#Juneathon Day Something or Another - The Treadmill and Bowflex

So I had this thought.  Now it was partially born out of the fact that I didn't have clean running shorts, and my manpri pajama pants were awful comfy, but it was still a thought.

If impact levels make a difference to Plantar fasciitis (to be fair, I couldn't remember if they did or not), and a treadmill has more give than the sidewalk.... Would running on a treadmill hurt less?  See how well I rationalized not going outside?  So with this thought, I went downstairs to the dreadmill.  I set the speed at 7.6, figuring if I was going to torture myself with two miles on the dreadmill, I should at least do it at a sub-8 minute mile.  Then because I felt guilty being on a treadmill, I set the incline to 2.5.

Spinning the wheels on the 'ole antique.

The logical follow-up post to yesterday's blog is.... I went for a ride last night!

[caption id="attachment_2717" align="alignright" width="180"] I felt all zoomy - like this.[/caption]

The first thing I noticed... Is my seat is very, very hard.  I think  my butt may be bruised today.  Now fortunately, the part of your but you sit on a bicycle seat with, is different from the part you sit in an office chair with, but still.. I need to figure out a remedy to THAT problem.

The second thing I noticed, is that cars are a lot closer to you..  When I run, I am safely up on a sidewalk ignoring the existence of cars.  Well, ignoring the existence except for the occasional Dodge Viper that goes by...  When bike riding, they are much, much closer.    Yet I did find that after the first mile or 3, I didn't notice them.  Now I do have to add that when I would come upon parked cars, I would look over my shoulder to see what was coming - but I do that running as well. 

The Insanity of it all.

My 3rd Anniversary here on wordpress seems like a great time to start faithfully blogging again! As I mentioned in my previous blog posting, it seems the perfect time for a change of attitude and direction in my fitness goals.  As everyone reading this blog knows, I am a runner.  This is my form of exercise.  I run.  I added in Yoga to help with my flexibility, but even that was simply a cool down from my run.  No Run = No Yoga.

Well, I'm bored.  I am still limited to a treadmill many times (just due to child care and timing), and its boring.  I enjoy watching the Walking Dead, but its STILL boring.  Tie this in with the fact that my wife has started doing Krav Maga, running isn't going to be enough.  Now, I think the running is still important (after all, I may need to run away from her and her new-founds skills!), and it is still my preferred form of exercise - but I want something more.  I have debated picking up a total gym/bow flex - and neither of these are off the table for the future (ju$t for the pre$ent if you catch my drift), or joining a gym.  As I weighed (See what I did there?) these two options, it occured to me to pick those Insanity DVDs up, and give them another shot.  They say the third time is the charm right?

[caption id="attachment_2434" align="alignright" width="180"] I totally needed this yesterday.[/caption]

So, I have completed the first three days of Insanity, and I have to admit - I am able to walk much better today!  Yesterday, If you could have seen me walk up stairs - it would have reminded you of your grandfather!  But today, I am back to super tired muscles, instead of agonizingly-painful-to-move-in-any-way-at-all muscles.  This gives me 2 months to decide on the Gym or not.  With a 2 mile warm up before starting it (that I will be increasing as time goes by), it is really going to help me build up my stamina and core!

My thought is to consult with a physical trainer at the end of the Insanity to help me decide the best path from there!

I heard a fantastic phrase recently.   "Dieting helps you look better in clothing.  Exercise helps you look better naked."   Since I want to improve both - it seems that diet and exercise will continue to be a factor!

My Heroes.

August 22nd.  Since that date, there has been nothing but silence here on my WordPress Blog.  If you follow along on my Facebook page, you got to hear from me as recently as August 24th.  Granted, if you follow Storme, the Curvy Road Runner on Facebook, then you have seen me post a few times since then to her wall.  (As a quick side note, if you don't either follow her on Facebook, or her blog - you should she is someone who has really shown the life-changing potential of running, and how to reach for your goals. SHE

[caption id="attachment_1642" align="alignleft" width="300"] Hero #1 - Storme, rocking her medal.[/caption]

was at the starting line for the Marine Corps Marathon this year, unlike yours truly!)  Storme is an awesome person, and is truly an inspiration!

Running and Biking Oh My!

Couple of days to catch up on.. But since I haven't posted about them it must not have happened right?



I decided that it was finally time to face my fear, strap on my running shoes and head out the door.  I won't lie - I have been scared over trying it for a couple of reasons.  I have been worried that I would run, and find that I developed excruciating pain in  - which occured around mile marker 2 on that 3 miler I did about a month ago.  I  also was dreading going out running - enjoying it -  and then being in agony the next day.  A definite sign (if it occured) that running anytime soon was going to be a pipe-dream.

The Insanity Continues with a pending shoe delivery!

So last night, I popped in the next DVD for Insanity.  The flavor of the day was Cardio Power Resistance!  Granted I had a break that Shaun T. hadn't worked into his schedule, but this one seemed significantly easier than the Plyometric Cardio Circuit.  My primary thought is that as I am a runner I have pretty strong hamstrings, while I know my quads aren't all that.  This workout seemed to be more focused on hamstrings than quads (based on what was getting tired/sore.)

As if to support this - I am only sore today, not in agony and walking like an 83-year-old man.

Some of the exercises: 
Power Jumps - down to  a squat, jump up with your hands over your head, then land softly
Hurdles - Run in place, then on Shaun T.'s command jump as if you were going over a really short hurdle

Elliptical and the end of the movie!

So last night I needed to burn some calories.  While my foot is mostly feeling better (just feels tight for the most part) - I decided to learn from last years' repeated attempts at rushing back into running after injury (and getting re-injured.)  So, it was an elliptical night.  The good point of this, is that I got to finish watching "Season of the Witch" on Netflix.  It wasn't a bad movie, but I certainly have no regrets about missing it in the theater.  Definitely not Nicholas Cage's best movie.

My cheap curb-found elliptical does creak a lot as its used, but it is still much quieter than the treadmill.  I did an hour and five minutes on it, and worked up a sweat - but never was out of breath.  Due to the short  stride of my elliptical I can't really go at "running" speed, but it was still a good exercise.  I think I am on the elliptical again tonight, perhaps friday as well.  With the half marathon coming up the first weekend in May, I really want to make sure I'm not being stupid about jumping back in.  In "Will Run for Margarita's" latest blog entry - she mentioned using KT Tape for her Plantar Facia. I may toss that on tonight and when I do try to run again - just in case.

I'm thinking of picking up a pair of the Merril Trail Gloves for future trail-running.

Cross training with Curb-Found Treasure!

So yesterday was my rest day.  Unfortunately I am finding that I really don't like having days of no exercise.  Maybe it's because I am staring at calories on my phone whenever I eat, or maybe it is simply knowing I'm not doing anything - but either way I have become one of those people who is driven batty by doing no exercising. I also feel bleh if I do NOTHING.

[caption id="attachment_1420" align="alignleft" width="270" caption="My Daughter Demonstrating our Elliptical"][/caption]

Last night I ended up staying late due to its being a board meeting night, and was headed out not to long after - due to it being cub-scout night.  I decided to tackle the elliptical for a simple 20 minute window.  Now there is a short background story on this elliptical.  I have a tendency to notice when my neighbors put big things out on garbage day, and also to consider whether or not it should have a place in my house. (My wife insists these things must take place after dark however..)  Well, we lost some fantastic neighbors about a month ago and in the process of their moving out some things appeared at the curb.  A never-before-used elliptical was too good to pass up.  This treasure still had the plastic covering over the display!  Now it isn't a high-end elliptical, but I thought it would be a fantastic tool to see if a good one was something my wife and I should pick up.  This one has multiple reviews on walmart.com, that mostly point out it has a short stride length.  As my wife is only 5' tall, this isn't a bad thing!

Holy Sore Muscles Batman! or Wholly Sore Muscles Bruce!

[caption id="attachment_1359" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Still the best Batman"][/caption]

Man am I sore today.. Legs.. Chest... Arms..  Wow... Let me explain.

So last night was a pretty good work out. I started off with a one mile run on my dear friend the treadmill.  I did it at my new standard of 7 mph (8:34 minute mile) and rounded up to 10 minutes.  I decided half way through to start lifting my knees up as high as I could.

After my 10 minute warm up I finally returned to my strength training.  For some reason, I always start off with chest/triceps when I return to strength training - and last night was no different.  It was a fantastic 30 minute session, I was whooped afterwards! 

Chris Thater Race Report... JUST KIDDING!!!

So, this last weekend was the Chris Thater Memorial Races.  Now practically speaking this is mostly a bunch of bicycle races (with a motorcycle as the "pace-car."  I love watching the motorcycle "lead the pack.") but on sunday at 10 am - is the Chris Thater Memorial 5k.  I like this race a lot - as it is about 1/2 a mile from my house, and the course actually goes within 500 feet of my house.  I have been VERY nervous about running it - considering my recurring calf pain.  Sunday morning rolled around and I took stock of the situation.  My calf was still sore in one spot (about the size of the tip of my finger).  After weighing the pro's and cons - I decided to pass on it.  Then on the Face Book page - "everything is cancelled for today."  This was further followed up with:
As an endnote to this morning's 2011 Chris Thater Memorial Race cancellation, the decision to cancel Sunday's race and music events was made early Sunday morning by a group of city, county, emergency services, and race officials based on the latest National Weather Service predictions for Hurricane Irene's impact on the area. Safety was the determining factor. The events will not be rescheduled, but we hope to see you all again next year.

I would have liked to have run it - I really like the course, the race is always fast, and the crowd is incredible.  But I do feel vindicated in my choice to NOT run it.  Though, I have to admit - I do now wonder if I will be getting a refund :)

A new era in training... Using rather old technology..

So, with my penchance for injuring my calves - leading to down times of running of several weeks - I have decided I need a bicycle.  So doing the wise thing I posted on Facebook and Craigslist that I was looking for a bike!  Surprisingly I got some great offers of people being willing to lend me a bike.. As long as I traveled to Australia or halfway across the country to pick them up.  It seems my friends are comedians...

I found one I was interested in on Craigslist - but the person hasn't responded after I have pestered them for several days via phone and email.  As It kind of reminded me of trying to find a date in highschool - I knew to move on.  On a good note, one of my friends let me know he had found a bicycle in his garage when he moved, and if I wanted it he would happily let me have it.

[caption id="attachment_751" align="alignright" width="640" caption="My New (to me) Ralegh Capri bicycle from the 80's!"][/caption]

Talk about old-school!  I am very excited - it's the sort of bike I wanted as a kid (yes, that was in pre-mountain bike days.. 10/12 speeds were "all that" back in the day..)

Now the bad news.. Tires? Dry rotted.  Cables? Not all are hooked up to where they are supposed to be.  Brakes? Need to "Shoes"  Chain? TBD.

Might be biking... pushups stink.

[caption id="attachment_743" align="alignright" width="121" caption="My buddy on his bike he is lending me. Ok.. not really."][/caption]

So, one of my friends has a bike I can borrow.  Hopefully I can pick it up tonight and see if it is rideable.  I have been wanting to see how I like riding a bike now - so it's a great opportunity to try it, before buying one with taxes this spring.  If I find I do, then I am thinking of trying to do the Pan-Mass Challenge in 2013 with Darryl, a family member of mine that has done it for the last two years.  (mind you - by do the pmc with him - I mean he will finish WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY ahead of me, and we can talk about it then...)  It also has the added bonus of getting Yankees fans at work to contribute to something sponsored by the Red Sox.

Namaste.

Last night was our first Yoga class.  I wasn't sure what to expect, only having done Yoga on the Wii.  The interesting thing to me - is that what I learned on the Wii did help! (And Seriously, who woulda thunk it?)

Warrior 1 Pose

 The instructor was faced with the challenge of walking into a room where she knew no one and knew nobody's levels, and teaching a class.  She started out with asking if anyone knew anything about yoga (not really - unless you count the Wii).  So she worked on teaching us some basic poses.

To many rest days makes for a rough beginning!

So, up this morning and out the door!  Granted, there were multiple pushes of the snooze button, but I headed out the door this morning none the less.  The humidity was so thick I felt like I was going to drown, but running in the low 70s (compared to the 90s) was nice.

I took the weekend off (see previous post for all of my excuses) which brought me to 4 days in a row without running.  This causes a couple of unfortunate side issues.  1) It's hard to get up and go running.  It seems that past 3 days off - is where my motivation takes a hit.  It also seems to be length of time off before my surgery site (for those who weren't here in January, I had a left inguinal hernia repaired in Jan.) starts to cause me pain.  The Doctor is a little stumped that lack of exercise causes it to hurt - but regular exercise keeps me pain-free.  I figure it beats the opposite way - even if that would make more sense.  Not many people have built-in motivation like that.

Running in the Wee hours of the morning

[caption id="attachment_613" align="alignleft" width="190" caption="I have had this image for a while - just waiting for the day my lazy butt got out of bed so I could run in the Morning!"][/caption]

I posted last week that I have begun weight training. The unfortunate scheduling aspect of working & lifting is that the timing only works if I get my lazy butt up and run in the morning. (This will mean getting up at ~4 am on some of the long Wednesday runs closer to the marathon.)

Now, understand. I hate getting out of bed. No - seriously. The best part of the day is the laying there with no concerns, cuddled up in the warm blankets, often with a warm kitty purring like a motor next to me. Sometimes one of the kids (and sometimes both thing 1 and thing 2 come in) will come cuddle up with dear-old-dad as well. So, you can see why I have problems leaving this Nirvana I face every morning.

Well, this morning I did indeed, leave this wonderful cuddly feeling. Maybe it was driven by the memory of lifting yesterday - encouraging me to get up and run so that I can lift tomorrow. Maybe it is due to the fact that I started watching may calories again - making me more aware of caloric burn. Or Just maybe, It is me growing a little more responsible (ok, ok.. I admit this one is unlikely.. Stop laughing and pick yourself up off the floor. I'll wait.)

Introducing "Freaky Friday!" Strange things found around the Interwebs!

So on Fridays, I have decided  to start showing some of the more interesting and bizarre things that I find on the interwebs and elsewhere.  Whenever I can, I will make a wee bit of an effort to make them running related (or cross-training) wherever possible (since it is a running blog after all...)

[caption id="attachment_588" align="alignright" width="300" caption="The TREADMILL BIKE!!! (Picture from Red Ferret)"][/caption]

I was looking online for a picture that would go with a title of "TREADMILL OF DOOM!!!!" (Not because of any horrendous experience on a treadmill yesterday, but to try to make a boring treadmill run a little more interesting for you, my reader.)  While looking for this, I found one of the craziest things I have seen -  The TREADMILL BIKE!!!

Someone told me that Runners need to do more than just run.

[caption id="attachment_581" align="aligncenter" width="446" caption="I look more like this, than like a "Real" weight lifter. SCRAWNY RUNNERS UNITE!"][/caption]

So, last night I had a 5 mile run lined up - per Hal Higdon's plan.  This is how the evening played out. (Did you notice the clever attempt at foreshadowing, reading you - the reader - to wonder if I did actually end up doing the 5 mile run? I've been working on my writing skills...)

I brought my kids over to the YMCA for the "how to not need a life guard to save you" class, and decided it was time to start adding weights into my routine. I had planned on doing this a couple of weeks ago, and thought about it for months before that - but I move slowly.  I needed the proper timing (yeah! That's it!), and last night was it.  I decided on a nice chest/shoulders/triceps work out.  "Back in the day" I used to enjoy lifting - and wasn't to surprised to find out I still do.  I did find out that compared to running, it is boring without a workout partner.  (Wonder if lifting could be husband-wife "Bonding time")  Despite that, it was a fair (but not crippling) workout - I can move my arms/chest/shoulders today, but they are definitely sore.