Walk 38: Route 66

I was really tired all day for some reason, despite getting what seemed to be a decent sleep last night, so I went for my walk/run with low expectations.

And surprised myself for running just over 2 km uninterrupted. Even better, my pace for both km was an even 6:00 minutes, which is not bad considering how flabby and out of shape I am. I could feel a hint of a cramp in my abdomen near the end, but it never happened. Of more concern was a reminder of the plantar fasciitis that I could feel about halfway through the running part. It never started to hurt, but I could feel where it did hurt last year and will proceed with caution should I feel it the next time I’m out. If there’s one injury you don’t want to aggravate, it’s one you’re still able to feel almost a year later.

Other than that, I am pleased with today’s effort. It was sunny, but in a nice, not make-you-sweat-buckets sort of way.

Stats:

Walk 38
Average pace: 8:03/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 7.39 km
Time: 59:33
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 18ºC
Humidity: 40%
Wind: light
BPM: 128
Weight: 177.9 pounds
Total distance to date: 288.8 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12

Walk 37: Bio break

It’s Monday and I wasn’t feeling as ambitious for the running part of the walk/run. But I did end up running a tad more than expected, and my overall pace was perfectly respectable.

Conditions were similar, temperature-wise, though it felt a bit warmer as the sun was out today. I encountered no issues in terms of cramping or whatnot, though one of my running stretches I did twist my ankle very slightly on a small pothole I missed when moving from sun to shade. This made me flashback to The Tree Root Incident of August 2016, and I’ll admit, it made me ease up on the running for a few minutes, suddenly paranoid that the trail might be out to get me.

The worst part, though, was the inevitable problem caused by hydrating before the run (good) while also having the world’s tiniest bladder (not particularly good). Even worse than this, I had to…do more. This makes running not just uncomfortable, but also potentially messy. I don’t want to go full TMI here, but you probably get the idea.

Still, despite needing several pit stops it was a good start to the week and I liked that I had no hesitation in getting out, even though it was Monday. I mean yeah, it was also sunny, but I swear I would have gone even if it had been raining. Pretty sure. Yep.

Stats:

Walk 37
Average pace: 8:28/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 7.47 km
Time: 63:17
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 16ºC
Humidity: 45%
Wind: light
BPM: 123
Weight: 179.4 pounds
Total distance to date: 281.41 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12

Diablo 3 helped me understand the rich

When last we left him, my Diablo 3 wizard Spellsworth was cruising through rifts and bounties at Torment VI (not V, as I mistakenly reported), focusing especially on an Act III location for a rare drop, the gibbering gemstone. This is the final piece needed to create The Staff of Herding, which opens up the cow level.

Alas, the gemstone, with only a 5% drop rate, and on a spawn that does not always appear in the Caverns of Frost, has yet to materialize.

In the meantime, Spellsworth has killed three gilded barons (treasure goblins that just carry huge sacks of gold) and slayed another that opened up a portal upon death to Whimsyshire, a cartoon land that also showers riches on you. He’s also been to The Vault, which, as name suggests, has a lot of gold in it.

This is to say that Spellsworth now has a lot of gold now, about 243 million or so. I am quite certain this is peanuts compared to truly hardcore players, but it is way more than I have any use for. The most expensive activity in the game is crafting and upgrading gems and Spellsworth has already maxed out his gems as far as they can go…and still has that 243 million left.

And yet.

And yet, I still like seeing that number go up. Wouldn’t it be nice to have an even 250 million gold? And then shoot for 500 million? How about a billion? I don’t need it, but somehow I want it and I will relentlessly pursue the goal, while offering thin excuses (“I just want the Staff of Herding, that is totes it!”) to justify this mad, senseless accumulation of unneeded wealth.

And so I see myself emulating the super rich, never needing more but always wanting more.

Perhaps the solution is to uninstall the game. I could always re-install later, but uninstalling at least creates some friction for getting me back on this pointless treadmill of virtual massing of riches.

The allure of more when more is wholly unnecessary is surprisingly strong, though. I’ll check back with an update in a week or so and we’ll see if I’ve fought back this demon of avarice, or made him my chummy roommate.

UPDATE LATER THAT SAME DAY: Now at 253 million gold

Walk 36: Run most

Today was 10 degrees cooler than yesterday, which sounds bad, but is actually great for running. It was overcast with a light breeze, so no sun beating down on me. It is free to beat down on me when I am not running, however.

Maybe due to the cooler temperature, I seemed to have more zip than expected and started running a bit on the way up the trail (I normally don’t start the run part until I’ve reached the end of the trail and turn around to head back). I ran off and on until I got to the turnaround point, then started running…and didn’t stop until I got all the way back to the start of the trail. This was unexpected.

All I had to do was just ease up a little on my run speed and as if by magicke I found a comfortable pace and was able to keep going. It was nice. I’ll need to follow the Eagles’ advice more often and take it easy.

As a result, my stats are quite a bit different from the last few walks–shorter time, faster pace and a slightly higher BPM, but still perfectly fine.

Stats:

Walk 36
Average pace: 7:30/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 7.30 km
Time: 54:59
Weather: Overcast
Temp: 16ºC
Humidity: 55%
Wind: light
BPM: 140
Weight: 178 pounds
Total distance to date: 273.94 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12

Walk 35: Run moar

It was not quite as warm today, but humidity was higher, so it didn’t really feel all that different.

Changes from yesterday: I walked the full distance, to Cariboo Road, before heading back. And I ran more often–not quite up to my usual pace, but closer. I could definitely feel myself hitting my current limits a few times and pulling back before The Cramps™ could start.

Overall it went well, and I ended up doubling my move goal for the day, so yay for that.

Stats:

Walk 35
Average pace: 8:13/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 7.20 km
Time: 59:13
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 26ºC
Humidity: 49%
Wind: light
BPM: 135
Weight: 178.3 pounds
Total distance to date: 266.64 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12

Walk 34: Early June, early heat

I’ve actually done a few walks recently that I didn’t record because they really were just walks, with no running at all (yesterday for example). But today I actually did run a bit, despite the unusually warm weather. I basically jogged when under the shade of the tree canopy and walked when out exposed to direct sun. It seemed to work reasonably well.

My stamina is still pretty feeble, though, like I could keep running, but it would feel like the sloggiest of slogs, and I’d probably start getting cramps in weird parts of my body. But it was still nice to get out and be physical and such.

I didn’t go quite as far as usual today, as I wanted to try to keep the total time down to an hour (I had not planned on running at all when I set out), so my overall distance is lower than the normal (which is typically over 7 km), but it’s reasonably close.

Stats:

Walk 34
Average pace: 8:49/km
Location: Brunette River trail
Distance: 6.83 km
Time: 1:00:11
Weather: Sunny and hot
Temp: 29ºC
Humidity: 37%
Wind: light
BPM: 127
Weight: 179 pounds
Total distance to date: 259.44 km
Devices: Apple Watch Series 5, iPhone 12

Thoughts on food

I have been thinking about food a lot the past two days, but unlike most previous days this year, the thinking has not been followed by eating. I’ve also gone out for two walks and even ran a bit today despite it being 29C. Hopefully I can keep this up and get the flab under control. If not, I am putting in for a sexy robot replacement body.

Thus endeth the parade of anything I can think of, May 2021 edition

This is the 11th post I’ve made today, which may be a record. And with #11 I have officially hit 31 posts for the month, keeping to my “one post per day” rule intact, which is actually more like a “post the equivalent number of times to match one-post-per-day for the month in question” rule. Which has worked out so far, so why change now?

I could go for a Sausage and Egg McMuffin right now.

Secret entry

Dear Diary,

Why is it I sometimes freeze when it comes to writing, even on this blog where I have repeatedly demonstrated I have no issue sharing half-baked thoughts, ill-formed ideas and otherwise questionable content. Is it because I know the internet can supply me with an endless stream of cat gifs to substitute for that content?

I think that’s it, actually. I don’t have a solution for this, only a vow to try harder the next time the freeze happens, and to resist posting cat gifs in place of my own words, doodlings or videos of interpretive dance.

Sincerely,

Me

P.S. That said, here’s one more cat gif because why the hell not at this point: