Stalker

Lately, I’ve been transitioning over to a paleo/primal diet.  Lean meats, piles of veggies, no starches, no processed food.  The middle-aged middle wasn’t budging, in spite of the running and the pretty reasonable eating plan.  I can feel the muscle I’ve developed under the padding, but no one can see it.  I’m proud of the changes I’ve made and I want to show them off.  If you’re curious about the eating plan check out Nerd Fitness and Mark’s Daily Apple for more details.

One of the things the paleo/primal community discusses is what type of workouts would mirror the hunter/gatherer lifestyle.  I saw a video of a clever young man who used a sledgehammer and his 3 younger siblings (no siblings were harmed in the course of the workout) to duplicate sprinting after prey, killing it, then running back to the cave with the carcass.  Since I don’t own a sledgehammer at the moment and my siblings don't live close by, I had to come up with my own version, which I'm calling Stalker.  It hurt so good that I must share it with you.

I was on my own for my run on Friday and it was not a pretty day, so I mostly had the local trail to myself.  Fortunate, because I'm sure I looked completely demented for the middle part of my run.  I jogged the first mile (to get my muscles thoroughly warmed up) to the “hunting grounds” then walked until I spotted my prey (caught my breath).  I froze, then slowly lowered to a crouch (ever watch a cat stalk a mouse?  Like that, but without the tail lashing).  I took off as fast as I could and ran at top speed until I could feel myself slowing down and starting to gasp for breath.  Then I walked until I spotted my prey, and did it all over.  I “hunted” for a little over a mile, then tried to jog back.  The long muscles at the back of my thighs were so tired that there was a lot more walking than jogging on the return trip.  It was a great workout, and much more fun than “run 400 meters at zone 4, jog 3.5 minutes at zone 2” type interval workouts.

On my cooldown walk to the car, I got the chance to stalk some prey for real.  Two little rabbits were investigating the tree litter on the trail, so I carefully stepped toward them as gracefully and silently as I could, following them down the trail and trying to get as close as possible.  I got within 10 feet or so before the closest one got alarmed and dashed for cover.  Next time I play Stalker I’ll have to add the sneaky stepping into the workout.

I’m thinking that Friday might not be the best day for this, though.  DOMS (that’s Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness for you non-fitness-nerds out there) had set in by Sunday morning, so my long run had to be a run/walk.  I still managed 10 miles, but it hurt.  A lot.  Plus I really hope my running group (SOFA Striders:  Faster than everyone sitting on the couch—wo0t!) will “hunt” along with me.  Maybe we could even get a couple of other friends out there with us.  It would be a lot more fun to hunt in a pack, plus it would be nice not to look demented all alone.  I’m pretty sure the other person on the trail that evening couldn’t see the antelope that I was tracking.

How is your paradigm?

Animals are so cool.  I needed an emotional boost, so I was scrolling through the Cheezburger Network stuff and discovered a link to this great story about a puppy.  The one thing that really struck me was a quote from the dog’s physical therapist.

“Her brain kicked in and by the end of the first session, she was like, ‘Oh, I can do this,’” McCartt said.  “She’s a walking miracle.  She’s a real testament to a dog’s determination to get up and just go.”

I’ve been getting those emails from the Thoughts Become Things people (that I mentioned in this entry), which are helping me look at many things differently (but not everything—no worries, I’m not turning perfect or enlightened on you or anything—that would just be annoying).  But the quote made me wonder, what could we accomplish if we just thought “Oh, I can do this” whenever we were presented with a challenge—just hit it with the belief that we are more than ready to run that race.  Would we discover that we are truly capable of anything?

On a side note, a friend that I was afraid I had lost has gotten in touch again—yay!  And in other news, I am going on a date for the first time in 15 years—eek!  These two things make me feel very smiley and I noticed that when I am grinning happily, I look a lot like a deranged rabbit.  Ha!  It’s all part of my crazy charm, right?

Must. Stay. Positive.

Some days it's really hard for me to find the silver lining.  Today is one of those days.  The best I've come up with so far is that I don't have a headache.  Also, my bank balance isn't quite as low as I thought.  Um.....let's see.....my car's gas tank is mostly full.  There is food in my freezer, so I shouldn't have to eat rice and beans too often this month and I'll have a chance to come up with some.....inventive.....food combinations.  It was less humid today.  I thought there were no bunnies out this morning, but I saw one just before I pulled out of my driveway.  Gah.  Some days this positive outlook stuff is easier than others.

Buns

 

I have a family of wild bunnies living in my yard, which I love to watch.  There are occasional close encounters with the teenaged buns who haven't really learned to eat and stay on guard at the same time.  This morning, I startled one when I walked out to my car to go to work.  Apparently it hadn't heard the door to the house close or the screen door slam (it's tough to exit gracefully with a broken hand and my usual baggage—think pack mule with only three legs).  When I walked around the front of the car, it took off with a scatter of gravel, at top speed, in full cottontail mode.  I don't think I've ever seen a rabbit doing the "alarm tail."  I've seen deer do that, but not the buns—guess I've never really surprised one before.  It didn't actually alarm the other rabbit, who was nomming the grass in another part of the driveway, so perhaps it's more like the cat's tail in puffy mode?

I wonder if bunnies have crazy days like people do?  I was watching one of the rabbits zipping and zigzagging around the yard, but never saw any sort of predator.  Maybe it was just practicing escape moves?  Or just feeling frisky in the cooler morning air?