Umbertide

25 December 2014

Merry Christmas

   I'm in Italy. The nearest town of any rank is Umbertide. Before I came, I told two of my students—young ladies FROM Italy—that I was going to /Oom-bear(like the Grizzly)-tide(like the rise and fall of the sea). They politely smiled with no comprehension. I didn't pursue the matter. Yesterday, on the way home from the train, the owner of the house said it was pronounced, UN-intuitively, /oom-ber-ti-deh/ (I think) The name sake was a dude by the name of Umberto.

bicycle repair and shocking behavior

Date	Place	Duration	short sprint  downhill	4 flights	Time
20 Dec	Rruga Kavaja	30 min	40.83	21.35	08:06

Date	Place	Duration	Pull-ups	Classic Sprint	Long sprint downhill	short sprint  downhill	4 flights	Time
22 Dec	apt. to apt.	41 min	17,11,15	52.27	1:01.15	35.46	20.27	09:03

     On the 20th, I ran with my knee in ‘not terrible’ condition.  I didn’t want to push it, though, so the sprints were few that day.  My longest sprint was the shortest of the three Kavaja median sprints, and my result was objectively pathetic, but when one considers the ginger state of my knee, I’m okay.  

Structural knee impropriety

     It’s been three days since the last run.  I’m off my regular schedule because I’m not living at my apartment, AND I’m teaching extra classes because of a teacher shortage.  I’m not at all sad about this by the way—I’m having a good time.  

flapping shoe Hobbit

Date	Place	Duration	Pull-ups	Long sprint uphill	4 flights	Time
15 Dec	Apt to Apt	42 min	15	1:14.98	21.40	07:04

 I’m staying at the boys’ apartment while their mother is out of the country.  Yesterday, I ran to my place to get some clothes.  It was an effort.  I have a hamstring that has been tapping me on the shoulder now and then to say, “I’m feeling stressed,” so I didn’t push it too much.  I stayed away from the Kavaja street medians on the trip TO the apartment. 

Quit crying!

Date	Place	Duration	Pull-ups	Push-Ups	Long sprint downhill	6 flights	Short downhill	4 flights	Time
13 Dec	Rruga Kavaja	36 min	15,15	25,25	1:00.42	34.58	40.11	22.06	07:39

So I DIDN’T make the prime goal of a 60-second sprint this morning; missed it by .42 seconds.  I had been thinking that the goal was too easy and that I was getting soft—not pushing myself.  Here is my debriefing of the problem today:  my body is still sore from the frisbee on Wednesday, and the joints and muscles were not loose.  

Ultimate!!!!

11 December 2014—Thursday

     Two YEARS!!  It was August 2012, Tirana.  I had stepped into the country for a couple weeks before heading off to Russia to teach English.  Because I had spent time in Albania, I knew who to talk to in order to wrangle up a game of Ultimate Frisbee.  We played, and one of the contestants was a beautiful woman from Russia!  So what?  Well THAT was the last time I played Ultimate Frisbee until LAST NIGHT!!

Political prisoner

Date	Place	Duration	Pull-ups	Push-Ups	Long sprint downhill	4 flights	Time
9 Dec	Ring Road to pull-up place	38 min	15,15	25,25	59:38	20.79	06:56

     Last night, I enjoyed a meal with a former political prisoner.  He was arrested three times during the late 50’s.  He organized a group that called for the independence of Kosovo from Yugoslavia. 

a brush-by on the road to happiness

Date	Place	Duration	Pull-ups	Push-Ups	Long sprint downhill	Time
7 Dec	Kavaja	36 min	15	25,25	59:37	10:19

     Today, I experienced something unusual, although it seems that it should happen often.  I had to alter my speed and track because of pedestrians.  Unluckily, it was in the middle of my sprint.  As I approached congestion, I said/yelled, “Ha!” something like I used to yell as a young person to cattle that I wanted to walk through a gate that I had opened for them. 

Bang-on 1 minute

Date	Place	Duration	Pull-ups	Long sprint downhill	Time
6 Dec	Kavaja	32 min	15	1:00.00	09:20

     Rain, rain, rain.  I haven’t often gone running in the full-out rain, but today was one of those times.  A remarkable part of this run was the time for the run-ending sprint.  EXACTLY 60 seconds. 

vacuum excursion

Date	Place	Duration	push-ups	Pull-ups	60-second sprints	Time
4 Dec	Kavaja to Elec Market	29; 22 min	25,25	15	1	08:15

     I went out today to find a vacuum cleaner bag.  I need to cleanse my apartment after two wonderful little kittens were living here for two months.  My sons are quite allergic to cats.

   

first failed attempt

Date	Place	Duration	push-ups	Pull-ups	Time	Earlier failed attempt
1 Dec	Rruga Kavaja	29 min	25,25	15	23:05	07:51

     I have a unique column in today’s stats: First failed attempt.  This was when I went out to run this morning, but my knee did not allow a run. It had some kind of “hitch” in it that prevented normal operation.  I write of the problem in the past tense, but this is not accurate.  My knee is still somewhat messed up.  In actual fact, BOTH of the knees are giving me some trouble.  

quietly laughing uproariously

Date	Place	Duration	push-ups	Long sprint (uphill)	Pull-ups	Long sprint (downhill)	Time
27 Nov	RrugaKavaja	41 min	25,25	1:03.43	15	59.06	09:17

Date	Place	Duration	push-ups	Long sprint (uphill)	Bus stop 2	Pull-ups	Classic	Time
29 Nov	To Park	52 min	25,25	1:06.01	55.04	17,11,13,  09	51.80	07:20

     Saturday, I began the run thinking I would come home again before getting the bike and picking up the boys at their mother’s apartment.  During the run, I changed my mind and decided to run through the park to the apartment and pick up the boys right away.  One can see from the stats on the 29th that I finished the run with the classic sprint in the park.  This is the sprint up the hill.