<p>^Just swim, have your chocolate and I bet the result will be the same. Anyway, worth to try. Defifnitely, absolutely tested many times, drop of about 20 points in BP when swimming on a regular basis.<br>
My stats - No arthritis, high HDL and low LDL as well as all other blood tests are all within norm; not restrictive diet by any measure and a very ancient age and bad genetics (diebetese, hypertension, heart desease, obesity)</p>
<p>Miami- you are a not-so-random-sample of ONE! “Tested many times…” Um, no. I forgot- where did you get your medical degree again?</p>
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<p>Go for it, iDad!</p>
<p>My insurance covered a VAP test from my last physical, it might be worth asking about:</p>
<p>[VAP</a> Cholesterol Test - The VAP Cholesterol Test Detects High Cholesterol](<a href=“http://cholesterol.about.com/lw/Health-Medicine/Drugs-and-treatments/The-VAP-Test-Beyond-Traditional-Cholesterol-Testing.htm]VAP”>High Triglyceride Levels: Symptoms, Causes, and More)</p>
<p>Woke up very stiff and sore this morning so I did my trusty stretching video. It only helped a little. It usually takes care of stiffness and soreness. 100 minutes tennis + 4.3 miles is probably comparable to a half-marathon. I may have to crank it up to P90X X-Stretch tonight. That should definitely fix the stiffness issues. I’m also feeling ravenous this morning.</p>
<p>DadII, I’m probably not the best person to give advice, since I am relatively new to running. I’ve been running for about 2 1/2 years, but have had a lot of time off for injuries. My longest run has been 10k, but I am determined to slowly work towards the half for some strange reason. I’ve done the Galloway training in the past, which worked well for me, but I think I have been running too fast and that’s why I’ve had so many injuries. My plan now is to follow the low heart rate training for a while, run a 10k in May, and after that I’ll pick a training plan for the half. </p>
<p>I think MOWC, CJane, Bunsen & ohiopublic could give better advice.</p>
<p>The last time I had my cholesterol checked I was in the normal range but my good is way too low compared to the bad. 
Doctor told me to drink red wine and exercise more. I am good at the read wine part and much better at the exercise part! 
I need to have it done again as it has been at least two years.</p>
<p>Bromy --wishes for a speedy recovery for your D.</p>
<p>Walked 3 miles at brisk pace this morning. This is the 4th day in a row since I resumed walking.</p>
<p>I have a question. The skin on the ball of both of my feet feels rather raw and is red. I suspect I may be getting a blister on both feet. I wear a high quality New Balance walking shoe that cost $120 that I’ve had for a few years. I also wear Balega Hidden Comfort socks which are supposed to be an excellent sock for running and walking. What can I do to prevent the raw skin feeling from developing or turning into blisters?</p>
<p>Weights today. Still having arm/shoulder issues but it’s improving.</p>
<p>Blisters are usually the result of friction on the skin. With socks, it can be excess moisture. Are the socks good at wicking away sweat?</p>
<p>Those Balega socks are good. You might be ready for new shoes if you have had those a couple of years- depending on how much you have used them. I am not a New Balance fan, but even if they are expensive, they might not be right for you. That said, get something called BodyGlide and rub it all over your feet before walking. That should help.</p>
<p>Yeah. The VAP cholesterol test is the other good one. It has a direct measure of LDL instead of calculating it. It also reports Apo-B, which is effectively the same as knowing the number of LDL particles, since each particle has one molecule of Apo-B. And, it tells you whether your LDL is small/dense or large/fluffy.</p>
<p>MOWC,</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice about BodyGlide. My current walking shoes are the most comfortable that I’ve ever owned. I went to a store that specializes in walking and running shoes. They recommended these based on the anatomy of my feet. They also recommended the Balega socks which are very good at wicking moisture.</p>
<p>Aqua, it could be time to replace the shoes. I looked at a few sites online, and it looked like they were recommending every 300-500 miles for walking.</p>
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<p>Well, with all these [Marmot</a> power stretch tights](<a href=“http://cdn.marmot.com/sites/marmot.com/files/imagecache/product_full/product_images/83110_001.jpg]Marmot”>http://cdn.marmot.com/sites/marmot.com/files/imagecache/product_full/product_images/83110_001.jpg) and [Brooks</a> Infiniti tights](<a href=“http://i.stpost.com/brooks-infiniti-tights-for-men-in-black-nightlife~p~5339j_03~1500.3.jpg]Brooks”>http://i.stpost.com/brooks-infiniti-tights-for-men-in-black-nightlife~p~5339j_03~1500.3.jpg), I have no choice but to keep working on the ol’ glutes!</p>
![http://cdn.marmot.com/sites/marmot.com/files/imagecache/product_full/product_images/83110_001.jpg]Marmot](http://cdn.marmot.com/sites/marmot.com/files/imagecache/product_full/product_images/83110_001.jpg%5DMarmot){kind=link}
![http://i.stpost.com/brooks-infiniti-tights-for-men-in-black-nightlife~p~5339j_03~1500.3.jpg]Brooks](http://i.stpost.com/brooks-infiniti-tights-for-men-in-black-nightlife%7Ep%7E5339j_03%7E1500.3.jpg%5DBrooks){kind=link}
<p>I think the reason why my feet are getting hot spots or pre-blisters is because I haven’t done much walking recently. I think once my feet become acclimated to walking again, I’ll be okay. I love these shoes!</p>
<p>Do they really recommend you replace walking shoes every 300-500 miles? If that’s true, I would have to get a new pair at least twice a year!</p>
<p>With running you tend to want to replace the shoes after they get a lot of mileage on them because you can feel the difference as they start breaking down, and you might start getting sore. With walking it may be less obvious because there’s less impact per step, but if you’re making a lot of use of the shoes it makes sense to me that sooner or later it would be time to replace them.</p>
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<p>I don’t know how it is for anyone else, but it took me quite a while to build up to three miles walking. It wasn’t so much that I couldn’t walk 3 miles, but I would come back sore. In addition to ramping up from a layoff, you have walked four days in a row. I try to avoid doing the same thing on back to back days. Geezer bodies do better with recovery. So, if I walk today, I’ll do Airdyne bike or strength training tomorrow so I don’t work the same stuff in exactly the same way day after day.</p>
<p>I’m lucky if I get 200 miles out of a pair of running shoes, but I have about 7-8 pairs going at a time. Aqua- the midsole can break down without you seeing any visible signs of wear on the sole. </p>
<p>I missed my lunchtime run that I planned due to a meeting that ran long and the fact that I am swamped. I ran 1 1/2 miles this morning just to preserve the streak, but needed more miles today. I finally sneaked downstairs to the locker room at 3:00 and got a 3 mile run in. It was 40 and sunny- still chilly and breezy, but it was nice to have blue sky and daylight! I feel a lot better since I got to do that and can plug away at some more work.</p>
<p>I have no muscle soreness at all. I used to walk at least 3 miles a day nearly every day before I stopped due to my injury. My feet didn’t bother me before I had to stop walking. That’s why I don’t think it’s time to replace the shoes. However, I guess I could go out and buy another pair. If that resolves the problem with the balls of my feet feeling raw, then problem solved. If it doesn’t, then I’m going to assume my feet need to get acclimated to walking again. That’s were something like BodyGlide would be helpful. I’m going to buy some tomorrow.</p>
<p>Thanks for everyone’s suggestions!</p>