<p>Heh, heh, heh. I’d love to take a couple of the Barbie doll fitness models on those Octane seated ellipticals and put 'em on the Airdyne for half hour of pyramid intervals.</p>
<p>“Crank it in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…”</p>
<p>Of course, the Airdyne doesn’t have a reading stand to hold your Cosmo while you “workout”. Can you even read Cosmo while bent over panting like a dog? Or is there a law against that?</p>
<p>I never could understand how people can read while exercising. I can listen to music or watch TV (watching TV is a little dicey on the treadmill since I like to pay attention to make sure I don’t step on the edges or front and go flying off), but read…nope. I work pretty hard when I exercise and reading wouldn’t work at all.</p>
<p>Arrgghh. Epic fail on my walk. Still an ol’ fat guy at heart, I guess.</p>
<p>Bundled up against a 20 mph wind in my new neon yellow Brooks half-zip and was bookin’ along on pavement through the Episcopal brothers’ farm just past the half mile mark when I stepped on one of the golf ball sized pods from the trees littering the road, turned my ankle, and immediately went down in a heap. No trying to save it. Just duck and roll. I must be getting better at falling becasue I didn’t do a face plant and didn’t incur any scrapes, even on pavement. This one did hurt my ankle. I wasn’t even sure I could stand up at first. Gave it a minute or two and started gingerly limping towards home. It loosened up as a walked and felt OK for most of the walk home.</p>
<p>I will be taking those Advil tonight, I bet. Ouch.</p>
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<p>AAA offers this service. But I’m going to give the snobbish cyclist comment: a cyclist has no business making the call of shame for a flat tire. Cyclists should know how to change tires. (Especially when the alternative is to wait 45 minutes, good grief.)</p>
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<p>I just went out to get the mail. I put on a hooded sweatshirt and my winter down coat and I was still cold outside. It feels like it’s in the low 30s out with the wind and without the sun. The coat gets warmer with time. It’s cold in the house and I haven’t eaten enough today.</p>
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<p>Perhaps a walking stick would help to prevent stuff like this. I’ve seen some pretty nice ones in my travels.</p>
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<p>I have a nice 100-count bottle near my computer.</p>
<p>Also have the 500-count bottle of Aspiring in the medicine cabinet. And at the office.</p>
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<p>I was comfortable in my long running pants, a short sleeve tech t-shirt, and this new Brooks long-sleeve half-zip, which is kind of a mid-weight thing. I had the sleeves pulled down over my hands. It was very windy. I think that just a long-sleeve tech shirt would have been chilly until I worked up a little sweat on the hills.</p>
<p>I used to roll this ankle regularly playing tennis 20 years ago, so this is nothing new. I might have to start wearing one of those little ankle-brace elastic dealy-bops. What I need to do is start paying attention when I’m walking where there is junk on the ground. I’ve learned my lesson on the rocky dirt trails. New lesson learned today. I don’t even know what these pods are – they are round and about the size of golf balls. I was walking down a steep little hill when I stepped on it.</p>
<p>Ankle injuries usually don’t heal 100% and you do a little damage each time. I’ve sprained my ankle twice (not sure which one or maybe it was both one time each) and generally don’t have ankle problems but they can be sore after playing.</p>
<p>One thing that I noticed while watching the US Open this past fall is that I saw so many players with tape on their body. Players had it on their fingers, knees and ankles. There was a comment that a lot of players tape their ankles today just as a preventive move. So perhaps tape would be one approach.</p>
<p>I have an aircast and a velcro ankle thingie and also know how to wrap the ankle.</p>
<p>One other thing that you could do is go with high-tops.</p>
<p>The pod-thingie might have come from a tulip tree. Or maybe it was an acorn??</p>
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<p>Yeah, this road (and my yard) is covered in acorns. They are hell to walk on, too - like marbles. But, these were big golf-ball sized things. I don’t know what they are. I’ll check it out next time. I was more concerned with trying to figure out if I was going to be able to get home.</p>
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<p>No question. I tweaked this ankle pretty good with a tennis injury back in the day – like black and blue and couldn’t walk on it for few days. I’ve clearly stretched/torn the ligaments and have less than full anti-roll stability. Walking downhill is clearly putting me at risk. I’ve gotta pay attention.</p>
<p>It’s a black walnut tree. Here’s the wikipedia entry, complete with a photo of the green husked pods:</p>
<p>[Juglans</a> nigra - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Black_Walnut_nut_and_leave_detail.JPG]Juglans”>File:Black Walnut nut and leave detail.JPG - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>[Photo</a> of Pods held in hand](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Black_walnuts.jpg]Photo”>File:Black walnuts.jpg - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>I don’t think that I’ve ever seen those.</p>
<p>When I walk with my dogs in the woods, I’m constantly reminded that having four feet on the ground gives you much better balance than having only two feet on the ground.</p>
<p>But hey – we’ve got thumbs.</p>
<p>I’ve stepped on those black walnuts, and my H has slipped on one going downhill. Also those spikey round ball things, whatever they are. interesteddad, don’t forget to ice that ankle to keep the swelling down!</p>
<p>Round things on the ground are dangerous. Glad you didn’t face plant, iDad. Hope you aren’t too sore.<br>
I’m about to head out for a walk here in PA just in the neighborhood. It was really windy yesterday but this morning looks nice. 50 degrees. Got in just before 3am from my high school reunion. That is NOT my normal schedule. I’m still reeling from it. We were at a diner (think after-prom party)…</p>
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<p>It wasn’t the inner tube; he thinks it has something to do with the air valve not being properly sealed off; he did fill the tires up completely before he left the house. He’s out investigating it now.</p>
<p>The air valve is part of the inner tube. When it fails (and valves are a common failure point for tubes), you take out the old inner tube, put in the spare, pump up the tire and off you go.</p>
<p>Well, I hit the 20 pound weight loss mark today–for the 5th time! For those of you who don’t like math, that’s 100 pounds!!! Total percentage of body weight loss is almost 41%. </p>
<p>I was very careful on my run this morning to watch out for acorns and other lurking dangers.</p>
<p>I tried out the Octane sitting elliptical while waiting to get on the tennis court - for five minutes.</p>
<p>I could not figure out how to adjust the height on it. There’s a big lever that looks like it should allow it to move but I couldn’t get it to work. I was able to tilt the seat though. There was a paddle for that.</p>
<p>I got on and peddling was very smooth. The resistance is controlled electronically and it goes from one to thirty. I was able to peddle at level thirty though not very fast. I didn’t check for special features like blower motors, the automated programs, displays, etc. It seems like a well-built piece of equipment - certainly very solid. The arm things rock back and forth whether or not you use them.</p>
<p>chintzy:</p>
<p>Is it OK if I just stand and applaud in admiration for a few minutes? That is just breathtaking. What an inspiration. No wonder all the relatives now think of you as “the runner” in the family. Think about it. Your whole identity has changed. </p>
<p>I bet your biggest surprise has been that instead of feeling like you have “given up” eating all the fat foods, you feel like it’s been all “getting” huge rewards. It turns out that losing weight and getting fit is not this big ordeal. It’s fun.</p>
<p>Rachel Cosgrove (of Spartacus Workout fame) hit it on the nose:</p>
<p>No sugary food or salty treat tastes as good as lean and sexy feels.</p>
<p>chintzy- Applause here, too. Just incredible.</p>
![http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Black_Walnut_nut_and_leave_detail.JPG]Juglans](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Black_Walnut_nut_and_leave_detail.JPG%5DJuglans){kind=link}
![http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Black_walnuts.jpg]Photo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Black_walnuts.jpg%5DPhoto){kind=link}
