Mixing it Up.
Truthfully, this should be a big mileage week for me. The thought of warmer weather and being on vacation makes me think about all of these solid workouts I could potentially do. My body is telling me something else. Not being one to sit around, I think it's really important for me to mix it up with some biking, running, strength work, activities with Lulu, and maybe even a pool session. While it is never fun to be hurt or injured, I am motivated about doing my first triathlon this summer and know that my swimming and biking skills need work. Here is my opportunity..
Sunday, April 14th
Light 4 mile loop with Gazelle and Lulu from my house. This was Gazelle's final shakeout before he puts on a show in Boston. He looked fresh and ready to go. Based off of his current conditioning and a nice forecast, I think he is going to have a great race tomorrow. As for me, I was just happy to run. I had some leg tightness but nothing major. Nice run.
-Followed the run up with 20 minutes of yoga back bends, which felt really nice.
Monday, April 15th
Tree cutting in my yard followed by a1 hour bike ride on the hybrid.
Marathon Monday
Upon waking up, I immediately logged onto the Boston Athletic Association website to sign up for some Gazelle Tracking on my mobile phone. Since I had some serious yard work to complete, I knew that phone tracking was my best bet. Having watched Jeff run strong through winter and this spring, I knew he was going to have a big race in Boston. As Jeff's split updates came in on my phone, it looked liked things were going exactly as he planned. The final athlete tracker update listed Jeff as finishing the race in 2:56:16 (6:43 p/mile). Quite an impressive performance and a PR!!
Later in the afternoon things dramatically changed for the worse. Reports came in that two explosions occurred right near the finish line that seriously injured a large amount of people. The explosions were later to be determined to me bombs and the city went into mayhem. Through the rest of the night and beyond, details of the explosions and personal stories were shared through the news media. While I feel fortunate to not personally know anyone impacted by the bombing, I found that a college teammate of mine coached the little 8 year old boy who passed away in youth track. I still have a hard time believing that someone could do such an evil and horrific thing to completely innocent people. A bad day at a race usually ends up with an injury or DNF, but certainly not a terrorist attack. My heart goes out to all of those who have been impacted by this tragedy. The Boston Marathon and running world are stronger than this and will carry on.
Tuesday, April 16th
4 mile Weekapaug Loop (6:24 p/mile).
Weather was really nice.
My body was tight, but better than it has been over the last couple of runs. I tried on a brand new pair of Asics Gel 1170s and they felt great. I'm hopeful that the new sneakers might help me out a bit. I did some post run stretching and rolling. I tried this IT Rehab Routine but wasn't in love with it.
Wednesday, April 17th
1. 5k run with Lulu in 20:50..I let her set the pace..the run was a series of sprints and jogs..it was actually really fun. On a positive note, my leg was in decent shape. I had some tightness/soreness, but can't complain about my progress. I did some quick foam roll post run.
2. Biking with Gazelle (approx. 60 minutes including rides to and from Jeff's).
As Jeff recovers from his outstanding Boston effort, we decided to jump on the bikes and start working towards triathlon season. Being a newbie, I eat up whatever kind of information Jeff can offer me. We planned an easier spin through the roads of Misquamicut while we discussed the marathon, cycling, and triathlons. Unfortunately, Jeff's bike was giving him a really difficult time and he had to make three changes to a flat. While he was making the changes, I tried to pay close attention since I've never changed a bike tire before. After the third flat, we figured out the bike's tire was the real issue. It's never fun to have a flat, but if you are going to get one, today would have been the ideal day to get it. I'm looking forward to future rides, swims, and runs before tackling BI.
Thursday, April 18th
6+ miles through Weekapaug with Muddy on another beautiful spring morning. Had fun chatting it up about running and annoying injuries. I felt good throughout the run until the last mile or so when I began to tighten up. I really can't complain though, I was able to run three in a row. Time to take an off day tomorrow. Loving this awesome weather and April Break!
Friday, April 19th
a.m. 16 mile bike ride with Gazelle through Weekapaug, Misquamicut, and Watch Hill. It was fun cruising the local roads at a faster pace. It was foggy throughout the ride this morning, but still comfortable out. I haven't spend this much time on a bike since I was a kid. Need to find a way to keep it up once April Break ends!
p.m. IT Band Rehab Routine, followed by push-ups and light core work.
Saturday, April 20th
a.m. I woke to pouring rain this morning and had a planned run with the guys (Gazelle, Muddy, & Crutch) starting at 7 am. If these guys were anybody else, I'd be concerned about them canceling on me. But not these guys..I didn't check my phone for the "cancel" text because I know they love this stuff just as much as I do.. We then proceeded on a 8 mile scramble at a relaxed pace in Woody Hill and Wahanetta trails. Right around 6 miles, my left upper calf and quad area tightened up as expected. Besides the tightness, this was an awesome run!
p.m. 15 minutes of Aqua Jogging with Gazelle as we were waiting to lap swim. I haven't aqua jogged in years and did not remember that it is a pretty strenuous activity. We then hit the pool and did a series of laps totaling I think somewhere around 700 yds. We did a few of the following sequences ( warmup, 200 yd, 100 yd, 50 yd, drills, warmdown). My arms were spent by the end of this one. I also finally got a Y pass...now I have to get swimming!
Synopsis:
The Good: time on the bike, variety of training, improved weather, fun training runs, and my motivation level is high.
The Ugly: IT Band/leg issues, low mileage, poor form on bike and in the pool.
Totals:
Mileage: 25
Lulu: 7
Core/Stretch/Strength: 1:20 minutes
Bike: 3 hours
Swim: 1
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