color light therapy Archives

Week 8: Things Are Looking Up

– – Training Week 8 started Monday with some yoga, and I FINALLY had a chance to get back on my new Vertical Climber for a 35 minute session.

Still just lifting my own body weight, but I’ll see how it goes and probably add some pack weight later in the week.

I finally got some time on my vertical climber!

I hiked up about 2000ft, and I did 3lb weights on each wrist to work my arms and back a little bit harder.

This week I needed to “look up” and focus more on vertical gain training, either with actual uphill hikes, or treadmill or vertical climber workouts.

Tuesday was my fun/exploration day because the weather was amazing!

Started with kickboxing in my home gym, then went over to Umstead State Park.

My goal was to take a look at a social trail on the far side of Big Lake that I hadn’t been on for several years.

Hiking a social trail at Umstead State Park.

My time was limited, so I ended up hiking only about 4 miles, but it was good to get out in the unseasonably warm day and see what had happened to the social trail.

Wednesday I led a small but mighty group of hikers on a long hiking route I hadn’t done in a couple of years.

Laurel Bluffs Trailhead at Pleasant Green.

We started from the Pleasant Green trail access on the Eno River and hiked the Laurel Bluffs, Quarry and Pump Station Trail for a 12.5 mile RT hike.

Stopping for a halfway break at the Pump Station ruins.

We also had about 1400ft elevation gain, which I’d forgotten about (ugh!).

But I only had 5lbs extra in my pack, so it wasn’t that bad 🙂

It was a gorgeous hike, and I was also able to take the group on a short detour from the Laurel Bluffs trail to the old Cabe Cemetery site I found a couple of weeks ago.

Headstones in the old Cabe cemetery along the Laurel Bluffs trail.

We stopped for a break along the river at the Pump Station ruins, and then reversed our route back to Pleasant Green.

This hike kicked my butt! So Thursday was mostly a stretching and rest day 🙂

Are You Getting Closer to Your Goals?

It’s Week 8, so it’s time to do a final progress check. (You can click here to sign up and download your FREE “8 Weeks to Awesome” PDF.)

By Week 8:

- - Your weekly Long Hike should be full goal-hike length, and
  - Your Strength Building hike should include full goal-weight pounds in your pack.

To Track Your “Awesome” Progress at Home Click Here!

Track your progress towards your fitness goals!

You’ll get instructions and three printable trackers:

- Your Hike Plan Worksheet
- Daily & Weekly Workouts
- Weekly Meals tracker

Friday I had to drop off my car in the morning for some maintenance work, so though the afternoon was nice, I was limited to exercise I could do around home.

So I did some longish yoga, and about 4 miles urban hiking in my neighborhood.

Saturday began with kickboxing and upper body weights in my home gym.

Later in the day I met with That Man and the puppy at Falls Lake for some exploratory hiking in the woods.

Hiking the MST towards the intersection with Hwy 98.

We have a short hike that we usually do from the Baptist Rd trailhead to a bench along the lake that’s along the MST.

We wanted to continue from there to the intersection with Hwy 98.

The closest equivalent I could find was MST Hike L, which they say is about 6-7 miles RT.

We thought our route would be slightly shorter because of where we were starting, but…No!

It was actually longer.

We ended up going about 8 miles, which was a very long way for That Man (who is rehabilitating a knee) and the puppy (who has very short legs).

Hiking through the powerline cut towards Hwy 98.

Fortunately the route is mostly soft underfoot with pine needles and leaves, and doesn’t have much elevation gain .

Even so, we barely made it home before sundown and pretty much flaked out for the rest of the evening 🙂

Between kickboxing, weights, AND 8 miles of hiking, I think that was just the thing to do!

Hikers on the 1 Mile bridge on the Company Mill Trail.

Sunday I led a big group of hikers on a 9 mile Company Mill and Sycamore loop in Umstead State Park.

The weather was perfect, the pace was good, and everyone had a great time 🙂

Hikers taking a break on the Company Mill Trail.

And so ends Week 8.

Don’t worry if you haven’t reached your goals yet – just because it’s an 8-week program doesn’t mean you have to stop at 8 weeks.

In my case, I still have some training to do in terms of elevation gain.

Maybe you’ve still got some work to do, too?

Fortunately for me, my epic hike event doesn’t happen for about another 8 weeks.

I'll be hiking Mount Olympas in a couple of months. — I’ll be hiking Mount Olympus in a couple of months.

So, I’ll just keep training from here – while trying to NOT over-train.

And I’ll bet you thought this was going to be my last Training Log post! Not so fast, Grasshopper 😉

I’ll also keep posting weekly because telling you guys what I’m doing helps keep me motivated- and you know you’re all my accountability buddies.

But I’ll bet some of you are heartily and justifiably sick of these training posts – it’s just too much me, right???

Believe me, I’m getting kind of sick of me, too… 😉

So I also want to get back to writing about great parks and hikes you can try out – we’ve all got that to look forward to!

TAKEAWAY LESSON: For any kind of training – ongoing or towards a goal – it’s a good idea to stop every once in a while to appreciate how far you’ve come. But if you still have a way to go – don’t stop!

I hope you’ve found my Training Log ramblings to be helpful in your training process – or at least amusing! 🙂 To see more of them go to my Training Log.

You could also take a look at my Asthma Diet , if you want to see what kind of things I’m eating. It might work for your diet goals, too.

Thanks for stopping by – see you next time! LJ

Week 8: Don’t Be a Lame Duck!

– – Training Week 8 started Saturday with a 45 minute yoga flow session.

I also tried out a short hike in the afternoon at Falls Lake with That Man and the puppy, but my leg started hurting after about 2 miles. (Heavy sigh.)

Don’t get me wrong, it’s fine.

But I REALLY want to stop being so, well, lame. Literally.

Sunday, anticipating that I would NOT be ready for my already-posted 9.3 mile hike on the Mountains to Sea Trail along the Eno River, I got one of my regular hikers to take over and lead the hike for me.

All reports are he did very well 🙂

And I did more bleeping yoga. And 45 minutes of *very mild* treadmilling in my home gym.

Monday, I did another Infrared sauna session (see Week 7) and then joined Lenore and some other hikers for a 5ish mile hike in Hollow Rock Nature Park and Duke Forest.

I was feeling lucky, so I didn’t wear any ankle support, but I also didn’t add any extra weight to my pack.

I also thought about bringing hiking poles – which I almost never use.

In fact, the last time I carried hiking poles, was years ago hiking in Italy with a group – where they “strongly encouraged” everyone to rent poles. (Mine never left my pack.)

I was encouraged to use hiking poles in Italy.

I forgot to bring my poles on Monday, but did end up finding a sturdy hiking stick along the way, which helped support the bad ankle crossing streams and rock scrambling.

I did okay, and we had fun exploring! When I returned home, I snarfed some ibuprofen and applied a bag of frozen veggies to the ankle.

Part of my adventure for the past few weeks is that my asthma meds have run out, because my prescription order for new ones have gone missing from the Port of Los Angeles. (Read story from CBS here.)

Cargo Container Theft in LA Is a Big Problem

Anyway, I’ve had to get creative with alternate asthma treatments. (Learn more about vitamins and supplements that help your asthma.)

That means my challenge lately has been to try to stay in shape and at the same time avoid triggering massive asthma attacks or further injuring my leg.

So, I’m just focusing on what I CAN do – and planning for new hikes when I’m on the trail in earnest again. 🙂

That Man's REAL girlfriend :-) — That Man’s REAL girlfriend 🙂

Tuesday, I broke out the Pilates!!

AND I also treadmilled a couple of miles, and took another 2-3 mile urban hike with That Man and his (real) girlfriend, Colleen.

Wednesday I was supposed to join Heidi’s hike on another 6 mile section of the MST at Falls Lake, but it was a rainy day and slipping in the mud while nursing an injury seemed like a SPECTACULARLY bad idea.

If it seems like a bad idea.... — If it seems like a bad idea….

So I did the stoopid yoga again, PLUS Pilates and took myself on a soft-surface hike in Bond Park for about 4 miles – wearing compression on my ankle AND my knee.

Thursday I did my long-form yoga and took another Infrared sauna session.

Rock scramble at Rock Hollow. There's a trail there somewhere... — Rock scramble at Rock Hollow. There’s a trail there somewhere…

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that Chromotherapy is included in the Infrared sauna sessions.

Colored light is turned on in addition to the Infrared inside the sauna to complement the treatment.

What is Chromatic Light Therapy?

Chromotherapy is a centuries-old concept that uses the visible spectrum (colors) of electromagnetic radiation to cure diseases, on the premise that each color is associated with a different bodily response.

Color has been used to treat all kinds of medical conditions since ancient times. Color light therapy history dates back to ancient Egypt, India, China, and even as far back as the Mayan culture.

10 Benefits of Color Light Therapy

Color light therapy is attributed with many benefits, ranging from emotional to physical, including:

- - - Reduced Swelling and Inflammation
    - Pain Relief
    - Accelerated Healing
    - Increased Range of Motion
    - Decreased Muscle Tension
    - Improved Circulation
    - Regulated Mood
    - Improved Sleeping Patterns
    - Relief of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)
    - Anti-Aging Benefits

Although thought of as “alternative” medicine, a recent scientific study from the NIH explores Chromotherapy’s history, uses and effectiveness in treating different disorders or illnesses.

In fact, today the medical benefits of color light therapy are being investigated and implemented in major hospitals and medical research centers worldwide.

The other thing I did on Thursday was to go and consult my new friend Joe at B.E.S.T. Physical Therapy in Cary, NC.

I’ll let him introduce himself to you as he did to me:

“Hello –

Joe's actual face :-) — Joe’s actual face 🙂

My name is Joe Villecco and I’m a physical therapist with B.E.S.T. Physical Therapy in Cary.

As the new year begins, I can’t tell you how many people I talk to about starting new habits and ways that they can do that.

For many of my patients, running or traditional gym workouts are just not their cup of tea. I have frequently recommended hiking in the past but with no resource to point them to!

Enter, the I’d Rather Walk blog and Meetup! “

(What Joe didn’t tell me until later is that he earned his Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree from SUNY Upstate Medical University and has his Bachelors of Science degree in Biology from SUNY Oneonta, where he also became an ACE Certified Personal Trainer.)

Joe at B.E.S.T. Physical Therapy in Cary

I took the opportunity to visit Joe at his office, and talk to him about my leg problems.

I stressed out my leg with too much activity all at once.

He examined my leg and moved it around a bit, gauging pain level etc. – and assured me that it was NOT a stress fracture in a leg bone. (Yayy!!)

He did say that it was probably a stress injury caused from jumping up activity too much all at once.

So anyway, yeah, I know exactly when and why that happened – beautiful weather, lots of fun hikes posted, FOMO.

Joe recommended only bumping up your activity by 10% each week to avoid injury. Now I have to carefully build back up to my previous level.

More About B.E.S.T Physical Therapy

In addition to his other qualifications, Joe is a Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Orthopedic Physical Therapy (OCS) and completed his Orthopedic Residency through Evidence In Motion in 2018.

Orthopedic Clinical Specialists are experts in evaluating and treating musculoskeletal conditions – an honor that is held by < 5% of all physical therapists in the United States!

At their practice at B.E.S.T. Physical Therapy in Cary, they focus on a 3-step approach.

Step One – is to reduce pain and improve function as quickly as possible to return to activity.

Step Two – is complete symptom resolution and working on correcting weaknesses, mobility deficits, movement impairments, etc.

Step Three – is to create a daily at-home plan to attack ongoing weaknesses to reduce the risk of any future injuries or problems.

During a typical visit, they use various hands-on techniques to reduce pain and improve mobility, and then they go on to use individually designed corrective exercises to further improve any weaknesses.

The goal at B.E.S.T. Physical Therapy is always to get you back to what you enjoy doing as soon as you can, and Joe truly loves to see his clients leave the clinic more resilient and with a higher quality of life than they had before!

For those of you who might also be interested in seeing if some PT might help you, I’ve invited Joe to come give a short talk and some pre-hike stretches at one of my regular Meetup hikes in March.

Keep your eyes peeled for that notice!

Winter hiking isn't the most scenic, but it's still great exercise! — Winter hiking isn’t the most scenic, but it’s still great exercise!

Now, I’m sure all of this stuff about my total lameness is entertaining – but for those of you who are NOT lame, Week 8 training should be kicking your butt!

If you go back to the beginning and look at the 8 Weeks to Awesome plan, by this time:

- - Your weekly Long Hike should be about 10 miles, and
  - Your Strength Building hike should include an extra 25-30 lbs in your pack.

Regular weekly maintenance (whatever level you are) should look like this:

- - (3 days) Strength training workouts,
  - (2-3 days) 1.5-2 hour moderate endurance hiking or jogging workout, and
  - (1 day) high intensity workout – like fast hiking or running
  - Stretch every day

Sample Weekly Workout Schedule
Monday	Strength	Stretch
Tuesday	Endurance	Stretch
Wednesday	Strength	Stretch
Thursday	Endurance	Stretch
Friday	Strength	Stretch
Saturday	Hi Intensity	Stretch
Sunday	Endurance	Stretch

Some people think a daily workout is too much, but it’s okay as long as you vary the intensity – for instance, don’t do two really long, high intensity workouts back to back.

And as I learned (the hard way), don’t go jump up your activity by more than 10% per week!

Friday was the ankle mobility exercises Joe gave me plus more yoga, kickboxing (without the hi-impact parts), upper body weights, and another leisurely 2-3 mile walk with That Man and his furry side-kick in the forest.

And so ends Week 8.

….and I’ll bet you thought this was going to be my last Training Log post! Nope.

Because I’ve been so lame this week, I’m adding a Bonus Week to the training log, including a special event. 🙂

So you’ve got that to look forward to!

TAKEAWAY LESSON: Training towards a goal should include a rest period just before the event. For any kind of training – ongoing or towards a goal – it’s a good idea to only bump up your activity by 10% each week, or you risk injury.

I hope you’ve found my Training Log ramblings to be helpful in your training process – or at least amusing! 🙂 To see more of them go to my Training Log.

You could also take a look at my 8 Weeks to Awesome Training Plan post, if you want to see what kind of training I’m doing. It might work for your goals, too.

Thanks for stopping by – see you next time! LJ