Spinning Spinning Fall

Spinning through life is strangely similar to spinning in the the amusement park centrifuges. You feel you are going very fast, but you really don't go anywhere. Fortunately, I do have some friends to remind me, and tip me over. I then realize that I had been spinning without control.

Tails of Neuropathic Pain

I have been doing surgeries on rats for a while now, as it is definitely good practise for my finger dexterirty. I remember how shaky I was when I first started holding the foreign objects, but now, it has begun to get quite proficient.

Due to my scheduling, I often do the surgeries after hours, and in the middle of the night. To add to that, the surgery/animal room are all housed in the basement, adding to the "ambiance" of the operation. But, being surrounded by isofurane (anesthestic), and catchings wifts of it at a time, funny things happen down there!

Here was what happened last night:

I was singing "Rocketeer", while finishing up a rat, with one more ready to go.
The last rat was still in its cage, when I suddenly heard a thump! I turned around, and that rat had decicded to "hang itself!" He had jumped up, and got his head stuck in between the edge of the box and a lid, and was turning blue! I promptly released it, but I was reminded that rats may prefer to kill themselves than listen to my singing!

STWM - Half Marathon Day!

After a summer of training, and about two long runs in September, I ran the Scotiabank Toronto Half Marathon on 9/26/2010. I finished in 1hr 48min, which was slightly longer than I had intended, but still a good run. I found it very different to run in the middle of a crowd, and I often didn't know whether to speed up or slow down with them. Regardless, it was a rewarding way to finish the summer training. =)

Many people are encouraging me to run the full next year. Who knows ;) For now, I will focus back on my favorite sports: basketball and badminton! =)

Badminton Training 7 & 8

Badminton Training 7

- Whip Smash drill : side - side
- Whip Smash Drill : Side - side moving forward
- played two on one: billy and I against Vincent. In which we only used low-serves and a flick low flick serve to the center corner. the match was too close, despite being on the two side.
- Played one-on-one with Fruit, at which point my clears and shots had become weak. Fruit explained that it was the way the racquet face was interfacing with the birdie. When I was hitting it, it had become more of a slice, making the shots slower, and easier to defend, while if I could tilt the face, and use more body torque, the shots became harder, faster, and harder to reach.


Badminton Training 8

- Last class!

1) cross court net drops, using a slicing method (concave/convex racquet movement) that requires a locked wrist and mostly tricep movement.
2) fourth grip tap and defense
3) service flick smash (returning flick serves)

The three effects of the racquet head on a bird:
- when the racquet head is tilted forward -> the bird is given a slight top spin and would travel further
- when the racquet head is flat -> the bird is reflected at the same speed, in a way, the racquet absorbs all the force and turns around
- when the racquet head is tilted backwards -> the bird is given more under spin and travels less/slower.

Vengeance! Sept 5th Run

Finally! I have a claimed vengeance against the weather. For the last few weeks, Sunday mornings meant down pours. I have even attempted to run through the rain once, but to my dismay, the bucket would tip and I would be drenched from head to toe. I would then have to sneak into gas stations or convenience stores and wait the weather out. At which point, my feet were soggy and uncomfortable, my clothes were cold and wet from the stores' AC, and I was left feeling miserable. Incomplete. Unsatisfied, and unaccomplished.

Nothing that a steaming warm shower can't solve, but finally, the weather changed for the better today. Though there was a brisk and chilly wind, I conquered the run I had set out to do a while back. It features: 16th, Major Mac, and Elgin mills, and reaches Mill St. Pond at its extreme. I had rarely been in that neighborhood, and it came as a bit of suprise to see the number of dogs/dog walkers there were. The gardens in the neighborhood also seemed to be more meticulously kept.

I finished the run in 2hr and 15 min. It was a half-marathon length, which I had never attempted before, and I was happy to have found a new stride in the middle of the run. Whether it was the gust of wind behind my back, or merely remembering the badminton coaches saying, "torque your core!", I torqued, and I found new life. The new mechanics allowed me to increase the distance of my strides, and seemed to lessen the burden on the legs, I will have to remember it for the race in a few weeks!

Nearing the very end, I really could have used a power drink. My mind was losing concentrating, and I was beginning to wonder if ketoacidosis was kicking in. I'll have to have a heavier carb meal at breakfast!

Cinnamon Buns

Made the cinnamon buns according to cookingbread.com. Hesitated for a while after seeing the amount of butter required! (1/2 cup) which isn't that much, but I was getting use to the simple yeast breads that only required a little bit of oil.

Also, didn't make the icing, so the buns arn't overly sweet, but it sure was fun rolling up! The butter really helps make it elastic!

Hand Rolls

Had fun making some mini-rolls. They were finished by the end of the day! =)

Aug 13th, 5K speed test.

I wanted to know if I really gun for it, my approximate speed for a 5K run. I ran for the first time at night. The sun was down, and I relied on the street lamps to guide my path. I can tell you running in the dark has its own unique nuances. All the senses are firing, and your mind finds a friend in adrenaline. The terrain was mighty uneven (more or less downhill for the first half and uphill for the last half), resulting in shin tightness, or fibularis longis exhaustion, but thats a good thing I suppose, as that muscle is rarely active.

I finished the run in 23min 45sec. approximately 4 minutes longer than my goal of 20 min. To be a cross country varsity athlete, you probably need approximately 17min. The world record for men? 12 minutes. Double my speed!

I doubt however, that I will run this path again, the downhill portion was too unnatural for my liking, and may have skewed the time for the worse.

The interesting thing about running in the dark, other than not always knowing what you are stepping on until you get tactile feedback is all the energy and adrenaline that was rushing around the circulation stimulated my "self-narration mode". Here is an excerpt of how it sounded like:

- Seeking a ground in which to plant,
- My leg falls, bracing the hit.
- The breath heavies as darkness rises
- But looking up, the sky a deep blue, yet far and fuzzy,
- a panopy of sprinkling stars.
- The shield falls, the legs begin, failing to avoid the counter of concrete,
- pushing back, squeezing in.
- The final leg, one final burst, drop the shields, drop the sword,
- Its fist to fist, towards the end, I see it, no stopping now.

Craziness!!

Badminton Training 5 & 6

Warmup Plyo Drill - hop around the gym.
Net play: One partner net smashes, and one partner drives back as hard as possible.
Bungee cord Drill - moving backwards for a smash


Badminton Training 6

Three person, half court, smash-return drill.
Fourth Grip Net Shot - A really difficult grip/shot to master. But Done correctly, is a virtually unstoppable return. Lots of finger play, and definitely need to practise this more.
Played one-on-one with the coach

I did feel like I was moving around the court better than before, however, in the end, I still wasn't able to keep up with the amount of attack clears to the back.

Aug 8th Run - Finding the Path

Ran with a friend, so the starting point was at her house. Although the pace was a little slower (we finished in 2hr 25min?) We stopped a few times, and were loss for a good 10-15 minutes. The East Donmills Parkland was very rewarding to run through! A great pathway in the middle of the city. Too bad for the rainy weather! (22K?) The Picture shows the supposed path, if we didn't get loss, no matter,