Hope To Run Again Before End Of The Year

Woke up stiff, sore, and sunburned.  My chest is sore from bodyboarding.  And I was slammed so many times by shorebreaks while bodysurfing I have rashes from the sand from my knees to my shoulders.  No ride was planned today, so it worked out.  I did not have the energy to aqua jog like I had hoped though.  I really hated being in such a confined space in the little pool yesterday.

16.11 - 54:41

Still on beach vacation.  Headwind last 8 miles.

am - Bike ride before work.  Had to get used to not riding on super flat roads now that I am home from the beach.

15.19 - 50:24

pm - Went to the pool after not swimming in 10 or 11 days.  Really wanted to get in at least a mile without worrying about my time or effort.  But there had been several kids playing in the pool and I thought I was going to miss my swim.  But when they went to grab a bite to eat I jumped in and got started.  I figured I might get 30 minutes at the most before they got back in.  Turned out they went home after eating.  I knew I was going faster than I had planned because I was trying to get my swim in, but I was shocked at a half mile to see I was ahead of my PR.  So I tried to keep up the pace.  Ended up breaking my own record for a mile swim by 46 seconds.  My goal of going under 30 minutes is now right around the corner.  Just need to get some more pool time and I know I will get there.

1800 - 30:01.51 - free

200 - 4:17.44 - breast

A little tight and sore from yesyerday's swim.  But loosened up well as I got going.

1000 - free - 17:08.45

1500 - alt. free/breast per 100 yds. - 27:41.03

15 minutes aqua jogging

Went swimming.  2500 yds.  Body felt drained when done.  Next was 12:15 of aqua jogging.  Supposed to be 15min. but a bad foot cramp struck.  Then as I was trying to get out the pool one of my calves cramped for a second or two.  Decided to go on home.

7:45pm - still 92º outside.  Decided to just go ahead and get the ride over with before it got too dark.  Did my 20k course.  Set a PR by 35 sec.  without even realizing until done.  Never checked my watch during the ride.  Unfortunatley I had eaten a HUGE amount of spaghetti and meatballs an hour before the ride.  My stomach was so full it was uncomfortable.  Every drink of water I took in made it feel worse.

Very tired and cannot wait to go to sleep for the night.

2500 - 44:39 - 1000 fr / 1000 mix of fr & br / 500 fr

12.48 - 40:41

Blog entered - 8/18/07

Wow, I cannot believe I had not made an entry in 10 days.  The day of this workout I remember my energy was low.  Come to find out I was sick and did not know it.  By Friday I was a mess.  Quoting my doctor when he saw me, "Oh man ! You've got a rip roaring case of shingles !"  I had heard of shingles, but thought it was something old people got.  But I have it.  It is very painful.  It is in my mouth, up the left side of my cheek, left side of my scalp, and in my left ear.  The oozing bumps are gone now, and I have huge scabs where they were.  The doctor said as long as they are still on my face I can still be contagious.  Apparently anyone who has chicken pox can get shingles.  The chicken pox virus settles somewhere in your spine and hangs out.  Then something triggers it.  It will follow along a nerve and breakout.  Someone who has not had chicken pox could now catch it from me.  Stress is a usual cause to bring on shingles.  But anyone who knows me will know I am usually a stress free person.  And I was on vacation the week before.

Anyway I hope to get on my bike again soon.  I will have to wait awhile for the sores to go away before hitting the pool again.  And hopefully another month or so and I will be able to run again.

1 mile - mix of free/breast - 32:54

Finally I was able to workout again. Spoke to the doctor this morning and he said exercise should be fine as long as I do not do anything that would expose my sores to bad germs. Well he said something like that.

I went to the gym and walked on the treadmill for 5 minutes @ 4mph to warmup. Then after reading how other bloggers successfully used an elliptical trainer for rehab, I decided to do the same. Back in April the doctor said "no weight bearing exercises." But I have not felt even a twinge for a few weeks now. I have never used this piece of equipment before and just hit the quick start button. I found it was hard to run with a full stride like on the road. I felt awkward on it as well. I stayed on it for 20 minutes. I breathed hard, raised my heart rate, and sweated. It felt good. Next I rode the AirDyne for 10 miles. When I was done my legs felt weak and wobbly. Since it was closing time I went outside and walked in the parking lot for 5 minutes. It was about 74 and drizzly. Really helped me cool down. Now I just need to ease back into a routine. I hope being able to run on the roads again is only a month or two away.

10 miles - 32:18 - AirDyne

Back to the gym today. Warmed up for 5 minutes walking on the treadmill. Then kind of did a short triathlon in reverse order. Used the elliptical for 30 minutes. Chose one of the preset workouts. Seemed to run flat for about 2 minutes and then uphill for about 2 minutes. Next I used the AirDyne. Quite frankly I was worn out from yesterday still and cut this shorter than I had planned at 20 minutes. Then swam 1000 yards. I could really feel the lack of fitness from the time off and from being sick. The only cure is to keep working out everyday and gradually build the fitness back.

Elliptical - 30:00

AirDyne - 5.7 miles - 20:06

Swim - 1000 yards - 18:45

Did basically the same workout as yesterday, a reverse triathlon of sorts. Warmed up 5 minutes walking on the treadmill. 30 minutes on the elliptical. 20 minutes on the AirDyne. Then swam 1200 yards.

The swimming is harder than I believe it should be even with the time off. My arms feel like bricks when I lift them out of the water. I am not breathing harder than normal, but I just cannot get good arm turnover. But I am going out of town for about a week, so workouts will be tough to get in. Definitly no swimming. Bummer.

30:00 - elliptical

20:03 - 5.8 miles - AirDyne

22:10 - .681 mile - Swimming

Came back from the beach/wedding trip today. No workouts the last two days, but did spend a lot of time fighting/playing in the ocean waves. The family had great fun.

elliptical - 20:00

AirDyne - 6.2 miles - 19:56

I was able to squeeze in a workout today after court and before I leave for Maryland. Did another non-traditional triathlon of sorts. Wanted to do about 20 minutes of each. Swam first, then elliptical, and last was the Airdyne.

Swim - 1100 yards - 19:54

Elliptical - 20:00

AirDyne - 5.8 miles - 20:00

That's right it is no mistake, those are running miles, NOT crosstraining miles. I was out of town and really did not want to walk on the treadmill in the hotel's tiny fitness room. As a matter of fact I did not feel like walking at all. So I ran!

My warm up consisted of taking the stairs down from the 5th floor and walking in the parking lot until the Garmin found the satellites. I had stayed here once in May 2006 decided to run the same route I had before. Back then I ran a 23:34 for 3.06 miles. I had only been running for about 4 months at the time. And today I had not run in over 4 months. The first mile was downhill and I felt good. Second mile was uphill and I was tiring. The last mile was uphill and my legs started to tire, but my cardio was real good. So I ended up with an 8:13 avg. which I was happy with. Cooled down with a five minute walk in the parking lot, then it was back to the stairs up to the 5th floor.

Run - 3.06 - 25:09

am & all day - My legs are so sore. My quads hurt when I walk downhill or down stairs. They almost hurt just to touch them. I really cannot tell if there is any twinges or pain in the area of my stress fracture. I do not think there is. But my muscles are so sore it could be masking it. But my gut feeling is there was no harm done in this one run. But I will still wait at least until October 1st before deciding to begin running on a regular basis again.

pm - Sat in class for 6 hours, then rode in a car for 4 more. My legs were really stiff and sore when I got home. I decided to go for a quick ride before my family came home. Rode pretty hard and my legs were hurting. But I wanted to get home to see my wife and kids after missing them for 2 days.

Bike - 11.4 - 37:28

Quads still very sore, even more than yesterday. My wife says I am walking like an old man.

Went to the pool. Legs hurt some during freestyle and felt terrible on breaststroke. Swam a mile then went to the elliptical. I was fully prepared to skip this if my legs hurt. But I was very surprised that I could barely tell my legs were sore. So I set it on a low resistance and a flat course and "ran" for 30 minutes. Hopefully this soreness will not last but another day.

Swim - 1.02 - 33:46

Elliptical - 30 min.

Soreness a lot better today.  Only hurt when walking down stairs or downhill, even on the slightest grade.  But it was definitley better in the pool than yesterday.  Especially on breaststroke.

Same workout as yesterday.

Swim - 1.02 mile - 32:09

Elliptical - 30 min.

Next 2 days, with my work schedule, will be bike rides.