Change of Plans

Instead of following the scheduled 90 sec followed by 2 minutes, I did two repetitions of 2 minutes of running followed by 2 minutes of walking. No problems with chest discomfort or shortness of breath. My heart rate at the end of the 2 minute run was consistently at 132. My first blood pressure reading this morning was 159/98, P 69, that was followed by a series of normal readings ranging from 148/85, P 62 to 136/83, P 61. My first post blood pressure reading was 136/85, P 81 then five minutes later my blood pressure reading was 125/87, P 81. Why all the blood pressure readings? I want to make sure I do not have hypertensive disease also I do feel that poor blood pressure readings can be an indicator of unreasonable stress on the body or the mind. It is alright if the blood pressure goes up, but it must come down quickly and with subsequent readings the blood pressure should be in line with the guidelines set for the general population by healthcare professionals. If the BP readings remain high then blood pressure medication may be necessary. Also I am going to start running early morning. Because blood pressure is normally higher early morning I questioned the safety of getting up first thing in the morning and doing an activity that would, at least briefly, cause upward surges in blood pressure readings that might already be high. If this morning is any indication of the effect running will have on my blood pressure then I should not have a problem running first thing in the morning or increasing my running time. It is my expectation that my blood pressure readings will improve over the weeks to come as I get into better and better condition. I will also lose weight over the next few weeks. A decrease in weight lowers blood pressure. My weight hasn't changed significantly. The only change I am making in my diet is to eat fresh fruit every day. I am also including one serving of fish in my diet each week. I don't plan to restrict my calories in fact I may eat more.
New York Times Article: If Blood Pressure is High-Normal, Try Losing Weight.

So the change of plans is that I will change from the 90 - 120 to the 120 - 120
second runs, between 2 minute walks. This change to this part of my daily schedule will continue until next week, then I'll increase the running time to another higher but comfortable figure.

Early Morning Times
Time outside 30 minutes
Running time 8 minutes
Walking time 22 minutes

My target heart rate is: lower end 103 and upper end 135 - so today's 132 was very good.

Blood pressure is normally higher for individuals in my age group. I think it is absurd to assign a specific number like 120/80 for all individuals regardless of age or size. An individuals blood pressure readings are in a constant flux. The only time I am concerned about a blood pressure reading is if the reading shows an elevated state when I am calm and relaxed and didn't eat too much salt the day before. BP pressure might become an issue for me if it fluctuated wildly from low to very high in a very short space in time and if the wildly fluctuating blood pressure readings were accompanied by a symptom like hallucinating or having a seizure.
That could be relevant even in a healthy individual because it could be a symptom of overheating, of hyponatremia or serious dehydration or water overload. That kind of symptom is also present in a serious disease state, but with disease it would be a constant problem. In the case of exercising the symptoms would be transient, but very dangerous because an electrolyte imbalance can cause heart failure.

I didn't experience any nocturnal back pains. The muscles in my feet ache. Saturday I worked in a pair of very stiff walking shoes. I think some of the aching is from wearing those shoes, but I am also consciously working my feet more during the runs.

My plans for the rest of the day are to go to Indian Mounds and walk/run for a couple of miles. This afternoon I will do weight training and I will do core exercises. I need to stay home and clean up my house, but it is just too pretty a
day to stay in doors.

Just returned from Indian Mounds. It was a very productive trip. I was there for an hour. The first 20 minutes was spent running 30 seconds then walking 30 seconds. I set the timer on my watch to let me know when to switch from walking to running. The pedometer showed 2500 steps which a conversion table indicates is at least a mile. Even though the temperatures were relatively mild I got hot. I had absolutely no problem with that pace and will repeat that routine soon. I ran/walked on sidewalks over a bridge and up and down small hills. It was nice.

Blood Pressure

According to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute the categories for Blood Pressure Levels
in Adults are:
Normal Less than 120 And Less than 80
Prehypertension 120–139 Or 80–89
High blood pressure
Stage One 140–159 Or 90–99
Stage Two 160 or higher Or 100 or higher

In this Guide To Lowering Blood Pressure, it says being physically active is one of the most important things you can do to prevent or control high blood pressure. One of the exercises listed is running. The suggestion in this article is to run 1 1/2 miles in 15 minutes (1 mile in 10 minutes).

My last blood pressure reading for today is 121/79 Pulse 83. This reading was done after my return home from Indian Mounds.