Sure!

I haven't had blood tests in years. Last time I checked stuff out the thing i was low on was B vits, the main keey stuff for maintaining metabolism. Being a hyperactive and burning this stuff at a stupid rate wasn't remotely surprised, just bought some marmite, which I can happily eat with a spoon, tried vegemite, poor substitute in my opinion.
HDL Cholesterol good stuff, sand blast the vessels and packed full of energy great for fueling stamina work. Good news is with that being nice and high your LDL is less of a worry, won't be able to stick to the vessels while being sand blasted and if you are mainly into stamina work these will be burned regularly too.

Really bad history of heart issues in my family. I would say all lifestyle but volume makes me take it a bit seriously. When I had the seizure which got me diagnosed with epilepsy, the first ambulance came with ECG which considering my age and gender is no shock, they were surprised that my heart was absolutley spot on, I obviously don't look like a stamina athlete anymore.
My wife pointed out to them it should be fine with the amount of running and cycling I do they then started looking at other issues.

Three of us not destined for heart trouble. Good stuff.
 
Ryan, the light thing is the reason I live in Arizona! I do live in the part that isn't a million degrees most of the year as I do like winter, but I MUST see the sun on a regular basis.

I don't have celiacs, but am quite allergic to wheat and it triggers some pretty nasty things in my body. In my reading, I've come across several references to a connection between wheat and epilepsy - have you looked into or heard that at all, CrazyOM?

Glad we will all die of something other than heart disease (I'm voting for a volcanic eruption at my house, but a car accident is more likely given all the driving I do for work). I was pleased the test showed decent fasting glucose of 86 which was below whatever the low number was for normal. I am a little bit too fond of jelly beans and have a couple of handfulls 2 or 3 tims a week. And of course my white blood cells were low given I was on week 4 (now week 5) of this neverending virus.

I get to go HOME today!!!! It will be a long one - train/work with someone for about 5 hours at a high school, then get in the car and drive 5 hours back up the mountain. Note to self- take a decongestant before climbing 6000 feet so your eardrums don't blow out!
 
I don't know about the wheat epilepsy link. Mine was due to brain damage, a shock to those having to realise I have one to damage.

Get well soon anyway. Sorry to use one of your own peices of advice on you but this is a copy and paste job.

Rest matters as you are healing - go easy on yourself

I think you need to do this as well.
 
You got me there, and you are right. Got no plans for the weekend and will likely get in a good bit of rest. I will have to waste a Grand Canyon backpacking permit (hard to get this time of year) for next weekend if I don't get over this.
 
Feel better soon, Sure! Ugh, congestion at high altitudes is killer. Oh, you don't want to miss hiking in the Grand Canyon. Sounds like this weekend needs to be restful - lots of sleep. Arizona sounds lovely this time of year. Minnesota is not so nice (30's this week and snow).
 
Being incredibly intolerant for bugs etc. I tend to go for bundle up in bed and sweat them out.
Usually means bedding needs a serious wash after and I would give Pepe LePeui a run for his money but it often works.
Not had chance this time and it has hit my training hard and I hate it.
 
CrazyOldMan said:
just bought some marmite, which I can happily eat with a spoon, tried vegemite, poor substitute in my opinion.
Click to expand...

D:

Blasphemy!



Sure! said:
Ryan, the light thing is the reason I live in Arizona! I do live in the part that isn't a million degrees most of the year as I do like winter, but I MUST see the sun on a regular basis.

I don't have celiacs, but am quite allergic to wheat and it triggers some pretty nasty things in my body. In my reading, I've come across several references to a connection between wheat and epilepsy - have you looked into or heard that at all, CrazyOM?

Glad we will all die of something other than heart disease (I'm voting for a volcanic eruption at my house, but a car accident is more likely given all the driving I do for work). I was pleased the test showed decent fasting glucose of 86 which was below whatever the low number was for normal. I am a little bit too fond of jelly beans and have a couple of handfulls 2 or 3 tims a week. And of course my white blood cells were low given I was on week 4 (now week 5) of this neverending virus.

I get to go HOME today!!!! It will be a long one - train/work with someone for about 5 hours at a high school, then get in the car and drive 5 hours back up the mountain. Note to self- take a decongestant before climbing 6000 feet so your eardrums don't blow out!
Click to expand...
I live about a quarter of a mile away from the sun, so it's usually hot and there's usually plenty of access to natural sunlight, but lately this state's decided to pretend that it isn't perma-drought territory, so for most of January and February we've all been hanging out in an arc. There's some blue in the sky right now; that's pleasing.

I still anticipate dying of heart disease, just not until my life goal of living forever proves unwilling to pan out.
 
Slowly coming back to life as I know it!! Friday felt sort of human most of the day although I was beat by the time I got home. On Saturday Tom was trying to get me to commit to doing something (rock climb, hike, snowshoe) on Sunday but I was hesitant - wasn't sure what I could do. So weird when I'm used to being about to do anything all day without much notice.

So we did a short test by walking Shoe Hill Loop. Went at a decent pace (15 minute miles) and felt pretty good. We both wore our HRM's and pedometers just because sometimes we can't resist being data geeks. My pedometer was set incorrectly for step length but I didn't realize it until partway through when the mileage was waaay off. Oh well. HR was a tad high given our pace, avg HR of 138, max of 154, cals of 344 for 45 minutes. Tom's HR was on the low side, he is having to face the fact that his max HR may be dropping (he is 54 now), although some days he just has low HR readings and other days it seems more normal.

Anyway, napped Saturday before the walk and napped again after the walk, so the resting part of the plan was in place despite this little excursion. Weight was 139.6 which was a lot higher than it has been while ill, but I also ate a LOT on Friday while in the car and ate a lot more carbs, plus saltier food than usual.

Sunday (137.8) and feeling pretty good. We decided to go to the gym for a more controlled outing. I didn't want to get chilled doing something outdoors, and with temps in the 40's and breezy conditions, it might have happened. We took our rock shoes and played on the bouldering wall for about 45 minutes until our fingers were tender and our arms tired. Then switched over to the treadmill. I started off walking at 6% and 4.4 mph. HR went to the low 140's and stayed there. After 25 minutes I was feeling good and wanted to try a little running just to see, so I dropped down to 1.5% and up to 6.5 mph (9.05 min/mile). Ran 1.25 miles and really felt good. Very happy with how the new Brooks PureFlow shoes felt too.

Didn't want to push too hard, so dropped back to fast walking and brought my HR back down to the 140's for a bit (it got to low 170's during the run), then to finish out, decided to see how an 8 minute mile felt. Only went .5 mile and started to cough, but until then, I felt good - easy to run at that pace! Walked a bit more to cool down, then stopped. 4 miles in all, about 45 minutes, and HRM said about 550 cals at that point (I didn't stop it).

Did some work on the BOSU with the 10 lb medicine ball until Tom finished up his treadmill experiments (he was doing something with various combinations of incline and speed but at constant MET). We went to the weight room. I didn't do a lot more, just messed around mostly. Kettlebell swings and deadlifts, 1 set of 4 pullups, 1 set of 8 pushups, 1 set of 8 lifts in the captains chair, achilles tendon exercises, stretching and rolling.

HRM said 1:29 (included BOSU and weight room stuff), 747 cals, avg HR 138, max 176

Was tired at home, but not that icky 'weak/sick/exhausted' feeling. Went to bed early and slept pretty well. No workout today, but planning for tomorrow. Weight 136.6 this morning. Going to see the doc about continuing earache this afternoon - just to be sure that isn't an infection that is triggering the other recurring junk.
 
Rats - antibiotic prescription in hand along with instructions to take a decongestant 2x day for 5 days and use an inhaler morning and night for at least 3 days. A full on drug fest was not really what I had in mind for the week, but finally kicking this thing out of my life would be worth it so I shall be a well behaved patient.

Going to the store to load up on drugs and yogurt! :eek:
 
I started the drug regime and am planning to really tank on the water. Feeling pretty good and wanted to do something outside as it is fairly mild - 40's.

(137.6) So I drank a lot (water, juice) this morning to get all of the drugs down and then did a slow 2 mile jog at Buffalo Park and did all of the exercise stations except those that required I get down on the ground (cold and damp and not what I needed!). Was fun to mix up my jog with parallel bars, monkey bars, ladders, chin-ups, wall, rope climb, situps, and my favorite, the hand rings! And I didn't push too hard - no relapsing this time!

I'm going to look for someone who can use my Grand Canyon backpacking permit as I can't. Disappointed, but it would be foolish to go when I'm on antibiotics and haven't done anything more challenging than a 4 mile run/walk in ages. If I don't find someone to take the permit I guess I'll see if I can push it out until autumn...
 
137.2 today, not feeling as good as yesterday - I think the antibiotics are causing some tummy distress and I had a whopper headache last night. So in the vein of get well (as opposed to my usual "push it" approach), I didn't workout this morning.

Retirement/birthday lunch at Olive Garden today will be a challenge - do they even have GF food?? And no breadsticks... what a drag. Oh well. I am excited about a seminar we'll attend this evening on passive solar house design.
 
(136.8 )Today I felt good and it was lovely outside - sunshine and 40 degrees so T and I did our favorite Shoe Hill Loop together. 3.2 miles

The run on the backside was really good, although we went completely without technology so no official time. I could really tell it was my first outdoor, rocky trail run in ages because my eyes were jumping back and forth as I was scanning for rocks and footing. That weird sensation goes away after a couple of runs but always feels bad at first. Guessing we did the 1.1 mile in about 8:15. I'm really happy with how good the Brooks PureFlow feel.

I think I just agreed to rock climbing on Saturday with a fall back plan of skiing... love this time of year when many outdoor adventures are possible!
 
136.8 Had another wonderful morning run around Shoe Hill with my best guy! I just love that we can walk out the door and run in the forest - jumping over the antelope poop piles just adds to the fun! Was a bit slower on the backside 1.1 today, 8:21, but overall we were faster than yesterday. Back at the 'ranch' the demon cats came out so we had Charlie and Dilly doing laps on the balance beam, then I did a lap (back and forth) on the monkey bars.

Was delighted to see the ring of dirt around my ankles when I headed into the shower! Gym rat days will be far fewer from now til November!!!!
 
Had a great weekend. Saturday weather looked grim for climbing, so T and I went for a not-quite winter ascent of Mt Humphries (highest peak in Arizona) at 12,633 ft. It may not have been official winter, but the conditions were tough and it was really fun. Given that it hasn't snowed in about 3 weeks, we figured there would be tracks from others who broke trail, so we didn't take snowshoes, just our microspikes (mini crampons, sort of).

We headed up on icy snowpacked trail for about the first hour, then the tracks left the trail at a clearing where, due to dense trees, it is just too hard to stay on the regular trail. After that we went pretty much straight up hill. Up past the old plane crash of a WWII bomber, up past the forest line into the bristle cone pines (some are over 1000 years old!), and then up past tree line where the wind started howling, the snow was flying and it was wild and wonderful. We picked up a fellow hiker along the way who had been going to turn back, but decided to go with us to the ridge once we told him of the views on the other side. Nice guy, but smart enough to know he wasn't prepared to go to the peak. We gave him directions on the safest way down and then headed for the top. Didn't stay long up there as the wind was fierce and it was cold!

Cruised down over to the saddle (ridge was so windblown there wasn't much snow although that mixed rock and ice always makes me nervous!). At the saddle, the snow got deep - as long as we could stay on top of the windblown crust it was good, but when we postholed, it was thigh deep and tough going! Big mix of 'on top' and 'deep in', but at least we were headed downhill! There was no catching and sticking with the trail here either, so we just picked the best looking path through the trees where the snow was firmest and plowed our way downhill trying to skirt the rocks and little cliffs - hairy, scary, and really good! After we lost enough elevation, we decided to head over to the ski resort and cruise down the runs. We met up with our hiker and another group and talked just a bit. The hiker, Bob, stayed with us the rest of the way down - interesting guy who drives truck for the NASCAR TV production company so is on the road 10 months of the year and just takes whatever adventure he can find where ever he is.

The normal trail is 10 miles round trip, our version was probably less, but we went via a much steeper route. Elevation gain of 3200 feet, HRM says I burned 2650 cals in 5:30, max HR hit 161. Really fun day!

Sunday (137.4) I was content to be a bit of a slug, but T has been working on a bike trainer he picked up at a thrift store and once he had it working well, wanted me to set some 'standards' for him - heart rates at certain cadences and resistance. His preferred settings are for slower cadence and higher resistance that I would choose, so I did about 20 minutes of that and then switched to my favored scheme of higher cadence and lower resistance. 45 minutes, avg HR of 155, max of 168. And then because we were outside playing, I got in 3 good laps on the monkey bars!

I'm headed out on the road this week, so wanted to get in a last good workout with T. (137.8 ) We did Shoe Hill Loop this morning in some rather fiercesome wind. Good run on the backside at about 8:10 for the 1.1 mile, then jogged up the canyon which felt awful because we were running up hill against a strong headwind. Overall, it was our best time this year, and so great to be outside!!!

Got to get a few things done, then jump in the car and drive forever to Morenci.
 
Short hotel room workout as I haven't much time. I keep this link in my favs for days like this - it feels great, gets me moving, and works the whole body enough to turn my brain on. I often substitute burpee-pushups for the last exercise as there isn't much for the arms otherwise.
 
Home at last! Saturday (140.8 - yikes!!!) we celebrated my homecoming with our first Saturday long run of the season. Did 6 miles on the dirt roads and AZ trail from home. Out the drive, up 9003, west on 523 to 9009Q, crossover to the AZ trail, back on 523 to home. Good loop with some rolling hills. Goal was to do it in an hour, took 1:06, so not bad. I was really feeling it - a week at low elevation doing nothing but driving and working on the computer does nothing to aid ones fitness!! 596 cals, avg HR of 143, max of 170.

Got home, had breakfast, took a little nap and then started to work on chores/projects and had a massive abdominal cramp. I was curled up in the fetal position on my knees for the next 5 hours, gasping, writhing in pain and unable to take a real breath or straighten out. Tried sips of water, electrolytes, maalox, midol, a muscle relaxant - nothing really helped. Not really sure what worked in the end other than I think the muscle relaxant helped me doze and then the cramp probably did ease off. Never want to go there again!

Sunday (137.8) caught up on chores and projects around home. Felt fine, no after effects other than being a bit dehydrated.

Monday (138.2) had hoped for a SHL with T, but with winds gusting to 60 mph, being outside was not fun. Add some rain, hail, or snow depending upon the moment and other than walking for some meetings on campus clinging to my umbrella (weight training?) and doing a months worth of laundry tonight (bending/lifting/stretching/standing) not going to get any real exercise today... Oh well, survived the budget meeting, found a huge mistake (not mine), and am ready to move forward with a plan for next fiscal year!
 
Tummy distress this morning (136.2) so didn't workout. It's good not to have the respiratory illness, but the antibiotics did a number on my intestinal tract. Had been planning on getting back into the weight room at last... maybe next week. Headed back out on the road tomorrow and for the rest of the week. My favorite hill for hill sprints is in Kingman, so maybe...
 
137.2, hoping that isn't too much higher on Saturday when I get home and weigh in.

No time this morning to workout, but finished up my site visits in good time. Thought about a run somewhere as I was driving Route 66, but I am going to do the hill sprints in the morning and given how little I've run lately, feared I might get sore and then not go... that would just be wrong since I'm here! So, checked into the hotel, changed clothes, and took myself off for a long walking tour of the neighborhoods. Love to see what people do with their houses and yards. Eventually ended up at a shopping center, bought some UFC DVD's for Tom since our local source closed last month, and then went to the grocery store and picked up a few items. Was getting dark as I left the store, so no touring, instead I walked fast and directly back to the hotel. Was about 30 minutes back, 45 minutes to get there, so pretty content with over an hour of walking fast. And on the way back my tote was pretty heavy as I had a gallon of water in addition to some other stuff.
 
Great run this morning - 10 minute warmup to get to the hill, couple of deep breaths, then sprint like hell up, up, up over boulders, loose rocks, paint scrapes where jeeps dragged bottom, UP! HR went from 120 to 175 in 25 seconds. Turned and walked down to drop the HR back to 120, then did it again and again for a total of 5 good hard sprints.

Dang, my quads are WEAK! cannot believe how much ground I lost being down for 6 weeks. Clearly, it's time to get back on my lunge program.

Ran 15 minutes back to the hotel to grab some eggs and bacon, get ready for the day.
HRM says 47:10 minutes, 461 cals, avg HR151, max of 176, HRV was 134 today.
 
^ Good workout. I tried doing hill sprints once. I think I lasted about 6 seconds before regretting it, lol.
 
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