Staying in decent shape so we'll be able to haul cameras around again in the hot Summer. If and when the economy re-opens in Texas.

Recent studies show that sustained, aerobic exercise is the only sort of exercise that restores telomere integrity which is associated with retarding aging. Great! So we just hop in the pool and knock out some yardage, right? Well, tragically, all the pools and public swimming areas in Texas are closed down, so no swimming. I guess you could hop in one of the recreational lakes but do you really want to take your chances with drunk Texans and speedboats?

So we've been running. Which works for those crumbly telomeres but isn't nearly as much fun for me as a good swim. 

I've got two routes figured out at the Butler Hike and Bike Trail here in central Austin. One is a three mile loop and the other is a 4.9 mile loop. This morning I was up and on the trail doing the three mile loop by 7:15. I'm  happy to report that I encountered about 15 serious runners and a couple of walkers over the entire 38 minutes I was on the trail. Additionally, we were almost a satire of safe practices. Runners hung close to the right side of the trail leaving ample passing space on the left hand side. People passing called out crisply: "On your left!" as they sped by. That helps with overall situation awareness and prompts people who have a tendency to drift left to course correct.

But with all this running and no swimming I am worried about maintaining strength and muscle mass in my upper body. There are some easy ways to exercise the bigger muscles with my two favorites being planking and push-ups, but lately I've noticed that no matter how much broccoli I eat my biceps are not getting enough workout to maintain good form so I added some weight training. I don't use heavy weights because I don't want to over build mass; I use lighter weights with much higher repititions to gain strength without adding too much bulk that could impede swim function when my access to the pool returns. Big, tight muscles create their own resistance and make swimming more difficult...

The weights I've been using for bicep and tricep "curls" are 10 pounders and I do 50 reps per arm in  the morning, after the run, and then another 50 at the end of the work day. Same with the triceps curls. It's not my favorite way to train but it sure helps keep the weight down and the muscle mass up. Plus, they are cheap and easy to use and you can train with them just about anywhere. 

Finally, with a few velcro straps they make for good light stand stabilizers. Not as handy as a sandbag but almost. 

I'm upping the aerobic stuff to seven days a week, alternating the 3 mile loop and the 4.9 mile loop from day to day. If you are a good walker and want to take a stab at running you might try doing it in stages. Start with a slow run until you are out of breath and need a break. Walk briskly while taking ten deep breaths and then run again until you need to slow down. Repeat this for a week or two and by the end you should be able to run longer continuous distances. I like interval training because I'm inherently lazy and like little breaks. A walk/run three mile loop is a perfect starter distance. Once you can go the full distance without a walking break you can move on to running a bit faster each day. Or you can just enjoy the same run at a comfortable speed. 

Being fat/overweight/obese seems to be a prime indicator for who will die early so you might think of a good running regimen as an investment in staying alive....

A quick note about the Leica 90mm Elmarit I've been playing with. I'm a sucker for test photos that show the full frame and then show a 100% crop. But I'm sloppy about getting an exact crop. Whatever. Here is a quick, early test shot of the armrest of an office chair along with the mandatory crop in. This was shot handheld, wide open at 1/15th of a second using an S1R with its very good image stabilization. I don't know if you can derive anything from the images but I'm convinced the lens is really good. But then, most are. 

A public service announcement: 

I called my doctor today and asked if I should inject or ingest bleach or 

other disinfectants to prevent disease. He contradicted our president and told me that 

this was not a good course of action. That I should under no circumstances

ingest, inhale or inject bleach or any other disinfectant.

I was amazed to hear that doing so would cause permanent damage 

and quite possibly (probably) death. 

Since my doctor is smart, rarely ever wrong, is board certified 

and graduated from medical school I decided to believe him instead 

of listening to advice from the president, whose expertise is in selling

real estate.

If you like the blog I implore you not to use the bleach or disinfectant for anything other 

than cleaning surfaces or getting skid marks out of your tidy whities. 

I need to keep all the readers I have. 

Thanks.