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.