Lumberjack Days in Stillwater

What a wonderful morning for a run! As always, the Stillwater Lumberjack Days 5k and 10-mile races were warm, but not nearly as hot and humid as in recent memory. Certainly not for me, as I did not run because of the plantar fasciitis.

Results: 5k and 10 mi.

This is a major race each year for the St Croix Valley Runners, especially the ten-mile race. It's a measure of mid-summer race fitness for some of us.


Both races are downhill, and many runners make personal records. The pictures are of friends who ran, especially my two sweeties and another close friend. I wish I had pictures of more of the runners.

I'm proud of all of them. And I had a great bike ride up to the start, a nice chat with several runners, and a ride back down to the finish, so I got in some good exercise.

The left foot (plantar fasciitis) did hurt a little in the past few days, triggered I think by the stairs exercise on Tuesday. No more of that I guess. But no pain in the foot today.

The right knee hurt just a little, but not bad. I think that will resolve if I don't push it too hard.

Lunch:

Wheat-free pasta curls (made of corn, quinoa, red bell pepper, spinach), organic garden veggie pasta sauce with added whole corn sliced right off a cob, organic uncured beef hot dogs, cantaloupe. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 7.

Dinner:

Roast lamb, Rose's lime marmelade, organic strawberries, organic plum, spinach delight (organic spinach, broccoli, organic ricotta cheese, organic organic yogurt, onion, parmesan cheese). Estimated Weight Watchers points = 8.

Hilly Bike Ride

Very hilly half-marathon (actually 13.3 mi) in 59 minutes in local neighborhoods. Good enough, I guess, considering the hills. It was a pleasant 70-degree morning, and an enjoyable ride. Right knee hurt a little but not enough to bother.


Sandwich lunch:

Whole-grain toast, cold roast no-hormone no-antibiotic beef, organic bread & butter pickles, organic yellow mustard, organic grapes, organic plum, organic kiwi. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 8. We had some of Jim's beans with this meal too, but they evaporated before I could shoot them!

Great lunch:

No-nitrite turkey bacon, wheat-free pasta curls (made of corn, quinoa, red bell pepper, spinach), organic garden veggie pasta sauce with added whole corn sliced right off a cob, organic strawberry, organic white nacho chips, organic yellow corn chips, homemade artichoke dip with Jim's fresh chives, parsley, dill, and thyme, plus garlic and more. Sunshine may publish the dip recipe on her blog. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 9.

Elliptical

813 calories burned on the elliptical in 30+ minutes, finishing HR 130. No problem, plenty of sweat. Did I feel a twinge from the plantar fasciitis heel? Not sure, so I’ll ice it.

Breakfast:

Organic oatmeal, organic milk, blueberries, organic strawberries, organic nectarine, kiwi, Dove dark chocolate. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 5.

Snack:

Watermelon, honeydew melon, organic seedless grapes, blackberries, sugared organic ginger. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 4.

Salad:

Organic romaine lettuce, blueberries, organic strawberries, kiwi, pistachios, blue cheese, raspberry vinegar. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 3.

Dinner:

Organic whole-wheat spaghetti, grass-fed bison & spiced ground hormone- and antibiotic-free pork, organic spaghetti sauce, Jim's wonderful cabbage, organic nectarine. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 7.

Stairs - Running Equivalence

Stairs for 50 minutes today, more than 200 trips (2800 steps) up and down at a little over four trips per minute, leg turnover at least 120 footfalls per minute, finishing heart rate 143. That heart rate corresponds to a running pace of about 8 minutes per mile. At that running pace I burn about 938 calories per hour (125 calories/mile * 60/8). Round down to 900. Today, if that rate of caloric burn is correct, I used up 750 calories in the 50 minutes. Divide 750 by 50 = 15 Weight Watcher points. That’s also 15 calories per minute. Is that math correct? Hope so.

Bottom line:

• Stairs at 4 trips/min up & down = 900 cal/hr, 3.75 cal/trip.
• Running at 8:00 min/mi = 938 cal/hr, 125 cal/mi.

I weigh 150 lb; these calorie values would be higher for a heavier person, less for lighter, roughly proportional to weight.

Good news is: NO HEEL PAIN. The last time I did stairs for cross-training, my left heel with plantar fasciitis began to ache after a while, but today it’s entirely quiet. Nevertheless I’ll ice it a bit. The bad news is my right knee does hurt a little, the same one that hurts when I bike, and in the same place. But I’m not as worried about that little pain because it doesn’t hurt at all when I run, though it’s about time for that pain to go away - it’s been hanging around since before Grandma’s Marathon, June 16.

Too many food pictures in the queue again, so here goes a day’s worth of meals:

Breakfast:

Organic oatmeal, organic milk, blueberries, organic strawberries, organic apricot. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 3.

Lunch:

Cold roast free-range bison, 100% whole-grain bread, organic pickle relish, organic yellow mustard, organic nectarine, organic plum. Estimated Weight Watchers points = 8. Nice post-run recovery lunch.

Supper:

Roast lamb, Jim's cabbage roasted with caraway, organic carrots with Jim's onion, roast organic sweet potato, Jim's beet roasted. Virtually eveything is local. Estimated Weight Watcher's points = 4. Cat in background is forever optimistic about a food accident.

Fruit-yogurt dessert:

Banana, organic red seedless grapes, blackberries, blueberries, organic plum, organic nectarine, organic fat-free yogurt. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 5. While most treats are gone in five minutes, this big bowl can entertain for twenty or more.

Monday Bike Ride

Every year Family Means in Stillwater organizes a garden tour, as a find-raiser. Click on the photo to the right to go to a slide show of the pictures that we took on the tour Saturday and Sunday, then go to the bottom of that window to start the show.

This morning I biked a running route that I call “Lake Woebegone Boonies,” 13.9 miles in 62 minutes. Hmmm. Average about 13.5 mph, not as fast as I’d like, but it was a little hilly and windy, and I’ll probably get faster. Happily the knee pain was not bad today. Maybe I can try for a longer ride Wednesday.


Potroast dinner:

No-hormone beef, organic sweet potato, organic carrots, organic parsley, organic strawberry. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 6.

Foot Feels Good, But ...

No pain in the plantar fasciitis foot for days now. But I know that if I run on it, the injury will give way and set the healing back by weeks. More biking today.

First I measured the Lifetime Fitness Torchlight 5k for certification, which is more figuring and fussing than bike riding. It's exactly 5k! Later I rode a windy but enjoyable 8.2 miles in the neighborhood at a good pace.

Tonight's dinner:

Grilled free-range antibiotic-free hormone-free chicken with organic lemon, salad with organic romaine, organic baby spinach, peas, Jim's green pepper, Jim's parsley & basil, avocado, Danish blue cheese, plus organic nectarine, Take n Bake organic honey whole grain bread. Estimated Weight Watchers points = 7.

Pain-free Bike Ride

Almost. No knee pain until nearly the end of a vigorous hour of riding, so perhaps I'm riding through that problem. I’m a runner, but in danger of being seduced by the bike. And much to my surprise, I find trail biking the most alluring. Today I rode my favorite dirt trail for a short distance, heading toward a soft ride on sleepy neighborhood streets. But as I passed the county park, it sort of sucked me in, and I rode the mowed-grass bike/hike/horse trails there instead.

These are a hilly, bumpy trails, lots of gear shifting and standing on the pedals. NOT boring, and of course the park scenery is exquisite. There is one high vista from which one can see at least a half dozen of the nearby towns. The view demands a brief stop and dismount. From there it’s a fast downhill ride, speed limited only by one's courage over the bumps, back to the paved trails of the park and then home again. Haven’t had that much fun on a bike since I was twelve.


Chicken/feta/spinach bratwurst, whole wheat bread, Roquefort mustard, blackcurrant jam, organic plum. Estimated Weight Watcher points = 7.