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Monthly Archives: January 2009
Karate 83
We began the class with a warm-up as usual then did kata. We did our new kata, Pinan Sandan, a few times. The second half I had to sit out because it was all about sparring and I wasn’t quite ready to risk delaying my healing period; besides which it began acting up again. I can do some things no problem, other things I can do a little of before it gets too sore, and other things I still can’t do at all. I have to say I’m not happy about it. Not only is it downright embarrassing to have to draw attention to it every time I choose to sit out, but I really don’t like sitting out. I love to spar and can’t get enough of it. Oh well. At least it is much better today. There is a tournament in 2 weeks and I will be entering … Continue reading
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Run 11, 2009
I am looking forward to my 11th run of the year today. According to my marathon training schedule it is supposed to be a 10 km run like this: 3 km easy followed back to back with 5 km at 7:00/km followed by 2 km easy. “Easy” is undefined, so I have to assume it means slower than my slowest listed training pace in that marathon plan. I’m good with that. The weather seems to be overcast and warm, maybe even raining a bit. I know it rained quite a bit yesterday. Well I finished the run as per the schedule. A strange yet familiar dog (BIG dog!!!) joined me. Strange because I don’t know where he lives or who he belongs to, but familiar because he has run with me before. I have not seen this dog in a very long time however. He ran with me in heel … Continue reading
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Like running, therapy takes a lot of work…
Nothing is easy when problems crop up, new and old. Recent comments on Facebook have reminded me of my own struggle while I was growing up that eventually required professional help. As a young and very insecure boy, I viewed my father as a frightening stranger who more often than not was either drunk, or at least had alcohol on his breath. My father was a tough guy, in the army, and had fought in World War II. Eventually he was forced out of the army in his mid-thirties (I’m estimating the times here) because he came down with muscular dystrophy. At that point, he mellowed out quite a lot and became a wonderful man who I regret not having a closer relationship with. (I had moved out west from our home in Niagara Falls, Ontario after my own stint in the army lasting just a year and a half). … Continue reading
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Run 10, 2009
I really feel like crap today. My knees are acting up in a bad way, and I generally feel like a waste of human skin. Nevertheless, I am experienced enough to know that the way I feel is temporary. I am angry and upset that my left knee wants to pop, crack, and swell up. And my right feels like someone surgically implanted a porcupine into the knee joint. The knee suddenly starts to swell, then the pain really starts. It’s like a feedback loop. If I stop and stretch it out, the swelling is arrested and disappears, but if I don’t it feeds on itself and threatens to get worse. Warming up my knees a lot (with heat) allowed me to put in today’s indoor intervals, the first of my marathon training plan. I did a warm up first. Then my schedule was to run 2 laps, then rest … Continue reading
Posted in Training Notes, Training Runs
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Karate 82
In my first class since the grading I learned a new kata called Pinan Sandan. It is an easy one to remember, but of course it will take a long time before I can actually do it properly. I still had to curtail my enthusiasm because my chest muscles still hurt too much from the cracked rib. I’m kind of getting fed up with it. I hope the last of the pain will be gone soon. Seriously I think it will be another two weeks before I can do push-ups and certain core exercises and arm movements again. Some things I can do, others I can’t do without stopping short to curtail the pain. Like a middle block I can do with my left arm, but with a punch I can’t do much more than extend my arm out in a semblance of a punch. Time will heal everything. By … Continue reading
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Run 9, 2009
It was not a great start to my marathon training as I failed to finish because the weather gods were angry. I had no problem with maintaining my pace on the way into Devon, but on the way back, around the 11 km mark I ran into a nasty wind that slammed into me and practically froze me in place. My muscles began seizing up with the wind chill, my chest was sore from trying to breath into that icy wind and my cracked rib was not at all happy with the extra breathing effort as I tried to maintain the pace. My PowerAde, which was about 2/3 full, froze into a thick slurry. I had to call in the extraction team. I had had enough. The extraction team, consisting of Marilyn, proceeded to make me some hot chocolate. No one knows how to pamper like she does. So this … Continue reading
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Run 8, 2009
I was not sure I could do it today because of the events of the past week, but I decided to try anyway, and in spite of the difficulty I managed to run the entire 7 km in 42:26 for a 6:04 pace. That is really encouraging to me after years of less startling results. Of course, the indoor track is very easy and forgiving to run on. It is a relatively short track, something like 235 meters, so I had to run around it 31 times to make the full 7 km. It is cushy on the feet and of course, totally flat. After that MM and I hit the pool as usual. My next run is 12 km on Friday. It is my last run before I start my marathon training on Sunday. Yes, Sunday is my first training run and will be 21 km at an 8 … Continue reading
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