8-8-14
____ Today is the fourth day in a row that the yard has been closed to the inmates. The staffs as well as a few special chosen inmates are pouring concrete footers around the entire inside perimeter of the razor fence, providing a small walkway for the guards that patrol the fence. As a result of this minor construction work, the prison has made the yard unavailable to the inmates, allowing us to go on just the basketball courts right outside of our units. This is now the longest I've had to go without running my usual 5-10 miles a day on the track. Of course it isn't stopping me in the least from continuing to work hard on fitness training, I've just had to make minor adjustments like running in place for an hour and doing other workouts in my cell, which is the same thing I'll have to be doing in the winter when the track is closed every day that temperature drops below 30 degrees. I just hope they finish with construction soon so that I can get back to running the track everyday while the weather is still nice. The cold season is just around the corner.
8-10-14
____This is by far the worst week for my running schedule this summer. The last time I was able to run was Monday when I ran 6.5 miles. Since then the yard has been closed all week. Here it is, Sunday, five days later and the track is still closed. Last weekend I had to miss out on Saturday and Sunday due to Family Day, Tuesday through Friday the concrete work around the perimeter of the fence was under construction. I was told by the inmate workers on Friday that the construction work was finished, but what I wasn't told was that the juvenile inmates are having Family Day this weekend. I can tell a major difference in myself when I don't get to run, my energy level decreases, my stress level increases, I get a little tired during the day, I just don't feel as motivated or accomplished at the end of the day. Of course I continue with the rest of my workout each day, but when you much as I do, it's just not the same. The continued serving of nothing more than processed food in the chow hall takes a serious toile on the body, supplementing with health shakes from the commissary, fruit bought from the diabetic inmates, and the occasional pack of tuna just isn't enough to live healthy in prison. A dedication to daily physical fitness and eating responsibly is the only way I can function at a productive level in prison.
STEVEN DYBVAD
