oh, DOMS

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.   My legs are, once again, on the 48 hr program, although the run yesterday doubtlessly contributed.   My arms were surprisingly sore as well. 

However, I got a good night of sleep, and this morning I ended a 75-80ish minute jog feeling better than when I'd started, thus fulfilling the purpose of a recovery jog.  However, I wonder if endorphins  altered my feedback.  I didn't feel a surge of pain-lifting bliss, merely a sore, stiff motion that became progressively less so, but perhaps I should have been more cautious. 


Tomorrow will tell.

Rain!

And magic time!  We got out shortly after 6:30 and jogged for 1:40.  That might be my long run for this week.  I miscalculated with the squats and deadlifts yesterday: I was a bit tired today, but not sore, but usually the 2nd day after feels worse.   Maybe I'll be able to do a long run tomorrow, maybe not.  At any rate, I should do my leg workouts earlier in the week.

No daily double because of abdominal issues.  I was wearing a fuel/water belt which made things uncomfortable.

edit: brand new chest/arm workout!  subject to change:

Dumbbell bench press
Dumbbell flies
EZ bar curl
7-7-7 bicep curl
One Arm Pronated Dumbbell Tricep Extension
One Arm Supinated Dumbbell Tricep Extension
Some other tricep exercise I goofed up.  I think I have to study skull crushers some more.
Seated Bent-Over Two-Arm Seated Dumbbell Tricep Extension (at least one rep of something just typing that out)

I need to add tricep dips. 

Major epiphany with the dumbbell bench press: How to get them up there .  (The woman doesn't do it properly).  Up until now, this has been my major limiting factor.  I've kept just 20 lbs on each dumbbell and that feels fine (almost too fine) once they're in place, but it's a workout putting them in place without injury.  I tried the guy's trick and it works perfectly.  Now I can put more weight on.

And then the daily double.

dafuq

I don't even want to know what that animal was.  It sounded like hoarse panting.  Last thing I need to hear in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere!  And it's too humid here for earplugs!  I don't want to wear earplugs!  My windows are SHUT.  I'm trying to be reasonable, I'm trying to compromise.  Go down the street and make that noise, whatever you are.

Another complication was a possible reaction from dining out last night.  It's a good restaurant, and the chef is careful about what goes in, and everything's from scratch, but maybe there's some cross-contamination going on.

Anyway, once again, I lost out on a few hours of sleep.  So I just did the leg workout.  I'm tweaking that one too.  I've just realized that I haven't been doing any lunges.  The garage was a great sauna. Even my arms and legs were sweating.

Skipped the daily double.  TSK.  But, excuses!  My guts are raw.  All I've ingested today is a meal replacement shake, ginger ale, corn chips, and protein and iron supplements.  Hopefully I can handle pizza tonight.  Fortunately, we can get some decent frozen gluten-free pizzas here, and they've become a Friday night tradition. 

Hopefully I'll run tomorrow.  I've been getting up too late for the magic hour.

sleep

I'm catching zeds.  For the time being, my window stays shut at night so I'm not woken up by animals.  Recently, I realized a potential part of the problem: Stupid bird and its siblings have graduated. (not my video).  Somebody around here also does a pretty good imitation of a sheep or goat.  There is also the quasi-simian whoop of woodpeckers.  And so much more!

Anyway, working out felt pointless this morning because recovery has been sapped by missing sleep, but I did shoulder exercises.  I started tweaking the routine again.  The main change is the addition of a heavier dumbbell press.  I've since found out about the seated bent-over rear delt raise.  And I've also since found out that there are women in the bodybuilding.com exercise video database!  How have I not noticed the "Female" option before? 

The daily double was more uncomfortable than usual today.

no rain, rain

We've been having humid mornings and afternoon thunderstorms.  Maybe that's what summer is like here. 

Anyway, the dog and I jogged for 70-75 minutes, during which I acquired my first weird bug bite or sting of the region.  Turns out that the bugs (sweat bees? flies?) that tend to bomb my head also bite, or sting...I could have a stronger grasp of the taxonomy and mechanics, but that wouldn't help matters at all.  Whatever those bugs are and do, they leave welts.

Then I did the daily double.

no rain, too much nature

Something woke me up around 4, I guess.  I can't used to all the noises.  Nature, man! On the one hand, I think this is funny as heck; on the other, I'm royally ticked off.  I like having the window open for fresh air but my sleep is often cut short by crying animals.  Last night, 5 hours.  Again.  Where are their mothers?   Feed your darn kids!  I'm actually getting used to just having 5 hours of sleep a night and then crashing for longer every few nights.

Although, I felt kind of rough this morning.  It was 22C...that's about the low these days.  I can't complain; I was expecting a lot worse.  So, goodbye cool-ish mornings.  We're in the sauna now!

I took a stab at a 4 mile tempo run: 34:30.  Eh.  I slowed down on the way back, but my breathing still stayed up.  That's the main point anyway.

I think I also got a driver busted.  There's a four-way stop close to my house where two 45 mph roads intersect.  As I was running back towards it, I noticed a red car not moving.  It looked like the traffic cycled through, but this car stayed put for at least a couple of minutes or so.  On my way to the stop, I also passed a police car parked on the shoulder.  I ran up to the stop at about the same time as a black car facing the red car; I nodded to the driver, and they went through.  The red car was not moving, and someone else made a right turn.  I tried to make eye contact with the red car driver, but he was wearing sunglasses and he was on his cellphone. 

Ah, I got it!  Because there was nobody behind him, he stopped to chat.  Yeah, in the middle of the road, but people do that here!  See, I'm learning about Southern culture.

Anyway, my presence at the four-way stop can get confusing if I linger--apart from the red car wildcard, it was my turn.  I dashed across and he edged into the box.  Not a problem, plenty of room.  But when I got to the other side, I heard the whoop-whoop of the po-po.  Ah, man, ok, busted.

But not me!  Maybe the red car, maybe somebody else blew through after me.  Beats me.  I just hope I never see that red car again!  I must say, running here has been a lot more comfortable than in Virginia, where people yelled obscenities at me often.  Here, nothing.  But if I'm going to get a pop bottle or something chucked at my head, it'll be from that red car.  (I always envision a pop bottle because I don't think it'll hurt too much).

But I do have to be more patient in general.  Things are just slower here.  I'm still not used to it.  Maybe the guy was waiting for the intersection to be clear for 5 seconds or whatever.  Honestly, I should get into the habit of counting to 5--what I think is indecision or hesitation is merely the pace here!

At any rate, I'm going to try to head out a little earlier from now on.   As long as those stupid animals stop waking me up in the middle of the night!  lol

And then, leg exercises, four sets:

squats(5)
deadlifts(5)
single leg squats (2...the bloom is off the rose with these, and I dropped them the last two sets)
single calf raises(5-10, depending on weight)
goblet squats (5-8, depending on weight)
straight leg deadlifts(8)
single leg butt bridge(5)
clamshells(15)

I'm using the bar for the straight leg deadlifts and actually the weight is equal to the combined weight of the dumbbells, if not a little heavier, but the bar and keeping my legs a little straighter is so much easier.  Less shifting around.

And then the daily double!  Now 30-30.  I felt like bumping it up.

Rain!

But not during my run!  It happened afterward, while I was mortaring.  I actually delayed the mortaring by a day to avoid the rain predicted that day, and we ended up with a couple of random small rain storms!

Anyway, yesterday, I jogged with the dog for 85 minutes, and then my husband joined us for another 45.  Total 2:10.  It was easy though muggy for the most part, but by the end I was fatigued by the heat and humidity, and I kept getting stitches in my side.

But no daily double! BAD!  However, I got a good workout with the concrete blocks.  I ended up crashing at about 9 pm, and slept 10 hours solid.  This was badly needed: my sleep had been short for at least a few days prior to that.

Today: rest day. But I did the daily double!  I'm working on my attitude.  Hey, it's only a couple of minutes or so out of my day: JUST NIKE SLOGAN.   I did all the pushups in one go too.  Usually, it's been 15 and 10, with the situps in between...nah.  Get them done, get them gone.  I usually do them more slowly, but today I built up some momentum and just slammed them through.  There are pros and cons to all approaches, but it seems the quick and dirty is the order of the day for now.

no rain!

 But a nice cool overcast morning.  80ish minutes with the dog, an easy run.  Maybe this will be my long run for the week.  Will see how I feel tomorrow.  At any rate, I felt much much better than I did on Thursday.

 Then shoulders/upper body exercises, four sets.  I've altered the order somewhat:

Bent over rows, single arm(5)
bar rear delt row(5)
shrugs(5)
Cuban press(5)
Iron cross(5)
deltoid raises, side and front(5)
lying one-arm lateral raise(5)
rotator cuff exercises(10)

I have the feeling that there is at least one more exercise I can sneak in there.  Although, admittedly, I haven't been doing any bicep curls or bench presses.  My original half-a-plan was to incorporate them into a third set of exercises...I don't know where I'm going with that anymore.    Anyway, today will be a good arm day because I'm going to mortar some more blocks.

And then the daily double.  Oh, hey, that word "daily" means EVERY DAY, right?  Yet I am evidently having comprehension problems.  There's no reason for this.  It's so simple.  25 pushups, 25 situps, EVERY DAY.  I was doing so well with the daily double until our last trip out of town, which was over a month ago, and I still haven't gotten back into the drill.  EVERY DAY.  Not EVERY DAY unless I am really tired or I do another workout.  No, EVERY DAY.  I don't do TOMORROW very well.

No rain!

It's only 15 C out and I've been up since six, but I'm not going to run today.

Usually it's fine running the day after a tough run, serious injury aside.  Some runs are just bad for mysterious and transient reasons.  Often a crappy run is succeeded by a really good one, as though it had purged excess toxins or bad juju.   However, yesterday's run was especially brutal and I feel I need more of a break before I attempt my next run.

It wasn't hot either, just 18C.  But my breathing felt constrained from the start, and I felt oddly incapable of my body. It was heavy useless thing that I had to lug about, and couldn't control.  I couldn't find any efficiency of form, I couldn't find any solid musculature to ping with, just a sloppy dead weight.

But, hey, the temperature felt on the cool side.  That should make things comfortable.  Maybe I just needed to loosen up.

Unfortunately, matters further deteriorated in the forest.  The sand was soft, the air was heavy, though still chilly at times, and my breathing was squeezed further.  A 60-ish minute route stretched over 80.  At first, I walked just uphill, and then I was stopping to walk every few minutes.  I didn't feel the hysteric despair of heat exhaustion, but at times I felt like matters were beginning to look hopeless.  Random emotional responses like those aren't a good sign.  My face was dripping with sweat.  Drops kept falling on my arms and legs, but my shirt remained dry.  That was an odd disconnect.  Usually, sweat doesn't discriminate like that.

My breathing still feels a bit sore, or maybe it's heartburn. 

Possible causes include airborne allergen, or maybe just dust from the recent lack of rain, not sweating (I atypically put on deodorant unthinkingly, but this hasn't affected any runs before--honestly, it's a so-called 'natural' kind that doesn't hold back sweat; it's not an anti-perspirant), low iron (I switched to a vitamin pack recently for a boost, but there could be not enough iron in it, or absorption is hampered by another vitamin--I like the pack and it's helped me before, but I really wish they'd label the pills individually so I can space them out accordingly), high humidity, time of the month, dehydration, aliens...at any rate, I should take it easy today and make sure I'm drinking enough water.  I'm hoping to do a long run tomorrow.

I guess I dismissed summer too soon! 

no rain!

But lots of animals.  I was banking on solid sleep between 3-4ish am and 6-7ish am, and often this works well for me.  One honest sleep cycle is enough sometimes.

When it is punctuated by random shrieks and cries of dogs, birds, monkeys, etc (I really don't know what's out there), it's not enough.   I still have a headache 12 hours later.

The dog and I just walked today.

But after supper, I had a craving for some treadmill! Really!  This has led me to my present situation: relaxing in a mild garage sauna, lazily fanning self-rebukes for my folly.  One does not run so soon after heaps of pasta.  But the urge was so strong, I figured maybe my body had new info. 

Anyway, 5 min easy jog on the TM, and some of the daily double.

no rain!

At least no rain during my runs.

Sunday: walked, I think...if I ran, it was short and easy.  I honestly can't remember.  However, I got a really good workout from mortaring.  It was actually dry, so I worked on the koi palace.  It felt satisfying to be able to handle a 60 lb bag of mortar and umpteen 25 lb blocks.  I can pick up and carry a block in each hand without too much discomfort.  This is why I do weights, so I can do stuff like this.  Anyway, it was really tiring because it was also 30C in full sun, but I lasted for a couple of hours and got through the entire batch of mortar. 

Monday: easy 55 minute run.  It was going to be just 40, but my dog crapped in the middle of the road in front of someone's house, so I had to pick it up, so we had to go to the trash can by the ranger station to throw it out, so why not jog around in the forest a bit more?  And since I don't know the trail distances there very well, I ended up with a bit more trail than anticipated.  And then the daily double.  And then, in the evening, I faced my white whale: a 80 lb bag of concrete.  I thought I was going to use it this weekend, but didn't (it's to stabilize the bottom drain for the koi palace, but I still have to cut and glue some PVC together)...anyway, my husband has moved the bag for me up until this point, but it was outside in the rain and he wasn't home, so I picked it up and moved it. 

Tuesday: tempo run! 4 miles, 32:20--not bad!  I was not feeling the best, but it was only 22C (albeit 88% humidity), and I paced it better this time.  The first two miles were in about 15:30, and the last two were uphill and mostly on grass so they're bound to be slower.   And today they were cruel.  There were more cars so I had to run on the shoulder more, which is sometimes soft and often grassy or covered in pine needles.  Talk about a slog!  I really have to wake up earlier for this particular workout.

Admittedly, I was extra late this morning.  My watch was on Kansas time, so 6:20 was actually 7:20.   Turns out more people in my neighbourhood walk at that time, so I met some folks.  LOL.  Usually I don't see anyone until the end of my workout, including the two kids who ride bikes and exercise their dog.  My lonely magic time turned into social hour all of a sudden!  So I was a little mystified, but I did the run, and then found out the real time once I got home. 

And then the leg workout. I've altered the reps and weights a bit, but the heavy exercises are still 5 reps.  It's the perfect number.   Occasionally, I'll throw in an extra rep or two on the last set just to get extra tired.

And then the daily double.  I've been slacking on it, but I realized my problem.  Now that I've been doing all my workouts in the garage, there hasn't been enough padding for the situps, and so I've been electing to do the whole daily double once I'm back in the house on a carpet.  But this has never has happened!  But we have a camping sleeping pad kicking about in the garage.  Much better! 

My other problem is motivation.  Ok, I'm doing pushups and situps so that I can get strong enough to do more of them?  Otherwise, it's hard to gauge progress.  But I have a dream, one that I've never ever accomplished: a one-armed pushup.  Is this even possible?  I still have to do more research and figure out the intermediate steps, form alteration, etc. 

no rain!

But it was only 14-15 C when we started our run, even though I was later than planned!  It felt almost cold.  It banished my doubts about the intended length of the run.

Though it took me about 50 minutes to get out of the door, we were still early enough that there was almost nobody on the road.  A few cars, and one other runner, a soldier by the looks of it.  Which leads me to a topic that I've been pondering idly for a while: hill guilt.  Maybe I'm the only one who feels this.  It occurs when I'm relaxing and rolling downhill, as fresh as the morning dew, and I meet a runner fighting up the opposite direction.  Which leads me to another topic: stench guilt.  It occurs later on, sometimes much later on, when I pass a runner who smells like soap and detergent, as fresh as the morning dew, but my odoriferous reply is at least unpleasant, and more likely horrendous.  I would like to apologize to the second runner I met, nearly two hours into my run.  I've eaten a bunch of garlic this week.

Well, anyway, we ran about five miles on the road, and then we went into the forest.  And then I had to pee.  I am not complaining, merely pointing out a drawback to a drop in temperature: increased water retention.  I drank a volume of fluid that I didn't sweat out as expected.  Worse still, I was carrying a sloshing water bottle on my waist belt.  Fortunately, I was in the back part of the forest, nearly an hour before it even "opened"; I had never ever seen anyone there early in the morning.  Even though the underbrush is pretty thin, privacy seemed adequate.  I stopped and glanced about and stepped off the path.

Which leads me to another topic: strip siren.  Ten thousand hells, curse of my life!  The moment I make myself a little more vulnerable, someone comes out of the woodwork.  We hike for 9+ hours in Utah, and our only human encounter happens when I'm pulling up my pants.  I clamber in and out of a few empty rocky coves on a desolate Nova Scotia coast to absolutely ensure privacy, and a surfer breaks away from the pack further down and walks onto the beach while I'm in mid-wipe.  After hours of hearing nothing but birds and animals, I squat and suddenly hear human voices (this has happened multiple times).  Surrounded by miles of empty water and shore, I'm putting on a bikini (too awkward to kayak in), and, bam, a boat.  I think it must have teleported--there was nowhere it could have hidden, the coast was straight, the waves weren't high, and all of a sudden, it's there, mere meters from the shore.  Still a mystery. 

This morning, when I was about to squat, I saw blue and red out of the corner of my eye.  FFFFFFF....but it would have been worse ten seconds later.  I sloshed a couple of miles to the ranger station, tied the dog up outside, and used the facilities there.  And then we jogged around the forest some more.  I felt surprisingly fresh, although I was getting sloppy with the roots after a couple of hours. 

Total run: 2:15-2:20.  Very encouraging!

Then I did leg exercises, most of 4 sets.  Very tiring!

Daily double...eh.....I've kind of gone off it.  :/  ok, just did the pushups at least.

No rain!

It felt a bit warmer than usual this morning, even though we were up slightly earlier.  Turns out it was 25C!   But the dog was ok, just a little sluggish.  We ran back through the forest and he cooled off in a stream.

70ish minutes, but probably a 60 minute run under better circumstances.  Still, it was surprisingly comfortable.  Even the few sunny portions were fine.   It may get more humid further into the summer, but I can't imagine the early morning temperatures getting much higher. 

And then I did the shoulder workout and the daily double in the rather warm garage.  My right shoulder is fine; now my left one has a twinge!

Oh, yeah, yesterday: walked.  I just couldn't wake up early enough to run.

Rain!

I think I've eaten gluten recently, but the source is a mystery.  It might have been in the takeout sushi I've eaten practically every Saturday for the past few months.  Cross-contamination can happen any time.  Or it was in the sausages that we used in a stew.  Usually my husband checks with the butcher, and these sausages were made on the premises, but sometimes soy sauce sneaks into the flavoring.

Anyway, I didn't get quite enough sleep and this morning was rough, but I ran the hills.  My legs were hollow and I couldn't feel an effective drive/core at all, but my pacing was decent at least.  My time was 39:40, about 8:10-15/mile.  Considering the hills and my condition, I'm pleased.

The last large hill was as brutal as ever, but fortunately a downpour started right when I was at the bottom.  Up until then I was feeling warm and I was starting to lose heart.  I couldn't have asked for better timing!

Meanwhile, the dog slept in.

Then I did legs, the same workout as before though I've altered the number of reps for a few of the exercises.  The heavy squats and deadlifts are still just 5 reps apiece, and they felt really effective today.  My breathing and form were solid, and I sorted out a new little glitch in my left shoulder (yep, a shoulder once again) by not allowing it to drop or droop. 

Then the daily double, which was abysmal!  Out of juice!

Is the high for Thursday really supposed to be 35C?  I can't complain though: these early mornings have been surprisingly comfortable. 

Rain!

Sunday: shoulder workout.  I altered the order of exercises, and it worked really well.  I didn't run because I had sleeping issues again.  Slept from 2:00ish to 4:30ish, and I suspect that was a complete sleep cycle because I felt oddly refreshed though still quite tired.

 Today: 75 min "easy" run in the forest.  A bit of a detour while looking for a certain route.  But I was well-rested after at least ten hours of sleep.

My laptop trackpad is cracked--it's been slightly cracked for a while with no ill effects, but I guess it's past the point of tolerance now.  Have eliminated all other possible issues.  though I can use my sketching tablet as a kind of trackpad, it lacks some scrolling functions, including the one needed to disable the original trackpad.  Thus it's like I am battling with a haunted cursor. (edit, got it half-sorted, it will be disabled if I use a mouse but the tablet doesn't count).   It's been a bitch and a half and I've gotten no work done today except finding and ordering the parts I need to replace it...ugh.

Rain!

Although we got only a short slight drizzle this morning during our run.

However, the ground is saturated.  This morning, we found ponds and streams where there used to be none.  We jogged/slogged/waded for 1:40, but it might have been only 9 miles.  I really don't know.  We jogged around to the back side of the forest, and then we dove in.  I thought that we were on a new trail at one point, but it might have been merely an old one rendered unrecognizable by the water running over it.

My socks are atypically stained grey because they've recently done a few controlled burns, and so some of the pools were saturated with ash. 

I had flashbacks of my one and only official ultramarathon, one of the North Face races, this one on Bear Mountain, NY.  It had been raining heavily for a few days by then, and I lost count of stream crossings--I even lost count of how many times I was running on a trail that was actually a stream bed including loose rocks.  Coupled with my intestinal issues that morning (this was before I found out that I can't hack gluten), and getting lost, I didn't make the first cutoff.  I was so tired, I didn't care.  After over six hours of sliding over water and rock, and through mud, I was euphoric to sit on the bus of shame.  Maybe one of these days, I'll register for another ultra. But would there be much point to it?

I'm not even sure if I'll do a marathon this fall.  I've been considering it, but my strength has been so inconsistent lately.  Maybe I should be content to work things out of my system before it's blazing hot.  It's like I'm experiencing two days in one, the shady, cool (and, as of lately, wet) day, and then the muggy steamy sunny day.

At any rate, I've been sleeping better, which is a good thing! And we bought more plates for the E-Z curl bar. 

Rain!

55 min easy jog down to the main forest and around in it for a bit, and back.  I still don't know the trail system as well as I would like, but at least I have a general idea of it.   And we had it all to ourselves this morning.  We got drenched, though, but I will get drenched one way or another this summer, and I'll take refreshing rain over cloying sweat.

My legs are sort of trashed (yesterday I also cycled a few hilly miles with 30 lbs of groceries and stuff) but they thankfully loosened up after a while.   It might have been better to do a recovery run on the treadmill, but I don't want to waste this weather.

Then, shoulder exercises:

Bent over rows, single arm(5)
deltoid raises, side and front(5)
Cuban press(5)
Iron cross(5)
lying one-arm lateral raise(10)
rotator cuff exercises(10)
bar rear delt row(5)
shrugs(5)

X3

I've been thinking about putting the last two exercises in front because they felt kind of like an afterthought.  Oh, I'm on the bench with the easier exercises, done the set! oh, no, wait...  If the last two are first, that wouldn't affect the single arm rows too much, I think, and I wouldn't have to glove/deglove an extra time.

The deltoid raises went really well; I've definitely noticed an improvement with them.  The iron cross, on the other hand........punishing.  I'm determined to do 5 reps, but I'm allowing myself to switch from 10 lb to 5 lb dumbbells if I just can't lift my arms parallel to the floor.  Yeah, 5 lbs.  Big spender! And brutal exercise, but in a very satisfying way.  Likewise, to a smaller degree, the Cuban press.  That one's a good pre-pump for the Iron Cross.  Man, I dig the names.

I did some of the daily double...:/  But, hey, I did all of the weight workouts for the week, and I still have Saturday...

Rain!

Yesterday: nothing.  Discomfort woke me up sometime before 4:30 am and the day didn't improve much from there.

But today I bounced back!  We jogged for about 70 minutes, down the easy route and further along another road, then cut back through the forest.  The mental adjustment required to switch from coasting along the road to picking among roots was a bit unpleasant, but the dog's improved mood made up for it.  He didn't like the drizzle, he didn't like being by the road, he especially disliked running on the wet shoulder, but once we turned onto the trail, he perked up.

It was a good run.  My only complaint was that I wish it had been longer.  I wasn't expecting to cut off that much time running through the forest.

After that, legs.  A slightly revamped workout this time:

squats(5)
deadlifts(5)
single leg squats(?) (just 2, because I was sore)
single calf raises(5)
goblet squats(10)
straight leg deadlifts(8) (lighter weight, this is actually more of a relaxing exercise)
single leg butt bridge(5)
clamshells(15)

X 4, eventually 5.

Then the daily double.

(Shoot, while I'm at it, I should type out the last workout I did.  I don't know if I can remember it anymore!):
Bent over rows, single arm(5)
deltoid raises, side and front(5)
lying one-arm lateral raise(5)
rotator cuff exercises(5--I should be doing more reps with a lighter weight...maybe I can grab some ankle weights)
shrugs(5)
bar rear delt row(?)
Cuban press(5)
Iron cross(5)

But I actually forget the order! oh, well.  I think I did the bench stuff before the iron cross to give myself a bit of a rest, but I'm not sure.  Next time, I'll sort it out.

A comfortable cushion

I went to bed late...I got my second wind.  :/

So I woke up today at 6:20, too late for magic time (not-scorch-in-the-sun time).  So, the dog and I walked, and then I got on the treadmill, loaded a lecture and some tunes, and SOMEBODY STOLE MY MIND AND BODY.   And they replaced my body with a better one.  My mind was gone and I doubt I retained anything from the lecture.  However, after the first five minutes of feeling sore and stiff, and remembering yesterday's leg workout, I focused on driving from the hips and letting everything else loosen.  Once I started bypassing my heavy quads in this fashion, I felt weightless.  Twenty minutes later, I came back from this dimension, drank some fluids, and continued.

The only rough patch was near the end.  It was hardly anything, more of a sudden boredom.  I clung to the numbers, the ever slowly passing numbers, for about five minutes, and then I chastised myself, turned the tunes up, and went.  The last ten minutes or so, I increased the pace just enough to gain momentum without breathing hard, and, holy endorphin sails, I defied gravity and the citric acid cycle.  Great easy run.  70 minutes.

And then, a revamped shoulder workout.  My shoulders are my weakest point, and though I haven't been feeling them during runs anymore (progress!), I feel them during squats and deadlifts, more so than the places where I should be feeling these exercises!  Maybe that has to do with using dumbbells, but my shoulders are clearly the weakest link.  So I decided to look up some new exercises and break out the E-Z curl bar finally.

I highly recommend the video library on bodybuilding.com.  Basically, I clicked on the thumbnails without fancy equipment.  There is also the option to refine the search according to available equipment, but I missed this at the time!  Post-run stupid brain.  Anyway, I have a bench, dumbbells, the bar, the floor, and that's it.  And I cannot incline the bench because the pin is missing.  We never had it, but no complaints--the bench came from a curb: free! 

Barbell (aka E-Z curl bar) Rear Delt Row
Cuban Press
Iron Cross (already one of my faves even though the weakness this exposes is appalling)
Lying One-Arm Lateral Raise

I added these to the deltoid raises, rows, shrugs, and rotator cuff exercises...probably I'll take a look at compete workout sets to make sure I'm not omitting anything important.

And then I did the daily double.

Thwarted

I went to bed before eleven!  Score 1 for discipline!

I couldn't sleep from 1:00 am until 3:00 am or so!  Score 1 for the Other Team, be they evil sleep-snatching fairies or whatever.  This wasn't due to Stupid Bird and Company though.  They were still asleep.  I have no idea what got me up.

I woke up again at 6:10, a little late, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to at least do an easy run.  The dog had a different opinion of the matter, and after performing the world's slowest and most pitiful crab walk down the hall, complete with bowed head and a beseeching sideways gaze, he got a pass.  I was on my own.

This went to my head.  Hey, I can go faster without him anyway!  Tempo time!  Unfortunately, I went out too fast and paid for it.  It was cool, only about 22C, but very humid.  Going out two miles only took 15 minutes or so; going back took 17 and I had to dig deeper for those because it was uphill and mostly on the soft shoulder due to increased traffic.  It rained all night and it was a slog.  I was miserable.  My mantra was, the faster you go, the sooner it ends.  Cadence cadence cadence.  If I want to do a tempo run on that road (and not on the shoulder), I have to get up earlier.

Still, 8:00ish/mile for a 4 mile tempo run under not the best conditions isn't shabby considering I'm out of shape.  I'll take it!

Then legs.  A bit of revamping going on.  Same weight, but I've been tweaking my deadlift form: I've been keeping my knees too straight.  Probably locked at least a little bit :(   It's been disorientating doing something slightly differently after umpteen years, but it'll pay off, and I'm starting to feel it where I should.  I'm constantly rechecking the movement in front of the bathroom mirror, and I wanted more practice with the weights today.  Plus, the squats felt good.  So I did 5X4 instead of 3X5.  Next time will hopefully be 5X5, but focus is on form.  I also added single calf raises to the mix.

And the daily double--I did it yesterday, and today.  On Sundays, I like to do as many of the pushups as I can in one go just to test, and I was shocked to do 20 after such a weak week.  Guess I'm well-rested.  My push up benchmark, my very old benchmark dating from over ten years ago when I was doing tryouts for the uni rowing team (didn't get in, turned down coxing for the guy's team, oh, why, stupid stupid girl? lol, but I lasted through three weeks of tryouts until the last erg test where I failed to pull 500m under 2:00)...anyway, memories, my benchmark is 60 +40.  100 pushups.  Can I ever do that again?

Meanwhile, I'm wiped.  I'm taking a break from an illustration project.  Y me no can draw? I'm crashing the characters I've already drawn a few times before.  My hand just won't trace the mental picture.   Next time, I'll save the stupid stuff like shading for days like this.

Compulsion

I've been doing bizarrely well these past few days, I suppose.  It's still uncomfortable to eat as much as I usually do, I've totally quit the daily double, and I've gotten into a bad sleep pattern: I fall asleep in front of the TV for an hour or so in the evening, and then I sleep about five hours that night.  However, the early morning runs have sunk in deeply.

I have been craving flatness for ever so long.  Apart from vacations, I haven't had a route that hasn't gone over 0.25 miles and a 5% grade since late 2011.  Hills are good, they toughen one up, etc, etc, but when the only way of avoiding them is a treadmill in a usually warm room, something goes missing, and I had forgotten what.

Why has it taken me this long to realize just how amazing and flat my new route is?  I suppose I had to wake up early to reap its advantages.  After a certain hour, it gets sunny, hot, and busy.  The speed limit near the end goes up to 55 mph--the shoulders are wide, but that doesn't help the noise.

However, early in the morning, it is cool and refreshing, it slopes gently downward for the first couple of miles, and the road is quiet and smooth.  There are some houses on it, tucked behind the trees, and some paddocks and trails, and part of it goes by the base...mainly, it's surrounded by pines.  Even on the shoulder, I don't have to watch my feet much; I can unpin my mind and just coast.  My favourite type of run!  I've taken it easier these past two days, just six easy miles each day, but I can lengthen this.  There are some steeper hills ahead, but not until past another 1.5 miles, I think.  That leaves me plenty of space in which to drift.

I've been really craving that!  This is how it used to be!  This is how and why I used to run about 50 miles/week.  It was easy.

I'll still run the hilly routes, and I'll still jog on the treadmill to watch lectures, but having a relatively flat route and a cool breeze---especially during a stretch of weather with highs above 30C--is bliss.  Can't pat myself on the back for getting up and out early, nope.  Worth it.

So, my goal this week is to do some hills, and weights, and get back into the daily double.  Perhaps I'll have to start back down at 20 pushups and situps.  Oh, well, setbacks happen.