UPDATE ON "BAREFOOT" RUNNING

Enough time has gone by for me to formulate an opinion on the barefoot running craze that seems to be taking over. Every day, I am seeing more and more Internet articles on the phenomenon, as well as facebook entries, since Vibrams is my "friend" on facebook. More and more events are popping up as well.

As a reminder, when I first started this type of training, it was truly barefoot, while on vacation in the Dominican Republic. The beach there offered the best possible chance to start this, but for me it didn't go quite as well as I would have liked initially. I pulled something on the top of one foot that led to some pain and discomfort running for a few weeks, to the point where I was afraid at first I had a stress fracture. But fortunately, that wasn't it.

My feet were decidedly weak in that I have been running with orthotics or custom made inserts for most of my running years of 22 years now, as well as shoes designed to correct anything that seemed to be a problem for me. Initially, I started out with just the basic running shoe, no frills, no arch support, no motion control, no stability, nothing. I pretty much didn't have any problems other than a stress fracture from running too much in the beginning, and that led to seeing an orthopedist who recommended orthotics for the first time.

Then and now, orthotics were horribly expensive, and at that time while I did buy orthotics, it was a huge stretch of my budget to do so. And the type recommended for me at that time were made out of a cork-like material. I assumed they would last forever, so was terribly surprised and disappointed when after only 6 months they no longer gave me the cushioning or responsiveness I needed or was expecting, and found out later that 6 months truly was the life of that type of orthotic. The end result with wearing those longer than they were designed to accommodate was severe hamstring strains. So while one injury healed, another formed.

Because I could not afford another pair of orthotics any time soon, I sought to correct my supposed biomechanical deficiencies with shoes designed to correct overpronation, which I was told I had, which I didn't. As you can imagine, that led to other aches and pains cropping up. Everything was blamed on just running itself, and while that was likely part of the whole injury equation, it wasn't the entire cause. Needless to say, I spent years trying to figure out what kind of shoe I needed, eventually settling on Brooks Adrenaline, along with custom made inserts. I thought I had the problems solved, but basically my body/feet just adapted to the shoes and inserts.

Anyway, fast forward to now and the attempt to run barefoot. While it didn't entirely work with me to go completely barefoot then, I did end up buying the Nike Free 5.0 shoes. These are the Nike brand of barefoot running type shoe.

So here's my take on these: I love them. Going back and forth with these and my old favorites, these have become the clear winner in shoe of choice. The uppers are as soft as a slipper, and wearing them they are the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn. The soles have flex grooves from toe to heel, so even with some slight overpronation problem, the shoe allows natural movement without restriction. I still have some instability issues in my ankles, but I'm positive that comes from babying my feet for so many years. All the info suggests with time the bones and ligaments will adjust to this type of running.

After years and years of searching, I thought I had found my perfect shoe, which until now I had. But clearly this barefoot concept has benefited me more than hurt me, and its going to be really difficult going back to my old shoes, if I ever do. Which leads me to say:

For sale. New, never taken out of the box, Brooks Adrenaline shoes, size 10.5.

WELL, THAT DIDN'T LAST LONG!

That feeling of being unfocused, unmotivated. Who knew it would only take the click of the "submit" button to get me out of my funk? Part of it was having the right event come along, which it did, in the form of an email from a fellow triathlete turned race director.

Its the Double Time triathlon. A sprint tri with an added twist of doing it twice. Once you finish the run, you hop in the water and start all over again.

I did one of these many years ago, similar distances, so its not as hard as it sounds. Other than once you get back in the water you don't want to get out again. But it is a new event, being capped at 250 people, and so I thought why not?

Already, my workouts have taken on the feeling of training. Now the workouts are for a purpose other than fitness.

Another purpose to my workouts is to put some quality into them, instead of just going through the motions as a means to an end. I'm quite capable of running, biking, or swimming endlessly, but the purpose of those types of workouts was to not blow up. Now I am pushing myself harder to see how far I can get before I blow up and then planning on working from that.

And I've complained forever about not being faster or being able to get faster on the bike. Yesterday I did two things different. First, we raised my bike seat just slightly, maybe a 1/4 inch raise. I've been bothered from aching knees since late last season, and then all through my race last year. I figured it was an accumulation of all the biking workouts I had done for months, but it continued to plague me this season as well, even after a long break from road biking. Since it didn't happen on my spin bike, only on my road bike, I knew something had to be changed there. What I noticed mainly was I just felt like I was sitting too low and using my quads for pedaling instead of the entire leg. Who knew just that small increase would make such a difference!

Second, once I could see my pace better than the last probably 20 bike rides I have been on, without much more effort, I started pushing the pace somewhat. This is huge for me, as what is a hard pace for me is just a cruising pace for most others. Still, I found myself overall for the 24.2 mile bike ride with an increased speed of .7 mph faster. Not huge but for me it was a breakthrough. I am hoping this continues, and the hard effort was not impossible. And this was even without bike shoes that I forgot!

So maybe all these factors are encouraging to me to get out of my comfort zone and see if I can bring back some of the thrill that goes along with a race, something I have felt severely lacking for a long, long time.

UNFOCUSED

IT MIGHT BE FANTASY, BUT I’D RATHER BE ON VACATION


I am having a very hard time this year getting focused on what races I want to do this year because I’m thinking a little part of me wants to do none. And that for me is a first in over 20 years. For the first time since I started running back in 1988, I do not have a full year agenda for running or triathlons.

Part of it is, I am sure, all the mandatory training I did last year. And while some of the benefits of that should have carried over to the new year, the motivational part did not. Its not that I’m not motivated to stay in shape or work out. Its just that I do not have a goal race or races I am working towards. I’ve reached all my athletic goals except qualifying for Boston, but I’m not sure that will ever happen. I’m okay with that mostly, but a small part of me feels guilty too, like I should be using all that newly acquired iron power to excel over last year.

But I’ve also reached a different stage in my life, to a point where I want to enjoy each day and not feel pressured to train just because I hastily signed up for a race that I probably wanted to do but wished I didn’t have to specifically train for.

Its truly hard to break old habits, especially ones that have been over 20 years in the making, so I still work out most days—now because I want to. I enjoy the brief encounters on Facebook also, meaning I can still keep up with everyone’s accomplishments on a regular basis but am not necessarily compelled to blog about my daily routine.

Last week, on vacation in Florida, I couldn’t help realize how much I really enjoyed being on vacation, being in the great weather and sunshine, having a laid back routine with no set agenda until getting up for the day. And I certainly couldn’t help enjoy being away from work that for the past few months has offered me absolutely no stimulation. Due to a lot of changes around here, my daily work routine consists of either scrambling for work to keep busy or waiting for someone to give me something to do. There is no longer that daily list of tasks to be performed or ongoing projects to look forward to, so the days drag into endless tedium. And that certainly does nothing for my mood during the work day and leaves me with little to no motivation toward the job, as well as the constant fear of not having a job, like so many others recently. These days, its like being between a rock and a hard place when you don’t like your job, because on the one hand you can’t just quit because here in Michigan especially there is little to nothing out there, and if there is its not going to pay what I make now, and wanting to try something new but being fearful because of being low person on the totem pole.

Instead of getting up at 5 am to work out because of the need to fit everything into a day, my workout times have occurred a lot of times during lunch hour because it’s a way to shorten the work day, or after work with Don, who is now running regularly again and I know its me who keeps him motivated there, so I hate to not organize my day for noon or after work runs.

So I continue to mull over what the rest of my year will be regarding racing. Right now, since my one unreached goal is Boston, I really feel I need to give myself this year to work on my running more and see where I am at the end of the summer or maybe mid September and stop torturing myself looking at races I am not that inclined to do. Its like window shopping though, because I enjoy looking at different races, venues, courses, etc. and dreaming of being at that particular race but then not registering for anything.

Part of me here too is not being ready to quite push myself to the level I want to be at. Because I know I’m not there yet and don’t want to be totally disappointed that I’m not. But another part of me wants to get out there and just do something to see how I do. Ambiguous, I know, but that’s how I’m feeling right now.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

WHERE IN THE WORLD AM I? CATCHING UP

I haven’t had much to say lately, so have been lax in updating my blog. Unlike last year, when I was spending countless hours training and when I had lots of time to think of things to say, this year my training has taken a new focus, at least for a while. Shorter, more intense workouts, usually done after work, and usually with someone or at least doing the same workouts on the track.

I do like track running, and I do like running faster. I finally gave up all hope of ever seeing a decent 5k time last year training long slow distance all the time, but now have been actively working on making a comeback, so to speak. Its been a struggle, but the legs are starting to come around. Having Don to run with again has helped tremendously.

Also, working out in the evenings or lunch hours makes a huge difference in my “free” time away from the job. Not having to get up at 5 am or earlier most days, I am enjoying the luxury of sleeping in—until at least 6:30 some days!—eating breakfast at home, and not having to pack a steamer trunk of food and workout clothes every day and haul that to work with me in the wee hours of the morning.

Weekends here haven’t been conducive to many outside bike rides either, with rainy and windy weekends nearly every week, making me glad once again of not needing to get those long bike rides in. Instead, we have invested in spin bikes, so that has also been an alternate way to work out, in the evening, at home, again eliminating the need to get up at o’dark thirty for those morning spin workouts. There’s no place like home.

I have also been experimenting with cooking and different ways to eat, often spending hours scouring recipes, reading info about, specifically, the wonders of coconut oil, and many recipes relating to its use. It was something I needed to acquire a taste for, and now use it in practically everything I eat, as well as using it on my skin. In the process of learning about coconut products, I am experimenting with gluten free cooking as well. Not that I have known problem with gluten, but going without it hasn’t hurt me at all either.

On the job front, as with many employers, cutbacks and job restructuring has found its way into my life, and the work I was doing in past years has literally either dried up or shifted elsewhere, leaving me in a constant state of boredom and/or scrambling for work, with not much prospect of a change any time soon, if ever. This is a law firm. We will always have work. But the way we are handling it now has totally changed, due mostly to economic conditions of our clients. Looking elsewhere is a hard decision even if there was an abundance of choices, because of the years spent on the job here and the benefits either earned or acquired. That in and of itself makes it hard to go elsewhere at this stage in my life. But I am always open to reinventing myself if necessary.

And then there has been the almost constant problem with my laptop computer, with one problem or another needing to be fixed in order to just use it. I have just recently gotten that fixed again, but in the process nearly everything I had stored was wiped out, so I need to start rebuilding all those favorites I have acquired in the last three years. Windows Vista? Don’t go there.

What races I will do this year and in the future still have not formulated in my mind or found their way on paper. Not only can I not decide what I want to do, I seem to be questioning the need to do some things based on cost and travel expenses involved in that process. I am not so quick to click the “submit” button without taking into account the cost of the race, the need for travel, and how much all that will cost, making me far more selective than any time in my life. I used to run a race every other weekend and not bat an eye at the cost, even in my poorest days, because I had such a need to compete and that was truly my only outlet or entertainment for many years. Now I am also weighing the time needed for training against the rest of my life, so that’s also a factor in making me think twice about the next event.

Then there's Facebook, which has allowed me, thankfully, to catch up on everyone quickly without the need to wait for the old dinosaur PC to awaken from its coma so I can read blogs--not that I don't like reading, just haven't been able to spend much time doing that and have lost all the links on my laptop.

And family life has always been busy and hectic so no need to recap on that. The fact that I can actually participate this year is almost a novelty after cutting myself off from the everyday things last year due to training and job responsibilities.

Coming up: a trip to Florida with my daughter and her kids. We likely won’t be hitting all the theme parks (thank God!) because we’ve been there, done that before, but are looking for relaxation and some unique things to do, like a manatee cruise? Or Gatorland for the boys? Probably at least Sea World, but other than that, spending time together.

Happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there! I will try to post pics from Florida (if the laptop holds out!) and maybe will have some time for updating also. See you all soon.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

BAREFOOT RUNNING

Another thing I’ve been doing for the past few weeks is getting into “barefoot” running. For me, that hasn't exactly meant totally barefoot, but it has meant running in a less structured shoe. There are a few models out there right now, and most shoe brands have something they are either working on or are already being sold.

The barefoot running idea started for me when we were in Dominican Republic and were able to run on the beach. I didn’t even think of going barefoot, but Don said why not? However, klutz that I am, that idea only lasted a couple of days for me. Somehow, I did something to my foot that reminded me of about ½ turn less than a full sprain. The pain was mostly on the top of the foot near the ankle, but really no swelling or bruising, just soreness and later stiffness. Not having shoes on when this happened, however, I feel was less traumatic than having shoes on, since I have sprained my ankle or turned it pretty hard enough times that I know how it feels. And the fact that I can’t recall at all when it happened makes me think I was lucky this time.

You may be thinking too that it wasn’t very smart to be going barefoot, and maybe for me this is partially true, since I rarely, if ever, go barefoot, making my feet fairly sensitive to anything other than shoes or if with running shoes something with custom made insoles besides.

But that really was the only problem I encountered and as I said it appears the injury was much less traumatic than had I been wearing shoes.

When we got back from the trip, wearing shoes was really weird again. And Don had a hard time readjusting, since for the past couple of years he has had a lot of problems with Achilles since rupturing the tendon, and has been unable to run much, if at all most of the time. However, running barefoot for him posed absolutely no problem whatsoever and in fact he progressed quite rapidly over the week we did it, pulling away from me with no effort. (That more than likely was due to my foot stiffness and inability to push off, so that's my excuse.)

Of course that meant he would go right out and buy Vibrams because that’s how he is. They are weird looking to be sure, but he loves them. I decided after a week or so that I really needed to get something lighter and maybe less structured with the hope that my ankle/foot would clear up faster, since even walking with my regular running shoes was uncomfortable. The shoes felt restrictive, that’s about the only way to describe them, after running barefoot for almost a week.

There was also another new shoe on the market, the Nike Free 5.0, which after comparing both the Vibram and the Nike Free, I chose the Nike Free.

And free it is. Free from the heaviness and restrictiveness of regular running shoes. They are made to resemble almost barefoot running, definitely a step up from racing flats, yet lightweight and very comfortable. They do not accommodate my custom orthotics, but that would probably be contrary to the barefoot feeling if I continued to load these shoes up with all the paraphernalia I have been using.

And the barefoot running craze is here for now at least. If you haven’t read the pros and cons on this idea, here is a link so you can get more information and form your own conclusions.

Obviously, these shoes are not intended for running marathons, or any long distances in fact, unless you really have adjusted to them for a long time, and even then I can’t make a recommendation. What I do know is that for the distances I have been forced to run lately because of the foot problem (which is almost healed up by the way), they are quite adequate and I’m sure being able to do some running has been better than none, and doing the PACE workouts has not required more than 30-35 min. of running at any one time either. How they feel are light and as comfortable as a pair of slippers. And I can finally wear some of my cute "Sock Guy" socks I have either bought or gotten from races that I haven't been able to wear with my regular shoes and orthotics because they were too thin.

And the bright pink is an attention getter. I could almost swear they glowed in the dark.

WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO

I know I hinted at a new way of thinking and working out, at least for me, and at least for now. After a full year of training for IM last year, I really needed to take a step back, and a look ahead, to decide what I wanted to do for this year.

At first, I had a lot of lofty ideas, as I think is typical after every monumental physical event we challenge ourselves to accomplish. Suddenly, we think we can do anything, and maybe some can. After a few months of struggling with illness, headaches, and just a general inability to get back in the groove of training for anything specific, I started looking for answers on how to turn things around.

One of the ideas that I kept finding over and over was the fact that maybe all that long endurance training wasn't exactly beneficial to my health. I wasn't sleeping good. I wasn't losing any weight, despite training 12-15 hours a week, and in fact gained some, and many sources indicated this was normal but yet not normal.

So really then, what was the answer? How could I get back to feeling and looking good again? Was there life after Ironman?

One of the sources I read was Rediscover Your Native Fitness--Pace, by Al Sears, MD. I could relate to a lot of things I read, and so far I have not found any resources about this man that indicate he is a quack. I'm not saying I agree with everything he says about fitness, but a lot of what I read made sense for me. The philosophy he teaches is that we are not made to be doing long, steady state endurance workouts, and in fact they may be detrimental to long life.

My heart wanted to say, how can that be? But my mind, and common sense, started making me really wonder. Take for example this quote:

"We in the modern West are out of condition but in a different way than most people think. To complicate matters, without an understanding of the cause of the problem, pundits have advocated the wrong solutions. We can divide the most popular modern exercise advice into
three categories:

1) “Cardio”
2) Weight training and
3) Aerobics.
All three are simply wrong and ineffective. Practice these misconceived notions long enough and they will further rob you of the native fitness you were built to enjoy."

So what did he mean by this? In his words: "Routinely forcing your body to perform the same continuous cardiovascular challenge, by repeating the same movement, at the same rate, thousands of times over, without variation, and without rest, is unnatural. This type of demand could have occurred rarely, but not in the daily environment of native societies in balance with their surroundings." And "Forced, continuous, endurance exercise induces your heart
and lungs to 'downsize' because smaller allows you to go further… more efficiently… with less rest… and less fuel."

Since what we have been trained to believe--as an example the LSD theory "long slow distance" was the best way to train ourselves to run marathons or do Ironman distance races, or even shorter, it has become a popular fitness craze. We all think we are doing something "healthy" for ourselves, when, according to many sources I have read recently, quite the opposite is true.

Take for example the recent (and not so recent) deaths of "conditioned" runners at marathons and even half marathons. Or maybe one of the more well known "advocates" of long endurance running, Jim Fixx, the popular 70s fitness guru. Fixx claimed that the secret to heart health and long life was endurance running – up until he died of a heart attack – while running.

Sears goes on to say: "Heart attacks don’t occur because of a lack of endurance. They occur when there is a sudden increase in cardiac demand that exceeds your heart’s capacity. Giving up your heart’s reserve capacity to adapt to unnatural bouts of continuous prolonged duration only increases your risk of sudden cardiac death. A ground-breaking study of long-distance runners showed that after a workout, the blood levels and oxidation of LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglycerides increased. They also found that prolonged running disrupted the balance
of blood thinners and thickeners, elevating inflammatory factors and clotting levels – both signs of heart distress."

"And it’s bad for your bones too. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found that long-distance runners had reduced bone mass. This is
true for both men and women – although women had an increased risk for osteoporosis as well.
Long-duration exercisers showed signs of heart distress, increased LDL, cholesterol & triglycerides, increased oxidation of cholesterol, elevated clotting & inflammation factors,
loss of bone density and increased risk of osteoporosis."

I could go on and on, and it wasn't just this author who caught my attention. There were several others.

The dilemma here, of course, is that's what we all do and have been doing for years, either because we like doing races which then require us to train to complete these races, or we feel--and have been led to believe--it is the healthy thing to do for our hearts and longevity.

Things that have disturbed me in the past couple of years which have led me to wonder about all this endurance training and what benefits it really produce were the fact that so many people in my own personal experience who have been long distance runners for many years or multiple time Ironman finishers were starting to get debilitating or even fatal diseases.

How can this be when we all of this has practically guaranteed we would be exempt from the everyday diseases that afflict the population NOT exercising? Take for example these people that come quickly to my mind: a multiple Ironman finisher (and record holder at a couple of the IM races) dies from brain cancer; 5 men develop prostate cancer; others develop seizures and thyroid disease; and then there are all the degenerative problems many face as they have aged; and many more stories. These are just people I know!

From my own personal standpoint, I have been running for over 20 years. I have mild osteoporosis. Seems odd, since I always have taken calcium supplements, and more importantly have been running which supposedly helped with bone density. To be fair, I do have dense bones in most areas, but there are a few which show signs of degeneration. That too, to be fair, can be hereditary and age related, but it does make me wonder. What disturbed me most, however, was my inability since IM to lose ANY weight and was feeling frumpy if that's a good description. Running and biking more was not making any difference at all, and unless I "dieted" strictly--meaning no goodies, drinks, or even going out to eat, I would actually gain weight. And again, you're thinking maybe something is out of balance, or I had something medically going on that caused this. A checkup made no sense: blood pressure was up; cholesterol was up (but HDL was great), etc. Everything was bad in my estimation, bad for someone who had just gone through this enormous physical feat, bad for someone who "took care of" myself. So was this the problem?

I know, you could say the odds were in their and my favor that we all will get some sort of disease in our lifetime, but isn't that what we are hoping to avoid with all this exercise? Don't we all think we will be the lucky ones to escape these modern day afflictions?

I was confused and deflated.

Without going into a lot more detail, and if you are still following along, here is what I have been doing for the past 5 weeks, and which I said I would report on after enough time had passed for me to make some definite conclusions.

I have been following the PACE program, which is basically shorter burts of high intensity exertion followed by equal or longer segments of recovery. I started out quite simply with a 1 minute exertion followed by a 1 minute rest, doing 10 repetitions, for a total of 20 minutes. I wore my heart rate monitor to follow my progress. That was week 1 and 2. I didn't do a whole lot else those weeks either. Week 3 was on vacation and having a little more time and being rested I changed the routine to 3 minutes of exertion followed by 2 minutes of recovery, 2 exertion, 2 recovery, etc. down to 2 final sprints of 30 and 20 seconds, with recovery between. Week 4 was the same.

Week 5 I started doing some bike routines as well and some hills and track work. Week 6 I will do a mile time trial to see where I am at, and hopefully will see an faster mile time. But I am not just doing this to get faster. If that is a side effect, I'll take that too. I am trying to actually strengthen my heart and lungs and burn fat and get back into the shape I think I should be in.

After 5 weeks, I have dropped 10 pounds, have lost 3 inches on my waistline, am sleeping better, have better energy, and hopefully have gone down in body fat percentage, another bonus of shorter bursts of exertion. Its called the afterburn, which means fat burning after workouts rather than during, which hapens with steady state endurance exercise, and which, according to all sources I have been reading, causes the body to then produce more fat since it is confused into thinking that while you exercise it needs fat.

The controversy here is that if I want to continue to do long distance races, I either have to go back to the old way of endurance training or find an alternative way to accomplish this. So far, I am still searching for a new way of doing things. And I am not trying to sell anyone here on anything, just giving an opinion based on my own personal experiences and research. There still is nothing wrong with going for a run or bike ride because we enjoy it or even because we are training. But I do believe if I venture into more long distance races I will attempt to come up with some way to train that gets me not only better results for my finishing time but that leaves me in better shape than I am now. That's my bottom line.

ANOTHER ANNIVERSARY PASSES

Last year, I was too busy to acknowledge this day, yet it was not forgotten. It was a day six years ago that was one of those life altering events, probably the most traumatic, I can remember experiencing. Today, even after six years, it still brings tears to my eyes, and the forever question “Why?”

Six years ago, my son in law, David, took his own life. Why is always going to be a question that will never be answered. The hardest part, of course, is always wondering what we missed, what we might have done, why did it have to happen.

Suicide is something I believe that stays with those left behind forever. It changes everyone’s life who is touched by this tragedy. It leaves deep and long-lasting scars.

I remember as a kid a neighbor killed himself, and to this day I still wonder what became of the family. It was right across the street, within a 100 yards of where I lay sleeping, and yet no one heard a thing. Neighborhoods were close-knit back then. Everyone knew everyone and their business, yet we did not really know this man, just his wife and kids, and the memory of waking up to police, crowds of neighbors, and yellow tape around the garage where it happened still are fresh in my mind.

Just like hearing about David is still fresh in my mind. I think of that moment every time I drive through the area I was driving that day when I heard it from my son on my cell phone. It’s a wonder I didn’t have an accident. It was a moment when my heart and breathing stopped momentarily. It was the Thursday before Good Friday that year.

The days following were a painful blur to all of us. Arrangements had to be made, and that Sunday was Easter. It was the rare year when the weather that Easter was hot, humid, and sunny, and yet it was not enjoyed. I shunned my family’s get together. I could not face them with my emotions. And his children needed to be told and their questions answered.

Today, while the sadness is still there, there are also moments of anger at this selfish act. Is it ever that bad that one more day can make it worse? Is it so hopeless you cannot look into your sons’ eyes and see hope?

I don’t expect to ever understand, but hopefully will always remember to acknowledge this day even in some small way.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

BACK TO BLOGLAND

Time to catch up. I’ve been fairly negligent in keeping up with my blog the last few weeks. First there was my vacation in Dominican Republic. You’ll have to take my word on how lovely it was, since I hold in my hand the media card containing all my vacation pics and then some. These pictures are some from the web, but are so close to the real thing, no explanation is needed. The laptop has been rendered useless again, thus also resulting in getting so far behind on my blog; my home desktop does not have a new enough photo program to be able to download there, and now writing from my work computer, there is also no way to download any pics unless on a CD Rom, and I have so far been unable to either get somewhere to have this done or have forgotten every time I have been somewhere.

Back to the vacation. A week of tropical bliss. We stayed at the Barceló Bavaro Palace, an all inclusive resort. All inclusive is pretty much it there anyway because there isn’t anything even remotely close by outside of the resort area. I had also heard stories of it not being particularly safe out on the roads, if in fact I was considering running out on the roads. The resort itself was expansive enough to provide all the road surface I would want, but as it turned out, we chose to run almost daily on the beach instead. Barefoot on the beach, in fact. More on that later.

Of all the Carribbean vacations I have been on or beaches actually, this was probably the best. location, best beach, and best weather ever. It was also the most interesting place so far.

When we arrived at the resort, I was not prepared for the fact that there was no air conditioning in the hotel lobby. Getting off the plane still dressed for Michigan and wishing I had changed ahead of time, I was getting hot and cranky the longer it took to get to the hotel, only to then find the lobby just as warm and muggy as the airport. To be fair, I realize it was just not being acclimated, because as the days went on, I noticed the heat less and less. And it wasn’t an oppressive heat, as it might be later in the season or even like we sometimes get in Michigan, just heat with a nice breeze, and not that high of humidity. And the buildings are such that the roof material keeps out the sun completely and with huge ceiling fans, it really isn’t hot, just warmer than I was used to.

Being all inclusive, that meant all the food and drink you wanted. We decided to partake while waiting for our room to be ready, but one annoying factor of all inclusive is the few bars were always 4 or 5 people deep. Just getting water was an ordeal at times, but again, after a day or so we figured out how to beat some of that.

After getting to our rooms, I couldn’t wait to get out on the beach or by the pool. By this time, it was almost 4 pm and I knew it would be time for dinner soon, so wanted to soak up some sun and get in the water. Don was hot and tired and wanted to stay in the air conditioning for a while. As it turned out, the hotel rooms were the only place you could get any air conditioning. I decided to head down to the pool and then the beach instead.

It was a LONG walk to the pool, probably 1/3 of a mile, since we were in the farthest unit from the pool, another thing being hot and cranky only added to my irritation. Like I said, I really needed to get in the water!

The pool area had probably 150-200 chairs around the large pool area and the smaller areas, all linked together. And yet there wasn’t one chair available anywhere. I was again annoyed so got another drink and headed down to the beach, only to find the same story. Nowhere to sit. So I sat on one of the benches and finished my drink and then went into the water to cool off. I love the Carribbean waters, and this was very warm and clear.

Being a resort visited by many South Americans, Spanish was the main language spoken, and during the entire week, English was heard spoken rarely. So for me, there was a language barrier. I can read French and some Spanish, but cannot speak or understand much. Not only that, I was surprised to learn that going topless apparently is no big deal. I pretty much felt overdressed when wearing my one piece swim suit. I had brought a 2 piece, but wasn’t all that anxious to be photographed wearing it, so did so sparingly.

Also being all inclusive, the dining was mainly buffet. They did have a couple of restaurants, but they were always busy and there was a wait. With the buffet, we were able to eat when we wanted to. We did learn, however, that timing was everything. Get to breakfast around 8 a.m., and the pickings were slim and the place crowded. Yet showing up at 9:30, all the bins might be refilled and lots of seating available.

The food was slightly strange at times, and the descriptions not always understood, and some were even laughable. For example, at one of the breakfasts, they had a huge piece of meat, unrecognizable to me, with a sign: Pork’s leg. Hmm. Do I chance it? As it turned out, it was something tasting like ham, so it wasn’t so bad. They also had a lot of fish I couldn’t identify and didn’t know what it was, so after one bad experience, I avoided most of the fish altogether except the grilled salmon.

I couldn’t quite figure out the service people either. If you chose to seat yourself, which you were expected and required to do, you had a hard time getting anyone to wait on you, meaning bring water, coffee, or even silverware at times. But if you stood there acting dumb, someone would rush to your assistance and take you to a table near their station and you would get treated like royalty. Made no sense, since there wasn’t any tipping, and it was all serve yourself. They were right on the ball serving wine, however. Your glass barely went empty and they were right there to refill it, but try to get a refill on water or coffee and good luck. I only had one glass at a meal, since it was warm and I didn’t care for it. Don made the mistake one day however of letting them refill his glass at will and ended up drinking 10 glasses throughout the day! He didn’t do that again. Ice apparently was a hot commodity also, since I never got any with any water, and the bottled water was usually lukewarm to room temperature. We finally started taking it back to our room and refrigerating it or icing it down if we wanted it around the pool or beach.

One more thing about all inclusive was that all food had to be eaten in the dining rooms or restaurants, and none was for “take out.” This resulted in one noticeable plus: no food garbage at all on the beaches or left around the pool areas and thus no flies. You could take all the drinks you wanted to either place or even to your room, but generally unless you had some of your own snacks, there was no food seen eaten away from the eating areas. In fact, there was no place to buy any snacks either, and I saw no chips, candy, gum, etc. in any of the shops. Cigarettes, cigars, and liquor, yes. Food no. Very strange.

Now on to the barefoot running. I don’t know where we came up with that idea, but it sounded fun, and after checking out the beach area near the water and finding it relatively clean of any shells or debris, I decided to try it. Don was all gung ho about it, and after our first run, we couldn’t wait to do it again. We went at various times of the day but found that the late afternoon, around 4:30-5:30 was best because it actually started cooling off some then, there was a breeze, and the beach was less crowded. Early morning was the hottest and no breeze, although not many people on the beach either.

One thing I have to say is I rarely, if ever, go barefoot. Because of this, my feet are overly sensitive to just about anything: heat, cold, small pebbles, uneven sand or ground. I have babied my feet so much over the years, mainly due to all the foot injuries I have had, that I wasn’t sure how the barefoot thing would go. As it turned out, the first day was okay. The second my left foot hurt some. We skipped Wednesday because my foot was sore and we had done a lot of walking the day before and swimming every day as well. Thursday I decided to wear some beach shoes and see what happened, and my foot felt much better. But apparently I twisted the right foot somehow, and while it wasn’t bruised looking, it was bruised feeling. Friday I wore the shoes again anyway, and Saturday went without because they weren’t making it any better and running without wasn’t making it any worse. I also wanted the shoes to dry out before we left on Sunday, since I couldn’t totally avoid getting them wet.

So the take on barefoot running? Don did great and went so far as to buy a pair of the Vibrams once we got home. His pace has also speeded up considerably. I went back to wearing my regular shoes once back, and then my feet hurt FROM the shoes/orthotics, etc. I can’t win. Me? I probably should have eased into it more, but more on that later too.

All in all, the vacation was wonderful, the weather wonderful, the resort/beach wonderful. We spent the days on the beach or around the pool, and the evenings also around the pool, under the stars. The weather was always so good, it was warm even in the evenings. There was also this open air staging area where they had different shows and entertainment. The first couple of nights, we were still tired and didn’t stay for the adult entertainment. We found out, however, that the children’s entertainment, nearly the same thing every night, took place at 8 pm and lasted for about a half hour. That half hour got to be increasingly annoying, because we could not escape the music no matter where we sat! It was this clown doing all these various songs in Spanish obviously, with kids on the stage joining in and dancing to the songs. The songs were exactly the same every night, to the point where you would hear them in your sleep. One was the Chicken Dance, night after night after night.

The adult entertainment at least varied, but one of the popular events was karaoke and Don got caught up in that. Parts of songs were played and audience members had to guess the song. If they guessed, they had to go on stage. I guessed several to the two of us, but refused to guess to the audience. Don did guess, however, and then suffered the consequence of having to go on stage and later sing the song he guessed. I am SO glad I passed on that experience. Then the audience voted you off until the winner was announced, sort of like American Idol, but fast forward. Of course he wore his “pink” shirt that he calls red, so people the next several days remembered him and his performance. It wasn’t that bad. He has a good voice but was nervous and did not know the words. Some of the people were so bad it was horrible to listen to.

The trip home, however, left a lot to be desired.

First, we were told by our travel agent “rep” that we had to arrange for a shuttle transfer to the airport the day before departure. According to the hotel front desk people, and other reps working in the lobby, our rep was supposed to be available from 9-12 and then 2-5, none of which proved true. The day before we left, I wanted to spend as much time as possible outside, yet wasted over an hour and a half waiting for the rep to show up—on time no less. Too much to ask apparently. I finally got tired of waiting and wanted to head to the water. Don volunteered to wait since he was experiencing some sort of heat rash and wanted to stay out of the sun that day. And we had met up with another couple from Boston who were leaving that day and were waiting in the lobby for their airport transfer, so he sat with them. The rep finally showed up around 11:30. Who knows if he then went to lunch at noon?

Second, we were told to be in the lobby at 10 am on the day of departure. We had a 2:15 flight, and the airport is only about 15 minutes away from the hotel, so I was a little irritated again that we had to be ready 4 hours in advance. And, as luck would have it, it was the hottest day of all, so I decided there was no way I was wearing jeans until we transferred in Atlanta or maybe even Chicago. That was a wise decision, considering our shuttle, which was supposed to arrive at 10:30 did not arrive at all, and no surprise neither did our rep. Another agent was helpful in getting us another shuttle finally at noon. Had we not made that shuttle, I doubt we would have made our flight.

The Punta Cana airport is deceiving in that it is much larger than it appears from the outside. It has 2 whole areas we never saw upon arrival, including one entire huge upper floor. The procedure here was to first take your bags to your terminal, which was a LONG walk, then to a screening area, where all bags went on a conveyor for scanning. We then collected them and took them to our ticket counter, which was another huge area, thankfully cooled by the thatched roofing and huge ceiling fans, along with the usual breezes blowing through the open air area. The wait was long, probably an hour, just to get ticketed and bags weighed. Then we headed to the next security area, including the customs area, which went much faster. Since we finally got rid of our bags, we had a little more freedom to get something to drink or use the bathroom while we waited for our flight. The seating area here wasn’t all that big, and it was almost completely full, but people were coming and going on a regular basis. All the bottled water, not surprisingly, was warm, so I chose a “light” coca cola, which tasted just like regular. And that cost me $3 for a 12 oz. bottle. Rip off. No decent food worth waiting in a huge line for so we again went hungry.

We finally got on our flight and were almost immediately served our “snack.” I had 2 small packages of peanuts that I wolfed down, since we hadn’t eaten since early morning and the likelihood of eating anytime soon all depended on how much time we would have in Atlanta during transfer.

The flight seemed fast, and I sat next to a nice attorney from the Dallas area. For some reason, Don and I never got seats together except from Atlanta to Punta Cana. Arriving in Atlanta, it was gray and rainy, which I could see from the windows. I didn’t realize at the time that there were actual storms holding up flights from everywhere trying to get into the Atlanta airport. It was going to be tight connecting to Chicago, so we hustled through the customs/immigration area, then had to walk forever again to get our bags and take them to the next ticketing area. When we arrived there, we learned our flight to Chicago had been delayed 2 hours. I was starving, so we first went and found our departure gate before eating, only to learn when we arrived there that the flight was delayed another 2 hours. Four hours total so far. We definitely had to eat. So we trudged back through the airport trying to find somewhere both of us would be willing to eat at. Don does not like Mexican food and I do not care for deli stuff that much, but we finally settled on eating at On the Border. He liked what he had and we shared this gigantic margarita. Then back to our departure gate, only to learn again that our flight was now delayed until 10:45. That meant we would not make our connector from Chicago to GR. When an airline agent finally showed up to help people with their connection problems, we were told we probably would get to Chicago but would not get to GR so would have to stay somewhere at our own expense and try to get out the next day.

We didn’t make a final decision on what we would do until our plane to Chicago finally showed up about 11:15, getting us into Chicago at 12:45. But I did not account for the fact that Chicago was one hour behind Atlanta and Michigan, so we decided there was not much point getting a hotel room at 2 am only to have to come back, go through security, etc. again at 5 am.

So we camped out at the Chicago airport. That was an experience, let me tell you. The place was empty enough you could shoot a canon off and not hit anyone, but yet was bustling with activity, with service people cleaning up for the next day. The TSA people show up at 3:30 am to start setting up for those early, early flights. No wonder they’re so crabby!

I managed to doze off for about ½ hour, between the vacuuming, floor polishing, and the tv in our area droning on all night. I managed to find a seat arrangement that had 3 arm rests removed so I could lay down. But it was far from the Hilton, let me tell you. As for getting anything to eat or drink, it wasn’t until about 2:30 when I realized there was a Starbucks close enough by so made a few trips there for coffee, water, and some snacks. Mostly, we took turns walking around to stay alert. By 4 am, people were starting to filter into the different departure gates, and at 4:30 am, breakfast places were opening for breakfast, so we finally got to eat again. For some reason, when I don’t get enough sleep, I’m more hungry, and maybe because we knew we couldn’t just get something it made it worse. Either way, once we got breakfast and then went back to our departure area, the entire area was almost filled up, leaving few spaces to sit. It was completely empty just a half hour before.

By 6 am, I was starting to get really tired of the whole thing. Really tired of it. I remained patient, but did not want to be bothered by anyone and finally got some music going so I could block people out for a while until the battery wore down. I had been rationing it so as not to have a whole night without.

Our flight finally boarded about 7:15 and we were in the air by 7:45 and home by 10:30 our time. And then to top it all off? My piece of luggage did not arrive. All the things I had envisioned happening did: missed flights, spend the night somewhere other than home (didn’t even think it would be the airport) and lost luggage. Fortunately, the luggage arrived later that night, but of course after I went out and bought some toiletry items I figured I wouldn’t get back. So until our next vacation adventure, I'm home for now.

Next up: Review of new training program.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

THE MIRACLE THAT IS COCONUT OIL

Just before my recent vacation in the Dominican Republic (which hopefully I can get that report done soon!), I started reading, again quite by accident, about the "healing" powers of coconut oil. Then, during my vacation, I find myself surrounded by coconuts everywhere. A mere coincidence?? Coconut trees and groves everywhere. Not palm trees, coconut trees. I could only envision the coconut trees dominating the area where my resort is now located when explorers first landed on that island. There was a coconut tree grove outside my section of the hotel, and a tree loaded with coconuts within reach of my balcony. A massage by a local woman (on the beach no less) using coconut oil and the way it made my hair and skin feel afterward furthered my curiosity.

So I have been reading about all the misconceptions about coconut oil: how bad it is for you; how it is high in saturated fat so therefore even worse for you; etc. But in-depth reading has led me to believe otherwise, that coconut oil--a tropical oil, used for centuries until recently, has gotten a bad rep. Here is just one website I referred to if you want to read more yourself: http://www.coconut-connections.com/healthiest_oil.htm. Here are just a few facts about coconut oil:

What Coconut Oil DOES Do:
Reduces risk of atherosclerosis and related illnesses.
Reduces risk of cancer and other degenerative conditions.
Helps prevent bacterial, viral, and fungal (including yeast) infections.
Supports immune system function.
Helps control diabetes.
Provides an immediate source of energy.
Supports healthy metabolic function.
Improves digestion and nutrient absorption.
Supplies important nutrients necessary for good health.
Supplies fewer calories than other fats.
Promotes weight loss.
Helps prevent osteoporosis.
Has a mild delicate flavor.
Is highly resistant to spoilage (long shelf life).
Is heat resistant (the healthiest oil for cooking).
Helps keep skin soft and smooth.
Helps prevent premature aging and wrinkling of the skin.
Helps protect against skin cancer and other blemishes.
Functions as a protective antioxidant."

What Coconut Oil DOES NOT Do:
Does not increase blood cholesterol level.
Does not promote platelet stickiness or blood clot formation.
Does not contribute to atherosclerosis or heart disease.
Does not contribute to weight problems.

I know, I know, we've heard this same thing many times over about other "miracle" products. But if you can take just one thing and see the logic, I would say, after spending time in other tropical countries, that coconut oil certainly DOES make the hair shiny and helps keep the skin smooth and wrinkle free, especially considering the amount of sunlight these people are exposed to. (And using that as another topic, why do these people who spend 365 days a year, 24/7 in the sun not have skin cancer? Could it be the sun isn't the culprit here??) Without stirring up any controversy here, I'm just saying.

I've also been using some of the oil since the vacation, and have to say my skin has never felt better! Even after a week in the sun and a couple of weeks tanning before, AND our miserably cold, dry weather here. (It only took one day for my hands to crack and bleed after being back.) Using the oil, sparingly, I am seeing some dramatic results in keeping the skin supple.

The amazing thing about coconut oil is that you not only can use it for your skin, but you can cook with it and eat it too. Haven't gotten that far yet, because it does take the cold pressed virgin coconut oil type to cook with, and according to all info, you can take it internally in small doses initially, and that in and of itself will help with hair and skin issues, without resorting to applying it topically. What I have is expressly for the topical use. I am planning on getting the type you can use for cooking and see what happens.

Now if using this could just make me feel like I was still in the tropics, it would be well worth it!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

ANOTHER PIECE TO THE PUZZLE

I know I hinted at more to come on some of my discoveries on my road to better fitness. I want to be sure what I am saying (and doing) is correct and works before I endorse it. What I will say right now is so far so good.

Here's another piece to the puzzle: short interval periods of high intensity followed by equal or longer periods of rest = more fat burning and better fitness.

TEACHING AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS

After all these years, is it possible I (and others) have this all wrong? In my annual quest for self improvement, I started seeking a new way to do what is familiar, which has led me on an enlightening journey, filled with frustration, disbelief, awareness, and finally acknowledgement that maybe what I’ve been doing for so many years just isn’t working.

Remember when I posted back in January about reading a book by a woman who had done an Ironman who also had her own fitness club, wrote books, was a female body builder, etc.? Her belief was that maybe all that steady state cardio really won’t help you keep that lean physique everyone seems to want but which is elusive to many of us. Because I found I fit that category, it got me, and kept me, wondering and seeking more information. I will add that while her articles got me thinking, I found after the fact that her program was not what I needed. Still, she did earn good marks for sending me down this road of self-enlightenment.

During training and after doing the IM, I pretty much expected that I would have no lingering weight problem, my body fat percentage would drop dramatically, I would be stronger, leaner, faster, healthier. Imagine my complete surprise and disappointment when I realized this had not happened. Yes, I had completed one of the premier endurance events around, and yes, that alone gave me a huge amount of self-satisfaction, also fulfilling a goal I had carried around with me for many years.

But still, something nagged at me. Something made me question whether I had accomplished the one goal I sought after more than anything: reaching the ultimate in good health and fitness.

To be honest, I was concerned that I did not have that many years left to achieve these things, and was even more concerned to find I was not in the best physical condition that I could be, or thought I would be, after that event. Without going into a lot of mundane details, being the person I am, I set out to make a better me.

I researched dozens of fitness articles, as well as the authors for credibility. I examined dozens of workout programs, and again their authors for credibility. I studied many philosophies about fitness and what makes a person fit, but what I mainly found was once you got in depth into a website, often the bottom line was someone wanted to sell you something—and not necessarily anything you needed, but made you think you might. First there was the buildup, then the enticements, and finally the closing of the sale. I do not usually part with my money readily without being absolutely sure I believe in what I’m buying or need it more than another similar product. Basically, most of these programs I decided I wasn’t buying. There were a lot of good parts here and there, that combined might have been an ideal product or program, but nothing in its whole could convince me it was worth my time long term. And I know from experience that if I am not going to stick with something long term, there is no sense in starting it--like yoga, for instance. I do not want to spend the time to get good at it, so it is more of a nuisance to me and my time if I do it.

Then, quite by accident—and usually, don’t revelations happen this way?—I came across a link that totally changed my thinking of everything fitness related I have been doing for over 20 years. In the process, it blew apart for me the whole cardio thing.

And now, I will entice you, to come back soon and check for details. I am still in the process of trying out and further researching a program, but unfortunately with work and other commitments, I am unable to go in depth right now. That and I'm getting ready for my yearly tropical vacation and have yet begun to pack or plan for that! I promise, however, if I do have internet service while away, I will post not only my vacation details but try to get a continuation of this report posted so as not to leave you hanging. The one good thing for me about being gone is I can put this experiment to more of a test.

So stay tuned!

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY