IronMike's 2023 log: Fewer means better, right? (EO & RUS)

Continue or start your personal language log here, including logs for challenge participants
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Ani
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Re: So many languages, so little time. IronMike's 2018 language log

Postby Ani » Thu Oct 18, 2018 5:15 am

MattNeilsen wrote:Impressive work on the swim. I was on the triathlon team in college and I've done my fair share of swimming - that's no small feat to do a 10+ mile swim. You have any special milestones/goals that you're working towards?


I'm pretty sure it's "swim every waterway in the world" ;)
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But there's no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.

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IronMike
Black Belt - 2nd Dan
Posts: 2554
Joined: Thu May 12, 2016 6:13 am
Location: Northern Virginia
Languages: Studying: Esperanto
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Tested:
BCS, 1+L/1+R (DLPT5, 2022)
Russian, 3/3 (DLPT5, 2022) 2+ (OPI, 2022)
German, 2L/1+R (DLPT5, 2021)
Italian, 1L/2R (DLPT IV, 2019)
Esperanto, C1 (KER skriba ekzameno, 2017)
Slovene, 2+L/3R (DLPT II in, yes, 1999)
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=5189
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Re: So many languages, so little time. IronMike's 2018 language log

Postby IronMike » Thu Oct 18, 2018 3:35 pm

MattNeilsen wrote:Impressive work on the swim. I was on the triathlon team in college and I've done my fair share of swimming - that's no small feat to do a 10+ mile swim. You have any special milestones/goals that you're working towards?

Thanks. No long-term goals per se. Right now I'm trying to get used to salt water for the Boston Light Swim next year. America's oldest! 111 years running. I also want to do the Swimrun in Boston harbor next year. I'm mostly a marathon swimmer who tries to take advantage of local races; less traveling. Thus I moved here early July and immediately did two swims in Salem. So fun. The swim in TN popped up last minute when someone else dropped out. The race director knew I loved the swim (did it first in 2012) so she asked if I was willing to come back. Hells yeah, was my response I believe. ;)

How about you? Still doing triathlons? I used to coach swimming for DC Tri. Love you guys. Did a couple triathlons in my teens. No thanks. ;)

If you're interested, I have a blog for my swimming adventures. Some language-y stuff in there, especially when I was arranging a swim in Kyrgyzstan.
0 x
You're not a C1 (or B1 or whatever) if you haven't tested.
CEFR --> ILR/DLPT equivalencies
My swimming life.
My reading life.

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IronMike
Black Belt - 2nd Dan
Posts: 2554
Joined: Thu May 12, 2016 6:13 am
Location: Northern Virginia
Languages: Studying: Esperanto
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Tested:
BCS, 1+L/1+R (DLPT5, 2022)
Russian, 3/3 (DLPT5, 2022) 2+ (OPI, 2022)
German, 2L/1+R (DLPT5, 2021)
Italian, 1L/2R (DLPT IV, 2019)
Esperanto, C1 (KER skriba ekzameno, 2017)
Slovene, 2+L/3R (DLPT II in, yes, 1999)
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=5189
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Re: So many languages, so little time. IronMike's 2018 language log

Postby IronMike » Thu Oct 18, 2018 3:36 pm

Ani wrote:
MattNeilsen wrote:Impressive work on the swim. I was on the triathlon team in college and I've done my fair share of swimming - that's no small feat to do a 10+ mile swim. You have any special milestones/goals that you're working towards?


I'm pretty sure it's "swim every waterway in the world" ;)

Not quite. I'll leave that to the swimmers doing Oceans Seven. ;)
1 x
You're not a C1 (or B1 or whatever) if you haven't tested.
CEFR --> ILR/DLPT equivalencies
My swimming life.
My reading life.

MattNeilsen
Orange Belt
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Location: Sunnyvale, CA
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Hebrew (studying - beginner)
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Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... php?t=8869
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Re: So many languages, so little time. IronMike's 2018 language log

Postby MattNeilsen » Thu Oct 18, 2018 4:56 pm

IronMike wrote:
MattNeilsen wrote:Impressive work on the swim. I was on the triathlon team in college and I've done my fair share of swimming - that's no small feat to do a 10+ mile swim. You have any special milestones/goals that you're working towards?

Thanks. No long-term goals per se. Right now I'm trying to get used to salt water for the Boston Light Swim next year. America's oldest! 111 years running. I also want to do the Swimrun in Boston harbor next year. I'm mostly a marathon swimmer who tries to take advantage of local races; less traveling. Thus I moved here early July and immediately did two swims in Salem. So fun. The swim in TN popped up last minute when someone else dropped out. The race director knew I loved the swim (did it first in 2012) so she asked if I was willing to come back. Hells yeah, was my response I believe. ;)

How about you? Still doing triathlons? I used to coach swimming for DC Tri. Love you guys. Did a couple triathlons in my teens. No thanks. ;)

If you're interested, I have a blog for my swimming adventures. Some language-y stuff in there, especially when I was arranging a swim in Kyrgyzstan.


I just took a peek at your blog - man, that brings back some good (bad?) memories! I think the longest swim I ever did was ~4ish miles - most of our stuff was shorter ~1-2 mile swims. Of course, then you had to jump on a bike for ~100 miles and then run, so I guess there's that...haha.

Unfortunately, I haven't done a triathlon in several years, though I've thought about getting back into it. I got pretty interested in strength training several years ago and it put my endurance hobbies on the back-burner for a time. I'm always interested in physical pursuits, so I'm sure it'll come back around again.

I was going to ask how you approached nutrition to support your swims but noticed you referenced LCHF. I've been playing around with a modified ketogenic diet myself the last couple of months and have really enjoyed it. It's such a shift in mindset from my days of high-carb. If you don't mind me asking, what's your experience been like?
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Hebrew
Pimsleur Level 2: 21 / 30
FSI : 3 / 40
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Srugim Season 3: 1 / 15
1100 hours of study/input : 160 / 1100

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IronMike
Black Belt - 2nd Dan
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Tested:
BCS, 1+L/1+R (DLPT5, 2022)
Russian, 3/3 (DLPT5, 2022) 2+ (OPI, 2022)
German, 2L/1+R (DLPT5, 2021)
Italian, 1L/2R (DLPT IV, 2019)
Esperanto, C1 (KER skriba ekzameno, 2017)
Slovene, 2+L/3R (DLPT II in, yes, 1999)
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=5189
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Re: So many languages, so little time. IronMike's 2018 language log

Postby IronMike » Thu Oct 18, 2018 5:21 pm

MattNeilsen wrote:I was going to ask how you approached nutrition to support your swims but noticed you referenced LCHF. I've been playing around with a modified ketogenic diet myself the last couple of months and have really enjoyed it. It's such a shift in mindset from my days of high-carb. If you don't mind me asking, what's your experience been like?

I still maintain that the diet is magic. My cholesterol has never been lower, and that includes the 15+ years I was a pescovegetarian. I eat meat almost every meal (some breakfasts, when I eat one, is a protein shake). I eat a 1-lbs ribeye steak 2-3 times a week. Tons of fat and protein. My cholesterol is 175 and my HDL is in the upper 60s. My triglycerides are awesome. It is weird and counter-intuitive, but it works for me. Even more important is the effect the diet has had on my acid reflux. I used to have to pre-plan any dinner with tomato sauce. Couldn't' have too much beer on that night too, or else I'd be up all night with what I called dragon breath. It felt like I had flames in my throat. I was on the verge of asking the doc for prescription medicine. All that is gone now. No matter how many beers I have at night. (Some days, beer is my only carb.)

The big thing for me was giving up what I used to eat, carb-wise. I don't remember a time in my life when I didn't have cereal for breakfast at least six times a week. Nor a week where I didn't have pasta at least once, but more often twice, not including if there were leftovers. Also sandwiches for lunch. Always. I gave all that up. Incredible change.

I have a swimmer-friend who is whole-hog keto. (I'm not...love beer too much.) This summer he swam the English Channel in 14-something hours and his only "feed" was water.

My latest two long swims where I had an escort, my feeds were babybel cheeses, pepperonis and Justin's nut butter packets. So low carb but not zero carbs. I'm not keto, so still burning the carbs for fuel, so I was bonking toward the end. But unlike most marathon swimmers who drink carb drinks, I had no stomach upset issues at all. It was awesome.

If you do go full LCHF, I'd suggest getting a blood panel first. And then a year later. It is wonderful to see the change.
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You're not a C1 (or B1 or whatever) if you haven't tested.
CEFR --> ILR/DLPT equivalencies
My swimming life.
My reading life.

MattNeilsen
Orange Belt
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Location: Sunnyvale, CA
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Re: So many languages, so little time. IronMike's 2018 language log

Postby MattNeilsen » Fri Oct 19, 2018 4:33 am

I hear you - it’s incredibly counter-intuitive. I’ve been an athlete (or at least physically active) all my life, and the conventional wisdom - at least in the circles I ran in - was always that carbs drove performance. I ate completely plant-based/starch-centered for almost 5 years cause I thought the evidence pointed that way.

When I first heard about high fat/moderate protein/low (or zero) carb, I’m embarrassed to say I just scoffed at the idea. It wasn’t until I spent a lot more time studying evolutionary theory, anthropology, and physiology that I started to come around to it. Now I’m all about the ribeye lifestyle :) I typically target 2 lbs a day as a base, then add other food on top of that.

You might like a podcast called Human Performance Outliers by Zach Bitter and Dr. Shawn Baker. Both follow LCHF diets, though interestingly one is an ultra-marathon runner and the other is a power lifter and world record holder of the 500M indoor C2 rower. Lots of fascinating material.
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Hebrew
Pimsleur Level 2: 21 / 30
FSI : 3 / 40
Clozemaster 101-500 Most Common Words: 1600 / 4825
Srugim Season 3: 1 / 15
1100 hours of study/input : 160 / 1100

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shandra
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Re: So many languages, so little time. IronMike's 2018 language log

Postby shandra » Sat Oct 20, 2018 8:37 pm

MattNeilsen wrote:I've been playing around with a modified ketogenic diet myself the last couple of months and have really enjoyed it. It's such a shift in mindset from my days of high-carb.
Me too! :o
But I admit I am not following it strictly.
For me it hasn't been so difficult to avoid bread, pasta, rice and potatoes. And it is surprising if you consider that the Italian food pyramid is made of carbs. :? No Italian granny could accept a LCHF: they cook HCHF ;)

But these days I'm craving for rice: I mean Japanese rice with raw egg and Indian rice with very hot curry legumes. Cauliflower is not really the same thing, although an interesting alternative :oops:
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IronMike
Black Belt - 2nd Dan
Posts: 2554
Joined: Thu May 12, 2016 6:13 am
Location: Northern Virginia
Languages: Studying: Esperanto
Maintaining: nada
Tested:
BCS, 1+L/1+R (DLPT5, 2022)
Russian, 3/3 (DLPT5, 2022) 2+ (OPI, 2022)
German, 2L/1+R (DLPT5, 2021)
Italian, 1L/2R (DLPT IV, 2019)
Esperanto, C1 (KER skriba ekzameno, 2017)
Slovene, 2+L/3R (DLPT II in, yes, 1999)
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=5189
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Re: So many languages, so little time. IronMike's 2018 language log

Postby IronMike » Wed Oct 24, 2018 10:05 pm

Crap! Totally forgot about the Language Jam this past weekend. And I had a business trip from Sunday till today. Dammit. Will have to attempt it next time.

And I'm back home now and remembered that tomorrow is my BCS Reading test! Dang. Well, if I don't know it now, I'm not gonna learn it by tomorrow. Wish me luck!

I have read a bunch of Esperanto though. I started Istvan Nemere's Serĉu mian sonĝon. It's a psychological thriller and so far (~45 pages) it is very good. Really enjoying it. I might have it done before the next Sumoo, which starts 11 November. We'll see!
0 x
You're not a C1 (or B1 or whatever) if you haven't tested.
CEFR --> ILR/DLPT equivalencies
My swimming life.
My reading life.

DaveAgain
Black Belt - 1st Dan
Posts: 1968
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Languages: English (native), French & German (learning).
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Re: So many languages, so little time. IronMike's 2018 language log

Postby DaveAgain » Wed Oct 24, 2018 11:09 pm

IronMike wrote:And I'm back home now and remembered that tomorrow is my BCS Reading test! Dang. Well, if I don't know it now, I'm not gonna learn it by tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Good luck ! :-)
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IronMike
Black Belt - 2nd Dan
Posts: 2554
Joined: Thu May 12, 2016 6:13 am
Location: Northern Virginia
Languages: Studying: Esperanto
Maintaining: nada
Tested:
BCS, 1+L/1+R (DLPT5, 2022)
Russian, 3/3 (DLPT5, 2022) 2+ (OPI, 2022)
German, 2L/1+R (DLPT5, 2021)
Italian, 1L/2R (DLPT IV, 2019)
Esperanto, C1 (KER skriba ekzameno, 2017)
Slovene, 2+L/3R (DLPT II in, yes, 1999)
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=5189
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Re: So many languages, so little time. IronMike's 2018 language log

Postby IronMike » Sun Oct 28, 2018 5:04 pm

Yeah, that didn't go well. Scored so low that the only way I can get employer-supported private lessons is to be considered a new learner of the language! Yikes. And Reading is my best skill in BCS. :O

So, now I'm in thinking mode. I could keep up the personal work on it, or I could work on a language I am better at. That being Russian.

I'm torn, really. I love BCS, but I seriously need some one-on-one with a fluent speaker. But I'm also a cheap bastard and don't want to pay for it out of my own pocket.

Therefore, I may move back to Russian. I'll probably take the DLPT and OPI in December, aiming for starting lessons in late Jan or early Feb. We'll see how that goes.

In other news, went to Salvation Army yday with my wife and found a TY Italian for $0.99. Also found a unique book. An anthology in Croatian about Russian Dissident Drama. Also for less than a dollar! How lucky am I?!

Image
4 x
You're not a C1 (or B1 or whatever) if you haven't tested.
CEFR --> ILR/DLPT equivalencies
My swimming life.
My reading life.


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