Another week -- these are going by fast. While, according to Kiran's allergies, it's spring, the temperature refuses to cooperate. Its still damn cold, and I'm getting more and more sensitive to it. Body parts are achey and stiff. Especially after the weekend 9 miler run on Sat + Snowboarding + 26 mile ride on Sun. Finally got my standup desk @ work today, my back feels much happier. Now I just need a stool to sit on when my weak legs tire out after 8+ hours of standing.
work continues to be full f*cking on. I've got to put together a Hadoop class, ramp up a new dev, participate in 2 tech evals, and move the product roadmap forward. Jesus Christ. Spent the last hour wondering what the fuck was going on with my report generating mods to YCSB, only to realize I was closing the stdout stream. Duh.
Monday
woke up late after reading an old mid 80s 'Batman Returns' comic that Kiran lent me. Is it sad when you and your nine year old read the same books? On the other hand, he's no ordinary nine year old. We're also reading Huck Finn, and he loves it. He laughs and laughs and cant wait for the next chapter. It _is_ a great read. He is a smart kid. Just took his ITBS test to confirm that he belongs in e2, I hope he didn't fuck it up (I know I would have at his age :) Oh well, he's not doomed to flip burgers if he doesn't get in. I'm living proof of that.
Contemplated running, then stopped that bullshit. Grabbed some coffee, then downstairs for an upper body specific TRX funfest. Including 2x12 pullups, 1x35 atomic pushups, 2x10 single leg supported pushups, 2x10 supermans, and I cant' remember what else. All I know is that it was hard to walk up the stairs afterward, and I didn't do anything to my legs. wrt atomic pushups -- I think I've got to hit 40 just to say I did it. I think I could have done it today, but was just freaking lazy after hitting 35.
Tomorrow I'm considering a 4-5 miler followed by weights. I think a fast 4 + kettlebell + lunge squats would just about kick my ass all the way back into the stone age. Of course, this sounds groovy @ 10pm, just prior to going to bed. Much less exciting @ 5AM when getting out of bed.
Tuesday
did a hard 4 miles, followed by weights. I think I'm getting up and over the kettlebell strength curve, at least for 45 lbs. Might be time to stack more weights on.
Wednesday
Upper body TRX. Did 40 Atomic pushups today -- a first!
Thursday
spent the time I should have been running responding to an asshat email. Hate it when work dominates, but it has been lately, I've been going wall to wall between evaluating new tech, putting together a Hadoop class, and playing reindeer games like the one this morning. Got in a 3 miler, first mile medium, last two hard.
Friday
took the day off.
Saturday
4 miles hard, followed by leg splits and kettlebells. Today I took Leela up skiing. She lasted about 2 hours, it was fun to ski with her, she's come a long way in a season, from barely moving along to flying on the greens with a big smile on her face. Shes so cute, the way she turns, she holds her body just like Lopa does when she's turning, kind of curled over. It was a good day to spend with her.
Sunday
Took Kiran up to Summit East, my first time there since the 'remodel'. We had a blast, there are some easy and not so easy black diamond runs that he attacked with gusto. I cant believe that he's going down black diamonds. And now, when we race, I have to go forward and not switch stance, otherwise he just dusts me. He ended up getting into e2, which is great, because he needs to get pushed, just like I did.
That place rocks. I'm there the next powder day. It has the best tree runs, the trees are spaced just right. The slope could be a little steeper, but I'm getting older and it really doesn't matter now :)
He's a way better skiier at nine than I was. I wonder how far he's going to take it?
After skiing I did a quick upper body workout. Did atomic pushups with yoga blocks to get lower in the pushup. Those hurt. Then did 15 pullups, in between a set of talon single arm pulls. Also did a bunch of supermans and flys. Well, at least I _felt_ buff :)
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Training Summary 3/14 -3/20
Summary: Its March, late March. How did that happen ?!? Its still f*cking cold, and spring has not sprung by any stretch of the imagination. My heel is sore, less sore, but my back is wound up like a spring. Damn standing desk hasn't shown up, I think they're growing the tree to make it from :( I offered to put one together for them, and they looked at me funny. Times like that I really miss working at a startup.
Monday
F*cking Daylight Savings Time. Really messes with me. This AM, up at all hours, until (of course!) 4 I mean 5 AM, my minimum wakeup time to hit the road by 6. It was raining, blowing, and dark outside, making for a definite "no, not psyched" factor. So I blew off the planned 6 miler and hit the TRX for a full body session. Well, at least my heel gets the day off.
Tuesday
4.07 mi 34:45, 8:33 /mi, avg 155bpm
quick paced run, out and back on W Mercer way (hilly). Felt good, I'm liking these short, fast runs.
Wednesday
did nothing, went out and watched sounders last night, then stayed @ work till 10:30 answering emails. Work has lately been 'Dancing with Asshats'. Stressful, because I'm not one.
Thursday
5.09 mi, 43:51, 8:37/mi, 162bpm avg
another quick one, went out a little harder, came back a little slower :)
Friday
no sleep + stress @ work make me a sleepy slacker!
Saturday
8.78 mi, 1:23, 9:33/mi, 149 bpm
made this one a longer, slower run. Felt like I could go harder, but right now I'm nursing a sore heel, and want the distance days to be mellower.
Sunday
Biking: 26.8 mi, 1:29:26, 18.0 mph, 3072 feet climbing,avg HR 140
Standard MI loop. I headed out and powered up the first climb in the big ring, feeling strong. Then I kept the pace up on the rollers, easily keeping 22-24 mph. I was feeling great, and the ease at which I could keep that pace on my 2nd bike ride of the year had me stoked.
Then I rounded the south end of the island and realized I had been riding with a tailwind. Aw Snap. the wind was out of the north, and it made grinding up the long hill on W Mercer to the i-90 on-ramp a hard one. The first lap I was able to keep it in the big ring, but had it my 19 in back. The second (finishing) ramp I was just fried, and rolled it in mellow.
My legs are coming around, though. I don't feel like I'm pedaling squares, and I think the kettlebells and TRX are making a difference. But, damn, I'm tired after 26 miles, way too tired. This is my pre-work ride, hopefully it will get back to being one that I can crank out without so much fatigue. I have a feeling that about 5 less lbs would probably help the cause too. Well, that's what the summer months are for :)
Monday
F*cking Daylight Savings Time. Really messes with me. This AM, up at all hours, until (of course!) 4 I mean 5 AM, my minimum wakeup time to hit the road by 6. It was raining, blowing, and dark outside, making for a definite "no, not psyched" factor. So I blew off the planned 6 miler and hit the TRX for a full body session. Well, at least my heel gets the day off.
Tuesday
4.07 mi 34:45, 8:33 /mi, avg 155bpm
quick paced run, out and back on W Mercer way (hilly). Felt good, I'm liking these short, fast runs.
Wednesday
did nothing, went out and watched sounders last night, then stayed @ work till 10:30 answering emails. Work has lately been 'Dancing with Asshats'. Stressful, because I'm not one.
Thursday
5.09 mi, 43:51, 8:37/mi, 162bpm avg
another quick one, went out a little harder, came back a little slower :)
Friday
no sleep + stress @ work make me a sleepy slacker!
Saturday
8.78 mi, 1:23, 9:33/mi, 149 bpm
made this one a longer, slower run. Felt like I could go harder, but right now I'm nursing a sore heel, and want the distance days to be mellower.
Sunday
Biking: 26.8 mi, 1:29:26, 18.0 mph, 3072 feet climbing,avg HR 140
Standard MI loop. I headed out and powered up the first climb in the big ring, feeling strong. Then I kept the pace up on the rollers, easily keeping 22-24 mph. I was feeling great, and the ease at which I could keep that pace on my 2nd bike ride of the year had me stoked.
Then I rounded the south end of the island and realized I had been riding with a tailwind. Aw Snap. the wind was out of the north, and it made grinding up the long hill on W Mercer to the i-90 on-ramp a hard one. The first lap I was able to keep it in the big ring, but had it my 19 in back. The second (finishing) ramp I was just fried, and rolled it in mellow.
My legs are coming around, though. I don't feel like I'm pedaling squares, and I think the kettlebells and TRX are making a difference. But, damn, I'm tired after 26 miles, way too tired. This is my pre-work ride, hopefully it will get back to being one that I can crank out without so much fatigue. I have a feeling that about 5 less lbs would probably help the cause too. Well, that's what the summer months are for :)
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Training Summary 3/7 - 3/13
Monday
woke up late and tired after snowboarding weekend. Lopa was teaching, so I had time for a 3 mile run and some weights. Went out HARD on the uphill, ended up avging 8:30 overall, a 9:30 first mile and then in the 7-8 range the rest.
Then did 3xsingle leg split squats -- no plyo, knee still hurting from last weekends 5 feet to flat landing -- and 3x25 kettlebell swings. Really focusing on driving those swings with my glutes and core. It keeps me from fucking my back up.
Tuesday
woke up late again, and only had time for a 4 mile recovery run. Recovery it was. I went superdeeduperdee slow the last mile, keeping it below 142 on the steep uphill forced me into a very slow shuffle-og. Was going to do upper body weights, but didnt' have time.
Wednesday
Dentist time, 7AM. So general all around body workout TRX+Kettlebell.
Thursday
Nothing doing today, I think it was raining.
Friday
hard run, 5.5 miles, avg 8:30 pace. took it out @ 9:30 for first mile, dropped it down to 9 for second, then kept winding it up. Was going to go for full 6 miles but was hit by a sideache, I havent had one of those for years. Felt like a knife in my guts. Rolled home slow, the short way.
Saturday
raining, lots. Still sore from run (heel and back not feeling super good). Did all over body workout with TRX and kettlebells.
Sunday
snowboarding w/Kiran and Leela. Leela, that girl gets after it! She's gone from a very pokey beginner to a not so pokey beginner in 2 weeks -- I think (and I'm not sure where she gets it) she's some kind of natural athlete, between this skiing business, the soccer goals, and the basketball point guard stuff. Had a great time w/the kids, although did not get to do any jumps in the park, but that could be a next year goal for me and Kiran. Afterwards, got out on a 4 mile easy jog. Felt good to sweat. Heel feels better after the slow run.
woke up late and tired after snowboarding weekend. Lopa was teaching, so I had time for a 3 mile run and some weights. Went out HARD on the uphill, ended up avging 8:30 overall, a 9:30 first mile and then in the 7-8 range the rest.
Then did 3xsingle leg split squats -- no plyo, knee still hurting from last weekends 5 feet to flat landing -- and 3x25 kettlebell swings. Really focusing on driving those swings with my glutes and core. It keeps me from fucking my back up.
Tuesday
woke up late again, and only had time for a 4 mile recovery run. Recovery it was. I went superdeeduperdee slow the last mile, keeping it below 142 on the steep uphill forced me into a very slow shuffle-og. Was going to do upper body weights, but didnt' have time.
Wednesday
Dentist time, 7AM. So general all around body workout TRX+Kettlebell.
Thursday
Nothing doing today, I think it was raining.
Friday
hard run, 5.5 miles, avg 8:30 pace. took it out @ 9:30 for first mile, dropped it down to 9 for second, then kept winding it up. Was going to go for full 6 miles but was hit by a sideache, I havent had one of those for years. Felt like a knife in my guts. Rolled home slow, the short way.
Saturday
raining, lots. Still sore from run (heel and back not feeling super good). Did all over body workout with TRX and kettlebells.
Sunday
snowboarding w/Kiran and Leela. Leela, that girl gets after it! She's gone from a very pokey beginner to a not so pokey beginner in 2 weeks -- I think (and I'm not sure where she gets it) she's some kind of natural athlete, between this skiing business, the soccer goals, and the basketball point guard stuff. Had a great time w/the kids, although did not get to do any jumps in the park, but that could be a next year goal for me and Kiran. Afterwards, got out on a 4 mile easy jog. Felt good to sweat. Heel feels better after the slow run.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Training Summary 2/28 - 3/6
Overview: Travelled to sunny Orlando this week Tues - Thurs for meetings. The time change f*cked with me. First meeting was 8am EST. That's 5AM PST, y'all. Fucking nightmare. And they didn't even feed us.
Thurs AM got out for a nice 4 mile run around Orlando. Kept the pace reasonably high, and felt good.
Monday
Weights and 4 mile run
Tuesday
Travel all day. yuck.
Wednesday
Did I mention the 5AM meeting? Bastards.
Thursday
Nice run in what felt like blazing heat. Great to be in shorts, outside.
Friday
Blech. Travel 'hangover'
Saturday
Boarded all day @ Crystal w/Arun T (aka Mr Pink) and his friend Joel. Great to get out and push it, we rode all over North Back and High Campbell. Tweaked my front knee early in the day and on the last run. Self massage of outer IT band below quad muscle @ insertion into knee seems to have helped.
Sunday
Rode 2 hrs while kids were in lessons. Tired from yesterday. The snow was rock hard, so I was not inspired to huck anything. Leela wanted to ride in the kiddie park after her lesson, so I got a couple of jump runs in. Fun!
Thurs AM got out for a nice 4 mile run around Orlando. Kept the pace reasonably high, and felt good.
Monday
Weights and 4 mile run
Tuesday
Travel all day. yuck.
Wednesday
Did I mention the 5AM meeting? Bastards.
Thursday
Nice run in what felt like blazing heat. Great to be in shorts, outside.
Friday
Blech. Travel 'hangover'
Saturday
Boarded all day @ Crystal w/Arun T (aka Mr Pink) and his friend Joel. Great to get out and push it, we rode all over North Back and High Campbell. Tweaked my front knee early in the day and on the last run. Self massage of outer IT band below quad muscle @ insertion into knee seems to have helped.
Sunday
Rode 2 hrs while kids were in lessons. Tired from yesterday. The snow was rock hard, so I was not inspired to huck anything. Leela wanted to ride in the kiddie park after her lesson, so I got a couple of jump runs in. Fun!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The Dao Of Poop
In ancient and not so ancient times, people used to try to infer or predict future events by extrapolating from every day, mundane things. Tea leaves, Tarot cards, bird entrails (gross, but still mundane), all could be interpreted and analyzed and used to guide decisions and approaches. They were like barometers for life.
While one side of me has taken a slightly more logical approach to inference/prediction via the Machine Learning route, the other side of me still really puts a lot of weight into these kind of interpretations. Well, I should say one specific interpretation. Where oracles and wise men once use any and all of the above to find their way through the world, I use one thing. My bowel movements.
I can pretty much tell what kind of day I'm going to have from my morning dump. Sometimes, I lay so much cable that no matter how I felt before the poop, afterwards I feel strong, young, invincible. I take that energy into the day, and quite frankly, kick the days ass.
Other days, I grunt and grunt and grind and all I've got to show for it is a couple of turdlets. Maybe a lot of gas. But nothing of substance. On those days, it's difficult to get excited. For one thing, I don't feel lighter, or stronger. I'm also a little nervous to go off on any run longer than 45 minutes. If we lived near the woods, no big deal. I'd just take some tp out on the road and be done with it. But we live on Mercer Island, and people don't take shits in the woods around here. I think it's a felony. Or close enough, anyway.
Lately, I've noticed that even if I don't necessarily have a great morning dump, I can work backwards to my last dump, and analyze it. I am a lucky man. I rarely have more than 2 dumps that are insubstantial. So, for me, worst case is that I'm off by one!
This last realization has led me to conclude that sometimes, it is possible to make my own destiny. The days of agonizing over the meaning of a bad dump have been replaced with bathroom playbacks, in which it is quickly established that I laid a breacher less than 12 hours ago. Immediately, all is right in the world. Or at least known. In effect I start to feel invincible about my shit before last, and use that to reset my approach to the day, the world, and life in general.
I'm wondering what other people use as a barometer...a lot of my friends swear by the bowel movement theory. But then again, that could just be the kind of people I end up hanging out with.
While one side of me has taken a slightly more logical approach to inference/prediction via the Machine Learning route, the other side of me still really puts a lot of weight into these kind of interpretations. Well, I should say one specific interpretation. Where oracles and wise men once use any and all of the above to find their way through the world, I use one thing. My bowel movements.
I can pretty much tell what kind of day I'm going to have from my morning dump. Sometimes, I lay so much cable that no matter how I felt before the poop, afterwards I feel strong, young, invincible. I take that energy into the day, and quite frankly, kick the days ass.
Other days, I grunt and grunt and grind and all I've got to show for it is a couple of turdlets. Maybe a lot of gas. But nothing of substance. On those days, it's difficult to get excited. For one thing, I don't feel lighter, or stronger. I'm also a little nervous to go off on any run longer than 45 minutes. If we lived near the woods, no big deal. I'd just take some tp out on the road and be done with it. But we live on Mercer Island, and people don't take shits in the woods around here. I think it's a felony. Or close enough, anyway.
Lately, I've noticed that even if I don't necessarily have a great morning dump, I can work backwards to my last dump, and analyze it. I am a lucky man. I rarely have more than 2 dumps that are insubstantial. So, for me, worst case is that I'm off by one!
This last realization has led me to conclude that sometimes, it is possible to make my own destiny. The days of agonizing over the meaning of a bad dump have been replaced with bathroom playbacks, in which it is quickly established that I laid a breacher less than 12 hours ago. Immediately, all is right in the world. Or at least known. In effect I start to feel invincible about my shit before last, and use that to reset my approach to the day, the world, and life in general.
I'm wondering what other people use as a barometer...a lot of my friends swear by the bowel movement theory. But then again, that could just be the kind of people I end up hanging out with.
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