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January 31, 2005

At the University of the Western Cape

Hey everyone! I've finally gotten to Cape Town and found another computer, although most of the computer labs seem to be closed right now. Actually, the entire campus is rather on shut-down mode, as classes don't really start until next week. We're registering tomorrow and then we'll spend the rest of the week travelling around and going to various touristy places around here, but it's finally hit home that I'm going to be spending four potentially long months in a rather different and somewhat uncomfortable and inconvenient location. One we get various issues with the food and the showers sorted out, I should be fine.

Hope everything is going well 7890 miles away in the United States. I don't have much time right now because Frances has been patiently waiting by my side for about half an hour or so while I've done various things online, but I'll try to get online to give updates as frequently as I can. I love reading all your comments, so please keep writing! I miss everyone at home and I miss rowing with the team, but I'm also not envious of your sub-zero weather compared with our 80-90 degree temperatures...

Posted by rgutwin at 11:02 AM | Comments (4)

January 27, 2005

Safe in South Africa!

After spending 10 days in northern South Africa, I have finally found internet access! It's an incredibly slow dial-up connection that I'm paying a rand a minute for, so I won't elaborate on the way-too-action-packed days I've been having. To make a long adventure sound much shorter, then, I arrived in Johannesburg in one piece and spent the next few (remarkably jet-lag free) days visiting too many museums and attempting to retain too much information.

After a few days we drove north-west to the province of Mpumalanga, where we saw some of the most amazingly beautiful places on earth. After a few days sightseeing there, we drove further north to Kruger National Park where we saw four of the Big Five (elephants, lions, buffalo, and rhinos...the leopards managed to evade us). One lion walked directly in front of our open vehicle, and it was so amazing because he was completely wild. Today we left Kruger and drove back to Johannesburg, where we'll spend the next day at a hostel in the city and then fly to Cape Town on Saturday.

I miss all of you, but I'm having a great time here and seeing some amazing things. I'll tell you more about what's been going on when I get to UWC and encounter a less-primitive and less-expensive form of internet access. I took a lot of pictures of the 30 or so giraffe we saw in the park, and I'll post those as soon as I can. Let me know how you're all doing, and I'll write to you soon!

Posted by rgutwin at 02:53 PM | Comments (6)

January 15, 2005

A Slight Variation

Today I spent 45 minutes on the upright bike, which was decidedly more work for my legs and required more of my concentration than yesterday. Despite the fact that my legs were throbbing before I got on the bike (these so-called growing pains are becoming slightly less amusing), it was a good workout. I would have much rather been running on this bright sunshiny day, but alas, all my running clothes are packed! Today I was forced to use my rejected spandex that I rarely set my eyes upon, because honestly, who wants to travel abroad with sweaty spandex?

Posted by rgutwin at 08:44 PM | Comments (0)

January 14, 2005

My Calves are Happy

I spent an hour on the bike today, after the treadmill was conveniently broken only two hours earlier. Tim tried installing a different outlet for the new treadmill that the gym just bought, but after throwing the breaker a few times, he stepped aside. I used the recumbent bike instead of the elliptical because I want to try out all of our new toys at the gym.

I lifted in our new cage and unfortunately noticed that the bar was 30 pounds instead of 45. That would have been a much more fun lift had I not pointed the lighter bar out to myself. So I switched to the 45 lb bar sitting dejectedly in the corner, and I lifted at 70%. Although, now I won't be able to lift for at least two weeks, so perhaps my lift today was in vain...

Posted by rgutwin at 11:12 PM | Comments (0)

January 13, 2005

Back to the Elliptical

My calves are rather sore as a result of my refusal to listen to them during the run yesterday, so I spent an hour on the elliptical machine today. I decided that my heart deserved a break from the harsh tempo I've been subjecting it to over the past week or so, and I kept my heart rate around 145, which is what it would be ideally for a 60 minute cardio workout anyway. This was achieved mainly because I was talking to Frances on the phone about our rapidly approaching journey to South Africa, and thus I was not able to work as hard as I probably would have out of habit. Yay for my buddy!

Posted by rgutwin at 06:42 PM | Comments (1)

January 12, 2005

Changes

Note that I have moved my training entries off of the main page so that those who don't care about how I physically abuse myself don't have to read about it. For the rest of you, don't worry: I will still be updating the training section, and the entries haven't gone very far. You can either click on the date you're interested in on the calendar to the right, or you can click on the category labeled "Training". This way, my adventures in the distant country of South Africa will maintain front page status.

Posted by rgutwin at 07:05 PM | Comments (3)

Another Icy Day

I almost got completely iced in again today, but this time the situation wasn't quite as bad outside. My dad and I went running again, although the run was slightly shorter because of the whole I'm-really-afraid-of-falling-down thing. We ran for about 40 minutes with an average pace of around a 9:20 minute mile. I'm hoping that I won't regret this run tomorrow, because the last time I ran on a mad calf muscle was two years ago and a huge mistake. I didn't get to the gym to lift today due to the icy situation outside. I think I'll live anyway, though.

Posted by rgutwin at 06:53 PM | Comments (4)

January 11, 2005

My Calves Are Getting Mad

Another 50 minute run outside today. I have decided that the GPS device I have is very useful for giving me information about my run, but not so good for me athletically when combined with my rather competitve personality. I beat my Virtual Partner by a lot today, finishing with an average pace of 8:20 and a total distance of exactly 6 miles. Unfortunately, all this fast running is probably not good for my heart, and it is definitely not good for my underdeveloped calves. I should probably run slower.

Posted by rgutwin at 06:44 PM | Comments (8)

January 10, 2005

Those Weights Were Heavy

I increased to 70% for weights today, which was quite heavy and not as quick as 65% had been. However, at least I'm getting stronger, and those weights won't seem quite so heavy a few weeks from now.

I went on a 50 minute run today and beat my Virtual Partner by over a quarter of a mile, which was an improvement from the last time I ran with him. I covered 5.81 miles with an average pace of 8:34 and a heart rate that was probably off the chart, but I have fun running fast.

Posted by rgutwin at 07:58 PM | Comments (2)

January 08, 2005

Another Workout with the Parental Unit

I went on a short run with my father today, despite the fact that it was starting to get dark and it was snowing rather heavily. We averaged slightly under a 10:00 mile, but considering all the hills and slush we ran through, it was a fairly moderate pace. I didn't wear a heart rate monitor because I am temporarily not in favor of catering to my stubborn heart. My handy GPS device told me that we ran 4.37 miles in 43 minutes and 30 seconds; overall, a good run.

Posted by rgutwin at 09:16 PM | Comments (0)

January 07, 2005

Improvements

Since I lifted today and the weights were at the gym, I decided to forego the outdoor run in the 6 inches of snow that accumulated yesterday. Thus, I spent 45 minutes on the elliptical and then lifted weights at 65% again. I am very excited that lifting on Wednesday made me decidedly less sore than it did last week, and on Monday I'll increase the weight. Cleans are still remarkably painful, though...

Posted by rgutwin at 08:30 PM | Comments (0)

January 06, 2005

Success

I ran for 50 minutes today with my Virtual Buddy and beat him by about 317 feet, which isn't much over 5.61 miles, but at least I succeeded in winning a race with a partner I can't even see. I did get a cramp in my right lung that forced me to stop for a minute due to my inability to breathe, but other than that, the run went well and I don't feel particularly sore. I'm planning on running again tomorrow, as I will be almost exclusively running in about two weeks. Preparation is clearly the skill I lacked with my prior running experiences.

Posted by rgutwin at 11:36 PM | Comments (0)

January 05, 2005

The Erg Is My Friend

I erged again today for 45 minutes with an average heart rate of 160. Very consistently, my average split was the same as what it has been. I'll keep working on that. I then lifted at 65% again, despite my sore legs. After I lifted, the rather strange thing was that my left quad hurt about a dozen times more than my right one, but I have no idea why. Hmm...

Posted by rgutwin at 11:28 PM | Comments (0)

January 04, 2005

Slowly But Surely

I rowed 10K on the erg today and pulled just under 2:30 with an average heart rate of 160, which is 5 beats lower than when I did this exact workout two weeks ago. Really, really sore from lifting yesterday, although I still plan on lifting again tomorrow. I can't tell if I'm hurting my body or helping it...

Posted by rgutwin at 09:16 PM | Comments (0)

January 03, 2005

Take That...

I was planning on taking a run outside today, but it turned out I had some immediate marketing deadlines to make, so I worked for the remainder of the daylight hours. Thus, I ran for 30 minutes on the treadmill this evening until it started making not-so-great noises, and then I finished with 30 minutes on the erg. I also lifted again at 65%, which was surprisingly difficult and not too much fun.

A really weird thing about my body, as if there weren't enough already, was that my quads hurt this morning even though I have barely used them for the past two days. I should be studied someday: I'm a walking phenomenon.

Posted by rgutwin at 09:27 PM | Comments (0)

January 02, 2005

Iced In

Due to a 17-hour Alias Season Two marathon yesterday with my sister, I decided to take my rest day on Saturday this week. I woke up this morning with the full intention of running outside later on this afternoon. After church and my father's birthday lunch, I noticed that it was raining outside. This wouldn't usually be a problem, because I row in the rain and thus am fully prepared to exercise when cold and wet. What I couldn't deal with, however, was the layer of ice that had coated all possible running surfaces outside. It became very clear rather quickly as my siblings and I walked to my car that I wouldn't be able to run on the ice. I was having a tremendous amount of difficulty just walking.

I decided that if I couldn't run outside, then I would run on the treadmill at the gym. Unfortunately, we pulled out of my father's development onto a road where dozens of cars were in a complete standstill. Apparently they had closed all the roads in my town. Thus, I succumbed to the inevitability that I could not make it to the gym and I would most certainly injure myself if I tried to overcome the elements outside. So my family and I spent an enjoyable evening iced in at my father's house watching Babette's Feast instead. Tomorrow, however, my out-of-shape body will not be so lucky.

Posted by rgutwin at 10:06 PM | Comments (0)