Heat Wave

It has been really hot over here so I have been resting quite a bit. I have had to place a wet towel on my chest as I seem to be feeling hot in that area.

It gets very hot after 12 noon and reaches its maximum temperature at around 4 pm - my  running program has been reduced to 2 miles now. 5km runs can be quite tortuous sometimes, so maybe 2 mile runs could be the right amount. I did not see much of an improvement in stamina doing the 5km runs.

Update 5/5/2016 Have been doing 5 km the last two days since the heat wave ended. 5 km is healthier I suppose but can be quite tortuous sometimes.


Update 7/5/2016 It seems like I have been affected by the hot weather again so it is back to 2 mile runs I guess.

Armband /Wristband for smartphone for less than RM4 at Tesco Ipoh

This armband is actually very good for light running exercise. When I first bought it, I thought it did not look good as an armband near my shoulders and thought it would be junk but lately I have used it as a wristband and it works great.

I downloaded the Accupedo pedometer app for Android and also a Screen off app but I think the fact that my Winds Mobile smartphone has intelligent awaken also helps.

It was selling at an offer price  for less than RM4 at Tesco on Saturday which I think  is a very low price for it.  Its original price is around RM15.

It seems it can also  be used as an additional support for knee braces so it is very handy.

It can cause issues if you use it for a long time as a wristband so for longer distances it is probably  better to use it as an armband near the shoulders. So far it looks better as a wristband than an armband - I don't know maybe blue just isn't the right colour for an armband.

It appears as an armband, it looks better with sleeveless shirts. It's a strange thing but it seems to be the case.

Running Program

I have increased my running program to 30 minutes a  day.  Anlene Gold milk powder  recommends 30 minutes   a day. It seems the American Heart Association also recommends  30 minutes for 5 days a  week.

There appears to be some improvement in stamina for the last few days with this new program but I also read that there are greater benefits for exercising for an hour so I may try that out every now and then.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2015/10/06/new-study-for-optimal-heart-health-americans-should-double-or-even-quadruple-the-amount-of-exercising-theyre-doing/

Update 2/12/2015 - Have been sticking to 30 minutes as one hour seems too much. Furthermore from the article, it appears that 30 minutes of running appears to be the equivalent of one hour of moderate exercise.

Update 21/12/2015  -   Have been doing 5 km runs these days which can be slightly less than 30 minutes but  it seems that there is some benefit in doing shorter sessions with high intensity too, based on the article below

http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/brief-high-intensity-workouts-equal-longer-medium-intensity-training-study-1.2707792

Update 25/3/2016 Have reduced to 2 miles due to the heat wave but I guess that could be the right amount as 5 km can be quite tortuous sometimes.

Update 5/5/2016 Have been doing 5 km the last two days since the heat wave ended. 5 km is healthier I suppose but can be quite tortuous sometimes.

Update 7/5/2016 It seems like I have been affected by the hot weather again so it is back to 2 mile runs I guess.

Recovering from Bad Headaches

 Last week I had very bad headache a few times and had to go on a course of 2 tablets of uphamol(or panadol) 3 times a day.   Apparently one should not take more than 8 tablets a day. Also I lessened the amount of  time spent on computers and took more rest. There seems to less headaches  now so I guess I am recovering in this area.

Edx -UWashingtonX: ECFS311x Becoming a Resilient Person: The Science of Stress Management and Promoting Wellbeing

The title of the course is a little bit condescending but the course itself is  something to reflect on and to ask ourselves whether certain topics of it, apply to us in our daily lives. So I think the course is worth a look. There are not many stress management courses in edX that deal with what can be a very complex health issue.

I think the second week may have something in it - that we tend to live our lives without  values or long term goals - hence the lack of meaning in our lives. Education is one of the key values mentioned along with relationships, which can be more important than education . Health and  leisure are the other two key  values that are mentioned.

As for the third week, I noticed  that  at times I  actually wasn't thinking about what I was eating! The bottom line about this is to reflect on it and ask ourselves if it applies to us and if it does, implement it and see if it works. The course is not difficult as the questions can be repeated as many times as you want and the assignments are more or less optional, but I sense that the main purpose of  this course  is not to pass exams, but to learn how to cope with  one of the most complex health issues, in this day and age.

It appears that there may not be an honor cert for this course but I guess that is understandable as the questions can be repeated. Anyway I still learnt something from it so it is still quite useful in that manner.  Updated 5-8-2015


 Here is an additional website on stress management that has some similarity to the course
http://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/features/10-fixable-stress-related-health-problems?page=2

Good Running Form

I have been trying to read some articles about this and here are the  links to  them-
http://blog.bsxathletics.com/2013/03/27/recommendations-for-great-running-form/
http://www.goodformrunning.com/.
http://runnersconnect.net/running-training-articles/running-technique/

Seems like to run better, it is best to lean forward slightly. I felt that it was taking some time for me to warm up but with a  slight lean forward I seem to be able to run faster at the beginning. So far, I have only run a mile using this running form as my runs  have been  interrupted by rain the last couple of days.

Update: It appears that it needs to be assessed on an individual basis. So here are some articles that seem to state that it may not be that significant-

http://greatist.com/move/proper-running-form-tips
http://greatist.com/move/proper-running-form-tips
http://www.drpribut.com/sports/running_form.html

Breathing Through The Nose

I found out that I have been breathing through the mouth which seems to be the case for quite a few people. From quite a few articles I have read, there could be dangers from breathing through the mouth so today I have been trying to  breathe more  through the nose.

While exercising, it seems difficult at first but I heard  it does improve later.



Here are some of the articles I  have read

http://www.myfaceology.com/2012/02/mouth-breathing-and-how-it-affects-your-health/
http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2013/12/27/proper-exercise-breathing.aspx


Updated:
Here is an article which states otherwise about breathing  while running.
http://www.outsideonline.com/1783831/should-i-breathe-through-my-nose-or-my-mouth

Running Program

I have managed to run the mile in 6 minutes and 29 seconds twice for the last couple of weeks,  so once every 3 days, I have been running it under 7 minutes. My next major target would be to run the mile under 6 minutes.

I run about 21 minutes on the first day. First five minutes is  usually relaxing and then after that I   run 400m repeats for the rest of the time.

On the second day I usually run 2 miles (3.2 km) - the first 1 km at a relaxing pace and the rest at a fairly medium pace.

On the third day, I am now starting to run a relaxing 1 mile and a fast  1 mile.   ( At first, I ran  a relaxing 1 mile then 800m fast,  200m medium pace and the rest of the 600m  fast.). I take a break of around 2 minutes before starting the fast mile.

I usually repeat this program every 3 days. So far not too bad, but running the mile under 6 minutes does seem difficult at this stage.

Am still doing some running on the spot and weights during the day in 2 minute sessions. I do about 120 half press-ups too but I have been gradually building that one up - I started doing about 30 at first.  

Getting rid of Calcium Deficiency

I had a dream of bad teeth a few weeks ago so for the last few weeks I had been taking a diet that is richer in calcium. It seems to have helped out as I seem to have have less sore knees   and toothache than before.

Horlicks is one of the drinks that is rich in calcium but it tends to be very filling so it is best to be taken a few hours before you go for any heavy exercise routine.  I have been taking some cereals as well in the morning. Koko Crunch is quite expensive but nice to eat.


Here is how I make my Horlicks drink- (update- decided to just follow the recipe on the packet as the old recipe I used seems a bit too sweet . No need of the sweetened creamer.) 

3 teaspoon of Horlicks
2 teaspoon of Fernleaf Instant Milk powder
170 ml of cold water

update: - If you find that Horlicks could be the cause of indigestion, it is best to stop taking it until you feel that your stomach is strong enough to do so. Otherwise just stick to a couple of glasses of milk and some cereal. Some ice creams can also be rich in calcium but ice cream  can be very fattening.

What's Buzzing? - Cure For Insomnia?

It's interesting to note that while I had the flu, I did have some sleepness nights and ended up taking a sleeping tablet to break that bad cycle of sleep. Yahoo seems to have an article about this which seems to sound like the title of the Gwen Stefani song which I wrote about yesterday!

Anyway here is the link to the article http://news.yahoo.com/fall-asleep-39-4-m-39-wide-awake-181647658.html

What's Buzzing? - Patron Saints

All Saints' Day was a few days ago. Here is a list of some patron saints

St Jude -  for impossible cases
St Elmo - stomach problems
St Agnes , St Bernadette - hair loss
St Francis of Assisi - pets
St Gemma Galgani - headache
St Joseph- unemployment

Running Program

Am not trying to lose any more weight but trying to stick to a running program. Have reduced my running program to 6x400m now, due to some problem with my knees. I also run on the spot faster for a count of 100 to 400 as part of the 2 minute sessions during the day. Still run around 2 miles - one mile of which will be at a faster pace on alternate days. Seems okay today so far.

Knee Strengthening Exercise

Managed to run  at a slower pace yesterday. Wearing a knee brace - it helps quite a  bit and should soon be back to my normal routine.

Knee Strengthening Exercise

Arghh I got bad knee from too much running I guess. Will slow down a bit today. Doing some knee strengthening exercise like this one below.

Weight Loss Program

I lost over 30 pounds in the last 6 months ( started in October so actually less than the 7 months which I originally wrote) and this was more or less how I did it:-

(i) I gradually increased my running distance from 1 mile to two miles. Now I am running around 3    miles sometimes.

(ii) I had a philosophy in mind " to eat to live" not "live to eat".

(iii)  I did 2 minute light workouts (Update: 2nd May 2013 - these workouts are slightly more intensive now - with on the spot faster running to a count of 100 to 200) during the day. Part of this routine was   carrying some light weights while running on the spot.  I also do some press ups too.

(iv) I ran  in the morning as well but usually very light runs - 400 to 800 metres. (Update: 2nd May 2013- this has now been replaced by the 2 minute workouts)

I had actually been doing some fartlek runs but now I kind of mix it up with Roger Bannister's training program. He used to run around 400m x10 with around 2 minutes of light jogging in between. I tried to do 400m x 9 at first but ended up with some pain in my balls! - that was when I knew I had to slow down. So I went  down to 400m x 7 which seems to work okay so far. So today I have increased it to 400m x 7 and a bit more.   I usually do a 4 to 5 minute slow jog before this. The whole routine should  take around half hour or so. Tomorrow I will  be running around 2 miles - one mile of which will be at a faster pace. This would take around 20 minutes. So now I am repeating these two routines.

I always warm up with some light stretching and doing sit ups   before the runs. The thing is to increase slowly and gradually especially when you have not done such exercise for some time.

As I was not that fat,( I don't indulge myself too much I guess)  my target weight loss is only 35 pounds - I am very close to reaching that target now.

Simon Monjack's passing - grief related?

Simon Monjack - Brittany Murphy 's husband passed away yesterday. This is sad news as it came only a few months after his wife's death. Circumstances leading to his death may need to be investigated.

The thing to note is that we are not meant to live our lives with too much grief if our beloved ones have passed away. The ones that we have loved and gone want to us to live a happy life. Just like night and day, sadness and joy is part of life. If we grief too much we could end up dead ourselves.

Exercise to improve one's health

I find running the mile daily under 12 minutes as good exercise to start of with. However it is advisable to progress gradually. Listen to your body and know your limits while exercising. Try to keep a good balance - not doing too much or too little. Warm up with some light stretching and light physical activity before doing any physical exercise. Slow down and do less when injured or not feeling well. Try to improve your running time and also increase the distance of your runs to around 2 to 3 miles. This will help you to improve your stamina and keep fit. 

Update 22nd April 2013 :- If you want to stay slim and trim, running the mile under 12 minutes may not be enough so this article has been updated.. I have put on quite a bit of weight in the last few years and was able to lose  almost 35 pounds in the last few months. Will write about this soon.