Day 5: Flat 14ers

Here in Colorado we have 54 mountain peaks that reach an altitude of 14,000 feet or higher, like Crestone Needle (pictured above). I’m looking out my window at one right now—Pikes Peak, whose summit is 14,110 feet above sea level. Our picture-postcard view of the peak’s north face is what sold us on the house we’re in now. Little else mattered.

I may never summit Pikes Peak in the usual way, though don’t put it past me. But I can walk the number of steps equivalent to the distance to the top, which some helpful person has calculated to be 23,000 steps.

That calculation is part of a program known as the Flat 14ers Club, which gives those of us who aren’t mountain climbers measurable goals to reach for. The distance to the summits of all 54 peaks has been translated into steps, and participants wear pedometers to keep track of the number of steps they take each day. The idea is to select one peak, walk the appropriate number of steps, log your success on a chart and then reset the pedometer and start on another peak.

For diabetics, finding an exercise program that you’ll actually follow is critical to warding off the debilitating effects of the disorder.

This particular program seemed to be custom-made for me. I lost a friend to a mountain-climbing accident over the summer, so now I walk to honor her and her passion for mountain climbing. She had summited all 54 peaks the hard way. When I’m walking on relatively flat land* and start to falter after several miles, I only have to think of Linda, and I’m immediately energized.

I’ve been on the program for a week or so, and I’m already on my second peak. I chose Crestone Needle, where Linda died, for my first peak. It’s located in the beautiful Sangre de Cristo range, and its height of 14,197 feet translates into 16,000 steps.

The peak I’m working on now is Snowmass Mountain, because of its connection with St. Benedict’s Monastery, a Trappist community that is home to contemplative-living author Thomas Keating. It helps me to remain focused and motivated when I can make an association like that. It’s also a 16,000-step mountain.

You can find out more about the Flat 14ers and other walking programs from America on the Move.

Fasting glucose: 111 (!!)

* Trust me, “flat” is a relative term where I live. You only have to look at a topographical map of Teller County to see that there’s precious little flat land up here.

Day 4: Working in working out

Working out is like writing. I love having written, though I don’t always love the process of writing.

Likewise, I love having worked out, though I almost never love the process of working out, especially since I’m still in pain from a bad fall---on granite--back in June. I was so banged up that instead of wearing a sexy little dress to my high school reunion in September, I had to wear an outfit that pretty much covered me from head to toe. Oh, and my friend’s dog bit me the night before, so my leg was bandaged from that, too. Buckets o’ fun.

The Curves workout is especially painful right now because of all the upper-body work and the persistent pain in my shoulders. I’m fortunate in that I can walk to Curves, which is great, except for the fact that it’s all downhill on the way there. Meaning, of course, that it’s all uphill on the way home, after I’ve already pushed my body to the limit.

And then there’s the wind. At 8,500 feet, we get more than our share of wind. The uphill walk is in a westward direction, straight into the winds that routinely pound the Rockies at this time of year. Otherwise, walking is great. I did four miles the other day and actually lived to blog about it.

My biggest problem is time. Walking to Curves, working out, and walking back is an hour and a half commitment. Taking a walk that lasts less than an hour doesn’t feel challenging at all. I realize that simply walking, even for a half hour, is better than nothing at all, but somehow I can’t wrap my head around that. Working a workout into my already overloaded schedule is the real challenge.

But this is war. I can’t forget that. So I’m off to Curves, wind or no wind. No matter how winded I get.

Fasting glucose: 145 (on the way down!)