weekly round up!

The heat is a cage around my core.  A malevolent beast with its jaws around my neck.

I spoke too soon about the reprieve of fall: no longer in sight after all.   I'm starting to get really cranky--I got cabin fever--I'm going to have to take some time off this blog.  Tues, high of 37 C.  What is that crap?  A big lumpy ball of monkey-flung excrement slowly sliding a greasy line down the prison wall?  I mean, there are rules.   Gross hot long summer climate = amazing tropical fruits and sights and smells and adventures, right?  I should be sipping free tea in the midst of haggling for fine cotton, or eating strange things in a night bazaar....

Instead I get to accidentally eat gluten again.  Wednesday's gluten-free hamburger bun must have been toasted on the same rack as the normal buns :(  

Therefore, the week has sort of ended on a brown note, but the dogs and I just had a nice walk at least.  Evening walks can be iffy these days because there isn't much time between sub-30 C and sunset, and we don't have the safety of sidewalks, but night time is the right time.   I get to see bats and the two toads that hang out in front of the garage in the evenings (and occasionally get inside).

Meanwhile, I'm going to keep up with the walks and the weights as best as I can, and I'll check in next time I actually run outside.   Promise!

~

I was so pumped for a refreshing run this morning, the first outside run in way too long, but--

Yeah, I got out a bit later than I'd hoped to, about 7:30, and by then it was already 19 C.  Which isn't bad, but it was too humid to be comfortable.  

Still, baby steps.  3ish miles, then shoulder exercises.   And tomorrow morning is supposed to be "cool" too.

At any rate, I'm grateful for the dip in temps: it has been inspiring.  I signed up for two races over the fall/"winter"*  I wasn't going to bother with races for a while, but then one of the race directors told me that the first race will be more of a party....

And then I figured that would help me get into better shape for the 2nd race, which is also kind of party-like as well.

The trick is to pick the right sort of race, I suppose!



*really, down here, winter is just more fall. 

~

A fair bit of writing in RL = less blogging.

Anyway, last week: 2 tempo runs, 2 leg days, 2 shoulder/back days, 1 chest/arm day, some yoga, lots of walking doggies.  And we stepped over a snake one day!  Sometimes I find it hard to see them due to the light, so by the time I get to them, I gotta commit and just keep going.  This has happened a few times--fortunately, just with the harmless black snakes!!! 

Yesterday = nothing.  I felt weak.  Last week was humid and hot--the hottest day was 36 C--and it wore me out.  Even just walking slowly made me sweat through my clothes.  I tried to replace electrolytes but I was feeling more and more light-headed and whatnot.

This morning, though, was only 17 or 18 C!!! the high is only 27 C!  Such a big difference.  The dogs and I walked for 1hr20, almost 6 miles...lots of hills but the breeze felt cool and we kept going (also, I missed a turn).  And then I did a tempo run on the TM (20 min), and then chest day.   That's the easiest weight routine, but the most precarious--I have chalk, but the garage is so hot that I worry about losing my grip on the weights, especially during the dumbbell bench presses.  I haven't come close to dropping anything on my face, but it was such a nice change to not worry about slipping this morning.

The low is supposed to be 16 C...I might even run outside tomorrow! 

It's not going to last.  The highs will be back around 34 C in a few days, and Sunday is supposed to be 36 and rainy too, so that humidex is going to be 40-whatever-awful....but it feels like summer is starting to crumble. 

~

Yesterday: walked, walked, walked, stretched, and shoulder day.  The last walk was on the TM in the evening--I tried to see how fast I could push myself without sweating too much.  Answer, not fast and I needed that 2nd shower after all.   I'd be better off walking a bit further or faster with the dogs outside.  Tire them out a bit more, and maybe catch a breeze.  The evenings outside can be nice.  The temp is still in the high twenties, but the sun is down, and the streets are very, very quiet.   This wouldn't matter much in a city, but here there is a lot of distracting monotony and no sidewalks.  Yeah, that I'm here already? where have I been? zone.  Not so bad when walking, but not so good when trusting drivers (or when those upcoming turns come so quickly...yeah, I don't trust myself either!). 

Today, walk, 20 min tempo run, and leg day.  Another walk and yoga in the evening, hopefully.

Bliss

Back to basics

I've been sick for about six days...

Fortunately, I've recovered enough to start the week properly.  Chest/arm day, plus I returned to the old situp/pike situp routine.  It's apparently too strenuous to do everyday, but I'm going to try doing it on chest/arm day, and limit each set to 10.  So 40 pushups and 40 situps in 4 minutes, 2 times a week (or 1, let's be honest, chest/arm day gets ditched first), not bad.

What is bad is the weather.  There was a bit of a cool spell, only 28 C, yay, but that's gone and I know I promised not to whine about the weather but, c'mon, seriously, a high of 36 C this week? Wat do?!?!? So I bought this coffee scrub so at least I can sit in my OUTDOOR SAUNA* and exfoliate!!

Maybe running 2 short tempo runs this week will make up for the rest of the week. 

*I don't actually have a sauna, and I actually prefer the 40-45 C range for just hanging out for an hour or two...funnily enough, 36ish C isn't quite hot enough to be special.  I also know from experience that my patio furniture becomes beguilingly fragrant at about 42 C. 

! WET

This humidity has rendered me almost useless.  2 walks with the dogs, 2 sets of shoulder exercises, 2 short (15-20 min) yoga sessions, 2 showers indoors.   Outside, it has been raining on and off for days.

And now I'm failing to find a suitable soundtrack, something close and wet--cloying and suffocating, even better--but this has the right sort of effect, at least.  Uncomfortable, but compelling, but annoying.

~

Achieving homeostasis

Yesterday, walk, 20 min tempo run, leg day, yoga
Today, walk, arm/chest day (and yoga this evening)

I've recently assessed my lack of motivation; I've decided that, for the time being, maintenance will be sufficient.  I have to run and lift just enough, and I definitely have to do more yoga.   It's been a while since I've had a regular practice, but I need to hit a balance:

Too much yoga -> SVT.  Chaturanga-type poses are the culprit, but anything that compresses my chest, especially during inhalation, can be a trigger.

Not enough yoga -> scoliosis-related back pain.  It's been creeping up and finally I've gotten to the point where it's affecting sleep.  I used to have it for years, but I first got rid of it when I took up yoga about 14 years ago. 


There is a possible balance, and there are a ton of yoga videos on Youtube.  I have no excuse.

But this is but part of a comprehensive endeavour.  I've been trying to improve for I don't know how long, and this often leaves me disappointed, and probably I'm being unnecessarily unrealistic.  Perhaps improvements are still taking place, just not as apparently, but I have to hinge my satisfaction on the process and the maintenance--I should keep in mind that I work out so that I will be healthier now and especially, hopefully, when I am older, but I have to focus on the *doing*.

For example, when I did my tempo run yesterday, my thoughts were the usual "this is uncomfortable" "this will make me faster" "when can I stop" "this has to be good training"...and then I retreated from these negative and somewhat abstract thoughts, and tried to appreciate the sensations on their own terms.  Yes, discomfort, but this was my body at work.  Being capable of a higher level of effort, without actually being threatened, is good fortune, and I should appreciate it for that, and not for where it might lead me.

!

Just kidding!

We went to the beach and I ran a fair bit every day--my feet weren't used to the sand so they got a bit blistered.  Or maybe I just ran on too many jellyfish bits.  Just moon jellies, torn to bits of squishy glass. 

Since then, though, I have been an absolute slug.  Too hot.  Even walking the dogs has made me feel ill.  Today, though--right now--it's 19 C.  19.  That's lower than the lows this week, I think.  I love it.  So surreal, walking outside and feeling cold.  It's been pouring rain for hours so I probably won't run--maybe I'll hit the TM.  Maybe not.  It just hasn't been a healthy day and maybe I shouldn't bother to attempt to salvage it.  We went into town and met a friend, had an impromptu wine tasting at his store, and I didn't have much wine but started feeling it--then I realized it was close to 2 pm and all I'd eaten or drank so far was water and wine.  Actually, that sounds downright biblical, come to think of it.