Stefanie's

[Stefanie]

@John

oh Stef …really?

YEs, really

By the way…

Venting…
Nothing too serious…It’s just that I always feel like there’s one piece missing… This time it’s my violin. I’ve spent hours and hours and hours practicing in the past…
[I had auditioned for violin performance when I was 17, to study in college, in one of the best music schools in the US, shortly after 2.5 years of picking it up(I don’t know what I was thinking… but I became good really fast and my teacher pushed me to the improbable), btw, I wasn’t accepted, but anyhow… it was a respectable effort… Then life brought me for 3 months to another violin teacher in Thessaloniki (during my “study abroad” period - in my home town… :rolleyes:). He had mentioned once that he admired everything I did seriously (painting, architecture, tennis and track), but playing the violin was the most difficult thing I did well, and quitting it would be a sin… I don’t know why music teachers were always afraid of me quitting… instinct? ]
My teacher in the US had told me several times that if I quit in the future he would come out of his tomb and hit me on the head with the instrument (how wistful, but true).

There is always too little time. And too many desires and NEEDS to fulfill.

I was telling Dejan the other day that I am thinking of trying out being a polyphasic (=“having several periods of activity interrupted by intervening periods of rest in each 24 hours”. This is done by adapting the cyrcadian rhythm so there is a total of 2 hours rest in each 24 hours, usually split in 3 intervals (of 40’ sleep each). Studies have shown that even athletes have benefited from this kind of adaptation. I don’t have the details. But it sounds crazy enough to consider!

I need more time to do everything, and I need time to practice my violin again. I am missing out on music, and my favorite sound in the world… Not just hearing it… but also producing it… It’s more than I can explain.

I’ve gone through many dilemmas of decision making in my life, I’ve gone through phases where I would rather practice my violin at ANY given time, in sacrifice of playing tennis (which I did seriously back then and truly enjoyed). Then things always shifted, my teacher died, I lost motive, desires switched, adrenaline took different forms, string ensembles crumbled, fingers rusted.
Playing that requested and promised piece at my teacher’s funeral was the last serious effort of that sweet and intense period of life where reality took another form of musical existence.

I know painting does the same. And training also. Even reading. And having a profound and quick-witted conversation.
Why is it that we want it all?
And to me right now, a Stef-chunk is missing.

And on top of that, I miss Dejannnn !!! :o

[Stefanie]

@Dejan

De Verdad.
I think she has hear it more than 30 times today!

30 is about right… !

[Stefanie]

Mmmm I miss the EMS.
Body parts sore (right hip)…
Legs felt heavy today, even for tempo. (so I did some strength endurance instead… :rolleyes:)

[u]Friday, April 10th: /u

> Warm up / Isometrics

> Drills

> 10 x 60m running A skips, on nice grass (I didn’t get shot )

> Cool down.

[Charlie_Francis]

@Stefanie

Mmmm I miss the EMS.
Body parts sore (right hip)…
Legs felt heavy today, even for tempo. (so I did some strength endurance instead… :rolleyes:)

[u]Friday, April 10th: /u

> Warm up / Isometrics

> Drills

> 10 x 60m running A skips, on nice grass (I didn’t get shot )

> Cool down.

Don’t try polyphasic. you can’t invent more hours no matter how you slice them.

[robin1]

@Stefanie

I was telling Dejan the other day that I am thinking of trying out being a polyphasic (=“having several periods of activity interrupted by intervening periods of rest in each 24 hours”. This is done by adapting the cyrcadian rhythm so there is a total of 2 hours rest in each 24 hours, usually split in 3 intervals (of 40’ sleep each). Studies have shown that even athletes have benefited from this kind of adaptation.

The studies you seem to be referring to were done on sailors, and the performance measure was sailing speed.

(http://pdfserve.informaworld.com/747247_751304857_782431473.pdf)

I think it can be expected that average sailing speed will increase if sailors spend less time sleeping during a race, but I don’t think that this necessarily implies they were actually performing better while awake.

Dwain Chambers claims that he only sleeps about 4-5 hours a day though, so apparently it’s possible to perform well as a sprinter without getting the recommended 8 hours of sleep per day.

[John]

Stef,
you are a victim of your own abilities and success. You may be able to incorporate the things you want but trying to do everything at an extremely high level may prove difficult (impossible? ) remember you are able to do things for fun and not everything needs to be perfect.

While Polyphasic may be at the extreme end short sleep / rest (Nanna Naps :p) can be very beneficial but IMHO should be used to catch up and recuperate not replace regular sleep.

[timh]

@robin1

I think it can be expected that average sailing speed will increase if sailors spend less time sleeping during a race, but I don’t think that this necessarily implies they were actually performing better while awake.

Remember this is the actual event. You will be fatigue come the end of the race and need to recover. The sleep thing is a fine balance between safety and longevity, and performance.

Here’s a success story: http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/10/polyphasic-sleep/
He makes it sound fantastic. I just had to try it - a couple of times. I got sick (cold/flu) about 10 days in each time and had to abort… I don’t really think the polyphasic schedule is possible with any sort of athletic loading, like daily sprinting…

[John]

How is your knee now?

[Stefanie]

@John

Stef,
you are a victim of your own abilities and success. You may be able to incorporate the things you want but trying to do everything at an extremely high level may prove difficult (impossible? ) remember you are able to do things for fun and not everything needs to be perfect.

“Impossible is Nothing” !!! :eek:

@John

How is your knee now?

Fine, thank you
Doctors don’t know what they are talking about, after all.
(sometimes it bothers me, but not when I do things right.)

[Stefanie]

@timh

Remember this is the actual event. You will be fatigue come the end of the race and need to recover. The sleep thing is a fine balance between safety and longevity, and performance.

Here’s a success story: http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/10/polyphasic-sleep/
He makes it sound fantastic. I just had to try it - a couple of times. I got sick (cold/flu) about 10 days in each time and had to abort… I don’t really think the polyphasic schedule is possible with any sort of athletic loading, like daily sprinting…

Interesting! I read a big chunk of that blog just now. Not a “success story” per say… he went back to monophasic, and he lists a lot of cons concerning it.
Dejan told me that humans, as a species, used to be polyphasic. Which is also interesting…

I think I am convinced to stick to the way the majority of humans are evolving right now… (monophasic). At least concerning sleep…

[Stefanie]

@robin1

I think it can be expected that average sailing speed will increase if sailors spend less time sleeping during a race, but I don’t think that this necessarily implies they were actually performing better while awake. .

ALthough there have been some studies referring to better recovery patterns in polyphasic athletes… But I haven’t looked too much into it to comment freely…

[John]

@Stefanie

Fine, thank you
Doctors don’t know what they are talking about, after all.
(sometimes it bothers me, but not when I do things right.)

do you put that down to the iso’s?

[Stefanie]

Saturday, April 11th: (Thssaloniki)

I really am looking forward to my new EMS… one more week…
I don’t know if I am mentally/physically addicted, or if it really works that greatly with recovery… but not having it for 3 days has been a BIG difference on my body… (soreness and inflammation).
Or maybe it’s simply lack of Dejan.

Today I helped my 400m buddy train (400m, national team, good friend, guy who sleeps in altitude tent). He had a 450m, I pulled him in the last 150 pretty successfully… he pr’ed for this year:cool:, with pretty strong head wind at the end too. AND he was tired coming in.
Good for him!
I didn’t go full speed of course (I should be more progressive afterall… ), I was just trying to be a good pacer. I was only supposed to run the last 100m straight (headwind), but since I was still slightly ahead and relaxed, I also ran the last 50m with him. That 100m split was 13.10 for him. (Hard to know mine… I started running when he was 10m behind, and I was 5m ahead at the end of it. The fact that I was going effortlessly and with headwind, makes me kind of pleased…)

Session summary:

> Warm up / Isometrics
> A skips / Running A skips
> 2 x 80m strides on grass
> 3 short accelerations on track/spikes
> 1 x 150m relaxed

[Stefanie]

@John

do you put that down to the iso’s?

Since I am missing tissue (?) underneath my fractured kneecap, I believe that quad strengthening from ISO’s has played a great role in reducing friction when moving (< pain), along with better form (which has been a result of isometrics, and also good recent consulting, although technique is still an issue… which can only improve… =) )

[MIKE_NIKE]

Stephanie
I have been having knee issues as well and was wondering if you have a regiment of ISO that you do and/or do you happen to know of a web site which illustrates the ISO’s.
Thanks

MIKE NIKE

[Charlie_Francis]

@Stefanie

“Impossible is Nothing” !!! :eek:

That is the Nike catchphrase for third world wages:
A dollar a day is too much. 50 cents a day is doable. Impossible is nothing.

[Stefanie]

@MIKE_NIKE

Stephanie
I have been having knee issues as well and was wondering if you have a regiment of ISO that you do and/or do you happen to know of a web site which illustrates the ISO’s.
Thanks

MIKE NIKE

Hi Mike,
I have been involved with Jay Schroeder’s ISO positions, who showed them to me in person - but you can get information about them here:
http://evosport.wordpress.com/
(note: There is really a lot of discussion and controversy about this stuff around the internet, I don’t want to get into too much debating here… But they have worked for me. )

"In my iso extremes one is pulling into position the complete time of performance. It is not a resisting of the load. The seven positions are:
iso extreme preacher curl
iso extreme pushup
iso extreme scapular pullup
iso extreme front lunge
iso extreme 1 legged squat
iso extreme glute ham
iso extreme supported squat

One pulls into the extreme position and then continues to pull throughout the total time." (5minutes).

I haven’t been doing exactly those exercises, but I am assuming that the supported squat helped me the most with my knee. When I have knee irritation, I drop the lunge all together.

With knees, it’s important to do anything right, so you don’t add more stress to them.

[Stefanie]

@Charlie_Francis

That is the Nike catchphrase for third world wages:
A dollar a day is too much. 50 cents a day is doable. Impossible is nothing.

I’ll reverse it to “nothing is impossible” then !!

[MIKE_NIKE]

Stefanie

Thanks for the the info.; its much appreciated.

MIKE NIKE

[Stefanie]

@MIKE_NIKE

Stefanie

Thanks for the the info.; its much appreciated.

MIKE NIKE

Any time

Mmmm… training has not been going the way I wanted for the past 3 days. I think I will officially call this week a “recovery” week, PLUS, since John asked about my knee, I’ve been having some irritation (way to go John ) that is keeping me from running care-free. So perhaps I will be doing more isos rather than running for these next 2-3 days.

Sunday, April 12th:
OFF ()

Monday, April 13th:
OFF ()

Tuesday, April 14th:
>Morning isos
>Warm up
>Drills
>2xstrides on track
>2x(10x10m), spikes on grass, some irritation
>cool down

My sister is a very good technique observer, perhaps because I have brainwashed her over the last few years, watching track and field meetings on tv and going in person… I told her what to watch for, and she even caught on my tendency to “reach out” over the first stride, which I fixed right away and then she thought I looked great (and I felt like it too) … =)

[i]note 1: Once again, I’m in a relationship with Bobby; my violin, from today. We had missed each other.

note 2: I don’t understand people. (And people don’t understand me).

note 3: I desperately want to paint, but time seems to fly while doing other things these days.

note 4: I feel like a superhero, awaiting to reveal her true powers. Something keeps holding me back for now. [/i]