Obese child allowed to return to his mom...

Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Last November, I wrote a story about a 218-pound, 8-year old, third grade boy who was taken from his mother by the County because of the impending health problems his weight posed for him.  It got a ton of media attention across the country as people from all walks of life asked the question “was government going a little too far?”  He was suffering from sleep apnea at the time, but had no other health issues.  He was an honor student and seemed to be well-adjusted, but Child and Family Services thought they needed to insert themselves and the courts backed them up.  The child first went to a foster home, but such a ruckus was raised in the media that the court awarded the child to an Uncle in Columbus, instead.

Now, four months later, he’s lost 50 pounds and his uncle says he now has a better understanding of portion control and sensible eating.  It was reported that he was told he wouldn’t be able to see his mom again until he lost a lot of weight.  Maybe stress and separation anxiety was part of the weight loss. 

Yes…you know how much I believe in activity and sensible nutrition and I feel so much of the problems of childhood obesity are things parents are best able to deal with.  Clearly this young man’s mom didn’t have the answers…but wow…county government deciding when to take kids out of their homes?  Anyway…he’s home again, but his mom is already saying she hopes someone steps in to help her since his father is not in the picture.  Someone like ‘Big Brother’ who might take her son to the gym and work him out.  I’ve been in and out of gyms my entire life, and I’ve yet to see a third grader working out.  I’m wondering if he knows how to play?  That’s all we did when I was growing up…that and having apples as our only available snack and a drinking fountain on the back of the house to wash it down…and we were all slim. 

That pain in my right buttocks was bothering me all day…but I had a plan to fix it.  I went to the park and slipped on my running gear and headed slowly down the trail.  Good pain or bad pain…I was about to find out.  After five minutes of running, the ache dissipated and for the next 45 things went well.  I knew I’d stiffen up quickly though, so I drove home and hopped on the trainer for a one-hour ride.  After my shower things started to tighten up and shortly after, I was in bed laying on an ice pack and down for the night.  Okay…I never said it was a good plan.

Run duration: 50 minutes.  Bike duration: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 140 running and 120 for the bike.
Calories burned:  850 running, 850 for the bike.

More madness at Chardon High School...

Monday, February 27, 2012
It can happen anywhere…at any time.  You say ‘goodbye’ in the morning or whenever you part with someone you love and you just assume you’ll see them again whenever it is you’re supposed to see them.  Maybe it’s just that they’re heading off to school…so you don’t hug your teenaged son as he exits the car…in fact you don’t really even look at him since you’re busy fiddling with the radio and he’s in a hurry to make it to homeroom on time.

And then Chardon High School happens…again…and two kids will never come home.  Lightning strikes somewhere every day so I have to remind myself to pay attention to the ones I love.   I was writing yesterday’s blog last night when Jack joined me and wanted to just jabber about things like “who do you think would win a fight…Spiderman or Hulk Hogan?”  I brushed him off because he should have known without asking that Spiderman would kick Hogan’s ass…but mostly because I had what I thought was this really important thing to do and no time to talk to him.  Wake up, John.

I managed a decent Survival Workout, hitting high numbers on all my lifts and sets…except push-ups…again.  I’m slipping in my bench mark exercise…now struggling to get in the 90’s.  I’ve also had the low back pain from the previous day slip down into the right buttocks muscle, which has made running out of the question and walking painful…so no sprints, hops or jumps.

After completing the workout, I went to the Achilles Running Store to check out the core class being offered.  I met with their trainer, Rosalie Franek, and got the details.  She’s an excellent coach with a degree in Exercise Physiology and has helped many runners over the years strengthen their core and legs and improve flexibility.  Her class begins with a 20-25 minute warm-up jog on the streets around the store after which she spends 45 minutes doing stretching, core strength routines and overall body strengthening using bands and body weight.  Each class is only $5…quite a bargain for professional guidance in this critical area.

I passed on the chance to take part in the run or the class…I’d had enough fun for one evening…and went home to make another good Paleo meal.  I’m trying to gear up for the coming summer months when I intend to get in the best shape of my life and drop the weight back into the mid-170’s…and maybe lower.  I know I want to get up to the Adirondacks again this summer and climb some of the more difficult peaks.  I know I’ll need to be in peak form because I’m going to want to do multiple peaks on consecutive days…something that beats me up if I’m not ready.  This may also be the summer to cross Lake Erie in a kayak…amongst other things.  When the time comes, I want to be ready.

Survival Workout: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100-150.
Calories burned:  600.

Sunday, February 26, 2012
“The perfect blossom is a rare thing. You could spend your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life.” 
Holly was making one of my favorite meals…well…at least it used to be.  Baked chicken, delicious gravy, mashed potatoes, dressing, noodles, corn and Jell-o.  I knew it was coming and developed a plan.  I’d take a chicken thigh and break it up over a tossed salad of spinach, mushrooms, craisins and almonds and eat that instead.  I got my food last and came to the table to watch seven others enjoying their fatty, cholesterol-laden meals.  Bummer.  And to make it worse, there was Patterson’s Dutch Apple Pie in the kitchen and Breyer’s All-Natural Vanilla Ice Cream with bean specks a couple of feet away in the freezer.  I ignored them both…for awhile.

I’d done a long hike through four inches of snow earlier in the day.  Bruce and I had met at the North Chagrin Reservation with the objective of doing the marsh perimeter hike.  We spent almost two hours on our trek and when we reached the marsh, Bruce wanted to go out as far as we could to observe the new beaver lodges.  Once there, we stood quietly for some time scanning the treetops for the eagles…and any other birds that cared to join us.  There were many.  A large red-tailed hawk soared overhead while the red-winged blackbirds sang their songs.  Pleated Woodpeckers were drumming too, and the echo resonated across the marsh. 

“I could just stand here for an hour and listen and watch,” Bruce said.  I felt the same…and often did just that when I came here alone.  It reminded me of a quote from the movie ‘The Last Samurai’ by Katsumoto… “The perfect blossom is a rare thing.  You could spend your life looking for one, and it would not be a wasted life.”  Some days, I cannot draw myself away fearing that as soon as I turn, I will miss something special happening behind me.

I managed another long ride on the trainer when I returned home while watching another couple of National Geographic specials.  One was on the adventures of Lewis and Clarke during their historic exploration of the Louisiana Territory and beyond to the Pacific Ocean and the other a fascinating effort to restore a portion of the American Serengeti on the Great Plains of Montana.  Scientists are working with conservationists and others to try and recreate an ecosystem destroyed so many years ago…following Lewis and Clarke…as farmers and settlers moved into this land and molded it to suit the needs of civilization.

Hike duration: One hour and 45 minutes.  Bike duration: 93 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 80 hiking and 120 for the bike.
Calories burned:  400 hiking, 1300 for the bike.

The doctors agree...

Saturday, February 25, 2012
Savannah was home from Ohio State for the weekend and…quite naturally…the Jeep needed repair work.  Her driver’s side window cable had broken, which meant the window would only stay up if we wedged a piece of wood between the glass and the frame.  Not your idea situation, so I called Dan and he told me to bring it out.

I hate to go out empty handed and I had a Nalgene full of smoothie to share with him, but I needed something more so I stopped at Patterson’s Fruit Farm on the way and visited their bake shop.  They have fritters there the size of my head, so I grabbed one for Dan and one for Jack.  The lady at the counter added a third saying it was the end of the day and she didn’t want to see them going to waste.  They wouldn’t in my possession.

I arrived at Dan’s and offered him a drink of the smoothie.   “This is how I got thin, Dan,” I said as he took a drink, “and this is how I get fat again,” handing him his fritter.

He liked the smoothie…and loved the fritter.  Hard to fault that line of thinking.  He pulled the door apart to see what he’d need to order and put it back together…wood wedge still in place.  She’d be home for spring break in three weeks and he’d fix it correctly then.

I swung by the Achilles Running Shop in Mentor on my return trip to meet with Dr. Mark Mendeszoon to continue my quest for answers to my article, ‘Good pain…bad pain’.  He confirmed much of what I’d heard the day before from Nilesh, which was encouraging and had some more gems of his own to offer.

“Good pain…the kind that leaves you stiff and sore at the beginning of the day or run should go away once you get warmed up and moving.  Bad pain never does,” he said.

He completely agreed about the importance of core work as the key to avoiding injuries and had that at the top of his chart, as well.  I also questioned him about compression socks and their value.  If you didn’t know already, these are socks that end just below the knee with far more compression than standard socks.  They constrict surface blood vessels, thus forcing circulating blood through narrower channels causing more blood flow back to the heart instead of pooling in the feet and lower leg and thus, theoretically, improving performance in aerobic sports.

“I believe they work just as advertised and I encourage all my runners to use them,” he said.

He mentioned the core training class offered at the store every Monday evening starting at 5:30 p.m. and I agreed to come and check it out. 

I headed home for another exciting ride on my trainer.  I did learn a great deal about ‘Thunderbeast’…the American Bison…in a National Geographic special about this amazing animal.  I followed that with a documentary about George Washington…and suddenly I’d ridden another hour and forty minutes.

Bike Duration: 100 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1400.

Good advice from Dr. Nilesh Shah...

Friday, February 24, 2012
Writing for Ohio Sports and Fitness has done a lot to help me reconnect with proper training and experts in the field of running and exercise.  I called Dr. Nilesh Shah, someone I’ve known since he was a distance runner at Mentor High School and was coming to me for off-season training programs.  He’s now the Medical Director for the Summa Center for Sports Health and for the Akron Marathon as well as team doctor for the Indians minor league team, the Akron Aeros…among other things.  Better still…he’s completed 15 marathons and done a half-ironman triathlon.  He walks the talk every day.

I’d sent him a list of questions about my ‘Good pain…bad pain’ article, which he’d answered, but I still had questions.  He’d surprised me when he’d answered that he didn’t think running surface mattered to injuries.  From personal experience and readings I’d done over the years, the harder the surface the worse it was for the lower body.

“I’ve run the road my whole life and the body adapts to the surface,” he said.  “It does help to vary surfaces…strengthens and prepares the body in different ways…but you certainly don’t want to do all your running on trails and then run a marathon on the roads.  That’s asking for trouble.”

This made sense and is probably the reason that anytime I leave the trails to do any running on the roads, I’m sore or injured the next day.  Though I’m only running 15-20 miles a week, it’s all on the trails.  And since I have no intention of running road races again…I think I’ll just stay there.

The other big question…‘if you could do one thing to prevent injuries in runners, what would it be?’

“Core strength.  Everything else spins off the core.  Do exercise that work the muscles of the butt, low back and abs together if you really want to do something good,” he said.  He went on to describe the kinds of training he meant.  Crunches, planks, and bicycles to name a few... all things I was doing as part of the Survival Workout.  “I really like working the balancing muscles while lifting…like sitting or laying on one of those large balls and trying to lift weight.  Trying to balance on the ball forces you to use your core muscles.  If you’re lifting or pressing a weight for your chest or shoulders at the same time, all the muscles have to work together…like they do in real life situations…and that’s a good thing,” he concluded.

I invited him to a Survival Workout so I could get a critical evaluation and advice for ways to improve it.  He agreed to join me…something I’m looking forward to.

During this conversation, I was sitting with a heating pad pressed against my lower back.  My core was messed up again.  I wake up with pain in my lower back about twice a year and this one was right on schedule.  It’s not so bad that I can’t do anything, but it is bad enough to keep me from wanting to…so I took the night off.  Clearly, I need more work on the core.

Winter blues continue...

Thursday, February 23, 2012

I’ve been fighting a terrible case of the winter doldrums.  I’m preparing my next article for ‘Ohio Sports and Fitness’ which I will call ‘Good Pain, Bad Pain’ and attempt to identify the differences between when you should train through a hurt and when you should visit a doctor.  For instance…I’ve been struggling with a pain just below my right elbow for about six months, which is inflamed by biceps curls and climbing swing set posts, among other things.  It’s ‘bad pain’ because it doesn’t go away once I warm it up and has been around about 5 months and 27 days longer than I should have waited before visiting the doctor.  I don’t go because I seldom follow my own advice, and I can live with it.  If I take a little time off, it gets better and it doesn’t interfere with any activity that I consider really important.  I also haven’t done any of the things I could do to improve it…like ice and compression…but that’s me – lazy and dumb.

Anyway…I had a point…and just remembered what it was.  I’m writing this article to help the half and full marathoners identify and treat their ailments for their May run.  The events I tend to prepare for happen at the end of the summer and thus, I lose focus.  My last two workouts almost didn’t happen.  In fact, both were going to be something different than they were and only that nagging voice in my head that always says ‘you have to work out so you won’t be writing that you wussed out instead’ got me to do something.  But my heart just wasn’t in it.

All I’m saying is…everyone goes through it.  The trick of course is to never let it make you feel like you’ve blown it and quit.  They’re just those speed bump things in parking lots that keep you from driving appropriately fast…you deal with them and get back to speeding…or something like that.

I did the Survival Workout, but on my second set of push-ups, got to 65 and literally hit the wall…or the ground.   I just couldn’t do more…and didn’t care.  I finished the workout without flash or determination, but I did finish.  My low back was sore afterwards…’not so good pain’…and I’m hoping it stays where it is…about a ‘4’ on a 1 to 10 scale of pain where 10 is a hospital bed.

Survival Workout: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100-150.
Calories burned:  600.

Finding the outdoor activity that fits...

Wednesday, February 22, 2012
I noticed two separate, conflicting articles in the PD this morning.  One was a story about a weight loss pill getting approval and the other a story about a father teaching his two sons an appreciation of nature…through birding.

I say conflicting because, without getting into the whole ‘take a pill for weight’ thing, I’ve always lean towards activity for healthier, more productive living and weight control.  All of my four kids are lean and in pretty good shape and I suppose I can take some of the credit for that.  From an early age, I encouraged activity…sports and outdoor exploration.  I tried to include them in the things I enjoyed and kept me fit both because I wanted them to have active lives that would keep them off the sidelines their entire lives and because I wanted them to be with me when I did things.  I started them early hiking and camping, hoping the back country would entice them…and it worked on two out of four.  The other two participate in sports and train to stay fit while eating healthier than many of their peers.  So when I saw the article about this man taking his family birding, I saw a little of myself and using outdoor fun forming a lifetime of fitness.  It’s a great lesson and one I hope I’ve instilled in my kids.  If you like doing it…you’ll keep doing it for the rest of your life.

I rode 90 minutes on the trainer and watched another documentary on Everest.  This one told the story of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the first two men to summit in 1953 and their sons who would summit together…exactly 50 years later.  The travails of Hillary and Norgay were extremely inspirational and awe-inspiring when the difficulties of their ascent are compared to what the climbers of today experience.

I baked a couple of chicken breasts and washed them down with a large smoothie for a tasteless, but excellent Paleo dinner.  I could have put more effort into making more of the chicken breasts, but I was hungry and didn’t feel like going through it.  Oh well…I was full and molecules were all that mattered.

Bike Duration: 90 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1250.

Baseball's back!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Hope springs eternal once a year…and for the past 64 years if you’re an Indians fan.  That’s how long it’s been since the Indians last won the World Series.  We came close in ’95 and again in ’97 and I had the opportunity to see it happen when my cousin Donnie and I traveled to Miami to see games six and seven.

I was a season ticket holder back then and managing the Cleveland Athletic Club.  I’d met someone from the National League’s office who was in town for the Series and needed a place to work out.  We’d been talking after one of the games when I mentioned how I’d love to be in Miami to see the Indians win the Series.

“I can get you tickets if you can get there,” she offered.

I called the airlines to check the price and Donnie to see if he was in.  “Hell yes,” was his reaction.

We boarded a plane out of Akron/Canton where I’d found a flight for about $400.  It had all happened so quickly, that I’d arranged for a hotel room for two nights, but little else.  We didn’t know where it was or how we’d be getting there, and we surely didn’t know how we’d be getting to the games.  And then fate intervened.

“You guys going to the game?” a man on the plane asked.  I was wearing an Indians cap, but little else to indicate my plans.

“Go Tribe,” I responded.

“Where you stayin’?” he asked.  I explained our situation and how we’d come to be on the flight.

“I’m in charge of security for the team and I’ve got a limo at the airport waiting for us.  Want to hitch a ride?” he asked.

Tough decision. We jumped at the opportunity and were thrilled to find a limo parked outside flying Indians flags on the hood with a driver ready to take our bags.  He delivered us to the hotel but not before the Security Chief asked if we’d like a ride to the game later that night.

“Umm…HELL YEAH!” I said.

And so there we were…pulling into the Marlin’s stadium  parking lot in a stretch limo flying Indians pennants and loaded down with booze and food.  There were half a dozen people in the car, whooping it up as we pulled through the crowd moving towards the gates.  They were wearing goofy Marlin hats and ugly turquoise Marlin paraphernalia and banging on the limo as we passed.  They looked nerdy and they probably knew it.  We were deposited in front of the main entrance and exited the vehicle like rock stars…decked out in our Indians outfits and swaggering like millionaires.  We won the game that day, but as befitting all things Tribe, would lose the deciding seventh game the next night, having had the lead with one out in the ninth, only to lose it…and the game…in extra innings.  As we headed for the exit at the conclusion of the game, Donnie made a surprising statement.

“You know…I came here for one reason only.  I wanted to see how you’d react when the Indians won.”  And, believe me, I wish he’d been able to.

Well…its Spring Training again, Donnie, but it doesn’t look too good for the coming season.  Still…we can dream and hope…and maybe some day before I die, we’ll get to see them raise the World Series pennant over the stadium to signify we’ve finally done it.

As the catchers and pitchers were reporting, I was running on trails in pretty decent shape.  I was wearing only a t-shirt and shorts and if the weather held, could be riding outside tomorrow.  I pushed it to an hour…I’m beginning to lay the foundation for the birthday triathlon…and everything went well.  And…as always…Go Tribe, Donnie…see you in the fall.

Run Duration:  60 minutes.

Training Heart Rate: 140 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1020.

Heidi gets to see an Eagle dance...

Monday, February 20, 2012
Heidi was home for an overnight visit before heading off on a trip to Seattle the following morning, and felt she needed a good exercise hike…music to my ears.  She, Dakota and I headed for the North Chagrin Reservation and an off-trail trek around the perimeter of the marsh.  This would mean multiple trips into the ravines between the ridges that rimmed the marsh which would provide the extra effort she was looking to get.  It would also give us the chance to scour the woods for antlers, unusual tree formations and bark (she photographs the stuff and gets people to buy it) and whatever else nature threw at us that it wouldn’t on the bridle trails. 

We made our way into and out of three ravines before finding ourselves on Snowman’s Ridge, a beautiful overlook with a two hundred foot drop to the marsh below.  It was a little dicey to get on the narrow path we needed to be on to continue our hike…a slip could mean a long fall…and Heidi was less than comfortable with the gripping power of her footwear…an old pair of worn down running shoes.  I helped her maneuver the spot and we were standing and taking in the orange-red glow of the sunset over the trees rimming the marsh, when a large object in the tree directly in front of us swooped out and down towards the water.

“Heidi…eagles!” I stammered as I reached for my camera to try and capture the moment. 

I snapped a couple of pictures, but it was too dark and I had nothing but the blur of dark brown feathers with a smudge of white for my efforts.  We were treated to some magnificent aerobatics, though.  They seemed to fly in choreographed moves over the water, dipping, swerving and flying upside down as they quickly disappeared to the far end of the marsh.  I knew they’d likely perch on a tree there to continue the search for food, so I picked up the pace and headed in that direction.  They’d reached it in about10 seconds; we’d be there in 15 minutes…and to my disappointment, never did see them again.

“It’s alright, dad.  I saw them fly and that was cool…but they’re just birds, you know,” she said with a grin, imitating her mom.

We returned home and I hit the trainer for a 60-minute ride before an excellent Paleo dinner of baked Tuna on a spinach salad and a large smoothie.  I’m trying to make up for…and not think about…that wonderful Jet’s Pizza.  Maybe I should give it up for Lent…but maybe not.

Hike duration: 75 minutes.  Bike duration: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 80 hiking and 120 for the bike.
Calories burned:  300 hiking, 850 for the bike.

Reza checks his baseline...

Sunday, February 19, 2012
Reza is one of the elite distance runners in Northeast Ohio and someone I’ve been helping achieve his running-related goals since high school.  He contacted me the other day because he wanted some updated baseline information on his level of conditioning and stopped over for a fitness evaluation.  I pulled out a high school body fat assessment from 2007 and found that he weighed 138 pounds…he’s twenty pounds heavier now and a perfect example of how the scale does not tell the story.  I put the calipers on him and found that his body fat had increased slightly…a little over 1%...or the equivalent of 3 pounds.  The rest of the weight gain could only be attributed to muscle gain (unlikely in Reza) or just the maturing and growth of the body which occurs naturally between ages 18 and 23.  His running pr’s have improved dramatically since his high school years when he was a multiple state qualifier, so clearly the weight gain was not negatively affecting performance.   Like any good competitive athlete, he continues to search for an edge and understands the value of knowing exactly where he is in determining where he wants to go.

Dakota and I did a morning hike off-trail as we began our early season search for deer antlers.  Heidi says she can do something artistic with them, so I’m determined to find a few.  I returned home to the bike trainer and another long ride.  I’m getting sore from this riding…in the butt and shoulders…because indoor riding allows no opportunities to get out of the saddle and climb hills.  I try to change my position by sitting up straight and riding ‘no hands’ but it isn’t the same.  The forecast is good though, and I may be outside later this week.

Just for a little something different for Sunday family dinner, we decided to visit Jet’s Pizza again.  I mean…this stuff is really good…and really fattening.  The rest of the family washed theirs down with a chocolate milkshake, which I took a pass on.  The pizza left me with that salty, ‘I’ve got to have something sweet’ taste though, and it wasn’t too long before I’d caved and dished up a bowl of ice cream…once again demonstrating that I’m worthless and weak.  I’m still wearing the pants with the smaller waist, but they are getting a little snugger.  I can’t wait for Spring and a return to long, long rides.

Hike duration: 45 minutes.  Bike duration: 90 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 80 hiking and 120 for the bike.
Calories burned:  200 hiking, 1250 for the bike.

Jennifer's story...

Saturday, February 18, 2012
One of my regular readers, Cousin Jennifer, has been on her own quest to lose weight and get in shape, including running her first marathon.  She, too, writes and exercise/fitness blog and though she has no formal education, has spent considerable time studying nutrition and exercise to determine how to maximize her efforts to help herself.  I’ve taken the liberty of reprinting something from a recent posting because her experiences…quite different from mine…are interesting and may benefit others.

I've lost 23 pounds in a year. It doesn't seem like much compared to the people who lose that much in a month on "The Biggest Loser" but, for me, every pound lost was a battle won. I recently quit Weight Watchers reacquainted myself with my old friend, Dr. Atkins. The results? 13 of the 23 pounds lost were shed in the last month.
The Atkins diet is one of the most studied and proven methods of losing and keeping off weight. The reason I gained weight over the last 5 years (besides having 3 babies in two-and-a-half years' time) is that I started ignoring the carbs I consumed. The old adage, "everything is good in moderation," is false. White flour is wonderful for making paper mache and play dough, but it's not good for the body. Carbohydrates and I don't mix, and I might as well get used to this fact. I'm not fond of rice, bread and pasta, so it's no big loss.

Decision #1: I will not follow the advice of someone who has never lost more than 20 pounds.
According to my reading, some people are genetically predisposed to a higher metabolism. Walking for one hour and eating less works for them. My body laughs at walking. These genetically blessed people cannot possibly understand the struggle of a metabolically challenged person. And lest anyone think I'm playing the I-have-bad-DNA-it's-not-my-fault card, let me present "Exhibit A" -- the reason why I walked out of my last Weight Watchers meeting:
I followed the "Points Plus" system to the letter. Every morsel that went into my mouth was recorded on the Weight Watchers e-tools site. I also exercised more than ever. After 3 months and only 5 pounds lost, I was disgusted. I sat and seethed in my last meeting because I hated the whole group therapy kvetching thing. And I earned over 100 activity points that week -- equivalent to about 15 hours of exercising, P90X, running (not walking), and Zumba. I didn't even eat my bonus points. I saved them all. My results? A half pound gain at weigh-in. All while feeling like I starved every day.
The topic of that day's meeting was exercise. The group leader attempted to inspire people to commit to a regimen, just a little every day. One woman raised her hand committing herself to a whopping 5 minutes a day, and the class cheered for her as if she were an Ironman gold medalist. I think I heard the Twilight Zone theme music, and ran out the door for the last time. The definition of insanity is hitting your head against a brick wall repeatedly, so I drew the line.

Though I’m familiar with Atkins, I have not read his book, but intend to.  I know its focus mirrors the Paleo Diet and I’m guessing that it makes sense for all the same reasons the Paleo Diet does.  I know Jennifer feels that advice from someone who has not lost at least 20 pounds is important…but I’d draw the line there.  True, some people are blessed with good metabolisms, but I work with a nutritionist I have known since grade school whose complete dedication to health and fitness has kept him lean his entire life.  If I were to cut him from my circle of professionals because of that, I would lose invaluable knowledge and fierce commitment to help those who struggle with weight…and just because he, like me, ‘walks the talk’.  Still, she makes an interesting point about advice.  Personally, I want it from someone with a combination of a formal education and pertinent experience in the discipline they’re expounding.  I wouldn’t put much faith in a person who has never been in the back country for backpacking or follow the advice of someone who has never competed in triathloning for a program to do the Iron Man.  Like so many things in life, we need to ‘consider the source’.

I’ll post up more of Jennifer’s stuff over time, but you can visit her at shemakesherarmsstrong.blogspot.com  if you care to read more.

The trails were in decent running shape and I managed a fifty minute run on a cool, crisp evening.  I’d eaten a wonderful Paleo lunch…spinach salad with chicken breast, mushrooms, almonds, craisins (cranberry raisins) and a raspberry vinaigrette dressing and was planning something equally Paleo for dinner when Holly suggested Jet’s Pizza.  I caved quickly and we ordered what turned out to be an amazingly delicious pizza.  I never expect much from chain’s, but this was really good stuff.  I did manage to curb my total caloric intake by washing it down with Diet Coke, though.

Run Duration:  50 minutes.

Training Heart Rate: 140 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 850.

Running with 'Knuckle Lights'...or not

Friday, February 17, 2012
I was pretty disappointed in my last Survival Workout.  It was the first time I’d failed to hit 100 push-ups since first cracking the century mark four workouts earlier and I was determined this time would be different.  As I approached my 90^th, I was struggling mightily.  I dipped a pushed to 99…and nearly blew out my temple on 100…but I made it.  I headed down the trail feeling much better about myself and knowing it was going to be a good effort.

I was forced to pass on high skips and sprinting/bounding moves because I’d had another meniscus flare up…the throbbing pain had kept me awake the night before.  It was all the more reason to really push myself through the lifts…and I did.  I put biceps rock curls back in…risking some pain in my right forearm and hit 70 dips…my highest single set to date. 

My second set of push-ups was 87 and I was now just 4 off my 3-set pr of 276.  I’d need a final set of 90 to break it…and I’d never hit 90 on my third set.  I made it back to the car with arms of lead.  I’d been pushing hard on every set throughout the workout and I was dreading my final set of push-ups because I knew I was going for my pr…I had to…and it was going to really, really hurt.  I dropped to the ground and started before I could think about it too much more and psyche myself out.

What makes us do these things?  I mean…no one was there and no one would know one way or the other.  I could have skipped the set altogether or just done 70 and not killed myself yet gotten a great workout.  Seriously…what’s up?

I ripped through 60 before beginning to hit the wall.  I was slowing at 70…normally a sign that I had about 15 left in me.  But I need 20.  At 85, I was done in the arms…but my brain wasn’t buying it…and so I kept pushing.  I struggled with…but completed my 90^th…and fell to the ground.  I’d done 277 for three sets.  A 1-rep pr…but a pr none the less.  More importantly, I pushed past fatigue and moved into the area where our bodies garner the most improvement…the pain zone.  I had that going for me.

Later that night, I slipped on the other product Marla had given me to test.  They were called ‘Knuckle Lights, which were designed for night running and to be worn one on each hand…or across the knuckles…so that they would light the path in front of you as you ran.

I like to say Mamma Rolf drowned her stupid kids…and since I was still here, I must be a smart one.  Without running a step, I was sure these things were made by stupid kids whose mothers didn’t believe in drowning.  Show me a runner whose hands don’t swing back and forth while they’re running…and I’ll show you a runner who isn’t running.  I mean…c’mon.  But I told Marla I’d try them, so I strapped them on and headed out the door into the pitch black of the night…lights on knuckles.

I was surprised just how much my hands moved when I ran because I was shining my lighted knuckles left, right, in the trees, on the ground…and even on the trail in front of me…sometimes.  Then I took one of the knuckle lights and held it on my forehead as I ran…like the ones every other manufacturer who was making lights for hiking and running was doing…and ran some more.  It shown a beam directly where I was looking…on the trail in front of my feet…and nowhere else.  Hmm.  I came back in just as Jack was entering the house from work.  I held up my light-knuckled hands and told him what they were supposed to do.

“Do you think they worked?” I asked.

“Um…yeah…maybe,” he said, committed to his decision.

“If you were going to make something to light a path as you ran, to what part of the body would you attach it?”  I asked.

“Um…my head, I suppose,” he said.

And this was the kid who’d bounced down the stairs using his head to cushion the blow when he was two.  He knew.  More like ‘Knucklehead Lights’ I’d say.

Survival Workout: 60 minutes.  Bike duration: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100-150 for SW and 120 for the bike.
Calories burned:  600 for SW, 850 for the bike.

Test driving 'Drymax' socks...

Thursday, February 16, 2012
I’d stopped over my editor’s house the other day to pick up some magazines…I needed an extra ream so that I could have copies to sign for the many adoring fans interested in my first edition as a professional writer…when she popped open a box with socks inside.

“Cool socks.  They sent them to me to critique…want to run in them and tell me what you think?” Marla asked. 

She explained how she received free stuff all the time because sports equipment manufacturers wanted to get their product into the hands of sports magazine editors in the hopes that they would get a favorable review.  She opened a second box and found something called ‘Knuckle Lights’, flashlights designed to be worn on the hands for running trails at night.  She offered these to me, as well.

“They’re kidding…right?  Flashlights on your hands?  Don’t they know that when you run, you swing your arms…the things your hands are on the end of…and the beams of light will be everywhere but on the ground in front of you?” I said.

“John…be nice.  Give them a chance and see if they work.  We don’t want to hammer them without trying this stuff first,” she said.

I suppose she was right, so I took both products and headed for the Metropark.  It wasn’t dark when I got there, so I decided one product at a time.  The socks were called ‘Drymax’ and their shtick was that they wicked water or sweat away from the feet and since it was moisture that pulled heat from the body, they would prevent cold feet…and frostbite…for runners on cold winter days. 

Now…I’ve only been running for forty years in Northeast Ohio winters and I’ve yet to have cold feet…wet socks or not.  I’m pretty sure I’ve never had frostbite, either.  And I’ve known a couple other people who have run along with me in Northeast Ohio winters…and they’ve never complained of cold feet or frostbite.  Could be that the foot stays warm because it’s pretty much involved in every step a runner…or a non-runner for that matter…takes.  Could be.  Anyway, I pulled them out of the box to put them on when I noticed the color…reddish-pink.  I called Marla.

“Okay…so I’m putting these socks on and they’re kinda red…but kinda pink…and I’m thinking someone is going to see me running in them…and kick my ass on general principle,” I said.

“They’re cold weather socks.  You’re supposed to have running pants on that would cover them up,” she replied.

“Look…its 45 degrees and I’m wearing shorts.  Are you telling me pink was the only color they could think of to make them in?”  I was pretty sure I’d seen running socks in colors other than reddish-pink.  And I really wasn’t too worried about someone kicking my ass…I’d done 106 push-ups, after all, and I could drop down and show a potential ass-kicker just how I did them…even in reddish pink socks…and I was pretty sure they’d leave me alone, but boy, were these suckers ug-a-ly.

The trails were extremely sloppy and so I ran them in my new, cold weather running, water wicking, frostbite preventing, get an asskicking ‘Drymax’ socks for 50 minutes and returned to my car with my feet soaked through and through.  I drove home, walked in the house and took off my shoes.  The socks were soaked of course…how could they not be since my shoes were soaked and they were on my feet and inside my shoes.  I peeled off the socks a dropped them on the floor where they landed with a ‘splat’.  My feet had that kind of wrinkled look they used to get when I was a kid and stayed in the tub playing for an hour.  But I have to admit…my feet were not cold and they definitely weren’t frostbitten…so I guess the socks worked…and I suppose this is an endorsement…and I’m sure that Drymax will read this and having me do all their promo’s from this point forward.  Or not.

Bike Duration:  45 minutes.  Run Duration: 50 minutes.

Training Heart Rate: 120 biking and 140 running.
Calories burned during workout: 625 biking and 850 running.

One sloppy Survival Workout

 

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Log Lift:  Done with a saturated, heavy log (what other kind is there in the woods?)  Works the core, back and arms as it's brought from the ground to the shoulder.  Becomes an overhead press from this position.  I alternate from left to right shoulder as I lift, doing as many reps as I can to exhaustion.  I lower it slowly to the ground to complete the set.  Primarily shoulders.

I arrived at the park for the Survival Workout aware that the trails, covered in snow 24 hours earlier, were likely to be sloppy from a day of temperatures in the 40’s.  I was right…but I went with running shoes instead of boots so I could get in a little running. 

I started with push-ups, but was disappointed when I began to struggle in the 80’s and managed only 90.  I lifted my log and did a set of dips before hitting the trail with a set of 60 high skips.  I know I’ve described many of these movements over the past year, but since I’ve got some great action pictures, I’ve decided to include a picture with each Survival Workout over the next month so that those interested can incorporate some similar moves into their routines.

I’m really willing to work out in just about any condition, but the thing I like the least is melting, slushy ice and snow.  I moved along the trail carefully to keep from slipping on the ice, but could do nothing to avoid the slush and keep my feet dry…or warm.  I had on my waterproof gloves for handling cold rocks, but couldn’t seem to keep a grip, so I took them off.  That was a mistake.  When I grabbed the rocks to lift, I covered them in icy mud.  I managed to hit my limit with the lift, but had trouble breaking my fingers free from the rock at the conclusion…kind of like the kid and the tongue on the flag pole in ‘A Christmas Story’.   I pulled the gloves back on, but the damage was done and they remained numb for the remainder of the workout.

My second set of push-ups was only 70 and when I went to the log press, it was so saturated with water that it felt about 50% heavier and I lifted it fewer times.  I was starting to get bummed.  I moved to the swing set pole, took off my gloves (some people never learn), spit on my hands and began to climb.  By the time I returned to the ground, I’d left some skin on the pole and don’t know where the feeling in my fingers went…but it wasn’t in my fingers.  I ran across an open field back towards Clear Creek, kicking up a splash with each step while soaking my shoes to their saturation point. 

I made my way back to the car soaked, cold and disappointed in my efforts.  I dropped to do my last set of push-ups…after debating in my head whether I’d bother or not…and managed a respectable 80.  I added 8 pull-ups on a branch nearby and felt some satisfaction as I re-entered the car.  It had just been one of those days when I wasn’t in it heart and soul and my performance mirrored that mental state.  It happens…but the measure of the dedication is fighting through it and performing anyway.  Well…I guess I’m still dedicated.

Survival Workout: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100-150.

Calories burned:  600.

"The YMCA has treadmills with computer games!"

Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Holly had an interesting Facebook status today.  It read “I have finally found a piece of exercise equipment that I like…maybe even LOVE.  A treadmill with GAMES!  It has Sudoku, Solitaire and some kind of match game.”  She’d been at the Willoughby YMCA using the great Christmas present I’d gotten her. She came home beaming with this news…and the fact that she’d gone 42 minutes on the treadmill without noticing.  “My arm’s a little sore though…probably from reaching and pushing the buttons to play solitaire,” she said.

Well…I guess the ‘Y’ is like a box of chocolates…you just don’t know what you’re going to get.  I had no idea that treadmills now came with these types of amenities, though I’m not surprised.  I can’t think of anything more boring than walking or running on one since no level of bad weather would keep me from being outside.  And if I had to be on one, it would be the only way to get through it.  Additionally, Holly is now excited about returning for her next workout…something I’ve never witnessed in 36 years of marriage.

While she was playing solitaire and using her high tech treadmill, I was locked into another ride on the trainer.  I was limited in time because we needed to be at the neighbors for a chocolate fondue party.  I’d wasted some of my workout time driving to the park only to find it was again closed for deer culling.  I considered parking nearby and sneaking in to do the workout anyway since I know where they’re shooting and don’t really resemble a whitetail, but decided that would be foolish…even for me.  I managed 45 minutes of riding…the calories I would consume when I dunked the first item into the melted chocolate later that evening.

Bike Duration:  45 minutes.

Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 625.

Cleveland Clinic trys to push employees towards better health...

Monday, February 13, 2012
“Clinic nudges its workers towards a healthy life style” was the title of the article on the front page of the Plain Dealer.  Naturally…I read it.  I’m familiar with the Clinic’s ‘Healthy Choice’ program its had in place for several years targeting their 29,000 employees in an effort to make them healthier…and reduce their health care costs.  The program attempts to address what the Clinic calls the six chronic health issues; high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, asthma, and smoking.  They access employees and if they have any one of the six, they’re given goals to achieve and ways to achieve them.  They offer free memberships to their Clinic Fitness Centers provided employees use them at least 10 times per month.  The Clinic also pays for female employees to join Curves and any employee who wants to join Weightwatchers.   Over 16,000 have taken advantage of the program…and shared in health care cost reductions.  The latest increase is going to be 21%, but people in the program will pay only 4%...and still13,000 don’t participate!

Apparently there are many unhappy employees that feel like ‘Big Brother’ is watching and don’t like the Clinic’s heavy hand.  A Clinic spokesperson said that they feel as the employer paying the increased bills resulting from employees who won’t take care of themselves, that they have some rights.  I find it hard to disagree with their thinking.  I suppose employees have the right to be a physical mess…smoke, don’t exercise, eat poorly and have one or more of the chronic health issues, which will naturally lead to increased health care costs, but at some point they have to accept that someone…not them…is paying the major portion of the freight.   I am impressed with how much the Clinic does offer to help people help themselves…and shocked at how many people are content to turn their backs on these programs.  Someday, when it will be too late, they’ll wish they’d participated.

Sometimes I just love Facebook.  I’d been converting my dad’s old slides to digital and was coming across so many pictures from the old neighborhood in Bristol, Ct. and the friends I’d left behind.  I fixated on one person in particular, Linda Ruiu from across the street, and tried to find her.  And there she was…on Facebook and looking like she hadn’t aged…as much as me at least…in 44 years.  I ‘friend requested’ her and posted some pictures and hopped on the trainer to do my ride.

I’m through the ‘Everest’ series and still looking for someone to pay for me to accompany them to the peak.  I’m available from now until…forever.  I selected a Russell Crowe movie and began the ride.  Part way through, I could see that I’d received a confirmation from Linda and was excited to again be connected to someone so important to me in my early years.  Thanks Facebook.

Bike Duration:  90 minutes.

Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1250.

Netflix breakdown...

Sunday, February 12, 2012
I need to come up with an alternative plan for Netflix.  I was ready to ride my usual 90 minutes and was logging on to find something to watch when  an error message popped up saying too many users were on.  That could only mean Jason was using his own site…without checking my exercise schedule…and now I was locked out.  Jack suggested I watch some old DVD, but he doesn’t quite understand my need to completely distract myself while riding the trainer…something a movie I’ve already seen cannot accomplish.  I pouted some before making a mental commitment to do it after dinner…quite unlikely.

At least I’d made it to the park earlier in the day with Dakota.  The snow was still on the trails and our hike was slightly rigorous…but not nearly a workout.  It was done when I was sure I’d be riding later, so it lacked any real intensity.

I never did get on the bike.  I could have run once I knew the ride was out, but I seem to lock in on something and often lack the ability to adjust.  Maybe I was just having a lazy day…I don’t know…but I finished the day feeling worthless and weak.  I suppose that’s okay because it helps keep my focused and on task…for the next workout.

Hike Workout: 30 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 80.
Calories burned:  150.

Survival Workout snow modifications...

Saturday, February 11, 2012
The snow was falling fast and provided me with one of the season’s few shoveling workouts.  Both my neighbors were out and shoveling, as well, so I did mine quickly and went to help them to add to the effort…which still wasn’t much.  With the snow still flying, I made my way to the park to see how much of the Survival Workout I could manage.

My parking spot hadn’t been plowed, so I went off Rogers Road and began the workout without some of my well-placed props.  I cleared a spot in a snowy field next to my car as the wind whistled across a meadow blanketed in six inches of soft powder.  The temperature was in the teens with a wind chill probably below zero.  I had on a t-shirt and sweatshirt, gloves, hat and my boots and after squeezing out another 100 push-ups, felt plenty warm.  It’s funny that it took so long to achieve 100 and now I’ve managed to hit it on four consecutive workouts.  Three of those four I’ve done exactly 100…and couldn’t have done another no matter how I’d struggled. 

I started across the open meadow, headed in the direction of my first rock pile about a half mile away, when I decided running would be a good idea.  It wasn’t.  In the heavy boots and with six inches of snow to plow through with each step, I managed about 90 seconds before succumbing to lungs ready to burst.  I quickly figured this would be as good as…or better than…picnic table hops and probably safer on a day when they’d be icy and under plenty of snow.

My rocks…no longer sitting directly on the ground since I’d placed them on top of smaller rocks…were not frozen to the turf and quite usable.  I managed my rows and overheads before moving on to a dip station.  Along the way, I fit in some more sprint efforts…I had the sprint effect while moving more like the tortoise.

The wind was blowing hard even through the deep woods, so when I was forced to take off my gloves to gain a better grip on some rocks, they quickly began to become uncomfortably cold.  I was getting a mild taste of what the Everest climbers experienced when they removed theirs for any reason…instant frost bite.

I put them back on quickly and kept them on until I reached the swing set, where I again removed them and climbed the pole.  Big mistake.  Though I made it to the top, my hands paid the price and were extremely cold after only one climb.  Enough of that foolishness, I concluded and kept them on for the remainder of the workout.

Three more sprints through open fields really added a nice dimension to the workout.  It’s kind of like running in a few inches of water…a little resistance goes a long way to increasing the effort.  Though I couldn’t get in all of my lifts, I managed 18 different exercise episodes and turned a snowy day into another unique workout opportunity. 

Survival Workout: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100-150.
Calories burned:  600.

Homeless man scares off diners...

Friday, February 10, 2012
I looked at my cell to see the incoming call was from Savannah which normally meant one thing…trouble with the jeep.  Otherwise, she texts.

“Dad…mom was too busy to hear this story, but I know you’ll appreciate it,” she began in her normal, machine-gun sentence delivery.

She went on to tell me that she and her boyfriend, Kyle, were backing out of a restaurant parking spot when he crunched into another parked car.  He saw that the damage was worthy of a note and was looking in his car to find paper and a pen when the owners of the car came out of the restaurant and got in…not noticing any damage.  He quickly went to the car to give them his information. 

“Excuse me…hello…I need to tell you something,” he said, indicating to the driver that they should roll the window down. 

He’s a scruffy looking fellow with a thick beard and wild hair and they were in a part of town where panhandling is not unheard of.  The driver…a young woman…waved him away and began pulling out.  He stood aside and watched as they sped off…happy to have avoided saying “no” to a bum.

“They’re going to get home and see the damage to the side of the car, and then they’re going to figure out that he wasn’t a bum,” she finished, laughing.  And I suppose it was funny though I’m wondering about Kyle’s driving skills…and whether he needs to visit the barber again.

I rode another 90 minutes on the trainer and watched the final two episodes of ‘Everest: Beyond the Limit.’  One of the climbers was there because a close friend had paid his $60,000 to climb.  They wanted to do it together and the poorer friend was a good climber and would motivate his richer buddy.  I know I’ve said I don’t want to be on Everest…that there is no appeal for me…but I suppose I’ve been kidding myself.  The views there are to die for and they get to climb and camp for up to sixty days.  I guess what I’m saying is that if anyone wants to pay my way to go with them…I won’t say no.  The challenge of standing on top of the world certainly has its appeal.

Bike Duration:  90 minutes.

Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1250.

Back inside...

Thursday, February 9, 2012
As I exited the car for a Survival Workout, I noticed how sore my hips were from yesterday’s hour-plus run.  Running brings on the aches like no other activity I do…and particularly when I do them too long.  It tends to put a damper on my interest in working out, and this day was no exception.  I decided it would be a better day for a deer antler hike and then a ride on the trainer was back home.

I started by heading off-trail and soon found myself nose to the ground doing a set of push-ups.  I struggled but reached 100 again and then found a downed log from which I could do my dips.  I didn’t want to completely abandon the Survival Workout.  There was no sign of antlers and little sign of the deer herd.  I was on a ridge they bedded down on often…I could see where they’d been a few nights earlier, but there was no telltale droppings and I wondered if the recent culling had them relocating to another area.  If people were shooting at me…I’d move.  I made my way to Snowman’s Ridge and sat quietly on a bluff high over the marsh and watched for my eagles and beaver activity, but could only make out the ducks and geese on the water.  I’d sat quietly for 15-20 minutes when I realized I’d been still long enough that the birds were now all around me.  Human noise scares them off, but they’ll return if you give them time.  I held out my hand, but was unable to get any chickadees to light.

I made my way back to the car and home for a turn on the trainer.  It’s been some time since I’ve had to do this and I kind of missed the Everest series.  I managed another couple of episodes which helped me through 90 minutes of riding…something I could never do without the distraction of AV.  The forecast says I’ll be inside on the trainer for the next few days, but maybe I’ll get some good exercise moving snow.  I’ll have that going for me.

Bike Duration:  90 minutes.  Hike Duration: 30 minutes.

Training Heart Rate: 120 biking and 80 hiking.
Calories burned during workout: 1250 biking and 150 hiking.

Sand Run Metro Park kills me again...

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Last November I wrote that I’d run one of the toughest courses in my life...a hilly, unrelenting hiking trail in Sand Run Metro Park.  I’d encountered three hills twice as long as and steeper than anything I would run in the North Chagrin Reservation.  It was only a 40 minute effort, but it thoroughly enjoyed completely kicking my butt.  I swore I’d never return.

I’ve often suggested that if men had the babies, there would never be more than one per family...we’d remember the pain and knowing we couldn’t do it twice, would stop.  I thought this running course was like that for me and I’d be smart enough to never return.  Like women and pregnancy, I seemed to have forgotten all that agony and since I was in Akron picking up my daughter Heidi, decided to go there for a run.  I changed in the car and began the run with a nagging feeling that something was wrong.  I turned off the main path for a hiking trail when it hit me...hard.  I climbed from that point and continued to climb for a period of time that converted my legs to Jell-o and made me feel like I was on Everest.  I reached the top and began to do something that resembled running again, but quickly found myself slipping down the mud-covered trail to the bottom.  It hit me then...this was going to happen a bunch more times and I was going to want to puke.

I ran these ups and downs for thirty minutes...my brain was functioning on low oxygen and I was not thinking clearly...because I’d decided to make it a one-hour run.  Had I been thinking clearly, I would have realized that, at the half way point, I’d be turning around and repeating the hills I’d just slogged up for a second time.  I was in that happy, euphoric, blissful, endorphin-fed place that makes reasoning illogical...so I  continued to screw up.  I could have taken the trail that parallels the road back to my car...like everyone else in the park was doing...but I again headed up the hiking trails, taking 2 minutes longer to return than it had taken me to hit the halfway point.

When I finally reached my car, I was drenched in sweat as I would be on a sultry July day.  I was also having troubles standing up.  I was in pain...but I suppose it would be that ‘good pain’ I’ve mentioned before...the kind that doesn’t break you, but makes you stronger.  I had definitely left my comfort...and sanity...zone (they go hand-in-hand)...and had done what you have to do to improve performance.  I’d done it by accident and wouldn’t repeat it, but it reminded me of the workouts I design for elite runners who face this challenge two times a week.  God bless them...and women who deliver babies.  I’m going to try and be smarter the next time I drive anywhere near this park and NOT get out of my car to run...or if I do...remember not to take the hiking trails that go up and down the hills.  Thank you Sand Run Metro Park...you’ve destroyed me again.

Run Duration:  62 minutes.

Training Heart Rate: 140 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1050.

Big Don validates push-up madness...

Tuesday, February 7, 2012
I’d just returned home from my Survival Workout at the park when I ran into Holly.  I’d sent her a text earlier telling her she should read the blog from the day before since she was quoted in it.

“I read your blog and although I thought it was funny, I think your push-up ‘thing’ is getting to be a sickness,” she said…kind of kidding.

So I was thinking ‘don’t share today’s workout with her…she doesn’t get it.’  But I needed someone to validate what I’d been doing and who would appreciate the effort…and the mentality that went into it.  There are a couple who fit this description on my speed dial, but only one who would take it to this extreme…and find it…well…sensible.

“Big Don!  I know you don’t understand the computer well enough to read my blog, so I just wanted to tell you I hit the push-up century the other day, and today managed to do 106 in my first set and to crush my 3-set pr with a 276…old record was 261,” I said.

“John…man…that is SO cool.  You gotta be in the one-tenth of one percent of the population that can do that!  Okay…okay…tell me how you do them.  Fast?  How are your feet spread?  Where do you put your hands…”  We went on discussing the different types of push-ups, how I fit the three sets into my workout, what their value is and other kinds of important push-up related information for 30 minutes, completely validating my accomplishment.  We finished by talking about getting together in a couple of nights to view Inning Three of the baseball documentary by Ken Burns and to continue our discussion.  I shared my plan with Holly.

“I am totally going out THAT evening.  You guys talk so loud…and non-stop…and about what…running?  Baseball?  Camping?  God…you two are boring,” she said.  She’d just mentioned three of the most life-fulfilling things a person could do in the same sentence with the word ‘boring’…how have we made it 36 years?  It must be my charm.

Anyway…I had gone after the Survival Workout with a vengeance earlier that day.  I wanted to verify the push-up century and by the time I hit 70, I knew I’d crush it.  I added a couple of sets of picnic table hops, got back to lifting the log, did the high skips, climbed the swing set pole, and managed some pull-ups even after my final set of push-ups to complete the exhausting, but fulfilling workout. 

Survival Workout: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100-150.
Calories burned:  600.

Deer culling in the Metroparks...

Monday, February 6, 2012
It was my regularly scheduled Survival Workout day, but again the warmth and sunshine tugged at my mind as I drove home.  How many more days like this could we realistically get before winter returned?  I figured a few, but no one can predict Northeast Ohio weather…so I headed for my bike and another long ride.

Riding towards Gates Mills means going through the North Chagrin Reservation, but when I arrived at the park entrance, I found it blocked by a Ranger and the flashing lights on his car.  I knew it was time for deer culling and so a Survival Workout would have been out of the question.

The culling program has been in place in the parks for a number of years and this year the Metropark has permits to take 588 deer.  The deer are shot in open meadows, along the road, and other open areas so they can be taken safely and humanely and for easy and quick access to the field dressing teams. These teams are made up of Park employees and move in quickly for efficient processing of the meat, which is donated to the Cleveland Foodbank and other local hunger centers. To date, over 60,000 pounds of meat has been provided as a result of this coordinated effort.

I know this continues to be a controversial issue in communities around Northeast Ohio, but without natural predators, the only thing working to keep the deer population in check is starvation and our automobiles…both poor solutions to my way of thinking.  I’ve come upon the carcasses of deer that have starved during difficult winters, so I support the culling program…even if it means I miss a day or two a year using my park.

I did my loop through Waite Hill but had to adapt since I couldn’t ride through the park towards the end as I would normally.  I did stop to speak to a Ranger in a car blocking my normal entrance and she assured me that I could use the park tomorrow and apologized for the inconvenience.  I finished the two-plus hour ride much more comfortably than I had the previous day, even though I was riding without tights, ear protection, or my booties.  Though the pain in my neck and shoulders again made the final 30 minutes of the ride seem like three hours, I had none of the cramping in my quads that I would normally get from riding two long days in a row…another testament to the conditioning I’d received from the time on the trainer.

Later that evening, I made myself a large smoothie using fresh blueberries and pineapple to go with a dinner of scrambled eggs with mushrooms, onions and fresh spinach mixed in.  Very Paleo.

Bike Duration:  2 hour 10 minutes.

Training Heart Rate: 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 1800.