2:15 elliptical
My first bout with the elliptical. After 10 minutes getting used to the machine, I just did a "quick" 60 minutes. I took a brief intermission (bathroom break) then hopped back on for 60 minutes of intervals. Closed it out with a 5 minute warm down in reverse. Throughout the workout, I used the on-board heart rate monitor. My high was 147 and the average was only 121. Who knows ...?
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
60 min. water running
ladder
10 min. WU
1-2-3-4-5-5-4-3-2-1 min. hard w/1 min.easy
10 min. CD
Thoughts ...
I'm sure these water running workouts are better than staying in bed but not as good as a road running workout. Trouble is that I have no idea where they fall on the spectrum. Is it the equivalent of taking a walk around the block? Or more like a good "base run". I have no idea! And that's frustrating.
Each morning last week upon waking my calf was noticeably improved over the previous day. That progression seems to have slowed dramatically this week. I may be sitting on a healing plateau, if there is such a thing.
It's not time yet but probably just around the corner for me to consider revising my goals for Boston. After missing tomorrow's long run, I will have lost 6 key workouts right in the heart of my training. This can only hurt my performance on race day.
ladder
10 min. WU
1-2-3-4-5-5-4-3-2-1 min. hard w/1 min.easy
10 min. CD
Thoughts ...
I'm sure these water running workouts are better than staying in bed but not as good as a road running workout. Trouble is that I have no idea where they fall on the spectrum. Is it the equivalent of taking a walk around the block? Or more like a good "base run". I have no idea! And that's frustrating.
Each morning last week upon waking my calf was noticeably improved over the previous day. That progression seems to have slowed dramatically this week. I may be sitting on a healing plateau, if there is such a thing.
It's not time yet but probably just around the corner for me to consider revising my goals for Boston. After missing tomorrow's long run, I will have lost 6 key workouts right in the heart of my training. This can only hurt my performance on race day.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
OBJECTIVE
test injured left calf up to 6 mi. (very easy)
ACHIEVED
1.12 mi.@ 9:06
In a surprise to no one, I ventured out to test my left calf ... too early. I could have kept going but it was clear that it's still weak and healing. Decided the risk outweighed any potential benefit and shut it down.
(It was nice to be outside and on my feet again ... if only for a few minutes ....)
PRE RUN
weight = 164.5
POST RUN
water, multivitamin & oatmeal w/brown sugar & 1% milk
test injured left calf up to 6 mi. (very easy)
ACHIEVED
1.12 mi.@ 9:06
In a surprise to no one, I ventured out to test my left calf ... too early. I could have kept going but it was clear that it's still weak and healing. Decided the risk outweighed any potential benefit and shut it down.
(It was nice to be outside and on my feet again ... if only for a few minutes ....)
PRE RUN
weight = 164.5
POST RUN
water, multivitamin & oatmeal w/brown sugar & 1% milk
Monday, February 8, 2010
60 min. water running
10 min. WU
Ladder 1-2-3-4-5-5-4-3-2-1 min. hard each followed by 1 min. easy
Water is something like 800 times as dense as air. This quality results in a few things when it comes to water running versus running.
First, the pressure put on the body by the water increases the volume of blood returning to the heart. This allows the heart to pump more blood with each beat. Essentially it's a forced efficiency. The net result is that the heart doesn't have to work as hard even though it is under the exact same "work conditions". This partially explains why I've felt like water running is "easy".
Second, an efficient number of strides per minute on land is 180 strides per minute (elite marathoners will hit around 192). However, the density of the water makes turnover more difficult. I've read that 180 on land equates to about 160 in the water.
Third, the body's natural buoyancy seems to make certain aspects of water running easier. This is just my observation and I don't really know how to explain it much better than that.
The quality of today's workout was better than the prior two workouts. The ladder workout out pretty good. And I focused on keeping my stride count at 160 per minute. I didn't find this to be hugely difficult physically although I was pushing harder than I usually have in the pool. I did find it very challenging mentally. I kept finding myself slipping back into a state of "going through the motions". I'll continue to work on it.
My calf continues to improve. I was imagining getting back out on the road ... maybe sometime this week. As I walked to the car from the pool, I was reminded that it's still too early. The soreness in my calf seems to have "moved". Instead of being squarely in the center of my calf, the focal point is now on the outer edge of the mid-calf. I find this interesting. I'm wondering if this is where the "real" injury is and it's just the last to fully heal. An unrelated theory is that the massage therapist bruised it on Friday .... Who knows?
10 min. WU
Ladder 1-2-3-4-5-5-4-3-2-1 min. hard each followed by 1 min. easy
Water is something like 800 times as dense as air. This quality results in a few things when it comes to water running versus running.
First, the pressure put on the body by the water increases the volume of blood returning to the heart. This allows the heart to pump more blood with each beat. Essentially it's a forced efficiency. The net result is that the heart doesn't have to work as hard even though it is under the exact same "work conditions". This partially explains why I've felt like water running is "easy".
Second, an efficient number of strides per minute on land is 180 strides per minute (elite marathoners will hit around 192). However, the density of the water makes turnover more difficult. I've read that 180 on land equates to about 160 in the water.
Third, the body's natural buoyancy seems to make certain aspects of water running easier. This is just my observation and I don't really know how to explain it much better than that.
The quality of today's workout was better than the prior two workouts. The ladder workout out pretty good. And I focused on keeping my stride count at 160 per minute. I didn't find this to be hugely difficult physically although I was pushing harder than I usually have in the pool. I did find it very challenging mentally. I kept finding myself slipping back into a state of "going through the motions". I'll continue to work on it.
My calf continues to improve. I was imagining getting back out on the road ... maybe sometime this week. As I walked to the car from the pool, I was reminded that it's still too early. The soreness in my calf seems to have "moved". Instead of being squarely in the center of my calf, the focal point is now on the outer edge of the mid-calf. I find this interesting. I'm wondering if this is where the "real" injury is and it's just the last to fully heal. An unrelated theory is that the massage therapist bruised it on Friday .... Who knows?
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