I choose pain

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Pain report part 2

Bottom Push Up Hold - 1 set of 45-60 seconds is MY goal
I get into position - core tight and straight. I kept the elbows in tight to my sides. At breath 17 or 18 I notice my pecs and arms start to lose it and my body/head start moving lower to the floor with every breath. I'm really summoning every ounce of mental strength I can muster to keep the muscles working and avoid collapse, but I can't stop the descent. My chest and chin hit the floor at breath 24. *sigh*

Bear Crawl Hold - 1 set of 45-60 seconds is MY goal
Quads started burning mildly around breath 50. Shoulders/arms felt strong today. I went to 90 breaths today and there was no shaking/trembling in the arms/shoulder although the shoulders felt the most sore when I finished. The burning in the quads never escalated. It was just a mild and very tolerable burn. I guess a bear is my spirit animal.

Iron Bridge - 1 set of 60-90 seconds is MY goal
"easy mode" straight plank bridge - I settle into the plank position and, like yesterday, don't focus on the glutes, but trust my abs to keep the core tight/straight (and it does). My shoulders signal pain early on - maybe breath 15 or so, but it is tolerable. My right hammy flirts with the pre-cramping sensation, but I mentally relax the right leg/glute and it goes away immedately (for a few breaths anyway). Right hammy threatened cramp at least 3-4 times but never went full cramp so I managed it. I reached breath 60 and my shoulder pain was still just a consistent, but tolerable level, so I pushed all the way to 90 breaths. When I finished, I had to move my hands/arms forward very slowly as the shoulders were very sore. A minute later and the soreness has abated and the Iron Bridge felt good I think.

Active Dead Hang - Shoulder width grip today. Started strong. Around breath 20 I thought I might push to 30 today. Then at breath 24, pain my scapula & shoulders went from 0 to 100 and I was done. It was a sharp, intense and sudden pain - not like the burning pain that I usually feel. I felt fine as soon as I released though.
 
pmbug said:
I forgot to mention that yesterday, while walking to the track, allergies hit me hard and my nose started oozing mucus uncontrollably. I didn't have any tissues and was just dripping snot and it was gross. Yesterday also happened to be the first day of school for the school campus where the track I'm using is located. The road was congested with a parking lot full of cars - parents dropping their kids off. It was embarrassing. Fortunately, the mucus stopped (for the rest of the day) shortly after I started jogging.

Pain report

This morning I jogged a mile at the track (no allergy attack today).

(later)

Crucifix Crunch - Today I did 3 sets of 15 reps. It's been a while since I did 3 sets and near the end of set 1, I could feel the abs working, so I thought maybe they were missing the full routine. During set 2, the abs were complaining a bit and my (lower) spine was popping a bit (not painful, just loud). Set 3 was easy, but the last 2 reps actually took some effort (to do properly without momentum). When I stopped doing 3 full sets, this was so easy that 3 sets seemed like a waste of time. But it seems that slacking off isn't an option if I want to keep the abs in top shape.

Core Hold Series (immediate transitions)
Form 1 - Today I positioned my arms perpedicular to the floor at 90 degrees. I could barely get my back off the floor, but I did manage it by maybe an inch. It stayed off the floor until I finished breath 16. I finished out to breath 30 with shoulders up.
Form 2 - I kept my feet really low to the floor today - maybe 3-4 inches off the floor - and my lower back flat on the floor. My abs were straining and I had to mentally focus to keep them tight. The abs never really burned, but they worked and were feeling sore. I finished 30 breaths without letting the lower back arch off the floor.
Form 3 - As soon as I started kicking, the lower back started to arch. I had to raise the legs/feet a bit higher in the air to keep the lower back on the floor. I finished 30 breaths and my abs feel sore, but a good soreness like they did work. I did not experience any burning pain while doing the Forms though.

Side planks
Right side - Everything felt smooth today. No shoulder popping. Good form. Controlled movements (no momentum). At rep 18, I could feel the oblique starting to struggle to lift to full plank position. I stopped at 20 reps. The right shoulder did not signal any pain today. Nice.
Left side - Like with the right side, the left shoulder did not pop today. Today, the left side felt good too - good form, controlled movements and I could feel the oblique working. The olbique felt strong today and could have gone beyond 20 reps, but I stopped and it's just as well because the left shoulder was signalling pain as I finished the last couple of reps.

Horse Stance - 1 set of 60 is MY goal
I find the correct spinal position (hips thrusted forward) right away (again) today. I really focused on keeping the pelvis rotated to keep the lower spine vertical and my knees over my ankles. Without focus, the pelvis tends to relax and the knees move inward. Around breath breath 40, the knees start to shake and by breath 45 they are really shaking. The burning pain is getting intense. At breath 50, the knees are really shaking badly and I'm not sure I will make it to 60. Did I mention that the burning pain is intense? Breath 55 and I'm seeing black dots in my field of vision (sort of). I reach breath 60, put hands on my knees and try to stand up and it takes extreme effort. I almost couldn't do it. Legs are jello.

Wall Sit - 1 set of 60 is MY goal
Almost identical to yesterday - good form, intense burn, no knee shaking/vibrating, wall shimmy to stand up at the end. Burning was maybe slightly less intense than yesterday.

(lunch time - will have to finish later today)
Click to expand...
Neti-pot rinse before you go out.

If a Neti pot doesn't work for you, Neilmed makes a gentle motorized flushing tool that does the same thing.

I discovered it during COE-vidd. I think it was Dr. Kory who asserted that Indians and others who practiced regular sinus irrigation/rinses, were 80-percent less likely to have severe Coof.

A side benefit is, for a time, anyway, it stops the slime flow during Ragweed Season.

I'm so glad I'm here. I had hayfever so horribly, as a kid...the pollen just coated everything from mid-August to the first frost. I discovered there's no such problem in the arid West, when I lived in Denver. Moved back - big mistake, to stay ten moar years - and now I'm out, again and probably forever.
 
No one chooses pain for fun. Pain is for growth. Pain is for living.
 
Pain report

Yesterday morning I jogged a mile at the track. I skipped the workout because I didn't feel like doing it. no rational conscious reason. Maybe my subconscious made the decision.

This morning I did yard work instead of running at the track.

(afternoon)

Crucifix Crunch - Today I did 3 sets of 15 reps with short rests in between. Abs never really felt sore until near the end of the last set.

Core Hold Series (immediate transitions)
Form 1 - Today I positioned my arms parallel to my legs at about a 20-30 degree angle to the floor. I kept my back off the floor through breath 26. Finished out 30 breaths with shoulders up.
Form 2 - I again kept my feet really low to the floor today - maybe 3-4 inches off the floor - and my lower back flat on the floor. My abs were straining and I had to mentally refocus my effort every other breath to keep them tight and my lower back on the floor. My lower back didn't exactly arch, but it didn't stay completely flat to the floor either.
Form 3 - I kept my kicks low and much like Form 2, my lower back wasn't exactly arching but also wasn't exactly flat to the floor.

I'm not feeling a burning sensation during the core hold any more. I'm just fighting to keep the abs tight. I miss the burning. It was feedback that let me know the abs were working. Now, it is harder to keep them working if that makes any sense. They just tire/relax without feedback.

Side planks
Right side - Shoulder popped sporadically. I did 25 reps. Shoulder was i mild pain when I finished. Oblique could have pushed out a few more reps, but my shoulder would not have liked it.
Left side - First 10 reps, I couldn't even feel the obliques working. Then I felt them working more and more with each successive rep. By rep 18, the obliques were getting tired and it was getting harder to lift my core into the full elevation/plank. Rep 23 was super sloppy and my oblique gave out. It was done. Shoulder was in mild pain too but could have survived a couple more reps if the obliques had had the strength.

Horse Stance - 1 set of 60 is MY goal
Well that was interesting. I was playing some aggressive rock and feeling it. I got into my stance with attitude and arms out like I'm holding an invisible beach ball in front of me. I feel burning in the quads early on, but it is moderate, not intense. At breath 40 I'm expecting the knees to shake like always, but they don't. At breath 50 the knees start to tremble, but it isn't the full on shaking I'm used to. As I reach breath 60, I briefly entertain the thought of seeing if I can push to 90, but I don't. Maybe another day. I stand up relatively easily compared to the last few workouts and while my legs are burning, they aren't complete jello.

Wall Sit - 1 set of 60 is MY goal
Good form, intense burn in the quads, no knee shaking/vibrating. Left quad starts twitching around breath 58. I use the wall shimmy to stand up at the end. Burning was more intense than during the Horse Stance today. I could probably have pushed for another 10 breaths (maybe). I think I'll start pushing Horse Stance and Wall Sit when I can do both in one session easily (no trembling/shaking).

Bottom Push Up Hold - 1 set of 45-60 seconds is MY goal
I'm in position with the core tight and straight and my elbows in tight to my sides. At breath 17 or 18 I start to feel my pecs/chest struggling. Arms/triceps are fine. Around breath 20, I'm summoning all my mental focus to keep the position as my pecs start to weaken and lower my chest/head. It took supreme effort, but I last until breath 30 with my chin an inch off the floor and then collapse. My pecs feel sore when I get up. I never really felt a burn per se, but the muscles were definitely straining.

Bear Crawl Hold - 1 set of 45-60 seconds is MY goal
Shoulders/arms/pecs started trembling aroud breath 40. I didn't even notice my quads today. Around breath 50 the trembling was full on shaking and I wasn't sure how far I'd be able to go today. I reach breath 60 and refuse to quit. At 70 breaths, my upper body is shaking/spasming, but there is no real pain or burning. I continue breathing and reach 90 and quit. In spite of the shaking/spasming, I think I could have pushed longer if I had wanted to. It would not have been pleasant, but I could have gone a bit longer I think.

(short rest - running out of time for my workout)

Iron Bridge - 1 set of 60-90 seconds is MY goal
"easy mode" straight plank bridge - Much like my last effort - held the core with my abs and just endured the shoulder pain through 90 breaths. Had to get up slowly as shoulders were very sore.

(short rest - running out of time for my workout)

Active Dead Hang - Shoulder width grip today. Lasted 24 breaths. Scapulas were at failure. I needed a longer rest after the last few exercises. Next time.
 
Joe King said:
Try to make it happen.

Got 57 miles tonight.
....and a McDonalds cheeseburger on the way home.
Click to expand...
I did!

Fifteen miles and change, and quite instructional. The Hiawatha (bike) Trail is run by Lookout Pass ski resort, but it's not the same trail as the roadbed that went through from the pass to Wallace. The Hiawatha trail is the old Milwaukee Road (Chicago, St. Paul, Milwaukee & Pacific) roadbed, that follows east to Bonner and beyond. There are power station structures periodically; and the State has only recently taken out dams, set up for turbine power generation. No, I don't know why, except that Californistan power-freaks have been working on our state government for nearly two decades.

The Milwaukee Road went bust in 1976; ran trains while in bankruptcy up until 1980. The Burlington Northern bought bits and pieces of the right-of-way, but the rest reverted to Rails-To-Trails. Lookout Pass has the franchise, and they really do manage it actively and well. Water stations, trail rangers to assist with flat tires or various other problems...someone just can't make it, they have four-wheelers to get them to the starting point.

It wasn't hard at all...not after the first tunnel, which for some reason gave me the shakes. No fear of the roof falling; it might have been a reaction to my headlight, which I first set on a strobe flashing. (I had two; one solid beam, and one strobing). But it was an unpleasant feeling. I was going slow, because I couldn't see in the complete pitch-murkiness, and so slow the gyroscopic action of the bike wheels wasn't keeping me up. Worse was, there were runoff gutters on either side of the trail - narrow but about eight inches deep, right against the wall. Springs gush through openings in the rock in the tunnel, and those are necessary. But a nasty fall going down.

Once through, no problem. Easy downgrade. About two-thirds of the plaques along the way are informative (the rest just Wokey) and there's a fair number of vistas.

But, to the trail, it was the Northern Pacific that ran through Wallace - and that former roadbed doesn't connect anywhere to the Hiawatha Trail. Since I-90 went in, much of it is gone-gone-gone.

Photos coming. I'll put them up in another thread. But yeah, I got out there and rode it. Next challenge is to ride UP that three-percent grade, fifteen miles.
 
Casey Jones said:
I did!

Fifteen miles and change, and quite instructional. The Hiawatha (bike) Trail is run by Lookout Pass ski resort, but it's not the same trail as the roadbed that went through from the pass to Wallace. The Hiawatha trail is the old Milwaukee Road (Chicago, St. Paul, Milwaukee & Pacific) roadbed, that follows east to Bonner and beyond. There are power station structures periodically; and the State has only recently taken out dams, set up for turbine power generation. No, I don't know why, except that Californistan power-freaks have been working on our state government for nearly two decades.

The Milwaukee Road went bust in 1976; ran trains while in bankruptcy up until 1980. The Burlington Northern bought bits and pieces of the right-of-way, but the rest reverted to Rails-To-Trails. Lookout Pass has the franchise, and they really do manage it actively and well. Water stations, trail rangers to assist with flat tires or various other problems...someone just can't make it, they have four-wheelers to get them to the starting point.

It wasn't hard at all...not after the first tunnel, which for some reason gave me the shakes. No fear of the roof falling; it might have been a reaction to my headlight, which I first set on a strobe flashing. (I had two; one solid beam, and one strobing). But it was an unpleasant feeling. I was going slow, because I couldn't see in the complete pitch-murkiness, and so slow the gyroscopic action of the bike wheels wasn't keeping me up. Worse was, there were runoff gutters on either side of the trail - narrow but about eight inches deep, right against the wall. Springs gush through openings in the rock in the tunnel, and those are necessary. But a nasty fall going down.

Once through, no problem. Easy downgrade. About two-thirds of the plaques along the way are informative (the rest just Wokey) and there's a fair number of vistas.

But, to the trail, it was the Northern Pacific that ran through Wallace - and that former roadbed doesn't connect anywhere to the Hiawatha Trail. Since I-90 went in, much of it is gone-gone-gone.

Photos coming. I'll put them up in another thread. But yeah, I got out there and rode it. Next challenge is to ride UP that three-percent grade, fifteen miles.
Click to expand...
That's great! Glad to hear you had a good time. I figured it would be. It looked pretty nice from the pics and write-up about it on their website.

Riding up it will be good. Is there parking at the bottom? Or will you ride down then back up?

I was thinking if you were to start at the bottom and go up first, you'd get the harder part out of the way and be able to really enjoy the easier ride back down.
 
Joe King said:
Riding up it will be good. Is there parking at the bottom? Or will you ride down then back up?

I was thinking if you were to start at the bottom and go up first, you'd get the harder part out of the way and be able to really enjoy the easier ride back down.
Click to expand...
There's parking, and also Forest Service campgrounds...but out there it's a network of NFS gravel roads. I'd have to get an up-to-date map to find it.

The shuttlebus trip back was over one-lane NFS roads, to the East Portal of the tunnel. There's an ORV road that goes over the mountain the tunnel bores through.

They do get their four or more shuttle-buses through, so it's doable; but it would take some research to find out how. Nope, no designated parking, but there'd be nothing to prevent someone from just pulling off to one side, a quarter-mile away from the mustering point.

The winning plan would be to camp there, and start up as soon as they arrive to open the gates. You'd have to have a pass purchased; because they do check for passes. They're like ski-resort lift tickets - except fastened to your bicycle. No pass? You're trespassing. It didn't appear to be a problem...the kind of person who heads out there, isn't the kind that jumps the line at Disneyland. No, this was a clean, orderly crowd. The worst offense I saw was some teens running without bicycle headlights through the mile-and-a-half tunnel.

But the easy plan would probably be, pack a nice lunch, get to the bottom, feast up, and then ride back up. I didn't measure the elevation change with a phone, but we could see the trail below us on hairpin turns going back. It's significant.
 
Damn, time flies! I remember riding my bicycle to high school. According to Google, it was 7.2 miles each way.
So many mornings, I was chattering from the cold, but the returns were always pleasant.
And double-damn, the photos of my old home now look like some millionaire's retreat.
 
Who here rides a bike?

I got some questions. That trail was easy, but DUSTY. Partly because there were large groups going through; lotta road dust.

My bike, owned it three years...I've ridden it a fair amount, but never on trails and never in the rain.

It's all dusty. BFD, right? Except...the damn chain and gearset is dusty, too.

The old pre-teen solution is just to dump oil on the chain. Former-motorcyclist-me knows, oil over dust equals paste.

The old Schwinn bikes had Master links on chains. I don't know how these new chains separate to get them off, and into a kerosene bath.

And it's important that I do, I think. Because the sprockets and gearset will wear from that oil-dust paste.

Am I being silly?
 
My photo upload failed. Too large.

I don't have editing software, now, since the free stuff has been taken away.
 
I have to puzzle through this...which version, and then, how to work it.

I appreciate the link. I do NOT appreciate how the Tech Autistics keep on invalidating all I've learned, so I have to re-learn every damn thing I learned, and start anew...with EVERY job.

Imagine, fifty years ago, if every time you bought film for your camera, you needed a new lens and f-stop for the new type of film, which replaced the old stuff.

That's why I've stopped doing so much of what I used to do online. I'm sick of this...not throwing shade on your help, but the whole damn fog of chaos....
 
Gimp is essentially a free (open source) image editor that rivals the commercial Photoshop in features and power. I know how to use about 1% of it's features, but it's enough to crop and annotate an image. You can find YouTube instruction videos to learn how to do specific things if it's not intuitive from the menus/icons.
 
Casey Jones said:
Who here rides a bike?

I got some questions. That trail was easy, but DUSTY. Partly because there were large groups going through; lotta road dust.

My bike, owned it three years...I've ridden it a fair amount, but never on trails and never in the rain.

It's all dusty. BFD, right? Except...the damn chain and gearset is dusty, too.

The old pre-teen solution is just to dump oil on the chain. Former-motorcyclist-me knows, oil over dust equals paste.

The old Schwinn bikes had Master links on chains. I don't know how these new chains separate to get them off, and into a kerosene bath.

And it's important that I do, I think. Because the sprockets and gearset will wear from that oil-dust paste.

Am I being silly?
Click to expand...

No. You aren't being silly.


Look at your chain and see if it's got a quick link.

This vid will show you what it looks like. If you have one, it'll also show you how to open it.

Your chain may not have one though.

In that case you'll need a chain breaker tool.

Those are easy to use to get the chain apart, but getting it back together correctly with one of those can be tricky.

If you have to go that route, get some quick links and put the chain back together with one of those.

A bike shop should have them, or you can get them on Amazon. Just make sure you get one that matches your chain.

It goes by the number of gears on the rear wheel. Ie: either 8 speed, 9 speed, etc etc.

If your bike has 7 gears back there, the 8 speed will work.


In dusty conditions a dry wax lube would be best. A wet lube will collect dust such as how you describe yours looking like..

I use Rock n Roll lube. The blue one, as I'm out in all conditions but you'd want the red one.

Should be available at most bike shops and is on Amazon too.

Or you can get White Lightening wax lube, or any other lubes that say "dry" on them.

Walmart carries a version of the White Lightening.


They go on wet, but the liquid dries up leaving a wax coating that sheds as it gets dirty. It needs to be applied more often than wet lube, but for your riding conditions it's the way you should go imho.

Best to apply that kind of lube the day before you ride in dusty conditions.
.....or a lot of people apply at the end of their ride so it's ready to go for their next ride.

Or just go to the local bike shop near you and talk to them about it. I'm sure they'll steer you right. You aren't the first person with this problem, and they likely help people with it regularly.

Me? I clean my drive train maybe a couple times a year, but otherwise I just lube it once a week.

It prolly needs cleaning right now. lol

As much as I ride, I just let it all wear out together (chain, chainrings and cassette) until I get some slipping, then change all three.

I get about two years, maybe 2 and a half if I am fortunate.

A lot of people measure their chain for stretch (wear) and change just the chain when it shows stretch beyond a certain amount.

I have the tool to measure it, but it doesn't take long for it show the chain as worn out.

That'd be at about 800 miles, so I'd be changing it every 7 to 8 weeks.

That's 6 or 7 chains a year at $25 each.

Letting it all wear out together costs $25 for the chain, $50 for a new crankset, and $25 for a cassette, every two years.
...and I have all the tools to do the work myself.

That's a lot cheaper than $150-$175 (+tax) per year just for chains.

Not to mention the hassle of having to change it 6 times a year.

I've also seen people do it that way only to start having slipping issues because they waited just a little bit too long and the gears were a little bit too worn to fit the pitch of the new chain.

In that situation, when you give it some torque, the chain lifts up and over the worn teeth and slips. That's no bueno.




I don't clean mine this way, but I know a mechanical engineer who rides, and what he does when his chain gets dirty, is to take his bike to a power sprayer car wash.

He takes the chain off, stretches it out on the concrete, holds it down with his foot at one end and power sprays it. flips it over and does it again, then repeats it again, but from the other end of the chain. Dries it off, puts it back on the bike and applies lube.

He says it works great.
 
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