Daily Log
13:15
I woke up at 10:00; I distinctly remember hearing 05:00 before I got to sleep last night, so I had about five hours. I don't know what it is with being sluggish and tired but not being able to sleep -- it doesn't happen to me very often.
I felt rested, though, and I was able to get dressed and fix some breakfast without any trouble. I'm a little on the manic-energy side, actually, and I have to be careful not to overextend myself. My pain level is lower than it has been, so I have to think about it to sense it. My feet were horribly painful when I got up, though, feeling sprained all over; they eased up after a half-hour or so of hobbling around the house. My right shoulder isn't great either, but everything else seems to be in order.
I decided to use some of this energy to dig the monkey-hut out of the closet and set it up as a rain shelter for the nectarine tree. It took about a half-hour of stooping, reaching very high and working over my head, and standing, but I got the supports erected. I need to prune the tree, buy a clear dropcloth, and make clips to attach it, but that will probably be tomorrow -- I'm feeling shaky despite my energy, and I stopped to eat some lunch. My shoulders were burning halfway through the part where I had to tie a tension rope along the spine, at about the limit of my reach.
It occurred to me what the solution to my ravening hunger is... I figured it out a year or so ago, the last time I had it this bad. I need aerobic exercise. It's really tough to do when I'm also flat on my back with flares and exhaustion, but I'll take advantage of a good day today and get out the bicycle. Some flat paved trails should be good for light cardio, and that may help me rebalance my metabolism so that I'm not burning through calories faster than I can shove them in.
20:00
I lifted the bike down from its hook, put air in the tires, and spent five minutes wrestling it into the car. It's a long bike, but I know from experience it can be coaxed into the back with enough patience.Then I grabbed a few more items and drive off to the trail.
I parked at Home Depot, pulled the bike back out and assembled it, and set off. The trail was fairly level and paved, and the bike was behaving well; the weather was beautiful, sunny and not too cold. I had to break my stride at Concord Avenue to wait for the light, but after that there was a long stretch of open trail. I cruised for 25 minutes, then turned around and came back much faster; I was packing the bike into the car 45 minutes after I started. The trail said I had gone 2.5 miles each way.
I felt good during the ride... the recumbent is an easy seat, quite relaxed most of the time. The majority of the work is in the quadriceps and lower abs, and those were burning pleasantly when I was pushing homeward. Afterward I wasn't shaky or tired, and I was hungry but not starving. Bicycles are really my preferred method of exercise for many reasons, most of which sum up to them being easy on my body and my stamina. When I get winded, I can sit and rest, even when still in motion.
I drove for a couple of minutes, then walked around a shopping center for about ten, before driving out to Pittsburg (about 30 minutes). I still felt good, slightly restless. I sat and talked for an hour, and had a granola bar when I got back to the car, then I did a combination of walking and driving for another hour as I worked my way around downtown Pittsburg. Even though the traffic was bad, I stopped off to run an errand before coming home and having dinner. One large helping was enough; the ravening hunger is gone, exactly as I hoped.
I'm feeling reasonably calm and capable right now, not exhausted, which says I didn't push too hard. My pain level is quite low for a change, though I expect it to come back up again by tomorrow afternoon (there's a storm moving in). Most of my energy is probably attributable to the lack of pain, as I don't feel like I'm carrying a heavy weight everywhere. My quads are somewhat stiff and my feet are quite sore, despite the fact that I wasn't on them much today.
I have to take care of a couple of things on the computer, then I'll go out to play for a little bit before bed. I'm hoping I can get up before midmorning to tackle the nectarine before the storm puts me down for the count again.
01:00
I dealt with email and a few other things, became abruptly very depressed, and went out to play Ingress to take my mind off of things. Smashing virtual objects is a good way to work out frustration.
I drove a little, then parked and walked through the main body of the shopping center for 30 or 40 minutes. When I came back to the car, I drove for another 10 minutes and realized I was getting very tired; I played from the car for another 20, finishing up, before going home. I just finished having something to eat, as I was hungry (not uncommon, when it's been four or five hours since dinner).
My legs are sore and a little stiff, and my pain level has risen with advancing exhaustion. I'm very much ready for bed; we'll see how I wake up tomorrow.
I have an account as Torquill on Dreamwidth, and that's where I posted this. You can sign in with OpenID to comment on the original post, or you can go ahead and comment here; either way works.
I woke up at 10:00; I distinctly remember hearing 05:00 before I got to sleep last night, so I had about five hours. I don't know what it is with being sluggish and tired but not being able to sleep -- it doesn't happen to me very often.
I felt rested, though, and I was able to get dressed and fix some breakfast without any trouble. I'm a little on the manic-energy side, actually, and I have to be careful not to overextend myself. My pain level is lower than it has been, so I have to think about it to sense it. My feet were horribly painful when I got up, though, feeling sprained all over; they eased up after a half-hour or so of hobbling around the house. My right shoulder isn't great either, but everything else seems to be in order.
I decided to use some of this energy to dig the monkey-hut out of the closet and set it up as a rain shelter for the nectarine tree. It took about a half-hour of stooping, reaching very high and working over my head, and standing, but I got the supports erected. I need to prune the tree, buy a clear dropcloth, and make clips to attach it, but that will probably be tomorrow -- I'm feeling shaky despite my energy, and I stopped to eat some lunch. My shoulders were burning halfway through the part where I had to tie a tension rope along the spine, at about the limit of my reach.
It occurred to me what the solution to my ravening hunger is... I figured it out a year or so ago, the last time I had it this bad. I need aerobic exercise. It's really tough to do when I'm also flat on my back with flares and exhaustion, but I'll take advantage of a good day today and get out the bicycle. Some flat paved trails should be good for light cardio, and that may help me rebalance my metabolism so that I'm not burning through calories faster than I can shove them in.
20:00
I lifted the bike down from its hook, put air in the tires, and spent five minutes wrestling it into the car. It's a long bike, but I know from experience it can be coaxed into the back with enough patience.Then I grabbed a few more items and drive off to the trail.
I parked at Home Depot, pulled the bike back out and assembled it, and set off. The trail was fairly level and paved, and the bike was behaving well; the weather was beautiful, sunny and not too cold. I had to break my stride at Concord Avenue to wait for the light, but after that there was a long stretch of open trail. I cruised for 25 minutes, then turned around and came back much faster; I was packing the bike into the car 45 minutes after I started. The trail said I had gone 2.5 miles each way.
I felt good during the ride... the recumbent is an easy seat, quite relaxed most of the time. The majority of the work is in the quadriceps and lower abs, and those were burning pleasantly when I was pushing homeward. Afterward I wasn't shaky or tired, and I was hungry but not starving. Bicycles are really my preferred method of exercise for many reasons, most of which sum up to them being easy on my body and my stamina. When I get winded, I can sit and rest, even when still in motion.
I drove for a couple of minutes, then walked around a shopping center for about ten, before driving out to Pittsburg (about 30 minutes). I still felt good, slightly restless. I sat and talked for an hour, and had a granola bar when I got back to the car, then I did a combination of walking and driving for another hour as I worked my way around downtown Pittsburg. Even though the traffic was bad, I stopped off to run an errand before coming home and having dinner. One large helping was enough; the ravening hunger is gone, exactly as I hoped.
I'm feeling reasonably calm and capable right now, not exhausted, which says I didn't push too hard. My pain level is quite low for a change, though I expect it to come back up again by tomorrow afternoon (there's a storm moving in). Most of my energy is probably attributable to the lack of pain, as I don't feel like I'm carrying a heavy weight everywhere. My quads are somewhat stiff and my feet are quite sore, despite the fact that I wasn't on them much today.
I have to take care of a couple of things on the computer, then I'll go out to play for a little bit before bed. I'm hoping I can get up before midmorning to tackle the nectarine before the storm puts me down for the count again.
01:00
I dealt with email and a few other things, became abruptly very depressed, and went out to play Ingress to take my mind off of things. Smashing virtual objects is a good way to work out frustration.
I drove a little, then parked and walked through the main body of the shopping center for 30 or 40 minutes. When I came back to the car, I drove for another 10 minutes and realized I was getting very tired; I played from the car for another 20, finishing up, before going home. I just finished having something to eat, as I was hungry (not uncommon, when it's been four or five hours since dinner).
My legs are sore and a little stiff, and my pain level has risen with advancing exhaustion. I'm very much ready for bed; we'll see how I wake up tomorrow.
I have an account as Torquill on Dreamwidth, and that's where I posted this. You can sign in with OpenID to comment on the original post, or you can go ahead and comment here; either way works.