Ones and Zeros

We’re on our way to Florida. Our first day’s leg ended in a hotel at the southern end of South Carolina off of I-95. We woke up early this morning when our terrier heard sounds outside.

I took the pup outside for a walk while my wife was inside getting ready. The pup and I ran across the motel’s lawn and chased small birds in the pre-light early morning fog. Around us are oaks, a few palms, and some tall long-leaf pine trees each with just a few massive branches. The air has a sort of spicy humid smell that reminds me of the south

(more…)

It’s 7:20 AM, not really early. But early to be out in the cold. When its cold I don’t want to go anywhere, especially at 7:20. But today I’ve had my breakfast and now I’m sitting here on the side of the gym’s indoor pool. I’m here on the faith of exercise.

I plunge in headfirst (it’s harder to change my mind that way) and start my laps. After the first few I’m more awake and the blood’s moving. I’m happy to be here now, my faith has been justified once again. I notice the sun showing through the one particular window I start thinking of as the sunrise window. I look for the bright sunlight each time I take a breath.
(more…)

Now that the colder weather is more or less upon us, I’m no longer running outside.  Let’s face it, when it comes to cold weather exercise, I’m a wuss.  So I’ve joined a gym for the next six months.

In addition to the treadmills, which while boring are warm, they also have a pool and I’ve started swimming laps.  I like swimming and at one point in my life I would swim long distances.  In the pool I can keep count of laps for a while, but after ten laps or so I start loosing track.  So, I came up with a system.

I use my sandals to count each ten laps in binary.  Straight up, pointing away from the pool, is zero.  Pointing toward the pool is one.  I count the laps in decimal, and count each ten laps - as one unit - in binary.  That way I keep track of the easy part, and my sandals keep count up to 40 laps or 3000 feet.  If/when I start swimming further, I’ll have to go to base four and point my sandals sideways too.

Part of my exercise program is a long run on the weekends. I’m up to eight miles now. Not that long for some, but long for me right now. But I don’t think of it as very long. I ran a marathon once and that reset my idea of “long”. I want to do a marathon again too, but right now my goal is consistency to get the long run to 10 miles (16 km). The eventual marathon is icing on the cake to use a less-healthy metaphor.

Especially on longer runs my mind tends to wander with little direction. I listen to conversations of people I’m passing or that are passing me, I wonder about the twinge in this ankle or that foot or knee. I look at the plants and trees I’m passing, calculate and re-calculate my time & distance, and consider technical problems at work.

I see the weed Polygonium along side the trail - ah, that’s edible! And, with a little more work, so is that deer I just past (not that I’m hunting). It’s unusual to see a deer near noontime, usually they’re resting till later. But there are too much deer in this area. We got rid of all the carnivores and the deer are overpopulating. Some parts of WV and VA have no understory in the forest.

(more…)