Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Making Progress! #2

OK, I got lazy. I weighed myself almost a week ago and didn't report. I was 158! That was 6 lbs. that I'd lost of the 12. (OK, I found that 4 lbs. was a bit hard to believe, so I reweighed and reweighed, and at the different times got 160 and 161, so maybe I had lost some water when I did that first weighing.)

Even if I'm at the heaviest of those numbers, it's still progress, and I'm glad of that. I need to keep paying attention and the weight will get where it should be.


That Constant Fatigue

Many of you know that I'm training for a marathon. I don't recommend that you try to race them, but for 30+ years, running the Boston Marathon has been a dream of mine. I guess it validates me as a runner in my mind to qualify, so it's my piece of nuttiness. (And yes, I know that I can "sneak in the back way" by doing charitable fund-raising, but then I wouldn't have qualified, so I'd be un-validated.)

Training for a marathon is hard work. It leaves me fatigued much of the time, and from what I understand, this is not an unusual situation. Note that I differentiate racing from running or completing a marathon. I don't mean to make any less of those of you who choose the slower route, it's no less valid, just different. You're unlikely to go through the experience of "having the wheels fall off," as I did in my first. The experience set is just VERY different. The serious guys are training 80-120 miles/week, and a lot of the guys my age (mid-40's) are still 60+ miles/week guys, and a lot of those miles are fast (depending on level as fast as 5:00 miles on up to 8:00ish for me).

Anyway, this training tends to result in an almost constant state of fatigue. My wife knows I can doze off in an instant, if I want, and that's regardless of what I'm doing (note: I seem able to maintain discipline when driving - I will pull over if it gets overwhelming and grab a 15 minute nap). The bad thing is that this fatigue gets old fast. That, combined with the physical demands of the actual race, which can gimp you up pretty good for 3-4 days and then leave you feeling weak for another 3-4 weeks if you have to really work is why I tell most people who ask me about the marathon that they should think very seriously before they attack it.

I think that for most people, getting in shape for a half-marathon is a much more realistic goal (at least in the shorter term), and if you have several of them under your belt, only then consider going the full distance.

OK, but for those of you who are exercising for fitness or weight loss, what can you gain from this discussion? Simply that exercising hard will result in fatigue. I regularly recommend that fitness exercisers use a heart rate monitor to control their exertion level and avoid that fatigue. If you struggle with it, get one and exercise at levels below 75% of your maximum heart rate. You'll be pleased with the results.

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

The Proprioception Discussion

I struck up a conversation with a guy in my gym's locker room today. In the course of it, he asked about beach running, and I talked about how tough that is because it helps develop the feet, ankles and lower legs. In the course of this, I used the word "proprioception" and a few minutes later, a bearded man walked over with the "I want to interject" look. I looked at him and said something like "I think we have a differing opinion here." He quickly responded by saying that he was impressed by the word, which he knew and never expected to hear bounced around in the locker room.

I'd explained the word as "understanding the relationship of your body in space" (in this case, how the variable footstrike of beach or grass running causes you to need to work more muscles in your feet, ankles and lower legs). This man, who struck me as being either a preacher or an academic, explained that it is also used for explaining you place in space of any kind, whether your physical or spiritual self and how it relates to its surroundings.

It turns out that my understanding of the term, though correct was far narrower than the dictionary indicates - "the reception of stimuli produced within the organism." To see the definition in Merriam-Webster Online or to hear it pronounced, click the link below:
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=proprioception&x=9&y=17


Monday, January 24, 2005

A Tough Guy?

OK, it's gloat time. I ran for two hours in 6 degree weather on Saturday morning.

This run felt omen heavy, as I backed out of my driveway to head to the gym, I saw a runner up the street. I saw several more over the course of the run, and in this weather, it surprised me a bit.

My favorite moment came when I ran past this working guy, you know the type, a bit heavy, full Carhartt gear, stopping at a deli to get coffee. In his best S.O.B high school phys ed teacher voice he shouted, "Faster." It was a funny moment. I think I said something witty like, "At least I'm out here." OK, weak, but frankly, his comment made the grind in the cold a bit nicer. It added some humanity to the process.

When I got back to the gym, I had moustachecicles. You know, those frozen exhalations stuck in the hairs of the moustache. They melted over 10 or 15 minutes inside. I think the most fun in this process was when I'd move my face late in the run and feel the ice give way. It was a first for me, though long time winter runners doubtless can tell better stories about this process.

Wednesday, January 12, 2005

Driving Lifestyle Change

In order for the United States to succeed in reversing the trend towards overweight and obesity that threatens to both our public and private healthcare systems, we must begin to make decisions regarding how we live our lives based on different factors than we have over the last 60 years.

I draw the line at 60 years because it represents the end of World War II, and with it, the beginning of the automobile driven culture and the related explosion of suburbia. This trend accelerated with the greater frequency of two-car families in the 1960's and 1970's.

Most adults beyond a certain age remember walking to school. I have to admit that as a very young child, I did that, but after my family moved, I rode a bus. There are currently suggestions in place that mitigate against neighborhood schools, and from the standpoint of depth of offerings in schools, are valid, but they do so at the expense of public health. It both discourages children from exercising, but also traps the in a school bus, often breathing exhaust fumes. The cost of the bus is put on the community as an ongoing operating expense of the schools, but not one cent of it is used for real education. (For more on this situation, please follow this link: http://www.nationaltrust.org/news/docs/20001116_johnny_cantwalk.html)

We also live today in an age of fear of child abduction, but in many ways, walking to school likely diminishes the risks of this occurring. Why? More kids on the street means more eyes on the street, and because these eyes are travelling more slowly, they can observe more. Also, children can often walk to school in groups, thus teaching some of the classic values of community, looking out for their friends and neighbors.

I live in a town that sits along a commuter railroad. There's currently an uproar over lack of commuter parking. Because of the size of the town, very few commuters live more than a mile from the train station. (Now, I'll grant you, there are days when walking to the station can be very unpleasant.) If the town made a rule that you cannot get a parking permit unless you live a certain distance from the station or are disabled or otherwise medically unfit to walk, it would likely both improve community health and eliminate the parking problem.

But, what do we do in communities where schools are distant from those who attend? The first step is likely getting the town government to give some thought to these kinds of issues. Rather than enlarging the school, why not build another in a different part of town? Can a bike path be built (safely) to the school? If not, can one be added to the town's long-term planning to permit it at a later date?

All of these issues are meaningful, but none works alone, and most significantly, none will work without the support of the public. I'll be addressing this issue further in the near future.

Monday, January 10, 2005

Kudos to General Mills!

General Mills has done something very right - they are apparently now making all their cereals with whole grain. I heard a commercial on TV this weekend. Now, what I don't know, and it makes a big difference is "Are they all 100% whole grain?" (or are some or all part whole grain and part partial grain?)

If, as the ad implies, they are now all 100% whole grain, then people eating their cereals are getting considerably more fiber than they did previously, and that's a very good thing. The flip side of this does however appear in their name..."Mills." Why? What's the matter with mills? Milling a grain makes the endosperm (starch) much more readily available. This raises the glycemic index, making it a much less healthy food for diabetics, and some others. Also, milling tends to change grains from hard and scratchy (or coarse in the mouth) to soft and smooth. This tends to make them pastier in your digestive tract, potentially increasing the likelihood of constipation. Don't get me wrong, from a health point of view, in my opinion, they've one-upped all their big competitors (the health food specialists don't count here).

Now, if they can work towards use of less milled grains, they could move their customers even farther along the road to health.

Friday, January 07, 2005

Laying Out an Exercise Program

I'm a competitive runner, so my program is designed to maximize running performance relative to my goals. I am assuming that most of you are going to be exercising for fitness, so the layout of your program should be very different from mine.

Here are some basic concepts to keep in mind:
1) BE REASONABLE - I believe that the one thing that has killed more exercise programs is "biting off more than you can chew." Start with a very limited amount of exercise and build up slowly (perhaps 10% per week).
2) HARD, EASY - By this I mean that you need to recover after hard exercise. So, what is hard exercise? Are you sore? Are you fatigued? If the answer to either of these is yes, then you've exercised hard. And if you go really hard or are older, so recover more slowly, then you may need 2 or even 3 easy days before another hard day.
3) VARIETY - It's said, "Variety is the spice of life." There is a physical benefit to variety, you use different muscles, so you develop different muscles.

I believe that for most people, it's better to work out 6 or 7 times per week rather than the 3 or 4 that's often recommended. There are two benefits to this, the first is that your body can absorb more exercise in this form, so you'll tend to progress faster and more exercise means more calories being burned.

If you can manage the time, work up to 30 minutes of aerobic exercise 5 or 6 times per week, also do one long workout weekly at a very easy pace, again building up to a 90 minute goal. This should be supplemented with weight training once or twice per week (if young, this can be done 3 times per week).

The short workouts should follow a hard, easy or a hard, easy, easy pattern and the long workout should count as a hard workout. The strength workouts are there to help you to maintain functional strength (that means you can open the pickle jar, climb stairs and stand-up and sit-down effectively) and to develop bone density (that means it lessens your chance of osteoporosis or osteopenia).

And, once you've built up to these goals (and don't feel badly if it takes you 4 to 6 months or even longer), you're not done. In order to benefit from exercise, you must continually increase speed, volume or weight. That means that once you've gotten to this basic level, gradually building your pace during the aerobic portion becomes the next step.

This represents a basic plan for laying out an exercise plan. Whatever you do, before beginning check your plan with you doctor or a trainer or coach to ensure that you aren't jeopardizing your health.

Thursday, January 06, 2005

Making Progress! #1

I'm pleased to say that I am down 2 lbs. of my 12! That's one sixth of the way, but since I've given myself through the end of March to make goal (152 lbs.), I have about 12 weeks to lose 10 lbs. That means that less than a pound a week. This should be easy, unless I get complacent.

That's the update on the scale.

165....*.........^.......160....................155.............*.......150

(I hope this works, otherwise I wasted several minutes laying it out. The asterisks are my start and end points, the caret (^) represents my current weight.)

(Further note - it didn't work as hoped, but I saw how to make it work.)

Wednesday, January 05, 2005

Upcoming Stuff

Laying out an exercise program
Progress on weight loss
More of My Favorite Websites

How I Bulked Up!

I was chatting with a friend recently when the subject of my newly increased weight came up. As we chatted about it, several things became very clear. I was hurt for about 3 months (12 weeks) and had been running about 40 miles per week prior to my foot problem. As we talked, he pointed out that my weight gain was a pound a week. I then realized that if we look at the rough estimate of 100 calories per mile, that would convert my 40 miles a week into 4000 calories per week. Now looking at the 3500 calories per pound, it suddenly became clear that virtually all my weight gain came from lack of activity. (I had not substituted another activity for my running time, nor had I adjusted my eating to compensate.) So, that's how I find myself needing to lose 12 lbs.

Tuesday, January 04, 2005

You Gotta Nice Ass!

Today, when out for my run, a guy in an old "ghetto" Cadillac yelled out at me, "You gotta nice ass!" I looked over at him, and he said nothing more. Gay? Thought I was a woman? Who knows? Who really cares? It was the first time in a long time that I've been heckled when running.

Yeah, it shouldn't happen, but it does. And frankly, I'd rather be heckled than have the run in with the inattentive driver turning in front of me. At least I'm not at risk of bodily harm. I've taken to whacking the cars that do that and did once get cursed at by a guy in a pickup. I figure it tells them that things are happening that they don't see. I know many other runners say, "Never challenge a driver," but legally, they've failed to yield. I won't do this when doing it puts me at risk. I also figure that if I keep running, the driver will either need to come after me in their vehicle, which I'll hear and be able to evade or I'll outrun him easily, so any risk is minimal.

Anyway, the good weather has me out running in shorts, so the legs probably get a bit more notice. While some people probably think I should be angry, the incident made me laugh. Heck, what makes you feel better than knowing "you gotta nice ass?"