As in "black" neoprene. Of course I've preached lots about the advantage of wetsuits but today I was myself reminded just how much difference it makes. When I first got in the pool I found it quite restrictive around the shoulders and actually a little tiring in a new way. However when I finally got into a rhythm I swam 1000 metres in just under 19 minutes! Compare that to 22'-10" just a few days ago. That's almost 15 percent faster. And that's without the new wetsuit that I think Roo has approved. I think the message here is to not stress too much about technique, and worry more about arm strength and again, muscular endurance. I will make a point of taking my wetsuit every time I want to try to do some distance and at other times focus on strength drills.
The latest knee news. Not too bad this morning, considering what I did yesterday. I'll see what tomorrows run brings and then go from there. In the interim I continue icing and ibuprofen.
Good job Elly posting your idiot comment on the wrong post! There's a spanish word that describes you just nicely....IDIOTA!
So overall I feel somewhat optimistic today. My ride yesterday combined with todays wetsuit success would be nicely topped off by a decent 21-22 km run tomorrow. I'm of course tempted to try for more but if sanity prevails I think 3 blocks should be enough. (22.2km)
I wish to dedicate day 88 to my friend Steve Flannery who always inspires my self confidence.
on confidence....
"Having once decided to achieve a certain task, achieve it at all costs of tedium and distaste. The gain in self-confidence of having accomplished a tiresome labor is immense."---Arnold Bennett
"All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure."---Mark Twain
and for all you idiots out there...
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."---Dr. Seuss
love
peter
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
"You're Right Cory"
I'm an idiot!
There's a guy I work with who is a professional trainer and part of his whole shtick is a monologue on idiots. He tells us there are idiots everywhere! He talks about idiots behind the wheel, at the Tim Hortons drive through, at work and at the gym. He warns us that every where we turn we are faced with these idiots. Some of us live with an idiot, some of us married one, and my favorite....some of us even gave birth to one! So it's my mothers fault that I'm an idiot.
But you know what? I like being called an idiot, and here's why. First off I think it is safe to say that there is generally a negative connotation associated with the word...agreed? So if someone so blatantly and publicly slanders me this way I am gratified becasue the message I choose to take out of it is this....that person is not afraid of my reaction....they are not afraid that I am a prideful person who's feelings might be hurt. I'm proud of my thick skin, and the fact that others acknowledge it. It's taken a long time to develop.
I guess I might also say that perhaps my mother gave birth to more than one idiot....maybe as many as twelve eh?
So on to my training. In preparation for my ride today I made sure I had everything I needed including my music, as it really helps when sitting inside riding. I was kind of nervous heading out, because I was worried about my knee. Imagine my frustration when I got there and realized I didn't have my shoes! IDIOT! This just added to my apprehension and I was very sceptical about getting a decent session in, once I drove home and back again.
Once I got started however I was pretty sure I could do a couple of hours. I ended up doing the first half of the Ironman course(90k) in 3 1/2 hours. Kind of slow but generally I was happy with it. As I've mentioned before it's all about building muscular endurance at this point, not speed. As well, the first half of the course is definitely the hardest half.
As to my knee it bothered me the whole time. Not that it's terribly painful at this point, but it does mess with your head a bit. I am desperately afraid of screwing it up for an extended period of time....time that I simply do not have to spare!
When I was stressing about that very fact to Claudette yesterday she told me that I was treating it as if it were a matter of life and death. My response..."You're right" and "It Is". I know that sounds very dramatic but I choose to make this thing that important to me for fear that otherwise I will let myself off the hook somehow. Try Not!
The real test of the knee will be tomorrow morning. I iced it right after my ride and that really seemed to settle it quickly. Tomorrow will be swimming only and then hopefully a longer run on monday. If it bothers me a lot after that I will call the doctor and get some advice. Does anyone find it as funny as I do that Cory thinks I need to 'analyze' this whole thing a lot better? Who all remembers her diatribe of a few months ago where she absolutely castigated me for spending too much time and effort analyzing everything. All I can say is "IDIOT"
I wish to dedicate day 87 to Roos friend Sally. When I say she's one of a kind, that's what I mean!
“When in doubt, make a fool of yourself. There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth. So what the hell, leap."---Cynthia Heimel
“In these days, a man who says a thing cannot be done is quite apt to be interrupted by some idiot doing it."---Elbert Hubbard
“As usual, there is a great woman behind every idiot."---John Lennon
love
peter
There's a guy I work with who is a professional trainer and part of his whole shtick is a monologue on idiots. He tells us there are idiots everywhere! He talks about idiots behind the wheel, at the Tim Hortons drive through, at work and at the gym. He warns us that every where we turn we are faced with these idiots. Some of us live with an idiot, some of us married one, and my favorite....some of us even gave birth to one! So it's my mothers fault that I'm an idiot.
But you know what? I like being called an idiot, and here's why. First off I think it is safe to say that there is generally a negative connotation associated with the word...agreed? So if someone so blatantly and publicly slanders me this way I am gratified becasue the message I choose to take out of it is this....that person is not afraid of my reaction....they are not afraid that I am a prideful person who's feelings might be hurt. I'm proud of my thick skin, and the fact that others acknowledge it. It's taken a long time to develop.
I guess I might also say that perhaps my mother gave birth to more than one idiot....maybe as many as twelve eh?
So on to my training. In preparation for my ride today I made sure I had everything I needed including my music, as it really helps when sitting inside riding. I was kind of nervous heading out, because I was worried about my knee. Imagine my frustration when I got there and realized I didn't have my shoes! IDIOT! This just added to my apprehension and I was very sceptical about getting a decent session in, once I drove home and back again.
Once I got started however I was pretty sure I could do a couple of hours. I ended up doing the first half of the Ironman course(90k) in 3 1/2 hours. Kind of slow but generally I was happy with it. As I've mentioned before it's all about building muscular endurance at this point, not speed. As well, the first half of the course is definitely the hardest half.
As to my knee it bothered me the whole time. Not that it's terribly painful at this point, but it does mess with your head a bit. I am desperately afraid of screwing it up for an extended period of time....time that I simply do not have to spare!
When I was stressing about that very fact to Claudette yesterday she told me that I was treating it as if it were a matter of life and death. My response..."You're right" and "It Is". I know that sounds very dramatic but I choose to make this thing that important to me for fear that otherwise I will let myself off the hook somehow. Try Not!
The real test of the knee will be tomorrow morning. I iced it right after my ride and that really seemed to settle it quickly. Tomorrow will be swimming only and then hopefully a longer run on monday. If it bothers me a lot after that I will call the doctor and get some advice. Does anyone find it as funny as I do that Cory thinks I need to 'analyze' this whole thing a lot better? Who all remembers her diatribe of a few months ago where she absolutely castigated me for spending too much time and effort analyzing everything. All I can say is "IDIOT"
I wish to dedicate day 87 to Roos friend Sally. When I say she's one of a kind, that's what I mean!
“When in doubt, make a fool of yourself. There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth. So what the hell, leap."---Cynthia Heimel
“In these days, a man who says a thing cannot be done is quite apt to be interrupted by some idiot doing it."---Elbert Hubbard
“As usual, there is a great woman behind every idiot."---John Lennon
love
peter
Friday, December 12, 2008
"Swimming's like Golf"
Proper grip, proper stance, controlled backswing, keep your head down, turn your wrists over, shift your weight, rotate your hips, front arm straight, follow through... etc, etc, and do all these things at once without even thinking about it. That's why I was never any good at golf and will never be any good at swimming. Either you have the genetic makeup for natural athletic ability or you don't. Swimming is very , very technical and I just don't have it. I acknowledge that and will still try to work hard to get a bit better, but I admit that I'm not having much fun doing it. This weekend I will try it with my wetsuit to see if that gives me a mental boost.
Of course I may have lots of time to spend at the pool over the next while because if my knee doesn't start to fell better soon I'm not going to have much choice but to limit my training to swimming for a week or so. It is still troubling me. Not to the point that it's too painful to work out, but I know from exprience that it can get there if not properly dealt with. On my run around the block today it started acting up within 5 minutes which is a bad sign, but then starting easing off by the time I was done, which is a good sign. Tomorrow I will be trying to ride again and that will be a good test. I will decide after that whether I need to take some time off, or whether I can keep ploughing ahead. Wish me luck!!
Head up, or is that down, elbows high, finish your stroke, swivel your hips, point your toes, drag your fingertips on recovery, catch the water, don't cross over centre, hips high in the water, and kick, and breathe...blah, blah, blah
I wish to dedicate day 86 to my friend James Frost who can't golf, and can't swim, but can and often is an inspiration to me
If I were dropped out of a plane into the ocean and told the nearest land was a thousand miles away, I'd still swim. And I'd despise the one who gave up. ~Abraham Maslow
As you walk down the fairway of life you must smell the roses, for you only get to play one round.- Ben Hogan
love
peter
Of course I may have lots of time to spend at the pool over the next while because if my knee doesn't start to fell better soon I'm not going to have much choice but to limit my training to swimming for a week or so. It is still troubling me. Not to the point that it's too painful to work out, but I know from exprience that it can get there if not properly dealt with. On my run around the block today it started acting up within 5 minutes which is a bad sign, but then starting easing off by the time I was done, which is a good sign. Tomorrow I will be trying to ride again and that will be a good test. I will decide after that whether I need to take some time off, or whether I can keep ploughing ahead. Wish me luck!!
Head up, or is that down, elbows high, finish your stroke, swivel your hips, point your toes, drag your fingertips on recovery, catch the water, don't cross over centre, hips high in the water, and kick, and breathe...blah, blah, blah
I wish to dedicate day 86 to my friend James Frost who can't golf, and can't swim, but can and often is an inspiration to me
If I were dropped out of a plane into the ocean and told the nearest land was a thousand miles away, I'd still swim. And I'd despise the one who gave up. ~Abraham Maslow
As you walk down the fairway of life you must smell the roses, for you only get to play one round.- Ben Hogan
love
peter
Thursday, December 11, 2008
"Mental or Physical"
I really don't know today. Generally I can tell whether I'm just being lazy or whether my body is genuinely fatiqued. I went downtown to ride but I wasn't in the spirit of it mentally, and it seemed like my legs just didn't have any zip. I ended up riding 30k at quite a slow pace and then called it a day. Oh well, whatever the problem is I'm sure the energy will be there another day.
Of a more worrisome nature is the feeling in my left knee. It really started acting up again during my hills yesterday and wasn't any better on the bike today. I'm going to have to monitor it very closely. I will start trying to ice it regularly and also start taking ibuprofen 2 or times a day to try to manage the inflammation.....ok Cory?
Fortunately I managed to get to the pool today(thanks Teresa) and I had a decent if not long swim. I swam 1000 metres in 22 minutes and 10 seconds. my previous best at this distance was 22' 45" so I continue to improve slowly.
And thats about if for today with the exception of a few miscellaneous items.
1) I will give you that I have a nice friendly smile and a full head of hair but I'm not fooling myself about the rest of my head. Regardless, thanks you all for your kind words.
2) Cory....I would start panicking if I were you! Now old John is talking sweet to you as well??
3) Roo is out of town and I have Kylie over for the night so I don't give a shit about nothing!!!...double negative and all
4) I had a special moment on the phone tonite when a lady called looking for Dave? It was with genuine, intense gratification that I was able to say...Dave? Dave's not here!
5)I went to the funeral home tonite and met Denis, who is the same sex partner of the deceased. I found it overwhelmingly sad that the partner and the mother didn't even know each other. Someone had to die for them to get acquainted.
I wish to dedicate day 85 to Denis...who must be very sad.
And I do hope my problem is mental because...
“I really have a secret satisfaction in being considered rather mad.”---William Heath Robinson
love
peter
Of a more worrisome nature is the feeling in my left knee. It really started acting up again during my hills yesterday and wasn't any better on the bike today. I'm going to have to monitor it very closely. I will start trying to ice it regularly and also start taking ibuprofen 2 or times a day to try to manage the inflammation.....ok Cory?
Fortunately I managed to get to the pool today(thanks Teresa) and I had a decent if not long swim. I swam 1000 metres in 22 minutes and 10 seconds. my previous best at this distance was 22' 45" so I continue to improve slowly.
And thats about if for today with the exception of a few miscellaneous items.
1) I will give you that I have a nice friendly smile and a full head of hair but I'm not fooling myself about the rest of my head. Regardless, thanks you all for your kind words.
2) Cory....I would start panicking if I were you! Now old John is talking sweet to you as well??
3) Roo is out of town and I have Kylie over for the night so I don't give a shit about nothing!!!...double negative and all
4) I had a special moment on the phone tonite when a lady called looking for Dave? It was with genuine, intense gratification that I was able to say...Dave? Dave's not here!
5)I went to the funeral home tonite and met Denis, who is the same sex partner of the deceased. I found it overwhelmingly sad that the partner and the mother didn't even know each other. Someone had to die for them to get acquainted.
I wish to dedicate day 85 to Denis...who must be very sad.
And I do hope my problem is mental because...
“I really have a secret satisfaction in being considered rather mad.”---William Heath Robinson
love
peter
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
"A Puddle in the Driveway"
First off, sorry about the negative post yesterday. It's just so desperately sad when someone leaves life, let alone leaving it that way.
Secondly today was a good news day as Roo got a good report on a health issue that was worrying us a lot....enough said...
Several years ago when we bought our house on Crescent Ave one of the first things we did was have a concrete driveway put in. I knew the guys that were doing the work and trusted them quite well. Regardless I was quite specific about how I wanted everything done, where I wanted the slope for water runoff, etc. The night before they poured the concrete they had all the forms up and lines stretched to keep everything flat and appropriately sloped. I was tempted to go out there with my level and check it all out prior to the concrete arriving, but I resisted. After all these guys were professionals with a very good reputation. For years I regreted my non-action that day because with the very first rain it was quickly apparent that there was a low spot where the water was never going to drain away. We had paid $5000 for this work and I was frustrated. It's probably not necesaary to tell you that it was minor enough that no one else even noticed, but for me it was almost a perfect driveway with a very ugly puddle! Anyway it nagged at me with every rain, to the point that I realized I would have to change my attitude or have the driveway removed and done again. Since this wasn't reasonable I decided to acknowledege that having a non-perfect driveway was probably good help in curbing my perfectionist attitude. It could help keep me humble. After that I was ok with it.
So why tell you my puddle story? Because it was an important learning for me that has come back to me now and been useful again. The puddle lesson of 10 years ago, allows me today to be grateful for my head! Soon I will have an almost perfect body with a very ugly head. I really am taking great satisfaction in my improved physique. I am actually getting muscles that I have never had before and when I look in the mirror. It would be easy to get cocky if not for my head....thank goodness.
It occurs to me that the puddle that I found so ugly, would have been loved by my grandchildern and I'm pretty sure that they're not too repulsed by my head either.
Anyway, enough of that nonsense. I had a good workout today. I did my hills as promised and also as promised I hated them. I stepped it up to a new level however by doing 12 and at a slightly quicker pace than previous. Not just up the hill but my downs were quicker as well which is a very positive indicator of fitness. It means I'm recovering quicker. I think the single most important workout I do is running hills, as it builds both muscle strength and cardiovascukar fitness in a big way. I also went to the pool tonite but without my swim bag, and so I turned around and came home.
If this Ironman and the required training seems crazy to you how about this...they also have something called Ultraman Canada. It is a 3 day event that is comprised of a 10 km swim!!!, combined with a 145 km ride on day one, an easy 274 km ride on day two and then finally a gentle 85 km run on day 3. Can you freakin imagine? The winning time this past year was just under 25 hours.
I wish to dedicate day 84 to my wife Claudette, because she is more precious to me than my ability to express it allows.
“My psychiatrist told me I was crazy and I said I want a second opinion. He said okay, you're ugly too."---Rodney Dangerfield
“Beauty is but skin deep, ugly lies to the bone; Beauty dies and fades away, but ugly holds its own."---Anon
love
peter
Secondly today was a good news day as Roo got a good report on a health issue that was worrying us a lot....enough said...
Several years ago when we bought our house on Crescent Ave one of the first things we did was have a concrete driveway put in. I knew the guys that were doing the work and trusted them quite well. Regardless I was quite specific about how I wanted everything done, where I wanted the slope for water runoff, etc. The night before they poured the concrete they had all the forms up and lines stretched to keep everything flat and appropriately sloped. I was tempted to go out there with my level and check it all out prior to the concrete arriving, but I resisted. After all these guys were professionals with a very good reputation. For years I regreted my non-action that day because with the very first rain it was quickly apparent that there was a low spot where the water was never going to drain away. We had paid $5000 for this work and I was frustrated. It's probably not necesaary to tell you that it was minor enough that no one else even noticed, but for me it was almost a perfect driveway with a very ugly puddle! Anyway it nagged at me with every rain, to the point that I realized I would have to change my attitude or have the driveway removed and done again. Since this wasn't reasonable I decided to acknowledege that having a non-perfect driveway was probably good help in curbing my perfectionist attitude. It could help keep me humble. After that I was ok with it.
So why tell you my puddle story? Because it was an important learning for me that has come back to me now and been useful again. The puddle lesson of 10 years ago, allows me today to be grateful for my head! Soon I will have an almost perfect body with a very ugly head. I really am taking great satisfaction in my improved physique. I am actually getting muscles that I have never had before and when I look in the mirror. It would be easy to get cocky if not for my head....thank goodness.
It occurs to me that the puddle that I found so ugly, would have been loved by my grandchildern and I'm pretty sure that they're not too repulsed by my head either.
Anyway, enough of that nonsense. I had a good workout today. I did my hills as promised and also as promised I hated them. I stepped it up to a new level however by doing 12 and at a slightly quicker pace than previous. Not just up the hill but my downs were quicker as well which is a very positive indicator of fitness. It means I'm recovering quicker. I think the single most important workout I do is running hills, as it builds both muscle strength and cardiovascukar fitness in a big way. I also went to the pool tonite but without my swim bag, and so I turned around and came home.
If this Ironman and the required training seems crazy to you how about this...they also have something called Ultraman Canada. It is a 3 day event that is comprised of a 10 km swim!!!, combined with a 145 km ride on day one, an easy 274 km ride on day two and then finally a gentle 85 km run on day 3. Can you freakin imagine? The winning time this past year was just under 25 hours.
I wish to dedicate day 84 to my wife Claudette, because she is more precious to me than my ability to express it allows.
“My psychiatrist told me I was crazy and I said I want a second opinion. He said okay, you're ugly too."---Rodney Dangerfield
“Beauty is but skin deep, ugly lies to the bone; Beauty dies and fades away, but ugly holds its own."---Anon
love
peter
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
"No Workout Today"
And it's been a few days since I've done anything intense. I forgot to mention yesterdays workout which was an easy 10 k run. I feel like Im gaining weight and losing fitness as every minute goes by. I promise to go do hills tomorrow and a bike workout the next day. I suppose that the break is good for my knees anyway. They are still a bit sensitive. It's probably best that I have to work now and again as that was my excuse today. I had early morning meetings in Brampton and didnt get back til late afternoon. I did take the time to clean my bike this evening so I feel good about that.
So in short, nothing's perfect but it's not bad. I can honestly say that I'm glad to be alive and I can also tell you that I have had times in the past year where I haven't felt that. I remember when I was in that funk I almost felt a resentment that I had to go on living simply because others depended on me. Of course I'm now grateful that I had those reasons. Sadly there are people in our world who aren't blessed with the same support and I sometimes think of those unnamed people. It really hits home however when you know the name and know it well.
I wish to dedicate day 83 to Paul Somerville, a good man. I consider him brave! May he rest in peace...
"They tell us that suicide is the greatest piece of cowardice... that suicide is wrong; when it is quite obvious that there is nothing in the world to which every man has a more unassailable title than to his own life and person."---Arthur Schopenhauer
love
peter
So in short, nothing's perfect but it's not bad. I can honestly say that I'm glad to be alive and I can also tell you that I have had times in the past year where I haven't felt that. I remember when I was in that funk I almost felt a resentment that I had to go on living simply because others depended on me. Of course I'm now grateful that I had those reasons. Sadly there are people in our world who aren't blessed with the same support and I sometimes think of those unnamed people. It really hits home however when you know the name and know it well.
I wish to dedicate day 83 to Paul Somerville, a good man. I consider him brave! May he rest in peace...
"They tell us that suicide is the greatest piece of cowardice... that suicide is wrong; when it is quite obvious that there is nothing in the world to which every man has a more unassailable title than to his own life and person."---Arthur Schopenhauer
love
peter
Monday, December 8, 2008
"Gettin in Shape"
Despite the fact that I have a long way to go to get my endurance to the levels necessary I am generally happy with my fitness. I am doing so many things better then I ever did before and as a result am getting results I didn't before. Considering where I was 6 months ago the progress is good. My resting heart rate is quite satisfactory and my strength particularly continues to improve quickly. I admitted to Claudette yesterday that I believe diet has been a big factor. I consume more protein than I did in the past and as a result it seems like I can eat more and gain muscle only. Of course she's been giving me that advice for years. My body fat clearly continues to decrease and yet my weight holds very steady. That's a pretty important element as fat becomes only baggage when running or biking.... although it doesn't really hamper swimming much.
So thats my message for today....listen to your spouse, and eat more protein.
I have to get up at 5:30 tomorrow, which is like the middle of the night for me so I'll talk to you tomorrow.
I wish to dedicate day 82 to my nephew Kevin who was a surprise to his mother when he was conceived but a gift ever since.
“I just want to see how long I can keep this thing going. The easiest thing is dying. Living is a pain in the butt."---Jack Lalanne
"A man's health can be judged by which he takes two at a time - pills or stairs."---Joan Welsh
love
peter
So thats my message for today....listen to your spouse, and eat more protein.
I have to get up at 5:30 tomorrow, which is like the middle of the night for me so I'll talk to you tomorrow.
I wish to dedicate day 82 to my nephew Kevin who was a surprise to his mother when he was conceived but a gift ever since.
“I just want to see how long I can keep this thing going. The easiest thing is dying. Living is a pain in the butt."---Jack Lalanne
"A man's health can be judged by which he takes two at a time - pills or stairs."---Joan Welsh
love
peter
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