really looking forward to her kicking my butt! She did not disappoint. We continued to just rehab my shoulder, but when it came to legs, we really beat them up. We ended up doing a circuit of sorts for our legs and shoulders that I really enjoyed. While she was lifting her legs, I would be doing my shoulders. After we were done with one set, we would switch. This kept us in constant motion and we both worked up a huge sweat. I was doing some very deep breathing so it was good for my lungs as well. One thing to keep in mind about weight training is that it can also be a great way to exercise your lungs. The key to it is simple: KEEP MOVING. Do your best to never stop.

The butt kicking certainly did not stop with the legs and shoulders though. Mandi then took me through a ab routine that had me begging for mercy. I'm serious. I think at one point I actually asked her if we could stop. And if you know Mandi, you already know her answer. NO!!!!! It got to the point where I could barely support my own weight with my abs and it felt like I was working them out just by walking. We were doing all kinds of crazy things to our stomachs. Medicine balls, kick flips, twists and turns, you name it, we did it. I was absolutely beat when it was all said and done.

After going into the locker room to freshen up and weigh myself, we were walking out the door when it suddenly happened. I had the urge to do MORE. I don't know why, but I didn't want the great workout to end. We jumped on the elliptical and did a quick 15 minutes on them to finish off the day. I was drenched in sweat from head to two and my lungs haven't felt as open as they did today for a very long time. I just kept pushing it and pushing it and it really paid off. I am absolutely exhausted, but I feel GREAT. Current Weight: 184 lbs.

Total Distance: 1.5 miles

Total Distance Walked for Day: 3.6 miles

Treatment BEFORE Treatments

6:00am: Two good night's of sleep in a row! The only problem I had this morning was a burning nose for the oxygen. I woke up at around 5:30 and took out the nasal cannulas for my last half hour of sleep. I had some very productive coughs this morning, but it was pretty much the same ol' story. A bunch of darker sticky crap for my first cough or two, but then it was clear from then on out. My mucus is actually becoming more and more clear the last couple of days. Well, let me rephrase that cause I guess clear is clear is clear. My mucus becomes clear earlier in the morning and stays clear throughout the day. There, that's better. My lungs have also felt open right when I wake up, which is generally how a measure how I'm feeling and how my lung function is doing. I'm able to take a really deep breath first thing in the morning which feels really good. So far so good. Let's hope this hot streak continues.

I recently was asked whether I do my treatments before or after my morning walk. The answer is AFTER my morning walk, and here is why. My walk makes me cough a lot more than my treatments do. I cough for probably the first 10 minutes of my walk and I'm clearing stuff (and trying not to throw up) the whole time. I look at it as a treatment before my treatment. By the time I get to my nebulizer and vest, I feel open and ready to deep breathe all of the medicine in. I realize that it's different strokes for different strokes, but I just wanted to share with you why I do what I do.

Total Distance: 2.1 miles Time: 38'20"

1:00pm: Today we arm day and I was really looking forward to my second arm day of the new routine. Luckily, the 2nd day went just as well as the first day if not better. I absolutely killed my arms and could barely lift them even a couple hours after my workout. Nothing else fancy to report...oh, except that I can do 10 diamond push-ups in a row. I couldn't do 5 regular push-ups when all of this started a couple of months ago! So we're making progress. Current Weight: 184 lbs.

Side Note: Tonight I went and saw the new Wolverine movie. First, as a disclaimer, I happen to like all of the X-Men movies that have come out even though the genre isn't my cup of tea. The Wolverine movie was no exception and in my opinion the best of the series so far. Great action without a whole lot of language or sex crap. Well done gentlemen...or ladies.

Total Distance Walked for Day: 2.1 miles

The CF Swallow

6:00am: Another good night of sleep in Ronnieville! I can only remember waking up once due to the oxygen blowing in my eye, so that ain't bad at all!!! My lungs also felt pretty good and I only had one BIG OL' cough this morning that got that night junk up and out. At that point on I only coughed up small amounts of very light yellow or clear stuff. I was coughing quite a bit on the walk due to a slight tickle in my throat. That led to something I like to call the "CF Swallow". I would cough, cough, cough and then swallow to make sure nothing from my stomach made it out of my mouth. I'm guessing that I can't be the only one who has mastered the CF Swallow. I mean, I have it down. It gets to the point where I'll rapidly swallow about 5 times in a row to insure there won't be a blow out. I also get this feeling where I say to myself, "If you cough ONE more time, it's all over". That's when I really concentrate on not coughing for a good 15 seconds or so. So tell me fellow CFers, am I the only one????

The walk itself went well. I took out my shoe inserts to see if that made any difference with my feet. It did. It basically just made my left foot hurt in a different way. I won't know if it was a good or bad thing until later in the day though. It felt like my arch was being super stretched length wise. It hurt and felt good at the same time. As I sit here typing this, my foot is definitely sore. Today at the gym I'll do some cardio since I won't be doing any later due to my Bible study. I'll update you guys on how that goes. Let's all hope for a positive report (fingers crossed).

Total Distance: 2.1 miles Time: 39'44"

11:30am: Headed off to the gym to work out my chest and back knowing that I had to motor through it. I had a meeting with a friend concerning a new CF project that I wanted to run by him and get his opinion on. So at the gym I really had to focus. I couldn't take long breaks between sets and I always had to be moving. Mission accomplished. I worked up a huge sweat and got a REALLY good work out in. I could see some people giving me "that look" cause I was breathing so hard and loud. Whoops, sorry guys...and gals. I really like the new workout routine that I am doing. It's very fluid and can go quickly if need be. I also feel like I worked super hard at the end of each session. Current Weight: 186 lbs.

Total Distance Walked for Day: 2.1 miles

Random Video of the Day

Video: Just one of the best videos of all time...

Heartburn City

6:00am: I actually felt pretty well rested this morning. I woke up a couple times to adjust my oxygen tubing, but overall, I slept really well. At one point during the night, my oxygen came completely off and the cannula was lying on the floor. Who knows how long it had been off, but I think it was a good sign that I slept comfortably without it. Then again, I could have woken up within a couple minutes of the oxygen falling off and been gasping for air. I guess I'll never know...

If I had to take my best guess though, the oxygen wasn't an issue since I woke up feeling so refreshed this morning. The only issue was a little bit of heartburn. I have had heartburn the past five days, almost all day long. I may have to step up my dosage on my Protonix if this keeps up. Burping fire isn't one of my favorite things to do. I thought that it was just an isolated incident last week because of the pizza and then this weekend because of the pizza fries (common theme?), but I would think that it would have gone away by now. And I'm thinking it wouldn't be an isolated incident if it happened twice now would it? My use of the English language has never been my strong point.

The walk this morning went well and my lungs felt open right from the get go. I was coughing a lot at the beginning of the walk, but all of my mucus was clear. My lungs didn't feel tight and I was getting the crap out pretty easily. Lung wise, I think that this was one of the better mornings that I've had for a while. Yay!!!!

Total Distance: 2.1 miles Time: 38'06"

5:30pm: Gym time! Mandi and I walked to the gym today cause I wanted to rest my feet and not do a longer walk later on. I know I should probably stay off of my foot completely, but that's just not in my DNA. At least not right now. I still feel that it will just kind of magically heal by me backing off just a bit. Then again, I am an idiot and I understand that also.

Today was legs and shoulders. For at least the next month I am only going to be doing rehab work on my shoulders at the gym. I've had problems in the past with them and I was starting to feel a lot of pain while lifting them. I'm using the same program exercises that I did when I went to actual rehab for my drinking...I mean, shoulders (I never went to rehab for drinking. It's ok Nancy...and Grammy!). It felt good today and it really feels like I'm strengthening the tendons and ligaments in there. I'll keep it up for a while and hopefully the pain goes away when I lift.

For legs we did a variety of exercises that I had not yet done. We did step-ups, which REALLY got my heart racing, as well as various exercises for the glutes and abductors. The lower half of my body felt really stretched out when we were done. It is definitely a much different feeling than when I usually lift on my legs. Usually they feel like dead weight and puffy all over. Today, they felt much lighter and I worked up a big sweat in the process! Current Weight: 188 lbs

Total Distance: .5 miles

Total Distance Walked for Day: 2.6 miles

Random Picture of the Day

Picture: Just so we're clear, I despise snow and everything it stands for....

15.7 Total Miles for Week of April 27th, 2009

Week of April 20th: 22.9 miles
Week of April 13th: 18.75 miles
Week of April 6th: 20.95 miles
Week of March 30th: 31.7 miles
Week of March 23rd: 24.48 miles
Week of March 16th: 34.85 miles
Week of March 9th: 23.6 miles

Running Late

4:30pm: So as you see, nothing was done in the way of exercise until 4:30 today! I "overslept" until 8:30am this morning and it threw off my whole schedule. I was rushing to get out the door for church (which I of course was then early for) and I had no time to take Jezzy for her morning walk. After church, Mandi and I did our normal routine of Dunkin Donuts and then back to the house for a little relaxing. By the time 4pm rolled around I was all relaxed out, so we decided to go to the gym. We did a new arm routine that absolutely kicked both of our butts. Even as I type this my arms don't feel like they're attached to the rest of my body. It was a great workout though and I'm really looking forward to what changes this new workout could bring. Current Weight: 186 lbs.

8:30pm: There's no way that a day could be complete without taking J Bell for her walk. I decided though to only do 1 mile cause my foot was already hurting and my stomach was full from dinner. The last thing I wanted to do was lose my feast all over the sidewalk. So I took it easy and Jeezy fo Sheezy just had to deal with the short walk. I'm starting to get a bit frustrated with my foot, so this week I'm going to try my best to figure out a solution. I don't know if I need new shoes, new inserts, or what, but I know that something has to change. My whole goal in all of this was to run one mile straight, that will be a little tough until I figure out how to run on both feet.

Total Distance: 1.0 mile

Total Distance Walked for Day: 1.0 mile