I'm still Sure!

Know the feeling on pushing self lately. I hate remedial work so motivation to be moderate is hard to come by.
Once back to stupidity motivation will return for both of us I'm certain.
 
Hope you are right about that, Tony.

Weekend was pretty low-key and a tad lazy. Baking, made a batch of chili, and did a truly massive pile of dishes along with some outside this and that, but no formal exercise on Saturday. On Sunday I did a quick Shoe Hill Loop just to ensure I got some movement, then started in on a nasty project - clearing the packrat nest out from under the house. Moved all the lumber, raked (tried not to breathe!), and collapsed the holes. Found the shoe insoles that went missing after the GCDC along with Tom's water-retention bandana - all chewed, missing rags, bars of soap, and oodles of kitty snickers and the pokiest plants we grow - not a comfy nest.

Hopefully I won't come down with Hantavirus in the next couple of weeks - I checked for the symptoms to watch out for and the incubation period. I'd prefer not to die due to rodent droppings in the next couple of weeks. Must remember, if I feel like I'm getting the flu, don't ignore it!

Anyway, it was cold this morning and my back was creaky, so I opted for a gym workout. 25 minutes on the stairmaster, then 15 minutes on EFX as that is a good way to loosen tight back muscles. Back feels better, but still have a crick in my neck.
 
Will do!

Good run/hike yesterday with Tom on 9151M. Saw some elk and 2 tarantulas. Felt really good running down, even on the really rocky sections. Some days it just clicks.

This morning I was hoping to jump on the trampoline, but it was a little too cold - hard on my feet and more important, hard on the mat. Instead we played smashball which was super fun.

At least 2 employees are going bonkers, so best get back to it - my soothing voice is just about used up.
 
This is why I am happy in my work. No cause to use diplomacy, aka bull erm, dung.
My need to control aggression means people find me approachable, which is quite strange considering the few who have seen me when I let go have been quite scared.
Training hard helps so much on this.
 
Thought we might do Shoe Hill Loop today, but Tom started a something on the stove that precluded that, so I opted for a kettlebell DVD workout. Did not even consider using the 15lb'r, 10 was plenty! I'm going to be feeling that workout later - oodles of squats and lunges, not to mention shoulder work. Good mix of movement with resistance.

We've agreed to a day of firewood cutting on Saturday. I enjoy the hard physical work. What I like best is that I can see what we have accomplished. First the truck bed fills up, then when we get home and toss the wood out of the truck into a great pile, I can visibly see the reason I am so dang tired and dirty! And what's not to love about getting dirty?

Really hoping that all my whacked out employees return to a degree of normalcy today. My calm, soothing voice is just about worn out! Hmmm, just took a phone call from one that implies that no, normalcy is not restored. Sheesh. At least he ranted at me instead of a client.
 
Catch-up... work has been hectic, employees are still slightly bonkers.

10/24 - rousing game of Smashball with Tom - lots of sunshine, a few mad dives, lots of good volleys
10/25 - HUGE load of firewood! Lots and lots of heavy lifting since I was the primary log carrier while Tom was the chainsaw guy. I am no good with power tools and hate noisy ones in particular. Makes me close my eyes which is kinda dangerous...
10/26 - Shoe Hill Loop - mellow walk, saw more tarantulas. Love those creatures!
10/27 - Played on the slackline, did a bunch of lunges, jumping lunges too, heavy ball slams and rebounder throws, pushups, hanging knee raises (couple of really dismal T2B and 1 measly pull-up), couple of OHP sets, and bits of smashball.
 
138.8 I enjoy strength training and have worked hard to get STRONG... but some days there is just nothing better than hot, sweaty, high heart rate, happy fast feet cardio! Brain and body chemistry nicely adjusted and I feel good.

EFX for 30 minutes
 
138.8 We signed up for Across the Years again, so will be keeping the running and walking up for the next 2 months I suppose. October mileage was nothing special, although better than I expected once I added it up.

94.85 miles, 17,060 feet climbed

Did another huge load of firewood on Saturday. I used to want one of those big heavy tires to squat and then try to lift/flip end over end. Most of the logs cut on Saturday were too heavy for me to carry (Tom had the BIG saw and was going for monsters) so I did a lot of flipping end over end as a means of transporting them to the truck. Ugh! Sore bum!

Tom was rock climbing today so I headed to Buffalo park and speed walked 4 miles. Averaged 12.35 per mile so not a bad start to my fast walk training.
 
So, I went to Disneyland last week. Was attending a conference there so mostly worked. Attended the 'big shot' dinner and got stuck between 2 people I would not have chosen for anything... but muddled through with a glass or 3 of wine. Mostly I don't drink anymore; it does not do anything good for me and I find I tend to be avoidant for the week or so after having indulged which is not great for marital harmony or work, but...

Anyway, we did get some discount tickets and so went into one of the amusement parks one evening and I had a great time. Tom doesn't like rides (he gets car sick on winding roads), so I haven't been to an amusement park since 1984, but I used to love them and the wilder the ride, the better. Happily my traveling companion also likes rides and we had a wonderful time riding everything including the loop the loop roller coaster a few times. Loved it!

Got in good workouts 2 of the mornings as well - runs around the perimeter of the complex.

In addition to our local runs, have done a more speed walking workouts in advance of ATY, working comfortably in the 12:30/mile range. Of course keeping that up for an hour or 2 is hugely different than it will be trying to do that for 20 hours! Have been reading the book and the blog 'Fixing your feet' and just ordered a few kinds of tape, blister powder, and other stuff in hopes of conducting some experiments to eliminate those pesky ball of the foot blisters I get. Oh, and I got new shoes as well. I tried some Hoka's - the shoes with the super thick soles, but they just felt weird so I returned them and got another pair of trail Mizuno's. I like the roomy toebox.

I've been dealing with a ferocious muscle spasm between my right scapula and the spine for more than a week. My pain tolerance is darn high, but Monday I was just about in tears a couple of times. I made an appointment with my favorite massage therapist for Wednesday and she tortured me to no avail, so Thursday I gave in and called my doc. She was not available so I saw someone else in the practice who offered a steroid injection. Had it been a joint, I would have said no, but I was willing to try a shot in the muscle. It helped a little, but not much really. And this practitioner is opposed to the muscle relaxant I have had the most success with for back spasms but offered Valium instead. Really? I slept really well, but I don't think it is doing anything to relax the spasm.

But in very happy news, I went rock climbing on Tuesday for the first time since the stupid accident last May, and it was good. Really good! I warned Tom that if it hurt, I wouldn't climb anymore, but I would belay him. I carefully taped my thumb to protect it, and we started on easy stuff. After the easy 5.6, moved on to a 5.8 that was challenging mostly because I got a little wigged out by the exposure, but I got it clean. Then we set up on a 5.9 that had lots of variations and I was really pleased to get that route without a fall as well. Second time around I tried a more difficult variation, hurt my thumb and then tried something that proved that yes, my right hand is weaker than it used to be - but I can still rock climb! Of course the whole thing was mental - I had just built it up to be this scary thing in my head and the reality was it was fine.

It's the end of the day, I am back to being miserable from this spasm, I'm out of chocolate, and I'm going home so I can take drugs and go to bed. Hope all is well with you guys!
 
138.6 Good weekend. Saturday was windy and cold. We got Charlie to walk the entire loop, so he gets credit for .3 of a mile - and he did some sprints. Despite the wind we played some smashball - we were going into withdrawal, it had been so long. We did surprisingly well despite the wind although if we hit the ball too high, the wind caught it and added an extra 15 feet or a crazy curve. Chores and made shredded pork - seriously good eating on Saturday afternoon!

An acquaintance of Tom mentioned a hike in the Grand Canyon, and it is one we like a lot that requires a car shuttle so the timing might have been great - but... we've never hiked with him before so had no idea of his speed or ability and were a bit wary of that. Tom left a message for him but when we didn't hear back, we made other plans closer to home.

The Arizona trail (Mexico to Utah) goes within a few miles of home and we decided to do a section of it that we haven't done before. We liked the limited driving (5 miles versus 75 to the Grand Canyon) and not a huge amount of elevation gain so better 'training' for what is next in our lives, the relatively flat course at Across the Years. We could also sleep in. Started hiking at 10 and were going steadily at 15 minute/miles or better even over fairly rough ground in places. At about mile 4 we started a gentle climb through a huge aspen grove. The leaves are long gone now, but I bet it is amazing in early October. The day was really cold, well below freezing when we started out and I don't think the temperature ever got above freezing all day. Add some wind, and I have to say I think the last time I hiked/ran in that many clothes was probably last May in the blizzard up on the peak!

As we moved through the aspen grove we unintentionally snuck up on a small group of elk, the buck was enormous with a huge rack. The wind was in our favor and we were moving quietly, so we got really close. Their coats have gotten super thick and wholly. Once the animals spotted us they took off at a gallop. Crazy how they run with their noses in the air, I don't know how they see where they are going but they make these amazing flying leaps over downed trees.

We made it to Bismark lake at about 7.5 miles and talked about turning back then. We had walked through thick forest which gave way to open meadows and the wind was positively frigid. The AZ Trail sign said Utah 189 miles/Mexico 611 miles. We weren't going to get to either destination on this hike. Another sign said AZ Snowbowl (our local ski resort) 2.5 miles and we decided to go that far, although even as we set off Tom made the comment he wasn't sure he wanted to do 20 miles.

We went a little beyond the trail to the ski resort and found a slightly protected glade to sit and have a bite to eat. Neither of us had really brought much food so we took stock, I shared some of mine, and we figured we might be hungry back at the car, but we would certainly be fine. Then we set off back the way we started. Given this part was generally gently downhill, we mixed in some running, but we also took some detours to explore interesting views, some side paths, and a US Geologic Survey marker we spied some distance from the trail. We had a topo map with us and were curious if we were on the map (we were not quite there yet but could see where we would be). Tom teaches a map and compass orienteering class a few times a year and I'm decent at it, but rarely use the skills so an opportunity for a little refresher is nearly always welcome.

Anyway, our Sunday stroll turned out to be just a tad shy of 22 miles and including stops, took 6 hrs 8 minutes. I am pleased to say my feet felt great, I wasn't sure they were ready for that much distance as the GCDC blister marks are still visible on my forefeet. New shoes (Mizuno's) are good too.

It was 4F when I got up this morning, house was below 50F, and after yesterday I decided I didn't really need a workout. Calling it a rest day.

The gelatin experiment has been ongoing since Friday and I'm thinking it is good. I believe I might be less sore than I expected to be. Wouldn't that be wonderful???
 
The Gelatin experiment - I've always been dismissive of protein powder as a 'highly processed macronutrient' because you know me, I'm a "whole food, minimally processed, eat organic, semi-primal" snob. But, since the antibiotic debacle in May, I've been far creakier than ever before despite working really hard to eat foods that would be help me rebuild a healthy gut biome. One doesn't spend 3 days on IV antibiotics followed by 2 weeks on orals antibiotics without some major damage being done to the body. (Granted, these drugs were necessary to do lethal damage to the bacteria that would have happily destroyed my hand.) Anyway, achy joints, longer lasting sore muscles, thinner skin and hair have all conspired to make me feel as if I aged about 5 years this summer. So, I continue the focus on working on my gut bacteria but I also did some reading on the benefits of gelatin as a collagen dietary supplement. So I ordered a can of collagen hydrolysate (it has the advantage of being cold water soluble so is easier to mix into food or drink as my gag reflex is extraordinarily strong and I was pretty certain that if I tried the kind that requires a 'bloom' it would be a total waste). I've been taking a couple of tablespoons in the morning and again in the evening with the goal of reducing the creakiness. It is early days yet, but I really was less sore than I expected to be after the outing on Sunday and my right knee which has been really awful all summer didn't even poke me this morning doing lunges.

Placebo? Maybe - honestly, I don't care if the feeling better part lasts.
 
139.2 Woke during the night with a heavy weight - turns out Tom was cold when he went to bed so he unzipped a big old sleeping bag and threw it over both of us. I was a tad too warm under the covers but nearly froze when I got up to pee as the house was 42F - evaporation is a very effective cooling agent!

Another 4F morning, so much as we wanted to play outside - hike, smashball, anything, it was just too stinkin' cold. The thermometer didn't budge between 5 and 6:45 when I finally gave in and headed to town and the gym. I hadn't done lunges in forever anyway and I love doing them on the BOSU ball. Bonus that I have an appointment with my massage therapist this afternoon so she can help work the resulting stiffness out. So, 15 minutes of fast feet happy cardio on the EFX machine, then 20 minutes of lunges, squats, side lunges and balance board work.
 
Hmm, seems I have fallen off the posting wagon yet again.

Some travel, a muscle spasm, a holiday, and presto magic, weeks go by.

All is well in my world. US Turkey day meant several days in the land of dessert although I behaved myself in terms of dessert as the in-laws did not have anything I found irresistible. We got in a wonderful run/hike on Antelope Island, the largest of the islands in the Great Salt Lake (largest inland salt water lake in the US and maybe the western hemisphere - my geography has lapsed badly since grade school). Anyway, really enjoyable day with Tom, we did 20 miles, saw 3 herds of bison, did not get charged by said bison, saw some pronghorn antelope, and had wonderful views of both snow capped mountains and desert reflections on the lake. Also got in some fun trail runs and many good smashball sessions on green grass (our field is dry and dusty so the grass was quite luxurious).

Anyway, November totals ended up at a little over 85 miles and a little under 8000 feet climbed, so nothing special, particularly as there is that 24 hour event coming up at the end of December where I have hope of beating last year's mileage - or not... have been experimenting with various taping schemes to prevent hot spots and blisters. Have not found the perfect thing just yet.

Rain for the past 3 days drove me into the gym and this morning I included the weight room at long last. Yikes, harsh wake-up call - can't skip strength training for 2 months and expect to just pick up where I left off, particularly as this summer was decidedly light on such training due to the stupid hand injury. Anyway - feeling like a definite weakling!
 
Losing strength is always annoying. You'll be back to it soon enough.
Life has a habit of interfering with training, but if your life isn't good enough to be worth it this needs to be addressed.
 
Oh, I'm still training, just haven't been posting. And haven't been strength training... run, walk, hike and smashball because Tom is obsessed with smashball and it is really run to play with him.

Anyway, am looking forward to picking it back up (strength training) come January.

138.6 The sun came out for a while yesterday afternoon - it was lovely to see and the mountains had a nice cap of snow - very nice to see them too! It got cold overnight (just a few degrees below freezing) and all that lovely moisture turned to ice. After leaving the dirt road for the highway, there were some slow, slippery miles until I got to lower elevation closer to town. First day of winter driving I guess.

Didn't have a great deal of time this morning as I need to take a long lunch to take care of some errands, so I just did a quick lap (2 miles) at Buffalo Park this morning. So very nice to be outside again after a few gym days. Nippy, but not too cold. 25:33 for the distance, so a tad slow.
 
2 laps at Buffalo Park yesterday, just focused on walking fast and averaged 12:33/mile.

Went for fasting bloodwork this morning, then had to find emergency coffee and food before making my way to the gym. Once there, I focused on upper body weights and some core work. That spot that spasm'd a couple of weeks ago is grumpy again. I guess I will call a different physical therapist. My guy Dan used to be wonderful, but these days it seems all he wants to do is dry needle acupuncture. I am a believer in the theory that the best therapy is what we do for ourselves in the form of movement - stretching, exercises, whatever - rather than things that are done to us. Sure, I love ultrasound when something is really hurting, but long term, I don't think physical problems are going to resolve without addressing the underlying issue that triggered the problem. Anyway, short of making an appointment with another PT, I decided to focus on regular (2-3 times a week) upper body training. I suspect that this spasm likely has something to do with the fact that I've been such a slacker this summer/fall on strength training.

Back extensions, body weight sets of 10-15 x 3 and one set of weighted (12.5 lbs)
Hanging knee raises - 3 sets of 8
Land mine twister 2 sets of 15 per side
Single arm lunge position presses 2 sets of 10/side
triceps pulls 2x30lbs/side
cross body pulls in lunge position 2x45/side
lat pulls 2 sets of 8x60lbs
chest fly 2 sets of 8x20 (cannot believe how weak I am at these again!)
Planks and some stretching exercises for lower back
 
Sort of thought I would end up at Buffalo Park this morning for a few fast walking laps. As I got closer to town, the fog was thick again, and I realized I would be using the port-a-john at the park for more than I was willing to... went to the gym instead. And as I made that decision, I decided that rather than straight mindless happy fast feet cardio on the EFX (which was my first thought), I should do more body work. What will stop me from completing all the miles I want to at Across the Years (ATY) will be when some part of me starts hurting too much and my brain taps out. So, the better I can shore up my defenses, such as strengthening my quads, ensuring my back has no nasty twinges, keeping my hammies and bum happy - all of that will enable me to keep going over the 24 hour event. And preventing blisters of course - working on that with a variety of taping schemes.

So, did 12 minutes of EFX at very high step rate to warm up, then headed upstairs for lower body work.
Lunges with 12lb medicine ball gave me legs, core and some upper body work to keep that pesky cramp at bay, squats too. I modified the lunges to focus on my quads rather than hamstrings and glutes.

Single leg deadlifts, 3 sets/leg with the ball
Side lunges and plié squats
Twisters, then some fit ball jackknifes, pushups, and leg raises
Fit ball hamstring curls
Downdog to pigeon pose cycles for a good stretch afterward
 
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