Run for Your Life

I had a great gym outing yesterday.  I started out on the treadmill at 5.5mph.  After 5 minutes I pushed it up to 6mph.  It was a challenge, I definitely felt like I was running, but I kept at it.  I wanted to finish with an average of 6mph so I knew I'd have to go up to 6.5 for at least 5 minutes in all.  So at minute 16 I started doing 1 minute intervals at 6.5 alternating with one minute at 6. I kept that up for a few cycles and then needed to stay at 6 for a while longer.  During the last 1.5 minutes I went all out, running at 6.5 the whole time, hoping it would get my average up to 6mph and it did!  Ten seconds before I hit the 25 minute mark.  I wanted to throw my arms up as if I was crossing a big finish line!

After the high-pressure run I went to do back/biceps/core work.  I had a good workout all around except I ran out of time and couldn't stretch.  Ugh, after the hard run I really needed to stretch.  I did it later at home but it's never the same as right after you're done.  My right calf tightened up after dinner.  I've been getting calf cramps in the morning and I know not stretching doesn't help.  As an aside, I'm now thinking my morning headaches might be related to allergies.  In any case they've settled down, now getting them once a week or so.

So I don't know how much you follow the news on fitness research but an article about how much longer runners live than non-runners got my attention.  The New York Times Moderation as the Sweet Spot for Exercise article basically says that runners see an extension of life by 6.2 years for men and 5.6 for women.  But you only have to run 1-2.5 hours per week running at a "slow or average pace" (10 - 11 minute miles) to get the benefit.  Going over 20 miles a week or running faster than 7mph is when you start to see diminishing returns.  I'm doing some serious paraphrasing here so if you want the full scoop, read the article.  But the gist of the message is great news for the time crunched like myself - just get 2-3 30 minute runs in every week and you're golden - at least for an additional 5.6 years.  I have a feeling 5 years, at least 5 years with decent quality of life, will be very important to me when I'm getting close to the big finish line in the sky.

I'm so glad today is Friday.  Day one of my Weight Watchers week, a fresh start.  I gained 1 pound over my last weigh-in two weeks ago.  SO glad I took a pass on weighing myself last week.  That would have been painful.  Anyway, one pound I can live with - at least until I lose it.  By the way, that picture is my breakfast this morning.  Kashi GoLean with cinnamon sprinkled on it and 1% milk.  I do the "calorie watchers" portion of 3/4 of a cup of cereal (39 grams) with a 1/2 cup of milk.
 
My WW meeting was good, we had a stand-in leader and she was fun.  She'd periodically made these motivational statements such as, "You're here for you!" and almost shout them.  It was funny and fun.  The other fun thing was I wore a skirt and t-shirt with cute sandals to work today.  One pound up but I felt trim and fit, so take that you measly one pound!

My gym visit today was rushed but good.  Miguel is home with the kids on Fridays so I scheduled a massage for after the gym.  Except I left work a little late so I was rushed to make it to the massage on time.  I did 25 minutes on the upright bike.  Finally I had a level 7 ride that didn't kick my ass.  After the bike I did legs/shoulders/core work.  I was flying around that gym like mad.

Then I went for my massage.  I asked the guy for a sports massage and to focus on my shoulders.  Boy did he!  Ouch!  And he did some other sports massagey stuff that included stretching.  It wasn't as relaxing as a normal massage but maybe it was better for my muscles?  I don't know, we'll see.  My calf muscle still feels like it wants to cramp up at any moment and my shoulders still hurt but it was only one massage, I didn't expect it to cure me.