Life's like that eh? Ups and downs, ins and outs, wins and losses. The game of life is about managing the losses, and enjoying the victories, each and every one of them. If one believes that the ups and the downs kinda balance out then I suppose the only way to make it all worthwhile is to squeeze every wee bit out of the good times, while moving quickly past the not so good. Generally I try to live that way, but I admit that I only mange to do so part of the time. Never the less, in keeping with the spirit of my good intentions, I wish to tell you that I had a few very nice moments today and I wish to share them.
First off, to get the extrinsic stuff out of the way, I woke up this morning delighted to learn that I had bought a very nice bike helmet, from a very nice person, from some town in China, so obscure that it doesn't even warrant a name in our alphabet. And while I'm calling that a good thing for now there is a bit of a caveat. You see I bought it on eBay for a little more than half of what I would pay if I ordered it in Canada, and yet it still has to get through Canadian customs at some point. That could mean nothing, or it could mean a further bill. Either way I can't imagine it getting me anywhere near the normal shelf price locally. Of course it will take a month to get here, but that don't matter eh, since summer feels about 6 months away!!!
Anyway, after I spent my allotted helmet money for the year, and after I drove the kids to school, I came back home to ready my bike for my short interval workout. Feeling so bagged lately I was quite nervous about it, so I managed to find several ways to procrastinate. First and foremost was my second meeting with my mentee at Sparta Public School, another event that I was a wee bit nervous about. Even though my first session with my new 8 year old friend went quite well, I admit to wondering whether a week later he would even remember me. You know how it can be with kids, out of sight, out of mind.
But no way! The exact opposite actually. He was all pumped and waiting. He met me at the door, and off we headed to the resource room. I wish I could share his name and even a few pictures, but that's definitely beyond the rules, at least in this forum. I can tell you that he is bright, energetic, mannerly, and I like him a lot. Furthermore, I now feel confident that he likes me as well, and I am already thinking about next week. Today we talked, made some origami frogs and airplanes, and played with the lego. He's a major lego expert, and expressed his sincere jealousy that I had been to see the movie. Of course he has no idea what a stinker it is! :) He's probably gonna see it on the weekend, so it will be interesting to hear his perspective next week.
Anyway I am pleased to report that my role as an In School Mentor is off to a flying start. I'm very excited to see where it takes us in the future. I think having a grandson who is just a few years older is a major advantage for me. All of my learning is still pretty fresh.
So I came home pretty pumped, but I still had to go down in the basement when I got back. I made sure I didn't procrastinate any further because that would have been the death of me, and yet when I got on the bike I didn't feel well at all. My legs simply didn't feel fresh enough for a hard ride.
But…..I decided to get started, amidst tons of negative thoughts about doing half of it, or doing it tomorrow, or never, ever, again riding my bike in a god forsaken, dark, dreary, february, basement!!!
But….I think it went well. If I ever had a harder ride than this one I don't remember when it was. Since I didn't have confidence that I was going to complete the workout anyway, I decided to start out in the aero bars, and just see how long I could stay there. The relevant part of the workout called for six, 6 minute intervals, at 213 watts. That's 36 minutes of very intense pedalling, all of which I completed….in the aero bars!!!!!!!
So yes, a day of little victories. I'm gonna nurture them as long as I can. I should be able to sleep the sleep of the just. Tomorrow after my session with the CST guy I'm going running! Come hell or high water, or even another freakin storm, I am gonna run 25 kms tomorrow! That should be enough to unequivocally decide my fate as relates to the Bay Race. It will either be manageable, in which case I will cautiously get a few more long ones in over the coming weeks, or it will mess me up enough to put running totally aside until it's better. Quite frankly, I expect the second, but I'm thinking in possibility.
Speaking of which, I am trying to take the same positive attitude towards the craniosacral therapy. I must tell you however that despite the therapists assurances that it would have an immediate impact, my first session did not have any positive result that I could identify. I will go again tomorrow, and then decide from there. Of course I will give him the feedback that he has asked for, but I won't waste his time or mine, if it's not going anywhere.
computrainer short intervals, 90 minutes
"Victory is won not in miles but in inches. Win a little now, hold your ground, and later, win a little more."---Louis L'Amour
"Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for mankind"---Horace Mann
Love
Peter
First off, to get the extrinsic stuff out of the way, I woke up this morning delighted to learn that I had bought a very nice bike helmet, from a very nice person, from some town in China, so obscure that it doesn't even warrant a name in our alphabet. And while I'm calling that a good thing for now there is a bit of a caveat. You see I bought it on eBay for a little more than half of what I would pay if I ordered it in Canada, and yet it still has to get through Canadian customs at some point. That could mean nothing, or it could mean a further bill. Either way I can't imagine it getting me anywhere near the normal shelf price locally. Of course it will take a month to get here, but that don't matter eh, since summer feels about 6 months away!!!
Anyway, after I spent my allotted helmet money for the year, and after I drove the kids to school, I came back home to ready my bike for my short interval workout. Feeling so bagged lately I was quite nervous about it, so I managed to find several ways to procrastinate. First and foremost was my second meeting with my mentee at Sparta Public School, another event that I was a wee bit nervous about. Even though my first session with my new 8 year old friend went quite well, I admit to wondering whether a week later he would even remember me. You know how it can be with kids, out of sight, out of mind.
But no way! The exact opposite actually. He was all pumped and waiting. He met me at the door, and off we headed to the resource room. I wish I could share his name and even a few pictures, but that's definitely beyond the rules, at least in this forum. I can tell you that he is bright, energetic, mannerly, and I like him a lot. Furthermore, I now feel confident that he likes me as well, and I am already thinking about next week. Today we talked, made some origami frogs and airplanes, and played with the lego. He's a major lego expert, and expressed his sincere jealousy that I had been to see the movie. Of course he has no idea what a stinker it is! :) He's probably gonna see it on the weekend, so it will be interesting to hear his perspective next week.
Anyway I am pleased to report that my role as an In School Mentor is off to a flying start. I'm very excited to see where it takes us in the future. I think having a grandson who is just a few years older is a major advantage for me. All of my learning is still pretty fresh.
So I came home pretty pumped, but I still had to go down in the basement when I got back. I made sure I didn't procrastinate any further because that would have been the death of me, and yet when I got on the bike I didn't feel well at all. My legs simply didn't feel fresh enough for a hard ride.
But…..I decided to get started, amidst tons of negative thoughts about doing half of it, or doing it tomorrow, or never, ever, again riding my bike in a god forsaken, dark, dreary, february, basement!!!
But….I think it went well. If I ever had a harder ride than this one I don't remember when it was. Since I didn't have confidence that I was going to complete the workout anyway, I decided to start out in the aero bars, and just see how long I could stay there. The relevant part of the workout called for six, 6 minute intervals, at 213 watts. That's 36 minutes of very intense pedalling, all of which I completed….in the aero bars!!!!!!!
So yes, a day of little victories. I'm gonna nurture them as long as I can. I should be able to sleep the sleep of the just. Tomorrow after my session with the CST guy I'm going running! Come hell or high water, or even another freakin storm, I am gonna run 25 kms tomorrow! That should be enough to unequivocally decide my fate as relates to the Bay Race. It will either be manageable, in which case I will cautiously get a few more long ones in over the coming weeks, or it will mess me up enough to put running totally aside until it's better. Quite frankly, I expect the second, but I'm thinking in possibility.
Speaking of which, I am trying to take the same positive attitude towards the craniosacral therapy. I must tell you however that despite the therapists assurances that it would have an immediate impact, my first session did not have any positive result that I could identify. I will go again tomorrow, and then decide from there. Of course I will give him the feedback that he has asked for, but I won't waste his time or mine, if it's not going anywhere.
computrainer short intervals, 90 minutes
"Victory is won not in miles but in inches. Win a little now, hold your ground, and later, win a little more."---Louis L'Amour
"Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for mankind"---Horace Mann
Love
Peter
I'm proud of you and very happy that your mentoring is going well. I suggest that you have met a fortunate young man!
ReplyDeleteLove happy odd john
I'm with John on the mentoring, and I knew you would love it when you told us about it. What I really want to know though is how to do this gong running of which you speak. Perhaps your mentee would like to try it as well...
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