Tag Archive: sweat

Jason’s 2010

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Fri. December 31, 2010

I actually started writing this post out a few days before tonight. There’s a lot to cover in a year and I wanted to make sure that I spent more than a bit of time getting my thoughts together. Yeah, without thinking about it too much, my first response is to call 2010 a banner year. Yes, there were hardships along the way, and a lot of hard work was needed just to continue moving forward. All the same, I wouldn’t take any of it back. There’s so much that I wouldn’t have even dreamt of in 2009. It was that kind of year.

This is a big post, so the remainder will come after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

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Sweaty love-ins

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Mon. August 30, 2010

Just got back from our improv student show. Goodness gracious, at the start it seemed like we’d only be playing to a few people but more and more people trickled in until the small theatre space was about two-thirds full. I’m really not in any condition to go at length as to what happened because I’m simply exhausted; however, it was an amazing show. That one hour flew by. There were so many people in that space that I became entirely sweaty and was drenched by the end of the show. There seemed to be a lot of love from the audience.

As it is, I’m currently being a little hard on myself. Maybe I could have been stronger in X or in Y. Maybe I jumped in too much. Maybe my characters lacked variety. I don’t know. There was one game in particular that I was a part of that was pretty much a train wreck, but we committed to the game and played through to the end. That’s probably the only thing that saved that game. In the end, I can’t let that shadow the fact that I played hard tonight and left nothing in the tank. I was exhausted by the end, sweating like a mad man. The audience should be able to at least appreciate that much.

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Spanked by humidity

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Sun. August 15, 2010

Training’s important, yeah? That’s the only way to get better at anything you do. It’s why I’ve been putting in so much time on the road over the past few years. Of course, if I compare my running abilities now with how I was then, of course I’m a lot better these days. Duh. There are still things though that don’t seem to get easier. No matter how mentally prepared I am to do a particular distance, if the weather conditions don’t cooperate I’m going to have trouble. There’s no shame in it, but it’s something I have to be aware of.

This morning I had a 32 kilometres run scheduled. I was mentally psyching myself up for it since the day before. I knew that such a run would likely take me around 4 to 4.5 hours at a slow speed. I wasn’t intending to go fast at all because I wasn’t sure how my body would react to tackling such a long distance. There was a light breeze going, and the sky was overcast. I thought these were great conditions. It wasn’t until an experienced veteran commented on the humidity level that I became worried. How could I not notice? It really was gross. I didn’t want to let that stop me though. By the 7K mark my shirt was already soaked with sweat. It was so water-logged that my shorts became wet as well. Not pleasant. Now, as much as I label myself as a particularly sweaty person, even that’s pretty ridiculous for me.

I kept going as best I could. I was starting to really feel heavy fatigue by 23K. Along the way there’s a long up hill portion. I pushed through it, but from that point I was wiped out. At 27K I basically hit the wall. It’s such an odd experience. No matter how much I wanted to move my legs, I just could not maintain a run. I was mentally telling myself that I could do it, and that the discomfort can be ignored. My legs begged to differ. Even as much as I wanted to move forward, I kept reverting to a walk. There were a few moments where I felt like I’d just vomit if I tried to push any more. Man, mentally I was feeling bad. On the way back, things were really stop and go. I did make it back, but I really had absolutely nothing left in the tank.

It took me a few moments and some pep talks from the store staff to help put things into perspective. At the very least, I can say that I really pushed my body to its physical limit. With better weather I’m sure I would have made it back without feeling so gross. Yeah, I’m not happy, but when Mother Nature chooses such conditions there’s nothing you can really do. This is one of the aspects of summer running that people don’t often consider. It’s entirely why I prefer winter running to summer running.

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Hot and sweaty

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Tue. July 13, 2010

Just came back from my first class at Moksha Yoga. Well, it was everything I figured it would be. I was hot and sweaty, and by the end I loved every minute of it. All of the staff were friendly and informative. The room was indeed hot. Perhaps ridiculously so, but I got used to it. Actually, when I first stepped in I thought the heat was tolerable. It didn’t feel like it was particularly harsh. And after last week’s heat wave I figured that I’d manage well enough. As I was lying down on the mat, beads of sweat starting to form on my forehead, but nothing felt out of the ordinary. It really wasn’t until we started doing the poses that the effects of the heat really started working their magic. I was sweating profusely. My shirt became soaked fairly quickly.

There were a few moments where I really had to watch myself. Some pose changes caused a rush of blood to the head leaving me a bit light headed. I didn’t want to risk passing out, so at those moments I stopped, breathed in, and recollected myself. I can totally understand why they tell you to bring a towel to just cover the mat. By the end of class my towel was drenched. It was both gross and glorious all at once. I walked out of the room feeling refreshed, and feeling like I could conquer the world. As of this point, the happy chemicals in my body are still flowing around. The whole thing went so well that I took advantage of an introductory offer that gives me unlimited classes for one month for $40. Considering the drop-in rate is $18, that’s a ridiculously good deal. The studio is close enough to home that I can try to make it in after work when possible. I’m going to work the heck out of that month. I know that I can. I’m no longer afraid. Let’s do this!

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Running log: 2010/07/11

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Sun. July 11, 2010

This was an interesting day for me. Today my run was the farthest I’ve ever gone. With all of the half-marathon training I’ve done in the past two years, really the farthest I’ve gone is about 21-22 kilometres. Of course, with marathon training the expectation is to farther than that. This week is the first week that we’re scheduled to go over, so this was entirely new for me. I was expecting to run on my own, but I kind of lucked out when someone decided that it was in her best interest to run with me. As you know, I tend to go at a slow but steady pace on Sundays. People who aren’t necessarily the slowest but tend to head out faster than they need to know that I can be counted on to keep them under control. At least, that’s the impression I get from the people I run with.

I brought along my Camelbak for the run. Yeah, that’s the water backpack that I had with me on the Scotiabank half last year. After that race I avoided using it for a long time. I was scared that I’d injure myself again. Well, especially with this rotten heat I decided that my need for water was too great to not use it. So, I’ve been making sure to secure the thing to my back as well as I can. So far, it hasn’t been bad, though today I ended up with a sore right shoulder. Better that than a sore lower back, I guess. I just need to adjust and adjust until I get it right.

Not sure I can say much about the run itself. Yes, it was hot out there, but the lack of humidity this morning made all the difference. I didn’t really feel killer fatigue at any point. Sure, I started to get worried at 17K when fatigue was knocking on my door, but I just mentally dealt with it all and carried on. I was feeling strong enough at the end that I probably could have carried on a little farther if needed, but all the same, 23K was enough. I ran into some people in my class that finished ahead of me. They told me that it looked like I was relaxed and not that sweaty. Hah! Fooled them. I used some water to splash my face along the way to keep my temperature down. As well, right after the run I walked to the end of the parking lot and back to bring my heart rate down. Seemed to work, I guess.

So, next week the mileage will jump to 26K. I think I can tackle that without feeling overwhelmed. I just need to prepare well like I did this week. I can do this!

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I’ll need a second bucket

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Sat. July 10, 2010

You know, last two times I had a crazy idea about taking classes for some new physical activity, I ended up enjoying the thing and going to many more classes. In the case of running, it’s changed my life in ways that I never would have expected. Well, it seems like another one of those ideas is brewing. I’ve been asking around, and looking at various websites, and it seems like I really want to give hot yoga a shot. This is the kind of yoga that takes place in a really hot room to encourage warm muscles, and greater flexibility as a result. The obvious side effect is that it makes you generate a bucket of sweat. Judging from the hot run I had this past week, I might need a second bucket.

Why the heck am I considering this? It’s a good question. The thought of doing something like this seems out of the blue, no? Well, there’s a hot yoga studio a few doors down from the Running Room that I frequent. So it’s always sort of been on my radar for a while. I have a general innate level of flexibility that I figured I could easily parlay into yogic success. I just never thought of pursuing it thinking that yoga was sort of inaccessible for a slob like me. It always seemed to get filed away under “maybe one day” in my mind. I think the trigger for this sudden urge came from a conversation over dim sum with friends this past weekend. One of them suggested that I go for hot yoga as a good way to meet women. The joke was that everyone was very much scantily clad and sweating profusely making for good entertainment. It’s not like I want to go just because I’m horny, but the conversation seemed to strike a chord with me. Over the past month it seems like I’ve been actively trying to change my way of thinking and approaching things, going from more of a “why” position to “why not.” Know what I mean? As such, I think that I really was thinking, “Well, what’s stopping me? Why not? This activity should really help to get me a bit more toned, and a bit more upper body strength, which I sorely need.

As of this point, I’ve picked out a location. I’ve scanned the schedule. I think all I need to do is send an email to the studio for more details on how to drop in as a first-timer. I don’t know if this will turn into a regular thing, but it can’t hurt to give this a shot. Yes, I’m already active several days a week. This might affect how I feel on my runs. And, really, do I want to fill in my down days with something that’s bound to take a lot out of me? Well, if I’m being honest, I kind of like sweating. I don’t like it when I’m in my work clothes and I have to work on moisture control. However, when it comes to physical activity, sweating is fun. We’ll see where this leads. I’ll keep you all posted.

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Challenging my health

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Wed. July 7, 2010

Some days I have to step back and wonder out loud whether I’m putting enough effort into taking care of my health. Sure, this question is being asked now because of this long term bacterial thing I’ve got going. I did write about being a bit of a hermit this weekend to allow my body to rest. Thing is, that was only after going a whole week carrying about my usual activities, letting my symptoms manifest while my general health deteriorated. I’ve been taking over-the-counter meds. I decided to not bother going to my doctor despite having a fever because I was sure he’d just tell me to get more rest and perhaps prescribe some antibiotics. What I experienced is nothing particularly spectacular, know what I mean? I’m sure things would have cleared up faster, but I was willing to let my body duke it out. I like to think that I have a strong immune system, so I was OK with letting it do its thing.

When I talk about my usual activities, I’m talking about running, working, etc. I even found time to help my parents move boxes. It seems like everything else took priority over myself. I think in some perverse way I figured that just taking time for myself, even if it means battling an illness, is kind of selfish. For example, I really enjoy improv so I end up telling myself that it’s simply not strenuous enough to make my conditions worse. That’s a lie. In the realm of work, with the transition happening I just toughed it out. I couldn’t take time off in good conscience at the end of the contract, and I couldn’t take time off right at the start of a team switch when people want me to hit the ground running.

Oh, running. *shakes head*

I’ve been good about not running, if only because my stubbornness in wanting to train is what made my conditions worse than they could have been. The only thing is since I’m in the middle of marathon training I’m missing precious training runs. I’ve been concerned! That brings me to today. I was telling myself that today would be the day I returned to the store and joined back with the rest of the clinic. It might have been psychosomatic, but in the last few minutes of the work day I was suddenly overcome by dizziness. The train ride home was a bit hard. I desperately wanted to nap, but I only managed to pick up a seat that requires vigilance in case the inner person wants out. So I sat the whole ride in a zombie-like state, except without the whole brain craving thing. When I got to the elevator I had to lean against the wall because I was just ill. I eventually got in and just dropped on the bed. I was just going to nap the night away but then decided against better judgment to head out and do the run anyway in the eat and humidity.

Well, the run went as well as I could have expected. The heat and humidity really hit hard. Despite that, I just soldiered on like everyone else. I took a few walk breaks in what was supposed to be a steady run. I also ran slower. However, in the end I made it through. I sweat so much that the sweat went right down the shirt and soaked my shorts. How unpleasant. The dizziness that was threatening me at the start had all but vanished. So, in the end I made a good call. Thing is, this could have turned bad fairly quickly. I was aware of that and made sure to pay attention to any odd symptoms, and to make sure that I addressed any warning signs right away. I had my phone on me, just in case. What’s interesting for me at this very moment is that…it almost seems like whatever remnants of the cough/cold I had before the run have been squashed. The run may have burned it away. Hmm…

So yeah, I guess I’m still challenging my health every now and then. I won’t say that it’s out of stupidity, but perhaps it’s just that I have some sort of subconscious knowledge of where my limits happen to be, and whether or not I can get more out of myself than I first think I can. I know that health is a fragile thing and shouldn’t be taken for granted. I feel blessed that I can do such things and still get up in the morning.

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Heat spanking

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Wed. June 23, 2010

About midday, I was already actively psyching myself out of going for a run later in the evening. There were several active weather systems approaching the area, and I figured that one would hit us. Well, as chance would have it all of the systems skirted us to the north and south. Knowing that I had no reason to not go, so I forced myself to show. Really, it’s at times like this when you especially need to show up. That’s an important part of forming a good habit, right?

So, upon stepping out of the car the heat immediately hit me. It didn’t really dawn on me that it was particularly fierce. Instead, I figured that the heat was plainly something that I just had to get used to. What was I going to do, turn around and go home? Hell, no. I wanted to stick it out. I was already saying that I wanted to run at a certain speed. I wanted to take it down enough, but people were warning me to take it easy.

At first, the run seemed to be OK, but within the first kilometre or two I was already having issues. A few people who I was running with decided to take a walk break to recoup some stamina. I didn’t want to stop because I thought that I might regret it later. In my mind I yelled at myself “If you stop, I won’t forgive you!” Of course, it’s not like that was a full truth, but forgiveness wasn’t really an issue. I tried to plough through, but after a few tough hills my body just didn’t want to cooperate. I slowed to a walk and decided to rest enough before starting again. By that time I was already sweating profusely. My shirt was quite soaked. I haven’t produced that much sweat in a long while. I’ve actually been under control in terms of perspiration for a year or so, but today the weather seemed especially rough. I started up again, but quickly found that I simply had no power in my movements. From about 4K onward it was all very stop and go.

Of course, as I was running on the sidewalk I became pretty self-conscious. I wondered if the cars passing by would see my sweat-soaked shirt and wonder who this lumbering oaf was. In reality I was sure no one cared, but I was happy enough to let my wandering mind go there since it provided a distraction. As much as I really wanted to start up properly again, every time I did I quickly returned to a walk. I was telling myself that it was all in my head and that I shouldn’t complain. If I just focused, the body would follow. Well, focus is all well and good, but when there are physical limitations outside of my control I just have to learn to accept it.

I did walk a lot of it, but I did finish running it in. Interestingly, my final time was faster than some of my old training runs when I was in the 10K clinic. Yeah, I’ve come a long way, but the heat and humidity certainly spanked me tonight. If I was starting to become cocky about running, this brought me back, crashing to earth. I know I have to cut myself a little bit of slack because weather is so beyond my control. At the same time it has me worried. I mean, what if the race itself is hot and humid. I don’t know. Time will tell.

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