35, 5, and 2

This morning's BK level came in at 1.3, up almost a full point from the 0.4 of yesterday.  And I did weights, this morning, and added 16 box jumps on about a 16 inch box.  I was box jumping to help my poor, mistreated left calf get better.  As a matter of reference, when I stopped doing CrossFit in mid-August, I had just achieved a couple of jumps on a 24 inch box. 

My weight routine continued to be upper body concentrated & eccentrically moved, including forearm and hand grip that was bookended by a 500m row and a 1,000m row.  I also did 20 leg let downs, which is laying on my back, lifting my legs straight up, then slowly (over 10 seconds) lowering my legs.

It was 57 degrees with 100% humidity.

nkrichards wrote:

ounce wrote:

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:So are those numbers considered good? or bad?  (probably not the correct terminology).  Mine are so very different which is why I am wondering;

Total Cholesterol: 246
HDL:  152
LDL: 86
Triglycerides: 42

TC:HDL Ratio:  1.62

LDL:HDL Ratio: 0.57

I've been told that my "good " cholesterol is very high and my "bad" cholesterol is fine, so I am good, but they are directly opposite to what you are reporting.

Stellar, Michele.  Simply stellar.  "Total Cholesterol" for ANYONE is a worthless number, in and of itself.  And you've made the correct ratio calculations, too.  I guess your blood pressure is in the 105/50 range?  Don't let any doctor say your 246 is bad or that you need a statin.

I'll check the book to see if there is an upper limit on HDL.  Well done, Michele!!!

I don't know if a HDL of 152 is too high, but I'll look in the book.

Interesting...I just got my numbers back yesterday.

I was extremely proud of my HDL of 70.  I've never heard of an HDL over 100!

Dr. was upset when my total was 241 with HDL of 79 two years ago.  I ignored his concerns as I was so pleased with the HDL level...it was in the 30's before I started running.  

He was much happier with a total of 190 with HDL of 70 this time. 

I've never paid much attention to the Triglycerides but maybe I should...mine are 89.

I'll have to get a copy of the book you mentioned when things slow down a bit around here.

Thanks for starting an interesting discussion.

Hey, Nancy.  I would work on lowering your triglycerides by lowering your carb intake to between 50 and 100 grams a day.  What would you need to lower?  High glycemic foods, processed foods like cereals, white rice, pasta, breads, cookies, pastries, snack foods, sodas, juice drinks and crackers.  Oatmeal is fine, as long as it's not the instant type.  An average American eats >150 grams per day.

Eating more saturated fat (butter and coconut oil are the best), while eating more vegetables (not corn) and berries of all types will lower your triglycerides.  Aim for under 50 on triglycerides.

The book says (page 44) that a triglycerides to HDL ratio of 2 or less is great.   You're sitting at 1.27:1 (89 / 70).  This ratio is a predictor of developing heart disease.  5 is problematic.

For Michele--
From page 29 of the book, you may want to get a test done that counts the HDL-2 and HDL-3 particles.  You want more HDL-2 than HDL-3.  I don't see an upper limit on total HDL in the book, so you're in the clear.  It could be genetics why its so high.

The purpose of HDL is to act as a vaccuum cleaner, sucking up all the bad, oxidized LDL and taking it to the liver for disposal.

BK level this morning was 0.8, down from 1.3.

There was a 14 mile run on the schedule, but I only had time for 12.  The temperature was 62 degrees with 100% humidity.  Of course, you could feel the humidity, but it had a cool morning feel overall.

I'll type the splits later, but I know the HR for the first half was around 130.  That 1st half pace is atypical for that HR during the summer.

11.85 miles, 2:31:54, 12:48 pace, 137 avg HR, 167 max HR, 1st half pace 13:14, 2nd half pace 12:24.

1. 13:14, 122 bpm
   
2. 13:08, 127 bpm
   
3. 13:12, 131 bpm
   
4. 13:23, 132 bpm
   
5. 13:11, 128 bpm
   
6. 13:16, 130 bpm
   
7. 12:48, 137 bpm
   
8. 12:36, 141 bpm
   
9. 12:34, 146 bpm
   
10. 12:37, 147 bpm
    
11. 11:49, 156 bpm
    
12. 11:44 pace, 158 bpm
    

I was curious how my calves, especially my left calf would perform.  The past couple of +10 mile runs have not ended pretty.  I can report that the right calf was perfect and the left calf gave the whimpiest of moans during the last mile.  I'm not believing that it's fixed, but what I've been doing and what Mark suggested is making a wimp out of that calf.

Saturday will probably be a 14 or 15 mile run, instead of the 20 on the schedule.  Then a massage.  The Houston Half will be on the 27th.

I should be in good shape

Hey, Nancy.  I would work on lowering your triglycerides by lowering your carb intake to between 50 and 100 grams a day.  What would you need to lower?  High glycemic foods, processed foods like cereals, white rice, pasta, breads, cookies, pastries, snack foods, sodas, juice drinks and crackers.  Oatmeal is fine, as long as it's not the instant type.  An average American eats >150 grams per day.

Eating more saturated fat (butter and coconut oil are the best), while eating more vegetables (not corn) and berries of all types will lower your triglycerides.  Aim for under 50 on triglycerides.

The book says (page 44) that a triglycerides to HDL ratio of 2 or less is great.   You're sitting at 1.27:1 (89 / 70).  This ratio is a predictor of developing heart disease.  5 is problematic.

Thanks Doug...I'm not great with this diet thing but we don't do to bad.  We don't eat much processed foods and our bread is whole grain...rice is brown.  I prefer steel cut oatmeal.  We often have eggs for breakfast.  Not a big fan of juice...prefer chocolate milk.   Snacks are usually nuts but we do enjoy dried fruit which probably has a pretty high sugar content.  I use mostly olive oil and we do use butter.  I will admit that we like our corn especially when we can pick it fresh out of the garden but that's done for the year.  We also eat potatoes occasionally.  We don't do to bad but I know there are things I could improve on.

Your Triglycerides to HDL is well under the 2:1 ratio that's considered to be optimum, so tweaking seems to be the result of this exercise.  I'd kill the dried fruit, though.  It does have a high sugar content.

For Michele--
From page 29 of the book, you may want to get a test done that counts the HDL-2 and HDL-3 particles.  You want more HDL-2 than HDL-3.  I don't see an upper limit on total HDL in the book, so you're in the clear.  It could be genetics why its so high.

The purpose of HDL is to act as a vaccuum cleaner, sucking up all the bad, oxidized LDL and taking it to the liver for disposal.

Agreed, my doctor said that my HDL is like a "roto-rooter" but that we would watch it if it got too high.  A cardiologist friend told me not to worry as it is partly genetics, partly years of exercise, and partly diet (I eat a mediterranean diet for the most part, but not a lot of processed carbs like pasta or bread.  I get most of my carbs from fruits and veggies and my daily oatmeal or occasional bagel)

0.9 is this morning's BK level, which is up one-tenth from yesterday.  It's a rest day from running before tomorrow's long run.  But I decided to go lift weights, this morning.  Since I just do upper body activities, I don't expect any kickback on tomorrow's run.

Y'all have a peachy weekend.

Hm. My Tri/HDL ratio was 2.21 to 1 the last time I had a cholesterol test back in 2010. I weighed more then, so I don't know what the numbers would be now. My Tri was far higher than yours (146), though it didn't flag a warning, but my HDL was 66. (I remember my Tri level being lower when I was doing South Beach several years ago, so clearly diet makes a huge difference.)

Mark B wrote:Hm. My Tri/HDL ratio was 2.21 to 1 the last time I had a cholesterol test back in 2010. I weighed more then, so I don't know what the numbers would be now. My Tri was far higher than yours (146), though it didn't flag a warning, but my HDL was 66. (I remember my Tri level being lower when I was doing South Beach several years ago, so clearly diet makes a huge difference.)

The "normal" range for triglycerides is <150 and for HDL it's >50.  Your triglycerides should be much lower (maybe more than half) if when you lost all that weight last year, you didn't go back to eating like you used to eat.

Restricting sugar and processed foods will make your triglycerides drop below 100.  That'll get you a ratio of 1.52:1.  50 Triglycerides will get you a 0.76:1

It's harder for me to get my HDL up.  But you have a really nice ratio, Mark.

Saturday's BK level prior to my long run was 1.1.  I was pleased with that, but I need to get it higher, so I have some wiggle room for when I take in a few more carbs or protein than is practicable at a lower BK level.

The purpose of Saturday's run was to assess how my calves are healing and to see how far I could run up to 16 miles.  My run could be anywhere from 13-16 miles, based on a turn here or there at Memorial Park.  I felt this was more prudent, rather than just running up to 8 miles out and up to 8 miles back.  If the calves tighten up, at max I'll only have to walk 3 miles.

It was 76 degrees with the same dewpoint and very little wind.  A breeze did greet me at the very start, which increased my pace.  The wind disappeared at the first turn, but the pace remained.  I remembered a couple of weeks ago Jim saying to start a little faster, so I did.

15.74 miles, 3:30:42, 13:23 pace, 147 avg HR, 171 max HR during mile 16, 1st half pace 13:28, 2nd half pace 13:18

1. 13:26, 125 bpm
   
2. 13:23, 130 bpm
   
3. 13:31, 135 bpm
   
4. 13:38, 138 bpm
   
5. 13:33, 138 bpm
   
6. 13:16, 140 bpm
   
7. 13:23, 142 bpm
   
8. 13:38, 144 bpm
   
9. 13:25, 146 bpm
   
10. 13:00, 150 bpm
    
11. 13:09, 156 bpm
    
12. 13:03, 160 bpm
    
13. 13:25, 159 bpm
    
14. 13:42, 161 bpm
    
15. 13:28, 164 bpm
    
16. 12:56 pace, 169 bpm
    

The calves near flawlessly worked.  The right calf had some muffled moanings during the last 2 miles.  I decided to do the full 16 because of the calves.  During mile 12, I got my overall pace down to 13:22, then it inched up to 13:24 and I wanted to at least keep it away from 13:25, regardless of heart rate.  I figured if I got my HR up into the 80% range (160 bpm), it could push the lactate threshhold up a bit, as well.

So, I found "Freebird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd on my Shuffle and for the last 2 miles, I looped "Freebird" because on Thursday's run, I seemed to get into a good, faster pace with that song.  And it worked again, especially after the lyrics were finished.

I had no other issues during the run.  I had brought 2 slices of bacon for during the run to see if there is any good or bad reaction  I cut them in half to give me 4 snacks and ate them at miles 9, 11, 13 and 15.  There was no perceived benefit or drawback to the user.  30 minutes prior to the rn, I ingested 3 grams of salt.

After the run, I had some dizziness I attribute to lack of electrolytes, running at 80% for an hour when it's 76 degrees with 100% humidity or a combination of the two plus something else.  I don't know excatly, but I will bring a couple of S!Caps next week for the run.  I keep on forgetting to pack them, but my calves evidently didn't need them.  I had no residual stiffness in the hours after the run.  In fact, since going LC/HF, I haven't ever had stiffness like I used to have under glycogen.

I also got my massage on Saturday afternoon.

wk 9 of 22
This morning's BK level was 0.3, down from yesterday's 1.1.  I made some fudge, yesterday, and did some quality control.  Also had some popcorn at the movie "Enough Said", which I don't really recommend.  That was James Gandolfini's last movie.

The BK meter reported a 0.4 reading, this morning.  A 5 mile interval run was scheduled and I was going to run it where I warm up and cool down for a half mile each, then gradually increased my speed and hold it for two miles, then turn around and do it again.  So, 4 miles running and 1 mile warming up/cooling down.

The muscles weren't entirely keen on running today.  It was 71 degrees with an equal dewpoint.

So, I just did the best I could on the run.

1. 12:49, 133 bpm, max 152 bpm
   
2. 13:02, 131 bpm, max 140 bpm
   
3. 12:49, 132 bpm, max 145 bpm
   
4. 13:06, 135 bpm, max 147 bpm
   

Interesting (albeit I don't like it), that my heart is efficient enough now to do sub-13's in low 130's HR.  I don't think the legs are too, too far behind, though.

The BK reading was 1.0, up from yesterday's 0.4.

The 12 mile sorta long run was today's run goal.  With all the replies from the "Race in between a long run" thread, yesterday, it motivated me to increase the speed a bit to see what would happen and as an alert to my body to get ready for the race on October 27.

It was 73 degrees with a dewpoint of 71 and, wait for it....wait for it, a constant, gentle BREEZE!  That really helped the run.

12.02 miles, 2:30:27, 12:30 pace, 142 avg bpm, 172 max HR during mile 12, 1st half pace 12:52, 2nd half pace 12:08

1. 13:19, 126 bpm
   
2. 12:55, 134 bpm
   
3. 12:54, 137 bpm
   
4. 12:46, 142 bpm
   
5. 12:41, 137 bpm
   
6. 12:33, 141 bpm
   
7. 12:46, 139 bpm
   
8. 12:26, 144 bpm
   
9. 11:56, 149 bpm
   
10. 12:25, 148 bpm
    
11. 12:06, 152 bpm
    
12. 11:20, 162 bpm
    

The first two miles were sort of difficult for some reason, but at mile 3 all the problems were gone and I was speeding up.  It just so happens that 10 of my 12 miles were on the very half marathon course I'll be racing on the 27th.

I was committed to testing my body on this run and the only hiccup was a little right calf whining on inclines.  I wanted to get the final mile under 12, but I didn't know at the time that I already had one at mile 9.  I want to go faster during the race, so maybe this will be a wake up call to my muscles.

And this run confirmed that my Nutritional Ketosis is in good shape and doing well.

Seeing some real progress here, Doug. Good work!

This bit is my favorite: "... my heart is efficient enough now to do sub-13's in low 130's HR. I don't think the legs are too, too far behind, though."

Woot! Way to make the mitochondria!

Mark B wrote:Seeing some real progress here, Doug. Good work!

This bit is my favorite: "... my heart is efficient enough now to do sub-13's in low 130's HR.  I don't think the legs are too, too far behind, though."

Woot! Way to make the mitochondria!

Scary, ain't it!  Yeah, my legs didn't have much problem with the pace, once I got through miles 1 and 2.  There was one time during mile 10 where I was slowing a bit, but I did 1 virtual horse whip to the hind quarters and that took care of that.

And two runs of "Freebird" preceded by one play of "Heartbreaker" by Led Zeppelin kept the pace going.  After the run, the song after Freebird was "Moonlight Serenade" by Glenn Miller and was a calming and fitting song, especially since it was still dark.

I need to run faster, though, to achieve my goals.  But I can handle a recipe of safe, yet steady improvement over the next 13 weeks.  But I want the speed, dammit!   

Tonight is yoga, tomorrow is weights and Friday's 15 mile long run is suppposed to be done in high 50's temps.  Sweet!

This morning's blood ketone (BK) level was 1.5, up from 1.0 of yesterday and up 1.2 from Sunday morning's level of 0.3.

Also this morning, I went to lift weights for the upper body.  I'm also taking the opportunity to strengthen my grip by taking a 5 pound weight and holding it with each finger, individually, until the weight is too much for the finger to hold.  You know, you just can't have enough grip strength when you run.

Another up morning as my BK level rose to 2.2, which is just above the midpoint for Nutritional Ketosis (NK) range of 1.0 - 3.0.  I haven't been tweaking or testing under the "What if..." category.  Just eating similar grammed things all this week.  I can have my BK level get to an upper limit of 5.0, but out of NK.

Rest day today ahead of a 15 mile run in the morning.  Temps should be between 55 and 60, if clouds don't roll in the overnight period.

Wow! 2.2? I don't remember seeing your number get so high before. Is it a record?

I consider myself warned to not shake your hand should we ever meet in person.

Mark B wrote:Wow! 2.2? I don't remember seeing your number get so high before. Is it a record?

I consider myself warned to not shake your hand should we ever meet in person.

2.3 back on August 2 was the record, but I think that reading was suspect because I've seen a 3.8 one time, but I knew that wasn't right.  So I took the level again and it was 1.5, which fit in better with how I had been eating.

This morning, I took a reading and it was 2.9.  But that didn't reconcile with the other increases, this week.  I know I didn't eat materially different than the other days, so an increase of anything >1 point doesn't pass the sniff test.  So, I took it again and got the 2.2, which is reasonable.

I would agree with you, Mark, that the 2.2 is a record.

Now, tomorrow may be different because I ate a different lunch than the other days.  I ate a 1/2 pound of brisket and a 1/2 pound of ribs (4 ribs).  So, we'll see what that does.  I'll probably need to eat some creamed squash for dinner.

As far as the grip, I got the idea from watching "American Ninja Warrior" on NBC over the summer.  MAN, those guys have SUCH upper body strength which includes incredible grip.  One video bio the show did on a contestant had him dangling his body in the air by JUST holding on to a nail-like thing with his PINKY FINGER.  His frickin' pinky finger!  Rock climbers seem to do best on that show and they have really good grip.

Therefore, I looked up rock climbing exercises (for the grip) and gymnastic exercises (for the core) that are incorporated into my weights session and at home.

I had a thin slice of Tres Leches cake today.  Smallest slice of cake that I've ever had.  Jeez, it was sweet.  Guess in a few hours I'll know how it affects the 2.2.

And Mark, you could work on your finger strength every time you carry groceries home, presuming you have a handle on the bag you use.  My left hand is much stronger than my right because I unlock things with my right hand and carry stuff with my left.  I'm switching the carrying hand to work on balancing out the strength.

Back on injured reserve.  BK level dropped to 0.4, this morning.  I think it was mostly the tres leches, but I also had 1/2 pound of brisket and 4 ribs for lunch.  So, maybe too much protein that converted to glucose and the carbs from the cake. 

59 degrees with a dewpoint of 54 with a noticeable north wind.

Ran about 4 miles when my right calf started acting up.  It wasn't going to be muffled, this time.  I wish I had an idea as to why it's screwing up.  This time, the pain on both calves is located in the 'belly' of the calf muscle, rather than lower.  I'm calling the doctor this morning, so I can get a script for PT and shock treatment on the calves for the next few weeks.

I ended up running 6 miles of 15 scheduled, but oh, what a beautiful 6 miles it was.  I was running 12:15 - 12:30 miles at 136 bpm or 68% of VO2max.  That felt so nice.  It was effortless.  I was very much looking forward to the HM on the 27th.  Now, I'll be sincerely very content to use it as a training run.  Truly.  If nothing else, the course gives me the opportunity to train on a couple of underpasses that are part of the Houston course at mile 20 and 24.  But I was hoping to PR the Half.  C'est la vie.

I'll post the splits, later.  Thanks for your time.

Went to the doctor and got my script for PT.  He's thinking that it might be Compartment Syndrome where some micro-tears in the calf muscle might have leaked some fluid into the tight confines of the 4 muscles in the lower leg that might be causing the pain.  Too much stuff in too little space.

It took some explaining on the LC/HF idea, and I don't think I really got the idea across clearly enough.  He's a runner, too.  Mostly HM's.

The pain, when walking, in my calves subsided around 10 this morning.  Guess I'll be getting caught up on my sleep.

I can imagine how that conversation with the doc went about your LC/HF experiments. They are NOT used to dealing with things outside of their personal experience. 

Good luck on the calf issue. Have you changed shoes recently, by any chance? Also, hasn't it started up since you began up-tempo runs? There could be a connection.

Mark B wrote:I can imagine how that conversation with the doc went about your LC/HF experiments. They are NOT used to dealing with things outside of their personal experience. 

Good luck on the calf issue. Have you changed shoes recently, by any chance? Also, hasn't it started up since you began up-tempo runs? There could be a connection.

No new shoes, recently (he asked the same question & first thought it was a sciatica nerve thing).  Rotating 3 pairs and today's pair had 160 miles on them.  Actually, the first problem happened on Sept 20, which was two or three days after that first pace run I did when I was chasing that girl for 4 miles at the 10:38 pace.  And separate flare ups occur when I'm going faster than a previous run.

So, it could be that I'll need to slowly warm up to get the calves good and limber, before starting a run when I'll do sub-13 minute paces, which since the weather has cooled down will be just about every run. 

Here are the splits for this morning's run.  See if you see any 13+ minute splits:

1. 12:53, 129 bpm
   
2. 12:19, 137 bpm
   
3. 12:21, 139 bpm
   
4. 12:30, 142 bpm
   
5. 12:28, 139 bpm
   
6. 12:19, 134 bpm
   
7. 12:47, 134 bpm
   

Wednesday's 12 mile run was all sub-13 miles, except for the first one.  AND I note that the first two miles were "sort of difficult for some reason" until mile 3, when everything became perfect.  Looks like I'm a victim of my own improvement.

So maybe the rehab can look like this:

1. PT starting Tuesday including the electric shock stuff.
   
   
   
2. No running for week of Oct 20.
   
   
   
3. 13 minute runs for 3 weeks.
   
   
   
4. Two mile warm ups before all runs.
   
   
   
5. The Half on Oct 27 is an exercise no faster than 13:15 pace and maybe not even finish, because that's the race where I was going to park about 2 miles from the start.
   
   
   
6. Have to be pain-free throughout this perod.
   
   
   
7. 4-6 weeks should be enough to build the new fibers.
   
   
   

Opinions?

Have you tried compression sleeves or socks? I would actually think they might help. Wendy is an expert on compartment syndrome and I thought it affected shins not calves. Maybe you can PM Tim and get to her to ask questions