Training with Flies

For as much as the humidity in Houston is quite the pill to swallow, it's worse along the whole Gulf Coast.  Think of Florida, especially South Florida, which is surrounded on 3 sides by water.  It would take a very young and/or dedicated person to train through that.  Plus, the average Winter cold front never makes it that far south.  So 50's for a low is an exception, I think.  

-30-

I didn't make it over to the gym, this morning.  There was a fight going on in my intestines around midnight and, well, the Bouncer had enough and announced, "EVERYBODY OUT!!!!!"  So, that's why.

Y'all have a good weekend.

ounce wrote:For as much as the humidity in Houston is quite the pill to swallow, it's worse along the whole Gulf Coast.  Think of Florida, especially South Florida, which is surrounded on 3 sides by water.  It would take a very young and/or dedicated person to train through that.  Plus, the average Winter cold front never makes it that far south.  So 50's for a low is an exception, I think.  

-30-

I didn't make it over to the gym, this morning.  There was a fight going on in my intestines around midnight and, well, the Bouncer had enough and announced, "EVERYBODY OUT!!!!!"  So, that's why.

Y'all have a good weekend.

Yikes. Good call. Probably not a good morning to be straining to lift heavy things... 

ounce wrote:

nkrichards wrote:Can't say I remember ever hearing that song.  I'll have to try and find it so I can listen...it's always better to listen than to read.

If the song works use it.  I know a lot of people really like to listen to music and do choose the beat based on cadence.  I just like to run.

Nope, I don't think you would have.  Here's a link for it:  John Prine - In Spite of Ourselves - In Spite of Ourselves - YouTube

I recognized the name but couldn't remember any songs.  Marty remembered instantly...his Dad listened to John Prine often.  It was a fun song.  I liked it!!

Mark B wrote:

ounce wrote:For as much as the humidity in Houston is quite the pill to swallow, it's worse along the whole Gulf Coast.  Think of Florida, especially South Florida, which is surrounded on 3 sides by water.  It would take a very young and/or dedicated person to train through that.  Plus, the average Winter cold front never makes it that far south.  So 50's for a low is an exception, I think.  

-30-

I didn't make it over to the gym, this morning.  There was a fight going on in my intestines around midnight and, well, the Bouncer had enough and announced, "EVERYBODY OUT!!!!!"  So, that's why.

Y'all have a good weekend.

Yikes. Good call. Probably not a good morning to be straining to lift heavy things... 

Uh oh...hope you're feeling better. 

I finally found time to take a look at your last run.  Nice!  You gave the heart a nice workout and the cadence and pace weren't to shabby!!

Hope you're back running/lifting soon...but not to soon.

Thanks.  Things are re-assembling.

I need to listen to more of John Prine.  He died 3 years ago at 73 from complications related to covid.  

That run on Thursday was a really good one, thinking back on it a little more.  If nothing else, but because it was after 2 days of lifting and a 4 mile run on Tuesday.

I'll have a 4 day rest before running on Tuesday.  Might run 5.  Weather will drive that bus.

ounce wrote:Thanks.  Things are re-assembling.

I need to listen to more of John Prine.  He died 3 years ago at 73 from complications related to covid.  

That run on Thursday was a really good one, thinking back on it a little more.  If nothing else, but because it was after 2 days of lifting and a 4 mile run on Tuesday.

I'll have a 4 day rest before running on Tuesday.  Might run 5.  Weather will drive that bus.

I mentioned that Marty and I listened to the John Prine song.  I usually have Pandora running the the background and we've heard several John Prine songs in the last 2 days.  Not sure if we're just more aware or if he's actually playing on my channel for the first time but it's kind of funny.  Different style but I like it.

Hope you're continuing to feel better and that the rest and weather cooperate to make it a good run on Tuesday.

Enjoy the long weekend...

Thanks for introducing me to John Prine! The country-folk genre apparently slipped past me back in the day (we played Big Band music and jazz at the radio station I worked at then), so I'd never heard of him until seeing Ounce's post.

nkrichards wrote:

ounce wrote:Thanks.  Things are re-assembling.

I need to listen to more of John Prine.  He died 3 years ago at 73 from complications related to covid.  

That run on Thursday was a really good one, thinking back on it a little more.  If nothing else, but because it was after 2 days of lifting and a 4 mile run on Tuesday.

I'll have a 4 day rest before running on Tuesday.  Might run 5.  Weather will drive that bus.

I mentioned that Marty and I listened to the John Prine song.  I usually have Pandora running the the background and we've heard several John Prine songs in the last 2 days.  Not sure if we're just more aware or if he's actually playing on my channel for the first time but it's kind of funny.  Different style but I like it.

Hope you're continuing to feel better and that the rest and weather cooperate to make it a good run on Tuesday.

Enjoy the long weekend...

Mark B wrote:Thanks for introducing me to John Prine! The country-folk genre apparently slipped past me back in the day (we played Big Band music and jazz at the radio station I worked at then), so I'd never heard of him until seeing Ounce's post.

When Johnny Cash wrote his autobiography (he died in 2003), Cash wrote that John Prine was one of Cash's top 4 songwriters.

-30-

This morning, it was 73 degrees with a dew point of 66.  It wasn't the best running environment, but it was below 75 degrees!  We've been fortunate to have non-August weather in late May.  Seasonal now in Houston is 90 and 70 degrees and we've been seasonal or a bit below, this month, including the days early in the month when it's been raining.

I headed out at 157 cadence (I played "In Spite of Ourselves" 3 times before leaving).  The first mile took a bit to loosen up, but I did and continued on.  With the 73 degrees, 5 miles wasn't going to happen, but I may have sold my legs short.  At my turnaround point at 2.2 miles, I stopped and got my breath.  Pleasantly enough, there were some short bushes that had been watered by the owner of the house overnight, like last Tuesday.  I rubbed my arms over it, my back, and stuck the top of my noggin in the bushes and shook my head around, so I could enjoy the cool water drops and enjoy a bit of coolness when I re-started.

The 4 miles were never in doubt, which is the main reason I should've ran 5 miles.  Maybe Friday.

4 miles, 58:07, 14:30 pace, 125 avg bpm, 140 max bpm, 157 avg cadence, 0.70 avg stride length
1.  15:04, 113 bpm, 157 spm, 70 sl
2.  14:21, 125 bpm, 158 spm, 70 sl
3.  14:39, 127 bpm, 157 spm, 70 sl
4.  13:58, 135 bpm, 157 spm, 70 sl

During the last mile, I was weirdly wondering why I was not running in the 15s or high 14s.  I usually start bleeding cadence by this point.  

I sort of halfway think that I should be running 6 miles, even with bleeding cadence.  The hold up is that I have to convince the brain and legs not to stop at 3, 4, or 5 miles.  Access to water isn't an issue up at Memorial Park.  Maybe I'll have enough days to sell my idea to the body by Friday.  Maybe I can say this is the last run at 157, so stretch it out, big boy!

I think I'll also start a keto journey in the next 10 days.  Ought to be interesting.

Lifted, this morning.  Everything went well, which isn't surprising since it's been 5 days.  However sometimes there's a routine that doesn't like being off that long, like bicep curls.  But that's okay.

As is normal, I did the incline bench press so I can catch the flat bench press.  I did three sets of 6 on the incline.  Smooth, very smooth.  After the 3rd set, I added 5 pounds total, which matches the flat.  I lifted that 90 pounds 4 times.  There was a little wobbling, but I did it.  SO, the incline bench has unlapped itself against the flat.

That's about it.  Thanks for coming.

-30-

This morning, it was 73 degrees with a dew point of 66.  It wasn't the best running environment, but it was below 75 degrees!  We've been fortunate to have non-August weather in late May.  Seasonal now in Houston is 90 and 70 degrees and we've been seasonal or a bit below, this month, including the days early in the month when it's been raining.

I headed out at 157 cadence (I played "In Spite of Ourselves" 3 times before leaving).  The first mile took a bit to loosen up, but I did and continued on.  With the 73 degrees, 5 miles wasn't going to happen, but I may have sold my legs short.  At my turnaround point at 2.2 miles, I stopped and got my breath.  Pleasantly enough, there were some short bushes that had been watered by the owner of the house overnight, like last Tuesday.  I rubbed my arms over it, my back, and stuck the top of my noggin in the bushes and shook my head around, so I could enjoy the cool water drops and enjoy a bit of coolness when I re-started.

The 4 miles were never in doubt, which is the main reason I should've ran 5 miles.  Maybe Friday.

4 miles, 58:07, 14:30 pace, 125 avg bpm, 140 max bpm, 157 avg cadence, 0.70 avg stride length
1.  15:04, 113 bpm, 157 spm, 70 sl
2.  14:21, 125 bpm, 158 spm, 70 sl
3.  14:39, 127 bpm, 157 spm, 70 sl
4.  13:58, 135 bpm, 157 spm, 70 sl

During the last mile, I was weirdly wondering why I was not running in the 15s or high 14s.  I usually start bleeding cadence by this point.  

I sort of halfway think that I should be running 6 miles, even with bleeding cadence.  The hold up is that I have to convince the brain and legs not to stop at 3, 4, or 5 miles.  Access to water isn't an issue up at Memorial Park.  Maybe I'll have enough days to sell my idea to the body by Friday.  Maybe I can say this is the last run at 157, so stretch it out, big boy!

I think I'll also start a keto journey in the next 10 days.  Ought to be interesting.

Nice run.  It must be the song.     

I do think extending your runs a bit...even if you do bleed cadence...is a good idea.  Maybe not every run but occasionally.  I think that's where you'll start to see improvement.  For me I like to time different segments of my run separately.  You'll notice that on Strava my warm up and cool down are often separate runs.  That's because I don't want those last slow cool down miles to "mess up" my pace.  I want to see my pace for the main section of the run and then I want to do the cool down that coach Melissa...and Mark...suggest.  Then I don't stress over actually slowing down and cooling down.  In your case the first x miles could be at your goal pace/cadence and then the last mile you could back off a bit.  

Lifted, this morning.  Everything went well, which isn't surprising since it's been 5 days.  However sometimes there's a routine that doesn't like being off that long, like bicep curls.  But that's okay.

As is normal, I did the incline bench press so I can catch the flat bench press.  I did three sets of 6 on the incline.  Smooth, very smooth.  After the 3rd set, I added 5 pounds total, which matches the flat.  I lifted that 90 pounds 4 times.  There was a little wobbling, but I did it.  SO, the incline bench has unlapped itself against the flat.

That's about it.  Thanks for coming.

Congrats on the lifting improvement.  I finally started doing my core/strength again.  2 days a week for now and easing into the weights.  I use dumbbells at home.

Cooler here today and we need warm weather for the hay so I'll send the cool weather your way.

nkrichards wrote:

-30-

This morning, it was 73 degrees with a dew point of 66.  It wasn't the best running environment, but it was below 75 degrees!  We've been fortunate to have non-August weather in late May.  Seasonal now in Houston is 90 and 70 degrees and we've been seasonal or a bit below, this month, including the days early in the month when it's been raining.

I headed out at 157 cadence (I played "In Spite of Ourselves" 3 times before leaving).  The first mile took a bit to loosen up, but I did and continued on.  With the 73 degrees, 5 miles wasn't going to happen, but I may have sold my legs short.  At my turnaround point at 2.2 miles, I stopped and got my breath.  Pleasantly enough, there were some short bushes that had been watered by the owner of the house overnight, like last Tuesday.  I rubbed my arms over it, my back, and stuck the top of my noggin in the bushes and shook my head around, so I could enjoy the cool water drops and enjoy a bit of coolness when I re-started.

The 4 miles were never in doubt, which is the main reason I should've ran 5 miles.  Maybe Friday.

4 miles, 58:07, 14:30 pace, 125 avg bpm, 140 max bpm, 157 avg cadence, 0.70 avg stride length
1.  15:04, 113 bpm, 157 spm, 70 sl
2.  14:21, 125 bpm, 158 spm, 70 sl
3.  14:39, 127 bpm, 157 spm, 70 sl
4.  13:58, 135 bpm, 157 spm, 70 sl

During the last mile, I was weirdly wondering why I was not running in the 15s or high 14s.  I usually start bleeding cadence by this point.  

I sort of halfway think that I should be running 6 miles, even with bleeding cadence.  The hold up is that I have to convince the brain and legs not to stop at 3, 4, or 5 miles.  Access to water isn't an issue up at Memorial Park.  Maybe I'll have enough days to sell my idea to the body by Friday.  Maybe I can say this is the last run at 157, so stretch it out, big boy!

I think I'll also start a keto journey in the next 10 days.  Ought to be interesting.

Nice run.  It must be the song.     

I do think extending your runs a bit...even if you do bleed cadence...is a good idea.  Maybe not every run but occasionally.  I think that's where you'll start to see improvement.  For me I like to time different segments of my run separately.  You'll notice that on Strava my warm up and cool down are often separate runs.  That's because I don't want those last slow cool down miles to "mess up" my pace.  I want to see my pace for the main section of the run and then I want to do the cool down that coach Melissa...and Mark...suggest.  Then I don't stress over actually slowing down and cooling down.  In your case the first x miles could be at your goal pace/cadence and then the last mile you could back off a bit.  

Lifted, this morning.  Everything went well, which isn't surprising since it's been 5 days.  However sometimes there's a routine that doesn't like being off that long, like bicep curls.  But that's okay.

As is normal, I did the incline bench press so I can catch the flat bench press.  I did three sets of 6 on the incline.  Smooth, very smooth.  After the 3rd set, I added 5 pounds total, which matches the flat.  I lifted that 90 pounds 4 times.  There was a little wobbling, but I did it.  SO, the incline bench has unlapped itself against the flat.

That's about it.  Thanks for coming.

Congrats on the lifting improvement.  I finally started doing my core/strength again.  2 days a week for now and easing into the weights.  I use dumbbells at home.

Cooler here today and we need warm weather for the hay so I'll send the cool weather your way.

thanks.  Good on you for re-starting the weights.  Did Marty's shoulder (I think) finally heal?

I notice your warm up and cool downs on Strava.  Our temps will spike at 94 on Saturday, but rain next week will return us to 90.  We still have dew points in the mid 60's.  I expect it to be about 73, in the morning.  

I best get to bed!  Oh, my avg BP over the past 17 days is 126.4/78.8.

Here's a idea: Carry a water bottle with you on runs filled with water and ice. The ice will melt, but the water will stay cool and feel oh-so-good on your noggin or neck as you slog along in that giant CrockPot that is the Houston metro area. Carrying the extra weight is a supplemental bicep workout, too! 

I think it's high time to extend your run one day a week. See how it goes and adjust as needed. 

Nancy: I've noticed how you break out your warm-up and cool-down runs separately.  Now I know why! When I was doing my running with the required warm-up and cool down, I factored in those slower periods when I was looking at how I was doing. Since I was running by time, not distance, the farther I went, the better I did (provided I wasn't revving my HR, of course). I'd also go back and look at paces, but just the splits after the first warm-up mile. Either way works, but I like to think my approach, with the slower overall time, would lull any potential competitors into a false sense of security! 

Mark B wrote:Here's a idea: Carry a water bottle with you on runs filled with water and ice. The ice will melt, but the water will stay cool and feel oh-so-good on your noggin or neck as you slog along in that giant CrockPot that is the Houston metro area. Carrying the extra weight is a supplemental bicep workout, too! 

I think it's high time to extend your run one day a week. See how it goes and adjust as needed. 

Nancy: I've noticed how you break out your warm-up and cool-down runs separately.  Now I know why! When I was doing my running with the required warm-up and cool down, I factored in those slower periods when I was looking at how I was doing. Since I was running by time, not distance, the farther I went, the better I did (provided I wasn't revving my HR, of course). I'd also go back and look at paces, but just the splits after the first warm-up mile. Either way works, but I like to think my approach, with the slower overall time, would lull any potential competitors into a false sense of security! 

Thanks, Mark.  I would carry a water bottle with me for the purpose of drinking it on the way back for the last 2 miles.  I would drop it at a spot where nobody would see it.  There's a 3 mile desert from home to Memorial Park.  That water drop really, really helped the running, last year.

As far as running 3 days and lifting 2 days...nope.  The first 9 months of the year or so is my time to devote to lifting, plainly because I see better results from lifting than from running.  Every 6 weeks or so, I'm advancing the weight.  Last Fall, the mileage increased and I started having to delete a lifting day to rest or run.  In November/December, I had to drop to 1 lift day a week to 3 run, 1 rest, 1 lift.  That really screwed with my weight gains by the time I got to after the Half in January.  I'm still not back to my 1 rep max on the sitting bench press.

So the time period from the Half to now, has been to extend my energy stores, keep running, and lift.  Because if I can extend my energy stores now, then I can stave off the need of having to lift 2, run 2, rest 1 during the Summer.  I would love, love, love to be able to still be lifting 3 days by Labor Day.  

I will be lengthening the runs, now.  I kinda have to, unless my running 4, 5, or 6 miles turns into running them faster.  Nothing wrong with running faster, I just haven't learned that tune yet.  Maybe when I add another running day after Labor Day, it'll be a running faster day.

Re-starting Keto in a few days isn't for this year's running, but next year's running.  If I can get down to 200-210 or less by this February, I'll get the marathon itch again for that 10th Houston.  Lifting WILL take a back seat in 2024 if that happens, which means 2025 will be re-building poundage, again.  I'll be 67 for the 2025 race, which I'm not factoring in to the equation because I'll be lighter.

-30-

This morning, it was 73 degrees with a dew point of 70.  But with less concrete at Memorial Park than the streets that I traverse, it was cooler and a bit drier.

The target was 6 miles under the running category "Why the Hell Not?"  That 'cooler' comment earlier helped the psyche think it wasn't going to be as bad as 73 degrees.  And that ended up being the case.  I finished the 6 miles, in spite of myself...insert Rim Shot), at a surprising average cadence of 157, which is my current cadence setting.

6 at 157 dictates the need to advance the cadence or run faster or both.

6 miles, 1:30:13, 15:01 pace, 134 avg bpm, 158 max bpm, 157 avg cadence, 0.70 avg stride length
1.  14:44, 119 bpm, 157 spm, 70 sl
2.  14:44, 130 bpm, 158 spm, 70 sl
3.  14:54, 136 bpm, 157 spm, 70 sl
4.  15:04, 142 bpm, 157 spm, 70 sl
5.  15:14, 138 bpm, 158 spm, 70 sl
6.  15:20, 142 bpm, 157 spm, 70 sl

Strava tells me I ran 6 miles on March 30 at 14:33 pace with 64 degrees and March 23 at 14:47 pace with 71 degrees.

I was able to keep the cadence enough of the time that Garmin didn't think it was anything but 157 or 158.  Not surprisingly, it was getting tougher around 4-1/4 miles, since farther than 4 is rare.  But with that song in my head, I was the energizer bunny.  I could've done 7 with a sliding cadence.

The splits were the creeping kind of advancement, which I think is more than acceptable.  HR increases?  Bah...don't care about no stinkin' HR.

Tomorrow is lifting.  I think I'll do a regular routine, rather than exclusively shoulders.

Thanks for stopping by.  $1 per comment, please.

Lifting went well.  However, I do notice some vertigo occurrences on some machines, especially the flat and decline bench.  No nystagmus, but I do sit still for about 40 seconds for it to abate enough and 90 seconds to return to baseline.  Might have to go back to the ENT to see if something is fixable.

The flat bench and incline bench are now being lifted at the same weight of 90 lbs, but it's easy to tell that I'm farther along in the flat.  Since I control the marionettes run around the track, the incline will get awfully close to 95 pounds, when the flat has moved up.

Now if only meteorology was the same.

Y'all have a good weekend.

ounce wrote:

Mark B wrote:Here's a idea: Carry a water bottle with you on runs filled with water and ice. The ice will melt, but the water will stay cool and feel oh-so-good on your noggin or neck as you slog along in that giant CrockPot that is the Houston metro area. Carrying the extra weight is a supplemental bicep workout, too! 

I think it's high time to extend your run one day a week. See how it goes and adjust as needed. 

Nancy: I've noticed how you break out your warm-up and cool-down runs separately.  Now I know why! When I was doing my running with the required warm-up and cool down, I factored in those slower periods when I was looking at how I was doing. Since I was running by time, not distance, the farther I went, the better I did (provided I wasn't revving my HR, of course). I'd also go back and look at paces, but just the splits after the first warm-up mile. Either way works, but I like to think my approach, with the slower overall time, would lull any potential competitors into a false sense of security! 

Thanks, Mark.  I would carry a water bottle with me for the purpose of drinking it on the way back for the last 2 miles.  I would drop it at a spot where nobody would see it.  There's a 3 mile desert from home to Memorial Park.  That water drop really, really helped the running, last year.

As far as running 3 days and lifting 2 days...nope.  The first 9 months of the year or so is my time to devote to lifting, plainly because I see better results from lifting than from running.  Every 6 weeks or so, I'm advancing the weight.  Last Fall, the mileage increased and I started having to delete a lifting day to rest or run.  In November/December, I had to drop to 1 lift day a week to 3 run, 1 rest, 1 lift.  That really screwed with my weight gains by the time I got to after the Half in January.  I'm still not back to my 1 rep max on the sitting bench press.

So the time period from the Half to now, has been to extend my energy stores, keep running, and lift.  Because if I can extend my energy stores now, then I can stave off the need of having to lift 2, run 2, rest 1 during the Summer.  I would love, love, love to be able to still be lifting 3 days by Labor Day.  

I will be lengthening the runs, now.  I kinda have to, unless my running 4, 5, or 6 miles turns into running them faster.  Nothing wrong with running faster, I just haven't learned that tune yet.  Maybe when I add another running day after Labor Day, it'll be a running faster day.

Re-starting Keto in a few days isn't for this year's running, but next year's running.  If I can get down to 200-210 or less by this February, I'll get the marathon itch again for that 10th Houston.  Lifting WILL take a back seat in 2024 if that happens, which means 2025 will be re-building poundage, again.  I'll be 67 for the 2025 race, which I'm not factoring in to the equation because I'll be lighter.

-30-

This morning, it was 73 degrees with a dew point of 70.  But with less concrete at Memorial Park than the streets that I traverse, it was cooler and a bit drier.

The target was 6 miles under the running category "Why the Hell Not?"  That 'cooler' comment earlier helped the psyche think it wasn't going to be as bad as 73 degrees.  And that ended up being the case.  I finished the 6 miles, in spite of myself...insert Rim Shot), at a surprising average cadence of 157, which is my current cadence setting.

6 at 157 dictates the need to advance the cadence or run faster or both.

6 miles, 1:30:13, 15:01 pace, 134 avg bpm, 158 max bpm, 157 avg cadence, 0.70 avg stride length
1.  14:44, 119 bpm, 157 spm, 70 sl
2.  14:44, 130 bpm, 158 spm, 70 sl
3.  14:54, 136 bpm, 157 spm, 70 sl
4.  15:04, 142 bpm, 157 spm, 70 sl
5.  15:14, 138 bpm, 158 spm, 70 sl
6.  15:20, 142 bpm, 157 spm, 70 sl

Strava tells me I ran 6 miles on March 30 at 14:33 pace with 64 degrees and March 23 at 14:47 pace with 71 degrees.

I was able to keep the cadence enough of the time that Garmin didn't think it was anything but 157 or 158.  Not surprisingly, it was getting tougher around 4-1/4 miles, since farther than 4 is rare.  But with that song in my head, I was the energizer bunny.  I could've done 7 with a sliding cadence.

The splits were the creeping kind of advancement, which I think is more than acceptable.  HR increases?  Bah...don't care about no stinkin' HR.

Tomorrow is lifting.  I think I'll do a regular routine, rather than exclusively shoulders.

Thanks for stopping by.  $1 per comment, please.

HR or not, those are good splits for a foray into longer distances. Nice job!

Put the fee on my tab. 

Well, Mark, my HR comment relates to my long held belief that the heart is the first thing that gets back to normal, when a change in running effort occurs.  It stays in the 120's with an occasional, brief HR in the low 130s.  I call it 'staying in the hammock.'  Pisses me off.  So yesterday's 6 had that heart 'out of the hammock.'  Always happy, when that happens.

Last night, I sent a clump of BP figures for the doc.  17 days worth.  After seeing my BP at 142/75 or so, he wanted me to track it.  This morning, I had a call on my phone with the message that he was satisfied with the BP and no changes will be made to the BP med.  6 mg Coreg, b.i.d.

Amazing what happens when I'm consistent on my 2 tsp of potassium citrate.  He also asked about the chronic venous insufficiency in my ankles, specifically if I thought it was getting worse.  I really didn't know and he had said previously that running is probably causing it.  So, I sent him the figures on the circumference.  I'll continue to track the below figures.

	Douglas F. Spence, DOB 4/12/57
	May, 2023 Blood Pressure chart
	Before Coreg
						Ankle Circumf in inch
Day	Date	Time	Systolic	Diastolic	HR	Right	Left
Sunday	14-May	9:38	123	73	64
Monday	15-May	7:15	125	80	58
Tuesday	16-May	7:08	121	73	66
Wednesday	17-May	7:07	132	81	64
Thursday	18-May	6:51	120	80	79
Friday	19-May	7:00	124	76	60	10	10
Saturday	20-May	8:18	137	82	55
Sunday	21-May	7:58	133	83	55
Monday	22-May	7:21	139	82	55
Tuesday	23-May	7:03	115	79	65	10.5	10.5
Wednesday	24-May	7:02	122	77	60
Thursday	25-May	7:04	118	80	77	10	10.25
Friday	26-May	8:04	133	75	61
Saturday	27-May	7:56	129	83	57
Sunday	28-May	7:44	136	82	56
Monday	29-May	7:50	128	78	57
Tuesday	30-May	7:06	113	81	65	10	9.75
Wednesday	31-May	7:28	127	74	63	10	10
Thursday	1-Jun	7:22	116	77	83	10	10
Friday	2-Jun	7:20	119	73	61
		Average	125.5	78.45
All figures are pre-Coreg.  Also includes ankle circumference in inches.
No exercising on the weekends.  Otherwise, lifting or running.

ounce wrote:Lifting went well.  However, I do notice some vertigo occurrences on some machines, especially the flat and decline bench.  No nystagmus, but I do sit still for about 40 seconds for it to abate enough and 90 seconds to return to baseline.  Might have to go back to the ENT to see if something is fixable.

The flat bench and incline bench are now being lifted at the same weight of 90 lbs, but it's easy to tell that I'm farther along in the flat.  Since I control the marionettes run around the track, the incline will get awfully close to 95 pounds, when the flat has moved up.

Now if only meteorology was the same.

Y'all have a good weekend.

I'm not surprised that your vertigo is still giving you trouble occasionally.  It's been years since I started to have trouble.  It's fine most of the time unless I do specific things that cause it to act up but it's been annoying for the last few days and I'm not sure why.  It's not severe...I wouldn't call it dizziness or lightheadedness.  It's just an annoying slight nausea and an odd feeling in my head.  It's my typical motion sickness symptoms but there is no motion.  It usually clears up in a couple days.

Nice job on the weights...and the 6 miler! 

Have a great weekend and stay cool.

nkrichards wrote:

ounce wrote:Lifting went well.  However, I do notice some vertigo occurrences on some machines, especially the flat and decline bench.  No nystagmus, but I do sit still for about 40 seconds for it to abate enough and 90 seconds to return to baseline.  Might have to go back to the ENT to see if something is fixable.

The flat bench and incline bench are now being lifted at the same weight of 90 lbs, but it's easy to tell that I'm farther along in the flat.  Since I control the marionettes run around the track, the incline will get awfully close to 95 pounds, when the flat has moved up.

Now if only meteorology was the same.

Y'all have a good weekend.

I'm not surprised that your vertigo is still giving you trouble occasionally.  It's been years since I started to have trouble.  It's fine most of the time unless I do specific things that cause it to act up but it's been annoying for the last few days and I'm not sure why.  It's not severe...I wouldn't call it dizziness or lightheadedness.  It's just an annoying slight nausea and an odd feeling in my head.  It's my typical motion sickness symptoms but there is no motion.  It usually clears up in a couple days.

Nice job on the weights...and the 6 miler! 

Have a great weekend and stay cool.

I guess it's the gift that keeps on giving.  I don't get nausea, just dizziness and lightheadedness. 90 seconds and I'm good.  Oddly, it never happens ON the machine.

Speaking of lifting, I did it this morning.  Did a usual circuit, plus the incline bench at 90 pounds.

Over the weekend, I received the results of the MRI and MRA.
MRI Head - All the arteries are 'patent with no significant stenosis.'  Stenosis is narrowing of the arteries.
MRI Brain - no evidence.  Yet, "no evidence of acute intracranial hemorrhage, mass, or acute infarct.  Scattered T2 FLAIR hyperintensities with the cerebral white matter likely reflecting mild chronic microvascular ischemic change."  The report even picked up the stuffy nose.
MRI Neck - 0% narrowing of the right and left carotid.  Normal flow-related signal along bilateral vertebral arteries.

Haven't heard from the doc, but it doesn't look like he'll be a downer.

Running in the morning.  Looks like a bump in cadence to 158.

ounce wrote:

nkrichards wrote:

ounce wrote:Lifting went well.  However, I do notice some vertigo occurrences on some machines, especially the flat and decline bench.  No nystagmus, but I do sit still for about 40 seconds for it to abate enough and 90 seconds to return to baseline.  Might have to go back to the ENT to see if something is fixable.

The flat bench and incline bench are now being lifted at the same weight of 90 lbs, but it's easy to tell that I'm farther along in the flat.  Since I control the marionettes run around the track, the incline will get awfully close to 95 pounds, when the flat has moved up.

Now if only meteorology was the same.

Y'all have a good weekend.

I'm not surprised that your vertigo is still giving you trouble occasionally.  It's been years since I started to have trouble.  It's fine most of the time unless I do specific things that cause it to act up but it's been annoying for the last few days and I'm not sure why.  It's not severe...I wouldn't call it dizziness or lightheadedness.  It's just an annoying slight nausea and an odd feeling in my head.  It's my typical motion sickness symptoms but there is no motion.  It usually clears up in a couple days.

Nice job on the weights...and the 6 miler! 

Have a great weekend and stay cool.

I guess it's the gift that keeps on giving.  I don't get nausea, just dizziness and lightheadedness. 90 seconds and I'm good.  Oddly, it never happens ON the machine.

Speaking of lifting, I did it this morning.  Did a usual circuit, plus the incline bench at 90 pounds.

Over the weekend, I received the results of the MRI and MRA.
MRI Head - All the arteries are 'patent with no significant stenosis.'  Stenosis is narrowing of the arteries.
MRI Brain - no evidence.  Yet, "no evidence of acute intracranial hemorrhage, mass, or acute infarct.  Scattered T2 FLAIR hyperintensities with the cerebral white matter likely reflecting mild chronic microvascular ischemic change."  The report even picked up the stuffy nose.
MRI Neck - 0% narrowing of the right and left carotid.  Normal flow-related signal along bilateral vertebral arteries.

Haven't heard from the doc, but it doesn't look like he'll be a downer.

Running in the morning.  Looks like a bump in cadence to 158.

Sounds like good news.

Have a great run!

Those are nice MRI results. I'll refrain from the obvious jokes.

Mark B wrote:Those are nice MRI results. I'll refrain from the obvious jokes.  

Yes, don't forget that you're under double secret probation.

-30-

This morning, it was 72 degrees with a dewpoint of 66.  I had 5 miles on my mind at the new 158 cadence.  However, I forgot that even a new, 1 step increase was enough to change the speed the earth spins, thereby causing a jump off the pier and a reduction of the run to 4 miles.  I had thought to make it a 3 mile run, but I could do 4 as the pace slows.

4 miles, 1:01:50, 15:27 pace, 118 avg bpm, 151 avg cadence
1.  15:22, 157 spm
2.  15:00, 153 spm
3.  15:43, 148 spm
4.  15:41, 145 spm

I do not have the data from my Polar watch because Polar has instituted an all or none privacy consent policy.  You either consent to all of their 'options' or your account will be closed permanently.  Some sort of EU thing.  I can still use the watch, but I can't upload the data of the run.  So, the quick-to-use-up-its-battery Garmin is back to the 1st team.

Just a week ago, May 30, I ran 4 at a 14:30 pace at 157 at the same temp, with the 1st mile at 15:04.

Such is life with a gnome.  But I was able to do the distance.

Tomorrow is the shoulders exercise.  Thanks for stopping by.

Might need to bug out, so I'll try to recap as I can.

Wednesday was the shoulders workout.  It went well, considering it had been 2 weeks since doing it.  Afterwards, I did 90 lbs on the incline bench and it was so TOUGH.  This also happened 2 weeks ago.  I was only able to do 3 sets of 4 reps and it really was difficult to do them.  When did 90 lbs get so heavy?

Thursday was a 4 mile run.  I was hoping to do 5.  It was 73 degrees and 68 dew point.  I was starting to bleed some cadence when I realized that I wasn't humming "In Spite of Ourselves" to maintain the 158 cadence at about 1.25 miles.  So, my legs were going at the 158 cadence for almost a mile, before starting to bleed cadence again.

I'm entering the dreaded 'plodding zone' of last year's summer running where splits are 16+.  Next week, it'll only get worse as we're entering a period of upper 90s & 100 degree days.  Today's forecasted high of 94 is the coldest temp for the next 10 days.  And you can add 5 or 6 degrees to the air temperature to get the Heat Index temp.  Sadly, the morning temps will creep up to the high 70s, too.

4 miles, 1:02:34, 15:38 pace, 127 avg bpm, 150 avg cadence
1.  15:32, 156 spm
2.  14:55, 154 spm
3.  16:21, 146 spm
4.  15:44, 145 spm

Tuesday, I shall lace 'em up again and work on 4 at the 158 cadence.  The goal for the short term is to not have any 16+ splits.  Thanks for the comments, but no one has filled out the survey!  Have a good weekend.

This morning, I woke up a little tired, but nothing other than I will sleep good tonight.

I went off to lift a regular circuit, like Monday's.  The incline bench was much easier today, since I didn't do the shoulders workout.  I compared the effort, today, of the incline to the flat bench.  There was just, maybe, 2 pounds difference in effort.  Meaning that the 90 pounds effort on the flat is equal to 88 pounds on the incline.  I lifted 3 sets of 6 on each.

So, I'm just about to make the jump to 95 pounds on both, which brings both of them to the weight of the decline bench press.  I've been at 95 on the decline since late March, if that gives you an indication on how difficult it is to advance to 100.

I shall rest and relax over the weekend, then get back at it on Monday.  8 miles for the week.

Sounds like plodding runs and continued success lifting is the story of the day.  Congrats on both as I do think that even plodding runs bring improvement.

Stay cool and safe and get some sleep.

nkrichards wrote:Sounds like plodding runs and continued success lifting is the story of the day.  Congrats on both as I do think that even plodding runs bring improvement.

Stay cool and safe and get some sleep.

Yeah, I remember last October when the temps dropped into the 60s, I had gobs of ability to run comfortably.  Looking back to before Labor Day, it was 80 degrees and I was running 11-13 mile long runs at a cadence of 143-146.  Still training for the full, at that time.  running 3 days, lifting 2 days.

We're in for about 2 weeks of 97-102 degree weather, which means morning lows of 77-80.  Summertime.  I'll be lifting in the morning.