The crampening

Not Quite

I definitely got up early and went for a swim; it jus wasn't two swims combined. Instead, I swam 200 meters in Z1 (7:38), 400Z3 (11:35), rested 2 minutes, 200Z3 (6:14), rested 2 minutes, and swam a final 400 meters in Z1 (8:59 and 9:54). I saw the time and decided to get out; my left leg developed a massive cramp about 25 meters from shore. I was wearing my thick wetsuit (it wasn't at all hot this morning), and it took me a minute to get walking. On the way home, I stripped several branches bare of ripe mulberries and ate them by the handful; it was extremely satisfying. After work, I went for an extremely easy 40-miute run around Boston and went to volunteer at the Somerville Bike kitchen. Overall, it was a worthwhile day.

Maybe

Maybe tomorrow I'll wake up early enough to do a week's worth of swimming before leaving for work. STT2 and SF3 would have to happen; 200m of Z1, 400Z3 with a 2 minute rest, 200Z3 with a 2 minute rest, 200Z1 (That's all of STT2), then 300Z1,1150Z2, and 300Z1.

So, depending on the tides: swim to a buoy in zone 1, double lap and then a single lap in Z3 with 2 minutes of rest after each, 3 laps in Z1, 6 full laps in zone 2, and a lap and back to shore in Z1. 13 full laps. That's 2.8 km (a little over 1.7 miles), and it could take over an hour (and that's if I got my zones right; I may not have).

Anyway, I could go for my run after work and before volunteering at the Somerville Bike Kitchen. The track at work is pretty good. The only saving grace, if there is one, is that tomorrow isn't a strength training day.

An early start

I woke up very early today. Early enough to get an hour of stationary biking in before work. The training plan said I was supposed to swim today, too, but the weather didn't cooperate. Oh, well; apparently, it's fine to combine the swimming workouts for a given week into one workout. Anyway, tomorrow is a more complex bike workout; 5mZ1, 20mZ2, 3x5mZ3/3mZ1, 5mZ2, 6mZ1.

I mixed and bottled some of my limoncello today. I also bought an asus wifi router and flashed it with dd-wrt. I bought a 2-year NordVPN subscription; hopefully, tomorrow, I can set the whole thing up.If all goes well, I'll have my own private file server soon.

1st day of formal training

And I'd say it went reasonably well. I had to run by pace instead of heart rate to get the zones right for the last part of my running, because going from zone 4 to zone 1 didn't give my heart time to slow down before I needed to go back to zone 4 again. But other than that, both cycling and running went rather well. Despite the 80/20 setting on my watch not working (my fault, I'm quite sure), I managed to stay in my zones nearly the entire time. Tomorrow, is STT2 (200 Z1, 400 Z3, 2 minute rest, 200 Z3, 2 minute rest, 200 Z1)  and CF9 (5 minute Z1, 50 minute Z2, 5 minute Z1).

I got my commuting raleigh 20 more or less set up; pump bracket and pump, spare tire, etc. Hopefully I can manage to leave the PJ express set up in the trainer so I'm not hauling it up and down a ladder and swapping wheels every time I want to work out.

Other than that, I determined that the best sweetener for my orange/elderflower liqueur is 1/2 simple syrup and 1/2 honey syrup, mixed to make the same volume as the flavored vodka. I don't have enough honey syrup to finish (I need another 300mL), nor enough honey to make more. When I get more honey and finish mixing, I intend to gravity (or possibly force) filter it, to get a good, clear liqueur. I gravity filtered the lemon vodka today, so I can mix it with simple syrup and bottle the limoncello whenever I wish.

Not much else got done today. This is the first time in a long time that I've had two days off in a row, excepting my vacation a while ago. I did have good luck with my granola experiment (1 cup of granola and 1/4 cup of milk powder in a jar, add water to top of granola and shake to mix). It's the sort of thing that could make good no-cook food for camping or bikepacking. Anyway, I made up three jars of it to take to work for impromptu meals. I'm thinking of buying a few MRES or backpacking meals for keeping at work, maybe even for the benefit of others. I'm also interested in the Humanitarian Daily Rations I've heard about, not least for use in ant food pods.

Sunday, Sunday

Earlier this week, I had my first attempt at determining my LTHR while running for an 80/20 triathlon training plan. Not only did I misunderstand the test structure (I ran for only 30 minutes, not 40), but I felt that I had quite a bit of effort left at the end of the test. You're supposed to finish it feeling totally spent, but the book also earns you not to start out too fast, saying that it's better to finish strong than to taper off. I stuck with a pace goal of 5:30-5:40/km and felt like I could have kept running at the end.

Friday was a day off, so I performed the Critical Velocity test for swimming (13:03 to swim 400 meters, then 6:55 to swim 200); this is obviously an area where there is a lot of room for improvement, but I expected that. I also did the test open water, with a fair bit of swimming against the current. Anyway, that left me with swimming speed zones of: 

3:39-4:05 (Zone 1)

3:22-3:39 (Zone 2)

3:12-3:22 (Zone X)

3:04-3:12 (Zone 3)

3:00-3:04 (Zone Y)

2:54-3:00 (Zone 4)

2:54 or faster (Zone 5)

These are all times per 100 meters. Since the two buoys I swim between are 200 meters apart, I'll need to find a way to compensate; perhaps counting the number of strokes between the two buoys (usually about 300, plus or minus ten percent depending on whether I'm swimming with or against the current). Anyway, I came home, went out to lunch with a friend (chorizo seitan tacos...meh, so-so), came home, and did my grocery shopping and laundry for the week. I then set up my new (to me) cycleops2 fluid trainer, and did the LTHR test for biking (126 BPM). That evening, there was a sort of impromptu barbecue, which was lovely.

So my heart rate zones for cycling are:

91-102 (Zone 1)

102-113 (Zone 2)

113-120 (Zone X)

120-126 (Zone 3)

126-129 (Zone Y)

129-132 (Zone 4)

>132 (Zone 5)

Saturday, after work, I re-performed the LTHR test for running. It resulted in me having a LTHR of 157 BPM and a pace of exactly 5 minutes/kilometer. So my heart zones and pace zones for running are:

113-127, 6:35-8:20 (Zone 1)

127-141, 5:45-6:35 (Zone 2)

141-149, 5:23-5:45 (Zone X)

149-157, 5:00-5:23 (Zone 3)

157-160, 4:54-5:00 (Zone Y)

160-165, 4:21-4:54 (Zone 4)

>165, 4:21 or faster (Zone 5)

Whew! Lots of numbers. I intend to make every third or fourth week a "recovery/rest" week that includes re-performing these tests. But anyway, tomorrow is when I start the level 1 ironman training program in the book. There are two workouts for day 1; cycling for 10 minutes in zone 1 and 35 in zone 2 (AKA cf6) then running 5 minutes in zone 1, 28 in zone 2, and 4 repetitions of 1 minutes in zone 4 and 2 in zone 2 (AKA rsp1).I'm very interested to see how much I will improve, given the massive reduction in volume this training plan has over what I've been doing, at least in terms of running.

Anyway, right now I'm filtering my elderflower-infused vodka. I intend to start the elderflower/orange vodka off and go for a walk. I made a large batch of simple syrup, and a test batch of honey syrup (half honey, half water, boiled and strained). Tomorrow, I can begin straining my lemon vodka for making limoncello. I also got the sundry things done that I try to do every Sunday; refilled the water tank, watered the orchids, cleaned the litter box, stirred the nukadoko, did the dishes, rolled laundry, etc. Some of these are daily chores, but Sunday mornings are when I seem to get the most done.

This and that

I bought a wristwatch today. Nothing super fancy; a small timex. I want to be able to time myself swimming without risking the loss of my smartwatch, however waterproof it may claim to be. After work today, I went swimming with the intent of determining my CV for an 80/20 triathlon plan. Unfortunately, I used the wrong button to start the timer, and so I ended up just swimming about 750 meters un-timed (and un-goggled). No problem; at least it was a nice cool swim. After coming home for a shower, I barbecued some ribs and corn on the cob for dinner.

Yesterday, I started a large batch of limoncello. I've determined that the zest of 10 lemons, figuring about 60 grams total, is the right amount for a fifth of vodka. I ended up zesting enough for 3.5 liters of vodka, which is soaking now. All told, I should in theory get about 18 375mL bottles of limoncello for my effort. I was also left with nearly 2 liters of lemon juice. I made some into a sort of lemonade concentrate, or lemon simple syrup; white sugar dissolved into an equal volume of lemon juice and brought to a boil. Kept in the fridge, it makes for a good glass of lemonade at a few moments' notice.

I'm thinking seriously about buying a used bike trainer. I would want to get a replacement rear wheel with a trainer tire on it, and maybe I can set up my own little wattage cottage in the bridge of my boat.

Not quite

A few years ago, near what turned out to be the end of a VERY long day of driving my truck with a trailer, I felt a serious wobbling in the suspension while I was on the highway. I took the nearest off ramp and, before I reached the tollbooth, my rear driver's side wheel came off. I felt amazingly calm; even while the truck skidded along, I knew exactly how the rest of my day was going to go. I knew how things would turn out, even if that's not how I wanted them to turn out, and that certainty was pleasant.

Yesterday morning, my ankle was bothering me. At work, I decided that I wasn't going to run the 17km I needed to run that day to reach 72 for the week. In fact, I wasn't going to run at all. I wasn't even going to reach 10,000 steps for the day. I felt calm, and I looked into the 80/20 ironman training plan I had been intending to try for a while. So, this week, I'm going to do LTH tests for running, swimming, and biking, but otherwise this is going to be a cardio rest week for the most part.

I'm thinking of buying a bike trainer. I get in a fair bit of biking just with my commutes, but trying to stay in specific zones for specific time periods is dodgy a best if I bike on the road around here. Of course, that begs the question; what bike goes in the stand? Do I buy a bike just for the stand? Do I get a new wheel to use with the stand, and swap it out several times per week? Do I use my bike with the stand most or all of the time, and go back to commuting on my raleigh 20? Do I put my raleigh in the stand?

I didn't do a lot today. I gathered a bag of elderflowers on my way to get the week's groceries. After removing the stems and washing the flowers, I was left with about 1500mL of them (I need new batteries for my scale). Half of them went into the 1.5L of orange vodka I made. I'm going to let them soak for a week or so, then I'll strain it and have a few tests with simple syrup and honey before I settle on a liqueur recipe for bottling. The rest of the elderflowers went into a jug with 1.5L of regular vodka, for later mixing with simple syrup to become elderflower liqueur. I also bought 4 bags of lemons; I plan to make another 6L of limoncello to be bottled for aging.

Catching up

I haven't quite caught up yet, but I'm catching up. It would have been easier to give up; as of Thursday morning, I had only gone for one run this week (the half marathon on Tuesday), which left a great deal to do to achieve my 72km this week. On Thursday, I took advantage of the running shoes I left at work and went for a moderately long run right from work and ended at work, and then biked to the Somerville Bike Kitchen to volunteer. Today, I ran a bit over a half marathon. One long run tomorrow will bring me to my goal for the week.

I got a good review today for my makgeolli, in particular the raspberry makgeolli. I also received my new cache belt and buckle. Shortly, I will assemble a good survival kit within said belt. Ideally, each component or set of components will be encased in plastic in such a way that both protects them from weather and moisture while also making them float.

I also bought a whole bunch of lemons. I intend to harvest some elderflowers this weekend and use some of the orange vodka I made to make orange/elderflower liquer, and use the rest of the elderflowers to make elderflower liquer. The lemons will be used to make limoncello, and some of their juice will be used to make lemon syrup.

Need to catch up

This week was supposed to (and still may) be a 72-kilometer running week. The past few days have been HOT. I got called in to work unexpectedly on Monday, and ended up staying too late to fit in a decent run when I got home. So on Tuesday, despite it being sweltering, I ran a half marathon when I got home. I saw some new roads and trails I hadn't run on before, and (mostly) managed to maintain my pace around a HR of 137-ish. I brought water along, and drank it, but I still felt shattered by the time I got home. Me legs hurt pedaling to work the next morning, and it was still hot when I got home, so I didn't run that day. Now, on Thursday, I've got fully 51 kilometers still to run this week if I want to hit my target. Temperatures have come down a lot, but I'm volunteering at the Somerville bike kitchen this evening. My plan for now is to go for a run from work as soon as I get relieved from console, with the course ending at work, where I'll shower and pedal over to the bike kitchen. With any luck at all, I can knock out 10k or so. That way, I can split up the rest between Friday and Saturday. They'll still end up heavy days, and I need to remember not to push myself too hard, but it may still be possible.

I want to get back in the water.

Another solid week

My assorted fitness apps don't show me as having completed 100 km of biking this week. They would, but I failed to record one commute home (I snapped my chain less than 1 km in, fixed it, and failed to restart my watch when I had fixed the chain), and failed to record part of one ride (coming home from my second bout volunteering at the somerville bike kitchen). But I did exceed 100 km of biking, I met my goal of 66 km of running, and I hit 100 reps on my strength exercises on every strength day this week.

Today was very productive. I etched level markings onto both of my 6 gallon glass carboys,with a line every half gallon; perhaps I should do another set of lines for metric levels. I filtered and bottled my makgeolli (the liquid was mixed with 4 liters of water and bottled, 3 bottles with 2.5 mL of raspberry flavoring and 3 with 2.5 mL of orange flavoring), for a total of 36 12-ounce bottles and a 4-liter jug which are all presently resting at room temperature. I removed the airlocks from the honey and maple meads and capped them. The orange zest/vodka mixture got gravity filtered, I took out a lot of trash, stirred my nukadoko bed, bought groceries, did dishes, washed the makgeolli urn, de-iced the freezer, hooked up the AC unit, refilled my water tank, and bought a new belt.

The belt is a "cache belt" from a company called Wazoo survival gear. It has about 65 cm of continuous pocket built in, which I plan to fill with a basic complement of survival equipment. The buckle also has a small storage compartment, which will hold a signal mirror (designed for the purpose) and possibly other equipment. I'm also, for no particular reason, working on designs for a bracelet and a ring designed to help the user escape from restraints. I've become rather interested in kevlar line, possibly with diamond dust or another abrasive embedded in it. Handcuff keys are interesting (while possibly requiring an extension to use effectively), but arguably an abrasive line will work against more restraints. There is also the issue of using tungsten carbide and other materials to break through windows. A ring could conceivably include a tungsten carbide section or bead, possibly worn turned in to the palm side. When needed, it could be turned outwards and used to shatter a glass window.

Bike kitchening

I volunteered again today at the Somerville Bike Kitchen. I went out and bought a lot of extra tubes, chains, brake pads, etc. in case anyone needed anything (using some of the cash from selling my cannondale bad boy lefty). It wasn't as hectic as last week. I can see it becoming a thing.

I also bought ingredients for a clone of Heady Topper. If I get 90% of the way there on the first shot, I'll be ecstatic. I also got a corker, some corks, and two dozen 375 mL clear wine bottles so I can bottle my limoncello like a civilized person.

The makgeolli has matured quite nicely. Every day looking into it is different. One day, there will be floating rice grains. Others, nothing but a gentle yellow fluid. I can hear it fermenting when I come home. I got 20(ish) kombucha bottles from someone at work, which I hope to turn to makgeolli packaging.

There was a recent announcement that there may be a new nuclear plant coming online in Wyoming soon. I sent my resume to the company. Maybe I'll move soon, to a more libertarian-friendly spot. Maybe I'll grow hops, and keep chickens, and bike to work when I want to. Maybe I'll buy an electric pickup truck, put a gun rack in the back window, and drive to see my family on long weekends.