Two more days then cheese. We still have to decide where we'll have our celebratory post-detox diet meal. It's been fun testing some of the detox recipes, and I'll definitely make the Caesar dressing and the falafel again and again, albeit with some adjustments. The casserole with hard boiled eggs is also a keeper.
All three of us ran 6.0something miles today, back up and down the monster hill. My breathing is still a bit impaired due to the cold and I was tired in general, but I still felt ever so slightly better on the toughest inclines, not so much stronger as more efficient. It seemed that I didn't have to move as much to get up the hill. The rest of the run was unpleasant but when I got to the hardest parts, I found some new muscle or something. This is good. The next step will be to do two loops and go up the hill twice.
Although, I have since found out that there is an even higher hill in town...
Probably I'll also jog a couple of miles on the TM tonight to help keep things loose.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Day 9
Three more days...
It's rainy and I'm giving this cold the final shove, hopefully, so I jogged on the treadmill for an hour, I guess about 6ish miles. No burning plastic smell and now I feel really good.
Part of me wants to change the batteries in the treadmill so that I can have all the numbers, but I am also appreciating all the things I'm noticing without the numbers, particularly with my form. I passed the time tweaking this and that, trying to get things feeling really nice and easy. And, for a few minutes here and there, particularly around 21 minutes and from 43-49 minutes (yes, I retained some of the numbers, just a stopwatch), I felt so efficient. The run was easy anyway, I was hardly breathing any more than while walking, but during the special intervals, I felt like I was hardly moving. It was lovely. I'm not sure if this was due to endorphin release or a slight tilt of upper body or some other physiological adjustment.
And this has helped me realize what I want out of running. Yeah, I would like to run faster because that is what I'm supposed to want--definitely, I adore the idea of getting somewhere before someone else--but once I came here and struggled on the hills that will likely make me faster, I started to pine instead for those long easy runs that I can't get here. Basically, I want to jog around and get to places without much effort!
It's rainy and I'm giving this cold the final shove, hopefully, so I jogged on the treadmill for an hour, I guess about 6ish miles. No burning plastic smell and now I feel really good.
Part of me wants to change the batteries in the treadmill so that I can have all the numbers, but I am also appreciating all the things I'm noticing without the numbers, particularly with my form. I passed the time tweaking this and that, trying to get things feeling really nice and easy. And, for a few minutes here and there, particularly around 21 minutes and from 43-49 minutes (yes, I retained some of the numbers, just a stopwatch), I felt so efficient. The run was easy anyway, I was hardly breathing any more than while walking, but during the special intervals, I felt like I was hardly moving. It was lovely. I'm not sure if this was due to endorphin release or a slight tilt of upper body or some other physiological adjustment.
And this has helped me realize what I want out of running. Yeah, I would like to run faster because that is what I'm supposed to want--definitely, I adore the idea of getting somewhere before someone else--but once I came here and struggled on the hills that will likely make me faster, I started to pine instead for those long easy runs that I can't get here. Basically, I want to jog around and get to places without much effort!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Day 8
Yay, four more days and then I can eat cheese again. Now that sugar cravings have mostly subsided, I'm now experiencing cheese cravings.
It's probably good I'm not having dairy now, though: it apparently stimulates phlegm production, and I have plenty of phlegm already. I have a full-fledged buying-Kleenex-stocks cold and I'm determined to not let it become another chest cold.
I was invited to run at 5:30 am with my husband and some of his colleagues, but, eh, I slept in and ran a couple of miles this evening on the TM. Where has it been all my life? I am really enjoying having it, even though I don't particularly enjoy running on a TM--although I am relishing the easy jogs. However, the convenience is unparalleled. No need to check the weather, deliberate between different layers, etc...the house is shirt and t-shirt weather all the time. Another few minutes of weights and stretches, a quick hop in the shower, and the whole thing takes just 30 min or so. Amazing. I think it usually takes me at least five minutes to get out of the door, and then when I'm back in, there's this and that to be picked up, or whatever, which adds up to another ten minutes.
I haven't yet attempted a run longer than 2.5ish miles on this TM. I cannot forget its origins, abandoned in an unfinished attic, encrusted with dust and dead flies...I worry that, if I don't break it in gently, I'll eventually smell burning plastic, and then there will be no more convenience.
It's probably good I'm not having dairy now, though: it apparently stimulates phlegm production, and I have plenty of phlegm already. I have a full-fledged buying-Kleenex-stocks cold and I'm determined to not let it become another chest cold.
I was invited to run at 5:30 am with my husband and some of his colleagues, but, eh, I slept in and ran a couple of miles this evening on the TM. Where has it been all my life? I am really enjoying having it, even though I don't particularly enjoy running on a TM--although I am relishing the easy jogs. However, the convenience is unparalleled. No need to check the weather, deliberate between different layers, etc...the house is shirt and t-shirt weather all the time. Another few minutes of weights and stretches, a quick hop in the shower, and the whole thing takes just 30 min or so. Amazing. I think it usually takes me at least five minutes to get out of the door, and then when I'm back in, there's this and that to be picked up, or whatever, which adds up to another ten minutes.
I haven't yet attempted a run longer than 2.5ish miles on this TM. I cannot forget its origins, abandoned in an unfinished attic, encrusted with dust and dead flies...I worry that, if I don't break it in gently, I'll eventually smell burning plastic, and then there will be no more convenience.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Day 7
2.5ish miles with the dog in the morning, 2.5ish miles on the new free recently-moved-to-a-fiberglassless-area treadmill.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Day 6
I've been corrected: the detox diet is 12 days, not 14. So I guess we're halfway done! We've already discussed maintaining some parts of it, especially some of the recipes I've tried. My own goal is to control the amount of candy and simple sugar I eat. Both of us will be resuming cheese consumption asap, though!
Anyway, my husband had to go on post this morning so the dog and I tagged along to start our run there and skip the short uphill to post. I'd decided to run to and along one road that curves about in the back forest and then back through the main area of post and then home. I actually found a map that had most of my route on it, albeit not much of the road I was most interested in, but I could check where it started and ended. I figured this would be a ten-ish mile run and I'd make it home in two hours at the most.
We ran to where the road started (temporarily delayed due to a street name I'd written in which was evidently from an outdated map) and it was closed for construction. It actually looked great to run on, just dirt, but I didn't want to push my luck. Generally, on an army post, closed means "closed" and not "you can sneak through but you can't sue us".
Reroute! We ran through, and probably woke up, a neighbourhood--there were two dogs that kept barking long after we were gone. I felt bad about that; it wasn't my intent to run through any of the housing areas, but it's also against my nature to retrace my steps on exploratory runs unless I absolutely have to. A blocked path is an invitation to look at something else.
We ran a loop and ended up where we had been before, but we continued straight this time. Shortly after this, I was halted by more confusion. There was a street that was unnamed on my map, and there was another misnamed street, but this time the faulty name was printed on the map and not by me.
The original: Oregon Ave
Now: Organ Ave.
Is this how you're really supposed to say "Oregon?" Or did someone mishear an order along the way? It's amusing, particularly since I didn't notice until this morning that it was "Oregon", and I remember being on "Organ" earlier this week and wondering why someone would choose such a name for a street.
Anyway, it was a small puzzle, we quickly found the correct street, and we ran past the post stables. They are marked on the map but I didn't notice that our detour would take us there until I smelled horse.
My dog hates horses. He's very specist; I've written about this before. In the case of large animals, he has no problem with cows; we've run among herds occasionally and he was cool with that. Horses, on the other hand, drive him nuts...or drove. Fortunately, we ran by the stables and umpteen pastured horses without incident. The horses stared at us, I stared back because there was something captivating about their gaze, more intelligence than one usually finds in a prey animal, perhaps, and the dog just kept trotting along quietly. I guess his issue is mainly with caleche horses, or maybe it's horses moving in general...I'm not really sure.
The road past the stables lead to the road I wanted. We hit the T and originally I thought about going left and checking out the closed section--there was another closed sign right at the intersection but this was pushed aside and the road was still paved. This was "closed but you can still get to work or wherever"--there was a parking lot and building beyond this. Maybe it was the archery range. We turned right and went up a rather large hill. There had been hills all along but this was a radio tower type of hill. And then we went down the wrong way at first because there was a missing street sign but at the bottom of this road we found port potties and a dog park. I used the former and thought about tossing my dog into the latter, but people drove up and tossed their dogs and kids in it so we went back up the hill. I walked a portion of it. It was steep and there was still more run to go and I had no idea if I was in for an hour of up and down worse than the usual up and down.
However, once we went up on the correct road, it levelled off and the views were amazing. The sun was shining, the dried grass was almost golden and not just dead; there was a bunch of smaller hills and farms and so forth. It was Barry Lyndon meets Eastern Kansas. We found a plaque that said there used to be a wooden French fort dating from the reign of Louis XV somewhere in the region, the ruins of which Lewis and Clark had seen in 1804 or so. I find it rather tantalizing that something is so old that people two hundred years ago saw its ruins. Unfortunately, there is a bit of fencing and hunting area in the way, but maybe, one day, we'll find a ....overgrown posthole?
The road at this point wasn't up and down but more of the gentle undulating type I'm used to. It felt great. We ran by a prisoners' graveyard, and I felt incongruously buoyant.
I felt so great that when we got close to the airfield, I decided to run around it to see if the path was still nasty new gravel. It wasn't as bad as before, but there were still a few sections where I had to walk. My shoes are pretty thin and no match for large loose gravel--this stuff is plum-sized, it's not the usual gravel. Maybe a few more months will break or push down the largest pieces.
After the airfield loop, I was beat. We ran up and down a hill to the old prison wall. There was a restricted area sign that I think was meant for a road turning off the one we were on, but I turned around anyway, back up the hill, and up a further hill to the vet's office.
It's neat putting the pieces together; I enjoy the feeling of a place clicking into recognition, especially if I'm approaching it from a different direction There is a moment of deja-vu, a moment of confusion, and then realization, and the place almost shrinks and becomes brighter in a way, all the looming uncertainty vanished. Eventually, sadly, it might become nondescript, but the first approach from each direction is so exciting!
We ran home, the "little" hills on the way were merciless. I walked the last few blocks home even though this part was downhill because I was tired and wanted to loosen up before going inside. 16.31 miles total. It was a bit longer than I'd expected and since I'm on this no-simple sugar or refined grains diet, I couldn't eat gels. I had some dried berries instead--they have sugar too but enough fibre or whatever to counteract the effect, apparently, and I felt the difference. Low muscle glycogen: heavy legs. But, hey, some runs are good, some are not so good, and there were so many cool and new things on this run that I consider it the former.
I still remember the first time I ran over 16 miles. This was pre-blog, sometime in the summer of 2006 when we were melting in Virginia and I'd run in a nearby forest that used to be a battlefield. It was a hot day (they were all hot days, we arrived in April and left in October and it felt like summer throughout) and some of the forest paths were loose sand. It was hilly there too, not like here, or Korea, but the heat and humidity amplified even the smallest incline. I mostly ran around a loop; I stashed my water and snacks at a point so that I wouldn't have to carry it and that helped me keep going, knowing that sustenance was ahead, but I went through my water a little more quickly than anticipated, plus it warmed up. The last loop is a blur of discomfort, and I went home thinking that if 16 miles was that brutal, a marathon just wasn't in the cards. Since then, I've had many pleasant 16 mile runs and above, and some unpleasant ones, but this run today felt kind of like my first one. It's as if I'm starting to run from scratch.
That makes it more interesting.
Anyway, my husband had to go on post this morning so the dog and I tagged along to start our run there and skip the short uphill to post. I'd decided to run to and along one road that curves about in the back forest and then back through the main area of post and then home. I actually found a map that had most of my route on it, albeit not much of the road I was most interested in, but I could check where it started and ended. I figured this would be a ten-ish mile run and I'd make it home in two hours at the most.
We ran to where the road started (temporarily delayed due to a street name I'd written in which was evidently from an outdated map) and it was closed for construction. It actually looked great to run on, just dirt, but I didn't want to push my luck. Generally, on an army post, closed means "closed" and not "you can sneak through but you can't sue us".
Reroute! We ran through, and probably woke up, a neighbourhood--there were two dogs that kept barking long after we were gone. I felt bad about that; it wasn't my intent to run through any of the housing areas, but it's also against my nature to retrace my steps on exploratory runs unless I absolutely have to. A blocked path is an invitation to look at something else.
We ran a loop and ended up where we had been before, but we continued straight this time. Shortly after this, I was halted by more confusion. There was a street that was unnamed on my map, and there was another misnamed street, but this time the faulty name was printed on the map and not by me.
The original: Oregon Ave
Now: Organ Ave.
Is this how you're really supposed to say "Oregon?" Or did someone mishear an order along the way? It's amusing, particularly since I didn't notice until this morning that it was "Oregon", and I remember being on "Organ" earlier this week and wondering why someone would choose such a name for a street.
Anyway, it was a small puzzle, we quickly found the correct street, and we ran past the post stables. They are marked on the map but I didn't notice that our detour would take us there until I smelled horse.
My dog hates horses. He's very specist; I've written about this before. In the case of large animals, he has no problem with cows; we've run among herds occasionally and he was cool with that. Horses, on the other hand, drive him nuts...or drove. Fortunately, we ran by the stables and umpteen pastured horses without incident. The horses stared at us, I stared back because there was something captivating about their gaze, more intelligence than one usually finds in a prey animal, perhaps, and the dog just kept trotting along quietly. I guess his issue is mainly with caleche horses, or maybe it's horses moving in general...I'm not really sure.
The road past the stables lead to the road I wanted. We hit the T and originally I thought about going left and checking out the closed section--there was another closed sign right at the intersection but this was pushed aside and the road was still paved. This was "closed but you can still get to work or wherever"--there was a parking lot and building beyond this. Maybe it was the archery range. We turned right and went up a rather large hill. There had been hills all along but this was a radio tower type of hill. And then we went down the wrong way at first because there was a missing street sign but at the bottom of this road we found port potties and a dog park. I used the former and thought about tossing my dog into the latter, but people drove up and tossed their dogs and kids in it so we went back up the hill. I walked a portion of it. It was steep and there was still more run to go and I had no idea if I was in for an hour of up and down worse than the usual up and down.
However, once we went up on the correct road, it levelled off and the views were amazing. The sun was shining, the dried grass was almost golden and not just dead; there was a bunch of smaller hills and farms and so forth. It was Barry Lyndon meets Eastern Kansas. We found a plaque that said there used to be a wooden French fort dating from the reign of Louis XV somewhere in the region, the ruins of which Lewis and Clark had seen in 1804 or so. I find it rather tantalizing that something is so old that people two hundred years ago saw its ruins. Unfortunately, there is a bit of fencing and hunting area in the way, but maybe, one day, we'll find a ....overgrown posthole?
The road at this point wasn't up and down but more of the gentle undulating type I'm used to. It felt great. We ran by a prisoners' graveyard, and I felt incongruously buoyant.
I felt so great that when we got close to the airfield, I decided to run around it to see if the path was still nasty new gravel. It wasn't as bad as before, but there were still a few sections where I had to walk. My shoes are pretty thin and no match for large loose gravel--this stuff is plum-sized, it's not the usual gravel. Maybe a few more months will break or push down the largest pieces.
After the airfield loop, I was beat. We ran up and down a hill to the old prison wall. There was a restricted area sign that I think was meant for a road turning off the one we were on, but I turned around anyway, back up the hill, and up a further hill to the vet's office.
It's neat putting the pieces together; I enjoy the feeling of a place clicking into recognition, especially if I'm approaching it from a different direction There is a moment of deja-vu, a moment of confusion, and then realization, and the place almost shrinks and becomes brighter in a way, all the looming uncertainty vanished. Eventually, sadly, it might become nondescript, but the first approach from each direction is so exciting!
We ran home, the "little" hills on the way were merciless. I walked the last few blocks home even though this part was downhill because I was tired and wanted to loosen up before going inside. 16.31 miles total. It was a bit longer than I'd expected and since I'm on this no-simple sugar or refined grains diet, I couldn't eat gels. I had some dried berries instead--they have sugar too but enough fibre or whatever to counteract the effect, apparently, and I felt the difference. Low muscle glycogen: heavy legs. But, hey, some runs are good, some are not so good, and there were so many cool and new things on this run that I consider it the former.
I still remember the first time I ran over 16 miles. This was pre-blog, sometime in the summer of 2006 when we were melting in Virginia and I'd run in a nearby forest that used to be a battlefield. It was a hot day (they were all hot days, we arrived in April and left in October and it felt like summer throughout) and some of the forest paths were loose sand. It was hilly there too, not like here, or Korea, but the heat and humidity amplified even the smallest incline. I mostly ran around a loop; I stashed my water and snacks at a point so that I wouldn't have to carry it and that helped me keep going, knowing that sustenance was ahead, but I went through my water a little more quickly than anticipated, plus it warmed up. The last loop is a blur of discomfort, and I went home thinking that if 16 miles was that brutal, a marathon just wasn't in the cards. Since then, I've had many pleasant 16 mile runs and above, and some unpleasant ones, but this run today felt kind of like my first one. It's as if I'm starting to run from scratch.
That makes it more interesting.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Day 5
This morning we ran out and back along the creek path. Back beside the river, I talked with a man there for a bit. He said that there have been eagle sightings recently, and he pointed to something that could have been an eagle sitting on a tree on the opposite bank. I couldn't get any closer to it to be sure. Nor could the guy get close enough to me; he kept stepping toward me and I kept stepping back. I didn't feel uncomfortable because I maintained a comfortable distance, but after a minute or so, I said goodbye and thanks and left. Yes, I'm new here and have yet to fully learn the local ways, but when it's just me and some random guy by the river and nobody else about outside, my space bubble expands even when my dog is with me. At this point, its radius was at least a car length. Too bad! Some lady I heard yelling on the street earlier on the run got well over a block. She was having what sounded like half a domestic dispute; she might have had a phone, but that would have been a minor detail compared to the magnitude of her disturbance. Such screamers stress the adrenal system even though they give plenty of advance notice for detours.
Ok, there are plenty of normal people here too, they're generally friendlier than I'm used to, but that's cool. I've learnt so much about the area already by talking with people; this has been much more interesting that living on post would have been. I mustn't leave the impression of my neighbourhood being full of yelling crazed people and people who want to get too close for comfort. Another lady made a big fuss over the dog "Oh, look at you, running along, just running along." He was looking pretty fine in a new bandanna. Our run was pretty late so we met more people than normal.
I managed to loosen up a bit on a downhill portion of the creek path, but I needed more of that. 3ish miles total.
EDIT: 2ish more miles today, I bought an extension cord and tested out the treadmill in the attic, and it works! It's a simple cheap one and the belt is a little loose, and the display doesn't work (maybe it needs a battery?) but the treadmill itself works! No weird sounds or smells. I ran on a slight incline--found out afterward that it is a bit adjustable by lifting up the back end and moving the back supports, and then I found out that the treadmill actually folds up. Anyway, the incline was slight, and I kept a very easy effort, just twenty minutes or so, and now I'm sitting here with legs that are gently energized. They feel kind of tingly and warm. That's what I've been missing since I got here! I need the super easy restorative runs.
Stage two is to clean the treadmill and get it downstairs somehow, probably a combo of taking it apart and asking for my husband's help. I thought about leaving it up there, but I've been dissuaded by the combo of unfinished attic dirt (some seeds and bird poop too, go figure), fiberglass insulation, having to run a long extension cord that eventually I'll trip on, and not being able to hear any music--not that I run with music, but yesterday I found and opened this Spacemonkeyz v/s Gorillaz CD that seems perfect for recovery jogs and now I'm ready to start running with music.
Our run tomorrow still has to be planned....
Ok, there are plenty of normal people here too, they're generally friendlier than I'm used to, but that's cool. I've learnt so much about the area already by talking with people; this has been much more interesting that living on post would have been. I mustn't leave the impression of my neighbourhood being full of yelling crazed people and people who want to get too close for comfort. Another lady made a big fuss over the dog "Oh, look at you, running along, just running along." He was looking pretty fine in a new bandanna. Our run was pretty late so we met more people than normal.
I managed to loosen up a bit on a downhill portion of the creek path, but I needed more of that. 3ish miles total.
EDIT: 2ish more miles today, I bought an extension cord and tested out the treadmill in the attic, and it works! It's a simple cheap one and the belt is a little loose, and the display doesn't work (maybe it needs a battery?) but the treadmill itself works! No weird sounds or smells. I ran on a slight incline--found out afterward that it is a bit adjustable by lifting up the back end and moving the back supports, and then I found out that the treadmill actually folds up. Anyway, the incline was slight, and I kept a very easy effort, just twenty minutes or so, and now I'm sitting here with legs that are gently energized. They feel kind of tingly and warm. That's what I've been missing since I got here! I need the super easy restorative runs.
Stage two is to clean the treadmill and get it downstairs somehow, probably a combo of taking it apart and asking for my husband's help. I thought about leaving it up there, but I've been dissuaded by the combo of unfinished attic dirt (some seeds and bird poop too, go figure), fiberglass insulation, having to run a long extension cord that eventually I'll trip on, and not being able to hear any music--not that I run with music, but yesterday I found and opened this Spacemonkeyz v/s Gorillaz CD that seems perfect for recovery jogs and now I'm ready to start running with music.
Our run tomorrow still has to be planned....
Thursday, February 23, 2012
The hill/ Day 4
5.67 miles but it felt longer. No morning run, but in the afternoon, all three of us ran up the big hill again and I was starting to breathe hard before we even got to it. We went up the same way as before but ran on more of the trails on the top, and then we went down a different way, down the shortest and steepest road leading to it.
This was the wall of road I'd mentioned in an earlier entry: during that run, I was running up the street and was repulsed by the seemingly vertical stretch of road ahead of me. I've since clicked on a run tracking site and figured out that the grade is 19.25 percent. I'm sure I've been on steeper trails but it's funny how strenuous it was walking/jogging down such a paved decline. I found it too steep to walk comfortably, and running down it felt somewhat precarious, like my shoes were too slippery, so I ended up doing a half jog/half walk gait. At this point I can only imagine (and I would rather not) running up it. That is a challenge for another month.
Running up the more gradual road was hard enough. But I appreciate the experience: it's hopefully making me stronger and it has taught me something today. Last time, I just suffered. Today, halfway through the worst stretch, I found myself pumping my arms more, but while feeling the power in my shoulders; my arms were just appendages. I've been told and have read umpteen times to "pump [my] arms", but whenever I've tried it before, sore biceps were the apparent only result. So, I've just run up hills however I run up hills, maybe my arms move more, maybe not, maybe limbs just flail about ineffectually, mainly I'm distracted by the failings of my lungs....but, today, I found this power in my shoulders. Probably it was chest and back muscles too--these were BIG muscles operating in concert with other BIG muscles and, man, what a difference. This hill still took a lot out of me but it was the difference between opening a valve and a slow leak.
I got to the top and wondered if I could recapture that feeling. Fortunately, there was another steep portion ahead to practice on, this time on trail, and same deal. Shoulders! Ah, not arms at all!
Day 4 of the cleanse feels pretty much like Day 3 did. The occasional sugar craving crops up, but I'm not feeling as hungry. However, suppertime has been gradually creeping earlier. I guess the biggest change has been a slight improvement of focus. After three hours of unpacking, carrying things up and downstairs culminating with a 40ish pound box of CDs, I decided to lie on the rug and relax for a moment. A mini break. Prior to Day 1, my mind would still be running around and I couldn't relax because there was still this other box and this other thing--this time, I was able to clear my head completely and enter into a timeless frameless relaxation almost instantly. I remember doing this quite often as a child but I haven't been able to get into that frame of mind, or lack of, so quickly in many years. Yes, it happens during yoga, but usually after more than an hour of practice. This was trudge up the stairs, put the box down, lie on the carpet, and empty out, just like that.
Plan B: I need to get an extension cord because there is a treadmill in the attic. It was abandoned by the previous tenants and the landlord doesn't know if it works but he said I can use it. Fingers crossed it's not just a clothes hanger! How simple would it be to simply go upstairs (and this attic has proper stairs, it isn't a stepladder and ceiling hole deal) and jog a short recovery jog, loosen everything up without hardly any effort, whenever I want...gosh, that sounds lovely. If this thing runs at 5.5ish mph for 15-20 minutes, that's all I need.
Other news: my husband bought us a dip station. It's been a while since I've followed a bodyrock.tv routine; what better way to get back into that than trying out a new piece of equipment?
This was the wall of road I'd mentioned in an earlier entry: during that run, I was running up the street and was repulsed by the seemingly vertical stretch of road ahead of me. I've since clicked on a run tracking site and figured out that the grade is 19.25 percent. I'm sure I've been on steeper trails but it's funny how strenuous it was walking/jogging down such a paved decline. I found it too steep to walk comfortably, and running down it felt somewhat precarious, like my shoes were too slippery, so I ended up doing a half jog/half walk gait. At this point I can only imagine (and I would rather not) running up it. That is a challenge for another month.
Running up the more gradual road was hard enough. But I appreciate the experience: it's hopefully making me stronger and it has taught me something today. Last time, I just suffered. Today, halfway through the worst stretch, I found myself pumping my arms more, but while feeling the power in my shoulders; my arms were just appendages. I've been told and have read umpteen times to "pump [my] arms", but whenever I've tried it before, sore biceps were the apparent only result. So, I've just run up hills however I run up hills, maybe my arms move more, maybe not, maybe limbs just flail about ineffectually, mainly I'm distracted by the failings of my lungs....but, today, I found this power in my shoulders. Probably it was chest and back muscles too--these were BIG muscles operating in concert with other BIG muscles and, man, what a difference. This hill still took a lot out of me but it was the difference between opening a valve and a slow leak.
I got to the top and wondered if I could recapture that feeling. Fortunately, there was another steep portion ahead to practice on, this time on trail, and same deal. Shoulders! Ah, not arms at all!
Day 4 of the cleanse feels pretty much like Day 3 did. The occasional sugar craving crops up, but I'm not feeling as hungry. However, suppertime has been gradually creeping earlier. I guess the biggest change has been a slight improvement of focus. After three hours of unpacking, carrying things up and downstairs culminating with a 40ish pound box of CDs, I decided to lie on the rug and relax for a moment. A mini break. Prior to Day 1, my mind would still be running around and I couldn't relax because there was still this other box and this other thing--this time, I was able to clear my head completely and enter into a timeless frameless relaxation almost instantly. I remember doing this quite often as a child but I haven't been able to get into that frame of mind, or lack of, so quickly in many years. Yes, it happens during yoga, but usually after more than an hour of practice. This was trudge up the stairs, put the box down, lie on the carpet, and empty out, just like that.
Plan B: I need to get an extension cord because there is a treadmill in the attic. It was abandoned by the previous tenants and the landlord doesn't know if it works but he said I can use it. Fingers crossed it's not just a clothes hanger! How simple would it be to simply go upstairs (and this attic has proper stairs, it isn't a stepladder and ceiling hole deal) and jog a short recovery jog, loosen everything up without hardly any effort, whenever I want...gosh, that sounds lovely. If this thing runs at 5.5ish mph for 15-20 minutes, that's all I need.
Other news: my husband bought us a dip station. It's been a while since I've followed a bodyrock.tv routine; what better way to get back into that than trying out a new piece of equipment?
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Easy day? Day 3
Another day without refined sugar. I'm still having cravings, but not as badly. The first evening was the worst.
However, I am feeling a bit sore and tired from yesterday's run. Today, I needed the easy gentle run that I can't have here. Once again, I slept past the magic hour. The run started at about 7:30 am. 3.06 miles.
The best option for a "flat" run seems to be the creek path. It's not quite flat, but a very modest U shape over 0.5 of a mile, compared to the sharper and shorter Us or Ws or WWWWs elsewhere (leaving the big hills out of the comparison). I wish the creek path was even just another 0.5 mile longer, but beggars can't be choosers. I didn't quite loosen up on this run, but with repetition, I'll get used to it more. There is a bit of a ripple getting to another path on the top of the river bank, and then it's down to the creek path and the bottom of the U...this fairly long downhill stretch should allow some sort of muscular relaxation. The type of run I need is one that is so easy that I can feel my quads (other muscles too, but mainly my quads) uncoil. Strictly speaking, they are not springs nor snakes, but an easy jog gets the blood flowing a little bit more vigorously which probably clears out a bit of cellular debris, a little bit here, a little bit there, but the general sensation is of a bunch of knots or soreness or tightness smoothing out, and the muscle, refreshed, lengthening in a relaxed stretch. Uncoiling.
We went back up the hill by the river and my dog became very intent on smells at this point. I stopped to let him sniff and then we walked because he had a scent trail, and I noticed clumps of coarse pale fur. It looked too coarse to be from a pet. I'm not sure what feral cat fur looks like, and I'll never get close enough to check, but this seemed even coarser. It's probable that the coyotes in the area run along the river and then run up the bank into town occasionally. We (ok, I) wouldn't be able to go down to the river gracefully, because the bank is steep and high and there's not much down there for me, mainly mud and a train track at the bottom, no stroll at the water's edge here, but there's nothing that would dissuade a coyote between trains.
The sun came out from behind the clouds (or above the horizon? not sure because it was so overcast) near the end of our run, turning the sky a vibrant blue. It didn't last long but it was lovely. When this happens near the end of a run, and it's not 30+C, it's very fulfilling for some reason (likely to be analyzed further during unpacking, still more unpacking...as far as we know, we'll move again this December, so maybe all the random things should just go back into the boxes for next time, but I have this urge to prune our possessions at least a little bit...)
Anyway, due to my husband's schedule, the dog and I will have much of Saturday to ourselves. Where will we run? In the backwoods on post? Clear out of town? Or one big loop within it?
However, I am feeling a bit sore and tired from yesterday's run. Today, I needed the easy gentle run that I can't have here. Once again, I slept past the magic hour. The run started at about 7:30 am. 3.06 miles.
The best option for a "flat" run seems to be the creek path. It's not quite flat, but a very modest U shape over 0.5 of a mile, compared to the sharper and shorter Us or Ws or WWWWs elsewhere (leaving the big hills out of the comparison). I wish the creek path was even just another 0.5 mile longer, but beggars can't be choosers. I didn't quite loosen up on this run, but with repetition, I'll get used to it more. There is a bit of a ripple getting to another path on the top of the river bank, and then it's down to the creek path and the bottom of the U...this fairly long downhill stretch should allow some sort of muscular relaxation. The type of run I need is one that is so easy that I can feel my quads (other muscles too, but mainly my quads) uncoil. Strictly speaking, they are not springs nor snakes, but an easy jog gets the blood flowing a little bit more vigorously which probably clears out a bit of cellular debris, a little bit here, a little bit there, but the general sensation is of a bunch of knots or soreness or tightness smoothing out, and the muscle, refreshed, lengthening in a relaxed stretch. Uncoiling.
We went back up the hill by the river and my dog became very intent on smells at this point. I stopped to let him sniff and then we walked because he had a scent trail, and I noticed clumps of coarse pale fur. It looked too coarse to be from a pet. I'm not sure what feral cat fur looks like, and I'll never get close enough to check, but this seemed even coarser. It's probable that the coyotes in the area run along the river and then run up the bank into town occasionally. We (ok, I) wouldn't be able to go down to the river gracefully, because the bank is steep and high and there's not much down there for me, mainly mud and a train track at the bottom, no stroll at the water's edge here, but there's nothing that would dissuade a coyote between trains.
The sun came out from behind the clouds (or above the horizon? not sure because it was so overcast) near the end of our run, turning the sky a vibrant blue. It didn't last long but it was lovely. When this happens near the end of a run, and it's not 30+C, it's very fulfilling for some reason (likely to be analyzed further during unpacking, still more unpacking...as far as we know, we'll move again this December, so maybe all the random things should just go back into the boxes for next time, but I have this urge to prune our possessions at least a little bit...)
Anyway, due to my husband's schedule, the dog and I will have much of Saturday to ourselves. Where will we run? In the backwoods on post? Clear out of town? Or one big loop within it?
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Fort/Day 2
Today we ran on post for the first time, meaning ran off post onto post. The dog had a vet appointment and I figured that it would be best to tire him out a bit by running there. However, I wasn't quite sure how getting on post on foot would go. I knew I needed to show ID, no problem there, but would I have to go into a building for this? Would I have to cross a lane or two of traffic? Would I have to wait behind a car or something? What was the etiquette? And how would the dog fit into all of this? Would he behave? He's used to being around people while out, including the occasional police officer with a bulletproof vest and helmet, but still I worried.
In my backpack, I brought a halti (head harness type thingy) and a muzzle for him, neither of which he wears regularly. The halti is for some walks when all three of us are walking together, especially if it's a hike--the dog loses focus when my husband and I are chatting and there are many interesting smells. I also put the halti on him when we go to the vet, and sometimes when we go into a store. The muzzle is for almost never (he has never bitten anyone but it's the breed, not the deed, in some places, sometimes...) but I brought it along too, maybe for the gate, maybe for the vet.
At the gate, I didn't feel like putting anything on him, and he was a trouper, just stood quietly by my side while my ID was inspected by a guard who came over to the "bike lane" we were in, checked my ID, and let us go--easy peasy!
Most of the run thus far was uphill; we had a dip and then another rise, probably a few of these because I seem to remember only the big hills. I made the mistake of starting a sprint across a street while my head was turned--this can (and did) trigger SVT, that irksome but benign atrial fluttering, and it took a bit for my heart rate to calm down again because emotions and adrenaline levels were high: we made it onto post for the very first time! We're in!
Amusingly, untold individuals nearby might have once experienced a similar reaction to the opposite endeavour: We're OUT! We'd made it into Fort Leavenworth, which also houses the US Army's only max-security prison. There are also at least two other prisons in this area, a minimum security in the next town over, and a former Super-Max federal penitentiary (which has reviews on Google?!?!? probably fake--the individual complaining about the crappy Wi-Fi may have gotten pages to load properly behind bars, who knows? LOL) There is apparently also a fourth prison according to a brochure I skimmed through and then forgot a couple of weeks ago. More prisons than I'm used to, but they don't seem to cast a pall over the post or town or anything like that, although the sight of the old stone and incredibly substantial military prison wall, complete with peeling institutional-green paint in some places and rickety old watchtower ladders in other places, is not uplifting. We didn't see that this run. Apparently, the military prison has been moved somewhere else on post, and this old prison is used for other things...I will have to investigate further but a cursory wiki skim has me further confused because there is this old prison husk, the new and fully operational military prison, and a third medium-security prison on post....maybe that third prison is the fourth prison in the brochure?
At any rate, we resumed the run and went the long way around the golf course because we had extra time. The golf course loop is supposedly just over two miles in length. I distrusted this at first because, A: the hills made it seem shorter and, B: I suspected that these were what I think of as "Old Army Man Miles". This is how these are formed:
Some young buck habitually rips off his 2 mile PT run in 11-12 minutes. His longer runs are 6:30-7:00/mile, and they stay like that for years and years and years. Several decades later, he runs a loop that takes him 21 minutes. Oh, it's got to be at least three miles! He runs another loop that takes him an hour. Oh, that's got to be at least 8 miles, maybe close to nine! Armed with this info, I set off at an easy jog, around 10:00/mile, and lo and behold, I'm done in about 21 minutes or an hour respectively too. The Army beats up its soldiers pretty harshly, leaving bad backs and bad knees, and I don't mean to poke fun at veterans but it's disappointing to run out of road prematurely. This Old Army Man surveying has let me down a few times.
Anyway, I checked later at home: the golf course loop is about 2 miles, and not 1.5 or whatever I thought it might be.
We went to the vet, I put on the muzzle just in case, and the dog was fine. There were a few sad moments; he didn't like being on the examination table as it was being raised, and he never likes having his temperature taken the wrong way, but I brought plenty of treats with which to distract him.
The vet's office was relatively uphill--I had a very lovely coast down and for a while I was feeling how I often felt on runs at home: loose, relaxed, not breathing hard at all, just drifting along. The route flattened and I continued to coast...and then I hit the first of several hills and that was it for breathing easy. Still, I had enough in me to complete the golf course loop and run part of it again, and then up and down a few more hills, and home.
9.75 miles. I would like to run this sort of distance more often, but it's harder with the hills.
And this is Day 2 of a detox. I took a gentle herbal tincture program several weeks or so ago and didn't feel much of an effect, probably because I got a nasty chest infection of some sort and wasn't doing or moving or eating much for a week or so. There was plenty left over so I'm giving it another chance. This time, my husband is also taking an herbal regimen, a stronger one than mine, and we are following the recommended diet.
I have followed a couple of diets in my life, mainly the steak-and-spinach diet that was recommended to me when I was anemic, and a gluten-free diet, also prescribed by a doctor, that I will have to follow for the rest of my life (barring invention of a 100% effective glutenase pill or something). The first diet was easy: eat steak and spinach every day for a month, no problem! Near the end of it, the butcher gave me the best filet mignon I have ever had--and there have been some very nice tenderloins in my life--for free. The second diet has had its challenges, but since digressions result in pain, I seem to have more than enough willpower to knowingly avoid gluten (it's the surprises and misinformation that get me). This new diet is something else. We had a transition day on Monday (basically, we, okay, I consumed the last of the Valentine's Day candy and a few other things that are off-limits, but otherwise stuck to the diet) and today is the first full day, but really Day 2 according to my husband. It's a bit complicated, I guess. We have 12 more days to go.
Twelve days of no dairy, no sugar or refined grains or even whole grain flours, no fermented things, including vinegar and alcohol, no shellfish, and no bananas or grapes or a few other types of fruit and vegetables. Grapes apparently have some sort of natural yeast growing on their skins, and I forget what excludes bananas. Mushrooms and peanuts are also out...fungus in general (some of which is found on peanuts) is banned. Two weeks without these guys will apparently help our systems clean themselves out.
We can eat most fruits and vegetables, whole unground grains (got a lot of rolled oats, buckwheat, rice, guinoa, and POPCORN), non-dairy milk (although I'm not sure what the difference between rice flour and rice milk is), fish, meat, eggs, and oils including BUTTER. Guess what I'm using to combat those powerful evening snack cravings? I'm trying to be reasonable, I put in a bunch of grapeseed oil to make it healthier, but, man, two days without cheese or chocolate or milk, and I'm feeling kind of lost. I got the hunger.
However, this has already been a great learning experience. Today for the very first time in my life, I made old-school Ceasar salad dressing--lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, anchovies, egg yolk and salt & pepper--if possible, I'm not buying that stuff in a bottle ever again. SO GOOD.
In my backpack, I brought a halti (head harness type thingy) and a muzzle for him, neither of which he wears regularly. The halti is for some walks when all three of us are walking together, especially if it's a hike--the dog loses focus when my husband and I are chatting and there are many interesting smells. I also put the halti on him when we go to the vet, and sometimes when we go into a store. The muzzle is for almost never (he has never bitten anyone but it's the breed, not the deed, in some places, sometimes...) but I brought it along too, maybe for the gate, maybe for the vet.
At the gate, I didn't feel like putting anything on him, and he was a trouper, just stood quietly by my side while my ID was inspected by a guard who came over to the "bike lane" we were in, checked my ID, and let us go--easy peasy!
Most of the run thus far was uphill; we had a dip and then another rise, probably a few of these because I seem to remember only the big hills. I made the mistake of starting a sprint across a street while my head was turned--this can (and did) trigger SVT, that irksome but benign atrial fluttering, and it took a bit for my heart rate to calm down again because emotions and adrenaline levels were high: we made it onto post for the very first time! We're in!
Amusingly, untold individuals nearby might have once experienced a similar reaction to the opposite endeavour: We're OUT! We'd made it into Fort Leavenworth, which also houses the US Army's only max-security prison. There are also at least two other prisons in this area, a minimum security in the next town over, and a former Super-Max federal penitentiary (which has reviews on Google?!?!? probably fake--the individual complaining about the crappy Wi-Fi may have gotten pages to load properly behind bars, who knows? LOL) There is apparently also a fourth prison according to a brochure I skimmed through and then forgot a couple of weeks ago. More prisons than I'm used to, but they don't seem to cast a pall over the post or town or anything like that, although the sight of the old stone and incredibly substantial military prison wall, complete with peeling institutional-green paint in some places and rickety old watchtower ladders in other places, is not uplifting. We didn't see that this run. Apparently, the military prison has been moved somewhere else on post, and this old prison is used for other things...I will have to investigate further but a cursory wiki skim has me further confused because there is this old prison husk, the new and fully operational military prison, and a third medium-security prison on post....maybe that third prison is the fourth prison in the brochure?
At any rate, we resumed the run and went the long way around the golf course because we had extra time. The golf course loop is supposedly just over two miles in length. I distrusted this at first because, A: the hills made it seem shorter and, B: I suspected that these were what I think of as "Old Army Man Miles". This is how these are formed:
Some young buck habitually rips off his 2 mile PT run in 11-12 minutes. His longer runs are 6:30-7:00/mile, and they stay like that for years and years and years. Several decades later, he runs a loop that takes him 21 minutes. Oh, it's got to be at least three miles! He runs another loop that takes him an hour. Oh, that's got to be at least 8 miles, maybe close to nine! Armed with this info, I set off at an easy jog, around 10:00/mile, and lo and behold, I'm done in about 21 minutes or an hour respectively too. The Army beats up its soldiers pretty harshly, leaving bad backs and bad knees, and I don't mean to poke fun at veterans but it's disappointing to run out of road prematurely. This Old Army Man surveying has let me down a few times.
Anyway, I checked later at home: the golf course loop is about 2 miles, and not 1.5 or whatever I thought it might be.
We went to the vet, I put on the muzzle just in case, and the dog was fine. There were a few sad moments; he didn't like being on the examination table as it was being raised, and he never likes having his temperature taken the wrong way, but I brought plenty of treats with which to distract him.
The vet's office was relatively uphill--I had a very lovely coast down and for a while I was feeling how I often felt on runs at home: loose, relaxed, not breathing hard at all, just drifting along. The route flattened and I continued to coast...and then I hit the first of several hills and that was it for breathing easy. Still, I had enough in me to complete the golf course loop and run part of it again, and then up and down a few more hills, and home.
9.75 miles. I would like to run this sort of distance more often, but it's harder with the hills.
And this is Day 2 of a detox. I took a gentle herbal tincture program several weeks or so ago and didn't feel much of an effect, probably because I got a nasty chest infection of some sort and wasn't doing or moving or eating much for a week or so. There was plenty left over so I'm giving it another chance. This time, my husband is also taking an herbal regimen, a stronger one than mine, and we are following the recommended diet.
I have followed a couple of diets in my life, mainly the steak-and-spinach diet that was recommended to me when I was anemic, and a gluten-free diet, also prescribed by a doctor, that I will have to follow for the rest of my life (barring invention of a 100% effective glutenase pill or something). The first diet was easy: eat steak and spinach every day for a month, no problem! Near the end of it, the butcher gave me the best filet mignon I have ever had--and there have been some very nice tenderloins in my life--for free. The second diet has had its challenges, but since digressions result in pain, I seem to have more than enough willpower to knowingly avoid gluten (it's the surprises and misinformation that get me). This new diet is something else. We had a transition day on Monday (basically, we, okay, I consumed the last of the Valentine's Day candy and a few other things that are off-limits, but otherwise stuck to the diet) and today is the first full day, but really Day 2 according to my husband. It's a bit complicated, I guess. We have 12 more days to go.
Twelve days of no dairy, no sugar or refined grains or even whole grain flours, no fermented things, including vinegar and alcohol, no shellfish, and no bananas or grapes or a few other types of fruit and vegetables. Grapes apparently have some sort of natural yeast growing on their skins, and I forget what excludes bananas. Mushrooms and peanuts are also out...fungus in general (some of which is found on peanuts) is banned. Two weeks without these guys will apparently help our systems clean themselves out.
We can eat most fruits and vegetables, whole unground grains (got a lot of rolled oats, buckwheat, rice, guinoa, and POPCORN), non-dairy milk (although I'm not sure what the difference between rice flour and rice milk is), fish, meat, eggs, and oils including BUTTER. Guess what I'm using to combat those powerful evening snack cravings? I'm trying to be reasonable, I put in a bunch of grapeseed oil to make it healthier, but, man, two days without cheese or chocolate or milk, and I'm feeling kind of lost. I got the hunger.
However, this has already been a great learning experience. Today for the very first time in my life, I made old-school Ceasar salad dressing--lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, anchovies, egg yolk and salt & pepper--if possible, I'm not buying that stuff in a bottle ever again. SO GOOD.
Monday, February 20, 2012
T-Rex
I slept in later than I meant to. I could have gotten out of bed at 4:45 when I first woke up, particularly since I thought I heard the dog pacing around, but there was no inspiration, no sense of urgency, and so I fell back asleep until 9:00ish.
Our new bedroom has helped me fulfill my sleep debts; it has a very calm palette and atmos. The decor isn't one I'd choose for myself, particularly the pastel slightly shiny wallpaper of what appears to be grasses or sedges of some sort, but it is soothing and I am not staying awake staring at it. The "window treatments" (paperish blinds and translucent cloth drapes) is soft, and mainly dim. I've been falling asleep quickly and waking up slowly. I'm slowly discovering that, if I don't accept waking up in darkness, I could conceivably not wake up until close to noon. Maybe this torpor will wear off once I completely eliminate my sleep debt, but I suppose if I ever had to decorate a long-term care home, I would use our bedroom as a template. However we're not quite at that point; I might change the drapes if I can do this super cheaply, or maybe buy some sort of wake-up light that will gradually flood the room with "sunlight".
A side effect of this laden sleep are the weird dreams. Sometime this morning, I was in a Boston pastry/candy shop (and I've never been to Boston, but this was in Boston), and I bought something for which my change was $6638 or so...the first three digits were correct. Somehow, it was understood that the last digit was a mistake, including the place it held, and I was actually getting back $663, but I didn't have any recollection of actually paying and I felt rather awkward about this. Curiously, all I was buying were a few chocolate truffles; the purchase did not warrant getting change for $663. Would it be possible to get that back "in change" for anything? I remember feeling ill at ease though I hadn't actually paid anything. The other weird thing was being asked where I was from, which has happened quite a few times here. In my dream, I couldn't answer, though the same place conveniently answers for both "Where are you from?" and "Where did you move from?": Ottawa. I know I'm from Ottawa, and I'd settled back in Ottawa better than I had the few places before, but I hadn't realized until now that I hadn't settled completely. It didn't help that I hadn't come back to the same Ottawa I'd left...when you go abroad, you can't eally return.
Anyway, I eventually got my change (which dissipated disappointingly when I woke up), got moving, grabbed the dog, and ran to and down the street by the river. This leads to a path down by a creek; to rejoin the river road, a detour is required. I figured that I'd figure it out, run down some streets, and so forth, but my mind wandered and I found myself on the concrete creak path, even though I've already run its disappointingly curt 0.5 mile stretch, which was covered in a thin layer of slippery mud last time. This was more slippery than most ice and I almost fell several times. Fortunately, this time, the thin layer of mud was dry and eroded, and we ran to the end without incidence. The path is all concrete; it's a bit curious in that in some places, it's really part of a concrete liner/creek containment system, and when the water is high, the creek washes over it (hence the mud)--there are enough shrubs and curves and so forth to disguise its concrete trough-ness, not that it isn't cool to run in a concrete trough now and then. I suppose it will feel somewhat refreshing during the summer before the sun is high.
The run was too short; I went further west to a street which I knew crossed the creek back into my side of town. I did not know that this would involve a more steep than usual hill, at the top of which I saw a dip, and then a second identical hill...it was like a sound wave. This was memorable; I will remember these hills.
This was supposed to be an easy run...well, I tried. I think I managed to loosen up on some stretches at least. Another thing which I've noticed is a deterioration of form. I'm herding cats. I'm tackling these hills in a brute, messy fashion and something is going awry; my left hip has been feeling a little sore. I don't know what's going on but it's easier to run a little more straightly than figure it out. In total, the run was almost easy, and felt a little better in terms of form.
Just can't get an easy run on these streets, but I have another idea...
Our new bedroom has helped me fulfill my sleep debts; it has a very calm palette and atmos. The decor isn't one I'd choose for myself, particularly the pastel slightly shiny wallpaper of what appears to be grasses or sedges of some sort, but it is soothing and I am not staying awake staring at it. The "window treatments" (paperish blinds and translucent cloth drapes) is soft, and mainly dim. I've been falling asleep quickly and waking up slowly. I'm slowly discovering that, if I don't accept waking up in darkness, I could conceivably not wake up until close to noon. Maybe this torpor will wear off once I completely eliminate my sleep debt, but I suppose if I ever had to decorate a long-term care home, I would use our bedroom as a template. However we're not quite at that point; I might change the drapes if I can do this super cheaply, or maybe buy some sort of wake-up light that will gradually flood the room with "sunlight".
A side effect of this laden sleep are the weird dreams. Sometime this morning, I was in a Boston pastry/candy shop (and I've never been to Boston, but this was in Boston), and I bought something for which my change was $6638 or so...the first three digits were correct. Somehow, it was understood that the last digit was a mistake, including the place it held, and I was actually getting back $663, but I didn't have any recollection of actually paying and I felt rather awkward about this. Curiously, all I was buying were a few chocolate truffles; the purchase did not warrant getting change for $663. Would it be possible to get that back "in change" for anything? I remember feeling ill at ease though I hadn't actually paid anything. The other weird thing was being asked where I was from, which has happened quite a few times here. In my dream, I couldn't answer, though the same place conveniently answers for both "Where are you from?" and "Where did you move from?": Ottawa. I know I'm from Ottawa, and I'd settled back in Ottawa better than I had the few places before, but I hadn't realized until now that I hadn't settled completely. It didn't help that I hadn't come back to the same Ottawa I'd left...when you go abroad, you can't eally return.
Anyway, I eventually got my change (which dissipated disappointingly when I woke up), got moving, grabbed the dog, and ran to and down the street by the river. This leads to a path down by a creek; to rejoin the river road, a detour is required. I figured that I'd figure it out, run down some streets, and so forth, but my mind wandered and I found myself on the concrete creak path, even though I've already run its disappointingly curt 0.5 mile stretch, which was covered in a thin layer of slippery mud last time. This was more slippery than most ice and I almost fell several times. Fortunately, this time, the thin layer of mud was dry and eroded, and we ran to the end without incidence. The path is all concrete; it's a bit curious in that in some places, it's really part of a concrete liner/creek containment system, and when the water is high, the creek washes over it (hence the mud)--there are enough shrubs and curves and so forth to disguise its concrete trough-ness, not that it isn't cool to run in a concrete trough now and then. I suppose it will feel somewhat refreshing during the summer before the sun is high.
The run was too short; I went further west to a street which I knew crossed the creek back into my side of town. I did not know that this would involve a more steep than usual hill, at the top of which I saw a dip, and then a second identical hill...it was like a sound wave. This was memorable; I will remember these hills.
This was supposed to be an easy run...well, I tried. I think I managed to loosen up on some stretches at least. Another thing which I've noticed is a deterioration of form. I'm herding cats. I'm tackling these hills in a brute, messy fashion and something is going awry; my left hip has been feeling a little sore. I don't know what's going on but it's easier to run a little more straightly than figure it out. In total, the run was almost easy, and felt a little better in terms of form.
Just can't get an easy run on these streets, but I have another idea...
Sunday, February 19, 2012
The Hill
First run in a few days. My husband wanted an easy run, an hour or less; we headed west into a cacophony of frustrated dogs.
There is an Ottawa Street here, and we ran to the end of it. After about 2 miles, it became a dirt road. After about 2.5 miles, it became the driveway of a hobby farm.
We'd passed a park shortly before the end of the road; we went into the park and then the road started to go up.
And then I remembered that horrible hill (wall?) that had repulsed me at the end of Shawnee a week or so ago. I'm not sure if that is the worst hill here, but it's got to be in the top five. And this hill was on the end of the road into the park which, after a lung-ripping ascent, turned into a grass trail that crawled up another slope or two (after some point, additional discomfort becomes inconsequential). Eventually (after the longest ten minutes or so ever), we ran out of the park onto a dirt road. A few minutes later, we were staring down Shawnee. It was a pretty nice view.
6.9 miles total, and then I did some pushups and squats and so forth.
There is an Ottawa Street here, and we ran to the end of it. After about 2 miles, it became a dirt road. After about 2.5 miles, it became the driveway of a hobby farm.
We'd passed a park shortly before the end of the road; we went into the park and then the road started to go up.
And then I remembered that horrible hill (wall?) that had repulsed me at the end of Shawnee a week or so ago. I'm not sure if that is the worst hill here, but it's got to be in the top five. And this hill was on the end of the road into the park which, after a lung-ripping ascent, turned into a grass trail that crawled up another slope or two (after some point, additional discomfort becomes inconsequential). Eventually (after the longest ten minutes or so ever), we ran out of the park onto a dirt road. A few minutes later, we were staring down Shawnee. It was a pretty nice view.
6.9 miles total, and then I did some pushups and squats and so forth.
Friday, February 17, 2012
running up and down the stairs
Why do we have so many books? And junk in general? I'm beat. Hopefully I'll get all the books put today before further mitosis occurs: I'd thought I'd counted twenty boxes total and I put away six or seven yesterday, but there are still twenty full boxes.
No running yesterday or this morning because I feel like I've been getting adequate workouts anyway, plus I got "glutened" at a local restaurant a few days ago. I don't know how I lived for over a decade with this ground-glass gut feeling! Anyway, for the past two mornings, we've walked, but that has become a dietary issue as well, albeit for a different party: there is some animal that poops by the lane behind our house. My dog's version: "leaves a morning snack...". I spoke harshly with him, especially today (my voice was especially laden with disgust, I'm sure), and now he's in a huge funk because he has to apologize by licking my face, and that's just not feasible. As a result, he's become extremely clingy, which would be funny except that it's somewhat awkward having a 65 pound sandbag at my feet when I'm moving things around the house and can't always see the floor past what I'm carrying.
So, he's turned into a poop eater here. It's not dog or cat poop as far as I know: he never used to eat those before. In Maryland, he'd pass up rabbit and fox poop and bird (duck, turkey, raptor, etc) and almost always deer poop. I haven't identified this poop because he's been too quick to grab it both days but it's obviously irresistible. Maybe it's possum? That would be new on the menu. He used to know "leave it" and "drop it" but desire has trumped those.
Apparently I'm more willing to contemplate poop than boxes....
No running yesterday or this morning because I feel like I've been getting adequate workouts anyway, plus I got "glutened" at a local restaurant a few days ago. I don't know how I lived for over a decade with this ground-glass gut feeling! Anyway, for the past two mornings, we've walked, but that has become a dietary issue as well, albeit for a different party: there is some animal that poops by the lane behind our house. My dog's version: "leaves a morning snack...". I spoke harshly with him, especially today (my voice was especially laden with disgust, I'm sure), and now he's in a huge funk because he has to apologize by licking my face, and that's just not feasible. As a result, he's become extremely clingy, which would be funny except that it's somewhat awkward having a 65 pound sandbag at my feet when I'm moving things around the house and can't always see the floor past what I'm carrying.
So, he's turned into a poop eater here. It's not dog or cat poop as far as I know: he never used to eat those before. In Maryland, he'd pass up rabbit and fox poop and bird (duck, turkey, raptor, etc) and almost always deer poop. I haven't identified this poop because he's been too quick to grab it both days but it's obviously irresistible. Maybe it's possum? That would be new on the menu. He used to know "leave it" and "drop it" but desire has trumped those.
Apparently I'm more willing to contemplate poop than boxes....
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
cardboard
No run yesterday. I was strangely wiped and had a lot to do especially in the kitchen because a new fridge was being delivered and there were umpteen boxes in the way and I thought that the movers would pick up the empty boxes at 8:30ish so I was rushing, but they didn't arrive until 4:00 or so after I phoned the company several times, but it all worked out and, apart from book boxes and about a dozen other random clothes/shoes/things boxes which probably don't have much or any packing paper in them, all of the boxes and paper are gone. The last two days have been a gigantic run-on sentence like that. Most of the rooms still are a mess; I worked mainly on the kitchen but that's functional and almost everything has a place now.
And then, since it was Valentine's Day and our anniversary, we had a nice dinner at home--grilled steaks. Very tasty. My husband bought chocolates and I dug out a bottle of cranberry liqueur and now I'm laughing at the trouble I've had sleeping--I've even taken Tylenol PM (with "sleep aid" a couple of nights to little effect--and the one night I stay up until midnight sipping liqueur, eating bonbons, and reading a real book (been a while, they're still all packed up except for the one I grabbed at random and it's been the most gripping tale of Arctic exploration and tragedy), I manage to drop into the deepest and most satisfying slumber without any problems. I guess having all of our stuff back was the ticket. I mourn the loss of my previous nomadic minimalist existence, but I welcome improved sleep.
I think having the sounds dampened in this house helped too. Sound travels strangely in here and we've been intentionally and inadvertently pranking each other, and the dog, because sometimes we sound like we're upstairs and we're not, or vice versa--there's also a small servant staircase going up from the kitchen which adds to the fun--but meanwhile, the house makes old house noises and sometimes it sounds like someone is walking on the front porch when there's nobody, or it sounds like a door is being opened--well, most of the time, I didn't even attribute a sound to anything or think much beyond "?" The furnace clicks pretty noisily when it turns on, and all the wood is cracking as it shrinks and expands, and there are a few other noises that I haven't figured out yet. Fortunately, this is a tight, well-maintained house, unlike the last one, and its ecosystem is more barren. There is nothing digging in the roof or attic walls, there are no bats in the basement (the foundation was that porous!), there are no apparent mice. EDIT: there are woodpeckers. Anyway, now that we've put a few rugs down and have our furniture in, the sounds are muffled except for the bells. There was an old grandfather clock by the front door. I think those clocks are creepy and I don't like having the hour chimed anyway, so there was no question of asking the landlord to leave it here. The clock was taken away but I kept hearing the bells. Turns out that it's the Anglican church behind us and the grandfather clock wasn't even running according to my husband. Oh, well!
Anyway, I wasn't sure if I'd run this morning; one of the repairmen is returning sometime this morning and I stayed up late, etc, etc, but at six thirty this morning I woke up to the sound of my name. It sounded like my husband's voice, but he was fast asleep. I realized that it was the tail end of a forgotten dream, but I was up, so I grabbed the very reluctant dog and jogged around for about 3.3 miles. I tried to ease into the run slowly this time. The hills are beating me up anyway, but it doesn't help that I tend to push on hills to get them over with, which works ok at home when it's usually a couple of bridges at most, but not here where it's hill after hill and I don't know how many are ahead of me. I started at what seemed like a ridiculously easy effort--the hills still caught up with me eventually, but I had at least 15 minutes of a mostly easy run. I tried running down another different street (we started late, so I went South-North) and I really liked this one. Very few dogs barked on this route: mainly a dog in an auto shop, and a dog being walked.
Speaking of hills, there is one especially tall one which I have seen a few times but haven't attempted. Probably if I hit it umpteen times, all the other hills will shrink, but I have to lift morale a bit before that attempt. (and concoct another excuse or two). Meanwhile, I unpacked my dumbbells and so forth and though other stuff is still in the way, there was enough room to do some squats and pushups. I felt pretty feeble.
Procrastination! I'm sitting on a carpet with several empty knapsacks, a couple of boxes of army stuff, a duvet, and a pile of random objects including an Xbox, a maglite, a bunch of letters, umpteen power cords, and there are about twenty boxes of books against the wall, and this is just one room of several....so I will get an additional workout today. Starting NOW.
And then, since it was Valentine's Day and our anniversary, we had a nice dinner at home--grilled steaks. Very tasty. My husband bought chocolates and I dug out a bottle of cranberry liqueur and now I'm laughing at the trouble I've had sleeping--I've even taken Tylenol PM (with "sleep aid" a couple of nights to little effect--and the one night I stay up until midnight sipping liqueur, eating bonbons, and reading a real book (been a while, they're still all packed up except for the one I grabbed at random and it's been the most gripping tale of Arctic exploration and tragedy), I manage to drop into the deepest and most satisfying slumber without any problems. I guess having all of our stuff back was the ticket. I mourn the loss of my previous nomadic minimalist existence, but I welcome improved sleep.
I think having the sounds dampened in this house helped too. Sound travels strangely in here and we've been intentionally and inadvertently pranking each other, and the dog, because sometimes we sound like we're upstairs and we're not, or vice versa--there's also a small servant staircase going up from the kitchen which adds to the fun--but meanwhile, the house makes old house noises and sometimes it sounds like someone is walking on the front porch when there's nobody, or it sounds like a door is being opened--well, most of the time, I didn't even attribute a sound to anything or think much beyond "?" The furnace clicks pretty noisily when it turns on, and all the wood is cracking as it shrinks and expands, and there are a few other noises that I haven't figured out yet. Fortunately, this is a tight, well-maintained house, unlike the last one, and its ecosystem is more barren. There is nothing digging in the roof or attic walls, there are no bats in the basement (the foundation was that porous!), there are no apparent mice. EDIT: there are woodpeckers. Anyway, now that we've put a few rugs down and have our furniture in, the sounds are muffled except for the bells. There was an old grandfather clock by the front door. I think those clocks are creepy and I don't like having the hour chimed anyway, so there was no question of asking the landlord to leave it here. The clock was taken away but I kept hearing the bells. Turns out that it's the Anglican church behind us and the grandfather clock wasn't even running according to my husband. Oh, well!
Anyway, I wasn't sure if I'd run this morning; one of the repairmen is returning sometime this morning and I stayed up late, etc, etc, but at six thirty this morning I woke up to the sound of my name. It sounded like my husband's voice, but he was fast asleep. I realized that it was the tail end of a forgotten dream, but I was up, so I grabbed the very reluctant dog and jogged around for about 3.3 miles. I tried to ease into the run slowly this time. The hills are beating me up anyway, but it doesn't help that I tend to push on hills to get them over with, which works ok at home when it's usually a couple of bridges at most, but not here where it's hill after hill and I don't know how many are ahead of me. I started at what seemed like a ridiculously easy effort--the hills still caught up with me eventually, but I had at least 15 minutes of a mostly easy run. I tried running down another different street (we started late, so I went South-North) and I really liked this one. Very few dogs barked on this route: mainly a dog in an auto shop, and a dog being walked.
Speaking of hills, there is one especially tall one which I have seen a few times but haven't attempted. Probably if I hit it umpteen times, all the other hills will shrink, but I have to lift morale a bit before that attempt. (and concoct another excuse or two). Meanwhile, I unpacked my dumbbells and so forth and though other stuff is still in the way, there was enough room to do some squats and pushups. I felt pretty feeble.
Procrastination! I'm sitting on a carpet with several empty knapsacks, a couple of boxes of army stuff, a duvet, and a pile of random objects including an Xbox, a maglite, a bunch of letters, umpteen power cords, and there are about twenty boxes of books against the wall, and this is just one room of several....so I will get an additional workout today. Starting NOW.
Monday, February 13, 2012
breaking the snow
We got out shortly before 5:45 into a mini-blizzard. I decided to run west on the roads and we had a very enjoyable run. We ran on fresh snow; we beat the plows but not some drivers and numerous wild things; it's funny how the roads seem far less empty when I see the tracks of others who have passed by.
And then it came time to turn around. I hadn't realized there was wind until then. The snow turned into painful little pellets. At one point, I missed seeing a dead end sign and we didn't realize what was up until we got close to it; I paused to get a better look (did it really end?) and my dog dumped a steaming pile of ____ then and there, in the middle of the road. He couldn't have voiced my mood at the time more emphatically.
4 miles. The snow made the hills extra-tiring. Then I got to shovel snow because the movers are supposed to be coming this morning. The earliest time of arrival was 8 am so I shovelled around 7:30...actually, I swept until a nice neighbour lent me his shovel. We're getting to know the people living around us which is nice. It's looking like I'll have to go out and sweep again.
I guess our stuff wanted to stay in Ottawa: it was about -25 the day it was packed up, and now we get our first Leavenworth snow the day it's delivered.
And then it came time to turn around. I hadn't realized there was wind until then. The snow turned into painful little pellets. At one point, I missed seeing a dead end sign and we didn't realize what was up until we got close to it; I paused to get a better look (did it really end?) and my dog dumped a steaming pile of ____ then and there, in the middle of the road. He couldn't have voiced my mood at the time more emphatically.
4 miles. The snow made the hills extra-tiring. Then I got to shovel snow because the movers are supposed to be coming this morning. The earliest time of arrival was 8 am so I shovelled around 7:30...actually, I swept until a nice neighbour lent me his shovel. We're getting to know the people living around us which is nice. It's looking like I'll have to go out and sweep again.
I guess our stuff wanted to stay in Ottawa: it was about -25 the day it was packed up, and now we get our first Leavenworth snow the day it's delivered.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
wind
So windy! I wanted to run 10 miles, then we thought about 6...did 3.34. My flat runs this week, yesterday and today's, have been rip-face-off windy. There was some consolation, though: we went to Lawrence again. Not only did we have burgers after the run, but we went to a seed fair beforehand and the Local Burger people were there too so we split an elk burger before the run.
Once we get fully unpacked and I dig up my summer running stuff, I can run on a treadmill in the army gym and/or use their track. That will make things a lot easier. I'm still not sure if I'll be doing what races this year, if any. I'd thought about doing the Chicago Marathon because it's relatively close and we'd have a place to stay for free there, but that race sold out in six days. LOL. And, once I figure out a race, I'll have to decide what running program to follow, or maybe I'll adapt my own. It's easier following a program, but I suspect that it's high time I sat down and thought about what tends to work best for me.
There is one definite element that I'm missing and shouldn't be: weights and resistance exercises. I haven't done any bodyrock routines or anything since leaving Ottawa, apart from a buttload of hardcore housework. Lots of squats yesterday because I made the gruesome discovery that some of the dark imperfections of the wooden floors were actually what I then thought was food splatters but was really dried dog excrement. I ended up doing about 5 hours of on-hands-and-knees scrubbing except that I didn't want to go down on my knees on that floor, so it was mostly Asian squatting instead. Today was about 1.5 hrs with a mop and lots more water...I went through about 0.75 L of PineSol today. Almost done!
Once we get fully unpacked and I dig up my summer running stuff, I can run on a treadmill in the army gym and/or use their track. That will make things a lot easier. I'm still not sure if I'll be doing what races this year, if any. I'd thought about doing the Chicago Marathon because it's relatively close and we'd have a place to stay for free there, but that race sold out in six days. LOL. And, once I figure out a race, I'll have to decide what running program to follow, or maybe I'll adapt my own. It's easier following a program, but I suspect that it's high time I sat down and thought about what tends to work best for me.
There is one definite element that I'm missing and shouldn't be: weights and resistance exercises. I haven't done any bodyrock routines or anything since leaving Ottawa, apart from a buttload of hardcore housework. Lots of squats yesterday because I made the gruesome discovery that some of the dark imperfections of the wooden floors were actually what I then thought was food splatters but was really dried dog excrement. I ended up doing about 5 hours of on-hands-and-knees scrubbing except that I didn't want to go down on my knees on that floor, so it was mostly Asian squatting instead. Today was about 1.5 hrs with a mop and lots more water...I went through about 0.75 L of PineSol today. Almost done!
Friday, February 10, 2012
A new dawn
We aren't still fully moved in--movers came this morning to pick up the rest of the landlord's furniture, and another repairperson will come this afternoon, and our stuff will be delivered on Monday which lead to more errands--there are still umpteen little things to be done, and this list kept me up last night even though most of it is settled and not things which I will have to do myself. I shouldn't even care about this stuff and honestly, though I like to stomp on some tasks before they have a chance to breathe and breed, I'm enough of a procrastinator that I should be used to ignoring a constant To-do list. Unfortunately, it kept me up until 12:30 or so last night, and I decided that this was a suitable invitation for running an hour later than "usual".
I got up at 6:30 am, it was still dark, I was still tired. The dog apparently doesn't have a To-Do list running through his head late at night: he was up and moving before I was. He doesn't whine or bark to wake me up although occasionally he'll yawn noisily if it's urgent (rarely because he has the largest bladder known to Canine), so he paced. He doesn't know that click click click can be just as effective. Dogs love strict schedules and I was late.
At first it seemed like our other runs, though the sky was dark blue and not black. There was definitely more traffic noise though the side roads were still empty enough to run on; we mostly stuck to the main streets, albeit on another new loop. I'm still haven't given up hope that there is a route with very minor hills. There are some big ridge lines, but mainly a bunch of little ripples and if only I could find a way to run between them or something...lol. I saw more cop cars (possibly the same one driving around) this morning than I have during all my other morning runs combined: 3 v/s 0. The sky lightened during the run and by the time we got home, it was almost day. The traffic increased dramatically too: we had to wait a while to cross a certain street.
When we first got here and drove around, I was wondering if other cars stop for pedestrians. Automatically, I compare every small town and city to the one small town I used to live in (this will be number 2, everywhere else I've lived has been more urban--actually, it'll be number 3, but I was too young to remember living in Kapuskasing with my grandparents): every larger city retains its unique self and I go in with fresh eyes, but all the smaller places I visit get shoved into the same Sackville, NB folder which leads to weird expectations. Ex: look how the houses are spread out, it's like Sackville. Will cars stop? Will parsley be free but I'll have to ask for it and they'll bring it out from the back of the store (true story, took me 3.5 years to discover that). But, no, the cars don't stop for pedestrians here, which is fine, and I'll probably have to pay for parsley too. I'm not in Sackville anymore.
Anyway, 2.5 miles and the general impression that I might as well get up at 5:30. 6:30 still felt uncomfortably early and the run was sort of dull and featureless, I suppose, pretty much like most later morning runs. Maybe if on a clearer morning it would have been more inviting. There wasn't a dawn so much as a lighter grey.
At any rate, I'm still trying to figure out what to call the pre-6 am atmos, how to describe its comforting yet also ________ quality...see, this is one of the words I'm lacking. Being outside at that time invites a higher level of clarity and attention and sensation, and it feels so different and more fulfilling. Perhaps it targets a different mix of brain activity, more pons and thalamus, the primitive regions that we share with fish and mice and so forth, and less cerebrum, less daydreaming, less thinking about the future, or assignments, or philosophy, metaphysics, whatever. There is a time and place for everything and it's refreshing to let my mind wander sometimes, but it also feels good to exercise more of the mechanics of my prehistoric amphibious ancestors, stuff that doesn't bother with words or the past or future or anything abstract. Sometimes my thoughts, like everyone else's, run in unproductive circles, sometimes for days: wish I'd learnt earlier that prodding the darkness can push these aside. Hopefully it retains its effect over time. I'll try to vary my route so that I don't get too complacent.
Hopefully it can also wipe away all these stupid mid-move concerns!
Edit: this afternoon, we all went for an easy flat jog around the airfield on post. The wind was 30 miles/hour and most of the road was recently repaired with large gravel chunks. NOT EASY at ALL. It was very flat, though. 4.6 miles.
I got up at 6:30 am, it was still dark, I was still tired. The dog apparently doesn't have a To-Do list running through his head late at night: he was up and moving before I was. He doesn't whine or bark to wake me up although occasionally he'll yawn noisily if it's urgent (rarely because he has the largest bladder known to Canine), so he paced. He doesn't know that click click click can be just as effective. Dogs love strict schedules and I was late.
At first it seemed like our other runs, though the sky was dark blue and not black. There was definitely more traffic noise though the side roads were still empty enough to run on; we mostly stuck to the main streets, albeit on another new loop. I'm still haven't given up hope that there is a route with very minor hills. There are some big ridge lines, but mainly a bunch of little ripples and if only I could find a way to run between them or something...lol. I saw more cop cars (possibly the same one driving around) this morning than I have during all my other morning runs combined: 3 v/s 0. The sky lightened during the run and by the time we got home, it was almost day. The traffic increased dramatically too: we had to wait a while to cross a certain street.
When we first got here and drove around, I was wondering if other cars stop for pedestrians. Automatically, I compare every small town and city to the one small town I used to live in (this will be number 2, everywhere else I've lived has been more urban--actually, it'll be number 3, but I was too young to remember living in Kapuskasing with my grandparents): every larger city retains its unique self and I go in with fresh eyes, but all the smaller places I visit get shoved into the same Sackville, NB folder which leads to weird expectations. Ex: look how the houses are spread out, it's like Sackville. Will cars stop? Will parsley be free but I'll have to ask for it and they'll bring it out from the back of the store (true story, took me 3.5 years to discover that). But, no, the cars don't stop for pedestrians here, which is fine, and I'll probably have to pay for parsley too. I'm not in Sackville anymore.
Anyway, 2.5 miles and the general impression that I might as well get up at 5:30. 6:30 still felt uncomfortably early and the run was sort of dull and featureless, I suppose, pretty much like most later morning runs. Maybe if on a clearer morning it would have been more inviting. There wasn't a dawn so much as a lighter grey.
At any rate, I'm still trying to figure out what to call the pre-6 am atmos, how to describe its comforting yet also ________ quality...see, this is one of the words I'm lacking. Being outside at that time invites a higher level of clarity and attention and sensation, and it feels so different and more fulfilling. Perhaps it targets a different mix of brain activity, more pons and thalamus, the primitive regions that we share with fish and mice and so forth, and less cerebrum, less daydreaming, less thinking about the future, or assignments, or philosophy, metaphysics, whatever. There is a time and place for everything and it's refreshing to let my mind wander sometimes, but it also feels good to exercise more of the mechanics of my prehistoric amphibious ancestors, stuff that doesn't bother with words or the past or future or anything abstract. Sometimes my thoughts, like everyone else's, run in unproductive circles, sometimes for days: wish I'd learnt earlier that prodding the darkness can push these aside. Hopefully it retains its effect over time. I'll try to vary my route so that I don't get too complacent.
Hopefully it can also wipe away all these stupid mid-move concerns!
Edit: this afternoon, we all went for an easy flat jog around the airfield on post. The wind was 30 miles/hour and most of the road was recently repaired with large gravel chunks. NOT EASY at ALL. It was very flat, though. 4.6 miles.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Main Street
If there is a street that runs into this town, 4th St or Ave or whatever it is, is it. It's not quite a highway; I guess a good approximation would be Carling or Bronson back home. I was wondering how it would work as an early morning route.
It's not as magical as running down the middle of a quiet dark street, but it was a different spice. It would be good for those days where I need a bit more energy such as perhaps today. I decided to stick to main roads but I ended up with a short residential segment at the bottom because there wasn't a major road where I needed one in terms of mileage.
I woke up at 5:00 am and semi-dozed until my alarm went off at 5:30. It'll probably take me at least a few more days to get fully coordinated. At 5:30 this morning, getting up seemed like a horrible thing to do, but I was already in the midst of that horrible doze-don't-quite-fully-wake-up cycle that is so unsatisfying: 5:45 wasn't going to feel any better, nor 6:30, nor 7:00....and the longer I slept in, the more mundane the run would be.
It's been about a decade since I've started running and I've never fully understood those people who get up and out before six and enjoy it until now. I felt like crap, frozen crap, until I started running. My legs became incredibly light and fresh. It was an instantaneous change between feeling like a ton of stone-cold crap and feeling like I could skip over thin ice forever. I'm wondering if, in fact, I fell asleep in the backyard and merely dreamt about the run.
There were some harder moments, though. I'm more used to the hills and more used to feeling my breath pushed at times, but the drawback of the busier roads is headlight glare. The footing is so uneven at times that I seem to be adopting a different way of running, a quicker and lighter step, which is fine, but at times this isn't enough and I have to shield my eyes and slow down. Strangely, it's sometimes easier to run the uneven parts in greater darkness: visual expectations vanish and other senses are more enhanced. It sometimes even feels comforting. I'm wondering if this is because I grew up with severe myopia: I had trouble seeing my feet even as a young kid and was, still am, clumsy, but after I started wearing glasses, I found I liked the blur. I craved the blur. It's soft fluffy pillows, my own private den of soft fluffy pillows. The darkness is sometimes like that.
Oh, yes, dogs: just five, two outdoors and at least half a block away, so not disturbing at all, and 3 indoors. This is similar to what we are used to, and better: we don't have any dogs running up to us. I used to get so annoyed by some dog owners' type of "socialization": letting their dog go where it pleased, and now we're experiencing the other side of the coin: frustrated dogs that don't get out much. Somewhere, perhaps, there is a uneventful medium where all the dogs on the street quietly go about their owners' business.
3 miles this morning.
I had to run an errand yesterday mid-morning: another 3.28 miles.
update; I had to run another errand today, 4.25 miles total. Some of this was walking: I went to confirm garbage pickup by turning in a card, and it turns out that the city provides garbage bags, a good solid roll of garbage bags. Running uphill on grass with this tucked under my arm felt a bit excessive.
It's not as magical as running down the middle of a quiet dark street, but it was a different spice. It would be good for those days where I need a bit more energy such as perhaps today. I decided to stick to main roads but I ended up with a short residential segment at the bottom because there wasn't a major road where I needed one in terms of mileage.
I woke up at 5:00 am and semi-dozed until my alarm went off at 5:30. It'll probably take me at least a few more days to get fully coordinated. At 5:30 this morning, getting up seemed like a horrible thing to do, but I was already in the midst of that horrible doze-don't-quite-fully-wake-up cycle that is so unsatisfying: 5:45 wasn't going to feel any better, nor 6:30, nor 7:00....and the longer I slept in, the more mundane the run would be.
It's been about a decade since I've started running and I've never fully understood those people who get up and out before six and enjoy it until now. I felt like crap, frozen crap, until I started running. My legs became incredibly light and fresh. It was an instantaneous change between feeling like a ton of stone-cold crap and feeling like I could skip over thin ice forever. I'm wondering if, in fact, I fell asleep in the backyard and merely dreamt about the run.
There were some harder moments, though. I'm more used to the hills and more used to feeling my breath pushed at times, but the drawback of the busier roads is headlight glare. The footing is so uneven at times that I seem to be adopting a different way of running, a quicker and lighter step, which is fine, but at times this isn't enough and I have to shield my eyes and slow down. Strangely, it's sometimes easier to run the uneven parts in greater darkness: visual expectations vanish and other senses are more enhanced. It sometimes even feels comforting. I'm wondering if this is because I grew up with severe myopia: I had trouble seeing my feet even as a young kid and was, still am, clumsy, but after I started wearing glasses, I found I liked the blur. I craved the blur. It's soft fluffy pillows, my own private den of soft fluffy pillows. The darkness is sometimes like that.
Oh, yes, dogs: just five, two outdoors and at least half a block away, so not disturbing at all, and 3 indoors. This is similar to what we are used to, and better: we don't have any dogs running up to us. I used to get so annoyed by some dog owners' type of "socialization": letting their dog go where it pleased, and now we're experiencing the other side of the coin: frustrated dogs that don't get out much. Somewhere, perhaps, there is a uneventful medium where all the dogs on the street quietly go about their owners' business.
3 miles this morning.
I had to run an errand yesterday mid-morning: another 3.28 miles.
update; I had to run another errand today, 4.25 miles total. Some of this was walking: I went to confirm garbage pickup by turning in a card, and it turns out that the city provides garbage bags, a good solid roll of garbage bags. Running uphill on grass with this tucked under my arm felt a bit excessive.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
breaking the silence
Another early morning run. It was harder to get up: I didn't set an alarm and I woke up about every hour from about 1:30 am, and then every ten minutes or so after 5:00 am. I wanted to see if I'd wake up naturally...guess I did, but more than once. Tomorrow, I'll set an alarm. I feel more tired today than yesterday, and it was harder to get out of bed for both of us, but we got moving by 5:35 and out the door by 5:45.
I decided to try running west this time to see if a canine cacophony would occur this early in the morning. We mostly ran on the road itself which felt lovely. In terms of noise, there wasn't much once we passed a clump of dogs (4+ dogs, 3 different houses) a block or two from our house. They started up when we were about a half block away. There was someone standing outside with their dogs at the last house but they didn't shush them which kind of shocked me. The other dogs were by darkened houses, which suggested that they were left out all night, which shocked me too. Why bother getting and keeping the dogs in the first place if all you're going to do is toss them in the backyard and ignore them? At least nobody was loose; the situation is better than what I was fearing before we moved here.
I'm not used to all these yappy dogs. There were a few on and around our old block: my favourite was the little white one that lived about 8 stories up. My mom has one although he learned to be quiet when he was at my house. However, most dogs are inaudible. I was surprised to gradually find out that so many dogs lived in the area. I saw at least a half dozen enter and exit the next door apartment building. Apartment dogs get walked outside regularly and they aren't allowed to bark excessively indoors because of other tenants. Plus, even with single-family dwellings, the front yards are so small (or non-existent) that it's not practical to leave a dog in front.. There is a fair bit of other noise, especially in the summer when most people have their windows open, but not so much barking dogs.
My dog gets a bit wary when he hears a dog and maybe even sees a dog running toward him in front of a house but doesn't realize that it's not actually loose. Hopefully he'll get used to this. He's not barking back or pulling back, but I see him checking and rechecking over his shoulder.
I eventually got worried too this morning: I didn't think to check for a curfew! Maybe I'm not actually supposed to be out and about.
I checked, there is a curfew, but I'm ok because I'm older than 18. There is an exemption for kids with jobs, but 18 and under kids have to be off the streets by midnight, and 16 and under by 10:30 pm. I don't remember having a curfew. Just checked--at home, there is (was?) also a city curfew for kids 16 and under between midnight and 6 am. Ooops. Not that I ever loitered or whatever, but I was sometimes pretty late due to school drama and music and art things, as well as babysitting and so forth. Probably there isn't as much for kids here to do.
I checked, there doesn't seem to be a bylaw or ordinance prohibiting barking dogs here, just noise over 60 decibels in a residential area between 7:00 am and 11:00 pm. There's a sliding scale: 5 db over the limit for 15 minutes total in a given hour, 10 db over the limit for any 5 minutes in a given hour, or 15 db over the limit for any 1.5 min of in a given hour. 60 db is apparently a normal conversation at about 1 m away. I guess we stirred things up this morning, but we were quiet ourselves, plus we were moving too (the law doesn't seem to address a moving sound, but I'll continue to look into this).
Still, to be a nice neighbour, we'll probably mostly run on the business streets. However, it was a nice change to run on asphalt road rather than concrete sidewalk, and I probably won't give that up entirely.
I decided to try running west this time to see if a canine cacophony would occur this early in the morning. We mostly ran on the road itself which felt lovely. In terms of noise, there wasn't much once we passed a clump of dogs (4+ dogs, 3 different houses) a block or two from our house. They started up when we were about a half block away. There was someone standing outside with their dogs at the last house but they didn't shush them which kind of shocked me. The other dogs were by darkened houses, which suggested that they were left out all night, which shocked me too. Why bother getting and keeping the dogs in the first place if all you're going to do is toss them in the backyard and ignore them? At least nobody was loose; the situation is better than what I was fearing before we moved here.
I'm not used to all these yappy dogs. There were a few on and around our old block: my favourite was the little white one that lived about 8 stories up. My mom has one although he learned to be quiet when he was at my house. However, most dogs are inaudible. I was surprised to gradually find out that so many dogs lived in the area. I saw at least a half dozen enter and exit the next door apartment building. Apartment dogs get walked outside regularly and they aren't allowed to bark excessively indoors because of other tenants. Plus, even with single-family dwellings, the front yards are so small (or non-existent) that it's not practical to leave a dog in front.. There is a fair bit of other noise, especially in the summer when most people have their windows open, but not so much barking dogs.
My dog gets a bit wary when he hears a dog and maybe even sees a dog running toward him in front of a house but doesn't realize that it's not actually loose. Hopefully he'll get used to this. He's not barking back or pulling back, but I see him checking and rechecking over his shoulder.
I eventually got worried too this morning: I didn't think to check for a curfew! Maybe I'm not actually supposed to be out and about.
I checked, there is a curfew, but I'm ok because I'm older than 18. There is an exemption for kids with jobs, but 18 and under kids have to be off the streets by midnight, and 16 and under by 10:30 pm. I don't remember having a curfew. Just checked--at home, there is (was?) also a city curfew for kids 16 and under between midnight and 6 am. Ooops. Not that I ever loitered or whatever, but I was sometimes pretty late due to school drama and music and art things, as well as babysitting and so forth. Probably there isn't as much for kids here to do.
I checked, there doesn't seem to be a bylaw or ordinance prohibiting barking dogs here, just noise over 60 decibels in a residential area between 7:00 am and 11:00 pm. There's a sliding scale: 5 db over the limit for 15 minutes total in a given hour, 10 db over the limit for any 5 minutes in a given hour, or 15 db over the limit for any 1.5 min of in a given hour. 60 db is apparently a normal conversation at about 1 m away. I guess we stirred things up this morning, but we were quiet ourselves, plus we were moving too (the law doesn't seem to address a moving sound, but I'll continue to look into this).
Still, to be a nice neighbour, we'll probably mostly run on the business streets. However, it was a nice change to run on asphalt road rather than concrete sidewalk, and I probably won't give that up entirely.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
yap yap yap
Yesterday, 3.5 miles.
I'm getting used to the hills but the brick sidewalks are a new item on the menu. And the dogs! Maybe over time I will get used to them, and vice versa, but it hasn't been a good scene so far. I don't count how many dogs we hear, I don't know what my threshold is, but after so many, it becomes just too much unnecessary adrenal stimulation. I want to save that for dogs that are loose.
Today, 3ish miles.
Night and day, literally! For some reason, I woke up at 5:39 am despite having problems sleeping again (maybe I'm now used to ~4-5 hours of sleep per night?). There has been a lot on my mind particularly the washer which I discovered yesterday does not drain; today, I'm waiting for a phone call from a repair person which will determine the fate of a garbage bag of wet laundry: laundromat, or wait? There is an intermediary insurance company and I don't have the contact info of the actual repairperson, just an assurance that they're going to phone today. In general, moving in this time has been subject to a bunch of little unforeseeable delays that are creeping up and, like so many barking dogs, clawing under my skin. The previous tenants caused some damage, we knew this going in, and the landlord has been honest and has gotten repair people lined up, but hidden issues are surprising us all. Once this is all behind us, living here will be nice.
At any rate, I woke up at 5:39 and it was on. I thought about slipping back into sleep because it was still dark and I had no reason to get up that early, but it was on. Going out to run seemed like the only option. This happens very occasionally and it never disappoints. I thought it might be hard to get the dog up (he's not an early riser either) but he was up and out of his bed before I had to ask. It was on for him too. We started shortly before six.
We jogged a different way. My last runs have been mostly East-West, but it seems that the major streets are North-South, so I decided to go South on a more consistent sidewalk. At this hour in the morning, we could run on the road on the quieter streets and probably I'll do this for future runs, but this time I wanted to see more of the town anyway and I wasn't sure if there would be traffic and I'd be stuck tripping over heaved brick/concrete/grass/tree roots.
The first and only person we saw, a few minutes into the run, was another runner. We didn't see a car being driven until five or so minutes after that. It was quiet for a while, no birds, nothing. We passed mostly businesses for the first bit and nothing was open or moving, and there were more street lamps than I was expecting. It was pretty comfortable. Then we crossed a creek and it became more residential, no street lamps, and funky sidewalks. A bit of concrete, a bit of brick (both sometimes badly heaved and cracked), and then grass. I think I will learn something from running on uneven surfaces in the dark: it does force me to be lighter on my feet. Fortunately, there was still almost no traffic so we ran on the street when it got too rough. I misremembered street names again but since the general format is a grid; we were never actually lost, just kind of bemused. It was too dark to read the street signs without getting really close to them so it took me a few blocks to realize that I'd gotten past the streets I would have been able to recognize.
There were still barking dogs, but the two that were barking outside were quickly shushed and brought back in. The other barking dogs, I didn't count how many, were inside and the noise was muffled. Didn't bother us at all! Problem solved, or passed onto the people who should be working on it.
Yes, a barking dog is a good deterrent, but it must be honed. My dog is much more of a guard dog than I'd expected or wanted; there are drawbacks to this and I don't think I'll adopt another adolescent shelter dog with a murky history, but I appreciate his artistry. When we move into a new place, I have to tell him what not to bark at, mainly everybody not on the property and the mail person and other frequent legit visitors, but after a week or so, he learns and understands. Due to past abuse (he was a rescued dog) and/or temperament, he is not social with visitors, but he will go to his crate and lie there quietly when we tell him to do so and eventually he recognizes the frequent callers and reserves his best work for the unknown. I once, only once, entered our old house through the back and he didn't see it was me at first; I heard a soft bark when I opened the gate and then, when I stepped on the back deck and saw the back door, I experienced the darkest deepest abyss of the afterworld rumbling past a gleaming portcullis of fangs--just for a fraction of a moment before he recognized me and turned into the usual wriggle. Very few people are privy to the greeting dance of the One Veil: he usually grabs his blanket and shakes his hind end fast enough to blur. It's a very special time. Once I clipped a pedometer on his collar when he was in mid-dance and it registered 127 steps/20 seconds (disclaimer: it wasn't calibrated for dogs).
I would like to do a longer run this evening, circumstances and laundry permitting.
I'm getting used to the hills but the brick sidewalks are a new item on the menu. And the dogs! Maybe over time I will get used to them, and vice versa, but it hasn't been a good scene so far. I don't count how many dogs we hear, I don't know what my threshold is, but after so many, it becomes just too much unnecessary adrenal stimulation. I want to save that for dogs that are loose.
Today, 3ish miles.
Night and day, literally! For some reason, I woke up at 5:39 am despite having problems sleeping again (maybe I'm now used to ~4-5 hours of sleep per night?). There has been a lot on my mind particularly the washer which I discovered yesterday does not drain; today, I'm waiting for a phone call from a repair person which will determine the fate of a garbage bag of wet laundry: laundromat, or wait? There is an intermediary insurance company and I don't have the contact info of the actual repairperson, just an assurance that they're going to phone today. In general, moving in this time has been subject to a bunch of little unforeseeable delays that are creeping up and, like so many barking dogs, clawing under my skin. The previous tenants caused some damage, we knew this going in, and the landlord has been honest and has gotten repair people lined up, but hidden issues are surprising us all. Once this is all behind us, living here will be nice.
At any rate, I woke up at 5:39 and it was on. I thought about slipping back into sleep because it was still dark and I had no reason to get up that early, but it was on. Going out to run seemed like the only option. This happens very occasionally and it never disappoints. I thought it might be hard to get the dog up (he's not an early riser either) but he was up and out of his bed before I had to ask. It was on for him too. We started shortly before six.
We jogged a different way. My last runs have been mostly East-West, but it seems that the major streets are North-South, so I decided to go South on a more consistent sidewalk. At this hour in the morning, we could run on the road on the quieter streets and probably I'll do this for future runs, but this time I wanted to see more of the town anyway and I wasn't sure if there would be traffic and I'd be stuck tripping over heaved brick/concrete/grass/tree roots.
The first and only person we saw, a few minutes into the run, was another runner. We didn't see a car being driven until five or so minutes after that. It was quiet for a while, no birds, nothing. We passed mostly businesses for the first bit and nothing was open or moving, and there were more street lamps than I was expecting. It was pretty comfortable. Then we crossed a creek and it became more residential, no street lamps, and funky sidewalks. A bit of concrete, a bit of brick (both sometimes badly heaved and cracked), and then grass. I think I will learn something from running on uneven surfaces in the dark: it does force me to be lighter on my feet. Fortunately, there was still almost no traffic so we ran on the street when it got too rough. I misremembered street names again but since the general format is a grid; we were never actually lost, just kind of bemused. It was too dark to read the street signs without getting really close to them so it took me a few blocks to realize that I'd gotten past the streets I would have been able to recognize.
There were still barking dogs, but the two that were barking outside were quickly shushed and brought back in. The other barking dogs, I didn't count how many, were inside and the noise was muffled. Didn't bother us at all! Problem solved, or passed onto the people who should be working on it.
Yes, a barking dog is a good deterrent, but it must be honed. My dog is much more of a guard dog than I'd expected or wanted; there are drawbacks to this and I don't think I'll adopt another adolescent shelter dog with a murky history, but I appreciate his artistry. When we move into a new place, I have to tell him what not to bark at, mainly everybody not on the property and the mail person and other frequent legit visitors, but after a week or so, he learns and understands. Due to past abuse (he was a rescued dog) and/or temperament, he is not social with visitors, but he will go to his crate and lie there quietly when we tell him to do so and eventually he recognizes the frequent callers and reserves his best work for the unknown. I once, only once, entered our old house through the back and he didn't see it was me at first; I heard a soft bark when I opened the gate and then, when I stepped on the back deck and saw the back door, I experienced the darkest deepest abyss of the afterworld rumbling past a gleaming portcullis of fangs--just for a fraction of a moment before he recognized me and turned into the usual wriggle. Very few people are privy to the greeting dance of the One Veil: he usually grabs his blanket and shakes his hind end fast enough to blur. It's a very special time. Once I clipped a pedometer on his collar when he was in mid-dance and it registered 127 steps/20 seconds (disclaimer: it wasn't calibrated for dogs).
I would like to do a longer run this evening, circumstances and laundry permitting.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Superbowl!
We have moved in! Right now we're sitting on the landlord's stuff and not our own, but hopefully by the end of the week that will have changed. Meanwhile, the live feed of Superbowl is on (this will be a cable-less existence) and a very sad dog is staring at us: no carpets yet.
At any rate, no more nicotine-saturated motel. It was a surprisingly nice place for $35/night, everybody was really polite and it was mostly quiet, but there was too much smoke even though it usually didn't smell in our room (maybe we got used to it?) I was feeling more and more jacked up and we have been joking about my habit. Maybe e-cigarettes would cushion the drop?
The last three nights, I've slept about 4-5 hrs a night---the night before last, I finally fell asleep sometime after 3:30 am but a cab playing loud dumb music drove up around 5 am. This is the weak point of the open window strategy: I'm ok with planes, cars, even sirens sometimes, and not ok with truck-backing-up-beeping, breaking glass, or some songs. Or maybe the culprit is instrumentation: one little slide guitar lick, and I'm up!
the dog and I jogged about three miles.
Last night, I just couldn't get to sleep until 4 or so. Nothing was bugging me but I was wired. I made myself get out of bed when I woke up around 8:30. That's too late but it was uncomfortable. Apparently, a good way to reset one's sleep clock is to stop eating 12-16 hours before the intended time of levee...this means I have to stop eating these chips soon! This leads me to another thing about our new life here: no Smartfood popcorn so far. Or dill pickle Doritos. And these stores have so much variety otherwise. The choice puts my head in a vise. I couldn't find baking soda today in the baking section. Don't they have Arm&Hammer in the orange box? Or is Arm&Hammer blue now--I don't know because, at home, my eyes are trained for yellow NoName packaging. Shoot, it was a blur what with umpteen types of sugar, single serving sugar portions, single serving sugar substitute portions, stevia, etc; maybe some of that was baking soda. It's bewildering. Mind you, the largest store I went into regularly back home was the downtown IGA which seemed big enough but it's probably Big Box's Little Brother. I've had culture shopck* in other countries, too, but the expanded scale of the US experience wields the largest hammer. One of the stores we went to was a Walmart so big it had encapsulated another Walmart (it had a separate discount section...isn't Walmart a discount store already??!) Fortunately, not all stores are like this: there are smaller stores in this town which I'll be frequenting, I'll sign up for a CSA basket, and I can order online.
Before the shopping trip, the dog and I checked out our new neighbourhood, the historic town of Leavenworth, KS. I planned a route beforehand but my memory got hazy during the run and I thought I was cutting it short. I meant to go down Shawnee further but the sidewalk ran out just before a rather sharp hill; at times like this, I believe in signs. Turns out that's where I was going to turn anyway but I misremembered the street; we ran around a park and then the sidewalks ran out again and we jogged around trying to catch them before heading home.
There is a small downtown here, a few blocks away, with sidewalks on both sides which extend completely to the corners...outside of that, it's not quite hit-or-miss. A unbroken stretch spanning a few blocks invites complacency and then, bam! Cross the street, mofo! Oddly, sometimes there is a stretch for a few houses which then disappears into grass. Sometimes this is because the sidewalks, sometimes quaint brick sidewalks, are sometimes overgrown, but sometimes a newer concrete path also starts and ends here or there, like a large partially subterranean worm. this makes me wonder if this design is totally accidental or it reflects or influences social circles: Jane goes down two houses to talk to Sarah every few days but doesn't want anything to do with Anne one more house down past the sidewalk end. Sometimes the sidewalks go almost all the way to the corner, leaving a metre or so of dirt. Are we not supposed to cross the road?
I grew up in a place where there were complete sidewalks, and I've gotten used to living in places where there were no sidewalks, but this half and half biz is oddly disruptive. Eventually I'll find a route with fewer transitions.
It was a neat feeling running back to the house for the first time--I didn't recognize anything, didn't remember the yellow house or the churches from the car, and then I got to the back lane and things swooshed into familiarity. I love that feeling.
We will run on post too which will be fun. I've seen a bit of it but there is much more in store for us, especially once we hit the dirt away from the buildings and housing areas. Lots of wildlife, including cougars, or one cougar at least. I'm not sure I want to meet a cougar, but I would like to reexamine the feeling of being watched by a predator (this may have happened while I was running in Calgary. I didn't know there were cougars until after the run, and I didn't see any cougars or anything, but this strong feeling of being watched suddenly hit me while I was running in a wooded area between subdivisions; I thought it was a perv but then I was told that there were cougars and then I was reminded of my husband's experience of being watched by a cougar...it is a very strong primal feeling, at any rate, and more intense than being watched by a human has ever felt).
7.02ish miles today.
Another thing: the slippery things you know are not as slippery as the slippery things you don't know. I nearly bailed once on the wet porch and several times on mud. Ice isn't usually such a problem!
And props to Animal Control! We were barked at by scores of dogs ranging from the half-bear chained to a jewelry/pawn store to the three little Yorkie-ish dogs which barked themselves into such a frenzy they started fighting each other, not to mention the dogs one street over which were barking. My favourite duo were a frenzied lab and pug...I looked back to see the lab's mouth around the pug's head. This was for just a split second or so, but admittedly I looked away before they separated. My dog ignored all these yappers at first but by the end of the run, he was a little rattled. HOWEVER, NOT ONE OF THEM WAS LOOSE!! KUDOS!
I haven't trained my dog yet; I'll have to hang out in the backyard and tell him "no" every time he barks at something beyond the fence. This is what I've done at the three places he's lived in with us so he learns to not bark until someone actually enters the property.
So, yes, we're finally out of limbo. It's been a crazy >month.
* it's taken me nearly 7 years to coin a suitable term. Enfin!
At any rate, no more nicotine-saturated motel. It was a surprisingly nice place for $35/night, everybody was really polite and it was mostly quiet, but there was too much smoke even though it usually didn't smell in our room (maybe we got used to it?) I was feeling more and more jacked up and we have been joking about my habit. Maybe e-cigarettes would cushion the drop?
The last three nights, I've slept about 4-5 hrs a night---the night before last, I finally fell asleep sometime after 3:30 am but a cab playing loud dumb music drove up around 5 am. This is the weak point of the open window strategy: I'm ok with planes, cars, even sirens sometimes, and not ok with truck-backing-up-beeping, breaking glass, or some songs. Or maybe the culprit is instrumentation: one little slide guitar lick, and I'm up!
the dog and I jogged about three miles.
Last night, I just couldn't get to sleep until 4 or so. Nothing was bugging me but I was wired. I made myself get out of bed when I woke up around 8:30. That's too late but it was uncomfortable. Apparently, a good way to reset one's sleep clock is to stop eating 12-16 hours before the intended time of levee...this means I have to stop eating these chips soon! This leads me to another thing about our new life here: no Smartfood popcorn so far. Or dill pickle Doritos. And these stores have so much variety otherwise. The choice puts my head in a vise. I couldn't find baking soda today in the baking section. Don't they have Arm&Hammer in the orange box? Or is Arm&Hammer blue now--I don't know because, at home, my eyes are trained for yellow NoName packaging. Shoot, it was a blur what with umpteen types of sugar, single serving sugar portions, single serving sugar substitute portions, stevia, etc; maybe some of that was baking soda. It's bewildering. Mind you, the largest store I went into regularly back home was the downtown IGA which seemed big enough but it's probably Big Box's Little Brother. I've had culture shopck* in other countries, too, but the expanded scale of the US experience wields the largest hammer. One of the stores we went to was a Walmart so big it had encapsulated another Walmart (it had a separate discount section...isn't Walmart a discount store already??!) Fortunately, not all stores are like this: there are smaller stores in this town which I'll be frequenting, I'll sign up for a CSA basket, and I can order online.
Before the shopping trip, the dog and I checked out our new neighbourhood, the historic town of Leavenworth, KS. I planned a route beforehand but my memory got hazy during the run and I thought I was cutting it short. I meant to go down Shawnee further but the sidewalk ran out just before a rather sharp hill; at times like this, I believe in signs. Turns out that's where I was going to turn anyway but I misremembered the street; we ran around a park and then the sidewalks ran out again and we jogged around trying to catch them before heading home.
There is a small downtown here, a few blocks away, with sidewalks on both sides which extend completely to the corners...outside of that, it's not quite hit-or-miss. A unbroken stretch spanning a few blocks invites complacency and then, bam! Cross the street, mofo! Oddly, sometimes there is a stretch for a few houses which then disappears into grass. Sometimes this is because the sidewalks, sometimes quaint brick sidewalks, are sometimes overgrown, but sometimes a newer concrete path also starts and ends here or there, like a large partially subterranean worm. this makes me wonder if this design is totally accidental or it reflects or influences social circles: Jane goes down two houses to talk to Sarah every few days but doesn't want anything to do with Anne one more house down past the sidewalk end. Sometimes the sidewalks go almost all the way to the corner, leaving a metre or so of dirt. Are we not supposed to cross the road?
I grew up in a place where there were complete sidewalks, and I've gotten used to living in places where there were no sidewalks, but this half and half biz is oddly disruptive. Eventually I'll find a route with fewer transitions.
It was a neat feeling running back to the house for the first time--I didn't recognize anything, didn't remember the yellow house or the churches from the car, and then I got to the back lane and things swooshed into familiarity. I love that feeling.
We will run on post too which will be fun. I've seen a bit of it but there is much more in store for us, especially once we hit the dirt away from the buildings and housing areas. Lots of wildlife, including cougars, or one cougar at least. I'm not sure I want to meet a cougar, but I would like to reexamine the feeling of being watched by a predator (this may have happened while I was running in Calgary. I didn't know there were cougars until after the run, and I didn't see any cougars or anything, but this strong feeling of being watched suddenly hit me while I was running in a wooded area between subdivisions; I thought it was a perv but then I was told that there were cougars and then I was reminded of my husband's experience of being watched by a cougar...it is a very strong primal feeling, at any rate, and more intense than being watched by a human has ever felt).
7.02ish miles today.
Another thing: the slippery things you know are not as slippery as the slippery things you don't know. I nearly bailed once on the wet porch and several times on mud. Ice isn't usually such a problem!
And props to Animal Control! We were barked at by scores of dogs ranging from the half-bear chained to a jewelry/pawn store to the three little Yorkie-ish dogs which barked themselves into such a frenzy they started fighting each other, not to mention the dogs one street over which were barking. My favourite duo were a frenzied lab and pug...I looked back to see the lab's mouth around the pug's head. This was for just a split second or so, but admittedly I looked away before they separated. My dog ignored all these yappers at first but by the end of the run, he was a little rattled. HOWEVER, NOT ONE OF THEM WAS LOOSE!! KUDOS!
I haven't trained my dog yet; I'll have to hang out in the backyard and tell him "no" every time he barks at something beyond the fence. This is what I've done at the three places he's lived in with us so he learns to not bark until someone actually enters the property.
So, yes, we're finally out of limbo. It's been a crazy >month.
* it's taken me nearly 7 years to coin a suitable term. Enfin!
Friday, February 3, 2012
Cold rain
The super extra warm weather is gone, leaving what I'm assuming is the more usual seasonal offering: cold rain.
Wed: just walked
Thurs: 2.75 miles and 14 hrs of sleep AND a nap. Sleep deprivation was more significant than I'd assumed.
I felt a lot better after that. The trick is to leave the window open a crack. It's wasteful but necessary anyway when there's too much smoking going on: the bathroom fan is always on and it draws smoke into the room. There's usually wind so it pushes air back into the hall. We had the window open during the weekend because it was party time for others, lol.
An added bonus of having windows open is the soporific nature of the soundscape outside: highway and airport. I am lulled by traffic noises; I learned this when I moved to a small town for the first time and, after a year living in uni residence but taking an awful lot of late night walks, I rented a room close to the highway and slept a LOT more soundly.
We have just a couple more nights here and then we get to camp in our new place (furniture will come later!)
At any rate, I jogged 2 miles with the dog this morning, and today's afternoon run had a mental hurdle (starting in the cold rain) but otherwise felt really good. We went back to the lake, back to the same stretch of trail as before, which is not flat but relatively gentle, and it was! My legs felt really fresh for the first time in a while. The rain helped push us too, but it remained an easy effort until the last 50 m or so (I need to start the finishing sprint earlier--my husband has the advantage at this distance!). 3.44 miles in 28.55
Wed: just walked
Thurs: 2.75 miles and 14 hrs of sleep AND a nap. Sleep deprivation was more significant than I'd assumed.
I felt a lot better after that. The trick is to leave the window open a crack. It's wasteful but necessary anyway when there's too much smoking going on: the bathroom fan is always on and it draws smoke into the room. There's usually wind so it pushes air back into the hall. We had the window open during the weekend because it was party time for others, lol.
An added bonus of having windows open is the soporific nature of the soundscape outside: highway and airport. I am lulled by traffic noises; I learned this when I moved to a small town for the first time and, after a year living in uni residence but taking an awful lot of late night walks, I rented a room close to the highway and slept a LOT more soundly.
We have just a couple more nights here and then we get to camp in our new place (furniture will come later!)
At any rate, I jogged 2 miles with the dog this morning, and today's afternoon run had a mental hurdle (starting in the cold rain) but otherwise felt really good. We went back to the lake, back to the same stretch of trail as before, which is not flat but relatively gentle, and it was! My legs felt really fresh for the first time in a while. The rain helped push us too, but it remained an easy effort until the last 50 m or so (I need to start the finishing sprint earlier--my husband has the advantage at this distance!). 3.44 miles in 28.55
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Insomnia!!!
This motel has no insulation and the heater/blower is very sensitive to temperature fluctuations while having no sensitivity of output. Accordingly, it's noisy and it kicks into and out of action every few minutes. I will time this now just to be sure:
Time off: 1:48
Time on: 2:03
This is deranging me more and more! I'm playing a white noise generator to no avail--actually, we have three such programs and we rotate them because a given sound loses its effectiveness over time. I wish the same could be said for the heater noise. I'm becoming more and more of a zombie.
We have 4 (not counting tonight) more nights in this place...
Time off: 1:48
Time on: 2:03
This is deranging me more and more! I'm playing a white noise generator to no avail--actually, we have three such programs and we rotate them because a given sound loses its effectiveness over time. I wish the same could be said for the heater noise. I'm becoming more and more of a zombie.
We have 4 (not counting tonight) more nights in this place...
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