Good workout!

Wow, I felt great this morning!  My last day of ski instruction for the season started with a very nice workout.  I felt strong and that's a really nice way to start the day.  I also had a great day on the mountain.  So, tonight I'm in a great mood and looking forward my ski trip to Sunday River.

Use it or lose it?

I'm approaching the end of ski season.  Tomorrow will be my last day of the season for ski school.  The transition to golf season will begin soon. Still, I'll be riding my stationary bike less and less often as the weather improves and I can run in the roads after the days warms.   I'll be heading over to Sunday River with some family members for a few days of bump skiing to wrap up the season.  And, then it's over.

It was a terrific season.   We had many wonderful ski days and I had many more great student encounters for lessons and new friendships.  I created some memories that I'll cherish for many years.   Some of the best of those were some ski days with family.  This year was really good for that.  I skied with 2 of grandchildren, my wife, my brother, and my niece.  How cool is that?!  

I wonder if it's possible to fully appreciate how fantastic it is to be able to do something as wonderful as skiing with family (especially my grandkids) without actually experiencing it.  Skiing is a great sport because it is so healthy and you get to do with friends and family in the winter.  With so many kids glued to televisions, computers, and video games so much of the time any thing that gets them outdoors and having fun is really good for them.  Being able to share in the experience with them is absolutely priceless.

Which makes me wonder how so many people can pass up the opportunity.   I don't mean just skiing.  I'm sure there are other equally wonderful things that can be shared across multiple generations and that are really healthy activities.   I has one special requirement:   the elders must take care of themselves.    Today (and many other days) I shared the mountain with  ski instructors who are in their 70s.   They have stayed active and are still really excellent skiers who can ski any trail at the resort.  You can easily tell how much they still enjoy it.

Then, I come back to town and I see people as young as their 20s who, despite the fact that they have no other physical disabilities, are in such bad shape that probably could not learn to ski or do any other strenuous outdoor activity.   It seems to me that they are deliberately handicapping themselves and depriving themselves of real quality of life.   I understand that some people have issues about which they have no control.  I'm talking about people who are ignoring their physical well being by not doing some moderate exercise on a regular basis.

Considering the impact this is having on the country's physical and mental health, health care costs, and the burden on our health care system, I can't help but wonder why there is so little discussion in the public forum.  Could it be because such a large percentage of the population has such poor health habits?

Back in Form

I'm over the whiplash from my bad fall. I was able to do everything in my morning workout.  Lucky me!   Seriously.   I might have been an invalid. Today and everyday I am happy to be able to work out.

How many people with some level of disability, however acquired, would love to be able to workout.  It motivates me.

The Rage is not about health care.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/28/opinion/28rich.html?

One Third of Breast Cancers May Be Preventable

This is important stuff

http://bit.ly/duFPGm

The Cadaver - Solid Training Run

Training run:  11.5 miles in preparation for Vermont City Marathon 2-man relay.   Felt quite good.   Used disassociation to help with endurance.  No speed work because of added distance but I feel like I am ready to begin adding some additional intensity.   Plotted my route on bicycling.com.   Great plotting feature that shows both elevation & distance.  The Scarecrow & The Cadaver will be ready.

Health Insurance (from the NY Times)

“The idea of paying a certain monthly fee for insurance that allows you to have most of your routine care covered doesn’t make sense. When you buy auto insurance, you don’t insure yourself for every dent and nick — you insure yourself for serious accidents. This is the way the health insurance system should work. Our current insurance model does not encourage patients to take care of themselves. It doesn’t reward patients for being healthy, it rewards them for being sick. This isn’t good for patients or insurers.”

Jacques Moritz, M.D., director of gynecology, St Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York

It’s More Than Personal Responsibility

Read this from the NY Times:

 Kelly D. Brownell, a professor of psychology and epidemiology, is the director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University.

Much of the national debate on obesity hinges on the meaning of two words: personal responsibility. Evoked by the food industry as an argument against government action, these words are used intentionally to shift blame to individuals with the problem rather than the conditions responsible for it. Are rising rates of obesity in every corner of the world due to irresponsible behavior?

Public action to promote better foods in schools and less marketing of unhealthy foods is needed.

This stance has many problems. Most notably, it is wrong. Individuals in the U.S. are behaving more responsibly in many areas of health (mammograms, prostate exams, smoking, drinking, using seatbelts, etc.). Americans who otherwise are behaving responsibly, however, are not consuming healthy diets, showing how dire the food environment has become.

Modern food conditions are toxic and exposure to them reliably increases obesity rates. This was seen first in the U.S. and other developed countries and now is clear even in unlikely places like India, China and Brazil. There are many facets of this food picture. Huge portion sizes, economics that make healthy foods cost too much and unhealthy foods cost too little, ubiquitous access to high-calorie foods and relentless food marketing are a few examples.

Until recently, government has reacted to this reality by playing cheerleader, doing little more than imploring from the sidelines for people to exert more effort and lose weight. That picture has now changed, sometimes at a dizzying pace, and elected officials at all levels of government are taking action.

Personal responsibility is important and everything possible should be done to enhance it, but how can the nation reach this goal? It starts with a philosophy in which Americans, children particularly, deserve better nutrition conditions, ones that make healthy choices more likely. Better foods in schools, less marketing of unhealthy foods, economic policies that change prices of healthy and unhealthy foods,and crackdowns on misleading nutrition claims on packages are examples of constructive and needed public action.

Feeling better

My symptoms from the bad fall I took a week ago have subsided considerably.  While I can still feel an occasional reminder, I am most recovered.     Frankly speaking, I feel very fortunate.  Two mental errors nearly caused permanent problems which I would surely have deeply regretted.   1st, I decided to ski without a helmet because it was so warm.   I might well have gotten away with this on an ordinary ski day.    2nd, given the extraordinarily warm conditions, I should have been skiing with a bit more caution.  Snow gets very heavy when it's warm and warrants more care.  Shame on me.

The good news is that there are no permanent consequences.  I felt much better for my morning workout.  I wasn't quite ready to go all out but I was able to get a very productive session completed.   I also added a new exercise.  I figured out a way to do dips and work the triceps.   Dips are a great tricep exercise.  I'm not a proponent of isolation exercises but dips are so intensive AND they have one particular characteristic that I really like:  They use body weight.   Body weight exercises like push-ups and pull-ups seem to be more effective than other excercises.     Variety is great for exercise routines.

Skiing was great today!  Day  76 was cold but the snow was terrific.  Run tomorrow and maybe skiing on Sunday.

Ski Day 75.

It speaks for itself doesn't it.   We got a late start this year but 80+ looks likely.  90 hard minutes on the stationary bike this morning. It's been very convenient but I'm looking forward to running 3 days a week again.  I'll be able to eat a bit more then because of the extra calories it burns.

Progress! Improved Morale

Getting better, thank goodness.   Not a full workout but better than Monday.   Good skiing day today so I got my exercise in.   Good for my morale.  

Got my Official Handbook for the VC Marathon.  Getting pumped.  Looking forward to more intense training but I'm really going to miss skiing.  

The proof is in about HFCS

http://www.grist.org/article/researchers-yes.-hfcs-is-much-worse-than-table-sugar

Depressed?

Read this: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/depression-and-exercise/MH00043/?utm_source=Highlights&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=HouseCall&pubDate=March%2022,%202010

Recovering

90 minutes on the stationary bike!  Glad I have it.  Feeling a bit better today but not sure how much resistance training I'll be able to do tomorrow but I'll try.  

Minimal skiing today -  Raining hard.   There were streams running down the trails.  :(

Ouch!

Not able to workout today.  :-(     My bad fall from skiing on Friday had given me a really sore and stiff neck.  I was able to stretch a bit but no heavy lifting was possible.  I even have a bit of a headache as I'm writing this.  It's interesting how it is manifesting itself now, more than 2 days later.   Anyway,  being active means an occasional setback.  I'll pedal the stationary bike in the morning unless this gets worse.  In that case, I'm calling the doc again.  However, I'm not anticipating that as very likely.   Staying positive.

Another reason American's are so fat

http://www.good.is/post/why-does-a-salad-cost-more-than-a-big-mac/?

Nice & Easy

90 minutes, nice & easy, on the stationary bike:  23.2 miles, 495 calories.    It is important to allow the body time to recover.  Yesterday's 10.5 mile run required that I allow myself a chance to rebuild.   It doesn't mean no exercise.  It just means listening to the feedback I am getting from my body.  

Winning

"The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win." - Roger Bannister

Another reason we need health care reform

Check out this graphic.

http://awesome.good.is/transparency/web/0910/world-health/flash.html

The 5 fattest states voted GOP in the last presidential election

and 5 of the 6 slimmest states voted democratic.  What does it mean?

http://www.weightlossdietwatch.com/features/americas-fattest-states-2009/

Base miles

10.5 miles this morning as I build the mileage base necessary for physical and psychological endurance required for the 13.1 mile half-marathon.   I am beginning to feel the better form that comes with improved fitness.  I had much better core utilization, a smoother stride and lower physical stress level during the entire run.  :)

As I write this, I've now been finished for 2 hours, showered and breakfasted and I feel much more resilient than last week.   I can feel a bit of muscle fatigue in the quads but my energy level is high.   Very satisfactory for this early in the training.  

In about 2 weeks I'll begin some speed work training.    So far, so good.  My relay partner is training well too.  The Scarecrow & The Cadaver are on  track for a good race.

No substitute for a healthy lifestyle

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-03-17-diabetes-heart_N.htm

Surprise, surprise!

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-03-17-healthhabits17_ST_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

Weight gain

I've gained about 5 pounds in the last month!  I'm not sure why or how.   My eating habits are unchanged. However, I'm going to pay more attention to make sure I haven't been creeping in a few more calories.  It's interesting because although my weight has changed, I don't see any evidence of subcutaneous fat, i.e. my six-pack is still intact and that's where it would show up 1st.  It could be visceral fat but my pants are no snugger.  In fact, I put on my shorts from last summer for the 1st time this year.  The boys size 16 still fit perfectly.   So where is the weight?

It could be muscle I am a bit stronger.  I can tell because my pull-ups with an added 10 pounds have increased in number of reps.  I've been doing sit-up and reverse crunch/leg-ups with added weight.  So, my point is, it could be muscle.  I don't want to fool myself though by rationalizing.  My fat measuring scale said 4.5% tonight (that's low for me but it does vary a bit).   I could be fluid retention.  We've had a couple of new recipes and maybe my sodium intake is up a bit.  Although it seems unlikely that would add up to 5 lbs.   Or, it could be a combination of things.  

Time will tell.   This is the last busy week of skiing lessons, and we are really busy.  So next week, I'll begin running 3 days a week again.   That means more calories burned.   I'm not going to over-worry about it because I can be a little careful about diet and with the added running I'll settle into the summer routine and my weight will not be an issue.  Although my body fat may be.  I don't want to get below 4%  some essential fat is needed.   Two weeks from now I'll know if I need to make any adjustments.

I like the idea of more muscle on my frame.  I'm in wait and watch mode.    And curious.    

Can we stop obesity without taxes

Interesting article in Grist

http://www.grist.org/article/can-we-stop-obesity-without-taxes

Getting to the end of indoor cycling.

Wow, it's so warm.  I biked for 90 minutes this morning in my stationary bike.  The new bike has been a real benefit for me this winter.  But this warm weather means the end of ski season and that means more time for running.   I'm looking forward to getting back in running shape.  My run last Saturday was really encouraging.  I'm pumped about racing too.   We're really busy at the mountain this week (it's Canadian week) but after this I'll  have lots of extra time.  That'll give me lots of time before golfing season begins to jump start my racing legs.  I'll miss skiing but I'm looking at the positives.

Back to motives:   I feel a sense of responsibility to set an example for my family.  How can I expect them to develop good habits if I as the patriarch don't set the standard?

Obesity prejudice

If obesity is a lifestyle choice isn't some prejudice justified?  

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/16/health/16essa.html?ref=health

It makes me feel better.

I struggled just a little bit with the time change.  Not yesterday, because I had no schedule and could get up when I was ready.   Still, I was up at 6:30 daylight time.  I think the anticipation of getting up at 4:30 this morning (my usual during ski season) made me feel tired enough to go to bed early.   Consequently, my 4:30 get-up was pretty routine.  It's this afternoon that I'm feeling it.  I had a good (if not great) resistance workout this morning and a fun day teaching skiing.   I'm tired now but it's that good physical tired not the mental fatigue.

I'm occasionally asked why I get up at 4:30 and exercise.  I wonder if they're really asking why I get up at 4:30 (as opposed to sleeping later and exercising in the afternoon) or if they're asking why I exercise.   The answer to the former is I won't feel as much like exercising when I get home from skiing. Plus, there are not many interruptions at that time of day.  The answer to the latter is that it makes me feel better.   In lots of different ways.  Think about it.

Motivation

Why?  That is the key question.  What is the motive that separates the active from the inactive?

It doesn't take a lot of time

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7429028/Short-blasts-of-exercise-as-good-as-hours-of-training-scientists-find.html

10 miles felt great

Last Saturday's 10 miler and Wednesday's 4 miler paid dividends this morning!   It felt great.  I actually felt like a runner again if not a racer yet.

For the week:  14 miles running;  49.7 miles on stationary bike (180 minutes); 6 days of skiing; 173 pull-ups, 540 sit-ups, 540 leg-up/reverse crunches, 225 push-ups and a whole bunch of other resistance exercises.

Warm & Sunny!

Great workout yesterday.  New PR for pull-ups!   Every PR is motivational.  That's why I keep track.  Skied day number 66 and counting.   A bit chilly with the wind but still great snow.

Right now it's already in the 40s and sunny and the flag is limp on the pole so I'm going to hit the road for another  get ready for the Vermont City Marathon training run.  Eleven weeks and 1 day to go.  The Scarecrow & The Cadaver will be ready!

Shorts & a T-Shirt

1st run of the year in shorts (no leggings) and a t-shirt (long sleeve).  It was so nice to run unencumbered.  Resting now, I'll get a good night's sleep after a hard working in my home gym, skiing all day and then the run but I love that tired body feeling!   81 days to the race!

Rest Day

Still feeling the 10 miles from yesterday.  Better to listen to my body today than push my luck.  So I just skied for  3 hours.   Glad I did.  I feel great tonight and that means I'll have a nice work-out tomorrow.   I hate missing but rest is important.  I  skip about only a half dozen days a year.  Besides, I was still pretty active.  Fitness and personal responsibility for your health is about exercise, nutrition, and proper rest.

'The Scarecrow & The Cadaver

10 miles on the roads this morning.   Sunny skies, no wind and dry roads made it great to be back in training. I didn't even have any close calls with cars.  That's a good omen. 12 weeks 'till the race. The Scarecrow & The Cadaver will be ready!

Sugary soft drinks lead to diabetes, research finds

It's time to tax sugary drinks.  It's the most effective way to reduce consumption.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7376295/Sugary-soft-drinks-lead-to-diabetes-research-finds.html

It's so simple, really

The University of Cambridge and the Medical Research Council found that participantsincreased their longevity and lived and average of 14 years longer than their study counterparts by:

--Not smoking
--Exercising regularly
--Drinking alcohol in moderation
--Eating five servings of fruits and vegetables


Read the entire article:


http://healthnews.ediets.com/2008/08/simple-math-4-behaviors-add-14-years-to.html

More variety!

I had a nice workout this morning: 90 minutes on my stationary bike.  Then, I went skiing:  a nice run down the big hard bumps on FIS then into Doc Dempsey's woods over to Ruthie's to Gary B's to Curley's then to Meadowlark.  That's not a warm up it a warm down.  I gets easier as you move down the mountain.  After skiing all day.  I had a few minutes for supper and catching up on my e-mails then it was off to dance class.  Dance is a fun way to get moving even when you're as awkward as I am. LOL.   I can ski the bumps but dancing felt nearly as bumpy!!  I'll learn and it's good for me.

One more cookie?

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/01/in-obesity-epidemic-whats-one-cookie/?ref=health

I'm all over this.

http://www.grist.org/article/study-suggests-junk-food-taxes-may-beat-healthy-food-subsidies