Hope To Run Again Before End Of The Year

I had not felt or noticed the achilles all day at work. That made me very happy and when I got home I went out for a run. But within .39 of a mile it was aching. I stopped right away and walked home. Apparently when walking normally it goes unnoticed. I only feel it when fast walking or running.

My goals for this week are to get in some form of workout each day to maintain and build fitness while letting my foot and achilles heal. no pun intended

Went to the gym and hopped on the elliptical. I started to notice the achilles at about 25 minutes. So I stopped at 32:00 just to make sure I did not do any harm to it. I figured I had put in at least 8:00 pace for the workout. So I count it as 4 miles.

Next I dove into the pool for 1000 yards of freestyle.

Elliptical - 32:00 - 4 miles

Swim - 17:32 - 1000 yards freestyle

I hope to run some on the roads again on Friday. Mixing roads, ellipticals, and swimming for the next week or two will hopefully get me healed up nicely. By the time 2008 gets here I want to start getting up to 50 miles a week again. That's my resolution for the New Year.

Same workout as yesterday except for mixing in a little breaststroke. Arms were sore.

Elliptical - 4 miles - 32:00

Swim - 100 yards - 18:33

Went for a run on the roads today. Achilles was ok. I could feel it getting more tender as the run went on. Now 3 1/2 hours later it is more tender than it was earlier. My left quad is very sore though. I attribute that to the lack of road running the last few weeks. Will use the elliptical and swim in the pool tomorrow. Will try running on road in another couple of days.

7 - 7:57, 8:05, 7:59, 7:44, 7:48, 7:50, 7:56 - 55:21 - 7:54 avg.

The achilles was a little tender to day, but not as bad as I expected it to be after yesterday's run. So it was an all water workout today. Swam a mile and aqua jogged the equivalent of 3 miles. On the aqua jogging I concentrated on stretching out my stride, way more than I could if I was running on the road. This slowed the cadence down a bit. But I could feel some burn in those quads.

Aqua jogging may be more boring than a treadmill.

Swim - 1.02 - 32:53 - mix of free/breast

Aqua Jog - 25:30

Triathlon today. In reverse. Sort of.

Elliptical - 34:00 - 4 miles

AirDyne - 20:00 - 6.2 miles

Swim - 18:48 - 1000 yards

Will try a run on the roads tomorrow. I hope.

The achilles felt fine enough to run, so I did. Everything was good until 5.5 miles. Some pain started to set in. I did not want it to get worse so I stopped running and walked home.

So now after this run I have decided to stop running until January 1, 2008. This will be about 3 weeks of time off. I will use the elliptical, AirDyne, swim laps, and aqua jog in the mean time. I hope none of those hurt the healing process.

5.88 - 7:55, 7:53, 7:55, 7:49, 7:45, 7:05 - 46:22 - 7:53 avg.

Elliptical - 35:00 - 4 miles

AirDyne - 20:00 - 5.6

Swim - 33:36 - 1.02 miles

AirDyne - 25:00 - 7.2 miles

Elliptical - 35:00 - 4 miles

Swim - 18:26 - .568 mile

Last night was my first Midnight Shift, so my body is all screwed up right now. I went for a 30 minute walk about 3am to check buildings, shake doors, and to stay awake. The achilles was tender during the walk. It hurts more when walking in shoes than without. It had been feeling better after few days of no running. But not this time. I think either, or both, the elliptical or the AirDyne is aggravating it. So it will be all pool workouts for awhile just to find it.

1000 yards freestyle - 17:15

1000 yards free/breast mix - 19:09

18:00 aqua jogging - lets just call it the equivalent of 2 miles

Arms were burning by the end of the 1st 1000. Relaxed the pace and alternated strokes every 100 yards on the next 1000. Then did 18:00 minutes of aqua jogging. I concentrated on getting full extension of my stride. My quads were really burning, but I was not breathing hard at all and the heart rate seemed low. I do not feel much cardio benefit from the aqua jogging but do think it helps stretch out and strengthen the legs. All that resistance from the water must be good for something. And absolutely no impact, unlike running on the road.

Walked 30 minutes at work around 3am again. Helps keeps the legs loose and me awake.

This afternoon went to the pool again. This time it was 2000 yards alternating between free and breast every 200 yards. Kept the pace relaxed. Then the equivalent of 2 miles aqua jogging.

2000 yards - 38:37

Aqua Jog - 18:00

Today was my missed the last 2 days, could not run or bike, had to go to the pool for a quick/short workout, better than no workout, kind of workout.  Well at least my sentences get to run(on).

Swim - 1000 yards free - 16:59

Aqua Jog - 18:00 - 2 miles equivalent 

Been missing too many workouts this past couple of weeks. It was so much easier just to go out the door and run. Trying to get to the pool is hard to fit in my schedule sometimes.

Today wanted to get in some more distance more than I normally do. I swam 3000 yards continuous. 1000 free/1000 breast/1000 free.

1000 free - 17:333:93

1000 breast - 21:21:35

1000 free - 18:12:36

Total - 3000 - 57:07:64

Limited time. Was not able to aqua jog at the end of the swim.

1000 free - 17:07

1000 free/breast - 18:30

Had court in the morning. Came home and ate 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Then went to the pool. Swam 1000 free and my arms felt sore. But they loosened up by the end. Then another 1000 of breast and free. 1 hamstring and 1 foot kept twinging and threatening to cramp up on me. So I backed off a little.

1000 free - 17:23

1000 free/breast - 19:29

Swam 1 mile freestyle. Arms still sore, but again got better as I went along. Followed up with 200 yards breaststroke.

1800 yards free - 32:14

200 yards breast - 4:22

Ugh ! So many missed workouts this month. And to think going into last month was doing as much as I ever had.

Went to the pool. Got in 2000 yards. Yelled at two kids, and their mother. They kids were purposely getting in my way and splashing me as I went by. We were the only 3 people in the pool. 25 yards long and 5 lanes across. I only needed 1 lane, but I guess they did not want to share. Had to walk out to the snack bar dripping wet to find an adult.

1000 - free

1000 - free/breast

10:00 - aqua jog

Later in the afternoon took the kids to the pool for some playtime. Managed to get in another 20:00 of aqua jogging. I will call it 3 miles of aqua jogging for the day.

Not much time for workout. Family cook out to go to after work. Swam 1 mile.

Swim - 1.03 - 32:23

So here's an update on how the achilles is feeling. Hardy ever notice it while walking around. I can feel it when going up or down a flight of stairs. Also this morning I had to reach up to the top shelf of my closet. I was on my tip toes and really stretching to reach something. I could feel it most then. Hopefully it will be good enough to run on soon. Getting to the pool for a workout is hard. Limited hours conflict with my work and family schedule.

Today was my daughter's 8th birthday. I worked a half day, then we had her party with friends and relatives at the pool. The party was over at 6, and the pool closed at 6. So no workout today. Hopefully tomorrow after work, and before the pool closes. It closes too early for me to get there on Monday and is closed Tuesday. Maybe I will start light running on Tuesday. Gaining weight at an alarming rate now. So many great tasting holiday treats and no exercising.

Missed workout today...again.

Well I have had enough of trying to get to the pool during their operating hours for the holidays. Tomorrow I will run again! I had taken almost all of December off and was planning on starting again on January 1st. But what's one day? 2 or 3 miles at very easy pace. Then if all feels good with the achilles I will do the same on Tuesday. Then beginning Wednesday I should be able to start getting to the gym easier and I will be able to use the elliptical, AirDyne, and swim. Mixed in with some light road running and I hope by February I am good to go again. Spring races are coming and I would like to run a couple. After an injury filled 2007 I am looking forward to a healthy 2008. I just got to remember to take the training slow and easy and it should all payoff in the end.

Went for a run today. As far as trying to fit a workout into a tight "life schedule" running has got to be one of the easiest. Just get dressed and go. Day or night. Rain or shine...or snow. Hot or cold. No closing times or opening times to worry about.

So I left the house and ran easy. 1st mile split was 8:37. I was upset, because I knew this was not easy enough. But I thought, how can I run any slower. The answer came on the next mile, which was 8:52. So all I need to do is get a little tired and running slower becomes easier. Then the final 1.25 miles I ran with C.B. He has not run in about a year. We ran 10:14 for my 3rd mile. This is getting more like it. Letting someone else set the pace will help keep me in check and allow me to not make the achilles worse.

As for the achilles I first noticed it at the .52 mark. It never hurt, but I could feel it when I thought about it. While carrying on a conversation I would forget about it.

Hopefully I can repeat this run tomorrow. Then get back to the gym for some cross training later in the week.