Firstly, let me put things in perspective. Compared to what Shannon is going through, life is good. Just the last day or so I've been going through a series of small, but annoying adventures.
It's been snowing off and on here for about a week and a half. Calgary has about as much snow on the ground as it ever does at one time. The plow finally came around to our street. It's a bus route, so we've been expecting it for about a week and a half. So there we are, driving along our street, wondering how high the ridge at the bottom of the driveway is going to be. It was pretty high, well up on the doors. At first I was going bash through, then I remembered how crusty this tends to be and decided not to. Just as well. I parked on the side street and tackled it with a garden spade. Half an hour, and a very sore arm later, I got it to the point I could get the car in. Ate dinner then went out to finish.
This wasn't good for my arm. Dealing with this you never know if you'll get a nice clean shovel swipe, or if the shovel will stop as if the snow was concrete, leaving your arms quivering with sympathetic vibrations and really bad resonance. That happened lots. It was really hard, really chunky, over top of light and fluffy.
Many people do Christmas baking. I periodically bake cookies, and I did last night, and well yes, it happens to be Christmas, but this is not, repeat not, Christmas baking. Just so we're clear on that. Normally, making cookies for me is a relaxing thing, and they normally come out pretty good. I have never before dropped an egg on the floor while making cookies. While making anything, come to think of it. I went to tap it against the bowl, missed, let go of it, and it bounced off the counter, my leg, the cupboard door, then the floor. Messy clean up. At least it didn't land on Amelia the Cat. The second egg was only marginally better. It took a bit of picking shell out of the batter before I could proceed.
While cleaning up after, I nearly dropped some fragile stuff, and this was having taken the eggs as a warning to be careful. The drying motion is hard on me, but it's been ok the last little while. I also finished off the last of the flour in the container, and had to add more from the bag. Needless to say, I was very very careful. I did not want Linda to come home from yoga to find me and the kitchen covered in flour.
I did a bit of my arm exercises, and I think I have a tiny bit more mobility, but holy hannah does it hurt. I took some Tylenol for it for the first time in quite a while Then during the night, I did something to it, and didn't sleep well after. And no, the something did not involve a trapeze. I did a very brief shamble around to start getting packed up for this morning's run, and this evenings spin. Then I stopped.
I didn't want to scrounge around finding things while half asleep. Even when packing fully awake the odds are good I'll forget something unless I've got lots of time to double check. Last time I tried this half asleep I forgot swim shorts. I don't mean to be a weenie here, but I'm still in pain this morning. I didn't want to be carrying around two workout bags, plus several meals, plus snacks for the spin class party, plus the bike stuff, plus shoveling the drive way again. I didn't want to run on the treadmill again. I don't think I'm up to hanging onto bike handle bars in spin class.
Right now, even resting my arm on my desk, then pressing down hurts. I may have jarred something loose. Hopefully it's scar tissue, and guck that has been restricting my range of motion, and if I stretch today, maybe I can make some progress. I have Tylenol and Ibuprofen in my lunch supplies.
I'm not thrilled about driving home, then up to the party after spin class. It's taking 2 to 3 times as long as normal to drive anywhere, at almost any hour. But I don't want to stay at work that long, and I don't want to hang around spin class if I'm not on my bike. But I do want to go to the party.
And computer stuff is happening too. Grrrr. For a half-a-propellor beanie computer guy, I'm sure grumpy with computers in general this morning, and my computer in particular.
Ironman Canada - DONE! What next?
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Treadmilling away, again
Tues morning was another treadmill session at FOMC. The weight room was full when I started, and empty when I was done. Gee, I didn't think I was sweating that much!
Warmed up, then did 4 x 9/1. With the new batteries in the heart rate monitor, I now trust the results, and I dialed into the top of zone 2. It's a different treadmill though, and seems to be calibrated differently. According to it, I was running a lot faster at a lower heart rate. Cooled down and stretched a bit.
Spin class was a lonely affair. Only a few of us showed up and IG decided that the total class energy output had to match the standard set by other classes. So he worked us hard. Lots of one leg drill. Then 5 sets where we went from a high cadence to low, or vise versa, without a break in between. It's tough going from 70 or 80 up to 110 or 120.
Traffic getting there sucked big time, and it wasn't much better going home. Those of my faithful readers that don't live in Calgary should be happy. Here's a photo of what it looks like Wed am.
Warmed up, then did 4 x 9/1. With the new batteries in the heart rate monitor, I now trust the results, and I dialed into the top of zone 2. It's a different treadmill though, and seems to be calibrated differently. According to it, I was running a lot faster at a lower heart rate. Cooled down and stretched a bit.
Spin class was a lonely affair. Only a few of us showed up and IG decided that the total class energy output had to match the standard set by other classes. So he worked us hard. Lots of one leg drill. Then 5 sets where we went from a high cadence to low, or vise versa, without a break in between. It's tough going from 70 or 80 up to 110 or 120.
Traffic getting there sucked big time, and it wasn't much better going home. Those of my faithful readers that don't live in Calgary should be happy. Here's a photo of what it looks like Wed am.
Monday, December 15, 2008
It was cold. I swam anyway.
Hardly anyone else did; the pool was nearly empty. 500 m in about 11 min, then 3 x 50 m on 75 seconds. Core work in dive tank. Elbow work in hot tub.
The 500 m was good though my arm was hurting a bit at the end. The 3 intervals nearly killed me trying to get them done quicker than a minute. I've got a long way to go.
The 500 m was good though my arm was hurting a bit at the end. The 3 intervals nearly killed me trying to get them done quicker than a minute. I've got a long way to go.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Organoleptic weekend and 7 things
No fooling, that's a real word. It was much on my mind today, as I bottled two wine kits that have been on the go since Aug. I had a go at bottling them a month ago, but my arm betrayed me at a crucial stage. Some air ended up getting into the wine and I racked some must over with it. No problem though, it just needed to sit and settle for a while.
We tasted them both. (duh!) The red is very drinkable now, and will be really good. The white is ok now, still a bit sharp, with an even sharper smell, but I think in a year or so it's going to mellow out very nicely. It's a beautiful colour.
I also got the last of the 2008 limited edition kits started. That will be ready for bottling in 6 or 8 weeks. I never rush the wine, and often tend to let things go for a few extra weeks. I've already got a kit waiting for me at the wine store, but I don't know when I'm going to get time to get it. Certainly not this weekend.
Shoveled snow in the freezing cold. I ought to count it as an hour workout.
Susi tagged me, from http://sbrgyrl.blogspot.com/2008/12/ive-been-tagged.html
My 7 random things you probably don't know about me.
1- I do my own ironing.
2- I like to relax doing Sudoku puzzles. The hard ones. Some of them take a while, but that's ok. I love the Aha! feeling.
3- I choose my shirts more by texture than colour, but everything goes with everything. I can (and have) dressed with my eyes closed. Not that anyone notices what a guy wears.
4 - There are now 3390 songs on my ipod. The earliest is from the 13th century. I'm not sure what the most recently created music is on it, probably the new Enya disc. Bartok is the transition between new and old music for me. I haven't even heard of the top 10 bands in 2008, not even the names.
5- I get all sentimental about replacing things that have served me well, but don't anymore. For example, my old Mac Cube is over 8 years old in daily use, never really had a problem with it, and it's recently just got to where it wasn't keeping up. I like that Cube better than any other computer I've ever seen or used.
6- My all time favourite meal is peanut butter (Skippy Super-Crunch) and honey (non-pasturized, crystalized so it's slightly crunchy) on fresh multi-grain bread, with home made chocolate chip cookies, a glass of milk (1% partially skimmed) in my favourite glass that I made myself, and a banana. I'm so easy to please.
7- I can't watch violent, emotional thriller movies anymore. Even the sound track when Linda is watching will have me put the ipod on so I don't hear it.
The Rules for the game if you decide to play are: Link back to me for nominating you. Nominate a few other bloggers and link to them on your blog. Post these rules.
Over to you Shannon! http://www.roskopp.com/
I'm really pleased with Sunday's spin session. Started with a 20 min warm up, with some slow accelerations. That means over 30 to 45 seconds, slowly picking up the pace to the max rpm without any resonance or sympathetic vibrations, holding a few seconds, then slowly coming back down, in control of the spin at all times.
Then 10 x 4/2, trying to drive my heart rate to low zone 3 at most during the 4, and easy spin on the 2. Alternated between 100 rpm in an easy gear, and hill climb. Then a few minutes easy pedal before settling into a steady 90 rpm, aiming for upper zone 2, then cool down to take me to the 2 hour mark. Throughout the entire ride, I concentrated on pedaling smoothly, and keeping my feet light. There is no graceful way to say this, but I tried to keep my butt firmly planted on the seat, taking as much of the weight as possible so my feet were free to go round and round. Long stretch after.
During the spin I watched the Real Roads DVD of IMC bike course that I won at Chinook last year. I prefer IG's workouts. The scenery is ok, but eventually I had to turn the soundtrack off, and turn on the ipod. However, it is nice to see the course, though it will be nothing like the training camp in May. Which I hope to attend.
Weekly total
Swim .5 hr (being generous)
Bike 5 hr
Run 1.5 hr (treadmill)
Total 7 hours. And the number is a slightly heavy 228, which is essentially unchanged from a couple weeks ago.
We tasted them both. (duh!) The red is very drinkable now, and will be really good. The white is ok now, still a bit sharp, with an even sharper smell, but I think in a year or so it's going to mellow out very nicely. It's a beautiful colour.
I also got the last of the 2008 limited edition kits started. That will be ready for bottling in 6 or 8 weeks. I never rush the wine, and often tend to let things go for a few extra weeks. I've already got a kit waiting for me at the wine store, but I don't know when I'm going to get time to get it. Certainly not this weekend.
Shoveled snow in the freezing cold. I ought to count it as an hour workout.
Susi tagged me, from http://sbrgyrl.blogspot.com/2008/12/ive-been-tagged.html
My 7 random things you probably don't know about me.
1- I do my own ironing.
2- I like to relax doing Sudoku puzzles. The hard ones. Some of them take a while, but that's ok. I love the Aha! feeling.
3- I choose my shirts more by texture than colour, but everything goes with everything. I can (and have) dressed with my eyes closed. Not that anyone notices what a guy wears.
4 - There are now 3390 songs on my ipod. The earliest is from the 13th century. I'm not sure what the most recently created music is on it, probably the new Enya disc. Bartok is the transition between new and old music for me. I haven't even heard of the top 10 bands in 2008, not even the names.
5- I get all sentimental about replacing things that have served me well, but don't anymore. For example, my old Mac Cube is over 8 years old in daily use, never really had a problem with it, and it's recently just got to where it wasn't keeping up. I like that Cube better than any other computer I've ever seen or used.
6- My all time favourite meal is peanut butter (Skippy Super-Crunch) and honey (non-pasturized, crystalized so it's slightly crunchy) on fresh multi-grain bread, with home made chocolate chip cookies, a glass of milk (1% partially skimmed) in my favourite glass that I made myself, and a banana. I'm so easy to please.
7- I can't watch violent, emotional thriller movies anymore. Even the sound track when Linda is watching will have me put the ipod on so I don't hear it.
The Rules for the game if you decide to play are: Link back to me for nominating you. Nominate a few other bloggers and link to them on your blog. Post these rules.
Over to you Shannon! http://www.roskopp.com/
I'm really pleased with Sunday's spin session. Started with a 20 min warm up, with some slow accelerations. That means over 30 to 45 seconds, slowly picking up the pace to the max rpm without any resonance or sympathetic vibrations, holding a few seconds, then slowly coming back down, in control of the spin at all times.
Then 10 x 4/2, trying to drive my heart rate to low zone 3 at most during the 4, and easy spin on the 2. Alternated between 100 rpm in an easy gear, and hill climb. Then a few minutes easy pedal before settling into a steady 90 rpm, aiming for upper zone 2, then cool down to take me to the 2 hour mark. Throughout the entire ride, I concentrated on pedaling smoothly, and keeping my feet light. There is no graceful way to say this, but I tried to keep my butt firmly planted on the seat, taking as much of the weight as possible so my feet were free to go round and round. Long stretch after.
During the spin I watched the Real Roads DVD of IMC bike course that I won at Chinook last year. I prefer IG's workouts. The scenery is ok, but eventually I had to turn the soundtrack off, and turn on the ipod. However, it is nice to see the course, though it will be nothing like the training camp in May. Which I hope to attend.
Weekly total
Swim .5 hr (being generous)
Bike 5 hr
Run 1.5 hr (treadmill)
Total 7 hours. And the number is a slightly heavy 228, which is essentially unchanged from a couple weeks ago.
Friday, December 12, 2008
A pool full of treacle
That's what I was swimming in today. Oh, sure, it *looked* like water. But it was thick thick thick. And I was slow slow slow.
I paid attention to lap times today, just to compare time to how my arm was feeling. The first lap was 55 seconds, the next 60, and I stayed there a bit, then started slowing down. 70, 75, and the last one I did was nearly 90 seconds. For 50 m. I shit you not. I was in pain at the end, physical and mental. The arm hurt, but my brain hurt as well. I haven't swum that slowly in years.
Gave the arm a rest for a little while, doing some stretches. Then tried a couple 50 m intervals. I wasn't trying to swim fast, particularly, but trying to swim smooth and strong. My inner shark would not have approved the results. I think it's gonna be a while before I'm swimming with the sharks again.
In other news, I'm supposed to do a brick on Sunday. Chatted with IG about that, and going out in -25 right after a sweaty bike isn't the smartest thing in the world to do. So I'm thinking I'll do a longer spin, and then maybe a pilates DVD. And maybe, just maybe, I'll try watching a movie during the spin.
I paid attention to lap times today, just to compare time to how my arm was feeling. The first lap was 55 seconds, the next 60, and I stayed there a bit, then started slowing down. 70, 75, and the last one I did was nearly 90 seconds. For 50 m. I shit you not. I was in pain at the end, physical and mental. The arm hurt, but my brain hurt as well. I haven't swum that slowly in years.
Gave the arm a rest for a little while, doing some stretches. Then tried a couple 50 m intervals. I wasn't trying to swim fast, particularly, but trying to swim smooth and strong. My inner shark would not have approved the results. I think it's gonna be a while before I'm swimming with the sharks again.
In other news, I'm supposed to do a brick on Sunday. Chatted with IG about that, and going out in -25 right after a sweaty bike isn't the smartest thing in the world to do. So I'm thinking I'll do a longer spin, and then maybe a pilates DVD. And maybe, just maybe, I'll try watching a movie during the spin.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Treadmill part 2, hilly spin
Back into the FOMC weight room for another bout with the treadmill. Just not a fan of these. But I was there for a 40 min 'run' at varying speeds, from 5mph, up to as fast as I could run. That didn't last long. I wasn't trying to be really aerobic, but just wanted to run at different speeds. stretched after.
Greg tried to kill us with one leg drill tonight. I start off ok, then my legs get tired, then my arm gets tired trying to compensate for the unbalanced activity. Then it all goes downhill on a pear shaped path. Then we did a bunch of uphill bits, bigger gear, medium cadence. As he says, 'you legs should be talking to you, your heart should think it's on vacation.' That's about the speed of it. 90 minutes total.
Greg tried to kill us with one leg drill tonight. I start off ok, then my legs get tired, then my arm gets tired trying to compensate for the unbalanced activity. Then it all goes downhill on a pear shaped path. Then we did a bunch of uphill bits, bigger gear, medium cadence. As he says, 'you legs should be talking to you, your heart should think it's on vacation.' That's about the speed of it. 90 minutes total.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Treadmill run, bike time trial
This was my first treadmill run since some time last year. After seeing all those 'reality' videos of people falling off the end of them, and the consequences of my own fall, I was a bit leery at first. However it all went well.
Did a 5 min warmup walk, then ramped up to what it said was 5 mph. I couldn't get metric numbers. This was a nice pace, with heart rate in mid zone 2. For the 3rd of 4 sets I wound the speed up to 5.3 mph for the first part of the run, but that started driving my heartrate up into zone 3, so I dropped back. Did another 5 min walk to cool down, and a little bit of stretching after. 4 x 9/1.
Running on a treadmill is weird. It doesn't feel at all like running. I don't think you are working as hard, since for me a 5 mph (8 kph) is a fairly quick pace, mid zone 3 at best. On the treadmill I was solid zone 2. My calves felt a little bit tight going in, but they didn't bother me at all during the run. I felt nice and strong throughout. Let's hope that carries into the bike workout tonight.
Estela had new bearings installed in the crank, and the spin was smooth as silk. Greg gave us a bit of warm up, and I found the one leg drill much easier than it has been. My muscles couldn't have changed that much in less than a week. Then the dreaded 20 minute time trial. Pedaled my brains out in a mid gear on the small chainring. Actually heart rate was steady at the top of zone 2, cadence was steady at 95, but my legs were getting a little tired by the end.
Did a 5 min warmup walk, then ramped up to what it said was 5 mph. I couldn't get metric numbers. This was a nice pace, with heart rate in mid zone 2. For the 3rd of 4 sets I wound the speed up to 5.3 mph for the first part of the run, but that started driving my heartrate up into zone 3, so I dropped back. Did another 5 min walk to cool down, and a little bit of stretching after. 4 x 9/1.
Running on a treadmill is weird. It doesn't feel at all like running. I don't think you are working as hard, since for me a 5 mph (8 kph) is a fairly quick pace, mid zone 3 at best. On the treadmill I was solid zone 2. My calves felt a little bit tight going in, but they didn't bother me at all during the run. I felt nice and strong throughout. Let's hope that carries into the bike workout tonight.
Estela had new bearings installed in the crank, and the spin was smooth as silk. Greg gave us a bit of warm up, and I found the one leg drill much easier than it has been. My muscles couldn't have changed that much in less than a week. Then the dreaded 20 minute time trial. Pedaled my brains out in a mid gear on the small chainring. Actually heart rate was steady at the top of zone 2, cadence was steady at 95, but my legs were getting a little tired by the end.
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