1.5 slow miles with the dog. I slept until 7:30 am, it was already 30C by 8, things quickly devolved to walking. It's less hot but more humid than yesterday, which I found harder. Yesterday (high of at least 41C) was dry heat, and I don't mind dry heat. I've spent many hours comfortably reading books in ~45C sauna rooms in Korea (they also had tv!) It was a little disconcerting to coast down the hill into a hot headwind, but then I accepted it and took my time and got to work still feeling like a decent normal human being and, moreover, in a good mood. Not like Wednesday!
Today feels like Wednesday. I guess the key is to avoid the 35-38ishC range.
Then I did Zwow #5. This was the second or third time I've done it, probably third because it's probably my favourite workout. Something about the combo of exercises is so satisfying, and since it's a short hard workout, it's easy to push through it.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Thursday, June 28, 2012
heat haze heat
Today might be my hottest day in North America ever. Almost 10:00 am and it's already 35C.
I woke up around 6:00 and after frittering the usual early morning half hour away (drinking water, doing Sudoku in the bathroom, finding clothes and music, eating something, etc), I got on the treadmill. 6.10 miles in 70 min. Then I did clamshells, rows, and deadlifts.
This run started off stiff, but eventually I loosened up and had a nice run. It was more satisfying than my past few 60 minute runs have been; in the past, my favourite runs were in the 8-10 mile range. Without the wonky calibration of my treadmill, this would have been close to eight miles in RL. Something about that sort of distance strikes the right balance between adequate endorphin release and fatigue.
I'm so grateful that I have a treadmill (and that it was free!). Without it, I'm not sure how much I'd be running, if at all. I ran almost every day during five months in Virginia, which was hotter on average--not counting this crazy week--but the hills in Virginia were considerably less strenuous. And on a day such as today, I wouldn't be running outside at all, anywhere, no matter how flat.
My right shoulder, which has been an issue recently, was fine. I think the weights help with this, specifically rows or whatever the exercise is really called. I'm not sure, but it exercises my shoulder muscles.
My left hip, which has been an issue for months, was also fine. I think all the x-training helps with this, but I don't know exactly what is going on because it's still a physiological mystery. My guess is that there is a tendon or ligament which, without proper muscular support, is strained.
The true test today, however, will be getting to work. Yesterday, though I walked my bike uphill, was taxing enough (I had a headache for a few hours after about ten minutes outside), and it's going to be hotter today. However, it also looks to be less humid than yesterday, and also the worst day of the heat wave. Fingers crossed that temps drop back down!
Incidentally, there were three stat C-sections on Tuesday. I was told that, for this small hospital in a small town, 3 births in a day is unusual enough. Apparently, the heat was enough to cause fetal distress. It doesn't help that the air is bad too. The weather forecast included an advisory to reduce pollution by avoiding gasoline consumption. I don't think that's going to happen.
Although, the neat thing is, until the heat jacked up, I started seeing another bike parked at work. Hopefully it will return!
I woke up around 6:00 and after frittering the usual early morning half hour away (drinking water, doing Sudoku in the bathroom, finding clothes and music, eating something, etc), I got on the treadmill. 6.10 miles in 70 min. Then I did clamshells, rows, and deadlifts.
This run started off stiff, but eventually I loosened up and had a nice run. It was more satisfying than my past few 60 minute runs have been; in the past, my favourite runs were in the 8-10 mile range. Without the wonky calibration of my treadmill, this would have been close to eight miles in RL. Something about that sort of distance strikes the right balance between adequate endorphin release and fatigue.
I'm so grateful that I have a treadmill (and that it was free!). Without it, I'm not sure how much I'd be running, if at all. I ran almost every day during five months in Virginia, which was hotter on average--not counting this crazy week--but the hills in Virginia were considerably less strenuous. And on a day such as today, I wouldn't be running outside at all, anywhere, no matter how flat.
My right shoulder, which has been an issue recently, was fine. I think the weights help with this, specifically rows or whatever the exercise is really called. I'm not sure, but it exercises my shoulder muscles.
My left hip, which has been an issue for months, was also fine. I think all the x-training helps with this, but I don't know exactly what is going on because it's still a physiological mystery. My guess is that there is a tendon or ligament which, without proper muscular support, is strained.
The true test today, however, will be getting to work. Yesterday, though I walked my bike uphill, was taxing enough (I had a headache for a few hours after about ten minutes outside), and it's going to be hotter today. However, it also looks to be less humid than yesterday, and also the worst day of the heat wave. Fingers crossed that temps drop back down!
Incidentally, there were three stat C-sections on Tuesday. I was told that, for this small hospital in a small town, 3 births in a day is unusual enough. Apparently, the heat was enough to cause fetal distress. It doesn't help that the air is bad too. The weather forecast included an advisory to reduce pollution by avoiding gasoline consumption. I don't think that's going to happen.
Although, the neat thing is, until the heat jacked up, I started seeing another bike parked at work. Hopefully it will return!
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
haze heat
Yesterday, 1.5 miles with the dog. Hot. Quickly devolved into walking.
Today, a short walk with the dog and zwow#23 although I did duration and not reps. 50 burpees X 2?! I can do about 7-8 burpees in the time it takes Zuzana to do 10, and I was happy with that.
I'm feeling very lethargic these days, and I guess it's due to the heat and/or contrast with A/C. I'm not sick, I shouldn't be sleep deprived, I'm not working out a lot, and I actually feel like I've adjusted to the physical demands at work (that sounds sketchy!) Sleep has been great, just not enough...I've been sleeping in a bit more, but still no dozing. Some more crazy dreams too. The night before last, I dreamt that they'd turned Napoleon's tomb into apartments, and I lived in one, and my mother had invited herself and a bunch of nutty birders over and I was trying to get them out politely because I had urgent business elsewhere (this was psychologically exhausting for a dream); last night, I dreamt that I was trying to get a refund on plane tickets. The prosaic nature of the latter is both odd and reassuring because I've had mostly messed up dreams in this house.
Maybe I'm sleeping more because I have to dream all of this stuff out of my system.
And running? Well, there's tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get up early enough to TM and open some windows in this house. It's almost 29C and just 9:30ish; today's looking like a bitch. The high is supposed to be 38C. I think I will walk my bike uphill!
Today, a short walk with the dog and zwow#23 although I did duration and not reps. 50 burpees X 2?! I can do about 7-8 burpees in the time it takes Zuzana to do 10, and I was happy with that.
I'm feeling very lethargic these days, and I guess it's due to the heat and/or contrast with A/C. I'm not sick, I shouldn't be sleep deprived, I'm not working out a lot, and I actually feel like I've adjusted to the physical demands at work (that sounds sketchy!) Sleep has been great, just not enough...I've been sleeping in a bit more, but still no dozing. Some more crazy dreams too. The night before last, I dreamt that they'd turned Napoleon's tomb into apartments, and I lived in one, and my mother had invited herself and a bunch of nutty birders over and I was trying to get them out politely because I had urgent business elsewhere (this was psychologically exhausting for a dream); last night, I dreamt that I was trying to get a refund on plane tickets. The prosaic nature of the latter is both odd and reassuring because I've had mostly messed up dreams in this house.
Maybe I'm sleeping more because I have to dream all of this stuff out of my system.
And running? Well, there's tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get up early enough to TM and open some windows in this house. It's almost 29C and just 9:30ish; today's looking like a bitch. The high is supposed to be 38C. I think I will walk my bike uphill!
Monday, June 25, 2012
heat haze
Fortunately, we got up early enough that the creek path was almost completely still in shadow. The dog and I did 2 miles, then I did 2 more on the treadmill, and then I did Zwow #12.
I suspect that I'll be attempting this workout every week. Oh, those pistol squats! I still can't do one properly, but I'm getting a killer burn going down just halfway, which is what counts.
I suspect that I'll be attempting this workout every week. Oh, those pistol squats! I still can't do one properly, but I'm getting a killer burn going down just halfway, which is what counts.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Melting again
The soles of my feet are now a bit sore because I watered the tomato and pepper plants in my bare feet. That concrete is hot even when sprayed down. It's supposed to get up to 39 C today.
Saturday: I did my third hour + run of the week: 5.14 miles in one hour. The third Zwow workout didn't happen. I did rows, clamshells, and deadlifts instead.
The interesting part of this treadmill run was the absence of music. There was a thunderstorm outside so I opened the window and put the fan in the doorway facing out to draw all the cool O3-charged air inside, and then I started running. I didn't want to subject the neighbours to my choice of music--I appreciate not hearing theirs--and the TM is loud enough already. To my disappointment, I couldn't even hear the thunder. My hopes of a storm soundscaped jaunt were dashed. So I made a new mental game. At first, I decided to break the run down into six minute intervals because six minutes goes by pretty quickly at an easy pace, but I could not forget this time that the first interval was 1 of 10, the second was 2 of 10, and so forth, which defeats the purpose of doing smaller intervals.
Then I thought of assigning a colour to each interval. For example, blue. It's just blue. It's between purple and green on the colour spectrum, but progression to either is not mandatory. Rather, six minutes of blue is just six minutes of blue, floating in the sunlit depths of an ocean, or in a clear deep sky. After six minutes, maybe a new terrain, be it kelp forest green or fiery orange or whatever, or nothing. No obligations beyond blue.
This worked amazingly well! I ended up plotting a spectrum of sorts, and as I ran on, the colour I was approaching would start to bleed into the colour I was in, in my imagination; it was satisfying to visualize each colour and imagine being immersed in each colour. Time became immaterial and it skittered away neglected. I would never have dreamt that an hour-long treadmill run could be so mentally easy without music or tv or whatever. The cool storm air blowing through the window next to me certainly helped.
Today: I slept blissfully for 9.5 hours! Since I went to bed before my husband, I put earplugs in, and thus wasn't roused, but I took them out during the night while asleep. This has happened before. One was back on the nightstand, and the other got away and was on the bed. The quality of sleep was not impaired by this, though, and I got up feeling refreshed, though it still took me a while to wake up fully.
That is a quirk of this house that I've been trying to improve. I almost always feel drugged when I wake up. The house was powered by gas in the past and there is a gas spigot or light fixture in the bedroom--I'm assuming that the tank is bone dry, but maybe there are still fumes? Geez, why haven't I yet checked it out, give it the ole righty-tighty? Or was it built before that became standard? Is my imagination running wild?!! I've been opening the windows regularly to air the room out, and I open the blinds at night so that morning light can enter; I suppose the next step would be to get a spider plant or an ion filter, or both.
Anyway, I thought about snoozing but no snoozing is allowed! I wasted about a half hour waking up slowly and then I wasted more time purchasing and burning a new album. Confession: after more than eight years, K-pop finally got its hooks into me. I somehow came across a boy band song that I couldn't let go, and I previewed the album a few times and finally caved in and clicked Buy. I blush to say more.
It was an excellent purchase. The first few tracks made me giddy, what with the K-rap and the sprinkling of random English words and phrases--I like this about electronic/dance music too. "Uncle Eric is helping the police with their inquiries." It makes me giggle. An accent makes it even better.
Pumped by my recent wise purchase and the thumping first song, I decided that today was the day to roll the TM over, I think. I refer to the timer. It has four digits: beyond 99:59, there is nowhere else to go. Would it stop at 99:59? Would it return to zero? Or would the entire machine halt? I've been wondering about this for a while (my guess was zero), but the prospect of running for an hour and forty minutes on the treadmill was appalling. I've run over an hour on the TM maybe five times in my entire life.
There isn't much to say about the run itself. It went well. When I started to feel fatigue, I upped the pace slightly, and then dropped it slightly less after a while. There were a few slower songs on the CD which weren't as energizing, but still ok. After about eighty minutes, fatigue seemed to settle more, but it was close enough to the end to not matter.
And, I was right: 99:59 => zero! at that point, I'd run 8.75 miles. Outside, and perhaps on a normal TM, that would be 10-11 miles. The most I've run in 1:40 is a shade under 13 miles in a half marathon (1:41). But, hey, I've got nothing going on, and the initial shock of the slow "miles" has faded.
I jogged and walked it to 9 miles: 4:43. 31 seconds per mile!!!!
Saturday: I did my third hour + run of the week: 5.14 miles in one hour. The third Zwow workout didn't happen. I did rows, clamshells, and deadlifts instead.
The interesting part of this treadmill run was the absence of music. There was a thunderstorm outside so I opened the window and put the fan in the doorway facing out to draw all the cool O3-charged air inside, and then I started running. I didn't want to subject the neighbours to my choice of music--I appreciate not hearing theirs--and the TM is loud enough already. To my disappointment, I couldn't even hear the thunder. My hopes of a storm soundscaped jaunt were dashed. So I made a new mental game. At first, I decided to break the run down into six minute intervals because six minutes goes by pretty quickly at an easy pace, but I could not forget this time that the first interval was 1 of 10, the second was 2 of 10, and so forth, which defeats the purpose of doing smaller intervals.
Then I thought of assigning a colour to each interval. For example, blue. It's just blue. It's between purple and green on the colour spectrum, but progression to either is not mandatory. Rather, six minutes of blue is just six minutes of blue, floating in the sunlit depths of an ocean, or in a clear deep sky. After six minutes, maybe a new terrain, be it kelp forest green or fiery orange or whatever, or nothing. No obligations beyond blue.
This worked amazingly well! I ended up plotting a spectrum of sorts, and as I ran on, the colour I was approaching would start to bleed into the colour I was in, in my imagination; it was satisfying to visualize each colour and imagine being immersed in each colour. Time became immaterial and it skittered away neglected. I would never have dreamt that an hour-long treadmill run could be so mentally easy without music or tv or whatever. The cool storm air blowing through the window next to me certainly helped.
Today: I slept blissfully for 9.5 hours! Since I went to bed before my husband, I put earplugs in, and thus wasn't roused, but I took them out during the night while asleep. This has happened before. One was back on the nightstand, and the other got away and was on the bed. The quality of sleep was not impaired by this, though, and I got up feeling refreshed, though it still took me a while to wake up fully.
That is a quirk of this house that I've been trying to improve. I almost always feel drugged when I wake up. The house was powered by gas in the past and there is a gas spigot or light fixture in the bedroom--I'm assuming that the tank is bone dry, but maybe there are still fumes? Geez, why haven't I yet checked it out, give it the ole righty-tighty? Or was it built before that became standard? Is my imagination running wild?!! I've been opening the windows regularly to air the room out, and I open the blinds at night so that morning light can enter; I suppose the next step would be to get a spider plant or an ion filter, or both.
Anyway, I thought about snoozing but no snoozing is allowed! I wasted about a half hour waking up slowly and then I wasted more time purchasing and burning a new album. Confession: after more than eight years, K-pop finally got its hooks into me. I somehow came across a boy band song that I couldn't let go, and I previewed the album a few times and finally caved in and clicked Buy. I blush to say more.
It was an excellent purchase. The first few tracks made me giddy, what with the K-rap and the sprinkling of random English words and phrases--I like this about electronic/dance music too. "Uncle Eric is helping the police with their inquiries." It makes me giggle. An accent makes it even better.
Pumped by my recent wise purchase and the thumping first song, I decided that today was the day to roll the TM over, I think. I refer to the timer. It has four digits: beyond 99:59, there is nowhere else to go. Would it stop at 99:59? Would it return to zero? Or would the entire machine halt? I've been wondering about this for a while (my guess was zero), but the prospect of running for an hour and forty minutes on the treadmill was appalling. I've run over an hour on the TM maybe five times in my entire life.
There isn't much to say about the run itself. It went well. When I started to feel fatigue, I upped the pace slightly, and then dropped it slightly less after a while. There were a few slower songs on the CD which weren't as energizing, but still ok. After about eighty minutes, fatigue seemed to settle more, but it was close enough to the end to not matter.
And, I was right: 99:59 => zero! at that point, I'd run 8.75 miles. Outside, and perhaps on a normal TM, that would be 10-11 miles. The most I've run in 1:40 is a shade under 13 miles in a half marathon (1:41). But, hey, I've got nothing going on, and the initial shock of the slow "miles" has faded.
I jogged and walked it to 9 miles: 4:43. 31 seconds per mile!!!!
Friday, June 22, 2012
melted
We had a couple of rather hot days. Usually, the high is 30-31 C, and I've gotten used to this, but we had a 38 C day and a 36 C day, and then thunderstorms followed by a relatively cool but very humid day.
I'm not sure if it's the weather that has worn me down, or a more strenuous than normal work shift on Monday: I haven't done much these past few days BUT I managed to do more than nothing. And I've been sleeping more and, more importantly, still soundly.
Wed: nothing
Thurs: 1.5 miles with the dog, Zwow #12
Fri: 1.5 miles with the dog, Zwow #9
I guess that's ok for zombie days. It was very tempting to do nothing, but since I woke up later, my dog was more persistent about going out. When I wake up before six, he is uninterested in going out and usually doesn't even move. When I wake up after seven, he follows me around the house with hopeful eyes. It's too hot to go far at that time, but at least both of us get out.
As for the resistance exercises: routines #12 and #9 are both 10-minute tough workouts, but only 10 minutes long. Ten minutes of hard exertion is less daunting than 20 of medium-hard exertion for some reason. And this stuff seems to be paying off. I've recently noticed more strength in my pushups. Still can't do pistol squats, though!
A good goal for me these days feels like 3 hr+-long runs a week and 2-3 of Z's workouts, plus the usual clamshells and so forth. This means that I need to complete a long run and another workout tomorrow.
I'm not sure if it's the weather that has worn me down, or a more strenuous than normal work shift on Monday: I haven't done much these past few days BUT I managed to do more than nothing. And I've been sleeping more and, more importantly, still soundly.
Wed: nothing
Thurs: 1.5 miles with the dog, Zwow #12
Fri: 1.5 miles with the dog, Zwow #9
I guess that's ok for zombie days. It was very tempting to do nothing, but since I woke up later, my dog was more persistent about going out. When I wake up before six, he is uninterested in going out and usually doesn't even move. When I wake up after seven, he follows me around the house with hopeful eyes. It's too hot to go far at that time, but at least both of us get out.
As for the resistance exercises: routines #12 and #9 are both 10-minute tough workouts, but only 10 minutes long. Ten minutes of hard exertion is less daunting than 20 of medium-hard exertion for some reason. And this stuff seems to be paying off. I've recently noticed more strength in my pushups. Still can't do pistol squats, though!
A good goal for me these days feels like 3 hr+-long runs a week and 2-3 of Z's workouts, plus the usual clamshells and so forth. This means that I need to complete a long run and another workout tomorrow.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
sleep!
Perhaps I forgot to mention that last week, with the no-doze rule in place, I slept soundly and felt well-rested despite the reduced amount of sleep. I kept waiting for a crash but it didn't happen. That's what fuels my self-resolve more than anything: wanting to see how long I can keep this up.
The no-doze rule is still in effect (although it was relaxed a bit on Sunday morning), and I'm still feeling more energetic and less irritable. And, thanks to the earplugs that Gaz and D sent me, my naps have been wonderful. Admittedly, I sometimes wake up in the middle of them, but rule #2 is that, if I don't immediately fall back asleep--basically, if I have time to notice that I haven't immediately fallen back asleep--then I get out of bed.
Today, my nap was a solid 2.5 hrs! And, yes, I had time for that because my night sleep was only 3.5, which seems like an odd duration, but 2.5 hrs is odd too considering that the average time of a sleep cycle is supposedly 1.5 hrs. I suspect that my dog may have woken me up because there was a parcel on the porch, but I honestly felt like I'd woken up naturally of my own accord.
Unfortunately, I really like having a 2 am bedtime. It's taken me a while to realize the true culprit: the world's best bike ride home. It's less than a mile, the streets are wide and empty, it's relatively cool, and it's mostly downhill. I've figured out that I bike 0.86 of a mile, and don't really pedal for 0.65 of that or so; the last bit is uphill. I definitely touch the brakes more than the pedal because the drop gets me going a bit faster than I would like and I like to peer up and down cross streets a bit before crossing them even though they have stop signs and my road has the right of way. There's so much space here, even in an older, pre-car developed town, that drivers can be sloppier than they should be.
But the short bike ride after work is bliss. And rejuvenating. However tired I am at the end of work, I come home feeling ten years younger and nowhere close to bedtime.
The bike ride over is another story. It's close to the hottest part of the day and I have to get up that big hill. Yesterday, it was so hot (38 C) that I decided, heck, just walk up the hill. I sat on the bike and coasted down and then walked up. The sidewalk is shady and it's really much better. I'll probably end up doing this shamefully often.
Oh, and running! So, I got up around 5:30 am, and the dog was sleeping, so I ran on the TM for just over an hour. 5 miles. LOL It was uncomfortable at first but eventually things loosened up momentarily, here and there. IT was kind of an annoying run because I could not maintain good form for more than a half minute or so at a time. My hamstrings are still a little tight from the deadlifts, which means I should be doing them more often, but not today. I did some rows and clamshells instead.
The no-doze rule is still in effect (although it was relaxed a bit on Sunday morning), and I'm still feeling more energetic and less irritable. And, thanks to the earplugs that Gaz and D sent me, my naps have been wonderful. Admittedly, I sometimes wake up in the middle of them, but rule #2 is that, if I don't immediately fall back asleep--basically, if I have time to notice that I haven't immediately fallen back asleep--then I get out of bed.
Today, my nap was a solid 2.5 hrs! And, yes, I had time for that because my night sleep was only 3.5, which seems like an odd duration, but 2.5 hrs is odd too considering that the average time of a sleep cycle is supposedly 1.5 hrs. I suspect that my dog may have woken me up because there was a parcel on the porch, but I honestly felt like I'd woken up naturally of my own accord.
Unfortunately, I really like having a 2 am bedtime. It's taken me a while to realize the true culprit: the world's best bike ride home. It's less than a mile, the streets are wide and empty, it's relatively cool, and it's mostly downhill. I've figured out that I bike 0.86 of a mile, and don't really pedal for 0.65 of that or so; the last bit is uphill. I definitely touch the brakes more than the pedal because the drop gets me going a bit faster than I would like and I like to peer up and down cross streets a bit before crossing them even though they have stop signs and my road has the right of way. There's so much space here, even in an older, pre-car developed town, that drivers can be sloppier than they should be.
But the short bike ride after work is bliss. And rejuvenating. However tired I am at the end of work, I come home feeling ten years younger and nowhere close to bedtime.
The bike ride over is another story. It's close to the hottest part of the day and I have to get up that big hill. Yesterday, it was so hot (38 C) that I decided, heck, just walk up the hill. I sat on the bike and coasted down and then walked up. The sidewalk is shady and it's really much better. I'll probably end up doing this shamefully often.
Oh, and running! So, I got up around 5:30 am, and the dog was sleeping, so I ran on the TM for just over an hour. 5 miles. LOL It was uncomfortable at first but eventually things loosened up momentarily, here and there. IT was kind of an annoying run because I could not maintain good form for more than a half minute or so at a time. My hamstrings are still a little tight from the deadlifts, which means I should be doing them more often, but not today. I did some rows and clamshells instead.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Monday
1.5 miles with the dog, 1.5 miles on the TM, a MarC workout and some yoga.
There was a small snake in the creek today. Fortunately the dog didn't see it. It was probably a northern water snake.
I can't remember if this was our first snake this year, but it was pretty cute.
There was a small snake in the creek today. Fortunately the dog didn't see it. It was probably a northern water snake.
I can't remember if this was our first snake this year, but it was pretty cute.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Sushi Saturday and Susana Sunday
Saturday: rest and raw fish. The one and only sushi place opened here about a month or so ago, and we've been getting it regularly, usually on Saturday. It's become the highlight of the week!
Today, 8.5 miles, 2.5 with the boys, and 6 on the treadmill. The first 2.5 were hot and clammy, the last six were amazing!! Several factors contributed to this: more strength and flexibility about my hips, something which I've noticed these past few days and attribute in turn to the regular workout routines I've been following; better sleep; new music. A couple of weeks or so, I got an album of different artists. I like trying these things out because it exposes me to a wider variety, but I have been disappointed in the past by the paucity of certain singers' other recordings: the one good recording is the one I have. So, when I fell for the voice of Susana, a Dutch trance singer, my hopes weren't high because I didn't know that there were such things as trance singers; I'd thought that tracks were pulled from here and there, and she'd turn out to be someone from the 80s with like three songs to her name and present emphysema. Something like that.
No, she has two recent albums already and is young and seemingly hearty and I really like her voice. The trance element is an unleashing endorphin bonus. Something about the solid beat and soaring melody banishes discomfort. Now I have to figure out if playing this recording too often will wear it out, should I save it for harder runs? Because it really was perfect this morning.
I did clamshells, rows, and deadlifts after the run, and the music ended about a second after I put the dumbbells down. Perfect.
Today, 8.5 miles, 2.5 with the boys, and 6 on the treadmill. The first 2.5 were hot and clammy, the last six were amazing!! Several factors contributed to this: more strength and flexibility about my hips, something which I've noticed these past few days and attribute in turn to the regular workout routines I've been following; better sleep; new music. A couple of weeks or so, I got an album of different artists. I like trying these things out because it exposes me to a wider variety, but I have been disappointed in the past by the paucity of certain singers' other recordings: the one good recording is the one I have. So, when I fell for the voice of Susana, a Dutch trance singer, my hopes weren't high because I didn't know that there were such things as trance singers; I'd thought that tracks were pulled from here and there, and she'd turn out to be someone from the 80s with like three songs to her name and present emphysema. Something like that.
No, she has two recent albums already and is young and seemingly hearty and I really like her voice. The trance element is an unleashing endorphin bonus. Something about the solid beat and soaring melody banishes discomfort. Now I have to figure out if playing this recording too often will wear it out, should I save it for harder runs? Because it really was perfect this morning.
I did clamshells, rows, and deadlifts after the run, and the music ended about a second after I put the dumbbells down. Perfect.
Friday, June 15, 2012
My body has chosen its bedtime
Which seems to be 2 am. I'm going to try to edge it closer to 1.
Anyway, after a sound sleep, I woke up at 6 am and totally wasted 40 minutes before I got on the treadmill. I had to get out of bed, find my clothes, turn the music and TM on, and finish a sudoku puzzle, in order of increasing importance, not chronological.
1 hr in one go, no water breaks, and then I walked for a few more minutes to bring it up to 5 miles. A nice thing about the consistency of the treadmill is how it differentiates different speeds. When you stay at a certain exact pace for a while, it becomes very familiar, and much more unique. A slight shift up or down feels momentous. Also, there are some paces which just don't feel right, which also intrigues me. I started off at 4.2 mph, and it took me a while to warm up, but once I hit 2X minutes, I switched to 4.7 mph, which was still super easy but gave me more lift. After a half hour, I went to 5.0 mph, which felt constrained, and so I hung out at 5.4 mph for a while and then 5.7 mph....I promised myself that I'd go back to 5.0 mph at some point (45 min? I don't remember now), but when I did, it felt so wrong, so clenched. Up to 6.0 mph and I started to feel that outside ankle action and quickness of foot strike I'd felt earlier this week, and then it became important to feel my hips opening up more. This happened at 6.8 or so mph.
Then, and only then, did I feel my pelvis suspended in midair and my legs swinging freely below it. This is a wonderful sensation especially when I'm still breathing easy. I think I've had dreams like this, of gliding up and down hills effortlessly. Unfortunately, I cannot maintain this for long so it remains a treat, a few minutes here and there of near perfection before breathing starts to quicken. Maybe I will be able to hold this perfect floating period for longer with practice. And this is why I keep running.
Then I did Zwow #22 and though I resorted to the beginner versions of the exercises from time to time--OK, my burpees, which are the rest period in this workout (!!!), devolved into pushups from the knees and, honestly, the last exercise, a single-leg squat/twist combo, was impossible to grasp--by the time we got to it, I'd forgotten completely about it and was preparing to congratulate myself for another successfully completed routine. And then my hopes were dashed into the ultimate chasm of prehistoric despair to darkness before cerebral cortexes. It was pretty disappointing. I decided to do single leg squats instead.
I feel my nap has been sufficiently primed today.
And HUGE THANKS to Gaz and D for sending me super duper passed-the-test earplugs! I tried them for yesterday's nap and felt much more refreshed. I think I've been curtailing my nap sleep cycle out of anxiety over the church bells, even though my nap has moved earlier than the bells. But suppose a random person walked in and rang a few of them at a random time? Not to mention funerals and that kind of thing. See? With the earplugs, I don't have to worry about this!
Anyway, after a sound sleep, I woke up at 6 am and totally wasted 40 minutes before I got on the treadmill. I had to get out of bed, find my clothes, turn the music and TM on, and finish a sudoku puzzle, in order of increasing importance, not chronological.
1 hr in one go, no water breaks, and then I walked for a few more minutes to bring it up to 5 miles. A nice thing about the consistency of the treadmill is how it differentiates different speeds. When you stay at a certain exact pace for a while, it becomes very familiar, and much more unique. A slight shift up or down feels momentous. Also, there are some paces which just don't feel right, which also intrigues me. I started off at 4.2 mph, and it took me a while to warm up, but once I hit 2X minutes, I switched to 4.7 mph, which was still super easy but gave me more lift. After a half hour, I went to 5.0 mph, which felt constrained, and so I hung out at 5.4 mph for a while and then 5.7 mph....I promised myself that I'd go back to 5.0 mph at some point (45 min? I don't remember now), but when I did, it felt so wrong, so clenched. Up to 6.0 mph and I started to feel that outside ankle action and quickness of foot strike I'd felt earlier this week, and then it became important to feel my hips opening up more. This happened at 6.8 or so mph.
Then, and only then, did I feel my pelvis suspended in midair and my legs swinging freely below it. This is a wonderful sensation especially when I'm still breathing easy. I think I've had dreams like this, of gliding up and down hills effortlessly. Unfortunately, I cannot maintain this for long so it remains a treat, a few minutes here and there of near perfection before breathing starts to quicken. Maybe I will be able to hold this perfect floating period for longer with practice. And this is why I keep running.
Then I did Zwow #22 and though I resorted to the beginner versions of the exercises from time to time--OK, my burpees, which are the rest period in this workout (!!!), devolved into pushups from the knees and, honestly, the last exercise, a single-leg squat/twist combo, was impossible to grasp--by the time we got to it, I'd forgotten completely about it and was preparing to congratulate myself for another successfully completed routine. And then my hopes were dashed into the ultimate chasm of prehistoric despair to darkness before cerebral cortexes. It was pretty disappointing. I decided to do single leg squats instead.
I feel my nap has been sufficiently primed today.
And HUGE THANKS to Gaz and D for sending me super duper passed-the-test earplugs! I tried them for yesterday's nap and felt much more refreshed. I think I've been curtailing my nap sleep cycle out of anxiety over the church bells, even though my nap has moved earlier than the bells. But suppose a random person walked in and rang a few of them at a random time? Not to mention funerals and that kind of thing. See? With the earplugs, I don't have to worry about this!
Thursday, June 14, 2012
~
Yesterday, I was crashing around 8:30 but I caught my second wind at work and didn't fall asleep until almost 2 am but I slept for a solid 5.5 hours without waking or moving but now my left hamstring is sore because my leg fell into a physiologically unsuitable position during the night but I did not wake and I slept a solid 5.5 hours!
Rest/yoga/stretching day.
Rest/yoga/stretching day.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
No doze day 4
Oh, man, this one was tough. Work was only slightly more exciting than usual, but that smidgen was enough to get me wired. It doesn't take much once I get my second wind. I got to sleep sometime after 2 am. And then my husband's alarm went off at 5:30 am for an early morning meeting.
But I did not doze! I thought about it, but, NO!, rules are rules, and if I believe that this one is so ironclad that I am actually physically incapable of dozing, I will be better off. I've already noticed an increase in energy levels and an improved quality of sleep. Greatly improved. I am sleeping so much better at night.
Naps are still a bit of an issue, mainly because I still wake up in the middle of them. This sometimes happens during sleep too. I'm not sure if it's an excess of acetylcholine release or what, but I generally stay in one position while sleeping and have to wake up to turn or move or, worse still, I fall into a position so contorted that it becomes painful (also, I used to have sleep paralysis quite often, for many years, and that's one of the reasons why I am trying to separate sleep and wakefulness). However, this week so far, I haven't had any problems and I haven't been waking up at night. Just during naps. I try to give myself 1.5 hrs per nap, a complete sleep cycle supposedly, but waking up in the middle of it seems to defeat the purpose.
At any rate, this post is an example of that theory that people talk most about what they are lacking in life. Strangely, though, I almost feel well rested, and definitely much better rested than last week.
And running! So, I got up and out of bed at 5:35 am or so and after some chia fresca, I jogged on the treadmill for 40 minutes. At first, I was pretty stiff and useless, but after playing with the speed a little, a few minutes slower, a few minutes faster, my hips loosened up, which let everything else fall into better alignment. It felt like cathedrals of space opened up in my quads, soreness vanishing into air. And then I did ZWow #9. The newest workout, #21, looks fun but I probably lack the coordination required for ninja jumps and handstands.
There are two issues that I've been having, though: recently, my right shoulder has been tight. This is partly to do with form, perhaps, and partly due to the joint itself. It's one of the first things to get inflamed if I've eaten too much gluten. I'm still recovering from my most recent exposure.
The other thing is more puzzling: my left hip is slightly sore. This has been going on for months, but it's ever so slight, and sometimes it goes away, so I haven't been too worried. This wouldn't be the first thing that has come and gone. At first I thought it was another gluten/joint issue, and then I figured that it was some sort of ligament--a while back, I was having problems with sleeping with my left knee locked slightly out of alignment (yep, sleep freeze!) and maybe this tightened up the other end of some sort of femur-spanning ligament or tendon. A few days ago, however, I was stretching unconventionally and realized that, well, my butt is really tight. I don't know exactly what's going on in the trunk but I'm trying to loosen stuff up. Can't help but LOL. Imagine a real car trunk, stuffed to the brim with things, like lawn chairs, pinned under other things, coolers, water bottles, etc, and tangled with yet other things, spare jackets and towels (maybe I'm picturing my mother's trunk???); one simply cannot pull or lift a lawn chair out. It's trapped and needs some excavation. And since I don't know this trunk very well, the things I tug on make the whole snarl tighter, but hopefully eventually I'll seize the right objects and things will fall apart into order.
The main solution is probably more yoga. And lots of fruit. A fruit smoothie seems to help counteract the effects of shortened sleep.
But I did not doze! I thought about it, but, NO!, rules are rules, and if I believe that this one is so ironclad that I am actually physically incapable of dozing, I will be better off. I've already noticed an increase in energy levels and an improved quality of sleep. Greatly improved. I am sleeping so much better at night.
Naps are still a bit of an issue, mainly because I still wake up in the middle of them. This sometimes happens during sleep too. I'm not sure if it's an excess of acetylcholine release or what, but I generally stay in one position while sleeping and have to wake up to turn or move or, worse still, I fall into a position so contorted that it becomes painful (also, I used to have sleep paralysis quite often, for many years, and that's one of the reasons why I am trying to separate sleep and wakefulness). However, this week so far, I haven't had any problems and I haven't been waking up at night. Just during naps. I try to give myself 1.5 hrs per nap, a complete sleep cycle supposedly, but waking up in the middle of it seems to defeat the purpose.
At any rate, this post is an example of that theory that people talk most about what they are lacking in life. Strangely, though, I almost feel well rested, and definitely much better rested than last week.
And running! So, I got up and out of bed at 5:35 am or so and after some chia fresca, I jogged on the treadmill for 40 minutes. At first, I was pretty stiff and useless, but after playing with the speed a little, a few minutes slower, a few minutes faster, my hips loosened up, which let everything else fall into better alignment. It felt like cathedrals of space opened up in my quads, soreness vanishing into air. And then I did ZWow #9. The newest workout, #21, looks fun but I probably lack the coordination required for ninja jumps and handstands.
There are two issues that I've been having, though: recently, my right shoulder has been tight. This is partly to do with form, perhaps, and partly due to the joint itself. It's one of the first things to get inflamed if I've eaten too much gluten. I'm still recovering from my most recent exposure.
The other thing is more puzzling: my left hip is slightly sore. This has been going on for months, but it's ever so slight, and sometimes it goes away, so I haven't been too worried. This wouldn't be the first thing that has come and gone. At first I thought it was another gluten/joint issue, and then I figured that it was some sort of ligament--a while back, I was having problems with sleeping with my left knee locked slightly out of alignment (yep, sleep freeze!) and maybe this tightened up the other end of some sort of femur-spanning ligament or tendon. A few days ago, however, I was stretching unconventionally and realized that, well, my butt is really tight. I don't know exactly what's going on in the trunk but I'm trying to loosen stuff up. Can't help but LOL. Imagine a real car trunk, stuffed to the brim with things, like lawn chairs, pinned under other things, coolers, water bottles, etc, and tangled with yet other things, spare jackets and towels (maybe I'm picturing my mother's trunk???); one simply cannot pull or lift a lawn chair out. It's trapped and needs some excavation. And since I don't know this trunk very well, the things I tug on make the whole snarl tighter, but hopefully eventually I'll seize the right objects and things will fall apart into order.
The main solution is probably more yoga. And lots of fruit. A fruit smoothie seems to help counteract the effects of shortened sleep.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
No doze day 3
This was tougher mentally than physically.
I went to bed sometime after 12:20 and seemed to take a while to fall asleep (I don't look at my watch when I'm grasping for sleep because this stokes anxiety). I awoke at 5:40. Admittedly, my husband was snoring, but correlation does not imply causation!
5:40 seemed way too early. Perhaps I should not look at my watch when I wake up this early. I had a few moments of indecision, during which the doze monster pulled my eyelids shut and my limbs deeper into the mattress. Don't get up! What is there to do at 5:40? Stay and writhe in that unsatisfactory grey zone for a couple hours and then spend a few more hours feeling like a shitty zombie!
I got up and turns out there is stuff to do at 5:40: install application updates en route to burning a 2nd copy of Eno's Music for Airports, which seemed like the perfect music to accompany a run at dawn, but my copy is at work (and, incidentally, it does not sound like music from 1974). Anyway, the updates were slow to load and 6:00 am was marching into view, and I grabbed something else and hopped on the TM at about 6:01.
It would have been wonderful weather for my dog, but his paw is not quite--but almost--healed, and I figure we'll test it on Friday and then take him on trails for a longer run on Sunday. It's a shame for him, but good timing for me because running on the treadmill suits me these days. What I need to get from running these days is something which the hills here cannot provide: relaxation.
I didn't warm up, I just cranked it up and joggled it until I found a good speed. Usually, when I run on the treadmill for a longer run, I break it down into 20 minute sections for water/mental breaks, but I was still shaking off the fronds of sleep and the prospect of starting and then stopping when completely finished was more suitable somehow. Unfortunately, my CD hit a glitch at about 17:45; I fixed it and drank some water and then hopped back on for the longer haul.
Another thing I do when I run on the treadmill is fractions. For example, for the usual 20 minute segment, 10 minutes is 1/2, 12 minutes is 3/5, and so forth. I've never done fractions for 60 minutes before and it was a nice distraction. I also tried to think of form, but though things generally felt comfortable, albeit slightly like an out of body experience at first, I didn't feel as efficient as I would've liked until about 37 minutes in. I enjoyed several moments of ease and then I hit a bit of a mental block coming up to 40 minutes. I felt so tired!
I always forget the trick of speeding up when tired: there is more than one type of fatigue and sometimes rising into the next gear works. It did work this time.
4.75 miles in 1 hr. Woohoo! The treadmill's wonky calibration is actually growing on me for the same reason that I run in miles and not km: less of them! Doing 4.75 instead of 6.5 is easier. I walked until 5 miles as a cool down. 5 miles! Woooooo!
clamshells and shoulder exercises afterward. Yesterday, my nap was so-so but maybe today's will be more solid.
I went to bed sometime after 12:20 and seemed to take a while to fall asleep (I don't look at my watch when I'm grasping for sleep because this stokes anxiety). I awoke at 5:40. Admittedly, my husband was snoring, but correlation does not imply causation!
5:40 seemed way too early. Perhaps I should not look at my watch when I wake up this early. I had a few moments of indecision, during which the doze monster pulled my eyelids shut and my limbs deeper into the mattress. Don't get up! What is there to do at 5:40? Stay and writhe in that unsatisfactory grey zone for a couple hours and then spend a few more hours feeling like a shitty zombie!
I got up and turns out there is stuff to do at 5:40: install application updates en route to burning a 2nd copy of Eno's Music for Airports, which seemed like the perfect music to accompany a run at dawn, but my copy is at work (and, incidentally, it does not sound like music from 1974). Anyway, the updates were slow to load and 6:00 am was marching into view, and I grabbed something else and hopped on the TM at about 6:01.
It would have been wonderful weather for my dog, but his paw is not quite--but almost--healed, and I figure we'll test it on Friday and then take him on trails for a longer run on Sunday. It's a shame for him, but good timing for me because running on the treadmill suits me these days. What I need to get from running these days is something which the hills here cannot provide: relaxation.
I didn't warm up, I just cranked it up and joggled it until I found a good speed. Usually, when I run on the treadmill for a longer run, I break it down into 20 minute sections for water/mental breaks, but I was still shaking off the fronds of sleep and the prospect of starting and then stopping when completely finished was more suitable somehow. Unfortunately, my CD hit a glitch at about 17:45; I fixed it and drank some water and then hopped back on for the longer haul.
Another thing I do when I run on the treadmill is fractions. For example, for the usual 20 minute segment, 10 minutes is 1/2, 12 minutes is 3/5, and so forth. I've never done fractions for 60 minutes before and it was a nice distraction. I also tried to think of form, but though things generally felt comfortable, albeit slightly like an out of body experience at first, I didn't feel as efficient as I would've liked until about 37 minutes in. I enjoyed several moments of ease and then I hit a bit of a mental block coming up to 40 minutes. I felt so tired!
I always forget the trick of speeding up when tired: there is more than one type of fatigue and sometimes rising into the next gear works. It did work this time.
4.75 miles in 1 hr. Woohoo! The treadmill's wonky calibration is actually growing on me for the same reason that I run in miles and not km: less of them! Doing 4.75 instead of 6.5 is easier. I walked until 5 miles as a cool down. 5 miles! Woooooo!
clamshells and shoulder exercises afterward. Yesterday, my nap was so-so but maybe today's will be more solid.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Sunday long run
My grandmother once told me that she gets out of bed when she wakes up. No dozing. Nowadays, she naps during the day, but she still gets up early, or at least she still did last summer when we were all at the lake. Maybe now that she's 93 or 94 and isn't taking care of 5 kids and a disabled war vet husband anymore, she lets herself sleep in a little.
I try to be tough and get out of bed when I wake up, and I did that in our last place, and in other places, but I've been very sloppy here. The line between sleep and wakefulness has become so blurred that often I don't wake up fully until I'm in the bathroom or even downstairs, and this is after I've dreamt that I've gotten out of bed and gone there a few times already. It's disorientating.
But it's taken me a while to realize that perhaps I don't need to keep to a strict time schedule (failing to do so has generated some anxiety) so much as avoid dozing. If I don't doze, perhaps everything else will fall into place. Therefore, I will not doze!
SUNDAY, after staying up until 4 am, I woke up and didn't doze at about 8:20, and got dressed and on the TM in a fog. The planned workout was a Daniel's mixed pace one: 4-5 X 1000M at tempo pace, 1 hr easy, 3 X 1000M at tempo pace.
I decided that, though my 1000M tempo repeats would probably be about 5 minutes long, I would do just 4. I was cowardly and half-awake, but lucid enough to reason that the elite athletes Daniels coaches would do the tempo repeats in 3 ish minutes, likely. 4 was extra hard!
Amazingly, I hit upon a really good tempo pace. On my poorly calibrated treadmill (or with my decrepit body), tempo pace was 6.5 mph. It was fast enough to feel that things were revved up, hopefully close to my lactate threshold because that's the whole point, but not fast enough to get out of breath during 4 minutes.
And I was so tired that I had no choice but to run efficiently. Sometimes fatigue ushers in the best runs. I felt that my hips and quads were loose and, much more importantly, that the outsides of my ankles and feet were propelling the balls of my feet downward. This quickened foot strike is a new feeling for me, and it's much more efficient.
My easy run pace was 4.6 mph. After 20 minutes, I stopped for a drink, and then figured that instead of tiring myself out with a run, I should squeeze in some loudly crying housework. Just ten minutes, and then I'd run another 1/2 hour....
Well, the house was a mess, and over an hour later, I stopped moving things/vacuuming/scrubbing/etc and tackled the 3 X 1000M reps. Then I did a MarC workout.
MONDAY, today, I woke up at 6:30ish and did not doze. Housework presented itself again: when I tried to let the dog out, it was raining and cool. The dog decided to wait for better conditions, but the temp was right to finally open some windows in this place.
SHOCKINGLY, most of the windows don't have screens and almost all of them are painted shut. This is something we failed to notice when we viewed the house in the winter. I got distracted by other things and the weather got mostly too hot to keep the windows open, etc, etc...major procrastination on my part. The previous tenants were quasi level 3 hoarders--I had to spend 7 hours scrubbing dog fecal matter off the floors (another thing that we didn't notice until too late because the wooden floors are naturally mottled) and I knew that this place needed airing out and I suspected that I would sleep better if I could get some fresh air into the bedroom, but never got round to it.
Today was the day to hammer some frames loose! . Fortunately, the two in the workout room/library can open almost all the way, and one has a functional screen! Same thing with the bedroom two!! Unfortunately, most of the other windows on the floor have paint on the pulley cords, making them difficult to open more than a few inches, if that, but I turned on the ceiling fans and got the air moving. My husband helped me lift open a few because the frames have been painted and not scraped, and so the fit is very tight. Fortunately, we don't own this place--pretty much every window needs some work or replacement.
I'm not a huge fan of A/C although I have appreciated it sometimes; I cannot understand the mindset of living in a place where the windows don't open. Yes, it's mostly hot enough for A/C now, but what about the fall and warmer winter days? And, yes, the air intake for the A/C is outside, but through probably dusty ducts. It's amazing how much fresher the upstairs seems now. Maybe now I won't be caught in a semi-sleeping-semi-waking zone, nor have such disturbing dreams (a whole other matter that I've been pondering).
I jogged on the treadmill for 20 minutes/1.6x miles and did Zwow #7.
I try to be tough and get out of bed when I wake up, and I did that in our last place, and in other places, but I've been very sloppy here. The line between sleep and wakefulness has become so blurred that often I don't wake up fully until I'm in the bathroom or even downstairs, and this is after I've dreamt that I've gotten out of bed and gone there a few times already. It's disorientating.
But it's taken me a while to realize that perhaps I don't need to keep to a strict time schedule (failing to do so has generated some anxiety) so much as avoid dozing. If I don't doze, perhaps everything else will fall into place. Therefore, I will not doze!
SUNDAY, after staying up until 4 am, I woke up and didn't doze at about 8:20, and got dressed and on the TM in a fog. The planned workout was a Daniel's mixed pace one: 4-5 X 1000M at tempo pace, 1 hr easy, 3 X 1000M at tempo pace.
I decided that, though my 1000M tempo repeats would probably be about 5 minutes long, I would do just 4. I was cowardly and half-awake, but lucid enough to reason that the elite athletes Daniels coaches would do the tempo repeats in 3 ish minutes, likely. 4 was extra hard!
Amazingly, I hit upon a really good tempo pace. On my poorly calibrated treadmill (or with my decrepit body), tempo pace was 6.5 mph. It was fast enough to feel that things were revved up, hopefully close to my lactate threshold because that's the whole point, but not fast enough to get out of breath during 4 minutes.
And I was so tired that I had no choice but to run efficiently. Sometimes fatigue ushers in the best runs. I felt that my hips and quads were loose and, much more importantly, that the outsides of my ankles and feet were propelling the balls of my feet downward. This quickened foot strike is a new feeling for me, and it's much more efficient.
My easy run pace was 4.6 mph. After 20 minutes, I stopped for a drink, and then figured that instead of tiring myself out with a run, I should squeeze in some loudly crying housework. Just ten minutes, and then I'd run another 1/2 hour....
Well, the house was a mess, and over an hour later, I stopped moving things/vacuuming/scrubbing/etc and tackled the 3 X 1000M reps. Then I did a MarC workout.
MONDAY, today, I woke up at 6:30ish and did not doze. Housework presented itself again: when I tried to let the dog out, it was raining and cool. The dog decided to wait for better conditions, but the temp was right to finally open some windows in this place.
SHOCKINGLY, most of the windows don't have screens and almost all of them are painted shut. This is something we failed to notice when we viewed the house in the winter. I got distracted by other things and the weather got mostly too hot to keep the windows open, etc, etc...major procrastination on my part. The previous tenants were quasi level 3 hoarders--I had to spend 7 hours scrubbing dog fecal matter off the floors (another thing that we didn't notice until too late because the wooden floors are naturally mottled) and I knew that this place needed airing out and I suspected that I would sleep better if I could get some fresh air into the bedroom, but never got round to it.
Today was the day to hammer some frames loose! . Fortunately, the two in the workout room/library can open almost all the way, and one has a functional screen! Same thing with the bedroom two!! Unfortunately, most of the other windows on the floor have paint on the pulley cords, making them difficult to open more than a few inches, if that, but I turned on the ceiling fans and got the air moving. My husband helped me lift open a few because the frames have been painted and not scraped, and so the fit is very tight. Fortunately, we don't own this place--pretty much every window needs some work or replacement.
I'm not a huge fan of A/C although I have appreciated it sometimes; I cannot understand the mindset of living in a place where the windows don't open. Yes, it's mostly hot enough for A/C now, but what about the fall and warmer winter days? And, yes, the air intake for the A/C is outside, but through probably dusty ducts. It's amazing how much fresher the upstairs seems now. Maybe now I won't be caught in a semi-sleeping-semi-waking zone, nor have such disturbing dreams (a whole other matter that I've been pondering).
I jogged on the treadmill for 20 minutes/1.6x miles and did Zwow #7.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Army birthday 1/2 marathon TODAY!!
Good thing I didn't sign up already because I was also working today, starting yesterday...it was bound to happen because my shift usually ends so close to tomorrow.
It was a tempting race, and still is.
PROS: close. cheap. Sort of scenic, I suppose.
CONS: hilly. hot. early in the morning, or at least early for me. And I feel like crap. Actually, right now, at this very moment, I feel awesome, but that's just from being wired because I got a second wind when I found out I'd be staying late. Once I start my glass of port, the fatigue will return.
My biphasic sleep schedule went out of the window on our trip and I have not regained it yet, and I've been staying up kind of late and still getting up kind of early, but ineffectively dozing an extra hour or two, and missing my naps entirely. Quality sleep has been lacking this week and running has gone out the window. I haven't run at all, I think.
But that could be considered a pronounced taper and, until about 9:00 pm or so today, I still pondered the possibility of doing the race. Sometimes I can leave work an hour early, which might give me enough time to sleep, and thus I was pushing through stuff quickly while trying to decide whether to do the race, or not, and after six hours of such deliberation, the hospital decided for me.
So, I will enjoy this glass of port and stay up however late I want, sleep in however late I want, maybe go to the farmers' market tomorrow morning if I get up early enough, or maybe I'll jog on the treadmill, or do both, or neither. Definitely, I will spend a relaxing half hour watching my koi eat breakfast.
Next week, I'll be stricter with myself.
It was a tempting race, and still is.
PROS: close. cheap. Sort of scenic, I suppose.
CONS: hilly. hot. early in the morning, or at least early for me. And I feel like crap. Actually, right now, at this very moment, I feel awesome, but that's just from being wired because I got a second wind when I found out I'd be staying late. Once I start my glass of port, the fatigue will return.
My biphasic sleep schedule went out of the window on our trip and I have not regained it yet, and I've been staying up kind of late and still getting up kind of early, but ineffectively dozing an extra hour or two, and missing my naps entirely. Quality sleep has been lacking this week and running has gone out the window. I haven't run at all, I think.
But that could be considered a pronounced taper and, until about 9:00 pm or so today, I still pondered the possibility of doing the race. Sometimes I can leave work an hour early, which might give me enough time to sleep, and thus I was pushing through stuff quickly while trying to decide whether to do the race, or not, and after six hours of such deliberation, the hospital decided for me.
So, I will enjoy this glass of port and stay up however late I want, sleep in however late I want, maybe go to the farmers' market tomorrow morning if I get up early enough, or maybe I'll jog on the treadmill, or do both, or neither. Definitely, I will spend a relaxing half hour watching my koi eat breakfast.
Next week, I'll be stricter with myself.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
where have I been?
Deep within the farthest reaches of Kansas*, we camped
for the first night, then storm winds snapped a tent pole and sent us to motels for the other two nights. We wanted to check out a lake and some pretty cool rock formations in Western Kansas and generally see the sights and so forth.
We hiked in the Badlands and it turned out to be a pretty gruelling hike. It was around a lake, plus there were plenty of water spigots around the lake, so we weren't too concerned about the heat, but it was hillier and hotter than we were expecting and the dog got a sore on his left front paw, probably from lunging after a lizard, and this deflated him. We ended up ditching the last part of the trail and hugged the lake as possible. Our campsite also featured lots of flies that bit almost exclusively below a metre, and a lakeside that was too mucky for a dog that was sharing our tent, plus we drove around and stopped to look so many rocks....it wasn't his favourite trip. It's probably the only road trip that he didn't enjoy much and he's been on a bunch, up and down the East Coast from Maine to Key West, up to Kap, out to Nova Scotia, etc, not to mention our moves. This dog recognizes the cooler and the tent and sleeping bags; when we pack that stuff up, he sticks to us like glue.
So, for him to have a lousy trip is something new!
He probably did not appreciate the cool terrain. The yucca flowering season was ending but there were still a few alien-looking blooms to examine, and cacti flowers, and a few other wildflowers that I'd never seen before. And the rocks! The best were Monument Rock(s) and Castle Rock, both on private ranches with dirt road access. These structures were large enough to walk into and were more complex than they first appeared. Castle Rock was the greatest surprise: the most photographed section is a small trio of rock towers, but there's a larger almost maze like section as well which probably doesn't photograph as well or as iconically, but it's fascinating to explore. We could have spent longer at each place but it was hot and the dog, though revived by the skittering motions of lizards, was not a happy camper.
We also saw many grain elevators. I think I actually started getting a bit sick from the wheat particles in the air. Is this even possible? My gums got pretty sore (I sometimes get mouth cankers from wheat).
We drove through some pretty flat areas, which I was looking forward to. This is what I thought Kansas would be like. The authenticity of our Kansas experience was enhanced by fleeing a storm and also losing the belt to the car A/C later on in the heat of the day. It got close to 100F. I also liked seeing the Smoky Hills and the Flint Hills, both rolling expanses of rich pastureland. There were so many cows. Grain and cows.
We also drove by a hand-painted sign that said "Cat House, 3 miles" This was outside a very small town that was otherwise shut for Sunday (except for the church, presumably). The gas station was even closed. I was delighted by the juxtaposition of the two sets of Sunday customers, parishioners and johns, and I wondered about the overlap, but I later googled and found that the Cat House is actually a set of 4X4 trails. It is actually called The Cat House Recreation Area, which doesn't help clarify matters and perhaps has led to some disappointment.
Anyway, we didn't run at all even though we had a shower and probably treadmill access in the motels. Lazy us!
I didn't run today either. Just did a butt workout, Zwow #20.
*for us, the west side
for the first night, then storm winds snapped a tent pole and sent us to motels for the other two nights. We wanted to check out a lake and some pretty cool rock formations in Western Kansas and generally see the sights and so forth.
We hiked in the Badlands and it turned out to be a pretty gruelling hike. It was around a lake, plus there were plenty of water spigots around the lake, so we weren't too concerned about the heat, but it was hillier and hotter than we were expecting and the dog got a sore on his left front paw, probably from lunging after a lizard, and this deflated him. We ended up ditching the last part of the trail and hugged the lake as possible. Our campsite also featured lots of flies that bit almost exclusively below a metre, and a lakeside that was too mucky for a dog that was sharing our tent, plus we drove around and stopped to look so many rocks....it wasn't his favourite trip. It's probably the only road trip that he didn't enjoy much and he's been on a bunch, up and down the East Coast from Maine to Key West, up to Kap, out to Nova Scotia, etc, not to mention our moves. This dog recognizes the cooler and the tent and sleeping bags; when we pack that stuff up, he sticks to us like glue.
So, for him to have a lousy trip is something new!
He probably did not appreciate the cool terrain. The yucca flowering season was ending but there were still a few alien-looking blooms to examine, and cacti flowers, and a few other wildflowers that I'd never seen before. And the rocks! The best were Monument Rock(s) and Castle Rock, both on private ranches with dirt road access. These structures were large enough to walk into and were more complex than they first appeared. Castle Rock was the greatest surprise: the most photographed section is a small trio of rock towers, but there's a larger almost maze like section as well which probably doesn't photograph as well or as iconically, but it's fascinating to explore. We could have spent longer at each place but it was hot and the dog, though revived by the skittering motions of lizards, was not a happy camper.
We also saw many grain elevators. I think I actually started getting a bit sick from the wheat particles in the air. Is this even possible? My gums got pretty sore (I sometimes get mouth cankers from wheat).
We drove through some pretty flat areas, which I was looking forward to. This is what I thought Kansas would be like. The authenticity of our Kansas experience was enhanced by fleeing a storm and also losing the belt to the car A/C later on in the heat of the day. It got close to 100F. I also liked seeing the Smoky Hills and the Flint Hills, both rolling expanses of rich pastureland. There were so many cows. Grain and cows.
We also drove by a hand-painted sign that said "Cat House, 3 miles" This was outside a very small town that was otherwise shut for Sunday (except for the church, presumably). The gas station was even closed. I was delighted by the juxtaposition of the two sets of Sunday customers, parishioners and johns, and I wondered about the overlap, but I later googled and found that the Cat House is actually a set of 4X4 trails. It is actually called The Cat House Recreation Area, which doesn't help clarify matters and perhaps has led to some disappointment.
Anyway, we didn't run at all even though we had a shower and probably treadmill access in the motels. Lazy us!
I didn't run today either. Just did a butt workout, Zwow #20.
*for us, the west side
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