Dealing with a Tight Psoas

I have heavy calcification in one of my heels.  It's there because I have always had foot issues, not the least of which is a Haglund's Deformity.  Stiff feet, years of soccer, and that little bit of extra bone means that my achilles is now pretty thickened, stiff and sore much of the time.  So I went to a physiatrist to get it sorted out.  I'm way too young to stop moving!  She prescribed custom orthotics to limit the movement in the foot and the amount of friction from the Haglund's Deformity on the achilles tendon.

The orthotics feel GREAT on my feet, but they've created a new issue.  As my body adjusts to the support on my feet, my psoas muscle is tight, tight, tight.  So I thought this article was quite timely.

Releasing Tension in the Psoas

Guinness Book of Records at 91

Margaret Hagerty is amazing.  She's 91 and has run 81 marathons - the most recent is the NYC Marathon.  Margaret holds the Guinness Book Record for being the oldest person to run a marathon on 7 continents.  Amazing!  But what makes this an even better story is that she didn't start running until she was in her sixties.  She went to a stop smoking clinic at 64 and has not looked back.

Read about her here.

Detox? Don't Waste Your Money!

Everywhere I look I see boxes that can "detox" me.  Many of my friends spend days and weeks on "detox" diets.  Everyone is trying to be healthier.

But, as it turns out, our bodies are tuned perfectly to detoxify themselves.  If they weren't, we'd be dead.

I loved this article in The Guardian about how we're being fooled by marketers to spend our money when what we should really be doing is eating well and exercising.

Have a read!

You can’t detox your body. It’s a myth. So how do you get healthy?

Running Makes You a Better Walker

I like walking.  It's easy on my feet and gets me outdoors.  Check backward on this blog and you'll see lots of support for walking as a way of life.  Or at least as an essential component of it.

But runners are better walkers.  Turns out that walking into old age isn't so great at holding off your ability to move with ease and agility.  Running is.

This is a great article that outlines the research that was done into both running and walking in your mid 60''s and beyond.  Runners have a similar "fitness" to sedentary college students!

Looks like I need to pick up my pace.

Read:  Run to Stay Young

Weight Lifting for Swimmers

Weight lifting is great for everyone as we get older, and here's a great article about how weight lifting improves swimming.

The author outlines her 5X5 method and offers a few suggested workouts.  Swimming alone is fine, but with weights?  Even better.  Be strong and swim faster!

Read about weight lifting for swimming.

New Gym for me

My favourite gym, Living Strong, closed down last August.  I'm glad the weather has been fantastic, because I've been able to extend my outdoor fitness activities - rowing and hiking.  But the weather is getting cold so it's time to get back to the gym.

This winter I've decided to work with a new personal trainer.  I've known Sue Spencer of Gulf Islands Athletic Training for a long time.  She coached and trained my daughter as a soccer player.  What I like about Sue is that she is my age and still playing soccer.  She's active and athletic.  We share many of the same ideas and attitudes toward being an athlete.  And she's competitive.  

My goals are simple:

1.  To rekindle my motivation to work hard.

2.  To get stronger (see my previous post about weight training and aging)

3.  To be in top cardiovascular shape by spring break.

4.  To make a difference in the boats I race in next July.

So far we're learning routines and creating muscle memory for the dynamic warmup Sue supports.  I've been twice and I really like it.  This morning a woman came in who is much older than I and she whipped through the dynamic warm up as if she was 20 years old.  There's hope...  :)

Here's to a great winter of training!

Rambling Fisherman has a new owner

The Dwayne Mustard Fishing Experience has purchased The Rambling Fisherman - a year round guided fishing operation.

The Rambling Fisherman has a long history of guiding great fishing on Vancouver Island.  Ian, the founder of the company, has headed to Alberta for a career change and he chose Dwayne to take over the company.  He'll be great!  He's a fantastic salmon guide and has fished the rivers of Vancouver Island for years.  And he's fun to spend time with.

Check out The Rambling Fisherman's blog/website and Facebook Page.  It's exciting to see where Dwayne takes this already great company!

Book a guided drift on Vancouver Island.  Fishing is a great outdoor activity.

New Favorite Store!

I went to Cabela's on Sunday.  I needed some chest waders so I can go steelhead fishing this winter.  Oh, my.  I was overwhelmed.

The stores are HUGE.  The exterior is beautiful.  This interior is beautiful.  And the stores are filled with large taxidermy displays between the gear and clothing.  And they make fudge on the premises so the place smells incredible.

I highly recommend a visit if you're looking for any outdoor gear.  Amazing.

Fighting the Effects of Aging

It turns out that athletes over 50 can help themselves overcome the effect of age on their athletic performance.  Weight lifting does it.  And I don't mean body weights or high reps - I mean heavy, muscle-building weights.

Weight Lifting Improves Athletic Performance in Master Athletes

Walking Should Be Your First Choice

Walking has been compared to "super foods".  It's required for health.  This article makes a great case for making walking your first choice.

This exercise is the superfood of fitness, experts say