I didn't expect to have my bike back today; I get off work after the bike shop closes. However, we drove over to give it a test whirl during lunch. Josh told me I had worn out my rear cassette. It had been a couple thousand miles since I changed my chain, and my cassette had worn with the chain. Josh is the a bike fix-it wizard who changed all the cables on my bike to red and named her Little Red Riding Hood, with a name plate and everything. He changed the cassette on the spot for me and sent us off. I wish all mechanics were as fair, skilled, and just plain honest as Josh.
Black street clothes at dusk and casual flats don't make the best cycle commuting gear, but it worked in a pinch. I was desperate for my bike ride. My preferred route home is hilly and sparsely populated except for coyote, deer, roadrunners, and warned of, but never seen, bobcats.
About a month ago I was traveling through here at dusk. The trail glides through tall grasses and overlooks a small pond area. Down near the pond I heard a girl screaming--not a fun playful scream. I stopped my bike and peered down through the dim light, I couldn't see anything. Another girl started screaming, and there was a kind of laughter in it. A few more voices rose and I realized, with relief, that the screams I had been hearing were not human, but coyote. They chimed into a chorus of happy howls and yipping. Beautiful!
Tonight we ate orange tomatoes with mozzarella, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and fresh basil. I love this garnished with anchovies and kalamata olives. Tonight the anchovies were so salty they gave me goosebumps. All accompanied by good sourdough.
After cleaning up, we went for a little run. We ran our usual neighborhood run. Only this time, we didn't stop running. We ran nearly 2 miles, without stopping!!! That rhythm in my breath is amazing, it is so consistent, constant and secure. My running is hinged to it.
Foodwise: Intake 2274 calories. That's about 200 calories less than my recommended intake. I think my body is finally leveling out. Output: 1372 on my 12 mile bike commute and nearly 2 miles of running! Hurray! (currently icing my nasty nasty ankles. If I had been Achilles, and my mother dipped my into the Styx, she would have had to hold on to both ankles. I was a really big baby--10 pounds 3 ounces. That would explain why both my ankles are bunk.)
I have a little teddy bear I made for my dad by hand when I was about 7 or 8. It is rough and rustic, but a good reminder for the progress I have made in my trade--I sew for a living. This blog is sort of like that little bear, a good reminder of where I started. Since I started riding my bike to work and around town, I have maintained a 15 pound weight loss--and that is without dieting.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Day 13: Tunnels
Technically the pool wasn't open this morning as we turned the key in the lock. There were no lights to illuminate our swim practice, and the sun wasn't up yet.
Technically, after only four hours of sleep, I could have been justified staying in bed that extra hour to sleep (justified by whom?). I actually tried to stay in bed, but my brain was summoning my body into motion. No sense fighting inert will power. Besides, I have a race to run--in something like 135 days! Yikes!
The King of Sharks fell in love with a mortal woman. He changed himself into a man and married the woman. Nanave was the son of the King of Sharks and that mortal woman. As a young man, Nanave swam in the waterfall beside his mother's hut where he would disappear for hours. He often asked the local fisherman where they were headed to fish that day. Nanave would disappear into the waterfall. Eventually the local fisherman were unable to catch any fish and decided they had a bad god among them. A tricky little test proved that Nanave was that bad god. He was chased to the waterfall where he disappeard. Nanave's father, the King of Sharks, had created a tunnel from the waterfall into the sea.
If I had a tunnel running from my pool to the sea, could I get there? Not in one breath. Swimming today was great. I'm working on slowing my stroke and making it more effective. I'm also working on kicking.
When bowling, there is a four-step pattern. Swimming has the same sort of thing-6 kicks to one stroke and a breath on every third stroke. This and keeping my head slightly down, my tail up, and my arms reaching to roll from the waist. I want this to become mechanical, ingrained in my muscle memory. With my bike still in the shop and my Achilles tendons still tender, swimming and yoga are all I've got for the present.
Foodwise: Intake 2623 calories. JE showed up at my work this morning with a loaf of Boudin Sourdough bread still warm from the oven. I think it must have been a bit torturous for a couple of my coworkers who are on low carb diets. In fact, K. had been making verbal lists of the foods he wanted most only an hour previously. Warm sourdough with a dollop of butter topped the list. Poor guy!
Output: 849 in the pool and on the mat.
Technically, after only four hours of sleep, I could have been justified staying in bed that extra hour to sleep (justified by whom?). I actually tried to stay in bed, but my brain was summoning my body into motion. No sense fighting inert will power. Besides, I have a race to run--in something like 135 days! Yikes!
The King of Sharks fell in love with a mortal woman. He changed himself into a man and married the woman. Nanave was the son of the King of Sharks and that mortal woman. As a young man, Nanave swam in the waterfall beside his mother's hut where he would disappear for hours. He often asked the local fisherman where they were headed to fish that day. Nanave would disappear into the waterfall. Eventually the local fisherman were unable to catch any fish and decided they had a bad god among them. A tricky little test proved that Nanave was that bad god. He was chased to the waterfall where he disappeard. Nanave's father, the King of Sharks, had created a tunnel from the waterfall into the sea.
If I had a tunnel running from my pool to the sea, could I get there? Not in one breath. Swimming today was great. I'm working on slowing my stroke and making it more effective. I'm also working on kicking.
When bowling, there is a four-step pattern. Swimming has the same sort of thing-6 kicks to one stroke and a breath on every third stroke. This and keeping my head slightly down, my tail up, and my arms reaching to roll from the waist. I want this to become mechanical, ingrained in my muscle memory. With my bike still in the shop and my Achilles tendons still tender, swimming and yoga are all I've got for the present.
Foodwise: Intake 2623 calories. JE showed up at my work this morning with a loaf of Boudin Sourdough bread still warm from the oven. I think it must have been a bit torturous for a couple of my coworkers who are on low carb diets. In fact, K. had been making verbal lists of the foods he wanted most only an hour previously. Warm sourdough with a dollop of butter topped the list. Poor guy!
Output: 849 in the pool and on the mat.
Day 12: Time
This morning on my commute by bike to work, I rode by a man in a tunnel that passed under a major surface street. He was playing Bach on a red concertina. People in cars raced over completely unaware of the magic below. I love my commute.
My cycle tour this summer lasted a solid month. I think it's the first time as an adult that a month has felt like a month. There was a peace in living with that slow turn of the pedals. Oh, the places I've been!
Time and choice. That is all anyone has while on earth. It's what choices we make in this lifetime that matter.
Waking up early to swim and bike to work is really tough when I don't get enouh sleep. In other words, this needs to be a short entry and I need to sleep some. I've got to figure out a schedule that works now that I'm working again. Darn work! Always getting in the way of my real life! Don't get me wrong, I love my work. I love a whole lot of things.
Foodwise: Input 2623 calories. Output 835 calories. Little Red went to the bike hospital today. Her chain is slipping and chunking.
Sent from my iPhone
Monday, October 11, 2010
Day 11: Weigh in
Way back in 1861, Pierre Michaux added pedals to the front wheel of Mr. von Drais's 2 wheeled Dandy Horse and invented the Velocipede. It was made of cast iron and later wrought iron which was stronger. These contraptions came to be known as "boneshakers," because there were no springs or shocks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boneshaker
People went crazy for it! A race was held in 1869 from Paris to Rouen (about 75 miles or 120 km), that was won in just under 11 hours.
Today I completed 69 miles on my velocipede in under 6 hours, half of it into a gusty headwind. There are amazing things out there to notice, including: a guy on a bike with 2 large green parrots on his handlebars, a horse-drawn hot-rod, 7 fully loaded cycle-tourists (jealous), the Queen Mary, and a huge pod of dolphins playing in the surf. I watched them along the coast for a mile and some. Hundreds and hundreds of dolphins!!!
There is a restaurant in Huntington beach called The Secret Spot. I often stop there for their vegan chocolate chip cookies. They are good fuel to get home with. Today was a two cookie day. At the end of my ride, I was so tired and hungry, I blacked out and got woozy every time I stood up. (JE to the rescue!)
Foodwise: Intake 3974 calories (1300 of which was from a carne asada salad from Chipotle, and that wasn't even with the salad dressing!) Output: 5363 calories (Besides cycling 69 miles, I also swam for 45 minutes this morning.) According to Mynetdiary.com if I keep up with this kind of activity and eating, I will loose about 1.2 pounds daily, or 35 pounds per month. Good luck with that.
As it is, since my last weigh in, I have lost 1.5 pounds, weighing 222.9 pounds this morning. And I feel pretty darn good about that!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boneshaker
People went crazy for it! A race was held in 1869 from Paris to Rouen (about 75 miles or 120 km), that was won in just under 11 hours.
Today I completed 69 miles on my velocipede in under 6 hours, half of it into a gusty headwind. There are amazing things out there to notice, including: a guy on a bike with 2 large green parrots on his handlebars, a horse-drawn hot-rod, 7 fully loaded cycle-tourists (jealous), the Queen Mary, and a huge pod of dolphins playing in the surf. I watched them along the coast for a mile and some. Hundreds and hundreds of dolphins!!!
There is a restaurant in Huntington beach called The Secret Spot. I often stop there for their vegan chocolate chip cookies. They are good fuel to get home with. Today was a two cookie day. At the end of my ride, I was so tired and hungry, I blacked out and got woozy every time I stood up. (JE to the rescue!)
Foodwise: Intake 3974 calories (1300 of which was from a carne asada salad from Chipotle, and that wasn't even with the salad dressing!) Output: 5363 calories (Besides cycling 69 miles, I also swam for 45 minutes this morning.) According to Mynetdiary.com if I keep up with this kind of activity and eating, I will loose about 1.2 pounds daily, or 35 pounds per month. Good luck with that.
As it is, since my last weigh in, I have lost 1.5 pounds, weighing 222.9 pounds this morning. And I feel pretty darn good about that!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Day 10: Rest day
According to Statius, Achilles was taken by his mother, Thetis, to the river Styx. There she held her son by the heel and dipped him in the river in an attempt to purify him and make him immortal. Only his heel remained dry and thereby mortal and susceptible. The convoluted story tells of Achilles best friend being murdered by Hector. Achilles goes ballistic and not just kills Hector, but threads leather straps through his calcaneal tendons to drags Hector's body in the streets. Hector's dad, Priam, asks for the body of his son. Achilles receives Priam and all is well and good as the Trojan war continues, until Paris, Priam's son, shoots Achilles in the heel. Achilles dies.
All these millenia later, we still use the term Achilles heel to describe both tendinitis of the calcaneal tendon, or to describe any terrible weakness.
Walking today was a bit tricky, my Achilles tendons were hot and painful. I walked gingerly. I elevated. I iced. I medicated. I rested. I stretched. Feeling better.
In another version of the story, Thetis dips Achilles in ambrosia, the food of the gods, and attempts to set him on fire to burn away his mortal bits. She is interrupted by Achilles' dad, goes stark raving and flees.
I like the idea of Thetis dipping her son in ambrosia. In my mind, ambrosia is satiny chocolate, beautiful when melted. I wonder what effects that had on Achilles' pallette. I wonder if he looked like Easter candy.
My oven is still warm from baking ambrosia this evening, my Achilles' heel. Chocolate cupcakes dipped in satiny chocolate glaze. Friends and neighbors are well fed. It was an excuse to go visiting.
Food wise: Intake 1523 calories (It isn't about eating chocolate cake, it's about sharing chocolate cake!) Not sure about how much output today. Not worth mentioning, I'm sure.
All these millenia later, we still use the term Achilles heel to describe both tendinitis of the calcaneal tendon, or to describe any terrible weakness.
Walking today was a bit tricky, my Achilles tendons were hot and painful. I walked gingerly. I elevated. I iced. I medicated. I rested. I stretched. Feeling better.
In another version of the story, Thetis dips Achilles in ambrosia, the food of the gods, and attempts to set him on fire to burn away his mortal bits. She is interrupted by Achilles' dad, goes stark raving and flees.
I like the idea of Thetis dipping her son in ambrosia. In my mind, ambrosia is satiny chocolate, beautiful when melted. I wonder what effects that had on Achilles' pallette. I wonder if he looked like Easter candy.
My oven is still warm from baking ambrosia this evening, my Achilles' heel. Chocolate cupcakes dipped in satiny chocolate glaze. Friends and neighbors are well fed. It was an excuse to go visiting.
Food wise: Intake 1523 calories (It isn't about eating chocolate cake, it's about sharing chocolate cake!) Not sure about how much output today. Not worth mentioning, I'm sure.
Day 9: Music
It's 1:30 in the morning. We just got back from a really fun metal (as in music) show in Torrence. Sorizon played at a small pub Called ??? Did I mention it's 1:30?
It was a great show, so much young enthusiasm, talent, and playfulness. Normally I wouldn't think to go to a metal concert, but I am so glad Jeannie invited us. Live shows are amazing, whether it's opera or metal.
In Russia, Tatiana Ivanevna had very few CDs. Her favorite was a collections of Ballads by Guns and Roses. I rolled my eyes and laughed when she played it for me. By the end of the three months I lived with her, that CD became part of the soundtrack of my life.
When I was working for Opera Pacific, I had a pair of tickets for opening night. They were amazing seats valued at more than $300 a piece. I literally couldn't give them away. Sad really. Opera on stage, isn't like opera on a CD.
This morning at dawn I awoke and tried to get ready for a run. I watched as the sun broke over the trees. Such a beautiful morning to sit at the window and enjoy the wind in the jacaranda trees. The morning seemed to be in fast forward. Suddenly we needed to go to the church to clean, and I had no time for my run. I shouldn't have hesitated to go alone.
After cleaning, the day sneaked by. Naps are beautiful things.
JE and I drove to Crystal Cove and we ran along the paved trail, laughing our butts off as we ran and joked. When we run we pretend that our entire bodies are hinged on our smiles. The bigger the smile, the better we run. Our faces become so distorted with trying to smile bigger that we crack ourselves up. Running is difficult when you're laughing so hard. However, we ran for about a mile and a half and walked the other three miles. The tide was incredibly low.
We had a great night out with friends--our lovely SW seafood again (thanks Dan for getting the Peking Duck!).
Food wise: Intake: Rough estimate is 2600. Output: 1203 calories with our run walk and an hour and a half of sweaty cleaning.
Anyone out there know how to deal with nasty Achilles tendons?
It was a great show, so much young enthusiasm, talent, and playfulness. Normally I wouldn't think to go to a metal concert, but I am so glad Jeannie invited us. Live shows are amazing, whether it's opera or metal.
In Russia, Tatiana Ivanevna had very few CDs. Her favorite was a collections of Ballads by Guns and Roses. I rolled my eyes and laughed when she played it for me. By the end of the three months I lived with her, that CD became part of the soundtrack of my life.
When I was working for Opera Pacific, I had a pair of tickets for opening night. They were amazing seats valued at more than $300 a piece. I literally couldn't give them away. Sad really. Opera on stage, isn't like opera on a CD.
This morning at dawn I awoke and tried to get ready for a run. I watched as the sun broke over the trees. Such a beautiful morning to sit at the window and enjoy the wind in the jacaranda trees. The morning seemed to be in fast forward. Suddenly we needed to go to the church to clean, and I had no time for my run. I shouldn't have hesitated to go alone.
After cleaning, the day sneaked by. Naps are beautiful things.
JE and I drove to Crystal Cove and we ran along the paved trail, laughing our butts off as we ran and joked. When we run we pretend that our entire bodies are hinged on our smiles. The bigger the smile, the better we run. Our faces become so distorted with trying to smile bigger that we crack ourselves up. Running is difficult when you're laughing so hard. However, we ran for about a mile and a half and walked the other three miles. The tide was incredibly low.
We had a great night out with friends--our lovely SW seafood again (thanks Dan for getting the Peking Duck!).
Food wise: Intake: Rough estimate is 2600. Output: 1203 calories with our run walk and an hour and a half of sweaty cleaning.
Anyone out there know how to deal with nasty Achilles tendons?
Friday, October 8, 2010
Day 8: Baking Under the Influence
Several weeks ago, JE was working a bunch of overtime to get a massive project finished. I baked a batch of a sort of bar pastry and sent them to work with him to share with his coworkers. One of his coworkers flipped out about these and wanted the recipe. I wrote it out and gave it to him. He became obsessed with learning to make these pastries. Though I gave him detailed directions, he hasn't quite pulled it off--close, but no proverbial cigar.
I baked them again last night and again sent them to work with JE. Excuse my smugness, but I have been summoned to dinner to teach the man my secrets in baking them. (Secrets? What secrets? I have no secrets!)
Apricot Almond Chews:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9"x13" pan with greased parchment.
Melt 1.25 sticks of butter. Add 6 ounces chopped dried apricots (or cherries, or other dried stone fruit), 6 ounces roasted chopped almonds (roast them yourself as the oven is preheating-or other nuts), 1 tsp vanilla, .5 tsp almond extract.
Sift 7 ounces cake flour three times and set aside.
Beat 3 egg whites with a pinch of salt until foamy. Slowly add 1.75 cups white sugar and beat until stiff peaks form (about 10-15 minutes). Fold in 1/3 flour until mixed. Fold in 1/2 butter mixture until mixed. Repeat, ending with folding in the last of the flour. Spread into parchment and bake for 40-45 minutes until dry. Cool on a rack. (Sliced into 32 bars= 139 calories and 6 fat grams per bar)
I reserved a few and took them with me as I met David, a new friend and influence, for a training ride this morning (training ride for me, recovery ride for him!). This is the Ironman I spoke of earlier. It was a beautiful day for riding. While talking, I learned that he had lived in India, influenced by the Beatles, and while there had met Mother Theresa of Calcutta. She influenced him to go into medicine. He taught his son to be a surgeon.
What is the sphere of our influence? What propels us? What makes us reach into places unknown? What gives us courage to undertake the huge and seemingly impossible? What gives us the motivation to continue on a chosen path that requires so much diligence?
There is a woman in Lake Arrowhead who began planting daffodil bulbs in 1958. The hillsides around her home are completely covered with huge golden swaths of daffodils. She planted them herself, one at a time for years and years. This is her story:
http://rimoftheworld.net/columns/neufeld/painting
She has influenced thousands of people. There are dozens of websites dedicated to this particular garden and experience. This one is in Australia:
http://www.bankofideas.com.au/Downloads/Daffodil_Principle.pdf
If my tiny influence of baked goods can affect someone to learn and perfect a recipe, what else am I capable of? Here I sit, trying to reconcile my two greatest passions: cycling and food. I am learning that just simply having a passion and living life according to that passion can be a force of influence in the world. Neat!
Foodwise: Intake 2846 calories (which includes three cookie bars), output: 1982 calories (on a 30 mile bike ride). It may be time for a new bike, something that can keep up...
I baked them again last night and again sent them to work with JE. Excuse my smugness, but I have been summoned to dinner to teach the man my secrets in baking them. (Secrets? What secrets? I have no secrets!)
Apricot Almond Chews:
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9"x13" pan with greased parchment.
Melt 1.25 sticks of butter. Add 6 ounces chopped dried apricots (or cherries, or other dried stone fruit), 6 ounces roasted chopped almonds (roast them yourself as the oven is preheating-or other nuts), 1 tsp vanilla, .5 tsp almond extract.
Sift 7 ounces cake flour three times and set aside.
Beat 3 egg whites with a pinch of salt until foamy. Slowly add 1.75 cups white sugar and beat until stiff peaks form (about 10-15 minutes). Fold in 1/3 flour until mixed. Fold in 1/2 butter mixture until mixed. Repeat, ending with folding in the last of the flour. Spread into parchment and bake for 40-45 minutes until dry. Cool on a rack. (Sliced into 32 bars= 139 calories and 6 fat grams per bar)
I reserved a few and took them with me as I met David, a new friend and influence, for a training ride this morning (training ride for me, recovery ride for him!). This is the Ironman I spoke of earlier. It was a beautiful day for riding. While talking, I learned that he had lived in India, influenced by the Beatles, and while there had met Mother Theresa of Calcutta. She influenced him to go into medicine. He taught his son to be a surgeon.
What is the sphere of our influence? What propels us? What makes us reach into places unknown? What gives us courage to undertake the huge and seemingly impossible? What gives us the motivation to continue on a chosen path that requires so much diligence?
There is a woman in Lake Arrowhead who began planting daffodil bulbs in 1958. The hillsides around her home are completely covered with huge golden swaths of daffodils. She planted them herself, one at a time for years and years. This is her story:
http://rimoftheworld.net/columns/neufeld/painting
She has influenced thousands of people. There are dozens of websites dedicated to this particular garden and experience. This one is in Australia:
http://www.bankofideas.com.au/Downloads/Daffodil_Principle.pdf
If my tiny influence of baked goods can affect someone to learn and perfect a recipe, what else am I capable of? Here I sit, trying to reconcile my two greatest passions: cycling and food. I am learning that just simply having a passion and living life according to that passion can be a force of influence in the world. Neat!
Foodwise: Intake 2846 calories (which includes three cookie bars), output: 1982 calories (on a 30 mile bike ride). It may be time for a new bike, something that can keep up...
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