Daily Log
11:50
The pain woke me up at 09:00. I tried for 15 minutes to get back to sleep, but my whole body was burning, and it increased until I decided I might as well get up. Everything was unbelievably stiff -- my back was like a block of wood, and I had trouble bending over at all. I put my contacts in and commenced some stretches, though getting down onto the mat on the floor was not a trivial operation. Usually I can touch my toes with my fingertips when I do a one-leg hamstring stretch, but this morning I was 8" away, which is about a 90-degree angle. My quads and the inner leg tendons were also very tight.
People talk about stretches like they're easy, passive. For me they take a lot of spoons, as I'm having to tense and hold some muscles in order to stretch others, even when I'm on the ground. I don't know whether it hurts for other people, but it does for me, and I have to monitor the ache of a stretching muscle group to ensure it doesn't cramp, or turn into the pulling sensation of damage.
After 40 minutes I felt more mobile, and the pain had receded somewhat. I put some dye in my hair and came down to have breakfast. I was craving pecans, which sometimes happens when I haven't had enough good fatty acids, so I toasted some while waiting for my oatmeal to cook. Flipping them in the 8" iron skillet was an operation my right shoulder did not look kindly on.
I've had breakfast now, and I'm about to go wash the dye out of my hair and shower. I feel sluggish and a little foggy, though not nearly as out of it as I was when I first got up. My vision remains good. My right knee was visibly swollen and a little stiff last night when I went to bed, but not painful; it protested staying at full extension while I stretched this morning, wanting to hyperextend slightly and not bend again, but it seems to function all right. I'll keep an eye on it. My feet are about as sore as usual, unpleasant but not crippling for walking around the house. I think I should have enough energy for everything today, if I don't push myself.
13:40
I spent about 45 minutes in the shop cutting tarp stays out of PVC. Most of it was done standing or walking around, so I clocked about 30 minutes on my feet until I remembered I could sit down while easing the sharp corners of the stays with a rasp. There were 26 of them, and by the time I was done with the rasp I had trouble focusing my eyes when I looked up. Too much close work for 10 or 15 minutes, I guess. When I locked up the shop I felt very tired, and I'm resting for a bit until I have to drive to Antioch to get my hair cut.
18:15
I drove 20 minutes to my haircut, which took about a half-hour, then I drove to a couple of spots in Antioch and Pittsburg to play Ingress. At one I had to walk for about five minutes up a gentle incline at the side of the road, then I stood for a couple of minutes and came back down again. The rest of the time was almost entirely in the car.
I got home around 16:30, had a snack, and went out to put the cover over the nectarine. It went pretty smoothly, and I was done in 45 minutes, most of it in light pruning, standing and reaching, and walking around it to reposition things. When I got back in I was tired but still functional, and I've been fixing myself something to tide me over until I get a late dinner (a social event in Martinez cropped up last-minute). The excitement of getting out and being social is part of what's keeping me going, I think.
21:00
I drove out to the park where we were meeting, and ate a couple of steamed potatoes while we waited for everyone else to show up. We stood around for about a half-hour before getting back into cars to go our separate ways; I made a detour on the way home to drop something off. Now I'm having my belated dinner and chatting on the computer.
I'm still going, and the contact high is helping me ignore that I'm getting progressively more tired. The pain hasn't kicked up a notch yet, though, for which I'm grateful.
01:30
I had to go back out again to drop more stuff off at the edge of Martinez, then got gas and went out to the Willows again to clean up. I got out of the car to walk the central part of it, which took about 20 minutes, and I did the rest by car. As it gets late, it gets easier to do things like stop and sit in the middle of a parking lot without being in the way.
I ran into some friends while I was out there, and we stood around and talked for about ten minutes before I begged off and continued my rounds. I just got home, and I'm going to have a bit more to eat before bed.
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.
The pain woke me up at 09:00. I tried for 15 minutes to get back to sleep, but my whole body was burning, and it increased until I decided I might as well get up. Everything was unbelievably stiff -- my back was like a block of wood, and I had trouble bending over at all. I put my contacts in and commenced some stretches, though getting down onto the mat on the floor was not a trivial operation. Usually I can touch my toes with my fingertips when I do a one-leg hamstring stretch, but this morning I was 8" away, which is about a 90-degree angle. My quads and the inner leg tendons were also very tight.
People talk about stretches like they're easy, passive. For me they take a lot of spoons, as I'm having to tense and hold some muscles in order to stretch others, even when I'm on the ground. I don't know whether it hurts for other people, but it does for me, and I have to monitor the ache of a stretching muscle group to ensure it doesn't cramp, or turn into the pulling sensation of damage.
After 40 minutes I felt more mobile, and the pain had receded somewhat. I put some dye in my hair and came down to have breakfast. I was craving pecans, which sometimes happens when I haven't had enough good fatty acids, so I toasted some while waiting for my oatmeal to cook. Flipping them in the 8" iron skillet was an operation my right shoulder did not look kindly on.
I've had breakfast now, and I'm about to go wash the dye out of my hair and shower. I feel sluggish and a little foggy, though not nearly as out of it as I was when I first got up. My vision remains good. My right knee was visibly swollen and a little stiff last night when I went to bed, but not painful; it protested staying at full extension while I stretched this morning, wanting to hyperextend slightly and not bend again, but it seems to function all right. I'll keep an eye on it. My feet are about as sore as usual, unpleasant but not crippling for walking around the house. I think I should have enough energy for everything today, if I don't push myself.
13:40
I spent about 45 minutes in the shop cutting tarp stays out of PVC. Most of it was done standing or walking around, so I clocked about 30 minutes on my feet until I remembered I could sit down while easing the sharp corners of the stays with a rasp. There were 26 of them, and by the time I was done with the rasp I had trouble focusing my eyes when I looked up. Too much close work for 10 or 15 minutes, I guess. When I locked up the shop I felt very tired, and I'm resting for a bit until I have to drive to Antioch to get my hair cut.
18:15
I drove 20 minutes to my haircut, which took about a half-hour, then I drove to a couple of spots in Antioch and Pittsburg to play Ingress. At one I had to walk for about five minutes up a gentle incline at the side of the road, then I stood for a couple of minutes and came back down again. The rest of the time was almost entirely in the car.
I got home around 16:30, had a snack, and went out to put the cover over the nectarine. It went pretty smoothly, and I was done in 45 minutes, most of it in light pruning, standing and reaching, and walking around it to reposition things. When I got back in I was tired but still functional, and I've been fixing myself something to tide me over until I get a late dinner (a social event in Martinez cropped up last-minute). The excitement of getting out and being social is part of what's keeping me going, I think.
21:00
I drove out to the park where we were meeting, and ate a couple of steamed potatoes while we waited for everyone else to show up. We stood around for about a half-hour before getting back into cars to go our separate ways; I made a detour on the way home to drop something off. Now I'm having my belated dinner and chatting on the computer.
I'm still going, and the contact high is helping me ignore that I'm getting progressively more tired. The pain hasn't kicked up a notch yet, though, for which I'm grateful.
01:30
I had to go back out again to drop more stuff off at the edge of Martinez, then got gas and went out to the Willows again to clean up. I got out of the car to walk the central part of it, which took about 20 minutes, and I did the rest by car. As it gets late, it gets easier to do things like stop and sit in the middle of a parking lot without being in the way.
I ran into some friends while I was out there, and we stood around and talked for about ten minutes before I begged off and continued my rounds. I just got home, and I'm going to have a bit more to eat before bed.
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.