<p>Maybe not the ideal spot to post this, but… had a half glass of a tasty German riesling recently, Mathmom (yes, the place does sell a half glass, lol) – Schlink Haus.</p>
<p>Gotta remember to try the alligator walk with a couple of washcloths one of these times.</p>
<p>MOWC, enjoy the new home treadmill (and the extra time it provides when you need it!).</p>
<p>Let’s see, MOWC, you pursue your passion to run a gizilion miles a year and you get to eat chocolate too, so where’s the problem?:)</p>
<p>Pg, I feel like that every week, and I have a low bar 
So I just set a baseline minimum – eg. 4 outta 5 weekdays I gotta at least do a half hour in am OR I have to tork down my caloric intake. That actually motivates me :)</p>
<p>For me, the baseline min. involves things I do at home, like snowshoeing the hill. So I don’t have external accountability. In your case, with so many classes, etc., I would likely have perpetual trouble with the motivation to “get there.”</p>
<p>Is there a compromise routine you can do at home, so that when you just don’t feel like going out you can adjust and say okay, this is a chill day, so I’m going to just get in a half hour of x? Or is there something calorically that you love to do, eg wine, chocolate, movie theatre popcorn, that you can “take away” if you don’t meet a baseline of activity in a given week? (I am just like skinner’s rat when it comes to operant conditioning…so these kinds of head games work for me more or less. Eg if I know I’m going out on Friday, I tend to be better at getting my activity in all week because then when I enjoy a few drinks and restaurant food I remember that I do the former in part to enjoy the latter without too much concern about regaining the weight I’ve lost.)</p>
<p>My gf trainer believes that event-motivation trumps all else when it comes to constancy in training. Watching her triathletes would have me inclined to agree. Right now, they’re all starting up their conditioning plans for an upcoming Tri in my city, and I can reliably predict we won’t be doing our paella and wine girls nights for a few months Two weeks ago, she was perfectly content to kill a cheese ball and bottle of wine with me 
this week, not so much!</p>
<p>Terri and peacefulM, I have back issues so I avoid crunches entirely and have now read up on this thanks to iDad’s guidance. I will tell you that I feel (and can see) that a core routine involving planks and variations, the bird dog, etc. will net you every bit and more of the defining abdomen condition if you decide to opt out of sit-ups and crunches entirely. While some trainers aren’t up with this line of thinking, don’t be afraid to request modification to your routine based on the strong science presented by folks like McGill. Especially if you have an arthritic condition. So please take care. Nothing sidelines activity and weight reduction more than a herniated disc, believe me :)</p>
<p>So much for resting my wrist. After shoveling some snow this morning, I walked out to the car with shopping bags, coffee mug, and cell phone in my hand and proceeded to slip on the first icy step and fall, bouncing down three steps. Landed on my elbow and jammed my shoulder on the same arm, so I’ll definitely be giving that wrist a little more rest…</p>
<p>Oh no Idad!! Hoping that you are Just sore and not injured. :(</p>
<p>Snowy walk with the pup this morning and 30 mins of shoveling - I would prefer some other type of cross training than shoveling!!!</p>
<p>I don’t think I’m injured injured, but my shoulder is pretty sore when I reach or try to lift something. I’ve got ice on it. Probably won’t know for a day or two…</p>
<p>Very sorry to hear about your fall, Idad. I hope a rest day watching football will be all you need.</p>
<p>Ouch, iDad. Hopefully a Patriots win will relieve any pains. Feel better!</p>
<p>Hawks vs 49ers</p>
<p>Yikes, idad! I hope you will get better soon. </p>
<p>I came down with a horrible cold. 
My training plan calls for a longer run today… Hope I can get enough air in my lungs in between coughing to finish. I will go really slow…</p>
<p>IDad- my worst fear- falling on ice. I hope your shoulder feels better quickly. Ground is hard!
Michael- I can’t run fast enough or long enough to make up for all the crap I’ve been eating- although I did much better yesterday.</p>
<p>10.2 mile run this morning did not go well at all. HR monitor never worked right. I need to give up on the Lulu tops with the silver threads if I care about the HR readout. I never felt OK out there and really struggled the last few miles. At 8 1/2 miles, not only did I stop my watch and rest- I actually SAT DOWN on a bench! I made it, though. 35 mile week (my 4th in a row). Won’t have the treadmill for a month or so, and I’m going to PA next weekend and who knows what the weather will do</p>
<p>So I skip hiking on ice weeks and then fall walking down my back steps. Go figure.</p>
<p>I took a 2 hour nap with an ice pack on my shoulder. That helped. I’m sure that the Patriots putting a butt whipping on the Broncos will do wonders, too…</p>
<p>Talked to the charge nurse at cardiac rehab, who confirmed that 131-151 is my adjusted max range (with beta blockers), and the reality is that it will be very difficult to get my HR to 131 anyway due to all the meds. She said to go by the Borg scale of perceived exertion. </p>
<p>Got copies of all my cardiology records the other day (need them for pre-colonoscopy appt) and it was sobering. Doc said in it that I am doing great clinically, but she had not told me she’s concerned that my ejection fraction hasn’t improved more and that significant parts of my heart are akinetic and are stressing my right side of the heart as it compensates for the lousy left.</p>
<p>Also found out in the process of reading the dr. notes and looking up relevant parts online that Tim Russert had the same problem I did. Mentioned it to DH last night, and he said, “Yeah, I knew that. The cardiologist at the hospital (not my current doc) told me.” </p>
<p>OK then. I feel like I’m stumbling in the dark.</p>
<p>I was in NH last weekend. My brother’s driveway is basically a sheet of ice. I was very, very careful! Didn’t get all those weights into the basement until today. That long bar is definitely too heavy. I’ll have to get a smaller one to start with, but my younger son can probably use it. I wasn’t really planning on using it much as I can always do deadlifts without it. Had a good gym day.</p>
<p>CD, grrr on not feeling like you are in the loop on your medical condition.</p>
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<p>But, his cholesterol was great…</p>
<hr>
<p>CD: Those medical records always make everything sound the worst as they note diagnosis after diagnosis. I don’t even have anything wrong with me and my medical records are enough to make me fret. Don’t let that stuff wear you down. Think of the fantastic progress you’ve made!</p>
<p>Tim Russert wasn’t exercising and losing weight like you have.</p>
<p>CD- You have done so well. I agree with iDad- don’t let the records scare you. Just stay on top of things and carry on!!</p>
<p>iDad- does your shoulder hurt worse after that game?</p>
<p>Swim and a long stretch in the hot tub.</p>
<p>I was supposed to run 12 miles today, but I could only scrape out 10.7. I just didn’t have it in me. I was actually feeling hungry while I was running, which is something new. Maybe I just didn’t eat enough today. But today does make me feel a little concerned about my half in 2 weeks.</p>
<p>Regarding the crunchies and reverse torsos… those are certainly, by far, not the only core exercises we do… they are just thrown in once every week or two, and I do not have any back problems. When my bursitis was at its worst and my lower back was bothering, my trainer took them out. He doesn’t mess with the back.</p>
<p>H and I worked with the trainer today and he ‘moved’ me, meaning we did a rotation of 3-4 exercises to get the heart rate up, then a rest interval, then back to the 3-4 exercises. Typically we do set training, where we start an exercise with one weight, do 10-12 of them, then he increases the weight and we do 8-10 of them, another increase, then 6-8 of them. These kinds of sets let me lift heavier weights, which is what I prefer to do. The rotation lets me get in more reps per hour, but not at the higher weight levels. </p>
<p>After our session, we saw the temperature outside was 29°, so we decided to take the dog to the dog park. Usually we walk about two miles when we do this, but we got there, and realized underneath the 2" of snow we got yesterday, was a sheet of ice, and this is not a completely flat park. So we muddled our way through a 1 1/4 mile walk, very slowly. As we got further and further away from our starting point, I thought the trail would improve, but it didn’t. Needless to say, the unevenness, and instability left me a bit sore in the hip, so I’ve been taking it easy today. Am just glad neither one of us fell. We should have turned around after the first 50 yards or so. :(</p>
<p>Blankmind- on a run that long you should probably be taking in nutrition DURING the run. Do you use gels or anything? It sounds like it would help.</p>