up and out early today. the right leg and side are not good, but i convinced myself i could run through it. gail went out today also. cold and sunny, though we face 5 days of rain, hail and snow if the weather forecast is to be believed.
did the usual 5 mile loop up to st margaret's church- new herd of cows and also one of sheep out today. nobody else out yet this early as the sun is barely up. we took a couple of early stretch breaks and headed over port meadow and across rainbow bridge and down the now newly fixed part of the trail. and basically just kept going until we hit botley road where gail and i separated as she headed to the store for croissants and ciabatta while i turned and went back north on the thames and over to the canal.
under the turbo ted day care bridge and ran the loop around rewley abbey and templeton college and then over and north on the oxford canal. really pretty here and the boat people were just waking up and the dog walkers were now out. took the trail up to the bridge for the oxford press building and turned back south towards town. ran all the way back to the hythe street bridge st. and turned north again. was going to run down the street, but decided the trail was much nicer today.
reversed myself basically- back up the canal and over the bridge to the rewley st path past templeton college and the abbey. made a note to find someone who could get me into the abbey gardens as they are private and part of the property of the said business school. was curious to see what they did with their rock garden as my own at home stands waiting for something besides the rocks that are there now.
at seven miles i came past the train station and wanting 8 miles or so, i headed down to st thomas the martyr church-built in 1670- as i like the pretty and old tower there a lot, and figured down and back would add just enough with the half mile from the train station to make 8. just to be sure i did the around the block thing to add 6 more minutes and then headed home. about 8 and a little.
the right leg was not very helpful today though i made an attempt to get it involved for the last mile or so and even added some short 20 second strider pickups to test it. almost worked, but at least it didn't get worse. all in all got 8 miles in on a very pretty day and with snow and rain coming got 24 miles in the last 3 days. funny how short an hour run can seem now. no doubt 8 months of almost 60 miles a week has gotten lots of my endurance back though not much speed and will work on that later. should be able to get 12-16 goo weeks on the track in before i leave here, but need the right to run with me to make it matter. gray now outside as i type this and the cold air i felt coming home bodes well for their forecast. the UV index was 3 today and that will be a factor soon enough. still, if i keep going out this early it should not be that bad.
three loads of laundry done this morning after i got home and the newspaper listed 25good walks to take and now that we can ride for free on the buses as of april 1st we can get around more easily. should be fun. nothing like being a senior huh? though i kid the drivers that they can keep my old person bus pass if they can make me 45 again. stale joke i know. i do notice i have less senior moments here, though names are a challenge anymore. meatloaf and amy mac donald sing in the background. love amy's voice when she sings, but when she talks in her scottish brogue i have a hard time understanding what she is saying. i do remember that it is their language and it is we in the usa who changed it to sound funny- ask them.
back later- will april 22 ever get here?
Saturday, April 05, 2008
funny doctor
HEALTH QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION
Posted by: "bill.....
Fri Apr 4, 2008 11:54 am (PDT)
I love this DOCTOR!!!!
HEALTH QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION
Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... Don't waste them on exercise . Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.
Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100%of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.
Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!
Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.
Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good!
Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: You're not listening....Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?
Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger . You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.
Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy? HELLO Cocoa beans! Another vegetable. It's the best feel-good food around!!
Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.
Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape! !
Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.
And remember:
'Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming, 'WOO HOO, What a Ride!'
Posted by: "bill.....
Fri Apr 4, 2008 11:54 am (PDT)
I love this DOCTOR!!!!
HEALTH QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION
Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... Don't waste them on exercise . Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.
Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100%of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.
Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!
Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.
Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good!
Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: You're not listening....Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?
Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger . You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.
Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy? HELLO Cocoa beans! Another vegetable. It's the best feel-good food around!!
Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.
Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape! !
Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets.
And remember:
'Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming, 'WOO HOO, What a Ride!'
Friday, April 04, 2008
catching up
a start at catching up; have been on the road a bunch the last several days and not on the computer.
yesterday is an easy day to cover. beth and i got up early and took a cab to the bus station and then on to heathrow airport for her flight back. i stayed there until she started through security and what ultimately turned into a delayed flight, and i headed back to oxford. got home and decided to do a nice little four mile loop up and over to the river and down the thames and home. wanted to get some golf practice in and also run a couple of errands if there was time. legs were still somewhat tired from what has been about 95 miles of running and walking this past 8 days. more on that later.
off to the range to hit what turned out to be 250 golf balls working on my "stuff". some of it was great and some horrible- very frustrating and i hope some of that was due to being tired and sleepy. what can i say? will keep plugging away and planned to go over what was going on a little later.
gail was giving a paper so i took some time to try and chip, but as noted before we have not received the lawnmower yet and the grass has now not been cut since last june. you know what that looks like and chipping was sort of like hitting out of the heather on a links course. except i have neighbors and fences and just cannot hack it back out to the fairway. what i could do however, was aim at the shed doors- bang, bang, bang, get the idea- a little loud and gave that up after a bit.
with gail still at school i went back to the range( still a 5 minute walk or so) and hit another 75 balls. was not tired surprisingly and the first balls went better and then good and bad and gave that up to just hit some nice 40 yard pitch shots and relax. more like play than practice at this point.
and then after a bit went to sleep. what can happen when you sleep huh? of course we still have the crying cat wandering around looking for his now deceased playmate and on top of that for whatever reason, my sciatica decided to keep me up with no actual way to stop the pain. one either has experienced a sciatica attack or hasn't. either way, no explanation is either needed or understood. dying seems like the only way to stop it.
but alas, not to be and i got up and stretched a bit and decided to try and run. sometimes exercise will soften it up and you still know the pain will come back, but so what?
out the door i went-gail had work to do and an interview to conduct so i headed slowly up the road. wasn't too bad actually and after a very slow mile i tried to focus on form and forget it. over to the river and down the Thames. went as far as the work crew would let me go and turned back north. worked out ok as the river was pretty and the trail soft and i ran l the way past the godstow nunnery and over to wolvercote village.
stopped at the local post office/general store and got some water and went off to the oxford canal. went up the canal a bit and turned and headed back south. sky was really dark at that point. down the trail to walton lane and over to port meadow. went over the grassy trail there about 4 feet away from or local horses and went down the river again. did some loops at the bottom of the trail and some short striders to test the back and leg. other than some tightness/pain at the start i hadn't felt it since about 6 miles in. at this point i was about 11 miles and went down to osney island and did a little loop two times that beth and i had walked and with a little over 13 miles called it a day and headed over to the store to get some bread and stuff.
all in all given the night time sleep it was ok. stretched like crazy when i got done, especially the calves and ITB. whoever knew what an iliotibial band was before they started running? and what distance runner doesn't know at some point? only the lucky ones.
decent run. and felt almost ok. can feel the right side as i type, but not too bad. wouldn't want to be sitting on a wallet right now though.
golf range went better today. i went back over my "j. stack" notes and last email and decided to really work on my set up, posture, grip pressure and alignment before each shot and then only think about keeping my right knee flexed and make a good turn keeping the club face towards the target as long as possible. did one thought for each 10 balls except the right knee. that was a permanent thought.
this went pretty well for awhile. i did all of my irons up to the 7iron and nothing longer. somewhere around the 80th ball i started to feel the right side saying not too much more and at the end of the bucket i stopped working on full swing. not everything had gone straight, but many were really good and the tape on the club face was in pretty good shape. the good ones were really good so there was room for some hope that i must say i didn't feel yesterday. ended by chipping (sneaking onto the grass) with my 8iron and lob wedge and some little pitch shots.
and then home and to the train station for atm/money and some info on train trips. throw in some laundry and a good dinner and it was a decent enough day.
next up is the last several days of visiting London and Woodstock and Blenheim palace, plus our walks around oxford. but not right now. more soon.
yesterday is an easy day to cover. beth and i got up early and took a cab to the bus station and then on to heathrow airport for her flight back. i stayed there until she started through security and what ultimately turned into a delayed flight, and i headed back to oxford. got home and decided to do a nice little four mile loop up and over to the river and down the thames and home. wanted to get some golf practice in and also run a couple of errands if there was time. legs were still somewhat tired from what has been about 95 miles of running and walking this past 8 days. more on that later.
off to the range to hit what turned out to be 250 golf balls working on my "stuff". some of it was great and some horrible- very frustrating and i hope some of that was due to being tired and sleepy. what can i say? will keep plugging away and planned to go over what was going on a little later.
gail was giving a paper so i took some time to try and chip, but as noted before we have not received the lawnmower yet and the grass has now not been cut since last june. you know what that looks like and chipping was sort of like hitting out of the heather on a links course. except i have neighbors and fences and just cannot hack it back out to the fairway. what i could do however, was aim at the shed doors- bang, bang, bang, get the idea- a little loud and gave that up after a bit.
with gail still at school i went back to the range( still a 5 minute walk or so) and hit another 75 balls. was not tired surprisingly and the first balls went better and then good and bad and gave that up to just hit some nice 40 yard pitch shots and relax. more like play than practice at this point.
and then after a bit went to sleep. what can happen when you sleep huh? of course we still have the crying cat wandering around looking for his now deceased playmate and on top of that for whatever reason, my sciatica decided to keep me up with no actual way to stop the pain. one either has experienced a sciatica attack or hasn't. either way, no explanation is either needed or understood. dying seems like the only way to stop it.
but alas, not to be and i got up and stretched a bit and decided to try and run. sometimes exercise will soften it up and you still know the pain will come back, but so what?
out the door i went-gail had work to do and an interview to conduct so i headed slowly up the road. wasn't too bad actually and after a very slow mile i tried to focus on form and forget it. over to the river and down the Thames. went as far as the work crew would let me go and turned back north. worked out ok as the river was pretty and the trail soft and i ran l the way past the godstow nunnery and over to wolvercote village.
stopped at the local post office/general store and got some water and went off to the oxford canal. went up the canal a bit and turned and headed back south. sky was really dark at that point. down the trail to walton lane and over to port meadow. went over the grassy trail there about 4 feet away from or local horses and went down the river again. did some loops at the bottom of the trail and some short striders to test the back and leg. other than some tightness/pain at the start i hadn't felt it since about 6 miles in. at this point i was about 11 miles and went down to osney island and did a little loop two times that beth and i had walked and with a little over 13 miles called it a day and headed over to the store to get some bread and stuff.
all in all given the night time sleep it was ok. stretched like crazy when i got done, especially the calves and ITB. whoever knew what an iliotibial band was before they started running? and what distance runner doesn't know at some point? only the lucky ones.
decent run. and felt almost ok. can feel the right side as i type, but not too bad. wouldn't want to be sitting on a wallet right now though.
golf range went better today. i went back over my "j. stack" notes and last email and decided to really work on my set up, posture, grip pressure and alignment before each shot and then only think about keeping my right knee flexed and make a good turn keeping the club face towards the target as long as possible. did one thought for each 10 balls except the right knee. that was a permanent thought.
this went pretty well for awhile. i did all of my irons up to the 7iron and nothing longer. somewhere around the 80th ball i started to feel the right side saying not too much more and at the end of the bucket i stopped working on full swing. not everything had gone straight, but many were really good and the tape on the club face was in pretty good shape. the good ones were really good so there was room for some hope that i must say i didn't feel yesterday. ended by chipping (sneaking onto the grass) with my 8iron and lob wedge and some little pitch shots.
and then home and to the train station for atm/money and some info on train trips. throw in some laundry and a good dinner and it was a decent enough day.
next up is the last several days of visiting London and Woodstock and Blenheim palace, plus our walks around oxford. but not right now. more soon.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
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