Saturday Soleus

Because I haven't said it enough, I may as well start by saying I have a strained Soleus muscle. If you know as much about muscle groups as I do the following picture might help.



Photo credits go to the website I stole this from.

So, instead of running, I did a good hour-long work out on the elliptical today. It was good! My body has definitely worked and I sweat a ton but I never breathed very hard even though I upped the elevation (is that the word?) and the level. :)

In the wake of all this commotion about Susan Boyle, I would like to post some links to my favorite songs from Les Miserables. (Susan Boyle sings "I Dreamed a Dream" from this play at her audition.) These songs are very well sung in these clips but you can't tell what's going on in the play because they come from a 10th Anniversary Concert where the whole play was gone through without staging, etc. They just got the best singers and had them stand at microphones. It's the best I can find on Youtube. Sorry.

BTW: I LIKE showtunes!

Songs:

At The End of the Day. A chorus of workers singing about what life is like working in a factory. It's essentially an 18th-century version of "Take This Job And Shove It."

This is actually the song sung right before "I Dreamed a Dream" in the play.



One Day More This is the last song before Intermission so it's quite a production. It's sung right before the rebels take up arms to fight the government, i.e., right before the French Revolution. Marius and Cosette have just fallen in love and are soon to be separated because Jean Valjean has decided to move himself and Cosette away from Paris. The dirty little singer with the awesome voice who is lamenting her loneliness is Eponine. She loves Marius and has for a long time. She treats him like a prince. Unfortunately, he is too dense to see that she loves him and instead goes for Cosette, the rich little princess. This is a classic case of the girl not getting the boy, even though she deserves him far more than the princess he loves.



Bring Him Home This is a beautiful song sung by the main character, Jean Valjean, as he kneels over the wounded body of Marius, a young man. It's essentially a prayer in which Valjean asks God to heal Marius and not let him die.

My favorite words are "He's like the son I might have known/If God had granted me a son."



There are MANY other songs from Les Miserables that others would argue are better than these. These are my favorites.

A+!
Elisabeth

The Second Lamest Run of 2009

Hello!

Well, this seems to be the niggle that won't give up easily. I attempted a 30-minute run today but only made it about 15 minutes before the pain in my leg -- though diminished -- was messing up my other foot to the point that I turned around and walked straight home, drank a liter of water, and held a frozen ham steak wrapped in a towel against my calf for like, 30 minutes, then I heated it up by placing a space heater near my leg.

This is incredibly lame. I'm even thinking about alternative exercising I can do to keep up some fitness through this. Swimming? I'd have to find access to a swimming pool. I'll be thinking about that.

Eating is going, well, passable, I guess. It still needs to improve.

I had a horrible day at work and spent an hour and a half curled up in my bed hiding from the world after work. It's been a pretty long, frustrating day.

Tomorrow will be better! Night!

Liz