First time in 1001 days

Yes.

I know my readers are an educated bunch who are up on their symbology, and are wild with curiosity with what exactly I'm trying to say here, and have no doubt assumed something that can't be discussed in such a fine, upright, high-class blog. Some of you may remember what happened about 1000 days ago. If you want another hint, click (NOT YOU SUSI!!!!) here. Don't be eating anything. I'm just saying.

That's enough hints. That is the first apple I've eaten since my bike crash that rearranged some front teeth and broke my elbow. I didn't plan for 1000 days. It just happened that someone at work brought in a huge tub of organic fruit. I just thought it had been a while since I'd eaten an apple, so I grabbed one. It was only when I got back to my desk that I realized why, and how long it had been. Now, I've had apple since then, it's just that it's been sliced up into a salad, or on a fruit pie or something. This I ate, holding in my hand, the way apples were intended to be eaten. It was amazing!

When I was walking in to work this morning I nearly turned around to go home for a bike ride. It was that perfect out. I sort of assumed it would cloud over and rain by this afternoon, but when it turned out to be another nice evening I decided I had to go out for a run. Especially since it's supposed to rain for a week.

After not quite a half hour of leg exercises, and some core which included 10 pushups!!!! (yay) I headed outside. Still nice. Sunny, warm, light breeze, it was PERFECT for a run. I didn't wear my watch or monitor, I just wanted to go run at whatever pace felt comfortable.  After a few minutes getting settled, I noticed my right knee was a bit sore across the top of my kneecap. Shortening my stride  and trying to relax my run seemed to help, and it didn't bother me again.

I even ran in sock feet for a few hundred metres, which felt oddly pretty good. My feet don't seem to mind, but you won't see me running any great distance without shoes any time soon. Without even thinking of a route, my feet took my down to bridge one (the very west end of Fish Creek Park). The water is way up. Normally during the summer it's no more than ankle deep in many places, and with any luck you can cross without getting your feet wet. Now, you couldn't pay me to wade through it.

From that bridge I ran through the trails to bridge two and crossed. From there the path goes up on top of the escarpment, and it's a bit of a tough climb in places. Lots of trees are down. There are two places where there are huge sink holes that have eaten part of the path. Do not go running through there at night. I crossed back over bridge three, pretending each of the bridges was an aid station, so I walked for a minute.

From there it was up the hill and back to the house. What with walking the last 5 minutes or so, I was back to the house in 1:20. Running 1:15, no idea at all how far, and I don't really care, is the longest I've run in some time.

This is what running is about in my mind. Getting out in the fresh air, to move and be active, and just plain have fun, is something to be treasured. I don't often get onto the paths I was on, so it was nice to see, and smell, and hear all the stuff. It's good to be careful with my footing, adjusting for roots, and rocks and stuff. Ducking under trees. Scrambling up a steep slope. This was great!

I beat the time lapse rain

The forecast looked like rain all weekend, so I gave up on the thought of going for a bike ride. I still had hopes of getting out for a run. Other than my leg exercises I've been a slug since Wed yoga.

This morning started cloudy and then gradually got nicer. But at some point I noticed clouds were building off to the west, and figured I'd better get off my butt and run if I was going to. So I did. Stretched and did my leg exercises in a sort of perfunctory way, since I was thinking of the run.

Out and it felt great! I ended up running an hour, but no idea how far I ran. The first 5.5 K was 39:40 running fairly easy, breathing in control but not singing an opera or anything. My legs felt good. My heart rate was consistently higher than I'd have liked, and didn't recover even when I slowed down for the last 10 minutes. That was sort of depressing, actually, barely plodding along, hardly breathing, and yet my heart was pounding away. With any luck that will improve as I get more regular about running.

My buddy Cath had a great result at the Boise 70.3, going about 5:17, which is good for a trip to the 70.3 Championships. And my buddy David, in what I think is his first half IM, went 6:15 or so, which is a super result! He was actually my manager a few years ago at a company that neither of work for anymore. I take my hat off to him for the changes he's made in his life, what with dropping a ton of weight, and taking up triathlon, while maintaining a family, work, and social life balance.

Often we hear about the people that win their age group, (hi Katie doing Escape from Alcatraz!) but I think it's equally important to celebrate the accomplishments of the people in the pack, and at the back of the pack. And not just because that's where I am. All of these people have put in the hours training, and hope to have a good day on the race course. Some have mechanical or other failures, and that's too bad.

What's important to remember is that everybody is out there trying, and most are pushing themselves into uncharted territory. They are trying to balance all the conditions of the day while meeting the needs of their body for an extremely strenuous day. They are all champs, and deserve to have their achievements recognized.

While I was out for the run I set up my iPhone with a new toy. I've always liked time-lapse photography, and recently downloaded an app that does that. It's called iTimelapse, and it's free at the moment. I wish I'd had it when I did my decorating the Christmas tree video last year. Here's what the clouds were doing on my run. Oh, ignore the couple seconds of me making coffee at the beginning, I hadn't figured things out. This is a photo every 10 seconds.



That set of clouds passed with barely a spatter of rain, and now another set of clouds are building. I've got the camera running again. This is fun! If it's good I'll post that too.

Totally twisted yoga

Yeah, I know you are all wanting to know about the "drop and give me 20" yoga class, but too bad. Only two people are going to get the joke.

Once again the wonder yoga instructor Fiona knew what I needed. Lots and lots and LOTS of twists, complete with little thing ball. It was great. Even better, no goober-breath, though his wife showed up.

How many of you do yoga regularly?
As part of a class, or on your own?
Which pose is your happy place, and your unhappy place?

I'll surprise and shock you all by saying child pose is torture.

Sometimes I almost miss winter, a rant

No, I'm not a pervert. During the winter hardly anyone is outside on the mall between my office and my car. The ones that are outside are focussed on where they are going. During the nice weather the mall is filled with shambling idiots who have no idea where they are going, or what they'll do if they ever get there. Today it's like people saw me coming and strolled into my way or stopped along the path that my body language indicated I was going. Much as I'd like to trample them it's not polite to do it. Unless necessary, and let me tell you, there are times I'm beginning to think it IS necessary. As an example if nothing else, and having the average IQ go up slightly is a good thing.

Inside the building isn't much better. I can understand people not rushing back to their desk, but really, if you don't like your job you should get another one. Parenthetically if you don't like any of the jobs you've had the fault is likely internal, and the only cure is to grow up or kill yourself. But you'd think they'd walk at a reasonable pace going TOWARD the coffee. But no. Sigh. To be fair, I should note that I cut the handicapped all the slack they need, and maybe a bit more. Anyone on crutches, or using a cane or is in a wheelchair doesn't need any extra grief.

The worst part about outside now is the smokers. That horrible smell is really getting to me. One guy this evening was smoking an actual cigar. I thought I was going to puke. People were hustling to get upwind of him. My solution is to make tobacco products very hard to get, very expensive, and register smokers in a database so they can pay higher taxes. Very hard to get means that a store can only sell tobacco related products, nothing else. They have to get ID from the buyers (how do you think the database gets populated) and the minimum age goes up evey year. Sell to people below the minimum age and you lose your license. I'd send in ringers to try to trap them, oh say, once a week or so. Taxes on tobacco producers goes up dramatically. Smoking should only be allowed in specially vented places where the fumes are scrubbed before civilized people have to inhale them. Smoking around children should be prosecuted as child abuse. Grrrrrrrrr. Why, yes, I had red meat for supper, why do you ask?

After work I got stuck into my leg exercises, then out for a run. I was thinking it was going to rain, so I ended up over dressing. Started really easy, and quickly found a nice stride. Last time my heartrate was high but my legs and lungs felt good. Today my lgs felt a bit sluggish, and my lungs were working a bit harder than I'd like, but for the first half of the run my heart rate was right where I like it. I did three bursts of faster running for about 100m, and the first two times my heart rate went back down again quite nicely. The third time it didn't and the run turned into a bit of a slog. Still, 5 k in just under 35 minutes is just fine for right now. There were a few twinges from my knee during the last fast bit. Stretched after.

Yet more temptation

Yes, more arrived.

I'm behind on the Sookie front. While I was puttering around the house and doing other stuff, Linda is now 3 episodes ahead of me.
The other stuff was stretching. Felt good. I'll see how my shoulder feels in the morning about swimming.

The smell of sunscreen, thwap of bugs, sound of motorcycles, all on the 22's

Today was the best ride in a very, very, VERY FRIGGING long time!!!!!!!!!!

Do you get the idea I'm happy about it? You should. The bike hasn't been a lot of fun for a long time now, mainly due to a sick knee. There were some ok rides in there, but that's about all.

Today was right up there with my better rides in so many ways. It's a perfect day for a bike ride. The temperature was in the high teens, which is perfect. (Think mid 60's, for those trapped in an antique measurement system.) Light winds for the most part. Sunny, with a hint of cloud. The smell of spray-on sunscreen brought back memories of IMC, which I think was the last time I had to put it on. It's been a long cold winter and spring.

There's a change in the motorbike noises. Last year it was all the whiney zinger bikes as I think of them, mainly ridden by young idiots awash in testosterone or worse. This year it seems to be the rumbly bikes, big Harley's or similar bikes, ridden in a sensible manner. No doubt this group of riders takes off their leathers and goes back to dentistry, or accounting, or something of the ilk.

I'll get to the bugs. After some errands in the morning I started out early afternoon, pedaling easy, finding my legs. I wanted to go out 22X and down 22, for a 2 hour ride, not race pace, but not an ice cream social either. I figured that's a bit hillier and a bit longer than the route I did a couple weeks ago, but it's not the Road to Nepal either. Maybe I'll do that next week.

Going down toward 22X I picked up the pace a bit, and made it to the intersection in 20 minutes flat. From there, I think I was riding with a light wind, and it was 42 minutes to 22. By now my legs and woke up and were feeling pretty good. I decided to push the pace a bit, especially up the hills. There were a ton of people on bikes. A few waved at me, but not many. I think I recognized one guy from last year. He waved.

Going up the hill by the Rothney Observatory I realized how much I was enjoying myself. This is what I was wanting, post IMC. Being able to go for a good ride, and not be stressed about time, or distance, or pace, or any of that. About my normal turnaround point (Plummer's Road) I realized I still had a bit of time to go for the hour, so I carried on. Yay! Not that I was fussed about the time, but I knew I wasn't ready to go even as far as Millarville, and one turnaround time is as good as any other.

Coming back I rode through a huge cloud of bugs. My arms and legs were nearly black. I had to ride head down looking at my feet to avoid getting them in my mouth and nose. Yuck. I had a few larger bugs bounce off my face. At least by the end of the ride most of the bugs had been blown off.

I was into a bit of a headwind coming back along 22X, but that was ok, I was still making good time, and figured I'd be home right on the 2 hours. And so it was, almost to the minute. I ended up riding a little under 54 K (33.5 miles), which I think is a fair reflection of my cycling fitness just now.

My legs, and especially my knee felt great throughout, even when standing and pushing fairly hard. Oddly enough, the only thing that hurt slightly was my left shoulder. A bit of stiffness surfaced there, and it's sore right now. The rest of my body knows I've had a good workout, and I'm feeling nicely tired, but not exhausted. Which is perfect. I suspect if I'd gone for 3 hours at that pace I'd be hurting a bit and it wouldn't have been much fun at the end. A bit later tonight I'll do some more stretching and maybe even some (whisper it) core.

In spite of temptation

Look what arrived on Friday!

Is that temptation enough for you? And yes, I admit, right now I'm reading Bath Tangle, and what's more, enjoying it. So there. People that dismiss it as "romantic fluff" are missing Heyer's wit, style, storytelling, character description, and just plain excellent writing. I've read most of her Regency novels and love them.

We got Farscape out of the library in dribs and drabs, and as long as I don't have to listen to the opening credits I'm good to go. It's a bit dark in places, and I'd love to see Claudia Black doing something in between the darkness of Aeryn and the fun of Vala. This is the full set, so I'm going to watch it in order and I'll get a chance at the extras. Someone told me there were lots of extras on this version.

I've been a big fan of Amanda Tapping since the first Stargate SG 1 episode. (Isn't everybody?) Again, we got Sanctuary out of the library, but were watching it out of order, and I missed a bunch. It's a bit odd seeing her as a brunette, and I kept expecting her to break into Gate-babble, but I was liking it.

What more needs to be said about True Blood? I need my Pam fix! I watched a bunch of True Blah, that "Jessica" did, and those were pretty funny. I'm looking forward to more.

Oh and I was lent some older Dr. Who, but they are on a region 2 disc. We're working that out. Stupid DRM rules!

I digress. This is a fitness blog, darn it! Sitting down with good wine, watching DVD's, even good ones, is not a fitness activity. Unless you're trying to defend your crackers from Amelia the cat.

The goober-breath showed up a yoga, but we were on opposite sides of the room. There is a new couple coming, and he is about my size. On Wed we were in the same corner, and had to make minor adjustment to make sure we didn't bang hands during some of the stretch out on the floor things. I don't know what they're called. It's funny how some people invade your personal space, and others don't.

No other real workouts. Oh, wait, my ART guy says my knee is going great, and have at it! So today I ran 45 minutes, mostly nice and easy, but with a couple of strides, or accelerations, or whatever you want to call it where you pick up the speed and run faster for a short time. My legs and lungs thought this was an easy run, but my heart was about 5 to 10 bpm faster throughout than I was happy with. It all felt good though. With any luck it will be nice enough for a ride first thing tomorrow.

I still don't have a new massage therapist picked out. JL was going to send some email contacts, but she's probably been scrambling with all the move stuff. Anybody here know a good mobile therapist?

I suffered through a Business Process Management course at Mount Royal University on Friday. Over the last few years I took a Business Analysis Certificate course, and it was excellent! The material was well done, all but one of the teachers I had were all that one could ask for, the exercises and group interaction were a great addition to the material. I learned a ton of stuff. Some of it I invented for myself in the heat of the moment on the job, but it was nice to build on the experience and get some good tools.

So I was excited about the Business Process course. I thought it would be a natural extension onto the BA course, and it's an area I was really interested in. The intro was a while ago, and they are always fluff. The first course was a few weeks ago, and it was a real disappointment. I wrote a letter to the University, and they refunded my money for it. The class on Friday was better, but we essentially finished the material on Friday. I figured I had better things to do with my time today, and since I'm not going to complete the curriculum I didn't care if I "failed" this course.  

A buddy of mine was in the first wave of the BA course, and mentioned there were some rocks in the channel for it at first. So perhaps they need to do a bit of rework and it will be up to the standard of the other courses. Maybe I'll have another go at it then.