Glucose Curious
Also running, heat acclimation, and baking
My sense of what day of the week it is was not strong even in the office, where we had set meetings on certain days, so it’s no surprise really that out of work I often get disoriented. This week has felt long enough that it could certainly already be Friday, and it feels like time to relax after spending all day yesterday on the farm. But, it is Thursday, and thank goodness, because there is still plenty to do before we head out to the river for a long weekend tomorrow. First, a look back at the last couple days:
Half-Marathon Training on Track
On Tuesday I planned to do my track workout, which I had put down in my Training Plan as 4x800m (4 half-mile repeats). Before I even started my warm-up, the legs were complaining that they were tired and my mind was thinking about the heat and humidity, so I decided to limit the damage and do 6x400m (6 quarter-mile repeats) instead. I briskly walked 200m for my rest.
In addition to being 3/4 of the total distance, running 400m (one lap on the track) at a time meant my brain didn’t have to work as hard to keep up pace as it would have for 800m. For anyone keeping score at home, my splits were 1:55, 1:59, 1:54, 1:52, 1:50, and 1:49. That’s 7:20-7:40 mile pace, a handful of seconds faster that my 3x800m repeats two weeks ago but we have a ways to go before we get anywhere close to my high school numbers of 1:15-1:30. It felt really good though and I was surprised that I not only kept pace but managed negative splits once I got in the rhythm. My calves are still barking today, which is why my workout today is just to go for a walk and then to roll out on a foam roller later.
Wardrobe Improvements
My assignment for the day was to buy some office clothing. Applying for jobs has me nervous about the state of my closet — after working in a jeans-friendly environment for four years, I hardly have anything I can wear to an interview, not to mention if my job requires business dress. I decided to go to a local consignment store because I remembered having such good luck at one a few years ago.
I found five dresses, a pair of khaki shorts (these are just because I need more shorts for the summer — I wouldn’t wear them in an office), and a new top, and two pairs of flats — all of that for under $100. I was disappointed with the selection of slacks or pants, but it makes enough sense that people probably hold on to a good pair of pants past when they are suitable for re-sale.
Project Progress
When I got home I decided to work on a project. I’ve been quietly knitting a cabled cardigan, usually before bed or during weekly “sit & stitch” group at my local yarn store. I worked some on this cardigan while watching a couple more episodes of Lessons in Chemistry.
Hot.
I was called into work on the farm yesterday, but unfortunately spent most of it watching, occasionally go-fer’ing and once or twice being genuinely if briefly helpful. The square baler picked up a rake tooth (ack) and needed a new bearing and a couple other parts replaced, so I watched and tried to be attentive while B worked.
And I sweat. It’s been in the 90s all week and can I tell you a secret? I was terrified to go to work yesterday. Would I make it to the end of the day? Would I stay hydrated? Would it just be too hot for a person who spent the majority of the last five years indoors?
I made it, sitting in the shade and being mildly helpful, from 9am to 2pm with a break for lunch, and then — embarrassingly, just as I was about to be put to work mowing hay — I called it quits.
My sister-in-law, who of course worked on the farm throughout her adolescence, gave me some advice when she heard I would be working this summer. She said that more clothes were usually, counterintuitively, better than less clothes when it was hot and sunny, and that if I found myself getting real angry at my work partners, it was probably time to sit down in the shade.
Yesterday I wanted to ask her — and what if you’ve got an attitude from 9am and you haven’t even really started yet?
So it was that kind of day.
I drove, upset at myself and the world at large, from the farm to the store to buy ingredients for a cake which I baked when I got home. She’s a wuss, but she can do things, I guess. And I need to keep going outside this summer for seemingly unreasonable amounts of time.
Glucose Curious
A cherry on top of my mood yesterday came when I got home. I finally ordered myself an over-the-counter glucose monitor, which I have been eyeing since the beginning of the year. I’m interested in how diet and exercise, among other factors, affect my glucose response and what, generally, my baseline glucose levels are. So I was very excited when I got home and saw a package on the porch.
I was not excited when, having stabbed myself with the first sensor and finding it uncomfortable (I think I put it too close to my shoulder), it wouldn’t pair with my phone. It works by Bluetooth, relaying glucose readings to my phone every 15 minutes. I sulked about this while I baked the cake and then messaged the device support team. Lucky on two counts: they immediately responded to say I would get a new sensor for free, and this: the kit I received came with two sensors (they each last fifteen days, so this is a month’s supply), and the second one connected when I tried it after dinner. Double bonus, the new sensor location feels much better, too.
I’m interested to watch how what I eat impacts my blood sugar, of course — last night, ha, we had waffles for dinner so I got to watch the maple syrup spike — but I’m also interested to see how or if my glucose variability changes based on when I exercise, how well I sleep, or what part of my cycle I’m in. We’ll see.
I felt…
Tuesday I felt good but a little housewife-eating-bon-bons in that it felt so luxurious to have a day to just do a track workout and enjoy my afternoon working on a project I chose.
Yesterday felt generally blech but that’s to be expected when you spend Cycle Day 36 outside in 95* not being productive but feeling like a wimp anyway. I was excited to get my CGM on.
I also did more job hunting — I’ve been spending 30-60 mins a day on the job boards, and I’ve been looking more towards administrative assistant roles. The ones I’m qualified for (experience seems to get you far, as with everything, in the administrative world) don’t pay what I’d like, but the job descriptions light me up in a way that the software and project lead ones don’t. I feel up for the challenge and think that getting my foot in the door at entry level and seeing how I like it could be worthwhile.
Today
It’s already 10:30 today and so far I’ve gone for a walk, written my pages (my poor, neglected pages — I didn’t write them Tues or Weds), cleaned the kitchen, and written this post. I’m planning to job board search just a little more today, then work on my scrap quilt — I would love to get the top put together and make the quilt sandwich so it’s ready for quilting — and also assemble the cake from yesterday. Let’s go!