Sloth: The Man with the Hammer

[Sloth the Enduring]

On 7/13/2018 at 11:27 AM, DJtrippyT said:

I have a garter snake you can borrow if you want a replacement. The HVAC guys didn't want him.

 

I dont think a southern snake would survive Minnesnowta. She’d be all, hey guys where’d all y’all go.  Hey what’s that white shit falling from the sky?

 

On 7/13/2018 at 1:14 PM, jstanlick said:

That isn't always a bad thing  

 

Hah. Family politics would be a pain. 

 

12 hours ago, elizevdmerwe said:

That sounds like quite an adventure trail you took part in!

We have so many people here (not to mention traditional superstition from some groups) who kill any snake if it dares to appear! Harmless brown house snakes get their heads chopped off with spades, and they are the guys who keep the mice and geckos in check!

 

That trail is actually quite mild.  I think because almost no one was on it the animals came out to feed and bask. 

 

There are a lot of jerks around here who kill snakes on site or run over turtles for fun. 

 

11 hours ago, The Most Loathed said:

I need to do this. 

 

Are you doing weights and estimates or just saying "I drank 1 2 3 beers"?

 

Lol. This is just to help me think about food instead of mindlessly shoving it down my foodhole. Tracking for calories or macros is too much of a persnickety task for me. 

 

Today’s example:

Many crepes + raspberry sauce + 1/3 # bacon

mug coffee

meds

big bowl beef fried rice

no cal orange drink

2X propel + core power (it’s like muscle milk but even less lactose gets through the processing)

few handfuls popcorn

1 beer

dinner TBD

[Sloth the Enduring]

7/14/18 Saturday

 

The last couple of days have been weird time wise. There wasn’t a big block of time for biking.  Which was fine. I’ve been riding enough lately to afford a couple days off. 

 

Thursday I didn’t do much of note except get caught in a huge rainstorm. Oh, foster dog got spayed. She was in heat so we had to wait a while for this to happen. 

 

Friday was the kids circus showcase it was pretty good. During the week they rotated through about 8 different acts. In the show Slothboy did vault (run and jump and aerial tricks off a mini-trampoline), Slothgirl did globes (balancing trIckes on a giant sphere), they both did lowcasting (mini flying trapeze). Mrs. Sloth got tired of hearing me belly ache about my back/hips/knees and brought me to the chiropractor. He did some PT stuff and said I had a pinched nerve and my muscles in my left leg weren’t fully firing making that leg weak. Which matches what I’ve noticed on the bike and stairs. 

 

Saturday

I wallowed around in pain feeling sorry for myself most of the day. Finally I said, “Fuck you, I,m Millway” and got on my bike. It hurt like Hell. I couldn’t stand on the pedals without starting to topple over or push big gears. I managed to get a slow 33 miles in. I made a massage appointment and doctor appointment. 

 

*Please don’t say you’re sorry for my pain and stuff. It’s not a big deal, it’s just what I’m working through right now. 

 

Song of the day, @neverthatbored got me thinking about music and I happened upon this one.  I used to love it. 

 

 

[Bearlee]

Awesome about the kids and their circus performances. You said you went to the chiropractor and they seemed to analyze you okay, but did they have a recommendation on how to fix it? And did the dog have it’s leg removed yet? The same day you mentioned the foster dog would have to become a tripod, many days ago, I saw a dog at the apartment complex near my kid’s daycare hopping along on three legs and seeming to be doing fine.

[Sloth the Enduring]

Awesome about the kids and their circus performances. You said you went to the chiropractor and they seemed to analyze you okay, but did they have a recommendation on how to fix it? And did the dog have it’s leg removed yet? The same day you mentioned the foster dog would have to become a tripod, many days ago, I saw a dog at the apartment complex near my kid’s daycare hopping along on three legs and seeming to be doing fine.

No. I don’t think there’s a whole lot you can do for a pinched nerve. Chiropractor, yoga, ibuprofen. The doctor might suggest a stronger pain med or a surgery consult. We’ll see. Mrs. Sloth just ordered me an inversion table, she thinks that’ll help.

I wonder if it got worse because I put all that weight on. Or if it was going from 18000 steps a day to 5000 - walking makes everything better.

Dilly the foster dog is not a tripod yet. There’s lots of times when she only uses three anyway, I think she’ll be fine. That surgery isn’t scheduled until the 13th, she needs to heal from the spaying first.

We don’t usually have dogs this long. She’s becoming part of the family. She doesn’t just sleep on the bed, she is entwined with Slothgirl - she picked her as her person. If she didn’t shed I think Mrs. Sloth would insist on keeping her.

[Elastigirl]

37 minutes ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

wonder if it got worse because I put all that weight on. Or if it was going from 18000 steps a day to 5000 - walking makes everything better.

My husband has a bad knee (surgery in highschool) he can really feel the difference when he gains even a little bit of weight. 

[WhiteGhost]

I had a pinched nerve in my neck a couple of years ago and they gave me a couple shots of muscle relaxant, and that solved the issue in about 15 minutes.  They had to use a couple of really long flexible needles that they jabbed into my neck and maneuvered up inside my skull to deliver the meds, but I couldn't argue with the efficacy.

[The Most Loathed]

7 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

Mrs. Sloth just ordered me an inversion table, she thinks that’ll help.

Im curious to see what you think. As a person who had a ruptured disc, I've considered one of these many times. At least on old lifter I know (older than everyone in this thread) swears by his.

 

7 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

She’s becoming part of the family. She doesn’t just sleep on the bed, she is entwined with Slothgirl - she picked her as her person. If she didn’t shed I think Mrs. Sloth would insist on keeping her.

If this works out, I could convince Laura that it's for the best and she'd be happy. Otherwise you can bring sloth girl by to see Dilly anytime. 

[Tanktimus the Encourager]

18 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

 

*Please don’t say you’re sorry for my pain and stuff. It’s not a big deal, it’s just what I’m working through right now. 

I mean, you don't expect us to be happy about it or anything, do you?

[Bearlee]

13 hours ago, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

I mean, you don't expect us to be happy about it or anything, do you?

 

I think he wants us to tell him to “Man Up”, walk it off, and rub some dirt on it. He’s old school like that I think.

[Xena]

On 7/11/2018 at 5:45 PM, Sloth the Enduring said:

My brother-in-law just joined Strava, so I made the trek up to Minnesota’s Bible Belt to ride his home trails and see how I compare.  I wore my stars and bars jersey to forestall any potential hassling from the locals. The ride was good.

 

 

glad you had a good ride with your BIL. Pisses me off that you had to think about wearing that jersey. There's so much complicated stuff to figure out in the world. Not deliberately acting like an ass is pretty simple.

 

On 7/12/2018 at 10:22 PM, Sloth the Enduring said:

 

It definitely could use a good smudging. I’m a little afraid that if I went into the nearest church they’d be snake handlers and they’d know what I did.

...

Why would anyone punch a snake? They’re our friends; they eat the varmints and critters so we don’t have to. My step-mother-in-law’s live-in partner (modern families...) just shot a friendly Kingsnake in their suburban backyard and posted it on FB. I had to restrain myself from calling him a mean fucker and getting myself unfriended.

 

So in case you ever need to ask for help from the local snake handling house of worship, I think we could keep this post as a character reference.

[Sloth the Enduring]

On 7/15/2018 at 12:46 AM, Elastigirl said:

My husband has a bad knee (surgery in highschool) he can really feel the difference when he gains even a little bit of weight. 

 

Ugh. I’m not even heavy by American standards, but I suspect you’re right. 

 

On 7/15/2018 at 2:04 AM, WhiteGhost said:

I had a pinched nerve in my neck a couple of years ago and they gave me a couple shots of muscle relaxant, and that solved the issue in about 15 minutes.  They had to use a couple of really long flexible needles that they jabbed into my neck and maneuvered up inside my skull to deliver the meds, but I couldn't argue with the efficacy.

 

Sounds gruesome, but I’d do it to end this pain. I might get another cortisone shot.  

 

On 7/15/2018 at 7:30 AM, The Most Loathed said:

Im curious to see what you think. As a person who had a ruptured disc, I've considered one of these many times. At least on old lifter I know (older than everyone in this thread) swears by his.

 

If this works out, I could convince Laura that it's for the best and she'd be happy. Otherwise you can bring sloth girl by to see Dilly anytime. 

 

Older than @EricMN? I feel relief when I hook my foot on something and pull, so I’m hopeful. Where would you put it though?  You’ve no basement.  

 

 

Don’t get me wrong, she’s a great dog, but I’m allergic. In fact I put my foot down as a hard no when Mrs. Sloth asked about fostering this one. 

 

When we’ve visited former foster dogs in the past they’ve all been, “Who the fuck are you?”  

 

On 7/15/2018 at 3:12 PM, Tanktimus the Encourager said:

I mean, you don't expect us to be happy about it or anything, do you?

 

I just don’t like that sort of attention or sympathy in general. It makes me feel useless and and stupid. I’m not that bad off anyway, I’m functional, I just can’t train hard. Or bend over. Or climb stairs. 

 

On 7/16/2018 at 4:15 AM, Bearlee said:

 

I think he wants us to tell him to “Man Up”, walk it off, and rub some dirt on it. He’s old school like that I think.

 

I like that you get me. I would also accept a “harden the fuck up.”

 

NSFW language

 

 

 

22 hours ago, Xena said:

 

glad you had a good ride with your BIL. Pisses me off that you had to think about wearing that jersey. There's so much complicated stuff to figure out in the world. Not deliberately acting like an ass is pretty simple.

 

 

Even better, I didn’t ride with him, I just compared Strava times. 

 

I wear the stars & bars jersey whenever I’m in red zones.  It affords me another foot or two of distance when I’m being passed by pickup trucks. However, it doesn’t make a difference in blue zones when I’m passed by a Prius. 

[Sloth the Enduring]

7/15/18 Sunday

This was a terrible back day. Like a bad toothache punctuated by kicks to the crotch for no apparent reason. Being in a bent over bike position is relatively painless, I went on a slow 39 mile ride with a friend. IIRC It took nearly 3 hours. 

 

7/16/18 Monday

I got a massage. It was terrifically painful. Massage dude said I had some of the tightest glutes he’s ever seen. I was walking better afterwards.  

 

I implemented the def-con 1 back protocols. 

-walk the dogs 3 times/day. Walking helps most everything. This adds about 4 miles. 

- rumble roll 3times/day. Rolling cures all. 

-15-20 minutes yoga morning and night. This is the maximum my brain can handle.  

-When I’m able I’ll add in shovelglove and ab work. 

 

7/17/18 Tuesday 

still a bad back day when I woke up, by the afternoon things started to tone down.

 

My big big race is 10 days. It doesn’t look like I’ll podium this year either. I went to my local trail to see if I could ride. I was able to, but not fast or hard. I could, however, handle small drops and standing on the pedals. It looks like I’ll be able to race. I think I got in 7 miles in 50 minutes. 

 

Song of of the day since I’m feeling a bit better. 

NSFW B/c theme & bikinis. 

 

 

[Elastigirl]

20 minutes ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

gh. I’m not even heavy by American standards, but I suspect you’re right. 

 

Neither is my husband. But he is 6'3" so he already carries weight even when he's skinny.

 

Hope the back feels better soon and you can enjoy the race

[Mrs Van]

On 7/15/2018 at 4:03 AM, Sloth the Enduring said:

He did some PT stuff and said I had a pinched nerve and my muscles in my left leg weren’t fully firing making that leg weak. Which matches what I’ve noticed on the bike and stairs.

 

6 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

I got a massage. It was terrifically painful. Massage dude said I had some of the tightest glutes he’s ever seen. I was walking better afterwards.

Brandt sees the chiro and physio/maseuse (she does both, so I'm not sure just what she does when she sees him) about every two months. Even with him cycling and training regularly he needs this for pinched nerves from sitting, etc. He also swears by walking - how much it has improved his back and aches now that he walks regularly.

[Mrs Van]

On 7/15/2018 at 7:08 AM, Sloth the Enduring said:

Dilly the foster dog is not a tripod yet. There’s lots of times when she only uses three anyway, I think she’ll be fine. That surgery isn’t scheduled until the 13th, she needs to heal from the spaying first.

Was going to ask how she's doing. Thanks for keeping us posted. I thought she might be walking on three legs only, anyway. They are so adaptable, as you also said before.

All the best and "man up!" for crying out loud.

*hugs*

[Xena]

23 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

I implemented the def-con 1 back protocols. 

-walk the dogs 3 times/day. Walking helps most everything. This adds about 4 miles. 

- rumble roll 3times/day. Rolling cures all. 

-15-20 minutes yoga morning and night. This is the maximum my brain can handle.  

 

Thank goodness it's summer. Takes a lot of time just to hold ourselves together these days, doesn't it?!

 

Good luck with your race. Keep at the Defcon 1 and see what you can do on race day :-)

[DJtrippyT]

On 7/17/2018 at 8:08 PM, Sloth the Enduring said:

I would also accept a “harden the fuck up.”

 

Rule #5

 

 

[Sloth the Enduring]

Oh my God, the inversion table was a huge success. My back feels great right now. 

[Bearlee]

Woot, that’s great to hear! I’ll be interested in seeing how long the effects last, though even a short while seems it would be worth it. Silly question, how do you get yourself un-inverted from the table?

[EricMN]

On 7/17/2018 at 7:08 PM, Sloth the Enduring said:

Ugh. I’m not even heavy by American standards, but I suspect you’re right. 

And you're ~20lb lighter than me.

 

On 7/17/2018 at 7:08 PM, Sloth the Enduring said:

Older than @EricMN? I feel relief when I hook my foot on something and pull, so I’m hopeful. Where would you put it though?  You’ve no basement.  

I'm older than much of the dirt in the garden I built in my last house's backyard...

 

On 7/17/2018 at 7:21 PM, Sloth the Enduring said:

7/17/18 Tuesday 

still a bad back day when I woke up, by the afternoon things started to tone down.

 

My big big race is 10 days. It doesn’t look like I’ll podium this year either. I went to my local trail to see if I could ride. I was able to, but not fast or hard. I could, however, handle small drops and standing on the pedals. It looks like I’ll be able to race. I think I got in 7 miles in 50 minutes. 

15 hours ago, Sloth the Enduring said:

Oh my God, the inversion table was a huge success. My back feels great right now. 

So. With the improved mobility, does the projected finish improve in your mind?

[Mrs Van]

On 7/19/2018 at 5:49 AM, Sloth the Enduring said:

Oh my God, the inversion table was a huge success. My back feels great right now. 

So glad to hear this.

[Sloth the Enduring]

On 7/17/2018 at 7:30 PM, Elastigirl said:

Neither is my husband. But he is 6'3" so he already carries weight even when he's skinny.

 

Hope the back feels better soon and you can enjoy the race

 

Thanks.  I’m the same way. I have delicate little wrists smaller than a lot of ladies. My body is built for endurance, not bulk. 

 

On 7/18/2018 at 1:39 AM, elizevdmerwe said:

 

Brandt sees the chiro and physio/maseuse (she does both, so I'm not sure just what she does when she sees him) about every two months. Even with him cycling and training regularly he needs this for pinched nerves from sitting, etc. He also swears by walking - how much it has improved his back and aches now that he walks regularly.

 

I should see someone more regularly, but it gets so expensive. Yep, sitting is terrible, but walking cures a lot of ills. 

 

On 7/18/2018 at 1:41 AM, elizevdmerwe said:

Was going to ask how she's doing. Thanks for keeping us posted. I thought she might be walking on three legs only, anyway. They are so adaptable, as you also said before.

All the best and "man up!" for crying out loud.

*hugs*

 

Yes ma'am.

 

I believe the surgery is scheduled for Aug. 13 and 3 week’s of recovery after that and we can finally pass her along. 

 

On 7/18/2018 at 7:16 PM, Xena said:

 

Thank goodness it's summer. Takes a lot of time just to hold ourselves together these days, doesn't it?!

 

Good luck with your race. Keep at the Defcon 1 and see what you can do on race day :-)

 

Hah. Getting old isn’t for the weak. I hate def con 1; I’ve eased back to defcon 2 or 3. 

 

On 7/18/2018 at 8:39 PM, DJtrippyT said:

 

Rule #5

 

 

 

Lol. When I was laid up I started rereading the Velominati blog. It’s not as funny the second time, but I am enjoying reading about the different hardmen and races they profile. I apparently raced against the main author back in the day, but I don’t remember him. I was more blue collar racing to his elite status. 

 

On 7/18/2018 at 10:49 PM, Sloth the Enduring said:

Oh my God, the inversion table was a huge success. My back feels great right now. 

 

Great is relative. My baseline back pain is a constant 3,  I’m at about a 4 right now. But I can walk normally and go up stairs and pick things up off the floor. It’s a huge improvement in my life style. 

 

On 7/19/2018 at 4:07 AM, Bearlee said:

Woot, that’s great to hear! I’ll be interested in seeing how long the effects last, though even a short while seems it would be worth it. Silly question, how do you get yourself un-inverted from the table?

 

It started fading, but never went back to terrible.  Kind of like the improvement after a massage or an adjustment. 

 

When I ran cross country we had gravity boots and you jumped up to pull up bar. Did a toes to bar to hook the boots on and dangled while your team mates mocked you and threw things at you. When you tired of that you did a curl up to grab the bar and reversed down. I never appreciated how strong and flexible  I used to be.  Anyway, this one has an adjustable foot rest and you set it so you’re balanced like a see saw which makes it easy to go up and down.  There is a railing to grab on to to flip your self up and down. 

 

I bought this one because it was affordable.   it’s remarkably well built for the price. 

 

On 7/19/2018 at 2:19 PM, EricMN said:

And you're ~20lb lighter than me.

 

I'm older than much of the dirt in the garden I built in my last house's backyard...

 

So. With the improved mobility, does the projected finish improve in your mind?

 

The way this summer is going I’ll catch up soon. 

 

Hah. I think we’re actually the same age. I was just jerking your chain. 

 

Hmm.  Three days ago I didn’t think I’d finish. I figured I’d get a couple hours in and DNF. Now I’m pretty sure I can finish.

 

Compared to last year I’m faster on the flats, but I’m not climbing as well - probably because of the extra bulk. My new bike is retro because I like it that way, but it’s also a bit slower. I’ve been fighting my back all summer and while I haven’t stopped training quality has really slipped.  My age group is surprisingly competitive, my guess is I’ll finish about 2/3 of the way back - both in my group and compared to the open.  If I’m flying and my group is small I might squeeze out a third place. 

 

19 hours ago, elizevdmerwe said:

So glad to hear this.

 

Thanks  

[Sloth the Enduring]

7/18/18-7/20/18

 

Slothboy decided he’s a baseball player. I don’t know where that came from. Except for a sad attempt at basketball and soccer in 5th-7th grade I’ve never played ball sports nor do I watch them on TV.

 

I’ve had to practice throwing and catching with him. I’m terrible and he’s terrible. I had to watch a YouTube video to see how it’s supposed to work. Lol. The twins sponsor city youth baseball so at least he has a snazzy uniform.

 

The foster dog, like most of our foster dogs, didn’t get enough human interaction and couldn’t tell when she was in trouble. “The sandals sure were tasty.” Tail wags. “I wonder why the human is mad.” Today I came home and she had chewed up some colored pencils. When I said, “Who did that?” She curled up and did the guilty dog face. That’s a huge stepping stone.

 

Mrs. Sloth has been shouldering a lot of the load housewise and childwise with me being on the DL and still trying to put in time biking.

 

I’ve lost a couple of pounds in the last week. That’s nice to see.

 

7/18/18 Wednesday - I put in about 9 or 10 miles at a mountain bike trail just to see if I could ride. I could, but I still wasn’t putting out much power. The bike handling is coming along though.

 

7/19/18 Thursday - I got another massage. I’m really trying to work things out before next weekend. I saw someone new, she’s a bit of a nerd girl. She really had to work. She asked if I was always this tight. I think I am. I need to learn how to relax I guess.

 

7/20/18 Friday - I finally got in to see the doctor. I’m officially off the ADHD meds, but he increased the depression meds which are an off-label treatment for ADHD. Hopefully I won’t get fired for losing and screwing up paperwork.

He didn’t think more cortisone would help, but I’m going to get physical therapy.

My blood pressure was 140/90, same as always. He said the guidelines are changing and next time if it’s that high the system will want him to discuss medications with me. Kettlebells and other HIIT has been the only thing to bring it down. Another reason to start throwing iron around.

 

I was feeling pretty good. The trails are too wet too ride. I went out to do my benchmark ride and see how I’m doing, but it started raining as soon as crossed the river. I didn’t want to go down hills in the rain so I did a flat ride instead. I got 33 miles in. Strava says I was as fast as I was in the middle of June when I was starting to get in shape and before the back troubles started.

 

I don’t remember which thread was talking about it ([mention=31887]Shaar[/mention] ?), but today I pooped outside.

 

Song of the day. Last night the radio show was New Wave ballads which got me thinking about my attempts at pitching woo via mix tapes. Here’s a song I put at the beginning of one. I love how the drum builds up and then you get that penny whistle. Also, Some Kind of Wonderful is a great movie.

 

 

 

[Sloth the Enduring]

Double Post. Here’s another song I put on a mix tape. I wasn’t very subtle apparently.

 

[shaar]

HECK YEAH poopin' outside!!!! Bravo my friend!! You are leading the Poopalooza pack!