dynamic elf

Woo! I just made an "AA" on a 3-foot DDR song I used to think was hard, and finished a couple of five-foot songs that used to be impossible for me. Fun!

Also on the physical activity front, we went running with lyonesse again this morning. I was doing fine for the first 1.5 miles, but then I felt a little tired, stretched thin but not yet to the breaking point. I thought, "Nah! I'm tough! It's just two more trips around this block. I can do it. I just won't tell her I'm feeling tired, then I'll push through and collapse at the end once I've made the time!"

For the record, this is not a wise line of reasoning for a "relaxed training run". I think lyo smelled this and asked, "Do you need to walk? Go on and walk if you want, it's ok." Narrr! No! Pirate Molly WILL run two miles! So we do, plod plod plod, until we have 1/3 of a block left -- less than 1/8 mile -- and I get a crazy painful stitch in my side and have to stop.

Damn, that hurt! Moving hurt. Stretching it hurt. Not stretching it hurt. Breathing hurt. She did a little work on it and I wobbled to the finish line. So it was a decent time overall, it's just that the last 200 yards took three minutes. Next time, I promise I'll listen. If walking for ten cruddy seconds would have saved me from that, then I'm a fool not to have done it. Lack of pain = Good.

I'm a little surprised that my body is making as good a showing as it is, so far. I'm really really not a runner, and I haven't even been biking since Jan 2 (siiiigh). My only aerobic exercise has been walking and DDR. But the summer aerobic fitness seems to have held - I don't think I've ever run that far without stopping to walk, and I know that even despite the pain, I felt a whole hell of a lot better afterwards this time than I have in the past. My recovery was quick, and I felt chipper for the rest of the day.

The weather is gorgeous enough that I may go for a lunchtime skate tomorrow -- that will certainly make me feel happy and virtuous. The bike hurdle is frustrating. Here's the problem: I have a skinny sporty summery bike, and a workhorse commuter/touring bike. Right now, the summer bike has the only pedals that will work with my winter bike shoes, and my uninsulated, lightweight bike shoes (that I bought on sale for $20 three years and 10k miles ago) have finally given up the ghost. AND - I can't get the slim pedals off of the damn softride, no matter HOW much WD-40 I use. Re: that gorgeous weather: I may just suck it up and either buy new lightweight (non-recessed-cleat) bike shoes, or ride the skinny softride.

Last night was a Good Night.

The lovely and talented David got the lovely and talented alanj to come over and test our PSOne. We hadn't yet proven that you could play Japanese import games on it, so he brought over a slew of import DDR discs. Sure enough, they worked, and just as everyone keeps saying, the Japanese version is much more satisfying. The music is better, it looks slicker, there are more songs and more discs and more options and just plain more everything. I was particularly charmed by the "extra" mode where there are six active squares on the floor:


X X X
X - X
- X -


Anyway, we danced and ate Chinese food and alanj didn't laugh at us even once, which was a total plus. Then, Wedoff came over and we lifted weights. I haven't lifted in about a month, and he hadn't lifted in about three years. It looks like tafkar and quinnclub will also soon be joining us for thrice-weekly lifting sessions. I'm so excited! Having other people come over to move heavy things around will perhaps spur me to keep to my ideal schedule. I want strong scary Linda Hamilton arms. I want to be able to do a pullup, dammit!

Last night was a real-life demonstration of the old "exercise gives you energy" saw. When I went to bed, I was happy and squiggly. Hooray!