Wednesday BIKE COMMUTE 9.4 miles
Thursday WALK/RUN 2.3/2.4 miles in 60 mins
PT with JH
BIKE COMMUTE ~2miles
Wednesday WasGonna be a long bike commute, but I just didn't feel it. Even though the weather warmed up to high 70's, I just didn't have it. Was "off" all day. Whatevs. That night when foam rolling I found sore glut muscles from my new squats from yesterday. Yay!
Thursday I still didn't feel 100% but at least I got my ass out the door as per goal. I headed out, overdressed of course, and went towards the Lemp/Brewery route I ran a lot in 2016. I did the prescribed 3' walk WU and 1.5' run twice as WU, then shifted to 3' run and 3' walk intervals. I was tired by 45 mins and although I wasn't ready to quit my body was. My tired glut muscles were tired on the hills as I came up through Soulard. And my right ankle felt like it was slightly clicked out of place, not sure if that is connected to the mildest of mild PF niggle. I need new shoes, and I need to be slow on this.
I WasGonna do a 30 mins swim, but I skipped it for tomorrow. Shower, M1, then to lab. I downloaded the run while there and saw that the Connect program awarded me a badge for being an Early Bird, for logging a workout before 8am. That's their idea of early?
Off to JH, and I definitely felt fatigue from the run. I'm happy about this, I love feeling the muscles start to quake. Embrace the shake.
I asked about Dark2Dawn, described as a trail 10K with a 4hr cut-off. YES!!!!! AND BETTER YET he said I should scope out the trail and know what to expect. Especially since it's a midnight start. That's My Kinda Night, I guess!
More of the new squats, deeper than Tuesday and now I see the role of them. The goal is to "load up the glutes": knees bent, torso down, hip back...then stand up. Oooooohhhhh yeah you can feel it. And I love it.
And yes I get to graduate into more floor work, like I watch other athletes do. On Tuesday he gave me the paperwork for personal info and payment info. I haven't paid for any of this yet, and it was on my mind. I'm happy to pay for this, I'm learning a lot. Even when the bill processed later in the day ($960) I was still happy.
These past few weeks I'm feeling human again. I'm feeling like me. I walk different, I feel strong, I see a future. The depression I was worried about....gone?!
Thursday, April 12, 2018
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
Building a good foundation
BIKE 65 mins and ~16 miles? Indoors
RUN 25 mins total, 7 1-minute run intervals
BIKE COMMUTE about 3.3 miles
PT with JH
I pulled out the bike training workout book and turned to Endurance 1: Rolling Hills. I didn't do the exact workout as I didn't gear up (or would it be down?) to 70 rpm in the intervals. I just did "pushed" but kept the cadence higher. This is my first "real" bike workout on the trainer this year! Felt great, and felt weak on the 30s standing intervals during the WU.
Then a brick run, I did a total of 25-26 mins and did 2 min walk/1 min run intervals. I figured with the fatigue from Sunday and from the ride, 1 minute would be a good interval. Besides, save it for Thursday! I ran around BP, felt great. No obvious fatigue and no pain. And I wore shorts! Brrr but worth it.
Shower. M1. Work with partial commute in from FoPa, then off to PT with JH.
More like before with him, but with a graduation to standing up workout!! First the floor work, chatting about Missouri paranormal and zombie trail (searching on that still), racing next year (he jokes I'll be doing a marathon next week), racing my birthday (he correctly assumed a 100 miler), and a discussion of how it takes to run a 100 (yes, I consider myself a mere mortal).
Near the end, he pulled away the yoga ball. I was disappointed -- I wanted more! But then he helped me up and I got to learn a new squat! WHOOP!!!! Standing with weight on one leg, iso arm on butt and contra arm on quad; looking down in front of feet, stand pushing hip back, bending weighted knee, and sliding contra arm down to just below knee. The unweighted leg is behind as just a 'comfort balance', the hands help as 'markers' for hip going back and for knee not folding in/out; left iso shoulder and let contra shoulder fall in a rotation to help with balance. Got all that? Ha. When ready to come back up, push into the floor and engage muscles. I like this! I can do it while waiting for something instead of just standing.
Now to the foundation title. During the floor work, I commented with my surprise that the more I used the hip the better it felt. The period between December and February seemed a plateau in improvement. Pain and progress remained unchanged. Heck, I even had a set back in January after trying running in late December.
JH compared it to the foundation of a building. When the hole is being dug and the foundation pillars being put in place, it looks like nothing is happening from the surface. Then all of the sudden a building appears! Build a good foundation, and you have a good building. Build a bad foundation, it starts to fall apart at the top and repairs need to be made.
LOVE that analogy.
RUN 25 mins total, 7 1-minute run intervals
BIKE COMMUTE about 3.3 miles
PT with JH
I pulled out the bike training workout book and turned to Endurance 1: Rolling Hills. I didn't do the exact workout as I didn't gear up (or would it be down?) to 70 rpm in the intervals. I just did "pushed" but kept the cadence higher. This is my first "real" bike workout on the trainer this year! Felt great, and felt weak on the 30s standing intervals during the WU.
Then a brick run, I did a total of 25-26 mins and did 2 min walk/1 min run intervals. I figured with the fatigue from Sunday and from the ride, 1 minute would be a good interval. Besides, save it for Thursday! I ran around BP, felt great. No obvious fatigue and no pain. And I wore shorts! Brrr but worth it.
Shower. M1. Work with partial commute in from FoPa, then off to PT with JH.
More like before with him, but with a graduation to standing up workout!! First the floor work, chatting about Missouri paranormal and zombie trail (searching on that still), racing next year (he jokes I'll be doing a marathon next week), racing my birthday (he correctly assumed a 100 miler), and a discussion of how it takes to run a 100 (yes, I consider myself a mere mortal).
Near the end, he pulled away the yoga ball. I was disappointed -- I wanted more! But then he helped me up and I got to learn a new squat! WHOOP!!!! Standing with weight on one leg, iso arm on butt and contra arm on quad; looking down in front of feet, stand pushing hip back, bending weighted knee, and sliding contra arm down to just below knee. The unweighted leg is behind as just a 'comfort balance', the hands help as 'markers' for hip going back and for knee not folding in/out; left iso shoulder and let contra shoulder fall in a rotation to help with balance. Got all that? Ha. When ready to come back up, push into the floor and engage muscles. I like this! I can do it while waiting for something instead of just standing.
Now to the foundation title. During the floor work, I commented with my surprise that the more I used the hip the better it felt. The period between December and February seemed a plateau in improvement. Pain and progress remained unchanged. Heck, I even had a set back in January after trying running in late December.
JH compared it to the foundation of a building. When the hole is being dug and the foundation pillars being put in place, it looks like nothing is happening from the surface. Then all of the sudden a building appears! Build a good foundation, and you have a good building. Build a bad foundation, it starts to fall apart at the top and repairs need to be made.
LOVE that analogy.
Monday, April 9, 2018
2600 yards? Oops, nope it was 2700.
SWIM 1 hour 2700 yards
BIKE COMMUTE 9.4 miles
I've been having head cold symptoms that lingered but never really bloomed into a full-fledged cold, until maybe last night. I kept waking up every 90 mins or so, and could only sleep on my back for fear that schtuff would just run out my nose. You know it's annoying me when I actually make the effort to look for cold medicine, which I happily found at 1:37am. Didn't expect to find it. Wonder how old it is...? (Just checked, expired in 2016. But it still works!)
So when this was all going on I told myself that I don't have to swim the full hour, I can swim what I feel like doing, considering the poor sleep and sickness. But the alarm chimed at 5am and I got up and rolling right away. So off to the pool, feeling good.
My plan was from the triathlete swim book, endurance #2 for 2600 yards:
WU 6x75
MS 2x200 & 100; 2x200 & 100; 2x300 & 100
CD 6x75
I had my little note card all filled out and I didn't do the math before starting. Foreshadowing...
I did the MS as 200 swim, 100 fins, 200 pull, 100 fins. I actually took the time to rest (now that I better know how to pause my Garmin for swimming). And I needed the rest. My swim got sloppy as I got tired. I hit the 30 min mark and felt good enough to continue. 45 min mark the same. 60 was within reach.
The only change I made was at the CD, I did 250 instead. 200 pull CD pace and 50 kickboard to get an even number.
The watch read 2700 yards, and I figured it was somehow due to my stopping it. Maybe when I stop the watch before it counts the turn-around? I think sometimes too I forget how many laps I did and do an extra? Over brekkie I looked this over and found that the it was supposed to be 2x200, NOT 2x200 & 100. So the 100's were extra. No worries, I like finning :)
At the end of my session in the adjacent lane was a woman I have been seeing at the pool for years. She's the one who likes to talk to Anton. She asked what I was training for, said nothing yet as I'm post surgery, she's 70 yo and has had 2 knee and 1 hip replacement, chat chat etc. Then she says her husband, aged 71, crashed on the bike on March 3rd. Ended up with a displaced collarbone fracture and a bunch of broken ribs. What was he out doing this morning? Biking!! Gawd I love this stuff.
I used up my bottle of Twister Peppermint this morning. It's my post-swim reward, my fave lotion. Of course I have more. But this is like a progress benchmark. How many lotion bottles will I use this year?
So even with a head cold I'm feeling great, my bike commute was smooth sailing. Combined with yesterday's run I've got this YAY feeling going and I'm calling up race pages. I've already looked at www.Run100s.com and found two new midwest 100's - Kentucky and Iowa - both around birthday time. And yes I checked, my bday in 2019 is on a Friday, and in 2020 on a SUNDAY. You can most certainly bet there WILL BE A RACE THAT DAY. And thusly the 2020 goals tag is created. LOL!!!
BIKE COMMUTE 9.4 miles
I've been having head cold symptoms that lingered but never really bloomed into a full-fledged cold, until maybe last night. I kept waking up every 90 mins or so, and could only sleep on my back for fear that schtuff would just run out my nose. You know it's annoying me when I actually make the effort to look for cold medicine, which I happily found at 1:37am. Didn't expect to find it. Wonder how old it is...? (Just checked, expired in 2016. But it still works!)
So when this was all going on I told myself that I don't have to swim the full hour, I can swim what I feel like doing, considering the poor sleep and sickness. But the alarm chimed at 5am and I got up and rolling right away. So off to the pool, feeling good.
My plan was from the triathlete swim book, endurance #2 for 2600 yards:
WU 6x75
MS 2x200 & 100; 2x200 & 100; 2x300 & 100
CD 6x75
I had my little note card all filled out and I didn't do the math before starting. Foreshadowing...
I did the MS as 200 swim, 100 fins, 200 pull, 100 fins. I actually took the time to rest (now that I better know how to pause my Garmin for swimming). And I needed the rest. My swim got sloppy as I got tired. I hit the 30 min mark and felt good enough to continue. 45 min mark the same. 60 was within reach.
The only change I made was at the CD, I did 250 instead. 200 pull CD pace and 50 kickboard to get an even number.
The watch read 2700 yards, and I figured it was somehow due to my stopping it. Maybe when I stop the watch before it counts the turn-around? I think sometimes too I forget how many laps I did and do an extra? Over brekkie I looked this over and found that the it was supposed to be 2x200, NOT 2x200 & 100. So the 100's were extra. No worries, I like finning :)
At the end of my session in the adjacent lane was a woman I have been seeing at the pool for years. She's the one who likes to talk to Anton. She asked what I was training for, said nothing yet as I'm post surgery, she's 70 yo and has had 2 knee and 1 hip replacement, chat chat etc. Then she says her husband, aged 71, crashed on the bike on March 3rd. Ended up with a displaced collarbone fracture and a bunch of broken ribs. What was he out doing this morning? Biking!! Gawd I love this stuff.
I used up my bottle of Twister Peppermint this morning. It's my post-swim reward, my fave lotion. Of course I have more. But this is like a progress benchmark. How many lotion bottles will I use this year?
So even with a head cold I'm feeling great, my bike commute was smooth sailing. Combined with yesterday's run I've got this YAY feeling going and I'm calling up race pages. I've already looked at www.Run100s.com and found two new midwest 100's - Kentucky and Iowa - both around birthday time. And yes I checked, my bday in 2019 is on a Friday, and in 2020 on a SUNDAY. You can most certainly bet there WILL BE A RACE THAT DAY. And thusly the 2020 goals tag is created. LOL!!!
Sunday, April 8, 2018
"What I'm doing right now is really cool!"
Saturday BIKE 60 mins indoors
Sunday WALK RUN 1:17, run was 3 miles!!
BIKE 13 mins indoors
I almost took all of Saturday off, but after work and after dinner I did this ride. More of an energy burn. And to say that I at least did "something" today.
Sunday Funday! The plan was 60 mins of walk and run, with Jeff's blessing to try 3 mins. I had fancy plans of going to TGP, maybe looping it. That is a regular 6 mile course for me. So off I go after a dog walk to warm up.
With podcasts playing, I went to Grand, to TGP, started the loop, and at Kings felt great. It was 2.8 miles at that point, so I thought maybe I'd stop under 6 miles to save that milestone for the next run. I was noticing around 45 mins that I was checking the watch too early -- 90 seconds into the interval instead of closer to 3 mins, so at that I started extending the rest intervals to 4 minutes instead of 3.
As I was in my last run interval on WY, the podcast was about Triathlon Swimming, sport psychology etc, and they said to be mindful while training, to recognize the fact that "what I'm doing right now is really cool". And on that light downhill, almost done, longest run yet since surgery, YES, what I'm doing right now is uber cool!!
Closer to the house, I was 5.7 miles. If I detoured a block I might hit 6? I decided this was OK as long as I walked it. Then the temptation for 6.2, a 10K, naw save that for the next run!
Once home I extended the session to 90 mins on the bike. Foam roll, shower, brekkie!
Later in the day I called up the splits and was surprised to find that I ran 3.04 miles and walked 2.98! I seriously thought the run would be less, those aren't statistically significant differences. So I'll focus on time instead: 30 mins running and 47 mins walking. haha!!!
Stats: slower pace at about 9.5 m/m, cadence 170-175, HR 125-130.
Pace slower as planned to account for increased time. Cadence maybe low if end goal is closer to 180. HR in MAF range, although this was not on my mind during the run.
No pain, no problems, all feels good.
Later in the day while climbing the stairs to bed, I got a whiff of post long run fatigue. WHOOP!
And of course ideas of fortune and glory start percolating. I looked up what it takes to qualify for Western States 100. Turns out the qualifying isn't hard, it's winning the lottery that is the limiter. Heard my podcaster friend Wyatt H talk about the Pumpkin Holler Hundred and looked that up. Yeah, getting ideas! I need Jeff to talk me down!
Sunday WALK RUN 1:17, run was 3 miles!!
BIKE 13 mins indoors
I almost took all of Saturday off, but after work and after dinner I did this ride. More of an energy burn. And to say that I at least did "something" today.
Sunday Funday! The plan was 60 mins of walk and run, with Jeff's blessing to try 3 mins. I had fancy plans of going to TGP, maybe looping it. That is a regular 6 mile course for me. So off I go after a dog walk to warm up.
With podcasts playing, I went to Grand, to TGP, started the loop, and at Kings felt great. It was 2.8 miles at that point, so I thought maybe I'd stop under 6 miles to save that milestone for the next run. I was noticing around 45 mins that I was checking the watch too early -- 90 seconds into the interval instead of closer to 3 mins, so at that I started extending the rest intervals to 4 minutes instead of 3.
As I was in my last run interval on WY, the podcast was about Triathlon Swimming, sport psychology etc, and they said to be mindful while training, to recognize the fact that "what I'm doing right now is really cool". And on that light downhill, almost done, longest run yet since surgery, YES, what I'm doing right now is uber cool!!
Closer to the house, I was 5.7 miles. If I detoured a block I might hit 6? I decided this was OK as long as I walked it. Then the temptation for 6.2, a 10K, naw save that for the next run!
Once home I extended the session to 90 mins on the bike. Foam roll, shower, brekkie!
Later in the day I called up the splits and was surprised to find that I ran 3.04 miles and walked 2.98! I seriously thought the run would be less, those aren't statistically significant differences. So I'll focus on time instead: 30 mins running and 47 mins walking. haha!!!
Stats: slower pace at about 9.5 m/m, cadence 170-175, HR 125-130.
Pace slower as planned to account for increased time. Cadence maybe low if end goal is closer to 180. HR in MAF range, although this was not on my mind during the run.
No pain, no problems, all feels good.
Later in the day while climbing the stairs to bed, I got a whiff of post long run fatigue. WHOOP!
And of course ideas of fortune and glory start percolating. I looked up what it takes to qualify for Western States 100. Turns out the qualifying isn't hard, it's winning the lottery that is the limiter. Heard my podcaster friend Wyatt H talk about the Pumpkin Holler Hundred and looked that up. Yeah, getting ideas! I need Jeff to talk me down!
Friday, April 6, 2018
4:45 am WIN and I get to run more!
SWIM 1 hour and 2700 yards
BIKE COMMUTE partial ~2.3 miles
PT with JH
Yesterday I randomed across the Jocko podcast. I listened to it a while last year but it fell off my list. My list soooooo long lately, so the last thing I needed was to add another. But I love this guy so I pulled up a few. In searching I found some quotes:
Q: What was your ah-ha moment? A: Birth
Q: Do you have suggestions on what first steps to take to start to develop personal willpower and discipline? A: Stop trying to develop and start DOING.
Q: How do you deal with working hard/trying your best for something and still failing? A: I get to try again, harder.
Q: What are some hobbies you'd like to try but haven't had the time? A: If I want to try something, I make time.
Even better the Chuck Norris joke: CN checks under his bed for Jocko. LOL.
So I was reminded of a few things. Get up early and get shit done. So I set my alarm for 4:45 so I had time to get up and swim with no stupid excuses about running late. I actually got up, WIN!
Prep, walk dog, pack, get out the door, ON TIME. Arrive at pool, suit up, swim!! WIN! The workout had a 900 WU (300S, 200K, 100S, 12x25 mod) and a MS of 4x (200, 75 fast) then another set I don't remember because I didn't do. The goal was endurance speed.
I ate some egg whites and chicken fat before the swim, and I knew it would be too much, and it was confirmed soon enough. I wasn't feeling good, felt off balance, unclear, my throat has been sore the past few mornings and I keep thinking it might bloom into a full sickness, but nothing yet.
At 21 minutes I paused at the wall and heard Imagine Dragons Believer. I paused the watch to listen!! And decided to push on to at least 30 minutes. As time passed, I realized I wasn't feeling any worse as the swim progressed. Soon enough 45 minutes, then at 47 mins I knew I could stop short of 60 mins. Of course, right?
The swim never felt better, I felt out of breath and crooked and low in the water. Whatever it's done. Off to lab, then off to JH.
On Tuesday he introduced a new movement: feet up on the yoga ball as before, lift one leg at a time as before, but new is move leg up/out/in to meet his outheld hand. Loved this. I could see his hand in peripheral vision and loved the need for control to get that light bump against his hand. More of this today.
My run instructions this weekend: Start the first intervals at 60-90 seconds, then extend out to about 3 minutes. Slow pace if needed to finish strong. Keep recovery interval around 3-4 mins if it works. End the last intervals at 60-90 sec too. YAYAYAYAY!!!!
BIKE COMMUTE partial ~2.3 miles
PT with JH
Yesterday I randomed across the Jocko podcast. I listened to it a while last year but it fell off my list. My list soooooo long lately, so the last thing I needed was to add another. But I love this guy so I pulled up a few. In searching I found some quotes:
Q: What was your ah-ha moment? A: Birth
Q: Do you have suggestions on what first steps to take to start to develop personal willpower and discipline? A: Stop trying to develop and start DOING.
Q: How do you deal with working hard/trying your best for something and still failing? A: I get to try again, harder.
Q: What are some hobbies you'd like to try but haven't had the time? A: If I want to try something, I make time.
Even better the Chuck Norris joke: CN checks under his bed for Jocko. LOL.
So I was reminded of a few things. Get up early and get shit done. So I set my alarm for 4:45 so I had time to get up and swim with no stupid excuses about running late. I actually got up, WIN!
Prep, walk dog, pack, get out the door, ON TIME. Arrive at pool, suit up, swim!! WIN! The workout had a 900 WU (300S, 200K, 100S, 12x25 mod) and a MS of 4x (200, 75 fast) then another set I don't remember because I didn't do. The goal was endurance speed.
I ate some egg whites and chicken fat before the swim, and I knew it would be too much, and it was confirmed soon enough. I wasn't feeling good, felt off balance, unclear, my throat has been sore the past few mornings and I keep thinking it might bloom into a full sickness, but nothing yet.
At 21 minutes I paused at the wall and heard Imagine Dragons Believer. I paused the watch to listen!! And decided to push on to at least 30 minutes. As time passed, I realized I wasn't feeling any worse as the swim progressed. Soon enough 45 minutes, then at 47 mins I knew I could stop short of 60 mins. Of course, right?
The swim never felt better, I felt out of breath and crooked and low in the water. Whatever it's done. Off to lab, then off to JH.
On Tuesday he introduced a new movement: feet up on the yoga ball as before, lift one leg at a time as before, but new is move leg up/out/in to meet his outheld hand. Loved this. I could see his hand in peripheral vision and loved the need for control to get that light bump against his hand. More of this today.
My run instructions this weekend: Start the first intervals at 60-90 seconds, then extend out to about 3 minutes. Slow pace if needed to finish strong. Keep recovery interval around 3-4 mins if it works. End the last intervals at 60-90 sec too. YAYAYAYAY!!!!
Thursday, April 5, 2018
Tuesday run, Weds ride, Thursday run
Tuesday BIKE indoor 45' and about 11 miles
RUN 7 mins and 0.7 miles
WALK 2.1 miles and COMMUTE 2.2 miles
and PT with JH!
Wednesday BIKE COMMUTE double
WALK 3 miles
Thursday RUN 13 mins and 1.5 miles, furthest yet!
WALK about 4.8
The Tuesday run was into Benton neighborhood. I never really hit "flow" state, it felt clumsy and forced. But no pain!
I asked Jeff (half jokingly) about the Pride couch-to-5K starting Saturday. He said no. I agree, but .... still!! And happily I can run now because that's how I missed getting a $15 parking ticket at the meter. She was only a few cars away, whoop!
Wednesday I used the bike to skip home to let the roofer in to evaluate the leak. His roof not to blame, of course. So windy all day and it seemed every ride had a different headwind.
Thursday run in afternoon after my less than ideal FACS. I went for an hour as a goal. Ave'd 8:30 to 8:45 pace, 175 spm, and 135-140 bpm. Good data! And NO PAIN!! What hip?!?
RUN 7 mins and 0.7 miles
WALK 2.1 miles and COMMUTE 2.2 miles
and PT with JH!
Wednesday BIKE COMMUTE double
WALK 3 miles
Thursday RUN 13 mins and 1.5 miles, furthest yet!
WALK about 4.8
The Tuesday run was into Benton neighborhood. I never really hit "flow" state, it felt clumsy and forced. But no pain!
I asked Jeff (half jokingly) about the Pride couch-to-5K starting Saturday. He said no. I agree, but .... still!! And happily I can run now because that's how I missed getting a $15 parking ticket at the meter. She was only a few cars away, whoop!
Wednesday I used the bike to skip home to let the roofer in to evaluate the leak. His roof not to blame, of course. So windy all day and it seemed every ride had a different headwind.
Thursday run in afternoon after my less than ideal FACS. I went for an hour as a goal. Ave'd 8:30 to 8:45 pace, 175 spm, and 135-140 bpm. Good data! And NO PAIN!! What hip?!?
Sunday, April 1, 2018
Easter holiday summary
Went home for the weekend! Didn't do much, but I did a lot of little things
Thursday drive up
Friday YMCA treadmill 1 hour with run intervals
Saturday SWIM 20 mins and 1000 yards, walk 1 hour on treadmill
Monday drive back to STL
In between I did 20-40 mins bike rides on Mom's bike.
Also notable that I didn't swell up this weekend, like I've been experiencing in previous trips home. The biggest change was avoiding their purchased water. It's RO water, unknown other treatments. I don't think it's RO water itself, maybe a sanitizer or something in the plastic bottles? Needs more testing.
Saturday was a Blue Moon! Was cloudy in the morning, but I caught a glimpse early Sunday before joining Jess for church.
Thursday drive up
Friday YMCA treadmill 1 hour with run intervals
Saturday SWIM 20 mins and 1000 yards, walk 1 hour on treadmill
Monday drive back to STL
In between I did 20-40 mins bike rides on Mom's bike.
Also notable that I didn't swell up this weekend, like I've been experiencing in previous trips home. The biggest change was avoiding their purchased water. It's RO water, unknown other treatments. I don't think it's RO water itself, maybe a sanitizer or something in the plastic bottles? Needs more testing.
Saturday was a Blue Moon! Was cloudy in the morning, but I caught a glimpse early Sunday before joining Jess for church.
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