Term Limits?

Jane! Stop this crazy thing!



I think your weightlifting philosophy is smart. Keep at it! 

I'm not sure raising the incline actually changes the biomechanics from maintaining turnover to propelling yourself (because you'd likely end up propelling yourself into the front of the treadmill) - I think the benefit may be more psychological than anything else. But treadmills are evil and your mileage may vary.

Last Wednesday, I ran on the treadmill for about 15 minutes at a 161 cadence and 1.5% incline.  I believe the avg bpm was 126.  That was a good start, as doing the cadence closer to what I was doing outside, when it was cool, was a little challenging.  I am thinking that if I can get up to 1 hour at 161 by August, then the transition back to the streets will be easier because my stamina will be used to 161.  What have I got to lose?  Especially since my preferred treadmill has a big fan blowing on me.

Last Monday (not yesterday), I ran 7 miles and let the legs dictate the pace.  While my pace was slower than baby formula being stocked on store shelves, but I finished.  I figured that I would have a better chance of finishing, rather than 161-ing for a half mile and paying the cost a mile later.  Afterwards, I felt like I could have ran 8.  This is a good thing because in the past, it's indicative of being on the right track with distance selection before a run.

This week, I'm off and resting the body.

Also, I went to the cardiologist on Monday afternoon as a regular, 6 month follow up.  BP was 132/74 & HR was 63.  First question out of his mouth, "So, have you had any massive bruising since last time?  He was referring to the Feb '20 huge bruise.  As an aside, I got out of the hospital about a week before the covid lockdown happened.

He checked heart and carotid arteries.  Asked me if I had any problems (no).  Gave him my avg HR on the 7 mile run (123).  He then surprised me with what I thought about stopping the Plavix.  He thought it would lessen the bruising, but it would come at a risk.  It's been 3 years since the MI, but with the angina in Dec '20, it could happen again, but data would suggest that the further away from the MI one gets, stopping the Plavix becomes less of a risk.

I said that I would like to see how I am doing in 6 months (November) on mileage and pace and issues, then wait another 6 months (May '23) when I'll have time to assess after the Marathon in January.  One thing I will do in the meantime would be to see if Plavix-type drugs are a weapon against strokes, which runs in my family.

When he brought up bruising, I asked him if it wouldn't be a good idea to learn a martial art, regarding the bruising.  He said, "no, is that on your bucket list?"  I told him no, but it was on a to do list if I wouldn't look like an overripe banana, afterwards.  So, crossed that one off.  I think boxing would fall in the same category.  Maybe a punching bag, though.

So, I continue on doing what I'm doing ang go back in November.

-30-

As mentioned in the last post, last Monday I ran the 7 miles at the cadence du jour.  

7 miles, 1:48:56, 15:33 pace, 124 avg bpm, 142 max bpm, 144 avg cadence
1.  15:25, 118 bpm
2.  15:25, 122 bpm
3.  15:25, 124 bpm
4.  15:36, 122 bpm,
5.  15:47, 124 bpm,
6.  16:04, 126 bpm,
7.  15:09, 129 bpm

HR zones
zone 3 (126-142)    40:56
zone 4 (108-125) 1:06:51

I ran the 7 because I wasn't going to run this week.  Plus, with the lengthening distances, I'm actually running on the 3 mile loop at Memorial Park.  Not FAR on the loop because it's 3.33 miles to the 3 mile loop.

As stated earlier, it was 'Legs are the Boss' day.  My need to breath was so low, I had my mouth closed a lot of the run.  That felt odd, but hey, that's fine, too.  I never hurt. I didn't get discouraged with the pace because it was my decision to let the legs be in charge.  The good thing was knowing that I could've ran 8 miles.

This coming Monday will re-start the running.  Thanks.

That was an encouraging check-up. Glad you're doing so well. Getting off Plavix sounds like a good idea, provided it doesn't increase your MI or stroke risk. 

With the bruising, I'd suggest avoiding slam dancing, too. No mosh pits for you!

Your body sounds like it's starting to want to run again. That's a great sign.

Mark B wrote:That was an encouraging check-up. Glad you're doing so well. Getting off Plavix sounds like a good idea, provided it doesn't increase your MI or stroke risk. 

With the bruising, I'd suggest avoiding slam dancing, too. No mosh pits for you!

Your body sounds like it's starting to want to run again. That's a great sign.

Slam dancing is not known in my neighborhood, but bull riding is.

Yeah, that was my thought on the body wanting to run more.  I'm giving it a break in temps by being inside, in front of a fan, on a treadmill.

-30-

There is a tip that I learned about yesterday.  So, I scratched my arm, when I was going outside of a metal pedestrian gate.  Being on aspirin and Plavix, it was a slow, but steady bleed.  It also means 10-15 minutes to Stop The Bleed (not stop the steal ).  A friend suggested sprinkling sugar on the 1/4" round bleeder.  Never heard of that, but I was game.

So, I pulled out the sugar, positioned my forearm over the sink, and sprinkled over the wound.  I shook off the sugar not on the wound.  The bleeding slowed by 90%.  I did it again to get to the spots I missed on the first pass.  About 20 minutes later, the blood was slowly overtaking the sugar.  So, I added a bit more.  Stopped again.  That was it.  There was zero feeling to the sugar.

The only think I can figure is that the sugar acted like kitty litter in absorbing what it could.  Not sure what else could work.  Certainly not salt.

That's my tip for the month.  Thanks.

I'm not even going to try and catch up...

First and foremost...congrats on a fine visit to the cardiologist.  I'm a little surprised you didn't jump at the chance to stop the Plavix but I think your reasoning is valid.  Hopefully the bleeding/bruising won't be an issue.  It may limit your activities a bit but as long as it keeps you going doesn't keep you from running and lifting I guess it's a good trade off.

Sounds like the TM is a good option for summer training.  It will help get you ready for outdoor running once the weather improves.  And I do think that lifting will help your running long term as long as you don't prioritize it over running (which you aren't doing).

I haven't followed your weather closely but Texas does seem to make it into the news often which isn't usually a good thing.

The sugar to stop the bleeding in interesting.  I wonder if any absorbent powder works...other than salt of course.  Flour?

Keep up the good work and I'll try to stop by more often.

I know they put honey on wounds for its antiseptic properties, but I'd never heard of sugar stopping bleeding. I think you're right in that it soaks up the water in the blood, which might help slow the flow down enough for clotting to happen? Maybe?

Either way, a good justification for thinking about putting Plavix behind you if you can.

nkrichards wrote:I'm not even going to try and catch up...

First and foremost...congrats on a fine visit to the cardiologist.  I'm a little surprised you didn't jump at the chance to stop the Plavix but I think your reasoning is valid.  Hopefully the bleeding/bruising won't be an issue.  It may limit your activities a bit but as long as it keeps you going doesn't keep you from running and lifting I guess it's a good trade off.

Sounds like the TM is a good option for summer training.  It will help get you ready for outdoor running once the weather improves.  And I do think that lifting will help your running long term as long as you don't prioritize it over running (which you aren't doing).

I haven't followed your weather closely but Texas does seem to make it into the news often which isn't usually a good thing.

The sugar to stop the bleeding in interesting.  I wonder if any absorbent powder works...other than salt of course.  Flour?

Keep up the good work and I'll try to stop by more often.

Mark B wrote:I know they put honey on wounds for its antiseptic properties, but I'd never heard of sugar stopping bleeding. I think you're right in that it soaks up the water in the blood, which might help slow the flow down enough for clotting to happen? Maybe?

Either way, a good justification for thinking about putting Plavix behind you if you can.

Flour would work because in a white sauce, the sauce thickens as the flour absorbs the fat (e.g. butter, bacon grease, etc).  Corn meal would do similarly because when I make cornbread, the batter thickens if I leave it alone for a few minutes.

Last week, I was off from running and lifting.  This week, it's the same thing, due to an illness in the family which essentially makes this week a repeat of last week.  It's really disappointing, but there ain't much I can do about it.  Things might mitigate by Friday.  

We had a storm roll through Sunday morning that dropped 3/4ths of an inch to 3.5 inches, depending on location.  I was in the lower number category.  Another front is to blow through Tuesday which is supposed to uncharacteristically dropping morning temps into the 60s for the rest of the week.  If things mitigate by Thursday, I will be able to run on Friday.

Thanks, y'all.

ounce wrote:

nkrichards wrote:I'm not even going to try and catch up...

First and foremost...congrats on a fine visit to the cardiologist.  I'm a little surprised you didn't jump at the chance to stop the Plavix but I think your reasoning is valid.  Hopefully the bleeding/bruising won't be an issue.  It may limit your activities a bit but as long as it keeps you going doesn't keep you from running and lifting I guess it's a good trade off.

Sounds like the TM is a good option for summer training.  It will help get you ready for outdoor running once the weather improves.  And I do think that lifting will help your running long term as long as you don't prioritize it over running (which you aren't doing).

I haven't followed your weather closely but Texas does seem to make it into the news often which isn't usually a good thing.

The sugar to stop the bleeding in interesting.  I wonder if any absorbent powder works...other than salt of course.  Flour?

Keep up the good work and I'll try to stop by more often.

Mark B wrote:I know they put honey on wounds for its antiseptic properties, but I'd never heard of sugar stopping bleeding. I think you're right in that it soaks up the water in the blood, which might help slow the flow down enough for clotting to happen? Maybe?

Either way, a good justification for thinking about putting Plavix behind you if you can.

Flour would work because in a white sauce, the sauce thickens as the flour absorbs the fat (e.g. butter, bacon grease, etc).  Corn meal would do similarly because when I make cornbread, the batter thickens if I leave it alone for a few minutes.

Last week, I was off from running and lifting.  This week, it's the same thing, due to an illness in the family which essentially makes this week a repeat of last week.  It's really disappointing, but there ain't much I can do about it.  Things might mitigate by Friday.  

We had a storm roll through Sunday morning that dropped 3/4ths of an inch to 3.5 inches, depending on location.  I was in the lower number category.  Another front is to blow through Tuesday which is supposed to uncharacteristically dropping morning temps into the 60s for the rest of the week.  If things mitigate by Thursday, I will be able to run on Friday.

Thanks, y'all.

Hope the family issue/illness resolves quickly.

These things happen.  You'll adjust and do fine.

Stay safe and enjoy the potentially cooler temps.

The front rolled through this morning, while it was dark.  Lots of wind and an inch of rain.  Never woke up.  Dropped temps from 73 to 64 in 15 minutes at 3 a.m.  Low tonight is to be around 62 and that's the dew point, so a good chance of the low temp to occur.  Supposed to be 67 Friday morning.  No word yet on running Friday.  90s and 75s return on Sunday.

The rain covered a wide swath of the state that ought to lower the drought levels by 1 category, but that won't be reported until next Thursday.  It's always a week in arrears.

I've been to Uvalde before.  It IS a little town of 15,000-16,000.  Frankly, I thought it was smaller than that.  That area of south Texas has wide open ranches that have many hunters come to hunt all types of 4 legged and winged critters.

My destination that time was Garner State Park in Concan, 31 miles north.  A beautiful, 1,774 acre park that was built during Depression as a CCC project.  It's named for John Nance Garner, who was FDR's 1st vice president from '33 to '41. Prior to JFK being killed in Dallas, he spent that morning in Fort Worth.  He called Garner at home, in Uvalde, to wish him a happy 95th birfday.

There will be a test.  Thanks.

ounce wrote:The front rolled through this morning, while it was dark.  Lots of wind and an inch of rain.  Never woke up.  Dropped temps from 73 to 64 in 15 minutes at 3 a.m.  Low tonight is to be around 62 and that's the dew point, so a good chance of the low temp to occur.  Supposed to be 67 Friday morning.  No word yet on running Friday.  90s and 75s return on Sunday.

The rain covered a wide swath of the state that ought to lower the drought levels by 1 category, but that won't be reported until next Thursday.  It's always a week in arrears.

I've been to Uvalde before.  It IS a little town of 15,000-16,000.  Frankly, I thought it was smaller than that.  That area of south Texas has wide open ranches that have many hunters come to hunt all types of 4 legged and winged critters.

My destination that time was Garner State Park in Concan, 31 miles north.  A beautiful, 1,774 acre park that was built during Depression as a CCC project.  It's named for John Nance Garner, who was FDR's 1st vice president from '33 to '41. Prior to JFK being killed in Dallas, he spent that morning in Fort Worth.  He called Garner at home, in Uvalde, to wish him a happy 95th birfday.

There will be a test.  Thanks.

Enjoy the cool weather while it lasts...  Boy has the weather been a roller coaster this year!!

Interesting stories.  Fun facts that I absolutely will not remember but enjoyed reading.  It's amazing how politics all of a sudden took a back seat to current news...that's not a bad thing but it is sad that it took this type of news to accomplish that.

Stay safe.

nkrichards wrote:

ounce wrote:The front rolled through this morning, while it was dark.  Lots of wind and an inch of rain.  Never woke up.  Dropped temps from 73 to 64 in 15 minutes at 3 a.m.  Low tonight is to be around 62 and that's the dew point, so a good chance of the low temp to occur.  Supposed to be 67 Friday morning.  No word yet on running Friday.  90s and 75s return on Sunday.

The rain covered a wide swath of the state that ought to lower the drought levels by 1 category, but that won't be reported until next Thursday.  It's always a week in arrears.

I've been to Uvalde before.  It IS a little town of 15,000-16,000.  Frankly, I thought it was smaller than that.  That area of south Texas has wide open ranches that have many hunters come to hunt all types of 4 legged and winged critters.

My destination that time was Garner State Park in Concan, 31 miles north.  A beautiful, 1,774 acre park that was built during Depression as a CCC project.  It's named for John Nance Garner, who was FDR's 1st vice president from '33 to '41. Prior to JFK being killed in Dallas, he spent that morning in Fort Worth.  He called Garner at home, in Uvalde, to wish him a happy 95th birfday.

There will be a test.  Thanks.

Enjoy the cool weather while it lasts...  Boy has the weather been a roller coaster this year!!

Interesting stories.  Fun facts that I absolutely will not remember but enjoyed reading.  It's amazing how politics all of a sudden took a back seat to current news...that's not a bad thing but it is sad that it took this type of news to accomplish that.

Stay safe.

64 degrees felt nice!

As far as politics and the back seat, when the Democratic challenger to the Republican governor interrupted the press conference on live television, yesterday, I thought it was very disrespectful.  But the political side of me thought it was a great move because the free air time probably sparked his supporters and it reached out to nationwide Democrats to send him some money, again.  He lost 4 years ago in a bid for the Senate by 2.6%, which in Texas is pretty darn close for a Senate seat.

I was not able to run today and won't, tomorrow.  But it turned out the humid weather returned, yesterday afternoon, and it was 74 degrees this morning with a dew point of 74.  Normal for this time of year is 72 for a low and a high of 89.

Maybe sometime next week, I can restart running.  Y'all have a cooler weekend than I.

We had a few quite warm days and then the unusually cold weather returned.  Hope you're lucky enough to get some of our cooler weather.  We've appreciated the cooler weather and light rain but it's time to make hay and we need warm and dry for that.

Fingers crossed that you can return to running this week.  I'll watch for your runs on Strava.

Take care.

We hit a cooler spell, with snow just above the mountain pass levels, just in time to wreck Memorial Day weekend camping trips and continue the tradition of soggy starts to the Portland Rose Festival. (It's so common that they call the weather phenomenon "the Rose Festival Low.")

Hoping the cool, unsettled weather doesn't lead to extreme weather events as it works its way across the country, but they have a habit of doing that, so.. hold on to your hat. 

I hope you can get back to working out soon, but I hope more that the illness in the family that you mentioned resolves soon, and well.

Thanks, y'all.  

No running this week.

Seems like there's a high likelihood of running on Monday.

ounce wrote:Seems like there's a high likelihood of running on Monday.

Hope that means the family illness/issues have settled down.

I look forward to seeing a run on Strava.

Take care.

nkrichards wrote:

ounce wrote:Seems like there's a high likelihood of running on Monday.

Hope that means the family illness/issues have settled down.

I look forward to seeing a run on Strava.

Take care.

Crossing fingers!

It was great to see you made it out for a run on Monday.  I know it was tough after a few days off...good for you for sticking to it even when it got hard.  Your fitness will return quickly...don't stress.

Hoping this also means you're back at the gym.  I know you enjoy your lifting and also have lifting goals.

Take care.

I have been able to get out, this week.  It's Thursday, which would mean that I would have ran on Monday and Wednesday and lifted Tuesday & Thursday.  The Wednesday run would be on treadmill.  The Monday, outside.

That almost happened as written.  You know, no running for three weeks, when you're trying to train for a marathon, isn't conducive to a successful outcome, no matter one's weight.  My concern was loss of endurance, while morning temps are warming.  So, what could I do?

Monday, it was 77 degrees and I plodded 5 miles.
Wednesday, it was 78 degrees and I plodded 5 miles, outside.
Tomorrow is to be another 5 mile plod.
That will give me 15 miles for the week at a 15:40-16:18 pace.  I felt that I needed to jump start the training.  I haven't had any (zero) discomfort on either plod.  I think that I shouldn't because there's been 3 weeks to heal muscles.

I did lift for 35 minutes each on Tuesday and Thursday, which went fine.  There was minimal (2.5-5 lbs) muscle loss that I will have to recoup.

So, what am I going to do next week?  Well, I haven't decided yet.  Lifting, for sure.  My gut tells me to advance the distance by a mile, each.  18 miles.  Cumulative muscle soreness is a possibility to occur, but I have my TENS unit and a fresh 9V battery.  And how many weeks can I advance to 21, 24, or 27 miles.  I don't know.  Logic would say that 27 miles for the last week of June is too much, too quick. 

Thanks for stopping by.

ounce wrote:I have been able to get out, this week.  It's Thursday, which would mean that I would have ran on Monday and Wednesday and lifted Tuesday & Thursday.  The Wednesday run would be on treadmill.  The Monday, outside.

That almost happened as written.  You know, no running for three weeks, when you're trying to train for a marathon, isn't conducive to a successful outcome, no matter one's weight.  My concern was loss of endurance, while morning temps are warming.  So, what could I do?

Monday, it was 77 degrees and I plodded 5 miles.
Wednesday, it was 78 degrees and I plodded 5 miles, outside.
Tomorrow is to be another 5 mile plod.
That will give me 15 miles for the week at a 15:40-16:18 pace.  I felt that I needed to jump start the training.  I haven't had any (zero) discomfort on either plod.  I think that I shouldn't because there's been 3 weeks to heal muscles.

I did lift for 35 minutes each on Tuesday and Thursday, which went fine.  There was minimal (2.5-5 lbs) muscle loss that I will have to recoup.

So, what am I going to do next week?  Well, I haven't decided yet.  Lifting, for sure.  My gut tells me to advance the distance by a mile, each.  18 miles.  Cumulative muscle soreness is a possibility to occur, but I have my TENS unit and a fresh 9V battery.  And how many weeks can I advance to 21, 24, or 27 miles.  I don't know.  Logic would say that 27 miles for the last week of June is too much, too quick. 

Thanks for stopping by.

I understand your desire to increase the mileage but don't get to aggressive.  I have a step back week every third week.  I don't drop the mileage a lot but I do drop a few miles and give the body time to adapt and recover.  It will pay off in the long run.

I know your runs have been tough.  I'm impressed that you're sticking to your goal distance even when it gets tough.

Good luck on your 5 tomorrow.

Well, I don't think doing the 18, 21, 24, 27 plan will work.  I think increasing the Monday long run to a 6, 7, 8, 9 progression might be a consolation prize.  I came to that realization at about mile 2 of 5, this morning.

I wanted to stop at mile 3, but managed to divvy up the remaining 2 into chunks, which worked.  That sinister mind of mine.
Monday - 15:53 pace
Wednesday - 16:13 pace
Friday - 16:15 pace.

I'll think about what to do with Wednesdays and Fridays, over the weekend.  We're expecting 100 degree days today and the weekend, which is about a month ahead of schedule.  This will be the first 100 degree day since August 2020.

We're also expecting another round of Saharan dust to arrive.  Saharan dust is a June weather event where sand/dust from (stay with me now) the Sahara Desert is blown off by winds and it travels west.  Sometimes, it doesn't get that far, but I haven't found the article that'll tell me why.  Jet Stream?  Low pressure?  Mid level winds?

The good thing about the dust is it tends to dry out the atmosphere with the result of inhibiting tropical system growth.  PLUS, it creates nice reddish sunsets.

Y'all have a good weekend.  Thanks.

ounce wrote:Well, I don't think doing the 18, 21, 24, 27 plan will work.  I think increasing the Monday long run to a 6, 7, 8, 9 progression might be a consolation prize.  I came to that realization at about mile 2 of 5, this morning.

I wanted to stop at mile 3, but managed to divvy up the remaining 2 into chunks, which worked.  That sinister mind of mine.
Monday - 15:53 pace
Wednesday - 16:13 pace
Friday - 16:15 pace.

I'll think about what to do with Wednesdays and Fridays, over the weekend.  We're expecting 100 degree days today and the weekend, which is about a month ahead of schedule.  This will be the first 100 degree day since August 2020.

We're also expecting another round of Saharan dust to arrive.  Saharan dust is a June weather event where sand/dust from (stay with me now) the Sahara Desert is blown off by winds and it travels west.  Sometimes, it doesn't get that far, but I haven't found the article that'll tell me why.  Jet Stream?  Low pressure?  Mid level winds?

The good thing about the dust is it tends to dry out the atmosphere with the result of inhibiting tropical system growth.  PLUS, it creates nice reddish sunsets.

Y'all have a good weekend.  Thanks.

Woah...tough conditions to say the least.  Take care of yourself and do what your body and conditions allow.

Kudos for sticking it out to the finish on your run this morning.  I think even those slow slogging miles pay dividends in the end.  But do be careful in those conditions.

Interesting that you mentioned the conditions.  I received my 2nd booster on Tuesday and ran on Wednesday.  My past history with covid shots is 36 hours discomfort at the injection site.  

This time, the first 18 hours (got the shot at noon on Tuesday) were unremarkable.  The next 24 hours (meaning post-run), was all situated in the sinus area.  Runny nose, a tickle cough handled with peanut butter, and a very minor fever (from normal 97.6 to 98.1 degrees).  By Thursday, I was perky again.

Runs in these conditions are fairly aggravating on my immune system.  It's just like running longer distances in cold weather.  Post-run, I get some chills, spike a fever of no more than 1.4 degrees to 99, runny nose, etc.  Sometimes, even, I will have the fever DURING the run.  That happened today when I wiped my face with my shirt, after finishing, and the shirt was colder than my forehead.  No chills today.

I have a process of slamming water when I get inside, strip down and lay down on a towel for the A/C to dry me off.  Sometimes Tylenol, but not this week.  If I don't lay on the towel long enough, even after I'm dry, then I'll start sweating again.  By afternoon, I'm back to baseline and will have consumed 3 quarts of water, with 1 more to go.  As I write this, I'm finishing my 2nd quart.

So, it takes some time and years to figure out the right protocol to keep me upright, post-plod, down here in the swamp.  A nice, light west breeze was in my face for the last 2 miles.  That helped.  It also indicated that my body temp was going up.  But NEVER was I light headed.

Back in the Summer of 2017, you may remember I was training for Javelina Jundred in Arizona.  I ran some of a 17 or 20 mile loop in July during the daylight morning and early afternoon to get acclimated.  I remember nearly passing out at 1 p.m.

In closing, I know the body is responding to my protocol because I gotta go pee.  4 hours since finishing and the kidneys are ready to be good kidneys.