Steadfast as the Hills of Stone

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Mianevem

Mianevem

Well-known member
Valkyrie from Budapest, Hungary
Posts: 1,098
Thank you, @JohnStrong , @Gandhalfit , @Sif_Shepard , @Haleth , @Anek , @JCU , @lofivelcro , @NancyTree ! :love:

My legs are starting to get functional again, it's only my quads that still protest whenever I stand up or sit down. Squatting to put away the washed dishes was more than uncomfortable! But I could manage one short workout.

Tuesday, 11 October

Late afternoon
-- Day 24 of Epic Five | abs & core | half wipers instead of windshield wipers (lack of space)

Snacks/drinks: :x:

Tonight we'll play D&D, which means a short bike ride for me. It's only 2x8 min, but I'm curious how it'll feel.
 
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Mianevem

Mianevem

Well-known member
Valkyrie from Budapest, Hungary
Posts: 1,098
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Mianevem

Mianevem

Well-known member
Valkyrie from Budapest, Hungary
Posts: 1,098
Thank you, @Julian4077 , @Whirly , @aku-chan , @huma ! :sendlove:

Thursday, October 13

Before breakfast
-- 20 min bike ride

Midday
-- Day 26 of Epic Five | cardio

Late afternoon
-- Day 5 of Daily Kicks
-- Day 28 of Olympian | it took a while, but now it's done

I can move freely again! The DOMS is now manageable in my quads. I think I could even do squats with a generous warm-up beforehand.

And what follows here is hidden because it tells of a very tragic outcome of untreated mental disorders. I wanted to get it off my chest, but there's absolutely no need to read it. It's not about me, nor about someone close to me.

During the Tolkien camp, there was an 18-year-old boy in my team. Let's call him B. When my co-leader (A) and I were asked if we would be okay with having him in our team, we weren't sure at first, because we knew that he had mental issues. He had been diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome, and as a result it was very difficult for him to connect with others. A was his team leader last year, and she said that under those year's conditions, things were alright. He always had someone to talk to, and--looking at the names in our team--we hoped that this would be the case this year, too. So we agreed.

But in the camp we noticed that his mental state got worse since last year. He said he was bothered by certain sounds that no one but he noticed. He kept murmuring about how he couldn't handle it all anymore, but he also said he was relieved because "it would all end soon". He "didn't know how, but it would end". We had no instructions on how to deal with him, how to help him. We tried our best to make him feel just a bit better, and there were some things we considered small successes. Like when he said that it wasn't the end of the camp he awaited. "I like it here, why would I want this to end?" Or that last game we played in the last hour the team spent together. The person who started the game held a ball of white yarn. Keeping the end of the yarn and giving the ball to someone else in the team, they had to say what positive impression the chosen person had made on them and what they would remember them for. Then this next person would hold the yarn while giving the ball to someone else, and so it continued until everyone was connected by a yarn web and genuine appreciation for each other. As we finished the game, B took out his "best friend", a black spider plushie, and put it in the middle of the web. It fell off, but the others quickly rushed in to help position it so that it stayed on the web. Then everyone cheered and took photos of our lovely "family". At that moment it was clear that B was by all means a part of our team. And A and I were happy that we managed to finish the camp on a high note.

But before that, we had a lot of worries. Not only because of B, but because of other team members, too: two of them had lost their fathers not long before the camp, and a third one (an 11-year-old girl) received news of the death of a classmate during the camp. And of B, we also learned that his parents completely neglected his mental illness. He had a psychologist for a while, but not at the time, and he was basically just sent off to the camp to not be at home.

But as I said, we managed as well as we could, and once it was over, it was over. Well, not really; we still have a surprisingly active messenger group, and there are lots of informal and not centrally organised meetings among members, but after the official end, A and I no longer felt like there was any significant responsibility left on us.

Fast forward to yesterday, when A sent me some news articles about an 18-year-old boy with the same given name as B (not exactly a common one), who "probably suffered from Tourette Syndrome", "was said to hear voices", was neglected by his parents and bullied by his classmates for his "weirdness". There were also pictures and videos of him, with his face blurred, but his hair and posture were the same as B's. He was arrested and will probably be sent to a mental hospital after stabbing a classmate with a knife several times.

We're still figuring out what to think of this all.
 
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JohnStrong

JohnStrong

Well-known member
Commando from Alberta
Posts: 660
"If not me, who? If not now, when?"
Regarding B; I imagine this news is very difficult to process. My prayers are with the victim. If the perpetrator is B, it sounds like you had a unique opportunity to witness him being happy because of his connection to the group and it's acceptance of him. Sharing his "best friend" with people sounds significant. Tragedies like the one he may have been involved in rarely can present a full picture of the human being who acted in a harmful way. No doubt the parental neglect he was experiencing was a force acting on his mental health that a chance encounter was not going to cure. But it sounds like, when your paths crossed, you contributed to creating a safe atmosphere where he was ready to be seen for who he was, and that was a good thing.

:hug:
 
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mavie

mavie

Well-known member
from germany
Pronouns: she/her
Posts: 658
The following is hidden because it refers to the hidden text above.
I am very sorry you had to make this experience. I hope the classmate survived and will find ways to deal with this. And i also hope the perpetrator gets help. It's tough to be confronted with the evil side of people but maybe you find some peace of mind in the fact that you managed to give him some positive experience. It counts.
:hug:
 
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Gandhalfit

Gandhalfit

Well-known member
Druid from TLV
Pronouns: You there
Posts: 957
"Every world spins in pain. If there is any kind of supreme being... it is up to all of us to become his moral superior. Vetinari/Pratchett"
I wouldn't know how to process something like this either. I would too probably post it in the hive, knowingthis is a safe place.
It does seem like B will get the help he needs and maybe recover. I hope his classmate is okay and I'm guessing the other kids there have unfortunately contributed to B's worsening situation. They should probably give the matter some thought. As to his parents, I can't imagine what they are thinking but their neglect certainly didn't help.
 
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Mianevem

Mianevem

Well-known member
Valkyrie from Budapest, Hungary
Posts: 1,098
Thank you, @JohnStrong , @NancyTree , @mavie , @Silent Wolf , @Gandhalfit !
JohnStrong said:
But it sounds like, when your paths crossed, you contributed to creating a safe atmosphere where he was ready to be seen for who he was, and that was a good thing.
Click to expand...
NancyTree said:
sharing his best friend is huge, and it sounds like he felt safe and accepted. It's all you can do, while it may be more than any mental health caregiver can.
Click to expand...
mavie said:
It's tough to be confronted with the evil side of people but maybe you find some peace of mind in the fact that you managed to give him some positive experience. It counts.
Click to expand...
This is what I hope, that he could feel accepted at least for a little while.

Regarding the victim, the last thing I've read was that he was in hospital, but his life was still in danger.

Friday, 14 October

Late afternoon
-- Day 1 of Hard Reset Strength | lvl I | 7 kg dumbbells

Snacks/drinks
-- a few dates
-- grapes

I went shopping by bike this day. Not quite 20 minutes, but I'll count it for the first day of Hard Reset Cardio.
 
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Mianevem

Mianevem

Well-known member
Valkyrie from Budapest, Hungary
Posts: 1,098
Saturday, 15 October

Morning
-- 40 min bike ride | counted for day 2 of Hard Reset Cardio

Midday
-- 3x24 front kicks | day 6 of Daily Kicks

Late afternoon
-- Day 27 of Epic Five | upper body strength
-- Day 2 of Hard Reset Strength | lvl I | 7 kg dumbbells

Snacks/drinks:
-- a mug of tea with honey
-- a feast
To explain the latter: we went to celebrate the engagement anniversary of two friends, and this included ordering a 6-person plate in Sir Lancelot, Budapest's most popular medieval-themed restaurant (you literally have no chance to eat there unless you reserve a table at least a month before). Apart from the oranges, pineapples, lemons and grapefruits on the plate (which were great additions, I was craving their acidity to help my digestion :LOL:), it really looked as much like a wealthy medieval count's feast as possible in our modern era. There was meat and meat and fatty meat and fat, luckily with plenty of pickled vegetables at least. Chicken, pork, goose, duck, fish and wild boar stew and so. much. fat. I'm sorry, vegans and vegetarians, I don't mean to cause you any disgust, I just want to show that it was too much even for my stomach that's not on a plant-based diet. But it fitted the setting very well! And of course we had knives and spoons but no forks, so we ate it all (well, no, not all, it was impossible to eat it all) with our hands.

We finished the night in a gamer pub with great cocktails. I don't know if it was because of having one cocktail too many or because of the very heavy dinner (normally I have very light dinners, if I even eat anything in the evening, so you can imagine what a shock that was to my stomach), but I had an unpleasant but relieving visit to the bathroom last night. And now I feel like a silly uni student after a party... Luckily I'm still not affected  too much by hangovers, but I will postpone the blood donation I planned for tomorrow to Friday.
 
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Mianevem

Mianevem

Well-known member
Valkyrie from Budapest, Hungary
Posts: 1,098
@huma , @PetiteSheWolf , it was a lot of fun indeed! There was even a belly dancer and a fire dancer to entertain us.

Thank you, @Laura Rainbow Dragon ! At the bottom of my heart I knew from the moment I first talked to him that he would have a sad life. Hopefully the camp gave him at least a temporary relief from his troubles. The Hungarian Tolkien Society's community has its own problems, sometimes people quarrel, and some of them get so offended that they leave the society completely, but overall it's a very welcoming and accepting community--not unlike DareBee, just non-virtual and with a different focus. I personally have gained a lot of self-confidence since I joined (both communities).

Sunday, 16 October

Morning
-- Day 3 of Hard Reset Cardio

Late afternoon
-- Day 28 of Epic Five | lower body strength
-- Day 3 of Hard Reset Strength

Evening
-- Days 7-16 of Daily Kicks

Snacks/drinks
-- grapes
-- a mug of tea with honey
 
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Mianevem

Mianevem

Well-known member
Valkyrie from Budapest, Hungary
Posts: 1,098
Tuesday, 18 October

Morning
-- 20 min run: 1 min fast | 1 min slow
-- an additional 20 min run for day 5 of Hard Reset Cardio
My first run since the marathon! It felt great, apart from the mildly unpleasant feeling in my stomach resulting from a too big breakfast. :glee:

Midday
-- 3x32 front kicks | day 18 of Daily Kicks

Late afternoon
-- 5 min wall-sit hold | day 30 of Epic Five | challenge
-- Day 5 of Hard Reset Strength | lvl II | 7 kg dumbbells

I had a 3-hour-long nap with the cat this day. I don't know why. Yes, I didn't sleep much on Saturday, but I got enough sleep during the next two nights. My workouts last week were also lighter than usually to give myself plenty of time to recover from the marathon. I don't feel ill either. Maybe it's just that this week is less stressful than the weeks before and my body thinks it's time to rest then?
And I didn't even have any problems falling asleep at night afterwards.
 
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Mianevem

Mianevem

Well-known member
Valkyrie from Budapest, Hungary
Posts: 1,098
Wednesday, 19 October

Morning
-- 50 min bike ride | counted for day 6 of Hard Reset Cardio
I'm exploring the route I would need to take if I went to my boyfriend's family by bike. For the way back, I have yet to decide which one is less stressful: having to keep changing lanes on a road with high traffic or going on a narrow, two-way bike path with ridiculous hairpin turns...

Midday
-- 3x34 side kicks | day 19 of Daily Kicks

Afternoon
-- Elbow plank | day 31 of Epic Five | 1:30-1:00-1:30-1:00
-- Day 6 of Hard Reset Strength | lvl III | 7 kg dumbbells

Evening
-- Hero Maker | lvl III

Snacks/drinks:
-- a mug of tea with honey
-- a bit of popcorn
 
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Mianevem

Mianevem

Well-known member
Valkyrie from Budapest, Hungary
Posts: 1,098
Thank you, @NancyTree , @Fremen , @TopNotch , @CODawn , @Anek , @lofivelcro ! Maybe one day I'll be able to do all days on epic level. :eager:

Thursday, October 20

Before breakfast
-- 10 push-ups | day 1 of First Thing Push-ups
-- Runner Strength Upperbody
-- Day 7 of Hard Reset Strength

Midday
-- 30 min run: 2 min fast | 1 min slow
I had cramps after the third interval or so, even though my cycle isn't supposed to start for a few more days. But when I was very unfit, I used to have such cramps after running, unrelated to my menstrual cycle. So maybe my body just didn't agree to the intensity. I held back the pace significantly afterwards and the pain went away completely. I was able to go a bit faster again without any problems in the last two sets.

Late afternoon
-- Day 1 of Impact
-- Day 7 of Hard Reset Cardio | 0.75 kg ankle weights for knee-ins & twist
-- Day 1 of 1-minute Plank

Evening
-- 3x34 turning kicks | day 20 of Daily Kicks

Snacks/drinks: :x:
 
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Mianevem

Mianevem

Well-known member
Valkyrie from Budapest, Hungary
Posts: 1,098
Friday, 21 October

Before breakfast
-- Day 8 of Hard Reset Strength
-- 20 push-ups | day 2 of First Thing Push-ups
-- Day 2 of 1-minute Plank
-- 20 calf raises | day 2 of Impact | with 7 kg dumbbells

Snacks/drinks:
-- peanut butter
-- glucose tablets. I went to donate blood. I always ask for glucose tablets afterwards because my heart pumps out that half of a litre ridiculously fast and I easily get dizzy. This time, however, I didn't manage to avoid the dizziness, so I was ordered to eat like a dozen more tablets on the spot.
-- chocolate wafers I was given at blood donation
-- grapes

The Blood Transfusion Service always has some campaigns going on to encourage people to donate blood. This time one of the gifts I was given was a coupon from the bookstore chain where we buy nearly all of our books that we don't order online. My to-read-pile is huge. Will I further increase the list just to use up this coupon? Absolutely. In the nearest bookstore there's also a lovely cafè, so I can even take my boyfriend with me to have another little book/coffee date there. :sendlove:

Saturday, October 22

Before breakfast
-- 30 push-ups | day 3 of First Thing Push-ups | in one go! I surprised myself there, I haven't been focusing on push-ups lately
-- Day 3 of 1-minute Plank

Midday
-- 40 min run: 3 min fast | 1 min slow

Late afternoon
-- Day 21-22 of Daily Kicks
-- Day 8 of Hard Reset Cardio | lvl III
-- Kiriko | lvl III
My hamstrings felt unusually tight during front kicks.

Snacks/drinks:
-- a teaspoon of honey | in the morning I felt like my throat is about to get sore again
-- instead of both of my espressos I had cappuccinos with oat milk
-- 2 mugs of tea with honey
-- grapes

This day I was still feeling the aftereffects of the blood donation. According to Garmin, I spent more than 11 minutes in zone 5 during my run. I don't think I ever had any runs this intense HR-wise during my marathon training. The combat workouts in the evening also seemed to get my heart rate higher than usual, and I felt quite tired doing them.

Sunday, October 23

Before breakfast
-- 10 push-ups | day 4 of First Thing Push-ups
-- Day 4 of 1-minute Plank
-- Day 9 of Hard Reset Strength | lvl I

Midday
-- 20 jump knee-tucks | day 3 of Impact

Afternoon
-- 50 min run: 4 min fast | 1 min slow
-- 20 min extra run for day 9 of Hard Reset Cardio
I paid attention not to push myself too much on the intervals, and I managed to avoid the cramps! It was a very enjoyable run, especially since I went out feeling tired and unmotivated.

Snacks/drinks:
-- I added cream to my espressos
-- a mug of rose hip tea with honey

Monday, October 24

Before breakfast
-- 30 push-ups | day 5 of First Thing Push-ups | yeah, it seems like I really am able to do 30 consecutive push-ups
-- Day 5 of 1-minute Plank
-- 1 min full plank | day 4 of Impact

Afternoon
-- Day 23-24 of Daily Kicks

Evening
-- Day 5 of Impact

Snacks/drinks:
-- raw mushrooms
-- a bit of grana padano
-- dates
-- second coffee was a cappuccino with oat milk
-- crackers
 
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PetiteSheWolf

PetiteSheWolf

Well-known member
Alchemist from France
Posts: 2,037
Mianevem said:
The Blood Transfusion Service always has some campaigns going on to encourage people to donate blood. This time one of the gifts I was given was a coupon from the bookstore chain where we buy nearly all of our books that we don't order online. My to-read-pile is huge. Will I further increase the list just to use up this coupon? Absolutely. In the nearest bookstore there's also a lovely cafè, so I can even take my boyfriend with me to have another little book/coffee date there. :sendlove:
Click to expand...
Now here's a girl after my own bookish heart! :cool:
 
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