Tag Archives: exercise

A New Low

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I’m down a total of about 17 pounds since April. Although I see changes on the scale, I think I see more changes in my measurements and overall size. I’ve been hearing a lot of compliments and when I look at myself in photos I can definitely see a difference.

I’ve been dealing with some uncomfortable nausea and bloating over the last week or so that’s had me a little worried. The most annoying part is that I feel good all day and then start to feel ill after dinner. Some Google searches lead me to think about gallbladder issues…. Apparently, it’s not uncommon to start seeing problems due to the move from a low-fat to a much higher fat diet. I cut out some of the heavy fats like almonds and peanut butter last night and that seemed to help. So, I’ll continue that for a few days to see if things stay good. Then, per the article, maybe I’ll pick up some digestive enzymes.

Spring Has Sprung! Or has it?

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It’s almost the end of March and we’re still bogged down in cold, wintry weather that would probably be more at home in February than March. We got a few inches of snow about a week ago but we managed to avoid a storm on the 25th. The low temps aren’t the only thing that have kept me from walking and running as much as I would like; an ankle injury kept me out of the gym and off the roads for almost two weeks. At first I thought the pain in my foot and ankle was a stress fracture but what I read about them indicated that these types of fractures tend to be painful for a while and my foot seemed to get better relatively quickly. Since the pain came on in the middle of one of my Thursday night classes, I now believe we did some stuff in class that may have caused me to twist my ankle. In any case, it’s better now and I spent two weeks doing the elliptical machines at the gym to lessen the strain on my foot. The rest seems to have done the trick because I was able to run without much tenderness beginning late last week. When you start to get older injuries that wouldn’t have bothered you 15 years ago start to weigh more heavily on one’s mind.

Although I like the gym a lot for the machines, I’m really looking forward to getting out and doing some running in the slightly warmer weather that is surely just around the corner!

Still Running!

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Soon after her surgery back in October, Robyn started walking with me. We would usually go for about 30 minutes or so after the kids went to school. I sometimes ran for part of the time to keep up with my routine and after a while, Robyn would join me. This winter has been much colder than last so there were some days where it just wasn’t much fun to be out on a 22° day so in January, Robyn got a membership at Planet Fitness. Her membership allows her to bring a guest every day so that works out pretty well for me.

Robyn’s been going at least four times a week and I’ve been trying to get three in when I can. The big change for me has been using the weight machines and working on my arms and upper body strength. I’m actually seeing some results! I do miss running outdoors and I’m looking forward to getting back to it. As the weather warms up I’ll probably just work on strength at the gym and run on the “off” days.

I’m coming to realize that although cardio health and strength are important, it’s the ability to move freely that is probably the most important aspect of overall health.

First 5k!!

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I ran (and walked…but mostly ran) my first 5k today! I’ve been using the Cyclemeter “5k Training Program” for several weeks and today was supposed to be a long run day (28 minutes). So, I figured I’d take a route that would get me over the 3.11 miles for my round-trip. Using Google Map Pedometer, I came up with this route. It’s mostly flat with some nice downward slopes toward the end (that’s always a reward!) and a little elevation gain in the middle so it turned out to be a good run. Here’s my time:

Run Time: 38:41
Distance: 3.45 miles
Average: 11:13 /mile

Running

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At the beginning of the new year I made a resolution to be more active. I’ve been pretty consistent over the last couple of years about starting off in January with some exercise regime like running on the treadmill or whatever but that usually tapers off after the first couple months. This year, I set my sights low and just determined that I would get outside just about every day for a 30 minute walk and breath of fresh air. The much warmer than average winter and my busy work load probably had something to do with this decision. In any case, I began on January 9th with a walk around the neighborhood. It was nice to break up the work day with some time outdoors and I enjoyed seeing parts of our neighborhood that I had never explored. The other plus was that I was getting a chance to catch up on the many podcasts that I listen to on a regular basis.

I wasn’t so completely out of shape that walking tired me out so I began thinking about adding some jogging into my walk. I started off slow with the idea that I would work up to a certain distance and then level off. In the past, acclimating to these faster paces didn’t take very long but this time was different – my 40 year old body wasn’t as accepting of the demands I was making on it so I had to take it slow. Five minutes of running was about the most I could do at a stretch and then I followed up with several minutes of walking. I’m still pretty slow but I’m getting faster and more comfortable with my workouts.

One of the great helpers has been the use of the Cyclemeter app for iOS. I’ve had this app for a long time (I originally got it to track my biking routes) but now that I’m walking/jogging outdoors it tracks where I go and how fast I go so I am able to track my progress on a day-to-day basis and over time. Here’s a look at my daily distance and average speeds since January.

Daily Miles walked/run

Average Speed