Well after the excitement of last week I
managed to keep this week a little sane. I spent the week doing more normal things,
and almost working normal hours. Almost J
So what has been happening… Well, I have been freezing my butt off
running through the week… I’m actually
really happy about how well that’s going at the moment.
I was starting to get really fed up that I
was running as hard as I could, pushing myself throughout the run and getting
home knackered. And it having precisely zero
effect on my figure (which I will admit is the only reason why I am running J).
And so I did some research (which is not
undisputed…) that talks about zones. So
I am giving that a try now. Trying to
keep my heart rate below 146bmp, and trying to run for 50 minutes. Why 50 minutes? Well, basically just because I can’t face the
thought of spending 1 hour running. 50
minutes, even though it’s only 10 minutes shorter just seems to be less of a psychological
barrier. Running for an hour or more
seems a long, long time to spend 2 or three times a week.
Anyway…
Last week was gorgeous! Wonderful sunsets, running in t-shirts and being
warm. In fact it was almost like it was
March and not December.
This week it’s been cold, wet, miserable,
cold, freezing and even snowing. And
cold. When I ran on Monday it was that
bad that for the first 1.76km I could only feel pain in my fingers. Nothing but pain. At that point I was
thinking that it was a mistake and maybe I should just go home. But being bloody minded, and just a little
stupid, I decided that I would carry one.
By the way, did I mention that in the wind
chill it was -10 and I was in capri length running shorts?
At the 1.77km point (I checked my running
watch J) I noticed that I was no longer in pain and carried on with a smile
on my face and ‘Save Me’ in my ears (very apt, considering the cold). That was until about 3km into the run when I
was running east to west and had the very cold and bitter north wind blowing on
my right hand side. Then my left was
nice and cozy from the running, and the right freezing from the run.
For two kilometres. It was decidedly unpleasant.
And got worse… Because at 5km into the run I turned north onto a very long
straight road that acted like a funnel for the north wind that I had to run
into. Then I was just cold for the rest
of the run (another 2 and a bit km). By
the time I got home my skin was red raw from the cold from my shins to my neck.
When I got back Mrs Stace said she was
surprised that I had actually gone running.
I said I was considering not going, but decided that I didn’t want to be
a wimp. She answered that not running in
-10 was not being a wimp, it was being sensible. Maybe she had a point. She normally does J
Anyway, it has warmed up a little in the
last week, Thursday and today I was only shivering when I got back and not red
raw too!
I really hope it warms up soon though –
when they weather went nice I booked the car in for its summer tyres. The next day it snowed, and the day after
that it snowed and froze. It could be
worse, my boss had his summer tyres fitted the day before it snowed (how is
that for timing!)
And lastly, as I have to go and bake a New
York Cheesecake for the office, I’m starting a new blog. It’s going to have some overlap with what
goes on here with running posts and the like, but will be more geared towards
my professional life (Team Foundation Server, Scrum, .Net development, leading
a development team)
So why the two blogs? Well, I’ve been thinking about it for a while
and the main theme of this blog, and the main theme of the new blog just don’t
sit together and have two different audiences.
Someone looking for insight into how to
create a reason list in a TFS WIT file is probably not going to be interested
in my journey as chronicled here.
Someone struggling with their gender
identity is probably not going to be that interested in why Scrum Sprint
Reviews should never just be called a demo and the damage that can be caused by
doing that.
Sure some posts will cross the boundary,
and they will be posted on both blogs.
And anyone interested in the more technical side of me is quite welcome
to come and take a look at the new blog.
When I decide on a name and get it started.
The first posts are going to be along the
lines of:
- What I want to see in a CV
- A post about why you should not call Scrum Reviews ‘a demo’
- Why you should question product owners wishes, and why you should KISS
As I say, when it’s there I’ll let you know
J
Right, time to start baking!
I, for one, am interested in the Agile Scrum post. I've only worked in an Agile environment once, but I found it useful.
ReplyDeleteMy only comment is that it doesn't really take we writers into account. How do I document something in real-time as it is constantly evolving to meet a deadline? (Our solution, in case you're wondering: I worked one sprint behind.)
We're getting *another* snowstorm this week. Sigh. Since mid-February we have had 54 inches (137 cm) of snow! That is more than we typically get in an entire winter. And the prediction is for anywhere from 15-36 cm more.
Looking forward to double your writing, sweetie. Stay warm out there!
Yours in shivering,
Cass
I love working in an Agile environment, in fact the energy and enthusiasm that I put in it when I talk about it drives Mrs Stace insane at time!
ReplyDeleteBut of course you actually have to do it, and not just pay lip service to it as too many companies do (I do get annoyed at the companies who complain their current framework isn't working, but when you suggest a change simply say 'yes, but we don't do it that way here!').
Working one sprint behind can work, or you could (as we do with our testers) add an extra column to the scrum board so it is written during the sprint (this won't always work, but could be a nice thing to test...)
We got our summer tyres today. Great to have them back! Smoother, quieter and when it actually turns into spring they will even grip better.
Shame it's going to be -10 tomorrow! :O
Stace