This past week has been a whirlwind. So, here goes:
Saturday: 2 mile walk before the game. Sunday: Boring 10.1 mile usual course (to the Riverfront) 2:54:23. Absurdly slow; not sure why (bad eating on Saturday?) Monday: weights and 2.2 commuter walk; featured my usual 50 reps of pull ups, (sets of 5, 6, 8), bench was 10 x 134 Swiss and then 3 sets of 5 x 150, high incline, etc. Tuesday: bloodwork day (physical on Monday) so a flat 4 mile walk at 14:20 around campus (cool) Wednesday: 2.1 mile commuter walk; did some deadlifting (10 x 134, 10 x 184 low), 10 x 230 wagon wheel bench: narrow with 94, 105, 105 (sets of 10) and a first set with 134 (regular) high incline: 10 x 94, 2 x 115 (didn’t have it), 2 sets of 6 x 105 Pull ups: I did have 5 sets of 6, 8, 5, 6, 6.
Thursday: 6.2 before classes in 1:28:54 (14:20); better than the past few.
Today: B to the hospital (non-emergency procedure) so I walked 5k around campus.
Football: Saturday, I went to the Illinois vs Rutgers (11 am start) (sold my ISU tickets; they won easily 31-16. Because I had B with me, I did not attempt to make the second half of this 2:30 game.)
The Illini won 35-13 and it was not really that close.
You knew how the game was going to go. Rutgers did get a nice punt to pin the Illini on their own 1. Then the Illini drove it 99 yards for a touchdown. Rutgers responded with a drive and a field goal. A tipped pass interception gave the Scarlet Knights another shot and another field goal and so it was 7-6. The Illini drove it again (5 trips to the red zone, 5 touch downs) and it was now 21-6 at the half. Two touchdown drives in the 3’rd put it away.
Rutgers got a face saving touchdown late and appeared to have a chance at another, getting the ball to the 3 with 1 second left in the game. The Illini called a time out to set the defense and prevented the score.
The Illini outgained Rutgers 445-312 but most of Rutgers’ yardage came at garbage time.
Saturday night: I saw the Illinois State Redbirds beat Morehead State 41-13. While the Eagles were overmatched, they did take the opening drive for a touchdown (and botched the extra point). After a fumble and a punt, the Redbirds got a field goal to pull to within 6-3, which was the first quarter score. Finally the Birds got rolling and it was 17-6 at the half. Every now and then the Eagles could get a short drive, but they did not have good field goal kicking and had to go for it when they got to the 30 or so. The Redbirds have a better kicker and tacked on 10 to lead 27-6 going into the 4’th quarter.
But, somehow, the Eagles rallied and put together a nice drive to cut it to 27-13, which it remained until 4:28 when a drive netted an “ice the game” touchdown. A scoop and score on the next series pushed the final margin to 41-13.
Sunday: West Peoria 8 plus 2 miles of campus walking: 14:36 pace (2:26:25). This was my best 10 mile walk since last September (Quad Cities half). Go figure.
Then we had a little mini-hike at Forest Park Nature Center (lower loop with Barbara and Neil)
Monday: slow 2 mile commuter walk over lunch (like today). I was nursing a sore shoulder (bench presses on Saturday?). pull ups: 10 sets of 5 bench press: 10 x 134, 3 sets of 5 x 150 (very cautious) high incline: 10 x 94, 2 sets of 5 x 110
Tuesday: cool. 10K course in 1:28:18 (14:14); didn’t push the pace. Saw 3 deer.
Wednesday: 2 mile commuter walk.
pull ups 8 sets of 6 pull up style, set of 5 chin ups. Swiss Bar bench: 3 sets of 10 x 134 high incline: 10 x 94, 2 sets of 5 x 110 4 inch trap bar: 10 x 134, 10 x 184 Wagon wheel with the 60 lb bar: 10 x 230 (cautious)
First, a bit of social/political commentary: this going in and cancelling NSF grants: I’ll admit to having very mixed feelings.
On one hand: basic scientific research is rarely immediately profitable, and much of it will not pan out in terms of producing something material. But: it is important, not only because expanding human knowledge is good, but also because you never know when having research “on the shelf” will come in handy (e. g. research was already done on RNA type vaccines before covid hit).
So, yes, the NSF should be funding science.
On the other hand, some of what the NSF was funding IS stupid and a waste of time and money. Don’t ask me how I know.
A saying about babies and bathwater comes to mind.
But in the current academic climate, any time you want to fund something, even a STEM project, the wokes will want their cut and cry “bigotry” if they don’t get it.
And here is the rub: the MAGAS are against the wokes, but also against science. The liberals are for science, but also support the wokes. Sigh..
Workout notes
Minimal knee pain last night. Wonder how effective the knee sleeves are.
Workout: pull ups: 10 singles (HARD), then 8 sets of 5 (alternating pull ups, chin ups, two sets of mixed grips) then a set of 4 (penalty reps). It was hard..don’t know exactly why.
Downstairs: bench: 10 x 134, 3 sets of 5 x 160 (best in a while?)
deadlifts: 10 x 134 straight bar, wagon wheel with the straight bar: 10 x 184, 10 x 224 (glutes and lumbar were slightly sore from the last straight bar session) 4 inch trap bar: 10 x 244
high incline: 2 sets of 10 x 94, 5 x 105 curls: 3 sets of 10. Two 1 mile (plus) commuter walks to and from Walgreens.
I turn 65 in 3 month’s time. I’ve been working out regularly since 1972 (started with running and weights) and things have changed for me over time.
I was never good at sports: here is a smattering of my lifetime bests: high school: started one year of varsity and two years of JV football; was a back up for 1 year of varsity (my senior year!) though I played enough to letter. Went 12-3 in wrestling and won a 3’rd place medal in my league tournament (1974).
Weights (gym numbers) bench press PB is 310 lb (141 kg) in 1986-87..last saw 300 lb in 1993, deadlift (probably not powerlifting legal) 410 1979, clean and jerk: 195 (just over bodyweight at the time) and snatch 110 (that bad, really).
Running: 5:30 mile (1980, 5:31 in 1982) last sub 6 was 1999, 5K 18:57 (dubious course), 19:20 (certified course), last sub 20 was in 1998. Last sub 25 was in 2014. 10K 39:50 (1982), 42:20 as a Master, 1/2 marathon 1:34 in 1999 (2001 was my last sub 1:40), marathon 3:33 (1980), 3:38 (2000), 3:40 (2001) last sub 4 was 2002 (3:57); ran a 4:04 later that year.
Ultra: 101 miles 24 hour walk in 2004.
Swim: 5K open water in 1:36 in 2008; swam 1:34 in a pool (5500 yards in 2009). 15:36 is my 1000 yd PB, last sub 16 was in 2008.
Judged walks: 1500 in 8:31 (2003), 3000 in 18:03 (2004), 5k in 30:42 (2003), 20 k in 2:24 (2003) monitored power walk: 1/ 2 marathon in 2:17 (2003)
As you can see, this isn’t exactly athletic excellence. My wife calls me a “pretend athlete” as my best numbers are woefully short of what a competitive athlete can do.
But what I can do is important to *me*. And I work at it. And, well, as a 64 year old, I can do less than I once could.
Ability/recovery Of course, my capacity has fallen a great deal. To give an idea: pull ups: now sets of 5-10 (10 is getting sloppy) as opposed to 10-20 in years past. Bench press: way down; instead of repping 225, I rep 155. Walking: 14-15 minute miles feel the way that 12-13 used to.
And when I lift, I either have to take a bit off of the weight OR take longer and rest longer between sets. I have no choice. And I have to moderate my work week workouts lest I lose energy I need for my job.
Chronic conditions shoulder: I have Os acromiale (bones did not fuse together all the way) which leaves me vulnerable to rotator cuff impingements. This affects my presses. back: forminal stenosis (due to spondylolisthesis) which leads to modifications of my lifts and pull ups. Knees: meniscus in my right knee is all but gone, so no running. Back in 2020 I was feeling pain at the top of the shin bone when I ran. No space, no padding.
These lead to modifications: bench press: feet on a chair, no leg drive. High incline press and incline press: feet on a stool. Shoulder: high incline instead of shoulder press. Deadlift: heavier stuff done with a trap bar (various heights), though I am finding that lighter weights (220 lb or 100 kg) with a straight bar is fine.
Pull ups: knees forward, leads to a mild “kip”; this saves my lower back.
Running: replaced with brisk walking.
Swimming: laying off of it; my lumbar does NOT like the “extension” I get when I crawl.
Attitude I tend to not do 1 rep maxes nearly as often as I once did..and don’t do them in the deadlift at all. For me: serious strain = breakdown of form = radiating pain from my lumbar. I am reluctant to grind too much on my presses as well; don’t want to aggravate the shoulder.
Races are far less fun too, at least the smaller ones. I used to love to race; I liked the challenge, getting PB and being around the “hard bodies.” Well, at races, I am no longer around the hard bodies. The people around me are mostly a mixture of the “walking wounded” (lots of knee braces), elderly and the overweight. The ambiance is no longer uplifting to me. And, I have no interest in pushing myself so hard that I make myself sick. 🙂
I am much more conservative than I once was. An injury means a long (or longer than before) layoff and my workouts are good for my mental health.
And that brings me to where I workout: almost exclusively alone, either on the roads or at home. The sense of community I once had no longer feels like it is there, and the days of my getting approving looks or glances are long gone.
Dealing with others The median age is 37-38. So, when people post about their workouts or post a video: well, my numbers are a beginner’s numbers, and people tend to assume that I am at the start of my journey and will eventually get better. In fact, I am working hard to slow down my slide. And yes, it sure feels as if my walking has slowed down…AGAIN. I had a speed up as I recovered from my multi-year long stenosis flare up (getting nerve signals to the legs is NICE) but now..gradually, I appear to be slowing again. I need to be intentional about including 1 “faster” walk every week.
Today’s workout took a long time but I rested between periods: started with 1/3’rd of my PT followed by a 4.15 mile walk in 1:01:10 (4 in 59:06); took about 30 minutes for the first 2 miles. Then pull ups (with more PT mixed in): 10 sets of 5, alternating chins and pulls, with 2 sets being mixed grip. Touched the chin to the top of the bar OR the throat to the bar each rep.
bench press: 5 x 134, 5 x 155 (hard), 5 x 155 (tough), 4 x 155 (ugh), 5 x 154 (good)
I will describe my still ongoing struggle with foraminal stenosis (narrowing of the cavity by which the nerve root exits) and spondylolisthesis (vertebra slipped forward; in my case “grade 1”). It might help someone who is currently suffering with something similar know what to expect, though, of course, each case is a bit different.
Though I’ve had back issues “off and on” for decades, things came to a head in mid to late 2000 (during COVID). I had learned to live with tingling in the bottom of both feet. But then, I developed stabbing glute pain (like being stabbed with an ice pick) which came on during longer walks. It started to come on at 3-4 miles, and over time, at 2 miles, then at 1 mile; then at 1/2 a mile. The technical term is neurogenic claudication .
I felt knots in my glute and thought it was piriformis syndrome. I sought out physical therapy and received it in the summer of 2021. The stretches and strengthening appeared to help. But I still could not walk a complete mile without pain; it was walk, stretch, walk, stretch, etc.
Eventually, I laid off of walking, but by February 2022, the pain came on so suddenly that I could not even walk 1/4 of a mile without stabbing pain. Walking between buildings on campus was painful.
I went to the walk in clinic at Midwest Orthopedic (Peoria, IL) and was assigned to Dr. Lilly.
The diagnosis was “degenerative disk disorder” and I was prescribed lumbar physical therapy.
It helped quite a bit; I was then able to progress to walking up to a mile with moderate to mild pain. But symptoms persisted enough to warrant an MRI:
The worst appeared to be the anterolisthesis (spondylolisthesis where the vertebra is slipped forward) of L5, with some minor problems in L4-L5 and mild stuff at L3-4 and L2-3.
I was referred to a surgeon (Dr. O’Leary) who said I didn’t need surgery yet, but suggested an injection, which I got on June 17. I steadily improved, but was far from perfect when we met again on August 9. At that time, he released me, saying “you’ll know when you need me for surgery” and encouraged me to continue with self PT, activity management, etc.
And it worked, to a point, as you can see. I was able to steadily improve my walking until I made 137 miles in December, 2022.
2023 looked like this: (note: I got COVID in January 2023 and it took a couple of months to recover; In 2024 I got 152 miles in January and 137 in February.
So, things improved a great deal. BUT I am NOT “what I once was.”
Current reality: I am managing a chronic condition. It does flare up on occasion, often due to a mistake on my part (trying something I shouldn’t have tried), illness (COVID flared it up a bit), sitting too much, etc.
But: no pain medicine. I got off of Naproxen (two 22o mg tablets twice a day) in November 2022, got back on it when recovering from COVID, and haven’t had any in about a year.
My life adjustments:
I lost weight. I had gained to 207 lb in the fall of 2021 and steadily lost back to the 185 that I am now. Since I carry much of my fat on my midsection, this helps relieve some of the pressure.
Daily PT. I learned some exercises from my physical therapists and from other sources (listed below) and I go about 20-25 minutes worth every day. There are some exercises I do daily and a few that I rotate in and out. These are designed for MY condition.
Walking modification: right now, I do about 4 intentional exercise/training walks a week; these are usually 5K-10K in range and are done at 13:30-15:00 minutes per mile. On occasion, I’ll powerwalk a 5K (33-35 minutes) or go for 8-10 miles. BUT if I do that, I’ll take an easy few days afterward. Also: I vary courses. I do a hilly course 2-3 times a week (sometimes hiking trails); flat the other days. And on the days that I don’t powerwalk, I do a couple of 1-2 mile commuter walks at 16-17 minutes a mile. About 1/3 of my 30-35 miles a week is this type of easy “street walking”
Walking modification: I sometimes make mistakes or get setbacks. Instead of panicking, just cut back to something comfortable and rebuild.
Walking posture: I found a posture that works for me. I try to tuck the butt and tilt my pelvis forward, and NOT go “Into extension” (arch the back). That is tricky on hills.
Weight lifting modifications: pull ups, I try to avoid extension (arched back) and keep my knees bent and forward a bit. And I’ve learned: try not to raise the chin but instead look over the bar. And I’ll sometimes do single reps, and keep the sets typically 5-7, though I sometimes try for 10.
Weight lifting modification: bench press: I keep my feet on a chair. That decreases my strength by 10-20 lbs. AND I notice if I press my butt into the bench; I get the tell-tale slight nerve pain. I HAVE to take the arch out of it.
Weight lifting modification: high incline press instead of overhead press; try to keep the butt from sliding forward.
Weight lifting modification: trap bar deadlifts; focus on form (body not too far forward), brace by breathing into the belt, and keep the weight to something I can handle 5-10 times. NO MAXING OUT. When done right, my glutes get a good pump and walking afterward is pleasant.
Weight lifting modification: NO DEEP SQUATS, especially with weight. It is better for me to keep a narrow stance, stay shallow and hip dominant and either use a trap bar or something that does not cause compression. I am still working this out.
Swimming: I ended up stopping swimming; I liked to do the crawl and I arch my back (extension) when I do that. I know drills can possibly get me out of that, and I might try again, but for now, no swimming.
Life modification: lumbar cushion for the couch and office chair, and a standing desk attachment for teaching.
Life modification: frequent walk/stretch breaks while doing desk work.
Anyway, that is where I am at the start of year 3 of recovery.
Resources
I’d like to stress that, in my case, professional help (physical therapists and doctors) were essential. Things started to turn around for me when I was properly diagnosed with a lumbar problem. But these helped me:
Life and PT exercises:
Great resource for spinal stenosis and neurogenic claudication:
Note: I’ve had to replace the bands a couple of times. You can see the difference between a new loop that I use for the banded (monster) walks and one that I’ve used for a year:
Life: do you really WANT/need surgery? Tough advice here:
Life of an old goat 