Dragging today.
Last night: brain zaps (minor, but annoying), fatigue, diarrhea. Up at 2am feeling very ill, and was awake for ~2hr stressing about various things including the finances for the bathroom remodel (which turns out to be mostly fine now that I've run and re-run the #s, though it's gonna be close...) and the tile choices and other things. Finally went back to sleep.
Got in to work and realized I'd messed up something and will have to work late today and a bunch on the weekend to fix it. Sometimes I really hate research. Actually, it's more that I hate my own stupidity.
Feel dizzy and ill but am trying not to take any more escitalopram. Want to be done with it.
I did 20 min on the elliptical hoping it would make me feel better. It didn't make me feel worse.
It must be Friday the 13th.
Back to work insanity now.
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Friday, July 13, 2018
Thursday, February 25, 2016
yoga; 3K fartlek
Yesterday: After my 10k in the morning I did yoga in the afternoon with a new DVD I got. It was shorter, which is good, because my current one is about 1 hr 25 min and is just tooooooo looooonnnnng for me to do all the stretches at the end every time, though I do all the strength moves and can finish that part in about an hour. The new DVD was OK; the instructor didn't have nearly the explanations and directions of how to hold the poses correctly, and it wasn't as challenging as my other DVD. It was short though...20 minutes, with 3 different routines (each 20 min) one for pre-run, one for conditioning/strength training, and one for post-run. So it could be useful when I'm crunched for time, but otherwise the other one is a lot better.
Today: 3K fartlek. I didn't do the workout until late morning because I had to decorate my co-worker's bench and desk for his 40th birthday :). I got in really early to do it and then went home to help the kids get to school, then back to work to finish the job. The photos show the final product, which I thought was hilarious! Finally, after I did some "real" work and saw his amused reaction, I went to the gym on campus to use the indoor track. The weather was so very nice (50F? 10C?) that I wished I could use the outdoor track, but as usual, lanes 1-4 were blocked off for public use. Grrrr. But the indoor track was OK.
First I warmed up carefully: PT exercises, glute activation, then 5 laps gradually increasing speed on each lap. My hamstring felt pretty good.
I did the usual for a 3K fartlek there: 2 laps fast, 2 medium, 2 fast, 2 medium, 2 fast for 10 laps, or 2926m. My times were: 3:22.3, 3:40.6, 3:28.0, 3:42.9, and 3:25.8 which equates to 2:52.8, 3:08.5, 2:57.7, 3:10.4, and 2:55.8 for 500m equivalents. Total time: 17:40, which would be 18:07 for the full 3K. My average HR was low at 157; I gave it a hard effort but I think I'm just not neuromuscularly efficient right now. And hey, that's not as dreadfully awful as I was expecting. My hamstring hurt a little, with pain 1-2/10 about like my walks lately; a little more pain than yesterday, but really, not a big deal. I kept a little mantra going to help me remember to have good technique: "stand tall - go to Perth" (reminds me to keep posture straight, with strong core and no anterior pelvic tilt), "walk wide - go to Perth" (reminding me to keep stride width), "quick steps - go to Perth" (reminding me to keep a quick cadence). It must be working 'cause the pain was less, and when I went to PT a couple hours later, the treadmill with sensors revealed my stride is a bit wider (6 cm instead of 3 cm) and my cadence a little quicker. I still need to work on both, but it's better. He gave me new exercises to do - they're good, and tough.
Garmin data here.
First I warmed up carefully: PT exercises, glute activation, then 5 laps gradually increasing speed on each lap. My hamstring felt pretty good.
I did the usual for a 3K fartlek there: 2 laps fast, 2 medium, 2 fast, 2 medium, 2 fast for 10 laps, or 2926m. My times were: 3:22.3, 3:40.6, 3:28.0, 3:42.9, and 3:25.8 which equates to 2:52.8, 3:08.5, 2:57.7, 3:10.4, and 2:55.8 for 500m equivalents. Total time: 17:40, which would be 18:07 for the full 3K. My average HR was low at 157; I gave it a hard effort but I think I'm just not neuromuscularly efficient right now. And hey, that's not as dreadfully awful as I was expecting. My hamstring hurt a little, with pain 1-2/10 about like my walks lately; a little more pain than yesterday, but really, not a big deal. I kept a little mantra going to help me remember to have good technique: "stand tall - go to Perth" (reminds me to keep posture straight, with strong core and no anterior pelvic tilt), "walk wide - go to Perth" (reminding me to keep stride width), "quick steps - go to Perth" (reminding me to keep a quick cadence). It must be working 'cause the pain was less, and when I went to PT a couple hours later, the treadmill with sensors revealed my stride is a bit wider (6 cm instead of 3 cm) and my cadence a little quicker. I still need to work on both, but it's better. He gave me new exercises to do - they're good, and tough.
Garmin data here.
Monday, January 25, 2016
not much is up
Haven't blogged much because not much is happening. I've been resting my sore rear end, doing elliptical daily (except Sunday, when I took a day off for the first time in 2 weeks), and hoping that the tenderness would improve. Mostly. On Friday our lab played tennis and went to lunch for our post-holiday holiday party :). The tennis was fun, but I did strain my injury site a bit.
After ART last Tuesday, I think that my hamstring tendon near the top is the pressing issue at the moment. That's bad news because it's hard to heal (not much blood supply) but good news because the ART practitioner says it's a very small spot, about the size of a quarter to half dollar coin. Either way, I needed to rest it, and as of this morning it felt a lot better. Better enough that today I decided to try a little racewalking. I hopped on my treadmill at home (icy outside, and I was worried that the turns on the gym track might be aggravating it - maybe not, but maybe?) and managed 30 min pretty much pain-free. I stopped a couple times to massage just to be safe, but it felt decent.
The rest of the day it didn't bother me much, so I'm going to try to walk outside for 5km or so tomorrow; maybe 6km if the mood strikes. I will probably take the dogs... :). It's going to be cold in the morning, at 21F (-6C) but 5-6km is not so far, so if I dress warmly it'll be no biggie. Here's hoping I can do it!
After ART last Tuesday, I think that my hamstring tendon near the top is the pressing issue at the moment. That's bad news because it's hard to heal (not much blood supply) but good news because the ART practitioner says it's a very small spot, about the size of a quarter to half dollar coin. Either way, I needed to rest it, and as of this morning it felt a lot better. Better enough that today I decided to try a little racewalking. I hopped on my treadmill at home (icy outside, and I was worried that the turns on the gym track might be aggravating it - maybe not, but maybe?) and managed 30 min pretty much pain-free. I stopped a couple times to massage just to be safe, but it felt decent.
The rest of the day it didn't bother me much, so I'm going to try to walk outside for 5km or so tomorrow; maybe 6km if the mood strikes. I will probably take the dogs... :). It's going to be cold in the morning, at 21F (-6C) but 5-6km is not so far, so if I dress warmly it'll be no biggie. Here's hoping I can do it!
Saturday, October 17, 2015
16K - Chicago Lakefront Trail
Loren and I are now in Chicago for me to attend the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting and present a poster. We left the kids in my parents' capable hands, and the house and dogs in the care of our awesome house sitter, and here we are.
The meeting didn't have much going on until 1pm today, so today was the ideal time for my 16K. I was thinking to do 16-18km, but my legs were definitely still a bit tired from yesterday's speed work, even though it was short, probably because of the fast 200s that I haven't done in a while. So at about 10k today I was pretty sure 16k was a good distance rather than 18k. The weather was good for fall here; 40F (4C) and windy. The wind was in my face on the first 8k, at a steady 19kph (12mph) plus gusts, which was definitely enough to slow me down and tired me out a bit. The lakeside scenery was beautiful though! For my international readers, a bit about Chicago: though in the middle of the country, it's next to a huge lake (Lake Michigan), and is the 3rd largest city in the US, behind New York and Los Angeles. It's pretty cold here in the winter, much colder than Salt Lake, though it doesn't snow as much as in Salt Lake. It's also famous for being windy here, and the city's nickname is "the windy city". But in October, windy or not, it's lovely --- at least it was today. And it's also only about 180m (590ft) above sea level, and very flat, perfect for RW. The Lakefront Trail here is an amazing paved trail along the lakeshore, and it's something like 20 miles (32km) long, adequate for almost any kind of training.
The trail was busy today with tons of runners, walkers, and cyclists; the runners were pretty good, as I only passed a handful in the 16K. During the first 8K into the wind, my legs felt decent, though it was nice to stop at the turnaround and get a few photos. I noticed the wind at my back right away when I turned around, and in fact I managed to negative split the workout, probably due to the tail wind; my legs were tired then. The first 500m was NOT right (3:45? not that slow...) and neither was the last 500m (2:42? no way!) so I figure that along the river walk my Garmin had a bit of trouble. But close enough.
I finished in 1:41:45 for 6:21/km and had splits of 32:00 (5K), 51:19 (8K), 1:03:53 (10K), 1:35:35 (15K); the last 8K was 1:41:45-51:19 = 50:26 for a negative split :).
Garmin data here.
The meeting didn't have much going on until 1pm today, so today was the ideal time for my 16K. I was thinking to do 16-18km, but my legs were definitely still a bit tired from yesterday's speed work, even though it was short, probably because of the fast 200s that I haven't done in a while. So at about 10k today I was pretty sure 16k was a good distance rather than 18k. The weather was good for fall here; 40F (4C) and windy. The wind was in my face on the first 8k, at a steady 19kph (12mph) plus gusts, which was definitely enough to slow me down and tired me out a bit. The lakeside scenery was beautiful though! For my international readers, a bit about Chicago: though in the middle of the country, it's next to a huge lake (Lake Michigan), and is the 3rd largest city in the US, behind New York and Los Angeles. It's pretty cold here in the winter, much colder than Salt Lake, though it doesn't snow as much as in Salt Lake. It's also famous for being windy here, and the city's nickname is "the windy city". But in October, windy or not, it's lovely --- at least it was today. And it's also only about 180m (590ft) above sea level, and very flat, perfect for RW. The Lakefront Trail here is an amazing paved trail along the lakeshore, and it's something like 20 miles (32km) long, adequate for almost any kind of training.
I finished in 1:41:45 for 6:21/km and had splits of 32:00 (5K), 51:19 (8K), 1:03:53 (10K), 1:35:35 (15K); the last 8K was 1:41:45-51:19 = 50:26 for a negative split :).
Garmin data here.
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
3K fartlek + 4x500m; indoor track
I've been staying up too late, and it finally caught up with me. I slept until 6:45 am (9 hr of sleep!) and then didn't have time to hit the outdoor track before work. Oops! Plus work is really busy, working on a poster for the Society for Neuroscience meeting and also getting a demo of this very cool zebrafish behavior monitoring rig today. But I did make myself go to the indoor track after work and got in a very nice workout even though I was tired.
The workout was 3K fartlek + 4x500m, and because I was on the indoor 292.6m track I modified it to be 2 laps fast, 2 laps medium, 2 fast, 2 medium, 2 fast (2926m for 3K fartlek), and then 2 min rest followed by 585.2m (2 laps), 2 min rest, 2 laps, 2 min rest, 2 laps, 2 min rest, 1 lap. Total was 17 laps or 4974m. My total time for that was 28:36 (36:36-8 min rest), which works out to 28:45 for 5K, which I think is pretty good for that workout right now, so I'm pleased. Here are my splits, below, for what it's worth.
First column is lap #, then time, then cumulative time, then ave HR for the lap and finally max HR for the lap. Garmin data here.
My legs were pretty tired afterward, but nothing a good night's sleep won't cure. Quads are still sore from the running on Tuesday morning :). Haha racewalking problems!!!
The workout was 3K fartlek + 4x500m, and because I was on the indoor 292.6m track I modified it to be 2 laps fast, 2 laps medium, 2 fast, 2 medium, 2 fast (2926m for 3K fartlek), and then 2 min rest followed by 585.2m (2 laps), 2 min rest, 2 laps, 2 min rest, 2 laps, 2 min rest, 1 lap. Total was 17 laps or 4974m. My total time for that was 28:36 (36:36-8 min rest), which works out to 28:45 for 5K, which I think is pretty good for that workout right now, so I'm pleased. Here are my splits, below, for what it's worth.
First column is lap #, then time, then cumulative time, then ave HR for the lap and finally max HR for the lap. Garmin data here.
My legs were pretty tired afterward, but nothing a good night's sleep won't cure. Quads are still sore from the running on Tuesday morning :). Haha racewalking problems!!!
| 1 | 01:36.1 | 01:36.1 | 146 | 160 |
| 2 | 01:40.3 | 03:16.4 | 160 | 161 |
| 3 | 01:46.6 | 05:03.0 | 156 | 160 |
| 4 | 01:46.3 | 06:49.3 | 154 | 158 |
| 5 | 01:39.0 | 08:28.3 | 162 | 165 |
| 6 | 01:39.8 | 10:08 | 166 | 168 |
| 7 | 01:49.1 | 11:57 | 162 | 168 |
| 8 | 01:48.1 | 13:45 | 159 | 161 |
| 9 | 01:40.0 | 15:25 | 164 | 167 |
| 10 | 01:39.5 | 17:05 | 168 | 170 |
| 11 | 01:59.9 | 19:05 | 142 | 169 |
| 12 | 01:37.8 | 20:42 | 153 | 164 |
| 13 | 01:40.5 | 22:23 | 165 | 167 |
| 14 | 02:00.5 | 24:23:00 | 138 | 167 |
| 15 | 01:38.3 | 26:02:00 | 154 | 164 |
| 16 | 01:39.7 | 27:41:00 | 166 | 168 |
| 17 | 02:00.9 | 29:42:00 | 135 | 167 |
| 18 | 01:38.4 | 31:21:00 | 153 | 164 |
| 19 | 01:39.9 | 33:01:00 | 165 | 168 |
| 20 | 02:00.1 | 35:01:00 | 140 | 168 |
| 21 | 01:35.8 | 36:36:00 | 154 | 166 |
| Summary | 36:36:00 | 36:36:00 | 154 | 170 |
Just converted these times to 500m times and they are fast! Nice!!! The 3:01.8 and 3:05.5 are the medium effort intervals on the fartlek. All my fasts are under 2:50 but one, and the last one was 2:43.6! Yay!
| 02:47.7 |
| 03:01.8 |
| 02:49.8 |
| 03:05.5 |
| 02:50.4 |
| 02:49.3 |
| 02:49.1 |
| 02:49.3 |
| 02:43.6 |
Saturday, September 12, 2015
14K
This morning I got up really early to go to the Jordan River Parkway. Kelly has moved back to Salt Lake (YAYAYAYAY!) and agreed to meet me for my last 5K, but she wanted to be home by 8 am to watch a soccer game with her fiancé Chris. So I started at 6:05 am and she met me at 7:05 am after I'd done my first 9km.
It was a bit chilly by the river this morning; it was 59F (15C) but by the river I'm sure it was at least 5F colder. I was still fine in shorts and a T-shirt, but was chilled until I got warmed up a bit. Otherwise, the weather was lovely - calm and clear.
The house selling stress has been worse at the end of this week. It's complicated and I'm not going to go into it here, but let's just say that last night was not a good night. A glass of wine at dinner with Loren helped immensely though :). With all that on my mind I pushed a bit harder this morning, as if the exercise would purge the evilness of it all, and it did help a bit. My resting HR spiked up to 56 this morning, which is NOT good. I can't have a relapse. I'm going to have to manage this somehow. I'm working on it - suffice it to say, w/o going into details, that I have a plan. Unfortunately extra rest isn't in the cards today as I have to work a good portion of the day today & tomorrow because we have a deadline on a paper. But I think I can get home by 3pm today and get a quick nap before Calvin's soccer game at 4pm.
My legs felt great this morning, and not at all compromised by yesterday's 3x1km. The only problem is that niggling pain the butt on the left side. Kelly had a look at it and thinks it's the upper hamstring :(. Boo. She told me to ice it (I did) and to massage it (I did) and not to stretch too much (I didn't). I'm going to have to baby it.
My pace was 6:18/km through 9km, and then the last 5km was a bit slower; I was tired, and I was talking to Kelly, well, sort of. I was breathing hard enough that I didn't converse with her so much as she conversed with me. She was running, because her left knee has been bugging her lately while RW, so she opted to run today.
Garmin data here.
***
In other interesting news, my boss did the Wasatch 100 yesterday. It's a 100-mile trail race in the mountains with 25000 feet of elevation gain and loss along the course. It's pretty much insane. Another friend of mine did it a few years ago and made it to 80 miles then DNF'd; the next year he finished. I think the first time doing a race of that distance it's going to be a learning experience, and it was for Josh yesterday. It was really really HOT and he had trouble staying hydrated, because his stomach pretty much quit accepting liquids. Of course, this also meant he couldn't eat anything either. I decided to go cheer for him at the 52.5 mile mark at Lambs Canyon, which is easily accessible from Salt Lake. Loren and I drove up there and saw him come in at 9:15pm, and he looked very tired but OK-ish (still smiling after 52 miles - photo at left). But his wife was worried and told us he hadn't been able to eat. He did manage to get some broth and soda and potato chips and noodles down, but in the end he decided not to continue the race and DNF'd there. All the same, I think it was an outstanding effort and it's the farthest he's run (previous long run was 38 miles; he's also done a bunch of trail marathons), so there's a lot to build on there. He said, though, that this distance is as different from a marathon as the marathon is from a 5 or 10K, and I believe it. It's just a totally different animal. It was good we'd gone up there to cheer for him, because his pacers just had one car between them and needed to fetch the other car; since we were there we could take him home, for which he was grateful. I hope he is feeling better today.
It was a bit chilly by the river this morning; it was 59F (15C) but by the river I'm sure it was at least 5F colder. I was still fine in shorts and a T-shirt, but was chilled until I got warmed up a bit. Otherwise, the weather was lovely - calm and clear.
The house selling stress has been worse at the end of this week. It's complicated and I'm not going to go into it here, but let's just say that last night was not a good night. A glass of wine at dinner with Loren helped immensely though :). With all that on my mind I pushed a bit harder this morning, as if the exercise would purge the evilness of it all, and it did help a bit. My resting HR spiked up to 56 this morning, which is NOT good. I can't have a relapse. I'm going to have to manage this somehow. I'm working on it - suffice it to say, w/o going into details, that I have a plan. Unfortunately extra rest isn't in the cards today as I have to work a good portion of the day today & tomorrow because we have a deadline on a paper. But I think I can get home by 3pm today and get a quick nap before Calvin's soccer game at 4pm.
My legs felt great this morning, and not at all compromised by yesterday's 3x1km. The only problem is that niggling pain the butt on the left side. Kelly had a look at it and thinks it's the upper hamstring :(. Boo. She told me to ice it (I did) and to massage it (I did) and not to stretch too much (I didn't). I'm going to have to baby it.
My pace was 6:18/km through 9km, and then the last 5km was a bit slower; I was tired, and I was talking to Kelly, well, sort of. I was breathing hard enough that I didn't converse with her so much as she conversed with me. She was running, because her left knee has been bugging her lately while RW, so she opted to run today.
Garmin data here.
***
Wednesday, September 02, 2015
tired 8K; cross-training
My legs felt good and recovered after Portland-to-Coast; Sunday there was some muscle soreness of the garden variety but by Monday I felt good and did the elliptical and biked to work.
Yesterday I ventured out for 8K, and it was warm out at 72F (22.2C). My legs felt tired and sluggish, and I was slow; the last km was particularly heavy and tired. Well...it's done. 52:59 for 6:37/km with ave HR only 138. Garmin data here.
As part of work yesterday I had to drive to BYU in Provo to pick up a plasmid we need from a lab there. I really don't enjoy driving, and there's a lot of construction on I-15. The drive went fine, and my legs felt totally fine (yay!) but I think it wore me out some more.
Did a bunch more stuff on the house yesterday after work, and stayed up too late doing it. Feeling it today, but still managed to bike to work and do elliptical on the way up. I have a 6K fartlek tomorrow and hope to do it well, but I confess am concerned that my body is a bit worn-out from the race, the travel, and the house stuff/stress. I'm doing pretty well with the stress management compared to a week ago, but it's still not easy. Hanging in there.
Yesterday I ventured out for 8K, and it was warm out at 72F (22.2C). My legs felt tired and sluggish, and I was slow; the last km was particularly heavy and tired. Well...it's done. 52:59 for 6:37/km with ave HR only 138. Garmin data here.
As part of work yesterday I had to drive to BYU in Provo to pick up a plasmid we need from a lab there. I really don't enjoy driving, and there's a lot of construction on I-15. The drive went fine, and my legs felt totally fine (yay!) but I think it wore me out some more.
Did a bunch more stuff on the house yesterday after work, and stayed up too late doing it. Feeling it today, but still managed to bike to work and do elliptical on the way up. I have a 6K fartlek tomorrow and hope to do it well, but I confess am concerned that my body is a bit worn-out from the race, the travel, and the house stuff/stress. I'm doing pretty well with the stress management compared to a week ago, but it's still not easy. Hanging in there.
Tuesday, August 04, 2015
10K
Sunday: rest day
Monday: was supposed to do 6K + 5x200 but mixed up the workouts in my head and woke up a bit late so I cross-trained instead (biking, elliptical). It's been busier than usual around here because we might buy a larger home a block away and we've been crazy looking at homes, talking to realtors, etc. etc. etc.
Today: got up on time and did my 10K, darn it!!! I was to try for 6:10-6:15 pace, but I only managed 6:18. I tried really hard, but just didn't have the legs for it today. I was at 6:15 at 7.5km but then slowed down and just couldn't hold it. However, 6:18 is still pretty good. I left my heart rate monitor chest strap at work so I just had my Fitbit and manual HR counting, but it was mostly in the mid to upper 150s and even low 160s at the end, so I was trying plenty hard. I am obviously feeling the effects of various life stresses upon returning home from vacation, and am working to manage it better, but it's a skill that is going to take some time. Work is insane because we are moving the lab this Friday, and there's a lot of pressure to do experiments because we have two papers under revision. Home is insane because of the whole possible house purchase. But I'm actually holding up pretty well and don't feel too anxious most of the time. I'm trying to stay in the moment and just go with things.
Garmin data here for the 10K.
Monday: was supposed to do 6K + 5x200 but mixed up the workouts in my head and woke up a bit late so I cross-trained instead (biking, elliptical). It's been busier than usual around here because we might buy a larger home a block away and we've been crazy looking at homes, talking to realtors, etc. etc. etc.
Today: got up on time and did my 10K, darn it!!! I was to try for 6:10-6:15 pace, but I only managed 6:18. I tried really hard, but just didn't have the legs for it today. I was at 6:15 at 7.5km but then slowed down and just couldn't hold it. However, 6:18 is still pretty good. I left my heart rate monitor chest strap at work so I just had my Fitbit and manual HR counting, but it was mostly in the mid to upper 150s and even low 160s at the end, so I was trying plenty hard. I am obviously feeling the effects of various life stresses upon returning home from vacation, and am working to manage it better, but it's a skill that is going to take some time. Work is insane because we are moving the lab this Friday, and there's a lot of pressure to do experiments because we have two papers under revision. Home is insane because of the whole possible house purchase. But I'm actually holding up pretty well and don't feel too anxious most of the time. I'm trying to stay in the moment and just go with things.
Garmin data here for the 10K.
Saturday, August 01, 2015
learning from mistakes
Yesterday: biked to work (~25 min) plus 40 min elliptical on the way up at the Student Life Center. Then work was crazy; lab move postponed most likely until next Friday because they cannot get the occupancy permit before then as they are running behind schedule. But of course they couldn't be bothered to tell us that until we'd already packed half the lab. Grrrrr.
Last night: had a very nice dinner out with Loren at Fleming's. Drank some wine and ate a bit more than I probably should have. Then stayed up too late watching TV with him. This was all relaxing and excellent and probably OK in itself....but....then the dogs barked a lot last night and I had to get up in the middle of the night to put them downstairs so they'd stop, and I had terrible, restless sleep. My Fitbit said that I was restless/awake for 30 min, and 16 times. I believe it.
Today: I woke up feeling just awful. Decided I'd try to walk anyway. It was ugly...I was to do 15K, but I started out with 6K of hills around SugarHouse Park and I just had nothing in the tank. I was very slow (~6:45) and when I got home I wisely chose to listen to my body and stop. My resting HR was up a bit this morning (probably because of the crappy sleep) and though I am 95% sure the crappy walk was due to poor sleep plus overeating a bit last night (plus the wine?), the 5% uncertainty that maybe it's not just that made me stop. That was a good call. I'm really sleepy now...had to go in to work a bit this morning, and I think I'm going to nap later. My legs feel fine. Will talk it over with my coach and see if I should try to do 15K tomorrow instead, or just stick to the schedule.
Last night: had a very nice dinner out with Loren at Fleming's. Drank some wine and ate a bit more than I probably should have. Then stayed up too late watching TV with him. This was all relaxing and excellent and probably OK in itself....but....then the dogs barked a lot last night and I had to get up in the middle of the night to put them downstairs so they'd stop, and I had terrible, restless sleep. My Fitbit said that I was restless/awake for 30 min, and 16 times. I believe it.
Today: I woke up feeling just awful. Decided I'd try to walk anyway. It was ugly...I was to do 15K, but I started out with 6K of hills around SugarHouse Park and I just had nothing in the tank. I was very slow (~6:45) and when I got home I wisely chose to listen to my body and stop. My resting HR was up a bit this morning (probably because of the crappy sleep) and though I am 95% sure the crappy walk was due to poor sleep plus overeating a bit last night (plus the wine?), the 5% uncertainty that maybe it's not just that made me stop. That was a good call. I'm really sleepy now...had to go in to work a bit this morning, and I think I'm going to nap later. My legs feel fine. Will talk it over with my coach and see if I should try to do 15K tomorrow instead, or just stick to the schedule.
Thursday, July 30, 2015
10K
***
Today: 10K, at 6:15/km if possible. I was so tired after the trip home but it wasn't as hard as I thought to get up. I took Sugar with me and she was happy to be out; I think she missed RW. My legs did well through 7km and then they were definitely quite tired, but I kept up the pace enough to do 1:02:20 for 6:14/km with ave HR just 149. It was one of my usual 10K routes at home, mostly flat but a slight downhill on the first 2km and slight uphill on the last 2km with 34m total elevation gain. I did have to push myself a bit to keep that pace but it wasn't too hard until the end, when my HR was more like upper 150s to low 160s. The weather was lovely at about 61F (16.1C), calm, and clear. I love summer.
Sorry for the short post but work was quite busy on my first day back and I ate lunch during lab meeting. Our lab is moving to a new building on Monday so it's crazy trying to do experiments and pack stuff up.
Garmin data here.
Saturday, July 11, 2015
hilly 12K
My poster session at the SDB meeting was until 11pm last night; thankfully, Matt covered the 10:15-11pm part for me after I covered the early part for him (the poster belongs to both of us). Still, by the time I drove home from Snowbird and got ready for bed and read for 15-20 min, it was 11:30 pm :(. I woke up and got out the door by 6:15 am because a friend needed us to watch her 3 1/2 year old starting at 8 am. Life is a bit crazy! Anyway, after not very much sleep I had to hit the road so I could be back in time. It was a lovely morning and it was great to be out; 18.9C (66F) and calm and clear.
I took the dogs, figuring I'd drop Powder, the slowpoke, back home after 6km (around Liberty Park). She annoyed me so much this morning! She was lagging badly by 3km and I exerted a lot of extra energy to drag/cajole/convince her to go faster. I still did the first 6km at a 6:32/km pace, so that was OK. By then I was SICK OF DOGS, so I dropped both of them home and went out all alone. Ahhhh...alone....as a mom and a lab mom I don't get enough alone time. I decided to do SugarHouse park for my 2nd 6km, as it's hilly and I need hills to get ready for Portland-to-Coast. My legs were a bit tired by 8km, and that combined with the hills slowed me down to 6:37/km overall for the 12km with ave HR 147; total time 1:19:23. But right now speed doesn't matter; that will come back again eventually.
I'm feeling OK now. Tired, but that's because I didn't sleep enough. Legs are all right; no weird soreness or any other problems. Like I said, they were a bit fatigued by 8km, but were never "dead" feeling and it wasn't a death march to get home. Even had a little extra for a faster downhill 500m at the very end, so I was doing OK. Hopefully after some good sleep and a rest day tomorrow I'll be good to go for next week for a bit harder training. My resting HR as fitbit calculates it is up a little from 54-55 to 57; not sure if that is stress from the conference (since my poster session was last night and I was a bit keyed up about presenting our not-so-great data, though we did get a few helpful suggestions), lack of sleep, or natural variation. It was 57 yesterday and today so far. I will keep monitoring it. At least the recovery HR was good during yesterday's 3x1km, so I'm not too worried about this and suspect it might be natural variation or minor conference stress that should go away after tomorrow.
Garmin data here.
I took the dogs, figuring I'd drop Powder, the slowpoke, back home after 6km (around Liberty Park). She annoyed me so much this morning! She was lagging badly by 3km and I exerted a lot of extra energy to drag/cajole/convince her to go faster. I still did the first 6km at a 6:32/km pace, so that was OK. By then I was SICK OF DOGS, so I dropped both of them home and went out all alone. Ahhhh...alone....as a mom and a lab mom I don't get enough alone time. I decided to do SugarHouse park for my 2nd 6km, as it's hilly and I need hills to get ready for Portland-to-Coast. My legs were a bit tired by 8km, and that combined with the hills slowed me down to 6:37/km overall for the 12km with ave HR 147; total time 1:19:23. But right now speed doesn't matter; that will come back again eventually.
I'm feeling OK now. Tired, but that's because I didn't sleep enough. Legs are all right; no weird soreness or any other problems. Like I said, they were a bit fatigued by 8km, but were never "dead" feeling and it wasn't a death march to get home. Even had a little extra for a faster downhill 500m at the very end, so I was doing OK. Hopefully after some good sleep and a rest day tomorrow I'll be good to go for next week for a bit harder training. My resting HR as fitbit calculates it is up a little from 54-55 to 57; not sure if that is stress from the conference (since my poster session was last night and I was a bit keyed up about presenting our not-so-great data, though we did get a few helpful suggestions), lack of sleep, or natural variation. It was 57 yesterday and today so far. I will keep monitoring it. At least the recovery HR was good during yesterday's 3x1km, so I'm not too worried about this and suspect it might be natural variation or minor conference stress that should go away after tomorrow.
Garmin data here.
Friday, July 10, 2015
elliptical; 3x878m
Yesterday: 45 min elliptical. Legs felt totally fine and well-recovered from Tuesday's 3K fartlek.
Today: 3x1km was the assigned workout; however, since I am doing most speed work on the indoor track it ended up being 3x878m. I felt good this morning and the warm-up was smooth, and probably the fastest warm-up I've had in a while. I did 9:12 for 5 laps for 6:17/km. The last lap was a nice fast 1:40, and that was alternating fast/medium efforts on the straights/curves.
I did some dynamic drills and then got going on the 3x878m. Everything felt smooth, and I tried really really hard to focus on my technique, particularly my posture. I know I need to be straighter so that my hips are free to move more readily. I concentrated hard on this throughout my workout.
Taking the first interval conservatively, I cranked out a 4:59.4 (1km equivalent = 5:41.1). Then I ratcheted it up a notch and had a nice 4:56.5 (1km equiv = 5:37.8), and finally still had enough for a 4:58.4 (1km = 5:39.9). I'm still not super speedy, but at least I'm not ridiculously slow. Maybe after some more training my leg speed will improve. I've been saying this for 2 years, so who knows if it will really happen, but I'm more hopeful now.
2 min recovery HR lows: 104, 108, 107. Super happy with this! Obviously I'm feeling better. I want to keep it that way.
***
I'm at a conference for work (Society for Developmental Biology), local, but still a conference. It's up at Snowbird ski resort, and it's very beautiful up here (see photo at left). The down side is that I'm really really busy with work stuff, balancing with family stuff, and still trying to work out. I'm trying to stay relaxed and calm though. Can't let stress get the upper hand. So far so good. I got our poster printed for the poster session tonight, which is very late at 9:30-11pm. Ughhhhh that will play havoc with my schedule for tomorrow since I plan to get up early for 12km. At least I might get a brief nap today :).
Today: 3x1km was the assigned workout; however, since I am doing most speed work on the indoor track it ended up being 3x878m. I felt good this morning and the warm-up was smooth, and probably the fastest warm-up I've had in a while. I did 9:12 for 5 laps for 6:17/km. The last lap was a nice fast 1:40, and that was alternating fast/medium efforts on the straights/curves.
I did some dynamic drills and then got going on the 3x878m. Everything felt smooth, and I tried really really hard to focus on my technique, particularly my posture. I know I need to be straighter so that my hips are free to move more readily. I concentrated hard on this throughout my workout.
Taking the first interval conservatively, I cranked out a 4:59.4 (1km equivalent = 5:41.1). Then I ratcheted it up a notch and had a nice 4:56.5 (1km equiv = 5:37.8), and finally still had enough for a 4:58.4 (1km = 5:39.9). I'm still not super speedy, but at least I'm not ridiculously slow. Maybe after some more training my leg speed will improve. I've been saying this for 2 years, so who knows if it will really happen, but I'm more hopeful now.2 min recovery HR lows: 104, 108, 107. Super happy with this! Obviously I'm feeling better. I want to keep it that way.
***
I'm at a conference for work (Society for Developmental Biology), local, but still a conference. It's up at Snowbird ski resort, and it's very beautiful up here (see photo at left). The down side is that I'm really really busy with work stuff, balancing with family stuff, and still trying to work out. I'm trying to stay relaxed and calm though. Can't let stress get the upper hand. So far so good. I got our poster printed for the poster session tonight, which is very late at 9:30-11pm. Ughhhhh that will play havoc with my schedule for tomorrow since I plan to get up early for 12km. At least I might get a brief nap today :).
Monday, February 09, 2015
cross-training; 8K on tired-ish legs
Sunday: weather was amazing for early February - low 60s and sunny - so couldn't resist some basketball with Calvin. Loren and Grace came to the park, too, and we all played HORSE for some shooting practice, and then Calvin and I played one-on-one half court for about 45 min. It was great exercise and a lot of fun, too! I'm a dismal shooter, so even though I am double Calvin's weight and a foot taller, he actually did pretty well against me. We were really breathing and worked up quite a sweat - Calvin's face was all red when we were done. He actually laid down on the grass and crashed when we finished. I regard it as a supreme accomplishment to have worn out my 10-year-old. I felt fine...yesterday...but today I'm quite sore :) (and Calvin is NOT!). 10-year-olds have some advantages!
Then last night the kids' youth group went ice skating and of course I couldn't resist coming along for the fun. I skated a lot and practiced all the moves I remembered from my classes. It was good to be back on skates again. My toe was very sore after the basketball and a bit sore after the skating as well; I iced it after each event.
Today: still nice weather. It was 54F (12C) and windy this morning. Not too windy to racewalk outside though. I wore lightweight tights and a long-sleeved shirt because of the wind; normally at 54F I'd wear short sleeves and shorts, but not today. I took the dog and tried holding the leash by draping it over my left arm and then holding the end in my fist, but it was too hard to RW that way, so I went back to tying her around my waist. I just hope she doesn't freak out randomly again.
My legs were pretty sore from yesterday's basketball and skating, and by 5km I was very tired. However, I still managed a decent time, and besides, time still doesn't matter. I just need to get out there and get back into it. I did the 8km in 52:20 for 6:32/km with ave HR 145. HR was lower than it has been - that might be a good sign.
Garmin data here.
In other news, my boss got into the Wasatch 100 in the lottery. I think he's insane, but I admire it all the same. Our lab might set up some aid stations for him and cheer him on to the finish.
And finally, can't remember if I posted that I lost 1.6lb last week. I'm doing a bet on stickK.com, and welcome your support. I want to be at a decent weight for the 15K in May :).
Then last night the kids' youth group went ice skating and of course I couldn't resist coming along for the fun. I skated a lot and practiced all the moves I remembered from my classes. It was good to be back on skates again. My toe was very sore after the basketball and a bit sore after the skating as well; I iced it after each event.
Today: still nice weather. It was 54F (12C) and windy this morning. Not too windy to racewalk outside though. I wore lightweight tights and a long-sleeved shirt because of the wind; normally at 54F I'd wear short sleeves and shorts, but not today. I took the dog and tried holding the leash by draping it over my left arm and then holding the end in my fist, but it was too hard to RW that way, so I went back to tying her around my waist. I just hope she doesn't freak out randomly again.
My legs were pretty sore from yesterday's basketball and skating, and by 5km I was very tired. However, I still managed a decent time, and besides, time still doesn't matter. I just need to get out there and get back into it. I did the 8km in 52:20 for 6:32/km with ave HR 145. HR was lower than it has been - that might be a good sign.
Garmin data here.
In other news, my boss got into the Wasatch 100 in the lottery. I think he's insane, but I admire it all the same. Our lab might set up some aid stations for him and cheer him on to the finish.
And finally, can't remember if I posted that I lost 1.6lb last week. I'm doing a bet on stickK.com, and welcome your support. I want to be at a decent weight for the 15K in May :).
Saturday, January 03, 2015
Spinning with Jen
Last night we went with some friends from China to dinner at a good restaurant, and took our kids as well. It was the first time we'd taken them to a very fine restaurant, and they rewarded us with good behavior. In fact, we were there eating for three hours, and I was amazed at how good they were. They enjoyed the experience as much as we did, I think.
Our friends hadn't had any very good Western-style food, I don't think, and that's what precipitated our visit. I was talking with my co-worker JingXia, and she was saying that most of the restaurants they'd eaten at weren't very good. When I quizzed her on what American food she'd tried, she said "Chili's, Applebee's, Ruby River" and continued listing some chain restaurants. (Amusing anecdote here: when quizzed if they had tried Mexican food, they said "Yes! Taco Bell!" This was immediately followed by detailed explanations about why Taco Bell does not even remotely count as Mexican food). I explained to JingXia that she just needed to try some very GOOD Western-style restaurants, and that then they would probably like the food. She seemed excited to try some new restaurants, and the other co-workers in the lab quickly chimed in with their own favorites and generated a big list for her. We also agreed to make a reservation at Log Haven in Millcreek Canyon for last night, and bring our families so that we could all try a lot of different dishes (JingXia is married and has a daughter Grace's age).
Needless to say, after consuming a good amount of fine food last night, I felt like spinning was a must this morning. I was also curious who the instructor would be, because Jen has been teaching a lot with Kit and Jeannie on vacation, and Jen had said yesterday that she was not teaching today. Imagine my surprise when I walked in to class and Jen was teaching! I said, "What are you doing here?" and she said, "Yeah, I know - I'm just as surprised as you are!". But I was glad to see her because she's a great instructor, and we had a very good workout combining flat road with accelerations and some climbs in between. My ave HR was 143, but I spent some good interval time in the upper 150s.
Later today I think I may try some walking/racewalking with my friend Sarah. We'll see what happens...
Our friends hadn't had any very good Western-style food, I don't think, and that's what precipitated our visit. I was talking with my co-worker JingXia, and she was saying that most of the restaurants they'd eaten at weren't very good. When I quizzed her on what American food she'd tried, she said "Chili's, Applebee's, Ruby River" and continued listing some chain restaurants. (Amusing anecdote here: when quizzed if they had tried Mexican food, they said "Yes! Taco Bell!" This was immediately followed by detailed explanations about why Taco Bell does not even remotely count as Mexican food). I explained to JingXia that she just needed to try some very GOOD Western-style restaurants, and that then they would probably like the food. She seemed excited to try some new restaurants, and the other co-workers in the lab quickly chimed in with their own favorites and generated a big list for her. We also agreed to make a reservation at Log Haven in Millcreek Canyon for last night, and bring our families so that we could all try a lot of different dishes (JingXia is married and has a daughter Grace's age).
Needless to say, after consuming a good amount of fine food last night, I felt like spinning was a must this morning. I was also curious who the instructor would be, because Jen has been teaching a lot with Kit and Jeannie on vacation, and Jen had said yesterday that she was not teaching today. Imagine my surprise when I walked in to class and Jen was teaching! I said, "What are you doing here?" and she said, "Yeah, I know - I'm just as surprised as you are!". But I was glad to see her because she's a great instructor, and we had a very good workout combining flat road with accelerations and some climbs in between. My ave HR was 143, but I spent some good interval time in the upper 150s.
Later today I think I may try some walking/racewalking with my friend Sarah. We'll see what happens...
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Still here
Workouts ---
Sunday: rest day
Monday: Spinning with Jen, 1 hr class, nice and hard. It was a steady state workout, but I pushed it because I was in the mood for a good hard workout.
Tuesday: Spinning with Miguel, 1 hr class, amusing! Miguel has the largest collection of very very bad 60s and 70s covers that I have ever heard. They were so bad that they made me laugh. His class was also rather, um, interesting. He liked to spin very, very, very fast (i.e. he was going at probably 110rpm much of the class) in very low gears. Either that, or max the gear out climbing. I aimed for somewhere in between and actually got a great workout. He was a pretty funny guy, and I think he's the regular sub for spinning at the gym. People seemed to know him, at least.
Today: Spinning with Jen, 90 min class, but I got there 5 min late and the class was more like 85 min, so it wasn't quite that long. She had us do a good steady-state workout; the main set was 7 minute chunks divided into hard climb at 60-70 rpm and flat road at 100 rpm with 10-sec accelerations every minute on the flat road. The first one was 1 min climb, 6 min flat road; then 2 min climb, 5 min flat road - etc. until 7 min climb, then 7 min flat road. I tried to keep my heart rate low to mid 140s for the workout, like I would racewalking on an easy day. That worked out well.
***
Mood and other things: I'm definitely moderately depressed again. Sigh. It's not too awful, but it's certainly not the best. As a result, I'm continuing to struggle with my food intake, and am just feeling really tired all the time. The exercise is probably the only thing keeping me from feeling worse. I know I have a bit of seasonal affective disorder, so I got out my light again and am giving that a go. It's probably only natural to feel a bit down, as 1) it's winter (and has been bitterly cold the past couple days, setting off my Raynaud's phenomenon), 2) my toe still hurts and I still can't racewalk (though actually the toe is gradually improving - still hurts to put on socks, but not as much; still hurts to walk, but not as much), 3) work has been busy and family has been busy, making me more tired than usual.
Thankfully, I will have a 4-day weekend and will not have to come in to work at all, which I sorely need right now. In addition, the family obligations have tapered off. I'm glad, because I feel I just need to be at home reading and sleeping and just trying to recuperate.
Sunday: rest day
Monday: Spinning with Jen, 1 hr class, nice and hard. It was a steady state workout, but I pushed it because I was in the mood for a good hard workout.
Tuesday: Spinning with Miguel, 1 hr class, amusing! Miguel has the largest collection of very very bad 60s and 70s covers that I have ever heard. They were so bad that they made me laugh. His class was also rather, um, interesting. He liked to spin very, very, very fast (i.e. he was going at probably 110rpm much of the class) in very low gears. Either that, or max the gear out climbing. I aimed for somewhere in between and actually got a great workout. He was a pretty funny guy, and I think he's the regular sub for spinning at the gym. People seemed to know him, at least.
Today: Spinning with Jen, 90 min class, but I got there 5 min late and the class was more like 85 min, so it wasn't quite that long. She had us do a good steady-state workout; the main set was 7 minute chunks divided into hard climb at 60-70 rpm and flat road at 100 rpm with 10-sec accelerations every minute on the flat road. The first one was 1 min climb, 6 min flat road; then 2 min climb, 5 min flat road - etc. until 7 min climb, then 7 min flat road. I tried to keep my heart rate low to mid 140s for the workout, like I would racewalking on an easy day. That worked out well.
***
Mood and other things: I'm definitely moderately depressed again. Sigh. It's not too awful, but it's certainly not the best. As a result, I'm continuing to struggle with my food intake, and am just feeling really tired all the time. The exercise is probably the only thing keeping me from feeling worse. I know I have a bit of seasonal affective disorder, so I got out my light again and am giving that a go. It's probably only natural to feel a bit down, as 1) it's winter (and has been bitterly cold the past couple days, setting off my Raynaud's phenomenon), 2) my toe still hurts and I still can't racewalk (though actually the toe is gradually improving - still hurts to put on socks, but not as much; still hurts to walk, but not as much), 3) work has been busy and family has been busy, making me more tired than usual.
Thankfully, I will have a 4-day weekend and will not have to come in to work at all, which I sorely need right now. In addition, the family obligations have tapered off. I'm glad, because I feel I just need to be at home reading and sleeping and just trying to recuperate.
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Tailspin? (OR) Not. Giving. Up.
I'm not sure what to call this post.
Option A:
Tailspin?
I've had a bad couple of days in the food department, despite my resolution earlier in the week. The scale is ugly right now. Really ugly. I feel like I'm going to spinning class in vain. I can't out-exercise my fork...and I know this to be true...and I feel like giving up.
So hard. Have been working several hours a day even though it's "vacation" because a grad student who went out of town unintentionally dumped a LOT of work on me. Said grad student honestly didn't realize how much work it was going to be to continue the project. But I am stuck with it, and for the first time in memory, I had to work on Christmas Day for a rather lengthy period of time. I know it could be worse; doctors, nurses, police, etc. work lots more on holidays. But I usually don't.
Lots of family in town, which is fun but also more work. I have been doing lots and lots of cooking, cleaning, etc. I'm pretty tired, which lowers my food resistance. Add in the fact that there is a LOT LOT LOT of junk food around the house and it's just a nightmare. This too shall pass, but I need to get out alive. Feel like I'm in a tailspin.
Option B:
Not. Giving. Up.
What is my alternative? If I'd given up earlier in the month, this would be even worse and the scale would have an even higher number. Seems impossible, but must be true. Seriously, if I hadn't been trying to keep the weight and the appetite at bay (which I have...believe it or not!), I bet I could have gained 20 pounds in one month. It's ridiculous.
If I give up now, I know I will just be completely miserable. I don't ever want to go back to the way I used to live before I lost the weight. I'm not that person any more, but I also still have plenty of issues. It's confusing.
So....
I went spinning this morning. It was a great class, with Jen. I'm motivated to reset the food intake, and today is more relaxing, as everyone but me and Calvin is out skiing. I can't ski (broken toe) and don't want to unless it's cross-country, but of course they are downhill skiing. However, I have to go to work (again........whee.........), and we are all going out to dinner tonight, which presents its own fun set of challenges. I'm mentally prepared now, but by evening my willpower is usually depleted a bit. A nap might help. Relaxing WILL help. Calvin and I plan to chill and shop for books, and hang out and play games a bit. I am looking forward to a day with my boy :). (Wow, this paragraph is really disjointed stream-of-consciousness!). The point is that I really am NOT. GIVING. UP.
Today is a new day. Get ready. Reset. Go.
Option A:
Tailspin?
I've had a bad couple of days in the food department, despite my resolution earlier in the week. The scale is ugly right now. Really ugly. I feel like I'm going to spinning class in vain. I can't out-exercise my fork...and I know this to be true...and I feel like giving up.
So hard. Have been working several hours a day even though it's "vacation" because a grad student who went out of town unintentionally dumped a LOT of work on me. Said grad student honestly didn't realize how much work it was going to be to continue the project. But I am stuck with it, and for the first time in memory, I had to work on Christmas Day for a rather lengthy period of time. I know it could be worse; doctors, nurses, police, etc. work lots more on holidays. But I usually don't.
Lots of family in town, which is fun but also more work. I have been doing lots and lots of cooking, cleaning, etc. I'm pretty tired, which lowers my food resistance. Add in the fact that there is a LOT LOT LOT of junk food around the house and it's just a nightmare. This too shall pass, but I need to get out alive. Feel like I'm in a tailspin.
Option B:
Not. Giving. Up.
What is my alternative? If I'd given up earlier in the month, this would be even worse and the scale would have an even higher number. Seems impossible, but must be true. Seriously, if I hadn't been trying to keep the weight and the appetite at bay (which I have...believe it or not!), I bet I could have gained 20 pounds in one month. It's ridiculous.
If I give up now, I know I will just be completely miserable. I don't ever want to go back to the way I used to live before I lost the weight. I'm not that person any more, but I also still have plenty of issues. It's confusing.
So....
I went spinning this morning. It was a great class, with Jen. I'm motivated to reset the food intake, and today is more relaxing, as everyone but me and Calvin is out skiing. I can't ski (broken toe) and don't want to unless it's cross-country, but of course they are downhill skiing. However, I have to go to work (again........whee.........), and we are all going out to dinner tonight, which presents its own fun set of challenges. I'm mentally prepared now, but by evening my willpower is usually depleted a bit. A nap might help. Relaxing WILL help. Calvin and I plan to chill and shop for books, and hang out and play games a bit. I am looking forward to a day with my boy :). (Wow, this paragraph is really disjointed stream-of-consciousness!). The point is that I really am NOT. GIVING. UP.
Today is a new day. Get ready. Reset. Go.
Thursday, September 25, 2014
sick; x-train; 8K!
I have been very sick this past week. I started feeling bad last Thursday, and though I was hoping I'd feel better over the weekend, I didn't. After Saturday's 3K race, I was wiped. I slept a bunch later in the day and then my big activity was attending Calvin's soccer game. #71 is Calvin; not sure why he picked that number, but he did :).
Sunday morning I told Kelly I'd try to walk with her a bit. I did try...but it was pretty sad. I was only able to go 20 min with her and then pretty much crashed. I had committed to play the piano for church so made it through that and went to my Weight Watchers meeting (only up 1.4lb from the cruise; I had hoped not to gain but that's not too awful) and then crashed HARD. I slept 3 hr, woke, ate a small dinner (no appetite - weird for me, even when sick) and then back to bed. I had to go to work on Monday because two grad students in another lab had basically cleared their schedules to teach me how to inject Drosophila embryos (fruit fly; 35 embryos in a line to left of pencil eraser, below). I barely made it through the day, and I felt so terrible. Obviously I didn't even try to work out on Monday, or Tuesday either.
Halfway through the day on Tuesday I actually started to feel better, for which I am enormously grateful. I was worried that maybe the mystery illness was back and was causing my problems, although I did know that it was likely to be just a virus, as I had a sore throat, congestion, runny nose, coughing, and fatigue, not just fatigue alone. Still, hard not to worry when you're coming off something like I have been. I truly appreciate days of good health much more.
Wednesday I had the energy and desire to cross-train, so I did 25 min elliptical at the gym, reading the paper on my Kindle (my usual habit at the gym; subscribed to the paper on the Kindle a few months back and have really enjoyed that). I followed that up with cycling to work, and my legs felt really good and pretty fresh. The rest of me was still a bit tired, but I made it through the day well, happily.
Today coach suggested 8K. I got up, grabbed the dog, and went out the door. After 2K I wasn't sure I'd do all right, since I was feeling a tiny bit weak/wobbly, but while I didn't have my usual strength, I felt passable. I really enjoyed being out in the perfect morning weather (about 66F; 19C), which won't be around much longer. It's supposed to get to 90F today - a little Indian summer before fall sets in, I suppose. Anyway, I was doing 6:15/km through 6km and then the last 2km uphill dropped my time to 6:19/km (ave HR 151; 50:36 for 8K). My legs feel good now (an hour later) and I am actually thinking to enjoy the weather a bit more and ride my bike in to work. I'm thankful for health and wholeness today!
Edited to add: Garmin data here for 8K.
Friday, August 08, 2014
angry cross-training
The first part of my cross-training was non-angry. I went to the gym and did the elliptical for 30 min. When I got home, I took Calvin to camp then came home to clean up and get to work. Long story short, but got roped into taking Grace to camp, which made me late for work. Very late...because not only did she have a giant tantrum, but she didn't bring sunscreen and so I had to stop and buy some, and in addition I didn't know drop-off today was at the park instead of at her school, and the park is farther. Grrrrr. It just wasn't a good morning. Add in being a bit tired and just cranky at myself in general, and my bike ride to work ended up being a very angry ranting-type bike ride. I biked fast and furious and tried to get out all my emotions physically. It sorta worked. Arrived at work (fast! under 21 min for the 5.35km uphill!) and still had a nice vent to our undergraduate help, who is a very good listener :). I feel better now, after being at work and getting some good stuff done. It helps that my PCR worked, I found 3 founders in my fish screen at midday, and in general work is going well today.
Glad to be feeling better now. Taking a quick break from entering credit card purchases into the system (one of the exciting duties of a lab manager) to blog and have a latte. Now back to work...
Tomorrow: 15K with a friend. Looking forward to it.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Saturday-today
Saturday: 35 min elliptical
Sunday: rest day
Tried to rest up a lot on the weekend, and was mostly successful. Of course there was still laundry, cooking, and yeah, even a bit of work (a couple hr on Sat, and an hour on Sun). But I did feel I got a good amount of rest.
Monday: 20 min elliptical (slept very poorly - middle of the night insomnia, which is not like me usually, but seems to be a feature of my illness - and this was all I could manage).
Today: Woke unrefreshed but I didn't have middle of the night insomnia, so it was better than how I felt yesterday morning. Sort of. Legs were sore (why? haven't been doing anything?), mind felt foggy. I went out and did 5K with the dog, and I'm glad I did, even though it made my legs hurt the rest of the day (weird soreness upon sitting - and I sat a good amount at work because I was planning some molecular cloning projects I need to work on - sat in front of the computer staring at DNA sequence for a while, trying to figure it out). Total time was 32:21 for 6:29/km with ave HR 146. Kinda slow. Whatever! Garmin data here.
I went to my family doc this morning, along with Calvin. He had a well-child checkup, and happily all is indeed well with him. He didn't even need any vaccinations, as he's all caught up and there aren't any more until he is 11. He was happy about that! Since I have a captive audience, here are 2 photos of the kiddos from today. They're just too cute :). Of course, I'm obviously a bit biased. Grace had her face painted in her Spanish & art afterschool program ("Arteprimero"), and Calvin is chowing down on a cannoli from Harmon's Emigration Market, just before soccer practice.
Back to my doctor appointment. My family doc has no idea what is going on, essentially. He said it could possibly be chronic fatigue, but that is a diagnosis by exclusion and so it's a tough call. He seemed to think a repeat visit with my rheumatologist was a good idea. I called yesterday to move up my rheumatologist appointment from June 17 to sooner, but the soonest they could move it to was May 27. That's not very soon, but I'm grateful nonetheless.
So meanwhile, I wait, and feel tired, and try to be grateful for what I DO have :).
I can still racewalk short distances and enjoy the outdoors like I did this morning.
Though I've gained some weight, it hasn't been a lot and I am managing it OK. Could be better, but could be a lot worse.
I am glad for my amazing kids. Their summer goal is to read the Harry Potter books in Spanish. Last summer they read them all in English, so now we're upping the challenge.
I'm grateful for a very good job that I do love, even if it has been a bit frustrating lately.
I'm grateful for music, and thinking I need to spend a bit more time doing music, since I can't exercise as much.
I'm thankful for books. I've been reading more, and it's wonderful.
I'm glad Loren has felt up to helping around the house a bit more, and we have made some progress on our bedroom redecoration/refurnishing project.
I'm grateful for my good friend Sarah, who listened to me ad nauseum last night with love and concern.
I'm glad my parents live nearby and that we have a good relationship; I very much enjoyed having breakfast with my dad last week and I also enjoy coffee with my mom on a regular basis.
There's lots more…but I am feeling better just listing what is here :).
Sunday: rest day
Tried to rest up a lot on the weekend, and was mostly successful. Of course there was still laundry, cooking, and yeah, even a bit of work (a couple hr on Sat, and an hour on Sun). But I did feel I got a good amount of rest.
Monday: 20 min elliptical (slept very poorly - middle of the night insomnia, which is not like me usually, but seems to be a feature of my illness - and this was all I could manage).
Today: Woke unrefreshed but I didn't have middle of the night insomnia, so it was better than how I felt yesterday morning. Sort of. Legs were sore (why? haven't been doing anything?), mind felt foggy. I went out and did 5K with the dog, and I'm glad I did, even though it made my legs hurt the rest of the day (weird soreness upon sitting - and I sat a good amount at work because I was planning some molecular cloning projects I need to work on - sat in front of the computer staring at DNA sequence for a while, trying to figure it out). Total time was 32:21 for 6:29/km with ave HR 146. Kinda slow. Whatever! Garmin data here.
I went to my family doc this morning, along with Calvin. He had a well-child checkup, and happily all is indeed well with him. He didn't even need any vaccinations, as he's all caught up and there aren't any more until he is 11. He was happy about that! Since I have a captive audience, here are 2 photos of the kiddos from today. They're just too cute :). Of course, I'm obviously a bit biased. Grace had her face painted in her Spanish & art afterschool program ("Arteprimero"), and Calvin is chowing down on a cannoli from Harmon's Emigration Market, just before soccer practice.Back to my doctor appointment. My family doc has no idea what is going on, essentially. He said it could possibly be chronic fatigue, but that is a diagnosis by exclusion and so it's a tough call. He seemed to think a repeat visit with my rheumatologist was a good idea. I called yesterday to move up my rheumatologist appointment from June 17 to sooner, but the soonest they could move it to was May 27. That's not very soon, but I'm grateful nonetheless.
So meanwhile, I wait, and feel tired, and try to be grateful for what I DO have :).
I can still racewalk short distances and enjoy the outdoors like I did this morning.
Though I've gained some weight, it hasn't been a lot and I am managing it OK. Could be better, but could be a lot worse.
I am glad for my amazing kids. Their summer goal is to read the Harry Potter books in Spanish. Last summer they read them all in English, so now we're upping the challenge.
I'm grateful for a very good job that I do love, even if it has been a bit frustrating lately.
I'm grateful for music, and thinking I need to spend a bit more time doing music, since I can't exercise as much.
I'm thankful for books. I've been reading more, and it's wonderful.
I'm glad Loren has felt up to helping around the house a bit more, and we have made some progress on our bedroom redecoration/refurnishing project.
I'm grateful for my good friend Sarah, who listened to me ad nauseum last night with love and concern.
I'm glad my parents live nearby and that we have a good relationship; I very much enjoyed having breakfast with my dad last week and I also enjoy coffee with my mom on a regular basis.
There's lots more…but I am feeling better just listing what is here :).
Friday, April 25, 2014
feel like giving up
Had some work issues yesterday that were a bit upsetting. Nothing really bad, but it wore me out. Didn't sleep well.
Woke up and just didn't care about working out. Every time I try I just feel crappy afterward, so what's the point?
I know that this will pass. I'm just in a period of difficulty and have to get through one day at a time. I will try again tomorrow to be a bit more motivated, work out, etc. Today is just survival.
Woke up and just didn't care about working out. Every time I try I just feel crappy afterward, so what's the point?
I know that this will pass. I'm just in a period of difficulty and have to get through one day at a time. I will try again tomorrow to be a bit more motivated, work out, etc. Today is just survival.
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