April Trial 5K Run

I decided to determine if I had 5K of running within myself yesterday. In order to conduct this test, I went to the Palmyra High School track and ran 12 1/2 laps, or 3.1 miles.

I believe merely by sheer luck, the pace I initially set for the first lap was the pace I needed to maintain for the entire thirteen laps. The tendency is to over-run the first lap. There was only a nine second spread between my fastest quarter mile (one lap around track) and the slowest.

The final time was 27:35, which equates to an 8:54 mile pace. For a runner, this pace equates to a level commensurate with a woman aged 35-39 who is also in her second trimester. It is not a fast pace by any standard.

Personally, I was not able to run 3.1 miles just some six weeks ago. This trial run was a very timely confidence booster for this Sunday's Winning Kick 5K race in Mt Penn.




















I received a response from the Winning Kick 5K race director today. Part of the race is run on the street and part of it is run on a track. I would assume the last part is run on a track. Since I have been training predominantly on a track (i.e. level surface), this is good news.


Tried my first Clif nutrition bar today. My first impression upon buying one at the Giant food store was they are very small. I purchased the black cherry almond flavored bar. I was pleasantly surprised. While this bar is not going to unseat Snickers or a Hershey chocolate bar as the most savory snack bar, it was moist and tasted very good. Some of the nutrition bars are bone dry and require you wash them down with a quart of fluids. Not the case here.


Finished the month of April at 192.8 pounds. I believe I began April somewhere in the vicinity of 201 pounds.

Rome Not Built in a Day

One of the most difficult aspects of getting back in shape is having the patience for the journey toward your desired goal. The more ambitious the goal, typically the longer the journey and therefore the more patience required.

In my case I have just completed two full months of a remedial exercise program. Two months ago I was winded walking up two flights of stairs to get to my work cubicle. I purchased several running magazines and they routinely would have training programs listed within requiring the runner to begin with four miles in the first week of the 'x' month long program.

Yesterday I began logging my exercise activities using a Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS enabled watch. All of my training will now be logged, via an upload from the watch, onto a website named MotionBased.com. It will give me a record of just how long it took for my Rome to be built.

My wife used it on one of her power walks. Once you upload the data, you get a Google map pictorial of the walk/run/ bike ride. Plus, if you wear the heart rate monitor, it records your heart's beats per minute throughout the whole activity. Even the weather (temperature & wind speed) gets saved with the activity data. Elevation changes in your route are recorded too.

Here are screen shots from the MotionBased website pertaining to a short bike ride I completed this week. (It was a windy day.)

Pre Race Preparations

My first concern with racing on Sunday is ensuring I bring everything I need to the race. I'll need to make a checklist and use it on Sunday. As I get older, checklists become more integral in avoiding forgetting items and tasks in general. I need to bring a bag of post race food also. Some Gatorade, a PowerBar Recovery bar, a banana and an orange sounds like a decent post race meal package.

I have a minor issue with my sneaker's shoelaces in that they are too long. I double knot them and they are still too long. Having shoe laces come untied during a short race like this (5k) is like blowing a tire on a car during rush hour on a freeway. My saving grace will be I will most likely be in the back of the race pack - stopping to tie my shoe will not slow anyone down.

The one tangible I would like to have a better grasp over is the race route. For whatever reason, the route has not been published. There will be a one mile and two mile split times recorded within the race, so I will know where I am twice within the race.

The race is sponsored by Pretzel City Sports, which according to their website, "provides outstanding, yet surprisingly affordable, race timing, event management and course design." I am trying to get the race route from Pretzel City in an effort to input the route into my Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS watch. If I am able to do this, I will know at all times where I am at within the race. For example, I'll know when I have 1.5 miles left, .5 miles left, etc.


Took the family to the Olive Garden restaurant in Harrisburg for our 7th anniversary dinner. Put on three pounds - but it was a good three pounds. Venetian Chicken with an apricot glaze and brocolli & asparagus. Finished off with a $6 slice of black tie chocolate mousse cake.

Ready - Set - Go

I have completed the most athletic weekend of my life this past weekend. On Saturday April 25th I biked 25 miles, from Palmyra to the city of Lebanon and back. I followed this with a combination run-walk of six miles on Sunday.

Saturday morning (Apr 25th) I received an email from a race sponsor who had 45 awards to dole out and only 35 entrants for the race. The race is the Winning Kick 5K in Reading PA on Sunday May 3rd. I signed up for the race. I believe I have it in me to run 3.1 miles (5K) . The running norm is to set a goal for the race where if you achieve the goal you'll be happy and if you don't you'll be disappointed. Being a couch potato for the last eight years, I am grateful to finish the race. My previous effort at running three miles last month resulted in myself pulling up lame with calf cramps after only a mile into the trek.

The family will be there to provide support. While Tyler is too young to grasp this event, I hope Dylan will be impacted by his father working hard to achieve goals. Too often children are handed most everything they desire without having to outlay any effort in obtaining their wants. I would like Dylan and Tyler to both be hard workers focusing their efforts on setting and achieving goals, regardless of the pursuit.

My weight this morning was 190.8 pounds - a full twenty pound weight loss since I began my training program. Unfortunately I easily have another ten pounds to lose before I have no semblance of a pot belly. After the run On Sunday, I was down to 188.2 pounds.

My 7th wedding anniversary is today. Going to eat a decent meal at the Olive Garden restaurant in Harrisburg.

Fairfield Connecticut half marathon

With the Toronto marathon still some five months away I was looking for a summer running event where I could test my mettle. For safety concerns, the majority of marathons in the northeast are held in either the spring or fall. As a result, it was very difficult finding a summer half marathon event.

Why didn't I stay in Pennsylvania ? Three are three major marathons I am aware of which are run in Pennsylvania.

The first marathon of the year is in Pittsburgh, on May 3rd this year. It is sponsored by Dick's Sporting Goods. They also have a half marathon event. I am not ready to run anything in May of this year. I would like to run a half marathon here in 2010.

The next marathon is in Scranton and is called the Steamtown marathon. It is being run on October 11th this year, my youngest son's birthday. This is the marathon I would have run in this year were it not for this scheduling conflict.

The final marathon of the year is the Philadelphia marathon and is scheduled for November 22nd this year. This is a very expensive marathon, with the entry fee ranging between $80 and $125, depending upon when you sign up for the race. This event also includes a half marathon and a Rothman Institute 8K race.

Hmm - the 8K race in November looks intriguing. This could be the final race of the year for me. Plus there is a fun run for kids aged 4-12 where they get medals and are not timed.
http://www.philadelphiamarathon.com/page/kids-fun-run

Long story short - The Fairfield half marathon was the closest half-marathon I could find which was run in the summer months. It's run along a beach (Jennings Beach) so the family and I can make a beach trip out of this event.

Weight after running today: 192.4 pounds. Almost 20 pounds less than when I started on March 1st.

Peaceful Easy Feeling

After two full months of exercise I am finally starting to feel like an athlete again. My workout yesterday consisted of a 4 mile walk/run. Usually the day after I am stiff as a board and in very much pain. Remarkably I felt very well this morning. I could tell I ran yesterday, but I was not limping or walking very gingerly.

My goal for this week is to run 14 miles. I have four of them in so far. I plan to do four more on Thursday and six miles on Sunday.

Running is not yet enjoyable for me, but it is now proving to reap rewards with respect to relaxation. Prior to running I was a bundle of nervous energy with no healthy outlet for this energy. Now I am very at ease, relaxed, after a run. Since the post-run pain has gone on a hiatus I feel I have cleansed my 'system' after a run.

Notes: I am getting hooked on Breakstone's 5.5 oz Cottage (cheese) Doubles. It's a single serving size of cottage cheese with either strawberries (fav), pineapple or blueberry fruit on the side. Cottage cheese has more protein and half the sugar calories than yogurt.

Spousal Support Appreciation

Achieving this goal for a married man can not be done without the love and understanding of his wife. I have tried my best to run as much as I can at times when the kids are sleeping, e.g. early in the mornings or occasionally during a lunch. Invariably I need to have mom watch the kids several evenings a week while I go on a run. This means mom watches the kids all day and a majority of the evening. Mom has been very gracious in providing 'overtime babysitting.'

Mom has been very supportive in this effort. From buying healthy groceries to cooking healthy meals, our whole family has benefited. Even when I had to take two weeks off from running because my knees could not sustain the rigors of getting back in shape she did not ask me to quit and pursue a more age appropriate endeavor.

I am very grateful from the bottom of my heart for her support.


BREAKING NEWS: I will be running a 'tune-up' half marathon on Sunday June 28th in Fairfield, Connecticut - about a four hour drive for us. It's called the 29th Annual Stratton-Faxon Fairfield half marathon. Stratton-Faxon is a legal firm based in the Fairfield area. http://www.fairfieldhalf.org/index.htm

Determining Race Pace - Garmin Forerunner 305

There are few things worse when running a long distance race than to find out you have run a personal record (PR) type pace for the first mile out of the blocks. In essence you have allowed your pre-race adrenaline build up get the better of you. The irony with pacing (w/out a pacing device) is you have to run a mile first, look at your watch to see your elapsed time, and then determine your pace.

Reason being is most courses are not marked in intervals less than one mile. Your first report card of a race at mile marker one may take anywhere from six to twelve minutes to obtain the results. Case in point. Years ago I ran a 7:30 split for the first mile of a 5K (3.1 mile) race. For me, it was a great split. Unfortunately I ran out of gas somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd mile. I had exhausted the majority of my 'fuel tank' in the first mile.

The Garmin Forerunner 305 uses GPS technology to give you instantaneous feedback of your current pace at any time on the course. It also includes a heart rate monitor and chest strap.

The most compelling or attractive feature of this watch is the ability to record several metrics such as your heart's BPM, distance traveled, pace and a few others onto your PC with the included software. The software which comes with the device is not impressive. Software which is much more capable (and free) can be found at http://www.zonefivesoftware.com/SportTracks.

Now you can log your workouts, analyze them, and even view graphs of your progress. It's great for answering questions like how many miles did I run last month or can I pick up my pace appreciably because I have a fair amount of clearance on my BPM rate during my runs ?

It also has the ability to save running routes you typically run throughout town to enable you to maintain personal records for each saved route.

The best price I could find was at BuyDig.com for $174.87.

Note: Went for a 17 mile bike ride this past sunny Saturday Apr 18th.

Maintain Your Pace in the Pack

Today while running at the Palmyra High School track there was another gentleman also in the midst of a training regimen, whose age I would venture was in the vicinity of mine.

He was undoubtedly in much better shape than I am now. I had a schedule of finishing seven sets of running three minutes followed by walking two minutes for a total of a thirty-five minute training session. If I were younger I probably would have tried to alter my training to keep up with this gentleman.

Being older and wiser (and much more out of shape) I did not deviate from the plan I had scheduled for today.

I have never been a long distance runner. In high school I was a sprinter. While I make every attempt to attain personal records, I have no illusions of winning any running races.

If you are someone who is motivated by beating other individuals it will be tough to pick up a new sport such as running. You have to maintain focus on your own personal development. Over time your achievements will stack up more favorable versus others abilities.

In training for this race, I need to determine what my pace will be (e.g. 10 minute miles - I forgot to go metric again - this is equivalent to 6.25 minutes per kilometer) and then maintain this pace in spite of all the adrenaline which will be flowing at the time.


New weight low: 193.8 pounds

Converting Mileage to Metric for Marathon

An interesting dynamic with running the marathon in Toronto, the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario, is all the race markers will be displayed in kilometers. One kilometer is about .62 miles.

I would like to commit the boldfaced kilometer markers below to memory before the race. I have run 5K races in the past and know it is the same as 3.1 miles. It will be easy to extrapolate to determine 10K is 6.2 miles, 20K = 12.4 miles, etc.

I wonder if anyone gets to the 26 kilometer marker looking for the race finish line ? Only to find out they have another 16 km's to run. (An 'American' marathon is 26.2 miles.) After 26K / 16 miles of running, your mind may begin to fade some.


I imagine you get a greater sense of accomplishment as you knock off the kilometers (in comparison to miles) but then you have to run to a higher number, i.e., 42.2 kilometers.

It should not matter whether the marathon is measured in miles or kilometers. The race is the same distance regardless. Although the kilometer based race is separated into shorter segments. I'm not sure how it will affect me mentally - I just have to remember 42.2 is the magic number.

I will have about 5 hours in which to do these calculations - so I will not be under any time constraints to figure out the mileages.

Weight Loss - The Next Frontier

Losing the first 12-14 pounds for me was not very difficult and happened much quicker than I had anticipated. Re-orienting my lifestyle to be a more active one combined with a healthier diet contributed to this initial weight loss. The majority of this initial weight loss was most likely water weight.

My next 10 pounds, down to 190 lbs - is proving to be much more difficult to attain. I set a weight loss low since I started traning in March of 195.6 pounds today. (After a 35 minute run) I have not seen 190 on my scale for ten years.

I imagine being outside more and generally doing more outdoor work should facilitate getting down to 190 pounds. Hopefully I have another 6-7 pounds of winter insulation available to shed.

We recently purchased a family pet, a Cockapoo puppy named Mandy. Long story short - I have to manually dig about a 1/2 dozen post holes in the back yard to complete our fence in the back yard. At $80 a 6ft section (w/post), vinyl fencing gets expensive really quickly. Then we can let the dog roam behind the house w/out chasing her around. I should lose a couple of pounds for this first item on my spring 'honey-do' list.


164 days til race day !!

45 yr Old Reclamation Project - Lessons Learned

It has been a smidgeon in excess of a month since I began my training for the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront marathon. In short, I could not have chosen a worse training regimen for the first month than I have.

The idea of running marker runs of one mile, two miles and three miles in the first month only makes sense if you are in good enough condition to run these distances. After eight years of inactivity, running three miles overtaxed what my knees could do at the time. It was interesting to see how long it took me to run these distances, but I did so at the expense of an extremely long recovery period between marker runs.

If I had to do it all again I would have done strength training targeted to my legs for a month coupled with a daily regimen of stretching - possible even learning some variation of yoga (e.g. Hatha yoga). Only then, after a month of strength training and stretching would I have begun to engage in outdoor runs.

This Saturday I will resume training outdoors (preferably on the PHS track) after two and a half weeks of strength conditioning and stretching. It is supposed to be in the low to mid 60's this weekend. If my knees fail me this weekend, I may half to consider running a half-marathon this fall.

12 Part Stretching Routine

1. Wall Pushup #1 Stand about three feet from a wall, feet at shoulder width and flat on the ground. Put your hands on the wall with your arms straight for support. Lean your hips forward and bend your knees slightly to stretch your calves.


2. Wall Pushup #2 From the previous position, bend forward to lower your body to waist height. Bring one foot forward with your knee slightly bent. Lift the toes of the front foot to stretch the muscle under the calf. Stretch both legs.



3. Wall Pushup #3 Put your feet together, rocking back on your heels with your hands on the wall and your arms straight to form a jackknife with your body. This stretches your hips, shoulders, and lower back.




4. Back Scratch Grab your elbow with the opposite hand and gently push the elbow up and across your body until your hand reaches down to "scratch" your back. Gently push on your elbow to guide your hand down your back as far as it will comfortably go, stretching your triceps and shoulders. Stretch both arms.


5. Hamstring Stretch Lie down with one leg straight up in the air, the other bent with foot flat on the ground. Loop a towel over the arch of the lifted foot, and gently pull on the towel as you push against it with your foot. Push only to the point where your muscles contract. Stretch both legs.


6. Quadriceps Stretch Kneel on your knees (without resting back on your heels). Lean back with your body erect and your arms to the side. Hold for 15 seconds.




7. Heel To Buttock Stand on one foot, with one hand on a wall for balance. Hold the other foot with the opposite hand and raise the heel of the lifted foot to the buttocks (or as close as comfortably possible), stretching your quadriceps. Keep your body upright throughout. Change legs and repeat.




8. Hip & Lower Back Stretch Sit on the ground with your legs crossed. Lift your right leg and cross it over the left, which should remain bent. Hug the right leg to your chest and twist the trunk of your body to look over your right shoulder. Change legs and repeat (i.e. looking over your left shoulder).



9. Iliotibial Band Stretch Lie on your side with both legs bent in running position. Bring the bottom leg toward your chest and then bring the top one back toward your buttocks, so that the running position of your legs is exaggerated as possible. Hold for 30 seconds then flip sides and repeat.


10. Hamstring & Back Stretch Lie on your back with your knees bent. Hug your shins to your chest to stretch your hamstrings and lower back.

11. Bridge Lie on your back and, with your feet flat on the ground, lift your hips up until your body forms a flat plane. Repeat this one ten times for 30 seconds each to stretch your quads and lower back

12. Groin StretchSeated, put the soles of your feet together. With your elbows on the inside of your knees, gradually lean forward and gently press your knees toward the ground.


Source:http://www.coolrunning.com

Runner's Knee

Moral of this story: Stay in shape !!

Excerpted from http://orthoinfo.aaos.org.

Description
Runners, jumpers, and other athletes such as skiers, cyclists, and soccer players put heavy stress on their knees. Runner's knee is a term used to refer to a number of medical conditions that cause pain around the front of the knee (patellofemoral pain). These conditions include anterior knee pain syndrome, patellofemoral malalignment, and chondromalacia patella.

Symptoms
A dull, aching pain under or around the front of the kneecap (patella) where it connects with the lower end of the thighbone (femur). Pain occurs when walking up or down stairs, kneeling, squatting, and sitting with a bent knee for a long period of time.

Causes

The knee is a complex structure and is very sensitive. A number of factors can contribute to runner's knee, including:

• Malalignment of the kneecap
• Complete or partial dislocation
• Injury
• Excessive training or overuse
• Tightness, imbalance, or weakness of thigh muscles
• Flat feet

Patellofemoral pain may be the result of irritation of the soft tissues around the front of the knee. Strained tendons are fairly common in athletes. Other contributing factors to patellofemoral pain include overuse, muscle imbalance and inadequate stretching. Pain that begins in another part of the body, such as the back or hip, may cause pain in the knee (referred pain).

In some people with runner's knee, the kneecap is out of alignment. If so, vigorous activities can cause excessive stress and wear on the cartilage of the kneecap. This can lead to softening and breakdown of the cartilage on the patella (chondromalacia patella) and cause pain in the underlying bone and irritation of the joint lining.

Prevention

• Stay in shape. Good general conditioning is important to controlling and preventing patellofemoral pain. If you're too heavy, you may need to lose weight to avoid overstressing your knees.
  
  
• Stretch. Before running or any other exercise, first do a 5-minute warm up, followed by stretching exercises. Stretching, particularly in the face down position (prone), will help keep the supporting structures around the front of the knee flexible and less likely to be irritated with exercise. For example, when lying prone, grab the ankle of the affected leg with one hand, and gently stretch the front of the knee. Stretch before and after exercise.
  
  
• Increase training gradually. Avoid sudden changes in the intensity of exercise. Increase force or duration of activities gradually.
  
  
• Use proper running gear. Use running shoes with good shock absorption and quality construction. Be sure that shoes fit properly and are in good condition. If you have flat feet, you may need shoe inserts.
  
  
• Use proper running form. Lean forward and keep your knees bent. Also, try to run on a clear, smooth, resilient, even, and reasonably soft surface. Never run straight down a steep hill. Walk down it, or run in a zigzag pattern.

One Step Backwards, Two Steps Forward

After running for only a mile last Thursday, I could feel my knees beginning to become extremely sore and cut the run short. For nearly a month, I have been limited to running twice per week because it requires two full days after I run for my knees to recover enough where I can hobble through another workout.

I've decided to take two full weeks off from running in an effort to let my knees heal more thoroughly and begin to do some strength conditioning exercises dedicated to them. Standing squats are the easiest exercise to facilitate strengthening my knees with no impact stress to contend with.

I went for a seven mile bike ride on Sunday, which required about 45 minutes time. There are endurance cycling races which are 100 miles (a century) in length. You must be in awesome shape to achieve this feat. Maybe a bucket list item to tackle for next year ???

My planned respite from running will span from Thursday April 2nd through Friday April 17th. I then need to contain my exuberance and only run a mile or two when I resume my efforts or risk damaging my knees once again.

Tiered Levels of Existence

Many of us either currently have vices we are struggling to eliminate or have beaten vices. I am referring to smoking, drinking, inactivity, junk food, anything which detracts from your longevity on this fine planet.

The vice which I was addicted to for 10 years is commonly referred to as snuff. Copenhagen and Skoal are the most commonly known snuff brands. My brand of choice was Hawken, a very mild brand. A few years back I met a doctor who referred to Hawken as snuff for children and relayed he used to put Hawken with mayonnaise on a sandwich and eat it whole. He was originally from Tennessee and had since ceased tobacco use.

After a series of vicious coughing fits, usually in the middle of the night, I knew I had to change my ways or accept an oral or esophageal cancer in the future. Increasing tobacco prices did not play a role in my decision to quit.

I would refer to this level of my existence as a 'Sinking Ship' level of existence. For every day I was addicted to this vice I was aging more than the normal person. Lets say unscientifically, I was aging 1.5 days for every one 'normal person day'. In other words, in the 10 years I chewed snuff, my body probably aged nearly 15 years.

The next level of existence, or the 'Ship Righted' level, is characterized by a sense of accomplishment you have eliminated a major negative life alterator but remain resting in a dry dock. You have not yet determined how to permanently replace your negative habits with constructive, life enhancing rituals. If you do not progress to the next level in a timely fashion, there is a pronounced risk you will regress to the Sinking Ship level.

The highest level of existence or the 'Smooth Sailing' level is characterized by a lifestyle filled with activities which serve to both enhance the quality of your life as well as increase the probability you will live a longer life. You have eliminated your vices and have developed routines to both eat well and exercise regularly.

Adjusting my diet has been a difficult transition from the Ship Righted to the Smooth Sailing tier. My diet was woefully inadequate when it came to vegetable consumption. The vegetable I ate most frequently, corn, would not be found on most any dietician's top 20 list for most healthy vegetables. Neither would my second most frequently consumed vegetable, the potato. Green vegetables are listed as key ingredients to a healthy diet from a variety of sources. Nutritive supplements via vitamin pills or drink concoctions are poor facsimiles for real food. Broccoli appears to be one of the better vegetables choices for including with your diet.

"Broccoli has recently entered the public awareness as a preventive dietary agent. This study supports the emerging evidence that broccoli sprouts may be able to prevent cancer in humans, not just in lab animals," said Jed Fahey of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Adopting a perpetual yearning for ways to improve your diet in addition to keeping exercise fresh by engaging in as diverse as activity portfolio as possible will markedly increase your chances for leading a life where you are not afflicted by a malady of health conditions affecting your daily quality of life. I use the word 'chances' because the probability always exists you will need to contend with issues which emanate from a source other than natural causes.


Weight: 198 lbs - This was the first day where I woke up in the morning and weighed under 200 lbs. 190 pounds, here I come.

Flexability Blues & Glucosamine Use

One physiological issue which has become painfully apparent after completing my first month on the exercise comeback trail is my entire body is permanently stiffer than frozen saltwater taffy. After sitting dormant for nearly eight years, it is going to take veritable time and effort to loosen up my ligaments, tendons, and soft tissue in general.

I've decided to take a two pronged approach to address increasing my overall flexibility. First I need to articulate and record both pre and post activity stretching routines. I'd like to compile a one page 'cheat sheet' containing all the stretching exercises and have it laminated. I would bring this stretching punchlist to my track runs (as opposed to road runs) until I had the entire routine committed to memory.

I am also going to add a Glucosamine supplement to my daily dieting regimen. Knox makes a product called NutraJoint Plus Glucosamine. It can be purchased in powder or pill form. I'm leaning toward the capsule form because the powder is not delectable. It can be found at Wal-Mart and most drug stores for somewhere in the neighborhood of $20. There's also a brand named Osteo Bi-Flex which markets a glucosamine product line. [I purchased Oste Bi-Flex capsules - the packaging was more attractive than Knox's and their product line was more extensive.]

You should allow for a three month absorption period before determining whether you have derived any benefits from this supplement.


Excerpted from http://altmedicine.about.com

Glucosamine supplements are widely used for osteoarthritis, particularly knee osteoarthritis. In osteoarthritis, cartilage -- the rubbery material that cushions joints -- becomes stiff and loses its elasticity. This makes the joint prone to damage and may lead to pain, swelling, loss of movement, and further deterioration.

Since the body's natural glucosamine is used to make and repair joint cartilage, taking glucosamine as a nutritional supplement is thought to help repair damaged cartilage by augmenting the body's supply of glucosamine.

There is promising evidence that glucosamine may reduce pain symptoms of knee osteoarthritis and possibly slow the progression of osteoarthritis. For example, a study published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine examined people with osteoarthritis over three years. Researchers assessed pain and structural improvements seen on x-ray. They gave 202 people with mild to moderate osteoarthritis 1,500 mg of glucosamine sulfate a day or a placebo.

At the end of the study, researchers found that glucosamine slowed the progression of knee osteoarthritis compared to the placebo. People in the glucosamine group had a significant reduction in pain and stiffness. On x-ray, there was no average change or narrowing of joint spaces in the knees (a sign of deterioration) of the glucosamine group. In contrast, joint spaces of participants taking the placebo narrowed over the three years.

Cycling Heart Calisthenics

My knees not being in any shape to run after Sunday's 45 minute run, I decided to go for a bike ride yesterday. I live on the south side of town, but grew up on the north side of town, across the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks.

The north side of town consists of older buildings built before 1960 and is largely comprised of lower income housing. As a child I aspired to live in a better area as an adult. The ride through Palmyra's north side is a very nostalgic one for me.

One particularly interesting result of the bike ride was my personal BPM readings. I've listed the readings I have compiled while cross training with several different activities.

Exercise type - Min BPM to Max BPM
Indoor Recumbent Bike - 100 to 120 BPM
Outdoor Cycling - 115 to 140 BPM
Indoor Treadmill - 140 to 175 BPM
Outdoor Running - 150 to 180 BPM

In short, cycling does provide a welcome variation, but unfortunately it is no substitute for running.

There's only one other exercise I partake in where my BPM's reach 180+ and I must enlist the aid of my wife for a minute or two on special occasions for this exercise.

Swimming is beginning to appear an attractive alternative exercise - but I am not much of a swimmer nor do I have immediate access to a pooled facility.

Weight: 201 lbs (Dipped below 200lbs immediately after I ran on Sunday, but was not hydrated and had not eaten)