<p>Awe shucks. The funny thing is that, at 59, I’m in the best shape I’ve been in since I was in my 20s and in vastly better shape than I was 10 years ago. I’m stronger than I have ever been at any time. No particular aches or pains. Happy with my overall fitness. After 38 years of smoking a pack or two a day, I’ll never be a model of cardio capacity, but I’m thankful for what I’ve got. Smoking could have killed me, so I’m not gonna complain about huffin’ and puffin’ when i exercise. In a way, I feel like I’m playing with house money.</p>
<p>Mom music, I got a LOT of that “leafercise” yesterday and feel like I did a whack of kettlebell squats today. And half the time, I was using a blower.</p>
<p>And the really stupid part is that we pay someone to do this, but the pool cover drain center was so clogged (and a foot of leaves hiding/obscuring the cover entirely) I was worried a worker would walk on it not knowing it was there. We also have someone due out to change out a huge window and I had visions of them slipping on the wet leaves, so I didn’t feel I could wait for fall cleanup from the landscape company.</p>
<p>At any rate, getting wet leaves off the pool cover was nothing short of acrobatic (blower not powerful enough to reach the center where all the water had collected) so I had to drag them off with the leaf net pole one scoop at a time. </p>
<p>Mch was pressure washing crap out of the gutters too, which made a mess, so suffice to say I got a workout.</p>
<p>We jokingly call this place the “death house” because its one-floor and we bought it with the “age-in-place” notion. However, yesterday it occurred to us there may be a double entendre in the moniker :)</p>
<p>Saturday, I spent several hours whacking down phragmites at the local lake and then Sunday was a gym day. First weekend in a long time that I’ve lost weight! Not too sore except some weird muscle on the top of my forearms. I guess I already do enough squats that those muscles were already primed.</p>
<p>I think leaf raking is just as bad/tough as show shoveling - more annoying perhaps because it seems like such a tedious job - slow rakes to get just a few feet! Though we have a large lot and a lot of trees, we do very little raking these days. We blow leaves either directly to the street or we blow into the yard and then use the mower to mulch the leaves and put in the street or bag for trash (here, they collect the leaves in the road as opposed to bagging).</p>
<p>Had a co-worker ask me this morning if I knew anything about these “planks” everyone is talking about (note: my co-workers eat terrible, don’t exercise, are quite a bit overweight and are all younger than me!) Tried to explain what they are all about and even got down on the floor and did a demo of a plank and side plank - confidence booster!!! :)</p>
<p>abasket, any reason you don’t just leave the mulched leaves on the grass? We watched a demonstration Saturday and were quite impressed with how a mulched pile of leaves disappears with a mulching mower. [Love</a> 'Em And Leave 'Em](<a href=“http://www.leleny.org/]Love”>http://www.leleny.org/)</p>
<p>It would be PILES/INCHES! We live in an old neighborhood with many, many, MANY trees and also live on a double, corner lot where everyone else’s leaves like to blow to! We do much and leave all grass clippings on the grass other times of the year.</p>
<p>I hear you on getting other people’s leaves. We don’t have any trees, except a cherry blossom we planted, but we still have a yard full of leaves. Two giant oaks belong to the city in the front yard, and our rear yard is shades by more oaks and a huge Norway maple. In the past we’ve composted the leaves, but after the demo, I think we can leave them on the lawn if we can get them cut up as small as they showed us.</p>
<p>Mulching is great in theory, but people I know who used to mulch stopped, because if you actually use your yard for kids to play in, they will wind up covered in mulched clippings, especially if the grass is a little wet.</p>
<p>I’ve raked my yard twice so far, and will need to do it at least once more. I pile them on a tarp and drag them into the woods behind my house, it’s like doing a sled pull.</p>
<p>Every year after I am done I decide I’ve had it with raking leaves and am going to hire someone next year; next year rolls around and I cheap out and do it myself. </p>
<p>It is pretty hard work, especially when they are wet.</p>
<p>I like the exercise of raking leaves but have a bit of arthritis in my hands so have to watch I don’t overdo it. My hands give out before the rest of me does.</p>
<p>This is when I REALLY miss college son. He is such a fast raker…he goes out and seemingly a few minutes later he’s back, all done. Maybe he has superpowers? :D</p>
<p>3.5 dreadmill miles at the gym. Rain and cold weather today forced me inside. We are supposed to have snow tonight and tomorrow. Icing my toe and knee. Sheesh…talk about feeling like an old geezer! ;)</p>
<p>Go figure. I do all these workouts without injury and how do I hurt myself? Yep. Lying on the couch watching football all day! Woke up this morning and felt a stab/spasm in my upper back. I guess lying on the sofa is harder than I thought…</p>
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<p>Didn’t bother me during my basement workout. In fact, the stretching and warmup stuff felt really good, including Tabata TRX planks (which is a pretty good little four minute core workout!). Also did:</p>
<p>Ab wheel rollouts
Palloff press</p>
<p>DB snatches
Box jumps</p>
<p>Rear foot elevated split squats (in TRX)
chin ups</p>
<p>Hex bar deadlifts (very carefully)
Alternating DB bench press</p>
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<p>I hope my back holds up thru Monday Night Football…</p>
<p>Walked 6 on Saturday and 6 on Sunday with DH. Ran 6 today ( 9:16). Did some push-ups and planks afterwards. Left the house about 5:00,forgetting that it would be almost dark by time I got home!</p>
<p>I tend to feel soreness and pain if I spend a day or two laying around the house. That’s why there are nights I have to go to the gym at 10PM on a Sunday… simply to get some movement!</p>
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<p>I’m glad you like that Tabata core workout :)</p>
<p>Bunsen- Good luck with this training cycle! </p>
<p>4 miles in the light (yay) before work and a 1 1/2 mile decompress jog after work. I am going to struggle for miles this week due to travel. After the end of this year this mileage nonsense is over. No more 2000 miles a year. I’m reading Macca’s book (Chris McCormack-former Ironman winner) and he stresses how important rest is, especially as we get older. I know this, of course, but I don’t listen. He talks about needing to decide if you want to perform your best or if you want to congratulate yourself on how many miles you can put in your log.</p>
<p>Let me catch my breath … and propose a big group party time for MOWC! </p>
<p>I bet your mind and body will both enjoy running so much more doing a little less of it. The hot topic for professional athletic trainers these days is figuring out how to not over-train their athletes – especially cardio training. I suspect it’s even more important for geezer fitness. Recovery between sessions is huge. I also think that mixing it up is good thing.</p>
<p>New goals don’t have to be bigger numbers. Your goal for this year was a big number and correct, you will have made that goal?? That’s amazing, but a goal like that yearly would likely not be in your best interest for running and health for the future. Maybe your new goal is longer runs less often. Or a certain number of races. Or firsts. </p>
<p>Clearly you run for many reasons. You like to race. It distresses you. It’s an activity you do with your children. The goal will be there but it doesn’t have to rule or define your sport .</p>
<p>And no matter what you decide, you FULLY rock!!! :)</p>
<p>I hear ya. It’s the little flexibility/mobility warmup routine that I need several times a week to keep from feeling stiff and rusty. I’ve done so many different stretching exercises that I’ve kind of got it boiled down to a greatest hits list and every one of them limbers up some joint or another.</p>
<p>Recovery is huge! Macca says this over and over. I know this, of course. We just get so hung up on more is better. At 40 miles a week I don’t get to recover. I plan to continue the streak- for now, at least. I want to swim some and do weights. I want a break from racing too much.</p>
<p>Abasket- I don’t think I like to race. At least not right now. It’s adding stress to my life. I love the feeling when the race is OVER, but right now I feel like I’m going into major surgery as I approach each race. Not fun. I hit 2000 miles in 2009, 2012 and should make it this year. It is NOT an optimal mileage level for me, but I got involved in the 2000 mile group on RunningAhead and I thought I had to keep doing it. I don’t. Many of the group don’t make it for one reason or another. </p>
<p>My reality is that I’m 61 years old. I have a very wonderful but demanding job where a lot of people count on me and look to me for advice. I need a lot of rest. I am slower than I used to be and slower than my friends in their 20s and 30s are. That’s Ok, but it means running takes me longer. I do want to still run marathons- but not right now. Running marathons means you need to run some mileage. I can do that without it having to be 40 miles a week. I’ll figure it out. I am actually smart enough to listen to my body. I then do stupid stuff anyway! :)</p>
<p>Oh- and I have to get through perhaps the hardest road marathon in the country in 3 weeks- with no long run since September 28. I may back out. I probably will do it, but there will be a lot of uphill walking involved. That’s ok, too.</p>
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