Gravy day.

Every year on June 20 I celebrate another "gravy day".  My dad used to use that term to describe an extra day off or an easy day at work.  Today I am the same age as my father was when he passed away, plus 7 years.  I have outlived my male forebears and if I may say so, in a healthy way.  I like to think the 7 to 10 hours a week I spend exercising and the discipline it takes to eat a healthy diet has been worth it and that I have used this extra time well.  Today I ran 8.22 miles and did about 10 minutes stretching afterwards and I feel fine. This past year I was able to overcome the effects of degenerative joint disease in my back with physical therapy which I continue to do on a daily basis and intend to for life.  I cannot run as fast as I once did but I do run a few half marathons a year and frequent 5k races where I am competitive in my age group so I feel some accomplishment there.  I also feel fine in my everyday tasks and handle the stress of my full time job as well as those much younger than me so I feel my time exercising and eating well is well spent.  So soldier on and keep living better.

Index card yoga

I put a short yoga routine on 3, 3x5 index cards. I can carry this in my wallet and do a short yoga stretch any time I have a few minutes to spare. Try it, it is a great thing to have with you when you are on the go. tags :YOGA

Saturday morning club run

Ran 5.88 miles with the Lehigh Valley Road Runners this morning in the Lehigh Parkway. The scenery is great as many of the leaves are in full color and are still on the trees. Weather was good, still running in shorts.

Enjoying my Friday's off.

For the past few years I have been taking off Friday's during the last 3 or 4 months. I am able to do this because I have 30 days a year PTO. Fall is my favorite time of the year and I really like the 3 day weekends to get things done like my car inspection, some regular Dr. Appointments, furnace cleaning and other necessary but mundane events in my life. Today I had the furnace cleaned and then I enjoyed a nice bike ride through the Lehigh Parkway. Then I took a little nap. Yesterday I had my annual Dermatology check up, had a precancerous patch frozen on my head :( and went running with my Thursday night running group.

2012

2012 End of year recap

After my last 5 mile walk for the year my total mileage for 2012 is;

Ski    36.3

Walk 406.64

Run   904.55

Bike   644.71

Total  1,992.195 miles

 

2012 was a good year for my running; I increased my weekly runs to four a week from three, I set a new PR for the 5k and the Half Marathon, ran in three half marathons, four 5k’s, a couple’s race with my wife and started running with our club group every weekend and a smaller, informal group on Thursdays.  I also dropped 15 pounds and had my cholesterol drug reduced to half.   The group runs, weight reduction and the four-a-week runs were the reason for the PR’s. 

 

For 2013, I am hoping to do my first marathon and I also want to run a half marathon in under 2 hours.  And, maybe, since I will turn 60 this year I might try to finish the Knickerbocker 60k this fall in New York.

Knee pain is gone

 

 

The outer knee pain I have been battling since the Via half marathon in September seems to have left me.  I think this is due to the strength training I have been doing the last month or so.  I started out doing the Iron Strength program but that was too much for me at this point so I modified it with some exercises using resistance bands I bought at Dick’s. 

 

On Monday I had an easy 3 mile run scheduled and the weather was so nice I added a few miles.  Around mile 4 I noticed a little pain in my outer right calf muscle; it didn’t feel like a pull so I cautiously kept running doing around 4 miles.  I stretched and it felt fine but when I got home I could feel a little niggle so I did not run the next day as planned but I did walk with no pain.  Yesterday I skipped my regular Thursday night group run and since I was off from work I decided to run in the afternoon when it was warmer.  I started out with a progressively faster walk and then ran one minute/walked one minute for 2.65 miles with no problems so I am going to run tomorrow with the group from the runner’s club and hope for the best.

Saturday group run.

Today I ran around 7 miles with my Saturday morning group.  Although my leg muscles are a little sore, overall I felt fine.  My left knee has been bothering me and I have been doing some strength training to help that and it looks like it is working since I ran 7+ miles a few days ago and close to 7 today with no knee pain.  I have also been using the foam roller every day along with the Stick.