This is a No-Trazadone Zone after yesterday’s experience.
Really I have no proof that the one single dose of Trazadone had any effect on my dreams. I don’t remember any specifics about them. But I do remember that they were very strange.
On the chance that Trazadone was the cause, I’m guessing that the strange dreams I had last night were also Trazadone-related and were a lingering aftereffect of the single dose taken the day before.
With the trial of Trazadone behind me I’m now turning back to rowing daily. I missed workouts for two days in a row. One of the most important factors in good sleep for me is to use the rowing machine or SkiErg daily and burn a few hundred Calories in the process. The quality of sleep seems to improve in direct proportion to the number of Calories burned each day on the ergs. The benefit of working harder while on the rowing machine or SkiErg is mainly that it takes less time to burn the Calories. A longer, slower workout of 700 Calories seems as good for sleep as a shorter, faster workout that also burns 700 Calories.
Hopefully, the remainder of Trazedone will be gone before bedtime tonight and the strange dreams will be gone with it.
Today’s workouts were a 10,000 meter session on the Rowing erg and 100 Calories on the SkiErg for a total of 689 Calories in about 54 minutes. AFTERNOON UPDATE: Did three more brief sessions on SkiErg and rowing machine to bring day’s Calorie burn total from 689 to 842.
Finish screen for today’s 10,000 meter rowing session. After about 8,000 meters, heart rate became irregular and too high.
RowPro report for today’s 10,000 meter rowing session.
RowPro graphs for today’s 10,000 meter rowing session.
Concept 2 online logbook chart for today’s 10,000 meter rowing session.
Chart and data for today’s morning SkiErg session.
Because of a “drug trial” no workouts were done today except the most ethereal rowing of all: rowing done exclusively in my mind.
Evening yesterday, I decided to try a drug. It was a drug which had been prescribed in the hope it would help when I had insomnia.
What should be explained is that the sort of insomnia I’ve had is the variety where I have no trouble going to sleep at night the first time. But after waking in the middle of the night to use the bathroom I become wide awake. When that happens my metabolism also increases and I become too warm and wide awake after getting back into bed .
After discussing it with my doctor she prescribed Trazadone. A lot of doctors prescribe it for insomnia though it is not intended as a sleeping aid. It helps a lot of people but a lot of other people report that it doesn’t help or has undesirable side effects that outweigh any help with sleep.
The hope was that Trazadone would add enough element of drowsiness that I would get a full night’s sleep without any skirmishes with insomnia.
Realistically I didn’t know whether the night would have any episode of insomnia. But I decided to try the Trazadone just fro the sake of learning what it was like. I took 1/2 dose before going to bed, as directed with food. Waited an hour for it to take effect. Felt no effect, so went to bed anyway. Fell asleep like I normally do. Woke 90 minutes later which was a bit early to go to the bathroom but went anyway since I was awake. Had a medicinal taste in my mouth and both mouth and eyes felt dry. Went back to bed. Fell asleep again. Woke 90 minutes later but felt like I hadn’t slept though I had no memory of laying awake. My hands and feet felt very cold but my body felt warm. Became wide awake and got up.
Extremely wide awake though “medicated” is one way to describe how I felt. It was almost 2:00 am so I decided to take the other half dose to see if it would help fall back to sleep. Took it with food. The extreme non-sleepy wakefulness persisted. Hands and feet still felt unusually cold, like blood vessels were a bit constricted in extremities.
Instead of helping me to feel drowsy and making it easy to go back to sleep in the middle of the night, I became very, very wide awake!
Took my blood pressure, which is normally okay and it was unusually high, at 141/73. Also, though my heart rate was normal, at 53 when I was sitting to take blood pressure, the heart beat had a somewhat strange feel to it, as though it was sort of “thumping” a bit hard with each beat.
I did some work in the garage, turned on TV to check news, played chess and other video games. Did some reading. Was wide awake until well after sunrise. At 7:50 AM, I decided to go to bed and just lay there quietly to find out if I could get any sleep or if I should just give up trying until evening.
I did fall asleep and had very strange dreams. Woke at about noon and got up for the day, feeling rather awful in a medicated way. Had dry, unpleasant tasting mouth and eyes. Actually I didn’t taste my eyes as that previous sentence might lead you to believe. Mouth tasted strange. Eyes felt dry. Mouth felt dry too. Felt thirsty and drank a cup of ice cold distilled water which tasted very good.
My mind felt awake but it also felt like there was a cloudy bunch of sticky cobwebs in my head. Though it was after noon, I decided to make a little coffee. So I made about 16 oz of Starbucks Organic Yukon, which is my current home-brew favorite.
The coffee helped clear the cobwebs but it took all afternoon for me to start feeling normal again.
Before trying the Trazadone last night, I looked for videos about it on YouTube. Found a very comprehensive video about it by a medical student. Also found two videos about it by medical doctors and two videos about it by pharmacists. Watched all of them and they all seemed pretty much okay with its use as a sleep aid.
Found one video about it, which I didn’t watch until today in the aftermath of Trazadone. Its title is where I got the idea from for today’s blog post. It is called “Trazodone is a Trazodon’t (for me)” (and that is a live link to it).
So… though I don’t have the identical reasons as the lady who made the video linked to above, Trazadone is now a TrazaDON’T for me too.
Burning calories is one of the common motivations people have for running on a treadmill.
Before starting today’s workout session there was no plan for what to do.
Usually, I decide what the workouts will be before entering the 10 foot by 10 foot room where SkiErg and rowing machine hang out, but not this morning. This morning, I was detachedly observing my subconscious as it tried to steer me away from that room.
Rather than give in to the subconscious nudges urging me to procrastinate, I just walked into the room and changed into workout clothes.
Normally this is enough to get things going and it worked again today.
The main workout today was a 200 Calorie session on the SkiErg. That session had a goal of keeping pace as close as possible to 2:17/500 meters. It was done at RPE Level 3.
Following the SkiErg session, there was a 1,000 meter rowing warm down which was interrupted for a few minutes after about 500 meters.
All totaled, the two sessions burned a little more energy than a 1.9 ounce, 250 Calorie Snickers candy bar. It has been years since I’ve had a candy bar but I may still be carrying around some calories from a few of the candy bars I ate in the distant past.
Though the figures above are for woman who is 5’7″, 35 years old and weighs 144 lbs, its gives a good ballpark figure of comparison for how hard anyone has to work to burn a Snickers.
The total workout time for today’s two rather brief and easy sessions was about 24 minutes.
Chart and data for today’s SkiErg session.
RowPro report for today’s very short rowing session.
Care to guess which is high and which is low energy?
Erg workouts today were a single session on each machine again.
Repeating yesterday’s SkiErg session of 200 Calories, the SkiErg session today was done slightly faster than yesterday’s. Today’s pace was 2:18. Yesterday’s was a slower 2:19. Today’s SkiErg RPE was level 3.
Getting lazy after sitting on the rowing machine, I watched videos and rowed very slowly. The rowing distance today was 7,000 meters at a pace of about 2:41. Though it was a tiny bit faster than yesterday’s rowing session, it was 3,000 meters shorter. Today’s rowing RPE was level 1.
Today’s workout was one session each, on SkiErg and rowing erg.
While the SkiErg session was set to count down from 200 Calories, it also had another goal which was a target pace of 2:19/500 meters. I bounced around within about 0.1 second above and below the pace target throughout the session and managed to finish within 0.1 second of target pace. It was done at RPE Level 2.
On the rowing erg, the work was easier. It was set to count down from 10,000 meters but its only objective was to burn some Calories by going the entire distance at any pace. The result was a pace that varied, averaged 2:21.5 and burned 570 Calories. It was done at RPE Level 1.
This post has the tag “heart strangeness” only because it might be concluded that there was some paroxysmal atrial fibrillation due to the look of its graph. The multitude of vertical lines in the heart rate plot happen when heart rate stops displaying a reading. Though that’s what it looks like when heart rate is irregular, I didn’t feel anything unusual. There was no fluttering etc., so I suspect that the transmitter battery may be low. I can’t be certain unless I check it, but the particular model is the Polar H7, which consumes energy about twice the rate of most other heart straps. It does so because it has not just one, but two transmitters which simultaneously transmit in two different formats. The Polar H7 is on its first battery and I’ve never logged hours-of-use vs battery life for this (or any) heart strap, so it’s merely conjecture at this point.
Chart and data for SkiErg session.
Finish screen for today’s 10,000 meter rowing session.
Report for today’s 10,000 meter rowing session.
RowPro graphs for today’s 10,000 meter rowing session.
The SkiErg imitates the motions and measures the work of cross-country skiing.
Today’s erg activity was on the SkiErg. Due to time constraints, the only workout was a single 6,000 meter session on that machine. Goals were: maintain average pace of 2 minutes 17 seconds per 500 meters for the first 5K and then a bit faster during the remaining 1,000 meters. The result was an overall average pace of 2:15.7 which burned 353 Calories and averaged 140 Watts. It was done at RPE Level 4.
There was also a warm down. I don’t count it as a workout. It consisted of 1,000 meters rowing at a pace of 2:48.7. It burned 52 Calories and was RPE Level 1 or less. I won’t post any screenshots of it but it’s available for examination in the online logbook.
Chart and data for today’s main session on the SkiErg.
For the first time in many weeks, I managed to do the day’s workouts in the morning before breakfast. That’s supposed to be very good for the mitochondria, if breakfast happens at least 12 hours after most recent previous eating and exercise is included in that 12 hours or more of fasting time.
So, the most satisfying thing about today’s erg sessions was that they were done in the morning, before breakfast and they benefited the body’s vital little buddies, the mitochondria.
The second most satisfying thing was: a SkiErg 5K in improved time.
Also, I was rewarded with a move up in the SkiErg 5K world rankings. The move up was only one place, from 6th to 5th out of 10 total entries. But it’s progress in the right direction, so I’m happy and sort of have a little smile about it, like the little smile on the face of the mitochondrion.
The SkiErg 5K was done at RPE Level 5 and was mentally absorbing because I had to focus on a pace target of 2:16 for the first 4K then tentatively explored faster paces during the final 1,000 meter split.
There was some rowing done also – a very slow 10K session at RPE Level 1. It was not “mentally absorbing,” because it was so slow that my mind wandered all over the place.
Today’s most satisfying session, a 5K on the SkiErg.
Finish screen for today’s very slow and somewhat fartleky 10K.
Reportfor today’s very slow and somewhat fartleky 10K.
RowPro graphsfor today’s very slow and somewhat fartleky 10K.
Most people who are familiar with the term “fartlek” think of it in connection with running, but a varying pace can apply to any activity that involves pacing. In today’s case it was rowing. It is no coincidence that these runners look happy – happiness is one of the purposes of changing the pace.
The above photo was found among many photos relevant to fartlek, on a website called Running In India, in an article on that site, titled “Fartleking Around,” by Christine Pemberton.
Today’s workout was limited to rowing only and it was an accomplishment to simply get it done, because there was an inner wrestling match with inertia until the last minute. At the last minute, when I was comfortable and chatting like a bluejay on the sofa, the household muse provided the necessary inspiration to overcome the inertia when she inquired, “Are you ever going to row?” And … off I went, to row.
The piece of rowing was 10,000 meters done as a fartlek. Fartlek is a somewhat strange word (unless you speak Swedish) which means a variable pace. But depending on which source you consult for a definition of fartlek, the definite meaning will vary. However, no matter which particular definition you prefer, all definitions have one thing in common which is a varying pace.
I chose to understand the word to mean a deliberate and somewhat chaotic varying of pace, without further specification.
Sometimes, a constant pace is what my inner rower desires. But not today. Today my inner rower wanted a measure of chaos and variety.
Finish screen for today’s 10,000 meter rowing session.
Report for today’s 10,000 meter rowing session.
RowPro graphs for today’s 10,000 meter rowing session.
Concept 2 chart, and more, for today’s 10,000 meter rowing session.
The only workout today was a 10,000 meter rowing session. Instead of choosing a pace in advance, I decided to row at whatever I settled into that felt good, which turned out to be a pace of around 2:10 at RPE Level 4.
Finish screen for today’s brisk 10K rowing session.
Report for today’s brisk 10K rowing session.
RowPro graphs for today’s brisk 10K rowing session.
Finish screen view for today’s moderate 500 meter sprint. Heart rate was 196 at finish but it got a bit higher earlier in the 500 meters (see one of the screenshots below).
Are you familiar with the formula for determining your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220? The formula may be written: 220 – AGE = HRmax.
If you know a person’s maximum heart rate, you can thereby deduce the person’s age by rearranging the formula as: 220 – HRmax = AGE.
Today in one of the workout sessions my heart rate maxed out at 204, therefore today it was acting very juvenile. To be precise, it was acting 220-204= sixteen years old. I was so focused on the effort during that 2,000 meter SkiErg piece, that I didn’t notice how high my teeny-bopper heart rate reached until afterwards. After uploading the results, I looked at the graphs closely, the way the Concept 2 online logbook lets you do if you use their app (ErgData) and it if it was wirelessly connected to the SkiErg monitor during the session.
Heart was in the range of a 16-year-old’s and it also seemed interested in hip-hop dance moves of some sort.
In total there were five sessions today, which were in this chronological order, one right after the other. A summary list of the workouts is below, (but I will only include data/graph screenshots for three of them):
A brief warmup on SkiErg
An attempt at a 2,000 meter sprint on SkiErg
A brief SkiErg warm down
A 500 meter moderate rowing sprint and
A 2000 meter supplemental warm down.
Summary list of today’s 5 workouts, with chronological order from first to fifth displayed on left.
Report for today’s 500 meter rowing at a moderate sprint effort.
Chart of the moderate-effort 500 meter rowing sprint.
Close up of area on 500 meter rowing chart where heart rate reached 204.
Chart and data for 2,000 meter SkiErg sprint. The place where my effort/pace suddenly drops was after about 1,500 meters when I started feeling a bit too tired. I had been trying to do it in a time that would have placed me second in the current world rankings for my age bracket. After I gave up and was breathing easier, I
Close up of area on SkiErg 2000 meter chart where heart rate reached 200.
I was aiming for second-place in the 70-79 year-old current SkiErg world rankings, but had to settle for 3rd.
Report for final session today, a very easy 2,000 meter warm down.
Graphs for today’s 2000 meter rowing warm down. Heart rate was mostly absent from the display because it was doing some kind of a hip-hop dance and the heart strap transmitter had a hard time counting the beat.
