I'm back

I took off for a week in Las Vegas. It took my mind off everything going on with work and workouts. Today marked my "official" return to the sport!  Please, no autographs... 

I took a dedicated walk on the treadmill. Nothing fancy. I set it at 3.5-3.7mph at 1% incline. It was going well until the last 4 minutes. My leg just tightened up suddenly.  I can't even place why such a reaction would occur. I stopped, stretched, and did some ab work.  Tomorrow I'll try bike or swimming.

Oye Vey

I busted up my tendon running up the stairs to my apartment. Hmm.. do groceries really need to get in the fridge 10 seconds faster?  Oh well. Workouts are off limits until pain and inflammation subside (one or two weeks) the a walk to run program. It should take a month to get up to a mile, LOL...  DAMMIT!!!!!!! Just two weeks ago I was doing 3 miles with spring and vigor.  The tragedy is sinking in.. Oh well, story of my life.

Ready, Set, Restart!

I'm back into training!  Did walk/run intervals for 40 minutes with a 15minute warm up.  My left leg was stiff toward the end. Actually it had been stiff all weekend with furniture shopping and long drives. The stiffness starts mid hamstring to top of my calf.  I can feel it in the front of my shins too. Maybe I'm dehydrated? I'll track my food and water consumption for the week.

havinganicevacationweek

I hate to say it but this break from exercising has been good.  My nutrition this week has been excellent, and I survived the Friday junk frenzy. Following through with stretching was easy and actually was quite relaxing to perform just before bed. I restart on Monday. This weekend I'm traveling to Santa Barbara.

Pain, wtf??????????

I was doing so well, but I've developed a slight knee aggravation.  Looking at my training log I can trace it (maybe).

Dec 7th - 19th  I had pain because the bike intervals were too intense and the stationary bike didn't fit right.  I started riding my trek and this improved. I got the giant (I'm fitted for this bike) and pain gone. Although this was my IT band, not my patellar tendon.

Jan 15th Familiar pain under knee cap came back after hard running interval. I'd done the same workout two weeks prior, but had not run since.

Jan 25th Felt a tightness under knee cap during an easy job which is still around today.

I'm not so sure what to do.  I think I'll try to swim with the buoy and if I feel anything I'll give up workouts for the week and just do stretching and massages. Then ease back into the program. This is going to set me back big time.


I'm sad  :-(

Weekly Review: Screaming on the inside

I blew it nutrition wise. Someone dropped off birthday cake in my face during my lunch. I asked the guy to put it on the counter. He didn't... I guess I should have.  So instead I just smelled the German chocolaty goodness. The hens started filing in, raving about the flavors of this cake. I caved, my slice was larger than it needed to be. The next day I the hens were offering me donuts pretty forcefully. I ended up having two.. and an iced vanilla mocha... and two slices of pizza...  and six or seven animal cookies.  I came home and my gf said I smelled like cookies, so I made some hot chocolate to hide my multiple indiscretions.

I was getting fairly consistent with my workouts until my schedule change. Second shift is some kind of torture.  The guys working those hours are freaks. In addition, I was practicing my programming skills for a job interview. So I needed all the extra time I could get. Anyhow, I took several days off- some planned, some not planned. My body actually thanked me for it. I felt good returning to the bike after two days off.  I didn't get to the pool this week. Either I need to wake up earlier or its not going to happen.

Muddy Buddy

I lay awake at 3am envisioning myself on the dreadmill, bashing through another run. I couldn't commit and went back to sleep.  Its noon and the sun is kissing me awake. It was a rather welcoming change from the rain and wind (and apparently tornadoes).

I slipped on my tights and zipped out for a bike ride. I warmed up while heading to the trail head. It wasn't crowded today so I thought it perfect to try for a personal best.  Unfortunately it was super muddy. I was fishtailing through several sections. At one point the mud was too deep. I dismounted and hiked off the trail. Luckily I know the city. I made my way to turtle ridge which is less traveled and looped back home. I wasn't satisfied so I added an extra six miles down portola and back.

The highlight of the ride was during a left turn at an interction. I'm in traffic. I clip out my right foot, but didn't commit to a rightward lean. A leftward teeter begins... crap I can't get out... my right foot magically swung over the handle bar and kept me from totally falling. Super embarasing, but thankfully I didn't scratch the paint on my bike.

Distance: 31.92 miles
Time: 2 hours