Cheerful Curmudgeon

It does not seem like a month since I started running but, sure enough, I wrote Now I’m a Runner back on July 20. This week I am up to running five minutes then walking five minutes (repeated three times, for a total of 30 minutes). A month ago, I could not have run for five minutes, let alone 15 minutes out of a 30 minute span. In a few more weeks, I should be up to jogging 30 minutes non-stop. That will be a first for me.

I spent yesterday at the airport, washing and waxing the plane with David’s help. It was hot, hard work but we got it done. We then verified that reduced air friction from the smoother paint truly does improve performance; the glistening plane is at least 5 knots faster while parked in the hangar. I woke up this morning with my body tired and achy. After all that work yesterday, I figured that I would take it easy and skip my usual Monday run. Imagine my surprise when 7:00am rolled around and I found that I wanted to get outside and at least walk for half an hour or so. Heck, it was just 68° outside; I could not waste a cool morning. I was doubly surprised when I had walked to the point where I usually being to run and I felt like running, not walking, so I did. The half hour run/walk felt great. A year ago, I never would have imagined that I would actually be looking forward to my next chance to get outside and run.

I had my annual physical exam last week and got the best surprise of the day came late this afternoon when I called the doctor’s office to learn the results of the blood tests. Not only was everything “OK” but my cholesterol numbers have continued to drop. When I started walking in May 2009, I was taking both Zetia and Lipitor to keep my cholesterol under control. The walking and weight loss helped enough that I was able to drop the Zetia on February 8. This afternoon, my doctor agreed that I can drop the Lipitor as well. I will do another blood test in six weeks to confirm that my numbers stay within the desired limits but I have high hopes.

I guess all this running and walking is good for me after all. I had my annual physical today and learned that my resting pulse rate is down to 50.

The new hybrid cars like the Ford Fusion shut their engines down completely at stop signs. I wonder if I can do that, too.

Hamstring stretch

I got there! When I first started running and stretching, I started doing the canonical hamstring stretch after each run. Close your eyes and picture, if you will, graceful and youthful me lithely stretching toward my oh so distant toes and failing miserably to achieve that oh so distant goal. My fingertips lingered in mid-air somewhere past my knee; you could even have imagined them at mid-calf if you had been generously inclined.

But today, ah joyous morning, I was able to reach my toes with both hands for the first time. Photo attached. Whoo hoo!

I have been running for two minutes and then walking for eight (repeating for a total of 30 minutes). Next week, I advance to run three, walk seven.

I ran again, yesterday; third time this week. All is still going well. I can sure feel the workout in various parts of my body but no pain, just aches from working parts of me that have not worked since dirt was new. This one was longer. I ran/walked for most of an hour and determined that downhill is still easier than uphill.

Having done this for a week, I know that I can continue with the program, that I will not need to drop back to solely walking. So, here is my first goal: to be able to run comfortably for 30 minutes. I am nowhere near that yet; running 1 minute then walking 1 minute is still tough but give me a few weeks. I’ll get there.

Lesson for the day: If I am sweating, I am working hard. If I am sweating like a pig and water is pouring down my arms and off my hands faster than it flows out of my garden hose then I am running in St. Louis on a summer morning. Gotta love this weather!

I ran again this morning. All is good with no aches or pains. (And if you believe that, I have this bridge to sell you….) Seriously, I am a little sore and can definitely feel parts of me which do not “normally” make themselves felt but nothing extreme.

I am alternating between jogging for one minute and walking for one minute. I will build up slowly, as advised by everyone I talk to any everything that I read. Next week will involve a LOT of walking, since I am headed to AirVenture, but I plan to take my running shoes and keep on track with my new hobby, too.

As for technology, JogStats on the Palm Pre is my friend.

Lesson for the day: downhill is easier!

I’ve been walking almost daily for over a year and recently got to thinking about running, which I have never done. As a kid, I was always too chunky. As an adult, I have neither been in good enough shape nor have I had the motivation to get in shape. For the first time, I am close enough to give it a try.  I think, more than anything else, I am intrigued by the thought of being able to do something that I could never do before.

On advice of a friend (and several books and web sites), I realized that I needed good shoes and headed over to Fleet Street Sports, the local athletic cobbler. (I suppose that “cobbler” is not quite right, since they do not actually make any shoes, but this is probably the only chance that I will have to use “cobbler” in a sentence.) Jason fitted me out with a pair of ASICS GT-2150 shoes, a pair of inserts with modest arch support, and some truly weird socks. I took the socks because my friend said that I should and I had read the same thing in a few other places. I figured they could not possibly be worth the big bucks but was willing to suspend disbelief for one run and give them a try.

The verdict: The shoes are possibly the most comfortable things I have ever worn on my feet. And my socks and feet were dry after a “test run/walk” of 35 minutes, which was quite the contrast from the rest of me which was clad in drenched cotton.

Thoroughly convinced of the value of “technical” clothing, I visited the local athletic haberdashery for new duds. My son laughed out loud when I told him that I had bought Spandex clothes!

As for the run, I managed 2.2 miles. Not bad for my first go at running and my second workout of the day.

I have been walking regularly for over a year and have lost almost 30 pounds. Now I want to start running and the calcified structure within my skull nudged me and suggested that a little research might be in order before I hit the pavement. I checked the library and discovered that the authority record for grey beards in my age bracket is Running for the aged.

"Running for the Aged" Library of Congress subject authority record

Aged?!?! Me? Hope springs eternal, though. At the Library of Congress, hope takes the form of the “see: Running for older people” line. I was sure that if I checked that record, it would unequivocally exclude me.

"Running for older people" Library of Congress subject authority record

Sadly, it unequivocally includes me. But on the bright side, I now have it on two of the best authorities in the world, the US Congress and the US Congress’ library, that I am officially aged. Wisdom must certainly arrive soon.

St. Charles County, MO, will try to ban bicyclists from using some state highways, as reported in the Suburban Journals, Bill would ban bicycles from some highways in St. Charles County. How wrong can you get? In the year 2010, amidst all the hue and cry about poor health, obesity, and greenhouse gases from automobiles, Councilman Joe Brazil, R-District 2 is seriously  proposing that,

The bicyclists need to stay on the trails that were made for bikes and off the roads in southwest St. Charles County.

Why, Joe?

I get more complaints about this single issue than any other issue. The speed limit is 55 mph. You come around a corner and there are two bikes in your lane. You can’t pass them, and it becomes a hazard.

This sounds like an opportunity for education on sharing the road and respecting all persons’ rights to use the roads within the limits of the law. 55 mph is the speed limit; there are no minimum speeds on the proposed county roads. It is perfectly legal to drive a car or ride a motorcycle at 15-20 mph; so why ban bicycles? If you are in a car behind two bikes, or any kind of slow vehicle, I would hope that a polite toot of the horn or flash of the headlights would encourage the slower vehicle to move over and let you by.

We live in the 21st century, Joe. Segregation is “out.” Coexistence and cooperation are “in.” There is plenty of room for all of us here in St. Charles County. Won’t you join us?

If you live in St. Charles County, I encourage you to contact your council representative.

The chemical 2,4-D is a primary ingredient in many common home-use herbicides and I always figured that it must be safe. This morning, I was disturbed to find this on OSHA’s Occupational Safety and Health Guideline for 2,4-D (DICHLOROPHENOXYACETIC ACID):

Personal Hygiene Procedures

If 2,4-D contacts the skin, workers should immediately wash the affected areas with soap and water.

Clothing contaminated with 2,4-D should be removed immediately, and provisions should be made for the safe removal of the chemical from the clothing. Persons laundering the clothes should be informed of the hazardous properties of 2,4-D, particularly its potential for causing irritation and central nervous system effects.

A worker who handles 2,4-D should thoroughly wash hands, forearms, and face with soap and water before eating, using tobacco products, using toilet facilities, applying cosmetics, or taking medication.

Workers should not eat, drink, use tobacco products, apply cosmetics, or take medication in areas where 2,4-D or a solution containing 2,4-D is handled, processed, or stored.

and the following (in which I have added my own emphasis)

Effects on Humans: Human exposure to 2,4-D has been associated with central and peripheral nervous system effects, liver and kidney damage, and death [NLM 1995; Hathaway et al. 1991; ACGIH 1991]. Several case control studies of soft-tissue sarcoma and lymphoma have suggested an increased risk among workers exposed to phenoxyacetic acid herbicides, including 2,4-D. However, IARC deems the evidence of 2,4-D’s carcinogenicity in humans inadequate, and other studies have failed to confirm an increased incidence of malignancy in workers using such herbicides [Hathaway et al. 1991]. Workers employed in the manufacture of 2,4-D and 2,4,5,-T had a significantly increased frequency of slowed nerve conduction [Hathaway et al. 1991]. A farming student committed suicide by ingesting at least 6.5 grams of 2,4-D. Violent convulsions preceded death, but no significant autopsy findings were noted [Hathaway et al. 1991]. One terminal patient with disseminated coccidiomycosis was administered 2,4-D intravenously for 19 doses. Central nervous system depression and peripheral neuropathology followed this treatment. 2,4-D is mutagenic in human test systems [NIOSH 1995].

Sure… I want that stuff around my family, friends and neighbors.

2,4-D can be found in lawn herbicide mixtures such as “Weed B Gon MAX”, “PAR III”, “Trillion”, “Tri-Kil”, “Killex” and “Weedaway Premium 3-Way XP Turf Herbicide.” If you use herbicides on your lawn, check the label and take appropriate precautions. Be safe.

I just read a shocking article in the paper about a newly available intoxicant. It starts on the front page and continues for almost the entirety of page A8. That’s a lot of words for our local rag. Here are a few quotes so you can understand why so many people are concerned:

The clerk at the… shop called it a “slow night” Thursday but a steady stream of customer filed in to purchase [it]…. During one hour, 16 people purchased [it].

and

One of the customers Thursday night was Jeff Jacobs, a 50-year-old former Chrysler worker from Afton.

and

[Tom Neer, St. Charles County Sheriff,] said some people report it gives them a high, while others say it makes them dizzy or gives them a headache. “I have a concern about the product if it is determined that it can alter a person’s senses,” Neer said. “You get someone using it behind the wheel and it impairs their driving. Certainly, I’m concerned about it.”

Sounds like alcohol, no?

The article continues:

State Rep. Ward Frans, R-151st District, sponsored a bill that would place [it] on the state’s list of controlled substances. Possession would become a felony, Franz said.

Well it sure can’t be alcohol if the state is about to outlaw it.

But what’s going on here? Someone comes up with a new intoxicant and our government’s response is to make it illegal. The effects sound just like alcohol, which is legal. Is our government protecting us from a dangerous drug or from the need to take personal responsibility for what we put into our bodies? Is our government shielding us from the responsibility for our actions, regardless of what we put into our bodies?

What are the criteria for deciding to create another law? When was the last time that anyone, anywhere examined those criteria and held a frank discussion on whether or not our society is well served by them?