May exercise and weight loss thread

[kiwiinoz]

Hi All

I thought I'd let someone else start this thread for a change but I couldn't help myself.

Got up and went for a slow 70 min run down to the port and back this morning. I am still wearing 2XU (compression pants), shorts and a t-shirt. Of course I have my trusty iPhone on my arm with runkeeper tracking me but at 6 am this morning it was 57 degrees with a really cold wind so I am going to have to invest in some winter running gear now. Any suggestions on what works? Do I go for a long sleeve shirt, or is there some sort of zip up option that will do it? Or do I get a singlet to go under my shirt? Appreciate any suggestions as I am keen to keep running during the coming winter and as it will get colder I am wanting to not stop due to me being lazy.

I entered an 11km fun run for 20 July so I have a target. Distance will be no problem but my target is to do that in 50 mins or less. Do I taper down and take the last week off before the run?

What has everyone else been up to. If I am getting cold, then you are all getting warm and into better exercise weather.

Kiwi

[raym]

Well starting out another month with a deterrent to exercise. I had laser vaporization of prostate tissue (called Green Light) this past Thursday to try an alleviate urination retention issues. So I need to take it easy for the next two weeks. Though I hope to get out and walk. I feel fine now, but am still with a catheter in so it's difficult to walk without discomfort. It comes out tomorrow though...yay! Doc wanted it in until Monday but I told him we had plans Sunday evening. Typically it only stays in for 24 hours with this procedure, but he wanted to leave it in to avoid urinary issues. Best part is I'm on a drug called Pyridium (alleviates bladder/urethra sensitivity) that turns my urine bright orange!

[BrownBagger]

I did my annual 70-mile ride from the town I work in, up in the mountains, to my home in the valley. Every year I need to drive a rental truck up there and then find a way back home. The bike is by far my favorite vehicle for doing that. That puts me up to over 350 miles for the year so far. It was an overcast day with occasional rain and occasional sun. Stiff wind out of the south (in my face, in other words). But, it was mostly downhill. I got a little wet and a lot sore. But I'm still up for some gardening today.

It was a great ride. A good stretch of it followed the ruins of the Black River Canal, which runs (uphill) from Boonville, NY up to Watertown, on the St. Lawrence River. Unfortunately, by the time the canal was completed, in 1855, it was almost obsolete due to the emergence of the railroads. It was shut down and abandoned in 1900.

As I said, this canal basically goes uphill--some 700 feet of elevation gain over just 35 miles. It contains 109 locks, which were all constructed with stone. The Black River is unusual in that it flows north. Water was diverted from the river and into the canal, which flowed south. Here's a few pics.


This is the Moose River, just before it flows into the Black.


Today, much of the old canal runs free.


The beavers have been busy (gratuitous beaver shot).


Here's the towpath--the path that the mules/horses/oxen used to pull the boats
up and down the length of the canal. All muscle power. Today it's a XC ski trail.

[BrownBagger]

Any suggestions on what works? Do I go for a long sleeve shirt, or is there some sort of zip up option that will do it? Or do I get a singlet to go under my shirt? Appreciate any suggestions as I am keen to keep running during the coming winter and as it will get colder I am wanting to not stop due to me being lazy.

Layers of nylon are what I use. I have a base layer and a heavier nylon shirt, followed by a cycling jersey and finally, a very light and packable Pearl Izumi cycling jacket (bright "don't flatten me" yellow). Under 50 degrees I wear tights over my cycling shorts. And, a very expensive pair of Sidi insulated, waterproof cycling shoes. It's always best, in my experience, to over-gear than under-dress. Light, packable nylon makes that easier--if you have pockets of some kind. You might also consider some leg and arm warmers to complement a pair of shorts and shirt. Much easier to shed and carry than full garments. Anything that vents is also nice.

At least in cycling, you're trying to stay on the cool side of comfortable. That can be hard to achieve and maintain, but it's what I shoot for.

[kiwiinoz]

Eric
Loved the photos of the "beaver", and do they really eat / chew the trunk of the tree enough to topple it?
Loved the shots Eric, always enjoy photos.
I'm off for a run tomorrow morning and I'd stop and take some photos but I'm running South (hope there ain't a southerly blowing tomorrow) in which case I can take photos of the trucks lining up to get into the port, or the great little patisserie that Mrs Kiwi always wants to go to, but then doesn't end up going to as they are not really that nice. Any preferences?

I'm thinking I may get a nylon singlet to keep me warm underneath and a long sleeve top that can breathe. Or a zip up jacket, maybe even with a hood.

I'm good once I get going and it is really my arms, fingers and ears that have issues. Circulation no good since Folfox and I just feel the cold.

Kiwi

[Oneeyeddog]

Hi Kiwi, It's my spring now for me but not long ago was running in cold temperatures (Czech Rep), normally minus 5 or something but I have done a minus 16. For me the key is layers, so will sometimes just run with a two or three normal t shirts. I then have a Nike running top with a hood and some Ron Hill running pants/tights things. Keeps me warm enough. Oh and hat and gloves. Enjoying the milder temps at the moment, just going out in shorts and T-shirt, now minus the bag (ileostomy). Feels a lot freer. Have been struggling with my fitness since reversal surgery end of Jan, but slowly getting it back. Did a nice hilly (for me) 10 k yesterday and didn't find it _too_ bad. The goal is the Budapest marathon in October with a mate, but even just thinking about that now scares me sh*tless (more than the bloody cancer). Good luck with the running!

[juliej]

Kiwi, I agree with Eric about layering. In the winter I wear thermal running tights and a stretch thermal long-sleeve t-shirt topped with a wind-proof Gore-Tex shell. When it's really bad outside (blowing snow, sleet, etc.), I add wind and water-resistant pants on top of the tights. I also add traction cleats to my running shoes for stability on snowy trails. On my head I wear an Outdoor Research ear band. Gloves are tricky. Like you, I feel the cold in my fingertips. I usually wear Mountain Hardwear's Momentum Running Gloves. (They even have a nose wipe patch on the thumb for when your nose runs in cold weather.) But sometimes I wear fleece mittens and slip a HotHands warmer inside them, especially if I'm going on a long run on a very cold day.

Somehow I got talked into playing a volleyball game last night. Usually I prefer individual sports like running, not team sports, but I thought it might be good cross-training -- all those vertical jumps sounded like a good workout. Then I saw the opposing team. Most of them were Samoans -- HUGE guys with sleeve tattoos who looked like they could snap me in half if they wanted to. (Picture playing volleyball against "The Rock.") All the sudden my legs felt like toothpicks even though I knew I could outrun any one of them. Needless-to-say we lost but we got treated to pizza afterwards (the winning team pays), even though those guys could out-eat us 2 to 1!

[kiwiinoz]

Julie
I gerw up in NZ so I know about big Samoans. I stopped playing rugby as by the age of 12 I was playing about 80kg 6' size samoans when I was a lot, lot smaller. Must be the taro that those guys eat but they were all so damn big. Funny though, I don't picture any of the Samoans that I grew up with playing volleyball. They all seemed to lack the finess that I thought volleyball needed. Pizza sounded really good to me though

I bought a wristband for the sweat but with the recent cold I have found that it has turned into a "wipe my running nose" band. I went out this morning for a very unplanned run, and ended up crossing a motorway and getting caught on the wrong side of it, and then made the mistake of trying to go around it by running past a golf course through some back streets that I didnt know. Neither of these obstacles gave way to me and my semi planned 10 km run turned in a 15.81 km run with me pushing the pace to get home so I could go to work on time. Note to oneself, plan, plan and plan my morning runs

I like one eyed dogs layers thing but I seem to get rashes on my chest when I wear too much, and my temperatures aren't as cold as his. I have my weekend shopping trip planned.

New long sleeved running shirt
Zip up jacket if needed
Gloves or fleece mittens

I'm sitting at work and my fingers are still numb from the run this morning.

Kiwi

[BrownBagger]

Around here, where it gets very cold in the winter, we say "cotton kills." Stick with synthetics when exercising in the cold.

Kiwi: yes, the beavers actually do chew through the base and knock trees down. The deal is that they eat the bark (exclusively) and use the remaining stems and branches to build dams, which helps create and maintain their preferred envrionment, which is a beaver "lodge" in the middle of a big pond. Of course, if you happen to own the land they're doing this on, it's pretty destructive, since it dams up streams and floods part of your property, killing all the trees. So, cute as they are (and amazine--vegetarians, no less), they're generally seen as pests. We like to dynamite their dams and trap them for pelts. Well, not me, but some people. Amazing animals, really. I'd say on par with some of your more exotic Downunder species. They don't eat the wood, BTW--just the bark, and nothing more.

[vilca11]

You, guys, are heros in my eyes... how in the world you do it, I have no idea... take my hat off - be well and enjoy for many more years!

Hugs, Vilca

[horizon]

Somehow I got talked into playing a volleyball game last night. Usually I prefer individual sports like running, not team sports, but I thought it might be good cross-training -- all those vertical jumps sounded like a good workout. Then I saw the opposing team. Most of them were Samoans -- HUGE guys with sleeve tattoos who looked like they could snap me in half if they wanted to. (Picture playing volleyball against "The Rock.") All the sudden my legs felt like toothpicks even though I knew I could outrun any one of them. Needless-to-say we lost but we got treated to pizza afterwards (the winning team pays), even though those guys could out-eat us 2 to 1!

That is quite an image! Sounds like it would have been expensive if you won.