hi john , runner, amd all,

loving runing here on the beach. and on treadmill,..

the tractor on the sand makes a really nice tread mill too,..

cant wait til i get to 10 miles in a month or so.

hi eboy too., gym , et al.

i am lurking on here from time to time.

Paul :)

To the runners and cyclists...I love to run and but only under certain conditions.

I have to either go fast or over and around obstacles. What works best for me is running/riding trails through the woods. I concentrate much more on what is going on since I have to be aware of the branches, sticks, logs, spiderwebs, animals, etc. I can also work out longer since I don't think about how I feel while running/riding. I don't notice how tired I am getting.

Roads, treadmills, spinners and ovals, BORING...not for me.

Well I had a very good weekend of riding. On friday I rode 20 miles. It felt real good. I did not push and finished into a pretty good headwind. I still was able to ride a good pace. On Saturday I ride 33 miles and added 2 tough long hills. It felt good I was getting tired at the end. Yesterday i took the day off. I ended up with 95 miles last week.
I rode into work this am and will ride home later the week is off to a good start. Hope everyone is well!!
Jim

Posted my injury request to the "exercise" forum. I've maybe torn something in my left quad that feels as if I should be taking it seriously. I sprinted out hard after the dog the other day and something "gave". The injury mildly disturbed my sleep for a couple of nights then I began to stretch it out in earnest and it didn't keep me awake at all after that.

I've since discovered that I have to be careful not to put much load on that muscle group. It feels quite vulnerable to further injury. I'll begin back to my splitting tomorrow but I'll be watching my leg closely and making some calls as to what I should be doing for it.

If any of you have time please read my post in the "exercise" forum and post some feed back for me if you would.

I'm so glad to be home. Even with all the troubles of life, family and living with teens I'm so grateful to have "my" problems and not someone else's.

I missed getting pictures of the fishing but the weather was spectacular and the bite was "ok". I brought in just one in the four hours we spent on the water but I lost another and had many hits. Little bro brought in a couple so we had a beauty breakfast of fish and fried ham and scallop potatoes this morning before I left. Oh.. I love food I do.. ehhe

Cheers! Ian.

Welcome back Ian!!! Sorry to hear about your leg. I think seeing the sprts medicine person is the best idea. You may have pulled a muscle. Rest of the leg with heat and ice are probably best. Remember I am no DR. E-boy I am guessing will Have a good idea what to do. I am not sure on the order of the heat and ice either so I am not much there. I would not push that leg until it feels better.

I had another good day of riding. I ended up riding 21 miles yesterday. I will take another 15 miler today. I am starting to really love being out on the bike. I am starting to be able to push when I want to push. I will try to get in a 50 miler this week.

How did you love the weather Ian? It is a rare thing to have that much sun in April. Glad you had a good trip and your back!!!!
Jim

Thanks bud.. the weather was nearly perfect. It would be hard to imagine a better break to drive around and then fish.. < g >

Dan had responded to my post in the "exercise" forum about the injury. I'm seeing my Dr. tomorrow.

Cheers! Ian.

Another one down. It's nice to be back in the saddle but I have a house full coming for the weekend. It doesn't take much in a little shack like this but my middle brother and his kids still think it's cool to camp out at the farm. I'll see how Bruce figures wood splitting into his plans...hehh

Woke up to three big yellow bruise patches on the middle inside of my left thigh. I thought it was unrelated to the now ten day old injury but the Dr. says it's the colour that gives it away as old blood. Physiotherapy in the next couple of weeks combined with what I'm doing now with stretching seems to be all that will be necessary to bring it back good and strong. The Dr. had no trouble finding the injury deep in the muscle so that was encouraging. Apparently it was deep down by the bone buried under all that meat. I wonder how difficult it will be to hit it with strength exercises? I wish I could remember which muscle it was. There are four big ones obviously and it's the inside one. Google here we come..

Another beauty of a day on the prairie. Tired today from not enough sleep while I was away. I ate my fair share of chocolate too which isn't likely helping.

Jim it really sounds as if you are hitting your stride. I love to hear about it. I'm making slower gains as I don't have the discipline for rest and food that would help speed things along but I'm doing well enough to feel good and to celebrate the progress.

Cheers! Ian.

Glad to hear your injury is not serious Ian. I seem to be hitting my stride riding right now. Each day shows a little improvement. I only did 7 miles yesteday. I was hoping for 15 but, there was not time. I did mow the lawn when I got home. I rode 7 mile in today and will ride home tonight. tomorow will be a rest day. I hope to get in a 50 miler at least this weekend. This has been easy to do because I am enjoying riding a lot right now. The weather here has been great to. Today it started to rain again. Enjoy your guests!!!

I am very seriously considering riding from Seattle to Portland again this year. It is 200 miles. If I do I think I will try to do it in one day. I have done it in one day 2 times now. Each time I have gotten sick at the finish line. If I do it I do not want to be sick.

I had a good week of riding not quite as much mileage as I had hoped for but nothing to be ashamed of either. I rode 67 miles last weekend. I did do a 25 miler on Saturday. No time to ride further because of things I needed to get done around the house. Again I was stronger than last weekend. I finished with a tough long hill. I was able to pick it up and push the pace at the top. It felt good. I am hoping to get over a hundred miles this week but we will see what happens. I did ride 7 miles into work today. If things workout I will take a longer ride home.
How are you all doing? I hope hanging in there.
Ian how is the leg? Dan are you still planning to do the 5k?
Jim

Hey all.
Busy busy times.. family all over the place and Mum's arrived sick and wounded after the plane she was flying on had a pressure failure in the cabin and ruptured her ear drum. She already had a cold so at 74 she's not looking like she's having much fun.

The girls competed at 4H public speaking competition at the Provincial level and the two younger ones won their category outright. My eldest didn't place but after winning group,district,regional and making it into the top Provincial competition she wasn't too disappointed.

With all this going on it's been tough to write much but I have seen the wood pile for my fix periodically. Today the sun is out and I've had my half hour of heart pounding action. It helps to know you guys are here..

I'll have to start restricting my carbs again. Over the Easter break there was quite a bit of chocolate around and I find it pretty attractive to munch but I've put on three pounds and that's not the direction I want to go. I also don't feel as energetic when I have so much hot fuel to contend with.

The bike sounds like it's become a comfortable part of your day. I remember the feeling of that. For me it's my axe but as is usually the case I'm detracting from most of my gains by not getting enough of the right foods and not getting enough sleep. I'm happy enough that I can continue and have not had a cold or much else that would keep me from continuing. A 67 mile week-end would be wonderful and to be off for a 25 mile trip would be nothing but pleasure in my mind. What's your cadence? How hard did you work?

My leg is still hurt and the bruising is still in evidence but it seems to be healing. I'll know more when the physiotherapist gets into it I guess.

Cheers! Ian.

Well yesterday it was back to earth on the ride home. It was colder and wetter than it has been in a while. I never did really get going, but I did make the 7 miles home. Amazing what a difference a day can make. Today I felt good and was able to put in a good ride. Rode against the wind today. I will ride 7 miles home tonight.

Ian good to hear from you. Sorry about your mother. Good job to keep working. I do sleep well but need to work on the eating. I have managed to lose 6 lbs in the last month. I averaged 17.7 mph on my 25 miler. It would be probably right around 18 if there wern't so many starts and stops before I get out of the area I live in. I have not monitored my heart rate while riding. I do know I have been riding hard. My pulse is down to 73 during the middle of the day.
Jim

Great work Jim.
I can't get my pulse to drop much below the high seventies during the day. I'm pushing a little to hard on all fronts so it's understandable that I am not seeing the drop I'm looking for.

I've also gotten beyond that first six week rush of improvement which I'm sure plays a factor.

This will be a busy week but next week should be back to normal.

Cheers! Ian.

Have a good week Ian. I had a good ride in yesterday. I got a new computer and I think my old one had the mph a little slow. Anyway I like the idea I am riding a touch faster. I was tired today riding in, but still rode okay. I will ride home tonight. I feel good exercising. I will see how I feel. I may take tomorrow off.
Sounds like your still working and that is what counts
Jim

way too much happening around here to write.. I'll catch up with you soon..
Cheers! Ian.

Hi guys.
It has been a wild couple of weeks. The workouts as you can see have been maintained but the intensity of life through this recent period was incredibly intense.

I'm happy to report that even under the heaviest emotional load I've managed to stay healthy and happy. Normally I don't cope very well with constant and rapid change but that's exactly what has been required over the last two weeks.

I was uncertain that taking time off to go fishing was a good idea in the beginning because I was just nicely recovered enough to be enjoying my strength again. There was so long there when I felt like I was a useless piece of crap and would never again see the days when I would be able to contribute much positively to the folks around me. The exercise was the constant through the last two weeks and I think it helps quite a bit.

First I'm not usually able to stay very happy when the normal structures around me fail and the inevitable hickups in life come along to disrupt my needs for tight square predictable boxes of structure. This time seems quite different in that although I'm dead tired I have a smile on my face and energy to continue with many of the things that need doing. The garlic isn't in the ground yet and work could use more attention but over all I'm very happy to say that I think that I've found one of the remaining major keys to keeping me on track living with ADHD. That key of course is a continued commitment to a work out that is hard enough to break a sweat with at least four times a week.
My wife noticed the other day that I seemed pretty happy. I can't remember anyone ever saying that about me. I'm usually labled as "intense" but never "happy". This has got to be a good thing. The only remaining element that I see that might yield some more large gains is in diet. I've slipped back into eating too much sugar and carbohydrates. I expect the food care will fall into place as I continue to recoup my energy and gain confidence with my abilities. More sleep would likely help too though. I don't get much more than six hours ever. Often I get less than that but that's a dangerous place to be. I end up hurt or emotionally vicious and verbally abusive with any less sleep.

Having started this exercise routine in the middle of February I still can't believe I'm still doing it and I'm still not too badly hurt! I have a date with a therapist on Tuesday to make sure my thigh is going to heal up properly.

I must say that I'm a little disappointed that my heart rate hasn't dropped more. I suppose the Dexedrine won't help that any. The food and sleep patterns might be holding this up too I don't know. I'd love to get some bigger gains on this front and I'm working hard enough that I thought I'd be seeing some significant drop in my resting pulse, but it's not showing much improvement. When I watch the rate fall from peak load it only falls about 12 beats a minute in the first minute. Any feed back on this would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance. Ian.

Ian,
Glad to have you back around. Sounds like you kept things in perspective with the hectic things going on. My heart rate has risen since I take the adderall xr. I do not know if it will ever be as good as it once was. Just keep working and I think over time your heartbeat will slow some. Just a guess though. No scientific data to back it up.

I took it easy on Friday and Saturday. I rode 32 on sunday and set my course record. I was 3 minutes faster than I have ever been. I was very strong when I was done. I wanted to go further but did not have the time. I then spent the afternoon in the yard working quite hard. Still getting out flower beds in order.

Keep up the good work!
Jim

Thanks and way to go on building up stronger and faster. I don't feel like I'm making much headway but I'll keep at it.
Cheers! Ian

Keep going Ian! We all have times where it seems like no progressis being made. This is when it is easiest to give up. I beleive this is the time that will make you better and the key to working out. You cannot improve everyday you workout if you are pushing even somewhat. I beleive that the longer you workout the more chances you are going to go through these times. It has happened to me many times over the years.

I did not ride yesterday. I had to get to work early to get some things done before we did some work for one of the area sports teams. I did ride in today. It was another very good ride. I was able to keep up with some real good riders who passed me on a hill. I caught right back up to them and then passed one of them. It was something a month a go I would not have been able to do. I am just enjoying being on the bike and feeling good being able to push hard.

I also need to eat better and watch my beer intake. I am still eating big dinners and having a couple beers with it. I also need to start doing some ab work.
Jim

Jim et al

With a pile of stove length that I've got to face there isn't much use in giving up now fortunately.. ehhe

I hear you though. It's bound to be harder to see results the farther into this program you go. The gains will be harder to win. I'm mostly concerned that I just seem to eat up the gains in sleep loss or poor diet. I'm still struggling with some destructive habits that still want a foot hold in my developement and they aren't helping a dang thing! < g >

As always your support is welcome and helpful. I imagine you on your bike often. I hear your strength when you write about the good days and I feel it in myself when I cook through a half hour at a good clip. My arms and legs are building some hardness about them that wasn't there before. My strength is noticeably different. My body is lacking sleep I think. I'll have to make some commitments to getting more rest.

Big dinners and big lunches are killing me. I would really like to break down the "eats" into much smaller meals. I'll try and break up a plan to see what those might look like. Maybe there is a forum for nutrition that I might milk for advise. < g >

Why would a "couple" of beers be a big deal? Mind you a glass of red wine would likely have better benefits. Do you have a taste for English or traditional "real" ales? < insert beer snob > At least those types might qualify as food in some ways. The standard North American beers hardly qualify as anything but "rental" at best. < /insert beer snob >

Deliveries this morning and this afternoon on to physio for the first time. I hope she can teach me enough in one visit to get this thigh healed up like it was before with time, work and patience. I still enjoy running to catch a football and beating a much younger buck to the ball on the strength of my sprinting. I'd hate to loose that vestage of youth just yet.. never mind the grey beard!!!! eheh

Cheers! Ian.

I end up working out at the gym ( over one hour of free weight lifting and a minimum of no less than 30mins on Nordic Track) at least 3 times a week. When I cant get to the gym, then I do Nordic Track at home for anywhere from 20mis to over 1 hour at least 1 -2 more days. When I dont workout it shows in terms of crabbiness. Lifting is my therapy( for stress relief and anger control).

mctavish23 I think it helps me in much the same way as you describe. It tends to moderate my testosterone...hehe My whole family gets the benefits! < g >

Cheers! Ian.

I agree with you both. The workout is a great stress releiver. I also come up with some of my best ideas when I am riding.

Ian, being honest it is more like 3-4 beers. I am a beer snob too. I love micro brews. I like very hoppy ales. My favorite is a local called Hales. I like there mongoose IPA best.

A very wild ride home yesterday. We had a huge thunder wind storm. I almost got blown over twice. A big head wind so all you could do was just put it in an easy gear and go forward. It is wierd when you have to pedal just to go down a hill. I usually pedal, but this was different.

I rode in again today. Not quite as fast as yesterday but still a fun ride. I will ride home again tonight. I do need to work on my abs. I will start when I get home tonight. I have been putting this off for a while and it is time to start up again.
Jim

Jim you are in the right part of the world for hoppy beers! That northwest micro scene is a lively one.

The wind ride sounded wild indeed, I hope your route is carefully chosen for traffic that might be better for biking.

I'm really tired so I'm going to dedicate the next few days to working on my thigh. The physio yesterday was great. Learnt a cool thing about quads that was new to me.

When she was comparing the muscle definition between my two legs the difference was shocking. My left leg was very noticeably less defined than the right. Apparently it's an odd thing about working with quad damage in that they tend to over protect themselves and are sometime tough to talk the mind into letting that muscle be used to potential.

Clear as mud again? The quad likes to play lame even when it's being worked well within the bounds of safety and healing. I began today to get into the stretching and leg lifts to target the damage. It'll be a slow process. The damage was done on the 5th of April and that leg is still really weak. The physiotherapist thought that enough of the damage had repaired that I would be fine to start stretching it regularly but that I should wait for a couple of weeks to start the strength building.

Of course I won't wait to begin the strength exercises. I just wasn't born patient. < g > I will take it very easy on both elements though. I have a goal to make this leg stronger than it was before the injury.

Cheers! Ian.

I'm noticing now that it's been pointed out to me that I am indeed favouring my left leg. I spent todays workout making sure it carried the majority of the load.

I'm not showing any signs of stress in that leg from the first day yesterday of pushing it with the prescribed stretches and lifts. I'm going to give it all another round after I finish eating my lunch just now. I'm excited to have my head into the repair.

I'm quite tired but didn't feel like I'd be happier with leaving my workout for another day so I did it again. Late last night I saw my pulse down in the low fifties so there you go.. not much patience needed to see some hope of progress.

The half hour was up and if I hadn't set a timer I'd have gone much longer. It was easy today even though I had a terrible night sleep. The sleep loss wasn't due to over work or anything like that.. just forgot to pay attention to what works. :frog:

Cheers! Ian.

Glad to hear the leg is mending Ian. It sounds like the workout was better and you have obviously made progress! Way to go!

I do ride in bike lanes and on trails for part of my ride to and from work. I do have 2 and a half miles that I share with cars. I had a good ride home last night and a good ride in today. I was a little tired this am but was able to still ride a good time just concentrating on my cadence and getting a good spin going. I will be riding home and will ride into work again tomorrow.
Jim

Just the mention of "spin" brings a flood of memories.. ;^)

A day where I did not ride as fast and felt very good about just getting on the bike. I had to be at work very early this am because of work with another area sports team. I woke up around 230 and rode into work at 0300. Felt okay but it is hard to ride super fast in the dark and I was tired to begin with. Rode home this pm at 1500. rode strong for 5 miles and then hit the wall. Just tired. Just knowing I rode when I did not have to and did makes me feel good.

Ian i am sure I asked you before, but did you used to ride a lot? I am sure you did, but am curious about your experience! Sorry if this is a repeat question.
Jim

No problem with the questions. We've been at this a while now and I certainly don't want to go back through all those posts on the off chance I've missed something. So ask away.. I'll be ever so tolerant of any repeating. < g >

You are gathering steam.. I can hear it in your posts. I live with you when you describe your rides. I rode for a short burst in the earlie eighties. I loved it and had never done so much physically as I did when I rode. It was what my body loved to do. My mind like the running idea.. but my body loved to ride.

I calculated gearing to narrower ranges of cadence and dialled the bike in to my frame little by little. I was a rail of a guy then at 5' 10" and 143 pounds. That was my lightest but I usually sat around 156 pounds.

I can feel the speed and risk every time you write. I spent a lot of time fooling with driving cars like a fool. I was good at it too and still love to drive. But I've never been thrilled in a car or motorcycle like I have been under sail, on horseback or on my bike. You almost have me tempted to get the old frame out and refit it just to haul it the five miles out to the pavement just to learn once again that the seat needs practise.. heh

I may have to.. I'll see if the cash flow can support it sometime soon. I have so many irons in the fire but I am green with envy.. there is no doubt. I don't even have a rack to get the bike onto the car any more.. I used to travel for a living and my bike went with me everywhere. I would ride in the evenings out of small towns across the middle/north of our fine land.

I have never done anything physical competitively. I think you mentioned once that you always have competed. I think it would have been good for me to have participated more in that type of thing. I always took life a way too seriously.

I hadn't thought about it until now but the wind had been outrageous lately. I'm sure it would have been painful to ride in the wind here.. it was gusting to 70km/hr on Wednesday and yesterday it was 53km/hr.

I did nothing today. I may stretch and do my leg lifts before bed tonight but maybe not. I'm tired too and like you I seem to be ok with it.

Usually I do very poorly when the normal routines of life get disrupted for any length of time but just now it seems like I'm more resilient than ever. It must be a combination of elements at play for this to be so much improved. The coaching, meds, and particularly the regular exercise are all making for a much steadier Ian. With a full three weeks of chaos past and the shop in disarray I'm fine. I would normally have lost my place so to speak and would have returned to find things just dropped on my bench or work table but that wasn't the case on Monday when everyone had left and I was on my own to work at what I wanted.

It's never happened that way before but I walked into the shop and realised I could get straight to work. I didn't have a long list of calls to make or endless entries in one book or another to make before I could get to what I like to do. Somehow through all the upheaval I had managed to take the small windows of opportunity and take advantage of the time to maintain my direction. This type of behaviour is brand new. Extended periods of focus! I'm almost brave enough to be optimistic. < g >

I am showing signs of stress in my food intake. I can't seem to manage to a handle on the carb intake but it will come if I stay the course.

The one sign I am a little un-nerved about is almost like a tic of some kind. When I went on the Dexedrine I noticed I started to rub my fingers against each other in a manner that I had seen my father do. That tension or anxiety or whatever it is has now progressed to my left hand creeping up to my chest. It makes me self conscious to find it there when it's happening and I scold myself uselessly internally but it's there and I don't quite know what to do about it.

When Dan had introduced me to the concept of lesser does I had halved my intake of the Dex but found it to be too little. Maybe it's time to revisit the idea.

At any rate Jim, I might never tire of reading your comments on your rides.. especially from the west coast. I lived in the lower mainland of BC (Coquitlam) from the time I was eight until I got out of high school so I can smell it like it's part of me.

Cheers! Ian.

Glad to hear that my posts are a benifit to you. I feel the same an d look forward to both writing and posting in this thread.

I too have seen a benifit in my behavior and work ethic both at home and on the job. My wife is begining to see it too and is commenting on it. I still have lapses and will forget things.

I am at the place you were. I am not as thin but I have lost 10lbs since riding regularly again. I just enjoy getting on the bike and riding. It makes me feel good and I have gotten better at doing a good cadence instead of pushing my legs until they are mush. I am about to go out for a ride. It is a beautiful day here. It has been a very weird spring. It has been extra sunny and not much rain.

Have a great weekend I will post after the ride.
Jim

Extra sunny and not much rain... sounds tough.. < g >

I attended a wedding today and reception this evening and for the first time in ages I felt good physically. I felt attractive and healthy.

I also had the great pleasure of wearing clothes I didn't think fit me any more.

Don't touch the dials.. I'm perfectly adjusted... lol Well.. at least for a fleeting moment.

I'm very encouraged to find myself feeling "on the mend". My glands are swollen a bit tonight as the black poplar are in flower and my spring allergies are kicking in. I'll have to be careful now.

I didn't work out today but will likely do so tomorrow. I talked to Pierrette about my bike today. She smiled. I think she's pretty happy to see me coming alive again.

Cheers! Ian.

Yeah the weather has been real tough. It was the driest April in years here. The ride saturday was a toughie. I stupidly did not eat and drink before the ride. I also did not drink a lot during the first part of the ride. I did the same 32 miler I did last week. I was five minutes slower and felt crappy the whole way. I just could not pick up the pace. Also the wind was coming from a different direction so I had a head wind coming back. I did get into a good cadence on the way back. I still was happy with the ride though. I know you cannot set a record everytime out. I ended up hitting a hundred miles this week.

I then mowed the lawn and scrubbed the deck. The deck was a good workout. Lots of arm work. Sunday I moved furniture all afternoon so I got another good day of arm work. Took the day off from riding.

Today I rode in. I felt better today, but I only did the 7 miles riding in. I am much stronger on the hills.

Good your feeling healthy and good about the way you look. I know Ifeel much better about myself when I am in shape. Heope you do get your bike going again! I am sure yo will find the love you used to have for it. Keep up the good work!
Jim

Well.. I can't be as far along as some because I am having to count all that yard work and stuff as workout time. Yesterday I moved a big pile of wet flax straw off the septic field and that was some kind of heavy. I was grateful for having some fitness in my arms.

I did a lot yesterday and I guess that counts for a bonus. I would not have been able to stay as active as I was yesterday without the many improvements that have taken place this spring.

I split some wood in the drizzle today again but I can see that the warm weather is already beginning to reveal other tasks more appropriate for the season. I'll quit and pick up the wood again in the fall once I have next years split and stacked. I was hoping to have two years put up but it won't happen I don't think. I really want to get going on the summer kitchen.

Pierrette has a neglected bike too so I'm beginning to wonder if Bonnie (15) might ride with me... hmmm The horse will also need some attention from me though so maybe I'm just dreaming.

A hundred mile week is wonderful. You must be strong with all the other activities you are doing.

Cheers! Ian.

Hey doing the labor you are doing counts as working out. Once you have responsibilities with a family it is not like you can go workout for a couple of hours everyday. You have to work it into your day. If I did not ride to and from work I would not get a lot of riding done. I think what you are doing certainly counts as a workout and a good one!

I had a nice ride home yesterday and a nice ride in this am. I can tell I am tired right now. I am able to ride desent. I just seeem to get warn out when I push. I need a couple of easy days to get back. I can feel my body is tired right now. I am thinking of a 50 miler this weekend. We will see. My time commitments may not allow for that.

Sounds like each day your leg gets a little stronger. I am glad to hear it. That would be nice if your daughter wants to ride with you. Take care!
Jim

No ride to work today. I was up late last night and felt a day off was okay.

I had an interesting ride home. There was a great tailwind behind me so I was able to ride very fast. There was a guy on a mountain bike who I caught up to and also a guy on a road bike. They both ran red lights and got a ways ahead of me. O never did catch the road bike because he turned off. I caught the mountain bike on a long hill and pulled away. I should because I have a road bike which is faster. At the nex light he caught up and then ran the red and got a ways ahead of me again. I again caught up to him on a flat stretch of road. I was on the street because I was taking a different way home. I was going between 25-27mph on this stretch or road. If felt great and I was feeling strong. Remember I had a tail wind so that was part of the reason I was going that speed. I was doing this when a car passed me and made a sudden right hand turned. I braked and then the car had to make a complete stop because a person was crossing the street I swerved a barely missed the car. I also almost got hit by the car behind me. I need to more careful when I ride in traffic. It would have been the car who suddenly turned in front of me fault, but that would not have helped me any. I usually am more aware, but I was just watching my speed.

Hope things are well with you! That is my ride story for yesterday.
Jim

Things are well with me Jim.
I'm feeling more effective even at work which I struggle with.

I wish I could tell if I was hurting my leg or not. I'm into the routine of stretching and doing the prescribed leg lifts. I'm getting about twenty minutes of attention to this per day. I'm doing alternating three sets of ten lifts per leg. I lay on my back with one knee up then turn the other leg out a bit to expose the inner leg to the lift load. Right now I'm not able to do much more than switch between legs after ten lifts until I'm through all three sets for each leg. I lift slowly to about 45 degrees then hold it there for a count of four and slowly come back down.

I'm a little tender on the inside left leg where the damage is. The injury is so deep that I am wondering if I'm just feeling the effects of my stretching or whether it's injured muscle that's complaining. The physiotherapist gave me the impression that it will be a slow process to heal it up strongly.

Anyone's comments would be appreciated. In fact anyone's comments about anything even remotely related are welcome here.. ;^)

The feeling that a day off is ok is so new to me. I think I'm as excited about my confidence about the merits of days off as I am about the workload.

Yesterday I hauled about thirty of the sodden flax bales away from the house and loaded them onto the truck. Today my body is very slow and tired. I shouldn't whine to badly, there wasn't a single string broken so at least it was straight forward bull work and not scattering straw every where when a string pops. It's raining now and I really want to spend the afternoon working in the shop so I'll have a "day off" of the bales for now anyway and enjoy things else where. Enjoyment seems to be becoming a habit.

I've changed my meds again too. I didn't like the growing anxiety I was experiencing. This morning I quit taking the long acting 10mg Dex and instead took 5mg of the quick acting. My pharmacist told me it peaks in about three hours and has a half life about double that. I took one 5mg at 8:00 am and another at 11:00 am and I'll take the last for the day at 3:00 pm and see how that goes for a few days. By Monday I should be able to make some decisions.

Up late.. Jim I am chronically up late. It's hurting me I know. On the bright side I think the diet is coming around again. I am enjoying some progress there once again.

Speed is fun no doubt. But like all risk it's got a bite to it. I'm glad you escaped with only sober reflection to ponder. As I get along in this venture I find myself youthfully alert at times. I exploit this to take risks sometimes but I've not had a close call recently but I appreciate your shared experiences here. In other words.. I hear ya! What a thrilling speed to be howling along at! I remember thinking 18mph was a pretty good clip but that tail wind would have been something wonderful.. heh. I still look at those fat mountain bike tires and shudder at the inefficiency on the pavement. lol

I'm very happy to have you here in one piece safely home and once again, keenly alert.

Cheers! Ian.

Bonnie got off the bus today and in the warm sun and happy easy mood with had a wrestle that qualified easily as a workout.. heh

Her ground game is almost too much for me.. felt wonderful to work that hard.. lol

I got a good round of stretching in too..
Safe riding Jim.

Cheers! Ian.

Sounds good Ian. I did not ride or do anything workout wise yesterday.
Todays ride in was very good. I was able to go a good speed and it seemed like I was not pushing as hard. I felt like I could have ridden a long ways. Amazing what a well placed day off does. Take care and have a good day!
Jim

Things seem better on the home front today. That is good news! Well on to the fitness stuff.

The riding I think has reached a new level for this year anyway. The ride home yesterday and the ride in today were very good. I was able to ride fast and still have plenty of energy left. There was a serious headwind going home yesterday. I just switched to the lower chainring and was able to still ride very well. I did get behind a guy who passed me and let him lead for a while. It was very easy to keep up and he was going a good 20mph for a while. Of course he was breaking the wind for me. I then passed him and left him. This morning I caught a guy that was way ahead of me and riding a good pace. I made most of the ground up going up hill. It was raining pretty hard which was a nice change. We needed the rain and it was not cold so it felt good.

Also came up on a car accident when I was almost to work. There were three people who were in one of the cars wondering around. I noticed one of them, a girl who's face was white as a sheet. She was in shock I am sure. I helped her to lie down and get her feet up. Another guy took her pulse. Her 2 friends said they were going to call for help, but I beleive they were leaving the scene. They never came back while I was there. I waited till the paramedics came and then took off. Well that is my story for today. I did my good deed. Hope all is welll with you Ian!

Others please feel free to chime in. I know we don't want this to be an area where others feel they cannot post.
Jim

Jim et al.
I too would love to hear from other men regarding anything remotely related to this thread. Please join in if you would like. This is not at all exclusive and works better for me if there are more participants.

Don't get me wrong Jim.. I'm loving the bike stories. In particular I like the pictures you paint in my head about the speed.. ehh

I did nothing but drive to and from the city with calls all day. I had a nice leasurely lunch with an old friend and another fellow who shares similar tastes in computing.

I'm bone weary. I've got the beginning of an ear infection brewing and tonight at the kids school play I could hardly keep my eyes open. In fact I didn't mange on a couple of occasions throughout the evening. I guess it's time for some rest. Allergy season never helps. I am always sapped for strength at this time of year so I should just roll with the punches and stick to my game of playing it as I see it. I'll take the time to rest and try and ease up on the stress and see if I can get my legs under me again.

Speaking of legs.. I am pretty happy with the repairs to the left quad. I won't start riding horse back until after I see the physiotherapist again to check but I think things are moving in a good direction on that front.

I took time to lay out some bird house plans for our youngest last night and to show her the insides of a small .9 cubic inch four stroke engine. I am finding I seem to be making more time for that kind of thing. I hope at least in part to blame the exercise for that.

Tomorrow if I'm smart I'll take off too and spend some time on the quad and call it quits.

I'm green with envy when I hear the progress you are making Jim. I seem to be unable to reap those types of gains. I undercut myself to heavily on food and sleep. One small step at a time... I saw my resting pulse today at 70 and last night before sleep it sat at 53. One step at a time.. Patience has of course never been my strong suit.

Cheers! Ian.

Ian, Hang in there. Patience is something you need with this stuff. Things change over time and go back and forth. Alot depends on things going on around us and our stress level. Gald you are getting to spend some time with your youngest and show her things. I am glad you leg continues to improve. I have been lucky in that I have been sleeping pretty well. On days I have not slept well I notice a big difference.

I had another good ride home Friday. I again caught a decent rider that was ahead of me. But when I caught him he was abole to pick up the pace going up a hill and was starting to pull a way when he turned off.

I did not ride much this weekend. I rode 4 miles on Sat just doing errands. A very close friend of my wife's passed away suddenly on Thursday night so we have been dealing with that. Yesterday we took my Mother in law to the baseball game and then barbequed at our house after wards. I would have loved to go on a long ride and see where I am at, but there are other prorities right now.

I did not feel like riding in this AM, but I did anyway. I felt crappy the first part of the ride, but then felt better as I went along. I rode well over the last few hills. I am wanting to see how I ride against others on a long ride. I will probably start doing a weekly ride the local bike club puts on here pretty soon. It is 25-35 miles in the evening after work. I am able to ride well with this group when I am in shape. I will keep you posted.
Jim

Jim et al.
No problem hanging in.. I feel better than I've felt in a long time. I'm starting to recognise my increased strength. It's a pleasure to have a body that works and a mind that's happy most of the time.

Patience will be a virtue one day.. ehh

You seem a born competitor. What fun it must be to continue to find others on the road when you ride.

I saw my bike hanging in the grainery this weekend but didn't get it down. I have a few other projects to finish first. I think it only needs the brake handle rubbers desperately. A good overhaul of the mechanics would be in order too.. and tires.

I've lost my spell check and my image program so I'm limping a bit here. < g > I have finally been able to live the weekend in a new operating system called "Gentoo" Linux. Lots of work before it's all dialed in though. Please pardon the lack of English skills. Never have been any sort of a good speller.

I worked very hard on Sunday. I can't remember what I did for workout on Saturday. I don't think I did anything but physio though.

I'm pushing the leg hard now and am beginning to see some changes in the muscle definition. I'm pleased to say that I think I'm going to have it back better than before the injury if I keep up the patient progress.

Through these tough times for you the rides have remained in you plans. I hope you carry the vigor and passion with you throughout the struggles.
Cheers! Ian

Now I remember what Saturday was all about.. < g > What a brain..

I had a great morning sitting yakking with my mechanic and working on some wiring for his CB antenna. Then the afternoon and evening had me pounding away on the roof and ladders installing a tv aerial on the roof for local stations.

I'm not great with heights and our roof is particularly steep so between the tension and the actual work I'm calling it a workout.. I'm a softy what can I say..

sleep now..
Ian.

I do not think your a softy. It was something that called for physical exertion to complete. Like I said when you have other responsibilities you have to be creative in getting some sort of workout in. If you can combine tasks and get the workout done at the same time that is even more of a bonus.

I had a flat tire on the way home. I managed to get 5 miles before if finally got so low I had to stop and fix it. I had another nice ride in today. Not quite as fast, but that was okay. The weather has cooled off a lot and it was raining off and on. This is normal for this time of year here, but we have had such an unbeleivable spring that this is the rarerity. I am hoping maybe ride a little extra on the way home but will see how the day progresses.
Jim

A big old heavy sweat on today.. funny day too.. lots of the birds of summer and wet snow and cold wind everywhere. I was strong today. Muscles are taking on some power. I can notice it now very clearly. My back is strong too.

I got my three sets of ten leg lifts each side, two sets of ten squats with my back sliding up and down the wall and a good long stretch in today too. I did it while I was still really warm from splitting wood. I was able to get right into the long quad stretch for several minutes. It's a real boost to be able to see the progress. The definition is coming back nicely now in the left quad. No longer any pain to be found. It's likely time to buy some light weights for the leg lifts.

I remember living in fear of a blowout flat tire. I ran my tires very hard sometimes. I can't remember the details now but I wasn't on tubular tires just a standard clinch type rim. I'm betting technology has taken on some advances since I last bought tires.

Lungs seem to be keeping pace but would likely have to pay specific attention to a more aerobic experience to gain much more I'd think. Maybe not but I don't really care what form this takes. It all seems to help keep the growlies away and the mood lighter.

Cheers! Ian.

Sounds good Ian! Sounds like your leg is almost up to speed. It is wonderful when you are working hard and you can feel the energy running through you as you reach new heights. Sounds like you are starting to do that again.

I ride good old clinchers too. Tires I think are better. I get a flat about once a month. I keep an extra tube and a pump on the bike. When you ride in the City the roads can be crap and there is always broken glass mixed in that eventually can work it way into the tire. This one was a slow leak. I had another great ride home yesterday. I rode 2 extra miles. Not a lot but that is all I had time for. My legs and wind seem to have come together at the same time. I am riding the hills faster than I have in a couple of years. I cannot wait to get on the bike these days. Enjoy the snow!
Jim

Enjoy the snow.. oh man themz is fighting words.. heh

How much pressure do you run in your tires?

Inuit Ian.

Sorry Ian! I could not resist. We have had an unbeleiviable spring. I think we will end up paying it looks like we might be headed for a drout. I run 120psi.
Jim

Well you are probably getting tired of hearing the same thing over again, but it is what is happening.

Another great day of riding yesterday and this morning. I need to ride with a group on a longer ride and see how I do. On my way home is a long gradual hill about a mile long. Yesterday I caught about 5 riders that started out a good was ahead of me and caught them all and passed them. Normally I will try to catch some one and just keep up, but in this case I felt strong and just motored past them all. I was riding a very good pace and felt strong and relaxed. It is a very odd thing for me riding like this. I have not had rides like this in a couple of years.

This AM it was only one rider and it was going up a steeper shorter hill. Again I was behind him when we started up the hill, but was easily able to pass him and move up the hill at a very good pace. I can feel myself getting a little heavy in the legs. I will probably try to ease off a little on the way home. It is hard when you feel so good not to go with it.

Well I did not ride home last night. I was here a little later so I rode home with my wife and drove in with her this AM. I will ride home tonight and do a longer ride tomorrow. I hope to do at least 50 miles, but again it depends on what is happening on the home front.
Have a good weekend!
JIm

A taste of spring today at last. We still don't have leaves on the trees. Bonnie cut the grass for the first time on Tuesday night then on Wednesday we got several centimetres of wet snow and about a couple inches of rain. The yard is all flooded as is the basement. The sump pump is doing what it can but I could use a second one.. and some more hose. Maybe that's tomorrows task.

I worked hard today on all fronts. Pierrette is getting sick so I did an extra couple of shifts trying to buy her some down time.

Splitting was fun today if for no other reason than to join the hundred or so sand pipers that flew in to scavenge for grubs in the flooded lawn. Many of the insect eating birds are starving to death.

I was strong today but I can feel my motivation wining. I am into the same old grind where I sabotage my efforts any number of ways until I don't get the gains I'm due. When that happens I get frustrated with the whole process.

I was doing the leg lifts for my quad repair today and I've made absolutely no progress there that I can see. I have been trying to build strength but I am still doing three sets of ten on each leg and I can't imagine introducing weights. I'll buy a couple half kilo weights to start as I was instructed. I feel cursed.

However this is likely not too entertaining for all whom lurk and listen. Please ignore my whining.. Maybe it's just that I'm actually doing the lifts more carefully and slowly than I was in the beginning. That must be it but I sure don't have any sense regarding what my body likes and doesn't like. I revere jazz but it looks like I'm a straight line kind of guy in reality. Classical rigidity in formula style approaches is depressing.

On the up side my brain seems sharp for work this week. At long last I'm getting some serious traction on the work load in the shop. I was performing right up to expectations today and managed some fun and challenging repairs to the job currently open. The exercise is a big help in keeping me creative in problem solving. I'm more robust when faces with problems.

Sleep will be the next hurdle after the work routine stabilises. I just have to remember not to ask too many questions of the process and just "do it". Riding out the slumps with the knowledge that all will be well if I can stay the course.


I can see your thighs growing Jim.. < g >

Big big day.

I hope you got out this week-end for a long go round on the bike Jim.

Did anyone else get a boost this week-end? I sure got a heavy day in today. I'll be feeling the effort for a couple of days I expect.

Ok now I can see some changes. Today I did about six hours cleaning out the barn. It had been neglected for a while and had become filled with the remnants of feed bales and straw bales being opened through the winter. I hadn't cleaned the loft out in years. There was the odd bit of manure to deal with too.. but that's just taking crap.. ;P~~~

Today I went through it from top to bottom and rearraged things and forked out huge loads of dust, dirt, straw and hay. I was thinking all day about how I was going to write about all the good things I was feeling but now that it comes to writing I'm so tired I can hardly think. < g >

I expect they have tractors for the kind of work I did today but I wouldn't have traded it for anything. Nesting sand hill cranes putting on a display for us. I had set the tripod and binocs up by the barn so we could take in the viscous rush of spring that happens on the prairie. We had a starving flock of spotted sand pipers arrive on Friday to scour the flooded freshly cut lawn for sustenance. There were many of them.. maybe a hundred or so. There are Harris sparrows and white throated sparrows, a wide variety of warblers.. .. oriel's.. it's all coming apart at the "spring" seams. What a great day to be outside. We still don't have leaves on the trees here.. it's really late. On Wednesday we had lots of snow and probably more than a couple of inches of rain. The water table is only inches below the surface in many places. I sure hope it dried up some before the mozzies begin to think it's good breeding ground.

The long and short of it I suppose is that I haven't felt this strong in years. It feels wonderful. I feel wonderful.

It was a bit of an odd week-end. Pierrette has been struggling with weight loss to the tune of about a pound a week since early January. She came home Friday with a cold well under way. I took our most interesting child (read = most like her Papa) out on calls and shopping for the day. The older two girls were out which left PU at home alone to sleep or whatever. She was smart and took full advantage of the opportunities to shut down and try and recoup some energy. Today she was back in the saddle somewhat and marvelling at my new found energy.

I had many things to do today and so many of them got done. It's growing and I felt it coming on strong today. My youngest was with me for much of the day. She's not getting along well at school. She's a little oppositional. < g > I finally think I "get" her. She's so much like me it's scary but because she's a girl I haven't really been as involved as I might have been if she was a he. Or at least that's my excuse..

We had a ball anyway. I was animated and way ahead of her.. it was a really good time and she seemed to spend the time well enough. She still isn't used to the new interference but it'll come if I can be consistant. So many other things have become consistant I don't see any reason to expect my attitude with her couldn't benefit from the same consistency.

I can see the changes happening in my upper body quite clearly now. But rest is in order. Shut the lights out on your way out.. lol

The two younger girls wanted their bikes dial-ed in today so they could go for a ride. Once we got Bonnie's bike up and running I went for a little test drive up the ditch and gravel road. My quads need more strength to do that thang.. lol Ouch!

I am beginning to believe that there is hope for me. I'll try and remember this feeling so I can recall it later when I'm down and hopeless... promise.
Cheers! Ian.

Good job Ian. Glad you had a good day yesterday. It is neat you are getting to spend time with your youngest. I think it is a matter of just hanging in there on the days you do not feel you're making progress. The hard work always pays off in the long run. Sounds like the work is begginning to show up in a lot of other areas of your life. That is great to see an hear about!

Thanks for the web site. I just glanced at it, but it looks good. I also had a busy weekend. I did get a long ride in on Saturday morning. I rode 48 miles. I put 2 big a** hills into the mix. On is a gradual hill that has 2 steeper climbs. No super steep but steeper than the the rest of the hill. This is about a 3 mile climb total distance. The other hill is steeper but is only about a 1.5 mile climb. I rode both hills very well this is after I had already put in 20+ miles. I did hook up with a guy who was a good rider. He asked me for directions and then whizzed by me. I was able to catch up. He only got about 2 lengths ahead of me. He picked the pace up to 22-23mph. I was drafting him so it was easy to keep up. We then took turns drafting and kept that up for 10 miles. I stoped to get more water and he went on. He was going a different way than me. It turned out to be a great ride. I averaged18mph for the whole ride. Of course after the uphills there were some nice downhills. It was one of the best rides I have had. I was able to keep up with the other rider very easily and also lead at the same pace for as long as he lead. I also rode 12 of the last 16 miles into a headwind. I was able to put in a lower gear and spin nicely. Something I used to not do.

I was also able to get some work done at home. I took 2 loads of stuff to storage and then mowed the lawn. I then fixed the toilet that was broken. Yesterday I started working on keeping our spending on the computer. I did not ride.

Today I had a good ride into work. I was able to go a good pace. I did not push super hard. I was not sore from the weekend at all.

Keep it up Ian!
Jim

Hey all.
I have come to the lame conclusion I have no idea where my limits are.

I did about an hour and a half today with a rake and other than feeling tired I have no muscle soreness from yesterdays marathon binge of rakes shovels and pitch forks.

I'm obviously stronger than I thought. Oh well.. heh live and learn. Odd though to have missed it by such a wide margin.

So.. I'm thrilled. I'm good to go I guess. I need better measures to gauge my requirements. I suppose this is what Jon was trying to tell me months ago about a personal trainer!!! Jon if you are listening.. forgive me.. < g >

I also did my first lifts with weights. Just a pound either side to start. It was no problem to do the three sets of ten each side. I did them a little faster but not much. I can see two pounds coming up shortly.

I stretched twice today. The trick with stretching is to find a good book! ehhe I have one on the go that I've been making no headway with and now the stretching is helping that too.

Jim I can see now what competition does for you. It's feedback of the first order. The spontaneous nature of who and where you meet other cyclists on the road is always fun. But hills are something else.

My chest cavity is small. It always has been and I smoked for years which didn't help any. I'm several years away from smoking now and a number of things combined to get me thinking about lungs and free weights.

Dan if you are listening I could use your feedback.

I'd like to begin to put some upper body muscle on. I've been taking off the middle of the bowling pin profile with diet and exercise but I'd like to up the goals a little.

I guess I'll post a new thread and see if I can scare up any bites on the chest/muscle thang.

My young one was sticking pretty closely to me tonight. I'm onto something. < g > It feels very powerful to see some positive influence sinking into the both of us..

It was again, a day to be outside and not in the shop sitting at the bench. The three or four total inches of precipitation we had last week is still flooding the yard. The water table is so high it's pretty scary to think what would happen if we got much more rain.

Cheers! Ian.

Thanks again Jim for taking me on the ride.
Cheers! Ian.

Sleep now.. :cool:

Hey Ian your welcome. Thanks for all you share with me also. It is great to see how far you have come. I am not much of an expert on the upper bod and could use some work there myself. I am sure there others who can help you there.

I know there are exercises with weights that will do the trick. As far as expanding the lungs goes I would reccommend some Anaerobic work. Short very hard intervals of some sort. Stuff that takes your breath away. Start with a long recovery in between and make it shorter and shorter. You can pick what you want to do. Running, bikeing or swiming. Lifting heavy wieghts would be considered anaerobic too.

Well I got a bit of humble pie on the way home yesterday. I was riding up one of the hills on the way home. I was leading the way over a couple of other cyclists and going a good clip. I turned as someone went by me. It was a women. She was quite a bit younger than me, but she was going a faster pace than me. I did catch her and follow her up the rest of the hill. She faded at the top and I passed her. Do not get me wrong I think there are a lot of women who are faster than me and I accept that. I was thinking I was pretty hot and that woke me up. Still I was going a good pace when she passed me so there is nothing to be sorry about. I had a good rest of the ride home.

This AM I had another good ride in. I was able to keep up with and then pass another descent rider. The competition and the times on my ride do motivate me. I have always gone against the clock. It tells me if I am improving or not. I was a descent runner in my younger days so I am used to trying to keep up or beat others. Take care
Jim

Jim I didn't work out today but my energy level is a way up. I don't know what's going on.. hehe ok maybe I do. < g >

Usually at this time of year I'm knocked down a peg or two over airborne pollen. I get so tired when the trees start to flower and then again when the grasses are blooming. Once before I was half baked fit in the spring prior to allergy season and noticed a huge difference. My symptoms are usually quite strong but this year they are very mild much as they were the last time I was working physically before the bloom.

I'm a little timid to get into something anaerobic like running in bursts or anything in bursts. My leg still feels odd. It's comming but I can still see a big difference between the two. I measured them last night and they are very close to the same size so it's got to be getting better, but the definition is wildly different. Weird..

I'll try and come up with something for anaerobic.

What a bonus the energy is. I'm excited about all the things that are getting done. I know that there are some jobs for work that need doing but you know.. it's all moving along and it'll get done.. I just have to keep moving and it will all get done. I'm floored with my energy level. It's been how many weeks now? I count thirteen weeks. Thirteen weeks and I'm not sick.. I'm not weak or so tired I'm depressed.. although I come close some days. Today is one of them actually.

I worked late in the shop after spending the early evening with Manon. I came in about ten and the basement flooding was out of control and the toilet was running on.. I was ready to sit down before dealing with all that and now I'm quite willing to cosy up to my book.

Do you read?

I'm currently toying with the idea of doing a valve job on a small .9" four stroke hobby engine. It should spin a 13" propeller at 10,000 rpm... now.. where is that fourth shift I need to extend life into the 25th hour and/or the eighth day.. ;^)

The competition in anything has me crumple like a cheap suit. I suppose I could work on that some too. I've always wanted to run a marathon. I trained for one but never ran it. I hope I stay healthy. I like lots about my life right now.

Humble pie is so easy to find isn't it? Just the minute I get to thinking I'm so good my brown stuff is sweeter than the next guys, I get a slap. It must be fun to be within range of so many on the road. You're headed for some fun times this summer I hope. When is the first race? < vbg > It's only a matter of time before you'll need a good long drink at the fountain of race day no?

Cheers! Ian.

Days off are good. I would be careful about the leg until you are sure it is healed. I do love to read but I have not been doing much lately. I like to read history of the U.S. We have had some very interesting characters here. My favorite is the American Civil War. I am not one who likes war, but the leaders in that war were very ecentric and quite interesting to read about.

Sounds cool about the engine. I am sure I will do some long rides that you sign up for and that is kind of like a race, but not the real thing. I will not do a bike race although I may at some point. Right now I do have the backing of my wife to do that. I get to ride which is something in the past was an issue.

Another good day of speedy riding. I was riding behind someone who is a very good rider and then was passed by another really good rider. I got in there draft as we approaached the long gradual hill on my way home. They were flying. We were going up the hill at 23mph. We did have a tail wind. About 2/3 of the way up I had to slow and they went on. I caught them at a red light. I noticed one of them was my friend Andrew who I trained with for a 200 mile ride a couple of years ago. He was faster than me then and now is raceing bikes in Cat 3. Pretty high level. I am sure he was just warming up. I realized that these are the guy I will not be able to beat, but that is okay. They are also 12 years younger than me and there are plenty of guys who are older than me that could hand me my lunch.

I like competition but I am now more in the mode of keep up than pass and go for the kill. Although lately if I can pass someone I do.

Glad the exercise is helping all of your life. I think it does carry over and give you more energy. It is great to see.
Jim

Tennis is a great sport for being aggressive and I'm not fond of competitive sports at all. It's really hard work, I haven't played in years.

I agree Paul. I used to play a little. I really loved the game, but never got to involved.
Jim

I used to play tennis when I was in school. I've played a couple of times since. It's a demanding game for sure.
Cheers! Ian.

Well another good day of riding. I did not really run into any riders that were tough to catch or keep up with. I just tried to keep a good pace without killing myself on the way home yesterday. It paid off in that I had a good ride in today. Nobody again to really fuel the competive juices. I have started playing a game with my the time it takes me to get to work. It keeps me working hard when I want to slow a little to much. It takes between 25-30 minutes to get to work. I see how many rides it takes me to get it back to a 30min average at the end of the ride. Here is and example. The 1st day I finish my ride home. I am at 55 minutes. I still have 25min to knock off. I am now at 3hr 2 min for the week so if I can ride home in 28 min it is very doable to get it done today. Anything less than a week is good for me.

Tomorrow is bike to work day here. It will be a day with lots of riders out. It is a huge deal here. They have water stops with lots of free goodies all over town. It is kind of fun.
Jim

Too pooped to party.. ;^)

Worked out late and am putting out tremendous energy during the day. I'm dog tired tonight.

I got my half hour of splitting in and used my time there carefully. After a slow deliberate start I got moving pretty quickly by the end. I wasn't nearly done when the half hour was up. I quit knowing I'm short of sleep. I got my physio work done too. I'm seeing the therapist next week I think. It will be fun to have a look at it again through her eyes.

Bike to work day sounds like it will offer an different ride in at any rate.. < g > I saw my bike again yesterday.. I think it's haunting me...

I got the mare dealt with for vaccinations and deworming which is always a chore. The two younger kids came out and Bonnie tried her hand at injecting needles into flesh. It spooked her a bit but of course the horse never budged.

Hope tomorrow is a clear day. I've been enjoying the cool sunny days. I'm really "white" and heat and humidity are hard on me.

Games with numbers and games with motivation are so important. I'm just beginning to think about this routine being stable enough to withstand another set of goals.

Cheers! Ian.

Go for it Ian! Sounds like you are a regular machine. It will be neat to see the theripists look when she sees you again. Sounds like the bike is calling you to put it back into use. I think eventually you are going to be answering that call :D

My game is a real help. I had a nice ride home yesterday. I ran into my friend Andrew the racer again. We rode togehter and caught up with what is going on. It is nice to be able to ride a good pace and not be killing myself. I did beat my 30 minute clock yesterday pretty easily.

Itoday is bike to work day. There were probably at least 3 times the number of riders there normally is. I just took a nice relaxed ride in. I am planning to ride about 40 miles after work today. I have to stay late so I will ride to meet my wife where she is working. It will be a bit more productive than sitting around.

I had a big day being very active from an early hour. I decided when I looked in the mirror and saw my clear eyes that I should up the challenge today like I did inadvertently last week-end with the barn cleaning.

Pierrette got home from her camp with the grade eights and only wanted to eat out so we went to the local coffee shop to have a bite. I don't know what got into me. At first I wanted to keep working but then decided it would be a fun time and I should go too.

The amazing part was that I was able to shift gears cleanly and throughly. We chatted with friends in the restaurant. I read the paper which hasn't happened in ten or fifteen years. Once back in the car we went for a cruise down the side streets of our little hamlet. Neat and tidy places.. very small and utilitarian but cared for well enough to show some pride.

I lollygagged it home watching for birds and finally stopping to wander the local cemetery with my youngest. Pierrette thinks I've gone loopy I think. < g >

Once home I realised I hadn't had my "fix" so began to wander around with a rake wondering what's next. I settled on pushing the hand mower around in an attempt to keep ahead of the grass. We are so wet the riding mower would have been a pain in the butt. Pushing a lawn mower through wet soft ground got the lungs doing the squeeze box thing a bit better.... heheh Oh the joys of coming alive. I feel very good. Still a little short on sleep but I'm not complaining. At least when I do lay down I'm out cold until morning.

I moved the wire fence gate and hand pulled all the dead and thatched grass away from the 40 foot opening so I could mow it. My arms might feel that tomorrow but maybe not. Not much seems to make me sore right now. Although I should touch wood if I'm getting on my horse for the first time this year tomorrow. I've been hurt doing that before.. not nice. Leaves me wanting to shop for a new groin and knee special.

If I have time maybe I'll haul the bike out and have a closer look at it tomorrow. I worked like the dickens this week. I don't feel so driven to work tomorrow. I'm due for some play time..

I got all my stretching and leg lifts in before bed tonight and I was so well warmed up from the mowing and hand weeding that I was quite loose. Very encouraging.

My back is tight. I wish it wasn't.. ;^(

Sorry if I'm missing points here.. I'm very close to bed.
Cheers! Ian.

I had a big day being very active from an early hour. I decided when I looked in the mirror and saw my clear eyes that I should up the challenge today like I did inadvertently last week-end with the barn cleaning.

Pierrette got home from her camp with the grade eights and only wanted to eat out so we went to the local coffee shop to have a bite. I don't know what got into me. At first I wanted to keep working but then decided it would be a fun time and I should go too.

The amazing part was that I was able to shift gears cleanly and throughly. We chatted with friends in the restaurant. I read the paper which hasn't happened in ten or fifteen years. Once back in the car we went for a cruise down the side streets of our little hamlet. Neat and tidy places.. very small and utilitarian but cared for well enough to show some pride.

I lollygagged it home watching for birds and finally stopping to wander the local cemetery with my youngest. Pierrette thinks I've gone loopy I think. < g >

Once home I realised I hadn't had my "fix" so began to wander around with a rake wondering what's next. I settled on pushing the hand mower around in an attempt to keep ahead of the grass. We are so wet the riding mower would have been a pain in the butt. Pushing a lawn mower through wet soft ground got the lungs doing the squeeze box thing a bit better.... heheh Oh the joys of coming alive. I feel very good. Still a little short on sleep but I'm not complaining. At least when I do lay down I'm out cold until morning.

I moved the wire fence gate and hand pulled all the dead and thatched grass away from the 40 foot opening so I could mow it. My arms might feel that tomorrow but maybe not. Not much seems to make me sore right now. Although I should touch wood if I'm getting on my horse for the first time this year tomorrow. I've been hurt doing that before.. not nice. Leaves me wanting to shop for a new groin and knee special.

If I have time maybe I'll haul the bike out and have a closer look at it tomorrow. I worked like the dickens this week. I don't feel so driven to work tomorrow. I'm due for some play time..

I got all my stretching and leg lifts in before bed tonight and I was so well warmed up from the mowing and hand weeding that I was quite loose. Very encouraging.

My back is tight. I wish it wasn't.. ;^(

Sorry if I'm missing points here.. I'm very close to bed.
Cheers! Ian.

Way to go Ian! You seem to be growing every area! My phyical area is doing well. I also seem to get alot more done around the house these days. My relationship with my wife needs some work. It is the one area that I cannot seem to make myself want to go overboard like I need to. I have a lot of questions about her love for me and that makes it hard to give as much as I can. Well thats for another thread.

I did end up doing my long ride after work on Friday. It ended up being 35 miles. It was a fun ride because after the first 13 miles I did not have a great idea where I was going. I just new I had to keep going north and west. I was not able to puch quite as hard because I was tired and I did not know how far I had left to go. I did again hook up with someone on the paved trail part of the ride. I passed him then he passed me back. I then took the lead so he draft like I had drafted him. I turned around after a mile and he had faded. That was about the highlight. The first part of the ride was flat. Then the next 20 miles is mainly up hill.
There were a few good hills and then some gradual ones. Then the last 3 miles were all downhill. It was an nice way to finish. I still managed to average 17.7 mph. That felt good. It was a cool windy night. But most of the way I had a tail wind. I ended up for the week ending friday riding 145 miles. That felt good.

I took Sat/Sun off. I wanted to ride, but there was to much to do so I did not ride. We went to a potluck . I spent part of the morning helping to make the salad and then clean up around the house.

Today I rode in again to work. It was a good ride, but I did not quite have the energy I had last week. Usually the first day after a couple of days off is the hardest. I do not know why that is. I will not have as good of mileage this week. I know I will not be able to ride Weds because we have to go to a memorial service for my wife's friend right after work. I may not get to ride tomorrow either. Keep up the good work!
Jim

Your ride summary gave me pause. It’s flat here. It’s flat here for a long way. What we do have is wind. I’m not sure I like the thought of wind. Given that there is a four mile drive to pavement I may have to reconsider. Whatever, it’s not like there aren’t a pooh load of choices to suit the bill.

When was the last time you were riding like this?

Jim I wish I could help you on the other thread but I sometimes think there is nothing left but the doing.. ;^( I wish you well regardless of choices. Relax.. smile and be glad you are still alive and experiencing opportunity. Growing old isn’t for the weenies and it comes quickly.

I’m wondering if my own need for a bit of salvation is attributable to the fact that I’m a certain age. On the flight to Victoria at Easter, I had a two hour conversation with a Union President representing the federal corrections workers. Prison guards. He made a statement about prisoners and their reform capabilities (in men) that caught my attention. He said it’s very common that many hard asses miraculously reform in their forties. I’m wondering if the proximity of death isn’t playing a role in my new found reform.

Just a thought.

Whoa.. did I get slapped Yesterday. I got up and thought that I was a little stiff…hheeheh but I kind of ignored it. I was kind of fuzzy in the head too and it took a while to wake up. I got up about 9:00 I guess so although I was up until 1:30am I had had a few hours of solid sleep. As the day progressed I regressed a bit and became stiffer in the thin muscles covering my mid and lower back. Those muscles were apparently challenged by my yarding the hand mower down to the water and back repeatedly. I cut the rest of the larger bits pushing one line and returning on the pull, switching sides as I went.

Today I don’t feel so bad eheh I’ll do my physio at any rate. But yesterday was a different story. It took quite a bit of work to show the stresses but I got it! Ehh How often do you think a guy should push it to find where the “bottom” is?

The reason I ask is that the bottom was so far away from my low expectations that I think it might help to actually check now and again.

I’m going to do a bunch of sets of squats to test them before I see the therapist. They have been part of the therapy.

I wish I had time to engage more throughout the forums. But it seems as if “knowing” has not been the best friend to “doing”. I must do. I don’t know how much I have to “do” and that’s where my lame sense of balance will likely undermine me. Slowing down to go out to dinner with PU and Manon Friday night was wild. Mellow. I was mellow. Oh I forgot to tell you about Sunday morning speaking of mellow!

Got up.. did chores.. had a good breakfast. All systems functioning.. kinda.. I’m sore. Took 10mg of Dexedrine and went to bed to sleep for two hours. I never ever sleep during the day.. without some delirious fever or virus, or life’s akimbo. This is a good omen. < g >

I spent the rest of the day and well into the evening working on an old IHC Model M stationary engine circa 1917/21. The ignition is missing so now it’s just a “make and break” off a buzz box. I’ve owned it for a while but had never given it much lovin’. < g > I love doing that kind of thing but don’t nurture it. Once I got the ignition figured out around the buzzbox I had mixture trouble. I must have cranked that handle a thousand cranks over the day. But I’m not suffering for it today. I had the satisfaction of it running long enough to walk to the house and get Manon and walk back to have it still running. It’s pretty beat though. The only way I can get enough compression to get fire is to have the oil pretty thick on the piston and then you are burning a lot of oil and a big white smoky exhaust results.

It was cute watching her trying to figure out what the noise was. The engine only fired four times in the +100 yard walk to the barn so she was baffled. She said it looked like an excellent “boytoy” and I thought.. hmmmm well… ok! It was like a day in the toy box for sure.

I’m worried sick about my partners weight loss. Her eyes have gotten big black circles around them and she has big trouble staying awake to even say “boo”. I pushed things a little this week-end. She couldn’t talk about anything but she acted and that is preferable. She slowed down a bit. At least long enough to have some “easy” time. Even though it was after eleven we took some time to relax in each other’s company. Conversation came slowly but I found out about a book I’d like to read when I want a bit of entertainment. It was luxurious. I like my wife. She’s my best friend. It’s getting better on one front though. The iron pills she’s supposed to have been taking for the last twenty or so years are in her sights. Her colour is much much better these couple of months down the road. All is not bleak. June 20th I’ll join her at the hospital for her day with the snake in both ends for some camera work.

I am terrified of submission to medical personnel.

I’m waking up. I’m scared out of my mind but I won’t turn away.

Rambling ambling… sigh. I hear a clock with my name on it calling from the shop. I know it’s Victoria Day but I’m not loyal to that monarchy. I’m Scottish stock on both sides. I saw an outstanding little clip of a big cabre toss and the kids all fell over howling when I came up with the name and something to say about it. My eldest and I had a good weekend as did the middle daughter. But the one… the one like me.. had her mother around again to cling. They are all off to the city today to see sexy guys in film. “Troy” is the flavour I think.

You are very indulgent in helping me maintain this thread Jim. What’s say we retire it? I’m up and running. This is completely self indulgent for me. It’s a pleasure. However I don’t contribute much in the way of threads here on the forums and maybe I should when I feel the need to ramble. <g >

I know you are busy on many fronts. Thank-you for all your help in helping this guy’s train back onto the tracks. It wouldn’t be like we are going anywhere. < g > But lets go. Lets get a ways down that track.

PM me relentlessly, email at will, throw things at my head, it’s all fine but please keep in touch. I may have to restart this type of thread later if I run into trouble, who knows. If you prefer to keep it going for any reason I’m “in”.

If there is anyone else following this that would like it to continue for any reason please tell someone, preferably a post but not necessarily. Your nod is all that’s required on my part.

Thanks to the admin. whom continue to tolerate this abuse of forum protocol, namely my habits with OT material.

Cheers! Ian.
Peace to all dragon ladies.

I agree with what Ian said we have kind of made this our own personal thread. If others want to talk about their workouts then please let us know. I also thank the admins for letting us keep posting here.
Jim

Off topic material? ADD covers all aspects of life. I think that may have a lot to do with the tolerance on the admin's part. The fact is the stuff you two talk about here, and me too not so very long ago, is a microcosm of life for ADD men everywhere. ADD is a life affecting wiring difference and it literally affects every aspect of who we are and how we live to one degree or another.

It would be a shame to retire a thread that wonderfully illustrates that we truly are not as isolated as we may sometimes feel in our differences.

Great point Dan! And for the most part we did talk about working out. I guess my main concern was we were monopolizing the thread. I think all of us did invite people to join in at one time or another. I will start posting here again. I will try not to duplicate what I am writing in the exercise thread.
Jim

Gym, no worries. If the stories are finding audiences, the audiences will follow you to the threads you are posting in. Hopefully, soon participating.

So, no need to try and keep track of both. I think the exercise thread is the place for the working out stuff and this one... Well, we can keep it around for a time.

I think we have demonstated a welcoming tone. I would hope to have it that way.

I'm not at all sure that our little encounter here didn't also exemplify the merits of having "company" in the drive to some of our goals. I do not work well alone. I do work well with others.

My progress is mostly due to this thread. I found somewhere safe with peers I trusted. I only get that when I "risk" and the gamble paid off here in spades.

Here or elsewhere I don't see that many are prepared to take action. I was willing and able to engage and follow through. No minor miracle. I come from the dark pit of untreated suicidal depression. I can still smell the stench of it but I'm no longer threatened. In fact I don't remember feeling this strong in ages.

It's causing my wife to worry. My soul mate is a goddess. She's got the patience of Job and the wisdom of Northrop Fry. I've basically had no pressure through the +18 years of our marriage about anything greater than "being happy". What a taskmaster she is!!! Of course I'm kidding. I've been gifted such latitude.

We are very different people. Our marriage is based on a key word in John Steinbeck's East of Eden "Timshel". It means "thou mayest". I found her in the classifieds. But maybe sometime that will make a thread of it's own. I'm getting braver about posting threads.

Anyone needing to join us will obviously be welcomed and nurtured along as best we can if I get my way. < g >

Although as intimate as we have become with all the inherent risks that entails, the results have been marked clearly with a lot of colourful flags posted all around me like some kind of international celebration of rebirth. Much of it got it's start by joining forces with others.

I am getting giddy some times. I'm definitely attracting the attention of the kids. Pierrette is tired. She's run down to nothing and can't really muster much of a launch at this point. She's going in for some tests on the 20th that should hopefully rule out all but stress and workaholics.

I seem to have so little time to post now. I'm working so much more and prefer to be working out or building something these days.

Today I spent a luxurious afternoon yakking about computers and people and life with kids. I've known Brock since we were born. I found him several years ago at a Future Shop and we just picked up where we left off a dozen or twenty years prior. Except that now we both enjoy the joys of the Linux based operating systems. Having this enthusiasm in common was a little spooky.

My workout tonight was a lot of hand cultivating in the garden. We are so badly flooded that it's getting taken over with moss, fungus and molds. I broke up the surface as best I could to try and get some air into it. I managed to get the tiller involved on some of it but it was at least as much work pushing the ancient Troybuilt castings through the muck. Just now the thunder and lightening are beginning. We don't need a drop.

I finally got my lungs opened up fully tonight. It was a little pitiful. But I did it. I was going to sit in meditation for a bit today but had lost track of my zafu and I can't possibly sit zazen without it now can I? Of course I can.. but I think Dan had my email addy. "excuseboy@"

It's late and I have two important setup calls to do tomorrow morning. I worked this week flawlessly or at least up to my expectations. I did a lot of other things too but the work went really well. I rode horseback several times. My thighs are simply bloating up under the load. I bet in a month I'll have only a couple of pairs of jeans left that fit. Lightning is close. I'm going to shut things down.

Ok.. maybe not. Food went well today too. I didn't eat because I wasn't hungry for dinner. This never happens. I eat a lot for comfort. I bet it's going to be good for me. I had a late lazy fat lunch. Came home and unpacked then did the usual chores followed by the hand cultivation in the mucky garden. I'll be interested to see the summer go by. I have high hopes. I want to be a raving success. Whatever that means. I feel dang good though. I'm a little frantic still but as I get familiar with the different lifestyle and become more confident in the process I'll relax a bit. I'm hoping the anxiety produced by the Dex can be addressed with a daily routine of Zen mediation. It's worked in the past but somehow I lost it. No company! ehh.. I'll hit a different thread for that a spare you guys the details.

I was going to install "Fedora Core 2" tonight. It's the latest greatest thing from the people that maintain the once free Redhat Linux distribution. I don't want to be too dopey tomorrow so it will have to wait.

Welcome home Dan!

We tend to cover a wide range of topics here. Or maybe it's just me that is too lazy to start new threads. Ah well.. the only song I ever wrote was called "Agent of Insubordination". with a refrain of "Can't ever get it right!". < g >

Ok enough already.. shudup! Ian.

I am very pleased to find the three of us here once more. If others can make commitments and join.. bring on all comers I say!

Heh, ADDers may not be so hot at focussing, but we generally do manage to "Unite" fairly well. In fact, there seems to be a nearly spontaneaous sort of teaming that occurs, providing the types are close enough, so that everyone sort of automatically delegates and accepts their parts in a given project according to what their talents are. Almost sounds socialist! DOH! Nah, just human. Without the overlap in types though we are as mutually unintelligible to each other as we are to non-ADDers.

It's still a weird phenomenon to read about at the conferences and what not. I've only experienced it first hand via one on one interactions with a very few ADDers and probable ADDers I've worked with.

It is good to be back though. I've just been quite depressed. Still am really... I feel somewhat better because I've been given the leeway by Doc to play with my lexapro dose and bring it back up to 20 MG. I hate doing that when I so painstakingly weaned myself from it, but the depression is killing me and it's the only option I have at the moment. I have resolved to get a good run in tomorrow too. I have been running fairly regularly, but the last three days have been absolute murder and so I haven't made it to the gym.

Ian, I'm doing all this stuff, and I'm going through the motions.... I'm not at all suicidal, I don't think I ever could be (not sure why, lord knows at this point if I were hit by a bus I'd consider it a blessing), might be the catholic upbringing might not be... I just don't really care about anything right now. At all. Even a little bit.

About the only thing that cuts through the fog are my children, and then only briefly. The higher dose on the lexapro seems to be helping.

It'll take time to kick in though so I'm not going to be happy tomorrow.

Doc knows about all of this, I brought it up at my fitness re-eval. Fortunately, it doesn't directly impact my evaluation. Which was fit for full come next August. :-) I also completed my Opscreening today, so tomorrow morning after my eye exam appointment I am going to see if I can get my chief to send out my suitability for duty message so the detailer knows I will be available for orders in August. The window for negotiating orders is typically three months and this will give me two, so as soon as that message is transmitted (they're electronic these days) I can e-mail is butt and ask for orders. He's been ignoring me. Most detailers will work with you if you tell them you are for a fact being fit for full and give them a time line. I mean all they have to do is call your LIMDU coordinator and Doctor to verify your story and pencil you in. My detailer is a jerk though. He won't even talk to me without the paperwork already done 100%. Some might call that "by the book". It really isn't though. Because the book advises them to work with LIMDU personnel as closely as possible to ensure they have an opportunity to negotiate orders with as close to a normal lead time as they can reasonably get. In short, my detailer is being lazy. GRRR. Ah well, when my ducks are in a row he will answer my e-mail within 48 hours as advertised or he can answer his supervisor's. I have no more patience with him.

Dan.
That's tough news to hear. John Prine has a line in a song that I've always feared. "I can't even make friends with my brain". Your doc sounds like he's into trying to help at least. Your evaluation did the deed as far as opening the window to getting to sea again. I know it's a long way from actually getting your orders but it's a step in the right direction.

Being at sea must drive you. I've done some sailing on small cruisers 24'/26'/32' pleasure craft. I took up an interest in sailing to try and wean myself off street racing when I was in my late teens and early twenties. Of course I don't remember much of those skills now. I was spending a few evenings with the girls tying knots this spring. Many had sea going applications.

I grew up close to a dock where we could toss crab traps into the chuck and spend the afternoon drinking beer waiting for dinner to climb into the traps. The lazy hazy days of summer.

Take care bud.

Bonded.. Ian

Dan, good to here thing are moving forward again! I hope you get the orders soon and can move forward.

I feel I have been very lucky. I some how have mangaged to stay moveing forward slowly my whole life. I have never had any super depression. I think it was all very low grade and haveing to do with my ADD. I am way more the inattentive type so the need for something super exciting has never been something I have had to deal with.

I moved to Pacific Northwest almost 20 years ago. I had just droped out of college for the 3rd time. I started working at Godfathers pizza. I have somehow mangage to move into a descent paying postition and stay in it for 15 years. I do wonder somedays if I am just one of those people who is lucky.

I am very reflective today but doing well. I have seen you both grow and hope we can continue to spur each other on to new heights! I know you guys have pushed me to a new level.

Jim

Ian,

Going to sea only really drives me these days because it's moving forward rather than back. Oh there is a lot to be said for being on a big grey lady rocking among the waves of the Atlantic, but I'm probably decieving myself if I think I can ever recapture what I used to have as a young up and comer. They just don't want senior types like me digging around in equipment. Even if I am damn talented. They want us looking over shoulders, baby sitting officers (to keep them out of the techs hair and explain what's going on to them), and doing the reams of documentation that I cannot bear to even look at let alone accomplish.

Actually, I've invented some systems that work for that last bit, if they let me do things my way. No in boxes, I can't stand the damn things (you can't sort whats what in there! It's just piled one item on top of the other in whatever order it arrives in!) Nope, I have folders in various locations on my desk for various tasks. Different types and colors of folders. Which helps if they get moved, and makes them easier to identify at a glance (they are, of course labled too, but the categories are pretty general.). I also utilize my outlook callendar and PDA liberally. Lastly, I was just getting into really training and developing subordinates and delegating responsibilities. Any free time I had went to personal development or volunteer instruction for the crew. I was really cranking out some productivity for a guy who was supposedly "unfit" for sea duty.

Of course Doc had the right of it the way he summed up the course of events. Master chief started harrassing me over my meds and the psych code in my record, even though I was "fit for full duty" at the time, and the constant harrassment from him, and the questioning of my capacities from other members of my chain inspired by his doubts and innuendos, as well as my own normal failings, increasingly bad temper, and the symptoms the meds were increasingly unable to mask due to stress led to my chain writing me up for "misconduct" over one of the more common symptoms. This was an inappropriate step for them to take, and in the long run they paid quite dearly for it. But they put me through the wringer for months while I had to bide my time. That sucked in ways that defy description.

In anycase, Enterprise has a pretty horrid reputation on the water front for chewing up sailors and spitting them out. The psych ward at Portsmouth has more patients from Enterprise than any other command out here. Go figure... Doc says my first command (also a high stress unit as a flag ship) wasn't much better and I did quite well there even with untreated anxiety disorders (he's mystified I lasted as long as I did without seeking help), so he's quite confident that on any "average command" that with my level of motivation I should do "just fine". If that is true then I can say with confidence that I really do look forward to sea duty again.

I'm a displaced mountain boy, but I do love the sea. Must be the swede in me, or it may be all the fishermen, Irish and Swedish in my ancestry. There is no question I will return to my mountains someday, for I love them more than anything, but I will always remember the sea. The cool grey lady who rocked me to sleep for so many years and whispered so many secrets in my ears.

The fact is Ian, it is time for me to be moving on. I need to get my degree in electronics done, so I can move on to psychology.

I can't stay in this field. The paperwork on the outside would burry me. As a psychologist, at least, I can have an assitant to handle most of the paperwork, and minimize my load to providing predigested bits of data in the form of checklists and forms and such. Of course, if my wife ends up leaving me I had considered going right into evolutionary psychology. Not much money in that, but the passion is there and I don't need much money to live on. Hopefully, I won't lose my family. I can always pursue my passions later (one hopes anyway). Practial concerns like food on the table come first. Besides, it's a near tie for interest. I love working with and helping people.

Jim I've been called pushy before but never in quite such a flattering light! heheh

Wow Dan this sounds really good. Detached and working toward a future. You sound sober and not terribly happy but I like the tone and comments about study and moving on. Jim's been lucky not to have big periods of stalling. I'm very familiar with the stall. I hate myself for it every time and forever after. The only thing that relieves the pain of being so ineffective is activity. With the help of you two primarily but not exclusively I've been able to string together many small success's that are now looking quite easy. The bigger tasks aren't so scary and the vision of the future and dreams are once again coming to mind.

I'm a prairie boy. The sea is nice but the seasons are my love. Four full distinct seasons rolling one into the other. Every increment of change so subtle as to be imagined. The smells give much away. I am cursed with a huge schnoz and it works very well. I think my nose must also be responsible for my love of food. The smells are so so good.

Cheers my man. Here's to clear sailing toward your dreams.
Ian.

I am obsessed with working out during the school year when I work out with other kids because I am pretty big and I love showing off. But when the summer time comes, and its just me and my weight bench in my garage, I just cant seem to focus. I start lifing, then Im just like, screw this crap! Lol.

Street,

Summer, when I was a kid, was the time of year I spent doing "teenage fun stuff". In Idaho, the land the time forgot, this involved a good amount of physical activity, and while I never "formally" worked out I usually came out of summer in better shape than I went into it. I'd go swimming at the lake for hours, or we'd get involved in some neighborhood intrigue that involved chasing each other over miles on bikes just to unload a water cannon. Point is, a formal workout isn't necessary if you stay active, especially when you're young.

I haven't been posting here much lately. So as an update, I recovered from my Ilotibial strain, and lower back injury. I did take an extended break from running for the month, but this is largely due to my transfer to my new command, and rather embarrassing financial troubles brought on by my ex's bad timing with the separation. She wasn't prepared to pay all her bills, and I couldn't very well have her or the kids on the street, so I paid them (under the separation agreement she gets 875.00 a month, and these expenses were in addition to that. Not legally obligated, but certainly morally obligated). Problem with that was, that I ended up spending three of the last six weeks, on an enforced, NO FOOD diet. LOL! Luckily I'm on the large side so, I can stand to miss a few meals. I only lost 30lbs, but I have to admit it hurt a bit. Needless to say, I couldn't afford the calorie drain of running on top of that, and haven't even consitently taken my meds because amphetamines, and no food, don't mix well.

Things are finally settling in around here though, and I'll be restarting my running routine after about a hiatus of a month or two. I did knock three minutes off my "official" mile and a half run time and five minutes and ten seconds off my unofficial (only one witness, and not under a test) time. Eleven thirty ain't bad on the mile and a half for an old guy. Especially when it was the second mile and a half of three miles. (Dan pats himself on the back) Hee hee. Oh yeah, I'm eating again too, got the ex caught up. Really wasn't her fault, just couldn't call myself a man if I let my kids go without instead of me.

I know this is long winded but I know a lot of people with AD/HD that love to work out but also go through phases.. My father, at 60 turned into a health nut after coming down with adult diabetes. He will go for 6 months running almost 10 miles a day, laying out in the sun, pumping weights.... and then quit! Only to start it up again 6-12 months later..
Have there been any studies done on this?
I am in this same boat when it comes to exercise. When I am into it, I am really into it, with running and exercising. I am 42 and got into the best shape of my life this past summer and achieved my ideal weight and body-fat percentage. When I am in that mode, exercise becomes so self-rewarding that I get even more motivated. But then something happens and I get distracted by something (typically work) and I just forget about exercising for a while - for like 6 months! I don't know if this is anything unique to ADD, or just lazy human behavior. I will say, though, that exercise is a form of self-medication for me, as I feel so focused after running produces all the endorphines I need. It just frees my mind up from that feeling of being scatter-brained. And if I am working on resolving some problem and feel "stuck", a run will usually bring a sense of clarity to the issue. Until recently, I didn't even realize I was using exercise to self-medicate. I think I turn to it when I am just sick and tired of feeling like my life is out of control. Once, when I was in a job that really sucked due to the monotony and routine, I decided to just coast at work and put my energy into doing a triathlon. Anyone who does triathlons knows that it is like you spend all your spare moments training - running 5 times/week, swimming 3-4 times and cycling 3-4 times per week. It ends up being lots of hours, but your body gets to a point cardiovascularly that it is no big deal. Unfortunately, I am unable to live a balanced life with kids and work and that kind of extreme exercise. Oh for balance!

Hey prolific! Good to have you around. I haven't run in twenty years before this winter. I'm laying down an aerobic base that will take me a year or more I think. I may take a break after the first week in July and take 8 or 12 weeks to train for my first 10k race.

Right now I'm running 2.5 miles at 75% MHR (maximum heart rate) four times a week. This Sunday I'll take that one run and begin to make it my LSD (long slow distance) run by adding no more than 10% or my weekly distance to it.

By the the middle of July I should have doubled my mileage to 20.5/wk. I'm being really patient with my body as I ease back into this. I want to do this the rest of my life and the less injuries I have the better I'll like it. I'm 45 now and it will be some time before the hard and semi hard tissues are adapted.

You sound firmly entrenched into the routine. I have made my running somewhat sacred so I don't get side tracked with something else. I depend on it too much for the rest of my life staying together.

If I could ask you a favour? I have a really tough time reading large blocks of text. If it's broken down into short paragraphs it is a way easier for me. Many here are like that but few speak up. This method of breaking up posts into smaller paragraphs is suggested in the guidelines here if you are interested in the details.

Thanks for posting these details. I'd be interested in learning more about the progress you make.
Cheers! Ian.

ready to run?
I started running again.
p :)

I haven't run since February 3rd. Drugs perscribed had me stopped. I could run today, but whether I make time for that or not is still pending. I've been ok to run for a week now so maybe it's time it became a priority again!
Cheers! Ian.

just got a call from Leukemnia society.
they do a marathon of the palm beaches.
sure they do one all over the country.
they train you to walk or run.
pick a friend and train.
Dec 2005 is the date down here.
wanna run for a cause.


P

;)

here is the link:
http://www.teamintraining.org/
They called my office and sending welcome packet.
Want a rep to call ya?
I can forward your name next time I talk to them if you like.


P

;)

I did bodybuilding back in the day, in my last 2 years of high school and 2 years after when I was at Rice. At my biggest, i was about 250 at 5'11". Probly around 11% bf, so i was pretty lean, but I never really "cut" so to speak.

When I started going for my masters I had to cut back on the time I spent in the gym, but I havnt shrunk that much, just impposible to keep that much mass without being VERY carfull.

I still get to the gym 3-4 days a week, at about 220 right now, leaner than I would like though.

I take Tae Kwon Do classes.

i use take kali which is a form of martial arts it helped greatly i wish i had more time and money to do that i tried the self defense class in my school irionicly it was tae kwon do i have nothing against but i don't like there apporch on teaching, i like the laid back types that's all.

I studied a very conservative style of Karate five nights a week through college. That was the first place I experienced any martial art training.

Since then I've done a lot of different physical activities. My beef with most of the martial arts training around here is that it's isolated from the rest of the athletic community. They are still stretching before working out for instance and that's been proved to weaken muscles and leave people to be more easily injured.

Like most things I do now, they are of my own design.

I've been running since October of last year and that's been a gas. I've been very very cautious about letting my tendons and ligaments adapt to the pounding slowly. I took 14 weeks to work up to running a half hour straight. It should have been 12 weeks but stuff happens as you all well know!

I had a stretch of 6 weeks of training lost to an infection and I'm only this week, back to a 12 mileage week. My heart rate has plumeted and my times are dropping. You guys might enjoy this article I had linked to elsewhere here. This is basically what I'm trying to do. It was how Lance Armstrong came back from his bout with cancer to win a record 6 or six straight tour de France races. I though it was wild stuff.
http://www.duathlon.com/articles/1460

It's tough to do though because I'm not much for working below full speed ahead! I've watched my time drop a minute and a half in the last two weeks over a 3 mile run. Yippy!

Whatever you do, just do it regularly. It's a huge boost to our struggles.

Cheers! Ian.

I have been seriously powerlifting since January. I took 3 years off from lifting due to chronic injuries mostly received as a teenager and in my twenties..I was cycling the during those 3 yrs and during the summer rode about 100 miles a week. I tend to be compulsive with almost anything I do.
I am now 47. I follow a structured lifting routine with goals and 3 to 4 meets each year