quarantine

Running again!

/ Brienna / Leave a comment

I used to run a lot. I ran 8 1/2 marathons in 6 years. And then I started having chronic pain. First it was my hip, and I kept running. Then it was my feet, and I kept running. And then it got worse, and it was really painful to run the SF Rock n Roll 1/2 marathon, so I finally stopped training for races after that, and barely ran at all.

My first 1/2 marathon was in 2012, and my last was 2017. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to do 1/2 marathons again, and honestly, I’m not sure I want to. For awhile, I considered trying to train for a full marathon. Since then, I’ve realized that I love run running, but I do NOT love running super long distances.

Chronic pain is no joke. It’s not fun, and it’s often invisible to others. I lost count of how many times people asked me what race I was training for or how running was going, and were surprised by my answer. “Oh, you look fine, what’s wrong with you? Are you SURE?”

I tried to start running again last year, as my feet were starting to feel better. It was really hard to get back into a routine and keep at it, and I was constantly worried the pain would flare back up.

Now that we’re all basically stuck at home 24/7, it seemed like a good time to try again. Particularly since my feet have felt great during this time.

Quite to my surprise, it’s been going really well. I’ve already run more this year than I did in 2018 and 2019 combined. And that’s almost exclusively from the last 2 months.

Normally, I would pick a race to train for, but it’s super unclear when actual races will be allowed again.

So instead, I’m going to have to go with virtual races and hold myself accountable to the dates.

I haven’t picked a date yet for a 5k. Once I do, I will post it here on the blog! I’m thinking probably around Labor Day. For the 10k (if I find that my feet can tolerate that distance), will be for a Turkey Trot, since that’s my family tradition, even though I’m the only one in my family that actually does it. Maybe I can talk my mom into doing a virtual 5k.

Friday 5 – Tubular

/ Brienna / 2 Comments
  1. What’s your least favorite episode of your favorite television program? The finale of How I Met Your Mother, and also Dexter.
  2. Across its series run, in what way did a favorite television program get worse? Lost, definitely got worse in the final seasons.
  3. Among television programs you like very much, which ended far too soon? Daredevil. I’m sure we’ll see something new from Disney+ but it just won’t be the same.
  4. Among television programs you like very much, which dragged on for too long? Lost, The Walking Dead. I actually stopped watching The Walking Dead this season.
  5. What are some lines of dialogue you love from a favorite television program? “Have you ever questioned the nature of your reality?”

Brought you to by Friday 5.

Why We Sleep

/ Brienna / Leave a comment

I recently finished reading Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. This book was mentioned by Michael Pollan in his audiobook Caffeine. Pollan made it sound so interesting, I couldn’t resist reading it.

And let me say, it’s VERY interesting. And I’m not just saying that because I already own a sleep tracker. There is so much information in this book that shocked me.

For example, I was not aware that there’s a spike in both heart attacks and car accidents following spring forward (the changing of the clocks ahead an hour for daylight saving time). I was also not aware that drowsy (tired) driving kills more people in the US than drunk driving.

Another interesting fact — 10 consecutive days of sleeping for only 7 hours causes as much brain dysfunction as a full-night of no sleep. Having pulled more than one all-nighter in my life, I can’t imagine walking around like that all the time. Apparently many of us are doing just that, because humans are very bad at recognizing when they are sleep deprived.

The only thing I didn’t like about this book is that throughout, and mostly towards the end, I felt like the author was a little heavy-handed with the language and the attempts to sell me on the dangers of limited or poor quality sleep. I would have preferred a less impassioned statement of the facts.

I really found this to be fascinating and something that more people should read. Parents, too, should read this. He talks about the neurological role of sleep in brain development and the links between certain conditions/diseases and sleep, as well as the impact on education and learning.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

P.S. If you’re wondering what a sleep tracker does, here’s a snapshot of some of the data mine collects for me.

The regularity is “unknown” because it’s only been running a few days this year. And NO, I didn’t actually sleep 10h21m. It seems to think I’m sleeping when I’m in bed, reading. I noticed today it has an “extra sensitive” mode, so I might enable that and see if the data comes out a little better.

It also now picks up breathing disturbances and snoring. It says I don’t snore, but that I’ve had “a few” breathing disturbances per night and no snoring. I wonder if it’s picking up the dogs or Dexter?

This, by the way, is an example of a good sleep duration (even when you subtract the 1-1.5 hours I was reading and not sleeping), but very poor quality sleep. I woke up a lot (5 times!!!) and I didn’t get very much deep sleep. I think it’s because of the weather, it was an extremely hot day and about 80º inside when I went to bed.

P.P.S. If you missed me the last few weeks, I’m sorry. With all the horribly tragic things going on in the world, it hasn’t felt right for me to blog about daily life, or trivial things like what I ate or the progress on my current puzzle. So, I’m back again with this because I do think this info on sleep is actually REALLY IMPORTANT (like the author, ha)! I doubt I will be posting daily, however, I’m trying to be more CONSISTENT (that one is for Tobias), so hopefully you’ll be seeing 1-3 posts per week going forward. AND NO I AM NOT GOING TO KEEP COUNTING THE QUARANTINE DAYS MOM!

How I’m showing support

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These are crazy times we are living in. I won’t rehash current events here, I’m sure, like me, everyone is on media overload, but OMG, there’s some seriously bad shit going on in this country.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how I can show support. I posted earlier with some ideas, and, after thinking about it, I’ve started doing stuff.

Today, my friend Robin and I went down to San Jose City Hall to join the Black Lives Matter protests. After the riots and looting last weekend, the protests this week have been pretty peaceful.

At work, our CEO is showing support by giving everyone a copy of Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do by Jennifer Eberhardt. So, I took it one step further, and organized a book club / discussion for my co-workers.

Personally, I chose to read How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi. Some of my friends will also be reading as our monthly book club selection. It’s the first time in at least a year that I’ve organized a book club discussion where more than 2 other people are interested.

These things are not much, but every little bit counts. If I can be a better person, if I can help others, that’s something.

Oh, and Robin and I also stopped to assist an unconscious man on our way home from the protest. Seems he was high on oxy, felt dizzy, and passed out on the sidewalk. His friend was trying to drag him home and asked us for help. Along with other bystanders, we called 911. He came to shortly before the police and firemen arrived. These were actually the only police we saw today, and the two officers were very nice and respectful.