Lack of coordination

Up at 4:45 AM today. Abs, pushups then 90 minutes of yoga. There is no doubt that my inflexible body can benefit from yoga. I'm certain it gives me greater flexibility, greater core strength and a calmness I cannot otherwise achieve. It also demonstrates my lack of balance and coordination. I cannot tell you how many times I caught myself doing something with the wrong arm or leg. I'm used to a yoga class where the instructor is in front of you--the mirror image via television proved too challenging for my left and right disorientation.

To complete my irregular brick workout, I'm off to a masters swim class this evening. Hopefully the time will pass ever so quickly.

Oh what a beautiful morning...

Up at 4:30 AM, abs then off to the gym. What a beautiful morning for a run, 51 degrees in January--heavenly. Of course, I am still on a running restriction and today I hit the one week mark. Thus, off to gym for an upper body weight room visit then into the pool for agua-jogging or as I like to call it, aqua-boring. After 35 minutes of aqua jogging I did 5 minutes straight of deepwater kicking drills. My calves were a bit tight at the end (which probably is not so good for the plantar fascitis problem if you think about the physiology of it) and once again, I'm certain my heart rate never rose above 100.

Tomorrow, I'm hoping for 90 minutes of yoga in the morning and then the cold Masters swim in the evening.

Finally an elevated heart rate

Up at 4:30 AM, abs then off to the pool. 3,000 meters with the Masters team. I did eqal parts swim, pull buoy, and pull buoy with paddles. I was completely spent at the end and I even felt high zone 3 so that made me happy. Wahoo!

Tomorrow, back to the weight room and possibly some more aqua jogging if I can stand it.

A hint of sweat

Up at 5 AM today. Abs then off to the weight room for both an upper and lower body workout. My weight room regiment caused a hint of sweat but really it was just a tease. No bead rolling down my cheek. Sigh.

Tomorrow, back to the pool my home of homes at the moment.

Who needs a HRM

More swimming with my friend the pull buoy. I really don't think my heart rate exceeded 100 in the entire hour--good for fat burning, bad for the post exercise buzz. I also spent 30 minutes aqua jogging. Boring. Well, boring and again not very aerobic. Still my legs were burning and it's all I have baby. Drat it.

It's something

An hour in the pool today with my friend the pull buoy. All I did was swim and flip, swim and flip. Well once I deviated and swam 10 laps with paddles. The good news is my flip turn is nearly thoughtless except for remembering to push off only with the good foot.

I hit the weight room for upper body weights. This is my life for a while, it does not please me but I do not want to return to my days of pain. Patience, patience, patience.

My kingdom for some exercise

I have not sweat since Tuesday. I thought I could slip off to the pool last night but alas those drugs had me asleep by 7. I'm abandoning the orthotic shoe after today and hope to be in the pool with the pull buouy tomorrow.

The foot feels pretty good, a bit sore but nothing compared to the plantar fascitis pain. I am fully committed to following my stretching instructions (well, at least for today) to move toward a day in the near future when I'm back in my running shoes and back in the saddle. Till then, I'd kill for an elevated pulse or sweat.

I love drugs

I probably would not be a good spokesperson for the Partnership for a Drug Free America. I'm not sure what drugs I was given yesterday but one minute I'm talking to the nurses and doctors and the next minute I wake up with some tube in my mouth. My foot still has no feeling and I'm grateful for a day of rest. The orthotic shoe is growing on me from a fashion perspective.

No food, no drink, no water...

No exercise today. I'm not going to make it. My extra corporeal shockwave treatment is this afternoon. Until then, I must starve myself which is as difficult as dealing with my inability to exercise. These days too shall pass.

With a tear in my eye

Up at 4:30 am today and after my abs I hit the bike for 80 minutes of solid time trial work. Lots of high, steady cadence and my sore legs are the living proof. That will be the extent of exercise for a little while.

Tomorrow I have the extra corporeal shock wave treatment on my foot and although I may start the day with yoga, the no water or food after midnight will prevent anything further. I'm hoping to maybe be in the pool Thursday with a pull buoy and in the weight room by Saturday. Fingers crossed.

I still hate swimming

In the pool today. It's tough to go swimming when the wind chill is 10 degrees and the pool at the Y gets hotter the colder it is outside. Today the water was 86--tiring, very tiring. I spent some time on the flip turns today. They were very good at the beginning of my swim but as with anything, once I get tired my form dissolves. I started reverting to missing the wall when I turned.

After swimming I spent an hour in the weight room working both upper and lower body. I thought about a run but it just did not make sense today. Maybe tomorrow, more then likely I'll just be on the bike for my last workout until after I get my foot repaired.

Just a spin

3 hour spin today followed by a whole lot of painting. The spin was good but I struggled to elevate my heart level. Not sure what the issue was, my cadence was on target but I was really stuck in zone 3.

I opted to bypass my third swim of the week on account of how much time I think I will spend in the pool rehabilitating my foot over the course of the next month.

Not sure what I am doing tomorrow. Definitely lifting weights and either swimming or running or a combination of both. I'd like to get in one final run before my layoff but it would be great to do so in temperatures and wind chills that don't make your skin freeze instantly.

A long run

After Wednesday, I will be on a running break. I'm getting my plantar fascitis taken care of via extra corporeal shock wave treatment--no running for a month or longer. I have no idea how I will survive, for certain I will be in the pool a lot, swimming and aqua-jogging. As a result, today I went for my longest run in a long time--nearly an hour. It was not horribly enjoyable or of that high quality but it felt great to be outside.

That was it for today which is unusual. I didn't get home until 2 am from Vegas so it was a rather abbreviated day given other commitments. Tomorrow, a long ride and a scurry to track down some crutches.

Another duathlon

Up at 4:30 and off to the pool. Working the flip turns and a bit of speed work today although the latter is really more a term of art. After the pool I hit the weight room. My knee is bothering me a bit, completely out of the blue, so I kept it all upper body.

Tomorrow, a day of rest in Lake Las Vegas.

A run

Up at 4:30, out for a cold and windy run. Who cares about the weather though wehn your body is feeling pretty good. Best run in quite a while, maybe the cold distracted my pain sensors.

Upon returning I did 30 minutes of yoga only mistakenly I did power yoga which involves balance. Shaky legs with not a great balance base to begin with, not a good mix. Tomorrow, back in the pool.

Flipping company

Up at 4:30, abs then in the pool by 5:30--back with the Masters at the Y. The group spends a little too much time kicking for me. I suffered a calf cramp and had to resort to pulling for a little while. After most everyone had left, I and a fellow swimmer spent 15 minutes practicing our flip turns. He is pretty good, I grew progressively worse as time went on proving once again that it is all mental.

Tomorrow, I think I'm up for a run with perhaps a tiny spin. It depends on the hour of awakening.

A tired trifecta

Pitiful training day. I probably did not get enough sleep and I have only myself to blame for that--stay up tpoo late. Headed out for a run. From the get go the sciatica was hurting from my buttocks down the back of my thigh. I can't even call it a run. I looked at my shadow and it was moving so slow, knees barely elevating...my strength at running seems a product of yesteryear.

After breakfast I headed to the gym to lift weights then jumped in the pool. I was incredibly lethargic in the pool and mid-way abandoned my plan for straight laps. Very frustrating.

Tomorrow, a spin or possibly a swim, not yet sure.

Sweet sweaty

There is nothing like soaking your shirt with sweat in the morning. It is such a cleansing process. On the bike for a 90 minute spin. Nothing too terribly high in the heart rate zone but the sweat was pouring out of me. I went through two water bottles which is a bit excessive for me in that time frame. Nonetheless, give the body what it needs.

Tomorrow, I think I will swim with the Masters. I haven't been to the Masters program at the Y in a while but I need a little something different.

Another stolen day

It's January--January. Typically when you think January you think cold, snow, running on a treadmill biking on your trainer. We stole another one today. 56 miles in 48-50 degree temperatures. It was very nice, a bit breezy in parts but otherwise a long, hilly ride on quiet roads. Well, quiet except for the very large arms fire. The Marines were out in force with some enormous weaponry that cause fog-like smoke and sent vibrations through your rib cage. A bit more startling then the small arms fire we have become accustomed to.

Tomorrow, a trifecta. A run, swim and time in the weight room.

Spinoga

Up at 4:45 today. This is going to be a long day, followed by a very short evening. Dread.

Today I hopped on the trainer for an hour then did 30 minutes of yoga--a brick workout that I call spinoga. It sounds like food, doesn't it. Now I am refreshed and calm. My focus for the remainder of the day, eat and drink well to prepare for the intense masters swim this evening. We should be home by 11 pm then I catch a 5:30 AM train to NJ for a 7 hour presentation. Oh joy, oh joy--don't envy me.

Flippin flip turns

Up at 4:30 today to ensure I had plenty of time in the weight room and a bit of time in the pool. Nothing serious in the pool, a quick 500 and then a bunch of 50's practicing flip turns. I'm hesitating once my feet are on the wall to help give me bearing. The first half were nearly perfect, toward the end I was getting too deep and popping up like toast. I'll get it but man is this taking some time.

Tomorrow, a bike and maybe a run if the weather stays warm. I don't want to head out on a run all sweaty from the bike if it is say 20 degrees. Tomorrow night it's back to the intense Masters swim class. No doubt the anxiety will be at full steam all day tomorrow.

An early brick

When I rose out of bed at 4:45 am today the temperature was a lovely 52 degrees. I did 50 minutes of high intensity work on the trainer and then headed out the door for a 30 minute run. A brick is such a cleansing ritual. The sweat, the endorphins, oh yes, and the hunger. The only thing I could think of while running was how hungry I was. All in all, a great workout. I was moving well on the run even if it didn't feel great--darn sciatica. I thank the weather Goddess for such a lovely day.

Underwater GPS

I'm working on my flip turns. I think I finally have risen to the point where I don't fear banging my head on the wall, I am no longer having air turns (ie. missing the wall entirely because I flipped too soon), and the pool water is no longer filling my head. That being said, my flip turns are still ugly. I need underwater GPS. Once today I ended up in an adjacent lane, twice when I pushed off I seemed to go at a 45 degree angle up--popping out of the pool like toast, and on another occasion I didn't know if up was down and down was up. I'm trying to hesitate a second before I push off the wall to be purposeful in my trajectory. While I await the day that this all becomes natural for now I can only ask, "no video, please."

Wasted one

Rats. Early morning rain deterred me from riding outdoors, well that and an appointment with a contractor. After 3.5 hours on the trainer, I stepped outdoors for the first time and realized that I let a beautiful riding day slip by. It's January and unnaturally warm. Let's hope there are one or two more days like today to help get me through to the spring.

A different kind of brick

Today I hopped on the trainer for an hour with a spinerval DVD as my companion. What a great workout, lots of zone 4. The sweat and heart rate were rocking.

Santa brought me Flexible Warrior, a yoga DVD for Christmas. I miss my Bikram yoga that I was able to maintain for a few months during my base building stage last year. Bikram takes 90 minutes and it was too difficult to continue it much past April of last year. This year, given my myriad injuries from the 2007 season, I have vowed to incorporate yoga into my training and I am going to try to keep it up all year. I think it will help prevent the overuse injuries I can't seem to stay clear of. Thus, today, I had my first 30 minute session and it was fabulous--it really stretched my very tight hips. My only complaint, our crazy dog insisted on sitting on me during corpse pose which is the resting phase of the workout, therefore interfering with my zen moment. Thanks, Asbury.

Tomorrow, a day of rest.

No resolutions here

I have no New Years resolution this year. No need to start working out or losing weight. Were it possible maybe I would want more hours in the day for sleeping.

I started the New Year with my first brick--a run then bike, reversed only for the weather. It is the time of year where you do not want to be outside with a sweaty head so I ran first. All felt pretty good, a bit of sciatic pain on the run but the indoor spin was fairly uneventful.

Tomorrow, I think I will swim but to be honest I have not decided. It would be nice to knock out my second swim of the week but I'm not sure I feel up to it. I studied YOU TUBE video on flip turns today, maybe this will provide some incentive.