hatsu (cow heart)
Originally uploaded by renfield
earphones
So running 4-5 times a week, generally early in the morning, before it gets too hot and humid. Having music is a big help, actually. Especially the kickin' tracks assembled by DJ Dasterdly Daboo.
Problem is listening device.
The Bose headphones sound great and are really comfortable, but they are too big and cumbersome for running.
My Shure sound-isolating earphones are TOO good: they block ALL ambient sound so I can't hear traffic around me; sketchy dangerous.
The Bang & Olufson A8 earphones look cool and sound great, but don't fit my ears very well -- the clamp doesn't hold onto my ear when I run, and the earpiece itself is too big to wedge comfortably into my ear and keep it there.
So I need suggestions for decent, small, comfortable earphones to wear whilst running, that do NOT block out all ambient noise. Don't care about dynamic range; I am listening to ripped MP3 and AAC4 tracks whilst running and paying attention to ambient traffic noise, so I don't care about sound quality as much as comfort whilst running.
Suggestions?
Problem is listening device.
The Bose headphones sound great and are really comfortable, but they are too big and cumbersome for running.
My Shure sound-isolating earphones are TOO good: they block ALL ambient sound so I can't hear traffic around me; sketchy dangerous.
The Bang & Olufson A8 earphones look cool and sound great, but don't fit my ears very well -- the clamp doesn't hold onto my ear when I run, and the earpiece itself is too big to wedge comfortably into my ear and keep it there.
So I need suggestions for decent, small, comfortable earphones to wear whilst running, that do NOT block out all ambient noise. Don't care about dynamic range; I am listening to ripped MP3 and AAC4 tracks whilst running and paying attention to ambient traffic noise, so I don't care about sound quality as much as comfort whilst running.
Suggestions?
38 and feelin great
Started the day with an easy 6 kilo run at 6am, then a light breakfast of melon and various fruits.
Killed some time with laundry and other bits and bobs, then took Ton to the park for a bit before meeting P and Mo at French Kitchen in the Grand Hyatt.
It is not the most extensive menu for a brunch buffet, but it is damn tasty! Scallops for an entree, but started by loading up on grilled veggies, tuna tar tar, and fruit salad. Managed to stay away from the dessert tables until round 3, than had to have two small banana fudge brownies doused in fruit cocktail and topped with sprinkles.
Then went on my own to Aoyama for a metrosexual 2 hours of manicure and pedicure luxury. Also went for the option head-massage, too, because dammit I am worth it.
Checked out the latest Ferrari at the dealership downstairs, then headed home for a carbo-loading of whole wheat pasta with tomato and egg-plant sauce.
Health check is on Friday, so for the next 4 days it's all fruit and veggies, no carbs, lotsa cardio. Yes, that is cheating, but I have to cheat since they weigh me fully clothed at the clinic, so that's like a kilo right there!
Killed some time with laundry and other bits and bobs, then took Ton to the park for a bit before meeting P and Mo at French Kitchen in the Grand Hyatt.
It is not the most extensive menu for a brunch buffet, but it is damn tasty! Scallops for an entree, but started by loading up on grilled veggies, tuna tar tar, and fruit salad. Managed to stay away from the dessert tables until round 3, than had to have two small banana fudge brownies doused in fruit cocktail and topped with sprinkles.
Then went on my own to Aoyama for a metrosexual 2 hours of manicure and pedicure luxury. Also went for the option head-massage, too, because dammit I am worth it.
Checked out the latest Ferrari at the dealership downstairs, then headed home for a carbo-loading of whole wheat pasta with tomato and egg-plant sauce.
Health check is on Friday, so for the next 4 days it's all fruit and veggies, no carbs, lotsa cardio. Yes, that is cheating, but I have to cheat since they weigh me fully clothed at the clinic, so that's like a kilo right there!
happy birthday to me!
happy birthday to me!
Originally uploaded by renfield
38 years old, peak condition!
66 kilos, 15% body fat.
routine
Wake at 5am, sit. It is already hot. Usually sit for about 20 minutes. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Don't really time it, just sit until I am done sitting.
Sometimes I am so sleepy and I totally zone out. Sometimes I just get more and more awake until I jump up off the cushion.
3-4 days a week I go for a run. I am really, really liking running. I change up the course I run; usually do 3-4 kilos one day, followed by 6-7 kilos the following run.
I run slowly; takes me 30 minutes to do 4 kilos, 45 minutes for 7. Low impact on the joints, thin-soled shoes, lots of back and shoulder movement coordinated with my hips, steady pace up or down hill, no massive heart-rate spiking and gasping for air. But it is already plenty hot and I does me some sweating.
Back at home, some exercising. Recently been into pull-ups. Read an interesting article about how most people can't do pull-ups because they don't do pull-ups. Duh. I discovered this, too.
When I started PCP I could barely do a couple, now I can do many more.
Recently I knock out sets of 3 and see how many sets I can do before failure. Up to 6 sets.
Then I do inclined (45 degrees) until my forearms are burning and my abs tingling, about 20 or so.
Sometimes motivated to do other bits, and have recently been doing hand-stand push-ups. I can do a decent head-stand but not a hand-stand, so I do them against a wall. Can do 10 or so, and it's not that my arms and shoulder give out, but spending that long upside down my head feels like a zit about to be popped and I have to put my feet down and get all the blood out of my head.
Seen some videos from gymnasts about working up to a hand-stand to do push-ups...not sure if I have the patience to train myself to balance. But free-standing hand-stand push-ups are on my list of cool-physical-tricks-I'd-like-to-do, right up there with a standing back-flip. Some day.
Finally, I finish off with the good old 8 Minute Abs: "Come on, guys!" Never gets old, and still burns nicely so it's doing some good.
Past couple of mornings it has been raining a bit, which is actually quite nice weather for running; at least it's not so hot, and there is usually a good breeze. Plus I am all sweaty anyway so don't mind being wet. Running in my TerraPlana Dharmas; nice thin sole and wide toe-box so they're great. I ordered a pair of TerraPlana's running shoe: Evo, but they were too big so I sent back for an exchange and it's been...forever. Need to contact them and see if I'm ever getting my shoes.
Really love TerraPlana; were them at least five days a week. Really helpful to be able to feel the ground properly, and not have a heel in the way messing up my stride and balance.
I think compared to 2 years ago I have fundamentally changed my posture, walking, and now running. For the better or not, no idea, but I do much, much walking, often pushing a stroller or carrying some gear and/or child, and I can certainly walk all day and not worry much. My feet will be tired after walking 15 kilos or so all day, but that's to be expected and it's not damage pain; so far my joints have been ok. So I assume my use-of-body is actually quite efficient and low-impact. Maybe in a couple of years my toes will fall off or something, but for now, especially carrying less weight, it's all good.
Speaking of which, I am stabilized at about 67 kilos; sometimes touch 68 after a massive breakfast, sometimes 66 after a big workout. 2 kilo swing is no big deal; water/sweat/urine can cause that much swing in a day. I think body-fat is around 15%, though not sure how accurate my cheapy home scale is, and I don't actually weigh myself frequently enough to get a good baseline. I just look in the mirror: Abs visible? OK. Love handles sticking out too much? Not OK.
For breakfast I am usually doing a nice 7-grain fig bagel, some veggies with 2 eggs, and a fruit blendy; whatever is in the house. This morning it was: carrot, banana, blueberries, plum, peach, and half an avocado. Need to get more mangoes! And passion fruit. Plus the Mighty Mo LOVES the blender. He'll sit up on the counter and help me put stuff in the blender, then smiles and claps at the noise when it blends. I give him the first taste, and if he approves, I give him a small cup and a spoon and he'll sit in his high-chair for 15 minutes getting it mostly all over his face and shirt and the table and the floor and sometimes in his mouth. Keeps him busy while P makes bentos and breakfast and I try to get his sister fed. Plus gets him into the taste of fresh fruit, which can't hurt.
Sometimes I am so sleepy and I totally zone out. Sometimes I just get more and more awake until I jump up off the cushion.
3-4 days a week I go for a run. I am really, really liking running. I change up the course I run; usually do 3-4 kilos one day, followed by 6-7 kilos the following run.
I run slowly; takes me 30 minutes to do 4 kilos, 45 minutes for 7. Low impact on the joints, thin-soled shoes, lots of back and shoulder movement coordinated with my hips, steady pace up or down hill, no massive heart-rate spiking and gasping for air. But it is already plenty hot and I does me some sweating.
Back at home, some exercising. Recently been into pull-ups. Read an interesting article about how most people can't do pull-ups because they don't do pull-ups. Duh. I discovered this, too.
When I started PCP I could barely do a couple, now I can do many more.
Recently I knock out sets of 3 and see how many sets I can do before failure. Up to 6 sets.
Then I do inclined (45 degrees) until my forearms are burning and my abs tingling, about 20 or so.
Sometimes motivated to do other bits, and have recently been doing hand-stand push-ups. I can do a decent head-stand but not a hand-stand, so I do them against a wall. Can do 10 or so, and it's not that my arms and shoulder give out, but spending that long upside down my head feels like a zit about to be popped and I have to put my feet down and get all the blood out of my head.
Seen some videos from gymnasts about working up to a hand-stand to do push-ups...not sure if I have the patience to train myself to balance. But free-standing hand-stand push-ups are on my list of cool-physical-tricks-I'd-like-to-do, right up there with a standing back-flip. Some day.
Finally, I finish off with the good old 8 Minute Abs: "Come on, guys!" Never gets old, and still burns nicely so it's doing some good.
Past couple of mornings it has been raining a bit, which is actually quite nice weather for running; at least it's not so hot, and there is usually a good breeze. Plus I am all sweaty anyway so don't mind being wet. Running in my TerraPlana Dharmas; nice thin sole and wide toe-box so they're great. I ordered a pair of TerraPlana's running shoe: Evo, but they were too big so I sent back for an exchange and it's been...forever. Need to contact them and see if I'm ever getting my shoes.
Really love TerraPlana; were them at least five days a week. Really helpful to be able to feel the ground properly, and not have a heel in the way messing up my stride and balance.
I think compared to 2 years ago I have fundamentally changed my posture, walking, and now running. For the better or not, no idea, but I do much, much walking, often pushing a stroller or carrying some gear and/or child, and I can certainly walk all day and not worry much. My feet will be tired after walking 15 kilos or so all day, but that's to be expected and it's not damage pain; so far my joints have been ok. So I assume my use-of-body is actually quite efficient and low-impact. Maybe in a couple of years my toes will fall off or something, but for now, especially carrying less weight, it's all good.
Speaking of which, I am stabilized at about 67 kilos; sometimes touch 68 after a massive breakfast, sometimes 66 after a big workout. 2 kilo swing is no big deal; water/sweat/urine can cause that much swing in a day. I think body-fat is around 15%, though not sure how accurate my cheapy home scale is, and I don't actually weigh myself frequently enough to get a good baseline. I just look in the mirror: Abs visible? OK. Love handles sticking out too much? Not OK.
For breakfast I am usually doing a nice 7-grain fig bagel, some veggies with 2 eggs, and a fruit blendy; whatever is in the house. This morning it was: carrot, banana, blueberries, plum, peach, and half an avocado. Need to get more mangoes! And passion fruit. Plus the Mighty Mo LOVES the blender. He'll sit up on the counter and help me put stuff in the blender, then smiles and claps at the noise when it blends. I give him the first taste, and if he approves, I give him a small cup and a spoon and he'll sit in his high-chair for 15 minutes getting it mostly all over his face and shirt and the table and the floor and sometimes in his mouth. Keeps him busy while P makes bentos and breakfast and I try to get his sister fed. Plus gets him into the taste of fresh fruit, which can't hurt.
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