Author: oldgote

I enjoy politics, reading, science, running, walking, (racewalking and ultrawalking) hiking, swimming, yoga, weight lifting, cycling and reading. I also follow football (college and pro), basketball (men and women) and baseball (minor league and college)

5K…

I did my first 5K for the year; first one since last October. I can’t say that I enjoy these as much as I did when I could run and when I was faster. Now-a-days I walk and, well, my current walking pace for a 5K is about what my old marathon walk pace was (in 2001), and by no means am I “legal” (I would be disqualified for a “bent knee” violation; in a judged race walk, your supporting leg has to be straight (the leg moving forward is bent).

I did my stretches, drove down, walked just over a mile to warm up (15 minute pace), did the 5K (mild sleet and some wind), walked another mile and went home.

There I did pull ups (the usual 30 reps of crunch singles, then sets of 5, 5, 5, 4, 4, 4 with 2 single penalty reps. Few of those were chin ups.

Downstairs for bench: 5 x 134, then 8 sets of 2 x 170 (2 min rest for first 6 sets, 3 min for the final 2), 2 x 155 pause (exhausted). High incline Swiss bar: 10 x 64, 5 x 95, 2 + 3 x 95, 8 x 84. That was it..I was exhausted.

What is comical is that my race today was all but identical to my 5K in October, even to my having to take a break after mile 2 because I went too fast in mile 2. (I kept moving but slower for a while..did that twice, the second time at 2.7)

My place was (predictably) abysmal: 72 out of 101..but yes, I WAS walking in a running race and yes, I have not trained to walk faster, and it showed.

I cannot do well what I don’t practice; so between now and Steamboat, I’ll have to do some faster paced walking, in bits.

Yesterday, I caught some of the softball game; Bradley started out with a 2-0 lead over Murray State and lost 5-3.

Yesterday, PT and a rather pedestrian walk (5K) I count this as 3.14 miles; I used the distance correction app on Strava.

Kind of stuck

I seem to be at a point where 3 miles is ok (first 2.5-2.9 go very well) but beyond that is painful.

I figured I’d do 2-3 and the Rebecca part was going well enough that I did that for 4 laps then did a final large campus loop. I had some drizzle; wore shorts. Felt the discomfort come on at 2.7-2.8 or so.

Maybe it is the excess weight?

The rest: started with PT, pull ups (10, 10 crunch pull up singles, 5 chin, 5 regular singles, 5 chin, 5 regular) then 6 pull ups, 4 chins, 5 pull ups.

Inside for more PT, 2 sets of 20 push ups then 2 sets of 10 chest tap push ups.

Downstairs: bench: 10 x 134, 10 x 134 pause. dead: 10 x 134, 10 x 190, 10 x 231 (kind of a mess), 2 sets of 10 x 64 high incline (second set was pause), one 7x7x7 set of curls .

The whole thing: 40 minutes or so. Then the walk.

I need to work on my hinge..butt further back rather than up..but with no arch.

March 22

Well, this walk went GREAT for 3 miles ..and the final mile became painful. And I was annoyed that the watch cheated me of .1 miles in the first 5K. BUT..I was ok the rest of the day. Dull glute pain.

I notice that I cannot straighten my knee AND my calves are very, very tight. I have the legs of a skinny person but not the upper body of one.

Muddling along

Today’s workout wasn’t that bad but, I don’t know; today was an “off day” in other ways.
I was able to start just after 6 and finish before 9, so there is that.

  1. Alternating PT and pull ups/chin ups: 2 sets of 10 single crunch, 1 set of 10 singles from the ground, then 8 (be the judge on the last 2), 6 chins, 5 pull ups, 4 chins, 4 pull ups. (57 reps). Also 2 sets of 30 slant push ups (outside) and 2 sets of 10 chest taps
  2. Downstairs for about 40-45 minutes: bench: 5 x 134, 4 sets of 4 x 165, 1 x 185

then high incline: Swiss bar. 2 sets of 10 x 44, 10 x 64, 7 x 94, 6 x 94 (all touching the chest), 3 sets of 10 curls, 1 set of 10 x 134 low trap bar.

3. Now the walk; it went ok..13:37 pace for 5K, then a commuter walk over lunch (1 at 16:25 pace)

National Divorce and other topics

This post at Jerry Coyne’s website got me thinking.

So, what about it? I’ll look at it from a liberal perspective.

Now think about the liberal paradise countries: Norway has about 5 million people, Sweden 10.4 million, and Denmark about 5.9 million.

In comparison, New York City as 8.6 million, Los Angeles 4.0 million. The associated metro areas: 19.8 million, 13 million; Chicago metro area has about 9.5 million.

The point: you really can’t compare the US to these tiny countries ..and maybe the though is that the population of the US would do better if WE were divided into several bite sized countries.

Think about it: our geographic diversity is astonishing. We have hot deserts, tundra, cold, windy plains, both warm and cold coastal areas, mountains, hills, forest areas, grasslands, swamps, rocky areas. Then add cultural diversity into the mix.

But then again, our major divide seems to be rural vs urban; for example, I probably have more in common with Austin, Texas people than I do with downstate Illinois people, or even Peoria people (we are a purple county). But due to its large amount of rural and medium towns, Texas remains a red state. Illinois remains a blue state, in large part due to the Democratic presence in the Chicago area.

The logistics of such a split up are staggering.

So what to do?

For one, it might help to start to acknowledge the truth about “the other.”

I don’t know how many times I’ve seen nonsense like this, confidently spread by someone with a “Doctor” or “Ph. D” in their handle:

“Great majority?”

What a load of nonsense.

Then, when we think about the issues, it wouldn’t hurt to see exactly what the “rank and file” are complaining about.

For example: “drag shows”. This is what they are complaining about:

Yeah, I know; some of the proposed state laws go to far. But should things like the above be a SCHOOL activity? Come on.

But…well, to even admit that “the other” might be right about something, or even have a valid point..or even have a point worth considering…well…that will cost you “friends” on your side, at least online.

The atmosphere is a very toxic “concede nothing” even when “the other” has the facts. And that isn’t helping.

March 20: check in

I am slightly worried about my right shoulder: could be due to increased range of motion on my high incline presses? I might try some Swiss bar next time, with light weight.

Today: PT, deadlifts, walk (no Farmer’s walks today)

The walk: ok from the pain standpoint; it was chilly (30 F when I finished) and windy (what else is new); the course was basically my W. Peoria 5K course with 2 extra Rebecca laps and some campus stuff to get to 4 miles.

Deadlifts: 10 x 134, 10 x 190, 1 x 230 (bailed), 10 x 230 all low.

10 x 270 4 inch, 7 x 300 8 inch. Some non-radiating glute twinge at the end (deep in the muscle). Did not affect the walk.

Icicles in the beard day

It was 15 F when I started my pull ups and 20 when I finished my walk (18 mph winds).

I did my “1 short Cooper loop, 3 short Rebecca loops” followed by a long loop today. It was plenty…I added by walking past Markin on the way back.

Brrr…

Before that: PT alternating with pull ups.

crunch: feet up, 2 sets of 10, crunch: ground, 10, then 6 pull ups, 5 chins, 5 chins, 4 chins, then 5 pull ups. Included 2 sets of 20 push ups, chest taps (2 sets of 10)

bench (31 minutes), 5 x 134, 5 sets of 3 x 170, miss 190, 6 x 145 pause reps.
high incline plus curls (21:30), 8 x 94, 10 x 94, 5 x 105, 5 x 105, with 3 sets of curls.

Then the walk. Walk was ok; quit at the right time. I have noticed some right shoulder soreness at times.

Blustery

It was very windy. I slept in just a bit, did PT, started on my W. Peoria 5.3 mile course. I got 3.2 miles into it (right when you turn onto the brick streets) and the discomfort was on the verge of becoming pain. So I spent 3:30 stretching, then finished the walk; I counted the walk as 2 walks.

Now, had I added the 3:30 to the total time I would have had 5.27 miles in 1:18:20, or a 14:52 pace. I was a bit disappointed that I felt the need to stretch, but am happy with the total work at pace I got in; it was very windy and somewhat chilly.

I am simply not ready for the “5 miles straight” yet; 5K straight is doable.
Weight: 196.

getting it in

The furnace was on its way out, so I had to be ready for the repair man. So, walking was a mere 1.4 miles on the treadmill.

Got a full weight workout.

Full PT.

pull ups: 3 sets of 10 singles “crunch singles”, then 8, 6, 6, 5 sets (2 of the 8 were bad; the 6-6 were chins)

inside: 5 sets of 20 push ups, 2 sets of 10 chest taps

downstairs: deadlifts: 10 x 134, 10 x 190 (low), 10 x 255 4 inch

bench press: 2 sets of 10 x 134, second were pause reps

shoulder press; 8 x 94, 10 x 94 high incline (touch the chest)

curls: 10, then 7-7-7.

Note: video cut out early; I had to clear the memory and cache