Perfect riding night...

Tuesday, March 8, 2016
I jumped in my car for the ride home and immediately pushed the little button on my clock that switches the indicator from time to temperature.  72 degrees flashed and I knew I had to ride.

I know that winter isn’t over.  You can count on at least one snow AFTER St. Patrick’s Day and that’s still a little over a week away.  I’ll leave the plow on the truck until then and I know I’ll still be doing some riding on the trainer, but Spring is almost here.  There is a new wrinkle in my 61-mile birthday ride though and it’s called foot surgery.  I could go before the surgery.  If I pushed myself through a bit of pain, I could do 61 today.  The idea is to do without the pain, or so I’ve come to believe over these past few years.  Or I could just go for the ride after the surgery.  I don’t think my doc reads the blog and he’d never know.  He knows me though, particularly after the medial meniscus surgery two years ago when he told me I could ride right after surgery.  I rode 200 miles the following week and my knee swelled up and was in pain.  When he examined me and discovered how much riding I’d done, he shook his head and commented, “I should have known I needed to tell you how FAR you could ride.”

Having said all that, I won’t do anything stupid.  This has to work.  I need to get back to hiking without pain and so I’ll take four weeks off if that’s what it takes.  I know someone who will make sure I eat nothing be roots and berries so I don’t gain any weight during the non-training period, too.  I do have a semblance of patience.

I headed out for a two-hour ride in perfect conditions.  I was sweating by the third mile, something I haven’t been able to do on an outside ride since last fall.  I rode until 6:30 p.m., which is about as much daylight as we have until daylight savings time kicks in.  I also looked to my ‘steps’ monitor to see that I’d done over 11,000 once again.  My heel ached to match that effort.

Kimberly and her daughter Kennedy came over to join me for a dinner of spaghetti and mocked my use of brown sugar in the sauce, amongst other things.  They did eat it though, and Kennedy said she actually liked it.  I held off on the ice cream, at least.

After an hour of icing my heel, I strapped the night splint onto my foot.  It is designed to stretch out the calf, thus relieving some stress on the plantar.  I’d used it the night before, aggressively tightening it to get the maximum stretch for the night.  Mark had said people couldn’t tolerate it while sleeping, which I naturally took as a challenge.  I woke after several hours with my foot having gone numb from the over tightening.  I planned to do better on night two.

Bike duration: Two hours.
Training Heart Rate: 135 bpm.
Calories Burned: 1500.

Time for foot surgery...

Monday, March 7, 2016

“It’s time to get you healthy again, John,” my doctor, Mark Mendeszoon said as I sat in his office with my right shoe off.

I’ve been suffering with chronic plantar fasciitis since August of 2014.  I’d let it go for six months before visiting him the first time and receiving a cortisone injection.  This had helped for a few months, but the pain returned in earnest when I began running again.  I waited another three months before getting my second cortisone injection, which didn’t touch the pain.  I’d written to him last fall wondering about what we might try next and received a link to a website describing a procedure known as ‘tenex’.  After reading over the information, I called some people and looked at other options.  There were essentially three and I was in the office with Mark to determine which of the three I would be doing.

“I can do a whole blood injection whereby we extract your blood, centrifuge it down to get the platelets and then inject the healing platelets back into the injured area.  It’s painful, not covered by insurance, and has about a chance of working,” he said.

“Some people cut the plantar and just leave it that way.  I won’t do that, but it is an option.  What I have been doing and getting about 75-80% success in the tenex surgery.”

He described a procedure whereby he used ultrasound imaging to determine the location of the injury.  Following a small incision, he would work with a tool that would deliver ultrasonic energy to the damaged tissue and slowly scrape it away. 

“Then I close you up and put you in a boot for the next four weeks.  You can walk and work in it, but you won’t be exercising.  After that, we have a slow recovery over the next two months with lots of icing, stretching, and every evening in a night splint.  After 90 days, we’ll know if you’re healed,” he said.

“And if I’m not?”
“Then I go in and cut it out,” he said.

Convinced this was the best course of action, I scheduled surgery for March 23^rd and began to imagine how I would perform my duties, which typically included some 11,000 steps per day, for four weeks with a walking cast.  Well…I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.  For now I know that I cannot go on with a heel that won’t allow me to do normal walking, let alone hiking with a fifty-pound pack for hours on end.  My lifestyle, which Mark and I are determined I should return to, does not allow for that result. 

I did manage 16,000 steps for the day, though a bike ride was in order.  The temperatures reached into the low sixties, but the doctor appointment kept me from having the time necessary to get in a worthwhile ride.  I hiked instead with Kimberly and her daughter, Kennedy.  Spring is in the air though, and I’m aching to take those longer rides.  I will be missing the birthday ride though, unless I can come up with a way to ride with the walking cast.
Hike Duration: 60 minutes
Training Heart Rate: 75 bpm
Calories burned: 350

Bread pudding is a dessert!

Saturday, March 5, 2016
I’d managed another 11,000 steps at the farm on Friday and finished the day with an hour on the trainer.  I hadn’t done a Survival Workout in some time though, and was really starting to feel the lack of muscular training and the flexibility that comes with it.

I woke up early Saturday with no side jobs to perform and so found myself on the bike and pedaling an hour, which turned into 65 minutes so that I could finish watching the true story of college basketball player, Cory Weissman, and his return to basketball after a devastating stroke in his freshman year.  His level of persistence and determination against all odds in the movie ‘1,000 to One’ is an inspiration to anyone trying to overcome obstacles of any kind.  My ride was easier watching him struggle and it also pushed me to plan a Survival Workout for later in the day.

“I’ll meet you shortly and don’t tell me it’s too cold.  We’re going to the park for a Survival Workout and a hike,” I told Kimberly when I called.  I had been inspired and I’d force her to suffer the consequences.

The trails were particularly muddy, which meant Dakota would be a mess when returning to the car.  I pushed up, lifted rocks and logs, hopped on benches and climbed hills with what seemed like boundless energy.  I knew I’d be feeling it later, but for the moment I was showing off and driving myself.  We reached a large pavilion with a huge fireplace and exposed chimney, which I challenged Kimberly to climb.  She was more than willing, but wondered out loud about getting back down once she reached the top. 

“I’m down here.  I’ll catch you if you fall,” I said with no confidence at all.

“Like you did when I jumped to you from that ledge in the woods a few minutes ago?” she replied.

She had been standing on one and had launched herself at me and I had been totally surprised and I had missed her and she had fallen in the mud and she had read me the riot act about being incompetent.

“Well…at least I’m ready this time,” I said.

Thankfully she didn’t fall and the workout continued.  I climbed the swingset once before returning to the car and a decent shower.  Later, she made a dinner that consisted of a tomato the size of my head stuffed with mushrooms, chicken, pepper, onion, garlic, spinach and some other spices.  It was quite good and a little too healthy for my taste.  She’d also made some bread pudding, which I was primed to eat for dessert.

“It’s not dessert…it’s a breakfast meal so you don’t have to go to Kleifeld’s and eat that garbage you eat there,” she said.

I stuttered, “it’s pudding!  You always eat pudding for dessert.”

But she was adamant so I called Donnie. “If the word ‘pudding’ is in it, doesn’t that automatically make it dessert?”

“Well…John…to a man’s way of thinking – sure.  But you’re dealing with a woman, so good luck,” he said.

I had it for breakfast.
Bike duration: 65 minutes.  Survival Workout: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 135 biking and 100-150 on SW.
Calories burned: 800 biking and 500 for Survival Workout.

Hay day and lots of steps...

Thursday, March 3, 2016

It was a ‘hay’ day at the farm, which meant I’d be receiving anywhere from 180 to 270 bales of hay, each weighing around sixty pounds, that I would have to stack in one of our two lofts.  I look forward to the workout, which I figure is simply a bonus on whatever else I will be doing by day’s end.  I saw the truck pulling onto the property around two and headed for the rear lot where he would back up to the loft and the work would begin.

I couldn’t help but notice that Steve, the primary delivery guy, was alone in the cab of the truck.  I was alone on the ground waiting.  That meant it was the two of us…and it was a big load.  He typically loads the elevator with bales and his assistant works with me in the loft stacking and hauling.  Alone, I’m forced to stack in threes and then wheel it the length of the loft, dropping and slowly working the piles back towards the delivery point.  It doubles the time and the work load, but it also doubles the calorie burn and the adds a ton of steps to the effort.  Two hours later, he sent the last of 270 bales up the elevator.

“Not bad for a couple of old guys,” Steve said as we lowered the elevator, a 200-pound piece of metal and motor, to the back of his flatbed trailer.

“Don’t know who’s old here, but yeah, they don’t make them like us anymore,” I replied.

He’s in his early fifties, but a lifetime of working on a farm and do hard, physical labor has given him the body of man much younger.  I know from talking to him he doesn’t work out…but why would he?  After leaving me, he would return to his farm and load his trailer with another 270 bales and head out to do it all again.

The loft walking and all that I had done leading up to it had me at 14,700 steps, according to my IPhone application.   I went home knowing that Kimberly was walking over to join me for dinner, but realized that if I walked to her place and then returned to mine, I’d have a huge step day.  I arrived there only to find she felt it was too cold to walk with wet hair (hers…I don’t have any) and that I had topped 16,000 steps.  Between that and the hay, I was pretty sure I’d done enough. 

Sometimes men are right...

Wednesday, March 2, 2016
My 61^st birthday is a little more than a month away and if I am to do a 61-mile ride plus other feats of athletic prowess, I need to get my butt in gear.  With that in mind, I pulled the trainer from the corner and set it up in front of the TV.

An hour later and another episode of ‘Mad Men’ behind me, I headed for the shower.  I looked at my phone health application and noted that I’d also traveled 11,000 steps for the day.  Not bad.  I have found this application to be quite useful.  When I could have easily jumped into a gator at the farm to run down and pick up the mail, I instead walked thinking that I’d be adding steps to the total as I went.  On other occasions, I walk the property’s 40 acres instead of using a vehicle for the same reason.  I park farther from entrances to stores and look for chances to climb stairs and all this because a simple display on my IPhone is going to tell me I’ve gone over 10,000 steps by the end of the day.  It works and so God bless it and any device that encourages people to do more than they would have otherwise.

Kimberly suggested we have sloppy joe’s and texted me a grocery list that included an onion, green pepper, catsup, and ‘either ground turkey or ground beef’.  It was a test and I knew it.  I walked to the meat department and unhesitatingly grabbed a pound of ground turkey with its lower fat and sodium content and the highest rating on good meat to eat on the Paleo glycemic index.  Even if she hadn’t tried to trap me into buying the poorer beef choice, I’d have gone with turkey because, well, it’s cheaper too.  I’ve been using ground turkey in all of my recipes for which I used to use ground beef and haven’t noticed a taste difference.  I know I don’t miss the additional calories, either.  As she emptied the grocery bag upon her arrival though, she looked at me while holding up the sweet red onion I’d bought and frowned.

“I texted you to buy a sweet, white onion,” she said with certainty of a woman who knows men always get it wrong.

I flinched, but reached for my phone because I was sure no mention of ‘white’ had been made.  I reached the communication and breathed a sigh of relief when I noted it read ‘sweet onion’ with no mention of color.  Then I made my next mistake holding the phone for her to read.

“See?  It just says ‘sweet onion’ with no ‘white’ anywhere,” I said.

“You edited it,” she declared.  How could a woman be wrong?

Then I made my second mistake. “Really.  I edited it.  Let’s look on your phone to the ‘sent’ message and see what it says.”

She smiled…the only acknowledgement I would receive that I could possibly be right.  And then I made my third mistake.

“I told you!  Just because I’m a man doesn’t automatically make me wrong.”

She really pinches hard.
Bike duration: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 135 bpm.
Calories Burned: 750.

Leave No Trace...

Tuesday, March 1, 2016
I love that it is March.  Although we continue to get snow, it is sporadic and Spring is almost here.  I guess I’m just getting old and don’t want to deal with the cold so much anymore.  Though the winter was mild by northeast Ohio standards, it was still too sloppy on the roads to get the bike out and that is about to end. 

I did a phone interview last night with the people from ‘Leave No Trace’, which is an organization that promotes the seven principles of how to comport yourself in the outdoors so as to leave the smallest human impact possible upon the environment.  I had noticed an opening for the volunteer position of ‘State advocate for Ohio’ from a newsletter I receive from the non-profit organization several months ago and written to the director.  We had gone back and forth, but nothing came of it until a second person reached out to me this past December. 

“How long do you suppose you’d be willing to spend time working in this capacity for LNT?” Faith asked.

“Umm…probably up until they scatter my ashes on Skylight Mt. and at Livingston Point in the Flowed Lands of the Adirondacks,” I said.

“Okay…so for a while for sure,” she said.

“For sure,” I replied.

And why wouldn’t I?  For many years I’ve promoted health and fitness not only by what I say, but by walking that talk with what I do.  As I head towards retirement and what I hope to be increased time exploring the amazing parks and wilderness areas of North America, I certainly expect to ‘walk the talk’ of LNT principles.  Having the chance to share those ideas and encourage others to join me in the back country is something I would do anyways…so hell yeah I’d want to be the state advocate for as long as they’d want me.  Though I totally enjoy the serenity of outdoor experiences where I never see another human being, I recognize that the more people who find their way into the same spaces I enjoy, the better the chance they will continue to be supported, protected, and expanded.  The challenge is to make sure those who join me do so without damaging what they visit…hence the Leave No Trace principles.  The interview seemed to go well…how could she not be enthralled with me…and I’ll find out more in a week or so.

I didn’t find the time for a formal workout, but did notice I again hit 10,000 steps at the farm.  Thanks for making me walk my butt off, but I know it is only the icing and I need more of the formal workouts to be ready for a spring and summer full of activity.  In fact, I’m only six weeks from my 61^st birthday, which traditionally has meant variations of 61 built into a workout.  For sure I’ll be doing a 61 mile bike ride and should enjoy 61 minutes of kayaking.  Running is out because of the continuing plague of plantar fasciitis, but I’ll find something else.

A simple hike...a lot of steps

Monday, February 29, 2016
Though my heel continues to ache, and probably worse than ever, I keep heading for the park and a hike.  It was in the middle forties and sunny…and February…so how could I resist?  Dakota jumped in the car and we drove to pick up Kimberly, who also didn’t think any hiking opportunity in the park should be missed. 

I’ve been rediscovering trails I’ve long abandoned only because I stick to the Survival Course and because I don’t run any longer.  When running, I’d try to mix it up quite a bit and there are so many to choose from in our park.  Now with Kimberly along, I’m trying to show her just how much this park has to offer. 

We walked along Butternut Creek ridge, stopping often to stare into the depths of the ravine that little creek had cut or to simply enjoy the wind, the beauty of a hollowed out tree, and the peace that comes with walking through any woods when you take the time to let all your senses enjoy the experience.  Though we didn’t go off-trail on this hike, it is worth noting that it burns about 25% more calories than walking the designated trails.

The hike took an hour and I found that I’d done over 15,000 steps for the day by the time we reached the car.  I suppose this is the reason my heel is always sore…I average over 11,000 without a hike Monday through Friday, which never gives my plantar any opportunity to heal.  I’m going to schedule a visit to the foot doc because serious hiking is just around the corner and I don’t like limping.

We went out to eat at Willoughby Brewery and as I often do when eating out, I ordered a burger and fries.  It’s probably only once every two weeks or so and I like them.  I could do better, and I did receive some crap from my dining partner, though she had little to say when I reminded her she was sucking on a candy cane when I picked her up.
Hike Duration: 60 minutes
Training Heart Rate: 75 bpm.
Calories Burned: 350