<p>Just finished day 2 of my new walk/run program. I am happy to say I could run with no pain. I’m only running 3, 2 minute segments with 3 min walking in between, but I am so happy to be doing this with no pain. Tomorrow I get to do strength & conditioning exercises, no running allowed. Did I mention how great it is to be pain free?</p>
<p>Good for you blankmind! Glad you don’t have pain! I know how debilitating pain can be!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the fiber suggestions! I do eat salad, tons of broccoli and cauliflower and bell peppers. I just can’t eat oatmeal…it’s a texture thing…gags me! :o Asparagus was a spring thing for me but I guess I need to eat it again!</p>
<p>I was at a meeting with someone I haven’t seen in a while. He asked me if I’d been losing weight, because I looked great. Made my day!</p>
<p>[Phys</a> Ed: Playing Music During Exercise - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/25/phys-ed-does-music-make-you-exercise-harder/]Phys”>Phys Ed: Playing Music During Exercise - The New York Times)</p>
<p>Article from The New York Times about how exercising with music does make you work harder, if the tempo is right.</p>
<p>For some reason, I was ravenous last night and went to McDonalds and picked up two sandwiches. I also had a sandwich and a bowl of soup that my wife made. I was still hungry after all that and woke up ravenous this morning. It must be the tennis.</p>
<p>I was able to put on my college ring on my right finger this morning without any difficulty. I have been able to put it on my left hand but this is the first time, probably in a decade, that I’ve been able to wear it normally. I was working harder than usual yesterday and I had the feeling that I could run down anything. We also had some long points where we were both bashing away on topspin forehands.</p>
<p>I haven’t had a protein bar in a few days and I think that those help to quench hunger without a lot of calories. I really do need to bulk order those.</p>
<p>That NYtimes site has some excellent articles. This one on running shoes…wow…I always thought it made sense to go the local running shop to get evaluated. Guess not. Go with what feels right:
[Phys</a> Ed: Do Certain Types of Sneakers Prevent Injuries? - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/21/phys-ed-do-certain-types-of-sneakers-prevent-injuries/]Phys”>Phys Ed: Do Certain Types of Sneakers Prevent Injuries? - The New York Times)</p>
<p>Talk about knocking down the foundations of an industry practice.</p>
<p>I actually don’t know what kind of shoes I buy. I just look for something that fits (high-arches and wide feet) in the $20 to $30 range and stick a New Balance Arch Support insole into it. It has extra arch support and additional cushioning for the heel and metatarsals. The Arch supports actually cost more than the running shoes.</p>
<p>I do think that it’s a good idea to go to running shoe stores so that you can try them on and run around in the store a bit. You can quickly tell if you have a shoe that you definitely don’t like. You also have a pretty wide variety of stuff to try.</p>
<p>I am tired. Tough to get going today. I told myself just a half hr on the bike and then I could quit but as usual I kept going until I finished my 70 minute ride. Today I just put it on random and and set a calorie goal, no intervals. Lifted weights for 20 minutes. Need to grocery shop big time!</p>
<p>Forgot to mention my new favorite thing when I cook. I have been loving Emeril’s Bayou Blast sesaoning. Adds a little kick to just aout everything. Yes…it has sodium but I never come close to my sodium limit. Love it on my eggs!</p>
<p>Here’s the full text of one of the military studies on running shoes:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA523392&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf[/url]”>http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA523392&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf</a></p>
<p>It’s actually not terribly surprising that they found no difference in injury. Soldiers were either given the shoe for their foot type (low arch, medium arch, or tall arch) or the shoe for the medium arch. So they were never off by very much. The differences between the New Balance low arch shoe (motion control shoe) and the New Balance medium arch shoe (stability shoe) are pretty minor compared to the big picture of Marine Corps basic training activities and the incidence of injuriy, or – for that matter – the big picture of running injuries.</p>
<p>NM - fiber. In addition to the list by toneranger, I find the VERY best for me are apples. I will not discuss why this is so important, but I have significant adhesions from many abdominal surgeries over the years so I have to be vigilant. I eat two or three apples a day. </p>
<p>If you add psyllium, be sure you are getting enough water, otherwise it will backfire. Enough said. :)</p>
<p>Finally the rain stopped. Low 80s, sunny, 9 mph breeze. First time outside walking in a week. Little bit worn out from iPod workouts and Airdyne intervals, and I knew the state park would be muddy after all the rain, so I opted for the short-course on pavement – my old standby 2 mile hilly route, pushing the pace from start to finish. Worked up a nice sweat on the hills and arrived back at the house 12 seconds faster than my old quickest time. Just about the perfect little stretch. Felt it in the legs. It’s amazing how each kind of exercise works slightly different muscles in slightly different ways.</p>
<p>Took my act on the road this morning! That is, I got out of the flattest park in America and ran around my neighborhood for the first time. Tackled some hills and ran a little farther than I’d been doing on the loop in the park. It helped that it’s a crisp morning here. As slow as I am, I actually felt like a runner today.</p>
<p>You go chintzy! You are a real runner!!! I am excited for you!</p>
<p>Had a rough day and evening yesterday. Guess things were so tough for me because I was getting sick! Feel a bit better this morning. The good news is I reached one of my big goals this morning…I have FINALLY lost 25 pounds!!! I have been so close to this for about a week. It has taken me just under 5 months to get to this point. I started this journey by just adding exercise for my knee and hoping the weight would miraculously drop off. I would peek at this thread once in a while but didn’t modify my diet much. When my D got engaged in May I was finally motivated by all of your posts and the thoughts of being in wedding pictures and here I am…25 lbs lighter and eager to lose more! Thanks for all of your help, guidance and inspiration. THANK YOU for helping me get back to a healthy and active life!!!</p>
<p>Yay, NorthMN! Congrats!</p>
<p>Chintzy- you ARE a runner. Good work.
</p>
<p>After 35 years of running, that exact phrase has appeared in my running log! It isn’t about pace, it’s about that feeling of picking 'em up and putting 'em down with some sort of confidence that there are more steps to follow!</p>
<p>When I was younger, I thought about speed. Now I really don’t worry about it. Maybe some time in the future. My son likes to run flat out which is why he doesn’t do distance.</p>
<p>Ran six miles yesterday and then played an hour of tennis. I have been getting a little Plantars Fasciitis lately so last night I put the night splint on the left foot. No problems on the left this morning. A twinge on the right. I need to change the tennis shoes - they’re worn. I was going to do it before playing last night but didn’t have time to lace them up. I may wear the night splint on the right foot tonight as a preventive measure.</p>
<p>BTW, there’s no sense in getting two night splints. It’s clumsy enough walking around at night with one of them on.</p>
<p>NM - wow, congratulations! I’m sure your knee is happy about losing those 25 pounds!</p>
<p>Every morning I pick up my cats to remind myself what 25 lb feels like (one cat is 12 lb and the other is 13, and the 12-pounder needs to shed some weight!) - it feels HEAVY!
I skipped my regularly scheduled run last night; DH and I were shopping for groceries, and by the time we got home, it was past 8, and I was starving! Of course, I could not run with a stomach full of roasted homegrown cauliflower and grilled flank steak! So I just played with my free weights. :)</p>
<p>NMinn, don’t thank us. YOU did it all yourself.</p>
<p>n Minn:</p>
<p>Congratulations, N Minn! That is fantastic. I know that you must look in the mirror and thing, “You go, girl”, to see those results.</p>
<p>chintzy:</p>
<p>I don’t know about running, but I’ve been getting that “athletic” feeling lifting dumbbells lately. The combination of losing a lot of weight and dramatically increasing fitness at the same time definitely changes the way our bodies feel.</p>
<p>I just finished my walk/run for today. So far so good. I was able to think less about moving my feet properly and more about how out of breath 2 minutes of running makes me feel. Progress :)</p>