Monday, August 31, 2015

Slowing Down But Not Stopping!

Some of you know that selling house, moving, moving again, travel and a huge race to run took its toll on me.  I have been limping along figuratively and trying to bounce back to where I was but it is not working yet.  I have had a hoarse or no voice since end of June.  It comes and goes, seems worse when I am tired out, but I have not felt like I had a cold or allergies.  I ignored it, and ignored it, and ignored some more......but a very observant friend who would call me regularly kept asking me "Whats wrong with your voice?"   She did this so many times, eventually I heard the message.  I have stopped running, but still walking.  If I quit moving, it will not help.  I have gotten more rest and regular afternoon naps or rest times, and will have an MRI of the brain today and some other tests to follow.  My doctor wants to be sure it is not anything of concern.  I am not singing in the shower, singing to the radio in the car (both hobbies I do enjoy!) and I have been resting my voice and not talking most of day.  If I stay home its not a problem.  No one to talk to helps.  But my voice is best first thing when I wake up, and worsens through the day.  The reason I post this blog entry today is not because I stopped running after the Senior Games.  Its not because I did not score a medal.  It is not because I don't want to run.  I feel like I can't and I should not be trying right now.  Several times I have preached about listening to your body.  I get in trouble when I don't.  I am still walking as I said, and try to be as active during the day as I can be.  I did trek over to Houston so spend the weekend with my son Mike, wife Kristen and my granddaughters and grandson, even though Gigi did not feel like whooping it up as usual, I did love the giggles, the kisses and hugs and moments together.
 Instead of going shopping at the mall with these bundles of energy, I brought some surprises and I did some online back to school shopping with Ava, who just started first grade.  She did not seem to mind not going to the stores to shop, but seemed happy to pick from pictures on my cellphone.  And she knows that she and "mommy" will be surprised when the boxes come to the door in the next week or so.
I am also writing about this so those of you who have looked to me for inspiration to just keep going to better fitness, will not stop or feel I am no longer focused on health and wellness, after the biggest race of my life.  I need your inspiration right now to keep on moving.  I do not need to get weak again and have to struggle to keep my strength.  Keep walking or running, whatever you do best.  Let others know you are still carrying on, rain or shine, and it will keep me in the game too!  If I don't blog about running, its cause i am not able to.  I will try to blog about walks, healthy living, and rest.  I will not blog about ailments and what is wrong with me.  My focus will be what is right with me, and if there are long lapses of time, its cause I am doing the best I can.  Thats all any one can do!  Exercise, rest, fun and therapy can come in many forms!  Enjoy each day!

Monday, August 24, 2015

Top 10 Reasons Running Haters Run Anyway

I read.  I read a lot.  I read recently, that if you ask people what they think about running, apparently you can divide the population into two distinct groups.  The lovers and the haters.  The interesting fact that I gleaned from this was that even though many people say they hate running, continue to make it a regular part of their lives.  Why?????  That sounds crazy to many of you, but it makes a lot of sense in retrospect.

The benefits of running are many.  Most people start walking and then running in an attempt to lose weight or tone legs.  Running is just fast walking.  Once a walker gets faster and stronger, many times they will think, "hey, I would get done faster if I did a little running too"  And then it goes from there.  The truth is that walking and running strongly contributes to winning many personal wealth battles, and enhances overall health in many ways.  The top 10 I have come across:

1) Whether you win a race or just finish them, you are on track to winning the battle of the bulge.  60% of runners run for weight control.

2) Prevent muscle and bone loss.  Even thin people get sagging and wrinkles if they don't exercise due to muscle loss and loss of muscle tone as we age.  Weight bearing exercise and running helps this and also prevention of bone loss.  Human Growth Hormone levels elevate as well.  These taper as we age, and this is why celebrities have injected this in themselves to hold off aging.  Running does this naturally.  It also slows aging on the inside of our bodies too.

3) Fights Disease.  Running helps with increasing elasticity of blood vessels, decreasing blood pressure, decreases incidence of diabetes just to mention a few benefits.

4) Increases lung capacity and oxygen to all parts of the body.  It increases the immune system, by increasing white blood cell production, decrease risk of blood clots, and also increases the HDL levels, or good cholesterol.

5) Runners report a new level of self confidence, self esteem.

6) Stress Release.

7) Helps brain focus and builds mental determination.  The regular increased oxygenation to the blood and stress relief must also be considered as healthy for our aging neurons.

8) Runners High-- yep, that natural feel good, relaxed feeling of endorphin release that strenuous activity brings.  It keeps you going back for more.

9) Balance and Coordination improve.  These are things that also naturally decline with age and can cause injury.  This is important.

10) No fancy equipment is required.  Decent shoes, comfy clothes based on the weather and a safe place.  Meeting people who walk or run, and joining races and fun runs for charity a social bonus!

Out I go for a long fast walk and a few slow jogs!

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Running in A Heat Wave, And Not Lose Focus

I have been reminded more than a bit, that I have been slacking on the blog.  Working on the house we will inhabit has occupied my time.  I have hit the gym a few times though for aerobic activity as I have had plenty of manual labor.  Friends have fallen off track too since my hiatus, and my friend Norma got after me for some motivation to get back on track with habit forming exercise and healthy eating.  We need to be less hard on ourselves, with weeks of 90 to 100 and above temps.

 Exercise in hot weather is important but so is avoiding heat stroke.   It is the main reason we have not had enough  running lately.  Ben and I are looking for a race to plan for coming up soon, so it will nudge us to get back to the road.  The 100 degree plus temps have not been helping. i have had a run or two on a tread mill, but not the same to me.  Personally I don't enjoy the tread mill, but its the only option in this heat.  This is the hard time to train if you live in the south.  Exertion outside when the temperature is higher than your body's and with high humidity is dangerous at any age.  Your body can not cool off.  Its that simple.   The tread mill is a moving track, that does not give the same feeling as you propelling along a track or road, but with this kind of heat it is all you can do.  I have been 2 miles on the tread mill and another 6 to 10 on the stationary bike, when not working on our move.  My focus has been back to proper nutrition as well.  While traveling and moving, we fell back into fast food and take out more than ever.  So, back to the basics of eating less processed and more wholesome choices is again in style at our house.  I took a few pics of recent examples to share ideas.   Figuring out what to fix for meals and stay healthy is some days more challenging than a race.  You don't always have the time to go to the store and browse what looks fresh and healthy to get ideas for meals.
In the first picture is an example of a healthy summery breakfast
Fresh blackberries, blueberries, watermelon and peaches, with two soft boiled eggs and a slice of whole grain toast.  Proper feeding of our bodies, adequate sleep
and exercise makes the body perform best.  Lets try to get back on that track!