*Week 475*
Greetings, 50+ers! First off, good luck on the rehab, MF and KP! Hopefully you'll come out the other side of it with renewed energy and added resilience. You had a nice set of solos before the diagnosis, KP; I don't doubt you'll return to good form quickly. Glad you're all recovered, Coyote; it's become a big concern of mine when going off road--rock, limb, hidden mole holes, all can do a number now that we're not as limber as we used to be.
Had a small improvement over last week. Still did 7 days of activity logging 27+ miles and inserting 2 run/walks (the other days were pretty unbearable with H.I. hitting close to or above 100.) The first run/walk was Thursday, that was essentially just Fartlek with varying lengths of walk and run. Came through 4 miles in about 42 minutes, with roughly 2-to-1 run versus walk distances. Yesterday, was a little more deliberate, with 1.0, 0.6, 0.4 mile run portions with 0.2 mile walk in between followed by 2x0.2, 4x0.1 mile run portions with 0.1 mile walk in between. The longer runs were in the low-8/high-7 range, while the shorter parts were mostly in the high-7s dipping into the low-7s for the 0.1 mile parts. The toes continue to be a bit problematic, but the lower back and the knee are tolerating things well. I finally got an X-ray of the knee the other week, and results came back indicating so mild to moderate degeneration (nothing Earth-shattering) and some "peaking"; I'll see an orthopedist at some point, haven't scheduled an appointment yet. I will say that the knee sleeve has made a real difference. Weight remains the big obstacle as I'm still around 193-195 lbs, where 156 lbs was might race weight a decade ago. It has trended down a little as I've been deliberately exercising 7 days/week, but I'll need to do more in the kitchen to make any real progress.
I appreciate all the discussion about heat and sleep. I guess I don't get enough sleep (by the recommendations,) never have; I find it hard to get more than about 7 hours most nights. I think that everyone has a natural level that works for them. Worrying about it too much is probably not healthy, either. As for heat and humidity, there is kind of a trade off on those extremely humid days. I actually find that I do better in the late afternoon when the dew point is high, the reason is that when the dew point is close to the actual temperature, there is no evaporative cooling, which I find really increases the perceived discomfort. If I exercise later in the day, it may be warmer, but there is an evaporative cooling effect that makes it not feel quite as bad. The trick, though, is finding some place that is well shaded, because the Sun's rays will wipe out any benefit of evaporative cooling. Obviously, at some point, it really doesn't matter and the best option is just to back off and take it easier.
OK, that's it for me. Exciting to see some action on the track with the intrasquad and intersquad meets. Impressive stuff! I wonder how much of a gain the Nike spikes had contributed. Keep up the good work, and I look forward to reading your-all's reports, as per usual. Stay safe out there, this isn't going away anytime soon!
All the Best!
PS-BTW, I really do appreciate the encouragement from y'all; despite the negatives I've expressed above, I feel optimistic that I can make real progress with a few adjustments.