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Yeah, it seems to be working for me so far, but it couldn't work for me on a marathon because I'd have to be much faster due to a 6 hour time requirement.

Running and walking for last week amounted to 17 miles running and 27.5 miles walking.

So I've read in "Fixing Your Feet" recommending wearing two pairs of socks to minimize getting dirt and dust in with the feet, as dirt is to feet like a grain of sand is to a clam (agitates and makes a pearl).

Since the 105K is a warm weather event, should I try to achieve a thickness of 2 pairs of socks to be the approximate thickness of wearing 1 pair of my usual sock?

I'm pretty much sold on the idea of the Injinji as a blister retardant and wearing a thin pair. 

Thanks and take the rest of the day off!

ounce wrote:Yeah, it seems to be working for me so far, but it couldn't work for me on a marathon because I'd have to be much faster due to a 6 hour time requirement.

Running and walking for last week amounted to 17 miles running and 27.5 miles walking.

ounce wrote:So I've read in "Fixing Your Feet" recommending wearing two pairs of socks to minimize getting dirt and dust in with the feet, as dirt is to feet like a grain of sand is to a clam (agitates and makes a pearl).

Since the 105K is a warm weather event, should I try to achieve a thickness of 2 pairs of socks to be the approximate thickness of wearing 1 pair of my usual sock?

I'm pretty much sold on the idea of the Injinji as a blister retardant and wearing a thin pair. 

Thanks and take the rest of the day off!

That's a lot of miles Doug!  Nice.  You may still be able to use the run/walk for your marathon if you increase the percentage of running in comparison to the walking.  It would still be good practice for your ultra.  Katie used a run/walk for Portland.  She finished in 6:15 with a huge smile...I think 6:00 was within her reach.  I thought she used a time based run/walk.  She wasn't positive but she thought she ran for 2 miles and then walked for 1 mile.  She did walk up the hill to get on the bridge even though it wasn't during her scheduled walk.

As far as socks...I don't have experience running with double socks but when I hike I always wear a very thin pair of liner socks under my regular hiking socks.  I do think 2 pair helps a lot even if they are thin.

nkrichards wrote:

ounce wrote:Yeah, it seems to be working for me so far, but it couldn't work for me on a marathon because I'd have to be much faster due to a 6 hour time requirement.

Running and walking for last week amounted to 17 miles running and 27.5 miles walking.

ounce wrote:So I've read in "Fixing Your Feet" recommending wearing two pairs of socks to minimize getting dirt and dust in with the feet, as dirt is to feet like a grain of sand is to a clam (agitates and makes a pearl).

Since the 105K is a warm weather event, should I try to achieve a thickness of 2 pairs of socks to be the approximate thickness of wearing 1 pair of my usual sock?

I'm pretty much sold on the idea of the Injinji as a blister retardant and wearing a thin pair. 

Thanks and take the rest of the day off!

That's a lot of miles Doug!  Nice.  You may still be able to use the run/walk for your marathon if you increase the percentage of running in comparison to the walking.  It would still be good practice for your ultra.  Katie used a run/walk for Portland.  She finished in 6:15 with a huge smile...I think 6:00 was within her reach.  I thought she used a time based run/walk.  She wasn't positive but she thought she ran for 2 miles and then walked for 1 mile.  She did walk up the hill to get on the bridge even though it wasn't during her scheduled walk.

As far as socks...I don't have experience running with double socks but when I hike I always wear a very thin pair of liner socks under my regular hiking socks.  I do think 2 pair helps a lot even if they are thin.

It is a lot of miles, but it didn't seem like a lot of miles.  2R/1W seems interesting for a marathon, but I'd have to really see how that averages over the length of the race.  I have to run 6 hours or less for it to be an official finish.  I have 8 official finishes at Houston and I'm looking for 2 more to get Legacy status, which gets me a t-shirt and I wouldn't have to register for the race until November.  Not that I'd have too many official finishes after that, but it's been a goal of mine.

How the 105K training dovetails into my marathon training is important to me.

-30-

So Monday, I'll be back at the w/r training.  I am not anticipating anymore extended time away from training.  At some point, I'll need to break out a Camelbak that I bought 2 years ago, but is still in the shipping bag, because the distances will be longer and the access to water fountains are rarer.  Not to mention doing the training in the daylight.

Seasonal highs for early June is 90.  We got up to 94 a few days ago, so Mark, I guess we've become hotter than 'Couv.

ounce wrote:

nkrichards wrote:

ounce wrote:Yeah, it seems to be working for me so far, but it couldn't work for me on a marathon because I'd have to be much faster due to a 6 hour time requirement.

Running and walking for last week amounted to 17 miles running and 27.5 miles walking.

ounce wrote:So I've read in "Fixing Your Feet" recommending wearing two pairs of socks to minimize getting dirt and dust in with the feet, as dirt is to feet like a grain of sand is to a clam (agitates and makes a pearl).

Since the 105K is a warm weather event, should I try to achieve a thickness of 2 pairs of socks to be the approximate thickness of wearing 1 pair of my usual sock?

I'm pretty much sold on the idea of the Injinji as a blister retardant and wearing a thin pair. 

Thanks and take the rest of the day off!

That's a lot of miles Doug!  Nice.  You may still be able to use the run/walk for your marathon if you increase the percentage of running in comparison to the walking.  It would still be good practice for your ultra.  Katie used a run/walk for Portland.  She finished in 6:15 with a huge smile...I think 6:00 was within her reach.  I thought she used a time based run/walk.  She wasn't positive but she thought she ran for 2 miles and then walked for 1 mile.  She did walk up the hill to get on the bridge even though it wasn't during her scheduled walk.

As far as socks...I don't have experience running with double socks but when I hike I always wear a very thin pair of liner socks under my regular hiking socks.  I do think 2 pair helps a lot even if they are thin.

It is a lot of miles, but it didn't seem like a lot of miles.  2R/1W seems interesting for a marathon, but I'd have to really see how that averages over the length of the race.  I have to run 6 hours or less for it to be an official finish.  I have 8 official finishes at Houston and I'm looking for 2 more to get Legacy status, which gets me a t-shirt and I wouldn't have to register for the race until November.  Not that I'd have too many official finishes after that, but it's been a goal of mine.

How the 105K training dovetails into my marathon training is important to me.

-30-

So Monday, I'll be back at the w/r training.  I am not anticipating anymore extended time away from training.  At some point, I'll need to break out a Camelbak that I bought 2 years ago, but is still in the shipping bag, because the distances will be longer and the access to water fountains are rarer.  Not to mention doing the training in the daylight.

Seasonal highs for early June is 90.  We got up to 94 a few days ago, so Mark, I guess we've become hotter than 'Couv.

Goals are good and Legacy status sounds like a good goal.

Enjoy getting to know that Camelbak over the next few weeks...

ounce wrote:

nkrichards wrote:

ounce wrote:Yeah, it seems to be working for me so far, but it couldn't work for me on a marathon because I'd have to be much faster due to a 6 hour time requirement.

Running and walking for last week amounted to 17 miles running and 27.5 miles walking.

ounce wrote:So I've read in "Fixing Your Feet" recommending wearing two pairs of socks to minimize getting dirt and dust in with the feet, as dirt is to feet like a grain of sand is to a clam (agitates and makes a pearl).

Since the 105K is a warm weather event, should I try to achieve a thickness of 2 pairs of socks to be the approximate thickness of wearing 1 pair of my usual sock?

I'm pretty much sold on the idea of the Injinji as a blister retardant and wearing a thin pair. 

Thanks and take the rest of the day off!

That's a lot of miles Doug!  Nice.  You may still be able to use the run/walk for your marathon if you increase the percentage of running in comparison to the walking.  It would still be good practice for your ultra.  Katie used a run/walk for Portland.  She finished in 6:15 with a huge smile...I think 6:00 was within her reach.  I thought she used a time based run/walk.  She wasn't positive but she thought she ran for 2 miles and then walked for 1 mile.  She did walk up the hill to get on the bridge even though it wasn't during her scheduled walk.

As far as socks...I don't have experience running with double socks but when I hike I always wear a very thin pair of liner socks under my regular hiking socks.  I do think 2 pair helps a lot even if they are thin.

It is a lot of miles, but it didn't seem like a lot of miles.  2R/1W seems interesting for a marathon, but I'd have to really see how that averages over the length of the race.  I have to run 6 hours or less for it to be an official finish.  I have 8 official finishes at Houston and I'm looking for 2 more to get Legacy status, which gets me a t-shirt and I wouldn't have to register for the race until November.  Not that I'd have too many official finishes after that, but it's been a goal of mine.

How the 105K training dovetails into my marathon training is important to me.

-30-

So Monday, I'll be back at the w/r training.  I am not anticipating anymore extended time away from training.  At some point, I'll need to break out a Camelbak that I bought 2 years ago, but is still in the shipping bag, because the distances will be longer and the access to water fountains are rarer.  Not to mention doing the training in the daylight.

Seasonal highs for early June is 90.  We got up to 94 a few days ago, so Mark, I guess we've become hotter than 'Couv.

I'd say so, Ounce, especially since our temperatures dropped back into the 60s this week. It tends to happen when Portland has its big Rose Festival every year. Summer usually doesn't start for real here until after the Fourth of July. It's supposed to get up to the low 80s later this week before cooling back down again.

Alita and I are hoping we had weather like we had yesterday (cloudy, in the upper 50s) for the 12-hour race at Elijah Bristow on June 17. I just checked (in)Accuweather's extended forecast, though, and they're talking sunny with a low of 51 and high of 76. Could be worse.

Thanks, y'all.  Mark, say 'howdy' to Elijah for me.

-30-

This morning, I completed 10 miles broken into 5w and 5r.  It had been 10 days since doing any training.  The morning temperature was 69 degrees!  This was mostly caused by the doom and gloom of an unstable atmosphere causing 4 inches of rain in 3 hours about a mile away, thus keeping the temperatures into the 70's.  Now the ground is saturated around town and we have today to get through before the disturbance moves on and we dry out.  We'll be fine.

I set the cadence at 120 for walking and 163 for running.  For the final running mile, I went wild and set the cadence at 164.

10 miles, 2:30:49, 15:05 avg pace, 139 avg cadence, 0.77 m avg Stride Length, 1st half pace 15:36, 2nd half pace 14:34
1.  17:22, 118 spm, 78 sl
2.  13:25, 163 spm, 74 sl
3.  16:45, 116 spm, 83 sl
4.  13:33, 161 spm, 74 sl
5.  17:06, 114 spm, 83 sl
6.  13:23, 163 spm, 74 sl
7.  16:16, 114 spm, 86 sl
8.  13:44, 163 spm, 72 sl
9.  15:43, 142 spm, 72 sl
10. 13:28, 163 spm, 73 sl

It sure seems like the last few miles are being performed faster than the early miles.  I don't seem any more tired, as a result.  Not sure why, but maybe it's because I'm building the stamina.

Ooh, ooh!  I did change something on the 3 of the walking miles!  Instead of walking with arms down in a traditional walking motion, I bent them at the elbow in a mock running motion.  I was curious if having the 90 degree arms would increase my cadence.  Yabba dabba doo, it sure did.  

For mile 5, it didn't seem to equate to an actual change.  Mile 7 seemed to produce some coordination, as my feet were moving in almost a jogging motion and the time was 16:16.  At this point in prior w/r's, the times were bleeding.

Mile 9, it seemed I put all the moving pieces together.  My feet were moving in a jogging/shuffling motion on the concrete resulting in a 15:43 time at 142 cadence.
   I'll have to do some further testing to see what happens, but this could be something very promising.

I am also noticing that there's enough difference in the muscles used between running and walking that both enjoy the 1 mile break, except the feet, of course.  But they're being troopers, presently.

That's called Power Walking - watch all the srs at the mall.    Good job getting used to the walk run thing!

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:That's called Power Walking - watch all the srs at the mall.    Good job getting used to the walk run thing!

I thought Power Walking were the folks that were heavily heel 'n toe with their body yawing left and right as the hips do the opposite.

Another thing about the run/walk is that I think I can add miles sooner than if I was just running or walking, but not both.  Things to ponder.

Thanks 1L.

ounce wrote:

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:That's called Power Walking - watch all the srs at the mall.    Good job getting used to the walk run thing!

I thought Power Walking were the folks that were heavily heel 'n toe with their body yawing left and right as the hips do the opposite.

Another thing about the run/walk is that I think I can add miles sooner than if I was just running or walking, but not both.  Things to ponder.

Thanks 1L.

I think 1L is on the right track...and so are you.  Sounds like a run/walk that incorporates Power Walking is going to work well for you.

The heel 'n toe thing that you're describing where they wobble all over the place is race walking...and that doesn't sound like a good thing to incorporate into your running!

nkrichards wrote:

ounce wrote:

Michele \"1L" Keane wrote:That's called Power Walking - watch all the srs at the mall.    Good job getting used to the walk run thing!

I thought Power Walking were the folks that were heavily heel 'n toe with their body yawing left and right as the hips do the opposite.

Another thing about the run/walk is that I think I can add miles sooner than if I was just running or walking, but not both.  Things to ponder.

Thanks 1L.

I think 1L is on the right track...and so are you.  Sounds like a run/walk that incorporates Power Walking is going to work well for you.

The heel 'n toe thing that you're describing where they wobble all over the place is race walking...and that doesn't sound like a good thing to incorporate into your running!

I remember earlier in the year when I was doing the last running mile of 6 or 8 miles and the cadence was around 145 and an almost 16 minute pace.  I was dragging. 

How things have changed.

-30-

I've been researching electrolytes.  I've found something that shocked me regarding sodium and potassium.
Sodium is stored in the body.  We know that.  But did you know the body will do great things to store sodium, so it's always on hand? I was not.  If the body has enough salt, it will piss it away. But the body pretty much always has enough salt in the body. So is there a reason to ingest salt during hot conditions?  Maybe a 1/4th teaspoon during hot 'n sweaty times.  Otherwise, nope.  Proper potassium levels in the blood makes salt become optimal on less salt.

Potassium is another horse.  The body doesn't store potassium.  It's a use it or lose it mineral. The body requires 3,500 mg of potassium a day, sometimes more.  A banana has 12% of the requirement.  The National Institutes of Health lists the veggies and fruits having potassium:

"Vegetables including broccoli, peas, lima beans, tomatoes, potatoes (especially their skins), sweet potatoes, and winter squash are all good sources of potassium. Lolis are also a great source of potassium.
Fruits that contain significant amounts of potassium include:
[list=b_dList]
[*]Citrus fruits
[*]Cantaloupe
[*]Bananas,
[*]Kiwi
[*]Prunes"
[/list]

It all has to do with whether you have an acidic diet of food or an alkaline diet of food.  People who are essentially vegetarians are getting potassium and are eating an alkaline diet.  A link to a gout website listing acidic and alkaline foods are listed here

I am not the poster boy for an alkaline diet.  LC/HF is just not that.  Yet, I can't avoid potassium.  It is an incredibly important electrolyte for me.  Lifestrong.com has this from a 2015 article:

Potassium is important in the diet, allowing your cells, tissues and organs to function optimally. Classified as an electrolyte, potassium also regulates the electrical activity of your heart, builds protein and metabolizes carbohydrates. However, potassium becomes more important in your diet as your body ages. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010, a potassium-rich diet can decrease high blood pressure and may also reduce your risk of kidney stones and bone loss.


So, I'm going to work on taking a potassium supplement.  Potassium does SO much more than prevent cramps.  Lots of blood pressure meds use potassium because it relaxes blood veins.

I'll have to titrate up to the proper dosage over 2 months.  So, we'll see.

Separately, we're supposed to have 3 days of morning lows in the 60's!!!  Seasonal is 73.  YAY!!!!!!!

Mmm. Potassium. I knew there was a reason why I liked lima beans so much.

Sometimes, I'll pop an S-Cap more for the potassium than the sodium. It does seem to help get the "sour" feeling out of the legs while going long.

Good news on the w/r experiments. They bode well for you. And they may even help you get fitter, faster, as well. It's just another form of interval training.

Mark B wrote:Mmm. Potassium. I knew there was a reason why I liked lima beans so much.

Sometimes, I'll pop an S-Cap more for the potassium than the sodium. It does seem to help get the "sour" feeling out of the legs while going long.

Good news on the w/r experiments. They bode well for you. And they may even help you get fitter, faster, as well. It's just another form of interval training.

Not sure why, but there's only about 23 or 30 mg of potassium in an SCap and about 240-300 mg of sodium.  That's quite a kick for you.

I never knew this was interval training.  I thought it was "Mother Michele's 1 'n 1 Run Fun"

-30-

Gosh, I could confuse the crap out of y'all as to why today's walk/run didn't go well.

Was it:
A) Residual effects of Monday's walk/run.
B) Donating red blood cells, yesterday.  
C) Not ready for prime time on 16 miles (8 'n .
D) All of the above.

I don't think it's C.  I think it was a combination of A and B, with B in the last 6 miles.

Y'all may remember that I donate platelets and sometimes plasma, too.  Those blood components don't affect running.  Red blood cells, which carries oxygen to the muscles, usually does affect running.  Why did I do that?  I didn't want to and for the first time in 25 odd years, I wasn't asked what I wanted to donate.  Freak occurence.  It takes 8 weeks to completely replenish the Reds.  So, it was a platelets and RBC donation.

Today with 3 miles to go, my hamstring and my glutes were barking from overuse.  Both muscle groups NEVER bark, unless there's a strain.  So, I walked the last 3 miles.  The times were bleeding since mile 9.  

The lower temps didn't happen.  It was 73 degrees with 71 degrees as the dewpoint, but it wasn't oppressive.  I don't think this run was a setback.

16 miles, 4:23:30, 16:28 pace, 131 avg cadence, 0.75 m avg stride length, 1st half pace 15:30, 2nd half pace 17:26
1.  17:00, 118 spm, 80 sl
2.  13:48, 162 spm, 72 sl
3.  17:01, 119 spm, 80 sl
4.  13:49, 162 spm, 72 sl
5.  15:53, 142 spm, 71 sl
6.  14:11, 159 spm, 72 sl
7.  17:37, 118 spm, 77 sl
8.  14:41, 158 spm, 69 sl
9.  17:39, 115 spm, 79 sl
10. 14:56, 155 spm, 70 sl
11. 17:39, 118 spm, 78 sl
12. 15:11, 152 spm, 70 sl
13. 18:26, 116 spm, 75 sl
14. 18:09, 114 spm, 78 sl
15. 18:40, 110 spm, 78 sl
16. 18:46, 110 spm, 78 sl

I did try that power walking on mile 5, but figured out for the short term to not do that during the first half of a run.  At this time, I think it takes too much energy to start that soon.

I do think Monday's run affected the overall time for today, but I'm not materially more tired today than Monday.  So, hopefully, I can do something on Friday morning.  If not, then I think I'm going to need to run the long runs on Mondays, because I'll have a solid two day rest on Saturday and Sunday.

ounce wrote:

Mark B wrote:Mmm. Potassium. I knew there was a reason why I liked lima beans so much.

Sometimes, I'll pop an S-Cap more for the potassium than the sodium. It does seem to help get the "sour" feeling out of the legs while going long.

Good news on the w/r experiments. They bode well for you. And they may even help you get fitter, faster, as well. It's just another form of interval training.

Not sure why, but there's only about 23 or 30 mg of potassium in an SCap and about 240-300 mg of sodium.  That's quite a kick for you.

I never knew this was interval training.  I thought it was "Mother Michele's 1 'n 1 Run Fun"

-30-

Gosh, I could confuse the crap out of y'all as to why today's walk/run didn't go well.

Was it:
A) Residual effects of Monday's walk/run.
B) Donating red blood cells, yesterday.  
C) Not ready for prime time on 16 miles (8 'n .
D) All of the above.

I don't think it's C.  I think it was a combination of A and B, with B in the last 6 miles.

Y'all may remember that I donate platelets and sometimes plasma, too.  Those blood components don't affect running.  Red blood cells, which carries oxygen to the muscles, usually does affect running.  Why did I do that?  I didn't want to and for the first time in 25 odd years, I wasn't asked what I wanted to donate.  Freak occurence.  It takes 8 weeks to completely replenish the Reds.  So, it was a platelets and RBC donation.

Today with 3 miles to go, my hamstring and my glutes were barking from overuse.  Both muscle groups NEVER bark, unless there's a strain.  So, I walked the last 3 miles.  The times were bleeding since mile 9.  

The lower temps didn't happen.  It was 73 degrees with 71 degrees as the dewpoint, but it wasn't oppressive.  I don't think this run was a setback.

16 miles, 4:23:30, 16:28 pace, 131 avg cadence, 0.75 m avg stride length, 1st half pace 15:30, 2nd half pace 17:26
1.  17:00, 118 spm, 80 sl
2.  13:48, 162 spm, 72 sl
3.  17:01, 119 spm, 80 sl
4.  13:49, 162 spm, 72 sl
5.  15:53, 142 spm, 71 sl
6.  14:11, 159 spm, 72 sl
7.  17:37, 118 spm, 77 sl
8.  14:41, 158 spm, 69 sl
9.  17:39, 115 spm, 79 sl
10. 14:56, 155 spm, 70 sl
11. 17:39, 118 spm, 78 sl
12. 15:11, 152 spm, 70 sl
13. 18:26, 116 spm, 75 sl
14. 18:09, 114 spm, 78 sl
15. 18:40, 110 spm, 78 sl
16. 18:46, 110 spm, 78 sl

I did try that power walking on mile 5, but figured out for the short term to not do that during the first half of a run.  At this time, I think it takes too much energy to start that soon.

I do think Monday's run affected the overall time for today, but I'm not materially more tired today than Monday.  So, hopefully, I can do something on Friday morning.  If not, then I think I'm going to need to run the long runs on Mondays, because I'll have a solid two day rest on Saturday and Sunday.

Curses!!

It's totally and utterly B.

Sorry, Ounce. It's going to feel like somebody pulled the plug on you for a while. I've rebounded from donating RBCs in 7-10 days before, but there have been other times when it's taken weeks. Just read up on anything you can do/consume to improve blood cell production and go for it. Also stay hydrated.

Take it easy for a couple days Doug...that has to be hard on a body that's attempting to train as much as you are.

I'm a bit late to the potassium discussion...sorry.  I've long considered potassium pretty important...bananas all year and strawberries when they are available.  (California strawberries don't count!)  I've even been know to pop an S-cap, Endurolyte, or even miss up nuun to drink if I'm feeling the need as part of my recovery.

I read an interesting article about sodium the other day.  I haven't had time to check it out and find more information yet. Essentially it described a study done on cosmonauts.  It was intended to study the effect of so much time together so they were locked in a room.  They noticed some interesting things about their diets during the study so they repeated it and monitored their diets a bit more.  What they mentioned was that an increase in sodium in their diet did not make them more thirsty...it made them more hungry(??).  They also mentioned that the body excretes excess sodium very effectively and that if sodium is high but the body is poorly hydrated it will actually convert fat and muscle to allow access to stored water so that it can excrete the sodium.  It talked about high sodium diets as a way to lose weight...now that's scary!!!!  I don't have time to track this down and read more but I am intrigued.  I'm hesitant to trust studies...there are some pretty strange conclusions published that are often later revised.

Take it easy and hydrate well...

Thank you both.  I accept it's the RBC depletion.  After emailing the Blood Center, I've found out the amount of RBC I donated is the same quantity as if I had given a pint of whole blood.  Lovely.

I'm sure it won't be noticeable in 4 weeks, as long as it's not a long run in the sun.  I typically am quite easily able to generate the components of blood.  That day, my hematocrit (RBC, WBC, and Platelets separated from the plasma) was 49%, meaning 49% of the sample were the components and 51% is plasma.  I think a person has to have a hematocrit of 36% to donate.  53% is the upper limit and I've hit 52% one time...the day after eating a porterhouse.  Thick blood.

As far as replenishing, 500 mg vitamin C helps the iron in food to bind, exercise, eating the usual red meat, beans (can't), fish, fruit (can't), plant life (can't), etc., folate (folic acid) and other minor things.

Back in the early 90's, I donated a pint of whole blood, then two weeks later another pint for someone having surgery twice.  That was an interesting feeling of minor lightheaded effects.  I'm at least a 46 gallon donor since 1981.

Separately, the increase in potassium will cause the kidneys to excrete more fluid because the sodium amount is less, proportionate to the potassium, which is perfectly fine.  I'll be taking 2 grams a day, split 1 gram 2x a day.  That's about 1 measuring teaspoon.  I'll stay on that dosage for about a month.  2 grams is less than half the ending dosage of 4-5 grams per day.  I have seen the Daily Requirement is either 3,500 mg or 4,700 mg.  There's not a risk of taking too much potassium, under this plan, even with eating foods with potassium.

So, I'll do my best to not muddy the waters, while still doing something.  Seems like tomorrow would be a good time to investigate a new route that takes me west, instead of east towards downtown I usually do.

Okay, question about California produce to y'all. 

Among other items, peaches and nectarines are widely sold in Houston.  Specifically peaches do not taste like a Georgia or South Carolina peach.  California peaches look like a peach, but they don't have the depth of flavor a Georgia or South Carolina peach has.  Based on Nancy's parenthetical comment on California strawberries.

Is that apparent up there on other items y'all like?

This morning it was 68 degrees with a dewpoint of 66, which is BELOW seasonal average of 73...and there was STILL a sunrise.

Having been depleted of about 12% of my RBC, scaling back for a few weeks was going to be enforced, whether I wanted it or not.  So, I filled up my water bottle and headed west in a walking cadence of 120.  I have ran part of this route before, but it was maybe 10 years ago and was only 3 miles round trip.

I needed to scope out the route so I can find out how it looks in the dark of night and find some water fountains or water hoses.  Hopefully, I was going to be able to sense when I needed to turn around due to 1/8th of my RBC in someone else's body.

I ended up walking 6.85 miles at a 17:05 pace.  I think I turned around at 3.3 miles and finding no water fountains.  It's a residential area, so I wasn't really surprised.  I took a little different return route that went right by a park, figuring there was going to be a water fountain, and there was.  It was at about 2 miles to go, so it would work both going and coming, even though I usually don't take any water until mile 4 or 5.

Back to the walk, I noticed at mile 2 that I was wobbling some.  I usually don't wobble until two miles to go at any double digit r/w.  At 3.3, I was noticing the breathing was a bit harder than it should be, so my goal of getting to 5 miles and turn around wasn't attained, but I didn't bet any money.  Oddly, I didn't even have to argue with myself to "...just go 2 tenths more!"  That's for another day.  I wobbled a bit more, therefore I concentrated more.  I was never in any danger.

Not being on familiar concrete, my feet placement and adjustment for changes did cause some shear forces on the ball of the left foot.  In other words, I wasn't just striding forward, forward, forward.  I had to tweak a little.  Tweaking causes shearing.

6.85 miles, 1:56:58, 17:05 pace, 116 avg cadence, 0.81 m avg stride length.
1.  17.06, 119 spm, 78 sl
2.  17:00, 118 spm, 80 sl
3.  16:53, 115 spm, 83 sl
4.  17:04, 116 spm, 80 sl
5.  17:01, 118 spm, 80 sl
6.  16:39, 118 spm, 81 sl
7.  16:55 pace, 110 spm, 86 sl

I was pleased to maintain the 17 minute pace.  I never tried to run, nor power walk.  Just tried to do a 120 cadence.  Post-walk, there was no tightening of the PF on my left heel.

I'll be a good boy, this weekend, and eat what I should.  

I started the 1 gram dose of potassium, last night.  It amounts to almost a measuring teaspoon.  I put it in a glass, then put about 4 ounces of water.  The powder dissolves easily and tastes like it has metal in it.  Not the kind of flavor you're looking forward to having twice a day for a month.  I've noticed some possible reaction to the potassium, but I will see over the next week if it resolves itself.  Just what I would characterize as a mosquito bite appearance.

Y'all have a good weekend!  Thanks for stopping by.

ounce wrote:This morning it was 68 degrees with a dewpoint of 66, which is BELOW seasonal average of 73...and there was STILL a sunrise.

Having been depleted of about 12% of my RBC, scaling back for a few weeks was going to be enforced, whether I wanted it or not.  So, I filled up my water bottle and headed west in a walking cadence of 120.  I have ran part of this route before, but it was maybe 10 years ago and was only 3 miles round trip.

I needed to scope out the route so I can find out how it looks in the dark of night and find some water fountains or water hoses.  Hopefully, I was going to be able to sense when I needed to turn around due to 1/8th of my RBC in someone else's body.

I ended up walking 6.85 miles at a 17:05 pace.  I think I turned around at 3.3 miles and finding no water fountains.  It's a residential area, so I wasn't really surprised.  I took a little different return route that went right by a park, figuring there was going to be a water fountain, and there was.  It was at about 2 miles to go, so it would work both going and coming, even though I usually don't take any water until mile 4 or 5.

Back to the walk, I noticed at mile 2 that I was wobbling some.  I usually don't wobble until two miles to go at any double digit r/w.  At 3.3, I was noticing the breathing was a bit harder than it should be, so my goal of getting to 5 miles and turn around wasn't attained, but I didn't bet any money.  Oddly, I didn't even have to argue with myself to "...just go 2 tenths more!"  That's for another day.  I wobbled a bit more, therefore I concentrated more.  I was never in any danger.

Not being on familiar concrete, my feet placement and adjustment for changes did cause some shear forces on the ball of the left foot.  In other words, I wasn't just striding forward, forward, forward.  I had to tweak a little.  Tweaking causes shearing.

6.85 miles, 1:56:58, 17:05 pace, 116 avg cadence, 0.81 m avg stride length.
1.  17.06, 119 spm, 78 sl
2.  17:00, 118 spm, 80 sl
3.  16:53, 115 spm, 83 sl
4.  17:04, 116 spm, 80 sl
5.  17:01, 118 spm, 80 sl
6.  16:39, 118 spm, 81 sl
7.  16:55 pace, 110 spm, 86 sl

I was pleased to maintain the 17 minute pace.  I never tried to run, nor power walk.  Just tried to do a 120 cadence.  Post-walk, there was no tightening of the PF on my left heel.

I'll be a good boy, this weekend, and eat what I should.  

I started the 1 gram dose of potassium, last night.  It amounts to almost a measuring teaspoon.  I put it in a glass, then put about 4 ounces of water.  The powder dissolves easily and tastes like it has metal in it.  Not the kind of flavor you're looking forward to having twice a day for a month.  I've noticed some possible reaction to the potassium, but I will see over the next week if it resolves itself.  Just what I would characterize as a mosquito bite appearance.

Y'all have a good weekend!  Thanks for stopping by.

Wobbling, tweaking, shearing...none of those sound good.

I do think you should be good this weekend!  Enjoy your forced stepback/mini break and don't stress over it.  I've learned that stressing does not help!

Thanks, Nancy!  I figure wobbling is RBC related, tweaking related to a new course, and the shearing is the result of both.

I think tomorrow I'll do the same course as Friday and see what happens.  I think it's a good thing that I'm not running over a new course until I get the lay of the land.

On a different subject, chafing.  One pair of compression shorts are contributing to chafing.  I am using Vaseline on the area, but once chafed, it is more sensitive and slower to heal.  What stuff do y'all use?  The chafing is not in an accessible area for a roll on.  Have y'all had better experience with a zinc oxide based product or a coconut oil/cocoa butter based product?  Thanks.

My body seems to have adapted to the potassium powder dosage.

ounce wrote:Thanks, Nancy!  I figure wobbling is RBC related, tweaking related to a new course, and the shearing is the result of both.

I think tomorrow I'll do the same course as Friday and see what happens.  I think it's a good thing that I'm not running over a new course until I get the lay of the land.

On a different subject, chafing.  One pair of compression shorts are contributing to chafing.  I am using Vaseline on the area, but once chafed, it is more sensitive and slower to heal.  What stuff do y'all use?  The chafing is not in an accessible area for a roll on.  Have y'all had better experience with a zinc oxide based product or a coconut oil/cocoa butter based product?  Thanks.

My body seems to have adapted to the potassium powder dosage.

You might try Chamois Butt'r.  It was made for cyclists but is a good all round anti chafe cream.  It's not greasy and works well for me.

nkrichards wrote:

ounce wrote:Thanks, Nancy!  I figure wobbling is RBC related, tweaking related to a new course, and the shearing is the result of both.

I think tomorrow I'll do the same course as Friday and see what happens.  I think it's a good thing that I'm not running over a new course until I get the lay of the land.

On a different subject, chafing.  One pair of compression shorts are contributing to chafing.  I am using Vaseline on the area, but once chafed, it is more sensitive and slower to heal.  What stuff do y'all use?  The chafing is not in an accessible area for a roll on.  Have y'all had better experience with a zinc oxide based product or a coconut oil/cocoa butter based product?  Thanks.

My body seems to have adapted to the potassium powder dosage.

You might try Chamois Butt'r.  It was made for cyclists but is a good all round anti chafe cream.  It's not greasy and works well for me.

I'll check it out!  Thanks.

-30-

This morning, I walked the same route that I did on Friday morning to see if some of the minor things (wobbling, tweaking, shearing) changed.  It was 77 degrees with 100% humidity (or a dewpoint of 77) and zero wind at 4:05 a.m. when I started.  For some unknown reason, the watch didn't record the cadence and stride length

7 miles, 1:58:54, 16:59 pace, 1st half pace 17:07, 2nd half pace 16:52
1.  17:22
2.  17:01
3.  16:47
4.  17:05
5.  16:43
6.  16:58
7.  16:55

Familiarity helps.  Not being a little cautious about the unknowns and not well lit route on Friday helped, this morning.  No tweaking caused no shearing and the wobbling was reduced a bunch.  What wobbling there was did not happen until the last mile and a half.  

I had a little chafing which is because of the seams on the compression shorts.  My favorite pair is no longer manufactured.  The chafing pair is good for 5-6 miles.  It's difficult for me to locate compression shorts with a drawstring and elastic waist band (like gym shorts).  Nowadays, most are just elastic.  But I'll keep looking.

Overall, the walk went well and I almost started increasing the cadence from 120 to 142, but I wanted good data to  compare.  I went a little farther, faster, when it was 9 degrees warmer.

As a result, y'all can take the rest of the day off!  Thanks for stopping by.

Tweaking, shearing, chafing. Bundle of fun, aren't you?

No answers for you on the compression shorts, sorry. I use Body Glide, and that usually is enough.

So irritating about the RBC loss, but at least it's helping somebody...

Hope you saw Matt's post. Sounds like he's shutting the place down.

Mark B wrote:Tweaking, shearing, chafing. Bundle of fun, aren't you?

No answers for you on the compression shorts, sorry. I use Body Glide, and that usually is enough.

So irritating about the RBC loss, but at least it's helping somebody...

Hope you saw Matt's post. Sounds like he's shutting the place down.

I try to be.

I did purchase the Chamois Butt'r at a local bike store.  I was hoping they sold bike clothes, too, so I could ask them about compression shorts.  Nope.

I then went to our Texas equivalent to Dick's, Academy, and scoured both the men AND women's compression shorts.  I found a pair in the women's section, but it was stitched in the crotch like the ones I have.  They were bike shorts.  They had another style that I'll try.  I'll wear pink capris, if I don't get chafed.  My ego doesn't need to be stroked.

ounce wrote:

Mark B wrote:Tweaking, shearing, chafing. Bundle of fun, aren't you?

No answers for you on the compression shorts, sorry. I use Body Glide, and that usually is enough.

So irritating about the RBC loss, but at least it's helping somebody...

Hope you saw Matt's post. Sounds like he's shutting the place down.

I try to be.

I did purchase the Chamois Butt'r at a local bike store.  I was hoping they sold bike clothes, too, so I could ask them about compression shorts.  Nope.

I then went to our Texas equivalent to Dick's, Academy, and scoured both the men AND women's compression shorts.  I found a pair in the women's section, but it was stitched in the crotch like the ones I have.  They were bike shorts.  They had another style that I'll try.  I'll wear pink capris, if I don't get chafed.  My ego doesn't need to be stroked.

I'm sure that Gary would loan you the pink tutu that he wore so he could run the Girlfriends Half with me a couple years ago...wait that might not help with your chafing problem...

nkrichards wrote:

ounce wrote:

Mark B wrote:Tweaking, shearing, chafing. Bundle of fun, aren't you?

No answers for you on the compression shorts, sorry. I use Body Glide, and that usually is enough.

So irritating about the RBC loss, but at least it's helping somebody...

Hope you saw Matt's post. Sounds like he's shutting the place down.

I try to be.

I did purchase the Chamois Butt'r at a local bike store.  I was hoping they sold bike clothes, too, so I could ask them about compression shorts.  Nope.

I then went to our Texas equivalent to Dick's, Academy, and scoured both the men AND women's compression shorts.  I found a pair in the women's section, but it was stitched in the crotch like the ones I have.  They were bike shorts.  They had another style that I'll try.  I'll wear pink capris, if I don't get chafed.  My ego doesn't need to be stroked.

I'm sure that Gary would loan you the pink tutu that he wore so he could run the Girlfriends Half with me a couple years ago...wait that might not help with your chafing problem...

I'm fine with a pink tutu, but I doubt he'd get it back with any of the waistband elastic still in place.

-30-
Tomorrow, I think I'll either walk a longer distance or do the same 6 miles, but run some of it.