Nutrition, Health, & Fitness

General
107

Heh, that was the plan and then snow happened. That meant two things. One I wasn’t brave enough to get in a car and endure awful people who don’t know how to drive in the snow to get to the gym.

But more importantly, that I’ve just spent the last half hour prancing in the snow and making snow angels.

There’s a french song called “Comme un enfant” it means like a child. I had it on repeat. (not the original but one of the remixes) Thoughts of climbing when out of my head when faced with the prospect of doing somersaults through the snow.

1 Like
108

So I started climbing 3ish years ago for 6 months, took 6 months and then have been climbing continuously since, each time I started again I definitely needed a day or two in between sessions. The muscles in the forearm really don’t get any sort of the same workout you get as when you’re climbing.

109

Decided to go under the laser and get corrective eye surgery. It was suggested to get PRK, and start with only my left eye as my right is not very bad.

So yesterday (Thursday) I showed up at my allotted time, and briefly squared away all my paperwork and payments. Then after a nervous but straightforward 10 minutes of procedure which was stressful mostly in that I wish there was more restraint, one lost contact bandage to replace, and only mild sensations of discomfort, I left the clinic; with my parents who had agreed to drive. Leaving Providence, we stopped for a simple dinner, where I enjoyed my almost useless but glasses-free vision for about 40 minutes of relative comfort; and then in rapid order all manner of pain and burning sensations started firing off inside my skull.

After 6 agonizing hours of failed sleep and wishing the doctors had actually given me a note for something stronger than OTC Ibuprofen for this phase, I managed to get up and walk it off.

12 hours after and I decided that things felt pretty-good, but still very light sensitive. Can use the eye but only for a minute or so before the glare starts to be a real pain. My un-changed right eye is able to get me thru my normal tasks, but squinting one eye shut all the time was getting really tiresome.

Enter:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Br8Tl2GhhYh/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

Now, about 30 hours after the procedure, the pain and most major discomfort is gone. I can actually write this without my oh-so-cool eyepatch, tho I am forcing myself to use my right eye as much as I can. I have to take breaks every 10-15 minutes from the computer, and the brightness is lowered from normal. Vision with the operated eye is about on par with my right eye now, which is a definite improvement, but neither is 20/20 by any means. It will apparently be at least a month before the eye starts to settle into the intended state, so in the meantime I can’t really use my old glasses but I can’t yet see perfectly either. Going to refrain from driving for at least a week or so.

So far it’s been an alright experience. I’d put the procedure itself as, overall, not nearly as bad as I’d feared but not as bulletproof feeling as I’d hoped. I cant recommend it yet, but nor would I dissuade anyone so far. My experience seems right on par with everything I’ve read, which seems to be a good thing.

If this eye turns out good, I can try for my right. Maybe that eye patch will come in useful again.

3 Likes
110

It’s been a week since my procedure and vision is somewhat sharper than before but the clarity is ever drifting. Last 24 hours or so I have very pronounced astigmatism style double vision and some halos. Point light sources while in the car look like little turtles or sometimes icecream cones:

sketch1546526979605
sketch15465269796051024×768 180 KB

Anyway I am not driving yet, though I could manage it if needed.

I can use a computer but still sometimes using the eye patch. (Also the whole “U-boat captain wearing an eye patch to preserve night vision when using a periscope” effect is pretty cool. One eye can get around in a dark room like a boss, while the other can’t see a damn thing.)

Going back to the Dr’s office today to get the contact lens bandage taken out and go over what my next steps are. I’m done with the regimen of Rx eyedrops, but still popping the standard preservative-free eyedrop vials like tic tacs. Getting good at them, but still can’t “drop” directly into my goddamn eyeball.

So for sure the downside with the PRK is the extended healing. I want to believe. But it calls for ample patience to wait it out.

111

Back on my bullshit running half marathons every Saturday. :wink:

112

I’m reminded of Zack McGowan’s exercise routine when he was doing Black Sails, which included half marathon runs, I think his was every day, but who has time for that?

113

I tried running 5k every day a while ago. It was great! I felt great!

But, I couldn’t keep it going. It takes ~20min to run a 5k, plus changing and showering. I could’t fit it into my schedule every day.

So I went back to just doing halfs on weekends, and doing short 2-4 mile runs ~3 times a week as my schedule allows.

114

Daily training sounds like a good idea, and keep a streak going is satisfying, but human bodies are really not designed for it.

“All three fitness goals every day for a whole month and my body is super drained.”

Turns out running plus training for breaking a juggling world record, plus also breaking the world record? Exhausting.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw5XUIkg8M_/?igshid=57fxexf5cmh4

115

Recovery is training too. That’s why EPO is so performance-enhancing for endurance athletes - you recover faster, so you can go back out earlier and train harder, sooner.

116

For me, running 5k at a moderate pace I don’t even break a sweat. My heart rate barely elevates unless I’m going faster than a 9 minute pace.

But when I’m pushing hard, I definitely need recovery days. Hence my new schedule of a half marathon every weekend, and 2-3 much shorter runs during the week. 2 weights days and one leg day for the days I don’t do cardio. If I do cardio two days in a row, I switch between running and cycling.

My half time is progressing much faster now that I don’t stupidly run two of them a week.

117

WHAT IS 9 MINUTES A PACE OF IN A 5k RUN OMG

1 Like
118

9 minutes per km! bwahahahaha

119

Welcome to everywhere I’ve ever run a race, where the splits are in miles no matter what kind of race it is. A five k is three mile splits plus a sprint, and I shoot for 6:30 splits. :wink:

120

I know that every race in the sport is measured in meters or kilometers. Like, the Olympics doesn’t have races measured in miles.

That being said, Roger Bannister was famous for being the first person to run a mile in 4 minutes. Not famous for running 1.6 kilometers in 4 minutes. Not famous for running 1 kilometer in 2.5 minutes.

I guess we thank the British Empire for that one.

121

It’s always a little funny when you run a race here.

The race is listed as 5k. There is a giant mile marker every mile, but no kilometer markers of any kind. Fancy races have a clock at every mile marker showing the current time (which you can calculate your pace from based on when you passed the starting line).

Most races even give me my mile splits on a web site after the race, and some have awards for “fastest mile” in the course of the 5k.

122

Run a lightning mile and then walk. #playtowinthegame

123

Yeah, get an extra victory point yet still lose the game. =(

Actually, I’m not sure what my straight single-mile time is anymore. I only do distance running. My fastest miles in a half marathon are around 6:45 (usually on a big downhill), with an average pace around 8:30. I haven’t run a hard single mile in many years.

I’ll do it this week and see how fast I am.

124

“Eliud Kipchoge Breaks Two-Hour Marathon Barrier”

125

Awesome if true, but marathons have been so rife with cheating lately that I can’t believe it.

126

What cheating? Doping? I guess possible.

But this was on a special course, with an army of pacesetters, and a laser grid projecting pace car, designed for him to break 2. It’s not like he could have cut it short or something.