ENT doc says, "I dunno..."

Monday, January 16, 2012
The Ear, Nose, and Throat guy was peering into my left ear with one of those things with a flashlight on the end.  I held up two fingers next to my right ear and said, “how many do you see, doc.”

“There’s too much wax in here for me to see anything,” he said as he reached for what looked like a drill.  This had me a little concerned…and defensive. 

“Though I’ve tried and failed to get it there, I’ve heard that you shouldn’t put anything smaller than your elbow into your ear,” I said.  “But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t stick Q-tips in there and try to clean them out.”

He said I was right about the ‘elbow’ thing and that ear wax was good.  “You can use a Q-tip to clean the outer edges of the inside of the ear…but don’t stick it any deeper.  You could push wax in further than it’s supposed to go,” he said.

I was there to try and find out why I’d had the dizzy spells just before Christmas.  I went through a battery of tests for my ears…I have some loss at the high decibel end but checked out pretty normal at the lower decibels…where the spoken language resides.  The clinician conducting the test managed to bring up hearing aids at least five times during her explanation of the results.  She kept jabbering and I kept saying “what?”  She ignored my idiot humor and continued her pitch…which I wasn’t even close to buying. 

When I got back with the doc and asked about my hearing, he said it was actually pretty good for my age…better than normal…except for the high pitch sounds.  I wouldn’t be responding to dog whistles anytime soon…and I didn’t want hearing aids so I could, either.  I really had to wonder why I’d gotten the hard sell on hearing aids, then.  He looked my sinuses over pretty well, too and concluded that he had no idea why I’d gotten dizzy.  “Whatever it was…it appears to be gone now,” he concluded…something I knew before I’d arrived since I hadn’t had a dizzy spell in almost three weeks.

So…with a clean bill of health, I headed for the park and a run on snow and ice covered trails.  The bridles were about 50% ice-covered, but the footing was reasonable and I was able to complete 45 minutes without a fall.  I returned home to the trainer and hit Netflix for the National Geographic special about Yellowstone National Park.  What amazing topography in the two million acres that make up our first national park, set aside in 1872.  I was particularly interested in the piece on the Grizzly bear attach on two hikers and what they did to avoid death in the jaws of one of the planet’s most fearsome mammals.  The bear had one of the hiker’s legs in his teeth when the hiker managed to get off a blast of pepper spray in the bear’s face.  It worked, and the hikers were on camera to tell their story.  I keep telling myself I’m going to get some of that and carry it in the Adirondacks, but put it off because they’re just black bears.  Well…they may be less aggressive and about half the size of grizzly’s…but if they decide I’m on the menu, I’ve got a problem.  I love watching these programs about the amazing parks and places I’ve yet to visit, but it makes me realize how much is out there…and how little time we have when there are families to raise and bills to pay.  As with everything I’ve accomplished, I need to make it a goal if I’m going to get it done.  I really must play that lottery thing more often.

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

Training Heart Rate: 140 running and 120 cycling.
Calories burned during workout: 765 running and 700 biking.

Apple pie...good. Ice cream...good.

Sunday, January 15, 2012
Dakota and I were in the Savannah’s Jeep and driving to see Dan.  She had told me that the windshield washer wasn’t working on her ride home from Columbus, so I told her I’d get it fixed.  On the ride out, I did.  I called her from the Jeep.  “Um…I’m driving to Dan’s and I tried the wiper fluid and it works fine.  Just what do you do to engage it?”  I asked. 

“Hmm.  I never really tried it on the way home because it didn’t work a few weeks ago.  Wow…that’s strange,” she said.  I’m not sure what she thought was strange…that it was working or that she hadn’t even tried it when she was driving and couldn’t see through the window. 

Dakota and I headed for the park and a hike through the snow.  We made our way down to the marsh  and then tried to climb out without the benefit of a trail.  It was a steep, slippery slope…slippery because the ground beneath the snow is still soft and muddy from all the rain we’ve had this year.  Once it’s frozen, the footing will be a little better but the good news was I managed a heart rate of about 110 because the climb was so difficult.

I returned home and again hopped on the trainer.  Netflix and National Geographic have me looking forward to the rides as I downloaded a documentary about Yosemite National Park.  I was particularly interested in the two climbers who were ascending the vertical face of Half Dome, a trek that would take them three days…which meant spending two nights sleeping in bags suspended on cables and hanging thousands of feet above the rock floor.  They made this tremendously difficult task look almost effortless, but it was anything but that.  It is vertical for the entire 4,000 foot plus climb and takes tremendous skill, incredible strength and fitness, and a lot of courage.  I have been to Yosemite, but not to climb and hike.  It had the most spectacular sights I have ever seen in any park and is a place I most certainly want to return and explore in the back country.

I finished that show and kept riding right through another National Geographic special…this time about Denali National Park…home of North America’s tallest peak, Mt. McKinley.  The show featured a group of 8 climbers ascending the peak, though this type of climbing has little interest to me.  All is done in frigid temperatures at altitudes that require considerable time for acclimatization (the peak reaches 20,20 feet), dangerous winter/arctic conditions, and lots of money.  I admire those who tackle these peaks…but it’s not for me.  The good news is that it got me through another 75-minute ride.

And I needed all that exercise.  Since Savannah was home for a visit, I’d stopped at Patterson’s Fruit Farm to pick up her favorite dessert – Dutch Apple Pie.  I brought it home in time for the evening dinner and since we would be serving it to guests, felt compelled to assure its quality.  I cut a little sliver and ate it…but…maybe I needed to check the other side.  I did and they were both okay.  Later, I added a scoop (or three) of Breyer’s All Natural Vanilla with Bean Specks ice cream to another piece…and it was okay, too.

Hike duration: 75 minutes.  Bike duration: 75 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 80-110 hiking and 120 for the bike.
Calories burned:  375 for the hike, 1050 for the bike.

Time to do the Appalachian Trail?

Saturday, January 14, 2012
Though I have been cutting back somewhat on my Survival Workout to try and ease the pain in my right arm below the biceps, I’ve been unsuccessful.  I do less and the arm gets more sore.  Still…I started the workout in four inches of new powder with a new push-up pr of 94.  I tried to do my log lift, but it hurt and I dropped it.  I did manage my dips without pain, though.

I found my rocks frozen to the earth again and they were much heavier when I broke them loose because the turf came along for the ride.  I was able to do overhead lifts, but the biceps and rowing motions were out.  I knocked out 87 push-ups on my second set and 80 for the final to crush my 3-set pr, pushing it from 249 to 261.

I knew I needed to burn more calories once home and hopped on the trainer for a longer ride.  I began searching through Netflix and locked in on a National Geographic special about the Appalachian Trail (AT).  I know many people who have walked portions of the trail, a 2,184 mile ribbon running from Springer Mt. in Georgia to Mt. Katahdin in Maine.  It passes through 14 states along the way. 

Much of the AT is through trees and has been referred to as ‘the Green Corridor’.  Though it does go through and over the Great Smokey Mountains and climbs the Whites of New Hampshire and Mt. Washington’s 6,288 foot elevation where the strongest winds on the planet have been recorded, I have never been attracted to it because so many of its miles are without views.  Watching the program though made the ride easy and had me thinking that someday maybe I should challenge myself to be a thru-hiker…someone who attempts the entire trail in a single season.  I like these kinds of goals…something that would keep me focused and training for a long time and had so much to offer along the way.  It would take upwards of 5 months to complete which kind of means I’d have to be retired, so I don’t see it happening anytime soon…and I’d need a partner because that’s a little too much time with only me for company. 

I suppose I’d really like to walk the Pacific Coast Trail first, but the National Geographic didn’t do a story on that.

Survival Workout: 45 minutes.  Bike duration: 75 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100-150 for SW and 120 for the bike.
Calories burned:  450 for SW, 1050 for the bike.

Testing myself on the AlterG

Friday, January 13, 2012
I returned to Precision Orthopaedics and the AlterG treadmill to determine just how much my training heart rate would go down if I lost weight…which this machine could simulate.  I’d told Mark that I thought the treadmill would be a huge motivator for people looking to lose weight.  It would be an amazing visual to get on the treadmill at normal weight with a heart rate monitor and then ‘lose 20 pounds’ and see what it did to your heart rate.  Suddenly, you would know precisely how much additional stress the extra pounds were putting on your heart.  “I’ve got to come back tomorrow and try this out,” I’d said at the conclusion of our interview.
 The anti-gravity treadmill was originally designed to assist NASA astronauts to help prevent bone and muscle loss during long periods of time in space stations without gravity.  In 2006, AlterG introduced their first proto-type treadmill and turned it over to former Olympian and coach of the Nike Oregon Project, Alberto Salazaar, to be used with the elite distance runners he was coaching at that time.  Though the treadmill can be used for rehabilitative purposes, Salazaar wanted the opportunity to do ‘overspeed’ work with his athletes…having them reduce their weight with the machine, which would allow them to run even faster than they could at 100% of their weight, thus improving turnover and enhancing the capabilities of the fast-twitch muscles involved in running.
I slipped into the patented shorts which would be used to gently lift me from the treadmill as I ran, simulating a decreasing weight.  I stepped onto the treadmill and into a plastic bubble that attached to my waist via the shorts and encased the treadmill beneath me.  Once calibrated, I began to walk and adjusted my weight…it moves in 1% increments…until I was 80% of normal or about 38 pounds lighter.  I took the speed to 7mph (this model would go to 10mph or the equivalent of running a 6-minute mile) and allowed my heart rate to stabilize before starting to add weight back on.  At 80%, I had a heart rate of 114 beats per minute (bpm), which increased about 3 beats for every 5% of my weight I added back.  When I reached 100% and was running unaided, my heart rate was 126 bpm.
I finished the workout and climbed from the treadmill to do some calculations.  Though I’d always known that my performance would improve if I lost body fat, I’d never had the opportunity to prove how much of an impact it could have.  My heart rate was going down about 3% for every 10 pounds I lost, which was the equivalent of being able to take about 14 seconds per mile off my running pace.  If I was running a marathon, I could improve my time by more than 6 minutes.
Mark is excited about having the treadmill for rehabbing patients, but he has also opened it to running community to be used for training purposes.  He mentioned that Jessica Beard, reigning NCAA Outdoor 400-meter champion and member of the US 4x400 gold medal winning team in the 2009 World Championships had just completed a session on the treadmill.   “She’s trying to work through and Achilles injury.  We were able to work her for 15-20 minute sessions at between 20-60% of her body weight.  Without the AlterG, she wouldn’t be able to do any running,” he concluded. 
For $100 per month, anyone can have access three times a week for 40 minutes.  His hours of operation will be 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and making it very appealing to any runner trying to work through an injury as they are preparing for an important race.   It is his hope to eventually put one in his running store in Mentor.
I asked if he thought fitness clubs might take a shot at putting one in.  “I don’t think it would be practical.  They serve a particular population not found in your average club…and they’re pricy.”  But they truly have their place and for those runners who have been forced to rehab an injury…or adjust their mileage away from running with cycling and elliptical equipment…well…this may be the answer.  For further information, go to Mark’s web site at www.precisionorthopaedic.com or call 440-285-4999.  It works.  I know.
I returned home and shoveled the drive before heading inside and climbing back on the trainer for a 60-minute ride.  It was an exhausting couple of hours with a lot of sweat loss and a huge smoothie worked miracles on my recovery.

Run Duration:  20 minutes.  Bike Duration:  60 minutes.

Training Heart Rate: 120 running and cycling.
Calories burned during workout: 300 running and 850 biking.

Time on the AlterG treadmill...

Thursday, January 12, 2012
I’ve been doing some reading about the AlterG anti-gravity treadmill in preparation for my first turn on one and for the article I will be writing about it in the February edition of Ohio Sports and Fitness.  Mark Mendeszoon, the podiatrist I interviewed last month regarding minimalist/barefoot running has one of only three in the area and uses it in his practice for Precision Orthopaedics (their spelling) in Chardon.  In a nutshell, the treadmill is equipped with a chamber that encases the body from the waist down and works to ‘unweight’ the user by gently lifting them from the treadmill as they walk or run.  By so doing, it allows people recovering from various injuries to reduce their body weight to a level that allows them to walk, jog or run pain-free in an effort to speed healing.

I met Mark at Precision and listened to an explanation of what I was about to experience as I slipped into the special shorts that would be the method of lifting me while on the treadmill…and thus unweighting me.  They fit like cycling shorts and came with a zipper around the waist that would attach to the air chamber into which I was stepping.  Once inside and attached, an air tight seal was created from my waist down, encasing my lower body on the treadmill and making me feel like I was running inside a clear, plastic balloon.  After the calibration process, he demonstrated the controls that would allow me to decrease my weight in 1% increments down to a low of 20% of my body weight…or around 38 pounds.  I could also increase the speed to 10mph, its maximum, and the equivalent of running a 6-minute mile.

I started walking at 2mph and then began to decrease my body weight to a low of 70% and the point at which my heel stopped hurting.  And this is really one of the reasons for its popularity and importance.  I could perform the activity I needed to do without further damage to the injury…which in many instances can actually speed healing.  I walked for a couple of minutes to get used to the sensation before slowly increasing the speed to the point where I was running 7mph.  At this speed, I began to play with the weight control, taking my body from 70 back to 100%, running the whole time and experiencing the sensation of getting lighter and heavier…during a run. 

Now…keep in mind that to gain this feeling of weighing less, you are literally picked up as though someone was grabbing your shorts and lifting you from the ground.  It’s done gently and with air and wasn’t in the least as uncomfortable as it might sound…but I would recommend peeing before suiting up…not that I had an accident, or anything. 

I spent 10 minutes on the treadmill before bringing it to a stop and then spending some time with Mark to hear his story of why he’d purchased the equipment and his dreams for its use…which include introducing it in his running store ‘The Achilles Running Shop’ for easy access to the running community.  I’ll go over the ‘whys’ to this plan later, but it will be an amazing opportunity for local runners…both for working through injuries and for some special speed training.

I returned home and hopped on the trainer for a 75-minute ride, which I followed with an hour shoveling the drive.  It was a good calorie burning day and a great opportunity to check out a piece of exercise/rehab equipment that is truly cutting edge.

Run Duration:  10 minutes.  Bike Duration:  75 minutes.

Training Heart Rate: 120 running and 120 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 150 running and 1050 biking.

New running shoes!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Where does my will power go each winter?  Maybe it’s just that I’m trapped inside too long and the days are too short.  Yeah…probably the dark that makes me want to eat the wrong stuff.  That… or Holly’s peanut clusters are impossible not to eat.  In any event…I ate the last six so I’d stop having to wonder when I’d stop eating them.

I’m also struggling to get myself to do the longer workouts I need to keep the weight in check.  Partially due to sore feet and the rest…well…commitment issues.  I’ve always found winter training the toughest.  Anything I’m preparing to do has always been a summer/fall activity and left me with the feeling that I can always make up the time that I’m missing.  Pretty normal.  Anyway, after spending the day walking around on tender feet, I stopped to purchase new running shoes on the way home.  I’m a big fan of Asics and have been running in them for the last 20 years or so.  I bought a pair in the middle of the price range, looking for something with a decent amount of heel cushion.  Before shopping, I’d decided to ride the trainer since it was raining and cold, but once I had the shoes, I knew I’d be running.

It was dark by the time I arrived at the park, but the bridle trails are easy to navigate even when you can’t see.  I figured a 30 minute run to see how they felt and determine if they would make any difference to my already sore feet.  I put them on and took a few steps…pain diminished.  Good sign.

I felt the heel with each step, but it really wasn’t that bad.  The true measure of the shoe would be how my foot felt later that night and the next day…so I’d just have to wait and see.  It was extremely sloppy…a good thing since I hate wearing shiny, new shoes…and that’s the last thing they were at the conclusion of the run. 

I climbed back into the car pleased with the way they felt.  I could have easily gone much longer, but my feet need some time to figure out what I’ve done to them since it’s been about 5 years since I’ve run in new shoes.  I take them on another, longer trial over the weekend provided we get less than the predicted blizzard.

Run Duration:  30 minutes.

Training Heart Rate: 140 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 520.

The 'good' ache...

Tuesday, January 10, 2012
In many ways, I embrace the aches that come as a result of my workout ritual.  I almost always know their origin and there is comfort in knowing that I have them only because I am fit.  I know they will go away, to be replaced by others when I do something foolish or try something new…but it is a constant reminder that I can do something new and that I ignore my age or make it the non-factor it should be…and persevere.  I’ve had some of the aches associated with aging and doing nothing…I think the ‘doing nothing’ is more the reason for the aches…and decided I’d rather have the ones from being active.  Anyway, right now…it’s my feet which I know will heal, but also a pain in my lower, right arm…just below the biceps…that has been bothering me off and on since I began doing pull-ups on a tree branch.  I cut that out at some point over the summer and switched to climbing a pole on a swing set.  It doesn’t seem to hurt quite as much…but it still aches.  I decided I’d try to give that some rest, too.

So…I approached the Survival Workout knowing I would be leaving some things out and wondering what I could add in to compensate.  I reached one of my rock lifting sites and was bending to pick one up, when I had the sensation of being watched.  It took me a few seconds to spot the deer that was only 50 feet away…motionless…and staring me down.  They are amazingly well camouflaged animals…as any regular hiker will admit…and if they don’t move and show that beautiful, cotton-like fluffy white tail, we’d never see them.  He continued to stare, challenging me to stay and looking, as Kim would say, into my soul with those haunting eyes.  “I’ve got to do this thing…so you can stay and watch…or go,” I said as I bent to grab the rock.  I did my lift and when I returned the rock to the earth and looked up, he was gone.  I love this gym in which I work out.

I was crossing the Rugby field the final yards to my car when I heard a thundering noise coming down the bridle trail I’d just left.  I peered through the woods separating the field from the trail to see a horse and rider galloping full tilt.  I know thoroughbreds travel at speeds in excess of 40mph…and this was no thoroughbred race horse, but it was really moving.  It was practically dark and I wondered at the wisdom of the rider.  I could see him going into a sharp turn without slackening his speed and with what would appear to be no regard for the many other users of these trails.  I know they’re called ‘bridle’ but let’s face it…there are about 200 hikers, runners, and other users to every horse on the trails…and this was just stupid.  His partner was a few minutes behind and moving at a more reasonable speed.  I’m glad I wasn’t on the trail as he’d passed…I’m sure I’d have had something to say that I would later regret.

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