Today I had some blood drawn for some standard tests prior to my check-up. It could have gone worse, it could have gone better. I’ll edit in the summary I write on Broken Forum. For now a haiku:
Draw some blood for tests
Fasting first leaves me woozy
Some pain then float home
Unlike most of the links I have listed under the My Links category, I am actually using this site on a daily basis!
While the name is a bit cutesy for my taste, MyFitnessPal is a fairly good tool for tracking diet and exercise and since I’m a wee bit off from where I’d like to be weight-wise, it seemed like a good idea to start using it. There is a thread on Broken Forum where a bunch of us have become fa(s)t friends and signed up. I was also having issues with the Livestrong app I had been using (and paid for), including an obnoxious issue where it kept popping up daily reminders on my phone, even after I had turned them off, so I was ready to make a switch.
MFP is much better-behaved and the website makes entering info easy as pie. Mmm, fattening, delicious pie.
Today was another successful day of not-swimming. Like most people I was born with the talent of not-swimming. Unlike most, I went on to refine it by becoming more clumsy and even less buoyant in the water.
But tonight I agreed to go with Jeff and Jason to the Canada Games Pool in New Westminster. As you might guess from the name this is a rather large pool and it comes complete with amenities like a sauna, swirl pool, kiddie pool, a nutty water slide, basketball hoops and even ping pong tables. The ping pong tables are not in the water.
After changing into my swimming trunks, a newer pair that had never actually touched water, we padded out into the slightly muggy pool area. We shot some basketballs, which you aim at hoops that will keep score in 30 second increments to better prove how basketball is clearly not your thing (as in my case). Next we moved onto the ping pong and I’m reasonably good at this. There is a bit of a ramp-up effect where if someone hits the ball back a little hard it’s natural to do the same until someone sends it rocketing off into oblivion. We managed to avoid oblivion but did have to chase a few balls beyond the official perimeter.
At this point I was quite pleased with myself. I had not drowned! I had yet to get wet but that’s a minor detail. That was about to change, though, as we approached Big Thunder, the name of the water slide. They claim it’s the largest indoor slide in BC and I have no reason to doubt that. It’s essentially a giant green corkscrew that funnels you into a lane of water about half a meter deep at the end. Jason goes first, followed by Jeff who displaces about three bathtubs of water on the way down (Jason thoughtfully warned me of this in advance).
My turn came and instead of being nervous I just slid, sitting up at first but that was slow enough to feel like grandma mode, so I laid down and by the last turn I was feeling the force of a good rollercoaster as I whipped around and into the lane. I ended with a snootful of water but it was still good clean fun.
We next lounged around in the shallow pool (slightly over waist deep), tossing balls around and absolutely not peeing because no one ever pees in a public swimming pool. With time starting to wind down Jeff and I moved to the adults-only swirl pool while Jason moved to the kids pool (AKA the one pool where even I couldn’t flounder and go under). The swirl pool was nice and warm but not hot like I had expected. We shared it with a guy who was probably between 350-400 pounds. I’m calling it a gland condition because he actually seemed fitness-aware.
After the swirl pool we moved to the sauna. I read the warning sign on the way out, as I often do things backward like that. It didn’t tell me what I really already knew: I don’t like saunas. I felt like I was slowly suffocating and of course it’s really quite hot. I’ve always found saunas curious. Under the same conditions people would be turning on fans, activating air conditioners or pouring ice down their tops but the sauna is embraced for the same stupidly hot conditions. Yeah, it’s therapeutic or something. I’d rather lift weights. I left Jeff to sweat it out and returned to the more relaxing jets of the swirl pool.
As we had arrived late we ran out of time before long and had to depart, making a quick stop in the shower on the way out. As expected, about half the guys were au naturel while the rest showered with tier swim trunks on. Not that I was looking or anything but if tonight was any indication this is not a pool frequented by Adonis-like bodies. Still, it’s good to see people out doing that whole fitness/exercise kind of thing.
As I write this I smell of chlorine. I feel like I’ve been sanitized for your protection. It’s not entirely unpleasant, though my hands are a bit dry.
I enjoyed the evening. I want to play ping pong again. The slide was fun. The swirl pool was relaxing.
Water still terrifies me, though. Maybe I’ll consider lessons again, as long as the first lesson is titled “So You Want to Learn How to Swim But Water Scares the Living Crap Out of You”.
This is the last day I’ll do this, I swear.
Today started with temperatures well below freezing and another blanket of snow fell (damn snow) but we saw the return of a more typical weather pattern follow than has been seen in recent years as temperatures slowly rose and that snow turned to freezing rain and then plain old-fashioned rain.
Torrents of it.
This left the roads and sidewalks seas of slush. I opted not to return to running. I’ll monitor the weather over the weekend but with warming temperatures and the relentless assault of ‘liquid sunshine’ I suspect the snow will not be an issue for more than the rest of today.
The first day I can officially start running again and the ground is too icy to run on. Plus I had to wait for a bed to show up during the daylight hours.
On the plus side it’s a pretty nice bed.
At long last the three months of non-running officially comes to an end today. I am relieved more than anything.
I had joked that on the day that I was first able to resume running again we’d get a major snowstorm. It turns out I accidentally predicted the future as Environment Canada has issued a snowfall warning for Metro Vancouver tonight, warning of ‘significant snowfall’. Ho ho.
I’m also going to be busy doing that ‘wait for a vague but large block of time’ for delivery of a new bed tomorrow and on top of that am hoping to squeeze in the time to get to a career fair downtown, even though these things usually amount to a whole lot of not much.
So I can jog tomorrow but I’ll be up to my shins in snow and too busy, otherwise. Maybe I’ll jog in place inside for 10 minutes just to make the muscles know they’re there.
Zounds, I am mere days away from being able to run again.
I am afraid and uncertain.
I will run either 2.5 or 5K to start. I expect to be sluggish and for my leg muscles to be sore afterward. I am going to wrap my ankles in titanium or something.
Yes, a mere 11 days to go to reach the vaunted 12 week mark of No Jogging For You!
I was thinking about this earlier today but away from a calculator and my manual math skills being such that I’m a bit lost once I run out of fingers, I didn’t know exactly how many days I had left, just that it was less than two weeks. The feeling that first came to mind once I pushed aside the attempt to add/subtract/long divide or whatever it was I needed to do, was not one on anticipation but trepidation.
There is a part of my math-challenged brain that very legitimately fears that my little test run on January 17th will result in that ankle (the stupid one) feeling sore after. I’d probably give up on running altogether if that happened.
I hope that doesn’t happen.
After managing a couple of bike rides and a hike without collapsing under my own weight (now a pudgy 160 pounds, 15 over my goal of 145) I am more assured that my return to running won’t be an embarrassment or worse, an embarrassment with injury. It’s hard to believe there are just 15 days left until I have completed my enforced sabbatical from jogging.
I am still expecting a huge snowstorm on the first day out.
Meanwhile, my lower legs were notably sore after the 500 steps hike but the right ankle seems to have come though in good shape. Getting back into running regularly in 2012 is one of my Big Goals, so this is a good sign. I think.
I’ll know in 15 more days.
If fish could ride bikes they would have had a very fun time riding today.
Jeff and I set out on Bike Ride: The Sequel. I approached my (borrowed) bike with trepidation, my butt recalling just how sore it had been after riding it last time, the seat being made with US technology (Uncomfortable Sitting). The sky was overcast but ominous. We took the bikes out to the parking lot and a light rain had begun to fall. Dodging the rain in December is a tricky thing at best so we shrugged and headed out through Hume Park and down the Central Valley Greenway, following the river until we came out near North Road. I managed to spectacularly misread Jeff’s directions at one point and headed off in an entirely different direction while he patiently waited for me to realize I was cycling alone. This is what I get for deciding to ride ahead when I don’t know where I’m going.
By the time we started retracing our route the shower had turned into a mini-monsoon, with the rain coming down heavy and hard. With the bike fender-free, I watched as water zipped off the front wheel and into my face. If it was summer it might have been somewhat refreshing, almost.
Speaking of summer, it was not only mild as all get-out, Vancouver airport reported a new high temperature for the day at 11.6ºC, making it the balmiest December 28th ever. This after Environment Canada predicted our winter would be colder and drier than normal, naturally.
The final stats for the ride were:
Total distance: 14.58 km
Duration: 1.1 hour
Average pace: 14.2 km/h
Max. speed: 34.9 km/h
Much of the trip was uphill (yes, both ways!) so while the pace seemed leisurely the workout was not. I was proud to (barely) make it up the steepest hill without stopping. Even screwing up the gear changes couldn’t stop me.
UPDATE: A day later and my legs are not sore, though my hiney is still feeling hatred toward the world’s most uncomfortable bike seat. I am getting ever-so-slightly closer to being confident enough to move beyond the granny trails. And hopefully get a chance to ride when the sky is not dumping water on me.
I am a mere 23 days away from completing my 12-week sabbatical from running. I have a tentative plan on where and how far I will run on January 17th (Day 85). I confess that I shall be utterly crushed and dismayed if I go out on my wee run that day and my ankle starts to hurt. I may have to seriously consider learning how to swim if that happens, the thought of which gives me the cold sweats.
In the meantime I continue to go on walks, hikes and bike rides to keep myself in reasonable shape. I’ve also vowed to go back to a more sensible diet come the new year to help improve my overall health. Hooray for me, or something.
P.S. Stupid ankle.
Here is another mug shot with my patented ‘where is that left eye looking off to, anyway?’ look, this time exactly three weeks after I shaved my head. I had no idea I had that patch of white hair on the right side of my head. It looks like some weird kind of affectation. The hair is itchier now than when it was newly-shaved, though it’s still not generally itchy.
I am planning on shaving it close again after letting it grow out a little more to see how my New Hair evolves.
