<p>Thanks everyone.</p>
<p>Rainy day here in Honolulu, so I’m going to hit the gym and take my time (although I suspect it might be crowded due to the rain). Did wake up with my calves a bit sore, but nothing compared to what i’ve felt after some other workouts. </p>
<p>Idad - thanks for the link again. H was asking me last night what I was looking at, and when I told him, he looked at it and it gave him a better idea of what I’d done during the day.</p>
<p>Back to running and feeling good about it. I’ve taken Glucosamine for about a week as the knee problems weren’t getting better and they felt very good this morning after tennis on Friday so that’s a good sign. Picked up a big bottle at Vitamin World. BTW, these tablets are huge.</p>
<p>It looks like everyone is still working out here so I need to catch up again.</p>
<p>Tennis on Friday felt pretty good. Won 6-0, 6-2. I was using my favorite racquet. The one that I bought that was pretty similar that I did some mods to was still a little light and missing some power. I’ll either have to get a very fine scale do further mods or hire a Master Racquet Technician to do the work for me. There’s some very specialize equipment used to match racquets. There isn’t an MRT nearby which is a bit of a pain.</p>
<p>Plantar fasciitis, anyone? How do I relieve it? It’s not awful, but it’s bothersome.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Grab a plastic water bottle, fill it with water, and freeze it. When it’s frozen, use it to roll your foot over it. Apply some pressure to it… Rolling it will help to stretch out the fascia and the ice will help with some of the pain and inflammation. </p>
<p>You could also use a tennis ball or a baseball to stretch the fascia without the mess of ice and water…</p>
<ul>
<li>Calf stretches before and after working out.</li>
<li>Good heel cushioning in your shoes: all of your shoes if this is possible.</li>
<li>Good arch support.</li>
<li>A night splint. This doesn’t work for everyone but it got rid of 95% of mine after using it for one night. These are so common today that you can buy them at drug stores. I had the problem back in the 1990s and had to make my own with materials that I found at Home Depot and a few other places.</li>
</ul>
<p>PF is usually caused by tearing at the heel of a cord that runs from the heel to around the metatarsals. When you sleep at night, your feet relax and the cord tightens. When you step out of bed in the morning you stretch the cord and this causes tearing at the heel and this is the reason for the morning pain. The night splint keeps the foot at a right angle to the leg and keeps the cord stretched at night.</p>
<p>If you let it go too long, the blood will eventually result in heel spurs which are calcium buildups that are hard to get rid of without surgery.</p>
<p>Hmmmm, good ideas, all of you. Keep 'em coming.</p>
<p>teriwtt, Way to go!</p>
<p>VH, My spouse has dealt with planter fascitis on and off for twenty years. Being a Marine, rest is not always an option so it’s never healed as well it should have. Plus he just has terrible feet (first time through OCS/basic training he got stress fractures across every bone in both feet…good thing he’s as stubborn as a mule so he was able to go back the next summer with orthotics and complete the course.)</p>
<p>Two things kept him on his feet…the night splint and prescription orthotics. On his own he switched to sneakers that are made for people with plantar fasciitis and birkenstock sandals as well. So long as he faithfully sticks to the correct footwear/wears his orthotics, he rarely needs the night splint.</p>
<p>Best of luck to you!</p>
<p>If the idea of night splint/boot is not appealing, they do make soft versions. [Strassburg</a> Sock Plantar Fasciitis Sleep Aid](<a href=“http://www.footwearetc.com/Strassburg/Sock.html?gdftrk=gdfV269_a_7c99_a_7c174_a_7c15_d_677]Strassburg”>http://www.footwearetc.com/Strassburg/Sock.html?gdftrk=gdfV269_a_7c99_a_7c174_a_7c15_d_677)</p>
<p>veryhappy:</p>
<p>a) Stop running or whatever you do that makes it hurt. I believe Coach Mike Boyle is correct when he says that you cannot, ever, train away pain. It either hurts or it doesn’t and if it does hurt, don’t do it until you’ve healed.</p>
<p>b) The next thing I would do is start trying to find proper arch support. SuperFeet work for me, I wear them in all of my shoes, even Docksiders. You can try pre-cut demos at any decent running store.</p>
<p>I suffered from it for my entire life – in soccer shoes, ski boots, and ice skates, to the point where I couldn’t even walk from the pain. I believe that SuperFeet or other proper arch support would have solved the problem by getting the weight on the outside of my foot instead of on my low arches.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I learned the trick of finding tourist photos when my daughter did her Amazing Race around-the-world study abroad program. Our only communication with her was the occasional e-mail from an internet cafe, so I was able to find photos of her neighborhood in Buenos Aires, a webcam the hostel in the Andes, stuff she did in Beijing, the lake she rickshawed by on the way home in Bangalore, and even the grass huts on seaside cliffs where she vactioned in India. </p>
<p>hhttp://<a href=“Nick India Varkala | This is Bamboo House, my residence for … | Flickr”>www.■■■■■■■■■■/photos/rolling-stone/364793896/</a></p>
<p>Thank god I didn’t find this page of videos from the place she went paragliding in the Andes Mountains. As it was, I just told her to e-mail us as soon as possible and let us know she was still alive!</p>
<p>[Video</a> - Paragliding - Cerro Arco - Argentina - Mendoza Parapente](<a href=“http://www.mendozaparapente.com.ar/videos-paragliding_in.asp]Video”>http://www.mendozaparapente.com.ar/videos-paragliding_in.asp)</p>
<p>^^^ LOL, idad – when D did her “Amazing Race,” we were waiting for a phone call after she went shark diving in South Africa.</p>
<p>Re: Glucosamine – I read an article that said it should be Glucosamine Sulfate, which not all of the supplements are. Daily dosage of 1500 mg. I found it at Whole Foods, in combo with Chondroitin Sulfate.</p>
<p>I get the shellfish free which is pretty hard to find so I just take whatever else is in it. The studies say that it doesn’t work for osteoarthritis but my knees feel better when I take it - I know others that say the same thing. Perhaps we don’t have osteoarthritis. I do know that I played tennis on Friday and felt fine by Sunday morning. When my knees are bad, it can take a week to recover. Needless to say, I don’t feel like running very much when I have to deal with knee pain.</p>
<p>I brought my gear in to the office today and plan to run this afternoon. Maybe I’ll do weights tonight at the YMCA if my son is up for running. I can lift in the basement if he doesn’t want to go to the YMCA.</p>
<p>Back in the gym today before the major snow hit. It is now coming down pretty hard. Ugh…this weekend was really hard for me with all of the parties/dinners/baking. Back in the routine today while I am housebound. Hard not to mindlessly snack on stuff in the house now that D1 is home. Watching what I eat is way easier when she is at school!</p>
<p>I think my daughter is going to get disgusted and stop coming home because there’s never any fat food snacks in da house.</p>
<p>Actually, I take that back. I’ve been buying these LINDY’s frozen Italian Ice cups for my late night snack treat. 100 calories. Great for eating slowly and savoring. No temptation to go for a second (or third) like there is when you launch into so many snacks. I think they make a Splenda version, but I don’t touch that stuff.</p>
<p>Spartacus today, cranked up version. No extra break. Ten straight exercises in each of the two sets without pausing the iPod. I also stuck with the heavier weights. </p>
<p>I changed up one of the exercises. Instead of the goblet squat, I did a goblet rear-foot elevated single leg squat with a 24 lb dumbell held like a goblet. First time I had done these with weight. Kinda shaky on the first set. Better on the second set.</p>
<p>Nice intense 42 minute workout. Max heart rate of 97%.</p>
<p>My workout wasn’t great. I ate crap all day- and I do mean crap. In fact, I actually felt dizzy from eating too many LemonHeads. I do not normally eat like that. Just too much junk all over the office- chocolate covered pretzels, a tub of “cheese food” that I got as a business gift…<br>
Anyway, after all that stuff I did a 41 minute low HR “run” on the dreadmill and couldn’t yield much of a pace. I am stressed with trying to get ready (including the dog) for a Colorado trip, too. I did 3.1 miles, but it wasn’t pretty. Will go outside in the morning and see how that goes. It is supposed to be warmer.</p>
<p>mowc, Thank goodness it doesn’t have to get done “pretty” for it to count! I swear I’d be disqualified from all exercise if that was the criteria.</p>
<p>I agree that the holiday treats make eating properly more difficult. I am going to try to enjoy the season, and the treats in very small amounts, with the goal of not gaining rather than actually losing.</p>
<p>For inspiration, I bought a new pair of jeans today. A size smaller than I have been wearing. They fit, but are a little snug (not indecent, but I like my clothes loose, so just fitting really feels too small). Almost a size smaller is consistent with what I think I have lost since September, about 10 pounds (I think I read somewhere that for women, each size corresponds to about 15 pounds). My weight flutuates dramatically so I am afraid to trust the low numbers.</p>
<p>^^^ Me too!</p>
<p>Edit: Opps! I meant looking pretty! ;)</p>
<p>I was able to curl ten pounds today with my right arm. Haven’t been able to do that for six months. The tennis elbow is definitely getting better but oh, so, slowly. Got my run in but not the weights at the YMCA - just did the military press at the office gym.</p>
<p>There was free cheesecake and chocolate cake in the office kitchen today. I thought about it and then just made a cup of tea. It can definitely be pretty tough when there’s a lot of tasty food around.</p>
<p>Way to go on the curl BC!!! Good luck on getting that tennis elbow better!</p>