Funkadelic Happening

Nice work, Oz.  I believe they call that "fastwork" - "fartlek" in swedish.  We are having monsoon weather here in NE Oh, so I am thinking of you and all those miles I used to run in the humidity soup in GA.  Keep up the good work.

Thanks, Miche1e and thanks for the atta boy.  Y'all are in that groove where that summer High pressure is parked in the Atlantic and is passing all that rain into your part of the world.  Possibly by week's end, some of Tropical Storm Bill will be in Cleveland.  Good thing the Cavs will be in Oakland for game 7, if it does rain.

-30-

I was expecting some rain to be falling this morning, but nothing.  I was going to run anyway, unless it was monsooning.  It was 79 degrees at 5 a.m. with a steady NNW wind of around 15 mph.  I ran 3 miles without my gnome keeping the pace for me.  It does keep me consistent on cadence like a buggy whip without the pain.  I think my splits were 12:26, 12:56 and 13:10.

This afternoon, Corpus is supposed to be getting some of the rain from Bill, as the feeder bands wrap around the storm on its journey towards Austin, then Fort Worth.  At this point, the low-keyed local weatherman said 2-3 inches in this area can cause some big problems.  I may leave the job site at lunch and work for the hotel.

Last night, The Weather Channel was oddly non-fatalistic in their coverage of Bill.  One of the weather girls was a little off of her game, as she was telling some of the other normal weather going on.  I don't remember which town it was, but that's immaterial.  Here's what she said.

"And over in Florida, Orlando had a high of 98 degrees, which tied the all time record of 98 degrees."

ounce wrote:

nkrichards wrote:My sister-in-law loaned me "Cholesterol Clarity" by Jimmy Moore and Eric Westman, MD.  Interesting read and I thought of you.  They talk about the Ketogenic Diet, the pros and cons of a low fat "heart healthy" diet vs a low carb diet and many of the things you've mentioned in previous posts.

There is so much conflicting information out there that it is really tough to make sense of it all!

Glad to hear that you weren't hurt to seriously when you took a fall earlier this week...careful.

Yes, the ketogenic diet is not a way of existence that your cardiologist would probably like.  I have a book of Jimmy's.  YOU probably wouldn't get any flak from your doctor if you cut out sugar, rather than go LC/HF.  The problem with statins is they lower all cholesterol, not just LDL and cardiologists think LDL is the demon.  What would be great would be to have a 'boxing match' with the two sides debating and see what happens...not play to the audience but really discuss the issue.

And on the fall, thanks.  I didn't fall today!

My doctor is pretty reasonable.  He suggested something that resembled the mediterranean diet but he said it's more important to pick something that works for your lifestyle than to fail at a way to strict diet.  His biggest concern is processed meat although he'll eat a piece of bacon if he's at a buffet...just not 5 pieces.  He's OK with our choice to use real butter...in moderation.  My goal is to limit processed foods...especially sugar but not to get to technical.

Cholesterol and statins do really concern/confuse me.  At this point I think I need to trust the doctor but I would enjoy an honest discussion by the medical community.  My liver function tests came back much better but still slightly out of wack so they cut my dosage in half once more.  I'm now on 20mg.  Not impressed that it took funky tests to convince them to lower my dosage but I'm much more comfortable on 20mg that 80mg or even 40 mg.  More tests in a few weeks and we'll see how things go.  My HDLs had recovered somewhat so I was pleased to see that.

Nice to see that you've been able to get in some nice runs.  Glad the rain held off this morning for you.  Is Houston your next goal race or do you have something more on the horizon?  Oh...hope progress on the new venture is still on track.

nkrichards wrote:

ounce wrote:

nkrichards wrote:My sister-in-law loaned me "Cholesterol Clarity" by Jimmy Moore and Eric Westman, MD.  Interesting read and I thought of you.  They talk about the Ketogenic Diet, the pros and cons of a low fat "heart healthy" diet vs a low carb diet and many of the things you've mentioned in previous posts.

There is so much conflicting information out there that it is really tough to make sense of it all!

Glad to hear that you weren't hurt to seriously when you took a fall earlier this week...careful.

Yes, the ketogenic diet is not a way of existence that your cardiologist would probably like.  I have a book of Jimmy's.  YOU probably wouldn't get any flak from your doctor if you cut out sugar, rather than go LC/HF.  The problem with statins is they lower all cholesterol, not just LDL and cardiologists think LDL is the demon.  What would be great would be to have a 'boxing match' with the two sides debating and see what happens...not play to the audience but really discuss the issue.

And on the fall, thanks.  I didn't fall today!

My doctor is pretty reasonable.  He suggested something that resembled the mediterranean diet but he said it's more important to pick something that works for your lifestyle than to fail at a way to strict diet.  His biggest concern is processed meat although he'll eat a piece of bacon if he's at a buffet...just not 5 pieces.  He's OK with our choice to use real butter...in moderation.  My goal is to limit processed foods...especially sugar but not to get to technical.

Cholesterol and statins do really concern/confuse me.  At this point I think I need to trust the doctor but I would enjoy an honest discussion by the medical community.  My liver function tests came back much better but still slightly out of wack so they cut my dosage in half once more.  I'm now on 20mg.  Not impressed that it took funky tests to convince them to lower my dosage but I'm much more comfortable on 20mg that 80mg or even 40 mg.  More tests in a few weeks and we'll see how things go.  My HDLs had recovered somewhat so I was pleased to see that.

Nice to see that you've been able to get in some nice runs.  Glad the rain held off this morning for you.  Is Houston your next goal race or do you have something more on the horizon?  Oh...hope progress on the new venture is still on track.

The American Heart Association believes statins are da bomb and LDL is the demon, so it'll be surprising if you can get a cardiologist to buck that, if nothing else because he can survive a malpractice lawsuit by going along with the recommendations of American cardiologists, whether they're right or not. 

And the dosage reduction is based on statistics of billions of other people taking statins.  If you feel the dosage is too high, then throw out the anchor and stand your ground that you want it lower.  It is your body after all and if your request doesn't go too far out of his comfort zone, then he should go along with it.  You do need to check and see if a statin can be increased/decreased in chunks (e.g. 80mg down to 20mg) without physiological problem or not. 

Take phenobarbital, for example.  You can't just go cold turkey because it'll mess you up.  It has to be titrated over a period of time.  Keep learning.

That could be one thing you learn about your meds is how fast you can titrate off of a med.  Also, remember which veins (or arteries) are better for drawing blood because they don't want to stick you anymore than they need.

As far as my races, yes, Houston is my next marathon.  I have two warm up races...a Half on October 25 and a 30K on December 13.

As far as my company, business cards are getting printed here in Corpus and I'm going by the printer's to select letterhead paper.  Thanks for asking.  I need to work on the website some, so it's ready to go in 45 or so days.  Learning my new Galaxy S6 will take some time, as I have a 6 year old iPhone 3G.

It hasn't rained here at the job site, today, but Houston is getting pummeled again, plus it doesn't look like that tropical storm is going to take its 400 mile tail away from Houston fast enough.  It's reminiscent of Tropical Storm Allison in June 2001, which dropped 25 inches in 12 hours on the east side of Houston.  Allison is the only tropical storm to have its name retired by the NWS.

Thanks for coming by, Nancy.

This morning, I ran 7 miles at a 168 cadence and pretty much was able to hold that cadence through the whole run.  We had a bunch of rain yesterday and overnight.  That's all related to TS Bill which was about to cross the Red River into Oklahoma, at the time.  Do you realize that Bill had a 400 mile long tail or stream of moisture and rain stretching to Corpus? 

Needless to say, it was still wet this morning, but about 73 degrees.  The first half of the run was around 12:56 and the 2nd half was around 13:08 for an average of 13:02.  The mud on the sidewalk was the very wet and slipperier than guinea shit.  I ran probably 5 of the miles on the road.

I couldn't run on Wednesday, because of thunder and lightning.  Today, the forecast is for rain in the afternoon, as a result of continued moisture in the air and afternoon heating.  Gradually, the atmosphere will be getting drier and the weekend in Houston is supposed to be drier, as well.

Meanwhile, while the rest of the country turns into a swamp, we here in the "rainy" Pacific Northwest are nearing a record-setting string of days without rain. Grass and brush is already as dry as it usually is in late July or August, and the scanner is crackling with reports of small brush fires. It's only going to get worse as the summer progresses -- especially when the locals get their hands on their fireworks for the Fourth of July.

Looking forward to you sharing more information on your business, website, etc., once it's ready for prime time.

Mark B wrote:Meanwhile, while the rest of the country turns into a swamp, we here in the "rainy" Pacific Northwest are nearing a record-setting string of days without rain. Grass and brush is already as dry as it usually is in late July or August, and the scanner is crackling with reports of small brush fires. It's only going to get worse as the summer progresses -- especially when the locals get their hands on their fireworks for the Fourth of July.

Looking forward to you sharing more information on your business, website, etc., once it's ready for prime time.

Yes, you know things are backwards in June when Anchorage's high temp (86) was greater than Houston's (81), yesterday.

If 1L was living in Atlanta, now, she'd be 'communicating' about the heat with that High pressure parked like a twenty-something parked outside a Best Buy on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

Old friend of mine just moved to Alaska (from Denver) to open a NAPA Auto Parts franchise (he is a retired IT guy) and he was remarking on FB how hot it was in Alaska and how unexpected that was to him.  I don't think that Denver gets too warm and he has not lived on the East Coast with humidity in a long time.

About 35 years ago, I had a thought to open up a parts business, because I had my freshly conferred accounting degree and I knew auto parts.  But I had no money, much less how to run a business, and I was going to try a niche market of parts for Chrysler Corporation vehicles...just as Chrysler was about to go into bankruptcy, but Lee Iacocca saved the day.  Nah...wasn't going to work.

Good luck to your friend, Miche1e.

Swamp land here too. Standing water in our yard and my kids look like they have measles from the mosquito bites.

Good luck on your fasterwork. One things that helps me is running with a faster friend and then doing everything I can to delay asking for a walk break. Not sure if that could work for you, but it really does help!

Julie wrote:Swamp land here too. Standing water in our yard and my kids look like they have measles from the mosquito bites.

Good luck on your fasterwork. One things that helps me is running with a faster friend and then doing everything I can to delay asking for a walk break. Not sure if that could work for you, but it really does help!

Julie, Julie, Julie.  Thanks for stopping by.  Hmmm, delay the break for as long as possible.  That has some promise.  Thanks for that.

-30-

Well, I made it back to Houston, just after lunch, with no rain on the windshield and just a couple of unfortunate bugs.  Thursday night, I must've eaten something bad because it prevented me from running this morning.  Looks like next week will be much quieter on the rain front.

To give y'all an idea of how much rain fell in southeast Texas so far, I present the following:
January 1-June 18th Rainfall (Normal yearly rainfall):

BUSH IAH: 34.62 (49.77)
Hobby: 38.48 (54.65)
College Station: 31.09 (40.06)
Baytown: 54.15 (59.92)
Bellville: 37.83 (41.75)
Brenham: 45.77 (45.14)
Crockett: 40.30 (45.18)
Westbury: 39.49 (51.82)
Huntsville: 41.48 (49.08)
NWS League City: 42.57 (56.81)
Richmond: 38.47 (49.08)
Washington State Park: 41.05 (41.68)

BUSH IAH is currently running 12.71 inches above normal for 2015
Houston Hobby is currently running 15.93 inches above normal for 2015

We could use some of that rain!  We're in for record heat next weekend.  The mountains are already looking bare and the reservoirs are getting lower and lower.

Hope you're feeling better.  Hope it was just something you ate and not a bug.

nkrichards wrote:We could use some of that rain!  We're in for record heat next weekend.  The mountains are already looking bare and the reservoirs are getting lower and lower.

Hope you're feeling better.  Hope it was just something you ate and not a bug.

Thanks, Nancy, it was a food thing and I'm back to normal.  

As far as rain, August is peak hurricane time as the water temps will be at their highest in the Gulf.  But with El Niño in play, it's not supposed to be a bad hurricane season.

-30-

Next week is forecast to be drier in both houston and corpus, except in Corpus that means morning lows at 79.  Loverly.

I think that I'm going to need to wear a helmet or hat with a knife attached to the front, so I can cut through the humidity in the mornings.  I didn't run this morning because I arrived at the hotel about 10:15 p.m. and was asleep at 11:15 which isn't good for a long sleep prior to a run.  I did wake up about 5:30 and did some leg lifts and sit ups; about 4 sets of 20 each for leg lifts and about 30 sit ups. 

I'd like to blame the weather for my dragging during the 7 or 8 mile runs, but I think it's more the ketone switchover.

Separately, I also need to adjust the recipe for my sugar-free, dairy-free, maybe even vegan fudge.  I have one recipe that has half 100% chocolate and half 72% chocolate, but it's not sugar-free because of that.  The recipe has a sugar free sweetener added to sweeten it a bit more.  It tastes really good, but you have to have a palate adjusted to such a high chocolate percentage.  Anybody can get there, but it takes some time and eating chocolate.  OH, THE PAIN!

I figured out a way to make Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk sugar-free and dairy free with other ingredients, which was the key.  Now the fudge should be diabetic friendly, too.  This fudge is kind to my ketone level, too, as it's low on carbs.  I originally created a fudge recipe with Eagle brand milk, that everybody loved and this sugar-free version is the next step.

I enjoy experimenting, when I know I have folks that want to eat it all.  But I need to make a batch for when I'm on the road.

Yup, needed the knife.  It was 81 degrees with a high 70's dewpoint.  There was a breeze, but it was only beneficial on the way back when it was noticeable to the face.

I was a sweating machine and it was really slowing me down on the return part of the 7 miles.  I wanted to do 8, but I didn't feel comfortable running with sparse traffic behind me.  You just don't know how awake these people are at 4:30 in the morning!!  The first half of the run was 13:03 and the second half was 13:33 for an average of 13;18.  I don't drink any water during the runs, but I'm sure squeezing it out.

During the last half of the run, I was accosted by skeeters, when I stopped.  There must've been about 10 on me within 20 seconds of stopping.  And after I stopped at mile 7, I was attacked again.  So, I had to start running again.

The muscles are doing fine with no hamstring pain.

Jeez.  81 degrees.

Geez. To start the day at 81 is mind-blowing. Puts Southeast Asia to shame. No wonder Gulf Coast volunteers looked at all us about to keel over, and said, "What?"

Good on you for keeping it up. And a new fudge recipe? Hmm.

Mark B wrote:Geez. To start the day at 81 is mind-blowing. Puts Southeast Asia to shame. No wonder Gulf Coast volunteers looked at all us about to keel over, and said, "What?"

Good on you for keeping it up. And a new fudge recipe? Hmm.

It's amazing to me that just 3 degrees can make such a difference.  In Houston, August will regularly be 78 with a dewpoint only as low as 76 and dead calm, but it doesn't feel the same as 81.  At least on the way back to the hotel, I had a headwind of 5-10 mph and that sure helped.  One thing I know. I would rather run in the dark at 81, than having the sun up and beating down on my noggin at 81 degrees.

This morning, I was going to do some fartlek stuff, but I just wasn't feeling it and went back to sleep.  But I did do some core work as a consolation prize.

And since the 4th of July is next week, I determined that a skeleton crew was going to be here on the job site on Friday, the 3rd.  So, I'll be driving home on Thursday after work and running in Houston on Friday.

Mother Nature must've read yesterday's entry about 81 degrees vs 78 degrees because....

It was 78 degrees this morning and calm.  Yes, three degrees makes a difference because the humidity isn't as much.  Evidently, I'm not as acclimated to an 80 degree dewpoint versus a 77 degree dewpoint, regardless of wind speed. 

I headed off for an eight mile run and I was determined to run all 8.  To hell with the traffic.  I have a high concern for that stretch of road between miles 4 and 4.6 because the locals aren't used to seeing anyone but them on the road at 5 a.m. going 55 mph.  (I leave a note in my hotel room giving my route, what I'm wearing, and when I should return.)  I was looking around every 30 strides for cars.  It's the slowest part of the run because I start and stop so much, plus I think the Garmin measures this particular mile long because of the frequent starts and stops and how the satellite re-finds me each time.  However, once I run to the other side of the freeway, then I'm golden for the remainder of the run.

The first half of the run was at 12:58 and the second half was at 13:32 (includes mile 5 at 13:57) for a total average of 13:15, while sweating profusely and swatting pesky mosquitos.  It is a sad testimony on my speed, when a mosquito can keep up with me.

But I finished it!  Now, my immune system is a bit compromised as a result because I have a stuffy nose, etc.  Oh, well.  15 miles for the week and I'll lace 'em up tomorrow, before driving back to Houston.

ounce wrote:Once I run to the other side of the freeway, then I'm golden for the remainder of the run.

You never told us you were running this route Frogger style.



Do watch out when you get to the river. Some of those logs are crocodiles.

Mark B wrote:

ounce wrote:Once I run to the other side of the freeway, then I'm golden for the remainder of the run.

You never told us you were running this route Frogger style.



Do watch out when you get to the river. Some of those logs are crocodiles.

It's a level 1 crossing.  And I don't need to worry about crocodiles.  The skeeters are another thing, though.  Wow, I feel like a passenger going through the TSA checkpoint with 1 pat down just not enough for them.


-30-

This morning, I decided to follow up yesterday's 8 mile run with a 6 mile run on a different course.  It's a much more relaxing course, and even the mosquitos were fewer.  Good thing that I did run shorter as my legs were sort of tired.  So, I turned it into a recovery run.  The cadence was set at 168 (same as yesterday) and the heart rate never beat higher than 146 (yesterday, it got as high as 164 or so in the later miles).  I would imagine an average HR of 140.  Average pace was around 13:30.

The legs were whining the whole way.  They never hurt, but I'm not their favorite today.  But they'll get to relax in the car, when I head back to Houston in about an hour. 

Thanks for stopping by and y'all have a nice weekend.

Good work, Ounce! I salute your dedication continuing to press on in the Pits of Hell, er, I mean, the Texas Gulf Coast.

Mosquitoes, too? Better check your hemoglobin level every once in a while as a precaution against vector-borne anemia.

I'd love to complain about our heat wave but I don't think our conditions hold a candle to the conditions you and Michele are running in!  Our weather lists three alerts: a fire weather warning, a fire weather watch, and a heat advisory.  Sounds like we are going to set some records today and the next few days.  I'm able to walk early when it's cooler...we're still expecting lows in the 60's.

You've got some tough conditions...good for you for sticking it out!

Well its 59F and monsooning in western NY today, so Doug wins. It does surprise me how humid it gets in Cleveland though.

Mark B wrote:Good work, Ounce! I salute your dedication continuing to press on in the Pits of Hell, er, I mean, the Texas Gulf Coast.

Mosquitoes, too? Better check your hemoglobin level every once in a while as a precaution against vector-borne anemia.

nkrichards wrote:I'd love to complain about our heat wave but I don't think our conditions hold a candle to the conditions you and Michele are running in!  Our weather lists three alerts: a fire weather warning, a fire weather watch, and a heat advisory.  Sounds like we are going to set some records today and the next few days.  I'm able to walk early when it's cooler...we're still expecting lows in the 60's.

You've got some tough conditions...good for you for sticking it out!

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:Well its 59F and monsooning in western NY today, so Doug wins. It does surprise me how humid it gets in Cleveland though.

Thanks, y'all, but we all do what we can, and when we can, to scratch our itch.  It would take me some weeks to be able to run in the snow, but I'd get there because the alternative is a treadmill.  And I'd show up to run wearing more layers than you would think necessary, too. 

The west coast will break out of its drought and temperatures will moderate.  I guess it may mean that an El Nino is good for Texas, but not for the west coast. 

As for Mark's Vector Borne Anemia, all I can say is, "Roger, Victor."

-30-

No running over the weekend and no running this morning.  For some reason, I've been having some really nice dream cycles, the past 2 nights.  I hope it keeps going.  I'll be going home on Thursday evening for the 4th.  I should be able to run at home on Friday morning and I'm looking forward to that.  Maybe the mosquitoes will be better in Houston.

Enjoy your Friday morning run on your home turf and have a great 4th.