A Lot To Catch Up On

A few odds and ends to talk about today.

1) Sunday Run. It’s been more than a day and a half since it actually happened, but on Sunday morning, I had a really good run.  I set out to run for 45 minutes, and I ended up running for 45 minutes on the nose.  Add in a few minutes for a walking warm-up and cool-down before and after, and it was 51 minutes I was out on the street.  Here’s my route:

I managed a route that took me past zero strip clubs (which are common in my neck of the woods), and was a total of 3.9 miles.  Let’s add it to my running chart:

• 9/21/10: Distance: 3.1 miles.  Time: 41 minutes.  MPH: 4.53
• 9/27/10: Distance: 3.3 miles.  Time: 45 minutes.  MPH: 4.4
• 10/5/10: Distance: 3.2 miles.  Time: 40 minutes.  MPH: 4.8
• 10/12/10: Distance: 3.8 miles.  Forgot to note time and MPH
• 10/16/10: Distance: 2.9 miles.  Forgot to note time and MPH
• 11/1/10: Distance: 3.1 miles.  Time: 36 minutes.  MPH: 5.16
• 11/6/10: Distance: 5.1 miles. Time: 60 minutes.  MPH: 5.1
• 11/14/10: Distance: 3.9 miles. Time: 45 minutes.  MPH: 5.2

My fastest pace yet!

2) Today’s Workout. I ran into an old friend from college, Joe, in Hollywood on Saturday, and we got to talking about exercising, and he invited me to join him and his trainer for a workout.  Yesterday I called Joe back and took him up on his offer, and that’s how I ended up in a park at 8:30am this morning.  I was supposed to be there at 8:15, but traffic was a bitch, and even though I gave myself 45 minutes to get there, it took an hour.  It would take me 20 minutes max on the freeways if there wasn’t any traffic, but the freeways aren’t an option at that hour in Los Angeles, unless you like sitting in a parking lot.

The workout was fantastic.  Joe’s trainer is named Oscar, and he had me work out my chest, arms, back, legs, and abs, mostly using my own weight as resistance and two handles attached to a strap that was slung over a tree branch.  Perhaps that’s hard to visualize, and it doesn’t help that I didn’t bring my camera to snap a photo.  What was great about it was that most exercises worked a variety of muscles throughout my upper body in addition to working the intended muscle group, because the exercises had an element of balance involved, so I was giving it all I had just to stay in position on top of completing the actual exercise.

We were there for about an hour, and I’m going back on Wednesday and Friday morning.  Those sessions will be at 7am, so I should be able to fly there on the freeway before rush really starts.  It will be getting home that’s the bitch.

3) Doctor’s Appointment. I went to the doctor today for a little check-up.  Last week I had some blood drawn for some tests, and everything came back wonderfully.  I’ll share some details:

• Blood Pressure: 110/70 – very good!  At my heaviest I remember getting blood pressure readings that were around 145/95, and my doctor put me on blood pressure medication.  Although the dosage has dropped significantly, I still take a small amount just to stabilize, at my doctor’s recommendation.
• Glucose: Today it was 75.  At my heaviest, it was 108, which is in the pre-diabetic range.  This is a big one for me, as I have diabetes in my family, but now I’m towards the lower end of the healthy range.
• Cholesterol: My total cholesterol fell from 196 at my heaviest to 169 now, which is great, right smack in the center of the 125-200 healthy range.   But what’s really impressive is that my triglycerides fell from 197 (which was way above the healthy range, which ends at 150) to 86 – I’ve cut my triglycerides number by more than half!

Nothin’ like a good health update to put a spring in my step!  Keep it up, David!