@MaineLonghorn there are several things you can do to strengthen your core. You can try mofified planks. Assume a normal plank position but then drop your knees straight down to the ground and hold. You don’t want to shift your hips or torso forward, just drop your knees straight down. Do hip bridges to strengthen your glutes. Glutes are a big part of planks. Try reverse crunches from a supine position.
@MichaelNKat, can you clarify? “Try reverse crunches from a supine position.” Thanks!
I do hip bridges at the gym in every class, but I should do them at home, too.
ML, I am in PT to strengthen my core that got out of whack. Here are some of the exercises that my PT made me do - 2 x day, 3 sets of 10 repeats. With a rubber band. A word of caution- they will do zip if not done properly. So form matters!
Supine marches:
https://www.acefitness.org/education-and-resources/lifestyle/exercise-library/238/supine-reverse-marches
Clamshells:
https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/blog/clamshell-exercise
Hip bridges (for a variation, do a one legged bridge):
http://www.opt.net.au/exercise-spotlight-hip-bridge/
Monster walks
These are just a few of the full set I do. I have the sheets with the full list posted on the wall in my bedroom. Works great as a reminder - I do one set in the morning and one set in the evening.
@BunsenBurner, thanks! The last three I do at the gym, where they watch me carefully. I haven’t done the first one, though.
The clamshell link is interesting - we have much smaller, tighter rubber bands at the gym, so the movement is MUCH smaller. Maybe mixing it up would be good - I will try to find a bigger band like that.
@MaineLonghorn , BB nailed it for you on the hip bridges. The supine reverse crunches start out in the same position as the hip bridges. Prepare and brace your core the same way and then lift your knees simultaneously to a simlar position as BB’s supine reverse marches, but keep your core engaged and your lumbar region in contact with the floor. When your knees are fully verticle with feet off the fllor, lift your pelvis towards the ceiling by contracting your abs further. In other words, you are pushing your knees towards the ceiling by activating your core and rotaing your pelvis using your abs.
OK, thanks. Sounds challenging!
These exercises do not look like much, but they seriously kick my butt! 
I have been doing my full set religiously 2X a day, and I can feel that things are moving in the right direction.
That’s encouraging - I need to do something! I was horrified when I fell while skiing a few weeks ago and couldn’t get up without taking off a ski.
Posting here for folks who have had to deal with blister issues:
https://www.runnersworld.com/health-injuries/a19574724/blister-treatment-and-prevention/
@MaineLonghorn
I found TRX training/exercise to be the best all-around strength training for me, and it has greatly improved my core strength specifically. Because of the added “balancing” factor, doing planking (and many variations of it) via TRX is more effective than planking on the floor. Of course, you could also use medicine ball if you don’t have TRX handy while planking.
@MaineLonghorn , doing any version of planks on TRX straps will be much more challenging than doing them of the floor because of increased instability and load factors. Doing any version of planks on a stability ball will also be more challenging for the same reasons. My advice is too first master planks on the floor. Then progress to using TRX or stability balls for planks.
On a related note, one of the best benefits of TRX workouts is that all of the functional movement patterns and related exercises require core engagement if done properly. A TRX routine can be a great pathway to increasing core strength that will make getting planks an easier process. I heartily recommend that you look into TRX as a way to gain core strength. Find a trainer or class at your local gym. But make sure the person leading the class has taken formal TRX “train the trainer” classes. There’s a lot for a trainer or coach to understand about TRX in order to teach it properly.
My husband sent me that same Runner’s World link on blisters, @BunsenBurner ! I am dealing with a giant blister right now!
Yikes on that blister. 
In my experience, a small amount of Neosporin is very helpful to speed up the healing If the blister opens up and dries out a bit. Baby that foot!
I posted this in the retirement thread, but thought it would be of interest here as well.
Anybody seen this?
[Neuroscientists say daily ibuprofen can prevent Alzheimer’s disease](Neuroscientists say daily ibuprofen can prevent Alzheimer's disease)
This seems huge, but I don’t have a medical background. I didn’t see a lot of media coverage, just one link on yahoo. Here’s a link to the paper:
https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-alzheimers-disease/jad170706
Perhaps if Alzheimers runs in your family and under the guidance of a doc??? Daily any meds makes me pause to think. There will surely be some disadvantages/discouragement too.
No, I have not heard or read anything about it. I don’t even have a frame of reference for the scientific reputation of the researchers. Anyone?
If it’s actually a valid, effective therapy, I’m (cynically) surprised the researchers haven’t tried to patent a special version of the anti-inflammatory ibuprofen.
I did pause at the part in the article about taking a saliva test to predict AD’s future onset. Would I want to know? Maybe, maybe not.
“If it’s actually a valid, effective therapy, I’m (cynically) surprised the researchers haven’t tried to patent a special version of the anti-inflammatory ibuprofen.”
Impossible to patent a known compound. Almost impossible to patent a new formulation of a compound that has been around for ages unless it is absolutely knocks-your-socks off kind of formulation. It is possible to patent a new use of a known compound, but… who are you goin to sue? The end users and the docs (as contributing to infringement)? Pharma does not like to sue docs and patients.
Have to look into that study…
I would absolutely want to know. You can’t do anything if you don’t know. And conversely, how great would it be to know if you are very unlikely to develop it.
Unless I missed it, neither the article nor the abstract reported on what would constiture a therapeutic dose of NSAIDs and whether a particular one is more efficacious than another. I’ve been prophylactically taking 85mg of aspirin a day for the last 10 years. Wonder if that counts?
I did a little googling around. The MD involved in the research is an interesting dude. He is 90 years old, has a PhD in chemistry and an MD and a bunch of honorary degrees (and apparently was/is active in politics). He and his wife and a few others started a biotech company in BC that is looking into the use of small molecule NSAIDs, including some novel compounds, for applications other than pain relief. He has a few patents issued, including one that has methods of AD prevention by the use of NSAIDs, issued more than 20 years ago. The specification of the patent reads like a scientific paper looking into why folks with RA had lower incidence of AD. So apparently this “NSAIDs prevent inflammation → lowers incidence of AD” is not a new thing. What is relatively new is the biomarker thing, which is still work in progress.