Week in the Rearview Mirror: April 8 - April 14, 2012

This was really a good week, with the calf continuing to improve slowly (almost completely healed), and nothing but a bit of an ache in the knee area when I went a bit too hard....nothing a day of rest didn't resolve. For most of the runs this week, I wore my heart monitor, so I have some new numbers to play with. I also tried to pick up the pace at the end of most of my runs (from the last mile, to the last 1/4 mile). It was nice just trying different things, and having a pleasant week overall. I don't really have a race lined up as a goal, although I would like to get to 2000 miles on my bike by the end of the month (only 62 miles to go). That would all be in 11 months.

Here is what last week looked like...

Day	Activity	Distance (in miles)	Avg. Heart Rate	Max Heart Rate
Sunday	Cycling	25.12	125	153
Monday	Running	6.01	153	172
	Walking	0.60	119	129
Tuesday	Walking	3.40	---	---
	Walking	1.00	---	---
	Walking	1.72	---	---
Wednesday	Running	13.13	145	156
	Walking	1.00	---	---
Thursday	Cycling	15.51	117	138
	Walking	1.51	---	---
	Walking	1.77	---	---
Friday	Cycling	30.17	123	147
Saturday	Running	6.06	149	174
	Walking	1.02	148	165

These are my time and distance totals for the week:

Activity	Time Total	Distance Total (in miles)
Running	3:48:56	25.20
Walking	3:06:47	12.02
Cycling	4:35:44	70.80
--------------	--------------	--------------
Overall Total	11:31:27	108.02

In cross-training, I worked in two days of pullups and one of pushups, with one Kettlebell workout. This week increased the pullups a bit, but dipped a bit on the pushups...I'll need to remedy that in the weeks ahead. I did 150 total pushups and averaged 37 pullups per session.

A FAIL on the Yoga this week...just didn't have it in my priority list. Weird that I did that, since I almost always enjoy the classes.

I stuck with the 25 strict crunches per day as a part of the 100X challenge, with one day having 100. I really do need to ensure that this continues to be a part of each week, at least at some level. If I can ever get the layer of "covering" (a.k.a. 5 or so pounds of stubborn fat) off my mid-section, it would be nice if there was some defined muscle in there. Of course, it will have to just magically disappear if I stay with my current eating habits, which includes multiple trips to Yogurtland with toppings like crushed Heath Bar, shaved coconut, and Ghirardelli syrup.

So far this month, I haven't done a single minute of planks, and I can honestly say I don't miss it a bit. I need to do them, since my lower back always felt it the day after, but I'm SO not a fan.

Although I've had a few "anomaly" readings on my heart rate, I believe my maximum is still right at (or close to) 174. I have yet to sustain it at that level though, I've only seen it slowly rise to that level during the sprint at the end of a run, which makes me think it might be a tad higher. I just don't believe that my max is 220 minus my age (which would be 167 for me)....I think its a bit higher, so I'll use 174 for now...but I'm probably just splitting hairs if I'm within 7 beats.

I'm still not sure what my running pace would be in Zone 3 though (or below), since that would only be 132-139. Probably nothing more than a brisk walk. I seem to average a high Zone 1 to mid Zone 2 for my cycling workouts, and Zone 4's for my runs. I may not stick with tracking the heart rate for a long time, but it is interesting for now, and I may find that tracking it from time to time will be interesting.

Happy Running Everyone !!!

On a roll and loving it

This last week has been pretty amazing for me compared to the last six or eight weeks, and I really feel like I'm on a roll now.

No, not that kind of roll (although I have spent quite a bit of time on these during that time, and do still use them occasionally).  This is actually the kind of roll I've been on...

Yes...the PAIN FREE kind of roll!  I think (at least for now, and I certainly don't want to jinx it) that I've finally got past the various pain issues I've been dealing with, and am rolling along pain free. I'm at the point now that I can do a little nearly each day, and that is so liberating. I was also able to dispense with the daily Advil dose(s) on Tuesday of this week, and I'm "running clean" !

While every bit of every run hasn't been free from all discomfort, no run has had issues beyond the first 1/4 mile or so. Even better though is that I have managed to run for 9 of the last 11 days, which is nothing short of amazing for me.  And several of those days were completely pain free. None of them have been far, but I've averaged about 4.3 miles per day for every day run. And all of this is better than being hurt so bad that I'm forced to cross train or take days off.

I'd like to say (and think) that I'm over that bout of discomfort and can just get out and run exclusively (I even like to "type" that :-)), but I honestly believe that a big part of my recovery (and what will keep me "in the game") is the stretching and strengthening I've been doing. True, I started these as a reaction to my injuries (TFL on left hip, ITB on right from knee to hip, strained back muscles, etc.), but I think going forward I'll need to be more diligent and intelligent in my approach if I want to minimize these issues in the future.

I'm thinking that I won't need to be quite so Reactive, if I will just be a bit more Proactive. At least with the body I've been issued (in its current condition), I need to ensure that I maintain a good range of motion, a solid and strong core, and even flexibility and strength from side to side. Since I tend to be "right dominant" from a strength perspective, I need to ensure that an inflexible or restricted quad or hamstring on one side doesn't torque my form and start another cascade of issues. I've started to get much better about working this in every day, so I'll just need to build from there and make sure that it continues to be a daily part of my routine.


I've been keeping each run distance pretty low, but I do need to do one more long run before the upcoming marathon, so I tentatively plan on doing that next Saturday, and doing something between 18 and 20. Given that I know I can cover the full distance now, I think this will suffice...the key for me is to ensure that the run doesn't set me up for re-injury.

Here's to everyone running well and pain-free in the coming days.....

Happy Running Everybody !!!

Welcoming 2012 and reflecting on 2011

As I stand on the doorstep of a new year, I'm both excited about the possibilities, and terrified by the prospects. Excited about everything that can go right, terrified by the things that can go wrong (like being "downsized" or injured), and yet ready to start on the 2012 journey.

When I started 2011, I was scheduled for a second surgery to remove a very large squamous cell carcinoma from my right side about half-way between my armpit and my waist. In early December of 2010, they had attempted to excise it by cutting about a 5 inch wide patch of the skin cancer out with a somewhat elliptical incision. Just before Christmas, I was told that they failed to get clean margins, and were going to have to try again. In late January, they made the same type of cut, literally "cutting out the scar" along with some extra tissue around it, about 7 inches wide. This time they were successful, but I've proven that I'm now at risk for that type of thing, so will need to see them once a year....and I have a nifty scar that looks like I was in a sword fight (a conversation piece).


In late April it seems that I really noticed the shape I was in, and determined to do something about it, so I started walking and eating right to get back in shape...the rest you can find in my initial post if you're interested.

I feel like I accomplished quite a bit in 2011, by losing over 30 pounds and 7 inches off my waist, running two half-marathons (a distance I had never accomplished before) in under 2 hours each, and even completing a 26.3 mile training run (a non-race marathon) in 4:12:46.  My numbers for 2011 from a workout perspective look like this...

So what about 2012..? Well first, I'm really excited even more now about running my first "official" marathon race at the end of February. Now that I have slayed the mental dragon of "can you really run that far without walking", I'm more pumped than ever to complete a marathon race distance. In many ways I feel like that successful training run has freed me from placing quite so much focus on increasing long runs, and will allow me to focus more on trying to just get in some good solid runs much more frequently.

Previously, I was trying to run at least 6 miles at a time, and that seemed to prevent me from running every day (I would have to put a cross-training day between run days). I could sometimes do two in a row, but not often, and have been battling issues with my right IT band for over a month (and before that, an issue with my TFL on my left side). However, I think if I can dial back that distance to 4 miles for most days, that will allow me to string together many more days, get more running in (which I love), and increase my mileage as well probably.

It's not that I intend to avoid long runs between now and the marathon in late February (or even after that...I really like the longer runs even if the really long ones are a bit intimidating), but I feel like they don't need to be my primary focus. At my current age and fitness level, it takes a day or two (sometimes more) to recover from the longer runs, and rushing that recovery just sets me up for injury.

My plan this year is to really focus a lot more on proper stretching, core work (abdominal, and glute work especially), and finding a balance that allows me to run more frequently without injury. The last time I "got into shape" about six years ago (please God..help me to STAY in shape going forward...getting back into shape is just too freaking hard), I pushed too hard, got injured, worked through injury for a while, and then just got tired of always being in pain so I eventually quit working out. I want to be certain that this time, I find a better balance..especially since I'm not getting any younger and I don't bounce back like I used to.


Beyond the marathon in February, I believe I would like to run some other race distances for some variety, and perhaps try a triathlon (or maybe even an ultra like a 50K...but that even sounds a bit crazy to write, much less plan for at this point). Mainly though my sights are on the marathon at this point. That distance has always held a certain mystique with me for some reason, and I want to "own" it...or at least occupy it for a while.

Happy Running Everyone, and bring on 2012.....