Mushrooms, Fitness Update

Luck was with us this week in the Mushroom experiment. We found (in one store) Swiss Brown, Oyster and Portobello mushrooms all in small economical packets. Enough in each container to taste test and to also place a couple in our coffee grounds to see if we could propagate them.

A layer of coffee grounds in the jar, hand shredded pieces of mushroom in a pile in the centre, surround and cover with more grounds. Grounds to be moist but not so they ooze moisture when squeezed. Loose lid to allow breathing. Keep moist.

On the second last day of our manic swimming fitness program at the local pool the manage and my swimming partner made a very stunning statement:

"I was playing with my grand children over Easter and I found I had this amazing amount of energy. I was able to run about with them all day. This last three weeks has really made a difference"

So there you have it, final scientific proof that fitness is good for you.

Of course that didn't take away the pain from the four 30 second laps. Out of curiosity I wore the heart rate monitor today. The chest strap also made a good excuse as to why my lap times were a bit off. After the fourth 30 second lap (just made it) it took a few breaths before I could lift my arm to check the rate. Only 151 bpm. That indicates I still had some fuel left in the tank and was bludging. Oh well, last day tomorrow. Will really give it a hard time. Hopefully won't need an ambulance.

Fitter, Faster and less Fat

The daily routine of attending the local swimming pool continues. Usually now about 1 pm as that suits the pool manager. Now that Jean is back from Benalla we both go down. There was one day when I went down with Jean at 8am and then back again at 1 pm but that was just too much.

With the pool closing for the season in a few days we are all motivated to get in those last few sessions. I'm sure if it was the beginning of the season we would not be that enthusiastic.

Jean does her bit separately. But she is no slouch getting 40 laps (1 kilometre) completed. The pool guy and I vary our routine from day to day. Sometimes it starts with a slow 10 laps to warm up other times it is 20 laps turning on 40 seconds. This is an indication our fitness has improved as we would normally do those laps on 45 seconds. Just that little more pressure to work harder.

Today we did three 100 metre laps on 2 minutes 30 seconds after doing 20 laps on 40 seconds. This seems reasonable but it isn't. The body doesn't accommodate the change in distance as it should. Four laps make up 100 metres. At a steady pace it only takes about 2 minutes and 5 seconds to finish the four laps. A rest of 25 seconds and then off again. This next 100 metres takes a little longer and the rest time is shorter. The last 100 metres is fine until the last lap when it all catches up with you. I say it's fine because you know it is the last 100 metres and a little adrenaline flows. But there is not enough oxygen. You are pulling harder as this is the last lap and a bit of a race. To get more air the head is lifting higher to suck in longer. The arms and legs lack energy. There is the fight of the mind over the body. It never seems to get easier.

So that's 32 laps completed. A pause as air is gulped and the heart eases towards semi normal. Now starts the worst part of the daily training. The test of fitness is the 4 laps we do every day right near the end. They have to be done at 30 second intervals. Lap 1 is a breeze at 25 seconds. Lap 2 is 28 seconds. Lap 3 with a mighty effort squeezes in at 29 seconds, just barely time to turn. Lap 4 is the final test and the killer lap. The push off at the deep end is always sluggish as there is almost no energy. The lungs are screaming for air and exhaling under water eases the pressure a bit but as you surface you're gasping for more air. The clock is running and despite every effort to maintain some style it's near impossible. Gasping for air and trying to pull as hard as possible to get to the end before the 30 seconds has expired. Once the wall is in sight there is some motivation to pull a bit harder squeezing in a few mouthfuls of air. Just on 30 seconds. Two weeks ago the last lap always took 33 seconds. So that means a 10% improvement. Does that mean in style, motivation or fitness? Don't know.

But the goal is 40 laps and we have only done 36. Jean has finished her 40 laps and gone to the showers. Once the breathing is back to normal and the tingling in the extremities subsided we embark on two sets of two laps. Sprint to the deep end. The goal is as close to 20 seconds as possible for me and as close to 15 seconds as possible for the pool guy. We get a breather at the end of the first lap of the set and a slow crawl back before repeating the sequence.

My previous best time is 20 seconds and his is 16. But not today. 22 and 19 is the best we do with two attempts. Not every day is perfect.

Saturday

There was a lot planned for today. Not having to go across the river to move cattle returned a couple of hours to the time wallet and jumping out of bed at 5 am didn't hurt one little bit.

A trip to Raymond Terrace was needed. Library books to return and some to collect, some financial transactions needed to be done face to face at the building society and a some shopping was in order.

Kitchen cleaned and chores all done by 7.30 and off to town. Having failed to adhere to any fast days this week it seemed like a good time to fit in at least one.

Back home by 10.30 to put everything away and have a cup of tea while doing this. Then it was back to shed construction. By 2 pm (and still no food) three sides were assembled and out on the construction site set aside. Being a lightweight shed made from what appears to be the silver material found in cigarette packets a little bracing against the southerly winds was completed as well as some tent pegging around the base.

Still no food but time to go to the pool. The pool guy is a sadist. As we touched the wall on the last of the 35 second laps ( a bracket of 6)  i.e. completing the 34th lap of the day and having gone all out to race that last lap he shouts out "two more". Facing certain death I thrashed my way up and back one more time. A brief respite and then 4 more laps but on 30 seconds. Recovery and a cup of tea and chat followed. Good feeling that the heart didn't cease functioning. I'm sure all the accumulated fat has now abraded off the walls because of the massive blood flow required to deliver oxygen to the muscles.

Back home and strangely not feeling hungry it felt like a good idea  to continue on the shed. A little more bracing went in and the last two fixed panels for the front. That leaves only the roof and door.

A very healthy meal that night with lots of water and just a little wine. Some steamed baby choko with Olive Oil, salt and pepper then a lightly fried compote of Bitter Melon, Shallot and Bok Choi with Fish Sauce and followed by an omelette with Sweet Potato as a base and sprinkled heavily with chopped Radicchio. Finally a treat of yogurt, Almonds and honey. A cup of Dandelion brew with a piece of homemade chocolate and off to bed. Reading failed and sleep took priority.

The Shed

About 5 or 6 years ago we acquired a small tin shed about 3 metres wide by 2 metres deep. It was one of those free to good home jobs if you dismantle and remove. The owner had acquired this small urban property and wanted to pretty up the tiny back yard.

A couple of the foil thin panels were a little bent but nothing that couldn't be easily repaired. And absolutely no rust damage. The original plan was to re-assemble it down by the dam as a pump shed. And as usual being short of time it was put into storage in the hay shed while the screws hinges and any other assembly hardware packaged and stored in a safe place,

And then some months ago having found a better use for the shed we'd laid a small platform of recycled pavers in preparation and even brought the shed out of hibernation. A great deal of time was spent sorting through the panels deciphering which pieces were roof panels and which where wall panels etc. These were neatly stacked at the new assembly location.

After a an arduous search of every nook and crony in the workshop, a millimetre by millimetre inspection of the hayshed and every other possible location it was decided that the package of hardware was indeed in a safe location which would be uncovered by an archaeologist in some distant time.

The lack of hardware was not a deterrent. Any good handy man can cope with this minor hiccup.

The big issue was although we had all the panels and strips of joining brackets we had no idea how it all fitted together. This is a step up from those cheap shed kits you buy from  the supermarket where the assembly instructions are in Chinlish.

Today finally after much procrastination it was show time. And as with all procrastinations it was an unwarranted delay. In no time at all the rear wall was assembled in the workshop as was one side wall. Now that there was a clear picture of how the components fit together the rest is a breeze.

Assembly was interrupted by the demands of exercise and the pool beckoned.

The pool guy had yet another previously unused routine designed to punish the body. Every day it is just that little bit harder. We finished off by spending 10 or so minutes with me receiving instruction on the art of pushing off. Apparently, I'm not driving off the wall hard enough or in the best position to get as much distance resulting in expending more energy swimming (thrashing about) than needs to be used.

See how you learn new things to improve your life?

Still at the Pool

That is 6 continuous days at the pool. Although we are sitting on 40 laps and plan to stay there we aren't counting the 5 or so extra laps that I'm doing while waiting for the pool guy to change into his costume. Only need to survive another week and the pool closes.

The 6th day started with a solo Yoga session at home. The body was a bit stiff and sore from the flogging it's getting. All that stretching helped but I've hit a mental wall. apart from moving cows across the river the heart wasn't in to starting the planned projects for the day. Instead a book that was in progress was finished in time to feed the chickens and head off down to the pool. Worse still it was supposed to be a fast day and that didn't happen. But at least all that was consumed was a hearty leftover salad from last night.

A later start than normal at the pool because one of the schools was in finishing up for the year. After a few threats of violence the pool guy was shamed into the pool. His retaliation was another program of punishing laps. Most of the program is not so bad as we have gained some endurance. However, towards the end when the body is getting tired he slips in laps with 5 seconds shaved off making it just that much harder with less rest time at each end.

The most dreaded sequence is the laps on 30 seconds. These are saved for the end of training when you are at the weakest. We had to do 4 today. The first lap is easy because there has been a couple of minutes rest after the 35 second laps. It only takes 25 seconds to get to the end and 5 seconds rest allows a few deep breaths. The second lap is a lot weaker. Not only are the muscles feeling worked but the heart rate is up and there doesn't seem to be any spare oxygen. Then try swimming 25 meters with a cramp in progress when you are already exhausted. One leg is out of action dragging like an anchor and to get forward progress the arms have to do extra work. 31 seconds to get the 3rd lap over with then turn and try to get the last lap completed in 29 seconds still with a cramp. Stroke rate goes up but the body isn't very happy. 2 seconds late at the end. The cramp is gone but that's no help when you've finished.

There was the offer of a cup of restorative tea but that has to be declined because it's late and milk has to be collected before milking finishes.

All this exercise should help me stay healthy and live longer. But do I want to live longer under these conditions?

Training in the Pool

I don't recall that we discussed how many laps we'd do this afternoon. Yesterday it was only 22 and the previous few days we sat on 34. 40 laps is a kilometre.

Thomo wasn't keen again today. The water was fine around 27 C but he'd been sitting around since 7 am and only had two people turn up. And they only came because the Dungog pool is closed for the season. Thomo's a bit more generous hearted and is staying open for a couple of Learn to Swim kids and a couple of other kids who are still keen enough to do squad training after school.

I rustled him up to get changed. The pool is closing at the end of next week and we don't have that many sessions remaining. After next week it's a drive to Raymond Terrace to use the heated pool if we want some exercise.

While he's changing I dive in at the deep end. It's cool at 27 but not bitter like the Ocean Baths mid Winter when they are 15 C. The initial shock dissipates and with a slow stroke I'm at the shallow end. Rather than stand around waiting for him another two slow methodical laps are executed practicing breathing from both sides and trying to keep the head down and parallel to the pool floor. Remembering to kick at the same time (blokes have trouble walking and chewing) and lifting the hands high and over (Alex Popov technique). And reaching out stretching in front as far as possible. Pulling firmly all the way back. The objective is to train the body to maintain the same rhythm. Under race conditions it's easy to lose the balance and lose  speed.

Ok I'm back to the start position. Thomo says "Something different today. 3 sets of 100 metres, completing one every 2 minutes 30 seconds." "OK" I say. What else could I say? We don't do 100's very often.

"On the red nought" he says. That is the big 60 second timer above the pump room door. We have about 30 seconds and then we're off. Thomo streaks ahead. I don't know why, we have plenty of time and a lot of laps to do and he isn't a distance swimmer I am (but slow). Poor call I think. We finish the first 100 in 2 minutes and have a 30 second rest and kick off for another. Same result, he's keen but we both finish within a few seconds. Final 100 and he's slowed down a bit we keep pace with each other but on the last lap he kicks out a bit further and then increases his lead. I'm looking at his heels after 10 metres and start pulling harder then double the stroke rate. He's not expecting this and I burst ahead and touch the wall just in front. He stands up and grins at me. "I didn't think you had that in you" It's the first time I've ever beat him. Tactics count. It helps that he's a sprinter and I'm not.

"OK" says Thomo "we'll do four 50's on 1.15 starting on the blue nought". We have a nearly a minute's more rest before kicking off. This time he's watching me and on the eight lap there's no chance of beating him. We always try to race the last lap just to make it interesting.

Next up is 10 laps on 40 seconds. Pretty easy as this is a standard sequence and the regular breaks are all you need to refresh. We only take 30 seconds to do each lap so that's 10 seconds of rest each time. From somewhere I pull out some energy. I'm pulling hard but not thrashing and the legs are kicking well. The subconscious has taken over. Something that happens occasionally if you do enough training laps. The last lap is sub 25 seconds and we touch at the end  together. Thomo is surprised. "where'd you get that from?"

Now I notice that the water feels really pleasant. My skin is hot to touch out of the water, the blood is pumping and the metabolism is working hard.

Just to relax the muscles we do six laps on 45 seconds. This is unbelievably slow. It still only takes 30 seconds to swim the lap and the 15 second wait is really long.

Now that we've rested he announces the coup de grace. "Three laps on 30 seconds". The reason for three is that it is too easy to take it slow on the last lap when doing two. You might think this is straight forward but remember the rest time is now almost nil. This is the killer routine for me. The first lap is fine, I'm trying to pace myself and finish in just over 25 seconds. A few seconds break and back into it. The second lap is slower and there is barely enough time to turn around. The last lap is hopeless. I've lost all co-ordination, barely getting a clear mouth of air the legs and arms aren't in time and there is no energy. I manage a little spurt in the last 5 metres and just get in on 30 seconds. No chance of sprinting this time. The objective is reached. Swim until you can't anymore and you know you've reached the limit.

After the heart starts pumping again and breathing is back to near normal we finish with one lap on 45. Just a slow trawl through the water to wind down.

So that is 40 laps or one kilometre. Will sleep well tonight.

Are you prepared? Another NZ compost finished, Swimming

Preparedness i.e. Self Sufficiency

While plugging away at a maintenance task the mind turned to self sufficiency because the podcast playing was about in the event of a disaster not becoming a victim and depending on outside help when outside help may be preoccupied with others.

If there is a bad flood, fire or storm are we capable of continuing on without dependence on outside help for at least a couple of weeks?

Power:
The generator is fuelled and ready and has been tested in the last month. The extension leads are all lined up with power boards and there is adequate stored fuel for some weeks. There is one spare large gas bottle for the stove as well as the BBQ and bottle.

Food:
The garden is bursting with produce, the pantry has more than adequate supplies for months to come and the freezers have long term supplies. There is enough variety so that it does not become boring. We can even feed the neighbours.

Water:
The water tanks are near full and two have been turned off. The dam is near full. When a potential event is approaching we fill up lots of water containers and the bath tub.

Shelter:
Well there is the house, La Cave, and a choice of sheds on the property. In the  event of a major fire there is a neighbours dairy cottage, the studio and house across the river and a close friends unoccupied granny flat. Adequate options. We are too high up to be affected by flood waters. We have adequate room to assist others.

Medical:
There are first aid kits in the bathroom, in the workshop and in one of the work bags. CPR refresh is up to date. No one is taking any medications so all that is needed is some pain killers in the first aid kit.

Preparation:
The chainsaw is stored fuelled and sharpened. There are a number of tarpaulins in storage, the ropes and tie downs bag is handy, the vehicles are fuelled and serviced. When fire season starts we organise our backpacks with items for an extended absence and the financials are always in a carry bag.

NZ Compost

Finished off the NZ compost that was started a few days ago. Most of the Broccoli and a Kale had finished and gone to seed. The leaves were chucked into the bin whole and the stems run through the chipper side of the mulcher. Because they are so green they block the output grill if it isn't removed first. As we had acquired some more Lettuce seedlings a section of garden bed was also weeded and the Plumbago trimmed. All this provided some more layers along with mulch hay, some bio char and the bedding from an earlier compost. There was still some room remaining and so out came the mower and some mown clover finished the job. The calendar was marked for a complete turning in five weeks.

The latest NX compost bin

Freshly planted Lettuce

Swimming

After resetting the irrigator across the river a swim finished the day off. The pool manager was coaxed into the pool and we did 20 (25 metre) laps on 4o seconds. Much better to do this with some one else so that you aren't tempted to give up early. After a hot sweaty day what a pleasure to dunk into the cool water and of course a sense of achievement after some enforced exercise.