a nice sort of fatigue

Yesterday was a lazy day.  I slept in too late for a long run, and decided to save my energy for today:

3:10 hours, including three loops (56, 57, 57 minutes).  I had hoped to do a fourth, but my husband joined us during the third and it was already above 20C by that point and, etc, etc, excuses, it was a luxury to finish the loop with him and walk home with him.  I was tired and not entirely satisfied with my fueling.

I recently bought a gel flask: $8, thank you, Amazon.   GU gels have been working well for me these past few years--they're gluten free and have umpteen flavours (right now I'm on an orange kick, but just have blackberry left)...unfortunately, I've gotten a bit tired of gels in general.  They're too sweet.

So was the homemade gel recipe I tried: honey, molasses, salt.  Not enough salt.   The sweetness was beginning to overwhelm my stomach during the third loop.  Maybe it would also help to have a bit of citrus, or maybe vinegar.  Something sour.   I need to tinker.  At any rate, the gel flask was already better than gels because I could take smaller portions whenever I wanted--maybe that's what had led to my downfall--but it's nicer to take small bits instead of an entire gel, or even 1/2 a gel, at once.

Time for homemade gel adjustments!  And time for one of my favourite post-long run meals: noodles with fresh tomato and olive oil and an obscene amount of salt but, hey, I sweat lots and my blood pressure has tested about 90/60 for umpteen years.

Tempo

Yardwork yesterday.

And more today.  I'm getting pretty deft with a pickaxe, and there is something so fulfilling about the movement.  One of my will-never-come-to-fruition plans is to devise a bestselling new fitness craze: old-timey prison sweat.  Added resistance from shackles!  Total core workout breaking rocks!  I'm going to call it the Leavenworth Sculpt.

Anyway, before that, the dog and I did a tempo run.  Warm up, then the loop in 45-46 minutes, including his breaks and a minute or two standing to the side to let horses pass.   So, we were under ten minute miles--lol--but not bad for a bunch of sand, hills, and roots.   And I only mostly tripped once.

My good field of vision is narrow (yesterday, I jammed a box into a doorway, and of course someone saw this shining moment) and sometimes my feet are on a different planet, but I'm getting better at anticipating the footing, and picking my feet up in general.  And, as it turns out, trails are an amazing venue for tempo running.   The footing is a great distraction.  At times, I feel like I'm so close to bailing, because I'm going over stuff too quickly to judge it clearly, and the adrenaline is amazing.   

Sure beats slower sloppier runs with more mishaps and more pining for my pickaxe.  I suppose this is why I've been so pumped while hacking those roots out of the backyard.  Payback!

Anyway, it was a tough but great run.  I sweated loads because it was close to 20C, but it wasn't sickly humid and I ended up with a great buzz. 

No weights, just yardwork.  I've been strict about taking iron and protein supplements for the past few days, and I feel like I'm getting out of the hole.  This will just be an easy week.  And I want to run lots tomorrow.

sapped

I was hoping that the German Shepherd wouldn't be loose today, and it wasn't.
I was also hoping that yesterday's unnecessarily strenuous run would portend a much easier one today (sometimes a really good run follows a blah one), but it didn't.

Temps, 17-21 C, but humid (the humidex was 25 C by the end).  My breathing was compressed.  My legs were heavy.  There was not a single moment of comfort, not even downhill.  2 loops of 54 and 56 minutes, and 2:10 running time total. I ended up walking a good part of the way home, and then I ditched the weights.  Whatever.  lol

Factors:

The weather is once again a jail.  There was a good week or two, and now the humidity's back.  I didn't think it would matter because the temps are lower, but I'm still running in 20+ C and soaking through my clothes.  Oh, well.  I'm trying not to be upset about this, but I really want, if not need, some easy running and some real fall weather.  Conditions are still ass-sweat and it's late September.  Can't we all just get along?

I've recently increased my running--I'm on the waitlist for a trail ultra--and the extra load will take a few weeks to get used to. 

Diet--my guts finally feel fine--no more pain! But, I got really lazy about taking supplements, and probably I'm not absorbing enough, much less eating enough to begin with.  I've definitely lost some muscle strength. 

Reacquaintance (doing my best to avoid the laziness of bad language)

Yesterday: walk.
Today: 80 min jog, shoulder exercises.

We met the German Shepherd again, and it was mad today.  It ran across the road to a few feet away from us.  It didn't start barking until it was close, and took me by surprise, so Shock & Awe raised my volume (I don't like yelling at strange dogs).   I held out my hand and told it "Back off, back off, go, go, no," etc.  No improper language.

It didn't want to back off this time though.  It quickly reversed its retreats.  Finally, I heard someone else yelling.   The human who owned it didn't bother to leave her house but her dog eventually heeded her.  I noticed that a white dog was also loose, and perhaps this made the German Shepherd more protective.

For some reason, I am not afraid of this breed, but there was a moment of "oh, poopies," probably while I was looking at its teeth, and then I quickly admonished myself.  Commit.  If this dog was nutty enough to go after us, it would have done so already.  It was just probing for weakness. 

I waved to the owner and called out thanks, and she shut her door without a word.  Maybe she just felt ashamed (probably not), but more likely she was interpreting my gratitude--and I was grateful to have the dog called off--with a good hefty dollop of passive aggressiveness.  My thank you probably seemed akin to "Bless your heart," which I'm sure I've written about before.

Later on, I realized that perhaps she hadn't heard "Back off," but something including another four-letter word, which isn't acceptable here.    Yes, it's perfectly fine to let one's dog roam up and down a 45 mph road hassling others, but to curse?  My lord and saviour Jesus!  I don't think I've heard a single curse word here.  Even in Kansas, there were plenty of f-bombs.

I felt a substantial surge of adrenaline and the added boost of "Oh, snap, I really hate living here sometimes."  I've started counting down even though we have no departure date.  n(3XX) days to go!

Anyway, my jacked up nerves and the humidity made my run slightly uncomfortable.  However, we made it through the forest loop in 55 minutes, including walking up a couple of steep portions and my dog's breaks.  We were out later than usual, and we saw a few dogs in there, including the cutest little puppy.  Hopefully the owner was unfit and/or doing intervals: she was jogging with it, and dogs that age are too young for sustained runs.  Dem joints!

My shoulder exercises were feeble.  Things felt a third heavier than they were--I know, because that's how much I had to cut back!

more running than lifting

Thurs:  75ish minute run mostly in the forest.  We did the loop the other way for the first time.  Changing direction made less of a difference than I thought it would: the intersections looked much more familiar than I was expecting, and the hills were manageable.  The worst part was the softness of the sand in parts.  We need some rain!

My legs felt like crap for the most part, and then near the end of the loop, I realized that, thanks to the cooler weather, I was perhaps moving more quickly than I'd expected.  It turned out to be the case.  We did the loop in 50 minutes.   This is an expanded loop from the 50 minute one this past weekend.  It helped to have cooler weather today.

This has inspired thoughts of tempo runs.  It's been ages since my last one; I can't think of a more miserable type of run in hot weather.  Even long slow runs are more comfortable.  Anyway, I'm considering moving my tempo runs to the forest.  This will require some fancier footwork, but I think it would be fun, and I could definitely keep my heart rate jacked up, which is the point of the exercise.  And I wouldn't have any interruptions from cars.

Umpteen hours later, I biked with groceries.  I must remember to weight my right pannier more than the left (they should be equal, of course, but sometimes that's impossible.  Anyway, I have this lovely long downhill on the way home, with a curve to the left near the bottom, and I started getting the wobbles once I leaned in.

And then, legs!  And failure!  My benchmark for the clean, set last leg day, was too high.  I was too tired, too biked out, and my strength and energy drop during afternoons.  I went to clean and, failure!   I paced, recollected my thoughts, etc, went to clean and, failure!  Worse than the first failure, too.  I stitched things back together with ten pounds lighter.

Fri: dug in the backyard.

Sat: 2 hr quasi-tempo run.  The weather felt great and we picked up speed on the road leading to the forest.   The first loop: 45-46 minutes.  The dog started to drag on the 2nd: 46-47 minutes.  It felt a bit hard at times, but seeing the path roll under my feet more quickly than usual was a thrill.  And it felt good to stretch out my stride.   It was a tough run, though!  I didn't do weights, I just dug some more.

Sun: 2:25 run.  I was tired!  The weather was reasonable, 21 C and supposedly not humid, but it was surprisingly damp in the forest after a night of rain.  My husband and the dog ran with me for the first loop, and then I did the second alone.  Fatigue had a disassociating effect by that point.  I managed to keep my feet up and I didn't trip once, but I was on auto-pilot, periodically returning to trails that looked foreign and strange.  It was an odd run, and fulfilled the purpose of back-to-back longer runs very well.  The point is to run tired.  Too bad I wussed out of a third loop, but I hadn't brought any gels.

oh, yeah, we tested the dog on the route--we dropped back whenever we got to an intersection and let him tell us where to go.  This was a bit confusing for him, not because he didn't remember the new loop, but because there were a few places where we used to turn another way, and he's not used to being in charge.  However, he got the first few right, and he accepted dropping back beside us after the intersections...altogether, he did very well.  The only one he got wrong was part of the old loop.  We've never done this before, and I don't want him to get into the habit of choosing, but it was a good mental exercise for him.  He was very polite about indicating the right direction too.  My husband remarked that he (the dog), would turn his head for the left turns, but veer with his body for the right turns.  At any rate, he didn't pull.

Unfortunately, I failed to tap into a more relaxed feeling--my breathing was slightly more elevated than I wanted--but the warmth and humidity withdrew my lowest gear.  It was disappointing to return to the summer stress, but I suppose this has toughened me up for the tough 2-hour run the day before.

Then I did arm/chest exercises, 2 sets.  I was tired but didn't drop anything on myself.  I suppose that my slackening of weight workouts this past week foreshadowed the inevitable: as my runs intensify, the weights will suffer.

coooool

It felt almost chilly this morning!  The dog and I jogged for 2 hours and 10 minutes, including his breaks.  I don't time him; I have no idea how much time he takes.

And then shoulders, just two sets, but I made sure they were grueling.  Then I did yardwork.

!

Foggy humid morning, so we just walked.

And then I did leg exercises.  I pared down the routine for the sake of mental fortification: it felt time to increase the weight on the (front) squats, and thus the weight on the cleans.  And I've told myself to take my time with the cleans, but meanwhile I'm itching to get more out of the squats.  Going to the proper depth helps, but I need more weight to get this certain kind of feeling...

What's ten pounds more?

It actually worked out fine.  So that's one fewer mental block!

!

I just did arm/chest exercises and some work in the yard today.  I suppose I wasted another cool morning, and I didn't even feel too tired to attempt an easy run.  Just lazy.  If only there was a flat mile-long stretch somewhere here!  Then out and back would be a fine recovery run.  Otherwise, unless I'm feeling really knotted up and need to loosen up and get blood pumping, it's just another mid-range run.  Might as well rest up and make the next one a little longer.  It feels a little weird to ditch my near-daily run compulsion, but doing so seems to be working out.  Hills every day just isn't cool.

At any rate, the clean was starting to click again.  I did some reps in between sets, and the last one was at the max weight I've been using for front squats...it was definitely easier.  I did 5 solid reps without much fatigue (except, man, that exercise really jacks up heartrate!).  And there were a few reps during which the bar floated up and I got under it.  I think the key for me, at this point, is to have my shoulders prepped right from the start, and to start the jet pack when the bar is starting to get to the max height for the deadlift/first pull.  Lately, I've been conceptualizing pull 1 and pull 2 with too much of a division.

Another hurdle is that my smallest plates are 5 lb.  I have to increase by increments of no less than 10 lbs.  This is not only mentally daunting, but considering my feeble loads, also physically challenging.  My rule of thumb is that, once I get to eight reps, I can go up (unfortunately, this isn't proving the case with delt flies because the increments available are even proportionally wider).

Plus I'm still using the EZ curl bar, and though I'm a lightweight compared to what others are loading on it (warning, amusing profanity), I still have this vision of smashing my larynx with the curve of the bar.  But it hasn't come close to happening yet.  Still, I'm already past the original "safety" (aka, you got to be effing nuts) limit I'd set.

Anyway, I can clean more than 1/2 of my bodyweight now, but my attempt at OHP at the same weight didn't work.  I'm hoping to do this before my long runs this fall get too long.  Onwards and upwards!

Welcome to the Library

aka my future memory palace.

The low last night was only 15 C!  I slept in a bit and got out when it was only 17 C!  I failed to look at the rest of the forecast--the next several nights will be just as good!--so I assumed that I couldn't let the cool temps go to waste.

We headed out.  My gut thing had unfortunately distilled itself into a sharp localized pain, and so my thoughts for the first 20 minutes or so were upsetting and negative.  Meanwhile, the dog was grumpy too.  I think he wanted to sleep in more; at any rate, it was one of those days that he didn't want to leave my husband behind.  Then my pain went away and we ducked into the forest.

My goal was to do 3 complete loops, starting at the ranger station, and hopefully being under 60 minutes apiece at a very easy effort.  These loops are slightly different than the ones I've been doing, which I've never timed precisely anyway, so I wasn't sure how realistic I was being. We got to the starting point after about an hour (scenic detour).

A couple of miles or so into the first loop, we met another runner.  He was carrying a bottle and a newspaper--at least, that's what it looked like at first.  I wasn't near the point where fatigue injects extra humour into confusion, but it still amused me.  At first, it was like he was running for his bus, just a random dude with his newspaper and breakfast smoothie or coffee, and then I thought of a library.  We are in a library!  My gut pain was gone by this point so I was forgetting that I was running, but what if I was really forgetting that I was actually in a library instead?

My realization a few minutes later that he was probably holding a printout of the trail map was somehow even funnier.  I saw him a couple more times after that.

Shortly after, we passed a guy who had long hair, large headphones, non-hiking shoes, and a bottle of water--he totally looked like he belonged in a library.  Almost like he lived in a library.   OMG, we are in a library!  My mirth was renewed.

And then I thought of the memory palace.  I'm preparing for a couple of midterms, one 3 hr, one 3.5 hr, and I really need to start wrenching facts down.  I've never had a memory palace before, but I've wanted to try one for awhile.  As I get to know this loop better, I can start fixing associations.   Like, there's one annoying rooty downhill stretch that I cannot run down completely because it gets too gnarly, and then there are four steps at the bottom--well, that's going to become the first four-part factoid I hit.  And so on. 

We jogged on, passed the serious runner from last week's long run (passed him one more time), and a more amiable shirtless runner (passed him about 4 times total), and a few hikers, and we got to the ranger station in under 50 minutes.  Yeah!  There was one slightly interesting part during the second loop.  My dog was balking at getting out a stream because he was digging things up and chasing things.  After umpteen "let's go"s, I heard loud voices behind me.  Ok, really, let's go out of the way.  Shortly after, we were passed by a runner who asked us if we were ok.  Yeah, of course, thanks.  I didn't put two and two together until he was out of sight.  Maybe there weren't multiple people back there, just one, just him, directing whatever he was saying at us.  Or he was talking with other people he'd passed back there.   SO many people today with the nice weather.  A nice change.

And I more successfully negotiated my 1hr50-start-tripping thing.  I think that's when the first wave of fatigue hits.

Later on, I was getting tired of always looking down for roots.  There are a few sections that are root-free, and there are a few that are almost so--these are the most cunning.  But I didn't bail this time.

I started getting a stitch sometime during this run, but it went away after about a half hour.  Shirtless dude said I was looking good when I passed him for the last time before starting my third loop.

The second loop was also under 50 min.  Yeah!

The third loop was tiring and less populated.  Just over 50 minutes.  I decided to walk home from the ranger station, the short way, of course.  The dog did not want to walk: he kept speeding up.

Total for the run: 3:30, or maybe 3:00 without all the dog/stream breaks.  I think it was about 19 miles.  Not bad for mostly trails.  I had whey protein and a pre-workout mix before, and two gels during, along with water once per loop at the ranger station.  Too lazy to carry a bottle.

I don't think I've stopped eating longer than twenty minutes since!

A good burn

No run today, just shoulders.  I did most of 3 sets.

This week, I've focusing more on sensation than numbers; I've been absolving myself of full workouts once I've achieved what feels like a suitable amount of stress.  This has actually felt more effective than longer workouts.  Apparently, I was sacrificing quality for quantity.  "Oh, eight reps is sooo tiring" but not if some of them are half-arsed.  So I'm revamping my attitude.  No more scenic routes.  Straight to the burn instead.  The sooner I get in, the sooner I get out.

Today, I seized discomfort and my shoulders are now on fire in a good way.   Major hot tinglies. 

I think I've lost some muscle--the gut thing has knocked me down about five pounds or so--but I'm starting to feel like I'm gaining again.  And I've done my six weight workouts for the week.  It's also my aim to do three 1 hr+ runs per week...the two so far weren't good, but one more tomorrow will still count as three total.

blech

Too warm, too humid.  We mostly jogged for 80 minutes.  No snakes, but no comfort either, even on the downhill portions.  My breathing was much better than yesterday, but it was too warm to truly breathe easily.   But it's a good exercise to keep going when conditions are never going to be nice.

I was shocked that it got up to 27 C by the end.  That's really too hot for the dog, but the shade and the streams were adequate for him, and he wasn't impressed when I stopped to walk.

And then I did arm exercises.  Laurie Anderson helped me slip past fatigue in the hot garage.  I was too tired to push with something more upbeat.

:P

This morning was slightly cooler and less humid than average.  I was pumped for a good run!  Maybe an extra loop in the forest.

Unfortunately, my breathing was squished right from the start.  At first, I thought I was just fatigued, then I thought that perhaps the humidity was higher than I'd realized, and then, shortly after my lungs started to feel irritated, I passed four guys driving large mowers.  They were trimming the highway shoulders.

I guess I'm allergic to that volume of cut grass.  Or maybe something else. 

The run became even more pleasant when I plopped my dog in a stream.  I always check for snakes, but I didn't look far enough.  He went in, paddled around a bit, and then started staring at something--just a few feet away was an unhappy snake.  It wasn't large, maybe just a couple of feet long, and rather prettily banded...most similarly to a copperhead.  Venomous but not always fatal to humans.  I'm not sure about dogs--I got mine out of there asap.  We'll be much more careful in the future.

And then I put my face through a rather solid and occupied spiderweb--I run into webs often, but this one was especially substantial.  Fortunately, I managed to shake off the spider quickly.

After that, I started taking walking breaks.  Total 80~ minutes, thanks to the walking :/

I was feeling pretty sapped by the time I got to the hot box, and I gave myself permission to pare down my leg workout.  3 X just three exercises: squats, deadlifts, lunges, but with max weights once I warmed up.  This went rather well, actually.  My cleans felt cleaner (I think I was going too high on my first pull), my squats were decent and lacked a weird left hip flexor glitch that has cropped up recently, and there were a few moments during the heaviest deadlifts when I felt nearly tapped out but in a great way, like it was a State of Emergency! and every last scrap of actin and myosin had to work.  It was a neuromuscular buzz!

The lunges, as usual, were bland and annoying in comparison.

~

No run this morning because it was too humid.  I just did arm exercises:

Dumbbell bench press
Dumbbell flies
7-7-7 bicep curls
Straight Arm dumbbell pullover
Tricep dips on bench
Standing dumbbell tricep extension
Seated Bent-Over Two-Arm Seated Dumbbell Tricep Extension
Dip station attempt
pushups
situps

And a bunch of "cleaning".  I don't know where the magic has gone!  The exercise used to feel more secure.   Either I'm still weak, or I lost a bunch of muscle memory...probably both.

~

20C this morning, but humid, but ok for a 40 minute jog. 

And then I did shoulders, just 2 sets so I can get back into the rhythm while getting out of the hole.  I feel like I got enough of a burn.

overhead press
Bent over rows, single arm
deltoid raises, side front, back
EZ bar shoulder press/clean and press
bar rear delt row
Cuban press
Iron cross
rotator cuff exercises
pushups
situps

I pared the routine down a bit and I'm considering ditching the bent over rows too because they've been feeling more and more redundant.  Instead, I want to concentrate on the more important exercises, particularly the deltoid raises.  I'm still using just 10 lbs for these, although sometimes I put on 5 lb wrist weights for them--but my sloth usually spurns that fussiness!  However, 15 lb dumbbells is too big a leap.  I can do 1/2 a rep with them, that's a start.  My kingdom for 12 lb dumbbells! 

The iron cross has improved though.  I can consistently manage 4 reps with 10 lb dumbbells.  When I started, I had to use 5 lbs. 

And the overhead press is going nicely.  I've quit using dumbbells for the time being...just not a fan of cleaning them.  I can do it without issues, but I prefer how it feels with the bar, even though I've lost some ground with it recently.  But there were a few solid reps, plus I managed to overhead press (and not push press) nearly half my bodyweight today.  3 X 2 reps.  Going over 1/2 my bodyweight is another goal...

~

I didn't sleep well last night, but I had enough energy for a leg workout.  A lackluster leg workout.  Just two sets but I've lost a lot of strength this past week.  All the exercise yesterday didn't help, but I don't have any soreness apart from the usual abdominal pain.  Guess I'm just wiped!

It was a minor victory to clean the usual weight for my squats for the second set, but it felt pretty sketch getting it up there!  I'm eager to add more weight to this exercise, but it's going to happen slowly by the looks of it.

!

Wow! The weather was civil this morning!  Only 17 C!  And not terribly humid either. 

So we jogged around until it was about 24 C or so, about 2 hours and forty-five minutes.   I felt off when we started (guts are still healing) but halfway up the first hill I told myself, wait, what's the rush?  Don't have to feel like a sick skanky-ass POS because it's only 17C and not humid!  Enjoy the cruise!

And, YEAH, there was a lower gear!

It's been a while since I've done a long trail run, though, and I bailed completely almost two hours into it.  There's a ton of roots and my eyesight isn't the best when it comes to judging distances.  I have the occasional stumble but this was the first time I've fallen here.  But it was uphill on sand and roots, no harm done except to my pride, which had caused the wreck in the first place:

During my first pass through that section, I met a guy running in the opposite direction.  He looked terribly serious, and I probably did too even though I tried to smile, but there are just so many roots.  He was going downhill so he had the worst of them.  Still, it's nice to see another runner in there; I usually see just a few per month.  Anyway, we jogged some more and then, about 20-30 minutes later, we met him again on the opposite smile of the forest.  Smiles were broadened by the additional trail cred.  Even the dog was smiling.  Ok, buddy, it's on.

I get sucked into claiming the loop each and every time.  I can't help it.  When I'm on a loop, and someone else is running it in the opposite direction, I try to gain a little more ground on them each time I pass them.  I don't beat myself up, but I try to keep it tight.  But this game isn't standardized here because there isn't one big loop but a bunch of smaller ones, and different combinations thereof--for all I knew, he was sticking to the hiking trails and not the bridle paths, and maybe that was his last or only loop.  And of course he didn't know it was on.  He was just some random guy enjoying his morning jog.  Whatever.  The shame of losing ground spurred me on.

Into a root and thence into the sand.  But he wasn't around.  We didn't see him again.  We did another loop and went home.  I had a smoothie and then my husband expressed interest in a bike ride.

Ok, cool.  20 miles in under an hour and a half.  I don't know the exact time.  My husband smoked me.  I was tired and my bike is a commuter with disk brakes and a panier and so forth, and his is a road bike with shoe clips.  Plus I'm going to lose him on the downhills no matter what!  Usually I make up for it on the uphills, but not today.  By the time we stopped, it was 28 or 29 C, but not humid.  Makes all the difference.

I don't think I'm doing weights again this week, although I'll probably end up digging some more tonight once it cools off.  So, a wash for the muscles, but at least I did a decent long run during a somewhat dismal week.   It partially makes up for yesterday's big workout zero.

thwarted!

It was only 20C this morning, but I soon found out that it was considerably more humid than yesterday.  Just a 40 minute jog, as easy as possible.   My shirt was almost completely damp by the time I was done though, and I wasn't feeling that good.

At least I tried!  It was still better than most of the mornings last week.  I suspect the next month will be crappy, and then maybe we'll get into that nice fall weather that people have been telling me about. 

I got everything set up for my leg workout, the music was on, the weights were on...and I did half of a clean and realized that I was feeling too nauseated to continue.  Maybe tonight!

Oh, yeah, I forgot about the German Shepherd--we saw him (her?) yesterday and today.  Yesterday, it looked as though it was prepared to come across the road at us, but I kept telling it "No"--I had to stand my ground a few times before it gave up and got out of the road.  It's hard to explain, but with a dog like that, so much can be done without actual contact. 

Today, it gave up much sooner and didn't actually step into the road.   It's a 45 mph road, and sometimes there is considerable traffic, but we've managed to time it well so far. 

Anyway, for the time being, I'm staying on the opposite side of the road when passing that house.  Not a big deal because the shoulder's wide and, in the morning, there's still shade on both sides. 

The perfect storm

More thunder and lightning last night, and when I woke up this morning, it was only 18C.  I can't remember the last time it's been below 20C.  Maybe it hasn't been since my return.  I'm still having gut issues and sleep issues, but I couldn't waste this nice weather.

By the time we got out the door, it was 21C, still fine.  We jogged for 75 minutes and then I did shoulder exercises.  I still feel weak and uncoordinated, but I did some decent clean and press reps at the end.  The dumbbell shoulder press isn't happening anymore; using the EZ bar feels more secure and effective.

So I guess there's light at the end of the tunnel!

~

Arm exercises this morning, just two sets. 
And lots of water, tea, and fruits, and sweat.

no, THWARTED

Last night, about five minutes after we'd completed our evening walk, there was thunder and lighting! Yeah!  At long last, the roof blown off the steam room!

This morning, I woke up and found out that the storm had actually amplified the humidity.  24 C and 90% humidity when I decided that the run just wasn't going to happen.

Plus, my guts are still on Rumspringa.  I've been merely renting food for the past two days or so, or perhaps offering it a sightseeing tour.  Come see the recent catastrophe in Villi Village!  But nobody's sticking around to support the local economy.  I'm sore and drained. 

But I did legs.  It felt mostly like a waste.  I had to deload, cut some reps short, etc, and there were moments when my impaired coordination concerned me.  At least it was a tough mental workout, and I think at least some of the present soreness in my thighs will lead to muscle improvement.  Maybe.

thwarted!

 Yesterday, a humid run with my husband, one hour.  In the evening, I dedicated my arm workout towards moving a pile of dirt.  I guess shoveling is mostly back though.  At any rate, the margin in which it's cool enough to work and light enough to see has become disappointingly thin.

Today, I woke up fairly early for a Sunday, pumped my tires, wiped down my disk brakes...nine am on a Sunday, empty roads, no commitments, what happened?

I went outside for a quick chore and came back in with a headache.  26C and 80% humidity.  Humidex 35 C. 

I missed the train: now the humidex is 42 C.  Forecasted thunderstorms again; every day, forecasted thunderstorms, but not one has materialized since my return.  I jinxed it by installing the liner and bottom drain in the pond last week.  This project has gone so slowly.  A couple of months of almost daily rain made mortaring impossible.  Now that I've done the mortaring and rain would be beneficial, it stays away.  Instead, the humidity creeps up.

 I think I will plug in a fan and treat myself to a good solid leg workout in the garage.