It's nearly April. My hands are cold, I can feel my core temperature dropping slightly, and it's about that time I start wondering if my friend was right about the start time of the rainy season. I also wonder about my visibility to other drivers early on a Friday night in such a downpour. But, to think is to get hit; when you stop giving all your attention to the task at hand and instead give it to something you currently cannot alter, you stop being able to see all of the potential situations in which drivers may not see you, or when they may elect to swerve, or when they will be applying their brakes in such a way as to say, "I'm turning soon," before they think it's a good idea to turn their blinker on. Safe cycling is about knowing what drivers will do before they do. It's about knowing which drivers are aggressive, which ones are likely to give you plenty of room, which ones are tired of seeing you after 5 red lights, and the general mindset of a particular set of drivers on a given day. In cycling around a city, safety doesn't come from a helmet, it comes from what the helmet is supposed to protect.
I get home, knowing that a few things are ending. That night, I finished my last lesson with Tetsuya, one of my brightest students, and his almost-as-smart friend, Ryusei. We always have a lot of fun, since we breeze through the lesson in a matter of minutes instead of an hour, and there's only one other student in the class, and he's also pretty smart (though very quiet). Last night, I was re-introduced to the card game Bullshit, which over here they call Doubt. We also played Snap (called ERS back in the US), Blackjack, and a handful of other games. My only rule is that they must only use English while playing. As usual, that wasn't a problem. At the end of class, since I had earlier told them I was leaving, I encouraged them to not stop their English studies, since that can lead to so many doors professionally and personally. I listed the countries I could think of where English would be useful, but I got past my fingers and toes. When asked where they could use Japanese, the point became clear. Anyway, I thanked them for their efforts (in Japanese), and off they went.
It was pretty quiet in that classroom after that. No sob story here, though. I spent a few minutes reflecting on the transition I'm in, the students I won't likely see again, and all that stuff. Then, I set off for a ride in the rain; my last ride for two weeks, hopefully. You see, my legs have been vehemently protesting my hobby, especially since Thursday, when I rode like hell to a staff meeting. I missed my train, and the next train would have made me late. So, I sprinted to my apartment (~0.7 km or 0.4 mi), grabbed my bike, and made an otherwise hour-long trip to the meeting in about 37 minutes. But, I wasn't late. Now, I'm cautious to pedal with any force, and that tells me to back pretty far off.
I've done some research into my condition. Of course, I know what the cause is: cycling. But, since I don't plan on stopping my hobby and almost-exclusive means of transportation, I need to find ways to mitigate the effects. Over the past few months, I've taken to running about 4.5 km (~2.8 mi) once every two or three weeks. Every time I've done so, I've noticed that the pain in my legs is drastically reduced for several days. Although replaced by muscle soreness for a few days as well, it's a welcome pain compared to the chronic, deep pain I often feel on the proximal and lateral sides of my knees (upper and outer).
Why does running give me sore muscles? I mean, can't I ride 100 km (~62 mi) and be just dandy? Well, the reason comes from the shoes: Vibram Five Fingers. They require that the user run either mid-foot or on the balls of their feet. When running like that, I have a tendency to use my legs to cushion my stride more, which means engaging my muscles (like my calves) to move in the opposite direction of their travel. This is called eccentric loading, and research I've read indicates that it may help with tendonosis, a condition similar to tendonitis, but one that is caused by over-use. Tendonitis is caused by more acute actions or traumatic events.
Excessive eccentric loading, like excessive exercise, causes muscle soreness. But, eccentric muscle soreness is characterized by what's called Delayed Onset Muscle soreness, which means that you probably won't feel sore until about 24 hours after the exercise, and the soreness increases until about 48 or 72 hours after exercise. This is precisely what happens every time I run using my calves to soften my steps; they get very sore from 24 hours after, and that soreness usually takes a week to fade entirely.
Think about it this way. If you stand on the edge of a step with your heels off the edge (facing as if walking up the stairs), and you raise yourself up using your calves you are contracting your calves and moving them in the same direction. However, if you start with your calves contracted (standing on your toes/balls of your feet), and lower yourself, you are engaging your calf muscles still, but this time you're moving in the direction opposite of their contraction. This is eccentric loading.
In short, I'll be trying to run more in the near future, in addition to continuing stretching and trying to stay off the bike. After all, I have another race coming in May, and I'd hate to miss it.
Other than that, spirits are high. I've taken to a more quiet life lately, as well as waking up at 7:00 on weekdays and 8:00 on weekends.
QotD:
I can't think of anything particularly insightful today, so I've consulted a list of quotes I've amassed over the past 7 years.
"I know the answer! The answer lies within the heart of all mankind! The answer is twelve? I think I'm in the wrong building."
- Charles M. Schulz
HotD:
Click Here.
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