Name Change Required?

Welcome to the Booze Hounds Inc. Running Walking Team! My new lunchtime walking routine has been great for clearing the mind and taking a break from the computer screen during my work week. Sadly, walking makes up the majority of my exercise these days.

While it's not spectacular, at least July's running has been a bit more consistent with at least one run per week. Here is last month's statistical rundown:

• Total Miles: 15 mile (6 runs)
• Total Time: 3.61 hours
• Highest Weekly: 4 miles
• Average Weekly: 3.75 miles
• Average Pace: 14:47/mile
• The Monthly Dif: +5 (10 miles in June)

BONUS STATS!

• Walking: 23.25 miles (15 walks)

As you can see, my walking stats far outpace my running, but at least I'm doing something. Considering the workouts on my new pull-up bar, perhaps the proper spin would be to say my exercise has become more diversified. Unfortunately, it's not yet translating to the scale, as my struggles to eat better continue.

What has surprised me is how walking seems to keep my legs feeling light on those occasions I go a week or more between runs. In the past, my legs would feel dead and heavy, but now they feel nimble and fresh.

One further note about my running this month, specifically my average pace. Two trips to the par course submarined my overall speed, as stopping at each station sinks my pace to about 20 minutes per mile. Excuses, excuses.

At least I ran more than I did the month before. Improvement!

New Layout Bombs
Boy, you guys really hated that new layout I unveiled in June and then replaced with the current one in early July. My blog stats fell off a cliff, from 639 total visits in May to 244 in June. Ouch! July showed an increase to 365 total visits. You win, OK? Tell your friends I fixed the layout. Cheers!

Flashback Friday: Don't Forget to Breathe

Tell me if you've heard this one before. Inhale, "Hrk!" One, two, exhale. Rest. Inhale, "Ah-grr-ung!" One, two, exhale. Rest. Repeat. Does that sound familiar to anyone? This what it sounds like when I'm logging reps at my new pull-up bar. I forget to breathe during the actual work part of the workout.

After about five pull-ups and feeling like my head was going to explode, I thought maybe I should try breathing while I'm doing this. What a novel idea! Have you ever heard of such a thing? Believe you me, it helps.

Now, I'm back up to 10 pull-ups, going by two for the first four to six reps and then one at a time with rests in between. Then, it's as many chin-ups as possible (in this case five). Once I started breathing, it was much easier. So, remember to inhale and exhale oxygen as you exercise, teammates. The more you know!

Corollaries
OK, so I only had a cookie and part of a candy apple on Wednesday in terms of my struggle to eat less sugar. Considering dessert has been a semi-daily occurrence in recent months, this was an improvement. Also considering our evil office manager stocked up on mini candy bars, red licorice, M&M's and Mike & Ikes, I'd say my will power is improving as well. My reward? Minus four pounds on the scale of suckage.

Another Scorcher
What is this, Houston? We have another heat advisory today, wherein the heat and humidity are getting it on in the backseat of summer's sedan, sticking to the leather upholstery and steaming up the windows. Somebody's going to pass out if this keeps up. That means I'll be stinking out my coworkers after my lunchtime walk. Maybe I should start bringing some deodorant to work ...

Back Talk
Wherein we weigh the moral issues of the day 

Miss Zippy chimes in about poaching water: "[My] club puts out jugs at three stops each week during our [Saturday] runs. People definitely poach from them and I don't get too worked up over it."

Answer: What if I took the jugs and sold them on the black market?

Happy Hour is nearly upon us, teammates! Have a finely brewed weekend. Run well and drink well.

Cheers!

No More Mosquito Madness

Pull-up bar (aka laundry hanger)

When the simple solution didn't work, my quest was renewed. This week, the search ended and all is right with the world. My arms are about to hurt so good.

Awhile back I mentioned wanting to buy a pull-up bar for the house so I didn't have to stop at the Sand Run Parcours Trail and get eaten by mosquitoes. When my birthday rolled around, I asked for and received one of those contraptions that wedge into a doorway, but discovered that the wood molding in our nearly hundred-year-old house wouldn't support it. Now, the problem is solved.

Amazon.com had a comparably priced joist-mounted pull-up bar (the one you see above). I placed the order Monday, and it already arrived last night from an independent seller. Shipping wasn't cheap, but it was fast.

The bar is SOLID. As you can probably see in the photo, it provides a variety of grips (close, wide and neutral) for pull-ups, chin-ups and whatever you call the other possible workouts. It is mounted onto a floor joist in the basement. It took four long carriage bolts, which required a bit of drilling. I needed Mrs. Viper's help to hold the bar so I could mark the holes, but otherwise it was simple to install.

I thought about buying materials from a hardware store to make my own bar, but since the doorway bar was a gift, I put some of the refund money toward this prefabricated bar.

This morning, I did five pull-ups and five chin-ups. I want to work my way up to 20 of each and then see what other exercises I can do. And while I have a hard time getting up in the morning to run, it's really easy for me to stumble down to the basement and knock out a few pull-ups before getting ready for the day.

Palms In vs. Palms Out

First a quick tutorial (for Jess). Chin-up = palms in. Pull-up = palms out. The difference in grip = different muscles worked. Both stress the back/lats and biceps, but chin-ups work your biceps more and pull-ups more the lats. You'll get more detailed analysis here and elsewhere, but that's the gist of it. For me, pull-ups are more difficult.

Yesterday's run was the first time I've cracked a 12-minute mile on trails all year. The Buckeye Trail in Brecksville was dry and empty. Only one major climb required walking, so otherwise the winding paths kept me flying.

It must be time to up my distance though, as my exhaustion soon passed. My runs still have mostly been timed, with my watch timer set for a 35-minute out and back. When I was done running, I sat on a picnic table for a few moments and then decided to stop by the Sand Run Parcours Trail for a set of pull-ups. This time on the higher bar mentioned in yesterday's post.

FYI, leaping up to the bar takes a lot out of you. I managed three consecutive pull-ups before having to drop down, and then I was done. I tried but couldn't do another rep on the higher bar, so I switched to the one where my toes still touch the ground and managed three more solid reps and a few half-assed attempts before calling it quits.

That familiar feeling of soreness that was lacking in the prior day's set of pull-ups was felt again. My body buzzed from exhaustion. It was a good day.