Routine, 2 month Hume scale report

 In Atlanta, doing a daily routine of exercises when I get up:

22x pullups

25x ab wheel

35x pushups

15x slant board squats / 10x step downs

15x dumbell runners/ curls / 10x press

Yesterday I did a very brief seated bike climb.   Thurs was Roya's 65th and we did a long walk around Centennial Park in ATL.

HUME SCALE

So, after 2 months with the Hume body pod, my results are in the right direction.  Interestingly, I've made some fairly significant changes in body composition without much change in weight.  My weight has settled at about 143ish, about the same weight as I was in HS.

May 26 - July 25:

Body fat: 13.4% to 12.3%

Body fat mass: 19.2 lbs to 17.6 lbs

Subcutaneous fat mass: 16.7 lbs to 15.3 lbs

Subcutaneous fat %:  11.6% to 10.7%

Skeletal muscle mass: 76.9 lb to 77.9 lbs

Lean mass %: 80.7% to 81.9%

BMI: 23.3 to 23.2

Basic Metabolic Rate: 1472 cal to 1475 cal 

Changes come slowly and are best plotted over time, not day to day.   Also, depends greatly on when reading is taken.  After last night's party, I weight 146.8 lbs, at noon today I was 143.1.   The scale is not that accurate and may be off up to 2% on most readings.  People who get a DEXA scan say it overestimates fat % by 1-2%.  I'm thinking it's pretty accurate.  

 

bike, resistance

Past two days I've been biking after dinner.  This is something I never could do in a serious track workout, yet nothing is as hard as a serious track workout.   

Yesterday did two circuits after a day at the museums.  Today Sunday, did 4 circuits, 2 each way.  The original way is harder because the hill climb isn't preceded by a downhill.  Now, if I really wanted to suffer, I would come to a dead stop at the base of the second hill and not use downhill momentum to climb, but it a good workout nevertheless.

7.4 mile bike circuit - Sandy Springs

elevation gain - 870'

Max HR - 179

Avg HR - 147

About 42 min including some brief rest stops.  These hills are short but peak at between 12-14% grade.  The last one I did once peaks at 16.5%.  

Lot of ups and downs in this one.  It says I burned over 400 cals so that's good.

Also been doing core and pushups every day.  Hanging ab straps.  Roya bought a Roman chair so doing that with 25lbs for glute and hams. 

Definitely dropped some weight, now hanging about 141.5, daily range about 140 -143.  

Diet good:

Lemon water in the morning, then cappuccino with collagen in the late morning.  One piece of Royo bread with preserves+psyllium husk early afternoon.  Dinner today was flounder and salad.  Night snack -  tea with Wasa cracker w/ preserves+psyllium husk, and a piece of sugar free chocolate.  I'm thinking it's about 1200 cal max.  

I'm close to optimum weight and when I get there and just below, I'll up the calories and protein, then really get after the strength regime.  I'll be home Monday.  Tues is my scan, followup, first appt with cardiologist, and 2 other appts non health related... super busy day.  

Stairs, drills, resistance

Making progress on my fitness, down close to where I was before my trip to NY.   At present pace, should be close to race weight in a week.  

Days like today make me feel that it may still be possible to run track.  Sprinting is one thing, but training to elite level is another.  

At the Marist School in ATL.  It was warm, about 83º and in the sun, hotter.   Their stadium stairs are 25 steps.  (Compared with MTSU which are 40, and Vestal HS which are 20).  

Stretches, drills, bands

22 x stadium stairs

4 x 40m high knee running

backward running

Ab wheel

Really good hard one.  I did one at the end as double leg hops all the way up.  Really sweaty.  Roya came too and despite wearing her 2 week heart monitor, she ran 7.  

Been working on my upper body and core too.  Fitness definitely 'snowballs' with progression.  

Eating really well, just salad and sardines tonight.  Coffee with a Wasa cracker and watermelon during the day.  I've found that mixing a tsp of psyllium husk with fruit preserves and eating it with a Wasa cracker and tea - only about 100 cal, curbs late night tendency to eat.  My weakness is grazing on nuts and dried berries at night - calorie dense food that isn't particularly good for digestion and bowels.  This has substituted for that quite well.  

Going to bed at just under 143 lbs.  Was 143.2 at morning weigh in.

Bike spring, resistance

Another PR in the 2.5 mile bike sprint on gravel with the heavy mtn bike.  Again, wasn't 'trying' for a PR, just working hard  

2.5 mile mountain bike sprint - Laurel Branch Trl

Time - 9:44

Max HR - 177

HR hit 160 one minute into the sprint and stayed there for about the next 5:17, then above 170 the rest of the way.  

Also did some resistance last night.  I think the hip thrust deck that I have is the single hardest piece of equipment.  I've been doing 20x with 3 bands, holding the last 5.   2 or 3 sets.  Best glute exercise.

Was going to go to Murfreesboro today but it stormed.  Was going to run stadium stairs, maybe tomorrow.  

Weight is about the same despite really light eating.   Yesterday, I ate a lb of grilled tuna, 2 apples,  an orange and some Wasa crackers.   Probably about 1400 cal.   Getting to that 'jelly belly' stage where the last of the fat softens up before it goes away.   A hard process but it's going.    Still at ~143 lbs and 13% body fat according to the Hume pod.    

Hike

Been raining everyday which has produced a very green, cool, and lush forest.  We sat out on the bluff last night, it was beautiful.  It has rained over 4" in the past 5 days. 

Memorial day hike.  We left in the morning and as usual during this time of year, Sewanee was a lush and very quiet place with the students gone.  

Did a total of 3.5 miles including a hike down and back to the Bridal Veil Falls and then to the mountain laurel 'tunnel' at Otey view.  It was surprisingly hard.  HR in the 150s climbing out from the falls.

Forest was very dense and full of a variety of birds.  

Roya left today and I'm on my own for a few weeks.  Playing my niece's wedding in NY in early June, have construction going on in Murfreesboro and hopefully soon here in Sewanee.  So this is like the beginning of summer except unusually, the weather is not yet warm enough for swimming.   It's been in the 70ºs, not 80ºs.  Very cool generally for this time of yr.  Really do miss track training, was the center of my life for so many yrs this time of year.  Trying to get back in similar shape, "400m shape"... is a really high bar.  Hanging around 143 lbs, what I weighed in HS.

Morning bike sprint, resistance, food

 With waves of rain in and out, during a break in the rain I went for a bike sprint.  Hard effort.  Everytime I start one of these things I tell myself, no need for a PR, but I still blast away anyway.  

No PR today but my second fastest.  7 sec short of PR 

2.5 mile mountain bike sprint - Laurel Branch Trl

Time - 10:03

Max HR - 178

Also doing resistance work, pullups, bands, etc...  

HR in the 160s for the first 6 min, 170s for the last 4 min.  No big HR spike this time, just a small one.  Hit max HR at the end and it dropped to 173 then after 30 sec, briefly went back up to 178 before falling 20 points in a less than a minute.  This might be a perfect daily or every other day workout.  Short, hard, doable.  

One of the inherent risks in this course is how fast do I take the gravel turn coming down the hill to my driveway.  Going down would not be worth it.  

Enjoying having Roya here and eating really well.  Huge salad last night, and during the day yesterday, half a chicken breast and an apple.  Tonight I'm going to make a small paella with low carb rice, seafood, and vegetables.  

143.1 lbs after workout.  

Good new for my brother, his latest CT scan of his abdominal aorta and mesenteric arteries show no blockages.  

As with most women I've dated, I do all the cooking.  I've rarely met a woman who can out do me in the kitchen.

Tonight's meal:  Seafood paella - with cod, scallops, salmon, tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, carrots, fresh basil, onions, peppers, garlic, lemon, paprika, turmeric, garlic salt, and pepper.  Yea, missing the saffron.   The kicker: Lavivia instant shiritaki rice, low carb, less than 1/2 the calories of regular rice.  I calculated less than 800 calories in this entire large bowl.  5 good sized plates of food.

Bike sprint, another PR

 Didn't sleep well last night, probably because of that tea I had before bed to ward off munchie cravings.  Probably the caffeine and low blood sugar.  It was 78 when I got up and it's usually higher in the morning.  

Getting lighter.  In the 143s.  I pushed this bike sprint and narrowly set a PR.  

2.5 mile mountain bike sprint - Laurel Branch Trl

Time - 9:56

Max HR - 175

HR pretty much stayed around mid-upper 160s to lower 170s the whole time.  I had a similar post sprint HR spike as last time, but a bit different... it occurred 60 sec after the sprint, had just walked upstairs, HR had dropped to 154, in 19 sec it spike to 175 then dropped gradually to 164 over the next 30 sec and continued down.  Nothing like that 190 spike I had last time.  

I know I'm lighter because I got 22 pullups today, I was only getting 18 when I was 4-5 lbs heavier.  

143.2 after workout.  Feel better already.  Still a ways to go. 

-----------

CHART

I found this chart published by a runners magazine compiled with data from Masters rankings and the IAAF.  It confirms that the 62sec 400m I ran in a time trial last Nov. was at elite level, but just barely.  And nearly all my 400m races in my masters career were as well.   The chart doesn't list John Wright's incredible new M65 WR of 54.92 set indoors this yr.

 

Bike climb

 Did the Roark's cove bike climb today, for general fitness, calorie burning and to lose weight.   Was tough since it was warm and humid, heat index around 85º,  and ... yesterday was a hard day, on my feet all day and my back felt it.  Also, I've been at less than 1000 cal/day for the past few days, getting down to optimum weight.  Losing that last 5lbs is the hardest.  

It was a tough slog, was at only 4mph during the hard parts, slow but hard effort as shown by my HR data:

Roark's cove bike climb

Time: 24:11

Avg speed: 5.8 mph

Avg HR: 167

Max HR: 185

HR over 170: 14:00

HR over 180: 2:08

Definitely burning off some of the fat.  My goal is 140 lb daily mean, which means 138.5 ish after workouts.  Today I was 143.1 this afternoon after workout and before any meals.  That means about another 5 lbs or so to go.  That will help the joints when I run, which I'm only doing a little once / week and just hills.  

Our meal yesterday was great.  Sautéed zucchini, tomatoes, onion, garlic, carrot, mushroom, over Lavivia instant Shiritaki low carb rice.  That stuff is awesome, tastes like real rice but has 104 cal per cup cooked, compared with regular rice 240 cal cup and about 1/2 the carbs.  

This very filling meal was less than 400 cal.

After a bad experience with a Oxiline smart scale, I decided to buy a Hume ... because Joe thinks I should constantly weigh, time, and measure myself.  

PR morning bike sprint

Today a big PR in the 2.5 mile bike sprint (on gravel with hills) on the old heavy mtn bike.  I inflated the tires to the rated max and I think that also helped.  It was hard.  Beat the previous by 16 sec.  

2.5 mile bike sprint - Laurel Branch Trl

Time:  10:00

Avg HR: 166

Max HR: 174

HR stayed pretty much in the 160s the whole time.  30 sec after finishing, monitor showed a HR spike to 191, but I think that was anomaly ...but I don't know.  That's why I didn't list it as max.  After the finishing sprint I was at 173, then 20 sec later a gradual but steady 10 sec rise to 191 as I climbed a staircase, then drop to 161 after 30 sec more.   

Making some headway on weight.  Was 144 this morning, 3 lbs less than 2 days ago.  Just one meal, a chicken breast and a little salad.   Really hard to lose weight at this age.  Takes some real sacrifice and calorie restriction.  Tricks to curb the hunger.  I've been drinking these low calorie flavored waters by Spindrift.  Once or twice a day, a decaf cappuccino.   

I feel for my brother.  He has had a helluva time.  He's never had dietary discipline.  Feels bad everyday, overweight at 195, claims the Lyrica drug makes him eat too much, on many drugs.  

Not me.  Simon pure.  No drugs. 

But, Joe thinks I should be on drugs.  

144.3 after workout.

What have I been doing? 

Planting flowers of course.  

Morning bike sprint

Hard effort this morning after not doing much yesterday except for 2 set pullups (19) and pushups (25).

2.5 mile bike sprint - Laurel Branch Trl

Time - 10:45

HR max -169

HR over 160 - 10:24 

It did seem really hard probably due to an aggressive start.  

Hopefully make a dent in my overweightness.  About 146.

Incredible weather continues.  Was 45º last night.  Presently mid 60ºs, bright sun, dry.

Thanks to Joe who suggested that cystatin-c test that my PCP ordered.  

SAVE ME JOE.

More hiking, resistance, test results

Friday did a 5.5 mile hike with Roya and Joe in the Shakerag trail, wildflower season at peak.  It had some hill climbs and was challenging.  Saturday did a resistance circuit at home including upper body, core, and legs.  This morning (Sunday) did a quick 2.5 mile bike sprint on my road with hills on my heavy mountain bike,  11:17, my PR since I just started doing this.  It's a good quick workout, HR avg 147.  

Was going to run hills today but will wait til tomorrow.  I ate too much last night and am too heavy to run, close to 148 this morning.  

My tests results were mixed, nothing exceptionally alarming or surprising.  The good: CEA is  2.4, normal.  CA19-9 down from 79 to 54 but still considered elevated.  CMP values all normal, eGFR 69, liver enzymes normal.   The bad:  Lipid panel shows I'm at risk.  Even after 3 days of light vegan eating, total cholesterol 229, LDL 160 and LDL particle number 2194 / peak size 210.9 - which is considered high risk.  On the plus side, HDL was up to 49 improving my ratio to 4.7 (from over 5). Triglycerides quite low at 92, glucose 89, and A1c at 5.6.   

Considering my brother's issues, I'm looking into having a MRA (MRI Angiogram) with contrast.  It's only $498 at the local hospital.  I found this rate on MDsave.com - a great resource for self pay procedures, it searches for the cheapest rate within a region.   All these small rural hospitals near where I live are the cheapest.  

Knee feeling pretty good after yesterday's resistance work.  

Bike climb, sprints

Been on the bike 3 days in a row since stadium stairs on Monday.   Sat, did my usual bike sprint intervals 4 x 400m w/ 2:30 rest but it was slow and into a big headwind.  Best was only 26.2 mph.  Sunday, did the climb:

Roark's cove bike climb

Total time - 23:19

Max HR - 184

HR over 170 - 15:50

HR over 180 - 3:00

Avg HR - 167

Avg speed - 6.1 mph

This was my best of the year which is surprising because of my weight.  Been hovering in the 146-147 lb range.  Still far short of my post op PR of 22:04 that I did twice - end of July and in Nov.   Hard effort, high avg HR, which included a 200 meter cool-down after the hill.  But, it shows my fitness is improving.  

Most importantly the knee feels stronger and I'm recovering ok from these workouts.  I'll do stadium stairs again on Friday. 

My weight has become a real issue.  Woke up pushing 149 lbs this Mon morning.   Although I'm eating generally low carb, and one main meal like fish and salad, I've been eating way too many nuts and dried / fresh fruit.   I bought this nut sampler from Nuts.com and it was really addictive.  Tasty nut varieties like trail mix, honey roasted, chocolate covered, etc...   Done with that.

I did a brisk morning bike ride, just 2.5 miles including a few small hill sprints, only takes about 12 min and is a good morning wakeup.  Pushes my HR to mid 150s and gets the blood flowing.  Still, a whopping 148.5 lbs after the ride!  Will probably fast today and do rower tonight at 9pm.  A definite fat band has appeared.  

Going to get some blood work Wed, check my liver enzymes and see if my markers have moved.   

Award

This has nothing to do with track directly, but indirectly.  My award of a sabbatical for the 2026-27 academic year means 2 things:  most importantly a return to the concert stage a classical guitarist, and secondly, more time to devote to training and racing.  If I am healthy, which is a BIG IF, I should have no problem getting away to compete at WMAC in S. Korea in late Aug / Sept, and WMACi in March '27 in Gainesville.   Assuming fitness, these may be my last World meets.   

Considering that I plan to race on 12/14, it could be too long of a season without a break.  So maybe a bit of a break after Masters Indoor in Feb.  

The sabbatical award comes with a choice, one full semester off, or 2 semesters at half time.   I'm going to select the latter, which essentially means one workday per week (approx 6-8 hrs) for the entire year.   

Definitely couldn't come at a better time.  My studio is at an all-time low, and I need to rebuild.  Next season and maybe the following will probably be my last in track if I make it through, and I've not really performed much since before the pandemic so it's time.  Hoping my body, legs and hands hold out.  Guitaring on the classical concert level has an element of athleticism and requires actually far more training time than track.  

Looking back, peaking at the right time is hard.  In '23, before Poland, (where I should have medaled but fell after a collision at the finish) I was peaking in early March.  Was running crazy fast.  400m time trials of 57.72, and 56.81 on consecutive days.   Ran a 40.5 split 300m on the 2nd one, and was running easy sub 13 100s.   That was definitely a peak.  I struggled with pace in Poland and only mustered a few 58.9s.  Not bad and if I had run that time in the final, I would have won silver.   That year I did put it together at Nationals and was happy with a title in the 200m and a 57.59 Bronze in the 400m - one of the fastest M60 finals in USATF history.  Also, during that time in early March I got light, really light,  136.8 lbs after that 56.8 TT.  About 5 lbs less than I am now.  

 This is what I looked like:   

I wonder if I can ever get back to that level. Maybe by Daegu. All really depends on if the body can handle the training.

Tomorrow, hills.  Long hills like last time.  Cloudy, mid 30ºs.

5 x 150m tempo on turf

Cold but sunny today at the Sewanee track.  Low 40ºs but sunny and not too much wind.  I stayed on the turf.

Stretches, drills

Hoka Rocket X2s on

5 x 150m on turf w/ 30 rest ~ 27-28

It wasn't fast but still very hard.  HR max per rep: 160, 168, 172, 174, 176.    Recovery was slow, over 163 for 2+ min while I walked back.

With the impending indoor season, beginning to feel the need for speed work.  On warm Fridays I may trade the hills for track.   I'm itching a bit to put the spikes on and see where I am in a 300m.   I've only worn spikes 1 time in 15 mo, last time was a year ago a couple weeks before my injury.  I ran a poor 44.97 300m with a lot of difficulty in the last 100.  I just want to see if I'm near that or better.  There is a low key meet just over a month away in mid Dec.  Just thinking about it.  Have nothing else to do during that time.  Dare I race just 10 mo post op?   Depends on my fitness and confidence.  If I think I could break 62, may try.  Not many other opportunities to race before indoor Nationals so early this yr.  If I could run close to 44 flat 300m, I might have a shot at it.   Sub 60 for M65 is truly elite.  Only 4 M65s in the world ran 400m under a minute last indoor season.   I keep saying I've not made a decision on competing again, but it looks like I have.

This was the lightest I've been for a workout this season.  139.7 lbs after workout.  Feel better moving around at this weight.

  

first stadium stairs, new blood work results

I was in Murfreesboro for a meeting Friday so I ran the stadium stairs for the time and had some blood work.  Have most of the results in.  

I got to the stadium, warmed up and stretched, and ran 6 reps, first 3 fast with no rest at the bottom.  The heat index was about 107º, no shade, and was coated with sunscreen.   I hadn't eaten in 24 hrs due to fasting blood work.  The first one up felt great.  Joyous.  Strong.  The feeling of running again with no pain was awesome.  It got harder.   My HR hit 181 walking down just after the 3rd rep.  I knew I wouldn't be doing many of these so I did them hard.  

It was a good start to running.  Now that I know I can run hills, I need not abuse it or try to do it too often.

Due to fasting, I'm down to race weight, in the 140-142 range.

Blood work

It has only been 7 weeks since my last test for lipids, but I had some other ones:  PSA, A1C, CRP, glucose, and Total Testosterone.  

Lipids - an improvement but not optimal.  Not as good as Dec.  Here's a comparison, first number is June 3, second number July 25:

Total Cholesterol: 220 to 205

LDL: 152 to 137

TriG: 174 to 138

LDL/HDL ratio: 4.1 to 3.3

Non HDL Chol: 183 to 164

HDL: 35 to 41

Additional tests:

Glucose: 100

A1C: 5.5

PSA: 1.58

Total testost: 418

I'm still waiting on tests for insulin, and CRP.  My first CRP in '21 was decent, 1.1 mg/l.   I think inflammation has a lot to do with my sugar intake.  It has been down in the past several weeks as I've eliminated raw sugar and am using only allulose/ monkfruit sweetener.  

Bike climb Roark's cove rd

Warm weather in Sewanee,  mid 80ºs with a heat index in low 90ºs.  Didn't feel too bad on the 95% shaded Roark's Cove Rd, but I put the sunscreen on anyway.  

I do think there is utility of doing these bike climbs once or twice a week for general conditioning and strength.  A lot tougher than doing bike sprints.  

This was a significant post op PR, about a minute faster than previous, and close to what I do when in shape.  Climb time was 23:07.  And, my HR didn't stay crazy high for long compared to my June 18th climb.  I seemed to be breathing hard without the HR getting real high.  I did stand up and sprint to the top of a couple hills for several strides.

Max HR - 183 

HR over 153 - 18:17 

HR over 170 - 7:44 

HR over 180 - 0:53 

Avg HR - 160 

Avg speed - 6.0 mph

 

Total climb time - 23:07

Biggest difference with previous PR was the HR over 170 and 180.   

 

June 18: HR over 170 - 15:04 

July 3: HR over 170 - 7:44

June 18: HR over 180 - 4:31 

July 3: HR over 180 - 0:53

Diet is good, weight dropping:

143.5 after ride.  

Typical dinner...  My one main meal, I'll eat 2 plates of food like this, with just cappuccino in the morning, a light snack mid-day, like an apple.  If I can avoid other snacks, I can get to low body fat.

Bike Sprints

What I didn't realize was that I was looking at my bike computer configured in miles not meters, so these bike sprints I thought were 300m, actually are 0.3 miles or about 440 meters.  That makes more sense.  

4 x 440m w/ 2:30-2:40 - top speed: 26.5, 25.2, 25.5, 26.2 

4 min rest

1 x 440m - top speed: 24.8 

Overall, I think these are probably better than doing more than 1 hill climb a week.  They are easy enough that I can do them on consecutive days.  I need to start using my Gymboss interval timer to be more exact with the rest.  Also, I may try a different course that is straighter and flatter on the Green way, so I don't have to peddle back to start.  

I've been neglecting my strength work.  Starting back with the squats and beginning some gentle hamstring work.   

Finding it difficult to lose weight.  Still hanging at 146ish and would like to be 140-142.  Even at 146, BMI is still normal, 23ish.

 

1st Raccoon Mtn bike climb of '25

First Raccoon Mtn climb post op, and it was hard.  Hard due to my declining physical ability, age, and lack of being able yet to sprint train on the track.  That won't be for at least 2 more months.

Me and Bill M. usually do this in about 34-38 min, Sunday I did it 44 min, taking a few on bike breaks to drink.  Bill was a minute ahead.  It was hard enough that I felt it all the next day and was pretty inactive on Monday, save for putting my boat away and doing yard work.  

This data includes two sit down breaks and the ride down.  

Avg HR over 2 hrs of 144 is pretty substantial considering it included a 20 min sit down break.  Bill M. had some electrical therapy on his heart and is on beta-blockers to prevent his HR from getting above 140, but he was more than up to the task.  I didn't push it and remained seated the whole way, sometimes crawling at under 4mph.   

As you can see in the last photo, I have become pretty soft around the middle weighing 146-147.  This morning I was 145 and I'm now making a commitment to lose this 5 lbs of fat before I turn 65 in less than a month.  

Lots of people talk about diets and exercise to lose fat, and yes it's important, but the bottom line is, in some measure, you have to starve a little.

Boat ran great. Monday morning was incredibly silent.   I jumped in to try some water running and it felt good.   I'm going to start doing it. Water temperature still a bit cool at 76º.  The lakes here on the mtn might still be below 70º.    I decided to leave at 11am to beat the coming rain, which I did.  

Monday Morning - total silence

Fat and tired at East Overlook

Bike climb, lipid panel

Back in Sewanee and it's lovely.  Temperatures in the upper 70ºs, mostly sunny.  Did the Roark's Cove Rd climb again today.  It wasn't a PR but a suoer hard effort because I hadn't done it in a while and I started to fast.  My HR was in the mid 160s at the beginning of the big hill.  I think this my have been a record for time of HR over 180, almost 7 min.  Climb time was only 25:38.  24:50 is my post op PR.

Max HR - 187

HR over 164 - 20:53

HR over 170 - 17:02

HR over 180 - 6:54

Avg HR - 170

Avg speed - 5.2 mph

Total time - 25:38  

I think my HR was exceptionally high on this one because I did a ride with a friend immediately prior to this climb, that included a minor hill.

I'm now approaching 4 months post op.  I can run up a small flight of stairs, so I'm probably good to go for stairmaster.  I did my first stadium stair session after my first surgery at about 23 weeks.   I just past 16 weeks so it's going to be a while although I feel the healing is on a similar schedule.   All bets are off on whether I can sprint train again, but if so, I wouldn't say Indoor Nationals end of March are out of the question, but that is pushing it.  

Lipids Up  

My diet was going really well until last Friday and Sat when I ate a bunch of rich cookies from Whole Foods.  Plus, I had spent the week at Roya's and neglected to bring my lipid lowering supplements - Bergamot capsules, juice, and niacin.  I have dropped a little weight, about 145 now.  I fasted Sunday and had a lipid panel on Mon.  It was pretty bad.  Total Cholesterol - 220, LDL - 152, HDL - 37, and the worst TriG reading ever - 174, and worst ratio - 5.9.   Instead of allulose only, I had been adding raw sugar to my tea and coffee.  That didn't help.  I'll get back on the supplements and tighten up my diet and test again in a month or 2.   Wow, what a difference those cookies made - in case you had any doubts that diet affects blood lipids.

two more neighborhood circuits, PT

Been an exceptionally cool spring, overnight lows in the 50ºs F.  in Atlanta, 53º tonight in Sewanee... that's cool for the end of May.   Years past, I was swimming in the lake by now, and it has to be in the mid 80ºs everyday for the lake to warm enough for me to want to swim.

Did the usual bike circuit on Wed and Fri, and some PT on Thurs.  Wed, I did the circuit twice, Friday, 3x.  Friday was obviously longer and harder.   Here is the HR data:

None of these hills are long, 3 hills per circuit and longest one is 1/3 mile.  2 of the 3 hills have a long downhill preceding so they aren't as hard. 

Thurs, doing sets of 15 single leg body weight squats down to 60-70º (short of 90º).  Getting stronger and knee feels ok.

Compared with some of my friends I've met on the Meniscus Tear FB group, I'm doing quite well.  I know a guy who is also a masters sprinter 20+ yrs younger than me and is just a week behind me and he's having problems, still swelling, weakness, can't walk stairs without pain.  No problem for me.  He is considering a steroid injection it's so bad which doesn't bode well.  I must say, I've had almost zero swelling past the first week and even then it was minimal.  Never used ice beyond the first week.  

Thankful for this repair and I think it's going to 'take.' 

Ate some rare cookies (Whole Foods) so fell off my diet a little but still 144 lbs, 3 lbs lighter than I was.

I'm going to alternate days of bike and PT ... 3 days bike / 3 days PT, and 1 day rest/upper body.  If it starts to hurt I'll back off.  

Been practicing music everyday, lately it's been Renaissance Lute, and I took a church gig in a week.  Actually bought an alto lute off of Amazon of all places.  Probably will end up returning it.