Tuesday March 31

Ok, it was overall a pretty cool day in the trenches.

I got some personal planning and writing done, I got to a physiotherapy appointment, I got some rugby related paperwork done, I got some more of my uDemy course done, I got my training done, meals prepared for my family, and even got this blog post in before it was crazy late.

I even got a few decisions made about the next few years, too.

I am really liking this new set up I have - I'm writing this in the basement, with a second screen hooked up to my laptop so that I have a bit more area on which to work, as weird as that sounds. I'm also far enough away from the refrigerator that it would take effort to get there and so ... I'm keeping a lot of rather yummy things out of my mouth at the moment. I'm also enjoying sitting in a "new to me" chair instead of the creaky dining room chairs that bug my hamstrings. All in all, this new "office in the basement" is a big hit so far.

Even my two older children were in here earlier.

I guess I should update this day to a kick ass one, but I don't like swearing on my blog.

Right, the workout for the day went as follows:

2k run ... I arrived early enough that I could then go and get this done:

4 rounds of squats in a power rack
started with 90 pounds
then to 110
then to 140 lbs

yeah, nothing too severe, to be frank. I know I can do better. I will.

Monday March 30

So, yeah ... today.

It started off as a typical Monday ... kids late getting up, things spilling and cell phone not charged up and stuff like that. I did get a bath done before getting off to work, which was quite cool. Hip doesn't bug me for most of the day when I get a chance to do that.

Later on in the day, I got a 2k walk in with my wife as a warm up for my workout. We were chatting about our walks before we had kids and how fun they were. We are reaching back to those days when we walk and actually get a chance to talk.

After that, I got my workout gear on and did this for four rounds:

15 kb clean and presses each side - 16kb used throughout.
10 kb snatches each side
20 step ups with 10 lb hex weights in each hand
20 bicep curls with stretchy band

Meh, nothing killer about this workout, but at least it was better than just doing the bare minimum. It felt good, too. Stretching and rolling after, too.

Next time, I'll add some more body weight training and use the TRX again.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday March 29

This was a sad weekend. Honestly, just sad.

To start this off, a few in my house are coughing these days. It's just unpleasant to have to be around people who are hacking up a lung. I saw a post from my sister in law about a wonderfully cute picture of my deceased niece, too. Seems this weekend should have been her 24th birthday. She passed on St Patrick's Day about 12 years ago. And people wonder why I don't enjoy the day.

If we discuss semi-religious holidays, I much prefer Halloween, to be frank.

So yeah ... that's going through my head.

Money issues are rearing their heads again, as I'm sure it is for everyone else these days. Holden had it right when he said that money just ends up making you feel lousy.

I got some cardio done each of these days, but it was a minimum at best. I write that with an addendum, as there were benefits for each one, as you'll read

Friday I got a nice walk in with my wife, after my youngest was in bed. It was quite nice to be able to talk to her without being climbed on or having toys stuck in my face. Stress reduction and a nice time for re-connection with my wife. I think it was 1.8k walk.

Saturday was more of the same, as I got a chance to sit with my wife and then go for a walk by myself later on in the evening. I got home and I was moist with the 3k walk.

Sunday was another walk with my wife. The weather did not help, as it is starting to snow for some reason .... I guess the weather doesn't know it's Spring. In any case, we cut this walk a bit short, thanks to the wind and ended off at 1.6 k

As far as rugby training goes, this isn't helping. Not really, not in the "elite" sense of the word of training. I realize that there are a lot of people playing my position in the same league or above that did nothing at all this winter ... at least my lungs weren't hurting after my rugby training sessions so far in March. My legs were a little sore the next day, but that's to be expected.

In any case, I have my training schedule set up for the coming months. I just need to get it done.

Wednesday and Thursday March 26

Wednesday was a long day - but I did wake up feeling just awesome. Pain free for the first time in a long while. No headache, no gastroc muscle itchyness, no hip limping, either. Just plain jane yummy all around.

At the end of the day, I got a 2k walk in. I had so much stuff on my mind, I had to get something done before getting back to worrying about stuff going on in my life. It's nice to be able to take some time for myself.

I also got the week planned for myself and for my family today, too. I've started to include time in my week for training and running, but also writing and piano. If you don't put it on paper, it's not happening ... so ...

Thursday was another rather odd gift of a day. I've ordered a fountain pen to come, which I haven't had since I was a boy. I'm curious as to the use of it and the coolness factor, too. I also got a short walk in that I did not record, and then had a half hour of yoga at the GoodLife while at work. That was pretty useful, to be frank.

Later on, I also got a pleasant 1k walk in with my wife. Seriously cherished time with my wife.

Monday and Tuesday March 24

Monday was ... quite frankly ... a disappointment. I heard a lot of bad news this day, not the least of which was that I will not really be able to coach very much this spring and summer.

A shame, really. A shame.

In any case, I spent so much time thinking for solutions, I had to wait until very late to get a short 2.5 k walk/run in. A shame ... I'm kind of disappointed in what's happening with my training these days. I'm doing a lot of recovery work - at least I got an epsom salt bath in today, too.

Tuesday was a step up, at least. I got a run on a treadmill done in the afternoon. I'm liking that GoodLife more and more. It's kind of funny that hardly any other of my coworkers want to go. Meh, I enjoyed it. I got a short 2k run in, then went to stretch and try to open up my hips.

After that I got a physio appointment in, and they worked on my hip. I seriously need to get a shout out done for them, but I'm running around these days.

At the end of the day, I got a chance to get a walk in with my wife. Nothing replaces those walks, and it was about 2k, too.

Saturday and Sunday March 22

Saturday I was supposed to go to see the Nationals live in person. I ended up just watching them online, including the finals. That was pretty cool purse out of a sow's ear, I must say. I had to entertain my youngest for the day, and I got some good reading, watching and general stretching in with him during the day.

I did get to my Physio appointment today, too. I need to do a shout out for this place, it's pretty cool and I like the gym beside the treatment rooms. Later, man, Later

Saturday was a good time to be a dad, to be clear. I had a nice walk with my wife after getting the youngest asleep and the eldest upstairs to make sure no one died.

Sunday I did get a chance to drive to Brock University and take in the Greco Roman wrestling myself. The whole time I was there, I was sore. My hip hurt, my calves were in agony and my quads were just wanting me to sit down for a while.

Of course, there was that little voice in the back of my head, saying "Could have been here, Sir. You can still do this, man..."

Yeah, I know. I know, I know.

I limped my way through a 3k walk and then had a nice long stretch before going to bed.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday March 19

Wednesday was fairly comfortable. Lots of rolling in the basement, lots of time to chase and clean up after my youngest. I also got the idea in my head about seeing if the Go Ruck Challenge was right for me.

And so I went on a march/walk for 3k with the weighted vest on. It's about 40 lbs. My knee killed by the end of the 3k walk. I iced it and got on some advil and we shook our heads.

Meh, lots of stretching and rolling too.

Thursday was a rugby night. I also wanted to go home early and just be with my family ... but it didn't happen. I went out and was silly. I didn't get the rugby training night on the Nike+ site, so .. I guess if I don't get it on there, it doesn't count .... however, I did do an awful lot of stretching and hip mobility work there and with the physio today, too.

Friday was a recovery day ... my body was just hurting all over. I rolled in the am and the pm, not every really getting it less sore. I even took an epsom salt bath. That was pretty cool as I was using Songza to kind of block out the rest of the house. in any case, I had to wait until everyone was in bed until I got my walk in for the day.

I also noticed it was the Cdn Senior Nationals weekend. I was kind of sad, but I know I am still trying to recover from injury and wear and tear on my body to have done anything this year. I did think about possible solutions to this for the next few months. I think I got a few answers for myself.

I did hear of a number of guys of my vintage coming out for this year, too.

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday March 17

Sunday was at least a decent day outside. I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but I got a chance to walk with my wife alone ... like without any kids .. for about 20 minutes.

It was the first time we've been able to do that in ... I wouldn't want to count the years. A lot.

Nothing huge, but nice.

Monday was something I could squeeze in. I spent the day getting furniture moved around my house and got a stretching area set up in my basement. I need to keep working on that space in the near future ... but it's got the basicis needed to keep training in the summer.

Tuesday was supposed to be a training night, but I got sucked into dad duty. At least I got a physio appointment squished into the evening. Felt good after and got a 4k walk in.

I didn't feel like spreading the St Patrick's Day cheer. It's never right for me, to be honest. Probably never will be. 

Friday and Saturday March 14

It's the start of a week off for me and my kids ... and it's not off to a great start to be frank. Friday night I was hoping ot be a jolly guy, but all I could hear myself think was about how much stuff I'm dealing with at the moment.

Kids, Money, Tuesdays With Morrie, Animal Farm, life, Money, wanting to decide on what career I want after teaching is done with me...

I keep vacillating between admin, and some sort of business owner to ... other.

I also think I should try and do all three, just to keep myself in the game. I am beginning to think that they are going to go after my pension in the next round of talks and that I'm going to end up eating cat food in some sort of back alley in Halifax.

In any case, I'd love to say that my training has taken over my life for this next week, but that would be a lie.

I'm still doing a lot of rolling and stretching, which is extremely helpful. I had to cancel a physio appointment as I was being daddy to my four year old so that everyone else could go to a birthday party and remain somewhat sane. I wanted to go for a walk and watch a movie with my wife, but by the time I got back from a 20 minute walk on Friday, she was already asleep on the couch.

I wanted to get on another walk on Saturday night, but was needed to be a dad and get people to bed or a better head space. I want to get something done today and I will. I want to run but I will walk for a while on Sunday.

It's not the same, but it'll have to do for the time being.

At least I discovered that next week is cheap yoga at a local studio. I'm checking Chrysalis Yoga out at some point then.

Thursday March 12

Man, it was a tough one, but I got this one done.

I'm so ready for a break, as are the people around me.

In any case, tonight was a rugby training session and I got a lot of sprinting and ball handling stuff done. I did also get a chance to wrestle during the session, fighting a much bigger prop. I won when it required technical skill, but lost when it was a question of power. Seriously, the dude was about 100 pounds / 45kilos heavier than I was ... whatcha gonna do?

After the rugby, I got home and talked to my wife. She is under a great deal of stress at the moment, and I wanted just to be her buddy for a while.

After her venting, I went for a short walk around the neighbourhood .... Just to see how it felt. It felt good, man. It felt good.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday March 11

Monday was a nice night, finally ... and I got a nice 4k run in. I'm just dealing with a lot of stuff at the moment, and I like the time I get to myself while on runs like this.

Tuesday I was a little sore after my physiotherapy appointment, but it was really nice out, so I went for a nice long 4k walk.

Wednesday ... I did a short walk and  ..... made it to the purple level in Nike+ app.

Yup, that was cool.

Saturday and Sunday March 8

Saturday I was still kind of limping from Thursday. Sore legs, man. I did get some stretching done with a facebook friend at his clinic nearby my house. I really really should do a shout out for him.

In any case, one of the last things he did at the end of the session, he used a heated Unaball on my neck. Oh, man ... that felt awesome. I'll have to get me one of those things, man.

I did get another stretching session done later, and I did get a 4k run/walk in. The warm days are melting the snow, but the cold nights are freezing the water and making ice patches. Kind of a painful session, but I got it done.

Sunday ... more of the same. My hip needed a morning session of stretching before it would behave, and I got that done. I also did an afternoon rolling session before going for a 4k walk at night. It was a lot less painful than the one from Saturday, man.

Recovery is going to be key for me this summer.

Wed and Thursday and Friday March 6

Wednesday was nice and boring, well, sort of.

I did get my run in the afternoon, a nice little jaunt on a treadmill. After that, I got this done for four rounds:

20 kb swings
20 kb bicep curls
20 kb snatches

It was pretty decent.

I had rugby training Thursday and so ... it was the first day I missed running in almost 130 days.

I did about an hour of sprinting and ball handling. Felt pretty good. No, I didn't get it recorded, so .. I missed the day.

Friday I woke up feeling really really sore. I rolled in the am and spent the day sitting in meetings and watching powerpoint kareoke. A shame, really. I finished the day and stretched again. And just went to bed.

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday March 3

Sunday I got a walk in early, in that I had to get my van into the local Canadian Tire and then walk home. While on my way home, they called me, letting me know just how expensive fixing the brakes will be. Yeah, this was an expensive walk, man.

I got home and did some rolling and stretching, but my legs are still sore.

Monday was a bit of a disappointment. I got an email from Smashrun, a website that uses Nike+ data to do different analysis of the various pieces of data. The one piece that was disappointing was the overall distance in the last few weeks, well, all of February was just above half what it was for January. I ran 130 kms in January, and merely 80 kms in February.

That was disappointing, to say the least.

But then I read the headline in the Toronto Star ... that this past February was the coldest in history. There were more than a few days in that month where it was so cold, I couldn't get any further than a 3k walk in, thanks to the ice and temperature. I got pretty sick of it, to be frank.

In any case, I grew a beard and continued to try and stay sane through dedicated habits.

So after hearing this news, I went out for a 4.5 k run. Felt good, but had to skip stretching to go and be a dad. I'm pretty sure that yoga on Tuesday is going to help, but it's also going to be kinda painful.

Tuesday March 3 was in fact a yoga day. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but it was unpleasant. I was planning on getting to rugby, but as I got there, they were packing up. Meh, I left as quickly as I could and got a 3k walk in. The roads and sidewalks were snowed on, for a change.

Saturday Feb 28

This will be my shortest blog post in a while.

Saturday was messed up. I had to wait until everyone was asleep to get a 2k walk in.

Brutal.

Wed, Thurs and Friday Feb 27

Wednesday was an indoor run on a treadmill in the afternoon followed by this for four rounds:

20 kb swings
20 kb t-shirt bicep curls
20 kb snatches

Thursday was an hour of yoga in the afternoon, followed by a 4.5 k run in the evening. The sidewalks and the weather both finally came together and helped me make this happen.

Friday was a typical Friday for me - lots of meetings and busy. I had to wait until everyone was asleep to get a short walk in. Nothing too exciting, but something that I've come to rely on as stress management.