Unofficially a blog that's been shut down, you might still find the occasional post here where I mention something about exercise, rant/comment on life, or post my amateur third-person poetry.
On the weekend of Christmas
I ran 4 miles today; the first 3 in 21 minutes, and then the remaining one in a very lazy 9. I've got a cold, so I didn't want to push it. Heart rate in the immediate minute after stopping was 160 beats per minute, falling to 140.
Mrs TryAthlete has a few out-of-town singing gigs in other cities. Husband hates these, because a) they are a long way away, and traffic is lousy, b) she tends to get ill (if not by the first one, then by the end of the week), c) the gigs are evening ones and they get home late, d) he thinks the money's not worth it, and e) he has to go along to make sure she gets back alright, because he doesn't want her to have to make her way back herself in that sort of condition. She agrees to do them anyway. Having voiced his objections before, husband vows to keep his mouth shut and say no more, even though he's hating it more or less all the way. In between rehearsals and the actual concert, there is nothing for TryAthlete to do except read Desert Storm, so he makes frequent trips to the toilet - not to contemplate on, or worship at, the porcelain shrine, but to kowtow to it in sets of 20. After a 15-hour day, 9 of which spent travelling about 250 miles, the station wagon rolls in at 1:30am, whereupon husband gets Mrs TryAthlete, cold, tired and with a headache, in the house safe and sound. Job done.
Sometimes it's good to leave your watch at home.
Tagged - not once, but twice?
This pressup exercise works quite well for me. For each rep, take 2 seconds each on the concentric and eccentric phase. I did four sets of these to failure (15-20 reps), and the post-workout effect was equivalent to doing 300+ pressups, but without the joint aches. It might mean that this style of pressups works the muscle well. Of course, it might really mean that I'm weak, and might have to sign up for bootcamp via webcam.
At the end of his piano lesson today Max asks me, "Are you allergic to nuts?"
20 minutes on the stepper tonight. It was all out for almost all the way. I couldn't be bothered to observe the watch and do 45/15s. That's #40 out of the way! This last set of 10 - #30 to #40 - has definitely been the hardest, for some reason. I'm glad it's out of the way, and I'm relieved to be able to move on to the next few. I don't expect that I will hit #50 before we go on holiday, but #45 would be nice. To reach #70 - #80 before May rolls in and proper running weather re-emerges would be good too.
Distance moved: 1.3 miles
Usually my Friday post-work routine is to come home, collapse on the chair (or floor) for a bit, check my mail, read blogs, get tied up with the computer, then somehow find the strength to prepare work, and do the grocery shopping and housework. Today, my 1100 calories (up to lunchtime) stayed with me for a bit longer than it usually does, so after work I
45 by 15s. Love them.
Go on. Humor me. Tell me you have days like these.
Today the opportunity to go for a run surfaced unexpectedly, so rather than go through the rigmarole of carting all my running stuff to work tomorrow, to run in what would be a lunchtime drizzle, I chose to go today instead. It took me over two-and-a-half miles to get into the running groove – whaddya expect after all that stepping? – but at least I was comfortably warm in 8C sunshine and thermals. As a precaution, I spent the first few miles breathing through my nose (or at least trying to) instead of gulping air through my mouth like a trout. Did the first 3.5 miles in 25:45, then 10K in 46:49, and passed 9 miles in 1:08.45. Final distance: 10 miles, 1:16.17, which is better than the 1:20.00 I ran a few weeks back. So, with little humility, I shall amend the sidebar accordingly and encourage you to have a look at it. Ta-dah!
Thursday night the Mrs had to catch up on a few readings for her class. I figured that the 6-8 pages would probably take her an hour or so, even at her speed-reading pace, because FM Alexander is one hell of a long-winded fellow. To read his convoluted paragraphs is one thing, to understand him is another. So I did some abs, and then rolled out the dinky weights for two sets of tricep kickbacks. I did them in a controlled pace, free hand mirroring the weight hand.
I’m probably not the only one trying to catch a glimpse of Christmas through the telescope. And I also suspect others have already aligned the crosshairs and laser sight on it.
I try to get the balance between exercise, work, family and life right. It often eludes me.
