Iron rails & iron weights

Wednesday, July 23

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:45:36 GMT

Patchogue interlude

Sure, yesterday's potential LIRR catastrophe turned out to be a whole lot of nothing, but today for some reason I was in a major risk-avoidance mood. I had this inescapable fear that I'd be squashed by an SCA on a Ronkonkoma train. Accordingly, I decided to go from Patchogue instead, what with the spacious diesel coach seats the SCA risk would be very low. I got the 6:51 dual mode to Penn, which was an easy a ride as you can get. It made a delay-free trip via the Babylon line and wasn't particularly crowded or noisy. I waited less than a minute for a 1 train to Houston Street and had a seat the whole way. Very nice.

I took a somewhat abbreviated lunch hour and left in time to get the 5:09 dual mode to Patchogue, staying on the local all the way to Penn. There were some track changes being announced, but the 5:09 was on its usual Track 19 (at least I think it's the usual track). It was even less crowded than the morning's train, and once again went via the Babylon line without delay. If only every day could be as easy as today (sigh).

Gym: No weights, but a pretty decent 40 minutes on the stationary cycle at 19.7 mph.

Tuesday, July 22

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:04:02 GMT

It's now final - I'm a lunatic

That's right, sheer padded-cell lunacy is the only possible explanation for what I'm about to say: today, for the first time ever, I was impressed with the LIRR's performance. Obviously there is no possibility that I would ever say something like that if I were in my right mind. So a lunatic I must be. The morning passed easily enough, with the shuttle on time at Medford and then an M-3 single seat on the 6:52 Flatbush Avenue train from Ronkonkoma. My iPod was working again, which is very fortunately because there were a couple of loud cell-phone talkers seated not far away from me. Both were women, which if I may stereotype a bit is typical for the most inveterate users of cell phones. In a way, being unable to sit on a train, or walk down the street, or - especially - drive a car, without having a cell phone stuck to one's ear like a remora, is sort of like being on a leash. It effectively deprives one of one's independence. I mused on this for a while, but mostly spent the ride into Jamaica reading more of O Pioneers. Once at Jamaica I changed for the 8:01 dual mode into Penn, having to skip a 2-minutes-earlier M-7 consist because it was a cattle train. The wait for a 1 train to Houston Street was in that middle ground, difficult to classify as either good or bad, of around five or six minutes.

I just missed a 1 train at Houston Street after work, and had to wait several minutes for the next one, though a fast transfer to an express at 14th sort of made up for it. No sooner did I enter Penn from the main IRT entrance when I knew there was trouble a brewin.' Way too many people were waiting around in the main concourse and looking at the track announcement board. Sure enough, the electronic message signs announced that there were 15- to 30-minute delays due to a broken rail in one of Amtrak's East River Tunnels (the LIRR never misses an opportunity to blame delays on Amtrak). The station PA warned of canceled trains and track changes. I resigned myself to being at least 45 minutes late. Just to be on the safe side I waited on Track 19, but at about 5:40 came an announcement that the 5:41 would be on Track 15. Of course a mad scramble ensued and I was lucky enough to get a seat. Interestingly enough, it was next to a woman who had the same sort of red hair as yesterday's Miranda Hobbs lookalike, though they weren't the same people. It was after 5:50 when we finally got underway, and a Jamaica stop added more time. The ride itself went by okay, with more reading and a couple games of cell phone Tetris (new record, I'm happy to report). It must have gone really well because as we approached Ronkonkoma the conductor announced that despite the delays in leaving Penn we only three minutes behind schedule. And he was right. This must surely be the first time in the LIRR's 150+ year history that a delay was less than forecast. Three minutes instead of the predicted 15 to 30 minutes is a pretty good performance in my book!

Gym: I ellipted for 30 minutes, maintaining a nice pace of 10,700 strides per hour. Next came some rather desultory bench pressing, my strength being not what it should have been. Most likely that was because tonight was the fourth day in a row I did weights. It also didn't help that my hands were sweaty, and I couldn't find any chalk. Anyway, the benching went 6 x 135, 4 x 185, 2 x 205, 5 x 225, 4 x 4 x 225. Twenty-one total reps at 225 isn't all that bad, I suppose. As I was about to leave I had a nice surprise. After an absence of several weeks (supposedly people damaged them, which I don't believe) a speed bag was back, and I worked on it for a while. Of course I was a bit out of practice, and it didn't help that the bag was so overinflated it was as hard as granite, but I was happy to have it back. In a sense it didn't really matter, as last weekend I ordered a speed bag and swivel from Title Boxing (you can bring your own to use on the gym's platforms). I don't regret ordering the speed bag, because there's no way of knowing how long the gym's bags will stay around.

Monday, July 21

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 03:22:37 GMT

Lookalikes

Today may have been a Monday, but it wasn't too bad in commuting terms thanks to the absence of any significant crises on the LIRR. Unlike Friday, the shuttle was running at Medford, and on time for that matter, though as is usually the case on summer Monday mornings it was crowded with both people and luggage. Once at Ronkonkoma I changed to the 7:02 (formerly 7:06) express to Penn. I didn't take the Flatbush Avenue train because I wanted to get something from Dunkin' Donuts. The 7:02 is famously cattle-trainish and today was no exception, with all but the middle seats taken before we even left Ronkonkoma. Granted, I was in one of the middle cars, which tend to be more crowded, but I'd imagine that all of the cars in the consist were jammed. I took a window seat on the 2-across side - there's no way in creation I'd sit on the 3-across side on such a crowded train, especially when it's an M-7 consist - and within a few second a 30-something woman took the aisle seat. She bore a definite resemblance to Miranda Hobbs, red hair and all, and I was half expecting her to break out a thermos of cosmopolitans. Of course she didn't, what with it being so early in the morning, and in any event she was just a lookalike and wasn't the real Miranda Hobbs ... okay, technically speaking there's no such thing as a real Ms. Hobbs, her being a fictional character and all, but you know what I mean. It was an easy enough ride into Penn, no delays or anything, and thankfully the car was quiet. This latter point was especially important today because - surprise! - my iPod was hors d'combat yet again, and I would have been helpless in the face of babbling SCA's. It is possible that seasonal and meterological factors contributed to the quietness. The SCA's couldn't babble about the weekend's football games because, of course, the NFL season is still more than a month away. And the weekend's very hot temperatures kept all but the most die-hard cartball players off the courses and therefore eliminated another major topic of SCA babble. After getting to Penn, I had a minor setback because I missed a 1 train to Houston Street by mere seconds and had to wait almost ten minutes for the next one.

I tried to walk to Penn after work, but the heat was just too much and I ended up taking an E train from 14th Street. It was an R32 consist, and to my slight disappointment the air conditioning was just barely adequate. Ferociously cold AC has long been a feature of the R32's. I got the 5:41 to Ronkonkoma, which was moderately crowded but quite to cattle train levels. A woman in her 40's took the seat next to me, but unlike the case in the morning she didn't look like anyone in particular. Which isn't to say that there were no lookalikes, however, as a man sitting a couple rows away was practically a dead ringer for a man I worked with in a past job. It wasn't the same person, and it then dawned on me that I last saw the former co-worker in question more than 15 years ago and therefore he probably doesn't look all that much like what I remember. We made it to Ronkonkoma with no delays, and the shuttle was right on time. Hopefully it's recovered fully from last Friday's indisposition.

Gym: I did some reasonably decent deadlifting, having had to skip it last week on account of the tooth-pulling. No record-setting weights but a decent rep count: 8 x 225, 6 x 255, 4 x 275, 2 x 295, 1 x 315, 2 x 295, 4 x 275. I had considered doing sets at 255 and 225 to make it a symmetrical pyramid, but that would have meant a total of 41 reps, which is a lot for deadlifts. I then did 30 minutes on the stationary cycle, at a 19.5-mph pace.

Sunday, July 20

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 18:21:00 GMT

A rather scaled-back gym session today after yesterday's marathon (so to speak). I began with 30 minutes on the stationary cycle at a decent 20 mph clip. Next came cable rows: 3 x 8 x 190, 2 x 6 x 190. I finished with barbell rows, 2 x 8 x 185, which were a bit awkward as I haven't done them in a while.

Saturday, July 19

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 01:55:25 GMT

A long and brutal session at the gym today. I was worried that the gym would be too warm, as it was a fiercely hot day, but fortunately the air conditioning was pumping away just fine. Cool ... literally! I did legs, chest and shoulders. 45-degree leg press: 10 x 360, 4 x 10 x 400. SLDL's: 3 x 8 x 205. Bench press: 6 x 135, 4 x 185, 2 x 205, 7 x 225, 4 x 3 x 235, 4 x 4 x 225. I had wanted to get eight reps on the first set at 225, but couldn't quite manage. Calf raises, 45-degree leg press: 3 x 15 x 300. Standing shoulder press: 2 x 10 x 100, 2 x 8 x 100. I then ellipted for 30 minutes at a very nice pace of 10,750 strides per hour. I've decided to do one more week ellipting and using the stationary cycle rather than running on the treadmill, as I think I lost a couple of pounds last week as opposed to the pound or so I've been averaging.

Friday, July 18

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 01:49:19 GMT

Patchogue, though not by choice

That's odd, I thought as I pulled into the Medford parking lot, why are there some people standing at the base of the stairs rather than up on the platform? Moments later a PA announcement made sense of the situation. The shuttle to Ronkonkoma had been cancelled and would be "bustituted." I had no desire to wait for a shuttle bus and decided to try another station. Driving to Ronkonkoma just didn't seem like an attractive option so instead I went to Patchogue. It didn't occur to me until I was already almost at Patchogue that getting back to the station after work would not be easy. I'd have to take an abbreviated lunch hour to be able to get the 5:09 through train, which this being a summer Friday would be a cattle train. Getting into Penn was easy enough, on the 6:51 dual mode (which at Jamaica becomes the 8:01 dual mode I sometimes take). It took the Babylon route, rather than the Central Branch, and then the route through St. Albans as opposed to the one through Locust Manor. As I've noted, the Babylon line is much more interesting than the Central Branch, so I didn't mind. The train got fairly crowded, but of course with the wide diesel coach seats I didn't have to worry about who might sit next to me. It actually turned out to be an average-sized man who wouldn't have been much of a problem even on an M-7. We got to Penn on time, and I waited less than a minute for a 1 train to Houston Street.

Taking a short lunch hour was no big deal because it was really too hot to walk outside. I was able to get to Penn in plenty of time to catch the 5:09, thanks to an immediate across-the-platform transfer to an express at 14th, though the track announcement for the 5:09 wasn't made until 5:05. Quite a scramble ensued, though because many of the riders weren't regulars they weren't as quick on their feet as I was, and I had no trouble making a beeline for the Track 19 stairway and getting a seat. The train indeed got packed, and the luggage many people were carrying made things even more crowded. It was an easy enough ride for me, alternating between iPod Brick Attack, cell phone Tetris, and reading a few chapters in O Pioneers. We were eight minutes late into Patchogue, though I couldn't tell why. All in all, going from Patchogue instead of Medford worked out okay for me.

Thursday, July 17

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 01:31:13 GMT

First time in a while

It's been a few weeks at least since I last had an M-3 single seat. While as far as I know the LIRR hasn't withdrawn any M-3 consists from service, for some reason they aren't being used on the Ronkonkoma line very much anymore. Which of course is a prime example of LIRR idiocy. The M-3's should be used on the lines which are most likely to have completely full trains, and of course that's the Ronkonkoma line. At least today was a bit of relief. When the Medford shuttle pulled into Ronkonkoma I saw that the Flatbush Avenue train on the adjacent tracks was an M-3 consist, and I was able to get a single seat. True, the car never got too crowded, and I would've been safe if I'd taken an aisle seat on the 3-across side, but at least this was I didn't have to worry about someone taking the middle seat. I switched to the 8:01 dual mode at Jamaica, and got to Penn easily enough. A 1 train to Houston Street came along in a couple of minutes, though the air conditioning was mediocre at best. At least it's a short enough ride.

No air conditioning problems after work, though I stayed on the local all the way to Penn because the 14th Street platform was awfully crowded. I got the 5:41 to Ronkonkoma, which all in all wasn't bad. A semi-large SCA sat next to me, but he was able to situate himself in such a manner that he didn't infringe too much on my space. It's hard to describe just how this situating happens, but it works, and I'm not about to question a good thing. We got to Ronkonkoma on time, despite a seemingly lengthy Jamaica Crawl, and the shuttle was on time too.

Gym: I worked on the uppercut bag for a while, though it was hard to judge just how long because the round timer was broken (as usual!) and there's no clock visible from where the bag is hung. I'd guess it was a total of 10 to 12 minutes. I then did 30 minutes on the stationary cycle at a very nice pace of just over 20 mph.

Wednesday, July 16

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 02:30:13 GMT

More than double the fun

Yesterday morning's ride to work was unusual in that two Centuries (100-pound women) sat next to me at different times. Today offered a twist on that feature, though not in a good way. Like yesterday, I got the shuttle from Medford followed by the Flatbush Avenue train at Ronkonkoma. What was different is that the woman who sat next to me at Hicksville was equivalent to both of yesterday's Centuries, and then some. And then a lot, to be specific. Suffice to say that the rest of the way to Jamaica was very, very low on the pleasantness scale. By wiggling around I was able to find just barely enough room to breathe and thereby avoid death by suffocation. "Barely" is the operative word. It was with great relief that I got off the train in Jamaica, and got the 8:01 dual mode to Penn. I didn't have to wait long for a 1 train to Houston Street, unfortunately it was extremely crowded and the air conditioning was barely functioning.

There's very little to say about the trip home. The subway trip to Penn was quick enough, with a fast transfer at 14th Street, and this time the air conditioning on both trains was actually working well. I got the 5:41 to Ronkonkoma, with a tall but blessedly slender SCA sitting next to me. I read for a while (O Pioneers by Willa Cather) and played both cell-phone Tetris and my iPod's Brick Attack. What with decent AC and no delays, it really wasn't a bad trip at all.

Gym: Some relatively low-rep benching, but a new record. 6 x 135, 4 x 185, 2 x 205, 2 x 225, 2 x 240, 2 x 245, 1 x 250, 1 x 255, 1 x 260, 1 x 265, 2 x 4 x 225, 2 x 2 x 225. The single at 265 is a record, when expressed as a multiple of bodyweight. I did 275 a couple of years ago but was almost 30 pounds heavier at the time. I also did 30 minutes on the stationary cycle, at a very nice 20 mph pace and with resistance up a notch from last time.

Tuesday, July 15

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:26:44 GMT

Centuries and heat

After yesterday's tooth-pulling escapade it was back to work for me (or what was left of me) today. This meant, of course, being cast back into the wilds of the LIRR. My fears aside, the morning at least went pretty well. The shuttle was on time at Medford, and at Ronkonkoma I switched to the 6:52 Flatbush Avenue train. The summertime ridership decline seemed to be in full force, and no one sat next to me as far as Hicksville. And the seat's eventual occupancy proved little burden, as a "Century" - a 100-pound woman - sat next to me and hardly took up any space at all. She only rode one stop to Mineola, at which point another Century took the seat. This one was even smaller than the first one. Was there some midget convention being held in the city or something? I got off at Jamaica, intending to get the 8:01 dual mode to Penn, but instead took an M-3 consist that arrived just before the dual mode because it had plenty of vacant seats. Good timing continued at Penn, when I walked right onto a 1 train to Houston Street without even breaking stride and got a seat right away.

Getting home proved rather less pleasant than the morning's trip. I stayed on the local all the way to Penn because there was too much crowding at 14th, but made it onto the 5:22 Ronkonkoma train on time. The bad part is that the air conditioning in the car was barely working - the temperature was tolerable, more or less, but definitely higher than it should have been. Some people got up to look for seats in other cars, but others came into the car and I overheard comments about warm temperatures elsewhere. Wonderful, isn't it? Not only do the hideously expensive M-7 cars have microscopic torture seats suitable only for midget anorectic quadruple amputees, but now it looks as if they have feeble AC as well. About the only good thing is that the 30ish man who sat next to me got up after a few minutes, and no one took his place. He was definitely not an SCA, in fact he was wearing, of all things, a Big Lebowski-style bowling shirt. Not what I'd call typical commuter train attire. I eventually got sort of used to the temperature, and at least the ride to Ronkonkoma was delay-free. To add a final insult to injury, the Medford shuttle itself was much too warm, and the conductor was insulting to a passenger who complained. Gee, if it weren't for the LIRR's obscenely overpaid union workers maybe the trains would work better.

Gym: I wasn't quite up to doing weights, but I ellipted for 45 minutes at a 10,300 strides per hour pace and with resistance up a notch from last time.

Monday, July 14

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 17:12:24 GMT

No work today, and no gym either. I had a valid excuse, however, namely having three teeth pulled. Actually I considered going to the gym for a brief session, but decided that skipping a day would be the best idea.