VO2 Max

How time flies: I wrote this a year ago. Then again (of course), I wrote this two years ago, and this three years ago.

My legs feel a little tired and stiff right now (long ride Friday night, yoga and the gym yesterday), but lately I've been feeling (and riding) pretty strong on the bike, especially on hills. It might be the dropped weight, or maybe the body's adaption to the dropped weight (more likely, since there was a time lapse between the initial weight loss and the fitness jump), or maybe it's just the harder miles I've been doing, especially at Round Valley but also the bike commute. I noticed it a little at RV on a few of the recent rides, and actually surprised myself on the hills at Big Bear -- I was flying up things, made a lot of passes on grades and even steeps. I think my VO2 max must be rising, which is a good thing. It does go up with weight loss, but I think the real reason is better aerobic capacity overall -- and I think there's been a rise in my high-end, anaerobic endurance as well. Hey I'll take the win.

Reading: Still doing Black Swan Green, but I also have been re-reading at Faulkner's "The Bear," just nibbling.

One More From The Stealth Apocalypse: The birds, especially songbirds, have been disappearing for a while now, but here's something on a more personal level. (By the way, I remember being seriously creeped out by Lovecraftian whipporwills myself as a kid.)

"Who you gonna blame when your slaves all die of sorrow?" -- me