Hardcore

This morning I thought to myself,"I vant to be HAHRDcore!" just like Ahnold. So after considerable dilly-dallying, i.e. taking a shower, emptying the dishwasher, cleaning the dirty dishes in the sink, eating a light breakfast of wheat toast with strawberry-lemon marmalade and a cup of cappucino (International House powdered), scrubbing the bathroom sink, scrubbing the toilet, then spending some time online in Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO), I finally got out and did it:

Street/MCR: Rode bike to gym, worked out in "Fit In 30" Room, then rode home. Total distance: (7.61) mi., total time: (1:26:45.08) hrs. Burned: (564) Calories.

Not a bad workout. The ride to the gym was good, windy, but good. I started to fade a bit during my second lap in the "Fit In 30" room, but I pushed through all three (3) laps, then chugged water, and took a breather for a few minutes, talked to one of the attendants at the counter, then got on my bike and rode home. The wind was with me on the way home, mostly, so that was a bonus. I need to stretch out and eat, soon. My stomach is demanding food.

Update: I added a new picture of my bike on the Equipment page, and replaced the old one in the Header background image. Feel free to comment. I also finally got around to mounting my new bike lock bracket. It looks awkward and it does not interfere with pedaling, even though it looks like it should. Unless I'm riding somewhere I expect to lock up my bike, I'll probably leave the lock at home. I still wish I had not lost my old U-lock late last year. I'm pretty sure I set it on the hood of my car (black lock on a black car), while it was in the shade of the car-port, then promptly forgot about it, and drove off later to run an errand, not realizing the lock was still laying on the car hood. *sigh* I did remember it, later on, and tried looking for it around my neighbourhood, but no luck finding it.

-Lancer!!

Training Time Again

I've been awake since about midnight, so I am fading fast, but still craving pizza. Got out for a bit of training anyway:

DC Bike Path: Walk/jog/walk training. Total distance: (3.23) mi. Pace-avg: (18:15) min./mi. Speed-avg: (3.3) mph. Burned: (371) Calories. Knees are a little achy. Think I might be sun-burned.

Looks like the wind, or something, really got to me: I barely made it into the "Slow Jog" speed on the first jog phase, didn't make it out of the "Fast Walk" speed on the second jog phase. Rats. Time to order a pizza (for pick-up), stretch out, and get a shower later.

-Lancer!!

Chicken Curry

Made Chicken Curry tonight with a Japanese curry sauce (S &B Golden Curry brand, Medium Hot). It turned out OK, but I was hoping for better. The chicken I used was pre-cooked (baked), and seemed pretty salty. I cut up half a yellow onion, a whole red pepper, and a whole green bell pepper. I sauteed the onions and chicken in olive oil, then added the peppers, stirred some more, and added water. Once the water was boiling I added the curry mix and stirred it so it dissolved into the water. I skipped a step: I was supposed to cover the skillet and let it simmer for about ten (10) minutes before I added the curry mix; not sure how much difference that would have made. Anyway, once the rice was done I put the curry over rice and consumed. It was good enough. This time I believe the curry sauce came out a bit too thick, whereas last time, it was much too thin. Next time, I will definitely fall back on the recipe I used to use when I was in San Jose: same brand of curry, but use mixed vegetables, bell peppers and skip the chicken. I also need to try using the canned potatoes, too.

C'est la vie.

Good news: My knees are not aching they way they used to after my walk/jog/walk training the last two (2) weeks. Along with warming up more effectively, I did not perform the one-legged standing calf raises before and after my training, the way I had been previously. We'll see how much of a difference this makes over the next week.

-Lancer!!

Up All Night

So I stayed up all night. I'm trying to reset my body-clock. But then I already said that earlier somewhere. I got out of the house for some training:

DC Bike Path: Walk/jog/walk. Dist: (2.49) mi.; Pace-avg: (17:56) min./mi. Speed-avg: (3.3) mph. Burned: (289) Calories.

My "jog" phase of each set is still in the "Slow Jog" portion of the speed graph, but at least I'm doing it. My knees don't feel quite so achy at the moment: I walked for (15) minutes, then did some squats and lunges to warm-up my muscles a bit (no weights). Following the warm-up I followed my workout plan, i.e. walk/jog/walk; repeat. That was followed by a cool-down walk home, then some more squats, lunges and calf-raises, again without weights. Now to stretch out, shower and eat. In that order, I think.

Weight: (204.4) lbs.

-Lancer!!

Mittwoch

Exercise: Rest Day.

Non-productive day so far; slept late.

A couple days ago I did find this useful tidbit for copying files between PC (WinXP) and MacOSX: http://www.wikihow.com/Transfer-Files-from-PC-to-Mac. I was able to use this through my networking devices and copy my entire iTunes library from my Winbox to my Mac. Now I just need to import the files into iTunes on my Mac so I can listen to my library while my PC runs SETI@Home calculations, and I can sort through the tall piles of receipts and other shredibles that need...shredding.

-Lancer!!

Smart

I like to think I am smart. Some days I prove it. Some days I don't.

Exercise: MCR: "Fit In 30" room for (22) min. No cycling or running today. Web-calculator est. burned: (317) Calories.

Cooking Chicken Tikka Masala tonight using a McCormick's ready recipe packet. Just waiting for the Jasmine Rice to finish. It tastes pretty good. Maybe a little too much crushed red pepper, which was optional. Should have also bought some nan bread to go with this.

Update: Good, overall. Next time, I think I'll leave out the red pepper, use canned diced tomatoes (so there is more liquid for the sauce), and definitely get some nan bread to go with the meal. Tomorrow: Veggie curry.

-Lancer!!

Nada, aka The Kinks

Exercise: Rest Day. Whether I want it, or not, my knees need a rest.

Spent the day trying to stay awake long enough to help reset my body-clock. Fell asleep about 1330 hrs. watching a DVR program from the Biography Channel on the "The Kinks"(2008). I didn't realize The Kinks started out in the early 60's, like so many other British Invasion bands, i.e. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, et al. The song and video I remember most was from the 80's: "Come Dancing" (1982). I watched the video on NightTrax (TBS), and later on MTV, I think. I was in junior high and high school during the 80's. High school was when I really got into the New Wave and Punk Rock music. My buddy, Andy, from German class really introduced me to a lot of bands, including The Cure. I remember Andy had a copy of Maximum Rock'n'Roll (an old indie music rag), or maybe it was an issue of Thrasher magazine, but there was a music review of The Cure's 1985, or 1986, Halloween concert in San Francisco (at The Warfield?).

The description of the music and the mood was all I needed to get hooked on the concept of The Cure; and their music lived up to the hype. In fact, The Cure's 1986 "Standing on a Beach" Tour show at The Greek Theater in Berkeley was my first live concert. I attended it alone and loved every minute of it, especially when, as part of the pre-show, the title track to "Pornography" (1982) was played over the arena speakers. The eerie, sinister tones really gave me a thrilling chill of excitement. The very next week I saw The Eurhythmics at the same venue during their "Revenge" Tour. I saw that show with my buddy, Dave. It was awesome. I was also surprised at how many older fans were in the crowd. And by older I mean in their thirties and forties. And I think the older crowd were the ones smoking all the Mary Jane. The cloud was kinda' dense.

I can't mention German class in high school without mentioning Frau Driscoll. She was/is the daughter-in-law to The Iron Frau (Die Eisenfrau) who taught German at Thomas Downey High School, IIRC. At least that's what I remember hearing in high school. She was a great instructor, and I always enjoyed her class. One of my classmates, Jerry, now works for Pixar. Another, Carole, who I think wanted to study psychology, is now practicing law somewhere in the Midwest.

-Lancer!!

Sunday

Because I am not original, much. Anyway, as part of my training plan I went for a brisk walk in the park:

DC Bike Path: Brisk walk: (1.95) miles. Pace-avg: (17:20) min./mi. Speed-avg.: (3.5) mph. Burned: (224) Calories.

I saw quite a few cyclists out in the park today, most of them in riding groups of 3-5. I prefer cycling to walking/running because I move faster. But seriously, my knees just really need to get into shape. I'm wondering if my pre- and post-exercise, um exercise, a standing one-legged calf-raise, (10 reps, 2x on each side), is what's really giving me the grief. This exercise was recommended by Dan M. at Fleet Feet Stockton as a way to build up the stabilizing muscles in my knees. I had asked him what I could do to help build up my knees since I was experiencing lots of aches and pains in said knees after my brief attempts on the treadmill at the gym; this was his solution.

Now as we all know, over-exercise of muscles can leave them in a state of continuous breakdown, instead of breaking down and building up, as when weightlifting for muscle growth and development. I think I previously mentioned making an appointment with a personal trainer at the gym. Guess I better get on that.

Reading: "The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower" (c.2008) by Robert Baer. Interesting read, so far. I already read two other books by him: "See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism" (c.2002, 2003), and "Sleeping With the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude" (c.2003). And looking at Amazon, I see he has a new book out: "The Company We Keep: A Husband-and-Wife True Life spy Story" (c.2011, hardcover). I look forward to reading that one, soon.


-Lancer!!