slow, methodical can be good
I had a lazy kind of workout yesterday, did 10 mins on stair master, level 2, 10 mins on bike, with a high RPM (trying that instead of a slow heavy, doing fast light), 10 mins on elliptical. Did the circuit, did some free weights, did a lot of stretching. All in a lazy kind of way.Did some new exercises, the calf extension on the sled, free weights biceps and triceps instead of on machines, adndoing oblique crunches too. Well, the result is that I felt great last night (slept early and like a rock!) and feel great this morning! My legs feel great, no weird knee pain, and they feel stronger. So the non-impact cardio and focus on stretching and strengthening was a good call. Today is swim!
funny daily links (b/c this blog is just *to* boring without them)
we all know about
www.tinyurl.com, but what about...
http://hugeurl.wiggy.net/
Would you pay $300 for Sting tickets??
http://www.craigslist.org/sfc/tix/44039842.html
the observed workout
So I went to the gym and my friend was there, shooted/shot (?) some hoops for a while. Then proceeded to have the suckiest workout because, unlike an unobserved life not worth living, an observed workout is not really worth having. I did a total of 3 reps per station. Did some free weights, and clocked 12 mins on bike (reading 'The Week' some partisian crap), did elliptical for 12 mins. Just didn't feel that enthused, not sure why. Good to do non-impact aerobic exercise after the polo fields, though.
polo fields
ha, miastaken posted on mom's site! d'oh!
Oh it was so gorgeous at the polo fields. I did another lap (walking fast) just to enjoy the sunset through the cypress and pines. Really gorgeous. My legs were kind of weak, not sure why. Might have pushed the running too much. Doing the standing up on one leg thing was tough, my left leg didn't even compete two sets of 5 steps. I couldn't do the hoppie thing either. Odd! More medium-level workouts are required, I think. And swimming/yoga more.. the non impact strengtheners!
Went dancing last weekend and that was kind of disruptive but fun. Disruptive in that my whole Sunday ran a few hours later. Got a lot of stuff done this weekened, though there are some things I've been back burnered that I need to get on: biking to work, taking an aquatics class, etc.
Forced myself to make a salad last night isntead of going straight into the chicken 'crack' masala. Oh the games we play with ourselves.
barn doors, milk the cow...
Fun euchre night. Brought my lunch again. Rebecca's cat got cat dirt all over my bed. Friday may end up being laundry/gym night. tempted to go swimming, give my legs a break from running. Walked home from Pac Heights last night, and walked to Pac Heights. The walks felt fine.
3rd Field goal of life
Yes, I made a goal, my third, but somehow magically fouled on the way to making it so it didn't count! Ah thrwarted again. This game was far more tiring than any other to date. Might be because of Monday workout, not sure.
Kind of stuffy last night, had weird dreams about wearing lots of scarves. Reading Jonathan Coe's The Closed Circle and having dreams of Birmingham, bad marriages, etc. I keep on thinking it's Friday.
not much to write home about
Nothing much, had a chill dinner last night with some friends, walked about a mile or so home down Valencia corridor. Not much going on. Game tonight, have to keep up the water all day!
In the spirit of blogging I will put down interesting links (and since nothing else interesting is happening, and since I'm quite busy at work..)
opt-out gone bad:
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/09/22/1355238
librarians brainiest:
http://www.bl.uk/cgi-bin/press.cgi?story=1446
booker prize finalists:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/22/books/22book.html?ex=1253592000&
Brittney's kind of admirable here:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/09/22/earlyshow/leisure/celebspot/main644939.shtml
depressing bush stupidity re: underground nuclear weapons (???)
http://www.mcsweeneys.net/links/bush/#119
more random stuff, a poem about my JOB (written yesterday)
"ode to bad tuesday, which sucketh"
hark o' muse,
why doth Tuesday, with its
glowing finger tips of dawn and golden orb,
Sucketh so bad?
Why doth my emailer fail so consistently
And the documentation is worse than ever before?
One upside, glorious news that friend visits next week, hurrah!
Ode to Wednesday:
o' hark muse ode to wednesday,
which must be better than tuesday
wednesday is a plateau, what used to scare me,
oh how wednesday will not sucketh
threat of dismissal, failure of dependable applciations,
no longer makes my heart quiver, my palms sweat
because I really just want to be a chef, or a mom, or a plant-waterer
this IT crap tempts my soul and fills the bank but
oh helas, hark o' muse, my heart! my heart!
o' muse why does wednesday's suckiness
not dull my throbbing fingers full of RSI pain?
exercise hangover
Yeah, it happens. Woke up without the alarm, thinking "wow, maybe I'll go into work early" becuase it's so early? because I woke up before the alarm? No no no. I actually sleep-walked over to alarm and grabbed it, brought it to bed and turned it off. Ha.
The reason is probably because I had a great workout and my body was like "sleep, we need sleep." Yoga teacher yesterday was talking about her morning salutation and how gimpy it is, because "it's hard to show compassion for your body and do a full salutation". I've been thinking about that a lot, compassion. I was stretching w/ my mom and she was kind of beating herself up for not being as flexible as she was, what, 40 years ago??? Not compassion. It's like you want to push yourself to run miles and miles, but your legs are going to complain. And they're right in a way, they can't recover and grow if you push them too hard.
Yest: did hour of Hatha yoga, haven't done that in a while, and then circuit, ran for 1/2 hour doing 2-minute intervals at 3.7 and 5.2 mph.
gravy and bread pudding
Er, they thought it was chocolate sauce. Really gross. Had a so-so workout weekend, brougt my gym bag tonight so I can have a big gym evening. I feel pretty toned and stuff, but slept so much over the weekend like I was fighting off a cold. Talked in depth to Dad about his workout, which was fun in a geeky kind of way.
The tone of this week (tone vs. challenge?) will be to mediate stress through relaxation, meditation, good workouts, massages, etc. It's all about
not taking it out on your body. I need to get hte photo journal back in action as well!
slumpity slump
Kind of in a slump.
Went to the Y yesterday, talked to Chris my trainer for a bit, well, he's the personal health coach, or wellness coach, or whatever. Not sure what that means. We made an appt. to review my circuit in 2 weeks. Got a great massage, only 30 minutes though, and realized during that I have TONS of knots in my back. I took a bath last night and lay around trying to relax my back. I bet it's all the basketball, computer work. Wreaks havoc with your shoulders. I also think that stress in my legs, hips, etc. get compensated through posture and stress inmy upper body. So doing more yoga, stretching more, and stuff will probably help. Massages always make me realize just how strangely I hold myself, how tight and constrained my posture is, etc. I remember that Esalen massage where I really felt loosey goosey afterwards. Lots of body folding and getting into big muscles like the hamstrings and back. Running and basketball also just make your legs so tight. It's a balance, I guess.
No workout last night and none today, just taking a break. This weekend should be fun, just planned two big walks along the ocean!
fun times, fun times
First game with girl team- it was pretty bumpy at first but we hit our stride halfway through and actually put up a defense. I got really int my/the game about halfway through and had such a blast. I had to seriously calm down when I got home, went on a walk and got a burrito. It's funny, the energy was almost if not higher than the co-ed team but we weren't halfway near winning. Final score was something liek 15-30. I have to work on boxing out and grabbing the rebounds. My scoring was bad, kept on throwing it "at" the basket instead of "in" the basket, ha. Legs feel thrashed today. I want to workout but I think i'm going to wait until Fri. AFter moving, etc. I need a break.
sniff, sneeze
Still sneezing ridiculously, the red wine hangover probably! Raced around yesterday for dinner party, and it all turned out. Bit of freaky anxiety when Laura and i were staring at each other bored, but then Hang & Vandan arrived, and all was well.
Game tonight.
running
I had a great workout yesterday. Went to gym pretty early after work after being goaded by Paul to get there at 5pm (!). DIdn't have my gym key so went home and got dressed then came back. Ran through the circuit, and I've finally moved on from my initial settings and really pushed some limits. I feel pretty sore today from that, but kind of mellow sore, not like being run over by a truck sore (from moving, bball, etc.).
Ran for 30 minutes with 2-minute intervals 5.7, 5.2 at peaks, and 3.7 on the troughs. It was good! It was tough but I stuck with it.
Then did some shooting practice and got some tips from paul, mostly about bending your legs more and shooting with one arm. Solved some problems for me, like how to keep the ball up above people's faces and still be in a position to shoot. Didn't fully stretch at the gym but did at home. I'm bonding with Rebecca's cat Nigel.
Blah, cooking dinenr for folks tonight, have to figure out a good menu! Game Wed.
I've written 1492 emails since starting at my new job. And that's the year Columbus sailed the ocean blue. How coincidental...
another truck ran over feeling!
Moved Rebecca on Saturday and am still recovering. Basically an interesting combination of stairs, heavy lifting, organizing, and brute strength for about 7 hours (11am to 6pm). Went out afterward so didn't have the most recovering sleep. Instead sujo-induced haha. Now grateful to sit in front of a computer all day, if you can believe it. It was fun at the time, just surrised that I'm still feeling creeky (legs mostly from the stairs)
some poetry:
Last Weekend
(please listen to Depeche Mode and Prince when you read this)
She wore purple frosted nail polish
She thought she was a sex machine
(like raspberry beret)
Her boyfriend was hot in a muscly kind of recently-a-virgin way
They tried to make out a lot (while we moved)
Until me, vixen that I am, tore his attention away with my hip hop and moving-furniture acumen,
Poor bad perm girl took her revenge
By sticking a huge butterfly clip in my toilet
woah, woah woah, insert weird band chorus here
by banane
some religion (credit to a forward from Damien):
Bush is my shepherd, I shall be in want.
He maketh me lie down on park benches.
He leadeth me beside the still factories,
He restores my doubts about the Republican Party.
He leadeth me into the paths of unemployment for his cronies' sake.
Yea, though no weapons of mass destruction have been found, he maketh me continue to fear evil.
His tax cuts for the rich and his deficit spending discomfit me.
He anointeth me with never-ending debt.
Verily my days of savings and assets are kaput.
Surely poverty and hard living shall follow me all the days of his administration,
And my jobless child shall dwell in my basement forever.
ran over by a truck
(from my family list:)
"I'm going happily back in to the embrace of the
all-women's team, which starts next week. Things I
won't miss about co-ed: someone always cries on the
court (because hit by ball, yelled at by aggro team
member, list goes on). Being covered in sweat b/c
you're blocking some guy who is a walking faucet.
Getting your hands on the ball maybe once an entire
game. Having your basketball constantly taken and
getting no time to practice. And finally: watching
your most skilled 3pter female player not get the
ball, even though she's open, play after play! OK one
more gripe: gender-based guarding matchups, it should
be based on height/agility and not gender!"
Did yoga/meditation last night after the game to calm down a little. Slept like a rock (weird dream about people from work, laughing a lot, kind of pleasant!) and woke up and felt like I had been driven over repeatedly by a truck! The exercise hangover in its worst state yet.
Work stress, working out a lot, etc. has managed to keep me in a good state of mind. Glad I took a break earlier this week and 1) stopped worrying about laundry and 2) saw Vanity Fair. Lesson learned: breaks are important!
work, work, work
I've had to pull long nights lately. Luckily I've drifted back to the rut I had when travelling: work late, go to gym, get a movie. It was good last night though the clock was a little late, ended up getting to the gym around 8 (it closes at 9! yay!). Did the circuit, ran for about 15 minutes (5.5!!! that's anew high, for 2 minutes then 3.7 for two minutes, back and forth). My heart went up to 155 and then down to 130 (20 bpm diff.) in less than a minute. I thought that was very healthy. I did a short cool down then did a 15 min. fast walk to the theater. Kind of creaky this morning. I feel pretty toned, but with this hot weather the overall lethargy just sets in and doesn't let go.
i'm so glad this stuff is getting out: http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/bush/articles/2004/09/09/bid_cited_to_boost_bush_in_guard/
Saw Vanity Fair last night. Really sumptuous. And funny! FOr some reason got uncomfortable in the Indian parts, not sure why. It's liek Wide Sargasso Sea- the British/victorian stuff just doesn't look good in comparison.
slothdom prevails
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1299444,00.html
and
Paris' book is out, I'm all atwitter. My best review of course is this random Amazon one:
"Will you marry me Paris Hilton? I would love not to have to work another day in my life and just well, feed off the capitalistic consumers that make these corporate pompous lives possible"
(sigh)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0743266641/ref=cm_cr_dp_2_1/104-3636918-7159131?%5Fencoding=UTF8&me=ATVPDKIKX0DER
Worked late yesterday, pooped out of working out 1/2 way to the Y, went home and did do some yoga and stretches, lift little weights. It's so hot and stuff, just don't feel motivated. I'll go tonight though. Have to work late again :(
Finished Cold Comfort Farm.
beer, babies, dimsum, sleep
That was my 3-day weekend in a nutshell. Spent most of the evening at Zeitgeist, then the next day was bookclub and hanging w/ Nils and Mom. The next day, read a book,
Hungry Ghost. Before I started that I had just finished
Rising from the Rails: Pullman Porters..., so I was on a reading high. Insanely hot this weekend.
Went to the Polo fields (yay!) took some photos, so maybe I can upload them here and start two concurrent journals, the photo journal and the exercise blog (?). Maybe too much archiving, not sure.
Workout was less than hot, in that it was hot and I was not dealing with it well. Hoping to exert myself and in that way maybe reset my energy level kind of worked, kind of didn't.
Going to Trader Joe's and buying lots of yummy foods helped me stay at home more this weekend but also binge out on thigns like: annie's mac and cheese! Italian grapefruit soda!
career night
No workout last night, was all geared up but then went to after works schmoozefest and ended up meeting some cool people. Continue a twisted night (too much wine) and a long meeting and now I'm really ready for playoffs tonight. Get off some steam!
To Gear Up or Not to Gear Up
That is the question. I realized I ran 30 mins in a really ancient pair of Reebocks, so I wanted tobuy these New Balances on sale, but, alas, I had reached my comfortable spending limit at Copelands (I know sports basement is better but car is in the shop):
- Nalgene for work!
- bike lock! (the bendy kind of Kryptonite
- new bball shorts in ice blue!
- swim goggles (non-tinted for indoor pool)
So do you indulge and trip yourself out in all the nice finery, or is that a poser mentality and you just get by on your scrappy old t-shirts? I have finally decided that injuries are so awful that you really should invest in whatever to prevent them. Also, whatever gets you excited about going out for a walk, even if it means showing off your new sweatshirt, is fine by me. Money is cheap, health/happiness is more expensive.
Thoughts about sprots stores: It's so much fun thinking of all the frisbee games, camping, golfing, sweating in new Nike shirts, commercial bliss.
Managed to outlast a binge of laziness and walked home from work yesterday. Magically lost 3 pounds, which I didn't feel or expect. I have to set a new goal now, since that exceeded it. All water? After only 1 1/2 weeks of new workout schedule? I usually do notice a loss after a "recoup" day, like your body is feeding all of the little muscles that got stretched out, and mellowing out and your metabolism gets back to normal. End of my physiogomy musings.
One of the good reasons for blogging workouts is that it's far easier to track progress than just relying on your feeble memory.
Going swimming tonight, then a huge bout of reading for book club book. I really want to hit the polo fields soon. This weekend? After work on Thurs? Playoffs this week :(
Encountered some criticism about how insanely boring a workout blog is, well, it's not the journal blog (
banane5) and it's not a lovelife blog (which would be full of depressing ramblings now). Instead it's a "glad I can talk about it here b/c everyone else would be bored silly" blog. For a good blog, in fact an excellent blog that isn't so self-indulgent as mine but really heart warming as well as just darn fascinating, check out my sister's blog on getting her son beyond oral aversion (due to complications at birth he lost the suckling instinct and has a feed tube)
Nils Learns To Eat
random link, turkish eye milk squirter
