Followers

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

I ran 5 miles on Saturday, not a long distance for me.  The run felt really good though it was a hot evening and I didn't run fast.  I ran a loop from home which means I was on pavement the whole time, not my favorite thing to do at all.  It is just takes such an extra time commitment to hit the trails which is what I really love.  The problem is the next day my calves were really sore!  Monday, Tuesday and they are still sore.  It took until this afternoon to figure out why.  I did this run in my Vibram's for the first time in months.  I remember that when I first got them I experienced the same thing the first couple of times I ran in them.  The way your feet move is so much different in these shoes than in the normal shoe which does everything it can to keep your foot from moving.  It really is almost like running barefoot which I have also done.  So when you first run in them all the muscles in your legs work differently and for me that means ending up with sore calves for a couple of days.  I know that if I keep running in them the pain will be gone and it will be all pleasure.  I have run as far as 10 miles in these shoes and I'm not sure why I ever put them away.  I will definitely be using them regularly again.  I am going to need to replace them soon though, they have 224 miles on them as of now

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Thanks for trees God

 In keeping with the spiritual side of fitness, I submit this:
 
The forest calls to me with a voice that is quiet and still and yet is so loud in my innermost being that I can scarce resist it. I can feel with my soul the tall tree’s, heavy and well-rooted while they sway gracefully in the heaven-sent winds that flow down the canyons of the Sierra’s. My daily routine yearns to be interrupted by a pilgrimage to these great, old trees. Would that I could stand at the base of a giant Ponderosa or Sequoia and gaze up into its bosom of needles and cones. With use of my hands and feet alone I would climb the rough bark until I became one with the freshness and strength of its mighty limbs. Continuing to the very crown I would sit in a collection of branches, making a seat from which I could begin to understand the special place a tree holds in the plan of the forest. I would know that my new friend had been alive and thriving for generations, unlike my frail few years that I have on the earth. I can only wonder what marvelous things have occurred within sight of the tree. Thank you God for giving us trees.

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Mixing it up

It is so important to balance your physical activity.  It is pretty apparent to most of us that we have to mix it up.  If you are primarily a runner, don't forget to hit the gym for some strength work to keep those muscles functioning properly.  If you are a weightlifter, do your cardio and yoga to keep from getting 'muscle bound'.  If all you ever do is use the elliptical you are training your body to be great at the elliptical, but if you suddenly decide to become a swimmer you will be sore for a while until you re-train your body.  So it is important to mix it up.  Especially if, like me, you are a little older and your body on its best day wants to rebel against exercise. 

I look at it like this. I need to do cardio work, strength work and mind/flexibility work. The way many people approach this is to do cardio on one day, strength on a different day and maybe combine some flexibility and cardio work on another day and so on.  I take a little different approach.  I like to include all three in one workout.  Not everyday, but here is an example.   On Monday's I typically do a Spin class, usually about 20 miles in 60 minutes.  Then I go into a yoga class that is about 30 minutes in to the practice and join in for the final 30 minutes.  After the yoga class I do a 35 minute TKO kick boxing video.  This workout is a great combination of cardio, followed by some great stretching, balance and flexibility work.  The kick boxing at the end gives some more cardio plus the added benefit of working on my dexterity and balance.  And it even helps develop musculature in my back, shoulders and arms while I work through the various punching combinations.
 
Another combination that I do on Thursdays is this.  I start with a high intensity cardio session where I do jumping jacks, high knee's, various boxing moves and finish with more jumping jacks and high knee's.  Sometimes I will throw in some burpee's and/or some push-ups to mix it up.  I do all the moves one after the other with no rest and it takes about 10 to 15 minutes to complete.  Then I do a 60 minute yoga practice (power vinyasa).  I finish with about 30 minutes of weightlifting, mostly upper body.
These workouts leave me feeling energized for the day and burning calories long after the workout is over.
 
 
 

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Blind leading the blind to Oats Peak

I just ran a tough run up Black Mtn yesterday, but when I am in Morro Bay I take advantage of the opportunity to do as much trail running as I can.  So when Kim asked me to go for a run with her I said yes, definitely, heck ya and let's go do it.  I told her I wanted to run somewhere in Montana de Oro State Park so she said she would show me some new trails that had recently been completed and which she had run once.  Admittedly, she did say that she may or not remember exactly how they went but I was more than willing to go and just see what I could see. 

Valencia Peak as it appears from the road
So we parked the car at the Bluff Trail trailhead.  Though it was a little overcast we could see Valencia Peak in the distance.  Since we were going to climb Oats Peak, that meant that we would be going around the back side of Valencia.  We started up the Valencia Peak trail right across from the Visitor Center at the campground which meant that we immediately started climbing.  After passing the intersection of the Oat Peak/Valencia Peak trails we soon came to our first new intersecting trail.  We stopped while Kim thought about which way to go to continue to Oats Peak.  Decision made we headed up the trail but hadn't gone very far before she realized that this wasn't the correct trail.  So we turned around and went back down to the intersection and went the other way.  From that point on we kept coming to new intersecting trails and we would stop, look around and try to determine which of the trails would head in the direction we wanted to go.  It was definitely the blind leading the blind but we eventually got to a place where we could see Oats Peak in the distance.  Soon we met a hiker and we
The final ascent to the top of Oats Peak
asked her if she had gone up Oats Peak and which trail would go there.  She said no, she skirted the peak and looped around. So once again we made our best guess and headed up the trail.  This time we chose correctly and soon arrived at the final climb to the peak, a very steep and challenging climb.  When we finally chugged our way to the top we had climbed from sea level to 1831 ft in less than four miles.  We were now on familiar ground for Kim and she said we had two choices.  We could continue on to Alan Peak which we could see far in the distance, or we could take her new favorite trail which wound down the mountain and came out on the Coon Creek Trail, one of my very favorites.  This turned out to be a very rocky, windy single track that zig-zagged down the mountain, going ever downward with no level sections to take a break.  We finally came out on Coon Creek Trail, turned left and ran about a half-mile to the end of the trail and then turned around and ran the length of the Coon Creek Trail,
coming out at a rest area at the end of Pecho Valley Rd.  After a brief stop, we crossed the road and accessed the Bluff Trail which would take us 2-1/2 miles back to where we had parked the car. The Bluff Trail was very popular today, unlike the previous 7 or 8 miles of back country trail where we had run in to very few people.  When we reached the end of Bluff Trail I looked at my GPS and saw that we had gone 9.87 miles.  Kim looked at me and said, come on, we can do another .2 miles to make it an even 10 miles.  So we slowly jogged down the road to Spooner Cove where we dipped our feet in the ocean, thereby making it official that we had gone from sea level to 1831 ft in a little over two hours.  All of this and I only fell twice!  Awesome!!



Monday, March 25, 2013

Soft footfalls on Black Mountain

I love to do physical stuff. No secret there. I like Spinning, yoga, running, swimming, hiking, lifting weights and other great stuff.  My favorite thing to do though is trail running.  Once I get off the asphalt ribbon and on to the dirt it's like my whole self shifts into a different gear.  The rough surface under my feet forces me to become more aware of where I am and tune in to the environment around me.  Suddenly instead of being intensely listening to traffic and being watchful of cars coming at me I can hear my soft footfalls on the dirt beneath my feet.  I can hear rustling in the bushes of a bird or small critter as I run silently along the single track. I can even hear birds as they fly over my head.  Even if I am on a trail in the heart of a city, I am suddenly transported to a more natural place. Even though my heart rate increases I feel increasingly relaxed as I let myself move in tune with the rhythms of my breath and my surroundings.

It wasn't my intention to wax philosophical in this post, I really just wanted to talk about my run this afternoon.  I am fortunate to be in Morro Bay, CA for the week, my favorite place on earth.  After sleeping in and then spending some quality time at Starbucks and Barnes & Noble we got back to the RV park and I decided I needed to go for a run.  Morro Bay is a place that just makes you get out and run.  Whether you run on the beach, run on the miles of trails or even just run along the city streets it is a runners paradise.  Today I wanted a bit of a challenge so I decided to do a loop up the backside of Black Mtn all the way to the peak and then return on the road, a run I have done before. 

The first half mile is a bit nerve-wracking, running along the shoulder of the narrow South Bay Blvd.  Facing traffic coming around several curves where they may not see you until they are just a few yards away causes you to be super aware.  Finally able to cross the road and turn on to State Park Rd it gets better.  Just a short distance up State Park Rd, right where it intersects with Golf Course Rd comes the right turn on to the trail and the real fun begins.  From here to the top of Black Mtn is all uphill, with only one really short level/downhill section to break the climb.  My heart rate quickly went from the 120's up into the 150's as I kept my feet moving, climbing slowly up the single track.  Suddenly I heard rustling in the brush to my left so I slowed down and came to a stop to see if I could see who was about.  After carefully watching and listening for a few seconds, I spotted him.  A beautiful wild turkey was creeping through the underbrush, keeping one eye on me as he moved away.  These are the moments........ The thing about this trail that makes it challenging, along with the steep climb, is that it is continually crossed by exposed roots.  You have to pick your feet up on every step! Finally after about a mile of climbing I arrived at the peak, took a few moments to enjoy the 360 deg view and then started back down.  Clamber over the rocks back to the trail, line up on the single track and begin to stretch it out.  As much as the ascent to the peak was challenging uphill this section was an equally challenging downhill.  I was feeling so I was able to really open up the speed and finish this 3.9 mile run feeling awesome!!

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Looking at the paleo lifestyle - Part 2

Still working out whether or not the paleo diet is for me.  In doing some research I discovered this study.  In 2009 Dr. Staffan Lindeberg looked at the Paleolithic diet versus a commonly recommended diabetic diet.  He studied 13 patients with type 2 diabetes.  The diabetes diet was almost a complete opposite of the paleo diet, featuring low-fat, low-meat, high-carb.  It included all those paleo no-no's, whole grains, vegetable oils and dairy.  It did, however, allow for fruits and vegetables.  I do not have diabetes nor do I plan on it.  But the results still have a lot of relevance for someone trying to live a healthy lifestyle.  The Paleolithic diet had better results for weight loss, blood pressure, waist size, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol and glucose levels. 
 
In another study, of the Kitava people in the Trobriand Islands, he determined that their diet was very close to what would have been the diet of the Paleolithic people.  And he noticed an almost complete lack of coronary heart disease, no signs of dementia or memory loss. He also noticed that people remained active right up until their last few days when they typically died of either some sort of infection or rapid degeneration of some sort. Also, no stroke, diabetes, or congestive heart failure. No overweight, excellent blood pressure and even no acne!  Sounds pretty good to me.
 


Friday, March 15, 2013

Looking at the paleo lifestyle Part 1

I don't need to lose a lot of weight.  So I really don't need a diet.  I am a lifetime member of WeightWatchers and that approach worked well for me in that it helped me lose about 25 lbs to get to where I am now.  I am comfortable with my weight where it is but at 66 it is important that I guard my health carefully which includes continuing to monitor my weight. 
 
I have been doing a lot of reading recently about "The Paleo Diet"  The paleo diet is based on what our ancestor's ate during the Paleolithic era of about 2.5 million years which ended about 10,000 years ago with the development of agriculture.  It is felt by many that if we would eat like this today we would not have the obesity problem that we have and would have a much healthier life, with less incidence of things such as diabetes, certain cancers, high blood pressure, heart disease etc.  This certainly get's my attention!
 
My step-daughter Jennifer has been on a strict paleo eating plan for about a month and already is feeling better, as well as dropping 20 lbs thus far!  Impressive.  So I am seriously considering moving to this nutrition lifestyle myself.
I have already make a couple of big steps by eliminating candy and soda pop from my diet.  I have a long way to go though to totally paleo.  I would have to give up bread.  One thing I totally love to eat are the Torta sandwich rolls from Costco.  Gone.  Also gone would be oatmeal, cheese, milk, processed meats, t.v. dinners, sugar in most forms, salt (except sea salt) and on it goes.  After a month, Jennifer says she has mostly lost cravings for the things she used to take for granted. 
 
So, Subway is out, grilled Adelle sausage on a torta roll is out, taco's at Taco Bell, Chipotle rice and bean bowls, KFC, Long John Silver - gone.
I still think it is worth doing.  Maybe I can lower my cholesterol and get off the pill.  Maybe I can get rid of the chronic heartburn which occurs even though I am taking medication.  I am going to give it a fair chance.  Stay tune for part 2
 


Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Getting your God self in gear

I have said previously that fitness is not only about physical activities and nutrition but also about spiritual health.  The Bible says "19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." (1 Cor 6:19-20) God says we are to take care of our bodies (exercise and nutrition) because our bodies are a place where He resides. So it is important that we keep our spiritual health in tune with our physical health to be the well-rounded 'temple' that God intended.

For many years I was really good about this.  I prayed, went to church, ministered the gospel and all the things you do to maintain spiritual health.  Then there was another long period of time where I wasn't practicing this level of attention at all.  I only went to church sporadically, prayed even less and did nothing to advance the kingdom of God.  I got caught up in the thinking that I could still be a good follower of Jesus Christ without going to church on Sundays.  I used Sunday's to run races, be lazy, sleep in..... I was doing a good job of making myself strong and healthy but my spiritual health was sadly lagging.

Recently I decided that it was time to change that.  Coincidentally (or not) it was right after my oldest son was killed in a shooting accident.  I was of course devastated and I hate to admit but one of my first reactions was "God, why did You do this?"  If I had been spiritually healthy that thought would not have crossed my mind.  I realized soon after the funeral was over and I was back home to my routine that I needed to get back into a church family.  So we visited a church where my wife went a few times but I never had - Bakersfield First Church of the Nazarene.  It wasn't far into the service before I realized that this was where I needed to be, especially since Pastor Shawna Gaines preached that morning on 'blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted'. (Matt 5:4)

Now I am on my way to spiritual health again.  I still have some struggles, some commitment issues, but God is once more in my life in the primary place of importance that He belongs.  I look forward to how He will use me in this wonderful church family.

Friday, March 8, 2013

Eating well - or, working on it!

One of the keys to fitness is to eat right.  No major intellectual breakthrough there, this is common knowledge.  What does that mean to you though?  I don't know, or at least it is not my place to try to shoe horn you into the 'correct' box.  I can only tell you what I understand and how I am applying the information to my own personal life.  I really like the Jillian Michaels approach - if it doesn't sprout from the ground, fall off a tree or have a mother it is probably better left alone.  This is a pretty simplistic approach.  Does it work?  For most of us it either doesn't work or at least we don't know if it works because we haven't tried it.  Think about it, if we follow this reasoning some of our favorite things are about to go by the wayside.  I can't remember the last time I saw a bag of Cheeto's fall off of a tree.  Have you seen a field of growing hot dogs recently?  Or, just exactly where are all the mom's that are giving birth to all those spice drops or Snickers bars?  See what I mean? 
 
The list is endless.  What do I do about it?  I think the rational approach is to start with the obvious and easy, eliminate it and then move on to something else.  For me that means no candy (finishing up second week), no soda pop (finishing up one week), next item to be determined.  Still on my bad list are white bread, added sugar, added salt, store-bought cookies, prepared frozen dinners, ok I'll stop there. 
 
Observation #1 - pizza didn't grow on a tree or in a field, neither does it have a mother.  Potentially it could be made only from ingredients that did so that is a challenge.  What about the cheese? What about the pepperoni?  There are many things like pizza that are combinations of good and bad ingredients, we just have to be aware.
 
Observation #2 - Processed foods should probably be generally avoided.  There are numerous things within many things that we eat that make them unhealthy for various reasons even though the main ingredient may be just fine.  Sugar, salt, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, chemicals.  If the ingredient list includes items you can't pronounce you should probably put it back on the shelf.
 
So we are presented with real challenges in eating healthy.  That is why I am taking baby steps, educating myself and taking it slow and smart.  Comments welcome!
 
 

Thursday, March 7, 2013

What's with all the hills?

Spin class today with instructor Lindsay really worked me hard.  There were 3 wind sprints, 3 weighted sprints, 3 seated climbs and 3 standing climbs.  There were also two sessions of jumps which I don't do for my own reasons. For those of you who are not familiar with the Keiser M3 indoor cycle, it has a lever on it with which you can select an actual gear, from 1 - 24.  You can't go over 24, it just locks up.  Most of the time you will be working at a minimum of 8, but in reality you can't pedal very fast at less than 12 or you will be bouncing all over the saddle which is definitely not good for you and gives you no results.  Have you heard the expression "just spinning your wheels", yep, that's about what it amounts to.  As you increase the resistance by going to a higher gear it simulates going up a hill.  If you are new to indoor cycling you many not get much over about 16.  If you have been riding for a while and are strong you may be able to push on up to 24 for a period of time.

Today Lindsay had me at 24 on all three standing climbs and on one of the seated climbs.  The last song was a standing climb ending with 2 full minutes at 24!  Whew!  Obviously your cadence is not real fast at this resistance but it really gives you a great burn.

Wind sprints were all done in the saddle.  The idea of a wind sprint is that you set your resistance at a moderate level, 14-16 and pedal at about 80 rpm.  When she says go you immediately kick up the cadence and go at 100 - 120 rpm for about 30 seconds.  Interval training on the bike.  Weighted sprints are a little different.  You spin at about 80 rpm in a little bit lower gear, then you turn up the resistance to a heavy 15-20 gear, stand up and push hard for 5 seconds to get some momentum going then sit down and try to keep that same pace until she says stop, 15-30 seconds.  Each session of sprints will generally contain 4-5 of these intervals. 

All in all a great workout.  Here is a photo of the dashboard.  1 is a backlight sensor, 2 shows your cadence, 3 alternates between your watts of power and your calories burned, 4 shows your heart rate (requires a Polar heart rate strap), 5 is your elapsed time, 6 shows you what gear you are in and 7 shows you how many miles you have traveled.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Do this in 10 minutes? Yeah right!

Thought I would share this little cardio workout I worked up for those times that you only have a few minutes but want to get a good calorie burn.  I like to do this as a warm-up before yoga class or at home when I just get the urge to do a workout.  It involves some kick-boxing moves that I learned from doing Body Combat classes at Fitness Works in Morro Bay, CA  I love doing this workout!

Here is the workout. 

High knee's                      25 each side
Jumping Jacks                 50
Pushups                           10
 


 
Jabs           25
Cross         25
Jab/Cross   25
Hook         25 ea side
Uppercut   25 ea side
Front kick  25 ea side
Back kick  25 ea side
Side kick 25 ea side

High knee's                      25 ea side
Jumping Jacks                 50

I would not call this an 'easy' workout but it will definitely give you a good burn.  I generally do it in around 10 minutes and have done it in 8-1/2 minutes. 


Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Stupid Candy!



I have a craving for candy.  There, I said it.  It has only become an problem with me over the last few years.  I rarely ate candy before that.  I developed a bad habit of having a container of spice drops on my desk where they would be staring at me while I worked, begging to be eaten.  Did I relent, you bet I did, over and over again.  Do you know that there are 130 calories and 23 grams of sugar in just 12 of those little boogers!  And I would sit there and eat them by the handful.  Now, the calories required just to keep my body functioning and maintain it's current weight is 1400 (BMR)  That is about 116 spice drops.  Did I really think that my body would want to survive on 1400 calories of almost pure sugar.  I never really thought of it in those terms.  Problem is, I ate the spice drops as a comfort food while working at my desk, or driving my car.  On top of that I would eat my normal food so I was probably eating at least 3-4000 calories a day, many of them empty sugar calories.  Yuck.  Another of my favorites is the allsorts licorice mix.  Let's see what that was doing to me.  Worse! 150 calories and 25 grams of sugar in only 7 pieces.  OMG. I would sit and easily eat 25 or 30 pieces of this sugar bomb in no time at all.  This had to stop.
So last week, I did a seven day pledge of no candy.  No candy at all, regardless of what kind.  I would have been perfect but in the morning of the first day I spotted a miniature Twix bar left over from Valentines day and I opened it and ate it before remembering that I was on a no candy pledge.  There I said it, I failed right off the bat.  But I did complete the week with no other candy, so that is a victory.

This week I decided to continue the no candy commitment and add a new one - no soda.  I really like Diet Pepsi and Coke Zero and would drink them often.  Only once or twice a day at most, I know many who drink much more than that.  I know they are not a sugar issue, but they can contribute to kidney problems, a messed up metabolism and more. Effects of Diet Sodas Of course the sugary sodas are a given, with a 20 oz bottle of Pepsi giving you 250 calories and 70 grams of sugar. Nuff said. So this week, no candy and no soda.  Can you see where I am going with this?  It's called baby steps. Instead of just determining to start eating healthy, I am going to tackle it one step at a time.  We will see where it leads.

Monday, March 4, 2013

Being fit, what is it?


Being fit involves so much more than just how strong you are or how much cardio endurance you have. To me fitness includes these things and they work hand in hand with what you eat, your general outlook on life and your spiritual life. These are areas that we need to focus on to be well-rounded fit individuals who can expect to be a vital part of our families for years to come.  













So what do we do.  First of all we have to eat better.  We should be aware of everything that goes into our mouth and what affect it will have on our health.  The American diet is so full of processed, over salted, over sugared food that it is no wonder we have such a problem with obesity.  Look around you when you go out of the house.  What percentage of the people that you see are obviously over weight.  Many are not only over weight, they are obese.  There are a lot of diets out there that people try.  They go from one to the other with no long lasting results.  Low carb, high protein, low fat, count calories, eat lots of cabbage etc. etc.  A diet will never work.  What works is a lifestyle change.  You have to know what foods you should eat and what you should avoid. 

So the next few posts will address some of these food issues.  I will be starting with myself.  I will not attempt to tell you anything that you should do that I haven't already tackled myself.  Stay tune.

Monday, February 18, 2013

At my last writing I was training for a marathon. Things were pretty good but I was experiencing pains that I didn't really want to talk about. As I continued on to a 20 mile run I started questioning whether I really needed to do a marathon. I realized that I was spending a lot of time and going through a lot of discomfort just to say that I ran 26.2 miles. Sure that sounds good. But in my heart of hearts I realized that I don't need to run a marathon to know who I am. I have done two half-marathons, a 17 mile trail race, a couple of 10 mile trail races and countless number of 5K and 10K races over the last 40 yrs+. That's really a lot of accomplishment for a guy who is pushing 67. So my first reaction was to just stop running on roads at all. I felt like I needed to save my knee's and other parts and that not running on hard surfaces was the answer. So I haven't run on anything but a trail for the last couple of months. Have I missed the roads? Heck Ya!! So I have done a lot of thinking. I have prayed. I have talked to my wife. And I have come up with the new plan. I realized that the main issue has not been the running itself but more about the hard surface for extended periods. So my new plan is to start running on the road again but training runs no more than 5 miles and races no longer than 10K. I will continue to run trails and am not really going to place any distance restrictions. I have a 10 mile race coming up in May and I would really like to do another 25K at Montana de Oro. Maybe by limiting my distance on the road I can work on speed and try to get my 5K and 10K race times down. In fact, my goal is to get my 10K under 60 min and my 5K under 27.