~

Yesterday's fatigue: today's jacked up innards.
Culprit?  I think it was the fudge we got at the beach.  I haven't had problems before with the stuff from that place, but things change and we didn't check this time.  

I've been having a lot of up and downs recently from different products and situations, but the ultimate cause is simple and singular: gluttony.  I have to be stricter with myself.  So what if there are entire menus and grocery store aisles containing products I can't eat except for this one thing is probably ok?  There is safer stuff to eat at home.  So what if I really really want to try whatever it is, and it seems safe?  There is safer and probably tastier stuff to eat at home. So what if I'm sick of reading labels and asking questions?  Read the label, ask the questions, or skip it and eat the safe tasty stuff at home.  So what if I'm hungry?  There is safe tasty stuff to eat at home and I'll be back there soon.   So what if I'm starving?  I am not, unless wheat-related damage accumulates enough to cause malabsorption again.  nononononono

So, a walk and lots of fluids today.  No weights.  I'm even considering cancelling the daily double; this much inflammation makes exertion at least seem counter-productive.

The beach is FLAT!

Friday: just the daily double.
Saturday: the daily double, and 30 min run with the boys, lots of walking, lounging, etc.
Sunday: the daily double, and 60 minute run with the dog.  60 minutes of wondering when it was going to get harder, but it didn't.  Here, I can't run more than a mile, if that, before I hit some hill or other.  There, it was miles and miles of flat.  I didn't check a tide chart the short time we were there, and so I didn't time my runs well, but sloggy sand was a small price to pay for flat.

Today: daily double and 75 min blech.  I had no energy.  We ran the easiest route around here, and it still felt poorly.  No endorphins or brain witchery, either.  Just heavy limbs and a squeezed chest.   Pollen perhaps?  It was very lightly drizzling, and perhaps the high humidity was also a factor.

I attempted an arm/upper body workout, but the weights had gained mass.  Since I hadn't put on more plates, I figured my body was begging for a break, and that was that.

No, YOU interpolate that. YEAH!

Fueled by candy and pop and tunes all night, I just finished my final lab report after grappling with a stupid stupid Y= Ax^-3 slope that would not approach the plotted points no matter how many other coordinates I added in the function derivation, or whatever the fuck it's called, so I'm DONE--yeah, I could reread the reports, or I could just send them off and start packing for the beach!  Hyper!

Edit: they're sent.  HYPER!  I love all nighters...until they catch up on me.

Not sure if a run will happen today. 

Fatiguetasy

Sometimes tiredness unlocks a mythical storehouse.  During normal days, it's passed by unseen.  Even during demanding moments of normal days, it's still passed by unseen.  Even during abnormal climatic events preceded by months of exacting preparation, it's passed by unseen.  One does not simply march up to this storehouse, one does not ask about this storehouse and get directions, one does not beg and plead for this storehouse successfully.  In the middle of a harsh barren desert, it is invisible and without coordinates.

Sometimes--not always, after an indeterminate time and discomfort and weariness meandering in this desert, the storehouse manifests.  It remains invisible, along with its treasure; the latter can't quite be described because it is not accessed in the presence of a clear mind, but it is basically a peculiar form of endorphin.  Not the usual vigorous and sharper-edged pain eraser, but a golden lit fog that dissolves one's mind and bones and mass and aches ever so gradually and imperceptibly.

I was tired this morning due to issues, and I didn't feel like running, but this was the morning to undergo the Triplet.  The first quarter mile or so of the trail is actually mostly flat, and fatigue forced me into a gauzy lazy pace, and I wistfully longed for several more mostly flat miles for an hour or so of wisping along.  That would have been perfect.  I was so tired, I mostly felt hollow.

The trail started the first of its inadvertent accents, and still I mostly felt hollow but benevolently weightless, even when I got to the slow long climb in the middle.  Fatigue silenced Ego, and I shuffled up in a mindless sort of bliss and then down, and up, without any perceptible change of exertion until I got to the steep pre-Triplet hill.  After that, I was breathing hard at last, and I was even more tired.

The Triplet was mailed in, not even by me.  I was there, I went over its steep hills, I got even more tired during it, but I couldn't feel my core, I couldn't activate the pistons, I couldn't dig deep to any muscular anguish.  The Triplet jacked up my cardio output, that's all.  It seemed to take twice as long, but I had nothing to push against.  The dog sympathetically stayed by my side during the third pass.

 During the portions in between, I tripped over a root, and I also stepped on one end of a branch and slammed the other end against my shin; there is a lot of debris in that unused corner of the forest, but usually I handle it better.  I just wasn't picking up my feet that much today.

We finished the Triplet and I picked the least of the slow long hills back to the main trail, still a formidable stretch normally after the exhausting Triplet, but I shuffled up it without the usual fatigue.  I shuffled back up the main trail main ascent and it wasn't until I hit the long downhill portion that I realized that I'd reentered the storehouse.  I remained in the transfixing haze for two more loops of the main trail.  It probably would have remained longer, and I considered enjoying its comfort during an additional loop, but doubts coaxed me home.  I couldn't be greedy.  If the door of the storehouse slammed shut, I'd be left parched in that desert of suffering.   Instead, I wafted home without exiting.

The closest approximation I can think of, in laymen's terms, is spending a lovely sunny day outside at a festival with friends.  There might be alcohol, there might not be--the important factor is the aimless and delicious lassitude.  A bit of Frisbee, a bit of napping on the grass, a bit of food, no plans, no sharp mental edges or impulse, just complete contentment.

I got home and switched gears.  Today was the day for leg exercises.   My squats were on.  I put the final plates on for the deadlifts, and they felt ever so much clearer too.  Discomfort was sharper and more localized--I think I could use even more weight to target it better, but that will have to wait.  The odd thing I finally noticed, I think (have I written about this before?) is that I exhale during the deadlifts.  It's a sharp, core-clenching exhale, but it seems counterintuitive.  Every single torso ascending/unfolding yoga move I can think of uses an inhalation.  I inhale during squats.   However, I tried inhaling during a couple of deadlifts, and it felt horribly foreign.

And then the daily double.  I've also noticed something about my right shoulder issue.  Part of it might be due to extra flexibility.  It's really flexible, much more than the left side.  It's unbalanced.  It's almost as if I can ease it into a semi-dislocation--it looks really strange.  And whatever's going on tends to start to happen during pushups when I get tired, and then this is accompanied by the advent of the SVT trigger.  Something is going out of place and putting pressure on something else, and I end up feeling as though the flutter is going to kick off, and occasionally it has.  Updog is sometimes a problem as well as pushups.  I've noticed this pressured prelude before but never realized my shoulder's involvement.

At any rate, I've gotten all of my weight sessions for the week out of the way because we are going to the beach!  All I have to do now is finally complete my lab reports.  Might be an all-nighter with some choice language directed at a certain graphical program--oh, why won't you derive that final last function I need?  What is the magic symbol?  Let me totally unspool myself on the beach tomorrow, why won't you?

~ :(

Long walk through the forest with the dog, then arm exercises/weights and the daily double.

There was a tragic moment.  I found a beetle struggling on the garage floor.  It looked like it had escaped from a spider's web.  I removed as much of the fibre entangling its back legs as possible, a delicate operation, and then I considered putting a drop or two of water near it because it seemed sort of dehydrated (hard to tell with the exoskeletal folks, but this one lacked the usual beetle vigour).

And then I chided myself for the distractions.  Weights now, beetle later.  At least until the next set.

I lay on the bench and did some chest presses, and then I moved my feet a bit to get up.  And I heard a surprisingly loud sound halfway between a snap and a pop.

That poor beetle had crawled from under the middle of the bench to past the end, and it had definitely been dehydrated.

Clean out of grit

Temp: 8C and overcast
Gut pain: negligible
Shoulder (referred) pain: so-so
Time to hit the (road) hills!

The dog was not on the same page.  He wanted to sleep in.  Maybe he was having a rough morning.

We did most of the goat loop; I shortened it for time, and rationalized that I was still getting the two big hills, and wasn't that the point?  It turned out to be a wise decision.  The shortened distance was a distillation and it ended up being a (mostly) honest tempo run.   Running on the road was invigorating: I pushed down and something pushed back.   I could feel those little taut springy areas I've been working on with the weights working for ME.  Sometimes running on sand and debris gets old.

Time--oh, yeah, the siren call of numbers: 43:30ish, including stops for the dogs (maybe a minute or two?).  4.83 miles.  Considering that there are two ~150 ft hills on this route, and a bunch of smaller ones, and I had to coax the dog along in parts, that's not a bad pace.  Maybe next time I'll stop my watch for the breaks to get a better idea of where I'm starting from.  Oh, and today was the first time I made it up the second hill without stopping.  It's not as high nor as long as the first, but the grade is a bit steeper and more consistent.  A 1/2 mile just over 5%.  Getting up that near the end of the run was a minor triumph.  At any rate, the shorter distance was much more satisfying than adding the extra mile and a bit.  If I get faster, maybe I'll add it back in. 

And then legs.  This was also a tough workout.  I feel I'm getting stronger, getting more pow.   I also had an odd meathead moment: I wasn't happy with the grip on my left dumbbell, so I kind of hefted it upward, just a little micro toss of maybe a centimetre to get it into a more secure place.  And then I realized that I'd momentarily relinquished 30 pounds to gravity, with just my weaker hand to stop it.  Thanks to the comfort of wearing steel toed boots!  At any rate, I should put more weight on for the deadlifts, and get into the habit of switching plates more often.  I take plenty of recovery time between exercises, I can adjust plates.  I don't have many extra, though, just four 2.5 lb plates remaining, 5 lbs for each dumbbell, 10 pounds more total.  That brings it up to 70 lbs.  Then what?  I think I'll be good for another month at least.

And then I did the daily double.  I considered going for 12 and 10 on the pushups, but wussed out.

And then I flinched at the usual cold shower.  I'm not tough enough for a full cold shower, at least not until deeper into summer, but I usually turn off the hot water at the end, just for a minute or two.  Or five seconds this morning.  Wasn't going to happen.

A plunge

This weekend, I finally boxed up winter clothing, not without admonishing my procrastination.  We've had more than a few warm weeks, and more than a few days around 30 C, and yet my hats, gloves, and winter gear has been lying about, getting in my way--- 

shut it down

I packed up all that cold-weather stuff, and, of course, it was only 4 C this morning.  That used to be shorts and t-shirt running weather, but my blood is already thin, and I had to open the box moved only yesterday to the garage.  I needed a hat and gloves.

Just 45 minutes of jogging in the forest with the dog this morning.  My focus this morning was to maintain an easy effort even uphill, and I got into a good groove until my dog lost his head over an especially exquisite funk of some sort.  It was a bigger deal than deer, but perhaps they had just crossed the trail seconds before our arrival.   Or maybe it was a feral dog or coyote or some sort of long-lost cousin.  I couldn't see anything amiss, but I am rotten at picking out anything in nature unless it moves or makes a noise or a smell.  Anyway, after that, I walked up the rest of that hill, and a steep one further down, but otherwise I jogged--rather, minced--up the hills without too much exertion.   This particular pace still needs work, but it'll be worth it.  I cannot run long here without it.
 
I had thought about doing the triplet before the incident, but it's probably for the best that I was thrown off that plot.  I have gut pain again, this time a mystery that I can't attribute to anything I've eaten.  My diet has been perfectly gluten-free for at least a few weeks to the best of my knowledge.  I don't think it's the secondary issue either.  So, lots of water and tea, and hopefully it'll go away soon.

After the jog, I did arm exercises and the daily double.  The weights seemed lighter this morning.   The overhead press has been asking for heavier weights for at least a week, but today was the first day that everything seemed less hard than it should be.   However, the 7-7-7 bicep curls were interesting in that I think I felt the full point of the exercise for the first time in years.  Unfortunately, it's hard to describe, but it went from feeling generally sore and awkward to a denser, more focused discomfort.   An encouraging sign, and an easier situation actually.  Instead of a mess of random little muscles working and aching indiscriminately, demands are funneled to the target muscle; everything else gets a little breather while I torment that one little spot.

ehhh

I had grand plans of waking up somewhat early to catch at least some of the London marathon, but didn't find possible live feeds until after I'd slept in.  Plan B: watch last year's London marathon.  This necessitated setting up the treadmill: moving a semi-busted book shelf in front of it that is fortunately strong enough to support a laptop, and finding two short stacks of disposable books of the same height to support the back end of the treadmill and eliminate its otherwise inevitable incline.  Fortunately, I'd already dragged the treadmill into place and had a power cord ready.

Unfortunately, the wireless signal was hampered.  There is considerable interference here thanks to the training areas nearby, and so I usually switch to 5 GHz, but the Roku doesn't recognize this frequency, and my husband was watching TV.  After several stop-starts in short succession, my legs started to cramp up.  So, 15 minute recovery run!  Probably a wise adjustment: I am unused to running on the flat.

I also did the daily double, and went for a short hike with my husband and the dog.

nice weather

Thunderstorms yesterday brought the temps down.  I actually wore a windbreaker when I rode my bike down to get the derailleurs adjusted.

It was under 20 C when we ran later; it felt cold.  We ran about 1.5 hours, starting with the goat loop.

And then I did leg exercises.  Wearing the steel-toed boots really really helps.  I can't believe I hadn't thought of this earlier, although I'd never put more than 25 pounds on the dumbbells before recently, and somehow that extra ten pounds feels a lot more significant than going from 2(20 lbs) to 2(25 lbs).  I think my weak grip puts 30+ pounds into a new category.

And the boots bumps it back down into the old.   At the very least, I feel more comfortable dropping deeper.  It's must nicer to chase the burn rather than unsmashed toes--and, yeah, today was a close call.  But with the boots on, it was just a tap, no pressure, more of a shockwave.  Ha! 

At any rate, I'm feeling the benefits.  Going up these hills has become noticeably easier and more comfortable, and recently I picked up and moved a 40 pound bag of lime without knowing or feeling it was 40 pounds--I would have guessed that it was half the weight. 

Afterward, the daily double, now 21/21.  

solidarity

All three of us had a blah run today.  It was overcast and breezy, but 25C or so and humid.  I didn't feel specifically sore from the bike riding yesterday, just generally fatigued with one sore spot: my left knee.  I've been having the nighttime issues with it again: it somehow settles into an unfavourable angle, not a big deal until I move and wrench/lock it into a worse one.  I'm a bit puzzled because usually this is a gluten-related issue, but I've otherwise not been sick this week, and I've eaten just at home.   Anyway, the knee thing doesn't usually affect running, however, unless lateral movements are involved.  Like today, we ran on a couple of the busy roads, and passing cars required side steps and accompanying twinges.  It wasn't bad, but with the humidity and fatigue, it led to crabbiness.

I funneled that into a pretty decent arm/shoulder workout.   I also did ten pushups, but postponed the rest of the daily double until this evening.  I was dripping. 

Running-wise, I don't feel discouraged at all.  Oftentimes, a poor run one day leads to a really good one the next day, plus I might do a long treadmill run on Sunday if I can find coverage of the London Marathon.

exams over!

No running yesterday or today.

I beat my cycle time going down to the exam proctor: 8 miles in 36-37 min.  Woohoo!  That might be just as fast as an elite East African male runner.  lol

Going back was considerably slower because it was hotter, more uphill, and heavier: I picked up our co-op produce box.  Plus there's one hill in particular that is my Waterloo.  There are a few other nasty ones that beg the granny gear, but on this great-grandmother, I cannot keep up the cadence, even if I stand up.  Finally, I sat back down and, eh, gave up as much as I could while still keeping the bike upright.  I think it was actually a bit easier than last time too, probably because I picked up more speed on the downhill before it.

Not a bad effort in 27 C.

However, I can shrink these hills more quickly by finding tougher hills.  The goat loop is actually a bit hillier, as is a loop that incorporates my present bike nemesis and an even tougher hill that I've yet to lay eyes and tears on...there are a couple of short-ish options that involve an elevation variance of nearly 200 feet (not cumulative gain/loss), at least.  Meanwhile, I have to bring the bike back to tune the derailleurs soon.  Not now.  I've already had a couple of showers today.

Oh, and the cold water is still cold!  Maybe it'll stay that way?   If it ends up getting lukewarm (and believe me, it's a really disgusting feeling to have that come out of the cold water pipe; it's like someone pissed in it, or maybe I've spent too much time swimming* with siblings and cousins), I'll need to get more ice packs.   But hopefully conditions and the infrastructure are better here than they were in Virginia.

*sitting on pool noodles or other flotation devices in the lake and drinking.  Usually for hours, weather permitting.  Oh, I just found out that Bacardi breezers come in WATERMELON!

~

Walk with the dog and the newly-renamed "daily double" this morning.  My husband has started doing the daily minimum, too--40/40, what a stud!--but he called it a "double", but alliteration is always awesome.

:(

I regret bemoaning the lack of coverage of the Boston Marathon.  And I'm sickened by the inequality: the running of one of the world's best marathons, an athletic display of the highest rank, doesn't warrant much more than a grainy, jittery video not readily found, while the ensuing tragedy prominently plasters countless gory HD photos and videos.   Human suffering is more valuable than human achievement; until that changes, the former will propagate.

So how did the Boston Marathon end?

It took me about a half hour to find a feed that didn't require a proxy server, but it died about 20 seconds from the end of the men's race, probably thanks to the crappy internet here.  Or maybe it was taken down.  It had the pixelation of illegitimacy, and I couldn't see faces or bib names, but it was a whole lot better than nothing.

Especially after such a burning run and workout.  Since it was relatively cool this morning (only 19C!!) and overcast, and I wanted a tougher run, we did the goat loop, which has two sizeable hills and a bunch of smaller ones which do appear to be shrinking.  We pushed. Pace: ? but after the first hill, about 15 seconds in, my breathing didn't settle back down until we were done just under an hour later.

And then I put on my steel-toed boots and grabbed the dumbbells.  Squats, deadlifts, single-legged squats without weights, and modified clamshells because I don't want to lie on the floor of the garage.  Having my toes protected made such a huge difference.  The spared energy made the exercises more punishing, quicker ascents, deeper descents.  I know it was good because when I went to sit down soon after, my hamstrings said NO, STRETCH FIRST!

And then the daily minimum.  It has really been paying off.  I was able to knock out ten pushups in a row without too much fatigue--I have gotten strong enough now to incorporate form efficiencies such as pulling up back through my heels and giving myself mini-breaks while in plank.  Maybe it's time now to start thinking about increasing the daily minimum; probably I'll give myself a couple more weeks to get the routine totally set.

And then, the Boston Marathon! Yippee!  But, oh, no, Universal Sports is a cheap bitch (yeah, takes one to know one...) doling out just 1.5 minute intervals of coverage as a free preview this year, and the marathon wasn't available on any of our free TV channels this year either (we're paying for crappy internet instead! but the free TV channels were decent in the Midwest and one of them played the marathon, but not here, so I rarely watch TV apart from this one fishing show I like (sadly marred by the cooking segments where a lady basically cooks the fish and slathers whatever it is with the same cheesy sauce from a jar every time)), and I started looking into other options, and my internet died a couple of times, and my spirits sunk, etc, and when I was on the verge of finally becoming productive instead, I found a feed.  The quality was poor, and my internet did not cooperate but I got the gist of the race and a full dose of the excitement (probably enhanced by my failing internet) and it's been a super morning.  Parenthetical vomit = SUPER PUMPED.  Back to the books!

30 C

Oh, yeah, that's the high...but actually, mid to high 20s C has become almost comfortable, at least for biking.  Sure beats the high 30s C temps I was contending with back in Kansas. But it's not quite mid-April!!!  Is spring really over?  I had been enjoying it.

Fortunately, it was raining this morning--the dog needed a bit of persuasion to get started, but we had a relaxing jog, about fifty minutes long.  We ran the Triplet and I let him off the leash for it.  He is much quicker than me on the uphills (well, in general!), and so he stopped to wait for me on the path directly ahead of me...it was a bit messy, but we'll develop a routine.  

Then, arm weights/exercises, and two times the daily minimum because I didn't do it yesterday.  Forty pushups required a few breaks, but I've gotten to the point where I can blast five or so honest ones with solid form and some bounce until fatigue starts to catch up.  Compare this to wilting around number 3 just a few weeks ago.

Out of the grinder

My linear algebra final was today, the culmination of an entrancing and brutal adventure.   Hey, the inverse of a permutation matrix is its transpose! at least I hope I successfully proved that. Who knew?  That was an encouraging spot after I got into the weeds trying to extrapolate the point-normal equation which suddenly became an issue after how many pre-exam applications without incident?  My brain was tired.

I'm low on sleep.  3 and 2 nights ago were about 4-5 hours each, which is mostly comfortable for a few nights when I'm planning on catching up soon.   Last night was the night....to sleep one 40 minute interval (~1:20-2:00 am) and one two hour interval (~5:30-7:20).  ???!  I was done studying, I was prepared to sleep 8 or 9 hours and let things coalesce, but my mind was alight and it burnt itself out.  I did not have much left to work with! 

Fortunately, there's ginger ale in the house--my stomach was also upset from short sleep, probably dehydration too.  Breakfast was a banana and a protein shake, and then it was time to suit up and pedal.  And I actually beat the google maps estimation by a minute even though I had a bit of a detour: a smidge over 8 miles in just under 40 minutes at a reasonable effort.   I'm happy with 5 min miles considering my condition today and my condition in general: not a biker, not to mention other conditions: pollen, panier bags with stuff including a change of clothes and the world's worst-written textbook, pollen, pollen.   Actually, I think the 8 mile distance is ideal, a nice satisfying distance, worth the prep and not too tiring.

Turns out that the google map algorithmn takes elevation change into account: going back was to be 42 minutes.  I think it was 50 for me.  I was wiped and I had to stop and check my directions a few times, and I went a slightly different way.  Apart from the nearby towns, and I suppose the highways, the street layout here is the FAS-afflicted child of a Templar labyrinth and a bowl of spaghetti, with umpteen golf courses thrown in.  Basically, I have the choice of quasi-highways, often narrow two lane roads with a speed limit of 35-45 mph, or serpentine and hillier neighbourhood roads, or no choice at all--sometimes I'm forced on the faster roads because, oh, no, the kids will get flattened if we allow through-traffic between subdivisions.  I'm still learning the good routes, but I had a wonderful discovery today: a particular road which goes mostly straight and in a useful direction actually has bike lanes and/or a wide shoulder.  Score!

Hopefully the daily minimum will happen.  I need a nap first.

Running?  Ha. 

The green dust

I am reliving the yellow dust of Korea (and, by further extension, the Gobi Desert).  I biked to town on an errand, an easy 15ish min spin, and the hue of the bike and my thighs, and probably my face, was visibly altered by the end of it.  There are clouds of pollen blowing by. 

However, breathing-wise, I'm fine.  I suppose it helps that I've already eaten a fair bit of the stuff, if one is to believe the naturopathic principle behind eating pollen.  However, the thought of a bunch of dust entering my respiratory system is not entirely comfortable.  Mucociliary elevator, activate!

Walk and the daily minimum today, plus biking.  A note about the daily minimum--I do 2 sets of 10 pushups because I'm a wuss and 20 in one go is not quite happening yet.  But I think I'm getting stronger more quickly doing more at once than when I was greasing the groove--BTW, gym double entendres are rampant, but google Pavel Tsatsouline--I haven't been giving it a totally fair shot, but I've been doing 5 pushups four or five times a day for the past month or so, and they didn't start feeling easier until I started doing 2 X 10 several days ago.  There has been a significant improvement since then.  I guess I wasn't greasing the groove enough.

The gentle post-sauna fatigue

It's now 28C.  It was about 26C when we ran--the weather app lied!  I was marvelling at the effect of so-called 20C, and the dog quickly turned into a little steam engine, but I kept effort at a comfortable level and his tongue and ears stayed pink and not red, and we hit the Triplet three times.  The last time, he was starting to slow down, so I dropped the leash on the first hill and took off.  I'm used to running with the leash, even during speedwork, but it was amazing how relinquishing it released my shoulders, and how much more power this generated.  It was so thrilling that I considered a fourth go, but I didn't want to push the dog too far.

However, he really enjoyed the freedom.  He's already fond of the Triplet, and he likes short fast intervals in general, but we are not well-matched when it comes to such quickly changing terrain.  He pulls ahead on uphills and I roll ahead on downhills.   I hadn't realized before dropping the leash how much energy has been expended merely trying to equalize, never mind the asymmetry.  Now that we've paid our dues in this sloppy leash-less domain, and since I've never come across anyone in the Triplet, I think I could live with an unclipped lead through it.

My weights afterward didn't go as well.  The spectre of a crushed foot has accumulated mass and I found it hard to concentrate on form.  I started cleaning up the garage during sets, and this distracted me further.  There was one good interval where I reminded myself that I like the weights because they drive everything else out of my mind, and the ensuing squats distilled to a scintillating band deep within each thigh and the weights almost vanished..but my deadlifts afterward were crap.  I did a couple of reps but things felt off, my back felt crooked and I couldn't manage to set myself properly; I ended the workout then and there.  Later on, I pulled out the last mystery unpacked box from the closet.  Hopefully my steel-toed boots are in it.  Perhaps this is unorthodox, but I got to make use of what I got!

I felt so tired that I was too tired to feel much discomfort during the daily minimum afterward.  I noticed more efficiency with my pushups at least.

Spring is in the air

And all of these long-leaf pines are getting down, and their pale green pollen is accumulating. I'm breathing and eating and drinking pollen and wiping it off this computer (put a napkin over the vents, yo).  The patio and other horizontal surfaces are becoming verdant, including the dog, and it's disgusting what is happening to the koi tank...I guess the koi palace will need a skimmer as well as a bottom drain.

Anyway, yesterday: daily minimum and a walk with my husband and the dog.  I pinged my left foot against roots a couple of times last week, and that eventually led to a calf and plantar fascia strain.  It hurt to walk yesterday morning, but stretching repeatedly seems to have done the trick because I don't feel it today.  I should be stretching more in general

Today: daily minimum, a very easy 45 minute jog/walk with the dog (met another loose dog, of course), then arm exercises/weights.  It was about 17C and humid this morning and I was quickly covered in a layer of sweat...but I successfully embraced the upcoming sauna.  YES.  Several months of purification, during which running will just happen to be incidental.  This will be a long summer of detoxing.   There's no rush, the toxins will make their way out, and lucky me, this will happen for FREE.    This was the mindset that helped me get through the summer of 2011 happily and merrily, culminating in a rather comfortable 4:01 marathon at about 32-28C, not including humidex (I wish I hadn't stayed so long chatting at the water stops--could have been a sub-4!).  Sadly, last summer was the worst heatwave and drought in the Midwest in 50 years and no amount of mind-trickery could deny the weeks of highs in the 35-42C range, not including humidex...but this summer should not be that extreme, just more humid.

Steam room steam room steam room sauna.  Several months of daily sauna.  Score!

The Hunger

We ran for an hour and a half today, including the hilly goat loop--and they were bleating when we went by--and some more hills, then the forest, then more hills.  It wasn't easy but the weather cooperated.

And then I did some weights: leg exercises.  I was tired, it was tough, etc.   A new argument for a bar instead of dumbbells has arisen: with dumbbells, I have to watch where I put them down while I'm doing squats and deadlifts.  Not a big deal when they're not heavy, but they were heavy today.  The plates have a larger diameter than the usual dumbbell ends and so they come very close to the floor in between reps, leaving a margin somewhat narrower than the height of my feet.  I suppose my steel toed boots are in that one box in the closet that I still haven't unpacked. 

Then I did the daily minimum, 20/20.

We've bought some goat whey powder with which to combat the hunger.  I have nearly eaten all of the junk food my parents left here.  We were doing so well diet-wise, but I've enjoyed eating all those candies and chips, but now it's time to figure out how to combat the evening cravings more sensibly.

Controlled burn

This morning: walk in the woods with the dog.  The loose dog we met today was the female one who hasn't paid much heed to us until today: turns out that when she's with her owner, she's a different animal, very friendly and playful.  The owner, one of two women umpteen paces behind the dog, at least asked if my dog was friendly before her dog got to us.   It would be nicer if she actually had control of her dog and if she'd been around the first and second time the dogs encountered each other.  But at least the dog is not a problem dog.

This evening: hour long run with my husband and the dog.  It was 16C but cool-ish, very refreshing weather for running.  We ran to the backside of the forest without incident, and then we spent a few minutes running past a recent controlled burn (cue getting ripped metaphor).  The local pine forests need a good forest fire now and then to scorch the competition, and I wish the rangers would take a match to all of the pesky little oak trees and thorn bushes cropping up in the Annex, but it was disconcerting to run so close to such a recent incineration.  The charred smell upset the dog: he kept looking around and speeding up.  It smelled slightly sickly even to my nose.  And then we got to the really rooty section and my husband took off.  I guess years of football and lacrosse foot drills come in handy.  I hung in there, and then the hills afterward were a bit of payback....I really like running with my husband!

And then I did the daily minimum.   I used to do so many pushups and situps a day, and while justifying skipping an arm workout after the run today, I decided to salvage some respect by reintroducing this.  20 pushups and 20 situps a day.   Not as many as I used to do, but I have to (re)start (again) somewhere. I want to be one of those built old people who've done 50/50 or whatever for the past 40 years that look like only 20 have elapsed.  Will see how it goes. 

3(!!!)

I'm feeling better today.  We set out in a light drizzle, which intensified, likewise my energy level.   Plus the soundscape was suitable for a harder run: distant gunfire.  This enhances one of my favourite running themes: society crumbles and I must flee sensibly through the forest, avoiding roads and undue exhaustion. 

My first pass through the Triplet was pretty solid but I didn't think of breathing more effectively until halfway through the second pass.  My innards are still pretty raw and thus most of my core muscles have absolved themselves.  The last thing my body wants to do is clamp down on the sore bits.  Anyway, I had a harder but more technically sound run through the Triplet, and then when I got to the next fork in the trail, I decided to turn right for the very first time and go past the PRIVATE Trespassers will be prosecuted (shot?) sign.  The sign is old and the path I run along to return to the Triplet is actually past it; I was simply tightening a loop I've now run many times without incident.

This occasioned a third pass through the Triplet, merely for exploratory purposes, of course, but I momentarily lost nerve and my usually overeager adrenal system fired up.  Oh, man, this is going to be so hard.  But it was either this or a stupid long detour, and the Triplet is hard no matter what: best minimize duration.  The first hill was slippery and form-loosening, the second was solid though the little roots all over it irked me suddenly near the top, as always, and the third hill was euphoric.  I forgot about fatigue: my neurons unanimously decided that sensory input was superfluous and discomfort was suddenly lifted.   One of those great moments in which I forgot I was human.

The next hill was one of the smaller ones, but I walked up it.  But I jogged up the large hill out of the ravine shortly after...and then walked up the gentler incline at the top.

Almost seventy minutes of running, and now I'm thrilled to know that the Triplet can be incorporated into a loop that's only five minutes long.  That seems a really good duration for repeats.  I guess April will have a factor of three.

At home, while I was on a roll, I put heavier plates on my dumbbells and did the usual leg exercises, plus some single leg squats without weights which is becoming usual too.  I actually did the last set unmodified, though my form is still crappy.  Getting there!

APG 2007-2008

^A blast from the past!  My parents stayed with us for the Easter long weekend, and though I gave them the anti-gluten primer (#4: don't wipe up normal breadcrumbs with the cloth dishrag), I seem to have ingested some.  Perhaps I also fought off a cold yesterday...anyway, my guts are rebelling and so it's back to the old APG trick: run in the forest and hope for the best.  Fortunately, there is a forest but a minute or so away!  Finally, the convenience of this place--pretty much just the proximity of that forest--outweighs all the inconveniences!

Anyway, we jogged/walked for nearly 50 minutes today.  Just one loose dog today, and he was beyond a fork, so we took the other path and missed him completely.   I'm feeling kind of worn out but we hit the Triplet hard--at least, it felt hard even though I walked up the hills before it and wasn't already breathing heavy when I got to it.  But judging by my dog's apparent quicker gait, I was slower today.  Things stayed solid, though, which is very encouraging.

And then I did arm and shoulder exercises with weights.  I thought about doing a Zwow, but any jumping/squatting/bending over/etc is repugnant today.  Again, I was noticeably weaker than a few days ago (quantifiably so: I had to drop a few reps) but hopefully I'll recover soon.  Lots of water, tea, fruits, and supplements in the meantime, as well as the satisfaction of tender arms.

I would like to do the Triplet twice and some sort of leg routine tomorrow.  I'm falling under the spell of the weights; I'm considering embarking on the classic arms, legs, and core rotation.   I lift very lightly compared to others who lift, but I still enjoy the exhaustion and euphoria.  

11 hours of sleep

I'm sick.  I slept in until ten or so, partially waking up every so often for a debate: if I sleep just a little bit longer, will I get sleep paralysis and, if I do get sleep paralysis, will I push past the terror to a really cool flying dream?  Instead, I went through tamer yet still slightly disturbing dreams and half-wakefulness wherein I partially woke up and debated and dodged sleep paralysis in other bedrooms and other houses, until I was finally able to wake up completely in my own bed but I feel like I left part of me behind there.  This is why I usually don't sleep in or snooze.  The borders get too blurred.

Yesterday, we jogged for an hour and then I worked on my bikes.  My new bike is clean again--sand is more of a pain to get off than regular dirt!--and my old bike has a new inner tube and the handlebars are repositioned properly and hopefully the front brake cable is now just the right amount of tight. 

a bit of grit

Sunday: 1 hr run with my husband and the dog, then weights: arms and shoulders.

Saturday: bike ride.   Figuring out the gears almost made most of the hills accessible.  I am really out of biking shape!  And things here are a bit further apart than I'd guessed: the spot that I'd thought was about six miles away was really past nine, but my route was a bit circuitous too: still learning the bike-friendly routes here.  The road network is poorly-designed in some respects: the town itself has a grid system, a very small grid system, and the rest is either windy hilly suburban neighbourhood roads or less windy and less hilly highways and quasi-highways.   And the scenic detours I plotted at home fell by the wayside but I found others, and some larger roads with bicycle signs--one highway is part of a state bicycle route which rocks because it's the only road that will get me to a certain place without miles of detours, but I wasn't sure I could actually go on it--and I also found a trail system and that my bike, though it doesn't handle sand well, but which bike does?, it's actually surprisingly steady on packed dirt/light gravel.  Yeah, I was on the wrong bike, but I had to check things out.  Some of that sand is still on my gears, plus I still have to reinflate a new inner tube on my other bike: my folks are in town so things have been busy.  Hopefully later today I can get to it because I'm itching to ride again.  total: over 22 miles in about 2 hours of biking, including walking and bumping through a fair bit through sandy portions--I guess there were about 1.5 miles of very slow trail "riding".   Altogether, this was my longest bike ride in a long time. 

I still have to get used to the lower hand position, but I was shocked at how easy it is to balance on this bike.  Somehow I'd thought that it would be more finicky than my mountain bike, it being more streamlined and delicate and all, ha! no, this thing is much steadier.  I just have to remember that I can't turn so tightly anymore, even when I'm going very slowly, and I think turning out quickly prior to turning in--hard to explain, but it gets the bike turned in a tighter space--isn't something I can do on this bike.  But it makes the hills ever so much kinder!  Near the end of the ride, I chose the scenic option, a road that I've run in that direction only once because of a certain hill I'd completely forgotten about.  Once I saw it again, a couple of bad words escaped my lips, but I actually made it up on a granny gear. I'd thought I was going to have to walk it.  I was so tired by that point.  So that was a minor triumph.  And then a few minutes later I biked into the subdivision next to mine.  LOL

Though the road network isn't the best, the local attitude is top-notch.  Not one person yelled at me.  It helps that there are horses here: drivers are more used to sharing the roads.

Friday: short run in the morning, then picked up my bike and biked a few miles but couldn't figure out how to shift back up cog sizes.   Turns out that pushing the lower set of brake levers outwards shifts up.

My apologies for poor sentence construction: I woke up in the middle of the night and decided to update because composition is sometimes sleep-inducing, and it's working again.  Not the best indication or or inspiration or impetus, but heyyyyyyyyy