Start of a Dry Spell

XXXXXXX  Couldn't resist getting out on the kayak for a nice paddle and opportunity for a little fishing. Got what felt like a good workout, but since kayaking was an existing activity and especially since I have done alot less of it this year, I just can't count it toward my new resolution. No, I didn't get out for a run so another "X" is what I get for the day.

Evening Walk

Decided to make it an evening workout. Once at the wetlands, I realized that I was starting out a bit late and the light was quickly going out. I set the quickest walking pace I could handle. I could feel muscles working that I hadn't really noticed before. I guess walking should not be under estimated as a form of exercise especially when it is approached aggressively. My pace kept my heart at an average of 144 BPM. I walked straight for 54 minutes. By the time I was on the final leg, it was so dark I could barely see where I was going or what was ahead of me, and this was with a big full moon.

There were lots of little creatures running around me, mostly rabbits and birds according to the night vision shots I got off the other camera I was carrying.

An otherwise uneventful morning except that the run seems to generate its own good feelings. It's like taking some kind of medicine for promoting a positive outlook. If I didn't do the run, I would probably be in a down mood. But no, things are great and I don't know why. Maybe it is the scenery.

Routine

Things are beginning to blend. I should start thinking about finding an alternate course. Although I am curious to see how things change on a day to day basis.

Late

This was a day designed to get me off track. For some reason, I did not want to get out of bed. I wasn't sleepy but soon it was 4:30 AM and I just was deciding to defeat myself. Finally I pushed myself up. I thought to myself, "I better just get ready for work and skip the run since I am running late". From somewhere some kind of guidance kicked in and made me go run regardless. Once out there, everything seemed right. Its nice to discover something so comforting. While running along the eroded sand bank, the wash from a wave came up and over. Suddenly I found myself moving faster than I knew I could. I felt like a little kid running. It was a great slice of life.

Anxious

I was anxious to get out today and resume what I started. Walked/ran for 38 minutes. The cold air burned my throat. My heart behaved again a bit better.

Work

XXXXXX Needed to start work early this morning. Figured I'd finish late as well. I tried to fit in some constant motion time but only got about 15 minutes which qualifies as a missed day.

Changed Plans

XXXXX
Had the day planned to include a walk/run hike at the wetlands but those plans changed for an opportunity to spend some time with the family. For more of these opportunities is one reason I have opted to attempt to put myself in better physical condition.

Cool Morning

It is colder in my apartment than it is outside. The temperature reads 51 degrees F. It is at least 54 degrees F outside. What's funny is it never seems to warm up except in the summer when it easily reaches over 100 degrees inside.

Headed out to the usual spot but the stupid parking meters were not working and they have posted that it is illegal to park at a non-functioning meter. I dropped $1.25 into two different meters before I caught on -- none of them were working. So I headed over to the self pay parking lot only to find that they only take quarters and bigger. Well I only had three quarters left after sticking the rest in the parking meters. Now this is just not a good start to my morning as I was feeling extreme frustration. I gave up and went to hope for a spot at the free parking lot by the Jack. Finally my luck turns as a car pulls out right in front of me. The surf was pretty interesting. I decided to go the opposite direction of last weekend and headed to Sunset. 72 minutes of 120-159 BPM walk/running. The surf and runoff is making some interesting erosion patterns on the beach.

The Sound of the Storm

Well, I must admit, I heard the wind blowing and the rain pouring and I just smiled and stayed in bed. It was quite enjoyable. It felt kind of like that feeling I had when I ditched school when I was a kid.

But not wanting to lose too much of the conditioning I am starting to gain, I got myself up in time to run my indoor constant motion routine. In after thought, the day feels like somewhat of a waste. I would have felt like I really accomplished something if I had gone out. But then again, I have a feeling I will have plenty more opportunities to conquer myself. I avoided an "X" by doing the indoor routine.

Can't Remember

XXXX
I really can't remember what happened today. I am fairly certain that I did not run. I know I went to work and I know I watched the second half of the Lakers game. But that is about all I remember. So, I'll chalk this one up to mystery.

In the Eye of the Storm

After yesterday's lashing, more is expected today. But probably a little later in the morning because I could only here a gentle sprinkling when I awoke. So off I headed. 42 minutes later I was done. This run made me feel really happy. It is amazing what those endorphins do for you when you get the blood flowing.

Even though I seem to be getting more fit already, I still feel there is a good chance that each day will be my last. I have that feeling that I am in that group of people that die suddenly. Oh well, maybe not.

We're supposed to get hit with another storm front early in the morning. I wonder if I will get enough of a break to make a run for it.

Tornado

XXX
Had an early appointment this morning so decided not to do the run. We had some almost authentic weather here in HB. Rained like crazy and the news posted this photo of a tornado in Huntington Beach. They say it picked up a 40' catamaran and dropped it on another boat.

This photo was posted by the LA Times and labeled as Huntington Beach. However, after studying it throughly, and looking for reports from other sources, I am thinking that this might be a file photo. Though there are neighborhoods that resemble that in Huntington Beach, especially in the vicinity of the reported tornado, I think there is a possibility that it may be from Florida or somewhere like that? I mean, a photo like that would have been on the local TV news.

Windy Rainy

I realize this is comedy to people who run in truly cold regions. I've read the blogs of people going out in the weather cold enough to make popsicles of your lungs. But relatively speaking, this was a cold windy rainy morning. I saw only one other person out. I really was wondering what I was doing out. As I picked up the pace hoping my body would start heating up, all I could feel was the burning cold as I inhaled and that cold wet wind that was working its way around my collar and down my jacket.

Well I just decided to push on for 15 minutes then head back. It seemed like the time froze at 13 minutes. I swear those last two minutes represented the furthest I have ever gone in two minutes. Okay, at least the neck/shoulder muscle seemed to be warming up.

Yep, made it back to the car and the parking meter confirmed it was an exactly 30 minute run. I am going to consider that a great success.

Before the Storm

My plan was to take the kayak out for a spin with the heart rate monitor strapped on to see how much cardio work I am really getting. The tide also looked good for a little bit of harbor fishing. However, toweling off my hair after my shower caused a muscle spasm in my shoulder/neck area. It just pulled and I could not stop it. It just felt like it was going to tighten up to the point of tearing. I immediately grabbed my massager that looks like a big gaff and applied pressure. This helped to relax the muscle but after a few minutes it would start to spasm again. This went on for three hours. I was not going to be able to load the kayak much less paddle it so that plan was off.

The muscle was threatening to keep me from doing anything at all today so I finally decided to show it who is boss. I got in the car and though I had trouble looking side to side for traffic, I eventually made my way out to Starbucks then the Wetlands.

I'm glad I did. I walked at as fast a pace as I could. I manually took my pulse a few times and it was in the 120-135 range depending on the particular stretch of terrain. I took the long route and completed the circuit in 65 minutes. That was pretty good considering I almost gave in to laying on the couch all day.

The rain is supposed to be on the way. It did drizzle while I was out but this did not seem to have an effect on all of the people that were out photographing the birds and walking around.

Beach

Saturday brought the opportunity to walk/run a different section of beach. I miscalculated and thought I was out for 40 minutes but it turns out that it was only 35 minutes. It really seemed longer. It was a great morning out. It is interesting how short the beach seems during the winter combined with a high tide. The waves also cut a nice cliff into the sand. I jogged most of the way out and walked most of the way back guided by my heart rate monitor. I just don't feel I'm making many gains by trying to stay in the 120-135 BPM range. My outlook and state of mind are definitely better since I started this routine. I don't stress as much over work and I am sleeping less but much more solidly.

Lost Day 2

XX
As anticipated, the demands of the day meant this would be a forced day off. Once again, it is probably better than worse as I don't feel that pain that started to develop in my hip region.

I have decided that I will mark each missed day with a cumulative red "X" at the beginning of the post so that I can see at a glance how many days like this I have and at what frequency they will occur.

2 Week Anniversary!

Yeah, I know, "Anniversary" would refer to an annual celebration. But, I feel like making it refer to a two week period of time. This is cause for self satisfaction that I have set a routine and maintained it in the face of circumstances that would prefer to deter me. Right now it is looking like I will need to go in to work early and miss the morning run. I will just have to make it up after somehow.

Today's run was 35 minutes. The heart rate never seems to go over 160 BPM now. So I believe that I am already getting accustomed to these short outtings. I will need considerably more work however.

I noticed my first real pain today. It seemed to be a hip pain. It surfaced while I was on my way back. I'm not sure but I believe it is the sort of pain that comes from the muscles or tendons rubbing over the bone more then they are accustomed to.

Not My Imagination

Yesterday was a bit foggy and this morning it was a bit drizzly. The tide was high and the surf was pretty mixed up. Though it was tempting to stay nice and warm in bed, I was rewarded for going out this morning. There seemed to be a bit of excitement in the air. It's like things were stirred up just a bit. My run today was quite easy. I had to hold myself back. My heartrate is starting to get better versus the amount of effort I put out. I am way off of even 5K shape but maybe I can make it by February 7 for my first targeted event. I easily got in 35 minutes and the heart rate monitor did allow me to run a good part of the way.

Oh, and, Gazelle Girl? She's real. I began to think I must have imagined her. But, no, she is real. And, yes, she does have the power to energize with a glance. I wonder if she knows she has that power.

Foggy

This morning was a bit foggy. Not to bad, but combined with the dark does give a different perspective. The tide was high so I had to walk/run in the softer sand which really requires considerably more horsepower. I also tried to keep my heart rate in a lower range. So, for the most part, this was a walk with only a very few short jogs thrown in to make myself feel better. I just do not feel that this is enough of a workout or enough exercise despite what the heart monitor says. I tried to maintain a 134 BPM pace. In theory I should be only working out at  120 BPM. If I did that, I could just stay in bed.

I did not get the run in last night that I was contemplating. Got out of work too late.

Lots To Do

This morning I need to get an earlier start so I am forgoing the beach or park run. I instead did the indoor aerobic routine for thirty minutes. This time I took care to keep my pulse in the 120-135 BPM range with the majority of time in the 122-128 BPM range. I had two brief peaks into the 143 BPM but this was when doing squats. I don't like doing this as much as the run but I must admit the range of motion is much better. I am thinking that this should not be a substitute for the run but an addition to it. Hmmm. How to fit this all in? I guess we all have plenty of TV and couch time that we don't really account for. I could do this while watching the Laker games. I am going to think about getting a run in tonight.

Wetlands

Decided to give myself a break and got up a little later at 5:30 AM. Considered going kayaking, in fact was about to depart and then decided I had too much to do. Besides, at this early time, I felt it was important to keep my routine going especially after I discovered that it is much more pleasant to go running outdoors than to do the substitute indoor aerobic routine. Stuck to my routine of boring oatmeal with cinnamon and coffee. Of course I love the coffee.


So I took to the trail at the wetlands. I started at 8:23 AM and finished up at 9:38 AM. I made it a combo walk/run and used the heart rate monitor as my guide. I kept my heart rate between 120 and 154 with only a couple of peaks into the 164 range. This seemed so easy yet the rule of thumb, 220 - AGE = 172 * 70% means I should only be exercising in the 120 BPM range. So, even on my easy days, it seems I am in danger of dropping dead. Oh well, like I said before, this will either get me in shape or it will kill me.

80% of the people encountered on this trail were happy to acknowledge and greet me when we passed. This might be due to the time of day I was out.

I saw a coyote searching the fields, a seagull pecking at a fair sized yellowfin croaker, a few egrets, a few herons and quite a mix of ducks. I didn't see any fish swimming. Often times, you can see large schools of fish at the flood gates with an occasional very large fish swimming up from the bottom. The schools are usually smelt, yellowfin croaker, sargo, spotfin croaker and often you will see packs of mullet. Also at certain times I have seen many stingrays and sometimes smooth greyhound sharks. The really large fish that come up every now and then must be either stripers or white seabass. They are about 3' long. Now I know mullet get this size, the particular fish I am referring to are not mullet.

New Approach

I thought about all of my past experiences with running. From my junior high school days on. I can distinctly remember that Friday would always be the end of the running routine and Monday it would start back up again. I always remember that Monday was relatively tougher than any other day. It was like I was off for two weeks. I thought it was good to have days of rest and recovery. But my actual experience seems to indicate otherwise. So, I decided that I was going to get out there and keep the string going.

Headed out to the park. This place is considerably less friendly than other places. I think I must look more like a bum than a person trying to get in shape. Many people will not acknowledge whatsoever. Of course those that do, must be friendly by nature because they greeted me with a smile and happy "good morning!". Others seem afraid. That makes me afraid. I'm afraid that they are afraid of me thinking I might be someone that wants to cause harm or something. That is an uneasy feeling. I would estimate that I was totally ignored by 60% of the people I directly passed (close enough to shake hands). Of course, that park trail does has some blind curves where you can not see who is approaching until they are real close to you. So, I decided not to take this personally.

I ran for 45 minutes. I thought about that gazelle.

Back on Track

Yeah, I felt quite good this morning, no doubt due to my success on a potential bad day yesterday. The boring oatmeal didn't seem quite as boring and I was loving every sip of my coffee. I really hate stretching but I have found that I can get myself through some basic stretches while I am having my breakfast. My body felt more neutral than yesterday. This was a success to me because I felt like I made it over the late week hump. I felt a bit renewed and this was Friday. I expected that I would be dragging by Friday.
Once again, I made it out five minutes earlier than the day before. I ran for forty minutes. This time I wasn't pushing it, relatively speaking, as no matter how long I ran, my heartrate seemed content to run at about 164 BPM. Now I know this is still dangerously high, at least it is stabilizing.

I saw a decent sized barred perch washed up on shore. The body looked fresh and unmarked. However it was decapitated. I was surprised that the seagulls were not pecking at it. I guessed that it must have been the work of a seal or sealion that then got distracted by another fish. I have seen them decapitate fish like that before. It was not gutted, just had its head bitten clean off.

There is now a lot of new activity in the area where I park. It must be lifeguard training or surfing classes. I was a bit distracted but as I approached my car, I felt the presence of that gazelle. Yep, once inside my car I saw her pass by. Her steps seem so effortless.