Monday, April 20, 2015

It doesn't look like much

But it's a LONG way from St. John's Wood to Battersea Park and back. The rest of the running club ran 10 to Greenford via the Canal, but since I didn't have that "I know where the public toilets are" peace of mind, and this was an important run for me, I elected a route I've done before. The first time I did it, though, I only went 9 miles, then bussed the remainder back home. This time...I did the whole enchilada and I'm completely thrilled beyond words. And my calves ARE SO SORE.

Two days after this run, on March 11, I massacred something in my hip (it was my glute medius tendon at my hip joint) after only 3 miles and it stopped me dead in my tracks. I was devastated! The first two weeks I couldn't walk without a cane. The next two weeks-ish that followed was an enjoyable and relaxing tour through Denmark and Norway with my brother and his family. There was a lot of relaxing, self-massage, and kinesiology tape involved. Fortunately for me, The Nieces walk slowly so I was saved the embarrassment of being THE slowest one. I was only the slowest some of the time. That trip is a whole post on it's own to come. At any rate, then I came back and started a tiny bit of running and met with a doc and had an MRI done to make sure there wasn't a stress fracture. He injected the tendons with corticosteroid last Friday and I tried to take it easy over the weekend. That stuff stings.

I'm absolutely terrified of going too far too soon, which is probably the thing that got me in trouble in the first place. I had doubled my weekly mileage, quickly, instead of going with a slow steady increase. The urge to "keep up with the gang" is strong. I also didn't allow myself enough rest.

This is now a running reboot, and today I did 3 miles without pain using Jeff Galloway's run-walk-run approach. So far, so good. Will I be able to do the Hackney half-marathon next month, which I paid for the day of my wonderful 10-miler? To be completely honest, probably not. Right now, ten more miles of this morning's run - without pain - doesn't seem possible. There's always the Royal Parks Half this autumn, for which I will shortly be begging for donations. It's a lot further off, and offers enough time to do the slow steady increase I need.

In other news, I made that ivory warp my bitch.

I know that sentence only makes sense to a weaver, but I stand by it. I measured out 12 yards of warp using miscellaneous natural-colored natural fibers from stash, then tied it on to the previous honeycomb-threaded warp, got the little knots through the heddles with less breakage than anticipated, and started winding the little bugger onto the warp beam. I got several yards on before I gave up on that insanity. Kerry's first warp was 12 yds. It, too, was insanity. I was there for it and I don't know how she did it. Also, I ran out of packing sticks.


This warp turned out to be fiddly in a way that I loathe. I did the weaving in this image before my hip went wonky. After the wonky, I had to reduce my weaving to more plain weave so I could use one leg (right) on the two plain weave treadles. The first section is approximately 20 inches. The next section is also about 20 inches, but I included some weft inlay for fun. But that's not the fiddly part. The fiddly part is having my warp threads break so regularly!! The warp beam is so decorated with cones it looks like a Christmas tree. If I only have fifteen minutes to weave, I don't want to spend five of it messing with broken warp threads. I've decided on the use for this warp, though, and it's to be a gift so I can't show anymore of it. 

I also used some mill ends that are lovely in a weft but complete rubbish as warp. Very breaky-breaky. I also used a bit of Lopi which would be beautiful in a weft but it's just not strong enough for warp, and it frays like crazy. My plan all along had been for a rustic monochrome weave and to use up odds and ends that have been in the stash for some time, and I've succeeded. It's rustic. It's monochrome. I used odds and ends. It will make lovely whatchamacallits (I'm not saying). I think I'm the "get it on the loom and go" type of weaver, though. The inlays are fun and pretty, just little random blocks of colors, but they slow things down a great deal. 

I know what is going onto the loom next and I think I'll start measuring it out this week. Mwahaha. Another secret!