Still at the YMCA, But.... (3).

One Last Try for the Gipper?

I'm going to ride ze bull one more time. Slowest runner ever.

I stayed off the treadmill - running-wise - for a few weeks and my concern about a sore left hip lessened, as expected. I think I had been running too far too fast and the break from 3 - 6 mile runs did me good.

In March I still kept walking a good number of miles per week, and riding an exercise bike regularly (good book in hand), and completing sets on various weight machines, thus keeping the dream of "svelteness in this lifetime" alive.

 

I covered 182.25 miles in March, walking and riding combined.

Total miles per week, for the last 15 weeks, can be seen above, and my 10 Week Average stayed near 41 or 42 miles from Feb. 24 to March 30. Not bad for a geezer : )

Pumping iron w free weights and 5 machines, 25 or 30 reps at a time.

"Look at dem pipes!" (Yeh, right!)

Last week I started to include a minimal amount of slow treadmill running in my routine, and so far all is well. The annoyance of slight pain in the left hip has not returned, so I will very gradually increase the amount of running for a few weeks, with some minor increase in speed... and I will see where that leads.

Old South was hit with a bit of snow yesterday. Nice day for walking, for sure.

The thought has occurred to me that when I started running (or jogging; "out for a jog" it was 'a thing' in those days) back in the early 1970s, I thought it was a big deal to jog a couple of miles 3 or 4 times per week.

Last week I added a bit of running here and there. Slow as a slug. 

Hopefully, the snow will be gone soon. 

I've hit the YMCA over 100 times since November 1, 2018. $3.65 per visit.

I wonder if I'm heading toward a "going full circle" type of situation? 

I think I could live with that, heading out for an evening jog, feeling the breeze blow through what's left of my hair.

: )

Please link to Still at the YMCA, But.... (2).

Photos GH

Photographs: From Along the Way (1).

Have Camera, Will Travel.

To see this stylish eagle, you must stop your car.

You must park at the side of a busy thoroughfare (King Street, just east of Wellington) and take a moment out of your day.

Or, to appreciate this rare piece of local art, you have to stop walking.

You have to step off the sidewalk (south side of the street) and take a few steps around a cement support for an overhead walkway.

In my opinion, the time spent stopping to smell the roses, so to speak, is well worth it.

Squirrel Bridge. Looking east toward Downtown London.

The bridge is so named by a neighbour who saw a squirrel racing across it once.

Once across the bridge (from the opposite side, e.g., from the Downtown YMCA) I head south to the Wortley/Stanley St. intersection and head for home.

The sturdy structure is one of my favourite pedestrian bridges, and because my summertime walking regularly takes me downtown and north toward the university, I bet I cross it approx. 200 times per year.

Correction. It's also on my route to and from London Knights' hockey games and my favourite pub, so I bet I cross it about 250 - 300 times per year!

I am looking south from about the center of Squirrel Bridge. Two overpasses in the area seem to blend into one in this photo. York Street is first in line, then comes the CNR/CPR overpass that travels east-west through our downtown.

Beyond the pair of overpasses lies a trio of my favourite places - Thames Park and then Wortley Village and my home.

From the middle of the Wortley Road overpass I am 11 minutes (of steady walking) from my house. This part of my Wortley Road walking route is more familiar to me than Squirrel Bridge. I bet I've travelled past this same spot over a 1,000 times in the last 3 - 4 years.

But whose counting?

And I have likely posted similar photographs of this scene a dozen times.

Get used to it.

: )

Please link to Definitely YMCA Related (3).

GoPro Hero Photos GH

Still at the YMCA, But.... (2).

Sore Hip May Have been an Early Warning.

[Photo: I am studying "the details" to understand the larger picture*]

Remember the DEW Line, made up of radar stations in the Arctic (built when I was a child in the mid-1950s) to give an early warning if North America was attacked by the Soviet Union?

As a young elementary school student I didn't have the foggiest idea about the 'who (Soviets, Russkies? Is that a new cereal?), why, when or where' associated with the Distant Early Warning apparatus, but I do recall being told by an early-grade teacher how to hide under by desk for some reason. "Hiding under your desk" was a thing in the 1950s.

(Lessons about nuclear warfare or Soviet long-distance bombers or being blown to smithereens was not). 

Distant past memories came to mind recently after I made a decision to slow down - and stop for the time being - my pursuit to add more running miles to my fun and fitness routine. The sore hip I was experiencing in the very recent past (two weeks ago) seemed like an early warning of more problems to come if I kept running on a treadmill on a regular basis.

I'm old enough to know that there are some lines I should not cross 

So, my routine at the YMCA has changed over the last two weeks. I still walk downtown but I ride an exercise bike on a regular basis in place of the treadmill run. I don't think the change will affect my pursuit for svelteness very much at all!

March stats started with a 3.0 mi. walk and 75 minutes on the bike with a good book in hand. Totals for the week reached 40 miles by Friday, so I relaxed on Saturday. Average miles for the last ten weeks came in at 41.525 miles, and on Friday my cumulative total of reps (each, of various stretches, and situps, and sets of strength training exercises) hit 5,725. Will I hit 10,000 reps total by December 31? Odds are about 50-50, says the bookmaker.

Most of my March Journal is a blank slate at the moment but by the end of the month I will have covered many more miles and know if I want to give the running game one more try, slower, with more gradual progress.

How I will react to the idea, "I'm not a runner anymore," I'm not sure. I suppose as long as I can keep moving forward in other ways, then I should be able to maintain a positive attitude about various other fun and fitness routines.

So, I don't think the sun is setting on The GREAT Canadian Comeback!!
Not by a long shot, in my opinion.

*The top photo depicts a small portion of a mural I found on my way to the Downtown YMCA. What is the "larger picture?" More will be revealed soon.

Please link to Still at the YMCA, But.... (1).

And, stay tuned. News at 11.

Photos by GH

Still at the YMCA, But.... (1).

After We Cross a Certain Line... Watch Out!

 Sign outside my favourite pub. Price of grog is reasonable!

I've got some thinking to do, some reshaping of goals at the YMCA for the next few weeks, and a stack of quarters. Certainly, thinking time, serious it is, Yoda would say.

My YMCA habit is solid. But I walk instead of run.

As my February records indicate (above), I have started each of the last two weeks with walking on my mind, and lower distance this week than last. (More cycling in place of running - then walking - on the treadmill). 

What's going on? Running miles were adding up and I felt good at a reasonable speed.

Well... my left hip started to let me know that there could be a problem in the future if I didn't rethink what I'm doing, at least for awhile. Pain was minimal after a run, but I felt it the next day. 

Was I going too far too fast? Do I need a different type of running shoe? Would I do better on a softer surface? Is there a softer surface? Am I getting too old to even pile up running miles at the slow pace I was going? I don't know. (My father needed a new hip  in his 70s, and I'm getting there in age. Could hip trouble be in my genes? I don't know).

My weekly miles (14 week's worth, above) are higher at the YMCA than when walking on city trails. My weekly average is at least 10 miles higher than the last three years. My ten-week average was at 41.375 miles last week. Would that be a contributing factor?

My total of running miles/week (above) was not extravagant or - in my opinion - over the top, and my ten week average was hovering around 15 miles. Too high? Too fast? I don't know.

But I do know I don't mind walking to the YMCA and reading a book while riding a bike and waiting a few weeks to figure out what the heck is going on.

My YMCA attendance and pursuit of svelteness is strong. Delays do not hurt. 

Pursuits don't always follow straight lines (like this Chicago rail line)

Patience is a virtue (so I am told) and I bet it doesn't grow stronger unless it's tested every once in a while. I will walk, read and ride for a few weeks, then start an easier walk/run ladder.

I know how it's done and I still have a fistful of quarters.

Stay tuned.

Please link to Definitely YMCA Related (3).

Photos GH

Definitely YMCA Related (3).

Starting My Fourth Month at YMCA Downtown.

[Photo: "When spring arrives I will be ready for a nice run on city paths"]

I returned to the YMCA on November 1, 2018 after a 12-year-long hiatus. I had three years of steady walking under my belt, so to speak, and a desire to add more running miles to my fun and fitness schedule.

As I start my fourth month at the Y, I can say that I am now a regular runner, and developing a slow and steady-like style within my limits. I run 4 - 6 times per week on a treadmill, generally in the 2 - 4 mile range. I also regularly cover additional miles by walking to the Y and warming up on an exercise bike for 30 - 40 minutes before my short run.

Svelteness is within my reach.... in my lifetime.

Photos from along the way:

 Heading downtown on a sunny day.

 Heading home on the same sunny day.

 Giving directions to a fellow runner many years ago... in Hell, Michigan

 "I don't need directions to get to the YMCA"

"This has got to be the place. Svelteness is on the horizon."

Please link to Definitely YMCA Related (2).

Photos GH

"I'm Goin' to the YMCA!" (5).

I Consider an April Half-Marathon

[Photo: Birds in flight. I pass local art on my way to the YMCA]

Two weeks ago, after passing "birds in flight" on King Street east of Wellington, I bumped into a former running mate heading home after his spin class.

He and I have completed more than a few fun runs and races together in the past so our brief encounter soon included chatter about future races, as a matter of course. And one in particular, the Forest City Half-marathon, because the route passes his house and he hosts a "running fans cheer the racers that go by while drinking coffee" party each year.

He said, "If you're not running it, join us in the driveway. There will be three (Scottish) pipers this year!"

Well, that got me thinking. Join Radio Dan and others from my former running gang or... run the half.

I checked the 'forestcityraces' website, saw the race date (Sunday, April 28th), entry fee, race route, etc., as well as deadline for the cheapest fare - January 31st (i.e., tonight at midnight). And since crossing paths with Dan I've been having lots of thoughts about whether or not I should try my hand - and feet and legs - at a half marathon race.

"I'm taking the long view to developing my running legs"

I considered the following:

How long have I been running consistently at the YMCA? 10 weeks.

How many miles per week am I running on average? 15 - 16 miles.

In January I averaged about 40 miles per week (39.625 - 41.475 mi.), but the majority of those miles were covered by walking to the Y and warming up on a bicycle before a short run. E.g., on January 19th (above) I ran 2.25 miles, ended that week with 15 miles of running - out of a total of 44 miles for the week (walking, biking, running).

Between Jan. 6 and 9 I ran smooth and steady, from 2.0 - 6.0 miles, and during a 3-week stretch I completed five runs in a row each week, with only slight repercussions, i.e., my left hip told me to take it easy, "Rome wasn't built in a day, ya know."

My last three runs have been between 2.5 and 3.0 miles (above), no repercussions. Today I will run a 3-miler, and aim for a 16.5-mile total for the week, which is just slightly higher than the average for the last 10 weeks (15.475 miles).

And before midnight, I will not enter the half-marathon. A training ladder that would have to take me from 6.0 miles to 13.0 (or from 10 to 21K) over the next 10 weeks sounds way too steep for me at the moment.

But I might enter the 10K race for $55. Because that's a pretty good deal is it not, especially if - on race day - I surprise the heck out of Radio Dan and the bagpipers assembled in his driveway?

"I'm feeling pretty good about my decision!" (Photo: WALKN in Chicago)

I'm certain I need a stronger base of running before I enter a half-marathon. That includes several weeks in a row during which I run between 20 - 25 miles per week, including a couple in the 18 - 21K range, without even slight repercussions.

Yes, I could complete a 10K race soon (e.g., Sunday, April 28).

And a Half in the early fall sounds about right. Thumbs up to that, I say.

Please link to "I'm Goin' to the YMCA!" (4).

Photos GH

"I'm Goin' to the YMCA!" (4).

Don't Break a Leg.

[Photo: The sun goes down on 2018]

I enter 2019 with an emphasis on RUNNIN on the treadmill. WALKN is coming in second place.

My philosophy related to running - after a 12-year-long hiatus from long distance racing - is close to the ground:

Run 4 - 5 times per week indoors. (I don't want to slip and fall down, not get up);

Increase stamina, strength, (development of) smooth stride, and speed gradually;

Don't push myself;

Don't break a leg.

Walking to and from the YMCA is the norm.

I've visited the YMCA 45 times in two months and have nicely transitioned from a diet of walk/runs (a combination of walking and running) to short, steady runs in the 2 - 5 mile range... without a foot falling off or a leg break. Smooth move, Ex-Lax, I say.

 December 11. 31st visit to YMCA. A nice 3-miler.

 December 19. 37th trip to YMCA. A smooth 4-miler. Weight (WT) fluctuates.

December 23 and 30 (lower left). 4.5- and 5.0-mile runs. Steady Eddie.

The year 2018 ended on a positive note:

I finished an easy 3.25-mile run without a hitch;

My push-up, sit-up and weight routine reached 4,825 reps before the sun set;

What does this mean? Push-ups, sit-ups, and 7 different weight routines.

(25 reps each, per session).

Some of my stats are on the upswing;

Reading from L-R on the bottom line: I got out the door 25 out of 31 days in December (80.65% of the days; 6-month average is 81%); I covered 182.75 miles, the highest total in 3 years; the last 6-month average is 149.4 miles; I covered an average of 7.31 miles during a workout in December; my 6-month average per workout is 6.03 miles; my 10-week average for "miles covered" is on the rise (up to 39.025 miles per week), now that I'm going to the YMCA. 

Finally, svelteness is within my reach. : )

So, 2019 begins... with a 6-mile walk.

 Will 2019 go swimmingly?

The New Blackfriars Bridge!

More to follow.

Please link to "I'm Goin' to the YMCA!" (3).

Photos GH