Move Naturally

This might be one of those ideas that seem strange but, intuitive once you think about it. The human body is designed to move and as 21st century humans, we have gotten away from different movements. Sure we run, lift weights and garden but, these are not enough to keep a body healthy. One of the things I have tried to do over the years is make exercise seem like play. Sprint to the nearest tree, jump off a park bench, climb a tree or a rock. We are human animals and get away from our need for a variety of movement. Watch a kid play, they run, climb, fall down and have fun. Maybe we have made exercise too rigid. When you are out on your next run or walk. Skip a few steps, climb up some playground equipment. Hang from a tree limb. Don't worry, no one is watching ;)

20 years and 2 cars

Hi all. So my 1997 Toyota Corolla is finally getting some decent miles on it. Since I have been driving, I have had 4 cars. 1979 Honda Civic, 1987 Toyota Tercel, 1990 Mazda Truck(bought in 1989) 1997 Toyota Corolla. The first 2 cars would have lasted longer if I had bothered to change the oil regularly. The last 2 have been worth the money spent to maintain. I enjoy getting my money's worth out of a car. Charlene appreciates the one area in which I am frugal :) This is a testimony to foreign cars. Wonder why GM, Chrysler and the like are failing? Share your stories of high mileage cars. I would love to hear about your car histories.

Overheating & lotions

One of the things that I have discovered of the years might help you guys out. When running in the spring and summer, people like to wear sunscreen, bug spray or lotions. These things can lead to some overheating during exercise. The function of sweating is to cool the internal temperature by bringing blood closer to the skin level where it can cool through sweat evaporating. Think what happens on a humid day when sweat cannot evaporate. Overheating city! The lotions, sunscreen and such limit the bodies ability to cool itself through evaporation. If you must wear a light hat or run during cooler parts of the day. Stay cool out there!

Akron Relay Training Plan

Hi all,

Here is a rudimentary training plan to get ready for the relay. We have 16 weeks which is a lot, but the time is NOW to get started. Based on the plan outline below, you shouldn't have to run anymore than 2 times per week to meet the goals. One run at 50% or less of race mileage and one run based on the plan.

Legs:
Troy 7.6 ( 11.4)
Char 6.3 (9.4)
Ken 5.7 (8.6)
Youngin 3.5 ( 5.25)
Violet 3.1 ( 4.7)

Troy and I started last weekend with run/walking 4 miles total: running 2 minutes and walking 2 minutes. This approximates 50% of his total race distance. A good plan is to stick w/ same 2 min run/2 min walk but increase1 mile per week until the race distance is reached. When your distance has been reached, have one run/walk session at 150% of race distance. Example for Troy 11.4 miles. - See above. If you are starting with running less than 2 minutes at a time, you can still mimic the run/walk pattern until you are meeting the distance. Once you reach your desired distance w/ the 2 min routine, start over at 50% of race distance running 4 minutes/ walking 4 until the race distance is reached again. Then recycle at 6 minutes run/ 6 minute walk.

If your section has hills try to mimic that in your training, if flat or on a towpath, mimic that. If it is a hot day, get out there anyway- that's good cardio training and will make you stronger (if it doesn't kill you). :)

(Violet- you are special- don't forget you can walk the whole time, but I do recommend more hill walking for your training. Conservation farm and the hill under the bridge are good inclines.)

This should get you fit enough to handle the distance with ease. On race day you will probably run more due to the race environment. no worries, just do your thing and enjoy the day.

WOD- Workout of(the) Day

Okay, this is a term I took from the Crossfit site. Another is WMD-Workout of Mass Destruction but, WOD sounds better. It seems that a lot of Crossfit, BootCamp and P90X workouts are a throwback to a simpler time of exercise. Charlene has shared stories of Walter Gilmore doing his morning exercises. He lived a long, healthy life. Here is a sample of a workout that I did this morning and you can replicate at home.

20 pullups
30 pushups( or modified with knees on floor)
40 situps or crunches
50 squats

If this is not enough, do multiple rounds of these.

Have fun!

Try it with one speed!

Here is something you might enjoy. Take your old clunker bike out of the garage where it is gathering dust. Head out for a ride and don't change gears. Set it for a middle gear and leave it. The uphills will be harder and you get to coast on the downhills: ) You don't have to focus on changing gears. Just ride the dang thing. Steer it back into the garage when you are done and reward yourself for a ride well done!

Early morning and good Elliptical workout

Charlene and I were up early to help my Muddy Dog Coffee friend Jim work the Western Wake Farmer's market. We did our civic duty and then did some shopping for our cookout tonight. We got some flowers, grass fed beef and wine. All from the farmer's market. After some time at home, we went to the fitness club for a workout. Charlene did 6 miles on the elliptical and I did 5 miles in 29:45. Then the weight workout followed. Doing weights after a hard aerobic workout always seems harder. Enough for one day, time to drink some beer and wait for the guests to arrive.

The eggs are some that our Romanian neighbor made for us. Pretty!

Bouldering

Ah, the fun world of indoor bouldering. I tend towards this form of rock climbing because:

A. no belay slave required
B. only shoes and bare hands needed
C. It is HARD!

The challenges I have faced so far are:

A. Grip strength- all those little holds require different types of grips
B. Flexibility- I have none
C. sequencing moves on set routes- this is crucial to getting up the face of the rock. You have to make a few moves, come back down, figure it out a little, try again.

Overall this is a fun way to gain strength. When you are climbing, typically only one limb is making a move at a time. Rarely are you supporting your weight with 2 limbs, let alone one.

Good fun!

Hammer time!

This morning was tempo run day. I have found the most consistent way to get this done, is to run the same course every week. That way, even if the course is not exact, the effort is measurable. This course is a 2 mile mix of up, downs and flats. I ran 12:20 this morning, which cleaved 36 seconds off my previous best. I tried some different form techniques while I ran and it helped. Since I have been doing so many leg strengthening exercises, I can engage my hamstrings and glutes more. I try to run in a centered position. If I speed up, I turn my legs over faster and engage my glutes more. Seems to work : )

Singletrack Heaven

After an am workout of 3 miles on the elliptical, and 300 reps of pullups, crunches, lunges and squats I was ready for a pm workout. I decided to head over to lake Crabtree for some singletrack mountain biking. It always strikes me as odd, that biking always seems like play, where running is more like work! I rode the trails for an hour plus without any falls, one near wipeout coming around a corner too fast. I stirred up a young fawn. Too cute! I have ridden on these trails multiple times and I swear I have never been able to replicate a route twice. Other parks typically have trails going one direction but, these can be ridden clockwise or counter. Blah. It is fun anyway.

Charlene's Garden Pics

Hooray for Charlene

Despite the downpour, Charlene and I went to the American Tobacco Trail for her first run/walk. We did 4 miles in 63 minutes and Charlene ran a few 2 minute sections, she did very well. I was only expecting her to run a few one minute sections. She is a trooper. Now to find her a real sports bra :)

Back to the fitness wars

The last couple of weeks have brought low motivation. I still get out and exercise but, struggle with low motivation. I try all the usual tricks, changing my routine, caffeine, shorter workouts. Sometimes this helps and sometimes you just have to let it run its course. Having a good mental state is key to getting out and taking care of yourself. Taking it one step or skip at a time helps.

Beerfest 2009

Much fun was had at the Beerfest in Moore Square downtown Raleigh. I went with my running friend Stephen. We stopped by Boylan Bridge Brewpub to have a bite to eat before the event. They have some good beer and a nice view of the city. We then walked down to the event. These events are great people watching. Stephen and I found a couple of willing females to prank our friend Chris. They were quite willing to say anything while leaving a message for Chris!

9 miles of fun

This morning I met Scott, Ralph and Roland at the ATT ( American Tobacco Trail) to run and out and back. I am adding 1 mile onto my long run each week. So far so good. Last week I ran about 8 miles in 66 minutes. This week I ran 9 miles in 71:45. Sub 8 pace. The good thing is I finished strong. The last 4 half miles were each successively faster. 3:52, 3:40, 3:39 and the last in 3:18:86. My legs responded better than last week :)

sweet singletrack

Today was my first real single track outing in a couple of months. In the interim I have been doing a lot of strength work. It paid off today. For the first time on a mountain bike ride, my arms and legs were never tired. I rolled through the course at Crabtree taking every downhill and uphill with ease. I left it in one gear the whole time and muscled my way up the hills. Why is mountain biking so much more fun than running?