I made it to the gym yesterday, and did a 1/2 mile warm up, 1.5 miles of intervals (two 80% laps followed by a recovery lap) and then another 1/2 mile of cool down. It was good. It was so good. The last half mile my arm was all achy-throbby, which is why it was 1.5 miles of intervals instead of 2 miles of intervals. Next time though I think I'll get it.
I woke up with a stomach ache at 2am this morning, and made it back to bed around 5. When I finally stopped arguing with my alarm and got up for good it was close to 8am. I'm still on the "wonk" side of things, I have no idea what my insides are rebelling against, but I have a feeling that the intestinal militia (or whatever it is they are calling themselves, perhaps the Stomach Storm Troops is a better name, alliteration and all) is about to attempt an overthrow of some sort of evil internal regime, and I, as the innocently by standing civilian, will be paying the high price of nausea and possible misery. Why can't we all just make peace already? I'd like to be able to eat lunch today.
30 January 2007
29 January 2007
moderately active
I've done something foolish to my right arm. I'm pretty sure it has to do with weight lifting, because pain of this kind usually does.
I was in a car accident years ago, and as a souvenir of the experience, I got a plate and six pins in the bone of my upper right arm. It would, I have been told, be dangerous to remove at this point, given nerve proximity and other such concerns, so its here to stay.
But sometimes it acts up. Generally it is because I have tried to lift something that the plate thinks is too heavy for it, and given the inflexibility of the plate and pins, the pain in the bone is fairly long-lasting. It becomes painful to attempt to touch my own face, reach to the right or left, raise my hand straight up or hold pretty much anything in my hand for very long. It is, in short, seriously sucky.
It doesn't mean I can't run, but it does mean I don't really want to. After a while, a couple of days of painful movement, I get sort of scared of it, and end up spending decent periods of time trying to stay as still as possible, waiting for it to be gone and done with. I was in that mode for much of the weekend, although yesterday, talking to a friend about how much it hurts and how much it sucks that it hurts, I remembered how much the rest of the stuff I broke during that accident had hurt. It helped a lot to remember that the arm was never the worst of it, I've lived through worse, months of it, with no real clear end in sight. So now I am up and moving and planning on going running early this afternoon. And then teaching a yoga class, which should be an interesting end to the day, and will also probably make me wish I still had that script for pain killers waiting for me at home.
I was in a car accident years ago, and as a souvenir of the experience, I got a plate and six pins in the bone of my upper right arm. It would, I have been told, be dangerous to remove at this point, given nerve proximity and other such concerns, so its here to stay.
But sometimes it acts up. Generally it is because I have tried to lift something that the plate thinks is too heavy for it, and given the inflexibility of the plate and pins, the pain in the bone is fairly long-lasting. It becomes painful to attempt to touch my own face, reach to the right or left, raise my hand straight up or hold pretty much anything in my hand for very long. It is, in short, seriously sucky.
It doesn't mean I can't run, but it does mean I don't really want to. After a while, a couple of days of painful movement, I get sort of scared of it, and end up spending decent periods of time trying to stay as still as possible, waiting for it to be gone and done with. I was in that mode for much of the weekend, although yesterday, talking to a friend about how much it hurts and how much it sucks that it hurts, I remembered how much the rest of the stuff I broke during that accident had hurt. It helped a lot to remember that the arm was never the worst of it, I've lived through worse, months of it, with no real clear end in sight. So now I am up and moving and planning on going running early this afternoon. And then teaching a yoga class, which should be an interesting end to the day, and will also probably make me wish I still had that script for pain killers waiting for me at home.
26 January 2007
I can do the Freddie. I cannot do the Smurf.
Friday and I'm leaving early (Yay!) to go to a memorial service (Sad, and silent and not exclamation-point-worthy). My working day will be made even shorter by the fact that I *need* to run at least three miles , I think, just for stress-balancing purposes. It is very cold here (windchill puts the temperature into the neighborhood of -30. Ugh.) so whatever running gets done is going to be indoors. I'm digging the track lately, so thats the plan right now. Perhaps some more of those lovely intervals.
Yesterday was a ride-the-bike day in my little exercise world. I have to say that I am still not thrilled with biking, at least in the indoor, stationary context. If I ride the stationary bike for more than 20 minutes or so my feet and butt begin to go to sleep, which is uncomfortable, and I think says generally bad things about the level of physical activity generally involved. irregardless, after my last injury, the PT guy told me that part of the reason for my injury was the fact that I wasn't doing any cross-training, so the bike stays. I may replace one day a week of biking with swimming, eventually, but like a tool I have again hurt my arm trying to lift too much weight (I am such a continual idiot about this: I keep expecting it to go away or get better and it is screaming "moron! there is a metal plate in here that does not bend that way!" Grrrr.) so at the moment I don't think I could manage even an easy crawl stroke.
Yesterday was a ride-the-bike day in my little exercise world. I have to say that I am still not thrilled with biking, at least in the indoor, stationary context. If I ride the stationary bike for more than 20 minutes or so my feet and butt begin to go to sleep, which is uncomfortable, and I think says generally bad things about the level of physical activity generally involved. irregardless, after my last injury, the PT guy told me that part of the reason for my injury was the fact that I wasn't doing any cross-training, so the bike stays. I may replace one day a week of biking with swimming, eventually, but like a tool I have again hurt my arm trying to lift too much weight (I am such a continual idiot about this: I keep expecting it to go away or get better and it is screaming "moron! there is a metal plate in here that does not bend that way!" Grrrr.) so at the moment I don't think I could manage even an easy crawl stroke.
25 January 2007
In League with the toast
Intervals are good for the soul.
I think I really need to be doing more of them. I ran at the indoor track here for the second time ever, and did a 1/2 mile warm up and then a mile of 2-laps-hard 1-lap-recovery intervals followed by a final half mile cool-down. It was very nice. Running in circles, a lot like running on a treadmill, can become boring very quickly if you're not careful about it. Intervals are a great way to chop up the time into manageable, measurable chunks, and they also leave you wonderfully breathless and pleasantly numb. The two-laps-fast are heart pounding and all about the push, the recovery lap is just enough, slowing down and taking stock, bringing the breathing back just enough to go fast again, to whip around the corners and speed down the straight lines. Yeah. It wasn't very far but it was good anyway, I think I might do it again tomorrow.
I think I really need to be doing more of them. I ran at the indoor track here for the second time ever, and did a 1/2 mile warm up and then a mile of 2-laps-hard 1-lap-recovery intervals followed by a final half mile cool-down. It was very nice. Running in circles, a lot like running on a treadmill, can become boring very quickly if you're not careful about it. Intervals are a great way to chop up the time into manageable, measurable chunks, and they also leave you wonderfully breathless and pleasantly numb. The two-laps-fast are heart pounding and all about the push, the recovery lap is just enough, slowing down and taking stock, bringing the breathing back just enough to go fast again, to whip around the corners and speed down the straight lines. Yeah. It wasn't very far but it was good anyway, I think I might do it again tomorrow.
24 January 2007
we have all the shock we need, thanks
Reeling and empty, trying to figure things out. Didn't end up running yesterday, so today it becomes a necessity. A family friend passed away at the beginning of the week, I don't have quite enough distance yet but I am already beginning in my head to see the peculiar shape of it: she was on a treadmill when it happened. She was healthy and safe and happy. By all accounts "in a good place" and now she is gone. It is achingly hard to wrap my head around that empty space.
Her children, her family and friends are all gathered together in one place, making lists and trying to come to terms with things. When something so unexpected and tragic happens, it tears you apart and pulls you together all at once. Its hard to believe that so much else can be normal: there is work and the sun is still shining and people still drive their cars, when something so terrible has happened so close to you.
Her children, her family and friends are all gathered together in one place, making lists and trying to come to terms with things. When something so unexpected and tragic happens, it tears you apart and pulls you together all at once. Its hard to believe that so much else can be normal: there is work and the sun is still shining and people still drive their cars, when something so terrible has happened so close to you.
22 January 2007
bloc of soap
Here I sit in my office, listening to the plows go by and thinking how nice it would be to be home already. Really, the snow is no big deal, shouldn't cause me any problems and thus is not really worth leaving early for, but: it has been snowing for almost eight hours. Seriously, since I got here, there has been snow. And I just heard someone outside my office say it may be icing now. Oh then, maybe I should be thinking of leaving already then.
I did a nice run all the way around the back bay loop yesterday. Somewhere right around 4 miles, when you factor in the trip to and from the path itself. It was a beautiful day, a slow run because of the wind on the far side (and the fact that I took a minor detour and almost headed into the east end by accident).
The 10-miler in February is, I think, a no-go at this point. I've scouted a race that is much further out (May) and longer (15 miles / 25k! quite the unusual distance). The usual suspects are going to be involved, if all goes well, more will follow. Went to the gym today for a little bike-plus-weights and its off to the running again tomorrow, probably indoors, looking at the weather out side the window (snow! with ice underneath! not the stuff fun is made of for runners!). Okay, now I need to go clean off my car.
I did a nice run all the way around the back bay loop yesterday. Somewhere right around 4 miles, when you factor in the trip to and from the path itself. It was a beautiful day, a slow run because of the wind on the far side (and the fact that I took a minor detour and almost headed into the east end by accident).
The 10-miler in February is, I think, a no-go at this point. I've scouted a race that is much further out (May) and longer (15 miles / 25k! quite the unusual distance). The usual suspects are going to be involved, if all goes well, more will follow. Went to the gym today for a little bike-plus-weights and its off to the running again tomorrow, probably indoors, looking at the weather out side the window (snow! with ice underneath! not the stuff fun is made of for runners!). Okay, now I need to go clean off my car.
17 January 2007
the cup got bigger
Hey man, hows it going?
So check this out. More cowbell anyone? Pretty awesome, right? Its a long enough way off that I'm confidant I can brazen it out. And there is nothing like a looming race to give meaning to your workouts. I'm looking at the 25k rather than the 50. 30 miles is just a little more punishment than I can take, even on trails.
Had a great 3-miles this morning at the gym on the treadmill. Having an ipod really can make a difference if you get bored easily on a treadmill, or so I've found. Generally 3 miles is at the upper limit of what I am willing to do indoors on a treadmill, but I felt jazzed enough about it I probably could have hung in there for another mile or so. It was nice. Very invigorating. As is the air here lately: highs in the teens today, with a windchill bringing the feel down closer to zer0. So I think I may be stuck in the gym for a while yet. But the cow bell calls! Yea-hah!
So check this out. More cowbell anyone? Pretty awesome, right? Its a long enough way off that I'm confidant I can brazen it out. And there is nothing like a looming race to give meaning to your workouts. I'm looking at the 25k rather than the 50. 30 miles is just a little more punishment than I can take, even on trails.
Had a great 3-miles this morning at the gym on the treadmill. Having an ipod really can make a difference if you get bored easily on a treadmill, or so I've found. Generally 3 miles is at the upper limit of what I am willing to do indoors on a treadmill, but I felt jazzed enough about it I probably could have hung in there for another mile or so. It was nice. Very invigorating. As is the air here lately: highs in the teens today, with a windchill bringing the feel down closer to zer0. So I think I may be stuck in the gym for a while yet. But the cow bell calls! Yea-hah!
08 January 2007
we lost all the info in a terrible hospice-book-store accident
I went for a nice little 4-miler (well, quasi-4-miler: the Google Maps widget said it was probably more like 3.89 miles. Which is good to know--gotta love a good widget!) yesterday, while it was all sunshine and springlike. Today we are getting rain on the coast, and if you go inland at all I guess there is terrible mixed precipitation and then massive amounts of snow (which we are so due for anyway--its wild how un-winter like winter has been so far) . I bought a new watch, cheap-o but very hooked up: I've got a count-down timer (awesome for intervals, when I am ready for them again) and a straight-up timer (which I used yesterday: a respectable 41 minutes, thank you very much) and then fancy-pants alarms and such that I will probably not use enough to warrant actual inclusion (I did set the alarms for my unreasonably early wake up times: 6am weekdays, 7am weekends. I would have to actually have to get up then to make it worth while, but setting the watch is a first step anyway). All in all quite a good deal so far. I have a feeling that given the structure of the band, it too (my last running/ wake-up alarm watch did this after about six months. It got to the point where putting my left wrist within a foot or so of someones face was embarrassing for me and painful for them) will succumb to the horrible stench before loosing its usefulness, but for now I'm in that honey-moon period where I can wear it every day even though I run with it, and haven't even had to bleach it once.
05 January 2007
Add it up
Bad afternoon yesterday, so I went to the gym and ran a *hard* two miles on the treadmill. I felt way better afterward, though honestly my legs are not doing so hot right now, additionally I have a minor spacey-headed hangover that is proportionately better than when I first woke up this morning. So thats something, but not much.
04 January 2007
Projecting?
I'm strategizing.
Mostly because it is my favorite way to procrastinate.
I love a good list more than pretty much anything else.
When I went to the gym yesterday afternoon there were several lady runners in the locker room, talking after their runs were done. Which is so cool--I work with people who run! Sweet! And they do it at work! Rock. So now I'm trying to figure out how to work it in to my work day. And I'm thinking that honestly, it might be easier to run at home rather than bring a whole bag of stuff to work.
But then I could be traveling run-ready all the time. I could run at any given opportunity, all day long. That would be something else, huh?
Anyway, the list making continues.
Mostly because it is my favorite way to procrastinate.
I love a good list more than pretty much anything else.
When I went to the gym yesterday afternoon there were several lady runners in the locker room, talking after their runs were done. Which is so cool--I work with people who run! Sweet! And they do it at work! Rock. So now I'm trying to figure out how to work it in to my work day. And I'm thinking that honestly, it might be easier to run at home rather than bring a whole bag of stuff to work.
But then I could be traveling run-ready all the time. I could run at any given opportunity, all day long. That would be something else, huh?
Anyway, the list making continues.
03 January 2007
rare as sasquatch
Just came back from the first post-New Year's gym trip: nice way to break up a work day, save a few things:
1. My gym clothes are tight in the wrong ways. This is both a drawback and a reason for going back, I think (hopefully a build up in trips will create some loosening eventually)
2. Gyms are weird there are mirrors all over the place and rows of bikes and other machinery (who wants to look at themselves that much?!? and who wants to sweat in unison with another person, in public like that? Eeeewe.)
3. Gym staff/ rats are even weirder --on the upside, none of the gym staff have even attempted to hit on me (this could be in part because of the unflatteringly clingy clothing, actually that makes a lot of sense, huh?) , on the down side, they're not very friendly (asking for hours for the pool was way too presumptuous of me, obviously)
4. There was a girl puking in the locker room.
Yeah. Its sort of shocking enough that I feel like the whole thing should be in italics. Seriously? This for real happens? As in outside of Lifetime made-for-tv-movies?
I asked if the puker was okay, and she got really, really quiet. So I asked again and she said "yeah. Fine" So I asked if she wanted any help and she just said no. After that there was no more puking, but a lot of toilet flushing, and no one had come out by the time I changed my clothes and left. It was beyond odd.
But any way, I made it once. Managed to open the lock on my locker twice, and I left my sneakers there, so I have to go back tomorrow.
1. My gym clothes are tight in the wrong ways. This is both a drawback and a reason for going back, I think (hopefully a build up in trips will create some loosening eventually)
2. Gyms are weird there are mirrors all over the place and rows of bikes and other machinery (who wants to look at themselves that much?!? and who wants to sweat in unison with another person, in public like that? Eeeewe.)
3. Gym staff/ rats are even weirder --on the upside, none of the gym staff have even attempted to hit on me (this could be in part because of the unflatteringly clingy clothing, actually that makes a lot of sense, huh?) , on the down side, they're not very friendly (asking for hours for the pool was way too presumptuous of me, obviously)
4. There was a girl puking in the locker room.
Yeah. Its sort of shocking enough that I feel like the whole thing should be in italics. Seriously? This for real happens? As in outside of Lifetime made-for-tv-movies?
I asked if the puker was okay, and she got really, really quiet. So I asked again and she said "yeah. Fine" So I asked if she wanted any help and she just said no. After that there was no more puking, but a lot of toilet flushing, and no one had come out by the time I changed my clothes and left. It was beyond odd.
But any way, I made it once. Managed to open the lock on my locker twice, and I left my sneakers there, so I have to go back tomorrow.
02 January 2007
Entertainment
Here we are in a brand new year and so new hopes or at least a sudden spurt of ambition to try and do a little more, a little better, for real now.
As always with me: I'd like to write more. I would also like to be better at it. And I'd like to run more. Up the mileage, lengthen the stride, go the distance, and stay pain free in the process. I need to save some money so maybe I can stop writing down "buy a house" as a future-goal and instead check it off on the to-do list of the next 5-7 years.
Its really just starting, everything still in the listing process. Too bad its not the kind of list you read on McSweeney's (the funny kind. There is no funny in the write more--buy less--save more--run more type of list. Le Sigh. )
But in any event, with the happy happy
hooo yeah.
As always with me: I'd like to write more. I would also like to be better at it. And I'd like to run more. Up the mileage, lengthen the stride, go the distance, and stay pain free in the process. I need to save some money so maybe I can stop writing down "buy a house" as a future-goal and instead check it off on the to-do list of the next 5-7 years.
Its really just starting, everything still in the listing process. Too bad its not the kind of list you read on McSweeney's (the funny kind. There is no funny in the write more--buy less--save more--run more type of list. Le Sigh. )
But in any event, with the happy happy
hooo yeah.