Salty Sleeps In

[SaltyDragon]

Gonna keep it simpler for this one. I'm back at sea for I don't know how much longer yet, and I've got other areas of life that need more attention right now.

 

Run
30 maintenance miles. Yep, that's all. I don't have any races to train for at present. I don't know where I'll be besides this boat or, ocassionally, Dutch Harbor, Alaska. I just can't look forward to the treadmill right now. So, I'll just do a little bit as I feel like it, or when I get the opportunity to get outside.

 

Push, Pull
720 Push-ups
24 Pull-ups
This is the same as the last couple challenges for push-ups, and seems to be a good number to challenge me, so I'm sticking with it. I'm stepping up the pull-ups because I started to improve, but feel like I have slipped a bit. Since I have abandoned the crunches for now, I'd also like to look for some other good core exercises that are less taxing on the back.

 

Yoga
I've been doing some yoga on almost every challenge so far, but it's been pretty unadventurous. That's OK, because I'm really just learning. Now that I'm getting better, I'd like to put a little more effort into it and expand my repertoire. So for this challenge, my goal is to pick or plan a short new boat-friendly routine each week, and work on it at least two days. 2 points for a complete week, so the goal is 8 points.

 

Strength
Strength workouts three times a week, as before. Without a serious running goal this time, I can focus more on this one. 2 points per workout, so the goal is 24 points.

 

Side challenge
Relax and read more – I've earned it. One of the things I accomplished last month was renewing my old library card. Even though it's from a city I don't spend time in anymore, I can use it to check out kindle books online. Extra bonus-fun points for everyone if I can make it through four.

 

Picture from my run this morning, because.

[Reinfire]

Gorgeous view from your run! Sounds like you're finding a good balance of challenging yourself but keeping things straightforward. Looking forward to your updates!

[Jormungand]

Ah, I love reading anytime someone gets use out of their library card. I know you'd started investing in the Kindle a couple challenges ago, and it sounds like you'll be able to get a lot of use out of it. Let me know if I can provide any books recs. (It'd be nice if I could count this towards my library's readers advisory stats, but you can consider this pro bono.)

 

I'm a big fan of the simple and straightforward approach, especially given your circumstances this time around. I always used to be one of the people chasing after the newest and shiniest workout plan, but I've honestly found the best results with the old tried and true methods because they're, well, tried and true. As always, I'm looking forward to see how your challenge goes. I'll definitely be sticking around for the nature shots. 

[SaltyDragon]

20 hours ago, Jormungand said:

I'm a big fan of the simple and straightforward approach, especially given your circumstances this time around. I always used to be one of the people chasing after the newest and shiniest workout plan, but I've honestly found the best results with the old tried and true methods because they're, well, tried and true. As always, I'm looking forward to see how your challenge goes. I'll definitely be sticking around for the nature shots.

 

On 5/3/2016 at 10:24 AM, aisle4b said:

Gorgeous view from your run! Sounds like you're finding a good balance of challenging yourself but keeping things straightforward. Looking forward to your updates!

 

Thanks, both of you. I don't want to slack off too much, but I'm just not feeling super driven this time. I know I'm gonna miss the running, though. Who knows, maybe I'll get inspired.

 

And, oh, my legs are killing me after my little mountain run two days ago. I guess that means I should do it more often. Too bad I can't.

[Talvi]

Hey Salty, good luck with this challenge!

 

Sorry that you won't be able to get out much for runs this time, although I do hope you find some time in harbour to take more photos like this beauty!   Did you run a race last challenge?   

 

What kind of things are you planning to read?

[Calanthia Cobbin]

On 5/3/2016 at 11:50 PM, SaltyDragon said:

Side challenge
Relax and read more – I've earned it. One of the things I accomplished last month was renewing my old library card. Even though it's from a city I don't spend time in anymore, I can use it to check out kindle books online. Extra bonus-fun points for everyone if I can make it through four.

LIBRARIES DO THAT?!? I'm going to find a library that does kindle check-outs right now!

 

Looks like an awesome laid-back challenge, looking forward to more!

[SaltyDragon]

On 5/6/2016 at 3:01 AM, Talvi said:

Hey Salty, good luck with this challenge!

 

Sorry that you won't be able to get out much for runs this time, although I do hope you find some time in harbour to take more photos like this beauty!   Did you run a race last challenge?  

 

Thanks, and I'm really happy you're back! I did have a 10k last month. The write-up is here, but long story short, I finished in 0:49:28, good for 7/254 overall, and within my 50 min goal.

 

9 hours ago, Calanthia Cobbin said:

Looks like an awesome laid-back challenge, looking forward to more!

 

Thanks!

 

------

 

Well, I'm certainly keeping with the "sleeps in" theme so far. Not that I can literally sleep in much, but I haven't really been up to much, either. After an intentionally quiet zero week, I did intend to pick up the pace, but the weather apparently had the same idea. You know, it used to be mildly entertaining to try to work out in 10ft+ seas, but now it just kinda pisses me off. I've been in a real funk for the last couple weeks, anyway. I haven't been a complete slacker, though. I picked out a new-to-me "core strength" yoga routine last week, adapted it for boat, and worked through it a couple of times on Sunday. That felt good. And yesterday, I did manage to tick a few things off the adulting list – which I don't usually write about, but is always there.

 

For those who have just tuned in, my big-picture goal this year is "get better job, get off boat" – nearly six years of living on boats full time without a home to go to is taking a terrible toll on me. There is good news and bad news on this front, but I'll wait 'till I know more to share. The downer right now is that the other tech on the boat has given notice and will be leaving right about the same time I am hoping to leave. Actually, everybody is pretty happy that this person is leaving, but of course, now they really want me to stick around to train the new hire. I get that losing me before I could train a replacement would be very bad for the boat. At the moment, though, I fail to see how this is my problem.

[Jormungand]

13 hours ago, Calanthia Cobbin said:

LIBRARIES DO THAT?!? I'm going to find a library that does kindle check-outs right now!

 

A lot of libraries will have e-books available to check out. Ours is currently working with a company to offer e-books, e-audiobooks, and digital music and movies that will be compatible with most mobile devices and desktop. It is definitely worth looking into. You might be surprised what your local library offers.

 

3 hours ago, SaltyDragon said:

Well, I'm certainly keeping with the "sleeps in" theme so far. Not that I can literally sleep in much, but I haven't really been up to much, either. After an intentionally quiet zero week, I did intend to pick up the pace, but the weather apparently had the same idea. You know, it used to be mildly entertaining to try to work out in 10ft+ seas, but now it just kinda pisses me off. I've been in a real funk for the last couple weeks, anyway. I haven't been a complete slacker, though. I picked out a new-to-me "core strength" yoga routine last week, adapted it for boat, and worked through it a couple of times on Sunday. That felt good. And yesterday, I did manage to tick a few things off the adulting list – which I don't usually write about, but is always there.

 

For those who have just tuned in, my big-picture goal this year is "get better job, get off boat" – nearly six years of living on boats full time without a home to go to is taking a terrible toll on me. There is good news and bad news on this front, but I'll wait 'till I know more to share. The downer right now is that the other tech on the boat has given notice and will be leaving right about the same time I am hoping to leave. Actually, everybody is pretty happy that this person is leaving, but of course, now they really want me to stick around to train the new hire. I get that losing me before I could train a replacement would be very bad for the boat. At the moment, though, I fail to see how this is my problem.

 

I hate to hear that things are sort of down right now. I know exactly how you feel when it comes to feeling like you can't leave whenever you want. One of the things that kept me at a previous job for so long towards the end was the fact that there wasn't hardly anyone who could do what I could do. It's not so much that I had a set of really rare, unique skills, we were just a small business, and it was usually up to me to fill in most roles when people were out on vacation, sick leave, etc. So, it also came to me to train a lot of the new people. Things usually pick up, though, and I bet that they will for you, as well. It sounds like you're already trying to shake things up with the new yoga workout.

[Styx]

Hi! Nice view from your run! I'm envious! 

 

I'll be following for the adventureeeee! Good luck!

[Jayniana Jones]

Following. I love the view. Bummer you can't run that on a regular basis. As you increase your yoga intensity try to focus on matching your breath with each movement, I think you may be surprised at how much aerobic ability you will be able to maintain for your running when you're able to get back to it. 

 

I've been wondering about your job quest. Glad to hear you're still working at it.

 

If you are looking for a Kindle book recommendation, I just finished reading Wool by Hugh Howey. It's a very interesting read with lots of mystery, action, and rebel rousing.  Its setting is a dystopian future earth, which normally I don't care for but this one has interesting twists. It's a trilogy. I haven't started the second book yet because I have a few other things I need to get done. 

 

 

[SaltyDragon]

I seem to be posting on everybody's threads but my own. That's kind of on purpose – I could certainly stand to step up the friendly-like efforts.

 

But I have been doing a few things, myself. I've done this week's yoga routine twice, and I will hopefully do it one more time this weekend. I also did two strength workouts, although one was just a good-try effort because the weather wasn't good. Some things, like lunges especially, just don't work when we're rockin' and rollin'. I gave myself half-credit, so that's something I'll need to make up. Push-ups I got a good start on, so I need to keep it up. I am hoping to do some more, and some pull-ups too, this afternoon, but the weather is picking up again as I type. I'll just have to see what I can do.

 

I'm back in Dutch Harbor tomorrow for a few days, so I need to take advantage. I'll probably climb Ballyhoo (the mountain in the pic) again, but as tough a workout as that is, it's only three miles out and back, so I should try for a longish run somewhere, too, to go toward my goal. The next cruise is three weeks long, so I don't get much time on land for running.

[Polgara19]

Well done on the yoga!  And enjoy being back on dry land, if only for a few days!

[SaltyDragon]

I did a little running on land yesterday. I didn't plan out how far I was going to go, I just started going. I ended up just over nine miles. It was really tough getting started, but after the first mile I felt pretty good. On the way back though, I got a little pain on the top of my foot. I got the same thing on an 11 miler a few weeks ago – don't know what it is, but it gets better after a few days. Probably should have gone a little shorter for the first time running again in two weeks. Anyway, I walked to lunch and back earlier today, about two miles, and I survived. I'll try an easy run this afternoon and see how it goes.

 

-----

 

Week 1 Summary

 

Run

12.7 miles, goal of 30. I won't make this goal, sadly. I'm back at sea on tuesday for the rest of the challenge, so I just won't have the opportunity. I have an idea for a substitute, though. More on that later.

 

Push, Pull

Push-ups

190 total, goal of 720. Looks good so far.

Pull-ups

3 total, goal of 24. Behind here, but not worried. 21 pull-ups in three weeks is very doable.

 

Yoga

2 days "core strength" routine, for one complete week. Already have a new "twisting" routine picked out for next week. Can't wait.

 

Strength

5 points total, goal of 24. A tad behind after one half-credit workout in rough seas. I'll come up with some kind of add-on to a fair-weather workout for some catch-up points. Totally recoverable.

 

Books

One done, three to go!

 

I'm trying to post a photo for you, but internet is really sucky today, so... I give up.

[gunslinger_25]

Sounds like you had a great week!  I'm interested to see what your running substitute is.  My brother is a merchant marine/1st engineer/something I should know more about and may be interested in any new ideas on how to keep fit on board ship.  Keep it up!

[Talvi]

You've done a really good week and I'm very jealous if you did end up running Ballyhoo again.  Plus the amount of uphill resistance in that climb should be taken into account when it contributes to your challenge goal... maybe 1.5x the uphill distance?     Another idea to help towards reworking your distance goal - does your ship treadmill accommodate sprints or intervals for shorter (to stave off the long distance boredom) but intense cardio?

 

Also have you decided to leave at the same time as the other techie?  Does your team know that you want a change?

[SaltyDragon]

2 hours ago, Talvi said:

Also have you decided to leave at the same time as the other techie?  Does your team know that you want a change?

 

The ship has known all year that I'm looking for something else. It's some of the science teams that come out with us regularly that are starting to panic. It really would be better for them and the ship if I stay to provide continuity and training, even if for only one three-week cruise. I've had a few interviews recently, and another one coming up, so if one of those comes back with an offer, I may just go. But for now, I wait. Jobs like I'm looking for are few and far between, and the wheels turn slowly, so it may not matter.

 

---

 

I have not run Ballyhoo again yet, but am still tempted. I still

have tonight, so I'll see how the foot feels and decide then. I'll either do that, or go for a longer run that I have picked out with more trail and less climb (Ballyhoo is about 1400 feet in a little less than a mile, no switchbacks, just straight up!).

 

2 hours ago, Talvi said:

Another idea to help towards reworking your distance goal - does your ship treadmill accommodate sprints or intervals for shorter (to stave off the long distance boredom) but intense cardio?

 

Someone on the boat had the idea to move the treadmill up against the wall, where it is actually underneath a shelf, right about mid-back level. This has me a little concerned! So I won't even use it unless we can move it back.

 

My plan is to use our eliptical-stair-stepper machine-of-misery thing to do some "hill stride" workouts – some number of them for each mile I am short, or something like that. I haven't worked out the details yet, but it's something. That's probably kind of like what you're describing.

[SaltyDragon]

5 hours ago, gunslinger_25 said:

Sounds like you had a great week!  I'm interested to see what your running substitute is.  My brother is a merchant marine/1st engineer/something I should know more about and may be interested in any new ideas on how to keep fit on board ship.  Keep it up!

 

I think most ships are pretty good about having some kind of reasonable workout facility on board. It's tough on mine because we just don't have much space to dedicate to it. We also have all the headaches of using government funds to buy things. The biggest obstacles for me are shitty Alaska weather with rough seas, and 12 hour shifts seven days a week leaving me exhausted or just too low on motivation. As a 1st engineer, your brother probably at least doesn't have to deal with roommates, a frequent nuisance for me, also.

 

All that said, working out at sea can be interesting sometimes. You can't take gravity for granted. Things like push-ups and pull-ups can be both much easier, and much harder, than you expect!

[Jormungand]

I'm glad to read that you're staying persistent, finding new ways to adapt to your environment. After the last few challenges, I'd expect nothing less. 

 

You'd mentioned earlier (last challenge?) that you were having roommate woes. Is that still the case or are things better? I can imagine that having a space of one's own in that environment would be near-priceless. 

[SaltyDragon]

Thanks to a little encouragement from my fine friends here, I did the Ballyhoo run again last night! This time, instead of just a simple up and back, I did the full trail. This runs along a knife-edge ridge between the two peaks, then drops down through the ruins of a WWII-era fort, and then back down to the road. It was cloudy at the top today, which made things interesting. Because I'd been up there before, I knew how far down and how steep the cliffs were just two steps from the trail. With the clouds, though, you couldn't see anything below. It was kind of eerie, and I don't know what's scarier – seeing how far down it is, or knowing but not seeing. Anyway, it was really intense, but fun. I lost the trail a few times where there was still snow, and had to run around for a bit to pick it up again. The whole loop was 4.8 miles, and 1600 ft above sea level at its highest point. So, any guesses how long my legs will be sore after this time? (It was four days, last time).

 

 

-----

 

10 hours ago, Jormungand said:

You'd mentioned earlier (last challenge?) that you were having roommate woes. Is that still the case or are things better? I can imagine that having a space of one's own in that environment would be near-priceless.

 

This will be a problem for as long as I'm here. As an acting department head, I really should get my own room, but it never works out that way. So, I've had to put up with dirty socks and underwear on the floor, food scraps and crumbs on the floor (where I like to do my push-ups and yoga!), spilled chewing tobacco spittle, refrigerator hogs, banjo playing, nasty bathroom habits (I do most of the cleaning – out of self defense)...oh, I could go on. So, for anyone who thinks life at sea is all exciting and romantic...well, sometimes it can be. Other times, though...

 

This is an actual email I got yesterday:

Spoiler

All hands,
Someone on board threw up in the head in the main passageway last night or early this morning and did not clean up afterwards. A shipmate had to clean it up. This is a lack of common courtesy and I sincerely hope it doesn't happen again. We can certainly do better than that as shipmates.
XO

 

[Jormungand]

7 hours ago, SaltyDragon said:

So, I've had to put up with dirty socks and underwear on the floor, food scraps and crumbs on the floor (where I like to do my push-ups and yoga!), spilled chewing tobacco spittle, refrigerator hogs, banjo playing, nasty bathroom habits (I do most of the cleaning – out of self defense)...oh, I could go on.

 

Drink up me hearties, yo ho. Or something like that...

 

All of that sounds like enough to drive anybody to the brink. I hope things improve. Based on the contents of that email, I hope things improve quick. 

 

Also, awesome job on the run. That sounds like a blast, and I'm glad you were able to make the most of the time you had on land. 

[SaltyDragon]

16 hours ago, Jormungand said:

That sounds like a blast, and I'm glad you were able to make the most of the time you had on land. 

 

Actually getting to make a little more of it than expected. The foggy weather has cancelled a lot of flights over the last few days, so we're still here waiting on some personnel to arrive. That means I got another 4 miles in last night, and can likely get one more run in today. Maybe I can make that 30 miles after all.

[gunslinger_25]

That run looks freaking awesome!  I'm very jealous of your terrain, but vomiting shipmates is not cool.

[Jayniana Jones]

Good luck on reaching your 30 mile goal. I like how your persevering and adapting things as needed. Ship life definitely brings more challenges than expected. Bummer about the maybe having to use the elliptical, but it's definitely better than nothing.  I'm impressed with the distances you cover when you run.

 

Good luck with the interviews. 

[SaltyDragon]

Well, what do ya know.

 

7.6 (mostly miserable) miles this afternoon makes 32.3 miles for the entire challenge. Done. I say mostly miserable because it was windy and I was a little underdressed, and the roads were really dusty, so I was snotty and couldn't breathe so well. The trail portion was better – I went up "bunker hill" which is actually runnable most of the way, and has a nice view at the top. So, in the beginning, I laid out 30 "maintenance" miles as the challenge. I'm not so sure that running 29 of them in five days really qualifies as maintenance (and we're underway again, so that's really all I will do), but hey, they're done. In the bag. Finished. Can I go home now?

 

Dutch Harbor and Mt. Ballyhoo (center frame, distance)

 

[Calanthia Cobbin]

On 5/13/2016 at 6:21 PM, SaltyDragon said:

 

I seem to be posting on everybody's threads but my own. That's kind of on purpose – I could certainly stand to step up the friendly-like efforts.

 

 

I've been working on this too! I don't usually post so much in other threads but I've been trying it as a new "positivity tactic" this time around