Yesterday and today, I woke up progressively earlier (7:14 and 7:00) and jogged a couple of miles with the dog, but we were too late both times for a completely dawn run. The prospect of running in orange-tinged light, on a different and alien beach in effect, is entrancing, and I suppose I will continue to rise as early as possible and get out as quickly as possible while we are staying here. The brevity and ease of the jog has relieved much pressure: I don't feel compelled to complete the usual pre-run preparations; instead, I wake up, pull clothes on, do a partial fluid change, and go.
Then, after breakfast, I ran another two miles with my husband both days. Keeping things light for now. I think getting into the habit of a relaxing and early start is paramount at this point.
My lungs and chest are feeling clearer. It feels like the crud is working its way out. I actually forgot I was running at a few points today. That is a good sign. Perhaps it also means that I don't like running as much as I thought I did!
I have not been running barefoot although my husband has. The sand is a bit too cold for me until later in the afternoon, and I haven't been running then.
To sum up 2012? It could have been better, but conditions were against me left and right and I'm happy that I didn't give up jogging altogether. Although, perhaps jogging less through the worst drought/heatwave in a half-century might have been wiser! I'm hoping that the breathing problems will not be permanent.
Hopes for 2013? I really don't know. I guess I'll see how things are when we move to our new place/town/trails (hopefully, trails!) Meanwhile, the beach will be calling at dawn and I have a new plan.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Didn't do three loops
We slept in, we had to pack up the car and leave PA.
We went to NY, and walked for hours in NYC one day...that was it for exercising in NY. It was delightful exploring more of NYC, this time mostly the lower west side, including my new favourite street, and we stopped and ate a few times, and met up with friends, and woke up the next day with sore calves. My husband thinks we walked about ten miles. I'm not really sure.
At any rate, I didn't feel like running in NY. The area where we were actually staying, about an hour from the city, isn't the best to run in. Steeply cambered curving narrow roads and hasty unobservant drivers. Plus I finally got "glutened". It was a slow process, not a single debilitating meal but a titration of tiny bits of wheat here and there over ten or so days away from home. Then, bam! I hurt, I took a three hour nap (in my running clothes!! I was actually steeling myself for a run! thwarted!) and I spent the rest of the day slowly getting swallowed up by a sofa. Running in NY was not meant to be. But it's rarely satisfying in that area anyway so I didn't mind much although I was curious to see how the biggest hill nearby compared to the big hills in Kansas. I think they're about the same, about a mile of uphill.
Sometimes, when faced with several days in a place unsuitable for running, and without training obligations, it's best to simply take time off and retrench in prep for the next place, instead of getting annoyed. Thus is the wisdom gleaned from a very lazy year. Take a break, wait for things to improve.
So now we're in the next place and things are greatly improved and there are no more excuses.
We are on Emerald Isle and there are miles and miles of beach.
I woke up to a dim blue fog and while thinking it would be really cool to run in that, I fell back asleep. An hour or so later, I woke up to rain. Probably cold rain. We are in NC, not Florida, and temperatures are in the 0 to 12C range, perfect running weather except for cold rain.
I reminded myself that this was the Next Place, and there were no more excuses. I had gloves and a hat and a windbreaker that was not waterproof but a good heat-trapper, and I set out with the dog.
The visible rain was mostly water rolling off the roof, and the real rain was small, and the air was moist, but humid and not clammy. I felt surprisingly warm. While we jogged, just two miles, the rain became mist and then nothing as the sun came out more and more forcibly, and we ended with a short pleasant stroll. I told my husband about the change in conditions and we went out an hour later. I wore the same clothing I had before, but by this time it was way too much, and I ended up taking off my hat, gloves, jacket and long-sleeved shirt. Another two miles.
We have eight more mornings here. This vacation is also a potential reset: better eating habits and better exercising habits.
The koi are still all alive though they are slightly sluggish right now--the water here is vastly different than the water inland and they are still getting used to it. It's been interesting comparing the water from Kansas, PA, NY, and here, not to mention that from waypoints such as Missouri and Ohio and Indiana and Maryland (this has been an exhausting trip), even though I've been testing only the pH and amine (NH3/NH4+) levels; the latter determines how much CloramX I put in to treat the water. I think the koi preferred the water in NY most of all.
We went to NY, and walked for hours in NYC one day...that was it for exercising in NY. It was delightful exploring more of NYC, this time mostly the lower west side, including my new favourite street, and we stopped and ate a few times, and met up with friends, and woke up the next day with sore calves. My husband thinks we walked about ten miles. I'm not really sure.
At any rate, I didn't feel like running in NY. The area where we were actually staying, about an hour from the city, isn't the best to run in. Steeply cambered curving narrow roads and hasty unobservant drivers. Plus I finally got "glutened". It was a slow process, not a single debilitating meal but a titration of tiny bits of wheat here and there over ten or so days away from home. Then, bam! I hurt, I took a three hour nap (in my running clothes!! I was actually steeling myself for a run! thwarted!) and I spent the rest of the day slowly getting swallowed up by a sofa. Running in NY was not meant to be. But it's rarely satisfying in that area anyway so I didn't mind much although I was curious to see how the biggest hill nearby compared to the big hills in Kansas. I think they're about the same, about a mile of uphill.
Sometimes, when faced with several days in a place unsuitable for running, and without training obligations, it's best to simply take time off and retrench in prep for the next place, instead of getting annoyed. Thus is the wisdom gleaned from a very lazy year. Take a break, wait for things to improve.
So now we're in the next place and things are greatly improved and there are no more excuses.
We are on Emerald Isle and there are miles and miles of beach.
I woke up to a dim blue fog and while thinking it would be really cool to run in that, I fell back asleep. An hour or so later, I woke up to rain. Probably cold rain. We are in NC, not Florida, and temperatures are in the 0 to 12C range, perfect running weather except for cold rain.
I reminded myself that this was the Next Place, and there were no more excuses. I had gloves and a hat and a windbreaker that was not waterproof but a good heat-trapper, and I set out with the dog.
The visible rain was mostly water rolling off the roof, and the real rain was small, and the air was moist, but humid and not clammy. I felt surprisingly warm. While we jogged, just two miles, the rain became mist and then nothing as the sun came out more and more forcibly, and we ended with a short pleasant stroll. I told my husband about the change in conditions and we went out an hour later. I wore the same clothing I had before, but by this time it was way too much, and I ended up taking off my hat, gloves, jacket and long-sleeved shirt. Another two miles.
We have eight more mornings here. This vacation is also a potential reset: better eating habits and better exercising habits.
The koi are still all alive though they are slightly sluggish right now--the water here is vastly different than the water inland and they are still getting used to it. It's been interesting comparing the water from Kansas, PA, NY, and here, not to mention that from waypoints such as Missouri and Ohio and Indiana and Maryland (this has been an exhausting trip), even though I've been testing only the pH and amine (NH3/NH4+) levels; the latter determines how much CloramX I put in to treat the water. I think the koi preferred the water in NY most of all.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
recovery!
Yesterday, I had the first true recovery jog I've had in a long while. The terrain in Kansas was too hilly (yes, not all of Kansas is flat) for a consistently easy jog; I'd thought that I was achieving the proper slacker effort on the treadmill, but yesterday proved me wrong. We were both tired and lethargic, but we figured that a short 2ish mile run on dirt would help loosen things up and flush things out.
It did. It felt AMAZING. The effect of a true recovery jog is somewhat hard to explain, but picture a running pace that is so easy, that walking is more difficult. A bit of momentum, a bit of foot lifting (just enough to avoid tripping), and, voila! Muscles relaxing, fibres unwinding, soreness ceding to buoyant space.
It would have been the perfect workout the day before a longer run, but we ended up getting massages that afternoon which apparently pressed toxins out of stagnant lymphatic quarries. It was my first pro massage (really, I have been to Korea and Thailand, but have never gotten a massage) and I was not prepared for the slight soreness and lethargy, although I was told to drink lots of water afterward. I did, but I didn't sleep well, nor did my husband. Consequently, this morning, we needed another 2-ish mile run on dirt instead of the hopeful 7.5 mile/three loop prospect.
It did. It felt AMAZING. The effect of a true recovery jog is somewhat hard to explain, but picture a running pace that is so easy, that walking is more difficult. A bit of momentum, a bit of foot lifting (just enough to avoid tripping), and, voila! Muscles relaxing, fibres unwinding, soreness ceding to buoyant space.
It would have been the perfect workout the day before a longer run, but we ended up getting massages that afternoon which apparently pressed toxins out of stagnant lymphatic quarries. It was my first pro massage (really, I have been to Korea and Thailand, but have never gotten a massage) and I was not prepared for the slight soreness and lethargy, although I was told to drink lots of water afterward. I did, but I didn't sleep well, nor did my husband. Consequently, this morning, we needed another 2-ish mile run on dirt instead of the hopeful 7.5 mile/three loop prospect.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Two loops this time
A total of 5ish miles (I've forgotten how long the loop is). My husband wanted to try three tomorrow, but I talked him down to one: a quasi-recovery day.
I still feel a tight area somewhere in my chest, but I coughed up more gunk after this somewhat tiring run and I think it helped. Maybe this is the first time I've run something more tangible than bad emotions out of myself. Whacking this awful stuff out of my lungs and onto the green grass is so much more satisfying than simply "getting fit". Muco-ciliary-elevator, activate!
I still feel a tight area somewhere in my chest, but I coughed up more gunk after this somewhat tiring run and I think it helped. Maybe this is the first time I've run something more tangible than bad emotions out of myself. Whacking this awful stuff out of my lungs and onto the green grass is so much more satisfying than simply "getting fit". Muco-ciliary-elevator, activate!
Another new start
I think I fancy starting and restarting running over and over, particularly the initial copious and voluptuous gains, the initial steepness of progress. Running is dissimilar to certain intellectual and artistic struggles; it inverts the slope of the graph (time v/s ability). Yes, dampening the burning lung sensation is overwhelming at first, but then progress comes quickly and triumphs beget new triumphs without any additional push required and then, ever so deviously quietly, the plateau, or series of plateaus, and diminishing gains, approach. In comparison, artistic and scientific stuff is initially a struggle, a tantrum or two over the first shade of green or logarithmic equation, and remains a struggle for the longest time until a meteoric rise in ability and consummation sparks, casting all the piddling toil beforehand into shadow. And the heavens broaden, etc, etc, and limits fade into nothingness, mere tenuous atomic bonds, etc, and walking away for a bit keeps things on the burner and actually improves the strength and complexity of the forge, but running isn't like that at all.
Restarting running is just that. Square One (what is Square One? part of a boardgame?) It gets easier each time (unless one is restarting at a greatly advanced age, I suppose), but the body quickly returns to inertia and reduced numbers of mitochondria in the meantime, and so one must forget previous benchmarks, or render them more abstract: "this is what I am possibly capable of if everything goes as well as it could." Not "this is my PB, why am I so much slower now?" But it comes back eventually, and more quickly than before.
This is my convoluted way of saying that we've resumed running, 2.5 miles, far away from the allergens of Kansas. Not the best run, but I couldn't have hoped for much. I think the run dredged up some of that grit, I coughed it up and out, and I feel better already. It was a nice sunlight run on trails, in 12C in late December. An encouraging close to a somewhat athletically low year.
My goal is to hack up all of the gunk by the end of the old year.
EDIT: And keep all the koi alive. So far, so good--they've traveled for four-ish days already and are all still flipping!
Restarting running is just that. Square One (what is Square One? part of a boardgame?) It gets easier each time (unless one is restarting at a greatly advanced age, I suppose), but the body quickly returns to inertia and reduced numbers of mitochondria in the meantime, and so one must forget previous benchmarks, or render them more abstract: "this is what I am possibly capable of if everything goes as well as it could." Not "this is my PB, why am I so much slower now?" But it comes back eventually, and more quickly than before.
This is my convoluted way of saying that we've resumed running, 2.5 miles, far away from the allergens of Kansas. Not the best run, but I couldn't have hoped for much. I think the run dredged up some of that grit, I coughed it up and out, and I feel better already. It was a nice sunlight run on trails, in 12C in late December. An encouraging close to a somewhat athletically low year.
My goal is to hack up all of the gunk by the end of the old year.
EDIT: And keep all the koi alive. So far, so good--they've traveled for four-ish days already and are all still flipping!
Friday, December 14, 2012
Last run in Kansas
I'd hoped to write this yesterday, but there was too much else that had to be done. Now that we've jettisoned the responsibilities of a house, and moving out of a house, I can sit down and type about what turned out to be a rather uneventful run. It wasn't the heart-wrenching farewell run I'd hoped for at first.
It was just three miles. We'd gone out on Tuesday evening so that I could hear the band Trampled Underfoot play live. My husband is a fan and had gone to hear them twice before, but my (past!) work schedule prevented me from accompanying him. They are really good, a sister-brother-brother blues team. The venue has really good food but no cider, and so I got a Mike's Hard Lemonade or so, and then I started to feel that feeling. The food was fine, but the liquid was not. The label said "Malt Beverage". What?! Shouldn't it be vodka? Not in the States! Their vodka mixes are actually malt beverages. (Glutard info: malt = barley or wheat = fatigue/colitis/joint pain/etc).
That pretty much nixed the 8-mile loop, but absence makes the heart grow fonder, and memories are distilled into greater potency and so forth and so on, how convenient! I vividly remember the brilliant red bush at the top. The brightest and richest red I'd ever seen in Kansas. No way those leaves are intact, and so going up again would dilute the experience.
We ran the three mile loop. It was sunny, about 5C, and a bit breezy. I was tired and my shins were a bit tender (I first noticed that they hurt Wednesday morning, just a dull ache), and my lungs felt gritty and pinched because the air wasn't the best, but I fell into a good form and found efficiency and some degree of comfort, particularly on the hills.
This year, running has taken a backseat, shoved into the trunk by about six weeks of mostly 37+C weather and many other too-hot days besides, dust, allergies, fatigue from squatting so much at work, shifting shifts, studies, etc, and for the longest time I struggled against disappointment as my goals dropped and waned, and were discarded. I never got used to the hills. I got stronger, but never strong enough to run outside every day like I could do everywhere else I've lived as a runner.
However, I have gotten stronger, or at least more efficient, in a certain fashion: I now find some uphills comfortable. It's true. The slant lets me shift to a relatively fresh set of muscles, and into a more suitable forward lean, and the impact is kinder. I've gotten to the point where, on some uphills, I forget that uphill is supposed to be hard and even that I am going uphill. I settle into an as of yet indescribable stance wherein my legs seem to swing forward without much effort. And on this run, my fatigue forced me to find that best form; I can't say I coasted or jogged, but I ran a commonplace run of sorts. Not too hard, not too easy. Devoid of moments of extreme pain or bliss, and the intricate architecture largely unnoticed, and the greater discomfort of previous runs forgotten. That was most likely the easiest that route had ever felt, but I didn't realize that at first because it still didn't feel 'easy'.
Thus, my last run in Kansas was rendered unremarkable. I was tired and my breathing started to get pushed on the very first hill, but it was manageable and I got over all the other hills without really thinking about them, and it wasn't until I was a minute or two along the long mostly downward slope home that I realized that I wasn't going uphill anymore, and there was very little uphill left in the run. It had been uneventful, but just on the surface. There had been a lot going on that I hadn't realized at first. Which is like Kansas in general.
It was just three miles. We'd gone out on Tuesday evening so that I could hear the band Trampled Underfoot play live. My husband is a fan and had gone to hear them twice before, but my (past!) work schedule prevented me from accompanying him. They are really good, a sister-brother-brother blues team. The venue has really good food but no cider, and so I got a Mike's Hard Lemonade or so, and then I started to feel that feeling. The food was fine, but the liquid was not. The label said "Malt Beverage". What?! Shouldn't it be vodka? Not in the States! Their vodka mixes are actually malt beverages. (Glutard info: malt = barley or wheat = fatigue/colitis/joint pain/etc).
That pretty much nixed the 8-mile loop, but absence makes the heart grow fonder, and memories are distilled into greater potency and so forth and so on, how convenient! I vividly remember the brilliant red bush at the top. The brightest and richest red I'd ever seen in Kansas. No way those leaves are intact, and so going up again would dilute the experience.
We ran the three mile loop. It was sunny, about 5C, and a bit breezy. I was tired and my shins were a bit tender (I first noticed that they hurt Wednesday morning, just a dull ache), and my lungs felt gritty and pinched because the air wasn't the best, but I fell into a good form and found efficiency and some degree of comfort, particularly on the hills.
This year, running has taken a backseat, shoved into the trunk by about six weeks of mostly 37+C weather and many other too-hot days besides, dust, allergies, fatigue from squatting so much at work, shifting shifts, studies, etc, and for the longest time I struggled against disappointment as my goals dropped and waned, and were discarded. I never got used to the hills. I got stronger, but never strong enough to run outside every day like I could do everywhere else I've lived as a runner.
However, I have gotten stronger, or at least more efficient, in a certain fashion: I now find some uphills comfortable. It's true. The slant lets me shift to a relatively fresh set of muscles, and into a more suitable forward lean, and the impact is kinder. I've gotten to the point where, on some uphills, I forget that uphill is supposed to be hard and even that I am going uphill. I settle into an as of yet indescribable stance wherein my legs seem to swing forward without much effort. And on this run, my fatigue forced me to find that best form; I can't say I coasted or jogged, but I ran a commonplace run of sorts. Not too hard, not too easy. Devoid of moments of extreme pain or bliss, and the intricate architecture largely unnoticed, and the greater discomfort of previous runs forgotten. That was most likely the easiest that route had ever felt, but I didn't realize that at first because it still didn't feel 'easy'.
Thus, my last run in Kansas was rendered unremarkable. I was tired and my breathing started to get pushed on the very first hill, but it was manageable and I got over all the other hills without really thinking about them, and it wasn't until I was a minute or two along the long mostly downward slope home that I realized that I wasn't going uphill anymore, and there was very little uphill left in the run. It had been uneventful, but just on the surface. There had been a lot going on that I hadn't realized at first. Which is like Kansas in general.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
one day to go
Until it's two days to go, then three, then 2 X 5....I have a small series of small fragments ahead before an indefinite stretch of indefiniteness during which I will probably float on the fluffy white cloud of numerous possibilities, at least for an indefinite little bit.
Meaning, I have no clue what I'll be doing in NC, but stage one of the move is over, our stuff gets taken away tomorrow, then we house-camp for a couple more days, and then we head out. I think I might run on Thursday, my last run in Kansas. Right now I'm slightly drained from several nights of skimpy sleep, and my eyes are itching from either allergies or disturbed dust. Plus my running clothes are buried. Not packed, just buried under other things shoved into a bathroom so that the movers don't take them away. We did our best to craft a point-to-point move this time, house directly to another house--we even took a week off to go to NC and iron things out (instead of going to Belize or somewhere with pretty tropical fishes to watch), and it did help somewhat, but we're still stuck with a half-carload or so of important-yet-not-travel-related stuff for almost a month, on prosaic paths to boot. We have to go back south-east, but not far enough.
On the plus side, the large cooler we got for the koi has a small interior ledge on all sides which not only perfectly supports a certain tupperware container (so that we can stow the filter, spare air pumps, Cloram-X, and other fish gear into it while traveling and avoid taking up extra space in the car, and the fish can still fit in the water under it), but also perfectly supports a certain cribbage board (and the running filter atop it when not traveling). Three disparate objects acquired at different times and in different countries are pulling together. This has solved a few potential problems and given me hope that I can keep my raccoon-scarred koi alive for the next month. They're busily scrounging for food in the new cooler right now. LOL
Meaning, I have no clue what I'll be doing in NC, but stage one of the move is over, our stuff gets taken away tomorrow, then we house-camp for a couple more days, and then we head out. I think I might run on Thursday, my last run in Kansas. Right now I'm slightly drained from several nights of skimpy sleep, and my eyes are itching from either allergies or disturbed dust. Plus my running clothes are buried. Not packed, just buried under other things shoved into a bathroom so that the movers don't take them away. We did our best to craft a point-to-point move this time, house directly to another house--we even took a week off to go to NC and iron things out (instead of going to Belize or somewhere with pretty tropical fishes to watch), and it did help somewhat, but we're still stuck with a half-carload or so of important-yet-not-travel-related stuff for almost a month, on prosaic paths to boot. We have to go back south-east, but not far enough.
On the plus side, the large cooler we got for the koi has a small interior ledge on all sides which not only perfectly supports a certain tupperware container (so that we can stow the filter, spare air pumps, Cloram-X, and other fish gear into it while traveling and avoid taking up extra space in the car, and the fish can still fit in the water under it), but also perfectly supports a certain cribbage board (and the running filter atop it when not traveling). Three disparate objects acquired at different times and in different countries are pulling together. This has solved a few potential problems and given me hope that I can keep my raccoon-scarred koi alive for the next month. They're busily scrounging for food in the new cooler right now. LOL
Thursday, December 6, 2012
4 days to go
Until our stuff gets boxed up. We're moving again.
Meanwhile, everything else is begging extra hard for attention. It's been one thing after another. I haven't run this week. Last week, 3 times. The week before? Thus ends the running portion of this entry. I would like to run up the big hill one more time before I leave, but otherwise I guess I'm tired of running here: it has not been the release it usually is.
A list of all the distractions would be tedious and possibly fate-beckoning because some are as of yet incompletely addressed. However, I must mention the most memorable in order to praise my dog who, through his perception and persistence, kept chasing a raccoon out of the yard and eventually treed it for several hours, and coaxed me to the pond beside which I found five of my six koi laid out in a row. They might have been out for as long as couple of hours, and one of them wasn't visibly breathing, but they all revived and are all still alive, albeit with some torn fins and missing scales and a few scratches. One of them got her face torn up substantially, and I thought I'd lose her, but she's back in fine glutton form. (I know for 99% sure that she is female because she eats like EDIT: Ms. Pacman: like a CHAMP!. Later on, I found the sixth koi by a tree--the raccoon started his snack with the most gorgeous one but I'm grateful it did not sample the full buffet. Apparently, some animals will take just a bite and move on to the next. At any rate, I now have five small koi living in a 65 gal stock tank indoors, requiring a bit more time and maintenance than before. It's apparently spring for them which entails eating (and tearing up plants) more. That's it, guys, the end of the anacharis!
Meanwhile, everything else is begging extra hard for attention. It's been one thing after another. I haven't run this week. Last week, 3 times. The week before? Thus ends the running portion of this entry. I would like to run up the big hill one more time before I leave, but otherwise I guess I'm tired of running here: it has not been the release it usually is.
A list of all the distractions would be tedious and possibly fate-beckoning because some are as of yet incompletely addressed. However, I must mention the most memorable in order to praise my dog who, through his perception and persistence, kept chasing a raccoon out of the yard and eventually treed it for several hours, and coaxed me to the pond beside which I found five of my six koi laid out in a row. They might have been out for as long as couple of hours, and one of them wasn't visibly breathing, but they all revived and are all still alive, albeit with some torn fins and missing scales and a few scratches. One of them got her face torn up substantially, and I thought I'd lose her, but she's back in fine glutton form. (I know for 99% sure that she is female because she eats like EDIT: Ms. Pacman: like a CHAMP!. Later on, I found the sixth koi by a tree--the raccoon started his snack with the most gorgeous one but I'm grateful it did not sample the full buffet. Apparently, some animals will take just a bite and move on to the next. At any rate, I now have five small koi living in a 65 gal stock tank indoors, requiring a bit more time and maintenance than before. It's apparently spring for them which entails eating (and tearing up plants) more. That's it, guys, the end of the anacharis!
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Two low weeks and a DNF
My last long run resulted in some discomfort afterwards, a sort of exercise-induced asthma if that's possible. I haven't bothered to see a doctor about it because we will be moving to an entirely different region and climate in several weeks and hopefully this problem will be left behind. Anyway, I was tired and didn't do much the week after. And then I got sick. More gunk! My present job turned out to be unsuitable for recovery: I took half of Tuesday off and all of Wednesday off, and after umpteen hours nestled between blankets and the couch, and a couple of work days wearing extra layers under PPE, I got better. I still haven't completely recovered, but I feel like I'm pretty close to the low-level gunk constant.
The marathon was yesterday, and it was a beautiful early summer day. About 20 C at the start, and sunny and somewhat humid. Way too warm for a run, especially a hilly run.
The course was 2 times a 13.1 mile out-and-back along a bike/rec paved trail, and it was gorgeous. I felt sluggish right from the start, but I tried to relax during the beginning, and I got to the first turnaround feeling not-quite warmed up, nor fresh, but without additional fatigue. Shortly afterward, increasing congestion and some mild intestinal disruption convinced me that I would be better off not attempting the 2nd loop. My legs were feeling more tired; I decided that if I ended up walking the last mile up the hills, that would be fine. The last water stop was a mile and a half before the finish, and this seemed like an even better place to stop running. Other people were walking at this point, and so I chatted a bit and strolled in the sunshine (it really is a gorgeous path and I hope to return before we leave), and fantasized about spending the afternoon on the deck back home.
Well, it seemed that once I crossed the finish line, or at least approached it whereupon I told a race official that I was dropping out, it started to drizzle. An approaching cold and stormy front although it took a while to fully arrive and wouldn't have helped much during the 2nd loop. It was just enough to quash deck dreams. Today it is 1 C and drizzling.
Sometimes races just don't work out. My training has been very poor this year: the air has been bad, the summer was scorching, my work hours haven't been entirely ideal (being at work less than 12 hours before a race start isn't the best), nor my work conditions though I've gotten really good at squatting and lifting but that hasn't translated as well to running as I'd hoped. And I was sick.
Good think I'd stopped when I had...they were running out of water because both the temperature and the attendance was higher than anticipated.
So I had a nice half-marathon jog and walk!
The marathon was yesterday, and it was a beautiful early summer day. About 20 C at the start, and sunny and somewhat humid. Way too warm for a run, especially a hilly run.
The course was 2 times a 13.1 mile out-and-back along a bike/rec paved trail, and it was gorgeous. I felt sluggish right from the start, but I tried to relax during the beginning, and I got to the first turnaround feeling not-quite warmed up, nor fresh, but without additional fatigue. Shortly afterward, increasing congestion and some mild intestinal disruption convinced me that I would be better off not attempting the 2nd loop. My legs were feeling more tired; I decided that if I ended up walking the last mile up the hills, that would be fine. The last water stop was a mile and a half before the finish, and this seemed like an even better place to stop running. Other people were walking at this point, and so I chatted a bit and strolled in the sunshine (it really is a gorgeous path and I hope to return before we leave), and fantasized about spending the afternoon on the deck back home.
Well, it seemed that once I crossed the finish line, or at least approached it whereupon I told a race official that I was dropping out, it started to drizzle. An approaching cold and stormy front although it took a while to fully arrive and wouldn't have helped much during the 2nd loop. It was just enough to quash deck dreams. Today it is 1 C and drizzling.
Sometimes races just don't work out. My training has been very poor this year: the air has been bad, the summer was scorching, my work hours haven't been entirely ideal (being at work less than 12 hours before a race start isn't the best), nor my work conditions though I've gotten really good at squatting and lifting but that hasn't translated as well to running as I'd hoped. And I was sick.
Good think I'd stopped when I had...they were running out of water because both the temperature and the attendance was higher than anticipated.
So I had a nice half-marathon jog and walk!
Sunday, October 28, 2012
gunk in the house
So, this week has been rather tiring. The weather heated up, highs of about 28C for 3 days, plus extra humidity, plus airborne allergens. I just walked with the dog Mon-Tues-Wed; he has been very good at getting me out of the house in the mornings. Thurs, we ran the 3 mile loop. Friday, we jogged/walked 1.5 as a warm up for my subsequent 2.5 mile tempo run on the TM. Saturday, we walked. I'd meant to do my last long run then, but I woke up feeling crappy, or not less crappy than the rest of the week as I'd hoped.
Today was the day.
The boys and I hit the 8 mile hilly loop. I hadn't attempted it since the recent incident and I was feeling a bit ill over the prospect, so having company really really helped. My husband took the dog's leash, relieving me of all bending-down responsibility. All I had to do was get into a relaxed zone and take the hills easy.
Which I managed to do! The first series of hills was relaxing. Even the second series was mostly relaxing, up until about halfway up the penultimate steep/tough hill. My breathing sped up at this point, but I think that's the latest it has on this route. I'd never made it through the second series of hills so relatively unscathed before. The cool weather helped, as well as the relatively clear air.
The big hill was tough as usual, but my numbers mental game is pretty well established, and that carried me through to a 9:32 mile up that thing. Fastest ever, I think.
We returned home while I contemplated a second loop. The prospect of boredom dissuaded me and I chose instead the treadmill and the 2012 Berlin marathon. I would run for 2 hrs, with at least one 10 minute interval at a steeper incline to simulate the 2nd hill on the course.
Unfortunately, the Berlin marathon replay this year isn't free!!! bummer. I found the Frankfurt replay, but it was in German...eventually, I chose London 2012 (not the Olympics), which I may have seen before (I can't remember, so essentially not).
Thus armed, I started on tired legs and strangely tired and squeezed lungs. The air in my house wasn't good for some reason! This has happened before but usually I find the air quality worse outside. I opened windows and turned on fans, to no avail.
My ten minute hills were at 30 minutes and 1:30. The last one was beastly--the first one, I held onto form and the same pace, the last one was a struggle and I had to drop down a bit and bluntly, mindlessly, fling all my shit upward. I was a wreck. I have no idea what the grade is apart from over 1%--the TM is at about %1 at its flattest. After it, there were only 20 minutes remaining of my run, but they were nasty.
It's been an hour since I stopped--I showered and then lay on the floor to relax for a while. My lungs still feel raw and my breathing kind of pressed. I am now drinking a recovery drink; I felt too queasy before to do that. I'd tried a new workout drink today and I think it helped me for a while but I shouldn't have drunk so much of it. Oh, well, it's done and in the past now.
I have to study the course more...all I remember is that it's 2x a 13.1 mile out-and-back, with lots of little hills, there will be a major hill twice. My goal? Finish. I'm out of shape and this isn't a fast course: http://www.psychowyco.com/pilgrimpacer/id3.html Hopefully the air clears up by then!
Today was the day.
The boys and I hit the 8 mile hilly loop. I hadn't attempted it since the recent incident and I was feeling a bit ill over the prospect, so having company really really helped. My husband took the dog's leash, relieving me of all bending-down responsibility. All I had to do was get into a relaxed zone and take the hills easy.
Which I managed to do! The first series of hills was relaxing. Even the second series was mostly relaxing, up until about halfway up the penultimate steep/tough hill. My breathing sped up at this point, but I think that's the latest it has on this route. I'd never made it through the second series of hills so relatively unscathed before. The cool weather helped, as well as the relatively clear air.
The big hill was tough as usual, but my numbers mental game is pretty well established, and that carried me through to a 9:32 mile up that thing. Fastest ever, I think.
We returned home while I contemplated a second loop. The prospect of boredom dissuaded me and I chose instead the treadmill and the 2012 Berlin marathon. I would run for 2 hrs, with at least one 10 minute interval at a steeper incline to simulate the 2nd hill on the course.
Unfortunately, the Berlin marathon replay this year isn't free!!! bummer. I found the Frankfurt replay, but it was in German...eventually, I chose London 2012 (not the Olympics), which I may have seen before (I can't remember, so essentially not).
Thus armed, I started on tired legs and strangely tired and squeezed lungs. The air in my house wasn't good for some reason! This has happened before but usually I find the air quality worse outside. I opened windows and turned on fans, to no avail.
My ten minute hills were at 30 minutes and 1:30. The last one was beastly--the first one, I held onto form and the same pace, the last one was a struggle and I had to drop down a bit and bluntly, mindlessly, fling all my shit upward. I was a wreck. I have no idea what the grade is apart from over 1%--the TM is at about %1 at its flattest. After it, there were only 20 minutes remaining of my run, but they were nasty.
It's been an hour since I stopped--I showered and then lay on the floor to relax for a while. My lungs still feel raw and my breathing kind of pressed. I am now drinking a recovery drink; I felt too queasy before to do that. I'd tried a new workout drink today and I think it helped me for a while but I shouldn't have drunk so much of it. Oh, well, it's done and in the past now.
I have to study the course more...all I remember is that it's 2x a 13.1 mile out-and-back, with lots of little hills, there will be a major hill twice. My goal? Finish. I'm out of shape and this isn't a fast course: http://www.psychowyco.com/pilgrimpacer/id3.html Hopefully the air clears up by then!
Sunday, October 21, 2012
the hill
Tuesday, I attempted the 8 mile loop with the big hill. Unfortunately, right before the hill, I stopped and bent over to untangle the dog and leash, and SVT kicked in. And it stayed for at least 20 minutes. My tricks didn't work, not carotid massage, not relaxation, not slight hyperventilation, nothing. I tried jogging up but gave up, even though it really didn't matter what I did. I was going to be uncomfortable no matter what.
This was the longest bout I've had in ages, probably since the operation. It was very demoralizing at first. Oh, ____, this again, what's the point, etc, etc. It's a relatively harmless but uncomfortable thing which could theoretically wear my heart out a couple of decades or so early, but at the time, it assumed a graver magnitude. I walked up the hill while sinking deeper and yet also while slipping out of my body somehow, floating to the relief of incomplete presence.
And then, at the top of the hill was a clump of vivid red sumac in a sunlit field. Sumac tethers me to familiarity in general, the smell, the look, especially during this fall season otherwise devoid of red leaves. I clung to that red sumac and further pulled myself out of myself in the process. I don't remember being with the dog except that I stopped to let him sniff and let myself stare at the red leaves. He was a very good boy. We stayed on the summit for an indefinite length of time. My state of mind was not very temporal.
Eventually, with an almost audible click, my heart rate went back to normal. We headed down the hill, I broke into a light jog to help clear things, but it was so fatiguing. We walked and jogged--just downhill joggged--home. SVT is perhaps the ultimate cardio workout. The 20-30 minute bouts used to leave me tired for about a week afterward.
However, it seems that I'm stronger now. I was tired the next day and just walked with the dog, but the following day, I felt strong enough to run the 3 mile loop. It was an almost 3 mile loop to be accurate: the last time I ran the 3 mile loop, with my husband and the dog, another pitbull-type dog that is usually tied up ran out to greet us...fortunately in good humour. It was larger than my dog (who is supposedly larger than a 'purebred' pit bull (there is much debate about the breed, or umbrella of closely-related breeds/strains, etc)--its head was proportionally much broader than my dog's. We stopped and let the dogs sniff each other then calmly walked away. There wasn't much else we could do because it ran out so suddenly. It seemed like a pretty chill dog after the initial few seconds, but some dogs eventually take a dislike to each other and so I altered our route.
Friday, I ran for 7 songs on the TM--a tempo run. 24:10, so about 3 miles on the flat.
Saturday, I walked with the dog.
I'm omitting the cross-training workouts I did this week out of laziness; at least I did the workouts! Oh, I should mention the pistol squats I did on Friday, because the delayed muscle soreness was a factor today.
I'd thought about attempting the 8 mile loop again, but it was already too warm (Tuesday was also a warmish day, which could have been a factor). Plan B was a long easy run on the treadmill. I found a video of the 2012 Rotterdam marathon and started jogging.
But my ass hurt too much to go slow. I needed to apply a certain amount of force and/or momentum to push past the discomfort, like one needs to apply a certain amount of force to separate two magnets stuck together. Or a certain amount of force to push a gate open--that's a more appropriate comparison. I pushed the speed control up and found that 6 mph was more comfortable. Breathing was still easy, but there was enough momentum to help.
This really wasn't 6 mph. I've mentioned the stinginess of the FREE treadmill before (I am not ungrateful, just realistic)...it's about ~1 mph in the midrange off, I think, at least in terms of effort because it is also set at a slight incline at its flattest setting. 6.5-6.7 feels like tempo run which would be about 7.5-7.7 on the flat outside. The lack of flat outside adds to the confusion. Really, I cannot tell what I should be running. I should just ditch all numbers and just gauge effort, but I like numbers.
Anyway, I ran for 2 hours. Tiredness emerged quickly and stayed. I kept having to tweak things to avoid points of fatigue. There were a few minutes here and there of relative ease, when balance and positioning were optimal and I recaptured the hip piston action I've been pursuing like a silently fleeing wild turkey blending into the shadowy brush (a friend mentioned turkeys on FB recently, and I've been thinking of them and the way they can melt out of sight). All too soon, however, the turkey was gone and I was edging into inefficiency. But, somehow on a very uniform running surface, I managed to change things up often, and time went by relatively quickly.
For the last half hour, I bumped the speed up to 6.3 mph (~7.3ish) to avoid accumulating discomfort. This strategy worked well the last time I was starting to feel bogged down. 7.3 mph is 8:13/mile, which is a very mechanically comfortable pace for me...it's a bit harder than 9 min/mile, and burns glycogen more quickly, but is nevertheless easier in a way. 8:05-8:15/mile is my happy pace zone, I guess. I was very tired during the last half hour, but being in my happy pace zone helped a lot, as did the timing of the marathon footage. The first woman crossed the finish line at my 2:29, leaving me just a minute to slog through sort of on my own.
This run was a huge confidence booster because it was a test of stamina, which is my weakest point in running. I am not fast, but I do better at the faster shorter workouts, and I develop endurance--long and slow--relatively easy and can coast about for hours in comfort, even beyond the marathon distance, when I'm fit, but I dislike breathing harder for more than a few minutes. My breathing wasn't 'hard' during this run, but it was a steady 4-2 and 2-2 rhythm, which is faster than usual on my long easy runs. It was probably mostly 2-2. The hills here have forced me to accept that for longer periods of time, I guess, and I don't notice it was well. And perhaps the SVT has made me a little bit stronger after all. Maintaining a heart rate in the 228-240 beats/minute range is not something I can usually do; I'm lucky to get much above 200 during the toughest interval workouts. At any rate, moving from 5.7 to 6.0 as a long run pace was a big development.
I signed up for a local (hilly, of course) marathon which happens to be in three weeks. I still have time for a long slow run, either outside or on the TM, and maybe a couple of 8 mile big hill runs. I have not been training very much compared to the past, but in the past few months, I have done a few runs in the 2:30-3 hr range outside, including 2 that were about 3 hrs long (but slow because the temps were 31-35 C, not including humidex), and a 2:50, a 3 hr, and two runs around 2:30 on the TM. Not too shabby.
This was the longest bout I've had in ages, probably since the operation. It was very demoralizing at first. Oh, ____, this again, what's the point, etc, etc. It's a relatively harmless but uncomfortable thing which could theoretically wear my heart out a couple of decades or so early, but at the time, it assumed a graver magnitude. I walked up the hill while sinking deeper and yet also while slipping out of my body somehow, floating to the relief of incomplete presence.
And then, at the top of the hill was a clump of vivid red sumac in a sunlit field. Sumac tethers me to familiarity in general, the smell, the look, especially during this fall season otherwise devoid of red leaves. I clung to that red sumac and further pulled myself out of myself in the process. I don't remember being with the dog except that I stopped to let him sniff and let myself stare at the red leaves. He was a very good boy. We stayed on the summit for an indefinite length of time. My state of mind was not very temporal.
Eventually, with an almost audible click, my heart rate went back to normal. We headed down the hill, I broke into a light jog to help clear things, but it was so fatiguing. We walked and jogged--just downhill joggged--home. SVT is perhaps the ultimate cardio workout. The 20-30 minute bouts used to leave me tired for about a week afterward.
However, it seems that I'm stronger now. I was tired the next day and just walked with the dog, but the following day, I felt strong enough to run the 3 mile loop. It was an almost 3 mile loop to be accurate: the last time I ran the 3 mile loop, with my husband and the dog, another pitbull-type dog that is usually tied up ran out to greet us...fortunately in good humour. It was larger than my dog (who is supposedly larger than a 'purebred' pit bull (there is much debate about the breed, or umbrella of closely-related breeds/strains, etc)--its head was proportionally much broader than my dog's. We stopped and let the dogs sniff each other then calmly walked away. There wasn't much else we could do because it ran out so suddenly. It seemed like a pretty chill dog after the initial few seconds, but some dogs eventually take a dislike to each other and so I altered our route.
Friday, I ran for 7 songs on the TM--a tempo run. 24:10, so about 3 miles on the flat.
Saturday, I walked with the dog.
I'm omitting the cross-training workouts I did this week out of laziness; at least I did the workouts! Oh, I should mention the pistol squats I did on Friday, because the delayed muscle soreness was a factor today.
I'd thought about attempting the 8 mile loop again, but it was already too warm (Tuesday was also a warmish day, which could have been a factor). Plan B was a long easy run on the treadmill. I found a video of the 2012 Rotterdam marathon and started jogging.
But my ass hurt too much to go slow. I needed to apply a certain amount of force and/or momentum to push past the discomfort, like one needs to apply a certain amount of force to separate two magnets stuck together. Or a certain amount of force to push a gate open--that's a more appropriate comparison. I pushed the speed control up and found that 6 mph was more comfortable. Breathing was still easy, but there was enough momentum to help.
This really wasn't 6 mph. I've mentioned the stinginess of the FREE treadmill before (I am not ungrateful, just realistic)...it's about ~1 mph in the midrange off, I think, at least in terms of effort because it is also set at a slight incline at its flattest setting. 6.5-6.7 feels like tempo run which would be about 7.5-7.7 on the flat outside. The lack of flat outside adds to the confusion. Really, I cannot tell what I should be running. I should just ditch all numbers and just gauge effort, but I like numbers.
Anyway, I ran for 2 hours. Tiredness emerged quickly and stayed. I kept having to tweak things to avoid points of fatigue. There were a few minutes here and there of relative ease, when balance and positioning were optimal and I recaptured the hip piston action I've been pursuing like a silently fleeing wild turkey blending into the shadowy brush (a friend mentioned turkeys on FB recently, and I've been thinking of them and the way they can melt out of sight). All too soon, however, the turkey was gone and I was edging into inefficiency. But, somehow on a very uniform running surface, I managed to change things up often, and time went by relatively quickly.
For the last half hour, I bumped the speed up to 6.3 mph (~7.3ish) to avoid accumulating discomfort. This strategy worked well the last time I was starting to feel bogged down. 7.3 mph is 8:13/mile, which is a very mechanically comfortable pace for me...it's a bit harder than 9 min/mile, and burns glycogen more quickly, but is nevertheless easier in a way. 8:05-8:15/mile is my happy pace zone, I guess. I was very tired during the last half hour, but being in my happy pace zone helped a lot, as did the timing of the marathon footage. The first woman crossed the finish line at my 2:29, leaving me just a minute to slog through sort of on my own.
This run was a huge confidence booster because it was a test of stamina, which is my weakest point in running. I am not fast, but I do better at the faster shorter workouts, and I develop endurance--long and slow--relatively easy and can coast about for hours in comfort, even beyond the marathon distance, when I'm fit, but I dislike breathing harder for more than a few minutes. My breathing wasn't 'hard' during this run, but it was a steady 4-2 and 2-2 rhythm, which is faster than usual on my long easy runs. It was probably mostly 2-2. The hills here have forced me to accept that for longer periods of time, I guess, and I don't notice it was well. And perhaps the SVT has made me a little bit stronger after all. Maintaining a heart rate in the 228-240 beats/minute range is not something I can usually do; I'm lucky to get much above 200 during the toughest interval workouts. At any rate, moving from 5.7 to 6.0 as a long run pace was a big development.
I signed up for a local (hilly, of course) marathon which happens to be in three weeks. I still have time for a long slow run, either outside or on the TM, and maybe a couple of 8 mile big hill runs. I have not been training very much compared to the past, but in the past few months, I have done a few runs in the 2:30-3 hr range outside, including 2 that were about 3 hrs long (but slow because the temps were 31-35 C, not including humidex), and a 2:50, a 3 hr, and two runs around 2:30 on the TM. Not too shabby.
Monday, October 15, 2012
the garbage got me up
The garbage truck usually comes around 7:30 am on Monday. Yes, we can put out our garbage the night before but it cannot be in cans or bins. The city gives garbage bags free of charge to residents to simplify the process for everyone...including our non-human neighbours.
This week, it seemed to be my turn to wake up early and put the garbage out. We don't have a set rotating schedule. Usually my husband has to go to work early and he puts it out. If he's home, he likes to sleep in and I put it out. If we are both dead to the world, it's not a big deal to skip a week because we usually don't generate much more than a grocery sack of garbage a week. (This might change now that I've retired the compost bin and released the worms). But I woke up at 7 and put out the bags.
Ironically, almost all of our garbage this week was yard waste and was already outside. Neither of us thought to put it out in front yesterday. And, even more sadly, the city doesn't compost and though we figured out ways of diverting cardboard, paper, glass, metal, and organic kitchen waste, we haven't yet figured out where to bring our yard waste.
It was a gorgeous morning. The leaves started turning in our absence: no reds, but plenty of yellows and oranges. It was crisp and cool and dewy. I put the collar and leash on the dog and we walked to the river, a bed of gently rising fog. Enjoyably transported to another, more mysterious place, we meandered along the river and then home.
Then I did zwow #37 and discomfort returned me to the here and now.
This week, it seemed to be my turn to wake up early and put the garbage out. We don't have a set rotating schedule. Usually my husband has to go to work early and he puts it out. If he's home, he likes to sleep in and I put it out. If we are both dead to the world, it's not a big deal to skip a week because we usually don't generate much more than a grocery sack of garbage a week. (This might change now that I've retired the compost bin and released the worms). But I woke up at 7 and put out the bags.
Ironically, almost all of our garbage this week was yard waste and was already outside. Neither of us thought to put it out in front yesterday. And, even more sadly, the city doesn't compost and though we figured out ways of diverting cardboard, paper, glass, metal, and organic kitchen waste, we haven't yet figured out where to bring our yard waste.
It was a gorgeous morning. The leaves started turning in our absence: no reds, but plenty of yellows and oranges. It was crisp and cool and dewy. I put the collar and leash on the dog and we walked to the river, a bed of gently rising fog. Enjoyably transported to another, more mysterious place, we meandered along the river and then home.
Then I did zwow #37 and discomfort returned me to the here and now.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
new week, new state, new beach
Last Sunday, I didn't do the 8 mile loop as planned. I watched the 2012 Chicago marathon and jogged on the treadmill for 2:15 then tacked on a 20 minute tempo run. My neck was fine.
The Chicago marathon had an exciting close finish for both the men and the women--the women's finish was pretty much a photo finish.
We flew on Sunday (not on our feet, alas).
Monday-Tues, house-hunting days, and I think they will prove to be fruitful...meanwhile, we hit the beach after that. A new beach for both of us, which was exciting. The OBX offers a wide selection.
Wednesday, 20 minute beach run. I have fallen very out of shape for barefoot beach running, but this beach was a suitable reintroduction: sand relatively firm and flat mid-low tide.
Thursday, 60 minute beach run with my husband. My calves felt pretty torn up after the previous day's attempt, but they obligingly loosened up and yielded a really relaxing and easy run. Maybe eating a bunch of local seafood helped speed recovery. This was my first trip to the South since d
Friday and Saturday, travel days.
Sunday, today, back home on the hills, 4 miles with my husband and the dog. It was relaxing for me (a relaxed tempo effort to be perfectly honest, I suppose: I'm breathing faster than on a true easy run but I forget that I'm breathing faster) but the air wasn't the best and my husband felt that his breathing was constrained. The weather was otherwise wonderful, and we got most of our fall yardwork done afterward.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
this week
It flew and crawled by:
zwow 12
zwow 33 (but just two rounds)
20 minutes tempo run
3 mile run outside
And a fair bit of walking.
I'd hoped to tackle the 8 mile loop this week, but it didn't happen. My neck didn't allow outside running until Wednesday, when I ran the 3 mile loop to test it out (successfully!) Thursday was simply lost...I slept in too late. The sleep in was a signal, perhaps, but I am puzzled. Friday and Saturday, my guts periodically cried some sort of gluten affront, and yet I haven't eaten anything suspicious unless the muscle relaxants have gluten in them, and I didn't take them every day.
Meanwhile, I'm missing the start of fall! The temps are brisk. The heaters kicked on at work and at home. I am rather fond of the juxtaposition of the smell of crisp dead leaves outside and the smell of burning dust inside.
Maybe I will get the run in before we leave tomorrow. That might require packing tonight...I could lay out some running clothes, I suppose. We'll be returning to summer, not horrible swelter deep summer, but the first few days in the mid 20s C when the sun hits soft green lawns and you do likewise.
zwow 12
zwow 33 (but just two rounds)
20 minutes tempo run
3 mile run outside
And a fair bit of walking.
I'd hoped to tackle the 8 mile loop this week, but it didn't happen. My neck didn't allow outside running until Wednesday, when I ran the 3 mile loop to test it out (successfully!) Thursday was simply lost...I slept in too late. The sleep in was a signal, perhaps, but I am puzzled. Friday and Saturday, my guts periodically cried some sort of gluten affront, and yet I haven't eaten anything suspicious unless the muscle relaxants have gluten in them, and I didn't take them every day.
Meanwhile, I'm missing the start of fall! The temps are brisk. The heaters kicked on at work and at home. I am rather fond of the juxtaposition of the smell of crisp dead leaves outside and the smell of burning dust inside.
Maybe I will get the run in before we leave tomorrow. That might require packing tonight...I could lay out some running clothes, I suppose. We'll be returning to summer, not horrible swelter deep summer, but the first few days in the mid 20s C when the sun hits soft green lawns and you do likewise.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Going forward, only forward
I'm not too good at turning these days. The flu shot resulted in some sort of compensatory neck strain--I hadn't realized before how much I pick up and hold things with my left hand at work--and I had to pull the plug on an attempted 8 mile run yesterday. After about a mile, a slight stiffness on the left side of my neck turned to a sharper knot and then to a repeated spasm. I turned around and went home and stretched, applied arnica, ingested muscle relaxants for perhaps the first time in my life (they seem to have helped), got my husband to push the knots looser, stretched, etc. And I pigged out. My husband felt a bit sad that we weren't back in Ottawa (or Vankleek Hill) for Octoberfest, so we had our own impromptu celebration. This included a delicious though perhaps disgusting culinary breakthrough: some of the sausages split while frying, and my husband failed to make a consistent sauce with the drippings, but I took the solidified portion and made a pancake out of it. It's probably mostly trans fat...but so tasty. It reminded me of traditional Nfld outport cuisine. And it's a good sign that my appetite and digestive system have pretty much fully recovered.
This week, my weight has finally steadied, at about 8 pounds lighter than pre-illness. Every morning, the exact same weight. This is fine. I woke up a couple of pounds heavier this morning, though, which I interpreted as successful carbloading, and I crossed my fingers and banked on the linear nature of treadmill running.
I rewatched the 2012 Boston marathon, including a bunch of pre-race coverage, while jogging for 3 hours. The treadmill odometer/speedometer ran out of battery life, not that it was accurate in the first place, but the sliding knob that adjusts the belt pace doesn't lie, and I started the run slightly faster than I'd started last week's run, and I ended up at a still faster pace: an experiment gone right. I had more muscle soreness this time--fortunately, not including my neck!--though it took a while to manifest and the first 1hr45 felt really good, and then my hips started to feel jammed. I kept reminding myself to tighten my core, thus releasing the tension in my hips, but at 2hr30, my right leg started to get kind of stuck. I'm not sure exactly what throws the mechanics off in this case, but sometimes this hitch occurs and my right foot lags, and that's it for the rest of the run. I can continue, but I can't pick my right foot up as quickly as before, and sometimes it feels like it'll trip the rest of me up.
This time, I decided to push the pace. Maybe increased quickness would improve hip "buoyancy" and allow my right leg enough space to swing through more cleanly. I was sweating a lot (I think I drank about 1 L/hr), but the air was otherwise comfortable and my breathing remained easy. I eventually got into my biomechanical comfort zone, which on the flat outside is (was?) about 8:15/mile, and stayed at this effort for the last 20 minutes or so of the run. The hitch went away.
Another thing I noticed with this run was feeling more stiffness in my feet due to too constant flexion--every so often, I loosened up by allowing my feet to point more after impact and to flex less otherwise. This addresses a point of inefficiency that has existed for years. I think my core was so weak that my hips were somewhat compacted and my foot action was constrained as a result.
The last fifteen minutes of the run were tiring muscularly, though still easy aerobically, but I was accompanying the Boston marathon winners who were suffering considerably more. This comparatively lightened my own burden.
My neck still isn't 100% normal though it was not a factor during this run. The true test will be withstanding the physical demands of my job. Hopefully, I will feel fit enough to run outside this week. If not, I have next week off to recover: we're going to North Carolina to check our next posting out. I was hoping that this vacation would be spent in Belize or someplace like that, but we're getting sent to something of a dump and thus we really need to see which areas are reasonably un-dumpy (another slap or two in my face from Dixie but I'm trying to be positive and one bonus is an apparently relaxed dress code--I was wearing short shorts and tank tops in Virginia (and slightly less in my rather private backyard during the even hotter sauna this summer in Kansas), but it sounds like I can actually get away with wearing pyjamas in public this next place! Shades of old Shanghai, and practical too if I get light and airy jammies: cool cotton wafting back the rays...).
At any rate, this year has been challenging, but I think I can finally commit to a fall marathon. I haven't signed up for one yet because I was wavering between two small local races that are a week apart in November. My hopes were pinned on the later one because it is later, and flatter (though still hilly), but I recently found out that they don't have same day bib pick up; thus I've decided that the first one seems a bit more picturesque and better organized. It is two out-and-backs which include a ~200 ft hill; consequently, I cannot abandon hills just yet. I have three good ones to choose from: the familiar ~250 ft one on the 8 mile loop, a ~300ft one on post that's on a 11-12 mile loop, I think, and a ~220 ft one on a 6.5ish mile loop which includes some trail and steeper portions. I have enough time to work up to running the 8 mile loop twice, I think, and perhaps 3:20 on the treadmill. I will see.
Meanwhile, I am working on fulfilling another craving: roasted tomato sauce.
This week, my weight has finally steadied, at about 8 pounds lighter than pre-illness. Every morning, the exact same weight. This is fine. I woke up a couple of pounds heavier this morning, though, which I interpreted as successful carbloading, and I crossed my fingers and banked on the linear nature of treadmill running.
I rewatched the 2012 Boston marathon, including a bunch of pre-race coverage, while jogging for 3 hours. The treadmill odometer/speedometer ran out of battery life, not that it was accurate in the first place, but the sliding knob that adjusts the belt pace doesn't lie, and I started the run slightly faster than I'd started last week's run, and I ended up at a still faster pace: an experiment gone right. I had more muscle soreness this time--fortunately, not including my neck!--though it took a while to manifest and the first 1hr45 felt really good, and then my hips started to feel jammed. I kept reminding myself to tighten my core, thus releasing the tension in my hips, but at 2hr30, my right leg started to get kind of stuck. I'm not sure exactly what throws the mechanics off in this case, but sometimes this hitch occurs and my right foot lags, and that's it for the rest of the run. I can continue, but I can't pick my right foot up as quickly as before, and sometimes it feels like it'll trip the rest of me up.
This time, I decided to push the pace. Maybe increased quickness would improve hip "buoyancy" and allow my right leg enough space to swing through more cleanly. I was sweating a lot (I think I drank about 1 L/hr), but the air was otherwise comfortable and my breathing remained easy. I eventually got into my biomechanical comfort zone, which on the flat outside is (was?) about 8:15/mile, and stayed at this effort for the last 20 minutes or so of the run. The hitch went away.
Another thing I noticed with this run was feeling more stiffness in my feet due to too constant flexion--every so often, I loosened up by allowing my feet to point more after impact and to flex less otherwise. This addresses a point of inefficiency that has existed for years. I think my core was so weak that my hips were somewhat compacted and my foot action was constrained as a result.
The last fifteen minutes of the run were tiring muscularly, though still easy aerobically, but I was accompanying the Boston marathon winners who were suffering considerably more. This comparatively lightened my own burden.
My neck still isn't 100% normal though it was not a factor during this run. The true test will be withstanding the physical demands of my job. Hopefully, I will feel fit enough to run outside this week. If not, I have next week off to recover: we're going to North Carolina to check our next posting out. I was hoping that this vacation would be spent in Belize or someplace like that, but we're getting sent to something of a dump and thus we really need to see which areas are reasonably un-dumpy (another slap or two in my face from Dixie but I'm trying to be positive and one bonus is an apparently relaxed dress code--I was wearing short shorts and tank tops in Virginia (and slightly less in my rather private backyard during the even hotter sauna this summer in Kansas), but it sounds like I can actually get away with wearing pyjamas in public this next place! Shades of old Shanghai, and practical too if I get light and airy jammies: cool cotton wafting back the rays...).
At any rate, this year has been challenging, but I think I can finally commit to a fall marathon. I haven't signed up for one yet because I was wavering between two small local races that are a week apart in November. My hopes were pinned on the later one because it is later, and flatter (though still hilly), but I recently found out that they don't have same day bib pick up; thus I've decided that the first one seems a bit more picturesque and better organized. It is two out-and-backs which include a ~200 ft hill; consequently, I cannot abandon hills just yet. I have three good ones to choose from: the familiar ~250 ft one on the 8 mile loop, a ~300ft one on post that's on a 11-12 mile loop, I think, and a ~220 ft one on a 6.5ish mile loop which includes some trail and steeper portions. I have enough time to work up to running the 8 mile loop twice, I think, and perhaps 3:20 on the treadmill. I will see.
Meanwhile, I am working on fulfilling another craving: roasted tomato sauce.
Friday, September 28, 2012
A good start to a poor week
On Sunday, I placed my computer on a bookshelf that I'd previously placed in front of the treadmill, clicked on a video of the Olympic men's marathon, put headphones on, and floated through two hours and fifty minutes. I felt great. Later on, I was a bit tired, but I had no soreness whatsoever. Either the hills have made me stronger, or the Olympic coverage was that inspiring. Probably both. Not hearing the noisy treadmill and my dreadful-sounding footfalls was also invigorating.
This was the first time I've tuned out of a run to this degree. I tried to keep my hip flexors and core engaged, and I tried to keep other things loose in general, especially my quads, but otherwise I was running in London. Whenever the camera was trained on the backs of the runners and everyone went around a corner, it was really hard to keep running straight.
This was the prelude to a very tiring week. Final exam on Tuesday, prospective renters viewing the house on Wednesday--fortunately, the landlord told us that they will take it, thus absolving us from deep cleaning for a while--and I really don't know what happened to Thursday except that I went to work and got a flu vaccine while I was there. Oh, and before that, I got onto the treadmill and did half of a 20 minute tempo run before I got interrupted. Today's 8 mile run did not happen. I slept in past the comfortable weather and my left arm is sore. Fortunately, it's fresh salad day at the caf. The prospect of crumbled feta is a powerful tonic.
This was the first time I've tuned out of a run to this degree. I tried to keep my hip flexors and core engaged, and I tried to keep other things loose in general, especially my quads, but otherwise I was running in London. Whenever the camera was trained on the backs of the runners and everyone went around a corner, it was really hard to keep running straight.
This was the prelude to a very tiring week. Final exam on Tuesday, prospective renters viewing the house on Wednesday--fortunately, the landlord told us that they will take it, thus absolving us from deep cleaning for a while--and I really don't know what happened to Thursday except that I went to work and got a flu vaccine while I was there. Oh, and before that, I got onto the treadmill and did half of a 20 minute tempo run before I got interrupted. Today's 8 mile run did not happen. I slept in past the comfortable weather and my left arm is sore. Fortunately, it's fresh salad day at the caf. The prospect of crumbled feta is a powerful tonic.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Tempo Thursday and Special Friday
After the long run on Tuesday (not Wednesday), I was kind of drained.
Wed: nothing
Thurs: impromptu 2.5 mile tempo run. I wasn't going to do anything, but then I started feeling the need for something...I didn't have a lot of time before work by that point, so I went on the TM and straight into the tempo run. It worked out much better than expected. Somehow, I loosened up quickly and got into a good groove, which continued all the way through work too. My mood and energy levels were brilliant. Who'd have guessed that rushing through a short run and then in and out of the shower and to work would be so invigorating? I will be tapping into those neurotransmitters more often.
Fri: The 8.whatever mile hill loop. At first, I felt unaccustomedly nervous about this run, and then I remembered the extra-six-mile issue last time: not today! I checked my key a few times during the run, mostly pointlessly, but I took extra care at the summit to make sure that the key came down with us. Otherwise, the run was uneventful.
Once again, I didn't have much time at home before heading over to work because it was Special Friday!! all surgeries were cancelled for various reasons, and I got permission to start and leave early. I've been at home for two hours and it's still light out!! It was pretty trippy walking back in the sunlight; it felt like a summer afternoon/evening in a different town. On the way home, I talked with a couple of people on the street who apparently see me going past on my bike in the afternoon and thus were wondering what was up today; I also got to explain Special Friday to some people at work. (It's not really called Special Friday, btw, just in my world.)
Still pumped! I just ate some gluten-free mac & cheese, and now I'm going to try making gluten-free doughnuts. It's been a long time since I've had doughnuts. Years.
Wed: nothing
Thurs: impromptu 2.5 mile tempo run. I wasn't going to do anything, but then I started feeling the need for something...I didn't have a lot of time before work by that point, so I went on the TM and straight into the tempo run. It worked out much better than expected. Somehow, I loosened up quickly and got into a good groove, which continued all the way through work too. My mood and energy levels were brilliant. Who'd have guessed that rushing through a short run and then in and out of the shower and to work would be so invigorating? I will be tapping into those neurotransmitters more often.
Fri: The 8.whatever mile hill loop. At first, I felt unaccustomedly nervous about this run, and then I remembered the extra-six-mile issue last time: not today! I checked my key a few times during the run, mostly pointlessly, but I took extra care at the summit to make sure that the key came down with us. Otherwise, the run was uneventful.
Once again, I didn't have much time at home before heading over to work because it was Special Friday!! all surgeries were cancelled for various reasons, and I got permission to start and leave early. I've been at home for two hours and it's still light out!! It was pretty trippy walking back in the sunlight; it felt like a summer afternoon/evening in a different town. On the way home, I talked with a couple of people on the street who apparently see me going past on my bike in the afternoon and thus were wondering what was up today; I also got to explain Special Friday to some people at work. (It's not really called Special Friday, btw, just in my world.)
Still pumped! I just ate some gluten-free mac & cheese, and now I'm going to try making gluten-free doughnuts. It's been a long time since I've had doughnuts. Years.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
long run
Long-ish impromptu run.
The dog and I ran the 8 mile big hill loop, got good and tired and got home and discovered that the house key didn't make it as well. My pouch was zippered tightly and there were no holes. The only place the key could be was where I took my gel.
Unfortunately, when I was nearing the summit of the large hill, the thought that I should keep going and take my gel at the bottom remained just a thought. My gel, and my key, were withdrawn on the top.
This was three miles away. I had time. The weather was cool (16C?) and the dog was game. I was tired, but adrenaline kicked in. I was a bit nervous about ascending the closer side of the hill because it's a bit longer and higher in prominence from the closer side, and so I have always gone up the farther side, but the closer side actually felt easier. I wasn't worn out by the 2nd series of hills before it. Likely, the adrenaline helped most of all!
I tend to generate a good bit of adrenaline, and sometimes it's a bit hard to come down.
I didn't have too much time to eat--showering seemed more important--and I got to work still wired, but starting to get really, really tired. It was kind of uncomfortable. I felt like I should keep moving, and I was moving, but not fast enough. And yet too fast. I needed to either be charging back up that hill, or sleeping. No happy medium at all.
Total, 14.5ish, I think, miles. A tough run. But it gives me the confidence to consider doing a 2 loop, 16 mile run one day. I'm getting to know the hills. I like to compare them to other hills I know. The last hill before the big hill is almost exactly the same length and elevation change as Somerset, Preston to Bell. Kind of neat. I can imagine that I'm heading up to Kowloon Market or Sushi 88 or Bubblicity, or other delicious places.
Tomorrow, the dog and I aren't going to do much before I go to work. We have a patio, some sun (high of 30C) and a ball of fresh mozzarella waiting for us. Of course the dog likes cheese too!
The dog and I ran the 8 mile big hill loop, got good and tired and got home and discovered that the house key didn't make it as well. My pouch was zippered tightly and there were no holes. The only place the key could be was where I took my gel.
Unfortunately, when I was nearing the summit of the large hill, the thought that I should keep going and take my gel at the bottom remained just a thought. My gel, and my key, were withdrawn on the top.
This was three miles away. I had time. The weather was cool (16C?) and the dog was game. I was tired, but adrenaline kicked in. I was a bit nervous about ascending the closer side of the hill because it's a bit longer and higher in prominence from the closer side, and so I have always gone up the farther side, but the closer side actually felt easier. I wasn't worn out by the 2nd series of hills before it. Likely, the adrenaline helped most of all!
I tend to generate a good bit of adrenaline, and sometimes it's a bit hard to come down.
I didn't have too much time to eat--showering seemed more important--and I got to work still wired, but starting to get really, really tired. It was kind of uncomfortable. I felt like I should keep moving, and I was moving, but not fast enough. And yet too fast. I needed to either be charging back up that hill, or sleeping. No happy medium at all.
Total, 14.5ish, I think, miles. A tough run. But it gives me the confidence to consider doing a 2 loop, 16 mile run one day. I'm getting to know the hills. I like to compare them to other hills I know. The last hill before the big hill is almost exactly the same length and elevation change as Somerset, Preston to Bell. Kind of neat. I can imagine that I'm heading up to Kowloon Market or Sushi 88 or Bubblicity, or other delicious places.
Tomorrow, the dog and I aren't going to do much before I go to work. We have a patio, some sun (high of 30C) and a ball of fresh mozzarella waiting for us. Of course the dog likes cheese too!
Saturday, September 15, 2012
The hill again
It's a tough run and maybe I shouldn't do again it two days after doing it, but it is so satisfying. Not only is it in my preferred distance range (8-10 miles), but it transports me further than that. The street with the large hill reminds me of somewhere else, not quite Colorado, but sort of like that. Someplace more full of sky. Though I don't mind this town too much, I am happy to get away, even for just an hour or so.
Yesterday, I was drained and I didn't do much apart from bike and work.
Today, I was slightly less drained and I decided to attempt the 8ish mile big hill run. I slept in later than desired--the last two days, I've slept 10-11 hrs a night--but it was only about 19C when we set out. I gave the dog a break in a stream and some of my water, and he was ok, though pretty tired by the end, as was I. I was tired even before we started, and by the time we were near the end of the 2nd series of hills, I was breathing as hard as I usually do on the big hill. Not a good sign. We actually stopped twice on the large hill. First time I've ever stopped on it. Truthfully, the dog was the first one to stop, and once I'd lost that momentum, it was easy to decide to lose some more a few minutes further up. But, hey, I was tired and the air wasn't the best. My chest feels kind of raw.
I also have something going on with my left ear. Fortunately, I'd swallowed all of my protein/iron supplements before the first twinge of pain, but my freshly made strawberry/kiwi smoothie is not going down except in small and frustrating increments. And this is a smoothie that I've been looking forward to all week! No veggies, no filler melon fruits, just unadulterated strawberry and kiwi. It's not as tasty as I'd thought it would be, but I suppose it has paled in comparison to a week's worth of over-anticipation. Anyway, I'm not sure if wearing a hat made sweat collect in my ear or something like that--I've worn the hat on considerably hotter and longer runs without any issues. So now I have to wait to eat and drink, and unfortunately the supplements don't sit pretty on a mostly empty stomach. But stomach pangs are a change from colitis. And I'm better off than the last time this happened, 4 or 5 years ago after a 20ish mile run. I couldn't swallow anything for several hours afterward. Now that was true hunger!
Funnily enough, one of the documentaries I've watched this week was The Sound of Insects. It's based on the journal kept by an anonymous Austrian man who walked into the woods and starved himself to death. There is no actor apart from the narrator and a few random people in the imagery, which intensifies the descriptions of self-cannibalism, a body dismantling itself for fuel. An interesting film for sure, and it's made me consider that I'm very well off in comparison! I can eat (even today, later on, I'll probably be able to eat)...I have to watch what I eat, and how much, and sometimes there's discomfort and fatigue, but I'm handling this bout pretty well. I don't think I'll be shedding 30 or so pounds this time round! So far, I'm down about 8. I can afford to lose several more, I think, but I really really want to hang onto whatever muscle I have. And so, I have supplements, and I've been eating meat chili (overdid it the first time, so smaller amounts and much less cheese and sour cream), and lentils, beans and rice, and I've started putting chia into my smoothies (except for today's special strawberry-kiwi extravaganza) and lately I've been thinking about eggs.
I was planning on doing a long run tomorrow, mostly on the treadmill because the high is supposed to be about 30C....will see how things go.
Oh, yes, I nearly forgot to mention that the dog pooped in the same spot as last time, beside a certain fence around a certain yard. This time, there was a dog in the yard, a pitbull type that was also on a chain, probably a female judging by the reactions of both dogs. 'She' was whining for my dog's attention, and he came bearing gifts. I was distracted by the other dog; by the time I turned back to him, he had his butt against the chain link fence and was in the thick of defecation. I couldn't pick up all of it; he managed to get some of it into the yard. Too bad her chain was too short for her to check it out. I am thankful that I can use words instead to communicate. Hopefully I will exercise the forethought also available to humans in time to dissuade my dog from pooping there again. Carrying dog poop while running dampens enjoyment.
Yesterday, I was drained and I didn't do much apart from bike and work.
Today, I was slightly less drained and I decided to attempt the 8ish mile big hill run. I slept in later than desired--the last two days, I've slept 10-11 hrs a night--but it was only about 19C when we set out. I gave the dog a break in a stream and some of my water, and he was ok, though pretty tired by the end, as was I. I was tired even before we started, and by the time we were near the end of the 2nd series of hills, I was breathing as hard as I usually do on the big hill. Not a good sign. We actually stopped twice on the large hill. First time I've ever stopped on it. Truthfully, the dog was the first one to stop, and once I'd lost that momentum, it was easy to decide to lose some more a few minutes further up. But, hey, I was tired and the air wasn't the best. My chest feels kind of raw.
I also have something going on with my left ear. Fortunately, I'd swallowed all of my protein/iron supplements before the first twinge of pain, but my freshly made strawberry/kiwi smoothie is not going down except in small and frustrating increments. And this is a smoothie that I've been looking forward to all week! No veggies, no filler melon fruits, just unadulterated strawberry and kiwi. It's not as tasty as I'd thought it would be, but I suppose it has paled in comparison to a week's worth of over-anticipation. Anyway, I'm not sure if wearing a hat made sweat collect in my ear or something like that--I've worn the hat on considerably hotter and longer runs without any issues. So now I have to wait to eat and drink, and unfortunately the supplements don't sit pretty on a mostly empty stomach. But stomach pangs are a change from colitis. And I'm better off than the last time this happened, 4 or 5 years ago after a 20ish mile run. I couldn't swallow anything for several hours afterward. Now that was true hunger!
Funnily enough, one of the documentaries I've watched this week was The Sound of Insects. It's based on the journal kept by an anonymous Austrian man who walked into the woods and starved himself to death. There is no actor apart from the narrator and a few random people in the imagery, which intensifies the descriptions of self-cannibalism, a body dismantling itself for fuel. An interesting film for sure, and it's made me consider that I'm very well off in comparison! I can eat (even today, later on, I'll probably be able to eat)...I have to watch what I eat, and how much, and sometimes there's discomfort and fatigue, but I'm handling this bout pretty well. I don't think I'll be shedding 30 or so pounds this time round! So far, I'm down about 8. I can afford to lose several more, I think, but I really really want to hang onto whatever muscle I have. And so, I have supplements, and I've been eating meat chili (overdid it the first time, so smaller amounts and much less cheese and sour cream), and lentils, beans and rice, and I've started putting chia into my smoothies (except for today's special strawberry-kiwi extravaganza) and lately I've been thinking about eggs.
I was planning on doing a long run tomorrow, mostly on the treadmill because the high is supposed to be about 30C....will see how things go.
Oh, yes, I nearly forgot to mention that the dog pooped in the same spot as last time, beside a certain fence around a certain yard. This time, there was a dog in the yard, a pitbull type that was also on a chain, probably a female judging by the reactions of both dogs. 'She' was whining for my dog's attention, and he came bearing gifts. I was distracted by the other dog; by the time I turned back to him, he had his butt against the chain link fence and was in the thick of defecation. I couldn't pick up all of it; he managed to get some of it into the yard. Too bad her chain was too short for her to check it out. I am thankful that I can use words instead to communicate. Hopefully I will exercise the forethought also available to humans in time to dissuade my dog from pooping there again. Carrying dog poop while running dampens enjoyment.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Hibernating until the ideal fall
I overdrew my energy account, ate less judiciously than I should've, got slammed at work, etc, etc, and, man, I am wiped. but recovering.
Monday-Tuesday, nothing except biking to/from work and work. Fortunately, the dog was wiped too and didn't mind missing a couple of days' of walks.
Wednesday, just a walk and zwow 12 with a couple of additional exercises thrown in, and work/biking.
Today, we got another 'cool' snap. I slept in until 9:15--my sleep schedule has become out of whack recently and I can't get to sleep before 2:30ish--had a protein drink and grabbed the dog and headed out. It was only 12 C!!!! with dark heavy clouds.
Would we do the full 8ish mile big hill loop, or a shorter one? The dog decided by pooping in yet another inconvenient spot, and I knew that the closest trash can was on Limit, and once we got there, it was simple to keep going until 20th, and then an even simpler matter to head back home.
The first series of hills was a bit uncomfortable, mainly because I was holding a bag of dog poop for most of it and this threw my form askew, but once I ditched that, the second series of hills was almost easier in comparison. I was pretty tired when I got to the big hill, but the darkening clouds and newly strengthened wind and a faint whiff of O3 were powerful incentives to keep moving up.
I didn't stop at the top this time--I felt the first drop of rain near the summit, and then many others followed, and I coasted down and kept pushing. I found a new reserve of energy at the bottom and the last part of the run flew by.
And now I'm eating chill! Another victory; it's been in the fridge for over a week, but I couldn't stomach it until today. Eating has still a bit iffy, although I've been able to eat all the fruits I want, and a rice, mung bean, and lentils almost every day, and cheese most days. And I went through a couple of days of snacking on work chips (salt and vinegar, my best friend!) but this hasn't had the best effect, so I stopped. Recently, I watched Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, a documentary about two men who turned their health around by going on a juice fast. This inspired me, not to go on a juice fast, but to put greens into "evening" smoothies, to compliment the fruit smoothies I have in the morning. Vegetables have not been appealing at all, but since the 'veg' smoothies still have a good portion of fruit, they don't turn me off. I bought a bunch of kale, chard, and spinach. It's been an adjustment.
Monday-Tuesday, nothing except biking to/from work and work. Fortunately, the dog was wiped too and didn't mind missing a couple of days' of walks.
Wednesday, just a walk and zwow 12 with a couple of additional exercises thrown in, and work/biking.
Today, we got another 'cool' snap. I slept in until 9:15--my sleep schedule has become out of whack recently and I can't get to sleep before 2:30ish--had a protein drink and grabbed the dog and headed out. It was only 12 C!!!! with dark heavy clouds.
Would we do the full 8ish mile big hill loop, or a shorter one? The dog decided by pooping in yet another inconvenient spot, and I knew that the closest trash can was on Limit, and once we got there, it was simple to keep going until 20th, and then an even simpler matter to head back home.
The first series of hills was a bit uncomfortable, mainly because I was holding a bag of dog poop for most of it and this threw my form askew, but once I ditched that, the second series of hills was almost easier in comparison. I was pretty tired when I got to the big hill, but the darkening clouds and newly strengthened wind and a faint whiff of O3 were powerful incentives to keep moving up.
I didn't stop at the top this time--I felt the first drop of rain near the summit, and then many others followed, and I coasted down and kept pushing. I found a new reserve of energy at the bottom and the last part of the run flew by.
And now I'm eating chill! Another victory; it's been in the fridge for over a week, but I couldn't stomach it until today. Eating has still a bit iffy, although I've been able to eat all the fruits I want, and a rice, mung bean, and lentils almost every day, and cheese most days. And I went through a couple of days of snacking on work chips (salt and vinegar, my best friend!) but this hasn't had the best effect, so I stopped. Recently, I watched Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, a documentary about two men who turned their health around by going on a juice fast. This inspired me, not to go on a juice fast, but to put greens into "evening" smoothies, to compliment the fruit smoothies I have in the morning. Vegetables have not been appealing at all, but since the 'veg' smoothies still have a good portion of fruit, they don't turn me off. I bought a bunch of kale, chard, and spinach. It's been an adjustment.
Sunday, September 9, 2012
The ideal summer
So, after a week or so of descending into Ottawa summer temps (reminded me of those hottest couple of weeks in July), we have sunk even lower into my preferred summer climate this weekend. Lows around 12 C, highs around 25 C. Love it! I have spent many (most?) of my waking hours outside. It is such a treat to sit in the backyard and not be sweating like a stuck hog.
Anyway, I failed to wake up "early" and the dog and I headed out around 10:30 am. I packed my ID and snacks into my backpack and we ran onto post.
Lately, the dog has been receiving a lot of compliments, and he got another one from the guard that checked my card. I hope this attention doesn't go to his head.
I wasn't sure how far we'd run; I was hoping for at least 15 miles. The weather was good, but I wasn't sure if it would still be too hot for the dog, and I wasn't sure how tired I'd be after yesterday's hill. I like to do some long runs in a tired state so that others seem easier in comparison, but this would be the first time I'd attempted a long run the day after the hill. There is another hill nearly as tall on post, but the ascent and descent are much more gradual and undulating; I'd already decided to walk up the steepest portions. It's all about time on my feet!
Unfortunately, my backpack became a bit of a problem. I have worn it during longer runs, including my longest run ever (over 31 miles), but always with a sleeved shirt, I suppose. Today's choice of a tank top wasn't suitable. As well, I forgot to apply bodyglide. So lots of tugging cloth back into place occurred. My neck was starting to feel rubbed raw.
And the dog, that terrible little turd, dropped namesakes in the worst place possible. We'd passed umpteen trash cans and umpteen semi-deserted stretches with high grass (either one works), and then after about a 1/2 mile of mostly uphill road and no trash cans, he stops in a little triangular patch of very manicured grass between some roads and in front of the 'fancy' restaurant on post. No trash cans anywhere, just a recycling bin, and I'm not that low. Do I go back down the hill? No, surely the airfield up ahead has trash bins. If so, then maybe we'd run around it because that's the flattest place for miles.
It had more of the recycling bins but nothing for trash.
We headed to a warehouse with an outdoor water spigot; I wanted to refill my water bottle and douse the dog a bit (not out of retaliation, but to keep him cool), and surely there would be a trash bin there. No, just another recycling bin. Kudos, but...
At this point, I've carried poop for over a mile. It stinks and seems to be liquefying. The bag is fairly opaque white so the visual isn't too bad, but the once solid matter is gradually coating the inside surface uniformly. I'm fed up. I double bag it and put it in an outside mesh pocket of my backpack. The dog starts to get anxious because I'm upset. I think this is when the run started to go downhill, but we actually had to go uphill, even worse.
Fortunately, the prisoner cemetery about a half mile further up had a trash bin! Everlasting peace for everyone.
We still had more uphill, we walked a bit. There are some ranges back there (not facing the road, of course) that were being used. The dog didn't like the noise of gunfire. I missed the turn off for the forest trails. Maybe they would have been too soggy anyway, or filled with horses on this fine day. The dog isn't a huge fan of horses, although I think it's the clip-cloppy noisy ones on asphalt that he objects to because he doesn't seem to mind the ones on dirt. Some of them don't like him, though. Actually, the horses are officially prohibited on that trail, but they help keep it clear so nobody complains. That's pretty much the ethos that I like about running on most posts: there are places that are restricted and locked down, and other places, especially housing areas, have a lot of rules, but there can be a surprisingly lot of latitude in other places, particularly those underdeveloped or semi-abandoned stretches. I can help myself to drinking water, I can take my shirt off and run in my running bra, I can stretch out on a patch of lawn, I can run around and around without any questions asked and without worrying too much about getting hit by a car or getting chased by dogs or getting hassled. This is pretty much like home (although, at home, it's a lot easier to get food on the go), but not like some parts of the US I've been to. This town we're in now isn't bad at all, actually, but our previous two US postings were subpar.
Eventually, we got to coast down and off the post. 11 miles by the time we got home. I decided to run 4-5 more on the TM.
And the power went out after about 3 miles.
There was nothing left to do except sit in a hot bath and eat! It was lovely.
Anyway, I failed to wake up "early" and the dog and I headed out around 10:30 am. I packed my ID and snacks into my backpack and we ran onto post.
Lately, the dog has been receiving a lot of compliments, and he got another one from the guard that checked my card. I hope this attention doesn't go to his head.
I wasn't sure how far we'd run; I was hoping for at least 15 miles. The weather was good, but I wasn't sure if it would still be too hot for the dog, and I wasn't sure how tired I'd be after yesterday's hill. I like to do some long runs in a tired state so that others seem easier in comparison, but this would be the first time I'd attempted a long run the day after the hill. There is another hill nearly as tall on post, but the ascent and descent are much more gradual and undulating; I'd already decided to walk up the steepest portions. It's all about time on my feet!
Unfortunately, my backpack became a bit of a problem. I have worn it during longer runs, including my longest run ever (over 31 miles), but always with a sleeved shirt, I suppose. Today's choice of a tank top wasn't suitable. As well, I forgot to apply bodyglide. So lots of tugging cloth back into place occurred. My neck was starting to feel rubbed raw.
And the dog, that terrible little turd, dropped namesakes in the worst place possible. We'd passed umpteen trash cans and umpteen semi-deserted stretches with high grass (either one works), and then after about a 1/2 mile of mostly uphill road and no trash cans, he stops in a little triangular patch of very manicured grass between some roads and in front of the 'fancy' restaurant on post. No trash cans anywhere, just a recycling bin, and I'm not that low. Do I go back down the hill? No, surely the airfield up ahead has trash bins. If so, then maybe we'd run around it because that's the flattest place for miles.
It had more of the recycling bins but nothing for trash.
We headed to a warehouse with an outdoor water spigot; I wanted to refill my water bottle and douse the dog a bit (not out of retaliation, but to keep him cool), and surely there would be a trash bin there. No, just another recycling bin. Kudos, but...
At this point, I've carried poop for over a mile. It stinks and seems to be liquefying. The bag is fairly opaque white so the visual isn't too bad, but the once solid matter is gradually coating the inside surface uniformly. I'm fed up. I double bag it and put it in an outside mesh pocket of my backpack. The dog starts to get anxious because I'm upset. I think this is when the run started to go downhill, but we actually had to go uphill, even worse.
Fortunately, the prisoner cemetery about a half mile further up had a trash bin! Everlasting peace for everyone.
We still had more uphill, we walked a bit. There are some ranges back there (not facing the road, of course) that were being used. The dog didn't like the noise of gunfire. I missed the turn off for the forest trails. Maybe they would have been too soggy anyway, or filled with horses on this fine day. The dog isn't a huge fan of horses, although I think it's the clip-cloppy noisy ones on asphalt that he objects to because he doesn't seem to mind the ones on dirt. Some of them don't like him, though. Actually, the horses are officially prohibited on that trail, but they help keep it clear so nobody complains. That's pretty much the ethos that I like about running on most posts: there are places that are restricted and locked down, and other places, especially housing areas, have a lot of rules, but there can be a surprisingly lot of latitude in other places, particularly those underdeveloped or semi-abandoned stretches. I can help myself to drinking water, I can take my shirt off and run in my running bra, I can stretch out on a patch of lawn, I can run around and around without any questions asked and without worrying too much about getting hit by a car or getting chased by dogs or getting hassled. This is pretty much like home (although, at home, it's a lot easier to get food on the go), but not like some parts of the US I've been to. This town we're in now isn't bad at all, actually, but our previous two US postings were subpar.
Eventually, we got to coast down and off the post. 11 miles by the time we got home. I decided to run 4-5 more on the TM.
And the power went out after about 3 miles.
There was nothing left to do except sit in a hot bath and eat! It was lovely.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
Buffalo Bill Days
While wandering about the fair, I ate a gluten-free Frito pie for lunch. I earned it: the dog and I ran the hilly 8ish mile loop this morning.
I slept in for various reasons. I knew that the weather would be milder this weekend, and my biphasic sleep schedule has changed Recent gluten/digestive issues have made me pretty tired and sleepy in general and I have been sleeping in every day. Admittedly, I have also been napping most days.
Anyway, we got rolling about 10:30 am, and the temperature was still below 20 C! I can't remember the last time I ran in the teens. This probably was the main cause of a minor improvement.
This is the route, roughly (start/end point is different):
http://www.runningmap.com/?id=435868
Click on Show Elevation
I've run this loop often enough to recognize its stages. After the first bit (downhill, a warm up), there is a series of 4 hills, followed by a downhill portion and the flat stretch of the run. Then, there is another series of several more hills of more prominence, then a downhill 'pinch' leading to the big climb of about a mile. Then, a coast downhill, followed a portion which is flattened in comparison but still contains a few more hills.
Whenever I've run this route before, my level of effort departed the easy range during the first series of hills, usually during the very first hill. And the downhills are not long enough for things to settle back down.
Today, however, I felt more strength and efficiency--I felt a drive from the hip flexors and glutes, and a stronger core--and I was able to get through the first series of hills while maintaining an easy level of effort. The lower temperature certainly helped a lot, as have all the exercises I've been doing, and I've noticed as well that, since my treadmill is at a 1 % grade, slight inclines have also become relaxing recently. As well, I think I've lost about 5 pounds so far since losing my appetite (but it's slowly coming back). Anyway, today's run was the largest improvement in running hills since I started running here. To get over those first four hills and feel the same as when I started was remarkable.
The next series of hills, however, asked a bit more of me!
Still, I felt like I was in pretty good shape. As we neared the pinch, the dog started making signs to poop. There was a trash can a couple of minutes ahead; I urged him forward, and we made it. After a few minutes of al fresco defecation (canine only), we tackled the big hill. The short break was long enough for my legs to stiffen up and at first I worried about a potential gruesome slog to the top, but I calmed my nerves and concentrated on keeping my steps short and quick.
The big hill has stages too. I try to relax during the first third, and then effort intensifies and I aim for a point which I think is 2/3 up, but roughly 1/2 in energy expenditure, and then I undergo the final push and smaller and smaller fractions, going from light post to light post by the end. However, it was a lot easier this time. Whenever I felt tired, I reminded myself to keep my steps quick and short, and this led me to hidden reserves of energy and fresh sets of muscle fibre. I can't say that it was a mild stroll, but it was definitely easier to avoid slowing down too much.
Unfortunately, when I got to the top, I stopped, and this sudden change of exertion tripped a bit of SVT, but carotid massage did the trick after only a couple of seconds and I resumed running without further issues. I know I shouldn't stop or turn suddenly, especially after pushing hard, but post-op episodes have become so mild and infrequent that I forget!
We coasted down and home. By the end, it was getting a bit hot for the dog. I hope to wake up earlier tomorrow so that we can have a longer run. Meanwhile, I'm hoping to carb load a bit tonight. This past week, I've been eating fruit (lots of fruit), Lara bars, and a lentil-mung bean-corn noodle mixture that was supposed to be part of a tuna casserole (which never blossomed fully because I couldn't stay up long enough at home to cook it at first, and then I gave up). And I've been taking the usual protein/iron supplements. For a while, I just wasn't hungry, and then I started feeling hunger pangs that begged for popcorn. I overindulged the first time and paid for it, but things are getting better. Yesterday I had what seemed to be cheese cravings, but not much tolerance for eating actual cheese! However, some steamed edamame went down nicely. And I was really surprised and happy to eat 2/3 of the Frito pie I bought today. It was made of Frito chips (they were gluten-free!), meat sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. So far, only very mild discomfort.
Unfortunately, my Garmin doesn't seem to want to recharge, so we might end up aiming for a certain time, not distance.
Edit: soft reset: lap + mode at the same time, then power. It worked!
Oh, yeah, I did zwow #12 yesterday. That makes 3 for the week!
I slept in for various reasons. I knew that the weather would be milder this weekend, and my biphasic sleep schedule has changed Recent gluten/digestive issues have made me pretty tired and sleepy in general and I have been sleeping in every day. Admittedly, I have also been napping most days.
Anyway, we got rolling about 10:30 am, and the temperature was still below 20 C! I can't remember the last time I ran in the teens. This probably was the main cause of a minor improvement.
This is the route, roughly (start/end point is different):
http://www.runningmap.com/?id=435868
Click on Show Elevation
I've run this loop often enough to recognize its stages. After the first bit (downhill, a warm up), there is a series of 4 hills, followed by a downhill portion and the flat stretch of the run. Then, there is another series of several more hills of more prominence, then a downhill 'pinch' leading to the big climb of about a mile. Then, a coast downhill, followed a portion which is flattened in comparison but still contains a few more hills.
Whenever I've run this route before, my level of effort departed the easy range during the first series of hills, usually during the very first hill. And the downhills are not long enough for things to settle back down.
Today, however, I felt more strength and efficiency--I felt a drive from the hip flexors and glutes, and a stronger core--and I was able to get through the first series of hills while maintaining an easy level of effort. The lower temperature certainly helped a lot, as have all the exercises I've been doing, and I've noticed as well that, since my treadmill is at a 1 % grade, slight inclines have also become relaxing recently. As well, I think I've lost about 5 pounds so far since losing my appetite (but it's slowly coming back). Anyway, today's run was the largest improvement in running hills since I started running here. To get over those first four hills and feel the same as when I started was remarkable.
The next series of hills, however, asked a bit more of me!
Still, I felt like I was in pretty good shape. As we neared the pinch, the dog started making signs to poop. There was a trash can a couple of minutes ahead; I urged him forward, and we made it. After a few minutes of al fresco defecation (canine only), we tackled the big hill. The short break was long enough for my legs to stiffen up and at first I worried about a potential gruesome slog to the top, but I calmed my nerves and concentrated on keeping my steps short and quick.
The big hill has stages too. I try to relax during the first third, and then effort intensifies and I aim for a point which I think is 2/3 up, but roughly 1/2 in energy expenditure, and then I undergo the final push and smaller and smaller fractions, going from light post to light post by the end. However, it was a lot easier this time. Whenever I felt tired, I reminded myself to keep my steps quick and short, and this led me to hidden reserves of energy and fresh sets of muscle fibre. I can't say that it was a mild stroll, but it was definitely easier to avoid slowing down too much.
Unfortunately, when I got to the top, I stopped, and this sudden change of exertion tripped a bit of SVT, but carotid massage did the trick after only a couple of seconds and I resumed running without further issues. I know I shouldn't stop or turn suddenly, especially after pushing hard, but post-op episodes have become so mild and infrequent that I forget!
We coasted down and home. By the end, it was getting a bit hot for the dog. I hope to wake up earlier tomorrow so that we can have a longer run. Meanwhile, I'm hoping to carb load a bit tonight. This past week, I've been eating fruit (lots of fruit), Lara bars, and a lentil-mung bean-corn noodle mixture that was supposed to be part of a tuna casserole (which never blossomed fully because I couldn't stay up long enough at home to cook it at first, and then I gave up). And I've been taking the usual protein/iron supplements. For a while, I just wasn't hungry, and then I started feeling hunger pangs that begged for popcorn. I overindulged the first time and paid for it, but things are getting better. Yesterday I had what seemed to be cheese cravings, but not much tolerance for eating actual cheese! However, some steamed edamame went down nicely. And I was really surprised and happy to eat 2/3 of the Frito pie I bought today. It was made of Frito chips (they were gluten-free!), meat sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. So far, only very mild discomfort.
Unfortunately, my Garmin doesn't seem to want to recharge, so we might end up aiming for a certain time, not distance.
Edit: soft reset: lap + mode at the same time, then power. It worked!
Oh, yeah, I did zwow #12 yesterday. That makes 3 for the week!
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
a sign
The local private Catholic high school has a native American as a mascot: a "raider". I've seen plenty of signs with just the school name, but today was the first time I'd seen one with the raider, or at least noticed it.
But that's not the sign I'm talking about!
While feeling rather low yesterday, I drank lots of water, ate lots of fruit, slept as much as possible, worked s l o w l y at work (there was less than normal to do), and I woke up today and forced myself to roll onto and over the other side of the bed. The dog caught my drift and put the heat on: go go go let's go. We went, a mixture of jogging downhill and walking uphill, for a bit over five miles. Originally, I was going to do the old three mile loop, but I forgot the first right turn again, and by that point it was easiest to keep running because of a tantalizing shady flat area with a creek up ahead. This is one of the few flat areas in town and the longest one I know of, maybe 1/4 mile, and it's amazing to run on, especially after four or five rolling hills. All of a sudden, things feel very familiar and soft, like I'm running indoors.
The temps were in the mid 20s C and sticky, but I figured that the recent storm had freshened and filled the creeks, and I was right. The dog was running out of steam by the end, but I don't think he has any complaints.
And then I did zwow 32 and I really like this one. Albeit, I used light weights because I am still sort of sore, especially my hamstrings (I felt them on the run and decided that doing #12 with a bunch of pistol squats wouldn't be wise), but it felt good to increase blood flow. And I didn't do the broad jumps justice because of constrained space. next time! and there will be a next time because this is a workout that speaks to me. There are other types of workouts, of course:
No, never again in a million years. (dance aerobics. I was so bad that I probably ruined it permanently for others too, at least those who had the misfortune of being next to me)
I should do this again because it feels so bad and therefore it must be especially beneficial, but I don't ever do it again in a million years.
I should do this again because it feels so bad, etc, and I do, once or twice, and it still feels hard and stupid, so I give it up.
I should do this again because it feels so bad, etc, but it grows on me more and more and I end up doing it often (like zwow #12)
Sure, I'll do this again because it's dull but not so bad, and after a few times, it's too boring.
Sure, I'll do this again. A few times, now and then.
And finally, I really really like this. It's hard but suits me. This is how I move! I do it often (zwow #5 and now #32).
And the sign? Z mentioned at the start of the workout that there would be a bonus exercise at the end. I finished the workout but not the video, and I showered, ate, etc, and finally remembered that there was more to watch. By this time I'd forgotten about the bonus exercise and figured that I was going to get another post-workout pep talk. I watched her run down a street and up some stairs to what I presume is her apartment.
The bonus exercise is a 1 mile run.
She said, go outside and run because it's beautiful. Or some adjective. I forget exactly.
OK.
The temps are s l o w l y shifting to Fall, and the sunshine is becoming more beautiful, and less cruel.
But that's not the sign I'm talking about!
While feeling rather low yesterday, I drank lots of water, ate lots of fruit, slept as much as possible, worked s l o w l y at work (there was less than normal to do), and I woke up today and forced myself to roll onto and over the other side of the bed. The dog caught my drift and put the heat on: go go go let's go. We went, a mixture of jogging downhill and walking uphill, for a bit over five miles. Originally, I was going to do the old three mile loop, but I forgot the first right turn again, and by that point it was easiest to keep running because of a tantalizing shady flat area with a creek up ahead. This is one of the few flat areas in town and the longest one I know of, maybe 1/4 mile, and it's amazing to run on, especially after four or five rolling hills. All of a sudden, things feel very familiar and soft, like I'm running indoors.
The temps were in the mid 20s C and sticky, but I figured that the recent storm had freshened and filled the creeks, and I was right. The dog was running out of steam by the end, but I don't think he has any complaints.
And then I did zwow 32 and I really like this one. Albeit, I used light weights because I am still sort of sore, especially my hamstrings (I felt them on the run and decided that doing #12 with a bunch of pistol squats wouldn't be wise), but it felt good to increase blood flow. And I didn't do the broad jumps justice because of constrained space. next time! and there will be a next time because this is a workout that speaks to me. There are other types of workouts, of course:
No, never again in a million years. (dance aerobics. I was so bad that I probably ruined it permanently for others too, at least those who had the misfortune of being next to me)
I should do this again because it feels so bad and therefore it must be especially beneficial, but I don't ever do it again in a million years.
I should do this again because it feels so bad, etc, and I do, once or twice, and it still feels hard and stupid, so I give it up.
I should do this again because it feels so bad, etc, but it grows on me more and more and I end up doing it often (like zwow #12)
Sure, I'll do this again because it's dull but not so bad, and after a few times, it's too boring.
Sure, I'll do this again. A few times, now and then.
And finally, I really really like this. It's hard but suits me. This is how I move! I do it often (zwow #5 and now #32).
And the sign? Z mentioned at the start of the workout that there would be a bonus exercise at the end. I finished the workout but not the video, and I showered, ate, etc, and finally remembered that there was more to watch. By this time I'd forgotten about the bonus exercise and figured that I was going to get another post-workout pep talk. I watched her run down a street and up some stairs to what I presume is her apartment.
The bonus exercise is a 1 mile run.
She said, go outside and run because it's beautiful. Or some adjective. I forget exactly.
OK.
The temps are s l o w l y shifting to Fall, and the sunshine is becoming more beautiful, and less cruel.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
retrenching. WORDY
Really, I was already retrenching, but now I'm retrenching from that retrenching...this place took its big bites, and now it's gnawing on my bones. We had some healthy hefty storms last night, thank goodness, but the air is still dirty, and the temperature is once again 30C and rising, but now it's also humid and I also have a bunch of yard debris that should be picked up. WHEN ARE THE DAILY HIGHS GOING TO BE UNDER 30C ?!!!!! With these hot temps lasting since, what, May?, I should be wandering around festive canals and open air markets and spending hours haggling and sipping complimentary tea and sampling juice-laden nearly-almost-overripe exotic fruits or scraps of meat simmering in a pot that is never empty and rarely cold, my nose jammed with an umami stew of spices and perfume and decay, my ears ablaze with a miasma of strange vowel combinations and stranger animal cries, my brain overwhelmed by sensory input, the inner monologue silenced except for a repeated "where the heck am I?" And, of course, being lost heightens perception even more elaborately and seductively, and when I close my eyes, I still see colours.
Instead I get boredom and wheat and a bunch of fallen branches as thick as my wrist. And bad bad cabin fever.
And it is not socially acceptable to sweat much here.
It also says somewhere in my contract that I am required to wear underwear at work but it cannot be visible. Just throwing that in here because I was wondering if typing it would make me laugh as much as remembering it does, and it does! too bad humour doesn't come in a syringe.
I tried to run for an hour yesterday, but my breathing started to get strained again, and my legs were heavy because I still haven't recovered. 2ish miles. And then I did zwow #5 with a couple of additional exercises.
Today, nothing. I slept in. Lots of water and rest still. Colitis, for some reason this time, isn't consistent like it usually is. I get a break, and then a few hours of pain, then repeat. This might have something to do with weak self-control. After having not much of an appetite for umpteen days, I found it returned and redoubled, and I indulged it fully, and squished it. When it comes back, I'm going to have to take things much more slowly. Maybe it's once again time for the old banana, rice, and ginger ale diet, adding a little bit more here and there, mainly other fruits for the first while, keeping that canoe steady.
At low times like this, between naps, I ponder all sorts of odd stuff that is dredged up from goodness knows where. But my main thought today is pretty consistent: why do I run? What do I get out of it? (pretending, of course, that I'm running regularly)
Exercise and a reliable release of endorphins and other mood-stabilizing neurotransmitters, yes, but not these days.
Exercise so that I can eat more. usually, but not these days!
Because it feels good, usually, but not here.
Excitement, yes, but there is none here apart from the epinephrine-pumping type involving bad drivers.
Seeing new things, definitely, but there are few here.
Getting faster, sometimes, but not realistic now.
Goal race?
Ok, there are a couple of possibilities in mid-November. Even October is likely to be too hot.
And what do I hope to get out of the goal race?
Camaraderie? Maybe, but not as likely here. No running group.
PB? nope
New sights, yes, although limited.
Impetus to run more regularly. YES.
If circular reasoning is what I got, that's what I got.
Instead I get boredom and wheat and a bunch of fallen branches as thick as my wrist. And bad bad cabin fever.
And it is not socially acceptable to sweat much here.
It also says somewhere in my contract that I am required to wear underwear at work but it cannot be visible. Just throwing that in here because I was wondering if typing it would make me laugh as much as remembering it does, and it does! too bad humour doesn't come in a syringe.
I tried to run for an hour yesterday, but my breathing started to get strained again, and my legs were heavy because I still haven't recovered. 2ish miles. And then I did zwow #5 with a couple of additional exercises.
Today, nothing. I slept in. Lots of water and rest still. Colitis, for some reason this time, isn't consistent like it usually is. I get a break, and then a few hours of pain, then repeat. This might have something to do with weak self-control. After having not much of an appetite for umpteen days, I found it returned and redoubled, and I indulged it fully, and squished it. When it comes back, I'm going to have to take things much more slowly. Maybe it's once again time for the old banana, rice, and ginger ale diet, adding a little bit more here and there, mainly other fruits for the first while, keeping that canoe steady.
At low times like this, between naps, I ponder all sorts of odd stuff that is dredged up from goodness knows where. But my main thought today is pretty consistent: why do I run? What do I get out of it? (pretending, of course, that I'm running regularly)
Exercise and a reliable release of endorphins and other mood-stabilizing neurotransmitters, yes, but not these days.
Exercise so that I can eat more. usually, but not these days!
Because it feels good, usually, but not here.
Excitement, yes, but there is none here apart from the epinephrine-pumping type involving bad drivers.
Seeing new things, definitely, but there are few here.
Getting faster, sometimes, but not realistic now.
Goal race?
Ok, there are a couple of possibilities in mid-November. Even October is likely to be too hot.
And what do I hope to get out of the goal race?
Camaraderie? Maybe, but not as likely here. No running group.
PB? nope
New sights, yes, although limited.
Impetus to run more regularly. YES.
If circular reasoning is what I got, that's what I got.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
tearing up inside
This past week has been kind of rough internally, but in a totally physical and not emotional way. I've had a few gluten mishaps recently that eventually messed up my guts. I did too hard of an ab workout and tore too much muscle fibre further up my midsection, and recovery was slow because of the gluten issue. And the air got bad again and started to rub my lungs raw. Basically, my torso was wrecked by Wednesday and I haven't run since.
The only solution when I get to this point is lots of water and lots of rest. Nutrient supplements help because very little of what I eat seems to get absorbed, but mainly I try to rest and flush my system. I still went to work but otherwise I mostly slept for a few days.
And miraculously, on Friday, I actually woke up quickly and felt refreshed. I can't remember the last time, if ever, that has happened in this house. Usually it takes slipping on the steps going downstairs to get me to wake up completely. Maybe not coincidentally, Isaac was in town! Rain! real rain! two days of rain!!! The highs will go back above 30C tomorrow, but we've had a reprieve. Never has a rainy long weekend been so warmly welcomed. Everyone I've talked to has been grateful for the rain.
I might attempt a run tomorrow.
The only solution when I get to this point is lots of water and lots of rest. Nutrient supplements help because very little of what I eat seems to get absorbed, but mainly I try to rest and flush my system. I still went to work but otherwise I mostly slept for a few days.
And miraculously, on Friday, I actually woke up quickly and felt refreshed. I can't remember the last time, if ever, that has happened in this house. Usually it takes slipping on the steps going downstairs to get me to wake up completely. Maybe not coincidentally, Isaac was in town! Rain! real rain! two days of rain!!! The highs will go back above 30C tomorrow, but we've had a reprieve. Never has a rainy long weekend been so warmly welcomed. Everyone I've talked to has been grateful for the rain.
I might attempt a run tomorrow.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Misty Tuesday
The dog and I got out before the refreshing shady damp turned into sunlight steam. 1.5 miles together, and then he ate and napped while I jogged 7.75 miles on the treadmill. Then I did some shoulder exercises.
Prosaic post = every day activity. I wish!
Prosaic post = every day activity. I wish!
Monday, August 27, 2012
holding pattern Sunday, holding pattern August
Yesterday: All sorts of dark clouds went by, but not a drop! My run was likewise suspended.
Today: still waiting but I did Zwow #31. Mostly. I kept up with the squat jumps and mountain climbers, and I mostly kept up with the sit ups until the last ten of the last rep (did she get faster, or did I wilt?), but I did about 80% of her pushups and burpees. She is so strong.
And I am so weak. I am even more wrung out by the weather. The promised deluge didn't come but jacked up the humidity anyway. We're back to highs in the mid to high 30s C and shitty air quality. All I want to do is sleep.
Today: still waiting but I did Zwow #31. Mostly. I kept up with the squat jumps and mountain climbers, and I mostly kept up with the sit ups until the last ten of the last rep (did she get faster, or did I wilt?), but I did about 80% of her pushups and burpees. She is so strong.
And I am so weak. I am even more wrung out by the weather. The promised deluge didn't come but jacked up the humidity anyway. We're back to highs in the mid to high 30s C and shitty air quality. All I want to do is sleep.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Getting a bit of rain
But the Tonganoxie split is apparently still in action, and we're part of it. The radar is sobering. Huge clumps of thick clouds with serious punch into the scary oranges and reds heeding an invisible border around the town. Occasionally we get a wimpy green straggler wander over and spit a few times before rejoining the herd.
So it's been drizzling on and off, and I'm sparing some strength for a (hilly, of course) long run tomorrow, if possible: 7 miles in 75 minutes on the treadmill today.
So it's been drizzling on and off, and I'm sparing some strength for a (hilly, of course) long run tomorrow, if possible: 7 miles in 75 minutes on the treadmill today.
Friday, August 24, 2012
How are we not getting any rain?
Storms have been circling to the north, south, and west all morning. The sky has been an odd hazy yet scintillating yellow-grey under darker clouds. I took the dog out for 1.5 miles fully expecting to feel rain, and then I jogged on the treadmill for an hour fully expecting to see rain, and 5 hours later, the ground is still dry. Oddly enough, the temperature has risen almost three degrees Celsius in the past hour. I cannot interpret the significance of this despite my weather-related obsessiveness because I am actually meteorologically ignorant.
The treadmill run was ok. My energy level was very low yesterday--I didn't do anything except whatever I did at work--and though both I and the air quality felt much better today, my legs were still slightly sluggish. No matter how I adjusted my form, I couldn't hold onto a truly easy level for more than a few seconds here or there, even though my breathing remained calm. However, almost exactly 51 minutes into my run, I recaptured that special hip-piston feeling, wherein everything above and below is stacked properly, reducing apparent movement and effort to a slight tilt of the right hip and of the left in alternation. That's probably the best way to describe it yet, and so from now on, I suppose I'll just be talking about the hip-pistons and if they're firing or not. Anyway, once they had been firing for a few minutes, I realized that I should then focus on the opposite side lifting up. Give that stuff a bit more space. Then, and only then, did everything else loosen. But it all still felt a bit heavy. Still, the pace was the same as my last TM run, and it was otherwise an easy run.
And then I did the regular shoulder/clamshell thing I do when I'm not quite up to a zwow. I also did these exercises on Wednesday. This hasn't been a zwow week at all, although I have done 1/2 of a MarC workout (mainly core) 3 evenings this week, which has been feeling effective. Maybe that's sapped some of the zwow juice, but it seems good to do a little something in the evening.
Time for some rain!!!
The treadmill run was ok. My energy level was very low yesterday--I didn't do anything except whatever I did at work--and though both I and the air quality felt much better today, my legs were still slightly sluggish. No matter how I adjusted my form, I couldn't hold onto a truly easy level for more than a few seconds here or there, even though my breathing remained calm. However, almost exactly 51 minutes into my run, I recaptured that special hip-piston feeling, wherein everything above and below is stacked properly, reducing apparent movement and effort to a slight tilt of the right hip and of the left in alternation. That's probably the best way to describe it yet, and so from now on, I suppose I'll just be talking about the hip-pistons and if they're firing or not. Anyway, once they had been firing for a few minutes, I realized that I should then focus on the opposite side lifting up. Give that stuff a bit more space. Then, and only then, did everything else loosen. But it all still felt a bit heavy. Still, the pace was the same as my last TM run, and it was otherwise an easy run.
And then I did the regular shoulder/clamshell thing I do when I'm not quite up to a zwow. I also did these exercises on Wednesday. This hasn't been a zwow week at all, although I have done 1/2 of a MarC workout (mainly core) 3 evenings this week, which has been feeling effective. Maybe that's sapped some of the zwow juice, but it seems good to do a little something in the evening.
Time for some rain!!!
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
So the air is crappy and I was feeling crappier
But I got on the treadmill and had the airiest easiest jog in a long while. I was suspended in another dimension for an hour, with thin tethers to a quiet piston-like hip flexor action, the soft hum of a well-tended engine pulling my weightless limbs and core along. Does this make sense? Where the heck did I go? My body fled discomfort entirely.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
drained again
And I seem to have a slight cold. So much for the restorative effect of a 4 day weekend. Maybe running outside umpteen days in a row is a bit too much, too soon. Unfortunately, there is no true easy run out there, but I have to take the dog out every day; the inefficiency of running on the treadmill and walking the dog in the same morning tends to mire me somehow. And the air here is still just plain disagreeable. This astonishes me: we are in a small town, not close to major industry--why am I having more issues than I did in Bucheon and Seoul? Where's the convenience, then? The diversity? Or the excitement? The recent theft of my husband's bike and numerous encounters with drunks/druggies don't count--on that note, the local police has recently become kind of sloppy about releasing them in the ER. Take them home! or somewhere else so they don't hang about sitting in the parking lot and asking me about someone called Amber who got shot in the head. That's the best story I've gotten so far here, and it was just a scrap. Turns out that his friend Amber went to a different hospital, and survived, almost two years ago. Some friend he is! He could phone her.
But this town is still probably better than most, and there is Amazon and the local farmers' market and a recently-launched monthly art gallery/reception series, and after a couple of hours at work in super-duper air filtration, I feel so much better; at least I'm getting a bit of a break. And Amber survived!
Monday: 1.5 miles with the dog in the morning, 1/2 of a MarC workout and stretches in the evening. I've been wanting some sort of something after work, nothing too strenuous but engaging enough to dampen post-work hyperactivity, and I also want to resume some yin yoga poses. I'll see if this does the trick.
Today: walked with the dog, did zwow 28. Sluggishly.
But this town is still probably better than most, and there is Amazon and the local farmers' market and a recently-launched monthly art gallery/reception series, and after a couple of hours at work in super-duper air filtration, I feel so much better; at least I'm getting a bit of a break. And Amber survived!
Monday: 1.5 miles with the dog in the morning, 1/2 of a MarC workout and stretches in the evening. I've been wanting some sort of something after work, nothing too strenuous but engaging enough to dampen post-work hyperactivity, and I also want to resume some yin yoga poses. I'll see if this does the trick.
Today: walked with the dog, did zwow 28. Sluggishly.
Monday, August 20, 2012
numbers escaped through my fingers
But not much cheese or alcohol. Yes, it's been that kind of weekend, but we did run yesterday (4ish miles) and today (6ish miles), and that's the important thing.
I will try to be tough this week.
I will try to be tough this week.
Friday, August 17, 2012
The big hill
It was 13C when I woke up this morning. That's as good and cool as it's going to get this time of the year, and better than would be expected. I got ready and turned to the dog, "let's go."
Actually, he was telling me that the moment I got out of bed! Letsgoletsgoletsgo. Recently, I've been appreciating his evaluation of the weather. The dog who hardly budged out of bed during the heat waves is so very anxious to go out whenever the weather's nicer and cooler than normal. He didn't use to be so attuned.
We enjoyed a very leisurely downhill warm-up for about half a mile, and then the hills started working against our favour. First there was the little series of four that we also run on the 3 mile route, and then it was on. I managed to catch some of my breath on the downhills--heck, even on slight uphills because my treadmill is also slightly uphill (1% grade, I think)--and I managed to remember to relax parts of my form and avoid excess right shoulder tightness (a long-term issue; I have to be doing more shoulder exercises). However, the level of effort pretty much stayed in the long tempo run range--and got solidly into the lactic-acid buildup range--until I was up and over the large hill and down about 3/4 of a mile on the other side and looking at yet another, though smaller, hill, which effectively snuffed out recovery.
This is what running here is like. Hill after hill after hill. I am hoping that, if I manage to get in shape enough, I could recover completely, or almost completely, on the downhills, but I have only 4 months left here. At any rate, I'm going to try to do that 8 mile loop at least once a week, and I won't feel too bad if that takes the place of a zwow workout, as it probably will do this week. I was way too tired by the end of it, and my core is still burning. Actually, I am missing another zwow workout as well...I guess I'll call this a major recovery week and just run to loosen up tomorrow, and start afresh on Sunday. Oh, well!
We ran 7.8 miles in 75 minutes and then we walked the last 0.4 of a mile. 9:36/mile while running all these hills, I'll take it! Even going up the hill was under 10:00/mile and though things were feeling pretty sore by the top, I wasn't losing as much heart as I'd feared I would. It went better than I'd expected. I was especially impressed by the dog's stamina. He hasn't run more than a lackluster 2 or so miles in well over a month, but he was game today. At the top of the large hill, I offered him water and part of my Gu gel, but he declined in favour of pissing on choice clumps of tall grass like a boss.
Temp: 16- 20C, kind of humid, but WAY BETTER than what it has been. We lucked out.
It was so nice to check out the sights again instead of trying not to stare at treadmill display numbers. We ran by a restaurant with one of the scariest signs I've seen yet in town "Welcome, Skeeter the Clown." Yes, I share that oh so hackneyed distrust of clowns, and "Skeeter" is not a name that comes even close to overcoming my prejudice. Later on, we also ran past the Miracle Trading Post. I'm not sure if this is a new establishment. Sadly, I forgot to enjoy the view at the top of the hill, where I can see things on the top of other tall hills in the distance, and other things too like the particularly classy looking local federal prison. We did admire someone's pretty fish pond, though. It looks better than mine although mine has flowers. But no visible brightly coloured fish. Due to feral cats and the possum in our backyard (and occasionally a skunk passes through and my husband once saw a coyote in front of our house) I have given my koi plenty of places under rocks; due to the predominantly sunlit location of our pond and the recent heat waves, I have bought enough plants to completely cover the surface of the pond as well. So I never see my koi just swimming lazily about like the fish were doing in this other pond. When they come to the surface at feeding time, they attack like sharks (I think of them as water tigers, most of them are orange and black) and quickly retreat back to the shadows. However, two of them will flop atop of vegetation, mostly out of the water, and lie there for a few seconds while gobbling food. Not coincidentally, these two have become the largest.
Enough about fish! http://www.runningmap.com/?id=435868 Not completely accurate--I left out some blocks and another small hill or two and the start/end points are not at my house at all, but this is the gist of our run. Click on Show Elevation for the full scoop.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
The big hill postponed
It was muggy and already 25 C early this morning, but the temperature was forecasted to drop, and it did, but not enough. I did not do the tough 8 mile loop. Instead the dog and I jogged/okmostlywalked 1.5 miles while I deliberated: should I take advantage of the overcast weather, which would make the dog's participation easier although he would be miserable in the rain and there was a chance of rain, OR should I trust in the forecasted low nighttime temperature and have a cooler and less humid but sunnier run tomorrow morning? It is probably a more stunning route in the sun. The hill is tough and I need something to look forward to at the top. A good view goes a long way.
Hopefully we get some thunderstorms tonight to clear the air a bit. I jogged 6 miles on the treadmill and felt a little congested at first, but the feeling subsided as I got distracted by other considerations. Lately, I have been equating the treadmill to a laboratory: conditions are controlled, which allows me to delve into matters underlying changes in elevation/pace/footing. I was trying to loosen up some parts, particularly my quads, while engaging others more, particularly my hip flexors and parts of my glutes; my ultimate goal was, as always, spurred by my laziness: to reduce strain and effort. The stretch from 20ish minutes to 30ish minutes felt especially efficient. For a couple of minutes, I actually felt a different downward stroke from my hips--this is a simplification of myriad minute processes, but they had all coalesced into an overall sensation of one side tipping downward and then airily floating upward, and then the other side tipping downward and airily floating upward, etc. I didn't feel anything else going on, just the overall motion governing everything else going on below. So efficient! So fleeting!
The usual sloppiness crept back and I spent the rest of the run trying to ease this or that, but it was easy breathing and effort throughout at 5.7-5.8 mph. My easy runs will stay at this pace for a while, I think. There's still more to learn from it.
Hopefully we get some thunderstorms tonight to clear the air a bit. I jogged 6 miles on the treadmill and felt a little congested at first, but the feeling subsided as I got distracted by other considerations. Lately, I have been equating the treadmill to a laboratory: conditions are controlled, which allows me to delve into matters underlying changes in elevation/pace/footing. I was trying to loosen up some parts, particularly my quads, while engaging others more, particularly my hip flexors and parts of my glutes; my ultimate goal was, as always, spurred by my laziness: to reduce strain and effort. The stretch from 20ish minutes to 30ish minutes felt especially efficient. For a couple of minutes, I actually felt a different downward stroke from my hips--this is a simplification of myriad minute processes, but they had all coalesced into an overall sensation of one side tipping downward and then airily floating upward, and then the other side tipping downward and airily floating upward, etc. I didn't feel anything else going on, just the overall motion governing everything else going on below. So efficient! So fleeting!
The usual sloppiness crept back and I spent the rest of the run trying to ease this or that, but it was easy breathing and effort throughout at 5.7-5.8 mph. My easy runs will stay at this pace for a while, I think. There's still more to learn from it.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Fall temps!
Well, highs in the mid 20s C and good cloud cover have lent a nice chill to the wind, and it feels like fall. My favourite season (when not trumped by a superior winter)! Fall reintroduces a poignant melancholy: I reconnect with my school-age self and my school-age fears and my school age hopes. Will something amazing happen this year, or something dreadful or, more likely, more of the small same stuff, over and over again? I view my former younger selves and their often puny concerns with amused pity, and yet we still share the same depth of expectation once summer ends and the distance between us narrows. The cool weather comes, trailing the same something. Unfortunately, as seen below, this generates some reflection.
Now, this is probably just a cool snap and we will revert to the summer weather more usual for this time of the year, but my body as well as my psyche has seized the change. I'd written earlier about doing another diet detox last week, or maybe the week before...turns out I needed a shift in the weather to get motivated enough to give up dairy, refined sugar and carbs, and fermented things. I eased into this two days ago. Usually this diet lasts for ten days, but I'm aiming for 5 and 5, with a cheat day or two in between. This weekend is a long weekend for me; I'd booked the time off well before I knew how long the heatwave would last, how it would affect me, and when it would end. Good timing, really! Almost! I would like to have at least one fancy meal during this long weekend, probably involving a drink or two.
I didn't buy a cleanse kit this time because I can't get the Canadian one I'd used back home, and I didn't like the last one I used here...after spending about an hour online reading reviews and whatnot, I got fed up with picking out all the weight-loss options (not my focus) or the blast-guts-clean options (definitely not my focus), and I ordered some liver and kidney detox pills instead. Traditional stuff like milk thistle and that sort of thing. I'm also taking more fibre, some chlorella and spirulina, and generally drinking more water and continuing to eat fresh fruits, vegs, and legumes. This isn't necessarily going to be a vegetarian diet detox, mainly because we have some good grass-fed and organic meat in the freezer, and my new iron/protein pills are basically condensed liver, but it will be mostly vegetarian, like we usually eat.
Anyway, my new regimen seems to be working because stuff is stirred up and I'm congested and sleepy--a good sign. One of these days, I really ought to dig into the biochemistry of this sort of thing, is detoxing really bogus, or what is going on? but usually I feel like crap for the first few days, and then I start to feel a lot better. It feels like toxins are dredged out of secluded corners, set free to run rampant for a few days, then flushed out. I am really really hoping that these will include whatever is still allowing the chigger bites I acquired at least three weeks ago (has it been four already?) to itch. Some of them have healed, and I don't look like I have a gross disease so much as though I look like I'm recovering from a gross disease, but some of the spots still itch at random and inopportune times. For example, after a whole day spent oblivious of my left thigh, I crawl into bed and it suddenly turns to prickly fire. Or, I get into gloves, mask, booties, and gown at work and I start handling some sort of biohazardous thing that used to be inside some sick person, and then my right food begs, pleads, screams to be scratched. My plan is to run the tough 8-mile loop on Thursday and then, if possible, do a zwow workout or something to get even more sweaty, and then sit in a hot bath and sweat even more out while I scrub off at least the outermost layer of epidermis. At times like these, I really miss the scratchy Korean sauna mitts designed for this purpose.
Meanwhile, I have been WASTING the really nice weather! Yesterday, I jogged 1.5 miles with the dog. Today, I slept in late--I think I slept close to 11 hours--and after seriously contemplating avoiding all exercise, I did zwow #12 during which I included some shoulder weight exercises and deadlifts. Oh, well, creatures generally don't exert themselves unnecessarily while shedding.
Meanwhile, I have been reading Meb Keflezighi's book:
http://www.amazon.com/Meb-Keflezighi/e/B00419KI0I
This guy has surprised me, and plenty of others--he doesn't have the best PBs of the field, and he's shown up to races not in the best form, but he fights so hard and ends placing so much better than expected. He won the NYC marathon in 2009 or so, he won the Olympic trials, and he's placed well in other races, and he was 4th in the Olympic marathon. He wasn't the American favourite, he was running against 3 Kenyans and 3 Ethiopians, and others with faster personal bests, but he moved up from the second chase pack, through the first chase pack which by then had splintered, from 19th or so at halfway to fourth.
He had won the silver Olympic medal in 2004 and yet was not among the runners introduced before this year's race, even though he was the only prior medalist in the field. He used the snub as fuel.
!!!
He mentioned the book in post-race interviews and it was the first time I'd heard of it.
Now, this is probably just a cool snap and we will revert to the summer weather more usual for this time of the year, but my body as well as my psyche has seized the change. I'd written earlier about doing another diet detox last week, or maybe the week before...turns out I needed a shift in the weather to get motivated enough to give up dairy, refined sugar and carbs, and fermented things. I eased into this two days ago. Usually this diet lasts for ten days, but I'm aiming for 5 and 5, with a cheat day or two in between. This weekend is a long weekend for me; I'd booked the time off well before I knew how long the heatwave would last, how it would affect me, and when it would end. Good timing, really! Almost! I would like to have at least one fancy meal during this long weekend, probably involving a drink or two.
I didn't buy a cleanse kit this time because I can't get the Canadian one I'd used back home, and I didn't like the last one I used here...after spending about an hour online reading reviews and whatnot, I got fed up with picking out all the weight-loss options (not my focus) or the blast-guts-clean options (definitely not my focus), and I ordered some liver and kidney detox pills instead. Traditional stuff like milk thistle and that sort of thing. I'm also taking more fibre, some chlorella and spirulina, and generally drinking more water and continuing to eat fresh fruits, vegs, and legumes. This isn't necessarily going to be a vegetarian diet detox, mainly because we have some good grass-fed and organic meat in the freezer, and my new iron/protein pills are basically condensed liver, but it will be mostly vegetarian, like we usually eat.
Anyway, my new regimen seems to be working because stuff is stirred up and I'm congested and sleepy--a good sign. One of these days, I really ought to dig into the biochemistry of this sort of thing, is detoxing really bogus, or what is going on? but usually I feel like crap for the first few days, and then I start to feel a lot better. It feels like toxins are dredged out of secluded corners, set free to run rampant for a few days, then flushed out. I am really really hoping that these will include whatever is still allowing the chigger bites I acquired at least three weeks ago (has it been four already?) to itch. Some of them have healed, and I don't look like I have a gross disease so much as though I look like I'm recovering from a gross disease, but some of the spots still itch at random and inopportune times. For example, after a whole day spent oblivious of my left thigh, I crawl into bed and it suddenly turns to prickly fire. Or, I get into gloves, mask, booties, and gown at work and I start handling some sort of biohazardous thing that used to be inside some sick person, and then my right food begs, pleads, screams to be scratched. My plan is to run the tough 8-mile loop on Thursday and then, if possible, do a zwow workout or something to get even more sweaty, and then sit in a hot bath and sweat even more out while I scrub off at least the outermost layer of epidermis. At times like these, I really miss the scratchy Korean sauna mitts designed for this purpose.
Meanwhile, I have been WASTING the really nice weather! Yesterday, I jogged 1.5 miles with the dog. Today, I slept in late--I think I slept close to 11 hours--and after seriously contemplating avoiding all exercise, I did zwow #12 during which I included some shoulder weight exercises and deadlifts. Oh, well, creatures generally don't exert themselves unnecessarily while shedding.
Meanwhile, I have been reading Meb Keflezighi's book:
http://www.amazon.com/Meb-Keflezighi/e/B00419KI0I
This guy has surprised me, and plenty of others--he doesn't have the best PBs of the field, and he's shown up to races not in the best form, but he fights so hard and ends placing so much better than expected. He won the NYC marathon in 2009 or so, he won the Olympic trials, and he's placed well in other races, and he was 4th in the Olympic marathon. He wasn't the American favourite, he was running against 3 Kenyans and 3 Ethiopians, and others with faster personal bests, but he moved up from the second chase pack, through the first chase pack which by then had splintered, from 19th or so at halfway to fourth.
He had won the silver Olympic medal in 2004 and yet was not among the runners introduced before this year's race, even though he was the only prior medalist in the field. He used the snub as fuel.
!!!
He mentioned the book in post-race interviews and it was the first time I'd heard of it.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
No more Olympics
So sad! They ended with a good bang though, a very thrilling marathon.
1.5 miles yesterday with the dog, and 6 miles today on the treadmill in about 61 minutes. We slept in too late for a long run--the temps rose to 35 C or so--and so I decided to run 8 miles on the treadmill, but the air was bad. After twenty minutes, I decided to aim for 6 instead; after forty minutes, I decided to run the remainder as a tempo run. I think the effort was actually below tempo effort although I chose the same tempo pace as before. The poor air quality and the effect it had on my breathing dissuaded me from trying out a faster pace.
1.5 miles yesterday with the dog, and 6 miles today on the treadmill in about 61 minutes. We slept in too late for a long run--the temps rose to 35 C or so--and so I decided to run 8 miles on the treadmill, but the air was bad. After twenty minutes, I decided to aim for 6 instead; after forty minutes, I decided to run the remainder as a tempo run. I think the effort was actually below tempo effort although I chose the same tempo pace as before. The poor air quality and the effect it had on my breathing dissuaded me from trying out a faster pace.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Finished!
My workouts for the week are done; whatever I do tomorrow will be a bonus.
Today was another cool morning, but I decided not to run with my dog because he'll need a bit of time to toughen up his paws; we'll run something tomorrow. So, it was the treadmill this morning. and I decided to get the 75-80ish minute run of the week out of the way. I haven't done a tempo workout this week, but the hilly run yesterday--or almost any steady run outside here--is pretty much a tempo run because the hills elevate heart rate and breathing rate solidly.
I was groggy again this morning, like every morning. However, I've felt like I've turned a corner and started recovering this week. The temperatures have dropped and we've been able to leave windows open for fresh air, plus I had a trainee at work for the last two weeks who has done some of the more strenuous stuff--hey, he's the one who has to develop endurance, not me! and I have been taking more bio-available iron/protein pills. My easy treadmill pace is now 5.5-5.6 mph--it's funny how drastically 5.7 mph feels like a different gear. I'm not pushing the pace on my easy runs because that's not the point, but now and then I try a slightly faster pace and test if it still allows me to relax. Maybe by next month, 5.7 will feel easy.
Anyway, this morning, I took a while to wake up, but only about ten minutes or so to warm up, and I ran without issues until after an hour when I started getting a strange slow spasm in my left quad which momentarily threw my left knee out of alignment. I tried to relax the offending area, and after several repetitions, the spasm went away, and I was able to complete the run.
And I have become stronger. I did zwow #5 today, including the burpees that I'd forgotten last time, and I did over 4 sets. When I started this workout, I was barely completing 3 in time. It was a big push today, and I'm feeling pretty tired now, even post-nap!
More importantly, I can lift things up and put them down more easily. There is a particular ortho kit at work that weighs at least 50 pounds, and lifting it is often not a clean or simple motion because the handles are on the short sides and it doesn't fit in the washer/autoclave sideways and the autoclave liner is inches away and scalding hot, etc, etc...but, yesterday, I was managing it fine. When I first started working there, I could barely lift it off a table.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
busted!
But not me, but the heat! We had a short but violent storm last night--incidentally, my workplace has a pretty hefty generator--and it was only 20 C when I woke up this morning. That's cooler than our house, even! I decided to tackle the three mile loop we used to do, but I'd forgotten part of the route and went past a turn, and then we went down to the creek: total run was 4.6 miles.
The dog hasn't gained much, if any, weight, but he is out of shape. The route has a series of 5 hills, and others besides, and gets harder and harder. His pee break requests became more and more frequent. Fortunately, he tends to regain fitness surprisingly quickly. Since the highs for the rest of the week should be only 30 (!!!), I'll be able to take him out more often in the near future.
Then I did zwow 28 again. It didn't feel any easier today.
The dog hasn't gained much, if any, weight, but he is out of shape. The route has a series of 5 hills, and others besides, and gets harder and harder. His pee break requests became more and more frequent. Fortunately, he tends to regain fitness surprisingly quickly. Since the highs for the rest of the week should be only 30 (!!!), I'll be able to take him out more often in the near future.
Then I did zwow 28 again. It didn't feel any easier today.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Caves and underground city
I recently found out that there is a cave system and underground city here. !!!
I have been surfing for distractions because our next posting will be, uh. Once again, we'll be shipped to a dumpy little town south of the Mason-Dixon line, but not south enough for citrus orchards or local tropical fruit or sarongs or beach combing or whatnot. C'mon! Give me at least a little something to work with! However, I have honed a pretty good coping strategy during past similar postings: get leaner and meaner. Last two times, I was lucky enough to live close to a forest with trails--admittedly, the second was more of a semi-abandoned army training area, but it worked.
Anyway~
Monday: nothing
Tuesday: 1.5 miles with the dog outside!!! Yes, the mornings are slowly becoming reasonable!! and Zwow #1, but just 2 rounds out of 3.
Today: I hr, 5.6 miles.
I have been surfing for distractions because our next posting will be, uh. Once again, we'll be shipped to a dumpy little town south of the Mason-Dixon line, but not south enough for citrus orchards or local tropical fruit or sarongs or beach combing or whatnot. C'mon! Give me at least a little something to work with! However, I have honed a pretty good coping strategy during past similar postings: get leaner and meaner. Last two times, I was lucky enough to live close to a forest with trails--admittedly, the second was more of a semi-abandoned army training area, but it worked.
Anyway~
Monday: nothing
Tuesday: 1.5 miles with the dog outside!!! Yes, the mornings are slowly becoming reasonable!! and Zwow #1, but just 2 rounds out of 3.
Today: I hr, 5.6 miles.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
good temps, bad air
Today's promise of being cooler than usual held firm, so we slept in and started running at about noon. Only 29 C and not humid! It got up to only 31 C during our run and there were some portions that were truly comfortable. Alas, the air was dirty today and that caught up to me. The last forty minutes of the run were miserable. My breathing was messed up. I kept it to an easy rate, and by this point we were walking up the steep hills, but my lungs felt raw and compressed, grasping for shallow and quick panic, and I couldn't make things easy, but I managed to stay calm. We stopped at a shaded spigot with about twenty minutes left to go, and I drenched myself in water and got my heart rate down to a more reasonable tempo. We still had a few uphills ahead of us, but we walked up the steepest one and then, soon after, it was a nice downhill coast, and then a walk home.
Total: 18.8 miles. I'm counting the walk. That air was nasty. Maybe it was like breathing through a dusty sock while wearing a corset, something which I won't be trying for confirmation's sake. But, yeah, not a picnic.
Tomorrow, we'll find out our next posting. I think I've held myself together pretty well over the last couple of months of heightened uncertainty.
Total: 18.8 miles. I'm counting the walk. That air was nasty. Maybe it was like breathing through a dusty sock while wearing a corset, something which I won't be trying for confirmation's sake. But, yeah, not a picnic.
Tomorrow, we'll find out our next posting. I think I've held myself together pretty well over the last couple of months of heightened uncertainty.
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