Quickly forgetting, DEXA scans and Zone 2

I am back from Norway and if a perfect place exists, it may be there. Excellent public transportation, groomed cross country ski trails between towns, every grocery store with gummy candy bulk bins and a focus on natural products. I have never seen so little plastic junk in my life. In Norway you can camp anywhere as long as you are further than 250 meters from a house. And they have fjords. And cardamom buns. 

I went to see if ski expeditions were going to be my new pursuit as I am looking for my next big challenge. I learned so much at the ski expedition course and in the end of the day, it may not be for me. I LOVED pulling the sled, that is my jam. Anything where you work hard and don't have to be fast is awesome. I could have done that all day (and into the night). I love being outside all day, again, give me some work and the outdoors and I am sold. BUT, the nights. Wow it was tedious setting up a tent, boiling water and getting myself warm at negative degrees where you are burning your fingers on anything you touch. And once the tedious work is through, it is a long night being in your sleeping bag waiting to play again. And it could have been way colder, aka scarier. As someone who sleeps extra poorly, the nights really drag when it is so cold you can't even have your face out of the sleeping bag so it is just hours of suffocation and waiting. 

Here's the thing. Saying I don't want to pursue a ski expedition makes me want to do it. I hate saying no, backing down, and not taking on a challenge. I also have already forgotten how scary it is when your feet are frozen from the 30 minutes it took to prep the tent site. It also seems like, yeah, it is uncomfortable and the time dragged on like it was standing still, but I CAN and did do it. I took videos and videos capturing thoughts during the course for just this reason as I knew I would quickly forget. SO I am asking myself the question, just because I can do something, do I want to? 

LIFE'S BIG QUESTIONS
Here are the rest of the questions from all of you answered, the resources passed along and again, thanks for sending. I love hearing from you and SEEING YOU! I have an idea, come see me TOMORROW on Zoom and let's work out! First Wednesday night Strength Training for Runners of the new year! Get information here and hope to see you.
DEXA SCANS
Q: I have a friend who gets DEXA scans to monitor progress as a bodybuilder. What are DEXA scans and are they worth it? 

A: A DEXA scan is a medical imaging test that measures bone mineral density. It can diagnose osteoporosis or osteopenia. DEXA scans for bone density can be covered if you're postmenopausal and older than 65 years or have a condition that leads to a prescription, but otherwise, you will be paying for this imaging out of pocket. 

Athletes may find other data that can be collected during a DEXA scan relevant, including body composition measurements. A DEXA scan can pinpoint areas of muscle imbalance and track healing of injuries. As for the question of if they are worth it, this Runners World article recommends, "runners who have a poor relationship with food or a history of an eating disorder, multiple or unexplained bone stress injuries or other bone-related medical conditions may find a scan especially useful." 

HR ZONES AND WARM UPS
DO HR ZONES CHANGE THROUGHOUT LIFE? Yes, HR zones will change. In general, HR zone numbers will stay similar unless there are major health or fitness changes like serious illness, major weight fluctuations or long time away from exercise. What will change more is pace at the HR zones. Hopefully with training you will keep getting faster at the same HR. 

IT SEEMS LIKE MY PACE AT THE SAME HR IS FASTER, IS THIS FITNESS? Yes, this is fitness! Zone 2 training is something you may be hearing about in popular media. Zone 2 training is lower HR work that is aerobic which means while performing workouts at this intensity you can sing and chat, you don't finish famished and done over time, will make you faster. When you hear about athletes building their aerobic base, this is athletes working to get faster by going aerobic and bringing down their pace at the same HR effort. 

WHY DOES IT TAKE LONGER TO WARM UP THAN BEFORE? As you get older it takes longer to warm up. As we age muscles can get tighter and connective tissue gets less elastic. A good warm up makes the blood flow to muscles and synovial fluids move in the joints. 

IDEAS AND ARTICLES YOU SENT

• ANKLE TAPING "I started using David Roche's ankle taping technique out on the trail (I use less tape than he does) and it seems to help! I don't know if it's placebo or not, but it makes me feel better. Of course it does not replace strength, mobility, PT, etc." 
• POOR AIR QUALITY Study Links Poor Air Quality to Slower Marathon Finish Times "New research reveals that even healthy, well-trained athletes experience performance declines due to air pollution" The slowing is about 30 sec over a marathon, but it does show that fitness doesn't protect against poor air and your BQ time is already hard enough to snag, make sure you are racing where it is clean! 
• This is confirmation, I am hungrier when it is cold.