It's December, I'm not greatly functional in December. So I have no idea what week I'm working on now.
Swimming is going well. Just after Thanksgiving, I did a timed 1000 and completed it in 31 minutes, which is roughly 1:35ish per 50. Not bad at all. Let's see...we're doing a lot of sprint work right now because we'll have two weeks off (the week of Christmas and the week of New Year's), so the idea is to build up some muscle before then because that'll last over the layoff better than endurance will. I will be swimming over those two weeks anyway, but I know I don't push myself as hard as I do during practice because no one's keeping me focused. But the sprinting is going all right- I did a 50 in 1:02 last week, which is darn near close to my race pace from high school (my PR is 48.47. I was generally in the mid/high 50s). It's really hard for me, though, and I've yet to complete an entire workout without needing a time out. We found the exercise induced asthma wall and it's when you ask me to sprint multiple 100s in a short period of time.
Running has gone less well. 10 minutes straight seems to be some kind of limit. I'm thinking it may not be a hard limit- that I can get beyond it- but right now, I don't seem to be able to. So, I switched things up because I was frustrated and bored. I modified the Couch to 5K plan slightly to be a 2x a week plan (which stretches it out past 9 weeks to 12 weeks) and it turns out that yes, I can in fact do the first workout of the plan now, without a problem at all. Which would not have been the case back in August, so hey, I've definitely made progress. So, I'll play with that for awhile and see where I get.
And let's not discuss cycling. Because, yeah. I gotta get on that.
Okay, I need to get myself to bed because 6 am swimming comes awful early in the morning...
Showing posts with label bike. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bike. Show all posts
Monday, December 10, 2012
Monday, November 19, 2012
Week 14
So, last week, I had intentions of making all 5 workouts last week. That...did not happen. I was exhausted on Wednesday night, so when I weighed getting an extra hour of sleep vs. going running in the morning (since I was working, it was 6:30 am or nothing), the extra hour of sleep won. And then when I thought about going spinning on Friday morning and then needing to sit at a desk for 8 hours, I thought that maybe was not my smartest idea. But I made both swimming practices and running on Tuesday. I only managed to run for 8 minutes instead of 10, but that's okay.
This week, I technically don't have swim practice, but I'll be swimming anyway on my own. And I'll definitely go running on Tuesday and probably on Thursday- we're pretty low key around here for the holiday itself. I will not be spinning on Friday, because the gym is part of an open air mall and you cannot pay me enough to go anywhere near there on the day after Thanksgiving, thank you very much.
Have a happy Thanksgiving! Eat good things!
This week, I technically don't have swim practice, but I'll be swimming anyway on my own. And I'll definitely go running on Tuesday and probably on Thursday- we're pretty low key around here for the holiday itself. I will not be spinning on Friday, because the gym is part of an open air mall and you cannot pay me enough to go anywhere near there on the day after Thanksgiving, thank you very much.
Have a happy Thanksgiving! Eat good things!
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Weeks 11, 12 and 13
Fear not! I have not given up on things! I just sort of slacked off on the documentation. So, let's see what I can recreate here.
Week 11: I talked with my swim coach and we decided that even though I *can* do a 50 in about 1:20-1:30, dropping the base time to less than 1:40 isn't feasible at the moment, given how incredibly exhausted I was after attempting it. So, we're staying at 1:40 until that gets really easy (I'm estimating somewhere around Christmas at this point) and then we'll see about 1:30. Also, I ran for 10 minutes! All at once! Without stopping. Woo!
Week 12: Three months! I rock. I was also the only person at swim practice on Monday, which was kind of nice because it meant that we did something that was on my personal pace for once (I'm about the slowest regular who comes, so I'm always the last one done with anything). Unfortunately, circumstances conspired to keep me off the treadmill, so I didn't get my running in, but I did hit up my first spinning class. Let me tell you, spinning uses completely different muscles than running or swimming. And those seats are ridiculously hard, even with padded shorts. Ow. The undercarriage was less than thrilled with me for several days. Also, I need to ignore the bike adjustment instructions and adjust the seat slightly higher than it seems like I should, because otherwise my knees get extremely cranky.
Week 13: I did my Monday swimming on my own because I was working the polls on Tuesday. I'm getting better with the flip turns. And if I can manage to stretch out my breathing rhythm a bit, I think I'll be a happier person. Tuesday, I was awake for 22 hours and on my feet for about 16 of those hours, so yeah, there was no additional training going on. But, I did it, and I wasn't in nearly as much pain as I expected to be in, so apparently, all this work has been good for something :o) Then, Wednesday, I went to practice, where we did a sprint 100 for time at the end and I came in at around 2:52, which is not terrible (if we'd done it first, as opposed to after having done 6 100s previous, then, um, I might have done better. I might have also done better if I hadn't been recovering from Tuesday. Swimming Wednesday was kind of a pain in the tail). I gave myself a break on Thursday because I started another temp gig and that was the first day and I would have had to go run in the morning and I was still tired and that just wasn't happening. Friday, I intended to go spinning, but had a smashing headache by the time I left work, so I just came home and slept.
This coming week, I intend to hit every workout. That hasn't happened in several weeks now, maybe about a month. I don't feel badly about this- I certainly don't feel like I've lost any fitness or ability by getting the extra rest. But I want to see how it goes with all the scheduled workouts for a few weeks. If I start getting exhausted again, then I'll rejigger the schedule. At this point, I'm pretty unconcerned about being able to do any of the events in the triathlon individually- I can definitely swim for 10 minutes straight and I can definitely at least walk 20 minutes, and spinning class was an hour and I did reasonably well enough cycling for an hour that I think I'd be fine going for 30 minutes. But all on one day still seems kind of a stretch, which is perfectly fine at this point- I've got about 6 months to go, after all. I mean, everything is getting easier to some extent. I just still get tired afterwards. So, we'll see.
Week 11: I talked with my swim coach and we decided that even though I *can* do a 50 in about 1:20-1:30, dropping the base time to less than 1:40 isn't feasible at the moment, given how incredibly exhausted I was after attempting it. So, we're staying at 1:40 until that gets really easy (I'm estimating somewhere around Christmas at this point) and then we'll see about 1:30. Also, I ran for 10 minutes! All at once! Without stopping. Woo!
Week 12: Three months! I rock. I was also the only person at swim practice on Monday, which was kind of nice because it meant that we did something that was on my personal pace for once (I'm about the slowest regular who comes, so I'm always the last one done with anything). Unfortunately, circumstances conspired to keep me off the treadmill, so I didn't get my running in, but I did hit up my first spinning class. Let me tell you, spinning uses completely different muscles than running or swimming. And those seats are ridiculously hard, even with padded shorts. Ow. The undercarriage was less than thrilled with me for several days. Also, I need to ignore the bike adjustment instructions and adjust the seat slightly higher than it seems like I should, because otherwise my knees get extremely cranky.
Week 13: I did my Monday swimming on my own because I was working the polls on Tuesday. I'm getting better with the flip turns. And if I can manage to stretch out my breathing rhythm a bit, I think I'll be a happier person. Tuesday, I was awake for 22 hours and on my feet for about 16 of those hours, so yeah, there was no additional training going on. But, I did it, and I wasn't in nearly as much pain as I expected to be in, so apparently, all this work has been good for something :o) Then, Wednesday, I went to practice, where we did a sprint 100 for time at the end and I came in at around 2:52, which is not terrible (if we'd done it first, as opposed to after having done 6 100s previous, then, um, I might have done better. I might have also done better if I hadn't been recovering from Tuesday. Swimming Wednesday was kind of a pain in the tail). I gave myself a break on Thursday because I started another temp gig and that was the first day and I would have had to go run in the morning and I was still tired and that just wasn't happening. Friday, I intended to go spinning, but had a smashing headache by the time I left work, so I just came home and slept.
This coming week, I intend to hit every workout. That hasn't happened in several weeks now, maybe about a month. I don't feel badly about this- I certainly don't feel like I've lost any fitness or ability by getting the extra rest. But I want to see how it goes with all the scheduled workouts for a few weeks. If I start getting exhausted again, then I'll rejigger the schedule. At this point, I'm pretty unconcerned about being able to do any of the events in the triathlon individually- I can definitely swim for 10 minutes straight and I can definitely at least walk 20 minutes, and spinning class was an hour and I did reasonably well enough cycling for an hour that I think I'd be fine going for 30 minutes. But all on one day still seems kind of a stretch, which is perfectly fine at this point- I've got about 6 months to go, after all. I mean, everything is getting easier to some extent. I just still get tired afterwards. So, we'll see.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Day 23: 20 Minute Bike
I don't know, is the counting days thing getting old? I sort of feel like it is. But at the same time, look at that, 23 days and I've only completely missed one workout (last Friday- I was supposed to go swim, but I was exhausted and forgot my stuff in the morning before work and just came home and crashed).
Today was 20 minutes of biking, and apparently muscle memory extends to my dupke, because it was much less painful today than it was last week. I used to do a fair amount of bike riding a few years ago when I lived in Yellow Springs (everyone does a fair amount of bike riding in Yellow Springs), but I haven't done any since moving away from there. My apartment in Cleveland was a third floor walkup and there wasn't anywhere to put my bike, so I didn't take it with me. And this summer was so icky and my bike needs some work, so I didn't do any riding this summer. I'm still getting a pair of padded bike shorts, but this is going better than I expected.
I also did some preliminary shoe hunting today. I was going to just borrow my mom's Merrills, because I did one day and they were much more comfortable than my shoes. Except, well, Mom's feet are a 9.5 and mine are closer to an 8. Now, I usually wind up with an 8.5 in running shoes, but that's still a size larger. So, my feet were just rattling around in them today when I wore them all day. I'm guessing it wasn't an issue the other day, because I only wore them for about an hour at the most. But it would probably not be safe for me to attempt to run in these shoes, because I was tripping just walking in them. So, I hit up Famous Footwear this evening to try some shoes. I tried a pair of New Balance shoes, since the running shoes I've liked the best were New Balance, but they didn't feel like they had a lot of cushioning and from what I've been reading, cushioning is what I really want to be looking for in a shoe. I have very, very high arches and I walk on the outsides of my feet, so I don't need a motion control shoe (which is for people whose feet roll inward when they walk/run). So, I need a neutral shoe with cushioning. Then, I tried on a pair of Saucony shoes that had much more cushion to them, but I wasn't sure they were the right kind of shoe, because it didn't say so on the box. So I took a photo of the box and came home to check the internet. Turns out that, yes, they are the right kind of shoe. However, the 8.5 didn't have enough room between my toes and the end of the shoe (they must run crazy small. Seriously, my left foot measures at a tiny bit more than a 7.5. There should be no way an 8.5 is too short), and they didn't have a 9. So, tomorrow, I'll be trying a different store, and maybe a couple other pairs of shoes to be sure.
Today was 20 minutes of biking, and apparently muscle memory extends to my dupke, because it was much less painful today than it was last week. I used to do a fair amount of bike riding a few years ago when I lived in Yellow Springs (everyone does a fair amount of bike riding in Yellow Springs), but I haven't done any since moving away from there. My apartment in Cleveland was a third floor walkup and there wasn't anywhere to put my bike, so I didn't take it with me. And this summer was so icky and my bike needs some work, so I didn't do any riding this summer. I'm still getting a pair of padded bike shorts, but this is going better than I expected.
I also did some preliminary shoe hunting today. I was going to just borrow my mom's Merrills, because I did one day and they were much more comfortable than my shoes. Except, well, Mom's feet are a 9.5 and mine are closer to an 8. Now, I usually wind up with an 8.5 in running shoes, but that's still a size larger. So, my feet were just rattling around in them today when I wore them all day. I'm guessing it wasn't an issue the other day, because I only wore them for about an hour at the most. But it would probably not be safe for me to attempt to run in these shoes, because I was tripping just walking in them. So, I hit up Famous Footwear this evening to try some shoes. I tried a pair of New Balance shoes, since the running shoes I've liked the best were New Balance, but they didn't feel like they had a lot of cushioning and from what I've been reading, cushioning is what I really want to be looking for in a shoe. I have very, very high arches and I walk on the outsides of my feet, so I don't need a motion control shoe (which is for people whose feet roll inward when they walk/run). So, I need a neutral shoe with cushioning. Then, I tried on a pair of Saucony shoes that had much more cushion to them, but I wasn't sure they were the right kind of shoe, because it didn't say so on the box. So I took a photo of the box and came home to check the internet. Turns out that, yes, they are the right kind of shoe. However, the 8.5 didn't have enough room between my toes and the end of the shoe (they must run crazy small. Seriously, my left foot measures at a tiny bit more than a 7.5. There should be no way an 8.5 is too short), and they didn't have a 9. So, tomorrow, I'll be trying a different store, and maybe a couple other pairs of shoes to be sure.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Day 16: 20 Minute Bike
Today I discovered that stationary bike seats can be really uncomfortable. My legs and lungs could have gone for quite a while more, but my dupke was like, "yeah, we're done". We shall add padded bike shorts to the list of things I would really like to get sooner rather than later.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Day 11: 15 minute bike/ Training Plan Update
Wait, what? Wasn't I supposed to be walking today? Yeah, well, I had one of those days where I looked at what I was supposed to be doing today and said, "I don't wanna". So, when I looked at the email from Google Calendar that said "Walk 15 min", I hemmed and hawed and delayed until I thought, "wait, I could ride the bikes instead of walking." That was more palatable, so I did it.
I also did some thinking and poking at the Training Plan, given what I thought about yesterday. I don't want to go over 5 days of training a week, but I think I need more than one swimming day a week and some additional strength training. So, given that I decided that being able to do the swim without stopping is a more important goal than being able to run the entire 20 minutes, I'm knocking the walk/run plan down to twice a week, instead of three times a week. Right now, the current plan looks like this:
Now to the end of September: October to March:
Monday- walk/run Monday- walk/run
Tuesday- walk/run Tuesday- swim
Wednesday- swim lessons Wednesday- walk/run
Thursday- rest day Thursday- bike
Friday- walk/run Friday- walk/run
The new plan looks like this:
Now to the end of September: October to March:
Monday- walk/run Monday- walk/run
Tuesday- bike/strength training Tuesday- swim
Wednesday- swim lessons Wednesday- walk/run
Thursday- walk/run Thursday- swim
Friday- swim Friday- bike/strength training
It is, of course, subject to change, depending on how things work out. I may do a spinning class once a week for the bike training, and that might rearrange the days things happen depending on how the class fits into my schedule (they have many classes a week, it shouldn't be too hard to find one that works). And yeah, I know, there should probably be 2 strength training sessions a week, but let's start with one.
I'm taking the advice of my cousin Lori, who suggested that there may be yoga based exercises that would work (since I really do dislike weight lifting). A little Google-fu later, and I came across this set of shoulder exercises and this video to try out. I'll start there and see how that goes. If not, then I'll start looking at more traditional methods.
I also did some thinking and poking at the Training Plan, given what I thought about yesterday. I don't want to go over 5 days of training a week, but I think I need more than one swimming day a week and some additional strength training. So, given that I decided that being able to do the swim without stopping is a more important goal than being able to run the entire 20 minutes, I'm knocking the walk/run plan down to twice a week, instead of three times a week. Right now, the current plan looks like this:
Now to the end of September: October to March:
Monday- walk/run Monday- walk/run
Tuesday- walk/run Tuesday- swim
Wednesday- swim lessons Wednesday- walk/run
Thursday- rest day Thursday- bike
Friday- walk/run Friday- walk/run
The new plan looks like this:
Now to the end of September: October to March:
Monday- walk/run Monday- walk/run
Tuesday- bike/strength training Tuesday- swim
Wednesday- swim lessons Wednesday- walk/run
Thursday- walk/run Thursday- swim
Friday- swim Friday- bike/strength training
It is, of course, subject to change, depending on how things work out. I may do a spinning class once a week for the bike training, and that might rearrange the days things happen depending on how the class fits into my schedule (they have many classes a week, it shouldn't be too hard to find one that works). And yeah, I know, there should probably be 2 strength training sessions a week, but let's start with one.
I'm taking the advice of my cousin Lori, who suggested that there may be yoga based exercises that would work (since I really do dislike weight lifting). A little Google-fu later, and I came across this set of shoulder exercises and this video to try out. I'll start there and see how that goes. If not, then I'll start looking at more traditional methods.
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