Started off really sluggish, wondering if I should even try. But I was heartened at the start by my knees (knee-stabilizers) needing no time at all to warm up. I never did feel the urge to take a longer ride, but at least I came home more awake and alert than when I left. I noticed my breathing was heavier than I would have expected… as if I were still waking up. This in spite of having been out of bed for over an hour, showered, breakfast, etc.

Did all my exercises, and muscles felt stronger. I think the “collapse day” helped.

1:36 PM: Sleepy.

3:00 – Up from nap. Not really refreshed; chilled, so worked at computer in bathrobe for a while.

5:00: feeling somewhat recovered.

6:00: After two poached eggs and cheese and green beans, feeling a lot better.

0 miles – collapse day

Decent sleep, but woke up so enervated I couldn’t even stand the thought of making an effort. Whether it was fatigure, anxiety, or something else, I had less than no ambition. I stayed in my PJ’s until mid-afternoon, and then only got dressed because we wanted to go out to a movie.

Despite all that lazing around, when I sipped half a glass of wine at 8 pm, I felt suddenly pole-axed.

No problem getting to sleep soon after 10.

3.3 low-demand training miles

Good night’s sleep, awoke only a little sleepy. Knees felt good from the start;. This was so low-demand that it’s hard to see why it wouldn’t count as a rest day. I don’t see why I should feel stiff and/or tired tomorrow.

Did all my exercises, and my left leg is feeling stronger. But now, at 10, I feel only mildly energized.

A reluctant 3.5 training miles

It felt like a good sleep, but I woke up feeling really draggy, and didn’t feel like moving. And I was very stiff. But I loosened up on my ride, and felt better afterwards, with more energy. Did all my exercises.

My knee joints, on stairs, are gratifyingly limber.

Went down for HEAVY NAP from 2-3:30.

3.5 training miles, then to Winco on foot

Legs felt stiff from yesterday, and when we were walking to Winco I was just plain tired. But I did most of my exercises, and didn’t quite give in for a nap. Planned an early bedtime, though!

15.3 gratifying shopping miles

I started off feeling no energy (after what felt like a good night’s sleep) and about 5 miles out circled back, deciding to check my tire pressure. Back home I found my tires had only about 50 pounds! I inflated, and while I was here I made an egg sandwich. Took off again feeling 20 years younger! Tackled hills with gusto. Felt my left knee a little bit, but mostly I was marveling at how quickly my knee stabilizers warmed up, and how they felt as though they were fully engaged, and working, but not under any strain.

Came back and did exercises. No time to stretch.

Back from beach, 4.1 easy miles

The knee-stabilizers were comfy from the git-go. I’m thinking the rest may have helped, but also the walking on the soft sand.

The six days at the beach were mostly non-demanding strolling for an hour or two. My left leg often got stiff, but I’d find a way to stretch the hamstring, which kept me going. I iced my knee two or three every day. As I remember it, I wasn’t generally conscious of stiff legs – except after an hour or two in the car. (Not that they were’t stiff’ I just don’t remember being conscious of it.)

3.1 flat training miles

Felt better than yesterday. No time for details, heading for beach.

5.5 flat training miles

Mon Sep 10 – 5.5 flat training miles


Decent sleep. Felt good right from the beginning, and might have gone for a longer ride if I hadn’t been pressed for time.

PRACTICED SWERVING in parking lot to bet more of a feel for making tight turns.

Back home, did exercises and stretched, with shower soon afterwards. I had the feeling that if put off the shower, it would increase my stiffness.

Now, at noon, I feel pretty darn good – muscles, knees, and energy.

3.5 flat training miles

Knees warmed up better/sooner than yesterday, and steering is becoming more precise.

Exercises were easier to do, once home, than if I hadn’t warmed up on bike.

Stretched, did light carpentry, mowed lawn. Still, legs felt real stiff before my shower.

Unsettling stiffness and knee-unreliability during the rest of the day. Don’t know what to make of it, because when simply climbing the stairs, knees and legs feel like they’re improving.

THEORY, as of 8 pm: This daily ride, no matter how gently I take it, is making my legs over-tired, for lack of a better term. But somehow it doesn’t feel unhealthy. And since I very much want to be able to start off every day on the bicycle, since it’s a great warm-up and makes the other exercises go better, I’m going to keep it up for the next couple of days, on the hunch that my leg muscles will adapt – and my knee joints will survive.

Of course on Tuesday we’re off to the beach for six days, which means six days with no bicycle … and six days for the cycling muscles to rest. Which may be a good thing.

Then, when I get back, I can attempt it – cycling every day – again.

5.0 flat training miles

Slept well.

Knees took most of the ride to warm up.

Steering practice in Costco parking lot. Perfect for straight lines and tight turns.

Exercises (15 min) on return.

Light carpentry, followed by stretches.

Comfortable and alert the rest of the day!

Bad knee only hurt when I twisted it a little and the wrong spot took the weight. Muscles are everything!

2.7 flat training miles

Woke up feeling lots better than yesterday.

Started out earlier -- about 8:30.. Stretched a bit, because muscles felt tight. Once going, knee stabilizers were cranky, and only loosened up slightly as I went.

Back home, did exercises, minmal stretching. Then mostly sedentary until we...

Rode MAX downtown for more Tri-Met tickets. On my feet for an unexpectedly long time without discomfort, including 30-40 minutes on the MAX coming home. So something's better!

The bad knee: Muscles are giving it more support, now, at the same time as the joint feels as though it's deteriorating. The sensation is that the cartilage has worn through on the bearing surface(s) of the proximal area of the large bones. As long as the leg muscles are taking responsibility, there's no pain; but if they slack off, there's a sharp pain.

Whether my exercising has done damage, or simply caused temporary inflammation, I don't know. What I plan to do is stop the knee-hand kick jerk, (translation needed!) and do it slower, with an ankle weight. Meanwhile, keep up the ibu and icepacks.

Iced again before bedtime.

3.1 miles, flat and easy

Woke up feeling blah. Stiff and discouraged. Started leg exercises but aborted because it felt like it was doing damage.

Had planned to repeat yesterday's bike ride, but didn't feel up to it. Finally decided to ride out to practice control. Found sidewalk in Kohl's parking lot with line to follow. Conscious of control on the way there and back. It's helping. I can tell my precision is improving.

Meanwhile, my knees benefited, I think, from the easy flexion.

Back home, I did my leg exercises with no problem and stretched for ten minutes.

Still, I'm disappointed I couldn't ride more.

Later in the day, realized my legs were stiffer than yesterday. Yet they felt strong, up and down stairs, and my knees felt pretty good.

Iced my bad knee one more time before bedtime.

5.1 miles plus hike to Winco

The ride was (a) to test my ability to ride (almost) every day; (b) to keep my knees loosened up. So far, so good. My knees (especially my bad one) loosened up during the ride, and I could negotiate stairs better when I got back than when I left. As far as riding every day, it's too soon to tell, but my sense is that a five-mile ride could still count as a "rest" day -- eventually.

Afterwards: Left knee sore; iced it; sore after walking for mail; iced it again.

After supper, during couch time, I iced it twice more

11 leisurely miles in glorious cool sunshine

To 185th via Evergreen, egg sandwich at Subway, down 185th to Goodwill, half-hour shopping, on down to TV highway, back via Cornelius Pass and Baseline. Felt good the whole , on edge of worrying whether I I was "pushing it" but arrived home feeling that this is what I'd like to keep doing. Ride every morning.

Scrambled egg and yogurt on arrival home. Shower and stretching before lunch.

Few unpleasant aftereffects

Having ridden 3 out of 4 days, I would not have been surprised to have found myself excessively stiff and/or miserably fatigued, but I’ve felt good all day today, able to stoop and kneel to do chores, and not tempted to take a nap.

I hope to keep this up, and build on it.

10.2 mi. via Rock Creek Trail to 185th

Evergreen to Rock Creek Trail, followed trail to 185th. Longer hills than I’m used to, felt like good training.

PRACTICED CONTROL wherever I could by FOLLOWING PAINTED LINES (demanding!) and being ultra-conscious, on winding trails, of where I was and exactly what parts of my body the control comes from. (A lot of it is from the waist up to the rib cage!

Knees felt good once they were warmed up. Leg muscles gave slight burn around 8 miles.

Minimal stretching afterwards. Quick shower, lunch, and out in the car with Anne for shopping.

Later, suffered minimal stiffness. During afternoon, enough fatigue to sap ambition, but not enough for a nap.

Day Off

Travis here from 10-1, working with us on computers/TV; I did exercise leg exercises, and stretched once or twice. Good energy all day long.

9.0 mi to REI, Rock Creek Trail

Started day with left leg strengthening exercises and stretching.

RAISED SEAT back to what it was. REI passed on my seat position. My feet don’t touch ground because the axle of the pedal crank is built too high off the ground. 11” vs 10 5/8” for stock model. Can’t adjust that. Yet that doesn’t entirely explain it, because my feet are a couple of inches off the ground.

Aftrwards I PRACTICED CONTROL by following white lines on parking lots, and riding Rock Creek trail.

Muscles right around knees felt good – warm – as I rode. I tried to keep in low gears. The ride was broken up by shopping.

Walked to lunch right after riding. Legs very stiff. Got in my second stretch and felt much better. Fought off nap, played fiddle instead. It worked ok.

Poor sleep, good energy, 7.3 mi.

I awoke so often, and was sleeping so lightly, that I expected to be shot, today, but instead I had plenty of energy.

I LOWERED MY SEAT POST 2 or 3 inches, as an experiment. The idea was to be able to reach the ground with my toes while still on the seat, but with the seat all the way down, I could hardly reach the ground – certainly not enough to catch myself if I was falling over during a tight turn. I don’t like the feeling – not stretching my legs – but I think I’ll leave it there for a bit to see if I get used to it, and whether my leg muscles are affected (positively or negatively) by the change.

I rode to safeway and back – a couple of mild hills – and couldn’t tell too much difference.

On return, I exercized my left leg and stretched.

It’s 4:30, now, and I’m still not sleepy. Go figure. But I’m not complaining!

10:00 – Not even sleepy now!

Poor sleep. To Winco, but no cycling

Slept poorly, again, but managed to get a nap just before getting up at 8. Got about 5 minutes of stretching in, plus about 10 minutes exercizing of weak leg.

Back from Winco around noon, back from lunch about 1, played violin until about 3, nap until 4, e-mail and bookkeeping until 7, with break for news/sandwich and one stretching session.

Busy, busy -- no rest, little stretching

Slept poorly, up early to see Dr. McAninch (primary care) without breakfast (lipid blood draw) and back here in time for lunch and get ready for Travis (computer consultant) who was here from 2 to 4:30. I think I stretched once, but I can’t remember.

Quite a tiring day.

Rest day, and really dragging

I stretched once in the morning. Played duets with Erin, broke for lunch, and right after lunch I was exhausted, so took a nap. Hardly refreshed afterwards. Felt dead tired, too tired to breathe. But in late afternoon I started sightreading, and really got into it.

But every time I got on my feet, I felt like sitting down.

8.1 mi. via Baseline, Brookwood (libe) , Evergreen

Stretched before breakfast. Rode at 10. Nap at 12:30, awoke only somewhat refreshed.

Anne thinks I’m exhausted from 6 hours of driving. But…

To the Beach!

Spent five hours behind the wheel, three or four wandering around Depot Bay and Lincoln City. Very relaxing overall, but it left my legs ultra-stiff.

I can’t remember whether I stretched before I left, but I know I spent a couple of hours at my desk, reconciling Visa statement, etc.

Rest day, with much stretching

I slept well, but when I got up I was stiff as a board. I stretched twice before leaving to see Dr. Dave at 10, and it helped a lot.

I think yesterday’s workout was a good one, and I’m considering changing my training routes to take in more hills.

Right after lunch, I stretched again. I’m fighting taking a nap, because I’ve got so much to do, but I’m definitely tired/sleepy.

After supper: dragging. Probably will turn in early.

Thirteen demanding miles, Seven with Kevin

Decent night’s sleep, not feeling nearly as washed out. Awoke unexpectedly stiff, but stretched twice before noon, and it helped a lot.

In afternoon, rode down to meet Kevin at Grass Valley – about six miles from here – and then followed him home, for another 7.1 miles. Very demanding, in terms of anxiety and stamina.

Anxiety in that Kevin rides on sidewalks, a lot, and crosses a lot of roads, and follows trails through parks that are often narrow with tight twists in them. Several times we passed pedestrians, whose safety I feared for because of my unsteadiness. I was constantly on guard lest I hit something or someone, or get caught in traffic as we crossed a road. He was very considerate, but there’s such a gap in our abilities…

Stamina in that we had half a dozen steep hills – steeper than what I’m used to. None of them were very long, and I got to the top of all but one, and would have gotten to the top of that one except that my gears unexpectedly jammed as I was down-shifting.

When we got to Kevin’s house I got a shower and then we sat around for two or three hours visiting and eating supper. I think this gave me time to stiffen up. Anyway, he put my bike on his car and brought me home, and when we got here I was quite stiff.

To Winco, but stiff and tired.

Unaccountably, I was stiff and tired, today. Although we walked to Winco and back without stopping, it was an effort. I stretched once in the morning.

Guy came by to inspect water heater, and I had a real hard time standing around while he was talking. Had to go get a stool to perch on, legs were that bad. Knees, though, were more limber. So backing off of stretching intensity may have been the right thing to do.

Nap at 3:15. No energy on awakening. Stretched once more before bedtime.

Rest Day

Uneventful. Spent afternoon running errands in car.

Knees not very limber. In fact, I suspect some of my recent stretching may have been to extreme. I stretched couple of times today, but I limited the degree to which I stressed my knees.

General energy was good. No nap.

14.9 complicated miles

Today’s was an exploratory trip as much as a training ride. I needed to reconnoiter the location of Grass Valley, the company Kevin works for, because we’re planning to meet there when he gets out of work Thursday, and ride together back to his house. It’s in a corporate park at a busy intersection and I didn’t want to arrive and find myself negotiating strange territory in rush hour, and possibly getting antsy about keeping Kevin waiting.

I found it, okay, and I’m glad I took the trouble to do this scouting, because the traffic pattern wasn’t all that friendly. But now that I know where things are, I think I’ll be okay.

Anyway, when I left his office, at the corner of 158th and Walker, I headed south on 158th, which was okay until I crossed Jenkins – at which point there suddenly was no bike path. I ended walking the bike a lot, and also rather nervously riding it along narrow, twisting asphalt sidewalks, for maybe a mile. When I finally got to TV highway, I was almost a nervous wreck.

Once home, I had a nap, and awoke very stiff. I’ve stretched twice since then. Now, at bedtime, I’m much less stiff.

Resting -- and stretching -- comfortably

Two stretching sessions so far (4:40pm) and I plan at least one more. Meanwhile, I feel alert, adequately vital, and not too stiff.

Bedtime: stretched one more time. Feeling good!

Winco & back without stopping; then 9.6 mi on bike

I had planned for this to be a rest day, but we needed to go to Winco. I was delighted to discover, on the way back, that I didn’t feel the need to sit down for a rest, the way I’ve so often needed to do, recently.


Then I needed to have my bike’s gearshift cable adjusted, so I rode to REI, and while out, I decided to go by the library to pick up an interlibrary loan.

And I felt pretty good the whole way.

Had to have nap, late, almost 4 pm. And I got a couple of stretching sessions in, as I remember it. (Posting this on Sunday.)

19.3 miles with eager muscles!

I didn’t sleep too well, and I started off thinking that the ride might go poorly, especially since my optimum rest period seems to be three days, and I’d only had two. But once I got warmed up, I noticed my leg muscles really rising to the challenge. BRING IT ON!

I noticed it first when I was going up some hills, and then again – several times – as I was trying to catch lights before they turned orange or red. A week or two ago I would have felt at least a twinge of desperation or despair at the challenge. Today, I simply stepped on the throttle, gave it the old heave-ho!.

I feel STRETCHING for the past couple of days deserves a lot of credit, and so I’m keeping it up. Two (15-minute) sessions so far, today.

Later – one more sesson.

Rest day with Stretching, Stretching, Stretching.

First thing this morning, coming down stairs, I noticed my bad knee was in bad shape. So I made stretching a high priority, today. I set my timer for 15 minutes and stretched carefully and thoughtfully until the beeper went off. Then I did it again, two or three times, during the day.

Now, after supper, I feel as though it has helped. And I think I have to do a lot more of it. Not only did the knee improve; the leg muscles seemed to feel better. I may be over-enthusiastic, just now, but I’m thinking/hoping that stretching may be my path to the muscle tone I’ve been looking for – that allows me to stay on my feet longer, and get through the day with less fatigue. Not to mention less knee pain.

I took special pains to STRETCH MY GLUTES AND HIPS UP TO MY WAIST, and my feet, some, as well. Why? Because they felt stiff, and that suggests that they’ve been limiting my flexibility.

Stretching in 15-minute segments four times a day is my goal. I think I can do it as long as I remember to stick to restful (non-demanding) stretch poses and routines. So I can do it even when/if I’m tired.

I plan to PUSH THE ENVELOPE, tomorrow, and RIDE 20 MILES ON ONE DAY’S REST. It will be very hot, so I plan to leave early, and be back by 11, when it should be only about 80.

I may be overdoing it, but I feel it’s worth the gamble.

19.99 miles

My strength was adequate but my energy was mediochre. I just didn’t feel like pushing myself.

My knee was protesting for the first 8 or 9 miles, as though I’d been over-using it, recently. This despite concerted stretching and icing yesterday. But towards the end of the ride it actually started feeling stronger – as though the muscles were supporting it – and it no longer felt sore.

9:30 pm – I went down for a nap around 3 pm, discouraged that my energy level was so low. But my knees are feeling noticeably better. Especially the bad one. Perhaps the stretching is already paying off.

Walked to Winco

My legs held out better than usual going and coming to Winco this morning, but since then (it’s now 3:30) I’ve been eager to sit down at every opportunity. Are my legs ever going to develop any stamina for standing around?


Today I spent 15 minutes with them elevated vertically against the wall – and about 10 minutes, total, stretching. Also iced my knee for 15 minutes. It’s been complaining more than I expected it to, recently. Not so bad up and down stairs, as just ambling around. (It’s the main reason I plan to increase my stretching routine.)

Tomorrow I plan to ride about 20 miles, and may not have much time for stretching when I get back before Travis is here to help with the computer, TV, etc.

7pm – I got another 10-15 minutes of stretching in.

3.4 mi. to library

Just enough to limber up my knees. Which seemed to need it!

I’m beginning to think I need to stretch more.

Lazy!

I spent an hour this morning watching a light show on the wall made by the early morning sun as it shone through the oak leaves waving in the breeze and making dancing shadows … very relaxing.

So is this why I’m so lazy, today? Or was it the 69.6 miles I rode in the last 7 days – definitely the high mark for this year so far. Both, I think -- and I’m content with it..

And my knees feel so great, today. I’ve been conscious of it every time I went up and down a stair.

Still, in the shower, tonight, I almost lost my balance, when I was rinsing the soap out of my hair. Suddenly I realized I was falling, and just got my hand on the ledge in time to steady myself. No warning! Not good! And I don’t know how much that’s going to improve as my legs get stronger… It may not be a question of muscle tone.

As for energy, today, it was never high, but on the other hand I was never sleepy … until now, and it’s bedtime.

22.7 miles

Great weather. Started at 7:45, ended at 11:45. Slowed by several construction sites and one accident. But mostly I was just going slow. I also spent an hour or so shopping in Wal-mart – where, by the way, my legs in no way cramped my style. They are definitely getting stronger.

So here’s another successful ride that follows only two “rest” days, both of which were fairly active.

Tonight we went to the movies – almost 3 hours of sitting – and at the end when I first stood up I was incredibly unsteady. After a minute or two I was “okay”, although anybody watching me would have seen a doddering old man, I’m sure.

Bottom line: my legs are tired, but I feel like it’s healthy fatigue, on the way to greater strength and reslience.

Household chores

No hike, no bike, but mowed the lawn, brought the big stepladder downstairs and used it in the garage to get down some of Anne’s paintings. I can remember when this would have felt like a major workout, but today I took it in stride – and got in a great couple of hours on the violin in the afternoon.

To Winco and back

We made a brisk walk of it, because I had to get back and go to the dentist. We sat down for two brief breaks on the way back, but I’ve felt much worse in recent weeks…

…and the rest of the day was uneventful, except for a sense of well-being springing from my lack of lethargy. Legs felt tired and stiff, but strong.

22.2 mi in 3 hrs overall, 2:16 rolling

A delightful ride on many counts. The weather was fantastic: overcast, mid-sixties, really refreshing. But the best part was how I felt. Everything felt good – my leg muscles, my general vitality, and my clear-headedness. At last, the cobwebs began dissipating! And this in spite of having taken only one complete rest day in the past week.

True, my bad knee was protesting a bit, but that may have been because I was pumping extra hard on that leg. Anyway, it’s been worse than this several times in the past, and I think a bit of icing will probably put it to rights.

The sore spot in my bad knee aside, my knees felt extra good, today, right from the start of the ride. For that, I credit the short ride I took yesterday. I’m thinking a 20-minute low-stress ride every day would be ideal for my knees. And since I’m finally in good enough shape – or nearly so – to do that, I’m going to try to make it part of my routine.

In general, today, when getting on and off my bike, and moving around, I was conscious that I’ve gotten stronger. My muscles are more responsive, more reliable. This leaves me more confident, more optimistic.

I skipped the “recoverite” protein drink afterwards, because I still felt full from the breakfast sandwich I’d had an hour or so earlier. And I didn’t bother stretching much, either. It’s a calculated risk, but if I can do without it, I can save that much more time. I cooled down by straghtening out the garage for 15 minutes.

Now, mid-afternoon, my legs are a bit stiff and tired, but I’m far from crippled.

Bedtime: feeling quite good, hardly stiff.

Mini-ride of 3.4 miles

Just feeling a little lazy today, so we decided not to walk to Winco. After lunch, rode over to library and back, just to oil up the knee joints. Left me a little stiff later on but not crippled.

Rest day

It was hot, today, so I wasn’t surprised to find myself a little lethargic. My legs were a little stiff, but really not too bad.

21.3 easy miles

I took it slow and easy, with frequent stops in stores along the way, because I was pushing it a little bit in terms of recovery time, but although I started out feeling tired, I got a bit fresher as the ride went on, despite soaring temperatures.  I went by a church that said it was 96 degrees.
Now at 4:30 pm, I'm tired but not wiped out.  We're heading out to the movies for a matinee.
LATER
CLIMBING STAIRS: Four elements were remarkably improved. (1) Knee joints felt good. (2) Leg muscles did not feel tired and stiff. (3) Leg muscles felt stronger. (4) I did not feel winded or any distress when I reached the top of the stairs.  Given my relatively “intense” training schedule this week, this is terrific

9.0 mi -- to REI & Rock Creek Trail

Started day with left leg strengthening exercises and stretching.

RAISED SEAT back to what it was. REI passed on my seat position. My feet don’t touch ground because the axle of the pedal crank is built too high off the ground. 11” vs 10 5/8” for stock model. Can’t adjust that. Yet that doesn’t entirely explain it, because my feet are a couple of inches off the ground.

Aftrwards I PRACTICED CONTROL by following white lines on parking lots, and riding Rock Creek trail.

Muscles right around knees felt good – warm – as I rode. I tried to keep in low gears. The ride was broken up by shopping.

Walked to lunch right after riding. Legs very stiff. Got in my second stretch and felt much better. Fought off nap, played fiddle instead. It worked ok.

To Winco on foot

Walking a couple of miles for groceries felt like no big deal, although I sat down a couple of times on the way back.

On my feet a little bit during the afternoon, shopping, helping Anne bring some paintings back from the gallery.  All told, I held up pretty well.

6.9 miles, exuberantly

Okay, maybe it’s premature to exult, but I felt really good this morning, out to REI and Safeway.  The fun was back in it, at last!

The knee-stabilizers are the only muscles I felt – except for my calves, and them only slightly. Quads seemed to be making no effort at all. I was careful to stay in low gears and spare my large (relatively) muscles, since I don’t want to mess up my recovery, what with planning to walk tomorrow

7:30 pm: Legs feeling only a tiny bit stiff, and are working great going up and down stairs. And my knees feel like they are in really great shape. I have the feeling that it would be good for my knees if I rode at least every other day. What I call the “stabilizers” don’t seem to need as much recovery time as the larger muscles … and seem to benefit from motion – flexion – as much as or more than from exertion. So a short ride in between long ones seems like a good formula, if and when I’m in shape for it. And I’m beginning to think that maybe I am, already!

Resting optimistically

2pm – Feeling extra good. Muscles not sore, good energy, no hankering for nap.

Considering riding out to REI and Safeway tomorrow – about 6 miles -- to do some errands. Then hiking to Winco on Friday … and another ride of 20 miles or so on Saturday (early, before it gets hot!)

22.4 miles – got my zest back!

22.4 miles, 2:23 rolling, 3:50 overall.

It’s been two weeks since my last ride (Tues Jul 17) and I think the time off did me a world of good. I felt stronger today than at any time this year, both in my muscles and in my overall stamina. Toward the end, my leg muscles felt tired – as though they were getting a real workout – but somehow it was a healthier feeling than it has been so far this year.

On hills, I actually felt like putting out, aerobically and leg-wise. On the whole ride, instead of husbanding my energy, I felt like cutting loose, and getting some exercise.

Whatever the mechanism, I was clearly more rested. Maybe it was the week of being off the bike and making minimal physical effort. Perhaps it was simply the break from routine, getting out of my rut. Not that music camp wasn’t demanding. For the whole six days, I was “on duty” from the moment my alarm went off until I turned in at night. Not a moment for woolgathering, and plenty of times when anxiety was running so high that I could feel it in my veins.

But there were many good strokes and moments of joy, and I think these tended to unkink me in a way I hadn’t been able to manage here at home.

I did the normal protein loading during and after today’s ride, but haven’t stretched. (It’s 5pm) and I may not get around to it.

WALKED, DRAGGING, TO WINCO

I started the day with a half hour or more of gentle stretches of my legs, concentrating on the long muscles, especially the calves and hamstrings. I did it with the idea of limbering up my knees, which have been increasingly cranky. It seemed to help – and suggests I might benefit from doing a lot more of it.

It was hot and muggy when we left for Winco, and I felt extremely enervated. It didn’t get much better as we went -- and on the way back, we stopped to rest three or four times.

My energy picked up, some, during the day, but not much. Stretched some more, and took it very easy.

This will be the last entry for a week, while I’m at music camp.

THIRD REST DAY AND NOT RECOVERING

Definitely a low-energy day.  Considered (briefly) walking to Winco, but decided agaist it.  Stayed as inactive as possible, cleaning up desk work and starting to pack for music camp.  Tried for a nap but couldn’t drop off.  Very glad I decided not to ride.

SECOND REST DAY

So-so sleep, woke up feeling a little tired from yesterday’s carpentry, but not too stiff. Did a little painting and mowed lawn before going to Freddy’s to shop for stuff – where my legs got extremely tired. Almost shaky.

4:30pm – not much energy. Legs stiff and tired. Thinking I might not ride tomorrow. Especially since it calls for showers throughout the morning.

REST DAY

9:00 AM: So far, so good. Good, restful sleep. Surprisingly little stiffness, now. Looking forward to doing some light carpentry.

Later – Spent almost three hours on my feet doing light carpentry this morning, without distress. Lots of bending and stretching. No nap.
Three hours in afternoon working with Travis, computer consultant. On my feet for brief intervals without stresss. Good energy.

21.7 miles

REST DAY

During the night I was aware of how tired my legs were. I was tempted to take an ibuprofen, but decided against it.

Once up, I noted that the muscles in my legs and feet were stiff and felt tired. Yet when I went back upstairs and tried going up two stairs at a time, I realized my legs were actually stronger than I expected.

MAYBE A LITTLE STIFFNESS/SORENESS ISN’T A BAD THING? After all, I’m not having that overall heavy fatigue feeling, sleepiness and needing a nap. So I’m not getting OVERTRAINING SYMPTOMS. Following this thought, I might try a HARD RIDE TOMORROW, whether my muscles are still a little tight or not.

Late morning, PRONE STRETCHES: 15 min with legs up the wall followed by another 15 minutes on stomach and elbows, arching back. Beginning to wonder whether my leg problems have to do with compressed nerves?

6pm – Saw Dr McAninch this afternoon. I told him my thoughts on this, and he’s going to review the spinal imaging I had last year to rule out spinal stenosis, but otherwise he seems in agreement that my increased vitality is traceable to the reduction of lisinopril, and that hard training before all stiffness goes away is a valid approach. “As long as the stiffness has started going away,” is, I think, how he put it.

PLAN: MORE STRETCHING. I had sort of backed off of stretching, due to lack of energy. I’ve been generally more in favor of a nap than stretching. But with improved vitality, I probably can develop and maintain a decent stretching routine.

Super-tired legs from Lavender Fields

We went with Sean and Susan to the Helvetia Lavender Farm, gardens whose walkways were uneven turf, and I stayed on my feet long after my legs felt tired. An hour or two. My legs got very shaky. We had lunch and came home and sat around, and every time I got out of my chair I noticed how unsteady I was on my feet.

I wasn’t tired, woozy or sleepy. The fatigue was confined to my legs -- although when I walked down to New Seasons and back (four minutes each way) to pick up stuff for supper, I felt the chest discomfort that had first prompted my concern a couple of months ago, and had been noticeably absent for the past few weeks.

Later, going up and down stairs felt like the Supreme Effort – and got worse as the evening went on.

Two miles on foot equals tired legs

Awoke this morning feeling none the worse for wear from yesterday’s mini-workout. But on the way back from Winco my legs were quite tired.

I think they’re more tired than they would have been if I hadn’t ridden yesterday. But I’m not sure it (the ride) was a mistake. Even though it has me walking like a very old man, today, it may end up building up my muscle tone more than if I’d not ridden yesterday – or walked, today.

The fatigue I feel currently is different from that which I felt a few weeks ago. Before Dr Phillips reduced my Lisinopril dose, I often felt that I couldn’t count on my leg muscles to function. They often seemed about ready to suddenly give out on me. In fact I had that feeling when I was skiing last winter. Kind of scary.

Not that my legs are super-reliable, now, but they no longer feel as though they are on the verge of cutting out on me.

Finished the day with good energy, and legs feeling stronger at the end. Up and down stairs has been a piece of cake, with knees very flexible.

5.7 miles in granny gear

To REI and back. I took it super easy on my muscles, going for the lowest gear possible. (This was in part in honor of McAninch’s advice that the first part of a training session is disproportionately stressful.} Now, an hour later, it’s too soon to tell whether I set back my recovery, but so far it doesn’t feel like it.

Before the ride I painted half the deck with Thompson’s water seal – which I felt a lot in my legs. It told me how stiff I was.

Went to an affair at the gallery from 5 to 7, where I had to be on my feet for an hour or so. Tiring, but again, not stressful.

FIRST REST DAY

A good day, all told, with minimal stiffness, good alertness, no fatigue. On my feet a lot without a problem. I'm playing with the idea of riding up to REI tomorrow morning -- about 6.5 miles round trip -- to see if I can do it without messing up my recovery. While at REI I'll check out the quick-release feature of the Garmin 500 Edge.

In evening, an hour or so on my feet at party was unpleasant but not stressful.

23.0 miles

Eight hours of decent sleep.

I’d planned to ride 25 miles, but felt a little tired and decided 23 would be enough. I actually got a kind of “second wind” toward the end.

Now, in mid-afternoon, I feel good, alert, no need of nap, and my legs feel limber and fairly strong … although I still don’t feel like being on my feet for long. But then, I seldom have!

Bedtime: Energy has held up, but legs are getting stiff.

THIRD rest day. Feeling really great.

In spite of ONLY FIVE HOURS SLEEP I had an exceptionally good day, today. Energy, optimisim, alertness, all good. LEGS BETTER THAN EVER, and that means on stairs, standing around, twisting through tight spaces. On stairs, my knees felt great going both up and down, my muscles were never an issue, and I was never out of breath.

I wasn’t on my feet a lot, and it’s true that when standing around talking, I took every opportunity to sit down. But that’s “normal,” for me; I could have stayed on my feet longer than I did without distress.

I feel more than ready to ride 25 miles tomorrow. As long as my cut doesn’t become infected. Right now (9pm) there’s some redness around it I hadn’t noticed before.

Second rest day; could I have ridden?

Yes, I could have, but I'm guessing I'm better off for waiting.

Decent sleep, awoke early, minimally stiff. Stretched a little, spent 2 or 3 hours in garage, with just enough bending and stooping to loosen my legs up.

SUBJECTIVE READINGS ALL GOOD. No sign of breathlessness when I went out for mail; likewise climbing stairs. Legs are responsive, feel (relatively) strong, with no sign of letting me down.

I’ve been reading about “overreaching” and “overtraining,” and seen repeated warnings against increasing the volume of training too quickly, “such as a 10 to 20 percent increase in training volume over a three- to four-week period.” That, I think, must apply to athletes training at a far higher level than I. My ride on Saturday was a 25 percent increase over Wednesday’s. And towards the end of my training last summer I was adding 14 miles every week. I did that for four weeks, between August 27 and Sept 20, and not only survived it, but actually thrived on it. On August 27 I rode 33.5 miles; on September 16, 74. All the time maintaining my 10mph average. That’s more than doubling – 100-and-something percent increase – of my “volume” in less than four weeks.

I’m glad, now, that I hadn’t been reading about over-reaching and overtraining at the time!

10PM: cut my finger while putting away carving knife. To ER for 3 stitches, home and to bed by 1:30.

FIRST REST DAY, and things are looking up

Last night was the hottest so far this year … not good sleeping weather. So when I got up I wasn’t surprised to feel a bit groggy. Then as the day wore off so did the grogginess. And I noticed I was hardly stiff at all. Then after breakfast I got started on some carpentry in the garage, lost track of time, and eventually realized I had been ON MY FEET FOR TWO HOURS or more and my legs were just beginning to get a little bit tired. That’s a REAL IMPROVEMENT.


I’m reminding myself that the first rest day is often deceptively comfortable. But I’m also hoping that this is real progress. And I’m thinking it might be due to the REDUCED BLOOD PRESSURE MEDICINE DOSAGE that Dr Phillips put me on about ten days ago.

The reduced medication doesn't seem to have hurt blood pressure, which (5pm) is 126/54, p67.

20.1 miles, nice and easy

I took it real easy, staying in lowest gear comfortable the whole way.  Stopped at Safeway and Great Harvest, and -- at about 12 miles -- at Burger King for a sausage-egg-cheese biscuit.
Legs felt tired towards the end, but I wasn’t tired, and now, half an hour later, I’m not sleepy.

I realized I was a little reckless going for 20 miles (rather than cutting for home after about 15) but thought, what the hell, it’s what I feel like doing, and if I get away with it, it will be a shot in the arm.

Not at all sleepy until right after lunch, when I went down for a nap. Afterwards I was alert but pleasantly tired and stiff – not at all like the “overtraining” feeling I’ve had during recent weeks. I took an ibuprofen or two and didn’t bother to stretch.

Bedtime: feeling very comfortable and optimistic – as though I’ve somehow turned a corner.

SECOND REST DAY

9 HRS SLEEP, BUT NOT RESTED. Makes me wonder about other issues such as sleep apnea. I’m tired, but hardly stiff at all. Maybe I just need to move around. 147/78, 68bpm. Skin bothered me during night, still worst its been 3 months.  Maybe that's why I didn't get restful sleep?

TO WINCO at 9:30, feeling quite tired. Came back with fairly heavy backpack, stopping to rest three times. Now, at 11:20, heading for a nap, I feel more sleepy than tired, and not very stiff.

I wonder if my low energy comes from not eating very much yesterday.

BEDTIME: Two lie-downs (without going to sleep) revived me somewhat. My legs are still a little stiff and sore, but I’m considering throwing caution to the winds and riding tomorrow.

FIRST REST DAY

Very good 10 hrs sleep. Lazed around until noon without stretching. Feeling good, not too stiff. Kind of vacation-lazy. No demands, and taking advantage of it.
Meanwhile, my legs feel quite uncomplaining, and going upstairs is nothing.


Breathing a little heavily when I came back from mail… not bad, but worse than I would have expected. I’m thinking it’s just that I’ve never “warmed up” today. Not worrisome.

6:30pm – comfortably sleepy. Feel like I’m still unwinding.

Bedtime: still comfortable.  Planning to hike to Winco tomorrow, maybe ride on Saturday.

15.6 miles on 7 hrs sleep.

Woke up at 5:30 and couldn't get back to sleep.  Started riding at 9:20 after breakfast of fruit and millet but no eggs.

Legs started to feel it around 9 miles out.

Stopped for sausage egg and cheese sandwich around 10 miles out.

Had planned a loop of about 20 miles but cut it short because my legs felt like they were going to get too sore, and I was a bit tired from being short on sleep.

Back home, I tried to sleep right after Restorite drink but couldn’t drift off. Pretty well dragged myself through the rest of the day. Felt too tired to stretch.

SIXTH DAY OF REST

10:30am – Woke at 8 after 10 hrs heavy sleep. I found it hard to get moving, reminiscent of times past when I’d slept very heavily. It feels like the right thing .. that I’m finally letting go. It also feels like a good thing that I’m not riding today … as though this is some sort of deep repair stage, one that might be disrupted and set back by activity. The message I’m getting from my body is to TAKE ADVANTAGE of the fact that NO DEMANDS ARE BEING MADE on me today. Do as little as possible. Let the reservoir fill up as much as possible.

CLIMBING STAIRS leaves me hardly breathing hard, and feeling 95% RECOVERED.

IDEA: Climb stairs and immediately count pulse might be a measure of my recovery.

Bedtime: a good day, energy-wise.  Even spent some time on my feet with less discomfort/strain than I could have a couple of weeks ago, I think.  Perhaps this has more to do with my five days of rest than my conditioning.

FIFTH DAY OF REST

9:50am -- I would definitely be tempted to ride, today, if other considerations hadn’t prohibited it. I feel 90 percent repaired and recuperated, and have energy to spare – at least it feels like it, sitting here at the computer. I think I’m at the “conditioning baseline” that McAninch mentioned.


Still, it may be just as well that I have to wait until Wednesday to ride, since that might put me into the “supercompensation” phase which would let me maximize my gains with my next workout.

9:30pm -- Climbed stairs 2 steps at a time 3/4 way to the top, as a test. Legs gave no sign of giving out, and I was only mildly winded. Definitely a gain on yesterday.

FOURTH DAY OF REST. RECOVERY CONTINUES

9:30am -- Awoke with a general sense that I'm recovering in comparison to yesterday. But -- and I don't know how much of this is simply anxiety about my possibly waning powers of recuperation -- I'm relieved that I decided not to ride, today.


I find it difficult to describe some of the symptoms. "Fatigue," and "stiffness" are too vague. Then there is the question of degree. How fatigued, how stiff?

Both my system and my legs seem to be more recovered than yesterday, but not quite up to "normal" (whatever that means in my case).

2:45pm: My legs -- the leg muscles --are definitely more responsive and reliable than yesterday.

4:30: 10-min walk to New Seasons and back confirms I'm DEFINITELY ON THE UPSWING.

RECOVERY MEASUREMENT: CLIMBING STAIRS: Two days ago, my heart was pounding when I got upstairs. Today, I hardly notice it. Other stair-specific parameters might be muscle strain/tiredness and joints, especially left knee. Maybe I can assign a number. 0-5, 0 being no discomfort, 5 being really bad.

At bedtime, I still feel like I'm very near complete recovery, and plan to hike tomorrow.

Third day of rest. Slough bottoming out?

8am: Just before going to bed, I felt the malaise easing. This morning I woke up feeling much less fatigue. Getting up, I felt only slightly stiff. But I’m still tired. It comes in waves. I declined a hike to Winco, not because I couldn’t make it, but because I’m afraid it might set me back.

I think today should make as little physical demand as possible. I may stretch, but I may not. Exhaustion is a bigger problem than muscle stiffness.

My history – my M.O., my most usual fault -- is one of trying too hard, doing too much. So that’s what I have to guard against.

1:30pm: I notice I can stay on my feet without distress longer…

2:30pm: A ten-minute stroll to All About Eyes just now left me a little breathless.

Later -- I spent a couple of hours, off and on, on my feet doing some "shop" work in the garage, and my legs felt pretty bad. I got down in the dumps. But now, almost 9pm, my spirits are better. I feel like I may be "recovering".

Second day of rest, and slough deepens

Fri Jun 29 – SECOND DAY OF REST. SLOUGH DEEPENS


9am: Fatigue sullied my sleep and I awoke feeling run-over. Once up, it wasn’t as bad as feared, but clearly still in the slough of recovery.

4pm: Slough deepened as day went on. Session with McAninch (10AM) confirmed idea that I’m dealing with Overtraining Syndrome (OTS) complicated by aging (Fragility?). I found this heartening, in that it suggests that increased recovery time between rides might prove effective. As I get into shape, perhaps less time between rides would be needed.

Meanwhile, I learned from McAninch that DAMAGE FROM WARM-UP is disproportionate to that from continued activity in any one session, thus a short ride requires a disproportionate amount of recovery time for repairs.

Right now I’m feeling exhausted. Some, though minor, chest distress: pain and pressure, 1 on a scale of 10. Doesn’t seem worse when I move around, but whenever I stand up, I want to sit down.

Leg muscles, meanwhile, feel stronger, and knees more supported.

Yet despite that, I’m unsteady on my feet. Climbing on a scale less than 2” off the floor, I was reaching around for something to grab. And just now, walking out into the alley, looking at some items on a table for a garage sale, I felt very unsteady and could hardly wait to get back to my desk. I can’t blame it on the muscles, and I didn’t feel dizzy, yet I felt in danger of losing my balance. And to complicate things even further, when McAninch had me balance on one foot and then the other, this morning, he said I did it fine – better than a lot of people!

One beer with sandwich, around 6. Ibuprofen a bit later.

7:15pm BP 150/59; p71 right after shower. Slough is deepening. Shot of whiskey with grapefruit juice around 9:00. Seemed to help.

10:pm: BP129/56 p67. Feeling better. Maybe coming out of the trough?

First Day of Rest

Awoke with whole-body fatigue, which had kept me from sleeping soundly. Reminds me of the fatigue I felt after the season’s first day of skiing, back in NY, 15-20 years ago. Slight nausea for the first hour or so after I got up, plus the sense that I could at any moment get a chill. I’m taking an ibuprofen, and taking it as easy as possible,

To put it in context: If I were at Dewey Beach, 20 years ago, and felt like this, I’d just have a beer or two and sit around watching the waves, without worrying about it.

Later (10:30am): Resting more comfortably. Symptoms less extreme.

Bedtime: I got more and more comfortable as day went on. Legs not only felt less stiff and sore, but stronger, as well. I was a bit tired/sleepy during late afternoon, but only a little bit. Perhaps I’m simply recovering quickly – or this might just be the lull before the storm. I haven’t taken the time to look at my previous posts on this, but it seems to me that the SECOND DAY has often been worse than the first.

I’m really curious about what tomorrow brings…

16.6 miles, 1:48 riding time, 2:30 overall

Beautiful sunny cool morning. I felt physically and emotionally ready to ride and started off strong. Lateral knee stabilizers were cranky for about five miles and then subsided; anteriors still complained for next few miles. After I stopped at Ace Hardware (9.1 mi.) everything was warmed up.

I was feeling stronger and more optimistic than on last Saturday’s ride -- though not quite robust.

Towards the end – 14 mi or so – my legs felt as though they were getting a really good workout. At the very end they were telling me, “enough!” I drank my whey and walked down for mail – unsteadily – and my legs were very stiff and tired. I stretched a little and then realized the lawn needed mowing. So I staggered through that (30-minute) chore, then took a shower and napped for an hour.

I wasn’t very refreshed when I got up but I was adequately alert.

This was after aTHREE-DAY REST, and I’m thinking (in light of yesterday’s reading on fragility and Overtraining Syndrome) that maybe I need to figure on four or FIVE days. It looks like next Wednesday is the next chance I’ll have to ride, and that will have given me FIVE DAYS’ rest. If I ride the same route and survive it better, that should give me a better handle on how much recovery time I need.

More rest

Spent the morning googling the recovery cycle and the fragility of the aged. Went to cardiologist Jean Phillips in afternoon, who adjusted my blood pressure medicine after suggesting it might be contributing to my light-headedness. Did not offer much else, but didn’t discourage my training routine. I’ll see her again in two months.


Accuweather calls for a sunny morning. I plan to ride.

Down day

Monday, June 25, 2012

Legs aren’t exactly stiff, but they’re tired – more tired than yesterday morning, I think. Tired enough that I decided not to hike to Winco. (Anne didn’t feel like it, either.)

I think I’m experiencing the Second Day Slump. And that I probably should plan for this, in the future. Which means that I should always have AT LEAST two rest days between rides. I stretched for 15 minutes. I plan to take it easy, stay on my feet as little as possible, keep legs elevated when possible – hoping to enhance my recovery.

Meanwhile, I’m planning to ride tomorrow morning.
The amount of volume and the type of work performed during the training session will dictate how long it will take for strength & fitness levels to improve.Your initial fitness levels will also dictate how long it will take for your fitness levels to improve (i.e. the higher your work capacity, the quicker you will recover from workouts). If the body can not recover back to baseline levels, the exhaustion stage occurs. The exhaustion stage indicates that overtraining has occurred. The goal of training is to time training sessions accurately so that the next training session coincides with the Supercompensation stage. This term means that our strength & fitness levels have increased above our initial levels.If insufficient recovery time is not given between training sessions, the athlete's strength & fitness levels will drop further below baseline and more time will then be needed for the athlete to supercompensate. – from the web.

More good stuff when googling "supercompensation."  Explains a lot of what I've been dealing with.

I need to start assembling a file so I can go into this more deeply.  If I can find the time and energy.

Down for nap and slept at 2; refreshed but aware that I’m near the nadir of the recovery cycle. Feeling recovered yesterday was an illusion.
5:30 – Legs are tired, unsteady, and stiff. Carrying one of Anne’s paintings, I almost lost my balance.


Re-thinking the plans to ride tomorrow morning!

Resting Optimistically

I'm feeling positive.  I awoke with no soreness or stiffness from yesterday's ride.  Now, at midday, it seems like my legs are getting a little stiffer, so I may want to get some stretching in, to fend off second-day stiffness, but I'm hoping at this point that we can hike out for groceries, tomorrow, without it laying me low with fatigue.  If so, maybe I could ride again on Tuesday.

For what it's worth, I've gone several days, now, without a nap.

11:40: Stretched, very gently, for 15 minutes.  I'm trying not to overdo it.  I believe I may have been stretching too strenuously.  A few days ago I noticed both my knees were surprisingly creaky during normal activities -- and this was right after a day or two of stretching two or three sessions per day.  So I'm going to try backing off, a bit.

11.6 miles; head feels clearer!

It was raining until after noon, but then things opened up and I decided to squeeze in a ride between the thundershowers predicted by Accuweather.  About six miles out, it began to sprinkle and I saw black clouds ahead.  I had planned to stop off at Ace Hardware for some shopping, but the black clouds deterred me.  My legs felt a little tired and I didn't feel like standing around in the store and then riding hard in the rain to get home.  So I didn't stop off.

To my surprise, at 9.5 miles my legs started feeling stronger, as though they had just gotten warmed up.  I was comfortable the rest of the way home.

And I realized my head seemed clearer.  I'm not sure when this happened.  But I remember feeling distressingly fuzzy-headed yesterday for most of the day -- as if I were encased in a blubbery face, or something.  A little like being under water.  I thought it might be dehydration, and I remember drinking a lot of water, then, but I don't remember whether it helped or not.

So my (relative) clear-headedness today may be attributable to adequate hydration?  Or aerobics?  Or both?

I'm inclined to attribute it to aerobics, primarily.

I may have to settle for two rides a week.  I'd rather it be three, not only because I think it would help keep my head clear, but also because I feel the frequency is important for bathing my knees in synovial fluid.  At this point, though, it looks as if I may need three rest days between each ride day.  That would actually be fewer than two rides a week.

So we'll see how this recovery goes.  I had a yogurt crepe and two scoops of Recoverite right after my ride, but I didn't stretch.

... and another ...

Another day of rest, this time because of an unexpected doctor's appointment.

I had planned to ride this afternoon, but got a call from eye doctor asking me to come in after lunch.  That on top of the appointment I had with her this morning.

Ended up spending a lot of time in the car and sitting around.  Anyway, it counts as a rest day.

Last night's sleep felt good, although I didn't feel really robust when I got up.  First doctor's appt was early, so I didn't have time to stretch.  When I got home and learned I had to go back, I felt rushed and so I didn't stretch then, either.

Legs have been mildly tired but serviceable for the little bit I've needed to use them.  General energy has been adequate, with little sleepiness.

Another rest day

I RECONSIDERED PLANS TO RIDE after reflecting on how often I’ve regretted not allowing enough recovery time.  Especially when, getting out of bed, my legs were stiffer than I expected.

Did 15 min stretching after breakfast that included Neggs.

No sleepiness today, and minimum reluctance to stay on my feet.

I had planned to do some light carpentry and housekeeping chores, but deskwork/computer problems kept me from it.

NO SLEEPINESS, today.  Energy good despite frustrations and emotional demands, right up until bedtime.

So far, recovery feels super!

9:17:55 AM: Great 9 hrs of sleep, awoke refreshed with minimal stiffness. Great article in Oregonian on stretching (pgD3) encouraged me to stretch for about 20 minutes.


Noon: I've been able to STAY ON MY FEET MUCH LONGER than usual, today.

1:30: just finished another 15 min stretching.

I'm feeling so good that I might ride tomorrow morning, after only one day's rest. Because I have a conflict on Friday. I probably ought to keep it short ... maybe the same route I rode yesterday. And be super sure that I do a thorough after-ride routine. It's a bit chancy, but I FEEL LIKE RIDING.

11.6 miles, though I had planned to go further

11 am: Awoke very stiff around hips, but not legs. I put it to the contortions required to assemble the exercise bike. Spent 15 minutes stretching and worked most of stiffness out. Drank quart of water, ate 3 scrambled eggs. Planning to ride about 15 miles.


3:45: Ended up riding only 11.6 because time and energy were running short. Legs were feeling as though they were getting a workut at 6.3 mi, as I got to Safeway. Not knowing how that translates into fatigue and stiffness in days to come, I decided to be conservative, and shortened the planned loop.

Once home I drank protein (2 scoops in skim milk) walked for mail, stretched 5-10 minutes, then in car to take Anne to Dr. Lindgrun.

Now I'm a little groggy/sleepy, not too bad. We'll see how I am tomorrow!

5:30: Just walking around the house, I notice I'm unexpectedly unsteady on my feet.

Slept bad, feel good

Less than 8 hrs sleep, fitful, only dozing from 4:30 to 7:30. Got up with expectations that I would collapse for a nap at any time, but I was lethargic and had little energy, the collapse never happened. I finished assembling the exercise book, getting in all kinds of twisty-turny positions to do so, but when I finally walked down for the mail, I walked fast and noticed my legs felt exceptionally good -- relatively limber and strong, despite not stretching since yesterday morning.


I don't know what to make of it, but I'm not complaining.

Bedtime: Didn't get sleepy until couch time around eight. No stretching, today, too lazy.

Recovering conscientiously

Pretty good sleep despite muggy weather. Awoke with stiff legs and hips, partly due, I think, to the time I spent yesterday assembling the exercise bike.

This morning I conscientiously stretched for a little over 15 minutes; drank over a quart of water; and ate two eggs. Now, a couple of hours later, the stretching seems to have helped.

My vitality is adequate, but my legs feel tired as well as stiff. As soon as I stand up, I want to sit down.

We have to leave here early, tomorrow -- 7:30 or 8 -- for a long day. No time for stretches, little for ablutions. Perhaps a stretching session tonight?

LATER -- Got home from Kevin's (Leah's birthday)tired and with Anne fibrillating. Skipped all stretching.

6.9 uninspiring miles

I was spooked during the night by muscle pains in my legs, which seemed unaccountable and made me re-think my plans to ride today.

I woke up feeling fairly rested, though, and decided to take a short easy ride rather than no ride at all. I considered going ten miles or more, but since I've got two events coming up that require me to stand around visiting -- Leah's birthday tomorrow, and Erin's graduation Monday -- I figured I'd better take it easy. It seems, lately, that standing around when my legs haven't recovered is a sure way to postpone recovery.

So after a breakfast of fruit, millet, and egg-substitute sandwich, I rode slowly for 6.9 miles, stopping to shop briefly three times. Once home I had a protein drink, stretched for ten minutes, mowed the lawn (15 minutes) feeling very stiff. Then showered.

During afternoon, spent some time on floor in awkward positions assembling exercise bike.

9:30pm: Day went well - not much energy, but not very stiff, either. I can't ride tomorrow or Monday (conflicts) so I plan to be very diligent on my stretching, and ride on Tuesday.

Remarkably restored, and wondering ...

Even before I was out of bed I felt stronger and more alert. And once up, it got better and better. An almost miraculous rebound. Head clearer, muscles almost not sore at all, minimal stagger, alert, energetic, no sleepiness ...

Could this all be due to yesterday's incresed stretching, protein, and hydration?

Or was it primarily the product of another day of rest and an excellent sleep of almost ten hours?

(Despite two shots of whiskey and a glass of wine, last night.)

While wondering, I started the day with 15 timed minutes of stretching; egg-substitute sandwich; and a quart of water. And the day was going very well. I felt positively robust. Went to Dr Dave and handled the complicated issues to my satisfaction, came back and took Anne to lunch and drove on to Walmart's to pick up the exercise bike.

At Walmart I was on my feet for perhaps 20-30 minutes and my legs started getting tired. I was conscious of the fatigue in the car while driving home, and during brief stopover at a store on the way -- my legs curtailed my urge to browse. Still bed when getting out to get the mail. Not as bad as days of late, though, and no accompanying malaise. And only a touch of sleepiness, while driving home, close to 4 pm.

I'm going to try to get in another round of stretching, water, and protein before bedtime.

Accuweather promises sunshine until noon, tomorrow. Very tempting...

Cooling my heels and reviewing. Discouraged

I shouldn't have been looking for a quick fix from Dawn, yesterday. If anything I'm more confused, and therefore demoralized, than ever.

She suggested more protein and more stretching, and she renewed my awareness of the importance of hydration. So I've been attending to all three, today, while I essentially take it easy.

I stretched for about 15 minutes, and I think I'm marginally less stiff, but I'm by no means certain of that. I've eaten protein at breakfast and lunch. I've been drinking plenty of water. Bottom line: although resting comfortably, I feel minor but unsettling symptoms when I move around. Strolling down for the mail left me breathing harder than I'd like. And I felt groggy as I went. I'm not sleepy enough for a nap, but I'm not alert enough to want to talk to anyone.

It's such a beautiful day that I'd be tempted to ride in spite of everything if it weren't for the fact that I have to see Dr. Dave tomorrow morning, and I want to be at my best in order to try to resolve several issues.

Accuweather calls for sun all day tomorrow, with Saturday cloudy. I'm undecided about which day to ride on, and may just go on impulse.

Vacationing at home

Even before I got out of bed, this morning, I sensed I had more energy.

I was in bed reading before 10, last night -- after a day of conscientious loafing, conscious relaxation. We even watched netflix in the afternoon -- unprecedented. We were trying to get the feeling of going on vacation while at home. I think it helped us both relax. And I slept really well, from soon after ten until 6:30, when I actually felt like getting up. Once out of bed, I could tell my legs were less stiff than yesterday.

Now, at 8 am, I still have the sense that I could use more rest, another good night or two of good sleep. I feel as though I'm unwinding, reminiscent of the feeling I remember of waking up after the 2nd or 3rd day at the beach.

Now, at 10, I'm still not ready for exertion. I could exert myself if I had to -- could even jazz myself up enough to ride 15 or 20 miles, but my guess is that it would set me back.

NAP AT NOON

5:00 -- BACK FROM SESSION WITH DAWN. She had good suggestions re stretching (hold for 10 seconds or longer) protein (120 grams/day, more after exertion) and seaweed (several varieties, with several ways to consume).

Disappointment -- and a theory

On my feet too long, talking to the garage mechanic, yesterday. That's what messed me up, I think. Anyway, I woke up this morning after 8 hours of interrupted sleep feeling lousy -- mostly my legs. The moment I got out of bed I realized they were more stiff and sore than they had been yesterday morning. Bummer.

My theory is that I'm dealing with multiple re-injuries.

The first re-injury happened Friday when I hustled back on foot to get the car and give Anne a ride. I wasn't fully recovered from Wednesday's ride, so I'm counting this as my first re-injury. My reasoning is that, although the exertion was only a fraction of what I put out on Wednesday's ride, the damage was greater because I was stressing muscles which were still damaged.

That would explain my soreness and fatigue on Saturday and Sunday.

The second re-injury happened yesterday. True, I woke up refreshed and rested, overall, but I still had symptoms in my legs. Standing for half an hour or so talking to the mechanic was enough to set me back again. It was too great an assault on my twice-injured muscle fibres.

Looking to the future, two thoughts.

First, I think I need to count my recovery time starting from yesterday, rather than from my last ride. In other words, these past five days can't be called recovery time. So I think I need to start counting from yesterday. And give myself at least two, and perhaps three, days to recover. Which means that I shouldn't consider riding before Thursday. And Friday would be safer. Meanwhile, TAKE IT EASY!

Second, I need to remember that long rest periods do not necessarily mean losing ground. Resting too long is definitely a lesser evil than exercising before recovery. Case in point: last summer, when I took nine days off, and expected to have lost ground -- but came back stronger than ever.

It would be nice if I could gauge from the way I feel when I'm adequately recovered, but I don't know how to do that. Maybe in time...

1 pm -- took a nap, awoke somewhat refreshed, but still weak in the leg, and looking for somewhere to sit down every time I stood up.

6 pm: I've been very careful to be inactive, and I'm feeling comfortable -- and alert. I'm seeing Dawn tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to it!

REFRESHED!

For whatever reason, last night's sleep was wonderful. Almost ten hours, and although it was interrupted at least twice, it left me refreshed, restored, and feeling far better than I dared to hope, yesterday.

My leg muscles are a little stiff, but using them does not drain my vitality the way it did for the past couple of days. Moving around the house, taking the trash out, going up and down stairs -- nothing has caused the alarming sense of acute fatigue I've been experiencing recently.

I'm groping, here, but I think I know how to explain the past few days.

The onset of this recent bout of fatigue/frailty was triggered, I believe, by too much exertion on a rest day. I rode on Tuesday, and on Friday I was still not fully recovered from it, but pushed myself anyway in our grocery hike. I think I was in effect "re-injuring" myself, which made the task of repairing my muscle fibres a lot more demanding on my system than it would have been.

I think my age makes all of this more extreme than it would be for someone 20 years younger. At 60 I would have been recovered by Friday -- and if I had exerted myself before complete recovery, the demands on my system would have been less severe.

I don't know how to explain the quality of last night's sleep (maybe part of the explanation is what I was reading -- Wells' History of the World, which I was lapping up with great contentment -- but I feel certain that the quality of that sleep is the main reason I feel so good today. (11:45 am)

4:15 pm -- Felt alert all afternoon. But I was ON MY FEET TOO LONG when talking to a garage mechanic around 3-3:30. Couldn't have been more than half an hour, but legs were shaky tired -- to the point of unreliability -- and I had to cut the conversation short. Going back to my car, I was lterally staggering, taking Tim Conway steps.

Washed out and sick of it

Slept eight hours but woke up unrested.

All morning, once on my feet I wanted to sit down.

Legs stiff to the point of unreliability. After 20 minutes mowing the lawn and another half hour puttering in the garage, I took a step -- n level concrete -- and my knee buckled.

Vague, minor upper-body stiffness and muscle pain. Irrelevant?

CRASHED FOR A NAP around 2, woke up somewhat refreshed. Showered, slathered ARNICA on my left leg and massaged the sole of my left foot, which was feeling tight. Then massaged with massage machine. Didn't seem to make much difference: the two legs felt about the same, afterwards.

Since then, I've been a little more comfortable on my feet, but fatigued if I walk more than 50 yards or so (into Ace Hardware, Safeway, etc.)

Comfortable enough while seated. Which reminds me, my ischi-gluteal bursar is almost asymptomatic, and has been for a couple of weeks. So no matter what else has been disappointment, this is stellar!

Taking stock

I slept well but once up was glad I'd decided not to ride. I'm definitely not recovered.

My legs were stiffer this morning than yesterday, I believe. They loosened up, some, during the day. I feel too tired to bother to stretch.

Going upstairs, they're surprisingly strong. And support of the knees is still good. But every time I stand up, I want to sit down.

I'm glad the knees-- especially the left one -- are getting support. Every once in a while the left one gives me a twinge, here and there. I have the sense that the cartilage is wearing thinner.

I wasn't sleepy enough to try to nap until after 4, and that was too late. Now, at 6, I'm tired, but not exhausted. But glad I don't have to go anywhere, tonight.

I plan to take it easy again tomorrow, and ride on Monday, which looks as though it will have plenty of sun.

Uncertainties and unexpected demands

I woke up this morning with less energy than I had hoped. But we needed groceries, so we decided to hike over to Winco anyway. On the way back, with backpacks loaded, Anne got light-headed and woozy -- she hadn't slept much last night -- so we found her a place to sit while I walked back to get the car. I walked considerably faster than my usual pace, and felt it in my leg muscles, and got winded. It was only 17 minutes from leaving Anne to our house, but I felt like it was quite a workout. Clearly, I don't need a bicycle to get aerobics!

Anyway, since I had planned to take it relatively easy, today, this was an unexpected demand.

Well, I fetched Anne in the car and we picked up some hot soup on the way home, and she was soon feeling better, and is now taking a nap. And I'm not. And I'm not sleepy. It's 3pm.

My legs were more tired/stiff when I got up this morning than I expected them to be, and they're even stiffer, now. But so far I don't feel overall fatigue.

So should I ride tomorrow?

LATER -- 7 pm -- I think it would be a big mistake to ride tomorrow, given the way I've been feeling for the past four hours. I never did get sleepy, but a couple of times I felt exhaustion tinged with anxiety. First, when I was on my feet for half an hour or an hour in the garage, tidying up. My leg muscles were very tired, and staying on my feet despite that seemed to make inordinate demands on my vitality. When I finally quit and sat down, I was feeling a bit shaky. Then, after a bit of desk work, I drove out for a haircut, after which I walked over to Fred Meyers and through the length of the store checking for Thompson's Water Seal ... and experienced the same extreme anxiety-tinged fatigue.

I don't know what's going on, but it seems clear to me that if it's a mistake to exert myself before I'm recovered, it would be a mistake to ride tomorrow.

So tomorrow would be a good day to stay at home and read and putter. And spend as little time as possible on my feet.

Massage? Arnica? Neither seem as important, at this point, as rest.

Turning the corner? Recovering nicely!

I awoke this morning with above-average energy, and only minimal leg stiffness. All day, today, I've been feeling alert and energetic, not hesitating to get up out of my chair or go up and down the stairs, and no hint of sleepiness.

Not, that is, until after lunch. I ate too much at the Indian Buffet, and felt a nap beckoning. So I tried, but couldn't get to sleep, and had to settle for a lie-down.

Now, at 5:00, I'm adequately alert, and altogether satisfied with the way I feel. My leg muscles feel better than ever, my knees are comfortable.

I'm more optimistic, and eager, than at any time this year. I'm looking forward to riding again on Saturday (tomorrow we hike for groceries) and I anticipate going for 20 miles, weather permitting. This is not just a mental outlook. It's an expression of how I'm feeling physically, I think.

If I ride 20 miles Saturday and survive it with minimal disruption to my functioning during recovery, I'll consider it a major milestone. I can then hope to settle in to a routine, 20-mile ride, 2 or 3 days a week, increasing my speed instead of my distance as the summer goes on.

I want to remember to push nutrition, before and after each ride, at least until I've reached the functioning level I'm aiming at, because I think the extra nutrients and liquids I consumed on Wednesday had something to do with my performance, and my quick recovery.

Endorphins at last -- at 16.7 miles

I awoke after a good night's sleep feeling surprisingly ready for a ride, in spite of my extreme leg fatigue last night at the gallery. I felt I had plenty of energy, and there was only a little lingering stiffness in my legs. So off I went, around 9:30 a.m.

I noticed right away that the knee-stabilizers were feeling much better than usual. They protested a tiny bit at the start, but were fully warmed up before the second mile. (On my last ride they were still stiff after 6 or 7 miles.)

I had plenty of energy the whole way and only the slightest trace of sleepiness.

I started feeling a little fatigue in my leg muscles about 9 miles out. A few miles later I wasn't conscious of it any more.

I took it easy, stopping off two or three times to do light shopping. Towards the end of the ride I felt a touch -- just a touch -- of endorphins.

I carried a bottle with two scoops of "Perpetuem" dissolved in water and drank it at intervals. Before I left I had half an apple, a big bowl of granola, and a fried eggmate sandwich. I also tanked up on water. (I've been paying little attention to fueling, up until now.)

Once home, I had two "crepes" with yogurt and half a bottle of GatorAde "Recover03" followed by a rice and bean dish Anne had made.

I've been moving around doing light house chores, and stretching, for the last hour, and feel okay.

The big question: How will I feel in a few hours, and tomorrow?

LATE AFTERNOON: Around 5, I started work on what I thought would be a very minor carpentry project, but it turned out to be more involved than I expected, and before I was done, I -- and my legs especially -- were ultra-tired. Not the best way to end the day when I had already tested myself, I guess, but that's what happened.

Short on sleep; Legs a mess

(Posted Thursday)(I wrote this Tuesday night but some glitch gobbled it up.) I woke up at 5 am this morning and couldn't get back to sleep so got up around 6, doing desk work and being as sedentary as possible. Got a nap just after noon, but although refreshed from it, still felt shaky.

Anne had to serve canapes at the gallery, so we were there from 6 to 8:30. I tried mixing with the crowd, but my legs were so tired I had to sit down every ten minutes or so, and finally just went out to the car with my Kindle and waited until she was done.

Watching Paint Dry

After a good night's sleep, I spent the day in sedentary pursuits, stretching often, but doing without any arnica or massage. My leg muscles seem marginally looser, but still stiff as if from a workout -- even though my last ride of any distance was Friday, three days ago.

But measured in terms of ease of getting up and down from a chair, going up and down stairs, and walking a few blocks, they seem perceptibly stronger. And in terms of protecting my knees, definitely stronger.

When the muscles are supporting the knees adequately, they don't "pop" when I cross my legs. When I'm out of shape, though, the top knee without warning will "give" from the weight of the hanging foot, and it hurts. For the last day or two, though, I've been increasingly able to sit with my legs crossed without pain.

Energy was good today, until about 2:30, when I rather suddenly felt sleepy, and in accordance with my beliefs, took a lie-down. Now, at 6 pm, I'm acceptably wakeful. The sleepiness may have been brought on by a frustrating glitch in my bookkeeping, wherein I realized I'd made some fairly sizeable entry errors in Quicken, and didn't know how to straighten them out.

Not an exciting day -- like watching paint dry -- but a satisfactory one.

Sedentary Sunday

I've got a referral to a cardiologist which I have to follow up on. Maybe tomorrow. I've been having some mild chest discomfort, and during my long amble yesterday, it was at times worse than usual. Today I read about angina on the web, and I think that's what I've got -- a mild case of "stable" angina. The consensus is that it will benefit from aerobics.

Right now the challenge is to get enough muscle tone in my legs to allow me to get the aerobics I need. The temptation is to exercise them more, but I've got to give them enough recovery time to grow stronger. I think I may have been pushing the limits, pitiful as it may seem. I woke up during the night last night with them feeling so stiff and tired I took two ibuprofens. (I still count last night's sleep as unusually good!) Today I did a lot of stretching and massage machine.

One of the symptoms of angina is fatigue. That rings true.

MY LEGS FEEL STRONGER, even though the muscles are tight and stiff and feel tired. Of course all these adjectives are imprecise and subjective. Still, I feel it makes sense to make note of them. The muscles are stronger in that they protect my knees better, and get me up and down stairs more easily. But to use them tires me out, as if they're drawing on adrenalin for their strength, rather than some more deep-seated and sustainable source of fuel.

Perhaps this is the way muscles heal. First, a rather quick gain in strength, followed by a slower subsiding of inflammation and soreness. My experience suggests that exerting myself while I'm still sore -- even if I'm strong enough -- brings on disproportionate fatigue, and probably further delays the reduction of tightness and soreness. It probably amounts to re-injury. And I suspect it takes a toll on overall vitality.

Change of pace: short ride, long amble

A lousy night's sleep -- woke up at 2 (muggy, airless) thinking the furnace must still be on (though it wasn't) -- and at 8 or so I got up, thinking I would have no energy.

Anyway, I rode over to Winco for groceries, and since Anne was at the gallery, decided to take the MAX downtown to Clever Cycles. Came back in afternoon, got off at Beaverton TC, walked to Powell's, met Anne, walked to movie, tp New Seasons for supper, then back to Beaverton Central ... in all, probably 5 or 6 miles. At times I was staggering. Fatigue? Old age? Who knows. But the ambling along interspersed with resting reminded me of the fatigue I used to feel when we were walking the beach, and it was relaxing.

Home for a good night's sleep.

Resting easy. (Some might suspect, too easy?

I HAVE LESS ENERGY THIS MORNING THAN I HAD HOPED, but I'm not wiped out. And I'm not discouraged. I'm reminded of times in the past where I mistook letdown for fatigue.

Today, in other words, I may not be fatigued so much as I am relaxed. Yes, I have an underlying fatigue, which I have been chronically overlaying with an amalgam of stimuli, demanding of myself to not give in to the fatigue, but rather to perform as though I was rested and fit.

I've been my own drill sergeant, my own football coach, demanding top performance, demanding that I treat perceptions of fatigue as if they were shameful. This is what I think of as my Eternal Vigilance.

I think this is what has kept me from fully restorative sleep. I haven't been able to turn off the Vigilance Switch.

I suspect that this is an element of aging. Sixty years ago, I could keep going for days on end, fighting fatigue and performing at a high level, and then collapse into a coma and wake up refreshed. Decade by decade, though, the ability to let go and drop into the bottomless pit of the deepest sleep has left me, by degrees.

I still have a surprising amount of endurance. When needed, I can go without sleep, and keep functioning, mentally if not physically, long after fatigue sets in.

But when the demands are removed, I stay tense for days, if not weeks. And I wonder how many other people my age are dealing with the same phenomenon.

Be that as it may, I'm interpreting my lethargy today in a positive light. It means that I'm relaxing, which, in turn, means that I'm replenishing my resources.

7:15 P.M. -- I WENT DOWN FOR A NAP after lunch; awoke and, even after a shower, was only slightly refreshed. But as I slowly "came to," I realized that I was being affected by very high humidity. (Talk about too many variables!) It was extremely, oppressively muggy. (It even made the evening news.) Once I realized this, I sat barefoot with a fan on me, and after a couple of hours I regained some vitality.

The humidity is predicted to drop, tonight. The soreness of my muscles is almost gone. So I'm planning to ride tomorrow.

9.5 miles and all's well

I'm pleased with my progress. I felt good the whole way, this morning, taking it easy, staying in low gears, stopping at REI and Safeway. No cramps, no muscles protesting, and I was much less sleepy this morning than I had been on Tuesday. And this on only one day's rest!

I'm guessing three things deserve credit. ONE, I'm continuing to sleep better. Even though I was short on sleep Tuesday night, what sleep I got was restorative. That "eternal vigilance" tension I've been feeling for months is fading. TWO, I've upped my protein intake. Not drastically, but significantly, and I feel as though it has helped. (I am going to stop trying to avoid flesh-based proteins for the time being. If and when I get in shape, I'll try leaning into the vegan diet again, bit by bit.) THREE, I've been ramping up my between-ride muscle care, with stretching, arnica, and massage. I'm going to try to keep this up.

The stretching, I've been doing all along. The arnica I had forgotten about until a few days ago. I remember now I used it quite a bit last summer, although I didn't consider it an integral part of my training regimen. Ditto the massage. I'm referring here to the percussive massager from Brookstone. The masseuse I went to last summer was a wonderful luxury, but I'm not sure she did that much more good than the Brookstone massager. Anyway, I can't spare the time. By the time I go down there, get the massage, and come back, I've lost two hours.

Anyway, I'm hoping that once I've improved my muscle tone enough, I won't need to spend as much time on either stretching or massaging.

Or napping. I napped for an hour this afternoon, and felt immensely restored by it. I actually felt like moving around and doing things. But again, I hope the need for naps is reduced, once I've gotten in shape. That was the case last summer, as I remember it.

Routine emerging?
I can sense a routine emerging. Ride three times a week, eventually increasing the distance to 20 miles per ride, but not attempting to squeeze in more than that, except in the case of the special events I might enter, like the REI "petal pedal" and the "tour de parks" I rode in last year. (I'd also like to ride the Banks-Vernonia trail, again.)

What I'm counting on is that being in shape will give me more energy, and it's at that point that I will be able to consider resuming my core exercises. Which I really need to do.

Anyway, I feel like I'm on my way. Tomorrow should be a rest day. I'll catch up on chores and see how I feel, but right now I think I'll be ready to ride again on Saturday.

Too many variables!

I'm trying to keep track of it all, but...

This morning I woke up at a quarter to 5 and couldn't get back to sleep. It was too late to take an ambien so I finally got up and started my day, foiled again in my attempt to get rested. I had a doctor's appointment at 12:30, and my best time to get a nap is mid-day, so it looked like I was in for another day of dragging around.

How could I gauge, under the circumstances, the effectiveness of my training "regimen"?

Anyway, I stretched a lot, and even used the thumper on my legs, and arnica on my knees, and was pleased to find that I wasn't too awfully stiff, and not even very reluctant to move around. Just sleepy.

I took a lie-down at 10:30, and almost fell asleep before getting up to shower and get ready for the doctor. It really helped. After my shower, I felt almost normal.

Got back from the doctor's at 3:30, sleepy again, but decided against another nap, pushed myself through light chores and paperwork, and again noted that although I was tired and sleepy, my muscles actually felt pretty good!

My tentative conclusion: I was sleepy not because of my ride yesterday, but simply because I didn't get enough sleep.

In fact, I believe I'm so recovered from yesterday that I can ride tomorrow. As of now, I plan to.

7 miles while sleepy

Lousy sleep last night. Now, at 10 am, I'm still planning to ride, this morning, but not as far as I would have if I'd gotten a good night's sleep. Just out to REI to get Sturmey-Archer looked at, then back here for a careful cool-down, protein fix, and nap.

7:30 pm: The REI guy wasn't there. I clocked 7 miles by the time I was home, sleepy the whole time I was pedalling, but otherwise feeling okay. Carefully went through stretches, protein drink, short walk to cool off, and a yogurt crepe roll. Then a shower, lunch, and nap. Slept about an hour.

It's very hard to be precise with so many variables going on, but I feel like I'm stronger. The nap was as much because I didn't sleep well last night as it was because of the ride. Meanwhile, my legs are a little less stiff, I think, and they feel a little stronger. My knees gave me a couple of twinges going upstairs, but I'm not taking that seriously, for now. Especially since they've been great going downstairs. Concerning general stamina, I've been a little less reluctant, today, to get up or stay on my feet for any length of time. And I've gone upstairs without having to catch my breath.

I'll make a note about my stiffness and stamina tomorrow, since it's part of understanding my progress.

2 miles on foot, more energy

To Winco and back, with backpacks. Most energy I've had in days. Planning to ride tomorrow.

Desultory day

Spent most of the day in limbo; energy slightly better but with no ambition, and, thankfully, no need for it,

Two naps and stiff legs, but good knees.

I slept until 9, took a nap at 11:30, and another at 4:00. My legs, meanwhile, and to a certain extent, my torso and arms, felt stiff. But mostly my legs and feet.

They were not only stiff, but they seemed to require an inordinate amount of my vitality, when I was standing up or moving around. I would suddenly feel the need to sit down.

But through it all, for the past couple of days, I've been very pleased with the strength and flexibility of my knees. Whatever the bicycle has cost me in other ways, I credit it with improving my knee health.

No rest for the hung over

I felt better, today, but still somewhat hung over. Kind of incredible, but trye. That, and my legs and feet were quite stiff. I stretched, took it easy, (physically) and even took a nap, after which I had somewhat more energy... but not a lot.

Then, around 5 pm, Anne had an A-Fib episode, with pain severe enough that we both felt she should go to the ER, so I drove her there, and we weren't back home until after midnight. I was wired and didn't get to sleep until 1:30.

Needless to say, no exercise, today.

Lost ground to vodka

I could tell when I woke up this morning that I'd had too much to drink last night. It was only two shots of vodka, but that's apparently all it takes, now.

I dragged through the day -- driving to Washington Square and then back to another Fred Meyer's to check out an exercize bike for Anne.

Nothing else to report

"Recovering" well

Hey, this is more like it. I'm surviving yesterday's ride very well, thank you. Hiked to Winco this morning and came back with a full backpack of groceries with energy to spare.

I find that today I've been much quicker to undertake tasks that require getting out of my chair, bending and stooping, etc.

I felt a little sleepy at 3:00, so I took a nap, following my principle that says, "If I feel like taking a nap, the healthiest choice is to take a nap." In other words, I could have easily "toughed it out" without a nap, but decided that catching a nap was the wise course of action.

SAFETY BULLETIN: Yesterday, in the rain, I crossed the tracks of the MAX (light rail) and slid, for a frightening instant, on the slick steel track. I was only slightly off of right-angles from it when I crossed it -- I'd guess maybe 70 degrees, as opposed to 90 -- but that was enough to let the front wheel lurch sickeningly to one side. I had no idea that such a slight variation in my approach angle would make such a difference. I will be much more careful to cross tracks at right-angles, from now on, rain or no rain.

11.6 miles (1:21) and feeling great

BEST NIGHT'S SLEEP IN WEEKS. Got up feeling an itch to ride, so checked the weather. But it was rain, rain, rain. Finally, around 10, I decided to hell with it, and went out in the rain.

The rain stopped after a while. About 6 miles out I stopped at a Fred Meyer to do some shopping and get an espresso. The plan was to take it easy, and I did.

Got home about 12:30, had some soup, a protein drink, did a minimal amount of stretching, and took a nap. Went to sleep. Got up, showered, and felt better than I have in weeks.

Now around 9:45, I still feel exceptionally good. Only a little stiff, even though I spent no time cooling off.

I don't know what to make of it, but I think the stress of the two orchestras has been costing me good sleep. And I think without good sleep, I can't make much progress in my training.

Time will tell. Tomorrow we'll hike to Winco, but beyond that I don't plan any exertion.

I need to get back to doing some core exercises, but I want to wait until I have more energy. If I force myself to do them when I don't have the energy, I think it will backfire. And after today, I feel very optimistic about getting my energy back.

Consciously unwinding

LAST NIGHT AS I SLEPT I WAS STILL PRACTICING THE MOZART SYMPHONY.

TODAY, WITH THE LAST CONCERT BEHIND ME I decided to make a conscious effort to unwind, not touching the violin, not exerting myself.

And I went to the doctor about my chest pains. He's setting me up with a cardiologist.

Later in the day, I could tell I was starting to relax. I sketched out a ride for tomorrow.

Still tired

I slept for about 9 hours -- with an Ambien boost around 3:00 -- and woke up with little energy. Now, at 10:20, I'm consciously exerting myself as little as possible, because I feel playing in this afternoon's concert is going to be a strain.

Tired! Up too late?

I was tired during the concert last night -- muscles protesting, etc. -- and when I got home I was too keyed up to sleep, so I stayed up past midnight.

Then, I didn't sleep well, and woke up at 7. Tried to get back to sleep, gave up, so Anne and I went to Hillsboro mkt at 9:30. I walked around about an hour and a half, more tired than ever. Not only did I feel exhausted; my leg muscles felt stiff and sore. We got back here around noon, had some soup and I tried to get an early nap. I think I might have slept for 10 minutes. Got up only slightly refreshed.

Sean and Susan came over and we visited until 6. Snacked, got ready for bed, watched Netflix 'til 9:30.

SUMMARY: I don't know what I'm dealing with, as far as my fatigue is concerned, but at least my knees are holding up well. Coming downstairs -- usually the acid test --they feel secure and pain-free.

Rest day

No exertion, today. Quads still feel stiff from Wednesday, but energy was good. When I woke up I felt like I wasn't completely rested, so I tried to nap just before lunch, but couldn't go under. Now, getting ready for tonight's concert, I feel okay.

Two miles on foot, then sedentary

Early this morning, out for groceries and back, and my legs were tired!

Sat around until mid-afternoon -- then drive downtown with Anne to her eye doctor... three hours round trip. Very tired at the end!

12 mi in 1:15 today, after resting yesterday

I'm not making much of a showing, I'm afraid. Yesterday I took it easy, and STILL needed a nap in late afternoon, because I knew I had to go to a rehearsal last night and didn't feel I could get through it otherwise.

This morning I rode 12 miles, more or less out of determination. I didn't really feel energetic, but I wanted to get some miles in. I felt okay during the ride, got home around 11 and after stretching, cool-down, and a protein fix I felt okay .. until about 1:30, when I felt a nap coming on. So I went down for something less than an hour. Now, at 3:00, I'm still under par. Not sleepy, but by no means robust.

I think I may have to change my game plan.

Rest day

YESTERDAY was successful in terms of GOOD ENERGY AFTER RIDE. Didn't want a nap.

Today I didn't have time to ride. Probably just as well. Now, at 3:45, even though my energy is good, I'm a little sleepy, but can't squeeze in a nap. Meanwhile, very LITTLE STIFFNESS IN KNEES OR LEGS.

LATE BULLETIN: I had to crash for a nap, around 4:30!

Following a rest day, 6.6 mi in 42 min

I was far more tired than I had expected to be, yesterday. I didn't ride, and after a leisurely lunch and visit with the kids, sitting in the shade in their back yard, came home exhausted, and somewhat stiff.

I'm beginning to think the idea of a daily bike ride is impractical. At this point. I believe if I'd tried to ride yesterday, it would have really wiped me out.

Besides, the daily ride simply takes too much time. The ride itself isn't the problem. It's the need to cool down, stretch, take recovery drink, etc. -- not to mentioning writing down the details of everything.

I skipped the stretching on Saturday, and I think that may have contributed to my fatigue. Maybe not.

Anyway, last night I slept a very restful 9.5 hours, and this morning rode 6.6 miles, taking it easy, and cooled down by walking to New Seasons and back, and stretching rather carefully, and doing some light housekeeping. I also had a protein drink. Which reminds me ...

I'm RETHINKING PROTEIN. For the past few weeks, I had been limiting my intake of eggs, dairy, meats, and fish, and attempting to increase plant-based protein. But I've also been disappointed in my energy level, even when I've gotten plenty of sleep. So today I decided to go back to the way I was eating last summer. Accordingly, I started the day with an egg(substitute) sandwich ... and then another. And I feel as though it perked me right up.

So for the next week or so, I plan to push the protein, and see if it accellerates my getting in shape, which, for the past week or two, has not been going well.