Walking Experiments

I did several experiments today regarding my walks. Experiment #1: I got up 30 minutes early & started my walk as soon as I parked at Maunalani; it was about 7:30 am. The positive things about walking at 7:30 in the morning are that it is cooler & the mail carrier has not yet started her deliveries. The negative things this morning was that it is about 1/4 mile farther and when I walked through the building to get to the 2nd floor landing to do my cool down stretches, Dad was already out of bed so I skipped the stretching. I can reduce the negative things by working on my pacing as I walk up the hill so that I can handle the extra distance; I will also try to find a way to do my cool down stretches in the covered viewing area just off the parking lot before I go in to the building.


In the early morning walk, I used the long-sleeved Anchor Bay shirt like a light jacket over my t-shirt. I was sweating quite a bit by the time I made it back up to the parking lot and continued to sweat for quite a bit after. I think the 2 layers might have been too much even in the cooler morning. Experiment #2: During the mid-morning walk at about 10:30, I used the long-sleeved crew neck shirt alone; even though the temperature was hotter & it was sunnier, I felt cooler than I did in the early morning walk. I also seemed to sweat less, which is good since it was more difficult to wipe the sweat off with the material that the crew neck shirt is made of. Those frozen towels that they had at the gym in the Radisson Hotel would have been really nice!

For Experiment #3: I did my usual 3 pm "shift change" walk wearing the long-sleeved crew neck shirt alone. The temperature was hotter than at 10:30 this morning but I still felt cool. I think since the shirt stops the ultraviolet rays from reaching your skin, it also keeps you from heating up. I think I will have to use this shirt by itself for all my walks during the day to keep cooler! As a bonus for this 3rd walk of the day I found a centipede on the sidewalk; it appeared to be almost dead. I am not yet sure what kind of centipede it is.

Its antennae wiggled when I poked it.

For Experiment #4: I used the long-sleeved crew neck shirt alone at 7 pm; that's the usual time I leave when I am doing the afternoon shift. (Today I was here all day since Curtis had to be present for some appliance moving at his house.) I did not want to walk all the way back up to the upper lot tonight, so I moved my car to the lower lot before starting my walk.

On all except the 1st walk today I worked on my pacing so that I can do the entire walk from the upper parking lot and not overexert myself. I was watching the walking app on my phone while I walked because it gives me an approximate speed while I am walking; 2.4 mph seems to be a good speed. We'll see what happens tomorrow morning when I try the early morning walk again.

While at the park during the early morning walk I saw Abby & Kelly and Bruce & Chris; it seems the regulars are also going early to avoid the heat! I got to play with Abby & Bruce, while Kelly & Chris talked to each other. Since the dogs were playing there were no birds down on the field; they stayed in the trees at the edges of the field. I didn't see any new species, just more of the regulars.

In regards to the sun protection shirts that I got, I checked again to see if I missed something on the website about the sizing; I didn't. Patagonia does not provide guidance on what size bicep fits with what size shirt. Neither did Vapor Apparel. But Coolibar does. In order to get a long-sleeved shirt with a comfortable fit for my biceps I need to get a large size; in order for the bust to fit well I need an extra small size. I guess that's why all my long-sleeved shirts are baggy! Oh well. (I've had this problem since high school, I just never ordered shirts on-line before; I tried things on, disregarded sizes, & got the one that fit comfortably.) And this problem is with me only doing sissy push-ups; guess I will be avoiding those extreme push-ups!

Another thing I did differently today was to start off the day wearing my Keen boots for the 7:30 a.m. walk and ended up wearing them throughout the day. Even though I did at least twice as much walking as I usually do, my knees hurt less. I checked the soles of my blue Skechers and found that they were showing wear; I think it might be that wear on the Skechers that has been responsible for my knee pain rather than too much walking for old knees. I guess I should go check out Uyeda's Shoe Store for some new Keens.


The Potential Most Favorite Roommate texted me this afternoon; his hanai parents invited all of us over for dinner. Fortunately it was a late dinner so I was able to make it. Dylan cooked a couple of dishes to supplement the leftovers from a large party the night before. I also got to meet all their dogs: Mika (grandma), Mieko (mom), & Anuhea & Akemi (daughters).

(L) Mieko, (R) Mika.

Akemi. Anuhea would not stay still long enough for a photo.

On another note, due to Dad's problem today, I was informed that drinking 1 cup of warm prune juice with 30 ml of milk of magnesia is an effective treatment for constipation. Just what you always wanted to know!