My 2nd week's comments on classmates:

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=8411741113030095950&postID=1766889144778133055&page=1

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6082090251227869659&postID=2630035568503643458&page=1

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=789260959073776650&postID=2405166847116365053&page=1

Comment 3

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1894066948292560071&postID=1501626642458073646&page=1

Comment 2

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=320170978950028070&postID=2828874973236262939&page=1

Comment 1

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4390544633732217293&postID=6810955779502187184

Sore

For thanksgiving, I decided to run a little extra to increase my metabolism and strengthen my hunger. I hadn't eaten anything all day but went off for a run anyway. My roommates cousins were in town and they rode their bikes as I ran and I took them to the top of the avenues on a very long run. The view is beautiful and they enjoyed it very much. The run tired me out quite a bit but I was all ready for thanksgiving dinner. Unfortunately I paid the price the next three days as I was extremely sore and might have very minorly pulled some muscles. It ended up not being a big deal but ruined my weekend of skiing. I definitely learned my lesson however. Trying to run the distance I did was a bad idea!

PROJECT 3 LINK

HERE

Now it's counting

Now that winter is pretty much here I've been hiking lots to ski because a lot of the resorts still aren't quite open and I've really noticed my additional stamina which has been great. One of the main reasons I run is to get into shape for the ski season and I think I have done just that. Though I've still been getting sore because we hike all day long all weekend long, but I can still handle it fairly easily.

Colder weather

The colder weather lately has weakened my motivation to go running. With ski season starting I've started to run less, however I do want to continue running as much as possible to stay in shape for the upcoming winter. As long as it's not raining I'm content with the cooler weather which is usually nice to run in. Running at night has also become difficult because it's even colder then. School has started to get more hectic and with finals around the corner it is nice to be able to run off some stress. Once it starts to snow consistently in the valley it will be even more difficult to get myself out and running but once I'm out it's not hard to enjoy.

PROJECT 2 LINK:

HERE

Comedy

So now that I have music to listen to, I've decided to switch it up a little bit. I found some comedians that I like to listen to (though I don't often listen to comedy) and tried running to it. I actually has turned out to be really fun! It's a little bit different but it passes the time very well. I will often find myself laughing out loud then looking around to see if there is anyone around to notice because it would probably seem a little bit unusual. Not having a beat ensures that my pace isn't messed up by the beat of the music. One thing I will have to figure out however is what to do once I run out of comedians!

Music

I just bought an ipod used from a friend and I'm so excited. It's been well over a year since I've run with one and it makes the runs feel much more fun. At first it seemed to mess with my breathing pattern but now it's awesome I just zone out and listen to music while my body does all the work. I think I'm going to get hooked again. I did enjoy the night ambience but I've been enjoying it for a long time so I ready to switch it up!

New Route

This week has started out very interestingly  for me. I decided to go onto google earth and try to find a new route to run. My location can be difficult sometimes because I'm limited in the directions that I can run. Because I live on a big hill I can't run straight up it (or atleast for very long) so I have to find ways to traverse along it and work my way up slowly. I usually like to start my runs up hill so that I can run down on the way back but I decided to find a route that goes downhill first. What I hadn't realized is that if I go in the exact opposite direction that I normally run in the hill actually mellows out quite a bit; enough that I can plan the majority of my run in that area. It's also great because I can run the route backwards because it's not overly steep uphill in either direction, unlike my original route. I've been having a great time running at a very fast pace along this new route, forward and backward.

Graveyard

Last night during my run, I was feeling a little bored. One of the routes that I always run takes me around a large cemetery. From curiosity and sheer boredom, I decided to explore. Since it was 10 at night it was very dark and cemetery was much bigger than I expected. Eventually the hum of the city and cars started to die beneath the sound of my breathing and footsteps until it was all I heard. What I thought was a main road through turned out to be part of a maze. Eventually I found my way out however and finished my loop, it was a fun little addition to my sometimes stagnant runs.

Long Haul

Running has been steady for me lately, it feels natural even though I have a big weight on my arm. The cast has really gotten beaten up. The cotton is very dirty and ripping around areas that get a lot of movement, especially around the thumb. I've been cutting off hanging pieces and trying to stuff other pieces back in where there is raw cast against my skin. I briefly considered calling the doctor about getting a replacement one but with only two weeks left I figured I could wait it out. The smell has gotten to be bit much however and after every run it stinks, even though the rest of me is washed clean.

THE LINK TO MY WEBSITE:

is 

fileserver.art.utah.edu/~jstrenio/

Exploring

Now that I'm somewhat back into the full swing of running, things seem a little different. Over the summer I was pretty care free and running was something I enjoyed. I've been running since mid May now. I still enjoy it but between school, work and other responsibilities it is getting to be a little more difficult to find time to do it. However this has made me realize that I need to get more creative with it, change it up, keep it interesting. Since I've been running the same routes since school started I decided I wanted to find something new, but when you live on a hill it's hard to find new ways to go. Last night I found out I have a test in one of my classes later this week and I don't have the study guide. My friend who is also in the class was leaving his house to go pick a copy up from another guy, then head home himself. I decided to go with him to pick up the study guide then run home. I added a few twists and turns to make sure that the run was still long enough, and since it was already past 11 and because it was going to be a new route, I decided to keep the distance at three miles. The run was great! It felt like one mile, and i was able to push it pretty hard the entire time. I've decided that I'm going to keep trying to run new areas to keep it fun.

getting back to normal

Even though I was sore last week, taking a day off seemed to help. I'm feeling very normal again and my patches over my hip have come off so I've finally been able to actually see my wound. Not only are the stitches gone, absorbed into my body, but the wound has fully healed over. Running has been going well but I haven't been overly pushing myself. I've just been running 3 and 4 mile loops lately, running almost always 8 minute miles. Though my hip has healed over it does get sore on the inside and I think it's because the bone itself is still healing even though the skin is fully healed.

Getting ahead of myself?

I'm now at just about the two week mark from surgery, almost a week since I've been cleared to run and I'm honestly a little sore... but not from running. 

After running the two mile with Tyler I stepped it up to three miles the next day and thought I would stay there for at least a week. I started to get ahead of myself however and ran a 4 miler the next day. Now I know an extra mile isn't that much more but when you're running up the steepest hill you've ever run on, it gets a little intense. To give some perspective, I had been running 4 and 6 mile loops over the summer everyday switching off between the two. When I moved to my new house I figured that I could do any 4 miles I wanted, regardless of the hill since I also had been running 6 mile loops. However the first time I ran it, I began dry-heaving near the top of the hill. I've since adapted to the hill, but in retrospect, it was pushing it a little early I think. I stuck with it, but biking to class and skating is oddly what seems to make me sore. I think the impact of skating has made me the most sore because the only thing that seems to hurt my hip anymore is when I sneeze or my abs are flexed for any other reason. Running doesn't seem to do that much but whatever it was, my hip is very sore. I'm not one to whine but I don't want to risk my stiches opening back up so I've decided to take a day off. Hopefully it will feel better tomorrow!

back on my feet

So yesterday at the one week mark from my surgery, I went in to the University Orthopedic center for my check-up appointment and to get my wrist casted. After being told before surgery that it would be atleast a month before I could run again, I was excited to hear that my hip had healed enough that I could carefully begin running whenever I wanted. My doctor was very friendly and helpful. I also finally got to see my stiches on my wrist. It looked very puny and weak but it wasn't too bad. After being casted I hurried home to go off and run. I decided that since I had beat my expected recovery time by three weeks for my hip that I would start small because it honestly was still a little sore. I did my mile, it was a little akward, half because I hadn't run in a week, half because my stiches were tugging a little bit. I ran it in a modest 8 minutes.
I currently just got back from my second day's run and I decided to tack on a mile. It was nice, I had my roommate Tyler, a runner in high school, come along. My hip felt great right off the bat and with someone to run with we were able to turn up the pace. We ran two 6.5 minute miles. The only thing that worries me now is my cast getting smelly, I can't wash it for five weeks!

No Pain No Gain

I had my surgery and it went great. The whole procedure took under two hours and I left the hospital with a completely numb lifeless arm. Unfortunately the whole in my arm was large enough that they had to take bone from my hip so I've had trouble walking the last few days. I've been trying my best not to take any pain medication because I'm just not a fan of drugs in general.
The day of surgery actually wasn't too bad. With the numbing agent still at work my arm didn't hurt at all and I was actually able to make my night class. The following morning and afternoon however was very painful. Walking and getting up hurt my hip and my wrist just throbbed constantly.
Currently I'm feeling real good; I have an appointment on Tuesday where I will get my cast on and hopefully my hip stiches out. I was originally told by my doctor that it would be a month before I could run again but I'm going to try to shoot for two weeks. I'm going to talk to my doctor about it when I go in. For now it's rest and trying to take pleasure on my little break from all healthy activity.

Running entry 1

For my blog entry I've decided to write about running and my surgery recovery. I decided to write about running because it's something that I've constantly been working on over the past two summers.

I've always considered myself somewhat of an athletic person but I discontinued my participation in high school sports after my freshman year. As an avid skier and skater I felt that I still maintained my healthy stature, but around the half way point of my senior year I began yearning for my pulse to pump at it's maximum capacity and my muscles to whine and burn. I decided to go for a run and it felt great. That spring, with the end of skiing I immediately began running daily and the summer after I graduated from high school became the summer that I became a runner. I ran 3 miles or more a day everyday for just over 100 days, and I didn't miss a single one. As fall came I slowly began running less and less until ski season was in full swing and so I stopped.

This past summer I started up strong again but began experimenting more and more with my running. I did a 13 mile run early on, then later in the summer began timing my runs to try to increase my speed. My personal best six mile run was in 43.5 minutes. When I visited home in Vermont the lower elevation increased my stamina and I was able to run 27 miles.

That brings me up to my current state. I've been running 3-6 miles almost everyday and tomorrow I am scheduled for surgery, which is going to put me out for two weeks if I don't need bone taken from my hip, 4 if I do.

Exploring Adaweb.com/project

upon first impression this website seemed very random and pointless. A mess of web pages with no correlation and sentences that didn't make sense. But as I continued to dig through I started to find patterns and games. I still don't fully understand what the website's point is or what exactly it's about even, but I did begin to find it pretty entertaining.
There seemed to be many puzzles that weren't only difficult to try to solve but also required you to read the directions, which were often worded trickily, very carefully. I got a very artistic abstract feel from the website. I began to think that nothing was random, but actually very carefully selected to be the exact way it was. I found one page with pornography in the bottom corner which by this point didn't suprise me based off the context of what I had already seen.
Overall I find the website to be very strange and difficult to understand but I believe the creators developed it very carefully. I'm guessing they are not only very artistic but also very intelligent people. I would not recommend this website to the easily bored.

-John