Diet/Exercise/Health/Wellness Support Thread

<p>ohiopublic, your pace on the bike is at a significantly higher level of performance than your running at the same hr. I’m not too surprised by that since cycling is not weight bearing. My subjective sense is that riding at a 12-14 pace, maybe 10-12, would be a comparable level of performance to your running pace. Does the cycling at 17-18 feel as strenuous as your running, more, less?</p>

<p>Hiking video from the first day. I did this one last summer and have had it on my list to hike again. The Edmands Path from the hillside over the Mt. Washington Hotel at Bretton Woods to the ridgeline south of Mt. Washington and then to the summit of Mt. Eisenhower. Garmin says 7.7 miles up and back with 2860 feet of elevation gain.</p>

<p>Parts of Edmands Path date back 150 years, but it was relocated and rebuilt in 1909 by a legendary trail builder, Rayner Edmands. He is famous for finding the easiest grades up steep mountains. Although this one a stiff workout for a geezer like me, it’s more just a long steady grind with occasional views of Bretton Woods and the Cog Railway trail chugging up the side of Mt. Washington. Only one place is steep. And, there is an amazing path through a jumbled rockfall. It hits the Crawford Path at the ridge above treeline and then a stiff scramble up the rocky summit cone to a flat, bare summit with 360 degree views, including Mt. Washington ducking in and out of the clouds. This ridge is exposed to the prevailing west wind and I wouldn’t even think about it except on a nice day. You can see the changing conditions even on a nice day, with the clouds coming and going.</p>

<p>[Mt</a>. Eisenhower hike](<a href=“Mount Eisenhower - YouTube”>Mount Eisenhower - YouTube)</p>

<p>Definitely hit the high def and full screen options. Some of the scenery is amazing…</p>

<p>Oh… I almost forgot. The hiking ensemble:</p>

<p>Marmot Tilden cap
Marmot Power Dry base layer shirt
Patagonia Nine Trails windbreaker
Marmot Cruz pants
LL Bean Cresta Hiker boots… :)</p>

<p>Peak heart rate 143 or 83% of my max.</p>

<p>ohiopublic, with the volume of aerobic foundation work you are doing, are you finding time to do resistance training ? My recommendation would be that you get in 2x 1 hour sessions a week to maintain muscle strength and mass. And you can select leg and core exercises that will enhance your performance in running and cycling events and also hit your upper body to maintain balanced fitness.</p>

<p>MNKat - the cycling seems less strenuous? I’m guessing because it is not weight bearing? Before I started this training my hr would be 150s whether I was at 9:00 pace or 7:00 minute pace . My running friends have always told me that my pace was a result of anaerobic speed and that aerobically I wasn’t fit . I’m hoping to see a more gradual increase in hr when I increase my speed (some day!) and be able to more comfortably run at 6 minute paces. The nice benefit of running slower is I have run close to 2 hours straight which I never thought was possible. I can definitely see a marathon some day but that’ll have to wait.</p>

<p>In my hr experimentation I noticed that a fast walk at 4.5 mph is less than 100 bpm. A run/jog at the same speed and it shoots up to over 120 . I’m guessing higher knee lift, increased steps ( but smaller stride ) and more arm action cause the increase. </p>

<p>Yesterday showed a dramatic improvement in running pace. Maybe I was rested or because I ran at night at a cooler temperature? 5 miles at around 130 hr. First mile ( hr 127) 11:23 pace. Remaining 4 miles(129-131 hr) pace was mid 12s. Maybe this stuff is starting to work. Nice to have a little stride versus a shuffle . </p>

<p>MNKat - nice to have you (and MOWC, Bunsen, Idad and others) as online personal trainers at no cost!</p>

<p>New equipment day is finally here, yea!!! My wife is telling me I’m acting like a goofy kid :slight_smile: . My morning workout: carry 1200 lbs of dumbbells and free wrights, a dumbbell rack and incline bench out of the basement to stage in the driveway for pick up and start to make room for the new stuff. Mop the floor in perpetration for the rubber tile floor, then drive to my son’s for installation of my old stuff at his place. Then go home. By the time I get back, I’ll probably be so exhausted I won’t even be able to play with the new stuff :frowning: .</p>

<p>Got up at 6:30 am this morning so that I could get to Katy Trail with my bike by 8:00 am before the weekend crowds arrive. Nope. There was some kind of 5 and 10k race going on. It was a pain navigating the crowds, but I still managed to up my miles to 15.25. Yay!</p>

<p>I’ll try it 30 mins earlier tomorrow and see how it goes. If it’s the same, I guess I won’t do this trail on weekends. </p>

<p>For the bikers: at what point do you stop increasing mileage and just work on the efficiency of the miles you are doing? I had kind of gotten into my head that by the 8 week mark I would be at 20 miles per session. Would that be point to stop and take stock of my mph and splits and such? </p>

Wanted to comment on something from my trip to and through California this week (we covered over 600 miles in 2 1/2 days). These days, almost all hotels will be able to tell you where to go to run. Either they have little cards to hand out, or they will direct you to a trail or residential area. NEITHER of my hotels this week (both Hamptons) had a clue, which was very surprising, especially in California. The first morning (Tulare, CA) I headed up the only obvious way to go (without getting on the interstate) on a very low-traffic road (it was before 6am) and within .8 mile I came across one of the nicest rail trails I have ever seen called the Tulare Santa Fe Trail. It had a separate trail next to the asphalt run/bike trail which was enclosed by a white fence for horses! It was just lovely- flat, water fountains, etc. HOW could the hotel not know about that???

Second morning (Riverside) the desk clerk was equally clueless, but I could tell that the roads had decent sidewalks and I would probably be OK. I was able to hit a residential area and it all worked out. I was just surprised that the front desk dropped the ball on this.

My 10 miler today didn’t happen. I’m just too exhausted. I have now run 3 days this week (did 4 today). My heart rate was very high. It was warm and humid. I did get more sleep last night, so maybe I can do the 10 tomorrow. It’s been a very, very tiring and emotionally exhausting week.

Michael- have fun with your new toys!

<p>^^^^What a great little find! Did you set the hotel clerk straight? :D</p>

<p>Beautiful morning for a run here. I met my new running pals at 5:30 am and we headed out - 18.25 miles - a new distance record for me! Consistent pace throughout, lots of hills - hard to avoid them here. D is home for the weekend so I’m off to engage in some retail therapy. </p>

<p>Nrdsb4, I love your enthusiasm for biking! Finding something you enjoy is the key to consistent exercise. MnK, I’m tired just reading your post. I hope you’re not too worn out to enjoy your new toys! </p>

<p>OMG 18.25 miles of running through hill! I’m sure that’s probably the equivalent of a marathon on flat terrain!</p>

<p>Yay, sabaray. Congratulations! </p>

<p>Sabaray - really impressed with the miles. </p>

<p>Congratulations to:</p>

<p>Sabaray – what a run!</p>

<p>MOWC – for your continued willingness to skip a day. I’m seriously impressed with such a major lifestyle change!</p>

<p>MKat – oh, my back hurts just thinking of carrying all the DBs up the stairs, out to the car, and so forth. That’s a crazy hard workout. Can’t wait to hear about all your new goodies.</p>

<p>Oh, I have a knack for missing conflict, thank goodness. DadII, if you’re still around, congrats on achieving some of your goals. I remember you getting much support on this thread when you were going through some difficulties. But add my name to the 5K-and-proud-of-it running club. I am certainly trying to pick up the pace and increase the distance, but these gains are slow for me. Fortunately I’ve not been injured in my great running experiment. I feel generally healthy and fit enough to enjoy taking part in the daily activities I choose. That’s what’s most important (okay, toss in my husband’s health and fitness too). I lack the competitive drive. I’m grateful for all health and fitness support and guidance of this group.</p>

<p>Today was “just” a walking day (saying that with a smile because I love being outside, walking, enjoying the natural scenery :slight_smile: ) H and I took a three mile stroll this AM. Yesterday I ran 4 on the treadmill. </p>

<p>Thanks, iDad. It gets easier to skip days without the streak- and with total exhaustion.</p>

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<p>Amen. Add me to the slow gainers club! I’m actually just a bit slower on the same hikes this summer than I was last year. Mike Boyle has a saying, “At our age, if you aren’t going backwards, you are making progress…” :)</p>

<p>Part of it is that it was last winter on snow shoes when I figured out the whole keep the heart rate down by going slower bit. I’ve been successful at learning how to pace myself on longer hikes that way, but it’s not great for speed. Hiking as high intensity intervals is probably faster, but nowhere near as pleasant!</p>

<p>I don’t really care. I’m in it for the fitness and enjoyment. If it were a race, coach would have sat me down long ago.</p>

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<p>I bet that it’s going to pay huge dividends for you healthwise and for the enjoyment of running. There had to be days when the streak felt like a ball and chain hooked to your ankle.</p>

<p>But there were also days when the streak let me have a feeling of accomplishment and mental cleansing that I don’t get when I don’t run. I also can’t hit the mileage I really need to race longer distances if I’m taking many days off. Right now I don’t care, but at some point I might care about racing again.</p>

<p>Sabaray, you continue to amaze me!! 18 miles - that is so far! Think how far that is in the car!! When you run that far, how do you do it - through a park and repeating a trail ?? City streets? A jaunt out in the country??? I have a hard time imagining where I would go to run that far.</p>