N7 Training - Post Recovery Log

[Anek]

Congrats on 30 days!

 

[Sif_Shepard]

Thanks @Anek!

 

[Sif_Shepard]

10/19/22
Day 31

• 40 Knee-to-Elbow Crunches (EotD)
• Make My Day Workout (WotD) 1 set
• Wall Push-Ups Challenge, Day 1
• Ironheart, Day 6
• Skating Practice
• Cooldown Stretches

Extremely slow start to my day today, but my body is feeling great after yesterday's workout so I've got that going for me. Still struggling with my throat being lame in the mornings since being sick, kind of driving me nuts but I'm managing. Think I need to start taking meds before bed.

Looking forward to reading more tonight, I've been too busy this week but I really like book 4 so far. For dinner, we are going to make either mini pizzas or cheburek pizzas with my chebureki dough recipe because it's amazing and I need to see if I can do other things with it. We got some really nice vegan mozzarella and pepperoni from Whole Foods the other day that I can't wait to try. Then we are going to watch Andor, it's been pretty good so far; I'm not usually one for drama heavy shows but I do like it and I'd probably place it second for Star Wars shows after The Mandolorian.

 

[Sif_Shepard]

YALL! The James Webb telescope gets the most breathtaking photos, it's just amazing.

 

[lofivelcro]

Now I finally know what James Webb is!
I've been following a James Webb wallpaper thread on a wallpaper board some time ago and to my utter shame have to admit I thought "he" was a digital artist....

 

[Sif_Shepard]

@lofivelcro The fact that the images are real is pretty mind-blowing imo.

 

[lofivelcro]

To be honest, I never was a space man, mostly interested in the deep seas. I have no idea how beautiful space can be, but thinking back to the images I've seen...
I feel kind of stupid now

 

[Sif_Shepard]

@lofivelcro I've always been interested in space, even got to go on a really cool trip to a space camp through school when I was younger. I love deep sea exploration as well, it's almost alien itself which is crazy to me.

Not stupid at all, we learn new things every day

 

[JCU]

Thanks for sharing the link! Love space photos!

 

[Sif_Shepard]

@JCU Absolutely, I love them too!

 

[Froud]

This reminds the kid I was when I was leaving the blinders open during summer nights so I could loose myself in the immensity of space... the perks of growing up in the country side

The picture is so mesmerizing.

 

[Sif_Shepard]

10/20/22
Day 32

• 5x5s, Workout B

5 sets 5 reps each / 15lb/6.8kg dumbbells​

Squats / Overhead Press / Deadlift (1x5)​

• Ironheart, Day 7
• Wall Push-Ups Challenge, Day 2
• Cooldown Stretches

 

[lofivelcro]

@Froud I used to look at the stars a lot in the past, too, but space itself never intersted me much. Or I thought of it as creepy, because it was completely unimaginable to me. The sea, though... I always wished to go deep sea diving, but I've never even been to the sea once in my life...

 

[Froud]

@Froud I used to look at the stars a lot in the past, too, but space itself never intersted me much. Or I thought of it as creepy, because it was completely unimaginable to me. The sea, though... I always wished to go deep sea diving, but I've never even been to the sea once in my life...

I hope you can go at least once!

 

[Sif_Shepard]

10/21/22
Day 33

• 100 Back Leg Raises (EotD)
• One Day At a Time Workout (WotD) 1 set
• Ironheart, Day 8
• Wall Push-Ups Challenge, Day 3
• Skating Practice
• Cooldown Stretches

Semi-rough but mostly okay week, so I'm really proud of the fitness progress I made. Upping the weights in my strength workouts and increasing the volume of my workouts felt fantastic, and managing to do so without any sore muscles was great. Getting back into the progression I was making before I started recovery, but with better feelings of health feels awesome. Also I continue to do better and better on my skates and I'm in them for longer periods of time now, even doing things like dishes or cooking while still wearing them (carefully, of course) and my balance and coordination are starting to become more stable. Wife has half of November off so we are finally going to get to that skate park, I'm going to make sure of it.

Wife and I have a nice weekend planned out, so I'm definitely making the most of my rest days this week. Can't wait!

 

[Sif_Shepard]

10/22/22
Day 34

• 50 Folded Crunches (EotD)
• 1-Minute Plank Workout (WotD)
• Wall Push-Ups Challenge, Day 4
• Stretches

Little bit more active of a rest day than I normally take, but I like it! Happy Saturday friends! Hope you're having fun!

 

[Sif_Shepard]

10/23/22
Day 35

• Wall Push-Ups Challenge, Day 5
• Stretches

Wife and I are watching the Hermitcraft charity stream today for Gamers Outreach, they've already raised 300k it's been crazy and so much fun!

*Over $425,000 by the end of the day for a charity that provides gaming systems for kids in hospitals.

 

[Sif_Shepard]

10/24/22
Day 36

• Chores
• Wall Push-Ups Challenge, Day 6

I do most of the bigger household chores on Monday since we mostly just relax on weekends, and if I don't start counting them as activity I end up trying to do too much on Mondays and things get neglected. I'm a tidy person by nature (not to put her on blast but wife is a bit of an adhd slob lol I don't fault her for that though) and during my recovery I didn't have the energy to really keep up with the house stuff as much as I would have wanted to, so now that I'm feeling better I'm trying to do more. I'm feeling really worn out today though so even though I like the workout of the day and was planning on doing that and Ironheart, I'm going to keep it light instead. Still trying to shake the last of this sinus congestion from my cold three weeks ago and it's driving me crazy. Going to go have some self care, hope you all are having a good Monday!

 

[Froud]

My friend, we have the same routine
The only thing I do is to do the laundry and dishwasher on the weekend so I can enjoy the off-peak hour rate for electricity, as I am a nice neighbour I do not use the washmachine after 10pm.

A day a bit off can always happen. it is good to take the occasion to take care of you.
Cheers!

 

[Sif_Shepard]

So I think I'm going to start working out at night again. Sore as hell today, and most mornings have been rough lately. Plus I seem to run out of time too fast exercising during the day. For most of you my workouts from my day will start showing up for you the next morning lol


Starting to feel better now thankfully than when I wrote that last bit; I had a nice long chat with my mom today and I pace the house a lot as I talk so I think that loosened me up a little Looking forward to my nighttime workout!

 

[lofivelcro]

Great to read that you finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!

 

[Sif_Shepard]

Thanks @lofivelcro I'm trudging along as best as I can!

 

[Sif_Shepard]

10/25/22
Day 37

• 2 minute Squat Hold Punches (EotD)
• Standing Mobility Workout (WotD)
• Wall Push-Ups Challenge, Day 7
• Ironheart, Day 9
• Ironheart, Day 10

Oh wow today's dailies are perfect for me. So sleepy today. I had a really nice evening nap, and then woke up and cut 4 inches off my hair My favorite pandemic skill was learning to cut my own hair because I am SO impulsive about haircuts and it's awesome to not have to wait for appointments. Looks so good and feels amazing!

Btw, I've decided I'm dropping my routine. I'm still going to do 5x5 workouts because I love them, but I want consistency, not routine. I'm too impulsive for it, and lately too sore. I'm just going to do what feels good, which includes the stuff I've been doing lately lol Mostly I just want a break from weighted squats until my back is consistently doing better.


I forgot how much I love midnight workouts. I don't know why I always have so much energy at this time a day but it feels awesome.

 

[lofivelcro]

Being able to cut your own hair or your partner's and vice versa is an awesome skill. It saves a lot on money and you're the only one to blame when something goes wrong. I have a friend who hated going to the hairdresser because she never was satisfied and came always back sad. Now she cuts her own and even if it doesn't turn out good, she's happy, because she's the one who has messed it up
But 4 inches sure is a lot

 

[Sif_Shepard]

@lofivelcro For sure! Thankfully I haven't messed it up yet 4 inches is decent but my hair was pretty long so it's mid length now- a bit past collarbone I'd say. More or less just cut out the layers because I was tired of them and my hair was tangling too much!

 

[Sif_Shepard]

10/26/22
Day 38

• Dance(!) Skating Practice
• Nighttime Walk with Wifey
• Wall Push-Ups Challenge, Day 8

So much hot liquids today omg, but good tea though nevertheless. Less sore body today, but throat is still ugh- I hate to have to keep mentioning it on here, but it really throws off my mornings; I only got about 6 hours sleep because of it and I'm very sleepy today. BUT wife was finallyyyy able to find cough syrup in the shops! Can you believe it, we've been sick and recovering for 3 weeks and only now have we been able to find the liquid medicine. Supply issues and everyone getting sick right now is such a bummer. Nothing has felt as good as this first dose of dayquil omgggg bliss.


I did have a restful afternoon though so that was nice.

I am still having so much fun learning how to skate. Lately I've been watching a lot of skating videos on instagram and it's just got me in a mood, and I felt like putting my skates on today and goofing around (safely!) a little bit to some music and it was so fun and I'm really happy to say I notice a ton of improvement in my overall skating skills and the strength in my legs! And some of the things I've learned through those videos I was even able to practice a little bit, it was awesome

 

[Sif_Shepard]

yall, I feel like such a moron... I forgot all about ragweed! When I got sick I just totally forgot about it, I've never had a cold during allergy season before, only in the depths of winter. It's absolutely no wonder I've been feeling so shitty lately, we even had the windows open all weekend because it was unseasonably warm and we thought it would be good for getting over the cold! SO DUMB! I've never felt hay fever so bad as this year though, but all other outdoor allergies have been rough this year too (I'm allergic to like everything outside, it's why I'm such an indoor person). I told my wife and we were both just like, oh yeahhhh. But she told me it should frost this weekend so yay! I really hope it does. I woke up feeling so bleh but when I had this brainwave I took an allergy pill so today really will be the test!

 

[DorothyMH]

Allergies make EVERYthing more fun. If you’ve already got a cold, they make it harder to get better. If you don’t have a cold yet, they make it harder to figure out if that’s what it is. In Fall, we have the wonderful additions of molds and mildews outside. I hear ya: everything outside makes me sneeze, sniffle and run. Add wind to it and it’s a perfect storm. Feel better soon!!!

 

[Sif_Shepard]

Thanks @DorothyMH, I hope so. The allergy med is working good so far and I am definitely doing better today, and not even that sleepy either which is nicer than I had hoped for.

Here I've been (jokingly) cursing my mother in law's name for weeks because we caught the initial cold from her on the 2nd, and I'm not even sick with that anymore!

 

[Sif_Shepard]

10/27/22
Day 39

• Skating Practice
• Wall Push-Ups Challenge, Day 9
• Ironheart, Day 11

Fairly light and restful day today, conserving my energy for the Haunted Hive event starting tomorrow

As I said in my last post, my meds are helping today and I am doing a lot better. I'm going to keep taking them for a few weeks since ragweed season is supposed to end in early November. Hoping they don't make me too fatigued but the tradeoff is worth it at this point.

Finished book 5 of the Guild Codex today after staying up way too late reading again last night! They're so good though I can't help myself. Finished it this afternoon and immediately started 6.

I made spicy vodka sauce pasta from a recipe I've found recently that I'm obsessed with, it's so delicious!

Pushing myself more with skating recently, I daresay I'll soon be ready for non-beginner things!

Wife's boss gave her tomorrow off for the hell of it (because they adore her there and want to keep her happy) so impromptu 3 day weekend! Woo!!

 

[JCU]

Glad the meds are working!

Yay for long weekend!

 

[Sif_Shepard]

Thanks @JCU!
Yay indeed!

 

[Sif_Shepard]

Friends, if you ever have any kind of throat issues that accompany illness or allergies, get yourself a rice-filled neck pillow and heat that baby up in the microwave and wrap it backwards around your throat. I've had one for awhile but I've only ever used it for muscle pain; I just read a tip about using it for home remedies for throat issues (I'm fine except for the post nasal drip, it's been sooo bad and now the medicine is drying out my throat a lot) and omg it's blissful. It being that time of year I had to share in case any of you are/get sick or have allergies, wish I would have known about this three weeks ago!

 

[lofivelcro]

Please share the recipe for the wodka sauce, I'm turbo intrigued by it

 

[Sif_Shepard]

@lofivelcro
I used this recipe but I eyeballed most everything. I used to browse her channel a lot for recipe ideas but then she got way too into weight loss recipes and that was a hard nope for me, which is a shame cause her Korean vegan recipes are some of my favorites. But I saw this video and had to try it since I had everything on hand already and good vodka from my chebureki recipe as well!

My changes,
-the first time I made it I used penne, the second time wife wanted cavatappi. Next time I want to use ziti and bake it was vegan mozz on top

-probably less olive oil, I used enough to coat the bottom of my wok but I don't think it was 4 tbsp worth of oil. Did use more butter though I think, just took a big spoonful at the end. Probably good either way

-definitely used a whole shot of vodka

-a bit more garlic, prob an extra tsp, again eyeballing it and my wife loves garlic

-I also eyeball the tomato paste lol I didn't measure anything! but it was maybe less tomato paste, I have the kind in a tube so I just added while stirring until it was the consistency I wanted, at least two tbsp but I doubt I used as much as 4

-wayyyyy more red pepper flakes, for people who like it to actually be spicy vodka sauce 1 tsp is nowhere near enough. I used at least a tbsp and I'd still call it mild (but I have an insanely high heat tolerance so take that for what you will) I also like adding the pepper flakes in earlier with the onion and garlic to infuse the flavor with the olive oil more, it's very yummy!
Did I need to include these? Probably not



Oh also tomorrow I'm making borscht! My sad sad throat is demanding it (jk, I'm fine) and wifey bought rye bread and the veg we need for it today! Cannot wait to smell all that fresh dill, mmmm!

 

[JCU]

I'm so confused by the optional drained and rinsed tomato paste in that recipe?

 

[Sif_Shepard]

lol @JCU I didn't even notice that! So odd. I didn't really use the written recipe tbh, I watched part of the video and then just went into the kitchen and cooked it from memory. That drained and rinsed note almost makes me think that she was talking about canned tomatoes by accident or something? But yeah, it's just normal tomato paste, straight into the pot

Also speaking of the ingredients notes, I find the onions are better chopped finer than a dice, but not quite a mince.

 

[Sif_Shepard]

10/28/22
Day 40

• Haunted Hive, Wave 1 - 1,000 punches
• Wall Push-Ups Challenge, Day 10
• Ironheart, Day 12

Today was such a lovely day, wife's extra day off was very well spent! She got up early and went to do early voting (I already did mine absentee) and then got groceries for the weekend/Halloween; I woke up when she was leaving so she could chat with me after voting if she wanted to, and had another somewhat rough morning with my throat (it wasn't great but it did return to normal more quickly than it has been lately so that's a win; the cold meds dry it out really bad so I'm not taking those right now, just the allergy med, and hopefully tomorrow will be better, fingers crossed!) and then I helped fight off the giant bat that was terrorizing the hive.

After she got home we put the groceries away and then I got ready and we went out to eat at a newish vegan place I've been dying to try for ages! They were a food truck first but the restaurant is fairly new I believe, and I always wanted to eat there but being a food truck we didn't easily know how to find them and they used to operate farther away than the restaurant is now. Anyway, it was super delicious and a great experience as we almost never get to go out to eat at restaurants anymore unless we want to go for a long drive like today. It was absolutely beautiful out though, a truly picturesque day, and we had such a pleasant time out. We did a little shopping too before coming home, including wife getting an old-timey camera from an antique shop (she's really into cameras and photography as a hobby).

After we got home I promptly fell asleep for I think about 3 hours. It was the best nap ever and so needed because my throat waking me up early being all dry and awful all the time lately has netted me a rough average of 6 hours of sleep a night for awhile now and I have not been well rested. I felt so good after that nap though! It's been a great day! We played some games and watched a bunch of videos together after I woke up, and then she fell asleep on the couch since I said I wanted to try sleeping on the couch tonight so I could prop my upper body up real good to see if that helps, and she wanted to sleep by me (we have an L shaped couch). Such love

Now to keep reading book 6 til I pass out! I'm only on chapter 9, but

Spoiler

I'm so into this one. It started off strong, loved the bit with the fae woman in Tori's apartment, and I was ready to settle in for the prison break being the main plot of the story, only for it to get nearly immediately resolved! I feel like this one is going to be chaotic and I'm so here for it!

 

[JCU]

I had the same thought regarding the tomatoes! After trying several recipes, Claire Saffitz's is my favorite. She calls for a finely chopped onion, which I entirely agree with.

Glad you had a good day with your wife!

Have you tried a humidifier for your throat? It may help with the constant dryness.

 

[Sif_Shepard]

@JCU Thanks!

I have thought about getting one, steaming up the bathroom with the shower does help, but I suppose I've been procrastinating looking into one. It's not usually so dry, it's just that the medicines I've been taking (specifically decongestants and expectorants) dry out my sinuses but because I have a post nasal drip going on with my allergies that got worse from the cold (sorry, this is gross) the meds have been drying all the gunk onto the back of my throat as I sleep. I've stopped taking that medicine for now because I can't stand waking up feeling like I'm choking on my own throat, so I'm hoping now that I'm on antihistamines again and not sick anymore my sinuses finally drain and stop all this nonsense soon. I can still feel it behind my ears, it's crazy. But I'm not still sick and most of the day I feel great, it's just sleep and mornings are rough because of this. Hot drinks first thing have been the most helpful thing for me. Also gum kind of helps too, better even than cough drops.

 

[JCU]

Greatest sympathies on the nasal drip situations! I entirely understand them, unfortunately. I've had middling success with a neti pot when things are really bad. They're cheap and relatively easy to find nowadays. Maybe it could help?

 

[Sif_Shepard]

@JCU Thank you, and sorry to hear you suffer from it too. I do have a netipot, I've been using it pretty frequently lately. It does help, though I don't love doing it first thing in the morning Thankfully I have noticed a bit of an improvement this morning!

 

[lofivelcro]

Thanks for the recipe and typing all of that out. I'm a bit confused about those cashew thingies in the recipe, though. As far as I understand, those are a type of nuts? Have you used them in your variation of the sauce? I wonder what they're doing in a tomato sauce, never heard of nuts there and I'm not even sure I get something like this here. But I can probably leave them out. It sure sounds interesting, will see if I can convince my partner to try it out
I also have no idea what you mean with "vegan mozz" on top o_O

Enjoy your borschtsch tomorrow, I can't wait until the cabbage prices drop here to make some, too. Interesting that you put dill in there, never heard of that one.

And, of course, more healing vibes for your throat

 

[Sif_Shepard]

@lofivelcro cashews blended with a little water and salt make a nice cream, it's used very commonly in vegan recipes as a substitute for cream or milk. You need a high powered blender to make it really smooth though. And vegan mozz is vegan mozzarella cheese, it's sold in stores here. It's not a super close substitute for regular cheese but it's getting better all the time and some brands are really good. Once you haven't had regular cheese in a couple years it becomes normal.

Borscht is tonight! Here's the recipe I've used to make it. I don't use carrot though cause I'm not a big fan of it

Thanks for the vibes!

 

[lofivelcro]

But... but... how do you make cheese without milk? What sorcery is this? No, really, I have no idea. I suppose you can't even sell it as cheese here in the EU. Weird stuff. Realyl now, how do you do that? Isn't that like having vegan egg? I'm confused, but fascinated enough to look it up.

So I can substitute the blended Cashews with cream? Thanks for letting me know, in case I don't get Cashews here. Otherwise, I'll try it out with them. But try it, I will.

Hope your borschtsch turns out great, even without carrots Personally, I'd add a shot glass of white vinegar, because borschtsch needs that sourness, but on the other side, I'll try fresh dill next time. And sorry for writing it differently, I can't get it out of my head when writing Englisch

 

[Sif_Shepard]

@lofivelcro honestly I don't really know how they make it. I've made a homemade cheese with coconut milk before that was okay lol, a lot of ingredients goes into it. It's a lot of food science and stuff, vegan products are crazy and I love them. You're right though, vegan food is sorcery 100%. Delicious, delicious sorcery.

Sure if you want, that's the traditional way to make the recipe after all.

Thanks, I made it twice last winter and really enjoyed it! I like your suggestion, I'll give it a try. Always down to make foods more authentic. And don't worry about the different spellings, I always figured it was like, for example, how the us spells color and elsewhere it's spelled colour, or something like that lol. I don't even really pronounce borscht with the t anymore after learning it's spelled борщ. I know what you mean even when you spell things differently

 

[lofivelcro]

Honestly, I was worried for a moment there half an hour ago that I might have stepped on your toes with my post. I had the pleasure of talking to a couple of hardcore vegans on the internet before, and they would have reacted completely differently to my comment about vegan cheese, even though I didn't mean anything by it. On top of that, I've never seen vegan products in our local store, probably because it's too small and remote and there's no interest.

About Borschtsch, I think there's also a lot of local variations. I mean, the Polish Borschtsch is different from the Russian one, and then there's even more regional variations, you probably can't do wrong and at the same time, still manage to anger someone
I mostly use the German transcription because that's what I'm used to and it makes the most sense for me. But the t is pronounced in борщ. Otherwise, it would be борш. Well, it's kind of a very soft barely there t, but... eh. Ignore me. Maybe it's a local dialect. I probably should go to sleep now.

Btw, I like the Latin version of your signature

 

[Sif_Shepard]

@lofivelcro
Nah no worries, I know vegans on the internet can be a scary breed but most of us are just passionate about it (the scary ones do more harm than good imo, and it's partly why I struggled with going from vegetarian to vegan a couple years ago. I'm of the opinion that anything anyone can do to move toward eating more plant based meals is a net positive overall and being militant keeps people from trying what you have to offer. Also what one eats is a very sensitive topic, as someone like me knows coming from my past with eating disorders). There are some really good cheeses out there; around thanksgiving my parents have started sending us a box of miyoko's cheese wheels as a gift because they're so amazing! (But they're also pricey, such is the problem with good vegan cheese. It's fairly new on the market from what I can tell, with time I believe it will continue to get better and more affordable/available)

I believe you on the local variations, people get very particular about their recipes, I totally understand!

Ah right, it's a subtle difference with the ш and щ if I understand it correctly, but an important one. I do pronounce it with a soft t if that's what you mean. In America I'd only ever heard the dish pronounced with a hard t before I started studying the language. Thanks, I'm still very much a beginner and I struggle with languages but I think it's a beautiful one and I always want to learn.

Thanks, I love the latin version as well! Wanted to start with English, then swap it to this- glad to see someone noticed! (It's a very minor reference to a mod I use in mass effect, lol everything on my profile is a nod to that game haha)

 

[Sif_Shepard]

10/29/22
Day 41

• Haunted Hive, Wave 2 - 1,000 kicks
• Stretches
• Wall Push-Ups Challenge, Day 11

So I did finally sleep better last night, and this morning was pretty good!

Today was pretty chill, watched videos with wifey, made yummy foods, kicked 1000 spiders for the hive, and had a nice nap. Now I'm off for more late night reading; I do want to spend more time with these last couple books during the day but I'm also enjoying not being done with them super fast. I feel like I'll be sad when it's over.

 

[Anek]

@lofivelcro cashew cheese is delicious! I make it all the time and yes, there's magic involved
And yes vegan cheese is sold in the EU as vegan cheese, in more and more mainstream supermarkets. I can get 4 different brands at my local Edeka and I live in a village of 5.000 people