When we looked at the weather page this morning it said -29 C (-20 F) and there was a stiff wind. That's getting just a little brisk. The swim was the usual today, long warmup, lots of dolphin kick and pull, some drill, 10 x 100 all between 95 and 100 seconds though I went for a longer rest period, alternating starting on 2:30 and 2:15. That was lots, and I'll try a consistent 2:15 next time. My thinking was to swim strong and smooth trying to stay relaxed and keep my stroke good, without struggling with oxygen debt. For now.
We got the news at the pool that starting on Thursday there will be a high school swim club taking up two lanes from 7 till 8 on Tues and Thurs. That means squishing all the rest of us into the remaining lanes, which is going to be a bit of a zoo. I think I'll try swimming at Inglewood, or Canyon Meadows instead on those days.
Once home I got some bison chili going, and left it to simmer all day. Then onto my bike for 1.25 hrs. My legs were relaxed and spinning well right from the start. I mainly stuck right around 90 rpm, doing some long semi time trial sets, trying to keep the cardio level just at the top of zone 2, while spinning smoothly. I think my legs are beginning to remember what this is all about.
Ironman Canada - DONE! What next?
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
odd workout combo today
Saturday I was in a course all day. It snowed. I watched My Fair Lady and drank wine, feeling very sophisticated. I don't want to turn this into a rant about the crap that Hollywood turns out these days, but I so much enjoyed listening to the witty dialogue, the brilliant songs, and the wicked satire.
Sunday I slept in a bit, which means out of bed at 7am or so to feed the meowing mammal. Then after some browsing I napped more. Then came the workout. It's been snowing here. I've already shoveled the driveway and front sidewalk twice. This morning I powered through the driveway and front sidewalk, which only had maybe an inch or so, then tackled the side. It's longer, and was more than a foot deep in places. Even though it's light snow it still takes a lot of doing when it's that deep. I was out there about 45 minutes, and I should probably count it as core and cardio. Started off being cold, then working hard enough to be sweating enough to fog up my glasses.
Then it was off to our book club meeting. Regular blog readers will know this is usually held in a pub, preferably one that serves Guinness. The odd thing about it is that we talked about the book first, and for quite a while, which was a bit of a surprise. First coffee, then hanging out and chatting, and sipping Guinness. Lifting that was the other workout.
We hit the library on the way home so I'm now listening to Delicate Sound of Thunder, and we've got Beat the Devil cued up for our evening movie. Now I'm much too late to get onto the bike today, unless I don't want to sleep tonight. However, I don't think my knee minds the rest.
Weekly Summary
Swim 3.5 hrs
Bike 2.0 hrs
Run 1.25 hrs
Total Cardio 6.75 hrs
Core 2.25 hrs.
This is getting back to a more balanced cardio workout. The last while has been very heavy swim. I'd like to increase bike and run a bit more next week.
Sunday I slept in a bit, which means out of bed at 7am or so to feed the meowing mammal. Then after some browsing I napped more. Then came the workout. It's been snowing here. I've already shoveled the driveway and front sidewalk twice. This morning I powered through the driveway and front sidewalk, which only had maybe an inch or so, then tackled the side. It's longer, and was more than a foot deep in places. Even though it's light snow it still takes a lot of doing when it's that deep. I was out there about 45 minutes, and I should probably count it as core and cardio. Started off being cold, then working hard enough to be sweating enough to fog up my glasses.
Then it was off to our book club meeting. Regular blog readers will know this is usually held in a pub, preferably one that serves Guinness. The odd thing about it is that we talked about the book first, and for quite a while, which was a bit of a surprise. First coffee, then hanging out and chatting, and sipping Guinness. Lifting that was the other workout.
We hit the library on the way home so I'm now listening to Delicate Sound of Thunder, and we've got Beat the Devil cued up for our evening movie. Now I'm much too late to get onto the bike today, unless I don't want to sleep tonight. However, I don't think my knee minds the rest.
Weekly Summary
Swim 3.5 hrs
Bike 2.0 hrs
Run 1.25 hrs
Total Cardio 6.75 hrs
Core 2.25 hrs.
This is getting back to a more balanced cardio workout. The last while has been very heavy swim. I'd like to increase bike and run a bit more next week.
Friday, January 28, 2011
I didn't recognize it at first
The last couple of days I've had this weird feeling. I didn't realize what it was till shortly after getting out of bed today. It was my muscles feeling tired. A nice tired, an I've been working tired. Not the dead-ass fatigue of too much IM training, or the soreness from a wonky knee, or the unhappiness from overdoing it a bit or a lot. Just an overall feeling that I've exerted myself hard enough to feel it, but not so hard as to really feel it. What's more, it's all over, legs, shoulders, arms, core. Balanced. Nice.
So the plan had been to bike and run twice this week and see what Sunday feels like for a brick. I ended up running twice in a row because the weather was so nice, meaning today was going to be a bike ride. With my muscles feeling the way they are I decided that an easy spin was in order.
Warmed up with a bit of core work, maybe 15 minutes, but I have to say my heart wasn't in it today. Onto the bike with a slow warmup, gradually building rpm in an easy gear with light feet. This was fun. I kept it aerobic, and eventually got up to 115 rpm. That's the fastest I've had my feet turning over in a long time. Most of the workout was at 90, rpm with some at 100, and a bit at 110 to 115. My knee felt good all the way through. My legs were liking it too. Did some rollering and stretching after. Now my legs are feeling great!
The pool is open for a combined lane swim and public swim from 2:30 to 4. Hmmmmmm.
So the plan had been to bike and run twice this week and see what Sunday feels like for a brick. I ended up running twice in a row because the weather was so nice, meaning today was going to be a bike ride. With my muscles feeling the way they are I decided that an easy spin was in order.
Warmed up with a bit of core work, maybe 15 minutes, but I have to say my heart wasn't in it today. Onto the bike with a slow warmup, gradually building rpm in an easy gear with light feet. This was fun. I kept it aerobic, and eventually got up to 115 rpm. That's the fastest I've had my feet turning over in a long time. Most of the workout was at 90, rpm with some at 100, and a bit at 110 to 115. My knee felt good all the way through. My legs were liking it too. Did some rollering and stretching after. Now my legs are feeling great!
The pool is open for a combined lane swim and public swim from 2:30 to 4. Hmmmmmm.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
This might be a really bad time to blog
It was a beautiful day out today. Almost hot even. So I BBQ'd sausage for supper. With wine. Very good wine. Very, very good wine. I'd have had beer instead, but there wasn't any in the fridge. But the wine was good. Very good. Wait a minute, I think I've been here before. Besides, I'm thoroughly amused watching Coupling. The BBC version. It's one of the funniest shows ever to make it to television. So yes, I'm in a good mood, in case you were wondering. The real evidence is in the comments on SUAR's blog. Or a recent status update on FB by Tisha. Oh, and a couple emails, but mum's the word there, right? I sure hope so. To say NOTHING of a blog comment that none of you know how to find.
Things started out really well. DQ was in the pool today and we chatted a bit through our swim. Well, not that we swam together or anything, separate lanes and all, right and proper as it should be out in public and everything. Our breaks just happened to be a concurrent times, in adjacent lanes, and I think we were both in a chatty mood.
I digress. I was sharing a lane with 2 other people. One a floatie, and the other a slow thrashing swimmer-wanna be who was trying much too hard. I got into the groove right off and without even trying cracked out my fastest K since I started swimming again. Love it. Then lots of dolphin kick, some pull, a bit of drill till the lane cleared out. Then I got down to business. 100 m, not quite all out, but HARD! on 2:30. 87, 92, 95, 97. That was enough. My stroke was starting to get sloppy. Though it's coming back together at more moderate efforts, at least to the point I don't have to watch it every second. Cool down. Good swim. 1 hour.
Got the crap scared out of me on the way home. Told the story on Facebook. A truck and trailer combo parted ways while I was right beside it, westbound on Glenmore, right under Blackfoot. The trailer dropped down in a shower of sparks and started slewing sideways. I nearly crapped myself and bailed out into the merge lane. Fortunately it didn't flip or anything drastic like that, though I'm glad I wasn't right behind it. My heart was going pitter patter, let me tell you!
Errands. Snack. Run. It's nice today, but not as nice as yesterday. I went 45 minutes, trying for an easy pace, and being careful on the ice. Lots and lots of ice. Warmed up with the leg stretches and an easy easy start. Walked after. I took my phone with me and recorded a bit of video while running. That will never ever see the light of day!
Later in the afternoon I was out chipping channels to get the huge puddles of water to drain from the bottom of the driveway and it was almost hot out. It totally would have been shorts and T shirt weather if I'd wait to run then.
Things started out really well. DQ was in the pool today and we chatted a bit through our swim. Well, not that we swam together or anything, separate lanes and all, right and proper as it should be out in public and everything. Our breaks just happened to be a concurrent times, in adjacent lanes, and I think we were both in a chatty mood.
I digress. I was sharing a lane with 2 other people. One a floatie, and the other a slow thrashing swimmer-wanna be who was trying much too hard. I got into the groove right off and without even trying cracked out my fastest K since I started swimming again. Love it. Then lots of dolphin kick, some pull, a bit of drill till the lane cleared out. Then I got down to business. 100 m, not quite all out, but HARD! on 2:30. 87, 92, 95, 97. That was enough. My stroke was starting to get sloppy. Though it's coming back together at more moderate efforts, at least to the point I don't have to watch it every second. Cool down. Good swim. 1 hour.
Got the crap scared out of me on the way home. Told the story on Facebook. A truck and trailer combo parted ways while I was right beside it, westbound on Glenmore, right under Blackfoot. The trailer dropped down in a shower of sparks and started slewing sideways. I nearly crapped myself and bailed out into the merge lane. Fortunately it didn't flip or anything drastic like that, though I'm glad I wasn't right behind it. My heart was going pitter patter, let me tell you!
Errands. Snack. Run. It's nice today, but not as nice as yesterday. I went 45 minutes, trying for an easy pace, and being careful on the ice. Lots and lots of ice. Warmed up with the leg stretches and an easy easy start. Walked after. I took my phone with me and recorded a bit of video while running. That will never ever see the light of day!
Later in the afternoon I was out chipping channels to get the huge puddles of water to drain from the bottom of the driveway and it was almost hot out. It totally would have been shorts and T shirt weather if I'd wait to run then.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
First run of the year in shorts!
This has been a pretty cold winter so far, though it's warmed up nicely the last few days. Today, in fact, is warm enough to run in shorts and a long sleeved tech shirt, though really, I could have done a short sleeved. The weather page says 10 C (50 F) and sunny, and I'm pretty sure that's what it was.
But the day started with a swim. I got into the groove right off, within the first 50 m, and settled in at a comfortable pace, checking my stroke every now and then. First K was 18:30 and feeling strong. The second K was 37:10 or so. Finished at 45 minutes with things beginning to fall apart a bit. Well, 44:30 if you insist. The stroke felt strong and relaxed and smooth. Wish there'd been a video camera. Started a dolphin kick set with fins and gave myself a really bad ham cramp, which is about the first time that's happened. Lots of kick and pull. Back into front crawl aiming to be a bit stronger and even better form. Then some back stroke and really easy front crawl to cool down. 1.5 hrs total.
I hit the sweet spot today. As I was getting in another guy was leaving and told me it had been a zoo there with 5 people in each of the fast lanes for a while. Another person joined me as I was doing backstroke, then several people piled in as I was stretching. Just as well I was done, since none of them could swim.
Here's why I went to Princess Auto. Our BBQ came with these stupid little castors, more suitable for an indoor couch or chair. Since the BBQ normally lives in the garage it worked out ok, but one of the castors eventually broke. I went to the BBQ place and they said Princess Auto was the place to go. What a neat place! It's full of all sorts of interesting stuff.
I really like old small town hardware stores, but they've been gradually going out of business, mores the pity. You never knew what you'd find, and the real treasure, as I've come to understand, there was usually a guy there that could answer questions. A handy guy. One who knew what parts you'd need to match up the old stuff in your house to that new stuff in whatever package you bought. Knew that the weird nut or bolt you needed would be in a particular bin in the back and don't be afraid to help yourself to a coffee while you look. Could advise what brand of paint lasted in the local climate. Knew that you'd be better off buying rope rather than chain for what you were trying to do. Knew how to jerry-rig something to hold equipment together long enough to get the job done. Probably knew who was sleeping with who. All sorts of stuff.
In any case, you can see the broken castor and the new one that looks considerably more heavy duty. Plus the little rectangular insert that holds the pin. Doing the replacement was considerably easier than I expected. I was worried I'd break one of the inserts and then where would I be?
While getting dressed for my run I found a brand new pair of socks! Still on the little hanger. Not sure where they've been, but they're out now, and part of the working herd. They won't say this white for long. I was looking at one sock the other day, and it is this gross gray brown. Linda is thinking of giving them a bleach solution bath, but I don't care what colour they are. I figure if you wear blinding white socks, people will assume you're a newbie.
As I said it's warm out, and the snow is melting like there is no tomorrow. It's surprisingly hard to get a shot of your legs when you can't get the camera further away than arms length.
Here's a more traditional self-photo, showing off my deep set squinty eyes, but without the green glow I like so much. I'm not sure how I did that. Compare this to the last several photos of me taken outside.
After fixing the BBQ it was time to run. Warmed up with a bit of leg exercises, and started easy. At first I felt very choppy and stiff, but I soon relaxed. I wasn't caring about pace so I let my legs run at whatever speed felt comfortable. After a while it starting feeling very fluid and rhythmic. I was really enjoying the run, in between dancing over sheets of ice that froze last night after the melt from yesterday. Ran my 5 K route in 33:30, not working too hard. Stretched after. Yoga later tonight, but that can be added to tomorrow's blog if there's anything that needs saying.
My knee is feeling much stronger. For the run, at least, it isn't the limiter anymore. I'm back to working on building my running muscles and skills again.
But the day started with a swim. I got into the groove right off, within the first 50 m, and settled in at a comfortable pace, checking my stroke every now and then. First K was 18:30 and feeling strong. The second K was 37:10 or so. Finished at 45 minutes with things beginning to fall apart a bit. Well, 44:30 if you insist. The stroke felt strong and relaxed and smooth. Wish there'd been a video camera. Started a dolphin kick set with fins and gave myself a really bad ham cramp, which is about the first time that's happened. Lots of kick and pull. Back into front crawl aiming to be a bit stronger and even better form. Then some back stroke and really easy front crawl to cool down. 1.5 hrs total.
I hit the sweet spot today. As I was getting in another guy was leaving and told me it had been a zoo there with 5 people in each of the fast lanes for a while. Another person joined me as I was doing backstroke, then several people piled in as I was stretching. Just as well I was done, since none of them could swim.
Here's why I went to Princess Auto. Our BBQ came with these stupid little castors, more suitable for an indoor couch or chair. Since the BBQ normally lives in the garage it worked out ok, but one of the castors eventually broke. I went to the BBQ place and they said Princess Auto was the place to go. What a neat place! It's full of all sorts of interesting stuff.
I really like old small town hardware stores, but they've been gradually going out of business, mores the pity. You never knew what you'd find, and the real treasure, as I've come to understand, there was usually a guy there that could answer questions. A handy guy. One who knew what parts you'd need to match up the old stuff in your house to that new stuff in whatever package you bought. Knew that the weird nut or bolt you needed would be in a particular bin in the back and don't be afraid to help yourself to a coffee while you look. Could advise what brand of paint lasted in the local climate. Knew that you'd be better off buying rope rather than chain for what you were trying to do. Knew how to jerry-rig something to hold equipment together long enough to get the job done. Probably knew who was sleeping with who. All sorts of stuff.
In any case, you can see the broken castor and the new one that looks considerably more heavy duty. Plus the little rectangular insert that holds the pin. Doing the replacement was considerably easier than I expected. I was worried I'd break one of the inserts and then where would I be?
While getting dressed for my run I found a brand new pair of socks! Still on the little hanger. Not sure where they've been, but they're out now, and part of the working herd. They won't say this white for long. I was looking at one sock the other day, and it is this gross gray brown. Linda is thinking of giving them a bleach solution bath, but I don't care what colour they are. I figure if you wear blinding white socks, people will assume you're a newbie.
As I said it's warm out, and the snow is melting like there is no tomorrow. It's surprisingly hard to get a shot of your legs when you can't get the camera further away than arms length.
Here's a more traditional self-photo, showing off my deep set squinty eyes, but without the green glow I like so much. I'm not sure how I did that. Compare this to the last several photos of me taken outside.
After fixing the BBQ it was time to run. Warmed up with a bit of leg exercises, and started easy. At first I felt very choppy and stiff, but I soon relaxed. I wasn't caring about pace so I let my legs run at whatever speed felt comfortable. After a while it starting feeling very fluid and rhythmic. I was really enjoying the run, in between dancing over sheets of ice that froze last night after the melt from yesterday. Ran my 5 K route in 33:30, not working too hard. Stretched after. Yoga later tonight, but that can be added to tomorrow's blog if there's anything that needs saying.
My knee is feeling much stronger. For the run, at least, it isn't the limiter anymore. I'm back to working on building my running muscles and skills again.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
The hum and whir
Monday was a weird day in the pool. I was feeling a bit out of it after my massage on Sunday, and all sorts of odd creaks and cracks happening. Going into the water, everything hurt a little bit, so I took my time with a warm up. Even then I got into the groove pretty quick, and even though I didn't think I was working that hard, I was going pretty quick. I ended up doing 1 K, and several laps in the middle of that were very quick. Lots of dolphin kick and pull, thinking about stroke. One hour total.
Linda won tickets to see the Flames in action against the Predators. We haven't been to see a live hockey game since the mid-nineties. I met her downtown, then we walked through the +15 to the Jamieson Centre to see a Mexican art exhibit. This is a new building that I've never been in before, just across the road from BP. When I worked there the building wasn't connected to the +15, now it has 3 of them. Then we went back to Sunterra for a wonderful dinner, and on to the game afterward.
It was a pretty good game overall, but I don't think we'll repeat the experience any time soon. Our tickets were pretty good, about $100 each, near the start of the first balcony, up behind one of the nets. That makes it a very expensive night out for us, by my standards, what with dinner, and parking. We didn't spend anything at the game, but it's almost as effective money vacuum as a casino. $7.50 for a beer!!! And it's cheap beer at that. Plus the seating is brutal for someone my size. By the end of the night my knee was aching, even after standing and stretching periodically.
After dropping Linda off at work today, I went back to bed. Out like a light for 3 hours. About 30 minutes of core workout had me feeling pretty good. Then an hour on the bike trainer. Warm up, settling right into 90 rpm or so in an easy gear for my legs for about 15 minutes. My knee was feeling pretty happy, so after a couple minutes of easy pedal, went a gear harder for about 10 minutes. This felt great, finally beginning to work the cardio system a bit and bringing on a sweat. After a few minutes of easy pedal, one gear harder. This was big ring, 3rd easiest gear. I couldn't quite maintain 90 rpm here, but I was solid between 85 and 90. This was beginning to pull at my knee a bit, so I only went 7 minutes. Then cool down.
This will be the part that many of you will think is perverted. I typically don't listen to music or watch a show while on the trainer. I like the silence. Today I was listening to the hum of the tire on the trainer wheel, and the whir of Estela's chain going round and round. I was thinking about my pedal stroke, trying to even out the hum. When I started all this I could easily hear the change in the hum since the only time there was power going to the wheel was when each foot was going down. Now my stroke is better and the hum is more consistent.
The workout was boring to most people. I just sat and pedaled, trying to maintain about 90 rpm. Many of the spin sessions I've been to have all kinds of different stuff happening, and it seems like every few minutes there's something different. But when you get on your bike there are long periods of time where nothing much changes in terms of pedaling. You sit there and pedal at what ever rpm you are trying to maintain. Every now and then you change gears. For us triathletes we don't surge past people. Typically if you're going to pass, you're already going faster than the person in front so nothing changes. The scenery goes by. So my thinking is that I need to build my skills at just sitting there and pedaling. I don't have music during the race, so I typically don't have music during training. I listen to my bike and think about what my body is doing. I fully realize there are specific drills that are good to do, but I sometimes wonder how much relation they actually have to the kind of riding we do.
In fact, I often find the music at a spin session to be distracting. It's often much louder than I'd like. My hearing is sort of funny in that I have tinnitus. I have a constant hiss in both ears. Most days I think of it as a bit of hiss on the soundtrack of my life. But what it means in practice is that I can't separate out sounds very well anymore. For instance, at the camp bike session, I essentially didn't hear a single word Michelle said. The mic she was using is horrible. It isn't just her, Chris tried it once and I couldn't hear him either. When I can't hear the instructions I make it up. If there's a lot of chat happening I can't hear the instructor either. Think of any normal house party where a group of people are chatting. If someone comes up and starts talking to me I'll never know it unless I see them. Even then I sometimes have difficulty.
Linda won tickets to see the Flames in action against the Predators. We haven't been to see a live hockey game since the mid-nineties. I met her downtown, then we walked through the +15 to the Jamieson Centre to see a Mexican art exhibit. This is a new building that I've never been in before, just across the road from BP. When I worked there the building wasn't connected to the +15, now it has 3 of them. Then we went back to Sunterra for a wonderful dinner, and on to the game afterward.
It was a pretty good game overall, but I don't think we'll repeat the experience any time soon. Our tickets were pretty good, about $100 each, near the start of the first balcony, up behind one of the nets. That makes it a very expensive night out for us, by my standards, what with dinner, and parking. We didn't spend anything at the game, but it's almost as effective money vacuum as a casino. $7.50 for a beer!!! And it's cheap beer at that. Plus the seating is brutal for someone my size. By the end of the night my knee was aching, even after standing and stretching periodically.
After dropping Linda off at work today, I went back to bed. Out like a light for 3 hours. About 30 minutes of core workout had me feeling pretty good. Then an hour on the bike trainer. Warm up, settling right into 90 rpm or so in an easy gear for my legs for about 15 minutes. My knee was feeling pretty happy, so after a couple minutes of easy pedal, went a gear harder for about 10 minutes. This felt great, finally beginning to work the cardio system a bit and bringing on a sweat. After a few minutes of easy pedal, one gear harder. This was big ring, 3rd easiest gear. I couldn't quite maintain 90 rpm here, but I was solid between 85 and 90. This was beginning to pull at my knee a bit, so I only went 7 minutes. Then cool down.
This will be the part that many of you will think is perverted. I typically don't listen to music or watch a show while on the trainer. I like the silence. Today I was listening to the hum of the tire on the trainer wheel, and the whir of Estela's chain going round and round. I was thinking about my pedal stroke, trying to even out the hum. When I started all this I could easily hear the change in the hum since the only time there was power going to the wheel was when each foot was going down. Now my stroke is better and the hum is more consistent.
The workout was boring to most people. I just sat and pedaled, trying to maintain about 90 rpm. Many of the spin sessions I've been to have all kinds of different stuff happening, and it seems like every few minutes there's something different. But when you get on your bike there are long periods of time where nothing much changes in terms of pedaling. You sit there and pedal at what ever rpm you are trying to maintain. Every now and then you change gears. For us triathletes we don't surge past people. Typically if you're going to pass, you're already going faster than the person in front so nothing changes. The scenery goes by. So my thinking is that I need to build my skills at just sitting there and pedaling. I don't have music during the race, so I typically don't have music during training. I listen to my bike and think about what my body is doing. I fully realize there are specific drills that are good to do, but I sometimes wonder how much relation they actually have to the kind of riding we do.
In fact, I often find the music at a spin session to be distracting. It's often much louder than I'd like. My hearing is sort of funny in that I have tinnitus. I have a constant hiss in both ears. Most days I think of it as a bit of hiss on the soundtrack of my life. But what it means in practice is that I can't separate out sounds very well anymore. For instance, at the camp bike session, I essentially didn't hear a single word Michelle said. The mic she was using is horrible. It isn't just her, Chris tried it once and I couldn't hear him either. When I can't hear the instructions I make it up. If there's a lot of chat happening I can't hear the instructor either. Think of any normal house party where a group of people are chatting. If someone comes up and starts talking to me I'll never know it unless I see them. Even then I sometimes have difficulty.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
A doggy run
Just as well my buddy Susi wasn't running with me today. We'd still be out there. Seemed like I hit the peak of dog walking time today. That wasn't my intent. What I wanted to do was run while the ice and snow were still firm, and not all squishy. It's getting warm here, which means the roads and sidewalks are a sloppy enchilada during the day. A mess. There are some days I wished I lived in a place where once it got cold, it stayed that way till spring. Then I realized that means living in Edmonton, and thought better of it.
My leg has been feeling pretty good so I thought I'd go for a bit of a longer run today and not worry about pace so much. I picked this route, about 7.7 K. Started with some core and leg exercises for half an hour to warm up. It took a little while to settle in, then I was really pleased how it felt. There were a few niggles about 30 minute mark so I stopped very briefly to massage the knee and stretch a bit, then carried on. I got back to the house just under 58 minutes, then kept going to fill out the hour. Walked and chatted to a neighbour. Stretched.
Most of the run was low zone 3, and my leg felt pretty good throughout. Tried for an even, relaxed pace, mainly working with what made my legs happy. It was nice and sunny, and running through Fish Creek is always beautiful. It's almost warm, so I only wore tights, short sleeved tech shirt, and a bike jacket. No gloves or toque. After all, it was 2 C (36 F). If this keeps up we'll be in shorts and T shirts soon.
Then my fave massage therapist came over. For once no one thing was demanding attention, though there are a few sore spots in shoulders, mid back, hips, ITB, calves, and one foot. Pretty good, in other words. I credit being a lot more zealous about stretching after swimming. I use to just hop out of the water after my main set and hit the showers. Then I started doing some cool down afterward. Then I'd periodically stretch. Now I add in stretch time for every swim. There's one that is really good. Breath in and scrunch your shoulders up trying to tickle your ears. Then breathe out, relaxing your shoulders then pushing them down, and back and out all at the same time. Repeat.
Weekly Summary
Swim 5.0 hrs.
Bike 1.0 hrs
Run 1.5 hrs
Total cardio 7.5 hrs
Core 2.75 hrs.
I've let the core slip a bit last couple weeks and need to get back on that. I think my knee will let me do several bike and runs throughout the week, so I'll start trying that and see what happens. I think this is going to be a bit of a balancing act for a while, to work the knee and build it up while not re-injuring it.
My leg has been feeling pretty good so I thought I'd go for a bit of a longer run today and not worry about pace so much. I picked this route, about 7.7 K. Started with some core and leg exercises for half an hour to warm up. It took a little while to settle in, then I was really pleased how it felt. There were a few niggles about 30 minute mark so I stopped very briefly to massage the knee and stretch a bit, then carried on. I got back to the house just under 58 minutes, then kept going to fill out the hour. Walked and chatted to a neighbour. Stretched.
Most of the run was low zone 3, and my leg felt pretty good throughout. Tried for an even, relaxed pace, mainly working with what made my legs happy. It was nice and sunny, and running through Fish Creek is always beautiful. It's almost warm, so I only wore tights, short sleeved tech shirt, and a bike jacket. No gloves or toque. After all, it was 2 C (36 F). If this keeps up we'll be in shorts and T shirts soon.
Then my fave massage therapist came over. For once no one thing was demanding attention, though there are a few sore spots in shoulders, mid back, hips, ITB, calves, and one foot. Pretty good, in other words. I credit being a lot more zealous about stretching after swimming. I use to just hop out of the water after my main set and hit the showers. Then I started doing some cool down afterward. Then I'd periodically stretch. Now I add in stretch time for every swim. There's one that is really good. Breath in and scrunch your shoulders up trying to tickle your ears. Then breathe out, relaxing your shoulders then pushing them down, and back and out all at the same time. Repeat.
Weekly Summary
Swim 5.0 hrs.
Bike 1.0 hrs
Run 1.5 hrs
Total cardio 7.5 hrs
Core 2.75 hrs.
I've let the core slip a bit last couple weeks and need to get back on that. I think my knee will let me do several bike and runs throughout the week, so I'll start trying that and see what happens. I think this is going to be a bit of a balancing act for a while, to work the knee and build it up while not re-injuring it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)