Week two and recharging

Unfortunately the weather hasn't really cooperated with me for running outside, which is a shame. There is something that really grounds me when I run outdoors. However, -3 is not good running weather, so I have moved indoors to the treadmill. It is a strange cacophony of sights and sounds. Today I arrived at the gym and found the room deserted. The light was even off. I had a nice 5 minutes of solitude.

I've switched my intervals to increase my running time. I'm now walking for one song and running for two (until the end, when I sometimes go straight into another walk to cool down). I think I'm about ready for two laps (45 minutes) of walk/run intervals. I'm trying to work up to more running and this seems to be doing the trick, and not doing it so quickly that I'm discouraged or in pain.

I've had to start a second project for knitting. This may qualify me for a biathlon. Perhaps I can start a third and do a knitting tri, with three different projects. Maybe I could start socks! That would totally get me going!

At last. . .

What a wonderful phrase, at last. Today what it means. . .no more pain! Today I did my interval training and this afternoon I am still moving about without stiffness in my joints and pained leg muscles! Yippee! I had to run a long interval this AM, too! I can tell when a song happens to be a little longer. I have a rule that Donna Summers is automatically skipped because her songs tend to be 5-11 minutes (yes, some are 11 minutes). Most of my other music is allowed to play out as it will. There are some random classical & jazz pieces that tend to be long and slightly awkward as running music.

I am falling behind in my knitting marathon. I've just hit a wall and need to force myself over or around it. On this project, once I get around the corner, it is smooth sailing. . .now for that corner!

Three days

I'm tempted to use some resurrection imagery. Sure tomorrow, after this third day has passed, I will feel something that is not akin to pain when I try to move about the room. I started running again on Monday. It is not a great showing yet, but honestly, a great effort. I'm doing some interval running. I tried this the last time but, to be honest, I wasn't feeling the same sort of patience that I did on my last training attempt. It feels more urgent this time, probably because I am certainly going to face a contest of some sort in the coming months. The last time I did 1:1 intervals starting with 1-2 minutes at a time. This time I'm not training on a treadmill, but out on the open road. I decided to use my iPod as my interval trainer. I walk to warm up for one full song, then alternate between running and walking, going for one full song at a time. By the end I've been pooped, but in a good way. I think I'm moving through the pain of adapting to running more quickly. It feels that way anyhow.

I'm working on the marathon knitting project, 2.0. I'm attempting to finish my second Victorian Lace Today cape. The first turned me into a wreck, mostly because it was for a wedding, included techniques I'd never tried, and was for someone I dearly love. This time, only the last statement is true. It seems I've flown through this version, having knit it up previously. I'm also less concerned about some of the errors that would undo me the last time I attempted this. I know it will be worn & loved, but probably will not make it to an occasion as important as her wedding (since I've already been to it).

I'm trying something again for the second time, in both these cases and things are moving more quickly now. My only concern is what to do when I finish. I could start all over again from scratch or find a way to keep building.

Getting back on the bike

This week I've been trying to restart the training program I was on last year before the big move. So far I've managed to wake up early and walk, stretch, do some crunches, and have a healthy breakfast before I get to work. The weather has not been super cooperative about helping me start to run again, which is probably a great thing for my body, which might not be ready yet.

I'm also working on a tri-training partner who has a different daily schedule from me, so it may be difficult to do all our training together. I will need to have some long workouts and long days to put in either way, so it makes sense to train twice a day, although may be unnecessary this far out (and this out of shape).

Hitting the gym this weekend. . .bike? treadmill?