Bike + transition

Training

April 21st,  Saturday

Rode for 5 miles on the bike this afternoon. Then I tried to transition to a run.  The last 800 of my bike ride was pretty strenuous as I was going uphill and my thighs were burning pretty good. I wanted to test my ability to transition when my thighs were a heavy. I started to jog but it was just about hopeless. So I continued with a slow walk that I gradually increased.  It took about 400 before I felt that I could start to jog with any semblance of comfort. I’m going to have to do more work on getting the transition more comfortable.

Stats –

MORNING HR = 55

Weight = #153.5

I-Mad = 1/2   I-MID = 1

Sleep = 8 hours

Cool 5

Training

APRIL 20, Friday

Solid 5 on Jackson roads in 102 minutes.  Windy and cold; heavily bundled. Better than expected. I like it that the 5-mile run is becoming more the rule than the exception these days.Not very fast,but I am building strength.

More progress on camp presentation. Should be ready by August, LOL.

Stats are positive and steady.

Surprising cold work

Training

APRIL 17,  Tuesday

“What ever happened to Tuesday and so slow?”

 

Hoping for the relentless winter weather to back off as the day progressed, I waited until late afternoon to bundle up in five layers and head out to the cinder track. Feeling more like a shuffling Eskimo then a distance Runner, I began running with remarkably fresh legs. I ran at a moderate, comfortable pace as I worked on composing my speech for the Push Your Pace camp this summer. I guess I can say that I am nervous about it because I’m preparing 3 months in advance. But it turned out that I quickly covered 3 miles on the cinders at a gradually increasing pace. It felt good and I warmed up considerably. So I decided to strip down a little and try for some quicker efforts despite my fears of aggravating my  nagging abdominal /groin issues.  I proceeded to run two times 800m at 4:15 with 2 minutes recovery.  I’m convinced that  I could have run faster because I was not aerobically challenged at any point. But I did hold back from running any faster out of an abundance of caution. I rebundled and finished with a cool down mile run. In all  I covered 5 miles which far exceeded my expectations.

Stats are stable.

Needed rest / crazy weather

Training

APRIL 15th,  Sunday

Update – So after 4 days of unprecedented hard work, I decided to take a day off on Friday. Also the weather turned very spring like on Friday which was lovely. Saturday turned into a summer like day with the temperature reaching almost 85 degrees. Both days Arlene and I did a comfortable walk. I planned on doing a run late Saturday when things cooled off, but we wound up going to dinner with Kristen, an opportunity that we could not pass up.  During the course of a 45-minute dinner the temperature outside dropped nearly 30 degrees, something I have never seen before. That led me to vow to get up early Sunday and do a solid run. However, Sunday morning turned into a blustery, cold and rainy, crappy day.  Doing an indoor workout at our clubhouse became the only viable option.

Workout – 75 minutes  in motion …… 1/3 on bike,  1/3 on elliptical,  1/3 on treadmill      I made a concerted effort to get the most out of each machine. I am becoming impressed with my ability to do a workout like 75 minutes in motion without feeling totally used up.  I hope that indicates that my fitness level has improved.

I think I made a wise choice in deciding to take a day of rest that actually turned into 2 days of rest because my morning heart rate was recording somewhere in the low 60s. That number is 8/10 beats higher than my morning rate has regularly been for the last few years.  I take that as an indication that I needed some recovery time. By Saturday evening my heart rate was back to 54 beats per minute!  Even though I approached today’s workout with some trepidation. But I am happy to report that I feel as though my body responded quite well and I got a good days work.

Stats –

MORNING HR = 54bpm  🙂

Weight = #155

Sleep = 9 hours     (30 hours in 3 days 🙂

INDEXES @ 1    Just for review so I don’t forget,                                                                                                                             I-Mad = index of morning Achilles discomfort                                                                                                I-Mid = index of morning instep discomfort   ie: plantar fasciitis

 

Oh spring…..!

Training

April 12th, Thursday

I’ve got a little spring in my step!

On the first truly spring-like day I was able to run 5 miles in less than an hour. My goal was to see if I could stay in motion for 1 hour with no particular distance in mind. Again I kept my pace at a moderate level to avoid irritating my sore groin muscle, but I could not resist the temptation to do a few pickups along the way. So I did accomplish 6 x 30 seconds surges, each time trying to run 90 strides.  I averaged 90 strides in 30 to 33 seconds each surge.   The ease with which I managed to complete 5 miles today was very surprising to me. Today’s workout marked four consecutive days of quality work. Since I have not been swimming while attempting to overcome my sinus issues, running and biking have comprised the total of my workouts. Having survived these 4 days of work with no foot issues is very promising.

Stats –

Foot indexes are all very good.

a.m.HR = 50bpm -A bit lower than usual

Weight = #155

Sleep = 8  hours

 

 

10 on the bike!

Training

April 12th, Wednesday

Today’s ride on the bike became a surprise even for me. I was thinking I might do 4, 5 or 6 miles around the Jackson roads. I preheated my right groin area before I got on the bike. And I began fully aware throughout that I was having mild irritation in that area. It turns out that I’m learning how to use the 21 gears. That has allowed me to face inclines and hills in very low gears to allow for less traumatic pumping. About 4 miles into the ride I made the decision to take a left turn that guaranteed my total miles would be somewhere around 10. Some serious hills in the last 2 miles tested both my quad strength and my new shifting skills.  This is my first 10 mile on a bike in more than 3 years: so I’m pretty happy with the outcome of today’s work.  So far I have not noticed any increase of irritation or discomfort in my groin.

Stats –  Stable