How I Maintained Exercises While on 3 Week Holiday

Phase I – Sebring & Cape Coral, FL

Day I started out with a road trip starting at 6:30a, stopping at 10a for breakfast and a brisk walk through the restaurant parking lot.  Next stop was 4.5 hours later for a quick shopping stop and lunch, walked about 2 miles.  Final stretch was 2 more hours in the car until our final destination of Sebring, FL.  Total time in car: 10 hours, I drove 5.5 hours, no pain, no need for pillows in the car.  I walked 1.5 miles this evening.

Day II was a busy day: church, out for breakfast, grocery shopping, pool, power nap, cooked dinner, walked my usual 3 miles that I normally do on Sundays.  I discovered I can do the backstroke in the pool; definitely woke up some sleeping muscles!

Day III included my usual 5 mile walking per day, upper body workout (I brought my dumb bells), more backstroke swimming at the pool, laundry, cooked dinner.

Day IV did my lunges and 5 miles of walking, cooked.

Day V walked 5 miles, upper body workout, walked for a couple of hours following my daughter and sister-in-law who did some fun 4^th of July activities at the neighborhood clubhouse.  

Day VI relaxed in the pool, 5 miles of walking and lunges.  Thoroughly enjoying the evening storms that blew through.

Day VII drove to Cape Coral, FL so hubby and daughter could fish and then we house-hunted the area for a vacation home then returned to Sebring.  Total time in car: 10.5 hours, I drove 5 hours, no pain but very stiff at the end of the day.  This was a light day of walking, maybe 3 miles total.

Phase II – Orlando & Tampa, FL

Day VIII drove to Orlando and checked in at the condo which was only 1 hour away from Sebring.  Walked 5 miles and did upper body workout.  I was able to squat down to sit on the edge of the pool and dangle my legs into the pool this evening.

Day IX relaxed at the pool in the morning, walked 3 miles.  I discovered I could comfortably sit in a comfy chair and cross my legs while reading; NEVER thought I’d be able to do this postop.

Day X relaxed at the pool in the morning, walked 5 miles and did upper body workout.

Day XI spent 7 hours at Magic Kingdom, 1 hour at Downtown Disney, rode 6 rides, walked more than 5 miles, did lunges and am completely exhausted but not in pain, just a bit stiff.  My first ride was the People Mover which was a piece of cake.  Ride #2 was Winnie the Pooh.  There is a Tigger section which is rather bumpy but I simply sat upright so that my back wasn’t touching the back of the seat.  It was a really cute and fun ride.  Ride #3 was It’s a Small World and it was another easy ride to get into.  Ride #4 was the Haunted Mansion which would have been fine except for the chairs moving so fast and the employee rushing everyone to hop into the moving chairs.  I mis-judged the distance of the height of the seat because it was dark and ended up plopping down a tad bit hard onto the seat which tweaked my back for a bit.  Ride #5 wasn’t really a ride, Presidents Hall, but was a nice respite from the hot day.  Ride #6 was the Jungle Cruise and it was a bit odd stepping onto a moving boat but I was pretty comfortable.  I decided today that I will pass on the upcoming trip to Harry Potter World since 99% of the rides have a back warning.  It was wonderful to have such a busy day that didn’t end with me in bed with pain.  I haven’t had a day like this in over 10 years.  Life is great!

Day XII relaxed at the pool, did upper body workout and walked 5 miles.

Day XIII while hubby and daughter enjoyed their day at Harry Potter World, I spent my day reading, walked 5 miles and did lunges.  Surprisingly, hubby and daughter came back by 1p because they were able to hit all the rides on their To-Do list and we hopped in the car for Tampa an 1.5 hour away.  We went to some of our fave spots and had tasty food.  It feels wonderful being spontaneous now as compared to pre-op where the pain prevented me from most activities.

Day XIV Everyone slept in, relaxed at the condo, did laundry, packed up and danced with hubby for the first time postop!  Walked 5 miles and did upper body workout.

Phase III – Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Day XV drove 3 hours to the east coast and checked into the condo for the “Girls Trip” of our last week in Florida.  Hubby had to fly back home to ATL for a few days before flying out to San Francisco so I drove him to the airport this afternoon.  Walked 5 miles and did lunges.

Day XVI went to the beach and discovered how wonderfully odd it felt to walk on soft, uneven sand!  My entire back was tingling because of the way I walked on the sand.  I didn’t walk far, about 1.5 miles and was completely exhausted in a great way this evening.  Enjoyed some time at the pool enjoying the ocean breeze. I walked a bit more at the condo for a total of about 3 miles.  I usually only walk about 3 miles on Sundays.

Day XVII Explored the neighborhood I grew up in and then walked 6 miles non-stop at a massive outlet mall which covers 7 miles.  I was quite tired by the time we got back to the condo and laid down for a bit before dinner.  Before we went to the mall I walked 1.5 miles at the condo so my total walking for the day was 7.5 miles along with lunges.

Day XVIII Drove along the coast, walked 5 miles and did upper body workout.

Day XIX Explored more of my old stomping grounds, walked 5 miles and did lunges.

Day XX Decided to head home early and drove 10.5 hours from Ft. Lauderdale to Atlanta (I drove the entire way since hubby had already went home for business).  Walked 1.5 miles before we hit the road and walked another 1.5 miles this evening.  Since today’s total walking was 3 miles, I will swap today’s workout for my normal Sunday routine of 3 miles.  This means, on this coming Sunday, I’ll walk 5 miles and do lunges.

I covered A LOT of ground with walking and driving on this holiday which will be great preparation for our Paris trip.  I never over did my exercises because there was never any pain, just occasional stiffness and there was no need for even a Tylenol.  This has been such a remarkable journey.  This weekend I was able to vacuum the entire house for the first time since hiring a cleaning lady a year ago.  God has abundantly blessed me and I am humbled by His generosity!