more softball practice

i can get more exercise during practices than during games, but i must do it myself because there are no pitcher specific workouts (other than throwing batting practice and i don't do much of that cuz they have two new pitchers they want to work in for the softball world series they plan on going to in august)... i was wired today (even before someone gave me mocha coffee) and bounced around all session (without water, go figure... must not have been as hot but the sun was out more... just better hydrated before hand... feel really good)...

still, i want more... the body wants more... so, continue... more :)

one more time

start again... or can we start again please... or anything that might get the workouts back to a daily activity, right?... yup, well, 6 laps... 36:37 total time... 4:55, 7:02, 6:34, 6:36, 5:46, 5:40 lap times... and the rest of the stats, well, relatively meaningless but i like numbers so whatever motivates me to get this body out there, right?...

today the tracker software says... 3.55 miles (for the same six laps, i know, it said 3.07 miles last time)... 5.8 mph (for the same 36:xx minutes, i know)... 10:20 average mile pace (yeah, i know, as unreliable as the rest)... as long as distance is not accurate, nothing else but the uncalculated times can be... max speed 9.8mph (this is closer to accurate as i did jog the first lap and picked up the jog a couple of times in other laps)... 557 kcalories (who knows, aye?)... and now, on the the laps (times above)... lap speeds (as unreliable as they are)... 5.9, 4.7, 5.9, 5.2, 6.4, 7.0... so somehow the speed for the fifth lap was much slower than the speed for the sixth lap when the times were virtually the same and the speed for the first lap when the time was dramatically faster was slower than either the fifth or the sixth laps according to the software... right... it has become painfully obviously that the laws of physics do not apply to me lol...

anyway, for my amusement and motivation and whatever it is worth to you... the calculated mile times were 11:25, 10:29, 10:12, and 4:35 for the final .55 mile (remembering last time we just reached 3.07 miles for the same six laps)... meanwhile (light bulb overhead), the discrepancy in distance shows the fatal flaw in this software... for each lap (in miles) it recorded: .49, .54, .65, .58, .61, .67... so how does this software measure the same lap with such drastic inaccuracy?... i am sure the manufacturer would have some pseudo-scientific response, but as they say on sports center, come on man...

so we live with what we've got and the bottom line is the lap times and the overall time and the physical assessment by my own senses and feeling is what matters when comparing progress...

kilometers, aye?... 5.72 km... 9l3 km/h... 6:25 mim/km... 15.7 max km/h... and the laps... 9.6, 7.6, 9.4, 8.4, 10.2, 11.2... and per km... 6:34, 6:42, 7:04, 6:45, 5:58 and 3.37 for the final .72 km... and the distance discrepancy for each lap in kilometers, as expected, is very similar to miles... .79, .89, 1.04, .93, .98, and 1.09...

still, it turns me on to know and feel that i've gone out and done this pleasurably painful madness once again... not dead yet...

continue...

yeah, i know

i know i am slacking... i know i am not doing what is best for the body (at least i think i know that)... i know i am wanting something for a longer term but wanting something in the moment that is overriding the long term want... that is, the taste and lust for food in the moment is undermining and preventing the weight loss and stamina increase i would like for the longer term... but it's more the laziness... the mindset that simple accepts it's ok to not put on sneakers and get out at least once a day to jog/walk... that is the mindset i must conquer (as i have in past phases of this life when the love of the hormones released during running and the sense of health and well being was more important and attractive than the laziness and depressed demeanor of the couch potato)...

over and over again, huh?... sucks to be in that loop... note i did not say sucks to be me...

yeah, continue, even if it's just an exercise of words, continue...

sigh :}

softball practice can count as exercise

three hours of serious heat and humidity and the body touched the red line in the last fifteen minutes even with two full liters of water (yes, more water and some electrolytes next time prior to and during these practices during the day of summer)... it felt wonderful... i realized how much i missed these long practices pushing the limits and even though i did not do nearly as much as i wanted to (i did pitch at least 250 pitches and played first base a bit and swung the bat maybe 15 times, but because of the arm i did not throw the ball much and did not get any infield practice... the coach does not do any pitcher-specific practice, alas... still, even though i am slacking on the speed walks and jogging and softball is getting rained out too much, this was a good workout...

not cooperating

i am not cooperation and neither is jackson... when you live with someone and eat meals together sometimes, dietary restraints can go out the window... and if i really want to drop the weight i say i'd like to drop this month, i really need to stop pigging out on what she cooks... i can eat less of it... and i don't need to open bags of chips and snacks... thing is, i am trying to save money and when faced with that challenge, keeping the house full of salad stuff and healthy foods is not saving money... it's a conundrum i must rectify... of course getting back to daily exercise would be even more important than dietary choices... at least i am sleeping well lately... mostly... just sleeping my night shift... so why not head out right now?...

ummmm...

must continue

same 6 laps, 4.95 km... ridiculously less than the 5.67km for the last 6 laps... again, the first mile threw everything off as i did it just over 5 minutes... the runkeeper app has me 12:53, 13:18, and just 2.74 miles total... the sports tracker app has me 35:37 for the 6 laps... i had it set to kilometers so i don't know how that affected the gps measure, but it is definitely a lot shorter than any previous walk/jog... and this one was a walk/jog... the obstacle is stamina, lung process... and weight, must drop weight to increase stamina and pace for jogging... and i had my new balance walking shoes on instead of the asix running shoes, which made a difference in weight with each step... the heat doesn't help, but it's primarily building stamina and dropping weight.... anyway, let's go back to miles first for comparison...

6 laps... 35:37 total time... 3.07 miles... 11:35 mile pace... 8.7mph max speed... 472kcal... and laps... 5:14, 5:48, 6:06, 6:11, 6:02... i did press lap after the first lap, so the lap speeds are 5.2 (first twwo laps) 5.4, 5.0, 5.0, 5.3... of course those stats make no sense... for mile times it recorded 11:37, 11:34, and 11:39... very different than the other app... and for metrics... 4.95km... 8.3km/h, 7:12min/km, 14.0km/h max, 472kcal... for km/h per lap it recorded 8.4 (first two laps), 8.7, 8.0, 8.1, and 8.5... hot and humid... 87 degrees, 68% humidity, though it feels a lot more humid with heavy dark overcast right around here...

it makes no sense that last time it measured the 6 laps as 5.65km and this time it measured the same 6 laps as 4.95km... i beat the previous time by 9 seconds for a new best time, but of course the other stats are skewed so it was not the fastest pace according to the app... the primary difference was that i did the first two laps a lot faster than usual, especially the first lap... the foot and arm feel better after exercise, though the left neck has acted up today for the first time in a couple of weeks... weight and lack of daily exercise, perhaps...

the bottom line is no more 9 day layoffs, dammit...

almost slid back

but not... and not sliding back is a good thing... phew too... broke the 6 minute average lap barrier... and tested the other run tracking apps too... one is gone, the other almost gone, so i am sticking with the one already in use... i forgot to drink water today (how do you forget to drink water?... you ask)... well, i just forgot... that could have been not so good for the kidneys and still might be not so good for the kidneys but we shall hope for the best and i guzzled a liter of water after cooling down and will drink another liter soon and another later and another before sleep... sure, i'll wake up after a 4 hour sleep cycle to empty my bladder, but must not neglect the kidneys after all...

let's take a look at the numbers... total time: 35:48 yay... total distance 3.31 miles... avg speed: 5.9mph, avg pace: 10:11 min/mi, max speed 35.5 mph (oh really? lol), and the lap times: 6:08, 6:00, 5:56, 6:04, 5:56, 5:37... dang, just missed the 5:33 record i set yesterday... lap speeds: 9.7 (huh?), 5.0, 5.0, 5.1, 5.0, 5.3... kilometers... 5.65 km total distance... 9.5 km/h speed, 6:20 min/km pace, 57.1 km/h max speed (cheetah! lol)... and per kilometer: 1:59 (yeah, right), 7:04, 7:17, 7:25, 7:21... speeds: 30.1 (uh-huh), 8.5, 8.2, 7.9, 8.1, with an 8.7 last .65 km finish...

alas, that first lap error is even worse today... maybe cuz there is severe weather and high wind?... with both apps, the first lap is quite skewed... must be a gps thing... the other software said i walked 5.67 miles, so distance and therein mph or km/h is quite skewed and relatively (if not completely) meaningless... but lap times and total time, that's a constant i can use for comparison to measure improvement and again, improvement today...

continue...

pushing more

i woke today not really feeling it and concerned about the back handling another 5K speed walk and yet, i stepped out there anyway and it was a tough go the first lap but i pushed and kept pushing and just missed reaching the sub 6 minute mark for average lap time... so the best overall 6 lap time yet came out of a morning i really did not feel it (it being the energy, the will, the confidence, the desire, the comfort, the drive, the stamina, the ... and whatever)... the back was tight after, but a hot shower and laying flat for ten minutes helped a bit... we hope the back feels better later in the day...

so 6 laps... 36:07 total time.. 3.27 miles (5.27 km)... 5.4 mph (8.7 kph)... 11:02 min/mi (6:51 min/km)... 21.9 mph (35.2 kph) max speed... 513 calories... laps: 6:15, 6:05, 6:01, 5:57, 6:14, 5:33... and lap speeds: 5.0, 5.6, 5.4, 5.8, 5.4, 5.3 m[h... in metric: 8.1, 9.1, 8.8, 9.3, 8.7, 8.6 kph... obviously the final lap speed is not accurate since it was the fastest lap time by almost 30 seconds... very questionable stats... mile times: 11:06, 10:35, 11:28... mile speeds: 5.4, 5.7, 5.2 with a 5.6 kick for .27 miles... kilometer times: 7:19, 6:24, 6:21, 6:59, 7:19... kilometer speeds: 8.2, 9.4, 9.4, 8.6, 8.2, with a 9.4 kick for the last .27 km... 83 degrees with 75% humidity... breathing 5-5 lap one, 4-4 laps two, three, and four, 3-3 laps five and six with a 3-2 final kick from the community entrance...

yesterday, walking the same 6 laps, the tracker app recorded 3.31 miles... that's a difference of distance of about 70 yards, more than two thirds the length of a football field... and does it calculate speed and the rest based on this?... definitely not consistent sessions to session, so all the stats must be taken with a major grain of salt... the final lap speed discrepancy shows this flaw provides inaccurate stats so why bother?... might be time to try another app...

still, continue...

pacing slowly

that is, i am remembering how to pace and starting to actually use pacing, but slowly... another speed walk today, 6 laps this time... i am going to attempt to make 6 laps every other day an unofficial goal baring pains or unforeseen circumstances... that way i get an unofficial 5K time, though again, the measurement of the phone app is questionable as the mile marker is inconsistent and definitely dependant on the speed... anyway, 6 laps... 37:15 total time... 3.31 miles (5.32km) total distance... 5.3mph (8.6kph) average speed... 11:16 min/mi (7:00 min/km) average pace... 9.1mph (14.6kph) max speed... 518 calories... laps: 6:17, 6:15, 6:17, 6:13, 6:16, 5:55... lap speeds: 5.0, 5.3, 5.3, 5.2, 5.1, 6.0... by kilometers: 7:09, 6:45, 7:25, 7:19, 6:51... speed by kilometer: 8.4, 8.9, 8.1, 8.2, 8.8, and final 0.32 km: 10.9...

hmmmmm, as unaccustomed to working in metric as i am, the measurements seem easier to compare at the distances i am walking... but then again, i may just be liking the breakdown giving a "kick" time and more, kick pace... using miles, each mile time would be: 11:36, 11:33, 11:03, and a .31 mile kick in 3:02 and in mph that's 5.2, 5.2, 5.4, and a.31 mile kick of 6.0... it just looks more dramatic in kilometer lol...

breathing 5-5 laps one and two, 4-4 laps three, four, and five... 3-3 lap six with a 3-2 final kick from the community entrance... humidity was near 100% as it had just rained and the steam was rising off the ground... temps varied depending on the app or weather site between 81 and 86 degrees... it definitely felt in the higher end of the range as i was dripping perspiration from the brow already during the second lap and i was not pushing as much as two days ago when i wasn't dripping from the brow until the fifth lap... the shirt is also much wetter... summer is definitely arriving...

continue...

focusing a bit better

waking a bit later (9am-ish) than yesterday (woke 6am) and waiting a couple of hours to spend some time with jackson did not distract me today as it did yesterday... i did not let myself use anything as an excuse... and truly, nothing outside of myself is a valid excuse... and the results, a good speed walk it is... 5 laps... 30:31 total time... 2.65 miles total distance... 5.2 mph average speed... 11:30 average mile pace... 6.8 mph max speed... 410 calories... lap times: 6:15, 6:12, 6:07, 6:06, 5:40... average laps speeds: 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.5 mph... 85 degrees and 65 percent humidity... sunny... best lap times and speed for each of the five laps, best overall time and speed...

speed definitely affects distance measured by the workout tracker... it will definitely be interesting to see how i can do in a measured 5k... according to today's times, and i could have picked it up a bit, though not too much more at this point (and i must start setting 6 laps as the goal as it appears that 6 laps is just over 5k... yes, actually, i can switch to metric and see this 5 laps was 4.26km and i can see my 5k times on the two longer (and slower) walks from earlier in the week as 39 minutes {8.2kph pace} and 36:25 minutes {8.4kph pace} and today was faster than either of those at an 8.4kph pace and i could have kept that up one more lap if i pushed it... but i still question the accuracy of the distance measurements)...

still, i am pleased with today as a sign of progress and during the walk i remembered and reaffirmed and most importantly of all, readjusted my attitude and perspective that increasing stamina, both muscle and aerobic, takes time... and i have been fooling myself in the past thinking it would not take months and that lead to stopping the progress (as documented right here in this blog over the years) because of lack of focus and depression over 'getting old' and it 'being too late' which is stupid self-defeating thinking that i will hopefully not return to again...

yes, continue...