Or was it a runny stretch? I just had to get out for a run tonight. After the thunderstorms passed it warmed up and was a nice night. I figure the only way to find out if my legs had recovered enough to run, is to run. Gently of course.
Did some gentle warm up stretches, then walked about 5 minutes.
Ran 4 minutes, stretched for another couple minutes.
Ran 5 minutes, walked one.
Ran 9 minutes, walked one.
Ran 6 minutes, walked one, then stretched about 5 minutes.
Walked 5 minutes home, then stretched some more.
I felt really heavy and choppy. Thud thud thud. Right leg felt fine, left leg felt a bit weak and heavy. Running up hill isn't good. Toward the end of the 9 minute run, I was beginning to get back into the groove again, but I could feel my leg being tired. Plus, I was breathing harder than I thought I should be. How quickly we get out of shape again! I'll give my legs a few more days without running, and see how they do. More swimming and biking, and it's supposed to be nice for the rest of the week.
I got a note from the Canmore Oly people. Only 19 days to go. I'll have to start making lists and getting organized. If I don't do anything stupid, my legs should be ok. They said there's still a few spaces left. What about it Susi, are you up for an Oly? We can carpool....
Ironman Canada - DONE! What next?
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
swimming yoga
Now there's a concept, but it sort of works.
Monday was my first hard swim in a while. Started off at a nice pace, but then worked on long and strong strokes. About the half way point I start sprinting 25 m and using the other 75 m to recover, and did that to the end. Overall 1500 m in 30 min.
Stretched for a while afterward, thinking about some of the yoga poses we'd done last week. There's a "rock the baby in the cradle" one where you pick up your leg by the ankle and the theory is you cradle your shin in your arms like a baby and rock back and forth. It's supposed to "open your hips".
The stretching has been doing wonders for my legs. They're continuing to improve. I was thinking of running last night, but did yoga instead. That was good, even if one girl went to sleep and snored like a banshee. (And for the record, it wasn't Linda!)
This morning I was lying in bed seriously considering getting up and going for a run early. I woke up to rain, and was thinking, "I've run in the rain before, that's ok." A minute later the room got quite bright, and a few seconds after that there was a rumble of thunder. Then I thought, "I'm not going to run in a thunderstorm!" So I'll wait and see what the weather is like this afternoon. If it's really crappy I guess it's back onto the spin trainer.
I ended up not going for a bike ride on the weekend after all. We had guests for a lunch bbq, then after cleaning up, I had a nice nap. The evening was babysitting some roast lamb on the bbq spit, and bottling some wine.
Monday was my first hard swim in a while. Started off at a nice pace, but then worked on long and strong strokes. About the half way point I start sprinting 25 m and using the other 75 m to recover, and did that to the end. Overall 1500 m in 30 min.
Stretched for a while afterward, thinking about some of the yoga poses we'd done last week. There's a "rock the baby in the cradle" one where you pick up your leg by the ankle and the theory is you cradle your shin in your arms like a baby and rock back and forth. It's supposed to "open your hips".
The stretching has been doing wonders for my legs. They're continuing to improve. I was thinking of running last night, but did yoga instead. That was good, even if one girl went to sleep and snored like a banshee. (And for the record, it wasn't Linda!)
This morning I was lying in bed seriously considering getting up and going for a run early. I woke up to rain, and was thinking, "I've run in the rain before, that's ok." A minute later the room got quite bright, and a few seconds after that there was a rumble of thunder. Then I thought, "I'm not going to run in a thunderstorm!" So I'll wait and see what the weather is like this afternoon. If it's really crappy I guess it's back onto the spin trainer.
I ended up not going for a bike ride on the weekend after all. We had guests for a lunch bbq, then after cleaning up, I had a nice nap. The evening was babysitting some roast lamb on the bbq spit, and bottling some wine.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Swimming Contemplation
Wed night was a nice meeting with IG, to eat BBQ chicken, check out the T shirt, and plan upcoming plans. I'm cleared to swim and bike all I want, but need to go easy on the running till my left hamstring is feeling 100%
Thursday was crappy weather. KS, my wonderful massage therapist came over. Let's just say there are lots of tender spots in the hamstrings and she worked me over pretty good. I whimpered a little, but it was a good hurt. Stretched after.
Friday I rode home from work all the way down the Bow to Fish Creek, and across. The formal path is still closed behind the cement plant, but if you stay on the east side of the Bow, there's a gravel road to follow to where the path starts up again. Just south of Deerfoot there's a bridge to get back on the right side of the Bow again. Pity they don't pave this chunk and make it the path. That avoids the hill up into, and down out of Diamond Cove. I averaged just over 22 Kph, and took just under 2 hours to get home. If I hadn't explored doggy central where the path dead ends I'd probably take 15 minutes off. Some stretching after.
Sat morning was 1500 m in 30:29, with more stretching after. This was the first swim since well before Chinook where I've kept track of time and distance. I was hoping to be right on 30 minutes, but didn't feel like pushing quite that hard. Sort of odd feeling to swim without a wetsuit, though I don't miss the extra shoulder resistance.
Lots to do around the house today. Must bottle wine, excavate desk, get caught up on laundry, prep for a bbq with friends here tomorrow, and lots more. If I get time I'll go for a ride this afternoon, or maybe tomorrow afternoon.
Oh, and I collected that number for the first time in a while. The month of taper, and recovery sure made themselves apparent. 234. And I didn't even get any bridge mixture out of it!
Thursday was crappy weather. KS, my wonderful massage therapist came over. Let's just say there are lots of tender spots in the hamstrings and she worked me over pretty good. I whimpered a little, but it was a good hurt. Stretched after.
Friday I rode home from work all the way down the Bow to Fish Creek, and across. The formal path is still closed behind the cement plant, but if you stay on the east side of the Bow, there's a gravel road to follow to where the path starts up again. Just south of Deerfoot there's a bridge to get back on the right side of the Bow again. Pity they don't pave this chunk and make it the path. That avoids the hill up into, and down out of Diamond Cove. I averaged just over 22 Kph, and took just under 2 hours to get home. If I hadn't explored doggy central where the path dead ends I'd probably take 15 minutes off. Some stretching after.
Sat morning was 1500 m in 30:29, with more stretching after. This was the first swim since well before Chinook where I've kept track of time and distance. I was hoping to be right on 30 minutes, but didn't feel like pushing quite that hard. Sort of odd feeling to swim without a wetsuit, though I don't miss the extra shoulder resistance.
Lots to do around the house today. Must bottle wine, excavate desk, get caught up on laundry, prep for a bbq with friends here tomorrow, and lots more. If I get time I'll go for a ride this afternoon, or maybe tomorrow afternoon.
Oh, and I collected that number for the first time in a while. The month of taper, and recovery sure made themselves apparent. 234. And I didn't even get any bridge mixture out of it!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
A semi-run, first after Chinook
Last Sat I tried to run off the bike and my legs were having none of it. None at all. My upper calves and bottom of the hamstrings have continued to be tight. Up till now I've mostly rested, but I've picked up on the stretching, and actually took a pill for muscle spasms, hoping that would help relax them. Yoga Monday evening really helped. I actually wished the class was longer because I was really getting into the one pose.
Today was the first run day. The rest of me wants to run, but my legs are still dubious about the whole darn thing. So I decided to ease into it. I stretched a bit after getting out of bed, not hard, well within range of motion, just to start the blood flowing. Things have relaxed someone, as my fingers can get about a foot closer to my toes than they have been for the last couple weeks. Dropped off Linda at work as usual, then drove to Renfrew. Walked 10 minutes briskly, then did about 5 minutes of stretching.
Took a deep breath and started a slow and easy run. Only for a minute or so, then stretched legs more. Ran a few minutes, and stretched more. They were feeling pretty good, so I did an easy 5 minutes, paying a lot of attention to how it felt. Did some more stretching, walked about 10 minutes back to the car, stretched more, then got ready for work myself. Nice morning for a run, actually, not too hot. I'd be surprised if I got up to mid-zone 2 for heart rate.
Legs weren't totally happy about the run, but they didn't complain too much either. Thursday is supposed to be a hill day on the bike, but if my massage therapist can come, I'll trade the bike for the table. No brainer there.
Today was the first run day. The rest of me wants to run, but my legs are still dubious about the whole darn thing. So I decided to ease into it. I stretched a bit after getting out of bed, not hard, well within range of motion, just to start the blood flowing. Things have relaxed someone, as my fingers can get about a foot closer to my toes than they have been for the last couple weeks. Dropped off Linda at work as usual, then drove to Renfrew. Walked 10 minutes briskly, then did about 5 minutes of stretching.
Took a deep breath and started a slow and easy run. Only for a minute or so, then stretched legs more. Ran a few minutes, and stretched more. They were feeling pretty good, so I did an easy 5 minutes, paying a lot of attention to how it felt. Did some more stretching, walked about 10 minutes back to the car, stretched more, then got ready for work myself. Nice morning for a run, actually, not too hot. I'd be surprised if I got up to mid-zone 2 for heart rate.
Legs weren't totally happy about the run, but they didn't complain too much either. Thursday is supposed to be a hill day on the bike, but if my massage therapist can come, I'll trade the bike for the table. No brainer there.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Need my blog fix!!!!
Come on guys!! I'm begging you here. Noon, and no news yet 'cept for Kelsey. I'm dying to know how you all did!
Swim this am was a slow and relaxing swim. 20 min maybe 1 K, water was really warm. Played with stroke a bit. Did lots of stretching at the end of the lane, then more in the hot tub.
Talked to one of my co-workers that does a lot of running. His guess is that there's nothing really wrong, or there'd be more pain. I think he was channeling IG when he keyed in on stretching, or the shortage thereof. Encouraged me to stretch more. Way more. First yoga class in a while tonight, more news if I survive.
Swim this am was a slow and relaxing swim. 20 min maybe 1 K, water was really warm. Played with stroke a bit. Did lots of stretching at the end of the lane, then more in the hot tub.
Talked to one of my co-workers that does a lot of running. His guess is that there's nothing really wrong, or there'd be more pain. I think he was channeling IG when he keyed in on stretching, or the shortage thereof. Encouraged me to stretch more. Way more. First yoga class in a while tonight, more news if I survive.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
I have waffle butt.
Today was another beautiful day for a ride. You can see where I went on the map to the right. I guess everybody is up at GWN because I only saw a couple of other people out training. This is a route I've been wanting to do for a while, so I'm pleased I finally got to it, and my legs held out. The goal today was to keep my heart rate firmly in zone 2, and try to keep my feet light and smooth. Mostly it worked out. I was trying to keep my elbows and knees tucked in, and thinking about body position.
My right leg felt fine, though my left knee felt weak. No pain, no cramping, just weak and a bit wonky. It's like it was really stiff and didn't want to move quickly. There was no incentive here to push it hard. I had hoped that it would warm up as I continued, but it never really changed.
The ride was great! I finally got it through my head that these were training rides, and I didn't need to kill myself trying to make time. I stopped and stretched out my legs several times. It's a beautiful ride, and is where I'm thinking of taking Susi in a few weeks. I stopped at the Millarville General Store for more water and a banana.
Looking back on it, I can see that toward the end I was doing more coasting and less riding. After the first hour the average cadance was 79, and that gradually dropped. Of course, the road was getting hillier, and I was trying really hard to keep my heart rate down and my pedaling smooth. Of course, I felt like I had a headwind for most of the ride, but in fact the wind was pretty light so I don't think that was much of a factor. What was odd is that my average speed kept going up little by little.
I tried to run off the bike, honest. My left leg said a bunch of things not suitable to repeat in a family rated blog, and I stopped right away. No actual pain, in the shooting hurts a lot right now sense, but it was like a really strong ache and a really really strong message from the left leg that it wasn't ready for this. So I walked for about 10 minutes and stretched it some more. I'll be calling my massage therapist and let her have another go at it.
Linda was looking me over as I was getting into the shower. Ever since the ride with Susi, she's always been suspicious that I'll come home missing bits. Today she was looking for sunburn, didn't find any, and her only comment was, "You have waffle butt". I guess spending so long in the saddle I picked up the waffle pattern of the shorts padding.
114 K Trip distance
4:57:40 Bike time, 5:11:40 stopwatch time
23 Kph average speed
73 average cadance
77.5 max speed
122 average heart rate
149 peak heart rate
64 minimum
4638 calories.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Nice evening for a swim
We got into Lake Sundace, or Sundance Lake, whichever, through a friend of Kelsey's. Thanks Al!
I don't know about everybody else, but I had a good swim. Not the slightest idea how far I went, and if I guessed it would probably be too much. We swam about 50 minutes, and after I got my fricking goggles sealed, life was good. A tiny piece of my cap was under the goggle seal which buggers up the whole concept. I swam a longish loop around the lake anticlockwise, went up on the beach, then back in, and did a shorter loop. The water was nice, warm, and quite clean, all things considered. Tastes terrible, and even though I was trying not to, I ended up drinking some.
We all met up at the end, and practiced running up onto the beach and stripping off our wetsuits. Well, except for Kelsey, you'll have to ask her why she didn't!
My legs are feeling better, still some twinges in my left calf. I've been working on stretching it and massaging the tight bits. The plan is to go for a bike ride tomorrow, and see how that feels.
I smell like wetsuit. Even after a shower.
I don't know about everybody else, but I had a good swim. Not the slightest idea how far I went, and if I guessed it would probably be too much. We swam about 50 minutes, and after I got my fricking goggles sealed, life was good. A tiny piece of my cap was under the goggle seal which buggers up the whole concept. I swam a longish loop around the lake anticlockwise, went up on the beach, then back in, and did a shorter loop. The water was nice, warm, and quite clean, all things considered. Tastes terrible, and even though I was trying not to, I ended up drinking some.
We all met up at the end, and practiced running up onto the beach and stripping off our wetsuits. Well, except for Kelsey, you'll have to ask her why she didn't!
My legs are feeling better, still some twinges in my left calf. I've been working on stretching it and massaging the tight bits. The plan is to go for a bike ride tomorrow, and see how that feels.
I smell like wetsuit. Even after a shower.
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