huge data, new kittens

Date	Place	Duration (min)	pull-ups	dips	Time
29 Aug	Moscow, Sukharevskaya	41	4 sets of 11	2 sets of 11	21:02

Date	Place	Duration (min)	One lap around park	One lap around park	12 flights of stairs	pull-ups	dips	Time
31 Aug	Moscow, Sukharevskaya	46	1:03.44	57.64	52.40	4 sets of 11	1 set of 11	08:32

     I can do pull-ups, dips, and time my run all at the same place just a short walk from my apartment.  Sunday morning I woke in the worst of moods.  I called off an appointment that day and glumly ate a mini-nectarine.  I drug myself outside and started to run.  What do I find? A small park with exercise equipment some 30 meters from my apartment building!  Ooo-Rah!! 
(actually, I’d found the place two nights before, but I didn’t realize the significance of it)  That morning, I run, do some pull-ups, run some more, do some pull-ups, run OUT of the park, and come back ready to try a sprint. 

     As usual, I do the first sprint around the park leisurely, telling myself I am setting the standard by which all the further runs would be measured.  In actuality, my subconscious mind is pulling a plow so I don’t have to work hard to beat my record.  As the careful reader of this blog may know, I compete against myself because that may be the only person I can beat. 

     I was pleased because I sprinted smoothly without much trouble in the form of glitches or pain.  So I finished the sprint in 1:03.  I thought, “Ok, that’s a good time.  I will be able to improve and possibly break 1:00 by the time I leave next week.  More running, a couple more sets of pull-ups, and then another sprint.

     Oh my goodness!  57.64!  I guess I was truly sand-bagging it on the first trip around.  The great thing, though, is that I was running at full-speed, taking full strides.  I didn’t remember to run on my toes until the last 20 meters, though.  This is an improvement…usually, not until the second or third week in a new place do I remember to run on my toes, throw my arms forward, and really push myself.  I think I will set the goal at 55 seconds.

     Upon my return to the apartment, I knew that 12 flights were ahead of me.  Twelve flights? But the elevator has buttons for 16 floors.  I guess they got it for a good price in bulk.  

     I walked to the bottom of the stairs, took a breath and pushed the button to start the stopwatch on my wrist.  The first few flights came easily, as could be expected, but then, also as expected, my legs started to increase in weight and mass.  I had no experience climbing the stairs above the 8th floor, so I was disappointed several times when I learned that I had NOT gotten to the top yet—I didn’t firmly recognize my own eighth floor.  Heave, ho, heave, ho!  Man, those legs were monstrous by the end.  (OMG! Have I never spelled the word, ‘monstrous’ before? Ack!  I thought it was monsterous as anyone would think. You know, of, being like, or having the qualities of a monster)

     I finished with a time of 52.40.  I remember earlier this year, I was running up 16 flights with the goal of 60 seconds.  The closest I came was 1:02.48 on Feb. 26.  That would mean if I did 12 flights in 52 seconds, I would need to do the last 4 flights in 10 seconds to equal the best time at the other building.  52 seconds divided by 12 is 4.3 s/fl.  4.3 sec. x 16 floors is 69 sec.  At the rate I was running the other day, I would have made 16 floors in 69 seconds.  But at 4.3 s/fl, that would mean the last 4 floors would take 17 seconds.  

     So that tells me that I get the correct feeling of pain and weariness when I get to the top, because I must be moving very slowly.  31.68 was my best time for 9 flights at the apartment on Nezhenskaya.  31 divided by 9 is 3.4.  3.4 times 16 is 55.11.  Ah, yes!  My theory is realized.  It’s not an earth-shattering discovery, or even unexpected…but maybe one of my sons can use this information for a science project.  

    I received a picture from my business partner in Albania.  Her cat just had kittens!  And I was promised one of these young felines.  How nice it will be to have a roommate.

     Several times when I’ve come home, there has been a clean, fairly well-fed young cat to greet me.  I’ve never pet it yet, but it has smelled my hands a couple  times. yesterday, I bought some cheap cat food at the supermarket across the street and put it near the steps where I have seen him a few times.  We’ll see…