Training Update-- The Glass is Half Empty and Half Full

Making a comeback!

I prematurely took my spring lettuce seedlings outside this week and they took a cold-beating. You should have seen how dried, flat and brown they got. O man, I thought I killed them. You can see that I'm slowly nursing them back to health.  It felt like a good metaphor for my week. This week my "team" moral sunk to a new low. It was a combination of re-injuring my ankle, a long week of commuting to depressing rust-belt towns in Ohio, a relapse of winter cold, and also not drinking enough water.

My inner macho man tells me, "Quit whining. Step 1) Get hydrated and sit in the sun daily. Step 2) Rest ankle. Step 3) Re-purpose ailing communities." But then my inner super-macho says, "Psst! You don't have an inner 'macho man'. Don't stop for water-- bananas are 78% water. Run through the pain--it's weakness leaving the body. Hurry up and fix Detroit and Cincinnati."

Cooped-up, man!

So, that's when I realize my ego has adopted a super-duper-super-ego, and I just need to calm the heck down and get some Buddhist perspective on shit. I've been cooped up too long in the cold and it's time to get outside!!!!!

HOW IT HAPPENED
Tuesday was gorgeous! I was feeling somewhat tight and sore after running mile one. Mile two felt really good and I thought "Hey, I think I could pick up the pace." Mile three was where it went south-- I pivoted on a left turn and re-twisted my ligaments just enough to electrify my whole left leg with pain.

My man, Eric Oliver, the handsome-haired physical therapist, examined it and hasn't ruled out fracture...which means I have to decide if I want to visit an orthopedist and submit to their program and/or afford their x-rays. So far, both answers point to hell-to-the-no.









THE GLASS IS ACTUALLY MORE THAN HALF FULL
The good news is that I feel like it's the exact time of year to really become a cyclist. A lot of experts say you should devout a fraction of the year to mastering one of the disciplines of triathlon. Spending lots more time on the bike will allow my ankle to actively heal. I also believe cycling endurance is the key to a good Ironman. The largest fraction of the race (~50%) is spent pedaling. If you pedal well you can eat and digest well. Furthermore, without cycling endurance (and without smooth digestion), there is zero chance of running well.

On Saturday, I met up with some friends for a nice 30 mile ride of coldness, climbs, and conversation. It felt really nice and relaxing getting back into it. So after we parted ways, I decided to go for another 30. It felt easy too, especially considering I haven't done any long distance stuff since last year. All the high-intensity work must be paying off. Sunday's workout was spent just doing strength stuff and Pilates Reformer stuff in the Studio. Then, On Monday, since I got wait-listed for the ever-popular Monday night Spinning, I had extra time to ride 15 hill repeats outside on Alpine Terrace before Pilates. That monster hill has always been a good go-to route to simulate some mountain climbs. It's almost exactly a one mile loop with ~13% grade up and mostly traffic free. Not bad for a Monday evening. (Last year, with no events on my calendar, my proudest moment was the day I huffed up that hill 25 times in August smelt. So, that's become a useful benchmark for gauging how I should feel when I have good cycling legs).

These kids totally dance as tough and as Egyptian as they look!

I lost the dance off by a half point. It was an epic Cinderella

story of how a #11 seed toppled the #1 seed.

New Electric Meter Sucks!

My nameless utility company turned off my power this week so they could install their new electric meter on the outside of my house. Yeah, you heard me right--outside. My wife, Susie, came home for a mid-day break to get some office work done, only to be stymied by an inconvenient truth-- we're always at the mercy of those who control our energy and who control our awareness of our energy. 

TRUE STORY
During the 1970's oil embargo, citizens in a particular suburb of single-family houses in Amsterdam were trying to be more mindful of their electricity consumption. Someone noticed that even though all the houses were built in exactly the same way, a large percentage of the houses were using about 1/3 less electricity. 1/3 LESS! That's huge. Upon closer examination, they discovered that the homes were actually built with one minor difference--some homes had electric meters in the basement and some had electric meters in the foyer by the front door. Can you guess which homes used less electricity? Of course you can, because you know that "out of sight is out of mind". The homes with meters in the foyer were more carefully watched by their owners, who saved more energy. Can you imagine if shopping carts were black boxes and you didn't know how much food you had bought?

As my energy guru John Robbins is fond of saying, "When it comes to energy consumption, a smart person in dumb home always beats a dumb person in a 'smart home'."

WARNING!-- Cover your eyes if you're offended by middle fingers flicking off electric meters. 

I don't usually do this, but I just can't resist this overt display of hostility when the consequences are so global and personal in scope. 

68 kwhr used this week. Is that good? Yes, but it's March-- an easy month on electricity.

I'm a lover not a fighter, I swear. But we live in a system within a system within a system, and whether we're talking about the system of the global economy or the system of Mama Nature, which encompasses it, all systems' stocks (resources) and flows are governed by feedback loops-- timely information and leverage points of intervention. Rather than me blabbering inefficient and impotent messages like, Screw you, utility company--I'm completely addicted to your habit of facilitating mountain top removal, the poisoning of pure water and air, and your counter-productive price structures, it makes more sense to flick 'em the bird and get on with our master plan to get off that dirty grid.

The outdoor meter makes it easier for them to collect consumption data, reducing their expenses, and thus making my electricity cheaper, right? That's a good public relations answer. But it contributes to a system that restricts feedback of information (knowing my consumption) and intervention points (using less energy or timing my energy usage for off-peak hours). Outdoor electric meters make us buy more electricity.

My very best energy audit costumer ever lived in a 1920s homes near the University of Cincinnati. His electric usage was the lowest I've ever seen. He had about 1800 square. feet of living space. He didn't have solar panels. He didn't have a new 95% efficiency furnace. He didn't have LED light bulbs. He didn't have triple pane window or even many double pane windows. He just had a mission to not waste. One of his key allies in this mission was his TED (The Energy Detective). This energy monitoring devise gave him real time awareness of his energy consumption. He's not efficient, but he's damn effective.

Spring Forward-- a fall backward

The sooner I fall behind, the more time I have to catch up.

My spirits were low this week. My ankle had a painful relapse after what had appeared to be a miraculously fast recovery. Fitness wise, I hit some new personal bests (13:00 plank hold; 100 pull-ups + 100- push-ups in sets of 3; Tabata leg press @ 240 lbs), but I jumped back into things too fast on the bike/run and my ankle cussed me out bad. So, I decided to go back on the ibuprofen-and-rest-bandwagon. I figure, if I don't give my poor little ankle circulation, then it can't get my deliciously healing blood... and if ibuprofen can help with that, then I don't mind selling a bit my soul to Advil.

Susie caught me sulking this week. Luckily, I had a dozen mangoes to cheer me up and the sun came out and I could start replenishing my vitamin D--always a concern.

ACTIVE RECOVERY
I've used this setback as an opportunity to spend some time each morning in the pool really working on my stroke and meditation. What cold water does for 6:15 am, 6:15am reciprocates for cold water--they amplify each other's evil-ness to create a dastardly hour of the day that only my friend Justin could make fun. Sunrises in the pool help too. On occasion it rises above the abandoned Circuit City, through my pool's huge storefront windows. The way the light dances off the waves makes for a far more interesting black lane line on the bottom. That helps with my meditation. Justin does not-- but I love that about him.

Justin does in 10 strokes what it takes me to do in 20. He is my new swimming guru. We jump in like scared turtles and set to work. I'm used to swimming next to the water aerobics class, so compared to Justin, I can't believe how slow I am. I beg him for answers, "How is my stroke sooo inefficient?"

Then Justin gives me a host of drills to keep my pelvis tilted, my kick subtle, my elbows high, my reach long, my pull delayed, my stroke S-shaped, and my breathing free. It's not easy to do all things well. It's not even easy to do them poorly. But I've finally reached a comfort level in the water where I feel very coach-able right now. So, Justin's been a perfect addition to my team. Plus, he owns his own landscaping company, Karp Groundworks, and is a father of two-and-half, so when else am I able to see him? And why not get some simultaneous green thumb consultations from him, right?

"The swim lessons are starting to pay off!"

By Saturday, I felt like I could have competed in the Queen City Wheels 40k time trial, but my smarter/prettier half convinced me it was a bad idea in the grand scheme of things. What can I say? Susie is always right.

GREEN THUMBING
The ankle injury is also allowing me time to prep my garden. NOW is the time to get greens planted. My goal is to eat, and therefore harvest 1 lbs. of lettuce/spinach/kale/chard/etc per day plus whatever I can impress my womyn with.

While working with my friend Terry's hydroponics, I discovered that an area about the size of a car's hood would be enough space to grow a family of two a modest-sized salad per day. That's not enough...which is why I have to make nice with all my neighbors who have more access to sunshine.

I wanted some cool seed-sprouters like they sell at the hardware store, but my brother-in-law taught me a cool trick with wet cardboard. Fcuk buying more plastic crap. Justin and his wife also start their seeds inside egg shells and then bury the egg shell when it's time to move the seedlings outside.

My dad (world's greatest) gave me some Seed Saver Exchange seeds-- a mix of lettuces, spinach, chard, heirloom tomatoes, cilantro, basil, cucumber and some other stuff I wasn't as excited about (radishes, beans, ?)

It's a work in progress, but the minimal sun that hits my deck will soon be covered in deliciousness. The big wood planter even has kale and spinach sprouting that I planted way back in the fall according to the Anastasia method.

 

Ankle Pics are Faux-Chicken Soup for Soul

Day 3 after the injury:

It looks worse, but it feels much better.

I took yesterday completely off except for RICE-buprofen.
We didn't have any ice in the house, so I had to use frozen fruits and vegetables. I don't even know what those purple berries are but they were infinitely colder than ice and they stained my towels.

That's a hematoma, not residual berry juice.

Tonight, I'm getting back on the ice-grid. Wife's orders.

I hate HATE  HATE the idea of taking ibuprofen, but I took about 10 yesterday and 4 today. I find it weird that the injured body part would swell as a response to the trauma, yet I need to take a pill to make that process not happen. Is the body wrong or something? Coincidentally, my wife is having her wisdom teeth removed tomorrow and her post-op instructions inform her "swelling is unpredictable, but is a part of the body's natural healing process." Her doctor's instructions also tell her to take ibuprofen every couple of hours. I'm confused. Swelling is good. Anti-inflamatories are good. Aren't they mutually exclusive?

I've decided I'm done with the ibuprofen for now. Time to for the ice bath and time to think about shaving these gnarly drumsticks.

Minor Setback This Week

I sprained my ankle yesterday out on a run. My heart sank, immediately.

Last night's surprise--hairy softball ankle. I had surgery on this ankle 10 years ago to repair soccer injuries' ligament damage.

Luckily, a cyclist stopped and let me use his phone to call in my rescue ride home.  I waited for my ride at the Lunken Airport terminal, where I got to see Cycling Santa at the public forum for discussing the plans for the new scenic bike route--that's a cool consolation.

Cycling Santa is a regular at Coffee Emporium in Oakley.

When I got home to sick-bay, my brother Mike, and fellow weak-ankler, reminded me that the first 48 hours are critical for R.I.C.E.-- rest, ice, compression, elevation..and ibuprofen. I didn't want to take any drugs, but I've had some hard lessons in what happens when I resist the anti-inflammatory strategy. Thus, I caved. Blood flow is essential to healing.

I'm trying to stay positive about this setback to my training. It is a major bump in the momentum I had been building. I had been staying on top of my "build" period like never before. Last week I was able to put in about 16 hours of quality training amidst a 65 hr work week. So, in a way, the break will be good for all-around recovery.

I'm going to lay off the running for a while and use this as an opportunity to focus on my swimming endurance/speed-building and also to launch the spring new cycling season. Next Saturday is my buddy Russ's birthday and it's his annual wish to do the local 40km time trial. He was the one who originally got me into cycling with the Major Taylors and the hot news of the winter is that HE'S GONE RAW! I can't wait to catch up with him about his dietary transition and start riding again. Plus, it will be a good opportunity to test my new fitness and the superiority of my new bike fit.