Exercise Bicycle

The exercise bicycle at this hotel is ancient and mostly broken down, but I rode it today for 50 minutes, which might be about equivalent to 5 miles running. I forgot to pay attention to breathing, which is my best indicator, but I was sweating and it felt like hard work, so maybe it is equivalent. What’s especially nice about these machines is that you can read while exercising, which is hard to do in the pool. So I caught up on Myeloma Today and Running Times, stuff like that.

The foot with plantar fasciitis feels a LOT better today than yesterday, especially after the exercise bicycle. Hmmm.

Wet Again

More pool running in the hotel, 30 minutes, hopefully equivalent to about 3 miles in terms of energy expended. BORING though; unlike a run, I could hardly wait for the clock to get to 30. The foot still hurts a little; I was limping slightly at work today, unlike the past several days when the foot felt better. Hopefully this morning’s short run didn’t cause too much re-injury; I’ll know tomorrow.

Looking back, I stopped running for six days before this morning’s aborted run, using the elliptical machine and pool running for fitness instead. Quite evidently, six days was not enough to heal the inflamed plantar fascia. And why should it be? When I pull a leg muscle, I expect it to take three weeks to heal. As a general rule, feet heal more slowly than legs, so shouldn’t I expect the heel to take at least three weeks? The question answers itself. The problem now is that Grandma’s Marathon is less than three weeks away.

So I guess I will NOT RUN until Grandma’s, and then we’ll see. Interesting training regimen! But I will keep up the cross-training, as much like running as possible. The good news is that plantar fasciitis is a problem that CAN be solved eventually, one way or another!

Greg and I visited Krogers again:

• Salad: Organic mixed greens, carrots, artichoke hearts, olives, mushrooms, organic grapes, organic strawberries, blueberries, walnuts.
• Dinner: 12-grain whole-grain bread, sliced beef, asiago cheese, smoked aged cheddar, mustard, grapes, cashews, porter.

Disappointment

Last night I hunted down a rubberized running track at the local Maryville Middle School, a few miles from the hotel. This morning was to be the first actual run in almost a week.

I drove to the school, arriving at 4:50 am, hoping to run until about 6:15 am. I even brought water and a gel. It’s a lovely quarter-mile track, black surface as if made from old tires, harder than my running shoes but softer than blacktop, open to the public when not in use by the school. Not another soul was in sight, of course, but plenty of eerie blue light from mercury vapor lamps on tall poles.

The first mile went fine, 8:46, nice pace. Easy running, no pain, 64 degrees, what could be better? But just after a mile and a half the left-foot plantar fasciitis started to hurt, enough that I finished the lap walking and drove back to the hotel. Rats. More pool running in my future; I hope I didn’t re-injure the foot. Right now it doesn’t feel like I hurt it much. I did buy soft inserts for my work boots last night, so hopefully it won't get any worse at work today. I do computer work, but for this client I need to walk through a heavy-manufacturing plant, requiring steel-toe boots, hard hat, safety glasses, and non-flammable clothing.

Greg made the salad last night: Organic greens, artichoke hearts, beans, avocado, walnuts, asiago cheese.

Pool Running 101

The plantar fasciitis is getting better, and I think I could run, but I’d rather not annoy it yet. I’m on the road in Alcoa, Tennessee today, where there are wonderful blacktopped biking/running trails along wooded Pistol Creek, lighted at night, going right past my hotel, useable all year around. So very tempting, but today I tried pool running instead. I “ran” for two hours and a minute, breathing as if I were running a marathon. I think it was a total success, roughly equivalent to 12 miles, and I feel wonderful afterward. Exhausted and exhilarated.

I spent just a few minutes researching “pool running” on the internet first, and didn’t get a lot of guidance in that time. As far as I can tell you are supposed to move your legs in an upright posture as if you were running. A flotation device can make it easier, so I wore a thin lifejacket. I don’t know what you should do with your hands. The hotel pool is only five feet deep at its deepest, not quite enough, so I had to be sure not to stub my toes. I found that the running action of my feet tended to pull me slowly forward no matter the angle of my body in the water. Therefore, since the deepest part of the pool was relatively small, I had to constantly turn and reverse myself to avoid banging into a wall or the sloping pool bottom. Eventually, I had the best luck backed up to the pool’s ladder, grasping that with my hands behind me and holding on.

That was powerfully boring, but then again it was easy to drift off and think about something else because, no matter how hard I worked, I wasn’t going anywhere. It’s not so much like running as like pedaling a bike, actually. Or maybe I did it wrong. If you have a suggestion, please indulge me with a comment. I didn’t bring drinking water with me, and next time I will; I got a little dehydrated despite being in several thousand gallons of water. Gels might be good too, on a longer run.

But I didn’t get hot! Or sunburned, except perhaps on my face; I’ll wear sunscreen there next time; happily the sun went behind a building halfway through. And although my head was always out of the water, my normally soggy forehead didn’t sweat at all, probably because the pool water kept my body cool despite the exercise. Breathing was three to four “footfalls” per full breath, just as when I run at marathon pace. Pool running is not exactly running, but it’s a LOT better than sitting in the hotel room watching the Indy 500, which I did anyway later.
Supper in the hotel room afterward, watching the Indy 500:

• Salad: Organic "fresh herb salad" (romaine, spinach, herbs, buried underneath), avocado, organic strawberries, blueberries, walnuts, vinegar.
• Main course: Twelve-grain whole-grain bread, asiago cheese, smoked cheddar cheese, organic grapes, cashews, mustard.
• Dessert: Another oatmeal porter, and an orange.

Elliptical Again

The left foot with plantar fasciitis was a little better this morning I think, maybe better than it has been since the Race for the Cure 5k two weeks ago. Nevertheless I want that foot to heal completely if possible, so I “ran” the elliptical machine again today rather than run with my Saturday morning group. I suppose Cap’n Randy was there this morning, fresh from his trip up the Mississippi, and if so I’m sorry I missed him. But my sweeties and I did pretty well at the club instead.

750 calories burned on two elliptical machines, equivalent to about six miles of actual running. The machines said 6.3 miles in total. One of the four Procor machines in the club allows me to lower the “ramp” so that I can “run” upright in a fairly normal motion without really having to hang on to anything with my hands. I like that the best because it simulates running more closely, and I spent most of the calories on that one. Level 9, 165-170 strides/minute, about 13.5 calories/minute. That level of effort results in a heart rate of 125-130, which is a heart rate that I can sustain for hours.

Yesterday’s exercise was mowing the lawn for 3.5 hours, using a human-propelled rotary mower. It’s really pretty good exercise!

Next week maybe some pool running.

Elliptical Machine

Today I just used the elliptical trainer to burn 500 calories, which for me is equivalent to about four miles. The machine showed 4.25 miles, actually. Not enough to be anywhere near a long "run," but I took almost twice the time limit that the club has on their machines. The left-foot plantar fasciitis didn’t hurt much, but enough to tell me not to run on it, not even on the treadmill.

Saturday a friend asked me if I was using ice and heat on the sore heel. I responded that I’m more of a fan of heat than I am of cold. But today, in the spirit of “what the heck?,” I did try an ice pack on the foot when I got home. Then I switched to heat. And it does feel a little better this afternoon than it did this morning or yesterday afternoon. I think.

Machine: Level 9, 160 to 170 strides per minute, just over 13 calories per minute, lowest angle. This worked well - I could continue at that energy level for a long time if nobody showed up needing that particular machine. Heart rate according to the machine was 127-130. I like that machine because it’s the only one in the club that can change its angle, so I can lower the angle to make it more like running.


Salmon bake with yogurt, peas, low-fat rice chips for crunch.

Hobble hobble

The idea was to run on a treadmill only until I felt a little pain in the left foot (with the plantar fasciitis), then switch to the elliptical machine. That worked fine, but I was only able to run 1.2 miles before I could feel the heel starting to hurt. Then I “ran” the energy-equivalent of about three more miles on the elliptical, at a rate of about 13 calories/minute.

New Brooks Glycerin 5 shoes today. I bought those because they are supposed to be more cushioned than the Brooks Burn 3 which are my normal training, racing, and marathon shoes. They made a pretty loud slapping sound on the treadmill, but I think that was mostly the treadmill itself because they weren’t that loud when I ran a few steps on the indoor track. The Burn 3 shoes are quieter though, because they are designed for a midfoot striker like me. Jury is still out on the Glycerin - I may end up liking the Burn better, even with the plantar fasciitis problem.

Romaine, celery, cucumber, walnuts, blue cheese, and tasty vinegar.