Training Log Archive: cedarcreekIn the 31 days ending Jan 31, 2007:
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Monday Jan 29, 2007 #
Condes (Course Planning) 2:00 [0]
2 hours using Condes for the Flying Pig Sunday courses at Miami-Whitewater. MWW is one of the nicest parks we have for orienteering here in Cincinnati. I've never set courses here before, but the terrain is nice.
I'm still trying to find a good start location. White doesn't look too terribly difficult to plan, but it might take a marked route or two if I can't find a better start location. Brown is giving me trouble. Blue distance shouldn't be a problem. This is going to be a fun set of courses, I think.
I'm behind my own schedule, but I have been looking at the map for over 2 months, and I think I'll have a fairly mature set of courses in a week or so to discuss with the vetter and consultant(s).
I'm still trying to find a good start location. White doesn't look too terribly difficult to plan, but it might take a marked route or two if I can't find a better start location. Brown is giving me trouble. Blue distance shouldn't be a problem. This is going to be a fun set of courses, I think.
I'm behind my own schedule, but I have been looking at the map for over 2 months, and I think I'll have a fairly mature set of courses in a week or so to discuss with the vetter and consultant(s).
Saturday Jan 27, 2007 #
Course set-check-pick 2:00:00 [1] *** 8.1 km (14:49 / km)
shoes: Adidas $42 Cleats
Spent 3:50:00 walking around Miami-Whitewater with hkleaf. The ground was showing through the snow, so it was very easy to see the shape of the ground. It was about 40F (5C?), and except for my cold feet, just a great day to be in the woods. I wore some new neoprene socks (not sealskinz) and the seams leaked water in, but not much.
I ran just a few steps crossing some gullies, but I don't remember any rib pain---that's a good sign. I think maybe 2 more weeks of taking it easy will be safe.
A few movies:
The Man Who Wasn't There: (0) The only Coen brothers movie I haven't seen. It's a good movie, particularly Billy Bob Thornton, but a bit of a downer.
Art School Confidential: (0) A fun, even clever movie about an art school plagued by a strangler. It had a "Two Thumbs Up" rating, and maybe I can see that if you have art school experience. I didn't recognize Sophia Myles, who was Isolde in "Tristan and Isolde".
Everything is Illuminated: (1) This movie really surprised me. It starts out funny and sort of draws you in---and then out of nowhere it starts pulling these emotional strings. I loved this movie. I can think of one complaint about this movie---that the music is too loud sometimes---and that's about it. It's set mostly in Ukraine, and there is a lot of Ukrainian (Russian?) spoken. One of the characters is sort of a Ukrainian version of Ali G, which means, ironically, that he sounds a little like Borat. My nephew (who is 15) sat down as I put this in, and he loved it, too. It's not some weird independent movie---It's just a good movie.
Conspiracy: (1) I had seen this at the library, and I kept thinking---I'll save that for later. After "Everything is Illuminated", which I thought about for days, it was time for this. It's about a secret Nazi meeting known as the Wannsee Conference, in 1942, where the SS coordinated the planning of the "Final Solution". The movie has no violence. No blood. A little yelling and a little cursing. But it is high drama---suspenseful and shocking. Watching a meeting play out has to be the craziest movie pitch ever, but I guess 12 Angry Men did the same thing. I might have to find the transcript of this meeting---One "highly-edited" transcript exists, and was found after the war---All other copies were destroyed. (English Translation) I was surprised to learn that this movie tries to be true to the length of the actual meeting, which is said to have lasted 85 minutes. The end includes an Animal House-like "what happened" for each attendee, and that is almost as shocking as the meeting itself.
Osama (Afghanistan): (1) This is about a grandmother, mother, and young daughter who, under the Taliban laws, can't work and can't even go out without a male to escort them. They disguise the daughter as a boy, so she can work and earn food for the family. It's rare that a movie draws me in like this, but it really bothered me. This movie has a lot to say about the dangers of fundamentalism, and the real motivations of fundamentalists. I think I need some lightweight movies for awhile.
Veronica Mars (Season 1, episodes 1-6): (1) My nephew (who is 32) recommended this series. It's really good. It's about a high school girl detective, but it's way better than it sounds. It's not Nancy Drew...
I ran just a few steps crossing some gullies, but I don't remember any rib pain---that's a good sign. I think maybe 2 more weeks of taking it easy will be safe.
A few movies:
The Man Who Wasn't There: (0) The only Coen brothers movie I haven't seen. It's a good movie, particularly Billy Bob Thornton, but a bit of a downer.
Art School Confidential: (0) A fun, even clever movie about an art school plagued by a strangler. It had a "Two Thumbs Up" rating, and maybe I can see that if you have art school experience. I didn't recognize Sophia Myles, who was Isolde in "Tristan and Isolde".
Everything is Illuminated: (1) This movie really surprised me. It starts out funny and sort of draws you in---and then out of nowhere it starts pulling these emotional strings. I loved this movie. I can think of one complaint about this movie---that the music is too loud sometimes---and that's about it. It's set mostly in Ukraine, and there is a lot of Ukrainian (Russian?) spoken. One of the characters is sort of a Ukrainian version of Ali G, which means, ironically, that he sounds a little like Borat. My nephew (who is 15) sat down as I put this in, and he loved it, too. It's not some weird independent movie---It's just a good movie.
Conspiracy: (1) I had seen this at the library, and I kept thinking---I'll save that for later. After "Everything is Illuminated", which I thought about for days, it was time for this. It's about a secret Nazi meeting known as the Wannsee Conference, in 1942, where the SS coordinated the planning of the "Final Solution". The movie has no violence. No blood. A little yelling and a little cursing. But it is high drama---suspenseful and shocking. Watching a meeting play out has to be the craziest movie pitch ever, but I guess 12 Angry Men did the same thing. I might have to find the transcript of this meeting---One "highly-edited" transcript exists, and was found after the war---All other copies were destroyed. (English Translation) I was surprised to learn that this movie tries to be true to the length of the actual meeting, which is said to have lasted 85 minutes. The end includes an Animal House-like "what happened" for each attendee, and that is almost as shocking as the meeting itself.
Osama (Afghanistan): (1) This is about a grandmother, mother, and young daughter who, under the Taliban laws, can't work and can't even go out without a male to escort them. They disguise the daughter as a boy, so she can work and earn food for the family. It's rare that a movie draws me in like this, but it really bothered me. This movie has a lot to say about the dangers of fundamentalism, and the real motivations of fundamentalists. I think I need some lightweight movies for awhile.
Veronica Mars (Season 1, episodes 1-6): (1) My nephew (who is 32) recommended this series. It's really good. It's about a high school girl detective, but it's way better than it sounds. It's not Nancy Drew...
Sunday Jan 21, 2007 #
Strength (Snow Shovelling) 1:05:00 [1]
First "big" snow. A little over 3 inches (call it 8cm).
I went to the doctor (sinuses) on Friday, and had her check out my rib injury. People at work have been telling me to get it x-rayed due to the risk of it being misaligned and the possibility of puncturing a lung. I mostly dismissed those because I suspected a crack (although a full break seemed possible), and because I've heard there's nothing they can do really---a cast is impossible.
I was surprised that she only felt the rib and did not call for x-rays. I was surprised because I expected the people at work to be right. (I figured there was no way to stabilize it, and since I wasn't feeling poking or other instability, that it would be okay.)
My doctor did give me a little scare when she pointed out that the location is close to my heart, and that a harder blow might have stabbed my heart with a rib. Dang.
She also said the feel of the bump at the injury implied a broken rib rather than a cracked rib. After that solid week of sleep deprivation, I can believe broken over cracked.
I'm sleeping much better, and it seems like the bone is knitting together. I think 3 more weeks of no running or difficult exercise is a good idea. I had a little soreness after the shovelling, and I'm hoping a little activity means better blood flow or something, rather than a longer time to heal, or a weak joint.
Lots of movies:
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (1) (Romania, original title "Moartea domnului Lazarescu"). The box calls this a comedy, but I don't see that at all. It follows a guy who falls sick, calls for an ambulance, then gets taken to several different hospitals as his condition deteriorates. I have problems with the story, but only in minor ways. One of the special features is an interview with a guy who tries to reassure us that that the American system of medicine doesn't have these flaws. Certainly, he's mostly right, but he's not right enough---this sort of thing is in the news *way* too much. I'm sure many medical people will be watching this for years to come, but what struck me, as an airplane sort of guy, was the similarity to handling emergencies in aircraft. In the past there have been large numbers of airplane mishaps where the people in the cockpit are so focused on diagnosing the emergency that the plane crashes due to "controlled flight into terrain." That basically means no one was flying the plane and since it was trimmed for flight, it just continues on its path. They instituted a philosophy known by many different names, but to me as "Cockpit Resource Management." It's a way to make sure someone is always flying the plane while others diagnose the problem, and it emphasizes that tyrannical pilots-in-command are a big risk factor---for example, if the co-pilot is scared to correct the pilot, it jeopardizes the safety of the plane.
In aviation terms, "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu" is like watching the crew go through the emergency checklists while the plane does a "controlled flight into terrain." Everyone is concerned and doing something, but no one is flying the plane.
The Aviator (1). Wow. A little disappointing as a Scorsese film, but still good. I'll be researching a good Howard Hughes biography to read.
Tokyo Eyes (1) (1998-Japan). Sort of an artsy movie, but interesting, and even clever. I might be cutting it some slack because I want to visit Japan, and the street and train scenes are just new to me, but I think it's a cool movie.
The Interpreter (1) (second time). In the special features, Sydney Pollock says the hardest part of this was shooting without a finished script. That's probably why this is just a tiny bit disappointing. I can't go into details without spoiling it. Others have said this, and I will too: The best part of this movie is the UN building itself. It is just so important to the story.
Marathon Man (1) (1976) (second time). I had to see this again. It was better the first time, though.
Prophecy (1). (second time). I really have to qualify this (1) rating. In a lot of ways, this movie sucks. The acting is bad. The effects are bad. The story has huge holes that make no sense. It's a John Frankenheimer movie (director of such bad movies as Reindeer Games). The script uses some broad brush conflicts and completely ignores some very obvious ones that I expected. I feel like they dumbed-down the story. However...This was the first horror movie I ever saw, even though it's barely a horror movie. I remember this movie as being much better. It's set near a paper pulp logging operation in Maine. This movie is essentially an environmental movie, about bioaccumulating toxins. (It never actually uses those words, though, and I'm pretty sure the science in the movie is mostly pure bunk.) A couple of high points for orienteers---Some guys moving fast at night with headlamps. A few scenes of people moving pretty well through terrain. I got it from the $5.50 bin at Wal-Mart. Interestingly, NPR had a story on Jan 19, 2007 about mercury hot spots.
I went to the doctor (sinuses) on Friday, and had her check out my rib injury. People at work have been telling me to get it x-rayed due to the risk of it being misaligned and the possibility of puncturing a lung. I mostly dismissed those because I suspected a crack (although a full break seemed possible), and because I've heard there's nothing they can do really---a cast is impossible.
I was surprised that she only felt the rib and did not call for x-rays. I was surprised because I expected the people at work to be right. (I figured there was no way to stabilize it, and since I wasn't feeling poking or other instability, that it would be okay.)
My doctor did give me a little scare when she pointed out that the location is close to my heart, and that a harder blow might have stabbed my heart with a rib. Dang.
She also said the feel of the bump at the injury implied a broken rib rather than a cracked rib. After that solid week of sleep deprivation, I can believe broken over cracked.
I'm sleeping much better, and it seems like the bone is knitting together. I think 3 more weeks of no running or difficult exercise is a good idea. I had a little soreness after the shovelling, and I'm hoping a little activity means better blood flow or something, rather than a longer time to heal, or a weak joint.
Lots of movies:
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (1) (Romania, original title "Moartea domnului Lazarescu"). The box calls this a comedy, but I don't see that at all. It follows a guy who falls sick, calls for an ambulance, then gets taken to several different hospitals as his condition deteriorates. I have problems with the story, but only in minor ways. One of the special features is an interview with a guy who tries to reassure us that that the American system of medicine doesn't have these flaws. Certainly, he's mostly right, but he's not right enough---this sort of thing is in the news *way* too much. I'm sure many medical people will be watching this for years to come, but what struck me, as an airplane sort of guy, was the similarity to handling emergencies in aircraft. In the past there have been large numbers of airplane mishaps where the people in the cockpit are so focused on diagnosing the emergency that the plane crashes due to "controlled flight into terrain." That basically means no one was flying the plane and since it was trimmed for flight, it just continues on its path. They instituted a philosophy known by many different names, but to me as "Cockpit Resource Management." It's a way to make sure someone is always flying the plane while others diagnose the problem, and it emphasizes that tyrannical pilots-in-command are a big risk factor---for example, if the co-pilot is scared to correct the pilot, it jeopardizes the safety of the plane.
In aviation terms, "The Death of Mr. Lazarescu" is like watching the crew go through the emergency checklists while the plane does a "controlled flight into terrain." Everyone is concerned and doing something, but no one is flying the plane.
The Aviator (1). Wow. A little disappointing as a Scorsese film, but still good. I'll be researching a good Howard Hughes biography to read.
Tokyo Eyes (1) (1998-Japan). Sort of an artsy movie, but interesting, and even clever. I might be cutting it some slack because I want to visit Japan, and the street and train scenes are just new to me, but I think it's a cool movie.
The Interpreter (1) (second time). In the special features, Sydney Pollock says the hardest part of this was shooting without a finished script. That's probably why this is just a tiny bit disappointing. I can't go into details without spoiling it. Others have said this, and I will too: The best part of this movie is the UN building itself. It is just so important to the story.
Marathon Man (1) (1976) (second time). I had to see this again. It was better the first time, though.
Prophecy (1). (second time). I really have to qualify this (1) rating. In a lot of ways, this movie sucks. The acting is bad. The effects are bad. The story has huge holes that make no sense. It's a John Frankenheimer movie (director of such bad movies as Reindeer Games). The script uses some broad brush conflicts and completely ignores some very obvious ones that I expected. I feel like they dumbed-down the story. However...This was the first horror movie I ever saw, even though it's barely a horror movie. I remember this movie as being much better. It's set near a paper pulp logging operation in Maine. This movie is essentially an environmental movie, about bioaccumulating toxins. (It never actually uses those words, though, and I'm pretty sure the science in the movie is mostly pure bunk.) A couple of high points for orienteers---Some guys moving fast at night with headlamps. A few scenes of people moving pretty well through terrain. I got it from the $5.50 bin at Wal-Mart. Interestingly, NPR had a story on Jan 19, 2007 about mercury hot spots.
C • rib 1
Monday Jan 15, 2007 #
Walking 5:00 [1]
This is Day 16 of my rib injury. The last two days have been the best so far. The first week was pretty hard, particularly sleeping, but after the swelling from where my arm hit my ribs went down, it was clear that a rib was broken. The symptoms the first week were unlike Spike's experience, but once the "secondary swelling" went down, it was *exactly* like he said it would be.
The worst day was about Day 9 (I think), when I was at work and couldn't get comfortable in any position. Laying in bed was a refuge the first week, but the second week was terrible. It would hurt at first, and after a few hours I'd fall asleep, only to wake up in pain when I'd roll over on it. The worst time was when I rolled over with my arm in the same location as during the injury, and it didn't stop hurting for hours.
Monday to Friday last week was night after night of little sleep, and the sleep debt just got worse everyday. The last three days I've been able to sleep 9+ hours a night, and I'm feeling a lot better.
I ran a few steps last night (not thinking), and it was the first time running didn't hurt. I need to spend a lot of time in the woods in the next few weeks, and I think I'm up for it, as long as I walk, and I'm careful on the slopes.
Saw:
Caché (France) (1) The box says this is "like Hitchcock, only creepier." It's no "Rear Window", but I liked it. (It also co-stars Juliette Binoche, which I mention only because others have...)
Idiocracy (1) By Mike Judge. Funny. It is satire of the kind we see on The Simpsons or Futurama, but in live action, and if you think too hard about it (like I do), you might be a little troubled by the whole thing.
Pan's Labyrinth (Spain, title=El Laberinto del Fauno) (1) Wow. Just wow. If you can handle some pretty serious rated R violence, this is worth it. It's one of the best movies I've ever seen. Extremely good reviews... In the first 30 minutes or so, you might think this is a PG-rated kid's movie. It's not. It's hard stuff.)
Finished "See No Evil", subtitle "The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism", by Robert Baer. This is the book mentioned in the credits of "Syriana" as the basis for that movie. The book is quite different from the movie---The movie is from perhaps 20 pages of this book.
This is an amazing story of how a guy got recruited by the CIA; how he was trained; how he worked in various field offices; and how he came to believe that the political influences on headquarters were against the best interests of the US. It's a real page-turner.
It predates 9-11, but it was published in 2003, so he has some comments about 9-11.
One of the most surprising things for me was that one of the storylines of Syriana, where oil companies use high-level political influence, actually took place during the Clinton presidency. I can only ask a rhetorical question: If the oil companies were that deep in a Democratic white house, how deep are they in a Republican white house? Yeah, I realize that's illogical and certainly an extrapolation beyond the facts in the book, but it's a thought that occurred to me.
The worst day was about Day 9 (I think), when I was at work and couldn't get comfortable in any position. Laying in bed was a refuge the first week, but the second week was terrible. It would hurt at first, and after a few hours I'd fall asleep, only to wake up in pain when I'd roll over on it. The worst time was when I rolled over with my arm in the same location as during the injury, and it didn't stop hurting for hours.
Monday to Friday last week was night after night of little sleep, and the sleep debt just got worse everyday. The last three days I've been able to sleep 9+ hours a night, and I'm feeling a lot better.
I ran a few steps last night (not thinking), and it was the first time running didn't hurt. I need to spend a lot of time in the woods in the next few weeks, and I think I'm up for it, as long as I walk, and I'm careful on the slopes.
Saw:
Caché (France) (1) The box says this is "like Hitchcock, only creepier." It's no "Rear Window", but I liked it. (It also co-stars Juliette Binoche, which I mention only because others have...)
Idiocracy (1) By Mike Judge. Funny. It is satire of the kind we see on The Simpsons or Futurama, but in live action, and if you think too hard about it (like I do), you might be a little troubled by the whole thing.
Pan's Labyrinth (Spain, title=El Laberinto del Fauno) (1) Wow. Just wow. If you can handle some pretty serious rated R violence, this is worth it. It's one of the best movies I've ever seen. Extremely good reviews... In the first 30 minutes or so, you might think this is a PG-rated kid's movie. It's not. It's hard stuff.)
Finished "See No Evil", subtitle "The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism", by Robert Baer. This is the book mentioned in the credits of "Syriana" as the basis for that movie. The book is quite different from the movie---The movie is from perhaps 20 pages of this book.
This is an amazing story of how a guy got recruited by the CIA; how he was trained; how he worked in various field offices; and how he came to believe that the political influences on headquarters were against the best interests of the US. It's a real page-turner.
It predates 9-11, but it was published in 2003, so he has some comments about 9-11.
One of the most surprising things for me was that one of the storylines of Syriana, where oil companies use high-level political influence, actually took place during the Clinton presidency. I can only ask a rhetorical question: If the oil companies were that deep in a Democratic white house, how deep are they in a Republican white house? Yeah, I realize that's illogical and certainly an extrapolation beyond the facts in the book, but it's a thought that occurred to me.
Monday Jan 1, 2007 #
Note
Last night, not 30 minutes after I wrote my ribs were okay, I went to bed, and in the process of rolling around and getting comfortable, did something terrible to aggravate the injury.
It wasn't a question of wimping out from the Billy Pig (12.5km) to the Piglet (7.5km), it was whether I should even try to walk it.
I was running the SportIdent today, and was in pain most of the day. I'm not sure if I've got a cracked rib or just some pulled soft tissue. The worst thing seems to be running, and certain backwards-leaning stretches. I have sneezed and coughed without too much pain. I think it's probably a soft tissue injury.
Both courses were marred by a misplaced 3rd control, and an unfortunate parallel arrangement of 4 and 5a (relative to 3) meant at least one competitor who didn't check the code dnf'd. Of the four dnfs, two were related to not checking codes, and two were due to the competitors deciding to quit early.
The worst part of the day for me was that I arrived late and forced an 18 minute late start, since I had spare dibbers that could have saved the original start time if I had arrived earlier. I don't feel too bad, though, because if I wasn't doing the SI, I would've spent the day (probably on the couch) not aggravating my rib.
There was a lot of after-run discussion about skips. The course had a lot of potential skips, and some of them were pretty subtle. It looked like two really good courses to me. I was bummed out I didn't get to run one.
It wasn't a question of wimping out from the Billy Pig (12.5km) to the Piglet (7.5km), it was whether I should even try to walk it.
I was running the SportIdent today, and was in pain most of the day. I'm not sure if I've got a cracked rib or just some pulled soft tissue. The worst thing seems to be running, and certain backwards-leaning stretches. I have sneezed and coughed without too much pain. I think it's probably a soft tissue injury.
Both courses were marred by a misplaced 3rd control, and an unfortunate parallel arrangement of 4 and 5a (relative to 3) meant at least one competitor who didn't check the code dnf'd. Of the four dnfs, two were related to not checking codes, and two were due to the competitors deciding to quit early.
The worst part of the day for me was that I arrived late and forced an 18 minute late start, since I had spare dibbers that could have saved the original start time if I had arrived earlier. I don't feel too bad, though, because if I wasn't doing the SI, I would've spent the day (probably on the couch) not aggravating my rib.
There was a lot of after-run discussion about skips. The course had a lot of potential skips, and some of them were pretty subtle. It looked like two really good courses to me. I was bummed out I didn't get to run one.
C • ribs 5