"Endurance Running"

Will running 28 kms ever get easy?  I don't freaking think so and why the hell should it?!  It's not something most people consider doing on any given Saturday.

I can tell you this however.  Everything is relative, and running 28 kms today was significantly easier than running 25 last week, 30 the week before, 23 the week before that, and a horrible 18 way back on Mar 10th.  And before you ask, my pace was the same or better then each of those efforts.

Like I said it was still tough, and when I had a decision to make which way to turn, with the other direction meaning 31 kms,  I took the easy road....or maybe it was the smart road?

The run was more significant for what did not happen, than what did.  I kept waiting for it but the normal running pain in my legs refused to deteriorate into the crippling, cramping, just shoot me, pain I had learned to expect by 20 kms, and to top that off, my heart rate finally crept just over 140, and stayed there!

The real test was still to come however, and when I got home I bent over and untied my shoe laces!   Yah!  That was the test!  Previously I had to resort to asking for help, and/or just forcing them off with the laces still done up.

It is now some 5 hours after my run and my legs feel exactly like they're supposed to after a long run; tired but with minimal sorriness.  Again, to make comparisons, I could barely walk last week.

So what does this mean?  Well yesterday I wished for some positive indication that things would be different post hyperbaric, and I can conclude that I received that.  I would also say that though it is not a miracle by any means, it has had a major impact on my confidence level.

So was the chamber the problem, and more specifically the issue of free radicals?  My instinct tells me yes, very much so, but I am gonna leave this conclusion for one more week.  Interestingly enough as I went back and studied my technical Ironman books, the experts are all serious advocates of taking antioxidant supplements to counteract this problem.....that's without the hyperbaric therapy.

Of course my arthritic left hip is sore as hell, as well as my right achilles, but I need those problems to have something to complain about.

And you know what?  Life has its ups and downs and I am reminded once again how we need tough times to make the good times more good!  Right now I feel "more good"  Game on!!

Happy Easter tomorrow!  That's the day that Jesus (hey zeus) rose from the dead.  And I tell you with all the sincerity that I can muster, that if believing this makes you a better person, and in turn the world a better place, then please go on believing it.  That after all should be the litmus test of all religious dogma should it not?

(run 28 kms 2:30)

"To succeed in life, you need two things: ignorance and confidence."---Mark Twain

Love
Peter

"Nervous"

Tomorrow will be day 4 post hyperbaric, and my first re-try at a longer run.  I don't expect miracles but I do hope for at least a small indication of improvement.  I will go out with the intent of doing 20k only, and If I get that old hurting feelin by then I will stop immediately.  If I decide to keep going it will be 1 km at a time,  and re-evaluate after every one.  The most important thing is that I do not go so long that it hampers my workouts in the coming days.  If the rate of improvement is similar to that of my eyes than I will have to be very patient.  My eyesight has not shown any indication of returning to normal, and in fact he told me it may take 3 to 4 weeks.

And speaking of my eyesight does it not seem like a strong indicator as to the powerful impact the chamber must have on all your physiological systems? Apparently it actually forces change in the shape of your eyes! While I can't literally confirm that, I sure can confirm the results.  I am unable to read street signs,  or the menu board at the fast food drive-in.  While the street signs may not be that important, thank God I always order the same thing at Arbys.

It looks like the weather should be pretty decent tomorrow.  Perhaps a bit windy but I can cope with that. Wish me luck my friends.  Well actually I won't need that. After all....it's all mental!

(swim 1000 metres, ride 24kms)

I'm nervous as a whore in church."---LaWanda Page

Love
Peter

"Gotta Be Careful Now"

My enthusiasm to get the ball rolling again is very high.  I need to be patient.  I will not make up for lost time overnite.  And my poor beat up right foot is hurting in 3 different places.  One of these days it's gonna just give up.  Of course my foot could be all in my head??

I can tell that it will take a while to adjust to my new travel free/work free life.  I'm a bit antsy during the day.  I think I will be fine once I get into a routine of some kind.  I want to swim at least 5 days a week from now on and that will normally be my first workout of the day. Weights also need to happen 4 times a week, and that I will generally reserve for just before bed.  That leaves me with the decision whether to head right into my primary workout immediately after swimming, and then work on my task list for the rest of the day, or vice versa.  I'll experiment and see what works best.

I got in a little cross training today as I needed to dig out a broken off fence post.  It was quite a challenge as it  was concreted in.  Fortunately I had some professional assistants.

For now that's all I got.  No school tomorrow so maybe I'll be able to sleep in???  Not very likely.  I'll get too hungry by 6:30 am!

(swim 1500 metres, run 7.3kms)


"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint."---Mark Twain

...and I like this one...

"Be careful what you pretend to be because you are what you pretend to be."---Kurt Vonnegut

Love

Peter

"It's All Mental"

So after quietly listening to me whine for a month Old John pops his head out of the weeds just long enough to tell me that it's all in my head!  That may offend a lesser man but I have been abused by 3 older sisters all my life, and as such the peanut gallery stuff from a little brother, wise as he may be, is nothing more than water off the proverbial ducks back.

Besides, I happen to agree with him.  It's all mental!  While environmental conditions that effect the body are certainly  a consideration, the fact remains that the body is not the decision maker.  You may find it interesting that Doctor Jays last comment to me after my final hyperbaric visit was a reference to my personality, and had I considered that my problems were perhaps associated with the stress of travelling,  and the anxiety I felt wasting away in his giant test tube??  While I'm still pretty sure that there is, or was something more afoot, I can still decide how to cope with whatever it is.  It's all mental!

So for better or for worse I will put my best foot forward and get on with this.  I feel like I've basically lost 6 weeks of training but it is certainly not too late to recover.  That's if I'm strong enough mentally anyway.
I got a good start today with an effort in each discipline.  It is just so cool to have the time required.

Also today the mail lady brought me a little present to get me off on the right foot...pun intended.

Are they not freaking beautiful??  They are my new race shoes.  Bought em off e-bay after I couldn't buy them locally, and ended up saving 60 bucks, which more than made up for the wait.

(swim 1500 metres, ride 34 kms, run 7.3kms, weights)

"A desire to be in charge of our own lives, a need for control, is born in each of us. It is essential to our mental health, and our success, that we take control."---Robert Bennett

"Mental toughness is to physical as four is to one."---Bobby Knight

Love

Peter

"Free At Last"

Free at last! Free at last! Thank God in heaven, free at last.

While my little bit of freedom barely compares to the freedom of an entire race that MLK was talking about, today is still an important little moment in my life. Perhaps it was a good thing that I got fired right in the middle of this treatment schedule as it has heightened the anticipation even more. Tomorrow morning I will wake up and when I do my very first priority will be what kind of a workout I will do, as it will be each and every day after that. Once that has been determined I will fit the rest of my life around it. I have a million things that I need/want to do around here, and another million that Roo needs/wants me to do, but the beauty of it is that almost all of them can conform to my schedule. Of course there will be a little grandchildren stuff that will require some kind of commitment, but as you are aware that does not cause me much pain. 

I truly feel so incredibly lucky, and yet at the same time I am beginning to accept the idea that maybe I deserve it. I'm sure that many people looking at me from a distance may think I have had it all my way, but I'm comfortable that I've sweat enough sweat, and shed enough tears, to justify the freedom that this day has brought me.

When I got home I celebrated by eating 5 chocolate chunk cookies and drank 2 cups of coffee, for a total of 750 calories and 30 grams of fat! Unbelievable eh! One must be eternally vigilant.

I received a little keepsake form my friends at Hamilton General. I have to give them credit for trying to be thrifty about spending our tax dollars. Everyone gets their own little cubby there in which they store your, sheets, your gown, your mask, and your 2 bottles (drink and pee). This of course saves bucks on laundry etc. So here's my keepsake.



Of course while they save a couple of hundred dollars in detergent they make up for it by operating the chamber with it's expensive equipment and expensive space, for 6 hours of the freakin day! I waited for 6 months to get into this thing and with 2 tubes they can still only provide service to one new patient per week. Now they are talking about closing the unit because they lose money operating it. No shit!

Anyway, that's all the criticism I have of anyone or anything today. As Roos favourite bit of writing says, "with all it sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world". Game on!

No workout again today other than the cross training associated with eating the cookies.

Normally I let the quotes I find speak for themselves but this one I found so brilliant that I needed to tell you how it struck me.

"You have freedom when you're easy in your harness."---Robert Frost

I read this as meaning that freedom does not mean idleness. There is work to do, and we all have a responsibility to contribute. But if you're 'easy in your harness', you have probably chosen your own work, and you are content in doing it....that to mean is freedom.

Love
Peter

"Free Radicals"

"Sounds like a hippy band from the sixties!

It's also a scientific term for any molecule, or atom that has one or more unpaired electrons.  In biology free radicals serve many purposes but they can also be potentially harmful if they are too plentiful.   Apparently some of the muscle soreness you experience when working out is due to these free radicals.  That also is one of the reasons you hear so much about antioxidants, as they fight the negative effects of the free radicals.

Hyperbaric therapy is believed to cause an increase in oxygen centred free radicals. When I asked the doctor about this he conceded that that was probably the case, and went on to say that that's why they recommend you take a vitamin E supplement (an antioxidant) during the treatment.  What?  No one recommended as much to me!  Oh! Was all he said.

Anyway, he went on to say that despite the fact that HBOT may indeed impact the amount of free radicals in my body, that if I had anywhere near a normal diet, they should easily be offset.  He did acknowledge that every individual is unique and that while it would be quite a stretch that "maybe" it could be a factor in my case....but he doesn't think so!

He's also a pretty funny guy, or at least he thinks he is.  He knows that I never watch television and that out of sheer boredom I had broke down the last couple of weeks while in the chamber.  I always watch the discovery channel and there are some pretty stupid shows on there.  Part way through my treatment he picked up the phone and with a serious face said, "Do you suppose that there is any correlation with the crap you've been watching on TV and your reduced endurance."  Wise ass!!

We joked afterwards that the only way I could prove that it was his chamber and not the television that was causing my problems would be for me to continue to watch 2 hours of bad television shows every day, even after my treatments.   I think not!!

Anyway, the free radical thing is my latest theory and I'm gonna wishful think it into reality.  Tomorrow morning I see my family doctor to get his thoughts, and right after that I make my last trip  to Hamilton.

I will continue to do nothing again today and tomorrow, and return to action Wednesday.  I will try to ease back into it and for some reason I am confident it will go well.  It will be like a new start, and this time with plenty of time on my hands.  I will still go to the gym tonite just to sit in the hot tub and stretch.  I intend on making that a regular part of my routine going forward as well.

Wish me luck my friends!  Game on!

"I am trying to do two things: dare to be a radical and not a fool, which is a matter of no small difficulty."---James Garfield

"I never dared to be radical when young for fear it would make me conservative when old."---Robert Frost

Love
Peter

"Tired"

I spent almost an hour in the hot tub at the gym yesterday, just stretching and recovering from my run. Because of that my legs were not as sore today as after my recent long runs. The fatigue however is just as bad. I got out on my bike for a while but it was cold and damp and my effort was pretty weak. Tomorrow will be another day.

(ride 34 kms)


"Our fatigue is often caused not by work, but by worry, frustration and resentment."---Dale Carnegie

"Fatigue makes cowards of us all."---Vince Lombardi
Love

Peter