<p>So sorry to hear that the back issue has not resolved itself, NMinn!</p>
<p>Good work on the treadmill, blankmind. Intervals are always challenging.</p>
<p>rushedmom, post your workouts and nutritional efforts here. It will keep you accountable and you won’t find a more supportive bunch-- I have been inspired by, encouraged and gained invaluable info from the regulars here.</p>
<p>Today I headed out of the house for the first time in what feels like a week. Cardio fitness class to just get the HR up and loosen up. Unfortunately, instructor was a sub – bad music set, mic on too loud, incessant, non-stop stream-of-consciousness jabbering which was impossible to tune out. I think I used more muscle control keeping myself from eye ball rolling and frownyfacing, than I did on the routines :(</p>
<p>Nevertheless, did get the HR up to some degree and the moving and stretching were probably all good, since I did get a tad stiff here and there from my “long run” yesterday.</p>
<p>Tomorrow I am off to some nice snow and sunshine, I hope and cross country skiing. Will take my food scale and have my logging app on the phone, so no excuses!</p>
<p>Knees are quite a bit better today - might just be the warmer weather. It was 2 degrees this morning and it’s in the high-20s right now.</p>
<p>Went to Marshalls and took a long look at the fleeces and decided not to get one. I do have enough warm-weather stuff if I get the laundry done at least once a week. I did pick up another pair of Merino socks (getting down to slim pickings) and another Nike tech shirt. Profits on the current Nike trade are about $900 (before commissions and taxes). The measured move is another $5 north (which would give me another $1,500) but I may just book them this week.</p>
<p>The winter stuff continues to get marked down - if you need cold weather stuff - Marshalls is showing some pretty good prices.</p>
<p>I’m feeling quite good today and am thinking of running a mile tomorrow to see how the knee feels. I’m just going to do weights and stretching today.</p>
<p>For outdoor use, I’ve been wearing one of these I found in black at Marshall’s for $59 last fall:</p>
<p><a href=“http://a1.zassets.com/images/z/1/1/0/1102666-p-2x.jpg[/url]”>http://a1.zassets.com/images/z/1/1/0/1102666-p-2x.jpg</a></p>
<p>It’s a more compacted fleece with a wind barrier membrane bonded between two layers of fleece. A little thinner than your usual 200 weight fleece, but it blocks wind that whistles through a normal fleece. Plus, it’s cut pretty trim. I wore this on my hike in Washington and it’s perfect for lawn mowing and general outdoor chores. Polartec calls their version of this material Windbloc.</p>
<p>Their selection is poor right now, but it’s worth signing up for the [Sierra</a> Trading Post - Great Deals. Great Brands.](<a href=“http://www.sierratradingpost.com%5DSierra”>http://www.sierratradingpost.com) e-mail list. They have a 20% off coupon for new customers and some terrific deals on closeout fleeces and stuff. Then, they’ll send you a 25% off coupon for your second order. I bought a ton of Columbia stuff from them last fall – fleeces, winter parka, etc.</p>
<p>One of the fleeces I bought was a black 200-weight full zip jacket. Turns out it’s an “interchange” liner that zips into my Interchange Parka (which came with a heavier PrimaLoft style fill). So I ended up with a parka shell and two different zip in liners. </p>
<p>I really like the 200 weight fleece. Warm enough as a base layer under a jacket, but light enough that I can wear it as a warm indoor fleece. I also like the 100 weight fitness fleeces – kind of like a fleece shirt layer. Light enough for sports/active stuff as an alternative to sweats. Most of the Columbia fleeces that Marshalls has right now are the heavy 300 weight stuff. Same weight as the North Face Denali, but it’s too heavy for indoor wear (handy during a power failure, though!)</p>
<p>I like the cut. I was looking at a New Balance fleece in M but it looked more like an L. I have an M fleece with our corporate logo that I like but I’ve stretched it out and I have a 2XL fleece which looks like a dress. I’m actually surprised to see a North Face with a Euro cut - most of their stuff is made for slightly overweight Americans. My daughter has one and it’s a little generous though she likes it anyways.</p>
<p>I have several hooded sweatshirts (Champion) and the hood is nice to have. Most fleeces don’t come with hoods and the hood is nice when it’s cold and windy. The downside is that they have to be washed more often because there’s more stuff exposed to the elements.</p>
<p>Got quite a few more exercises from my PT yesterday.
We are going to work on my balance- I have a wobble board, but she wants me to try more one legged stuff that involves reaching down to the floor!</p>
<p>I have bad balance/knowing where my body is in space.
The funny thing is, I am equally bad whether my eyes are open or closed, so perhaps that means I can get around just as well in the dark. ;)</p>
<p>LL Bean sells a couple of their Polartech fleece jackets in hoodie versions. This one is their standard 200 weight Polartech fleece:</p>
<p>[Trail</a> Model Fleece, Hooded Jacket: Fleece Jackets | Free Shipping at L.L.Bean](<a href=“L.L.Bean: Page Not Available”>L.L.Bean: Page Not Available)</p>
<p>This one is the Polartech Windbloc fleece: same thing, with a wind barrier membrane, as the North Face fleece I have:</p>
<p>[Wind</a> Challenger Fleece, Hooded Jacket: Fleece Jackets | Free Shipping at L.L.Bean](<a href=“L.L.Bean: Page Not Available”>L.L.Bean: Page Not Available)</p>
<p>North Face Windwall Fleece is sort of halfway between a normal fuzzy fleece and a soft-shell jacket. The fleece is almost more like a felt. I was surprised that it was cut so trim, but it makes it just a little bit less mountain-man “rustic” than a normal fleece. More of a “city” fleece! I just wore it outside shovelling the deck. Perfect for that sort of thing.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Fun, fun, fun! </p>
<p>I got so disgusted with my bad ol’ (formerly) fat guy lack of balance that I set out on a one-leg balance jihad about eight months ago. I have series of one-leg drills that I do in ever warmup. It’s really paid off. I’m no ballerina and don’t expect I’ll ever be, but I have seen some definite progress.</p>
<p>I’m sure your PT has you doing some variation of the single leg deadlift move:</p>
<p>[Straight</a> Reaching Single Leg Dead Lift - YouTube](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Pa2FhCjUhkI]Straight”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Pa2FhCjUhkI)</p>
<p>Those hoodies are very nice - and they’d fit right in with my LL Bean Down coat which is what I use when the temperature falls below 40 degrees. We have a local LL Bean Factory Outlet where I got the down coat (in July) so I should drop in and see if they have anything on the clearance racks.</p>
<p>One thing that I love that most North Face jackets have is the little chest pocket on the left side. It’s a nice place to put a wallet. I prefer the lower pockets for phone and keys. It’s nice that LL Bean has their stuff in tall too.</p>
<p>Yeah. I got one of the LLBEAN down jackets when it was on-sale last fall for $59:</p>
<p>[Goose</a> Down Jacket: Winter Jackets | Free Shipping at L.L.Bean](<a href=“L.L.Bean: Page Not Available”>L.L.Bean: Page Not Available)</p>
<p>I love it. Super lightweight, super warm. Not a heavy duty winter expedition jacket, but perfect for cold dry days. That’s one where I haven’t seen anything to touch at for the money at Marshalls.</p>
<p>Silly me. I had a down ski jacket pretty much identical that I sent to Goodwill because I never thought I’d fit into it again. Arggghhh! They actually don’t make very good ski jackets because the down gets soaked through from perspiration. But, on a dry day or for a car coat, a down jacket is hard to beat!</p>
<p>I couldn’t find the model that I have on the web but I guess it would be classified as a parka (it has a detachable hood). The other main difference is that it has a flat appearance - it doesn’t have the horizontal pleats. It has that classic LL Bean wide-cut geezer look in the most boring dark blue/gray.</p>
<p>Well, 11.2 difficult, hilly miles in the bag. We are having very strange weather. So overcast that it feels like nighttime, and up to 60 degrees. Very humid. My daughter really struggled, but I got her around the course. She hadn’t had enough fluids (did carry some) and had 2 church services this morning and had done some cross training this week that affected her ability to handle this course. We slowed it way down and she took some walking breaks, and I think she did well to complete it. It wasn’t easy for me, either, but we did it.</p>
<p>MOWC:</p>
<p>That looks like a beautiful park! I don’t think I could even walk 11.2 miles, so my hat is off to you and your daughter!</p>
<p>IT is an incredible park, but VERY hilly. The Flying Monkey Marathon does 2 plus laps of the 11.2 (with some change-ups) and it is the most difficult race I have ever run.</p>
<p>5 flat miles was my long run this week, so, yeah 11+ hilly definitely sounds challenging. Love the mother-daughter teamwork! Remind me, which race are you/she training for?</p>
Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati, which will be her first marathon and is a meet-up for our runningahead.com Ladies Locker Room forum. She’s looking forward to meeting some of the ladies in real life. I went to the Dec 2010 meet up in Las Vegas. There’s a half-marathon, too. WildChild is considering it for his first marathon, if his knees hold up through some triathlon training this spring. He actually ran a 10 mile race on Saturday in the Denver area, finished 11th overall and 3rd in his age group with a 62:50. He said he had some asthma problems for the first 5 miles, but was happy with his performance. I didn’t even know he was running it!
<p>MOWC, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.</p>
<p>So excited for MOWC’s d’s first marathon. And of course, if WildChild remains injury-free, he will have a sick race time, no doubt.</p>
<p>But as I was feeling some waves of inadequacy (what am I training for, shouldn’t I be setting similar goals etc.) I came across this quote, which I think applies to all of us in one form or another, just substitute “athlete” or the like and whatever activity you are currently pursuing for runner and running:</p>
<p>“If you run, you are a runner. It doesn’t matter how fast or how far. It doesn’t matter if today is your first day or if you’ve been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run.”</p>
<p>That was my motivational moment for the day as I switch gears once again. Stymied by the changing weather no skiing for me in the next days. I will be back in the gym on Tuesday.</p>
<p>The Flying Pig is a wonderful race! If you like marathons, that is! (I’m a Cincinnatian.) :)</p>
<p>Great quote, CJaneRead. Since I’ve been exercising, first for my bum knee and now for my neck/shoulders (continuing the knee exercises) I have come to think of myself as an “athlete.” I stretch/lift weights, therefore I am, or something.</p>
<p>It’s all in your self-image. You can think of yourself as an athlete, or a dancer, or whatever you want to be. Humans weren’t meant to sit in chairs all day–our bodies were built to MOVE. So move, as long as you are able.</p>
<p>:cool:</p>
<p>CJane, I only sign up for races because otherwise I know that I will stop exercising. I need something hanging over my head to keep me on track. When my kids were little, I used to run because it was my only “me time.” It never occurred to me to race back then.</p>
<p>Congrats to the MOfWC family team on finishing the hilly 11.2 mies! Humidity + hills = one tough race. Good luck to MOfWC’s kids in their first marathon, and fingers crossed for Wild Child’s knees. </p>
<p>I’m so done with this snow. My treadmill saw a lot of action last week, including the 8-miler which I ran on Sunday. I was not feeling that great (got another crosstraining workout on Saturday by shoveling out driveway so our dinner guests could park safely) but managed to run my plannned distance with a decent pace. The side streets in my neighborhood are still frozen, and the trail is still covered with snow in places, but there is some hope that it will get warmer by the next weekend.</p>
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