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<p>Any time that you can finish it!</p>
<p>I like BC’s answer. :-)</p>
<p>If you like playing with numbers you might want to check out this site.
[Runbayou:</a> Age-Grade Calculator](<a href=“http://www.runbayou.com/Wavacalc.htm]Runbayou:”>Loading...)</p>
<p>(I’ve been enjoying plugging numbers into it anyway)</p>
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<p>I believe that a successful long-term fitness schedule for those of us who have solidly hit “middle age” is a balancing act between enjoyment, sustainability, and injury prevention. The number one thing that stops even the most ardent older exerciser is injury.</p>
<p>For me, the most basic principle is variety and recovery. I never want to do the same kind of exercise two days in a row. I don’t want to lift weights two days in a row; I want a day in between for my muscles to recover. I don’t want to jog two days in a row. At my age, the recovery is crucial. From a motivational standpoint, variety also keeps it fresh. Not only do I mix up what I do, but I mix up longer workouts with days where I do something short and intense (under 30 minutes).</p>
<p>I think Mark Sisson makes an important point that we should look for ways to just go out and “play” in a way that is physically demanding, but fun. That could be surfing. Could be kayaking. Could be skiing. Could be hiking. Could be tennis.</p>
<p>Kayaking. That is one I want to try. I have no idea why I haven’t yet. It goes on the list.</p>
<p>That’s what this guy on Cape Cod thought when he tried kayaking for the first time at the beach…</p>
<p>[Cue</a> the creepy music…](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>
<p>Shark would take one look at me and say, “Come on! <heavy sigh=”"> Give me something that’s at least got a little meat on it." </heavy></p>
<p>;)</p>
<p>NMinn- it still sounds awful! Glad you are doing better, though.</p>
<p>Dad II- it does depend on age and sex for what a “good” 5K time is- not to mention the terrain, etc. A VERY rough answer is 30 minutes (under 10 minute miles for 3.1 miles), but that is certainly not a requirement for a successful 5K.</p>
<p>This morning the temperature started with a “6” which was awesome! It was a completely different running experience. My Garmin has been doing something odd, though, and occasionally starts me from somewhere other than where I actually am (i.e. the field behind my house). I can tell because my first mile will read a little short and fast. On the evening runs from one of the parking lots at the local path, I have had 3 “bad” starts in a row. You can clearly see it on the map after I download my data. I’m wondering if the huge radio station tower right across the street is interfering with the satellite pickup somehow. Any ideas from you techie folks?</p>
<p>I got a new pink camo Nuu-Muu and wore it this morning with new Brooks Ghost 5s. I am just TOO cool!</p>
<p>Just got back from picking up the shirts and bibs from Manchester and sent out an email so that folks can pick them up.</p>
<p>I sent out an info email yesterday with information on parking and traffic. It was easier when someone else did this.</p>
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<p>That one’s pretty, MOWC!</p>
<p>The race is just hours away, BC. :)</p>
<p>MOWC:</p>
<p>I turn my Garmin on and prop it up (sensors facing the sky) on the rear spoiler of my car for a few minutes while I get the iPod situated and do a few warmup stretches. There’s a SATELLITE screen where you can watch it lock on the satellites (bar graphs for signal strength) and give an “accuracy” read out in feet. When accuracy is under 20 feet, it’s well locked in and ready to go.</p>
<p>Buildings certainly affect it. I think a radio tower would, too. I mean, that’s a steel building to a GPS signal.</p>
<p>I’ve been trying to figure out a new Garmin hiking GPS. It’s like a car GPS, but runs for 16 hours on a rechargeable Lithium battery. It has detailed topographic maps (you buy them for a region of the country) with all of the hiking trails. You can set it to navigate to a destination (just like in the car) or just follow along as you hike and see where you are on the trail. If you take a picture with the built-in camera, it geotags the photo to your GPS track. It will also grab the heart rate data from the Garmin straps. All of this can be viewed on the unit or uploaded to the computer, but – like all things Garmin – there’s a learning curve.</p>
<p>Here’s yesterday’s hike: [Franconia</a> Falls hike](<a href=“http://i218.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/albums/cc14/hwc_1000/garmin.jpg]Franconia”>http://i218.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/albums/cc14/hwc_1000/garmin.jpg)</p>
![http://i218.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/albums/cc14/hwc_1000/garmin.jpg]Franconia](http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc14/hwc_1000/garmin.jpg%5DFranconia){kind=link}
<p>The yellow line is the road. The dotted lines are trails in the area. The blue line is my actual GPS track. You can also import recent tracks from other hikers on the same hike. For example, I knew that the actual route for last week’s hike varied a bit from the trail on the map.</p>
<p>The 310 seems to lock on quickly, but this thing with starting me somewhere else is strange! I would think if it wasn’t locked on that it would make my first mile longer since it wouldn’t start me right away. Of am I not understanding GPS. What’s happening is that it thinks I started at a point sooner than I start the timer, so my mile is too fast since it isn’t running for the very first part of the distance.</p>
<p>It’s recording your GPS position from the moment you hit “START”, just not very accurately at first, when it only might have acquired one satellite. When I’ve started out right away, mine has shown me starting from my neighbor’s yard across the street! It’ll lock on more sats faster if it is just sitting in one place, which is why I set it on the car in the driveway rather than wear it while I’m warming up.</p>
<p>Also, you might log on to Garmin and make sure you’ve got the latest firmware for your 310. There were reports of initial GPS mis-traking when the 610 first came out. I think they are constantly updating these things.</p>
<p>Thanks. I think I’ll try sitting it to let it lock on and see how it does.</p>
<p>22 mile mountain bike ride.
95 degrees and quite a headwind on the way back. Enjoyable, but definitely a workout.</p>
<p>Went on a beach walk with my D and son-in-law today. They’re starting new jobs and are staying with us for a few weeks until they move. Since they’ve been here, they’ve set a goal to walk the perimeter of the island where we have our vacation home and have been doing about 3 or 4 miles per day. They invited me to go with them this evening, and I agreed–figured it would be an easy walk.</p>
<p>I was so wrong–walking on a sandy beach is not easy. My heart rate was around 65-70% of max for most of the walk. We ended up walking 4 miles (they’ve calculated it on Map My Run). I do a 6-7 mile walk at least once a week and also do several 2 mile walks during the week as well. I have a new respect for beach volley ball players!!</p>
<p>^ My old bootcamp class used to have “beach sprint” days. Those were such hard workouts!</p>
<p>Had a work deadline today, my exercise was being on my feet the entire day. My legs are sore!</p>
<p>So, what do you all do when the outdoor weather becomes too harsh? </p>
<p>Went to visit both Urban Active and LA fitness today. None of them have winter only program.</p>
<p>BTW, the amount of time and $$ you people spend on well fitness are making me depressed.</p>
<p>Dad II, we checked out Planet Fitness not too long ago. They might have a plan that would work for you.</p>
<p>I had a $10 a month, no commitment, just pay by the month, deal at a Planet Fitness for a while. I could get in a good solid workout there. As someone who was not likely to partake in the Zhumba classes or the pool, it made more sense for me than the fancy gyms. My wife liked her membership at a really nice gym, but she did classes and swimming as the bulk of her stuff.</p>
<p>In the winter, I focus on workouts in my basement home gym and getting my cardio intervals on the Airdyne bike, with an occasional walk. Outdoor stuff gets tough when the sun sets before 5 pm. This hiking kick should be good pretty deep into the fall, though. I never had the footwear to deal with the mud before.</p>
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<p>Day off for me. I’m pretty much good to go after my hike (nothing like being toasted by the mountain climbs), but I tweaked my hip and my shoulder on my tumble and I figured I’d give that a day.</p>