phys therapy, cholesterol

Date	Place of run	Duration (min)	Start time
1 July	Moscow	34	6:13
5 July	Dog Patch	32	18:08
7 July	Johnston	38	7:01
9 July	Johnston	34	6:45
11 July	Dog Patch	35	17:05
12 July	Dog Patch	32	17:40  Temp 92, humid
13 July	YMCA	≈ 30	15:55
14 July	Johnston	36	6:35

                I’ve been running, and ONLY running.  No pushups, or pull-ups, or sprints, nothing.  For this reason, there are not many statistics to add to the runs. 

My shoulder began hurting because of an over-stretch during a Frisbee game.  I didn’t listen to its complaints because I had the opportunity to swim in beautifully clear water of the southern coast of Albania.  I told myself that I would rest the arm later. By the time I got back to the US, I could hardly raise the arm over my head or put on a t-shirt.

                I went to a physical therapist last week.  After a short time, we identified the muscles/tendons that were hurting.  I am doing exercises morning, noon and night to strengthen the area.  They are simple exercises that don’t stress much, but they seem to build me up quite a bit.  Probably the greatest improvement will come from simply NOT using my muscles.  The pause in pushups, and pull-ups will do me a lot of good.  As I’ve said before here, the body has a great capacity for healing itself.

                Cholesterol. I’ve been resisting medication to decrease my level of cholesterol.  At the end of June, I was tested in Albania, and the results were not great.  My overall level of cholesterol was 260—60 points above the top of the ‘healthy’ range. The ‘bad’ cholesterol LDL—it adds to the amount of fat in the arteries was 191—91 points above ‘healthy.’

We want these figures to be low.  These two were countered by the ‘good’ cholesterol HDL—we want the HDL to be high, because it takes fat away from the arteries. The HDL figure was 66—26 points above the minimum. 

The doctor gave me all the reasons that a person in my position should take the cholesterol lowering medication.  I decided I’d try it.  We’ll see what the level is after a month.  I’m still thinking about alternatives to the medication.  I’m eating a vegetarian diet, I run 4 or more days per week.   

Even though, I’m still running, in the mirror lately, I’ve noticed that there is some pudgy area around my midsection.  At the doctor’s office, I learned that I am truly gaining weight.  The scale showed that I weighed over 180 pounds!  I said, “Oh, I’m wearing two shirts, jeans, and shoes. Maybe that is adding to the weight.” I’m sure this is what the nurse hears all the time from people.  But on Monday when I went to the YMCA, I learned that with no clothes, I am still 178 pounds!  I have weighed 165 pounds for 20 years.  I guess the little bits of ice cream and chocolate are going to have to stop.

                ‘Dog Patch’ is some kind of unincorporated area in NW Des Moines.  This is my friend Mark’s name for the area where he lives.  I guess it’s technically in Des Moines, but the kids go to Johnston schools. I guess I don’t need to understand.