It’s been two weeks…
Well, I guess it’s now officially been two whole weeks since my 30th (and final) radiation therapy treatment. This last week has been surprisingly hard. A week ago Saturday, I thought I could muster the energy to go to my normal olympic weightlifting class (as I’ve already done several times during treatment). Was I ever wrong about that one! We did 3 position clean deadlift drills (with almost no weight on the bar, mind you), and all that up and down movement got me nice and light-headed. Sunday I was wiped (almost certainly because of the Saturday hijinks).
Grrrrrrrrreat!
On Wednesday, I woke up feeling Tony, the Tiger-great, and not a moment too soon! Big R and I had a lunch reservation at Tasting Counter in Somerville to celebrate our 9th anniversary. Despite occasionally feeling like I was in an episode of Portlandia, it was amazing. I suspended my keto diet regimen so that I could fully enjoy the meal, and fasting at dinner that night kicked me back into ketosis the next day. It’s wild how easily my metabolism can be manipulated.
I rode my bike!
Thursday I actually rode my bike to campus to say “goodbye” to our provost. (We had a really nice meeting, and I’m going to miss having him as my boss. I’m not just saying that because he reads this blog – hi, Vin!). At any rate, the ride is just under 7 miles each way, but it was also 80+ degrees out, so that little jaunt may also have been too much too soon. It has been remarkably hard to find the balance between getting enough exercise to feel good/healthy and exerting myself so much that I need a 3-hour nap the next day. C’est la vie – Friday I took a 3-hour nap.
Seriously, guys, squat snatch is a legitimate lift.
To end the week, I took another stab at olympic weightlifting. This time it was heaving snatch balance, overhead squat, and 3 position squat snatch. Miracle, of miracles, I made it through without passing out, and I remained functional enough for the rest of the day to make tsong you bing with the fam:
Cooking with the fam…

We cooked the tsong you bing the next morning for breakfast, and they weren’t half bad. (I abstained, of course – keto, and all that.) But, despite feeling pretty solid all day Saturday, I still needed a 2-hour nap on Sunday. Thankfully, Big R generously provided the opportunity by taking Little R to the Wilson Farms Strawberry Festival in Lexington.
In which I finish off this post with a dollop of control theory…
Despite it being a rough second week, my energy level is definitely converging toward normal again. It’s just that it’s also oscillating (possibly of my own doing). <BEGIN NERD ALERT>I’m really hoping for exponential stability, but honestly at this point I’ll take asymptotic stability.</END NERD ALERT> I’ll show myself out now.
Aaron, I continue to be inspired by your energetic advances. Power to you!!
I hope you’re having a great time up north.
Thanks, Linda. I’m hoping Maine will be restful and recharging, and I’ll be back with a vengeance!