After gearing up quickly for a half marathon I thought I’d do the run and then stop running, but I’ve continued running 3 or so times a week. I don’t go far, only 3-5 miles, but it feels good.
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That’s great, Sherpa!
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I’ve been playing Pickleball almost a year now (and lol, not improving as much as I’d like…just having fun). It definitely has meant less time running, especially in colder weather. That means my pace is not quite as fast. This week I was pleased to have a day where I did a 5k run (under 40 minutes, yay!) and later a pickleball drill class.
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It was a lovely day for running. Low 60s, mostly overcast, light breeze. I was on the fence about whether to ride my bike to the lake trail, something I’ve not done for a while. Then I remembered that it is a Holiday and decided it would be nice to avoid possible parking hassles. My 5k time was a little slower today, but that’s ok.
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Your Local Epidemiologist had a column today on processed and ultra processed foods. Worth reading.
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Interesting, sabaray. I’m reading the book ‘Detoxify’ by Dr. Aly Cohen and she is a big proponent of eating foods in their natural state (and organic) as much as possible to limit the ingestion of pesticides, herbicides, hormones, and other chemical toxins.
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The article makes perfect sense to me. Ultra-processed foods do serve a purpose in certain (or various) situations: affordability, military, disasters, people who have difficulty cooking, infant formula, etc.
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Exercise may work against depression, but is not routinely suggested in the US, unlike in many other countries:
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Elle Woods (2001):
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This is such a no-brainer to me. I remember when ds2, a soccer player, took up running as cross-training. He’d come home from his cross-country summer practices buzzing. I told him endorphins are the only drug he’d ever need. I have no idea whether he listened to me about that.
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Heck we cut recess in a lot of schools - not surprised we don’t advocate for it for mental health
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I know of a case where a wise pediatrician wrote (on his prescription pad) his recommendation of exercise for a depressed teen. Unfortunately he gave the parents no advise about how to get an unmotivated, depressed teen to actually do the exercise. But still it seemed a wise idea. (Eventually there were anti-depressant meds tried too.)
Yesterday I had a lovely 3 mile run. Temp in high 50s, overcast (helpful on my very open, sunny lake trail). Today was Pickleball… first indoors at 7am in a delightful group of 8 retired ladies, and then 6 of us continued to play more outdoors.
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I was formerly a heavy exerciser (thousands of miles biking and running per year) and got taken down by a back injury last year. I merely was bending down to dry my legs off after a shower. After months it didn’t seem to heal up and I was putting on weight (since I eat whatever I want), but I finally went to PT this year. The exercises seem stupid, but wow, it worked so well and I should have done it months sooner.
I was slowly working back into my exercise routine this spring and was up to running 3 miles of my 5 mile route, and I did a 35 mile bike ride comfortably.
Then in May I had a series of treatments on one of my legs for venous insufficiency and had work travel so I paused my PT exercises. I’ve been able to do a little running this week and have the last of my vein treatments on Monday.
I’ve neglected my back this month and I’m sure feeling the results. My spouse has a long-term knee issue that has flared up and had gotten some exercises from our D.O. to try, so we started doing our PT exercises together this week.
I am so looking forward to getting back to more activity and feeling better. Getting physically old sucks and keeping ourselves in one piece takes a lot more diligence than it used to. We used to just exercise a lot, mostly outdoor biking/running with a bit of strength training thrown in (no gyms for us) and it all worked out fine – that simple plan stopped working at about the same age for both of us.
Sadly, my spouse recently had to give up on running due to joint issues and now walks to/from work every day instead. We’re just not bouncing back from injuries like we used to and are facing the reality that we’re likely at the age where we need specific stretching and PT exercises several times per week, possibly forever. We do feel grateful that we’re in much better shape than some of our friends, but it’s still hard to get sore and tired.
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Thanks for sharing your journey. Glad to hear you were able to ease back into exercise. It’s good for the body and the mind.
Is this something you initiated? Or is PT something that a physician would prescribe?
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If you go to your primary physician with a problem that PT can address, your primary physician is likely to recommend and refer to PT.
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I’ve been able to go to PTs without a referral and our not very great insurance pays. I’d call the PT office and ask. Or the insurer.
Edit - In general I had much better luck with PTs than doctors
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