Tue 27 Jan 26: Wow -- almost closing out January. Eleven more to go --- Knee were a bit stiff today -- guess two days of rest were finally catching up to it -- next two of course will be relative R&R. Lap 1: 4:01 - nothing to see here. Pretty stiff tho, most of any since doing fast and slow laps Lap 2: 3:44 - still nothing of note. Stiffness still causing wobbly tracking but not pain Lap 3: 3:04 - shuffled half that lap; times commensurate. Relatively fast if not quite most-effortless lap Lap 4: 2:37 - jogged entire lap. Noticing my lung capacity is now an upper limit to lap performance, not the knee Lap 5: 2:20 - only 17 secs diff between 4 & 5, despite the 150-ft sprint (and only 5 secs quicker than yesterday). Down to pure exhaustion, methinks -- add'l stiffness in knee didn't seem to hold back progression at first... but lack of it 4 & 5 shows any stored energy were spent in 1 - 3. And as yesterday, they were done w/ attn to staying relaxed. After I'd reported someone stacking a 12-pk of Heinie bottles atop one of the retaining pillars on the top of the parking structure, right over the entrance to the ramps (stop cables go thru them to prevent cars driving off and nosediving 4 stories into asphalt) -- a slight gust of wind would've pushed several of them right thru some old lady's windshield. Took them down, stood them next to a parking stop, and had mgmt alerted to that and add'l shens going on up there (like dog feces left for months). Was cordoned off, stairwells and all -- I don't blame them one bit. People can suck steaming moos c**k, and now they've taken away my fave outside lap area to cooldown after the laps. What's more infuriating... is the same urchin who owns the dog(s) who crap on the parking structure, regularly leaves it in the mall upper level too. Turds on the drains, left to the cleaning staff to deal with -- like it's their f***ing right. Non-pet-responsible pieces of s**t need to take longs walks off short cliffs (w/o the pets, of course)
Wed 28 Jan 26: Knee were meh, but not as sore as yesterday. Tbh, can't remember if I took Mg last night... tho did sleep well which usually results from it. Well today wasn't going to be a push day, so not as crucial... Lap 1: 4:17 - boy these sandals really slow me down, even on the warmup. The ASICS are wider than typical cross-trainers but still compress the muscles between my 1st & 2nd + 3rd & 4th toe metatarsals (dorsal and plantar interosseous muscles), which eventually works itself out w/ endorphins but obvi feet are far more used to sandals, not wearing shoes save spl occasions 16y now. Lap 2: 4:09 - have noticed a sharp delineation between gait in shoes (raised heel ~15mm) and sandals. Obvi harder to step off and land on ball of foot, esp with the bad side. But this means the muscles have to contract net 15mm higher on these rest days... which tbh, isn't much of a rest. Both may eventually compromise towards a middle ground, which is why I'm noodling with the amt of push vs. rest days. Lap 3: 4:00 - am now sweating. Didn't used to sweat this early... but could be due to not having enough stored Mg (same thing happened the other day forgetting it as well). Not a drenched sweat like I'm dying, but the break of one. Lap 4: 4:03 - okay so ~4 mins is basically the warmed-up time for walking-in-sandals laps. Not aiming to get faster, just interesting to see how healing of the knee contributes if anything to the lap times. As of now, a comfy 4 mins (barring any rain or workers mopping slippery tiles in front of me or urchins on their f***ing phones w/ earbuds in not making a hole as I call out 'on your left / on your right')... Lap 5: 3:57 - QED --- The mgmt's opened up the top floor of the parking structure again -- apparently after some of the 'guards' there got a dressing down by Aunty Office Lady to stop seeing stuff on their little golf cart rounds and doing / saying 0 about it. The chicken leg left up there by some ne'er-do-good several weeks ago? Still there bleaching in the goddamned sun... so not all that confident the advice hasn't already exited their far-side torn-up ears
Thu 29 Jan 26: Huh. Odd day on the workout... Woke after having fallen asleep with my laptop still with me (usually place it on the nightstand before drifting off)... but think that were due to a quite intense 2-hr session y'dy. Think were ~0300... did what I should've done, and returned to slumber for another 2 hrs. Woke again 0500, knee felt fine but my energy was a bit lacking -- lack of a full-thru sleep, classic signs. Tried to drift back to rest a tad more, but by then brain has already committed to wakefulness. Lost your window again, Fyooch But whilst knee were noticeably less irritated (even taking into account y'dy was a rest day)... was unusually placid, walking down the flights to the car (which reinforces my observation years now, that my bod doesn't actually prefer 7 - 8 hrs of sleep, but ~6). Energy tho, was the obverse of that: felt less pain but noticeably more effort to do everything. Oddly cognition / short-term memory were pretty good -- which doesn't track logically Oh, and due to drifitng off unexpectedly, forgot again to take the Mg. Normally 'forgetting' to take something tho, it's a tacit sign my mind-body doesn't actually want it. Frustratingly wish it'd confab this w/ Conscious Me; might be able to, I d un no, work together or some sh*t --- Lap 1: 4:34 - oh yeah, reflects my energy level. Client wasn't the classic energy vampire some clients can be... but they did have massive problems in quite developed muscles, that took a bit of work to suss out Lap 2: 4:18 - by now I know this knee isn't the reason it feels so slow around this lap. Yes it hurts, but I've been almost 20 secs faster which/ no pain at all by 2nd lap. No fuel from lack of sleep; body is trying to live life with a construction site still full of cranes and builders and trucks strewn about it Lap 3: 4:07 - boy am just plodding around. Doesn't feel the usual exhilaration of knee and legs muscles warming and loosening; still feels like I'm pushing thru something. Times are dropping so knee and muscles are actually warming... but sensation of such lags, annoying Lap 4: 4:19 - yep. Something in the damaged knee's acting up... but am also feeling the L knee getting sore too. May have to change the interval schedule if this keeps up into push days Lap 5: 4:20 - and there you have it. Not supposed to push but rather alarmed at the symmetrical trend of the times: never done that before. Guess I need to actually take that Mg, durr --- Re: Lap 1: After working y'dy's client, hands and blade-side of wrists felt that flu-like sensation -- which means the work released gobs of toxic debris and other pasty-waste stuff from their muscles into surrounding circulation, some exiting thru the local skin. Mind you had on gloves doing their work, thus why I felt it in wrists; they were unprotected from this nasty stuff, and effects made it into the hands, not the other way around. One's hands are everything to a bodyworker. And my superpower in particular, is being able to feel structures and textures of the layers of skin and connective tissue, all the way to the bone. Can discern small nerves esp and treat them w/ minimal pain and manipulation elsewhere... which reduces inflammatory response and damage to smaller structures which can impede recovery. But when you release a problem in the tissues from a client, it's not a benign phenomenon -- measures must be taken to protect the prac from absorbing several things the client releases with this work. Fail in this, and truly weird sh*t begins to happen to you. Well, need to make a sign on a goddamned piece of paper... and God willing if I see it before I fall asleep tonight, will take that Mg. One day was enough shens. Two days? Had enough of FAFO
Fri 30 Jan 26: I swear (and you know I do )... some days feel like there's a tiny djinn behind my ear, ready and waiting to pierce my bubble -- So did take the Mg in proper dose, at proper time. Thank you Fyooch for your goddamned participation in this knee recovery, looking forward to working with you Knee out of bed felt fine, not the best ever but better than y'dy. Little bit of alignment & felt better, esp down stairs. Bit down on energy but classically misleading w/ me and exertion at this age... Putting on shoes... little kwink-i-dink, saw a video this AM about how WWII combat vets managed not to lose their toes to frostbite during the Battle of the Bulge, one of the coldest winters of the war. Besides grassroots methods of holding in heat and preventing perspiration from leaving thru the boot leather... only lacing from the third eyelet up, reduced compression of the forefoot, allowing circulation to penetrate and prevent frostbite at toes. Love these ASICS running shoes but they're not quite wide enough for my toes to articulate naturally. So tried this -- keeping only the first eyelet (loop) and 4th eyelet under tension whilst tying the shoe. The tension would spread and equalise w/ each step, which meant effectively imitating those Foy infantrymen standing in ice-crusted water in their foxholes for weeks. Let's see if this'll actually work... Didn't get to find out -- rounding the s/f line after Lap 1... what should poke its knobby little head out? My IBS. F*%(&^$% So had to do a restroom break, then continue So combined the distances as well as could be had... but forced to guess at a couple of laps since were incomplete given restroom took extra distance to get to. Ucch, of all times to get the trots (haven't had an attack like this for months, not on the laps)... My guess, with lucidity clearing red mist... is the sudden return of Mg may've irritated my IBS back into being. Continued, regular use will get the body to achieve homeostasis and stop freaking the f*** out.. but may have to bear with tmw as well, just less-so. Great --- Lap 1: 4:07 - got that one at least Lap 2: 3:51 (est'd) - felt good, but defo feel the two-day break Lap 3: 3:30 (est'd) - knee were acting up again -- could be due to the new exercise post-meal and how that factors into knee recovery Lap 4: 3:13 (est'd) - jogging entire lap. Feeling better re: lung capacity but not power Lap 5: 2:18 - finally a clean lap. Not impressive per se but no idea if the estimating was off --- Did 3 full laps outside, knee weren't perfect but did feel spots where would've hurt before (squatting to 60% full) that didn't now. The post-meal 10 mins each of ad hoc gentle exercise, is affecting knee performance more than tonnes of walking and running. Seeing a pattern here: closer to full recovery, the gentler I have to be. So going to chg the intervals after tmw's push day, to 1 push / 1 rest a few days, and see what happens (started w/ all push days iirc and calved some off when sore). Work in progress
Sat, 31 Jan 26: Given there's someone following me w/ zero idea what their intentions may be... will now limit sharing of info what may be sensitive if overshared. Thanks so much for your understanding, the two of you (three apparently) who actually read this journal-like series of entries... -- So. I've recently seen docs for a condition needing a med for, with a heightened risk factor if directions aren't followed to the letter... but this condition it's treating has been haunting me for ages, so am quite chuffed to finally have approval for it. Today was the first day of taking it -- and the s/e list is quite long and alarming. Welp, only one way to find out if I have any of them Sleep were good -- surprisingly good, in fact. Part I'm going to attribute to the post-meal exercise, and part perhaps to this med. What it's treating, logically might be stressing endocrine function so does track with the subjective impression. Drove to the mall, parked, donned my shoes for the 2nd-of-2 push day. Kept the bottom three eyelets on R shoe loose to allow the forefoot and metatarsals to spread during pushoff phase of gait, which stops irritation of the interosseous muscles between them (ached during past shoe'd running, starting off). And during the initial laps, did just what it did y'dy -- not hurt or obstruct gait However, as 4th lap clicked off, did notice something mild. This were a symptom on the s/e list, though had no others. Plodded thru and monitored how I did carrying on... --- Lap 1: 3:51 -- both using shoes + the xtra post-meal exercise, have defo developed add'l strength enough to drop 20 secs from 1st lap. No idea if the energy rise exp'd getting up this morning were the new med, or the exercise Lap 2: 3:42 -- 2nd lap walking only; no increase in list symptom, which were a relief. Did feel a bit winded -- but that's consistent with a mildly toxic med being sussed out by homeostatic processes in the gut / endocrine system. Can't judge how this med will fold into the workout w/ one day's impression Lap 3: 3:11 -- begin shuffling, which became slow jogging by 75% around -- reflected in the jump in split time. Feeling good but not as good as a week ago -- when the knee were perceptibly not as good at doing this. Does epinephrine and endorphin release compensate that much in performance? No idea... not from any hard evidence, anyway Lap 4: 2:38 -- yeah, this time's pretty good. Decided to push from the s/f line just a hair, always deferring to what the knee could do. Pushing over that would be for the last 150ft Lap 5: 2:14 -- well-well. Didn't even sprint 100% to the end due to a bit of 'jog' (get it?) in the joint... but managed to cross with a full sprint maybe the last 30 ft. No that doesn't count as the improvement falls within margin of error (and boy have I pushed that to its limits, forgetting everything ). Good workout --- Must say this: whatever the med is doing... it's improved my ability to concentrate -- even if at the cost of a mild headache. Well Fyooch maybe you haven't actually used your brain correctly since getting this condition, could the h/a be caused by rusty small pipes in your melon taking pressure again? Touché, Fyooch, touché -- coming from a dude whose daily piehole-stuff 1 of 3, were anything from JITB Ultimate Cheeseburgers w/ all-lrg Curly fries and full-sugar 24-oz drinks x 2, to Dbl Bacon Cheeseburgers + Super-Sized (remember those?) all-lrg Fries + Dr. Pepper + lrg Frosty x 2, etc. etc. etc... no notes, no retort. How on earth I'd scrubbed 30y of plaque out of my big pipes from that insane and entirely-true non-diet, in 10y of piety to the altar of Greens & Beans & EVOO/ACV... is a mystery. But those ultrasounds were undeniable evidence it actually happened. So a bit of h/a given that perspective... not too worried about it. More tmw on the rest day
Wash Day, Sun 01 Feb 26: --- Said there'd be a front rolling thru but was actually yesterday, methinks (HI meteorology isn't know for its high precision, esp these days with unforeseen 100-mph-sustained winds that destroyed my hometown in a firestorm). Seemed nice and average for a weekend. Man... winter vs. summer, the one thing making washing and waxing the car such a bother, is water staying on the car. Namely collecting and not evaporating from crevices and gaps -- even after a dedicated 15-mins w/ a mini-blower. Even a drop of water will ruin a buffing pass... and the amt to be policed is so vast now, it kills the Li-ion battery in the mini-blower before finishing the car So had to make due with a couple of large detailing microfibre towels as backup. Why this bears mention, is the process takes about 45 mins longer than in summer... which can aggravate the knee. Was very careful not to buy my green tea today, lest I secretly like piercing migraines whilst nursing joint pain. Made do w/ a caffeine-free tea... which is of course no substitute, meh Didn't do the sills nor interior... but the car's going into the shop in a couple of days, fine with it; will detail it proper when it gets out, hopefully close to what it looked and acted like before a careless driver (and mother of two) bashed it. So far, this new medication has some peculiar effects on me (party of one): slightly different body odour -- not disgusting, but may reflect what the med's doing and how not had a headache since yesterday and none today despite having the non-subsititute tea in the same size twice (jesus, got even worse near the dose hour yesterday, isn't it supposed to be getting better near re-dose? But after waking up, haven't had a headache of any kind, since smacking my face on a tile floor 2y ago in a separate issue) clarity -- things I'd gotten used to forgetting, aren't being forgotten now. Still a couple things slip thru but only under duress (like taking a call driving or similarly trying to multitask) the lack of mainland-days-era ravenous appetite, cultivated over 13y -- now even more suppressed different pallor to my feet -- subtle but on the list of things to watch on this med. Only 2nd day of 30 There's a more subtle, hard-to-explain difference in feeling in resting state, too... well here goes: almost as if the body knows it's being freed of something whilst also being mildly poisoned...? Not entirely accurate but close. Like I imagine chemo would feel like, w/ the gain turned down to 1%. My energy feels a bit clipped... mood, a touch bluer. But the usual cacophony of thoughts buzzing around in an ASD (and possibly comorbid /ADHD) brain, are somewhat softer, fewer. Like how they say you hear deafening silence? Really weird to hear and feel and sit in this lack of internal chatter, which may've shared braincase w/ since aged 6 or 7
Mon, 02 Feb 26: Coupla things: First -- since the med contraindicates caffeine (boy does it)... the tested new drink to replace it... well, isn't working out so well, at least on Day 2. Mostly it's about acidity -- namely organic acidity. Organic acids (like citric) decay tooth enamel far faster than inorganic acids (like sulfuric)... and hibiscus tea, a component of the caffeine-free passion tea alternative, is pretty damned acidic -- enough for a guy who likes Hawaiian dry lemon peel snacks & Vietnamese salt lemon... to judge homemade, not-concentrated-at-all hibiscus tea = way too sour to drink daily. Needs a buffer... Tried w/ a splash of oat milk, which is pretty carb-y and slightly acidic (pH 7.2). Used for stomach upset, so against gut acid at 1.5, seems to work to calm things down. But need something more alkalinising to work against hibe tea @ 3.0. Soy milk may be the answer (hope it doesn't curdle tho). Will give it another week juggling some variables around, and say then whether it stays or goes. May be plain water for a coupla months... yeech 2nd -- the laps: --- Lap 1: 4:40 -- so the inkling something were holding me back, wasn't conjecture: even for warmup that's rather slow. Didn't feel any pain causing such but probably drawing from a smaller reservoir of energy -- even on Lap 1. Great Lap 2: 4:21 -- not a bad progression for L1 - 3, but still more time than most first laps prior to the med Lap 3: 4:11 -- yeah, energy's defo not there. Gonna chalk that up to liver beseiged by the med and whatever it's treating (liver is #1 metabolic organ in the body, providing and facilitating energy availability to muscles of all types, as well as being the blood's filter for toxins and out-of-balance substances). A smaller but defo not harmless call, on lack of caffeine (even the ⅓ - 1/9th vs. brewed coffee green tea contains, does contribute to my state of mind for sure). There's a reason the Chinese've considered it a daily, ubiquitous drink thousands of years, in moderate doses (couple of maybe 3 - 4oz cups per meal x 3, little more for modern Japanese salarymen). Have 30 oz per day, unless I need extra for the odd task. Lap 4: 3:35 -- took part of this lap in the opposite direction, switching over at the 'neck' of the keyhole, to avoid a homeless person who sometimes wanders the upper floor and wobbles all over the bricks, talking to themselves. Since had limited exposure, just cued on how the janitorial staff treat them... if they actively ignore them, pleasantries are probably not a good idea. Not my first rodeo; homeless looking for trouble and getting physical (esp if you were Asian), were rampant in Phoenix in late '90s -- and have phones w/ cameras now. So ignorance is bliss. Nothing disrespectful on my part -- but if they have a hair in the wrong place this codger's not pulling it, ten-foot-pole deployed. Just here to take laps Lap 5: 2:23 -- seriously did not think would make it within seconds of normal final-lap times. But something did occur to me, first 3rd of Lap 4 -- relax. I'd been so wound up monitoring how much less energy I had, were restricting it myself. Relaxing into exertion is a skill first taught me by ultra-marathoners on the table, natch. The more you can let go of your conscious effort in moving, the more your entrained body will take over -- and by golly it worked. Faster by more than a minute, even w/ the lap direction switch extending it by 30 ft. May have to save it for the final lap / sprint like I did... but things that work in the lurch, are always worth keeping, if only adhoc as an equaliser --- Knee felt a bit fragile today, but reminder I'd not done much more than sit driving, stand and bend at the waist for the detailing. So considering all the conflicting factors, didn't do too-too bad. Took my cooldown laps inside, as outside were blowing 30 mph constant 40 - 50 mph gusts -- the front that broke up early last week, ushered in its replacement... and it's apparently a corker. The 'body' of the keyhole's roughly the same distance around as the parking structure -- actually, may end up keeping this as the routine -- just less to worry about (namely, dogshite to step around and smell wafts of, alluded to in prior posts)
Tue, 03 Feb 26: Day to submit the car to the bodyshop. A bodyworker needing body work, not lost on me Well f***... just as I feared. Things were going too smoothly -- Get to the shop on-time, but park around the corner as this place on a street notorious for trucks shooting out of side businesses and cars parked on both sides of the street -- careful, that semi rewards people who actually know where the corners of their vehicle are... glad to be one of them, amongst two generations resigned w/ thrown up hands to bashing into things (which of course, is why I'm in this mess). The head writer at the shop is a sharp one, thank effing God. Explained however, that they wouldn't be able to take the car today. Wait -- have a rental reserved and on its way in 30 mins. Well, the way we do it (explains process that's inside-out from the last shop). Jist: when the parts are in, we'll give you a call to drop the Prius off, maybe mid-March. About filled my shorts hearing that, just as the owner of the rental company pulls up in the doppelgänger Prius. So apologised to him for not needing the rental another month-point-5, but will have to get my deposit back. As a business owner myself, not getting the income from a big job like this, and probably turning away a few potentials who could've kept the coffers topped up... yeah, not cool. Told him to release the Prius and will just take my chances in March -- which felt appropo, done-and-done. Sigh --- Back up a few hours -- interesting laps today. Had time so went for it, 2nd of 2 days anyway before trying the new schedule: Lap 1: 3:59 -- was pushing a teensy-bit from go... but the fatigue from lack of caffeine / med s/e were still very much there. Knee however felt good, if a tiny bit raw. Didn't affect how it performed at this time Lap 2: 3:57 -- this is a pattern on-med / off-caffeine: 1 - 3 have very similar times, much more than hopped up on tea. Concentrating on relaxing here... but whole lap felt a bit meh Lap 3: 3:31 -- 30 secs covering 1 - 3, is defo not the normal progression. However relaxing during 2 & 3 whilst shuffling's paying dividends Lap 4: 3:01 -- more like it. Still feel like I'm needing to push more than usual; guess that's what daily green tea gives you. Slightly exhausting vs. feeling lighter at this point, but obvi going faster. Lap 5: 2:14 -- well-well. Sprint wasn't the slowly-accelerating usual method, and couldn't get the knee to feel safe trying that; didn't have the energy for it anyway. Despite, started earlier (~180 ft) and kept that full-pump kickout nearly the whole stretch -- again, relaxing whilst sprinting obviously has teeth --- Obvi not my best performance nor best-feeling one... but managed to tuck under the wire on 5. Unusual -- and I have to use this med / stay off caffeine probably 2 mos or more... so better get used to it So far, not seeing a whole lot in the physical bod to convince me the med's working; all have been new sensations / old sensations not exp'd since entering mil svc. Nothing -- and I mean, nothing I'd done prior to taking this med, had ever put even a dent into the condition before now -- exhausted every OTC solution and they're all temporary / worthless / both. This is the only one that's relieved feelings I've obvi gotten used to > 35y, and replaced them w/... nothing. Like a student used to listening to speed metal studying, feels the abyss when not allowed... something like that. My mind had gotten so used to some kind of stim from the condition, that in its absence almost elicits a kind of fear -- nothing in its experiential library over 35y to handle this state, and not as good at adaptation as 35y ago, either. Plus my work heightens awareness of processes in the body thru the roof anyway. Sigh... well, onward
Wed 04 Feb 26: Writing this from a doc appt. Nope, a new one Now I see what some.posters have been talking abt re: ads and glacial speed on a phone. How do you lot put up w/ it Well typing this w/ two thumbs is a trip But did get in a workout: --- Lap 1 - 4: ~4 mins -- not surprising at all, back in sandals for Day 1 of 2 rest days Lap 5: 3:41 -- knee was great 1 - 3... almost normal. Also think the body's getting used to med, a few days earlier than expected. Taking a supp to stave off the med's s/es (unrelated to its function). But deteriorated thru last lap; emerged a bit tired - which on a rest day? May be related to prolonged cortisol from 'psyching out' - and even some of the pain as supportive of endorphin release. Actually rather interesting, and never would've known had I not been off-caffeine. Oops, getting called in, tbc...
