The reasons for training

The shoulder seems to have settled into being trouble, but it is generally less painful than it was at first. Kali works better than iaido, possibly because of the lack of vertical lifting movements with heavy objects. Regardless, this Monday I had to forego the iaido practice. On Tuesday, I learned that blocking a rattan stick with the (in my case rather protruding) bone bump by your wrist is a bad move. On Thursday, I learned that blocking a rebounding rattan stick with your eyebrow is equally bad, if a little less short-term painful. My eye didn't swell shut, but it did look rather odd until I got to it with the Voltarol/Voltaren cream. Wednesday I had the opportunity to be a hardass, evil trainer with lots of nitpicking, when there was only one other more experienced practicioner at the iaido. I managed to get through the ZNKR kata, as well as all Shoden and Chuden kata I know, but it was good to be able to break it off and rest the shoulder with some nitpicking. The student I helped coach has, as so many, a great many tiny issues. One of his is that he is constantly talking back. Not necessarily arguing, but I am schooled in the Japanese way - you listen, nod, and do. But at times I allow him to speak, because he seems to need it in order for things to stick. We managed to fix a detail no one has noticed before - he kept his sword much too far pushed into his obi, too far to the left, which caused some awkwardness in his gripping the tsuka and drawing, and also made him sloppy with hikite/sayabiki, that is, drawing back his left hand to allow the katana out of the saya/scabbard. Having fixed this, much of his form instantly became better. I am always glad when I can iron such little creases out. And, I pushed for something which I personally am very aware of - when walking, or moving, I try to teach students to avoid bobbing up and down. This is not something the other teachers speak much about, but I have become a little audacious in my teaching, and am now pushing for this. No one has yet told me off so I suppose they are fine with it. I have been thinking again about motivation. Why do I do iaido, and why do I do kali sikaran? My reasons are different, but frustratingly intangible in a way. I am a perfectionist. That was one of the reasons I mentioned when my first iaido teacher asked me why I had come. The perfection in iaido spoke to me. Also, of course, swords are cool. I have been doing iaido for a very, very long time now. I feel an obligation to all the sensei before me, all those who have passed their knowledge on to me. It is forward reciprocity, which I am very keen on. I want to be fast, skilled and strong. I want my form to be perfect, so that when a situation arises (hypothetically, as always, who walks around with a sword in their belt these days?) my mind will not stop. I will move outside the kata and just act. And I pursue perfection, as I know I have many things to perfect yet. Iaido is closely tied to Zen buddhism, and since it is a do, it needs must be connected to my life, and vice versa, in a much stronger way than most people think martial arts is. But that is the way of it! A do is a way. It is not just a thing you go to and exercise. Kali sikaran is... enjoyable. Flexible. Full of variation. Physical. Changing. Evolving. It requires, in its proper form, the same no-mind and non-stopping-mind as iai or any martial art. It allows me to move beyond one weapon, allows me to broaden my perspective and when I drop the sword, if I do, I will still be highly armed and dangerous. I am a beginner and am yet able to remember that, and avoid being frustrated at my inability to do things perfectly at once. This is very good, as I like to be reminded that there is always more to learn. Yet there is still the politeness and the "practice WITH rather than AGAINST eachother" that I am so very fond of in Shorinji Kempo. Running is sheer enjoyment. It is something which I can feel strengthens my body every time I have the chance to do it, it cleans my mind, helps me keep it in the now or helps it roam, depending on what is needed at that moment. I am now able to run barefoot style in my big combat boots too, if only for limited distances, and it is not as comfortable, but still - I have changed my way of running and am better off for it. It is floating across the ground, instead of pounding it. I run because of freedom, exploration, stamina, strength, no-mind, its beneficial effects on everything else I do... I run because running makes me feel alive. Do you have different reasons for doing the various physical exercises you do, and/or what are those reasons?

Careful training to ease pain

I am still uncertain what caused the shoulder pain from the nether regions of whatever hell there might be. But by switching to using the left hand almost exclusively, taking care to avoid putting stress on it, I managed to make it less hurty. That Wednesday I had to carry a lot, but I set my mind on iaido practice, and it worked fine enough. I had trouble with several movements - oo-chiburi was nigh on impossible, for example, and at times noto as well. I used only a bokuto, therefore, but, since I led the beginners' practice, it was quite all right and possibly better. I could focus on helping them instead of showing them. The shoulder felt less stiff and sore afterwards, though the pain was a bit worse. Thursday's kali practice went surprisingly well, and I had moments during the day when there was no pain at all, in fact. I kept my mind on relaxing and not unconsciously hunch up, during the day. We used the escrima sticks, single or double, which was a bit tricky until the shoulder seemed to limber up - once again, there was pain afterwards, and it didn't like carrying things, but it felt far less sore and stiff. I worked hard during practice, which was an absolute pleasure, and I had the chance both of going in-depth in how I did my stickwork (...what a word!) and going all-out with a padded stick together with another beginner. She and I are quite different in skill level and what we are good at, but she is always good fun to have as a partner! I like that about the kali, there is always so much variation. And the next day, I felt my shoulders had really worked the day before, which I take as a very good sign. It is a personal quest for me to strengthen them both! I must say it seems to me I have begun figuring out how to focus to learn new things. It's something like having a switch or gauge in my head/mind, that I have to carefully fine-tune, and focus on at all times (my mind is rather fond of wandering). It seems as if this is slowly helping me to become better to "learn by seeing" in a new way in iaido, too, and possibly "by doing" too, but I shall have to wait until I am able to try to learn a new kata before I can test that theory. It is good to feel that mind and body are coming to be more and more in harmony with eachother. Not that the mind necessarily feels all spiffy and good, or the body, but, they are far less separated. I have not experienced the "steering myself from above-behind myself" feeling for quite some time! I wish I had the time for a run today, the weather is gorgeous, but I shall have to content myself with a walk, and iaido practice tonight! The shoulder is still painful, but I keep being careful. I think I know where the pain is, but, there isn't much to do. Except try to convince medical authorities to give me a cortisone shot, I guess. Have you been injured or ill lately, and what did you do, or what do you most often do, when that happened/happens?

When old injuries get a makeover

My right shoulder started, today, late in the afternoon, to wreak seven kinds of hellish pain upon me. It is growing steadily worse. I can now not type without pain, and lifting it higher than waist-height is almost out of the question. This is after a does of Voltarol/Voltaren/diclofenac gel on it. But it clearly originates too deep. I do know I tend to fall ill after an exam, but this is something quite new. I can see no trigger for it either, other than possibly sleeping on it weirdly during an afternoon nap? Updates will follow. Tomorrow I try iaido again. Have been away for the past few days to write big test in other city. I am going to try and find out if someone could spray some cortisone into it. It's about time anyway, damn it all.

Update after a while of quietude

It's been quiet here for the past two weeks, hasn't it? It is due to the phenomenon known as "midterms", which had me swearing and whinging quite a lot. Summarize and discuss the Viking Age in no more than two pages? For an archaeologist with a specialty in the area? I made it, of course, but it was a hard task. I haven't been avoiding my practice, though! That weekend did admittedly see me mostly sit still and study, but I took a few walks. Monday saw iaido practice, mostly koryu, and Wednesday also, although, I was the one to lead the beginner's training then, and consequently did not exert myself quite as much as usual. Not that I didn't do anything and just walked around shouting instructions, but it is a natural consequence that one doesn't do as much as a teacher as when one is a student. Tuesday meant Kali Sikaran, with a lot of stick fighting (escrima, if that sounds more familiar to you). I had a bit of trouble, I don't know why, but I felt somewhat craptastic and unfocused, no matter how much I tried. We focused mostly on one or two different "kapkas", I think they are named, which are sequences of hitting that can be used with or without weapons. It was very rewarding, and also, I was amused to feel sore in my torso muscles - I seldom do, but clearly these movements woke up muscles I don't use as much. We finished by an all-on-one, which meant everyone moved around one person with one mitt, and feigned a cross hit attack, to which the "attacked" responded with a certain sequence of blocks and strikes. It was great fun and very rewarding, though my defensive nature kicked in and I think I may have been a bit too good at avoiding getting fenced in at all... which wasn't really what the exercise was about. Next time, I'll try and stay put and just defend myself. Thursday we had one of the most senior Kali Sikaran practitioners there is, as a guest trainer. It was quite different. His charisma and way of leading is quite different from our usual one's. He divided the group, though, with the two most accomplished in one corner, and us other three (and our trainer) in another. It was a good choice, I think, as it meant the other two could really get some extra challenging practice! And I enjoyed very, very, very much to get the chance to practice with out trainer. He is a very good partner, and I find him very skilled at gauging and adapting to the skill level of those he trains with, while never giving an inch and always challenging you. Also, his way of explaining really works for me. The Katalong Guro showed us several long chains of attacks, defenses and so on, and we took them in quite large chunks before putting them together, or using a variaion. Very rewarding, but oh, I felt quite frustrated at my own ineptitude sometimes! Which, I must point out - was a good thing! Because, it reminded me of how one should deal with such setbacks and emotions. Not give in to them, but accept them, and transcend them in a way. Accept, and then grit your teeth and fight. Do, do again, and do it until you can do it correctly. Never sag and give up. Accept your ineptitude, listen to the trainer, try it this way and that, do it slowly and deliberately, until your body begins to understand what you want it to do. So I am very grateful for my ineptitude and frustration! It lead to something good. In the end, we were all quite cheerfully (though, of course, in a focused manner) blocking, attacking, kneeing and tumbling to the floor. It was very interesting, very challenging and I am happy I had the opportunity to train with a different trainer! And of course, the day after I felt a little sore in my muscles, as it should be! That, I expect, will also be the case tomorrow - it seems to take me about two days, or one and a half, to get the after-effects of a hard time's practice. And yesterday, I was the one to lead the iaido practice, and I wasn't a nice trainer yesterday. I started out a little tetchy, but with some good reason - standing around talking to the previous users of the hall in the dressing room is NOT what you should do five minutes into the practice time has begun. So I drove them, and myself, hard. Lots of things that had our legs beg for mercy, and then some more. And I had that as a bit of an underlying theme - use your thighs, and use them well, and use them all the time (I also had a bit of a focus on weight, as I consider 55% on the front leg, and 45% on the back leg, as being the very least of a proper weight distribution you can use in iaido. You want to be pressing forward, prepared to spring and never once let your weight fall onto your back foot). You need to use them to do proper iai, and when we finally went from excruciating (well, more so for them than for me, but I've got a head start) bokuto exercises to ordinary kata practice, I kept nagging them about this. And, I think it worked quite well, everyone did the five first Musou Shinden Ryu kata quite well in the end. But they looked a bit stiff-legged afterwards. It is so very important to use the thighs, and not just shuffle around on the floor. You have to really use those muscles, never once letting your body take the easy way out. In the end, I think the best thing we managed was to straighten a certain issue of balance and weight distribution out, in Inyoshintai. So, I am happy. I have practiced evil-sensei-happy-smile, so I think I'm getting quite good at being one. This weekend saw me travelling, and thus not much in the way of conventional practicing was done, but certainly a good amount of carrying and walking up stairs. No running to trains this time, though, but that is one spontaneous bit of exercise I can really, really do without, for the sake of my mental health. Tonight, it will be Kali again, yay! I hope we're not going to do too much Sikaran, though... my legs do feel what I did to them yesterday. Heheh. ...now that I think about it, my shoulder hasn't been giving me much trouble since yesterday. I must have done something right when focusing for cutting. And though my toe is certainly behind, it often bends and doesn't quite follow instructions, it no longer hurts constantly. I take this all for being a good set of things. What have you been doing these past weeks? Have you ever had periods of practice where you focus on one particular group of muscles?

The importance of motivation

I have been meaning to speak about motivation, and I will do it now. I am not the best to do so - I have always h ad a more than a little stubborn streak, a willpower that could shatter granite or even diamond and an annoying habit of going through with things I have decided upon. However, I am also adept at simply not doing other things. It often comes down to motivation. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it is a noun, and "the reason or reasons one has for acting or behaving in a particular way", including "the general desire or willingness of someone to do something". It can thus be why we do what we do, or how much we want to do something. I have always wanted to be able to run. Why, I do not know. Possibly from seeing mother tear her way through competitions for the sheer fun of it, when young. Or possibly because I couldn't, after around eleven years of age. Or because I had, and loved it, and wanted to again. I have wanted to get rid of pain (knees, shoulder, back...). But I went to doctors and specialists alike, and seldom got a very good reception, until one lady finally began, well, listening. Not just hear what I said, but listen to it, too. However, even before that, I had found a prime motivator for myself: Whatever I did that caused my health to be on top, it helped my iaido, my martial art. That seemed to be the key. I could never do all those boring exercises I was supposed to waste half an hour on every day, and so on. I have always had a lot to do, simply because I can, and I enjoy it. And enjoy sometimes painful, often exhausting and boring, and definitely repetitive, exercises designed sorely to "make the muscles in my legs steady the knees", well... it wasn't a motivator that helped me. It did nothing, no matter the pain. I have to go roundabout ways to get motivation, or get motivated, or to do things. But like I said, my mind is strong, and the device "mind over matter" has nearly always helped me. When it doesn't, that's when I fall into deep pits of despari, but let's talk about that some other time. Now, I started doing iaido in... uh... 200...4? I think? That should be it. It was clear from the start I had to do the sitting kata standing up. No kneepads I could borrow or buy helped that. Until 2005, in autumn, after I had lived in Japan and been ordered to come back and grade for shodan (first dan) in November. I had to get something for my knees. And I went to a specialised company selling stuff to amongst other professionals, militaries, and so on, and there, I found Arc'teryx's kneepads with a thin, hard, plastic part on the outside, and soft cushioning on the inside. They had adjustable straps and, I bought them and thought it worth it, when three weeks later, I had learned to do the kata sitting down, and taken my shodan. I have used them since. Sure, I may look odd compared to everyone else, but they make it work. And once I had those, I could start on more complicated stuff. The koryu kata that are practically all from a sitting position didn't hurt in the bad way, they suddenly... made the pain go away. Unknowingly, I was strengthening all those muscles all the therapists had been trying to telling me to. But I was doing it on my own accord, and for my own reasons: my way in life, that is, iaido. It is not simply something like going to the gym. It is a "do", a way, of living, not just physical exercises. In short, I need something more than a mere "do this and everything will be fine, or at least better". And I needed the honesty, a few years later, of someone saying "you have accepted that you will never get perfectly well, but you are willing to make an effort to become as good as you can, and that is good" (thank you, Anna-Karin at Bosön). I have had many different motivations throughout the years. My mind is my strong point. I have used imagination, down to writing myself a message "to be taken to the elf king beyond the valley, by fastest runner - go!" in order to run (of course, this was back when I ran "normally" and though I certainly did it, I still found it a struggle and stopped), or putting myself in an imaginary Japan, with a whole other name, in a dojo, training as one of the warriors of the clan, in order to be well defended against outsiders. Yes, I use fantasy, and I use my own imagination, and if I find something strong enough, it works. When I was young, I used the motto that if I wanted to be an elf, I had to BE one. Run, jump, train, exert myself! So I went from being unwilling in the PE classes, to being quiet, and very, very hard-working. I hated the others there, but I did everything and I did it well, and it showed. And it felt good, because I knew that I had to be the best, or I wouldn't be an elf. Because an elf is better than a human, right? For running, I used the motto "what if...?" What if this works, running barefoot style? What if it will help me run again? And I used the will from way back when to actually run, the one I had, lamenting, put into a small mental box and mourned and given up. Some use winning as a motivation. Being the best, beating everyone else, can give you an immense satisfaction, and a boost to your self-esteem. Now, I think you should be able to boost your self-esteem all by yourself, and not depend on others for it (and certainly not do it by somehow diminishing others, or hurt them, or cause yourself to feel "higher" than them by making them "lower"), but we are talking motivation here - whatever works for you! (Almost whatever, anyway). Some use getting faster, stronger, harder. Running longer, or the same distance but quicker. This can be a very powerful motivator for some, but I think its importance and strength has been exaggerated. Especially in school, we tend to see this almost everywhere, and fail to realise, there are other ways of motivating people to get better. Some need some goal, such as loosing a specific amount of weight (muscles weigh more than fat, mind you) or being able to, like above, run a set length for a set time, or somesuch. Some need something less tangible - like me, where I need somehow to be able to relate everything back to my iaido. Whatever I do that might even remotely benefit that, is automatically easier to do, or, gets done at all. Or I must have some fantasy in my head to follow, but then, I live a lot inside my head anyway so that might not be good for everyone. And some do not need A to have a result or worth of B. For some, the sheer joy, or the doing itself, is the motivation. A modified quote from one book by Charles de Lint is "It is the doing, not the done" ("Yarrow" by Charles de Lint). Some need others to keep tabs on them, since they "cheat" if they are the only ones involved. Some use treats for motivation - a chocolate praline, a new pair of shoes, going out to dinner, taking a trip, having a bath, buying something they've wanted for some time or whatever the case may be. Others use the opposite - threats - for motivation. "If I don't do this, then that will happen/be my punishment." This works for some, but I prefer positive motivational force. Some people are stuck in trying to motivate themselves in one way. We change over time, no matter how long we live or what we do, and therefore, I would advice to occasionally try out another way of motivating yourself. Try keeping it positive, encouraging and, well, motivational. If it's a chore, it's not motivation. Find what works, think your life through. And do not shy away from unpleasant realisations or hard decisions, questions and suchlike. Motivation is a powerful force, so use it as such. Combine many ways, or use only one. What are your thoughts on motivation? What is your personal way of being/becoming motivated, or for motivating yourself or others? Do you have some example of what has worked, and what has not worked?

Donning the ears for a forest jaunt

There were no posts during the weekend as I was oot and aboot, running around in a forest with pointy ears and pretty clothes. That is, I was at a live (action) roleplaying game in the forest outside... well, wherever. This caused a perhaps unexpected amount of physical exertion. Why, you might ask, you were just out playing like a kid, which proper grownups don't, and pretending to be an elf? To which I'll just answer, well, whatever you say, dear. I had to bring a proper canvas tent, a small pyramid-shaped one which have served me well for many years, and the pole for that. Arrows, a bow, a big military medical duvet, a cloak, clothes in abundance (I did enough freezing when I first started running about in the forest ten years ago to have learned my lesson), things for eating and staying clean, shoes, accessories... etcetera. All in all, it is quite heavy and quite unwieldy. All to be able to keep the appearance up of being a travelling elf. My companion on this jaunt carried the food, since I had the tent, to even it out a little. Now, last Thursday, it seemed like a perfectly sound idea to drive myself hard when doing jabs, crosses and uppercuts. The next day, having to carry around a lot of heavy luggage, it seemed less so. So my arm- and back-muscles are quite happily exercised. Why I mention this, one of my favourite pastimes here, is because I am seldom stationary for long during a larp. Especially not as this character, who is a wood-elf (think Legolas, if you are a beginner in these matters). So me and my friend ran whenever we didn't necessarily have to walk or sneak, and of course we ran barefoot style. It looks light and effortless, and it is far less risky when running on wet, uneven ground with lots of roots sticking out. I am not certain how we managed to never trip or fall, and even though we each slipped once or twice, no one was there to see us. And we didn't just run effortlessly and quickly, but quietly, too. We're still a bit confused as to how we made it, but, that is the magic of larping kicking in sometimes. On paths or off them, didn't matter. And we preferred the forest to taking the road, even if we did at times have to cross it. Sneaking in that forest required its muscular strength, too, since it is by necessity something one has to do quietly and with full bodily control. If you feel a branch about to snap under your foot, you need to know how to balance, on that foot or the other, or help out with a hand, to avoid it. And this forest was not a good forest, it was a so-called "cared-for" forest, that is, one that is with regular intervals invaded by big machinery and the ground ripped up and has a lot of old branches lying around making it look very messy - and hard to walk in. And homogenous regarding the species of trees. But enough about that. So, despite not going for a "proper" run or any such thing, I certainly did a fair share of exercise over those three days. And that is an important thing to remember - even everyday things, or hobby things, can be seen as exercising your body. Not necessarily strengthening it, but keeping it strong, and using what you have already got, and, being a reason for building more so that you can use it. Running in the forest is always a joy, too. Next up is a post on motivation. Have you got any particular thing you do which you consider an informal part of your training regime, such as always walking in stairs instead of taking the elevators?

Regarding the differences in bodies

I am a wee bit busy, so I shall for that necessity keep this shorter than I had thought. Yesterday saw another Kali Sikaran practice, but even before, there was something up with my right knee. The right knee is usually more well-behaved than the left, but not this time. It might have something to do with a wonky move I did during a kata on Monday, where I certainly did not make the right movement with my right leg while turning from a sitting position, and it felt as if I had almost torn a muscle or something in the thigh. I kept going, of course, but that may have affected my knee. Thus, the Sikaran practice, where of course we were kicking, we also were to grab hold of the other's leg and hold it, sometimes drag and sometimes push, and that, as you may imagine, did not do anything good for my knee. In fact, the trainer managed to make me say "Aow, that hurts, that hurts." which is rather rare indeed. Of course, I am careful in general, having no softening stuff underneath the kneecap itself, but this was something more than that. Some of the twisting and turning when kicking also stressed the same parts of the knee, and I resolved to be careful with stretching, and do it several times also today. It does not appear to have helped much, so I suppose I tore something small, or caused a... well, something. This evening I was to be the trainer for iaido, since sensei could not come. To my surprise, neither did anyone else, bar one woman from the beginners' group. This was of course turned into something very beneficial as soon as we figured no one else would come, and the entire practice was spent with the added focus of having a woman's body in what is, gender equality and so on notwithstanding, a sport essentially designed by and for a male body. Biologically, this does make quite a difference at times. The positioning of certain parts of the skeleton are different, such as the hipbones. Our hips are far more mobile, I suppose you could say, giving slightly different conditions in many areas - for example, when running, biologically female bodies expend more energy than biologically male (henceforth, the terms "female" and "male", "man" and "woman" will be used without such prefixes, but rest assured I am aware of the difficulties and nuances and variations of gender and sex, chosen and biological). In iaido, the most noticeable part is the cutting. A proper cut with a katana is stopped partly by correct grip of the tsuka (sword-handle), and more besides, but definitely by your arms sort of naturally hitting a stopping point: your chest. Even with shoulders rolled back, if you hold and cut correctly, your upper arms will naturally come to a halt because there is a chest in the way. For a body where there is not merely a chest with ribs and muscles, but also two bags of fat, that can be everything from nothing annoying to a bloody nuisance and huge in size, there is a problem - your arms will suddenly stop before they ought to. (Quite apart from the fact of the shoulders being built slightly different, and women having a wee bit of a harder time building muscles). So there you are, cutting as beautifully as you can, but... bump. The most natural way is to in some way bend your elbows, but be careful the male sensei and senpai (lit. "teacher" and "person of higher [status]") know WHY you do this*, and do try to find a compromise between having the "correct" posture and way of cutting, and adapting it to your own body's condition and prerequisites. *And don't let them get away with the "hrrrmhhrrrrmh" of not wanting to speak of it. We are at practice, training in one way or another a martial art. Stop being flustered about body parts. It's just a variation on a general theme - sacks of fat, or no sacks of fat. If you have them, you do have to do things a wee bit differently. Get over it. But be careful you do not suddenly start doing strange things. Keep your shoulders back, have a look at what you're doing with your elbow - it might possibly have to be a wee bit more bent, and try to twist it so it doesn't show the inside upwards, but rather towards your body. Now, I am using iaido as the example here. But the discussion is still valid: every body is different, the differences between bodies of different sexes are generally the largest. When running or walking, a female body will swing the hips a bit more than a male, their way of using the feet is a bit different, when doing crunches or pushups or what the bother ever - it will be different. Variations on a theme (the theme being human body with bones, muscles, ligaments etcetera), but still variations. Your body is different from everybody else's. This means one body may have visible, swelling muscles with no effort, and you forever wishing your softness would disappear (mine won't, it just doesn't run in the female side of the family to go without a most charming little roundness on the stomach and well-shaped arms that look soft and feminine no matter how strong we are, but the legs, and the butt, oh, THEY show at once if we have been running or walking or somesuch). Or your body may refuse to be more dextrous than it already is, no matter how good at yoga you have become, whereas your neighbour can bend around like a gymnast. Or you need to work bloody hard at the dexterity part, whereas your stamina has been good since you were little. Always try to follow the advice of your trainer, but do read up on it too. Don't go wikipedia or youtube on it. Don't argue too much (especially not during your training session! damnit, there's little enough time as it is), but do ask questions and pose suggestions in a creative way, rather than a criticising. If you train something that has very set rules and ways, well, deal with it, and keep in mind who it was made for, and in what circumstances and how your body may differ from the conditions of that. If, however, your trainer says "...but we have different strengths and weaknesses, and our bodies are different" then rejoice, because then you know what no matter how long you train, you will always meet other people who do the same thing as you, but perhaps in a slightly different way, to better suit their own bodies, and sometimes you will gain good insight from this as to your own way of doing things. Always be ready to listen, and try, but be also always a little bit careful. ...did I say this was going to be short? I seem to have failed. Especially relevant for this blog, I would say is the matter of running. Surprisingly many people have now confessed to me they run barefoot style in various situations, and one even during their normal jogging , but I got the feeling that the people selling them shoes didn't quite accept that way of running... It can work. It certainly does for me. Suddenly, changing style and way of using my body, I found one that suited me. Have you experienced such a change in your preferred way(s) of physical exercise? How do you deal with the limit, constraints, strengths and opportunities your body has? Give an example, if you like!

On stretching your legs

I believe I said I would write a post on stretching, and thus I will do! This might become a wall of text... be warned. Now, I have heard so many contradictory things on stretching, that it is quite ridiculous. I will once again revert to my favourite saying of "to each their own", but to me, that is a "yes please". Some feel nothing, some (like me) can immediately tell the difference the day after between having stretched properly, and not having done so. I am not a scientist, I am not a researcher in this matter, but these will be my personal reflections and recommendations. Regarding the main point of this blog, which is to keep me running and exercising because I know people know if I do or not, this brings with it several things. Stretching is one of them. I tend to say I am about as dextrous and limber as a refridgerator, which I am not alone in saying about myself. Remember the three important things I spoke about earlier? Strength, stamina and dexterity. The last is the trickiest, and the one most often overlooked, and the most important. Being limber helps prevent oh so many injuries, and that, at least, is something I have never heard disagreement of. Even weight lifters and boxers need to be limber and dextrous, whatever one may think. Stretching is something that needn't be done after training. It can be done before, during, or without relation to at all. The different kinds of yoga have different ideas about this, too - some say it should be done in a hot environment to keep the body soft and limber, others say it ought to be done with no warmup, so as to get better effect. But stretching after training have, with the majority of people I know, a beneficial effect, in that not only does it limber you up, it also helps the muscles so that they do not go all contracted from earlier exertion. I will here mainly focus on stretching the legs - that is the most important part for me, and there are really so many ways of stretching it is quite astounding. I recently saw a book which I liked, but could not afford at that moment, regarding "new ways" of stretching. They took a bit of a look at some exercises and told of how to change them, so as not to, with the new knowledge we have of the human body, risk injury or strain it involuntarily. There are many books on the matter, but the best also contain some anatomical guidance, so that you can see things from a more holistic point of view, and with a better understanding of how every little thing affects another. "Prescriptive Stretching" by Kristian Berg is one that might be good, as I am always a fan of going past the "everyday things" into the realm of recovery, medical aid and so on. After all, why should I do "everyday things" instead of things that are designed to be extra gentle and extra good and extra helpful in rebuilding a body, or keeping it in good condition? "The anatomy of stretching" by Brad Walker might also be of use, although I have not read it myself. The more technical and less popular-science-y a book, the more I am inclined to look at it... Your mileage may vary, however. An important part to stretching is this: we want to stretch our muscles, usually, first and foremost, and the tendons carefully and second. We do not want to bend our bones out of the way, nor make odd little bits of the body pop out of their sockets or strain to keep up. The standard starter point is a good posture. Oh, have you heard this until your ears fell off! But it is still valid. Stand straight, your knees ever so slightly bent, and clench your stomach muscles, straightening up. Then you can let go of that, but the important part is: do not rest on your back. Do not get a duck-butt. It is not good for your spine. Push your jaw in a bit. In fact, try to stretch out your spine, holding two fingers above your breast area and sliding them upwards, trying to follow with your entire body. Roll your shoulders back. Hold your head proud but not nose in the air! Roll a bit on your feet, perhaps, back and forth, but keep your weight perhaps 55%/45% onto the front part of the foot. And so on, and so forth. No one can learn this but you yourselves. When stretching, do not allow yourself to get all duck-butt-ed. Your spine was not made to hold you up on its own, that's the job of the muscles around it to help out with. Basic thing: Take it slow. Breathe. I try to count to between twelve and twenty breaths for every exercise, sometimes aloud, as you need air in order to speak, and you need to breathe in order to better relax your muscles! Stretching the front of the thighs is perhaps one of the most common sights to see. You can stand up, for which I recommend having something to hold on to - you want to relax while stretching, not have to constantly tighten the muscles in order to keep your balance. Or you can lie down, your bent knee on a thin pillow, and hold it up to your rump. That is a very effective way for me, by the way. You can also stand on the ground with one knee at about ninety degrees, leg forward, and hold the other (and do keep something soft underneath that knee!) up to your butt. Ideally, you should be able to stand and do this against a wall, but start out allowing yourself to bend forwards, if necessary. Straighten that back, friends, and your hips as well! This is not the time to allow them to sag, although for some, pushing them forward may help. To stretch a slightly different part of the thigh (and actually a part of some muscles in the lower back, or so I heard), one can stand on the floor, again one leg forward and knee at about ninety degrees, and the other backwards, letting it lie down (and that includes the foot and toes) and sort of allowing the hip to fall forwards. If you need extra leverage on this, twist your torso gently over to the side of the upstanding leg, and even raise the hand that is on the same side as the "resting" leg, to create quite a nice shape with your body, and help stretch it even better. From there one can easily go on to the hamstrings. Just put the toes of your back foot up instead, hold your hands behind your back (straight! no duck-butt or slouching!), keep the front foot on its heel and the knee slightly bent (oh yes, bent, I said), and lean forwards slwoly, relaxing the muscles all the while. And then, one can pull the front leg back, sitting with one leg and foot underneath one's butt (much like a one-sided Japanese seiza posture), and bend the front leg, almost hugging it, keeping the foot by the thigh of the leg one is sitting on, and trying to get the heel to touch the ground. This may take a bit of mucking about, and it might not work for everybody, and believe me, it is a dashed tricky one to describe, but you look a bit as if you're crouching down, hugging or leaning on your knee, and the lower thigh muscle is what is supposed to be stretched. While we're at that, stand up and put your front foot up against a wall. As steeply bent as you can! Straight back again, relax, breathe, and lean forwards. I find that I need to do this either by a low wall which I can bend over, or by a corner to bend around... It's not very effective for me. Then, you can use to your advantage a variant of what I know as the iai-goshi position. That is, one leg forward, the other backwards, try to keep the back heel to the ground and lean forwards, bending the forward knee. Easy, but takes a bit of knowledge of your own body to do effectively and not simply put strain on various important bits. The hips are part of the key here - and the back. And the stomach. Having core and stomach muscles help a lot in performing it better. There's the ever-popular standing up, straight legs and trying to reach the ground. I am now proud to say I have only about a finger's length left until I can do that again (I could when I was a child, before I broke my leg at least), when I started trying again about ten years ago, I could reach only down to just below my knees. Refridgerator, didn't I tell you? This is a good one. Sit on the floor, reading, with something against your back. Feel the back of your knees stretch, yummy! Or, when standing up, cross your legs, and reach down. Then switch foot. Good variation on the classic theme. Or, sitting down again, bend one leg to have the foot as far in towards your crotch and other thigh as possible, aaand bend. To the toes of the outstretched leg. Some people are able to do this sitting with their legs in a V, switching foot and holding them with both hands, putting their forehead against their own knee. I am not. But I am working on it, doggedly. Some people hoist one leg up over the other, hugging the knee to the chest and turning to the side of the bent leg. Some bend the then straight leg in under them. Do the Youtube on this, to get a proper idea of how it should look... Text works only so far, and I am not going to go the Photoshop way. I have a personal favourite which seems to require bare feet (no problem for me as I always seem to prefer bare feet). Stand on all fours, pushing your butt as high as you can. But still, no duck-butting! Your back should be straight, and your body ought ideally to make an upturned V. Push your shoulders away from your ears (try it, and you'll understand) and experiment a little with the position of your hands and feet. Sometimes keeping them closer together is better, sometimes pushing them further and longer apart. This is supposed to stretch the back of your legs, and some people prefer taking one leg at a time. The important part is to try, to keep your back as straight as you can, and to keep your shoulders back. This may feel like an exercise for strength, and in a way it is, but mostly, it is to stretch your legs. Don't keep that position for too long, though. No need to overdo it. Some people use four or six breaths, I tend to go at least to ten or twelve. Do the superhero thing, too - stand with legs wide apart, and lean towards one side. Some stop when their knee is a bit bent, others go down to stand on the front foot with knee bent, yet others go all the way to sit on leg and flat foot. The common denominator is to stretch the inside of the other leg. Some point that leg's toes straight up, I tend to keep them forward. It should not hurt except in a "good" way. A little pain, all right. Much pain, not good. Relax, take a quick pause, do again, and find out what works and what doesn't. Strive, but don't be stupid. You can then lie down on your back, put your one foot over your other thigh right by the knee or wherever it feels comfortable, and hold your hands around said thigh near the knee (usually), pressing it towards you. Straightening that leg is also a good idea, it usually feels as if I get more out of the bent and being-stretched leg then. There are many, many more ways, and Google is excellent help on the matter, but oh, do look at what you find with a critical eye! Stretching is for muscles, not for joints. They ought to be strengthened and helped along by said muscles, not torn apart or put to stress. I focus here on leg stretching, as without it, my knees would still be giving me much too much trouble. The muscles around my knees are what helps me go through some days almost without any pain at all, and I have in the past cried in happiness and joy and thankfulness and relief, that my iaido, which is so strenuous for the legs, have built up so much strength of the right kind, that recovery-type and medical exercises never did. I can walk, and now - I can run. The sense of joy and freedom and completeness is indescribable. But when the pain comes a-knocking, stretching can give quick relief, and it can help after training, and it certainly helps in an overall manner. Easy exercises help too, but oftentimes, stretching is more accessible, for example when one is oot and aboot on town. And remember, no duck-butt. Use the muscles in your back and your stomach. Do you have a favourite stretching exercise for the legs? Would you explain any of the above in a different and better way?

Having a treat

As you have seen, this week meant four evenings of quite intensive training, and I felt it would be good to let the body rest and rebuild the muscles on Friday. I did feel some tiredness in many muscles, but on Saturday I could not keep myself from strapping on my sandals and have a run. I haven't had one for so long! It was a rather glorious weather, a bit cool but sunny, and the autumn colours make running a joy. I started out going on the asphalt down to the bus stop and up the long and sloping uphill part of the road - one of those uphill stretches which are the perfect mix of long and ascending, meaning that almost anyone feels a little less energetic when arriving at the summit. I have a bit of a problem with pacing, I know that, because I enjoy the feeling of running so much I set out too quickly in the beginning, and only slow down if something big comes along, like said upwards struggle. I then jumped into the bushes and up and down in the rocky quarry, and felt again that even though my muscles certainly cooperate, my breathing and stamina isn't up to par yet. No surprise, perhaps, but annoying all the same. There had been a little change in the forest, a tree had fallen up on the bare rock, but otherwise it was as pleasant a part of the run as always. Coming down onto the gravel road near the farm again, I felt I had more to give, and kept running past the small pathway that would take me back to the apartment. I found a random path, and decided to explore it. It wound alongside fields and took me past places I didn't know was there, sandwiched as the area is between the tiny town(ish) and the motorway, but it felt like being out in the countryside. Parts of the path were rather muddy, but easily traversed, and I had a fun time dodging thistles and head-high grass. Eventually I wound up on the back side of a school, and decided to wing it, taking a path that led off into a small cluster of trees. And voila, I had found the gravel road, quite close to the runic stone, again! Out in a field someone was flying a tiny model airplane, I met two riders on horses and then, for the last stretch before turning up through the forest, I gave the road what I had, running like the wind and grinning like a maniac at the joy of it. That did take quite a lot out of me, and I am happy to say that I felt almost exhausted, but I still jogged on until I got home and by then I had recovered and would have been able to try it again. To finish, I did some stretching exercises and took a cold shower, which today rewards me with far less muscle soreness than I otherwise would have had. All in all the run took a little over half an hour, and I am astounded at how quickly I traverse random stretches of countryside. I'm going to have to find that supposed pathway underneath the motorway and start running longer, if this keeps up! (Yay!) I did also do some easier exercises with the red rubber band, for my shoulder, but I refrained from doing anything else. It felt more like treating myself to something nice, like chocolate, than forcing myself to go out and exercise. In fact, it most often does. And that is what is so marvellous to me. I liked running for its own sake, I just found it dead boring to do so on roads or in school, and I couldn't do it very well because if I did, I would invariably have to use crutches or other walking aid the day after. If I could walk at all. It felt so heavy, instead of light and easy. It was a chore, no matter how much I knew that good stamina is important. And then, I read "Born to run" and especially chapter 28 (I think, could be 26 - I've mentioned it earlier though!) and put one and one together with how I do iaido, and, tadaa. Suddenly I find the joy of running. No pain, no chore, just pure joy. Grinning like an idiot, like I said before, is standard facial expression from when I get out the door to when I get in the shower. I also had my first comment a few days ago, hurrah! From a fellow "barefoot runner", which, I think, shall be the name I use for it in the future. "Barefoot running", even though we use shoes. Now, this has been a fairly standard post about my own training, but tomorrow a post shall go up which deals with stretching, the ever so important part of training. I know it is said that there is no scientific evidence that it does either good or bad, but for the majority of people I have met, and certainly for myself, stretching helps build flexibility and dexterity, helps alleviate muscle soreness and that is a fact. I feel at once the difference when I wake up the morning after a heavy training session and have not done any stretching, as opposed to when I have. And after that, I shall touch upon a subject which my first commenter has pointed out - how they, when young, probably ran "barefoot style" but was told (like I remember being told!) to put heels down first and roll the feet forward. I also have a friend who runs (and even at times walk) on their forefeet, "barefoot style", and explained many years ago that it feels a lot better. And they have never had a day of trouble with their feet, no matter how worn their shoes have been, or how much they have been out and about, running in that supposedly "wrong" way. I was going to write about motivation, but that too shall have to be for a future post! And that I look forward to, because it is such a diverse subject, and rather dear to me. Is there something special you readers would like me to write about? And, do you like the unchanging nature of wherever and whatever you practice, or do you prefer changeability and seeing how things evolve/devolve over time?

A bit on training others and oneself

One more late night writing, for your pleasure! My toe have gone through all manner of shapes and colours these past two days, including a neat blue-black-red streak that seemed to spread down to the space between that toe and the one next to it. I should have taken some sort of time-lapse sequence, with one hour between photos, I suppose. Iai was very little trouble despite this small injury, and we had a visitor who normally lives in New Zeeland, here to visit his parents. It is always fun to meet other iaidoka and discuss their takes in iai, see what and how and why they do things, and so on. This turned out to be no different. And of course, it is a small world, isn't it? This yondan (fourth dan) iaidoka from New Zeeland, whose parents live in Sweden, have met my beloved Ohara-sensei from Japan, and others that I know too besides. He has also practiced at a club where a guy who trains in the same Kali Sikaran group as I, used to practice. "Coincidence", people call it. There is no such thing. There is just a creeping suspicion that something is up. But back to important things! I have become quite adept at mixing together random things into edible and tasty stuff, often with a bit of squash/zucchini as key ingredient. This is good, as cooking is seldom something I do for enjoyment, but I sorely need to keep my every-three-to-four-hour eating habit up. I was the one that held the training for the beginners yesterday (Wednesday), which meant I did exert myself as much as I would otherwise have. But there were of course a proper warmup followed by core strengthening exercises, and so on. I tend to drive iaido beginners quite hard, if not unfairly. I expect them to make an effort, and if they do, it shows right away. You can tell the difference between pure lazyness/indifference and inability/struggling. Some people think this is not so, but I know when someone tries their best but their body or mind does not quite and entirely follow their orders, and, conversely, when people are probably just not interested enough to bother. And I am not nice, I suppose, in that I know the power of mind, and have very little patience with whinging people who constantly convince themselves they have every excuse not to do this or not to be able to do that. Especially when it comes to iai. By no means am I unfair to beginners, but I have sharp eyes. I do very much like to spread encouragment around me, though, and I make certain to tell people when and what they are doing right, which is perhaps less Japanese in mindset than what I described above. But, some beginners need to hear it, and it never hurts to tell someone that what they just did was good. You learn after a while. I am no expert, but I can figure things out. Regardless, I did feel today that I had exerted my leg muscles quite a lot this week. So I was a little relieved today, when during Kali Sikaran training, we not only did Sikaran (kicking) but also quite a bit of Panantukan (boxing, more or less) with and without mitts and gloves. I also wore a pair of new shoes, some kind of Asic wrestling shoe, I think, which after a very short moment's reflection I bought without even mentioning the price. I wanted good shoes, I need good shoes, and they are just what I want: split-sole, about as thin as I can get them and still have them stop my toes from getting bent again. And wide enough, I do not like shoes which squeeze my toes together. It was highly refreshing, but I was not as sharp and focused as I generally am. I think it may be because I took a whole anti-anxiety pill yestereve to be able to sleep, and this probably still had effect today and tonight. I know I was a bit drowsy today, even after I slept almost two hours longer than intended. There was also a bit of strengthening exercises, with some interesting boxing on people's stomachs to make them stiffen their muscles (and get used to getting beaten, even if we did it with gloves and rather softly), and while good, my shoulder doesn't quite permit me to do pushups the way I ought to. It is a delicate balance, for me, to be able to sleep I need help (or the brain simply goes into higher gear and I lie there and the Autobahn that is my thought processes - several lanes at the same time - go on and on and I never fall asleep), but I must be careful with what I use. Herbs are good, but tend to be less effective in chasing away unwanted dreams. Yet sleep I must or I cannot practice! Sleep, eat, hydration and training, I need them all to feel good. I had a period where I slept much too little and practiced, well, what was back then a bit too much. I did not have time or money to eat enough, and I couldn't figure out why I was always bone-weary and had nosebleeds all the time... Take my advice: Sleep enough. Eat enough (do it, damn you, muscles weigh more than fat anyway, if THAT's why you're exercising). Drink enough water (soft-drinks and the like do not, ever, count). And have fun while you're doing whatever it is you are doing. And now I shall drag my tired legs to bed, hope that the endorphines wear off and that my soothing tea will help me sleep. Tomorrow I may actually take a day off from training, or then again, I may simply do some core exercises just to keep it up. Over to you, reader - what have you done this week, and what was your favourite training-related thing that happened?

Colourful toe

I now sport a toe which is turning into all kinds of different colours. It is the next to smallest on the left foot, and, interesting to me, it is the one that most often fails me when I do iaido and need it to slide across the floor without bending. What happened was that during Kali Sikaran practice, practicing Sikaran (kicking) specifically, I did a bit of a clumsy movement with my left foot when kicking with the right leg, and the toe felt a bit as if it cracked. It's probably not broken, though, even if it hurt. But then, a lot of things hurt. I thoroughly enjoyed today's practice, it felt good to use my whole body, and my shoulder feels a bit better than it did yesterday. I think it is very beneficial that I vary my iaido practice with something else, in many aspects. The warmup consisted of easy and relaxed kicking, and built gradually from that. We used mitts for some technique practice, and gradually even I started to get some sort of semblance of good kicks, for a beginner. I kept training after my toe went wonky, of course, I just found some tape and taped it together with its neighbour, though I had to refrain from standing on my left leg, and had to use it exclusively, for kicking. When practice was over, I was sweaty and happy, and was given two fighty stikks, that is, rattan sticks (or bamboo), that are used in other aspects of Kali Sikaran. I shall sew a bag for them. I ate a sandwich with cheese, smoked ham and mushroom, and drank a lot of water. This is necessary for me, I cannot simply have a banana or two. I also showered in cold water, and, speaking of which, I have not felt any muscle pains from yesterday's iaido, possibly in part thanks to doing the same yesterday. During the day, I ate my customary youghurt bowl, a well-mixed bowl of bulgur, sweet corn, haricots verts and meatballs and another small youghurt, plus some extra stuff. I know that my practice of iaido has left me with a good set of muscles, and it seems it is easier than I feared to get them back after an extended period of rest. Also, it helps me in general during Kali. My most frequent sparring partner this time was a shorter but probably a wee bit older woman, who went from absolute nothing to, well, Kali, and passed "quit smoking" on the way. She, and many others, visibly struggled somewhat as the exercises became more and more demanding, and while I certainly felt it, I did not falter as much. This makes me very happy, and spurs me on to try even harder! Well, that must be all for today - look at the timestamp for when I post this... I intend to attempt the thing called "sleep" now.

A more detailed look at an iai practice

Tonight's iaido practice was a rather intensive one, and for me it was a bit like going back to another club in the way it wasdone. Warmup started with a bit too quick a run for my tastes - it is supposed to be a warmup, and one starts slow, and then builds on that. But I did not lead it, so I had to follow. It was a rather good, all-round practice, with a lot of cutting excercises. About 200 cuts were made, with our iaito, only in excercises, and not counting warmups or kata. After running and abit of limbering up, we made the regular owing and mokuso (a sort of meditation for focusing) and so on, and then we did warmup cutting. Here, again, the pace was too quick in the beginning, but I must also point out that my sword is rather heavy, and I cannot cut as quickly as I ought to, at least if one looks to the combination of heavy sword and my injured shoulder. Cutting can be done in many ways. From standing positions, to turning and cutting. It is good to make certain one varies it as much as possible. The kata for this practice was, to begin with, one from the Zen Nippon Kendo Renmei (ZNKR) Seitei set of kata, number six, or ropponme: Morote-tsuki. After several repetitions (which was very good, as it allowed me to focus on it and go deeper into what I was doing and how and what I could do to make it better), we moved on to koryu, Musou Shinden Ryu Shoden kata, the first four, which are all from a sitting (seiza) position. I have been doing them for quite some time now, another there for as long if not longer, and the others for varying degrees of shorter time, between a few years to merely a few weeks. Why can iaidoka always practice with eachother? (More or less). Well, because regardless of how far you have come, the basics are always worth coming back to, again and again. And because there is no such thing as "leaving old kata behind". Now, there are many things to take into account when doing those seemingly simple kata. They are the four first, why would they be so complicated? Doesn't that sort of thing usually wait? No, not really. They contain several very important details. How you draw your sword is a basic skill, to do the essence of iai, and then protecting yourself when you lift your sword from nukitsuke to kiritsuke position... and so on. And the timing, especially - you cannot simply wave your sword around, you have to think about when, exactly, you do so. And the more you learn, the more you think, before something just fades away and becomes second nature (after which of course something new takes up the thoughts), and the more you use your muscles. Koryu requires more energy than Seitei kata, and I usually come away sweating quite profusely (which is uncommon for me!). The practice finished up with some cutting exercises again, standing still and moving, and then the usual wrapups. I took care to shower in cold water, as it really does make a difference (thank you Matthew of Genbukan Edinburgh for that insight!), and do some stretching. And eat a reasonably dark sandwich loaded with thin slices of ham, cheese and mushrooms. And then a half flapjack I had left since Saturday. And that, my readers, is why I am all cheery and babbling away. Before practice, I was half sick with terror and wanted to run home and hide again, but as soon as I get moving, it all falls into place!

One more week

As I said before, I get home late, and then have no energy to write anything. But, I have not been lax and lazy! Monday it was again time for iaido practice, though I was senior and the others did not think there was to be any practice - as I am a woman, I change in a different room, and miss out on all the pre- and post-iaido social stuff, and they missed me going into the hall. Well, I did a good warmup with some extra core exercises, and then had a good hour and a half practice. I tried to do many of the basic things, and also did mostly koryu kata, which are more strenuous, which is good. I had a plan to go to Wudang Tai Chi Chuan on Tuesday, but my head wouldn't hear of it, and it ended up being a day for stillness, except for a walk. Wednesday however, I got to iaido practice, and there was nothing special to tell you about that. I had forgotten to bring proper food to eat afterwards, which is never advisable! Always have something to eat after your training session. Your muscles rebuild themselves faster then. On Thursday I went to Kali Sikaran practice after a very quiet day, and it was very good to burn some energy! Kali Sikaran includes much sparring of varying kinds, and I went away sweaty and cheery, and decided to commit. It is pricy, but I believe it may be worth it. The all-round exercise seems to help me even out some of the one-sidedness I have acquired to certain movements and muscles and reflexes, from the iaido, which is by necessity rather "one-sided" when it comes to the sword. You always keep it to the left, for example, when it is in its sheath. So, like every sensei I have met have recommended me to do, I have now got a secondary budo art (well, not budo, strictly speaking, but a martial art, at least). Friday, I had slept lousy, and was very tired, and thus took only a walk and did some core exercises. I noticed when I was going to sleep, that this affected my ability to fall asleep. I sleep marginally better if I have done something physically exerting during the day. Saturday had me dressed to the teeth and going to an event, which made my legs ache - walking, walking, walking; it takes more out of you than you think! Today I also took a few good long walks, and tomorrow I am hoping to go grocery shopping, since I am almost out of things to make good food with. I had to revert to chicken-meat sausages and pasta with some sauce and cheese the other day! Which is nice, once in a while, but I do prefer something more... vegetably to go with it, if that is the case. I would go running today, but I suspect I ought to listen to my knees and not do so. I do have twenty minutes to spare for some easy exercises for my torso and legs and arms however! Tomorrow, I look forward to iaido practice, but not to getting home at around eleven in the night. Remember to always do something, no matter how small! Fifteen minutes a day is the minimum you should do, and after all... fifteen minutes is hardly anything. It really is a very short time, so anyone can fit it into their schedules.

Spontaneous running

Dexterity. That was the word I was looking for! Not flexibility. I shall go back and fix the older posts. Thursday saw me try Kali Sikaran practice, and I found it to me immensely fun and rewarding. It was far less "macho" than I had worried about, and one practices with eachother, rather than against - much like Shorinji Kempo, then, which I remember that I really liked. The training session started right away with warming up, but in this case, that meant taking turns to do loose kicks, at first, and then other things were introduced and gradually we got to more strenuous stuff. Using a bamboo stick was also interesting. I took to it all rather like a fish to water, and I am sorely tempted to commit at once. However, I said I would try Wudan Tai Chi Chuan twice, so I will. I merely had a walk on Friday, and one on Saturday, but today I decided to go on a run. I was itching to do so, after not having been able to for quite a while. Well, able, with regards to time or to my head and its antics. It was probably a good thing I had the chance now, as my left knee was starting to act up, and I suspect it was because I had not exercised enough. I started off with the slow uphill stretch and then turned around, and it was glorious. It was a bit of an exploratory run, as I came upon an unexpected rune stone, which I simply shall have to find out everything about (telling me that the road past it is far older than any building nearby, and hinting on interesting relations in the landscape... but I digress), and found that the gravel road is quite long, and quite empty at that time of night. I foudn that if I didn't check myself, I automatically speeded up, and by the end of that road, I let myself fly. It was, again, glorious. There are quite a few paths in the fields, which are possible to take although at times somewhat muddy. This is a blessing (the paths, not the mud) since neither I nor my legs particularily like running on asphalt. It took about 25 minutes, and I finished off with ten leg-lifts (strengthening the stomach muscles), some random stomach-strengthening excercises, twenty back-lifts and a bunch of stuff for my shoulder. It was a good idea to take the chance, while I was going out anyway to see a friend off at the bus, to prepare and get my running gear on, and when the bus had gone, just set off. I was outdoors anyway, and that, I find, is something people at times find the hardest: just getting out the door. Once out, once in your shoes and on the road, it's not hard, but you have to take the step to get there. Self-discipline is sadly lacking in many people, but there are ways around the most obvious obstacles. Try to find what works for you, and surprise yourself with something new now and then! Sometimes, it's still hard to believe that I can run. And just like that! And how I fly across the landscape, as if borne by the wind. It is quite remarkable, really. I had lost hope and put it behind me, but as so often, what was needed was merely a different view, another path, a slightly different way of doing things. That is worth keeping in mind.

A couple of days in the same post

There's been silence here for quite a few days, not because I have not done anything, but because what I have been doing has caused me to come back home very late. (As you can see on the timestamp of this post!) Monday was a good day, as it contained iaido. I turned down the "offer" (I was the highest ranking, so by rights I should have) of leading the practice session, because I really did not feel comfortable about standing in front of people and doing so. In the end, we decided on having free practice after the warmup. It turned out very well, and it was refreshing to just occasionally be asked questions, and not otherwise be disturbed. The front of my thighs felt tired afterwards, which was a great feeling. The warmup consisted of some running in which I partook with joy, and some other assorted things - core, crunches, pushups etcetera. And cutting. I focused on koryu, that is, old style iaido, and did every Musou Shinden Ryu Shoden kata twice (at least) and the Chuden kata that I know, too. I showered in cold water, but forgot to stretch the front of my thighs, hence the above tiredness! Tuesday saw me try out Wudang Tai Chi Chuan (martial art, rather than the meditative slow style), which was both as I expected, and not. I do like the softness of it, the deceptive ease with which longtime practicioners move, but the practice itself was a bit too lax for my liking. However, I shall try it again next Tuesday, since one should not judge it from once only. And today, again, iaido. I was itching for it, since yesterday's practice wasn't very physically challenging. The next to highest ranking iaidoka in our club was there (as usual on Wednesdays) and it is always inspiring to have him near. He is not necessarily nice, but he is just, and his kiritsuke (cuts) are the best I have the honour of seeing on a regular basis. Or, in my opinion, they are, but I am merely sandan (third dan). It is perhaps his strongest point, and my weakest, so I appreciate every time I am able to watch it. For, watching, and seeing, and analysing how others do their physical exercise, is also training of a sort! Regarding my own session, it was much the same as Monday's (...I am sleepy enough that I can't decide whether weekdays are spelled with large or small first letters; such is the price for living an hour and a half away from practice), except that I had the opportunity to show the kata we call "Evil-nami" by Stille-sensei. It looks deceptively simple, but it is truly evil. Watch the thumb, as they say, and with good reason - you will one day have a very sharp sword in your hand. After kata practice, we were told to use some interesting ways of traversing the floor, all of them core-strengthening exercises. Before, we ran around the room, which I must admit, I rather like these days. This new way of running is really my way. I can't wait until Friday when I'll go out and have a run in the nature! Or, perhaps not, if the Kali Sikaran practice turns out to be exhausting. But then, I'll do it on Saturday. In iaido, there is a lot more going on than your eye may catch. We have great exlposive and static strength, but it is also very beneficial for your focus. And as always, in "sports" that require concentration, if you have good stamina, it helps you immensely. So being a runner is good. As in all things, a well-rounded schedule of exercises is the best. Don't just focus on one thing, but remember that everything is a part of a whole! If you are mainly a runner, you still ought to do some core exercises, something for your back, and of course various things for strengthening not only the legs, but the buttocks and lower abdomen. If you prefer to lift heavy weights, you should still make sure to move a lot, running or walking, whichever you prefer. And stretching! One must not forget the most important part of the triad of strength, stamina and flexibility, which is the last.

A shorter post

Friday, it befell that the weather was unclement. This was just as well, as I needed to do some studying, but before I knew it the day had gone and I fell asleep. This made me all the more happy to have a bit of a walk on Saturday, though today again was mostly spent still. I travelled, though, which always has me weary if it is the early morning ferry.
I had some muscle pains, especially in my back, of the good kind, after the kayaking. I forgot to shower in cold water, of course...

But one must persevere. And I do like running, and I do dislike heavy boots on my feet if I have an alternative, so I strapped on my sandals and took a bag and jogged down to the nearest grocery store. It's not far, only about five minutes, but it lifted my spirits somewhat, and when I was going home I took a nice detour out on a gravel road winding across some fields. I felt much better for it. Unfortunately, we now turn to a rather darker part of the year, but this was enough to give me back a bit of energy.

Never turn down an opportunity for exercise! Is there an ordinary stair beside the escalator? Use it instead! And if there isn't, then walk up the escalator. When carrying grocery bags, one can use them for simple strengthening exercises, lifting and sinking them again - while walking. Or, jogging both here and there, for fun and profit. Walking an extra stop instead of riding the bus or train all the way: that is, if it isn't ridiculously far.
There are so many opportunities, and they all add together to form quite a nice habit.

After a pause comes exercise

And it did! Saturday was my "day off" again; Sunday I merely took a walk and did some household work (which to be honest can be quite good as a workout too, depending on what you do and how you do it), Monday I took a brisk and long walk and combined it with grocery shopping. After that, I Carried Heavy Things. I don't mean to, but I seldom manage to pack only what I need. I always add something extra, just in case. Often, I do need it, but not always, and it invariably leads to my bag being, well, heavy.
Tuesday was the time for another long walk, some part of it uphill. But Wednesday, oh, Wednesday brought good things! I had the chance to go for a run with mother, and we ran first for about fifteen minutes, took a very brief stop, and then for five or ten more before I had to concede that maybe I should be careful with my left knee after all. I walked for a while, until mother had turned around and began jogging back, after which we ran for I have no idea how long. All in all we ran for more than thirty minutes, and though my lungs are not on par with my muscles, it still felt very refreshing and good. And I can be fast, too, when I sprint! After this I did just a few crunches, back exercises and some core, nothing much really.

We topped that off with a swim (yes, a swim - an old limestone quarry where once, in a busy summer's day, you might see one or two other families there, and you probably knew them, but now... there's space for three hundred cars (supposedly...), toilets, recycling stations... well, while it's good these facilities do exist, I would gladly smack the blogger over the head who made this place public. Well, that person, and the one who mentioned it in a radio programme, and in a magazine, and there probably was some idiot on tv, too... But, on the twelfth of September, there was only us. A bit chilly, but lovely and refreshing.

Today, Thursday, saw a bit of an interesting event. Mother and I decided to go kayaking. We decided on a good route that would take about two hours altogether, maybe a little more, and then set out. We went out on the east coast of Gotland, and had wind blowing from land, out to sea. It was, at times, fairly hard and steady. This made for some interesting waves and, in places, some very interesting currents. Nothing too tricky or especially scary, though, but still, it was rather harder going than expected, and even I was glad for the tailwind when we paddled back after a sandwich on land. It turned out the outgoing journey took a bit more time than expected, a delightful detour some short distance up a small brook took some time too, and when we returned, it was clear I was not going to be able to go to the shooting range, where I had been offered to have a go at a rifle and moving targets. But, it was a great day nevertheless and I feel most pleasantly tired. I hope this means I shall sleep better tonight than I have lately!
I prefer long lazy swells to the smaller cocky waves we had most of the time today. It just feels so nice to speed across them. The smaller waves make balancing harder, which of course gives you more work for your muscles, but still.

Kayaking is a very nice thing to do, but one is a fool if one believes it is all about arm strengt. Yes, arm strength does play a part, but if you use only your arms, you will tire in no time at all! You should endeavour to use your shoulders (always roll them back, don't hunch!) and even your torso! Tighten your stomach, straighten your back and don't forget to use your legs for balance - but don't stiffen up too much, or you'll lose your balance that much easier. Having some kind of strength in your fingers is recommended, too, and if you didn't think one has muscles in the hand, then I strongly advice you on taking a wee look on a schematic over the muscles in the human body. Which, by the way, should give anyone an excellent view of how everything is connected, and everything affects something else!


This little post should also point out that doing something else now and then is nothing bad. Deviate from your usual training regime. Take a day with looong walks, or let moving house count as strengthening training. I didn't just let go, I picked it up again despite taking it easy for a few days. And I took the chance of doing something completely different (kayaking) from what I can normally do, which puts everything in perspective - I practice other things, therefore I have muscles that allow me to do this other thing as well! Try something new now and then, either for finding a whole new thing, or just for a detour into unknown lands. It gives new energy to continue with what you're already doing, or, it may spur you on to keep going.

Forest jaunt with nice company

I have found that, since a few years, the worst of my muscle pains comes not the day after, but about one and a half day after. However, this time it was because I forgot to shower in cold water right after iaido. That helps to get the blood to carry away the leftovers from the muscles, which helps to avoid muscle pains.

Today, thus, was consequently a day of feeling a bit stiff and rather pleased with myself that I did. Eating got a bit jumbled, with breakfast being lunch; that is, late, and dinner therefore came early. After that it was time for a jaunt out in the forest. I had company, who is rather unfit (but working on it; has strength but not yet stamina, since it's not been too long since said person finally got the right cockatil of medicines to combat their asthma), so I was literally jogging in circles a lot of the time, doubling back along forest trails. We started out with the asphalt road before heading up into the quarry and the forest. All in all it was about forty minutes of running, perhaps fifty, with a few minor pauses for walking here or there where the trail was too tricky. Afterwards I did a rather short and easy set of crunches, core, back and shoulder excercises, and then, stretching. And showering in cold water (well, at first, then I had some that was a bit warmer).
It was particularily nice having someone to occasionally chat to, and to help said person keep going and not stopping, as is so easy to do when one despairs of ever getting some kind of constitution back!

My left knee was beginning to act up about thirty minutes into the jaunt, so I walked downhill (it's a rather long and uneven stretch) and took it easy for a couple of minutes, until I could jog on flat ground again. It doesn't hurt very bad, but as I have said - I am going to take it easy for quite a while so as not to sink this ship before it's left port. It's been many many years since I could run fast and far.

As to the blog name, "Fleet feet, pointy ears", it partly has a nice ring to it and of course also stuff behind it. I feel so joyous being able to run again, and I don't run with a thumping motion, but even when running quite slow, I seem to float along, looking quite fleet despite the speed. And, of course, if you look at the famous works of the nowadays well-known John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, the elves there are known for running fast and far and light. They even walk on top of snow - something which caused me great joy when a decade ago I saw the movie version of "The Fellowship of the Ring", that they had incorporated. Note how the character of Legolas runs in those movies - lightly, on the balls of his feet rather than heavily and lumbering on his heels! So, like an elf with pointy ears, I run, and I run best when I am in a forest on a winding path.

Perhaps on Sunday I will tell you a bit more about why I am so careful about starting out slow, and why I couldn't run for so very long. Until then, run easy, run smooth, run careful and run joyful!

Exercises for efficient recovery

I had to remind myself that I am still working on building strength today, or I would have gone on a run. But I felt a bit stiff from yesterday's iaido, and decided to let my body rest from that kind of exertion. Instead, I went through a thirty (or a little more, possibly, timekeeping isn't one of my strong points) minute program of stretching and strengthening exercises, because I know that is a weak point with me. I tend to describe myself as being "as limber as a fridge". This is not a very good thing.

One should strive to balance strength, stamina and flexibility. Without the last, you are in a very real danger to hurt yourself. I am aware that the last is my weak point, and therefore, working on for today's excercises felt like a very good idea, no matter how unwilling I may be to sit still in various positions and count my breaths.

It loosened stiff muscles, had me feel a lot more limber afterwards, and did, actually, work to make me feel refreshed. Thus, very good.

Nothing exciting regarding eating today, except that I had fresh berries from the brambles outside for my morning yoghurt. Dinner was leftovers after lunch, that is, lots of white thick rice (sushi rice, without the fancy name, more or less) with wakame spicing and some sesame seeds, and an omelette with leek, mozzarella cheese, tomato and some sweet pepper. Wicked tasty.

I have a bit of trouble sleeping well. I may wake up and get up, but I inevitably feel lethargic and sleepy until afternoon, evening-time, no matter what I do (Well, I haven't had two cups of tea in the morning yet, maybe that might help). Come nightfall, though, I manage to perk up and have the energy to read and do things. I'm going to experiment with vitamin B-pills, and have soothing tea in the evening time, but honestly, it could be anything.
It does seem, however, that a movie or an episode of "Doctor Who" (or "Torchwood, for that matter) wakes me up, so perhaps I'll have to - oh woe! - watch one every morning for breakfast accompaniment. Worth a try, certainly.

Back to iaido

It was a close call, but I managed to go to iaido practice tonight. It was worth being a little fuzzy in the head after half an anti-anxiety pill.
Wednesdays means beginner's practice, which today, meant two beginners and the rest of us practiced by ourselves. Being sandan (third dan) I occasionally broke off and helped the others, while our sensei took the beginners through the correct way of standing, holding, cutting and so on.

Practice usually starts with twenty minutes of warm-up which segues into strengthening excercises, many of them the same as I do on my own. Then, it is time to get our swords. I am happy to say I did not lag behind or feel exhausted! And, my body is starting to look again like it ought to, and feel. It is especially important I keep my muscles well excercised so that I don't go back to having chronic pains in varius parts of the body.
I do feel something in my left knee, the one with which I have always had the most trouble (probably somewhat due to me breaking that leg in school once, and it not healing for about three months - it was a bad fracture), but such is always the case when I do the koryu kata (old, historical style iai) of the Chuden level. They do put a lot more strain on the left leg, and it doesn't feel any worse than after any half-long amount of time during which I have not done them.

I have been doing iaido for... well, it's more than eight years now. It very nearly never fails to make me feel more centered, secure, happy, calm, cleansed and energetic. If in doubt, do iaido. I could never excercise or train just "because", I need a proper reason for which the results of such training would be beneficial. And for me, that is iaido. Whatever I do that strengthens my body (and mind!) it directly affects my iaido in a positive manner. There could be no better incentive, for me.

Also, because I like it, I jogged home from the bus. Not far, but still.

Eating has not been anything out of the ordinary today. A vegetarian schschszhcnitzel and rice with maize, peas and sweet pepper was the dinner, and I had a dark ryebread sandwich with sausage, cheese and sweet pepper after practice (and two small pieces of chocolate, to reward myself for facing the horrors of the commuter trains).

Film accompaniment

I was in half a mind to run today, but at the last moment decided against it. I've been sitting still for most of the day; such is the life of studying. I'd forgotten.

Regardless, I put on "The Chronicles of Riddick" and let that rather well-muscled main character inspire me. Why not, after all?
I had the timer on 20 minutes, but I think I will change that to 30 the next time. I kept going until I got lazy after 35 minutes. I focused mainly on my arms, my stomach and my back, but threw in a few exercises for the legs too. I think I will start again with the old habit of doing easy ups and downs while I am brushing my teeth. It's such an annoyance to be able to do only one thing at such times, anyway.

I felt a bit of after-exercise muscle pains after yesterday's session, though nothing in the legs. That felt good, so for my back exercises I did every exercise with more than twenty repetitions, and for crunches, 15+15 three times. I also carefully cut two times ten cuts with a bokuto (wooden sword), and while my grip is good, I believe I shall have to do that a lot more. I feel I really need to change the way I cut - I want my shoulder to heal one day, and for that, I need to be able to cut without it "falling" forward while I do so. It's an easy mistake to make when you have a heavy sword, and if you're not careful it will be the natural way of cutting, which isn't very good at all (trust me and my injured right shoulder on that).

Eating today was a yoghurt bowl, the bulgur and sauce mix, pasta with crême fraiche, and fried mushrooms, squash (mmm, tasty!), pepper and bacon, some (unfried) salad, and after my little session I had a small bowl of yoghurt with just a few seeds and nuts in it. I also had quite a few pieces of dark chocolate, and drank the last of the unsweetened juice.
I seem to drink more water than I am used to, which is always good. Water cleanses the body!

I have not been sleeping well, but my herbal tea didn't make any change yesterday. I suppose it's got to do with external troubles then, for otherwise, I tend to sleep very well when I practice regularily.

Finding new tracks

I just returned from having a thirty-minute blast of a time running. I couldn't force myself to go by train to iaido practice, sadly enough, but I took a small breather out behind the garden today, and found to my satisfaction a nearly overgrown path (which I suspect is merely a dead end) and that the field nearest to the trees has no fence. Consequently, I figured I'd run around it for a while, but then I grew curious - where does that road lead, anyway? To a riding school as it turned out, but there were paths too, and I took a random one which at first seemed well trodden, then became almost overgrown, and then seemed more used again. It lead upwards, upwards on a hill covered in shrubbery and trees, probably rather untouched since the trees didn't look very desirable for use as building material. Then I found out which paths lead to dead ends and eventually found a quarry I had seen on a map, where I had a lot of fun jumping between stones and cliffs. And finding someone's old discarded clothes, but they were several sizes too large, unfortunately.

The last part of the jaunt was unfortunately on asphalt, and my right leg, again, felt gradually more and more stiff, although less so than on Friday.

Then I did a few crunches, now fifteen in a row instead of twelve (times... two, I think, every time going from fifteen straight crunches directly into another fifteen side-to-side crunches before doing something else), some stuff with my red band for my shoulders, and a bit for my back. Nothing much, just keeping it up and doing a little more than I really felt like doing - that is a good thing, I have found, to do juuust a few exercises more, before giving in. Not giving in at once is important.

I have thus found a good path for running that is not all asphalt, but, it remains to be seen how good it will be later in autumn, and in winter. My socks are hanging up to dry, not that I minded a lot, but it's a bother if everything gets too muddy.

Eating was as per usual my bowl of yoghurt, with sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and some green raisins added to the usual mix. They will also become a staple ingredient.
Then I had lunch and dinner consisting of a gorgeously tasty mix of fried squash, leek, tomatoes, mushrooms, sweet pepper, haricots verts, tomato sauce, taco spices etcetera, and bulgur. It was so tasty I didn't mind having it twice. Possibly I ate too much, just because I liked it so much...

After my running, I've had some of that wicked tasty crisp bread with some butter on it. I'm thinking of having an apple and a spoon of yoghurt or somesuch, too. I usually eat far better after I've been out and about, but I ate fairly soon before I ran, so I don't feel the need to do so this time.


Running in terrain is far more fun than just eating up miles on a road. It's more challenging, the scenery is better, there are less people and you can always find a new random path. And I don't forbid myself to stop occasionally, either. I just don't stay stopped, and I never walk more than I absolutely have to. I rather prefer to very slowly jog, instead, if the terrain requires I slow down. Besides, I'm out to run, with fleet feet, so why stand still and catch my breath?

Two days in one post

In the interests of my knees, which I am still more cautious than happy about their willingess to work, I took the Saturday off from excercises and running. I admit I could have done some excercises, but a many-hour trip for several bags of groceries was all the excercise I felt up for (mentally especially). I ate well as per usual, but tried a Billy's Pan Pizza - they're supposed to be less filled with icky additives than is usual in such items, and I am careful to always keep something at home which can be made ready and eaten in about five to ten minutes. I know well how I need to eat every three to four hours, with no exception, but sometimes one cannot account for a late train, changes in plans and so on. And I do nearly always lug around a sandwich - but only nearly; after all, it is not always one expects to be away for very long, is it?
Anyway. I have not eaten such a thing for... well... near on ten years, I believe. Unfortunately, I didn't find it very tasty. So I'll stick with powder-soup for a while yet, if I'm all out of vegetables and such.

I find that music sometimes merely annoys me when I am doing something else. So I turned to a trusty remedy, that is, audiobooks. http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/ have a large selection of "classics" read by happy amateurs, to a varying degree of success (I couldn't stand the book by lord Dunsany I most wanted to hear, for example, read as it was by someone with abominable accent and bad reading skills), but for those unwilling to purchase audiobooks, it is an excellent webpage.
Audiobooks are useful for many of the things I do. Today, "Pride and Prejudice" (call me girly if you like, it's an entertaining read) accompanied my excercises. I set the timer for 20 minutes, as I find I can hardly fit all the excercises I want into fifteen minutes, but continued long after it had beeped. I estimate it to have been half an hour to about 35 minutes. I did a bit of an allround choice of training. Variations of crunches, back-lifts, work with my red elastic string to strengthen my shoulders, something for my legs and jogging in place. It felt good and I did not feel the tiredness in my legs that I had yesterday. However, the stiffness in the right lower leg makes itself heard when I've been trotting around for a while.

Even though it was late, I managed to get going with training. I think this is a testament to the importance of perseverance. Fifteen minutes a day became twenty, and suddenly I find I hardly need to remind myself to take the time for it. Make it easily accomplished, make it a habit, and then, when it's pretty much ingrained in your everyday routine, add to it a little at a time.
I COULD go the hard way and just go all-out at once. I know myself well enough to know I have the willpower for it. But I prefer going easy on myself after my various illnesses. Better I regain my appetite for excercise, than find it a chore! And it is such an appetite, once whet. The joys of feeling one's body grow stronger, to feel muscles in places you didn't know you could have them, to see posture and gait improve... it really is a wonderful reward. I admire myself, in a not self-centered way, but in a self-loving way, and that is as it should be. If I do not love me, then, really, I shouldn't look to others to do it for me.

For food, I have deviated but little. I added a nectarine to the half apple I used for my morning yoghurt, lightly fried some leek, squash, sweet pepper and mushrooms and added to what became both lunch and dinner with the aforementioned pasta sauce, to which I cooked fresh pasta. Nothing exciting there, eh. I had a bout of chocolate-eating, 86% dark, several squares and with a sideorder of small mints, but chocolate isn't candy, it's kind of like light and oxygen and water and such, wouldn't you agree?
For a late snack I had some wicked tasty crisp bread that has a lot of different seeds in it, with cream cheese and salad on it. I have also been drinking a probiotic juice during the day, wich is about as sweet as I can take it.

I must be honest and say that I think today's intake has been a bit on the excessive side if my physical activity is to be considered - I have been painting and not moving outside much at all, but a hungry pointy-ear is not a happy one. I don't need to worry about gaining weight in the wrong way, rather, I NEED to gain weight, since it will amount to me gaining muscles, which is rather a goal of mine.

Rainy run

After a day with close call on panic attacks on the commuter train, I couldn't wait to get back home and treat myself to a run. Of course, by the time I had wolfed down some food, it was dark outside, and the rain that hadn't let up all day just kept on pouring down.

So naturally, I dug out a pair of old linen trousers, a t-shirt and my sandals, strapped on the backpack (well, I haven't got anything better to keep keys and water bottle in) and set out.
I set a timer for ten minutes, deciding that I ought to turn back after about this time. I want to go a bit easy this early on, since even though I never seem to run out of breath (it's incredible, really, but I just don't), I want to ease my body into this gently. After only about five minutes, my right lower leg started feeling stiff, and it didn't ease even after a few ten-metre walks in between running, but I am attributing this to being unused to running, and also, most of it being on asphalt. I'm out of luck there, especially when it comes to being after dark. I daren't go wherever I wish where I currently live, even though it's a reasonably quiet area (or so I suppose) and I am well able to defend myself - I do not wish to take unecessary risks.

After ten minutes, apart from the leg, I felt as if I could go on forever. But I kept my own wild instincts in check, and I think all in all I was running for about 25 minutes. I was a little worried about my right knee, as it started feeling suspiciously stiff, but it feels all right now, after some stretching.

Getting back, I had plenty of energy to spare and wasn't too hot, thanks to the rain, so I did a few crunches and other easy exercises, before a shower.


I ate much the same as yesterday - bowl of yoghurt, bowl of salad with lots of nifty stuff in it - and also a bowl of pasta with a sauce to it, made of tomato sauce, chickpeas, red lenses and possibly something more. I'm going to have some hardbread, I think, with cheese on it, for an after-training snack.

Late August run

Like I said in the first post, the book "Born to Run" certainly did wake me up. But it's not gospel, and to each their own - remember that! For me, it was easy to change my running style, and something I was able to do in about a week, but that was mainly because I didn't really have one! And the muscles I had developed from my iaido martial arts practice coincided very neatly with being much of what I needed to run "barefoot", or, on the balls of my feet rather than the heels. So before you go and run barefoot on asphalt for many kilometres, read the book, think about it a little, and use your old sneakers instead. They'll be formed after your feet well enough. If you want to go with Vibram Five-Fingers, go ahead, but be prepared they require a different set of muscles than ordinary running.

With that said...

Today, around dinnertime, I realised I needed groceries. I'm a bit of a recluse, and I was supposed to meet a friend today, but the thought of going there by public transport for two hours one way, in rush hour, paralysed me, so I had to give that up. Instead, I dug out old but serviceable shorts and a t-shirt, and strapped on sandals and a backpack, and set out.

The way there is mostly asphalt, but I took a detour through a small area of trees with a nature trail up and down a hill. It is clear my fitness is not on top, but I didn't stop and walk. It's probably merely a kilometre or two to the store. After shopping, I took a detour back, with a nice slow uphill climb for the last part. Again, it was no more than a few kilometres, so when I arrived back home I put the yoghurt in the fridge and set out into the woods behind the house. They are, let me tell you, not well-trod. It is a great pity, but I shan't be able to run there very much, which strands me with a fairly drab set of asphalt road for beginning and end to every run.
Regardless, when I got back from my jaunt in the forest (it was fun dodging nettles and fallen trees) I felt I had energy to spare, and was high as a kite on the joy of running.

I have also done three sets of crunches, 12 times each of straight and double-side, three sets of varying back-lifts (twenty or so repetitions every time), shoulder excercises with a red rubber band (three sets of every excercise, one-sided and double-sided after eachother), iai goshi ups and downs (standing in iai goshi and going up and down, with the front knee in static position above the heel), some cuts with my iaito (about a hundred I'd say, slow and faster), core excercises (standing with straight body on toes and bent arms, I have no idea what the name is in English) and so on.

I had set the timer at twenty minutes, to encourage myself that it really wasn't a lot of time to waste, just twenty minutes, hardly anything really! I may have gone on for five or ten minutes more, because it felt good. I did a little stretching, but far too little.

Eating today has been:
a bowl of yoghurt with various nuts, puffed unsweetened rice, half an apple, dried cranberries, crushed linseeds and pumpkin seeds
dark rye (?) bread with cream cheese and sausage
tea <3 (black, one cup in the morning, and then herbal teas - I know what caffeine late in the day does to me...)
bowl of salad with one mushroom, one tomato, Gouda cheese, mozzarella cheese, cashew nuts

Painkillers used:
none, yay!