Week 176 Update

It was 04:49 when I stepped up on Mr. Scale, and he said, "185.0 pounds!" Right on my target weight! It was 57º and dark outside, and another week of my journey was complete.

It was a week of medical exams, tests, and worries, and recovery from the painful, and sometimes seemingly medieval testing procedures. We don't have definitive answers as to what is exactly causing symptoms, but the really bad stuff has been eliminated. I may be in pain, but I am not dying, if the test results are to be trusted. For now, I choose to do so. Now we are in pursuit of solutions to the former, however it has taken a lot of the mental load off knowing that something really sinister is not running amok inside me.

I ate more this week than last. I averaged 47.29 points per day, which was 4.08 more per day, or 28.5 points more total for the week. That should be good for about a half-pound increase. I went up 1 pound, so it was close. I averaged about 2 and quarter points per day higher than my 45 points per day maintenance level. Still, my average weight for the week was 185.57, which is not bad.

Saturdays I have a natural tendency to let my guard down a bit, especially if I have had a good (low) weigh-in. Last Saturday I weighed 184.0, and I went on to eat 51.0 points. Sunday my weight went up to 184.5, and I ate 45.0 points. Monday I moved up to 185.0, and had my first medical testing done. I ate 45.5 points. Tuesday I had the most intrusive testing done, and it was quite painful. The pain remained with me the rest of the week, though progressively lessening as the days ticked off. I ate a bit more than I would have otherwise I believe, probably in search of comfort. Considering that my weight had gone up several days in a row, and I weighed 186.0 that morning, I normally would have eaten less than 45 points. I ate 48.5 points, and thanks to the pain, I took some Aleve. Wednesday the scale read 187.5. That got my attention. Pain or no pain, I held my points at 35.5, and didn't take any more Aleve. Thursday the scale dropped to 186.0. At work there was a guy who was selling candy bars to help support his kid's soccer team. I bought a Butterfinger (7.0 pts) and eating that helped push my points up to 53.0 for the day.

I have to admit that worry was eating at me, and it was not helping my focus. Friday, my weight fell back down to 185.0, as the Aleve finally got out of my system. I should have eaten 45.0 points, but I got carried away on some Subway cookies and the next thing I knew, I had eaten 52.5 points for the day. I wasn't too worried, because 7.5 extra points can't put on 2 pounds of fat overnight, but I am not happy with the lack of focus that I had this week.

Friday, after lunch, I discussed my tests with the specialist, and he took most of the worry away that I had been under, and then later in the day I had an appointment with my general practitioner on another problem that also was worrying me, and it was evaluated as being less of a serious threat to my health than originally thought. So, by the end of the day on Friday I was feeling much more upbeat about my health future, and there is no further testing planned for the time being. If the treatments work that have been implemented, then these two problems can be put to bed for good without any more of what I went through this week.

I got my water in every day this week except Saturday. For some reason I drank my normal 24 ounces in the morning, and then didn't drink any more until just before bed. I had one more cup then, giving me 4 cups for the day. But the rest of the week I got in at least 6 cups each day, and I averaged 62.86 ounces (7.8 cups) per day. That's plenty.

Exercise turned out well overall this week. I walked more miles during this week than during any previous week this year. Last week I set a new personal record for 2004 by walking 44.23 miles. This week I topped that by walking 45.72. That is nearly 90 miles in two weeks.

After only walking 16.8 miles for the month of July, I was left in pretty bad shape for reaching my 1,200-miles-for-2004 goal. Instead of having the 700 miles under my belt that I should of had, I had only walked 551 miles up to that point. I was in the hole 149 miles.

In August I walked 103 miles, but that only held the line. I was still in the hole 146 miles. I had only caught up 3 additional miles. That was definitely not going to be enough. Since I started September with 654.0 miles "in the bank" for 2004, I was left at 146 miles in the hole, with only 121 days left to crawl out. I not only needed to walk 100 miles, in each of the last 4 months of the year, but I had to also walk that additional 146 miles. That comes out to 36.5 extra miles each month, or 8.6 miles per week. What it finally boiled down to was that I needed to average 31.6 miles each week to reach my goal.

I have finally made progress this month. With all of the walking that I have been doing in September, I am up to 785.4 miles for the year, and less than 15 miles short of where I should have been at the end of August. I hope to break through the 800 mile barrier before September is over. With 14 weeks remaining this year, I have already moved the average number of miles, which I need to walk each week to reach my goal, down from 31.6 to 29.6. That is quite a significant drop, and is moving me closer to the point I would have been if I had been walking 100 miles each month all along, instead of having to catch up. I should have already walked 879 miles by this day of the year. That puts me 28.5 days behind schedule. (At the beginning of September I was 44.5 days behind schedule, I have made up 16 days already, or 36% of the deficit.)

My main concern is that I don't injure myself, or overdo it to the point where I have to take time off from walking. That is why it is important to bring the number of miles per week that I have to walk down. If I walk 2 miles at work, and then 3 miles in the evening, I can walk 25 miles per week without doing any walking at all on the weekends. If I walk on the weekends, I can take a day off from walking during the workweek. Either way, I can get some rest to allow my body to catch up. To get in 29.6 miles, I need to walk the 25 during the week, but another 4 or 5 on the weekend. That is not too bad, and still allows me some time off from walking each week. So, I am in a much better position right now, than I was at the start of September, to reach my goal.

Saturday, I walked 3.1 miles twice. The one in the morning was my fasted pace of any of the walking I did this week. I averaged 4.72 mph, completing each mile in 12:43. It only took me 39:26 to walk the 5K. In the evening I walked another 3.1 miles, finishing exactly 12 hours after the first one, but this one took 42:04, or 13:34 per mile (4.42 mph). The temperature for both walks was very close to the same (52º and 54º), and I really like it there. I now had 6.2 miles in the bank for the week.

Sunday I did a 3.1-mile walk, averaging 4.5 mph, in the morning with the temperature sitting at 54º. Then in the afternoon Dotti and I took a "continuation walk" that started at home, and proceeded to Sweet Tomatoes (2.1 miles), continuing on to Target (1.89 miles), and returning home (1.0 miles). The temperature readout on the hardware sign said, 58º as we walked by on the last leg of the trip at 4:15 pm. That came to 4.99 miles for our walk, and so I walked a total of 8.09 miles on Sunday, and 14.24 miles for the weekend. I was very happy with that!

Monday I got to work early enough to tackle my 2.4-mile loop. Not only that, but the temperature was nice and low at 44º. Now that is walking weather! I put on my heavier coat, and took off. Thirty-three minutes and two seconds later I was back. I had averaged 4.36 mph for the walk. At lunch, it was 66º, but I did not feel like doing a long walk. So I only did one mile, and I did it slowly. (It took 16:57 for the mile; 3.54 mph.) In the evening after my medical testing procedure, I still was able to walk 3.1 miles with Dotti. It had cooled back down to 58º, and we finished in 54:37. So, Monday I walked 6.5 miles, and I was up to 20.79 miles for the week!

Tuesday was a very bad day. If things had been slightly different (sick time available, and things not too busy at work) I would have just taken the day off after going to the hospital at 07:00 for some radiology testing. It was most unpleasant, and if I ever have to do anything similar in the future I will insist on medication before they proceed. Although there was no time for a walk in the morning; at lunch I did walk, in the 67º sunshine, a slow 2.0 miles at a 15:43 per mile pace, but I didn't feel good doing it. I just took the evening off from walking to try and recover. My week's total sat at 22.79.

Wednesday, I felt like I needed to catch up from the poor walking day I had had on Tuesday. I got to work early, it was 49º, and I walked 2.4 miles at a 14:00 per mile pace. At lunch, it had warmed up to 67º, and I did a long (3.17 miles) loop at a 13:52 per mile pace. In the evening, with the temperature sitting at 64º, I walked 3.1 miles at a reduced (15:11 per mile) pace because I was tired and just wanted to get the miles in. I walked 8.7 miles for the day and pushed my total for the week up to 31.46.

Thursday I had just enough time to walk 2.0 miles in the morning. It was 55º and there was a fog hanging low across the fields. I walked at a 13:52 pace. At lunch I did another 2.0 miles. The temperature had climbed up to 69º, and walked at a leisurely 15:40 per mile pace. In the evening, Dotti was not feeling up to taking a walk, but Joan, who is visiting with us this week, was and so we did the 3.1-mile loop in 53:16, with the temperature at 64º. So, I walked 7.1 miles on Thursday, and my total for the week was moved up to 38.56.

Friday I got to work early enough to do a longer walk, but I really didn't feel up to it. So, I only did 2.0 miles. The temperature was 56º, and I walked at a 15:20 pace. At lunch I once again held it to 2.0 miles. It was 66º and walked a little faster at 14:12 per mile. In the evening Dotti, Joan, and I decided to go to Borders Books. I wanted the miles so I walked over, while the ladies drove. Then I walked back home. Since they had to stop and do a couple of errands on the way home, we actually all got back at about the same time. The walk over was 1.93 miles, and it took 29:12. The walk home was 1.23 miles, and it took 20:52. Part of the reason that the times were so slow is that I had to cross a main road in each direction, and there was quite a wait at the stoplight each time. Part of it was I just took a nice leisurely pace. When Friday's walking was finished, I had gone 7.1 miles. For the week I was up to 45.72 miles and for the year I had reached 785.4 miles.

All and all, I am glad this week is over, but I am happy with how I did overall for my eating and weight, water, and exercise.

Thirty years ago on September 20th, I had my second chance to talk with Dotti.

The day started with me in southern Oregon, and my Mom driving me to the Medford Airport to catch a plane back up to Portland. Thank you Mom! (She was a real dear then just like she is today.)

I landed in Portland in the afternoon, and my friend Bob picked me up at the airport. He said, "Dorothy has been asking about you, and whether or not you are going to be there tonight." That did my heart good. It is always a good sign with a lady you are fond of is asking about you!

As it turned out, it was going to be a busy evening. First of all, we were going to be spending some time at a local ice skating rink and having some fun. We then were going to the guys' apartment for a "cleaning up party" before our ship headed out to sea the next day.

Bob drove me to the ship where I picked up a few things... including a pair of dress pants for me to wear that night ice-skating, my guitar, and my music book. We drove over to the apartment the Mormon guys were sharing, where I got changed. When I finally got see Dotti, she chuckled at how fancy I had gotten dressed up, said that she was duly impressed, and told me to go back and put on some jeans for the ice skating, just in case I took a fall. I figured if she didn't mind my being comfortable, that was fine with me.

We finally all made it over to the rink, and got our skates. Soon we were on the ice. Now Dotti and I came from really different skating backgrounds. She was born in New York, and lived in Vermont for a while. She skated like she was born to it. In the winter, when she lived in Rutland, Vermont, there was a field at the Rotary Club that they flooded with water, and it froze up into a really great skating rink. All winter long she went there and skated. She was a natural.

I was born in Southern California and thought ice was something that you got out of your freezer for your glass. I had successfully roller skated once in high school, and that means I could go around an oval without falling down, if I went slowly. I had accomplished the same feat one time on ice skates on a church outing in the early summer of 1970. But that was the extent of my skating history. The only skating thing that I had to brag about by evening's end was that I had not fallen down at all, but it was close. I skated slowly and poorly around and around near the railing so I could grab it if needed.

Dotti skated hither and yon, doing figure eights, loops and all sorts of other fancy things. She could go around the rink a dozen times in the time it took me to go once. I was very impressed. Even when she fell she looked good doing it. But I even more enjoyed the times when she slowed down to my pace, and pulled me out into the middle of the rink and got me to speed up a bit. And then the best time was when we stopped and talked at the rail and I got to know the woman that I was rapidly falling deeply in love with. We talked of life, love and morals. We spoke of so many things and our views were so similar in so many areas that it was almost spooky. Like a minor who had been digging for years and who suddenly picked out a chuck of pure gold, I knew this was what I had been looking for all of my life.

There was one point along the way, while we were at the rink, where something was lost or missing. It may have been before we even started skating. I don't even remember what it was, but I do remember that Dotti had to go back to her place to get the missing item, and naturally I offered to join her. It was close enough to walk to, but we decided to run instead. There was something about that little run that sticks in my mind. The active spirit, the athletic side of this beautiful young lady was just one more thing that I loved about her.

After the skating, there followed the housecleaning party. The Mormon girls came over to join in, and the place was put into shape fairly quickly. At one point I sat down with my guitar, while Dotti was finishing up some cleaning in the kitchen. A few of the girls sat down to listen. Dotti stuck her head around the corner of the kitchen every once in a while and smiled at me, and I knew all was right with the world. I was playing every song for her, even though she was out of view most of the time.

That night I spent in the apartment with the guys, and after the ladies had gone home, I wrote my very first letter to Dotti. I didn't have any writing paper, but I did have an envelope. So, I steamed the envelope all the way open, and wrote my letter on the inside. It was undated, and began, "Dorothy," and ended, "Love, Al" I won't burden you with the rest. I filled up the side opposite the address panel, and then I sealed it all back up again and gave it to Dotti the next day when she came to see us off.

When she opened the envelope, she was looking everywhere inside trying to find the letter it contained. She finally figured out what I had done and opened up the envelope and read the letter. She said that she knew I was going to be one she was going to have to keep her eye on.

It was only a few hours until I wrote my second letter, which was my first on proper stationery. But that was on September 21st.

On Saturday, September 20th, I had traveled from Southern Oregon to Portland in the north. On September 21st, the girls came down to the pier to watch the USS Ozbourne (DD 846) pull out, with the Mormon guys, and myself on it. It was the first time that Dotti and I were going to be separated by the Navy. It turned out to be one of many times. I gave Dotti the letter that I had written on the envelope and we said our goodbyes. Since we were just getting acquainted, it was rather formal, but I was really happy she had come down to the ship to see me off.

Later that day, I wrote my first letter to Dotti on real letter paper. I said, "This is really bad timing by me. A week ago I didn't care if we were going to Alaska or San Diego or anywhere in the world. Portland wasn't anything special. I'm afraid that is no longer the case. I finally walked into something special and now I have to go play Navy for a couple of months..." I was feeling pretty sad about the fact that we were going to be gone so long, especially so soon. But things didn't turn out as bad as I feared.

The mail didn't leave the ship all that often, so I didn't put that letter in an envelope and drop it off yet. I continued writing the next day when we were in the Pacific, after making the 100+ mile trip up the Columbia River to its mouth. We had stopped at Astoria and loaded our ammunition. (They didn't want a warship parked near downtown Portland carrying enough munitions to make a real mess if they went off.) We crossed the Columbia bar, where so many ships have wrecked over the years, and reached the Pacific Ocean. We turned south and steamed towards San Diego, where we were supposed to meet up with the fleet for maneuvers. But for once the gremlins did right by me. Murphy's law took a day off, and the ship lost its spare boiler. We had to turn around about the time we hit the California border. For the second time in 3 days I was traveling from Southern Oregon to Portland, and I was even more excited this time! My letter for September 22nd started out, "We are headed North now..." I went on to explain how we were going to have to stop at Astoria again and offload our ammo, and then we would be heading home up the Columbia to Portland once more! I wrote, "Sounds good to me!"

One other thing I wrote in my letter was something unrelated, but I can still clearly picture the event in my mind's eye, "We passed a large school of dolphins today. The whole ship's crew was on the deck watching them leap. We were moving the same direction as they were, and they stretched out left and right... as far as we could see. It was really beautiful." I can still remember the clear sky, the blue water, and the dolphins leaping gracefully out of the water as they kept up with us.

At the end of the letter I stammered and stumbled around what I wanted to say. I was in love already and I knew it. But I didn't want to move too quickly and scare her away. Dotti was already in my heart and there was never going to be anyway to get her out again. She is the best thing that ever happened to me!

Monday, September 23rd, we had reached Astoria. My letter said that the crew had not been notified yet of what the ship was going to do for sure. As it turned out the ship was not repairable at that time, with those facilities, and so we headed back to Portland the next day after unloading the ammo once more. I also wrote to Dotti, "You have captured my heart..." so I had stopped stumbling around a bit in 24 hours.

Tuesday, September 24th, 1974, the ship pulled into Swan Island in Portland. We scrambled off the ship as soon as they would let us go, and placed a call to the apartment where Dotti and some of her girl friends were staying. To the statement, "We are at Swan Island," Dotti replied, "I didn't know there was a Swan Island in San Diego." When she understood that we were back in Portland and would heading over to see her in just a few minutes she squealed and said that she was going to have to scramble. It was in the evening and she was already in relaxed attire, washed her hair and was generally not ready for company. But she set a record in getting ready because she looked just great by the time that we arrived.

The next few days were a blur. I spent every free moment with Dotti. September 28th, we had our very first date together alone. A friend of mine from the ship offered to loan me his truck for the date, and Dotti and I drove out to Multnomah Falls. We climbed to the top and had a wonderful day. I am so glad that ship broke down when it did, because it led to such a wonderful time for us during the next few weeks. Those were magical wonderful days, and the really cool thing is, they have never stopped. Dotti was, is, and will be the most wonderful thing to have ever happened to me in my entire life, and it all started 30 years ago.

3 years, 137 days OP; a lifetime to follow.

-Al-

6 '3" 239.5/185.0/180±2/BMI:23.12/WK-176
GRAPHS: Weight Loss/Year 1 Maint./Year 2 Maint./Year 3 Maint./Miles Walked
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