Making Do With The Treadmill

So I’ve been lazy about posting lately and of course that has something to do with not being to talk about my running experiences due to my ankle tendon problems. I never thought I would ever say this: I’m making do with treadmill runs and even getting pleasure from finishing an hour on it. This lower impact alternative is better than not being able to run at all. I’ve had more treadmill runs in the past two weeks than I’ve run on the road. My pace is slow enough to read the newspaper except I have to reread some lines and paragraphs to comprehend the words that just passed in front of my eyes. Even if I wasn’t reading, I don’t think I could go much faster anyway because I’m keeping the pace only to the point where my ankles don’t get overstretched. One thing good about trying to read while running on a treadmill: you have to try to run smoothly and not bounce up and down too much thus lessening the impact of your stride. In the condition my ankle tendons are in though, I don’t see myself ever running long distances again. One hour on the road or treadmill two to three times a week is all my joints can tolerate.

I don’t know if this is real or just my perception of things, but the anesthetic effects of endorphins seem to last much longer than NSAIDS as far as my ankle tendons are concerned. When I don’t overstretch the tendons, the usual pain is numbed between 8 to 12 hours. The only NSAIDS I take is a daily aspirin for heart health and that doesn’t even come close to numbing the pain compared to an endorphin high. Of course when the ankle tendons are overstretched, no amount of endorphins or NSAIDS help. By trying to run easily and slowly, I’m trying to keep the pain to a minimum. That reminds me of part of the lyrics to the song “Music of the Night” from Phantom of the Opera – “slowly gently…”

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My New Spinning Bike

Oh no! Not another exercise machine! In the quest for another endorphin producing activity as a substitute to running, another workout device appeared in my living room last week. I’ve always wanted to get a spinning bike even before I wanted a treadmill and elliptical machine. More than a decade ago, I used an old bike mounted on what used to be called a turbo trainer, but I had since disposed of that.  Until this year, the prices of spinning bikes were not within the range of my meager income and strict budget, with the cheapest one at $600. That was even down from over $1000 maybe just 5 years ago. In the past year, with the popularity of spinning classes in gyms, the imitators have finally caught up and started manufacturing cheaper spinning bikes for home use. When the lowest price Proform brand bike went down to $299 a couple of months ago, it piqued my interest in buying one but couldn’t at that time because I had to send some money to my mom in the Philippines for her birthday. After that, I started shopping around. The Sports Authority store had it on sale for $299 last week, but with the sales tax and shipping charges, that would have brought the price close to $400. Meanwhile on Amazon.com, the base price was the same but without the extra charges, so I ordered one last Monday and it arrived on Friday morning. Amazon.com was able to get the product to me pretty fast because it was available at their Los Angeles distribution warehouse. Normally, with free shipping, it would have taken a couple of weeks.

So I was helping the delivery guy carry the 112 pound box up the stairs and to keep it steady, I had the left side of my face supporting the box while I lifted with my arms.  Well, when he pulled from above and I pushed from below, the box scratched my right temple drawing blood and bent my eyeglass frame. So now you can call me Scarface and I can also say that the machine cost me money and blood. All that was missing was spilled guts.

Exercise machines should be made this way: mostly preassembled at the factory so it’s easier to put together the rest at home. All I needed to do was attach the front and back base, pedals, handlebars, seat post, and seat to the main frame and flywheel. After that, it was just a matter of making adjustments to fit me. Even out of the box this machine is so darn heavy. My back still felt tired, though fortunately not strained, three days after helping the delivery guy and moving the machine around.

So what did I do to the old upright stationary bike? I considered offering it for free to any neighbor who might be interested or selling it. But since I had stripped it down to the bare necessities, I didn’t think anyone would want it. I moved it to the garage instead and wrapped it in plastic. What I couldn’t do with the old bike was stand ups on the pedals because the handlebars were too high and it felt unbalanced. Now I can do stand ups on the spinning bike. I was able to transfer the old magazine/book holder from the old bike to the new one by replacing the plastic ties that secure it to the handlebars. I have a bunch of plastic ties that I bought years ago from the 99 cent store (the kind the cops use for disposable handcuffs).

                On Sunday, while my friends were running the Long Beach Marathon or half, I was at home trying out my new spinning bike. After warming up and getting a feel for it, I started doing one minute stand ups, which increased the intensity and subsequent calorie burn of the workout. I did a few stand ups and recoveries until I reached one hour. This machine really makes me sweat! I’ve never gotten my tops of my socks wet while riding a bike until now. The next day, I was planning on running but my right calf was still slightly sore from Saturday’s run, so I mounted the spinning bike again. During the one hour workout, I was able to do several repeats of 2 minute stand ups. I’m already loving my new spinning bike! The workouts are exhausting. Spilled sweat, yes, but no spilled guts… yet.

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Easy Rider

Well I finally reached an hour and slightly beyond for a bike ride on a cool and overcast Tuesday morning. Since I experienced that outer left thigh pain last Saturday, I deliberately pedaled on lower gears while trying to maintain a steady cadence so as to decrease the strain on the knees and thighs. It appears to have worked pretty well because I don’t feel that I aggravated the injury ever though there was a slight pain afterwards. After a warm up circle of the Virginia Country Club area, I ventured out to the Los Angeles River bike path to find out how long it would take to reach downtown Long Beach. It didn’t take too long from where I entered the path on Willow Street. I reached the end of the bike path downtown in only about 15 minutes. I wasn’t prepared to explore further so I turned around to go back home. The bike path itself was very well paved with asphalt with brief sections of concrete underneath bridges.

I haven’t done a lot of street riding yet because I feel that I need to learn to control the bike better. I also haven’t used my Garmin GPS so I don’t know how far I have ridden or what my average speed has been. For now, just riding for elapsed time is enough.

On the butt front (huh?!), it appears like my rear end is adjusting a bit better to riding, although I have to do a few split second stand-ups to relieve pressure from the saddle. I am expecting a pair of cushioned bike shorts in the mail which I ordered online and I hope the shorts will make my rides a bit more comfortable and a better experience.

Tuesday’s ride with the lower gears felt almost too easy cardiovascularly because I never got short of breathe, so I added another half hour on the recumbent stationary bike when I got home to get my aerobic fix. I’m such a darn endorphin addict and I just got to have it whichever way I can!

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Looking For a High

                Or as heroin addicts call it: chasing the dragon, but for different reasons that runners pursue their sport for a high. Heroin is a narcotic and something that numbs pain which is the nature of its high. Runners on the other hand look for their high even when their pain causes additional pain. In a way, they are both forms of addiction where your body craves for more as time goes on. For heroin addicts, the extract of the poppy plant, and for runners, the endorphins that the body produces.

                When endorphins kick in during a run, minor aches and pains magically disappear and if your body can catch up with the healing process, so much the better. But for some people like me whose injury doesn’t heal and can only get worse, the endorphin high is a welcome temporary relief even though I tend to suffer more pain when the high wears off. I wish I could bottle the stuff. I know I’m not the only one who practices this self torture in search of a high because other injured runners can easily identify with it. We are after all a bunch of endorphin junkies.

                Just like the heroin addict looking for his next fix, I crave my body’s natural drug so I can get a high off it during the times that I am able to run, because it makes the pain more bearable. My name is Noel and I’m an addict… but I get high legally.

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Trying Out The New Elliptical Machine

     I tested the new elliptical machine on Friday morning and for the first few minutes I could hardly believe how whisper quiet it was. My recumbent bike made more noise than the elliptical. However after about 15 minutes of continuous use, it started groaning, squeaking, and creaking but the noises would mysteriously disappear before another strange sound came up. The good thing is that the noise disappears eventually but replaced with another kind of noise. I hope it’s just the machine settling and redistributing its lubricants.

     I’ve only used an elliptical machine once before a few years ago when I walked past a gym and asked the owner if I can try it. He had me sign a waiver in case I got injured while using the machine. Now that I have one, I’m finding out how unnatural it is to move your arms and legs at the same time with the handlebars and the pedals. It was easier to just use the fixed handlebar. Another thing I found out is that it is difficult to read a newspaper while using the machine because of the up and down motion. Due to my poor balance I’m afraid to let go of the handlebar for fear of falling off. If I have to work out harder I’d have give up reading while on the machine. However, since the machine is quiet, it’s more feasible to watch TV or a movie without having to raise the volume too much.

     At the time of my first use, I still hadn’t figured out how to increase the tension of the pedals and it wasn’t until hours later when I read the instructions did I learn how to do that and the programmed workouts. The instructions itself wasn’t a very easy read because it was printed in China and you had to interpret in proper English what it was really saying. I’m sure some of your electronic items have instructions like that too. The machine has a manual setting, 12 pre-programmed workouts, and I think 2 user programmable workouts. It has the usual heart rate monitor, speed, distance, time, calories burned, plus two things I didn’t expect: a body mass index (BMI) calculator and body fat percentage calculator.

     Other than the squeaks, creaks, and groans of the machine which I hope is a part of the break-in process, I like all the functions that it has which appear to be similar to high end machines. And it mimics the running motion better than the stairmaster or stationary bike. If it gives me the same endorphin high that running does, so much the better. I tried out the new elliptical machine and lived to tell about it, so for now, two thumbs up!

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