It's never too late...

April 29, 2014

Some number of years ago while working at the Cleveland Athletic Club as the Athletic Director, I began to work as a personal trainer with a member named Stephanie.  She was completely out of shape at the time and had never been much of an athlete.  She was a busy mom and practicing attorney and needed guidance and a shove.  I provided both.

I thought then as I still think now, that it’s all about goal setting.  We looked at what she’d been doing; lots of running, swimming, cycling and weight training and I suggested a triathlon.  “I can’t do a triathlon, John,” she said with shocked amazement.

“Why not?  You do one every day with me,” I said.

And so we found a short one for her to do, and she did it.

That was 25 years ago and now she’s 60 and once again out of shape.  We met in the North Chagrin Reservation where I’d told her I was going to take her through a very unusual workout.  As always, she was game though a broken ankle and a knee injury would be factors I needed to consider.

We headed into the woods and did portions of the Survival Workout she was capable of doing.  She tried everything; lifting rocks and logs, climbing muddy hills, wading through Clear Creek with shoes on, and pushed herself at every station.  When we finally returned to the car and discussed the workout, she admitted it was unlikely she would do it regularly.

“I didn’t think you would, or that you should.  I think you need another goal, though, and I’d be happy to sit down and write out a program that gets you from where you are to where you want to be again,” I offered.

She agreed and we scheduled another meeting.  Be careful, Stephanie.  We got older, but I got nuttier.  I still believe I can do damned near anything I could do when I was thirty something and doing the Iron Man.  I’ll push/encourage you in the same direction.  Why should we give in to age?  I refuse…you should, too.

Survival Workout:  60 minutes

Training Heart Rate:  100-150 bpm.

Calories burned:  600

Running at Headwaters Park, Geauga County Parks...

Monday, April 28, 2014

The rains began to fall around noon and continued for the rest of the afternoon making my plans for any deck staining or yard work following time at the Y out of the question.  It did, however, free me to do a run.
I drive past the East Branch Reservoir on my way home from Warren and elected to run the bridle trail and take a look in on the eagle’s nest.  I’d kayaked past it the previous week and seen the mom (could have been the dad; they share this duty) sitting in the nest keeping her eggs warm.  It’s only the second year for this pair at this location and the nest in growing in size.  They appear to have chosen a sturdy oak, which is a good thing since they will continue to add to the nest over the years with weights reaching as much as two tons.
The trail runs to the water’s edge and with leaves still a ways from filling in, I could easily see the nest, about 400 yards distant and on a part of the shore that cannot be reached by the trail.  I try to keep my distance since humans getting too close can cause the birds to abandon their nests, eggs included.
One of the birds was there, making my run that much less painful.  This is a pretty special park.  It now offers several primitive camp sites, including a lean-to.  For an outdoors family, it’s ideal.  Great hiking, biking, fishing, and eagles a stone’s throw from the tent.  No showers and only a bathroom without running water, but as primitive sites go, it doesn't get much better.

I did an out and back on the trail, putting in 45 minutes before re-entering the car soaked in sweat for the drive home.
I’d only had bananas and apples during the day and started thinking about the Dutch apple pie I’d gotten from Patterson’s the day before.  A little more than half the pie had been left from dinner and I figured a piece before tonight’s dinner was in order.  I walked in the house and headed for the counter where the box should have been.  It was gone and then it hit me – Jack.
Jack has been on a healthy eating kick lately, so he must have thought he’d get all his fruit requirements by eating the rest of the pie.  He filled his dairy with a half-gallon of vanilla ice cream to top it off.  At 6’4” and 200 pounds of solid muscle, he gets away with it nicely.  That, and he saved me from some delicious, hollow calories.  Thanks a lot.
Run duration: 45 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 140 bpm.

Calories Burned: 765.

Power washing calories away...

Sunday, April 27, 2014
I arrived early at Mimi’s and after discovering my fertilizing spreader was not working and that it was beyond repair, I discovered she had a hand-held broadcast spreader that actually worked pretty well.  I fertilized the yard, climbed out on the roof and pulled leaves from the gutters I could reach, completed work on the screens, sanded and stained the new rail I was planning to install and headed for my next job.

I truly enjoy pressure washing.  There is such immediate gratification watching the swirling, high pressure jet of water ripping away the built up grime and returning an outside deck’s wood to its original color.  I don’t mind getting wet and hauling things around to prepare the deck, either.  I spent the next four hours preparing two decks for staining, which I’d do on another day before tackling the mess that was Joan’s garage.  She is a widow and utilizes oxygen to help her manage daily activities and although she seems to get around pretty well, doesn’t appear to be able to do much work around her house.  I pointed out the painting that needed to be done and we discussed my handling the weekly grass cutting, among other things.

My weekends are becoming quite full with this kind of work, though I enjoy it.  I like pushing myself to work all day long doing something physical and then trying to put in a workout, as well.  The problem is time.  I managed to use up every moment so that by the time I finally made it home, company was arriving for Sunday family dinner.

I probably could have worked in a hike or time on the trainer after everyone left, but I didn’t.  Though I’ve been extremely active, which is good, I don’t like that I’m not doing my scheduled workouts.  I have plans to head for the Adirondacks and do some climbing the first week in June and so I need some time with a pack on my back and bleachers steps under my feet.  Running and cycling would help, too.  Rain is in the forecast for the next several days, so I guess I’ll get in some workouts while getting wet since I can’t do deck staining or yard work in my spare time.

Yard Work:  6 hours.
Training Heart Rate: 75 bpm.

Calories Burned: 2,100.

Hiking and yard work...

Saturday, April 26, 2014

I started early at Mimi’s knowing I had a full day ahead and wondering if I’d get time to go to Joan’s, my newest client, to pressure wash her two decks.  I spent the next 8 hours wrestling with vines, wild, thorny roses, fallen limbs, digging and hauling.  I easily broke and continued to sweat for the entire time.  Following lunch, I switched gears and went to replacing screens on her porch.  Though not nearly as strenuous, I was up and down on my ladder and stayed active.  It was four by the time I finished and decided pressure washing would have to wait until tomorrow.
Driving home, I began thinking about my new camera body, having finally replaced my discarded Canon Rebel XT and a trip to the North Chagrin Reservation with Dakota.  Once there, I quickly changed into hiking gear, grabbed my camera and headed for the park.  Dakota was thrilled, though I adapted her collar to not be quite so noisy.  I was planning on hiking down to the marsh and with her constantly out front and jingling, my opportunity to catch wildlife moving naturally was limited.

We hiked for 30 minutes before arriving at the marsh just as the sun was casting its longest rays of the day across the water and marshy vegetation.  I spotted something white in the distance and my first thought was a plastic bag had blown out on the water.  Putting my telephoto lens to my eye for a closer look, realized I was watching a swan, something I’d never seen in this locale.  I made my way around the marsh photographing a Great Blue, some Mallards, a raccoon, a doe bounding through the trees and the rays of the setting sun across the water.  By the time we returned to the car, I’d managed 90 minutes of hiking and the fortune to have shared and captured some decent images, I hoped.
Hike duration: 90 minutes.  Yard Work:  8 hours.
Training Heart Rate: 75 bpm hiking and 75-100 working.

Calories Burned: 450 hiking and 2,500 doing yard work.

A good day...

Friday, April 25, 2014

I must admit that I continue to be sporadic in my working out, though not my physical activity.  My birthday came and went this year without the traditional, age-based triathlon.  Though I did get in a workout that day, I also spent several hours working on the boat, eating improperly and attending a losing effort by the Indians.
I’d taken a member through a Survival Workout at the Y on Friday.  He’d been using the treadmill and weight machines at the club, but had never done anything quite like what we started doing.  He pushed himself reasonably hard and had made it through one set of everything when I introduced him to squat jumps.  This requires that you squat and touch the ground between your feet and then standing and jumping straight up, as if rebounding a missed shot.  Done successively to exhaustion, this has become the toughest thing I do in the workout.  It proved to be the same for him and after 15 repeats, he found he needed to find a seat before he fell down. 

“Wow – that was tough,” he gasped.

He looked slightly pale and when he complained of being light-headed, I told him the workout was over.  “We’ll go again next week.  You pushed yourself too hard and you’re not used to moving and lifting your own body weight.  Let’s take it slow and maybe you’ll get through the second set the next time,” I said.
He recovered in ten minutes and gladly signed up for his next workout.

I finished the workout before getting on the road for home.  Once there, I decided I needed some time on the bike with ‘Bike to Work’ day looming, and put an hour on the trainer.  Later, I walked the block with Holly.  I wouldn’t go so far as to call it a ‘triple’, but it was the cleansing workout I needed heading into a weekend that would be filled with yard work and probably not designed workouts.

Survival Workout: 60 minutes.  Bike workout: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100-150 bpm for SW and 120 biking.

Calories Burned: 600 for SW and 850 biking.

Another day...another boat

Sunday, April 6, 2013

“Hey, Uncle John.  I’ve got some time today and was wondering if you wanted to work on the boat,” Nathan said.

“I would love to, but I’m with Uncle Jeff and we’re heading to his boat to mess with a leaky ice maker.  I could do it tomorrow, though,” I replied.

We agreed that he’d pick me up at 8 a.m. Sunday morning, which meant that I’d have to miss church and that I’d end up spending the better part of the weekend working on boats.  I also suspected we’d be at it most of the day, up to family dinner time and thus – no workout.

He arrived at the house on schedule and we quickly loaded my tools into his truck for the drive to Grand River Marina in Fairport Harbor.  Though it was supposed to warm up, we’d be working outside in the weather, so I grabbed my Carhartt, hat, gloves and pullover, figuring I’d rather have it and not use…blah…blah…blah.

The sun was out and the temperature climbed steadily towards fifty.  I spent the next six hours removing the transom from the stern of the boat, which was a huge challenge.  I would have liked to have just taken out the brass screws attaching it to the ribs, but the brass heads were stripping and it was clear this would not be an option.  I ended up having to use my circular saw to cut a strip up either side of each rib and across the top to at least salvage part of the beautiful mahogany board that had made up the old transom, but removing the part left attached to the rib was done one excruciatingly slow screw at a time. 

I passed the circular saw to Nathan who was similarly engaged cutting the deck off above the salon and sleeping quarters.  We tried to move quickly so we’d have time enough for a lunch at Sammy’s Family Restaurant in Grand River and to tarp off the boat before leaving.  By the time we’d both removed what we were working on, the entire interior cabin and hull were exposed to the rain, which was on its way.

Nathan had purchased a 50’ by 30’ tarp to cover the boat.  Trying to do anything with this size tarp is difficult for two people, and that’s before you consider the ‘wind’ factor (blowing about 20 knots off Lake Erie) and that we needed to get it up and over a boat that was about 15’ high at its tallest point.  As he tried to tie his fancy ‘boat person’ knots to attach the tarp to the boat cradle, he complained, “these grommets suck.  This tarp is going to be flapping in the wind before we get out of the marina.”  I could see them starting to tear and figured he was probably right.

We drove home pleased with our progress and I arrived with barely enough time to throw some dinner together for the family gathering.  My father-in-law stayed to watch ‘Dances with Wolves’ and it was 9 p.m. before he left.  Workout?  No such animal again, but my activity level over the weekend was high.  Still – it’s not the same and my conditioning continues to suffer.  I think what I really need to do is retire.

A slacker's story...

Saturday, April 5, 2014
I posted my last workout for the previous Monday.  Since that time, I’ve found myself a little too busy to get to the blog.  I did manage a couple of Survival Workouts during that time, but life conspired against me to do much more than that.  In fact, my last workout yesterday seems to have triggered some kind of left shoulder issue, which I was busy aggravating all day Saturday.

I’d had dinner with my brother Jeff and his wife, Bonnie, Friday evening.  He, like me, complains often and with dramatic flair, about things he has to do, but really likes.  “I’ve go a line leaking on the ice maker on the boat, but the unit is hard to get to.  I’ve tried to get it out to work on it, but it’s kinda situated in a way that I can’t lift it out,” he said as part of a conversation about what we were doing the following day.

“The fact that you even have a boat with an ice maker pisses me off, but I’ll come with you and help get it out, if you want,” I offered.  “But if I do, you’ll have to take me to that ice cream store we went to last summer and you’re buying.”

He thought it was a fair price, even considering how much quality ice cream I can eat in one sitting.  We drove to Catawba Island where he belongs to the Catawba Island Club and stores his boat.  He has the 47’ Sea Ray stored in a heated warehouse where he can work on it anytime without biting winds, snow or rain interfering with his comfort.  Of course he pays dearly for the privilege.

We climbed aboard and were quickly disassembling the things around the mini fridge with the offending leaky ice maker.  I found myself laying on my back and crawling into a side compartment slightly bigger than a foot locker.  I needed both arms inside and squirmed and wiggled to make that happen.  When I finally popped my left arm in, I felt something tweak in that same shoulder.

“Ouch,” I whimpered, loud enough to make sure Jeff could hear me.

I explained my issue, but figured it was no big deal and after an hour of monkeying around, we had the offending hose replaced and the frig back in its home and secured. 

After a delicious Reuben sandwich at the club, we drove home spotting four eagles along the route.  I drove from his house straight to Mimi’s, where I had all kinds of continuing brush removal to perform.  I spent the next three hours digging, chopping, pulling and whacking wild roses and other growing and dead things that I was sure didn’t belong on her grounds. By 8 p.m. it was getting too dark to work and I was too tired and sore to work out.

A run through Warren parks...

Monday, March 31, 2014

March’s last day.  The true end of winter (it always snows after St. Pat’s). Almost always, at least.

It was warm with temperature approaching 50.  The stresses of the job were piling up, so I decided the smart thing to do was take a break and go out for a run.  It’s nice to be employed in a place that has showers and encourages fitness.  Anyway, I changed in the bathroom, currently serving as a storage closet, off my office and headed out the door.

The YMCA is located on historic Warren Square.  It is a beautiful building and location and is a baseball’s throw from the Mahoning River, which winds through the town.  Across the street and abutting the river is Perkins Park which houses the Warren Amphitheatre, baseball diamonds, soccer fields and the normal accoutrement of park playground apparatus.  It also sports an all-purpose trail that runs along the river for a mile.  Though I don’t like running on hard surfaces, the idyllic setting and the need for a run with no option for dirt trails nearby compelled me to go.

Since the river is roughly 25 or so feet below the Square, there is a series of steps, 32 in total that drop to the park’s lower level.  At some point, I’m thinking it will make a great training ground, especially if I have a pack attached to my back.  For now, it serves as the last thing I have to do at the completion of the run.  I went down and picked up the trail along the river and noticed that the water was running fast and high.  It was clearly over the banks by a foot and gaining on the all-purpose trail.  I know that water is released from Lake Milton up river and at such times, the river will run high.  That, or it was a result of the weekend’s snow melting in the 50-degree, sunny conditions. 

The trail winds through the park before climbing up and out to a main Warren thoroughfare at one of the river’s many spillways.  Taking the sidewalk for a quarter mile which continues along the river, I reached Packard Park, a twin sister to Perkins and the take-out point for the Mahoning River Trail that Paul and I paddled last November.  I crossed over the river on a wooden bridge designed for pedestrian traffic and wound through the woods on the far side before reversing course and returning to the Y.

I was aiming at a 45-minute run.  It may have been the warmer temperature, but I was struggling with dead legs as I approached the 32 steps leading out of the park.  Climbing quickly (which likely looked slow to anyone with a modicum of running fitness), I reached the top and began my cool down walk/drag.  I was beat and I knew it.

So, in less than three weeks I’m thinking of running 59 minutes and riding 59 miles.  Based on today’s performance, there is little chance of that happening with any form of dignity, though I’ve never let that stop me from doing anything before.

Run duration: 45 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 140 bpm.
Calories Burned: 765.