Round 7: Day 32: Yoga

I just noticed that it's already Day 32; over one-third of this Round has passed. I guess I could have noticed that upon the completion of Recovery Week no. 1, but sometimes the obvious eludes me. Sometimes I'm more of a digital guy (hence, my attention to the numerical value) than analogue (hey! who ate one-third of the pie?!). On the other hand, I definitely prefer my speedometer and my wristwatch to be analogue. I'm a throw-back to last century, in some respects. In many ways, I'm a visual person (I am, after all, an architect, so I ought to be), so I like to see the position of things in a context. Digital doesn't do that for you.

But I digress. Today, being mid-week, is yoga day. My calves were feeling a bit strained, probably from Monday's calf raises (with dumbbells in hand) and from yesterday's run, so downward dog position, pedalling the feet back and forth, bending the knees, straightening the legs, was most welcome. I could feel the fibres in my calves and achilles tendons stretch out. There wasn't any pain, just a good stretch. I have a fear that one day, my achilles tendons are just going to snap from being stretched out like piano wire, so I'm really conscious about taking extra time prior to and following exercising, to make sure that they're properly stretched and warm. It's all about endurance, don't you know. I'll do what it takes to be more durable and less vulnerable out in the cold, cruel world. If that means 10 extra minutes of stretching, count me in.

So, today was time well spent with the dogs, warriors and moons. Deep breathing was helpful and calming, as I went to a stressful meeting straight from home. Deep, cleansing breaths is all it took to ensure my heart rate was low and my body was relaxed.

Round 7: Day 31: Run

I awoke this morning feeling a bit sore from yesterday's UML workout. My shoulders were a bit stiff, and I didn't really feel like lifting weights. Furthermore, it's still relatively warm out during these early fall days (even though the sun doesn't rise until around 7:00AM), so I'm still inclined to stay outside, weather permitting. And today, the weather was certainly permitting, so I headed out in the early morning darkness for a run.

Today's run was unusual, in that while the mind was willing, the body protested. That doesn't usually happen to me; in fact, it's usually the opposite, where my body says "go" and my mind says "stop". I could tell after the first few blocks that this run was going to be a challenge. I mulled over the thought of cutting the run short, or walking a bit, but I toughed it out, doing my best while continuing to run. I felt that if I were to stop running, I likely wouldn't start again, and would walk the rest of the way home.

When I finally arrived in my driveway, I had indeed blown my time, finishing about 90 seconds later than I would have liked, but I had achieved a minor victory by not surrendering to my mind and by not giving up. I like to develop this mental toughness. I have a crazy feeling that it will help to build my character. Even at my age, I think my character is something that can benefit from development. Not a great day for fitness perhaps, but one which will benefit me in some other way.

Round 7: Day 30: Upper, Middle, Lower

This wasn't the typical Mammoth UML found on Tony Horton's One on One DVD. Today, my wife invited me to join her for a workout at her office gym. It was a great day to go, as it was the Canadian Thanksgiving, and the gym would be empty. Having spent most of my time working out alone in my home to a DVD, I'm not used to being in the gym, and I find them (and their occupants) a bit intimidating. Some people are capable of going forever on the treadmill or on a rowing machine, while I'm just used to doing my body-weight and fairly light dumbbell exercises. If this were a day when the gym was crowded, I doubt I'd attend.

But the place was empty, so I could do as I pleased, and it pleased me to create a customized UML (Upper, Middle, Lower) routine. The workout consisted of some type of pushup followed by some type of abdominal exercise followed by some kind of leg or lower body exercise; then repeat for as many sets as possible. I managed 12 sets before failing completely.

Unlike yesterday, when my extended run beat me up for the balance of the day, today's workout resulted in an increase in energy throughout the day. I felt strong and flexible and alert. Perhaps the difference is that yesterday's workout was a really intense cardio workout whereas today's was tough on my muscles, but light on cardio. Anyhow, I really enjoyed myself and would love to have the chance to do that again.

Round 7: Day 29: Run

Another fine day for running. Today, I extended my route to include the full length of the ravine near my home. It was really pleasant running in a pastoral setting for about two-thirds of the route, and it included a variety of surfaces: gravel, wood chips, mud, grass and asphalt. There's a huge difference running on wood chips vs. asphalt. My knees thanked me.

The new route took me longer to complete, and I was really exhausted by the time I reached home. My maximum heart rate is 170 (using the rule of thumb formula of 220 minus my age) and I believe I'm supposed to be exercising at about 85% of my maximum heart rate. Imagine my surprise when I glanced at the heart rate monitor to see 166 registering. That was the highest I've ever seen it. I didn't average 166 BPM, but I would say that I did average around 152 throughout, which is still a bit high. Overall, I kept up that rate for 27 minutes. Not bad for an old guy.

Recovery was another story. Although I took my recovery drink following the run, I felt bagged for much of the day. Instead of exercise leading to a heightened sense of energy, I felt the opposite, an indication that perhaps I overdid it. Perhaps I'll go back to the shorter route for a while, or slow down my pace a bit on the longer circuit.

Round 7: Day 27: Run

I've become somewhat delinquent in my posts, not posting for a few days at a time, then posting several days at once. Sometimes it seems to me that these posts are a bit monotonous and repetitive and, I guess they are, as they're dedicated to one aspect of my life which is repetitive. I suppose that if I were to post about my daily work activities, a similar kind of pattern might emerge. What can I say: I'm a creature of habit. The habit these writings are dedicated to are fitness and health.

Recently, I was musing about the possibility of taking up touch football again, after an absence of about 15 years. I used to enjoy running around for a couple of hours, catching the odd ball, chasing down an opponent, and enjoying the camaraderie of playing with the guys and the occasional moment of the intensity of competition. Thinking about reliving that has reignited my interest in playing again. Of course, I'm a bit nervous about the state of my body and the brittleness of my bones. Back in the day, when we were younger, more agile and stronger, we still suffered injuries due to collisions and falls, not to mention the occasional stubbed finger. Now, being older, slower and weaker, I'm probably more susceptible to injury, or possibly not, due to my conditioning over the past few years. I'm looking forward to finding out the answer, and it could come as early as this weekend.

I'm interested in building up my legs, lung power and stamina a bit, so I'm more cardio-focussed than previously. So, I engaged in a run today to finish up Recovery Week and to release a bit of pent-up energy I've been feeling since my recent eye surgery. All is well. I beat my best time, released my energy, and finished up the week with a nice flourish.

Bring on Week 5.