Twofer

Sorta. Did an hour run today. i had built up something like raw dread at the prospect of getting back into the run and bike; but it really didn't go badly. Hit all my time checkpoints (in spite of hitting a fresh red light at the major intersection both ways) and still broke an hour. Then i went in to the irongym for a back workout, but i only got in p'lups 'fore i had to call it a day. i honestly wasn't too inspired to do deads, 'cuz my hamstrings and low back are still sorta inexplicably torn down from last week. But i went higher on the p'lups. Clipped off two clean with 100, then did 3 more negatives. Then i put 115 on the chain just to see. Can't say i locked that one out, but i did scream like a wounded animal and got my teeth above the bar. Followed that with 3 more negatives. That's good times, that is. i wanted to climb today before i did back work, but i couldn't justify sneaking away for that long. But since i didn't hit it too hard today, maybe i can pull off a project or two before we take off y'allward. No ice cream/sugary crap today. No ETOH. i'm starting to feel better again.

Swim

Got in an ok swim today. 300wu/ 200 drill sets/ 1,000 straight/ 200 kick sets/ 150 cd. Definitely lost some fitness somewhere along the way. And i haven't felt very well the last few days. Maybe it's just sleep. It was freezing here today, so i wasn't inspired to run or ride. Got to do that soon.

Hangin' with tha progeny

Well, Annie and i got in for a sesh. She did really well for not having clumb in so long. i felt fairly decrepit for most of it. So much so, in fact, that at first i thought something must be wrong with me--must be sick or something. Odd, 'cuz i onsighted a couple of new v3s. But then i got on a hard 4 i'd done before, and couldn't do the first several moves that i usually race through to get to the hard bit. But then i started climbing with some other people and i revved up. That usually helps. i did end up re-sending that 4, and i worked all the moves out on another one that's had me stumped for a few days. But i felt especially fat and sluggish. i love climbing with Annie, and i think she could be really good one day, but she definitely ain't a workout partner yet. At one point, i was literally splayed out spread-eagle between a nearly unusable sloper in my right hand, and a toe-hook with my left foot on an overhanging v6, and she walks right up behind me and starts prattling about going downstairs. i fell on the next move and she was already walking off, and i just had to laugh and massage my forehead. Good times. Ended up being a pretty ok session (i tore my li'l nubbins down for a hard workout), and i'm perfectly willing to attribute the sluggishness to the nearly-global soreness from the irongym. But i gotta break the ice and get back out running again. i'm getting obese.

elderly today

Got in for a chest session today. Again, i kept it kinda thin on the number of workouts; but it really didn't go that badly for having not gotten in for it in three or so weeks. Oddly, the most demotivating bit of the workout was my hamstring, which i wasn't working at all. Did a reeeeeally long warmup which made things go more smoothly for my wee shoulders. i could tell my endurance was way down, but power-wise i felt fairly snappy. Just did incline dumbbells, weighted leg raises, and dips. i'm probably going to be sore tomorrow anyway. Gotta get back on the bike and run soon, and it's looking very much like it's going to snow tonight. Gotta find some motivation. Hands are feeling better, so i might try climbing tomorrow. i need to get Annie back in the gym anyway.

Hamstrung

Right. i don't think--in retrospect--that i tweaked my hamstring, so much as i nearly ruptured it. Steph and i had the day off yesterday (compliments of her very nice parents), and we got a family membership at the climbgym again; so we clumb. Not a good day of climbing (although it's nice to have the fam back on the memebership). i got on a toprope route, and threw this big, obligatory heel-hook, and nearly screamed like a li'l girl. Feels better today, at any rate. went swimming today for the first time in two or three weeks. It's amazing how many little accessory muscles one uses to swim, and fast those things get deconditioned and out of sync. i think i just don't realize how much it poisons me to dip and drink when i'm not training. we made ourselves a deal that we'd get the family membership at the gym as long as we don't drink during the week (we'll easily have the money that way). So we played rummikub and had tea last night, and i think it was the first really good night of sleep i've had in nearly a month. And what's funniest is that this surprises me--like i don't know that's what's going to happen. i'm seriously thinking about going back on that Green Faces thing, to cut the toxic crap out again. Seems silly that i have to be on some special diet to have any self-control, but that appears to be how i roll. (Plus it gives me an m.o. around which to tell friendly folks to nip off and eat their own damn fudge cake.) Plannin' on getting in to work chest this afternoon. Slowly but surely, i'm getting back into it. i'm quite thankful that i'm not as far out of shape this time as i was the last time i woke up.

Oh, and hey: there's a competition at the amarillo climbing gym on the 8th of January! Any takers?

El Dia del Detoxio

Sprinkled the can o' Skoal o'er m' lawn couple o' days ago. It's a start.

Worked back yesterday. i didn't exactly improve for having taken the time off. Not that a couple weeks off was uncalled for; but the particularly slothful, damaging way in which i took them was no so bueno. At any rate, i did clip off 3 pullups with 90 on the chain. Plus i started with a warmup set of 25, just to see how many i could still do in my plump, elderly state. Then i did 3 sets of 4 with 100, wherein i did the first 'un clean; then cheated up for negs. But on that 3rd set i didn't really get the first one clean. i was torn down.

It was deads where i really felt the wasting. i think i got up to a set with 235, but i tweaked my hamstring pulling too fast the set before. So i quit, 'cuz it was buggin' me bad on the last set. Funny thing is how sore my back is today anyway. Rest of the workout went fine enough, but i didn't show up for deads. And i gotta start triathlonning again...it's so dang easy to get outta shape. i'm not too worried 'bout it now, but i just know how easy it is to let a month go by, and there i'm totally deconditioned.

Ebb

Weeks like this are just carcinogenic. Wrote a 16 pager in 11 pt. over the weekend. i have ne'er waded through so much biochem jargon before. That sucked. And he made 'er due on the first day of finals, just 'cuz ...i'm going with "failure to synapse." Then we had two finals on monday for no discernible reason. (Ok, the staff decided to have a christmas party on tues. Instead of monday.) So i got to stay up till nearly 4 studying for those. Then till nearly 2 last night. i did climb yesterday. went to study and piddle on some easy stuff. Ended up miraculously sending a v5 project, and a "4" that'd spit me off a few thousand times. It was not a 4 the way i did it, but it went. Studying at the gym was such an amazingly brilliant idea, that i decided to do it again today. Today was decidedly grimmer. i took the harness in with me, 'cuz i was done brokedown. Got some toproping in on the autobelays. Bad climbing; but good times, notwithstanding. (i think you should get you an autobelay in that barn o' yours.) i tried this one thing a few times, nearly flashed it, but the tape on my fingers kept slipping on holds. so i dropped and de-taped. Then i managed to get my fingers stuck in a shallow two-finger pocket. Tried to dyno up to another hold, and i torqued the @#$& outta my ring finger. i believe it was because it was nearly healed. Anyway...still a fun climb.

Less than 19 hours and i can (hopefully) get back on the wagon. i feel like poisoned hammered crap. Lookin' way forward to some time off.

Thumb-hookin'

Facing the possibility of having to tape my hand into a sort of mittened hook, what with my four favorite fingers damaged on the left hand, i opted instead to tape the most recently damaged, and one other randomly-chosen finger. Warmed up on a quiver of 2s, then went and sent my li'l v5 proj (second try). Then i got a 3 i'd done before (although i tossed off of it several times today). Then i got a 2. Then i got a 1. Then i quit since the 1 felt kinda hard. i've got a test tomorrow, and i just didn't feel like demotivating myself with chest work. Still got three or so projects i owe some smackdown to. But they deserve a fresher, healeder opponent.

Eight mo' days 'til freedom...