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Sheltered And Simple

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Curfew ended yesterday. This change allows more flexibility for week day morning runs. While I use running as a form of transportation throughout the day, running for transportation never captures the vibe of running for running's sake. To be able to fluidly switch from running to kettlebells and from kettlebells to running is a flexibility that can serve me well. Kettlebells and running complement one another, yet are different enough that being able to switch to one avoids burn out in the other.

When I first started running as an adult, I ran for running's sake. At some point, my running innocence was lost through ego-based running (i.e. getting too concerned with things like shaving a few minutes off of one's marathon, even when one is an unexceptional middle of the pack runner.) Ego-based running nearly destroyed by love of running and I turned heavily away from running, but I am getting more and more back to running for running's sake. And running is a joy again. When I push myself hard, I enjoy the feeling of pushing myself hard rather than suffer through it as a means to an end of stroking my ego.
 
I did partial TGU's in my left hand with 45lbs, stopping before the sweep to let my right knee finish healing. Those reps didn't seem too bad, but the 22kg reps in my right hand were harder today than they have been. Of course, the TGU is a full body exercise, and adding those partial reps in my left hand still taxes muscles, etc. used by right hand reps. Having the right side feel harder today *feels* like losing ground even if that feeling is an illusion. The additional work I added in today is needed for true forward progress.
 
Morning practice time was exclusively for TGU today. After yesterday’s challenges, I wanted to do my get ups completely fresh today, with rest times also a bit longer. The 22kg full get ups in my right hand were much better today, but my left shoulder is still feeling the effort of the 45lb partial get up in my left hand. Once the skin on my right knee is all good, I just have to accept that it will take time for the get ups in my left hand to catch up to my right hand.
 
It seems counterintuitive that I can make a minimalist pair of running shoes last twice as many miles as regular cushioned running shoes before they need to be replaced. I suspect that it may be because the minimalist shoes leave me more in tune with the ground and I have better habits in them that don’t prematurely wear out the shoes.

I did running and swings today, but needed a break from get ups today. While I am on the right track to make forward progress with the get up, it is taking a lot of hyper-focus, which means I need a break now and then.
 
While I recognize that in these times of information overload, I need to more regularly unplug and also limit how much I check news sites, this morning's news indicated that the Riverwalk was open. As of today. So my day had an early morning run there. One of the most valuable things I can do during a run is to be present during the run, and I enjoyed being present this morning. The amount of time I am present for a run is more important than metrics for pace, mileage, cadence, etc.

Being present is something that serves me well in my get ups as well. I had to bail on one of my reps this morning, and being aware of that exact moment when bailing becomes necessary is a useful survival skill.
 
Patient get up work today. Patient, safe, mindful get ups today mean a far greater likelihood I will still be doing get ups a year from now than if I do risky, too-much too-soon get ups today. Back when the local gyms were open, I recall how difficult it was for many people to find the Goldilocks zone with weight training. At the one extreme, you had people doing safe, too-easy training on weight machines, without getting much benefit. At the other extreme, you have people throwing out their backs or causing themselves other injuries when they lift challenging weights, and if you’re out of training for a long time due to injury, you’re not getting much benefit either. I need to work on the Goldilocks Zone for myself that falls into the hard-but-not-too hard.
 
My day started with a run on the river walk, then later, in the park, I did rounds of 24kg goblet squats, 24kg swings, sprints, and kicks. While this was all enjoyable, by the time I got around to the TGU later in the morning, I was a little bit spent and the full TGU with 22kg was challenging enough that I had to drop down to 45lbs. Hmmm. Just like I find value in being able to sprint even when I am fatigued, I would like to be able to do my maximum weight get ups even when I am fatigued. One sometimes needs to call on their speed or strength when conditions are not ideal. But like I said yesterday, I need to approach this with patience.
 
I did the TGU sets fresh first thing this morning, and the bell I had problems with yesterday was doable today. I even did my swings after my get ups to be as fresh as I could for the get ups. My overall strength may be unexceptional, but the TGU forces me to use as much of that strength as I can. And perhaps more important to me than becoming as strong as I possibly can is learning how to best leverage the strength I already have.
 
The squats, swings, and sprints in the park after doing a long farmer's carry of my 24kg bell is a great way to start a pleasant June morning. And when I sprint down the grass, I don't have to worry about my kettlebell at all. No one can casually steal a 24kg bell and dash off with it quickly. If they can, I might admire their athletic ability.
 
This was supposed to be a TGU morning, but I woke up feeling fatigued and having a heavy cannonball with a handle over my head in that state seemed like a bad idea. I just went running, hoping the fresh air and the sunshine would rejuvenate me. I have to keep in mind: I can work on building my strength, but I also need to work at maintaining my sanity during insane times. And running does that for me. My runs don't feel like a work out in the same way that a demanding kettlebell session does, but that doesn't mean the runs have less value for me. On days that running helps maintain my peace of mind, running is valuable, regardless of any metrics of pace, distance, etc.
 
Having sessions like this morning where I focus on the TGU feels right for me. I’m at a point where my routines can no longer be classified as Simple & Sinister, but I’m not concerned. Simple & Sinister gave me a deep appreciation for the TGU and also helped me to pay more attention to my swings and squats. At the end of the day, my goal is not to adhere to a system but to develop myself.
 
Push ups can be bad for you. The skin injury on my right knee has been fluctuating back and forth between being almost invisible/ fully healed and being slightly pinkish/irritated. And it seems like a distinct possibility that there is an incidental amount of rug burn happening during the bottom phase of my push ups. Sigh. I had thought continuing to do my push ups regularly would be a good thing while I am waiting for the knee to heal. But I need to lay off push ups for a few days and substitute something more neutral for my knee. Then perhaps I can do full TGU’s on both sides of my body, not just one side.

The morning has so far had full TGU’s in my right hand, partial TGU’s in my left hand, and zero push ups.
 
In the park this morning, I did rounds:
(A) alternating sprints and 24kg goblet squats
(B) alternating sprints and 24kg one handed swings
(C) alternating sprints and kicks
It was a warm, humid morning, and the rest periods between rounds were not optional.

And here is a sprinting irony. People who want to run fast may look at their running watch constantly to get feedback on how fast they are going. But doing this greatly interferes with pumping one’s arms while running, and thus checking one’s speed can greatly reduce one’s speed. Pumping one’s arms powerfully/quickly is important to one’s running speed. It was a morning where I put a lot of emphasis on my arm pumps — an essential activity for a middle-aged runner like myself to have bursts of speed.
 
Another session built around the TGU. Meanwhile, as I continue to lay off of the push ups, the skin on my right knee seems to be moving ever closer towards healing, which means soon I will need the humility to rebuild full TGU’s in my left hand. Having these TGU focused sessions will allow me to give the proper attention to the relearning I need to do.
 
Rounds of squats and sprints and rounds of swings and sprints. In these circumstances, I prefer to do the sprints on the grass. (Well, if I had a running track close by I would use the track instead.). It’s taken me some time to break the common running habit of always running on hard surfaces. Sprinting on grass is a delight and feels great on my feet.
 
A morning session focused on the TGU. The full get ups in my right hand were solid, even the annoying part of going from lunge to standing. I'm noticing that a preliminary tiny rock backwards and then a tiny rock forward as I rise up is helpful. It makes it a forward and up movement rather than just a strictly up movement.

As I lay off the push ups, the lack of carpet burn is helping along the healing of the skin on my right knee. The fall was 2 months ago, and it's user error that it's not fully healed yet. With the partial get ups in my left hand, I have different parts of the movement where I pause for several seconds to add extra challenge to keeping the weight lifted.

Sprinting and running in general have resumed a larger role in my life since the March lockdowns began. I had started dipping my toes into B.J.J. training prior to the lockdowns, but I do not see myself dipping that toe back in even as gyms start to reopen. Dipping that toe back in would mean less time for running and less time for quality time with my SO. If the B.J.J. gyms are operating at limited capacity, those spots should be for those who want to be there much more than me.
 
A morning practice with rounds of sprints and 24kg goblet squats and rounds of sprints and 24kg one handed swings. I accept that there are elite distance runners whose marathon pace is faster than my sprint pace. My sprint pace is about pushing *myself* as hard as I can, not about my competing with superior athletes. In spite of this, it does give me a private amusement the way that my sprinting allows me to outrun most of the people out for a run at the time/place I am training. This doesn’t mean I am a better runner than they are, but it does give me a visual reminder that yes, even with me not being a particularly fast runner, I can make myself go fast.
While I may run slow when I run for pleasure or run for transportation, if I am running for training, I relish sprinting.
 
TGU-focused morning.

I'm strongly contemplating changing how I use my running watch. Perhaps the watch should be used only when I'm doing sprint drills or time trials. Keeping track of my mileage "score" when I'm running for transportation or just running for pleasure is a distraction. During the pandemic, I've started getting high monthly mileage "scores" I haven't seen since my marathon days -- and my marathon days and the focuscon metrics over the joy of running ended up turning me against running. Why should I repeat the same mistake again?
 
This was a morning for becoming acquainted with my newest, heaviest kettlebell. Rounds of sprints and 28kg two-armed swings. The swings were manageable but the one-handed farmer’s carry to/from the park was demanding on the grip.
 
A TGU-focused morning. My final full right-side TGU got momentarily out of control at the very top of the movement, but I managed to get it back into control — an essential skill that it just as important as the TGU itself.

I like the fact that the TGU is such a good practice given my extreme introversion. It’s not something to stop in the middle of to take selfies or something that produces a collection of finisher medals. Some days are good, some days are bad, but all days require focus and awareness. I had ruined running for myself for a long time with all of the extroverted trappings that comes with races — making too big a deal out of social approval indicators and selfies and photogenic moments and finisher medals and sharing PR’s and monthly stats. It took me a long time to learn once again to love running given my introverted nature, but I don’t think I can have a fall out with the TGU like I did with running.
 
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