Day 139: I'm a Lumberjack!

Today I cut up trees.  Our house sits on a lot that is almost two full acres.  As I have mentioned before our yard, front and back, is almost a full acre that leave an acre of forest behind our fence.  Today we are doing an oyster roast and we needed wood for our fire pit.

First I had to harvest the trees. I rounded up about 10 dead pines that were 12 to 15 feet long and not exactly light.  I carried them out of the woods and proceeded to cut them.  I had planned on trying to jog again afterwards but, believe me, after two hours of cutting wood for a fire you are going to get tired.

I literally had a pile of wood three feet high and almost three feet high.  In addition is also did some tree trimming since I had the ole chainsaw out.  So I was going up and down the ladder.  I didn’t have the energy left to jog let alone walk. 

Kelly took down our raised bed herb garden.  It wasn’t in a good spot and after two years of disappointment we decided to take it down.  It was 15 cubic feet of dirt that had to be moved approx. 50 feet to our garden.  She was worn out as well.

It was a beautiful night for a fire though and the family sat outside roasting oysters.  It was worth all the work.

Daily Recap:

Matt: 2 hours of yard work

Kelly: 2 hours of yard work too.  

Day 138: Time to Walk

Don’t you hate those days were you wake up and you are pretty sure you had a good night sleep and yet you are still exhausted.  That was today. 

I felt like I was dragging all day and just couldn’t get out of second gear despite multiple energy drinks and coffee.  I suppose it could be my allergies that seem to pick and choose when to bother me sometimes for what seems like no reason at all.

After yesterday’s jog I wanted a little redemption and burn a mile a bit.  I hit the pavement  and it wasn’t happening.  At the slow pace I was keeping I got a side stitch.  It nagged at me until finally I stopped jogging and attempted to walk it out. 

I walked for the next 10 minutes or so with pain shooting through my side.  I hate the side stitches that just hang around.  I finally got it out and started jogging again and sure enough it came right back.  My body was declaring it a rest day.  I finished my two miles walking.

Although I didn’t feel good when I started I felt much better at the end. 

Daily Recap:

Matt: 2 mile walk with a nagging side stitch

Kelly: TBD

Day 137: A Not So Fat Pace

Today I decided to add time to my jog and see how far I could go.  I added 5 minutes making my total jog time 35 Minutes.  I felt a little better than I did yesterday so I also assumed that I would be able to set a good pace.

I started out strong with Run Keeper announcing that I was setting a 13:59 pace.  My legs were bothering me and my body started feeling worn out and I was only 5 minutes in.  No matter I was going to jog longer so certainly I could slow a little.

Run Keeper announced at 10 minutes that my pace has slowed to 14:22 and I was starting to jog up hill.  I became increasingly tired.  I pushed myself and kept going

15 minutes in I had slowed considerably, Run Keeper announced that I was at 14:56 pace.  At this point my legs felt like I was running waste deep in mud. 

At 20 minutes Run Keeper let me know that my pace had slowed to 15:18, I was now jogging at a walking pace.  I forced myself to sprint trying to gain back some time and it worked.  The next announcement at 25 minutes had let me know I was at 15:03. 

I have no idea why it was so hard to run today.  My legs felt like jello.  When 30 minutes rolled around I was back under 15 minutes at an average pace of 14:59.  I thought I sped up but when 35 minutes hit I was at an amazing 15 minutes even. 

Matt: 35 Minute Jog

Kelly: 30 Personal Trainer

Day 136: Hump Day Blues

I decided to jog today and test my knees out even though they were still bothering me. Now it more like they were getting stiff.  The longer I sat the more they hurt when I moved.  Keeping them warm helped with the pain.

I started out slow and in 5 minutes Run Keeper announced that my pace was 15:05 I realized I was actually jogging slower than 4 miles an hour.  I couldn't let that happen.

I quickened the pace and really started huffing and puffing.  Soon I had worked up a good sweat even though it wasn't that hot out side.  Of coarse that was when I was running down hill. You know the thing about hills once you get to the bottom there is only one place to go and that is back up.

Needless to say I slowed a little when I started climbing but I continued to try to keep up a quick pace.

In the end I did 2.02 miles at a 14:39 pace.

Daily Recap:
Matt 30 minute jog
Kelly TBD

Day 135: Vitamin C

I feel as if I may have really hurt my knees as they continue to bother me. Although they are not swollen they both that the feeling I described yesterday in which it seems they are being wedged apart.  For this reason I decided to walk today rather than try to jog.  I leashed up Chloe and then Kelly, Chloe and I hit the street for a speed walk. 

The pace was good and again my knees felt better the longer I walked but this evening they started hurting again. 

Daily Recap:

Matt: 30 Minute speed walk with Chloe

Kelly: 30 Minute gym workout 30 minute speed walk.

Vitamin C

It has long been considered the Super Vitamin since it has been proven to beneficial in protecting our overall health.  Vitamin C has a long list of vital functions it helps protect against including: Immune system deficiencies, cardiovascular disease, eye disease, skin wrinkling, prenatal health problems, cancer, and stroke. 

Over the last 10 years there have been over 100 studies into the benefits of vitamin C.  Not only does the list of benefits grow as scientist study this vitamin but they are discovering more and more about how much we need as well.  It was originally thought that the body needed 75 to 90 milligrams daily.  Now, it is believed that 500 milligrams is a more ideal dosage and it is safe to take up to 2000 milligrams daily.  In order to reach this recommended daily allowance most people would need to add a supplement to their diets.

Foods that are high in Vitamin C include:

Oranges, juice: One cup – 97 mg

Red Peppers: ½ cup – 95 mg

Broccoli, cooked: 1 cup – 74 mg

Kiwi, medium: 1 – 70 mg

Green Pepper: ½ cup – 60 mg

Cantaloupe: 1 cup – 59 mg

Tomato juice: 1 cup – 45 mg

Unlike vitamin A, vitamin C is not stored in the body making overdosing a non-issue.  After the upper limit of 2000 mg is reached there is a possibility of upset stomach and diarrhea.  Vitamin C is easily absorbed by the body in both food and supplement forms and it enhances the absorption of iron when eaten or taken together.

Deficiencies of vitamin C are now rare.  We have all heard of scurvy, that is the condition of vitamin C deficiency it is characterized by weakness, anemia, bleeding, bruising, and loose teeth. 

In my research I found many more benefits for vitamin C including a study where researchers showed that taking 250 mg daily lowed blood pressure, it lowered blood glucose levels in diabetics, and it even decreased the toxic effects of chemotherapy drugs in cancer patients.  Within the scientific community the importance of vitamin C is literally growing by the day.  

Day 134: Walking on Achy Legs

Legs hurt, I tried to jog but it wasn't happening so I walked instead. 

Daily Recap:

Matt: 30 minute speed walk

Kelly: 30 minute speed walk

Vitamin B:

The B vitamin group is water-soluble vitamins that are important in the role of cell metabolism.  Once scientists thought that B was a single vitamin, now research has shown that there are actually many different B vitamins.  The most common of these is B-12.

When we think of the B vitamin group we think of taking them for fatigue but it turns out that it both needed and prescribed for many different aliments. B-12 is used to treat conditions like Alzheimer’s, heart disease, breast cancer, high cholesterol, and sickle cell disease.  It is common for people over the age of 50 to have low levels of B-12. 

A deficiency of B-12 can not only cause fatigue but memory loss as well as problems with the nervous system as a whole. 

Generally doctors suggest foods fortified with B vitamins as well as supplements for people over 50 since as we age it becomes more difficult for our bodies to absorb B12 from foods.

Foods rich in B-12 include: Fish, Shellfish, Turkey, Eggs, Dairy, as well as foods fortified with B vitamins such as cereals and breads. 

Interestingly high doses of B-12 have been known to cause acne and a small percentage of the population is allergic to B-12.  Symptoms include swelling, itchy skin, and in severe cases shock. 

Now we know a little more about B-12 and its benefits to the body, I don’t know about you but I learned something. 

Day 133: Unexpected Surprises... Pumpkin Pie!

I have been working out daily now for 133 days and to wake up this morning feeling as sore as I do was a complete and total surprise.  There wasn’t a spot on my legs that didn’t hurt hips to ankles and especially my right knee.

It feels as if some is shoving a screwdriver under my knee cap and attempting to wedge apart the top and bottom half of my leg.  Yes, that bad.   We spent some time walking around a fall festival we have called Shake Rag and I limped the whole time.  To combat the pain I took some fast acting extra strength ibuprofen that seemed to dull it some.

This afternoon when we arrived home I took some more ibuprofen and started feeling better.  I had to the grass had to be cut.  We have had some rain and more is expected next week so if it doesn’t get cut it will quickly get out of hand. 

Me, the lawn mower, and the yard an hour later I had good looking fresh cut grass.  I don’t know if it was the movement or changing shoes that did it but my knee felt better.  It still hurt and my legs were still sore but I made it.

I am also unsure if it was the jump rope, the burpees, or any number of the other exercises I did that caused the pain.  I really didn’t expect to hurt considering that I am almost up to 600lbs on a my leg press, but I guess when you work the muscle in a new way you get a different pain. 

Hopefully I will feel better tomorrow. 

Daily Recap:

Matt: 1 Hour Cutting Grass

Kelly: 1 Hour Walk

I thought it would be interesting to take a look at each vitamin and see what it does in a little more detail. 

Vitamin A:

We know it helps the heart, lung, kidneys and other organs and that it is needed for immune function, vision, reproduction, and cellular communication, but where does it come from? 

Vitamin A comes from both plant and animal sources.  Animal sources include dairy, fish, meat, and organs especially liver.  For plants, the body actually converts plant pigments into the vitamin A.  Plants that contain provitamin A carotenoids called alpha-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, and the most important and well know beta-carotene are metabolized at an intracellular level into active forms of vitamin A. Most of the body’s vitamin A is then stored in the liver.

Other than a vitamin supplement what are some of the best foods for vitamin A?

Ø  Sweet potato, baked contains 28,058 IU per serving

Ø  Beef Liver, pan fried contains 22,175 IU per serving

Ø  Spinach, boiled contains 11,458 IU per serving

Ø  Carrots, raw contains 9,189 IU per serving

Ø  Pumpkin Pie, (who knew it was so good for you?) contains 3,743 IU per serving

Other foods that are loaded in vitamin A include: cantaloupe, peppers, mangoes, black-eyed peas, apricots, and broccoli. 

That concludes my quick facts on vitamin A… Now I really want a piece of pumpkin pie with whip cream!

Day 132: Jump Rope and Burpees!

I admit, I have been a skeptic when it comes to jump rope. My wife’s trainer assured her that it was one of the best cardio exercises you can do.  “If you have 20 minutes to exercise,” she said, “jump rope.”  The goal is to jump to a set number like try to do 300 jumps. 

A little research on the internet backs up this claim.  Medicine.net was one of the first articles to pop up.  It’s title, Skip Rope, Not Your Workout.  It turns out that jump rope is a low impact high intensity workout.  It is easier on your knees and feet than jogging and really ramps up your heart rate.  Think about it, we usually associate jump rope with little girls, but professional boxers’ jump rope as part of their training routine in preparation for fights.  Not only do you get a killer cardio workout but it greatly improves your concentration and hand/eye coordination. 

Bodybuilding.com has an article by Dr. Sara Solomon about jump rope espousing the same benefits.  In it she gives beginner tips for starting to jump rope, for instance, the proper way to determine your rope length is to step in the center of the rope and pull the handles up the side of your body.  The handles should not go past your arm pits.  Also the shorter the rope the faster you jump it.  She recommends a 20 minute jump rope routine in circuits.  If you’re unfamiliar with circuits that is where you perform a cardio exercise followed quickly by another exercise, like pushups, and back to cardio.  Repeat for a number of minutes.

WebMD.com has an article that calls Jump Rope one of the best cardio exercises you can do to prevent heart attack and stroke.  It also helps women fight osteoporosis by building bone density.  They say that what makes jump rope so good for you is that you use the body’s natural shock absorbers by staying high on your toes versus running where you strike with your heel.   

In addition to jump rope we also did one legged Burpees.  I had always called them a squat thrust that is what we had to do as far back as elementary school.  I always hated them.  I found out there is a difference between a squat thrust and burpee.  A burpee has a jump at the end.  That’s it.  They seem easy but I can assure you after a couple you will find it starting to get hard getting yourself off the floor.  We did a modified burpee where you go from face down to a plank, to pushup, to one legged jump. 

In the end we wound up doing close to an hour long workout.  It was exhausting and I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it to the end. After all my research and experience now with jump rope I am going to incorporate it more into my weekly routine. 

Daily Recap:

Matt: 300+ Jumps while jumping rope (I lost count) and a full body work out

Kelly: Jump rope (a lot, we jumped for 30 minutes) and a full body work out. 

Day 131: Trying To Get My Exercise In

Kelly came home today and I wasn’t sure if I wasn’t sure how much time I was going to have for exercise so I tried to work some in throughout the day.  At work I did pushups in my cubical as well as half jumping jacks of which I did a total of 300 though out the day.   

Once home though we had time and decided to take the dogs for a walk around the neighborhood. I kept a semi brisk pace on another beautiful evening where the sun was setting; we had a gentle breeze and relatively low humidity. 

Our dog Chloe was panting pretty hard by the end.  She was pooped and I had worked up a little sweat so it was a nice thirty minute walk in addition to the pushups and 300 half jumping jacks.  I went from a day where I wasn’t sure I was going to have enough time to doing a nice little bit of exercise. 

Throughout this experiment of mine I have found that by being beholden to this blog I have found a way to do something active everyday so far.  While there have been days where I didn’t want to do anything thing I was motivated to get out and do something. 

Not only has this made me stronger I have found that when I move it improves my mood.  I just feel better.  Even on those days where I have felt like crap. 

Daily Recap:

Matt:  Pushups, 300 half jumping jacks, 30 Minute walk

Kelly: 30 minute walk. 

Day 130: Essential Minerals

Today I felt pretty good as well.  I didn’t get out the door for my jog until after 6 PM but it was nice.  The sun  had dropped behind the trees giving me plenty of shade and the temperature was in the mid 70s with a slight breeze.   I kept a good pace and felt good afterwards.  I didn’t break as much of a sweat as I would like since it was so cool.  I am going to have to start jogging in a sweatshirt. 

Daily Recap:

Matt:  Jog at that break neck speed I am so capable of.

Kelly: TBD

Yesterday I covered essential vitamins today I would like to talk about essential minerals and what they do. 

Calcium is important in teeth and bone growth as well as essential in assisting in the electrical signals used for communication with the central nervous system.

Iron is important in the formation to red blood cells. It is essential for carrying oxygen form the lungs to the rest of the body.

Zinc is used for growth and development as well as wound healing, immune function, and fertility.  Zinc is also needed for your sense of smell and taste.

Iodine is a essential component of the thyroid hormone.

Chromium is essential in assisting in glucose utilization through enhancing insulin action in the body.

There are several more but those are the essential minerals that are needed for the body to function normally.  

Day 129: Chasing Windmills

Like yesterday I pushed it hard to break that 12 minute mile.  My intention was to do 2 miles in less than 25 minutes that is a sub 13 minute mile on both sides.  My legs felt strong and I had a good start. 

I pushed it and finished the first mile at a 12:36 pace.  Then I ran out of gas, literally. Huffing and puffing I attempted to increase my pace several times on the second mile.  It just wasn’t happening.  In the end I finished both miles with a 13:30 pace. 

Daily Recap:

Matt: 30 minutes 2.25 miles

Kelly: TBD

Off on a rant…Multivitamins.

I have been reading about vitamins lately and especially the need for a multivitamin.  Here is a quick breakdown of the essential vitamins you need on a daily basis. 

Vitamin A. It is important for vision, healthy skin, bone and toot growth and the immune system

Vitamins B (the full spectrum).  Nerve functions, vision, skin, nervous system and digestive system

Vitamin C.  Immune system and helps protect cells.

Vitamin D. If vital to bone health and assists the body in the use of calcium.

Vitamin E.  Like C it is a powerful antioxidant.

Vitamin K.  (You don’t hear too much about this one) vital to bones, teeth, and cartilage health.

Zinc. Again used by the immune system.

I found this interesting, the different vitamins and their use at a cellular level in the body.  I figured I would dive deeper in to each one and find out why they are so important. 

Day 128: A Good Day

I don’t know if I had a 48 hour thing going on or what but today was completely different from yesterday where I had no energy and felt like crap.  I decided to start trying to break that 13 minute mark for my mile.

Using my trusty RunKeeper app, which has issued an update and has added a couple of features that makes it all the more usable like delayed start, I set out.  If you have ever wondered what the road I run looks like below is what was recorded for elevation. 

That is what the road feels like too.  It is almost all up hill until you hit the one mile mark.  So not only am I trying to beat a mile in under 13 minutes I have to do it running up hill. 

I was doing good when my phone announed 5 minutes in that I had a 13 minute pace.  I figured that if I just pushed a little harder I would come in under for my first mile.  No such luck.  You see the hill I have to climb between the half mile and mile mark.  It is brutal.

First mile results:

As you can see from the above I kept a consistent pace for much of the first mile.  If  I was going to beat my goal I was going to have to push my self for the second mile.

Second mile results:

I began sprinting for 10 to 15 seconds running as hard as I could for as long as I could until I had to slow to a jog.  I got much better results doing this. 

The peaks are slower than the valleys, that is the faster I run the deeper the valley.  My fastest was a 9:19 pace or almost 6 ½ miles an hour.  I don’t know about you but I was impressed with myself. 

There you have the graphical representation of my run and the topography. 

Daily Recap:

Matt:

Kelly: TBD

Day 127: Done, Maybe

There was no energy in this body today.  I had a horrible nights sleep and the feelings from the day before transferred to today.  I felt run down and burned up.  Honestly, if it wasn’t for this blog I may have just went home and parked myself on the couch the rest of the night.

Jogging was out of the question.  My legs and knees ached and beyond that I had zero energy.  I briefly thought of jumping rope but dismissed that since my thighs and claves hurt.  Lifting weights?  Negative, I was not sure I had recovered from Thursday,  my shoulder and triceps were still bothering me.  Okay, that left what exactly?  One thing; a walk. 

Yes, today I walked for thirty minutes and it almost killed me.  I was completely spent. My energy levels were empty. 

I still don’t know if it is allergies or simply the beginnings of a little cold.   Either way I was done.

Daily Recap:

Matt: 30 minute walk.

Kelly: TBD

Day 126: Do You Starve a Fever?

I woke up this morning not feeling all that good.  I wasn’t sure why, I had body aches and felt exhausted.  I thought maybe a good sweat would get it out.  I suited up complete with a hoodie sweatshirt and hit the road. I kept up a good pace running through the exhaustion thinking the whole time that when I was done I would feel better. 

I finished my run, had a protein shake, and hit the shower.  Afterwards I felt worse.  I had body aches and pains. It was a bad day.  I am not sure if I am coming down with a cold or its just allergies from this time of year but whatever it is, it sucks.

The rest of the day I parked myself on the couch and watched football.  I just felt like crap and there wasn’t any getting better.  It had me thinking, if it was allergies, like what my poor dog Chloe has, what causes it.

This is what I found.  Allergies are a hypersensitivity disorder caused by the immune system and its reaction to normally harmless substances in the environment.  Allergic reaction are an excess activation of certain white blood cells called mast cells and basophils by a type of antibody called immunoglobulin E. Responses can range from mildly uncomfortable to deadly. 

Daily Recap:

Matt: 33 minutes jogging

Kelly: TBD

Blog Thought of the Day:

They say that you should “feed a cold” and “starve a fever” my question is: Why?  No one really knows but it dates back as far as 1574.  Some believe it has to do with old medical wisdom and that it refers to eating herbs and drinking tonics.  Remember that during that time they still believed that most aliments were caused by the body creating too much blood or other such nonsense.  I just found that interesting.  

Day 125: Roundup and Your Food

I seem to see this on Facebook, a warning about the horrors of Monsanto and it weed killer or GMO food stuffs I thought I would do a little research and see if I could separate some of the fact from fiction. 

There is always that glyphosate chemical that we are warned to stay away from, but it’s in herbicides so there is no way to stay away from it and what the heck is it anyway? 

Glyphosate is Roundup, which we have been using since the 1970s.  If this caused all the problems they say it does where are the shyster lawyers, the sick kids, and billion dollar settlement.  We haven’t seen that because all the research done on Roundup has found it to be generally safe.  The only fatalities in humans have been from deliberate overdoses.  In fact over a 13 year period in California none of the 515 hospitalized for pesticide illnesses none were attributed to glyphosate.

While deliberate ingestion of Roundup in quantities ranging from 85 to 200 ml has resulted in death quantities as large as 500 ml have been found to have only mild to moderate symptoms and these are people trying to kill themselves. That is not a miniscule residue left over on a tomato that is drinking roughly 20 ounces of the stuff.

A study in 2000 concluded that there is no potential for Roundup herbicide to pose a health risk to humans.  An additional study by the European Union reached the same conclusion in 2002. 

In the water supply such as stream and creeks where it has been found, according to research done as far back at the 1980s it is “practically nontoxic to slightly toxic” for amphibians and fish.

There was a study done in 1992 where it was found it harmed earthworms.  Actually field studies had a much different result.   Roundup was used at 2 kilograms per hectare to kill weeds and when all was said and done there were no found effects on earthworms or beneficial insects.

The argument that Monsanto, the producer of Roundup, has its employees use biohazard suits when working with large quantities of Roundup is a straw man argument.  There is a big difference between spraying some veggies with the stuff and weeks going by of rain and exposure before harvest repeated washing and finally, hopefully you washing your fruits and vegetables before consumption and taking a bath in the stuff. 

There are many things that occur naturally that we consume in tiny quantities that would kill us if we consumed it in large amounts; Mercury being one.   Mercury is found it such high quantities in Shark and Halibut that it is suggested you only consume them a few times a month and yet I have to listen to people how constantly tell me fish is better than red meat. 

This is just another internet scare where it sounds really bad but it’s just not.

Daily Recap:

Matt: Mow the Lawn 35 minutes

Kelly: TBD 

Day 124: The Run Walk

Yet again I have hit a wall.  After yesterdays gruling full body work I am sore and tired and I do not feel like working out.  But I did.

After work it was jogging time again. I know this is becoming predictable. Wait, there is more.  I had every intention of running my legs were not about to let me.  After all the weight I forced them to do yesterday they were shot and really didn’t feel like cooperating.  5 minutes in Run Keeper let me know that my pace was barely moving and I stopped jogging.

Instead I decided to speed walk.  Believe it or not I actually increased my pace and my legs were thanking me.  After the 15 minute mark I decided to try to jog again.  My thighs were in excruciating pain and when Run Keeper announced 20 minutes in I started walking again.  My gluts and my hamstring on my left leg were really bothering me.  I kept speed walking and since I was speed walking I kept going right past the 30 minute mark. 

At 35 minutes I was done. That was all my legs could take.  I had pain in my calves, thighs, hams, and gluts.  I was almost limping.  You know “they” say the third day is worse.  I hope not I may not be able to walk. 

In addition my arms are shot as well.  Not like the last time where I had problems putting on a shirt but I am feeling it. 

Daily Recap:

Matt: 35 minute Jog/Walk

Kelly: 30 minute treadmill work out

Day 123: Lifting Weights

We hit the gym today after work and instead of my normal cardio I decided to hit the weights.  Even though it had been a while I turned it up and kept the weights at what I was at the last time I lifted.  It felt good, however due to how crowed the gym was I had to lift out of sequence which meant that I had to start with my chest.  My triceps were shot by the time I got to my shoulders.

The thing about the sequence is that it allows a muscle group to rest while you work another muscle group. Without this rest your muscles hit fatigue faster and you are unable to lift the amount of weight you want to. 

I stretched it a little with my legs.  I built up to maxing out the machine; since again the free weight leg press was taken I had to use the machine.  It maxes out at 410lbs. That is what I did.  3 sets of 12 at 410lbs.   

In the end I over did it a little and felt sick. It wasn’t until I was able to eat a protein bar that I started feeling better. 

Daily recap:

Matt: Full Body Work Out

Kelly: 1 hour with personal trainer, 30 min on treadmill

Day 122: My Own Personal 5K

Yesterday I ran for almost 40 minutes so today I decided to hit the 40 minute mark.  If I run the loop, that is form my mail box to the end of the road back to the cul de sac at the other end of my neighborhood and returning to my mail box that is a little over three miles, or 5k. I set out just to run 40 minutes but I was so close I decided to finish the loop which is 3.1 miles or 5K.

I felt good about myself for running at a better than 4 miles an hour pace and completing 5K in less than 45 minutes that is until I looked up the average time for a 5K in the US: 25 minutes.  That is a 20 minutes better than what I ran it at.

At least I have a marker now in which I can measure myself. I only need to keep up a fast pace for 25 minutes, that may be doable. In the meantime by looking up 5Ks I got on the subject of running a marathon and learned a few things.

I knew that the idea of a marathon came from the Greeks, but I didn’t know that it is to commemorate the run of Pheidippides, a soldier who ran from the town of Marathon to Athens in 490 BC to announce victory for the Grecian army.  The legend says that after he delivered his message he collapsed and died.

The first modern marathon was held in 1896 at the first modern Olympic games in Greece.  Somehow it seems fitting that a Greek postal worker would be the first person to win a modern marathon (I wonder if he delivered any messages).  His name was Spiridon Louis and he completed it in 2 hours, 58 minutes, 50 seconds.

Leave it to the British to change things up.  Not complacent with a 24 mile marathon the British had to change it to 26.2 miles.  The additional 2.2 miles were added so the race would finish in front of the royal family’s viewing box when London hosted the Olympics in 1908.  Traditionally this is why marathon runners shout “God save the Queen!” (Or other saying related to the Queen if you get my meaning) when they pass the 24 mile mark.

I found it to be an interesting bit of history and thought I would share.

Daily Recap:

Matt: 5K – 42:30 average pace 14:13 a mile.

Kelly: 30 minutes treadmill at the gym

Day 121: The Joys of Running

It seems like I always hear about how bad running is for you. Today I had a discussion about the aches and pains caused by running in worn out shoes.  Even with that someone always adds their two cents about how destructive it is on the knees and joints and they will tick off reasons as to why you should ride a bike or some other lower impact exercise. 

There are plenty of people who jog most of their lives and never experience severe knee problems and on the flip side of that coin, I had a friend who had a knee operation when we were in the 6^th grade and guess what?  He never ran as a kid.  He didn’t even play a sport, he just had bad knees.

Ever notice as well that the person who gives you those reasons for not running always looks like they couldn’t walk a mile, let alone, run one?  With all the information out there on the health dangers of running I thought I would address a few of the benefits.

1.       It has been medically proven that running helps fight disease by reducing the risk of stroke and breast cancer.  Doctors have prescribed running to patients who are at a high risk of diabetes, hypertension and blood clots.  Furthermore running helps reduce bone loss in people in the early stages of osteoporosis and increases bone mass and density.  It also helps with the elasticity of arteries since running causes your arteries to expand and contract almost three times as much as normal.

2.       Running helps fight stress.  It could be that the time alone helps you think about your problems or simply escaping for a while, but it has been proven to reduce tension and solve nagging headaches.  Speed runs help you deal with anger and aggression.  The overall physical exertions relieve minor body aches and helps with mental focus.

3.       Needless to say running helps you lose weight.  According to research 60% of runners start running to manage their weight. Running is one of the best activities you can do to burn fat and with the exception of cross country skiing, running burns more calories than any other type of cardio exercise.

4.       Running helps slow the aging process.  Regular runners do not have the bone or muscle loss of non-runners.  In addition it promotes the release of HGH (Human Growth Hormone) which as body wide benefits from reducing aging in you internal organs to giving you skin a younger glow. Running creates a higher concentration of lymphocytes in the blood which is beneficial to the immune system.

There are many other benefits as well but those are what I could consider the most important. Your heart, mind, and body all experience great benefits from running so why not start today and see what a difference it will make in your life.

Daily Recap:

Matt: 38 minutes jogging. I went past the two mile mark to the end of our road

Kelly: 1 hour with her personal trainer 

Day 120: One Third of the Way Through

A lot can happen in four months.  I have made a conscious effort to exercise everyday even if it is just walking for 30 minutes.  I have had sore muscles and heart ache with losing Isabella.  I have suffered some setbacks and haven’t lost weight the way I thought I would.  Over all I have struggled sometimes just to find the 30 minutes I need to break a sweat. I have continued to find that time everyday so far no matter what. 

Today was one of the most trying.  Work conspired to try to stop me.  We had a big proposal due that had to go out overnight FedEx.  As with all projects there were some delays and document reworks which kept me at the office until quarter to seven.  I really can’t complain since such delays are a rarity and only happen literally a couple of times a year.

I was starving by the time I finally made it home and we ate dinner.  Now at 8:20 I still had to exercise.  It was time to get creative.  After dinner we took the dogs for a brisk walk around the neighborhood, stopping only when they had to go.  When we finished the whole walk only took 20 minutes which meant I still had 10 minutes to burn. 

Underneath the street lamp in my driveway at quarter to 9 at night I jumped rope for 10 minutes.  I remember my legs hurting from my first attempt at jumping rope but I forgot how much of a cardio workout it is.  I was huffing and puffing!  Several times I had to stop just to catch my breath.  I am convinced that I need to jump rope more often.  My jump count got as high as 34 jumps in a row without messing up.  Fatigue sets in and it gets harder and harder to hand eye coordinate.  I have to admit I felt better after getting in some physical activity.

Daily Recap:

Matt: 30 minutes exercise (20 minutes brisk walk, 10 minutes jumping rope)

Kelly: 50 minutes exercise (30 minutes treadmill, 20 minutes brisk walk)

Blog Thought of the Day:

It has been a challenge working in some form of physical activity for 30 minutes a day over the pay 120 days. I have had to get creative at times and even use common household chores (mowing the yard being one) in order to ensure I exercised. I have found that I at first I dreaded it and now I crave it.  I feel better afterwards.  Now that exercise is a given I really need to work on diet over the next 120 days.

Isabella Update:

Today we received Bella back from our vet.  The cremation was very tastefully done.  Kelly and I plan on planting a dogwood tree in her memory.  Thanks to everyone for your support through such a difficult time.  It hurt to say good bye but we know she is at peace and without pain.  

Day 119: Sunday No Fun Day

Sunday was a concentrated effort to clean our home office which over the last few months had gotten out of hand.  We shredded papers like we were about to be audited by the FBI.  In the end we got rid of a filing cabinet full of old paper work and I don’t know how many trash bags of shredded paper. 

It was the kind of day where the time just gets away from you.  You know what I mean. The clock says it’s 2 PM and the next time you check it’s 6 PM and you are wondering what happened.  How does that happen anyway?  It’s like the time gremlin robs you of a few minutes here and an hour there. 

After working in the office all day I was feeling cooped up and needed to get out for a jog to clear my head and relieve the stress that I was carrying in my shoulders and back.  It was the kind of stress and strain from sitting in a chair and looking at papers all day or trying to figure out why the computer is not working the way it is supposed to.

I had the beginnings of a tension head ache behind my eyes.  I could feel it dissipate as soon as I hit the pavement. The knot in my shoulders began melting away.  The temperature was good since the sun was going down and we had a nice evening breeze.  I had a good pace for the first mile my legs felt good and I picked up speed as my muscles warmed up to the exercise.  I slowed some for the second mile purposely setting a slower pace to enjoy the outdoors and enjoy the woodsy evening smells that come with evening.   

My legs felt good despite the girth I was asking them to carry around at a better than 4 mile and hour pace.  I will need new shoes soon since I have actually put on a few pounds, as I mentioned, over the past few weeks with Bella’s illness. 

This evening after all was said and done; I had some fatigue in my legs.  They felt strong but tired. 

Daily Recap:

Matt: 30 minute evening jog

Blog Thought of the Day:

I enjoy jogging in the evening, but its still not my favorite time to jog.  As enjoyable as the evening is I still prefer the middle of the day especially in the hot sun.  With that I would ask: What is your favorite time of day to exercise?  Morning, day, evening?  

Day 118: Groundhogs Day All Over Again

Got up early on a Saturday for the first time in a long time.  Kelly had the garage sale going full swing and I was following through on the normal things we do on Saturdays.  After giving the house a good scrubbing the grass was dry enough for me to tackle the back yard with the lawn mower.

It was quite a job.  I bagged the back yard.  Usually I fill one of my yard trash cans one and a half times when I bag. Not today.  The jungle took three full cans and one full bag to get it all done.  My back yard is almost all direct sun at 1 PM and it was beating down like a desert heat.  I realized that it has been a while since it has rained. 

All in all it was a beautiful day to be outside despite the heat.

This evening we were both beat.

Daily Recap:

Matt: Mowing the yard 1 Hour

Kelly: Lifting and moving all day in the garage

Day 117: No More Half Day Fridays

What a bummer.  Labor Day has come and gone, with it summer and my half day Fridays.  That means that I have to stay at work all day on Friday.  Every Friday should be half day Friday.  I still got out a little early to beat the rush hour traffic. 

I had planned on jogging but my front yard was in desperate need of a trimming especially since Kelly and her mom decided to do a garage sale on Saturday.  The lawn had to be presentable.  You know what that means: Mowing the grass for exercise.

It was hot, dry, and dusty.  I thought I would have to stop to rehydrate but in the end I put my head down and finished.  Pushing a lawn mower up and down a hill is exhausting.  In the end I was tired and drenched in sweat. 

Daily Recap:

Matt: 1 Hour Push Mowing the Lawn

Kelly: 1 Hour walk around the lake

Day 116: Slacking Off With Comfort Food

I have been slacking as of late with this blog and in the timely manner in which I have been posting.  The last month has been hard emotionally and I now starting to heal from my grief.  For the past week most of my blog entries have been written I just haven’t published them and I want to apologize to you, my readers.  Just as I need to clean up my diet, so too, I need to get back in the saddle with timely blog publishing.  I have struggled with both.

Why is it eating bad is so easy?  We all know we should eat in moderation and avoid certain foods but what makes fried chicken so comforting?  Are comfort foods associated with memories, taste, sensations?   

It is believed that comfort food often provides a nostalgic or sentimental feeling to the person eating it which makes me ask myself what happy memories do I have associated with fried chicken?  How about pizza?  I can’t really think of one other than I love the taste.  As a kid I didn’t eat a lot of fried food since my father grilled mostly.

Why aren’t corn dogs one of my comfort foods?  As a kid, if I behaved in church, every Sunday we would go to the Wienerschnitzel for hotdogs and the arcade.  I would shove quarters into the game machines while eating corn dogs.  Now, I love corn dogs, but I never crave them.  Never have I said, man today I need a corn dog.  You would think with a memory that vivid that corn dogs would be one of my comfort foods, however I can’t tell you the last time I had a corn dog. 

Maybe for me there is also a certain laziness in comfort foods.  Pizza and Chinese have become staples over the last stressful three weeks.  They are both too easy.  Just order and they are there and it is comforting to know you don’t have to cook.  Clean-up is just as easy since most of the time you throw away the container your food came in and all you have to do is put a few dishes in the sink. 

Comfort food comes at a price and that price is paid by the extra pounds I have to carry around.  Even with the exercise I have put on a few pounds over the past few weeks and sadly I am right back where I started. After being down almost 10 pounds.  I know I am not the only one who has ever done this.  The question that interests me is: Why?  Why do we do this same dance over and over?

My struggle with weight has always been like this.  First I lose, start feeling good, then something happens and it becomes a struggle that results in me gaining it all back.  Are we merely fighting genetic predisposition when it comes to weight.  I have read on multiple occasions that our genes determine everything from our height and eye color to our muscle mass and weight.  Is being a certain size like having brown eyes?  You can cover it up with contacts (diet and exercise) but in the end you will always have brown eyes (be fat). 

Daily Recap:

Matt: 30 minute jog at a constant 4.4 miles an hour.  I maintained a heart rate of 135 beats a minute

Kelly: 1 hour brutal workout with her trainer

Day 115: Bottled Water: Refreshing Drink or Deadly Poison?

We have all seen it by now either via email from a friend or family member or in a posting on Facebook or Twitter alluding to the dangers that bottle water poses especially if frozen or left in a hot car.  Like everything we see on the internet it must be true, or is it?

First off these rumors are stacked like an answer in Boulderdash. Ever play that game? You are given a word and you have to provide the definition for the word. For each person who votes for your answer you move up the game board and whoever gets to the top first wins. 

Example: Acalculia

My Definition:  hormone that triggers the fall of autumn leaves in trees

Actual Definition:  inability to work with numbers

Get the idea.  The object is to sound authoritarian even if you have no idea what you are talking about.  So we read something impressive like, “The plastic in these bottles called polyethylene terephthalate or PET contains a carcinogen called diethyl hydroxylamine or DEHA.”  Now that sounds scary and it is followed by a warning, “This cancer causing chemical can leach into the water you are drinking especially when extreme heat or cold is applied.” Indeed we are warned that DEHA is so dangerous it can leach into your water simply by you reusing the bottle. 

Let’s apply a little common sense to the above implied situation.  Anyone who has ever worked in a warehouse or shipping environment can tell you that your bottled water, whether its Kroger brand or Fiji in the square bottle, is exposed to heat and cold many times before it even hits the store shelf.  It’s shipped in train cars and big trailers that I can assure you are in no way temperature controlled.  It’s stored in warehouses that are always hot in the summer and cold in the winter.  That means that if it were true you are drinking poison from the moment you crack the top on that bottle you just pulled out of your refrigerator. 

What We Know

The American Cancer Society has stated that DEHA is not found in the plastic used to make PET bottles.

The Environmental Protection Agency states that DEHA “cannot reasonably be anticipated to cause cancer…or other serious irreversible chronic health effects.”

The International Agency for Research on Cancer put out a statement explaining that diethylhexyl adipate “is not classifiable as to it carcinogenicity to humans.”

The American Chemical Council stated that “There is simply on scientific basis to support the claim that PET bottles will release dioxin (DEHA) when frozen,” and that dioxins “can only be formed at temperatures well above 700 degrees Fahrenheit; they cannot be formed at room temperature or in freezing temperatures.”

Lastly don’t take my word for it take the word of John Hopkins researcher Dr. Rolf Halden who said about the PET bottle controversy, “This is an urban legend.  There are no dioxins in plastics” and of the freezing myth that “freezing actually works against the release of chemicals,” since “chemicals do not diffuse as readily in cold temperatures.”

In Conclusion

I decided to tackle this health issue since it has popped up multiple times amongst friends I have on Facebook and among family.  Common sense and a little science go a long way in taking the scary out of something completely made up.  Bottom line, don’t be afraid of bottled water in the freezer or in the car.

Daily Recap:

Matt: 33 minute Jog

Kelly: 30 minutes treadmill at the gym

Day 114: Normalizing Our Routine

Needless to say the last few weeks have been stressful.  We decided that the best thing we could do would be to get back into the swing of a routine schedule.  Before everything with Bella the gym was almost an everyday occurrence.  It was where we were spending 30 to 45 minutes of our evening.  I felt better and was raising the bar on my performance, especially on leg press and running speeds.  It was time to get back to it. 

We arrived to a packed gym, I assume everyone was there trying to work off all the beer and BBQ they consumed over the Labor Day weekend.  I hadn’t seen it this busy since the 4^th of July holiday.  

The bottom and top rows of treadmills were full as was the free weight section and the machines.  Even the pool, which usually only has two to three people at most, had eight swimmers.

There was an empty pair of treadmills on the top floor that we claimed.  Ear plugs in, treadmill running, time to get to business except the treadmill had other plans.  Mine wouldn’t work with my iPod and Kelly’s wouldn’t properly adjust incline and speed.  We called a time out and found another pair of treadmills.

Again my iPod wouldn’t work but everything else did.  Thirty tired and sweaty minutes later we were thankfully done. I had a hard time maintaining a speed over 5 miles an hour as I just didn’t have the energy.  Normally we do an additional 5 minutes of cool down on the rowing machine but they were taken.  Like I said it was a full gym. 

In addition to the gym it is also time to get back to watching what we eat.  As I said with the stress of caring for Isabella in her final days came a craving for comfort food and eating out to save time.  Now the price has to be paid for all those night of eating junk food. Well, we will pay that price tomorrow, for tonight the house still feels empty and not cooking sounds like a good idea.  Hello pizza and wine. 

Daily Recap:

Matt: 35 minutes on the treadmill, Average pace 4.4 miles an hour.

Kelly: 30 minutes morning training session, 35 minutes afternoon cardio

Today’s Blog Thought of the Day:

There are dozens of different machines at the gym and all do something different.  Some machines are easier to use than others, like the treadmill, it’s simple and straight forward.  Other machines are, in my opinion, are mid-evil torcher devices.  They are punishing and painful.  Today I would ask: What is your least favorite workout machine?

For me the answer is simple, Jacob’s Ladder.  If you have never experienced this particular brand of pain maybe you should.  For those of you unfamiliar with the Jacob’s Ladder machine it basically simulates you climbing a wooden latter.  You have to strap yourself to the machine and keep tension on the line at all time in order for it to keep running.  Then you climb; hand over hand, foot over foot.  It gets my vote for most hated piece of gym equipment.    

Day 113: The Road Home

I started the morning with a brisk walk with Chloe our lab and carrying our 13 pound black and white marbled pekingese, Ringo.  I had to keep switching arms from the fatigue of carrying him since he can't keep up when we walk fast and I thought it would be good exercise.

I had a good sweat going when I returned to our room.  I then put together my own workout routine in the room it went like this:

Jumping Jacks
Push-Ups
Sit-Ups
Lunges
Shadow Boxing
Lifting Furniture

I did each set to exhaustion, to a point where I couldn't go on and even though we had the air conditioner set low in our room I worked up a good sweat before hitting the shower.  I wanted to get the blood pumping before sitting in the car for the ride back home.

There was some more dog walking and a picnic in the park before battling the holiday traffic back to Atlanta. Believe me when I say traffic was horrible. It took over an hour longer then usual to get back home.  We ran into road construction twice which literally stopped traffic.

Returning home was tough.  Our house felt empty without the presence of our Bella.  Most of the decisions we have made over the last seven almost eight years we have had to include her in our though process.  Our living room and bed room had been arranged to accommodate her extra large pillow, when we bought a new car we had to be able to fit her in it.  I know it's going to take some time, but I miss that dog.

Daily Recap:
Matt: 20 minute brisk morning walk | Room workout.

Day 112: Sunday Stroll

We took the dogs for another morning walk around the resort property from the front of the hotel around to the pool and along the river front to the convention center where the previous day they had a beer fest. Best estimate would be that round trip it is a little over a mile.  

For lunch we went out with my family who I don't get to see often since we live so far apart.  

That evening we caught the ferry from the resort to the mainland and pounded the pavement for another several miles. We dined at a dog friendly restaurant which served our dogs first with bowls of water before they even asked us if we wanted something to drink.  

After dinner it was more walking, I would guess somewhere around a mile and half back to the ferry.  By the end of the night we were worn out.  

Daily Recap:  

Matt and Kelly: Well over an hour of straight walking. 

Day 111: Walking... A Lot

We started the day in Savannah after yesterday neither Kelly nor I wanted to stay home. We needed to get away, and we took the dogs with us.  We started with a morning walk with the dogs and then spent the day walking around.  We did a ton of walking.

I was thinking I would try to jog in the evening but my legs were too tired.  

That night I felt like I should do something else so I did several sets of push-ups until I couldn't go on any longer.

That's it for now

Daily Recap:
Matt: Miles of walking 3 sets of push-ups
Kelly: Miles of walking