Week in the Rearview Mirror: March 11 - March 17, 2012

This was a running recovery week, in an effort to see if my right instep and left calf are up to going long again. I purposefully avoided running at all after Sunday's fail until Saturday, when I did 4 miles. Things were a bit stiff, but it all held together reasonably well. It is still a bit too early to tell for sure if I'll be able to make the A2A Marathon start or not, since the right instep issue will definitely be a show stopper if it is not healed. I'm a lot less worried about any loss in fitness, just the injuries and if there is time for them to heal before the race.


Aside from that, the weather was kind to me and allowed me to still get some aerobic work in on the bicycle most days. Cycling doesn't put the pounding or strain on the instep or calf that running or even walking does, so it was nice to be able to ride and still get a good workout in. Cycling (at least the way I do it) isn't anywhere near as intense of a workout minute-for-minute as compared to running, but as a consequence of that I'm able to string multiple days together much easier, and do it for a bit longer at a time. I still think that buying that bike last May was one of the best investments I've made for my health.


My running plan between now and the marathon looks like this:

Day	Activity / Distance
Monday	Rest
Tuesday	4 miles
Wednesday	4 miles
Thursday	Rest / Cross-Train
Friday	6 miles
Saturday	4 miles
Sunday	6 miles
Monday	Rest / Cross-Train
Tuesday	4 miles
Wednesday	6 miles
Thursday	Rest
Friday	4 miles (Walking)
Saturday	Rest
Sunday	Marathon

If the calf and instep resolve by this time next week, and I'll continue with my plan to do the marathon. However, if they fail to progress and / or running is just not comfortable, I won't push myself into doing a marathon for which I'm not physically ready. I'll just keep my fingers crossed, and see what transpires.

Here is what last week looked like...

Day	Activity	Distance (in miles)
Sunday	Elliptical	0.80
	Running	2.56
	Walking	2.20
	Swimming	1.00
	Cycling	10.65
Monday	Cycling	16.92
Tuesday	Cycling	25.13
Wednesday	Cycling	25.51
Thursday	Walking	6.68
Friday	Cycling	25.28
Saturday	Walking	1.06
	Running	4.06
	Walking	1.10
	Cycling	10.70

These are my time and distance totals for the week:

Activity	Time Total	Distance Total (in miles)
Running	0:57:36	6.62
Walking	2:39:14	11.04
Elliptical	0:10:00	0.80
Swimming	0:45:49	1.00
Cycling	7:19:27	114.19
Overall Total	11:52:06	133.65

In cross-training, I've continued with the pushups and pullups on alternating days, and these are coming along nicely. I try to mix up the number of repetitions per set and the number of sets to keep from getting in a rut on these. The March planks challenge is coming along pretty well, as I'm beginning to find my groove. As long as I stick to sets of 1 min planks with 45 seconds recovery, I can do 10 fairly easily, and managed 15 yesterday (although this is still an "every other day" thing at best).

Spring break kind of muddled the schedule this week, so I went to Yoga on Wednesday and Saturday instead of my normal days. On Wednesday I tried a different instructor, and although we did some interesting things (one of which was beginners headstand done by placing the crown of the head and palms (elbows up) on the floor as the base, and balancing the knees on the elbows), but I think I like the other instructor better so I'll be sticking with him. His Saturday class was both challenging and interesting, and I look forward to this week's class.

Happy Running Everyone !!!

New 2 You Cross-Training Challenge for February

The idea of trying something "new to me" 12 times in 2012 originated with Kim over at (Just) Trying is for Little Girls, and I "signed up" for the challenge she got started with this post. 

This is my second "new to me" thing, and it went very well. Last night I went to the first Yoga class I've ever tried, and I have to admit that I had a good time with it. The instructor has been teaching in my area for the last eight years, and was very knowledgeable and talented while at the same time being very low-key and laid back. The studio is in an outdoor mall type area, and is very nice on the inside with a minimalistic decor. It is literally on my way home, so it was convenient, and called Yoga Synergy Spa.



The class was a Yoga 101 Beginner class that lasted about an hour, and the hour really went by very quickly. In addition to the instructor, there were four other students in the class and they were very nice. The lesson started promptly at six, and we began with some New Age music playing in the background (the entire class on a low volume) with just some seated relaxation and breathing. According to the instructor, this class was primarily a Vinyasa type of Yoga at a very elementary level.


The instructor made it clear to everyone in the class that while she was there for guidance and information, that they were to listen primarily to their own bodies and not strain or stretch painfully. For each of the poses through which we progressed, she explained where it "should" feel a bit uncomfortable, and where it should not (in other words, if it hurts here, don't do it). She modified poses for some in the class that found the pose as demonstrated uncomfortable, and was just very pleasant.

I would definitely be at a complete loss to communicate a pose-by-pose description of the class, but we went through various standing and seated stretches, some core work where we started on all fours and lifted one arm forward and opposing leg backward -- alternating that extended position with a "curled" position where the knee was touching our chin/forehead (which really worked the abs), a Tree pose to work on balance, the Pigeon pose to stretch out the hips (with a variation I had yet to try that was interesting), a short circuit where we transitioned between Downward Dog and Cobra, and a circuit that had us in a lunge-type position.

All in all, I had a nice time, and it was fun. I'm on a $15 for 15 calendar days promotion, so I'll for sure go back over the course of that time to see what else I can pick up on. I definitely learned something last night...some things I was doing right on my own ("I learned it from a booook"), some modifications to try, and some things I still need a LOT of work on.

There is definitely a whole world of things to learn and experience in the world of Yoga, and I just barely scratched on the surface of one facet of it....but had a good time doing so. What I did last night was not an overly taxing physical workout, but I can see the potential for that type of Yoga workout if I tried one of the more challenging classes.

Happy running everyone !!!

Week in the Rearview Mirror: February 5 - February 11, 2012

I've got to admit, I could really get used to a long string of good weeks...it just makes it that much more fun to be active. On the first of February I did something to sort of "bruise" my right instep, and it has slowly gotten better since then. I'm stretching the calf a good bit which seems to help, and sticking to the shoes that have more cushioning which also seems to help. I realize that isn't very scientific since I'm changing two variables at once, but I want to ensure that this is resolved before the marathon on the 26th. The runs themselves have been pain-free, and the weather has been nice for running, so no complaints there.

Here is what last week looked like...

Day	Activity	Distance (in miles)
Sunday	Elliptical	1.59
	Running	4.31
Monday	Rest Day
Tuesday	Walking	1.02
	Running	6.35
	Walking	0.41
Wednesday	Elliptical	1.58
	Running	4.41
Thursday	Rest Day
Friday	Walking	1.02
	Running	4.40
Saturday	Elliptical	1.62
	Running	4.63

These are my time and distance totals for the week:

Activity	Time Total	Distance Total (in miles)
Running	3:36:13	24.10
Walking	0:34:13	2.45
Elliptical	1:00:00	4.79
Overall Total	5:10:26	31.34

Only 12 days till the Cowtown Marathon, and other than the (now very minor) instep discomfort, I'm feeling healthy and ready.

On Saturday afternoon, my wife and I took a course map of the marathon and did the drive over to Fort Worth to see what it looked like in person. There is a portion of the run that occurs on a biking / running trail starting at about mile 18.5, so we didn't get to drive all of it. However, what we did see was "interesting" and not exactly what I had pictured in my mind. The elevation profile looks something like this (from the marathon's website)...

You can tell that there are quite a few rolling hills throughout the course, but I didn't realize just how "rolling" it really was. With few exceptions (at least in the first 18+ miles), if one isn't climbing a hill, one is coming down one, so this will be a run that will have more than a few gear changes in it. In some respects this should break up the effort somewhat so that it isn't just an extended pounding so that is good. In other respects, some of these hills go up for anywhere from 1/10th of a mile to nearly 3/4 of a mile.

Knowing how the course goes won't necessarily make it any easier physically, but I believe it will help me mentally since I won't be constantly surprised (dismayed) when I round another corner to face yet another significant uphill section. The key for me will be to switch gears effectively, and NOT try to power up the hills. My goal is to attempt to maintain my cadence (or get close), while shortening and lengthening my stride as the topography allows.

The February pushup challenge (400 in the month of February) continues to go well. I started with a set of 20 each day, and I've progressed through 3 sets of 10 with a 45 second recovery to starting 4 sets of 10 with a 45 second recovery this morning (Monday). I've also been doing 2 sets of 5 pullups with a 45 second recovery every other day. Those are significantly tougher for me, so I'll have to bring those numbers up much more slowly.

Although I missed a couple of days during the week last week, in general the stretching and strengthening exercises continue to go well. I'm slowing gaining increased flexibility, and it is keeping the stiffness and pain away on the runs so it is well worth the 30 minutes or so of effort.

I think I'm going to try out my first Yoga class this week, so that should be interesting. I have no idea what to wear or how it will go, but I plan on that being my "thing" for the New 2 U Cross Training Challenge for this month. I plan to call today and see what to expect, and will post about it once I do it. Wish me luck...with my flexibility and coordination, it should be entertaining for everyone (but me of course ;-).

Happy Running Everyone !!!