Sloth: The Man with the Hammer

[Bearlee]

Yes yes, I know Bernard is French and not Belgium. However the two inspirations you talk about most is The Badger and The Belgium Hard Men. I was trying to get you to think if you could draw inspiration from either of them by thinking about them. I should have clarified that. So is there a plan?

 

Careful going cold turkey on the sugar. You might get head aches and get cranky (more so than normal ).

[Shello]

Oy with the yoga...  Have fun with that.  But commendable goals.  At least you are getting out there on the bike even for a family ride.  

[Sloth the Enduring]

Yes yes, I know Bernard is French and not Belgium. However the two inspirations you talk about most is The Badger and The Belgium Hard Men. I was trying to get you to think if you could draw inspiration from either of them by thinking about them. I should have clarified that. So is there a plan?

 

Careful going cold turkey on the sugar. You might get head aches and get cranky (more so than normal ).

Sean Kelly is a favorite, he's another non-Belgian hard man.  There is no plan.  I can't follow a plan, it just makes things worse.  That being said, I ought to ride more, obviously.  I need more mobility in my life.  The Wednesday KB class with the Druids is useful.  I like the Sandbag Training plan from Onnit.  Those things should figure heavily in whatever happens.  Expect a return of the sledgehammer once school lets out.

 

I'm giving up sweets and obvious sugar sources, but I'm not doing a sugar detox or going low carb.  That would just be too hard and unnecessary.  I don't expect a crash or withdrawal.  Any crankiness will be deserved.  

 

There is sugar in everything.  I just bought a 4# tub of peanut butter and it has a mess of molasses in it, tonight we had Vietnamese and the brown sauce was awfully sweet.  

 

Oy with the yoga...  Have fun with that.  But commendable goals.  At least you are getting out there on the bike even for a family ride.  

Thanks.  I'm just trying to do something every day.

 

5/16/15 Saturday

mobility stuff.

31 miles in 2.1 hours.  The trails were closed because they were wet; I rode the mountain bike on bike paths and gravel.  The first hour felt good and semi-fast, the second hour was slow and miserable.  I kept my heart rate in the 140s.

10 minutes Yoga.

I picked up the 75# bag and it felt like it was a couple hundred pounds; I passed on the sandbag workout.

 

The Art Fest was not fun for me. It was super crowded and the boy was over tired.  Mrs. Sloth kept running into people she knew and me and the boy would get bored while she talked to them.  Then I would have to contain him so he didn't knock over a 800$ vase.

 

I didn't get much done on the bikes.  The tire I was going to put on the MtBike had a slash in the sidewall so I'll have to order a new one and I couldn't find the right chainring for the CX bike.

[The Most Loathed]

Nice job on the level up. We all have to have a dump stat so it's good that yours is climbing.

[Shello]

You need this.

 

http://www.headlineshirts.net/slotherine-t-shirt.html#.VVtY87lVhBc

 

[Sloth the Enduring]

Nice job on the level up. We all have to have a dump stat so it's good that yours is climbing.

Thanks. 20 more years of teaching and I may have enough points that I can meet a stranger and engage in pointless small talk about inconsequential matters. I can currently do that about bikes and a few other fitness related topics and that was a big level up.

You need this.

http://www.headlineshirts.net/slotherine-t-shirt.html#.VVtY87lVhBc

OMG. That is awesome. I almost jumped on it even though I've spent all my disposable income for a while, but it's sold out. Also, I want to change my name again.

5/17/15 Sunday

Mobility Circuit.

27 miles in 2.0 hours. It was brutally windy, crosswinds. It was a hard and slow ride. I suffered.

5/18/15 Monday

Nothing. I experimented with my nutrition to disasterous results. By experiment I mean I found an unopened pint of Chunky Monkey ice cream in the back of the freezer. I've felt so deprived lately; it tasted glorious, even better than I remember. It was worth it.

I'm not sure what will happen today. This week we have pre-school graduation, SlothGirl's dance recital and dress rehearsal, Saturday we're doing an overnight camping trip with neighbors, Sunday and Monday we'll be up on the reservation for the Memorial Day rites. My guess is this year's racing debut will be pushed back another week, I'll get a night ride in tonight, and I'll do a short KB class tomorrow, sandbags Thursday, night ride Friday, hiking and a hilly ride Saturday, and gardening Sunday and nothing Monday. But time will tell.

Mrs. Sloth fell in love with one of our fosters and we're keeping him. Arlo is a deaf (in bred puppy mill) Havenese puppy. Utterly untrained, but happy and outgoing.

[The Most Loathed]

... Havenese puppy. Utterly untrained, but happy and outgoing.

sounds perfect

[Shello]

Sorry to get your hopes up.  It is a perfect Tshirt.  You'll have to keep your eyes open.  maybe the timing will be better then they have it restocked.  As for the name change... did you open the box and not only find out that the sloth was indeed alive but had undergone procedures to fuse it's bone with adamantium?

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

LOVE the dog ..... and the t-shirt.  I think you need a name change!!

[Sloth the Enduring]

sounds perfect

I'm worried about training him.  I'm not sure where to start with a deaf dog.  The best thing about him is he's a mouser.  When it got cold again a mouse moved in, Arlo flushed it, chased it, killed it, then looked at me like, "See what I did there."

 

Sorry to get your hopes up.  It is a perfect Tshirt.  You'll have to keep your eyes open.  maybe the timing will be better then they have it restocked.  As for the name change... did you open the box and not only find out that the sloth was indeed alive but had undergone procedures to fuse it's bone with adamantium?

I put my name on the waiting list.  Honestly, it's still up in the air as to the sloth's fate.  Right now superpowers seem extremely unlikely.

 

LOVE the dog ..... and the t-shirt.  I think you need a name change!!

Thanks.  I just changed my name, I have to wait 148 days before I can change it again.

 

5/19/15 Tuesday

Biked 12(?) miles in 1 hour.  An easy midnight ride.  It was too freaking cold to really hit it hard or go long tonight.  I don't think this ride had any training affect, it was just a Daily Grind sort of workout.

 

One of my students bikes my house just about every night on the way to the gas station to get dinner.  I was tempted to give him a couple of bucks to get me a doughnut, but I refrained.

[Shello]

For dog training, if you're thinking of just house training - we always hang a bell on a string by whatever door you plan on taking the dog out.  Every time you take the dog out while training, take the dogs paw and hit the bell.  The dog won't be able to hear it but it will learn to do the action.  In regards to other training, you should be able to use hand signals.  There is probably a standard that you find by the Oracle named Google.  But I'm sure it works to make up your own.  

 

As for the name change, perhaps it is something you need to earn.  Like all the PVPs you've been in, if you win 1 or something you get to use the new name.  Or set a goal for the summer rides or workouts..  Maybe that will be better incentive to stick with your workout plan rather than a 'fun' PVP with no carrot.  

[Elastigirl]

Aw, looks like a sweet dog.

 

Thoughts on the no sugar plan. Maybe right now your main goal should be no or very little dairy. That's a big change, and yeah, pretty much sucks. You already feel deprived enough with that. Maybe now isn't the best time to try and cut back on sugar. When you can't have the slice of cheese, go ahead and console yourself with the poptart.  You are most likely fine calorie wise, since you are bike riding fairly often now.

 

They do have dairy free ice cream, coconut milk, almond milk or soy milk is pretty good. Rice milk is horrible-don't bother

[Shello]

There's a new brand of milk available here... Fairlife.  It's got more protein than regular milk and also purports no lactose.  I don't really understand the no lactose part.  Lactase is in the ingredient list so maybe it's just counter-acted lactose...  

 

[Sloth the Enduring]

For dog training, if you're thinking of just house training - we always hang a bell on a string by whatever door you plan on taking the dog out.  Every time you take the dog out while training, take the dogs paw and hit the bell.  The dog won't be able to hear it but it will learn to do the action.  In regards to other training, you should be able to use hand signals.  There is probably a standard that you find by the Oracle named Google.  But I'm sure it works to make up your own.  

I like the bell idea.  I know a few sign language signs, that's the route we're going, but it's slow.  We also have a laser pointer to get his attention, but he hasn't associated that with, "Hey, I should come in the house now."

 

 

Thoughts on the no sugar plan. Maybe right now your main goal should be no or very little dairy. That's a big change, and yeah, pretty much sucks. You already feel deprived enough with that. Maybe now isn't the best time to try and cut back on sugar. When you can't have the slice of cheese, go ahead and console yourself with the poptart.  You are most likely fine calorie wise, since you are bike riding fairly often now.

That's good advice.  One change at a time.  It occurs to me that if I eat my sugar bomb right before I go to bed I'll sleep through the belly ache.

 

There's a new brand of milk available here... Fairlife.  It's got more protein than regular milk and also purports no lactose.  I don't really understand the no lactose part.  Lactase is in the ingredient list so maybe it's just counter-acted lactose...  

I do like me some milk.  I'll check it out.

 

5/20/15 Wednesday

I went to the KB sacred circuit class.  Nothing spectacular to report.  A punching the clock workout.  I also went to SlothBoy's preschool graduation.  He skipped out to play on the playground, but for some reason I still watched the ceremony.

 

5/21/15 Thursday

16.5 miles in a little over an hour.  An easy ride.  Just punching the clock.  I bought a bluetooth heart rate monitor so I could synch it to Strava, but I didn't get it set up right.

 

I did not do the training race.  I had a school dinner that I committed to a long time ago.  It wasn't advertised, so I forgot about it (I probably wouldn't have raced anyway).

 

SlothGirl's school has a culture of physical activity (much unlike mine, I really should have applied there), for example on Mondays the buses drop them off a mile from school and they walk the rest of the way.  Today they had an optional bike rally.  A few of the kindergarteners did it, including SlothGirl.  She rode 4 miles in one shot.  She said it was too far and everyone went too slow, but she wants to do it again next year.

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

I like the bell idea.  I know a few sign language signs, that's the route we're going, but it's slow.  We also have a laser pointer to get his attention, but he hasn't associated that with, "Hey, I should come in the house now."

 

 

Are there treats involved??  Our collie learned to ring a ship's bell to go out and bark to come in.  And she learned a lot of agility dog hand signals.  It's amazing what dogs will do once they get the hang of what you want. 

[Sloth the Enduring]

5/22/15 Friday

SlothGirl's dance recital took up the whole afternoon and evening. It was lovely. After the kids went down I started packing for camping. I told myself I'd hit the sandbags after I got done. Eventually it was 2:00am and I just went to bed.

5/23/15 Saturday - Camping WhiteRiver State Park.  We go with a big group, 20 or 30 people.  Most of whom I don't know or like.  It is a stressful experience for me, but the wife and kids enjoy the Hell out of it.

4 mile hike with the equivalent of 30 flights of stairs. SlothBoy fell down a ladder ~ 12 steps. Luckily just scared, not hurt.

I biked 26 hilly, gravelly miles in 1:56. I felt good, but not great about this. According to strava my pace would put me exactly in the middle of the pack for the race that uses these roads 23rd best time out of 46. I felt like I had a gear or two left in the bank. Apples to oranges though...


Check it out - elevation changes. That's not something I see much of in Minneapolis.

5/24/15 Sunday - Another hilly ride. 13 miles in just under an hour. Limited time. I finally figured out the Strava HR synch after this ride. It sucks down the battery, but the data should be useful.

Gardening at the cemetery for 2 or 3 hours. It's a mostly unmaintained cemetery, so I hauled a lot of brush. I may post on doing Indian stuff, I have some things to process; having grown up in the suburbs it's all weird for me.

5/25/15 Monday - raining in the morning. I ate crap upon crap on the long drive home. I literally ate myself sick. I wanted to hit the KBs when I got home, but instead I went to bed. I knew I was being stupid, but the three days of driving was making me insane.
 

Are there treats involved?? Our collie learned to ring a ship's bell to go out and bark to come in. And she learned a lot of agility dog hand signals. It's amazing what dogs will do once they get the hang of what you want.

Yes, but I haven't been consistent. Time to knuckle down.

[Sloth the Enduring]

5/26/15 Tuesday

Stretchy stuff + rubber band stuff.

Roman chair ext. 1X15

KB Get Up 1x5/5 @ 25#. Went back to these to rehab shoulder.

Circuit-all @ 60# sandbag @ 30 s. sets.

Cleans X4

Shouldering X4

Rot. Lunge X4

Shouldered Good Morning X3 - back got janky so I shut it down.

Halos X2 - this should stay in the warm up at a lighter weight so I dropped it from the circuit. I'll sub in press next time.

I intended to go on a long ride, but it's cold and rainy again. I was conservative with the workout to make sure I'm not sore on Saturday. Although if it keeps raining they'll cancel the race to protect the trail.

I wore the HRM for the sandbag portion.

[Balthazar]

5/22/15 Friday

SlothGirl's dance recital took up the whole afternoon and evening. It was lovely. After the kids went down I started packing for camping. I told myself I'd hit the sandbags after I got done. Eventually it was 2:00am and I just went to bed.

 

you don't wanna be that crazy neighbour dicking about with sandbags at 2am

[Shello]

you don't wanna be that crazy neighbour dicking about with sandbags at 2am

 

I'm not so sure about that.  He's already the crazy neighbor that walks his pet tire.  

 

Being in the virtual middle of the pack for that type of elevation isn't bad considering you're not used to it right?

 

Glad to see you got some training done yesterday.  

[Sloth the Enduring]

you don't wanna be that crazy neighbour dicking about with sandbags at 2am

I'm not so sure about that. He's already the crazy neighbor that walks his pet tire.

Being in the virtual middle of the pack for that type of elevation isn't bad considering you're not used to it right?

Glad to see you got some training done yesterday.

The neighbors have already formed their opinion about me. I live on the corner and train outside all summer. They've seen me do Shovelglove at midnight in the rain, throw kettlebells around, drag the tire, do pull ups on the tree, flipping the tire. But now my wife has had a privacy fence put in. She (almost) never says anything, but she doesn't like the "suns out, guns out" policy and the unconventional workouts.

Yes, almost every other recorded ride on that segment was during the 2014 race. So I'm comparing myself to others who have at least a modicum of fitness. A mid-pack pace, especially when I haven't trained hills yet this year, is pretty positive sign. I have potential this year; I just need to get and stay a bit more consistent.

Thanks.

I've been thinking about my summer. Last year was a bust. My goal is to get 1500 miles in during June, July, and August. That's not super-intense, but it's a level up amount of miles* for new riders, so it's a nice benchmark. I also want to become more sturdy, process goal means getting back to daily stretchy/mobility stuff - product goal means getting strong enough to move up to the 75# sandbag for my workout.

I'm not going to write about my feelings about going back to the reservation. I'm a Ranger, not a Druid; I'm a lone wolf, not a lamb. I'm just going to keep stuffing it deep down inside and keeping it to myself.

*When I worked in a shop new riders would come and go, but the ones who hit 1500 miles in a summer became hooked for life and became long-term costumers.

[Shello]

 

I'm not going to write about my feelings about going back to the reservation.  I'm a Ranger, not a Druid; I'm a lone wolf, not a lamb.  I'm just going to keep stuffing it deep down inside and keeping it to myself.

 

 

 

That sounds healthy.  

 

 

We can take venting and oversharing.  

[Elastigirl]

The neighbors have already formed their opinion about me. I live on the corner and train outside all summer. They've seen me do Shovelglove at midnight in the rain, throw kettlebells around, drag the tire, do pull ups on the tree, flipping the tire. But now my wife has had a privacy fence put in. She (almost) never says anything, but she doesn't like the "suns out, guns out" policy and the unconventional workouts.

Yes, almost every other recorded ride on that segment was during the 2014 race. So I'm comparing myself to others who have at least a modicum of fitness. A mid-pack pace, especially when I haven't trained hills yet this year, is pretty positive sign. I have potential this year; I just need to get and stay a bit more consistent.

Thanks.

I've been thinking about my summer. Last year was a bust. My goal is to get 1500 miles in during June, July, and August. That's not super-intense, but it's a level up amount of miles* for new riders, so it's a nice benchmark. I also want to become more sturdy, process goal means getting back to daily stretchy/mobility stuff - product goal means getting strong enough to move up to the 75# sandbag for my workout.

I'm not going to write about my feelings about going back to the reservation. I'm a Ranger, not a Druid; I'm a lone wolf, not a lamb. I'm just going to keep stuffing it deep down inside and keeping it to myself.

*When I worked in a shop new riders would come and go, but the ones who hit 1500 miles in a summer became hooked for life and became long-term costumers.

Yeah sure, your neighbors may think you're a bit crazy, but at the first sign of zombies guess who their gonna expect to kill the zombies?

[Sloth the Enduring]

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fw0CLWrzwz4

 

They've rerouted the race around storm damage.  It is now 37 miles through the woods instead of 30.  That is a huge difference. Last year I was in terrible shape, even worse than this year, and it took 4 1/2 hours (exactly twice as long as the Israeli national champion who won), the last couple of miles I didn't know if I was going to make it.  I was hoping for a 3 hour finish this year, it looks like it'll be another 4+ hour race.  Oof.

 

I swapped out my tires.  The new ones are slightly narrower and have a rounder profile; they should suit my riding style better. I went over my bike, shaved my head (in case it's hot) and bought race food last night, Shotblocks (solid gels with sugar, and electrolytes), Gu (paste gels with sugar, caffeine, and electrolytes), Aspire (a "natural" Gatorade, sugar and electrolytes), and pickles (electrolytes).  I still need to find my light weight flask for pickle juice.  I'm not too worried about the sugar, my body can run on my fat stores (slow twitch FTW), but I am worried about crippling levels of cramping.  

 

I've been doing one hour easy spins on the bike this week.  I can't call it a taper because I don't have a solid base, let's say I've had an easy week to stay fresh.

 

Tonight I'll pack my gear and put everything except for the bike in the car.  I have my morning meals planned.  I have a mantra.

 

 

I regret my late winter slackitude, but everything considered, I'm ready to race.

 

Yeah sure, your neighbors may think you're a bit crazy, but at the first sign of zombies guess who their gonna expect to kill the zombies?

Some guy with a gun?

[Elastigirl]

Good luck on the race!

[Sloth the Enduring]

Good luck on the race!

Thanks! I was the 295th loser out of 400 finishers so far, prolly 450 started.