Take care of yourself

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

I'm not hard core, just the perfect mix of obsessive and too dumb to know my limits.

I've always been able to commit to workouts. But this past year I finally started eating right. That's made a huge difference. I wish I had commited to that long ago. I realize now I spent years busting my ass in the gym getting nowhere, doing nothing more than making up for my shitty eating habits.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

That's good advice (and well-explained) BR. Thanks.

I always have trouble "easing" into anything fitness-related. My legs haven't been the same since my marathon (in '05).

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Happy New Year kids.

Here's to a healthier, happier and more fit you.

Today, I got my annual January 1 ride in. The temps were in the low-mid 30s, but I still managed to sneak 45 miles in over almost 3 hours in the saddle.

The bike was a little dirty, but we sure had fun

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Did a cyclocross race in the deep snow and ice yesterday. It was more a fun little thing than a heated competition because the trail conditions were nearly unrideable. The quads were burning for sure just trying to power through that muck. It was worse than trying to pedal through sand.

If you've never tried a cyclocross race, I'd recommend one just for fun next fall. It's basically a mixture of steeplechase (you have to get off the bike and hurdle barriers or climb steep inclines), mountain biking and road biking with knobby tires. Wild times for sure.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Good job, Idaho. That sounds somewhat fun (not sure about all the slop) and definitely a physical challenge.

Ran 1.25 miles today on the treadmill at 5.5 mph, which is significant for me since it's the farthest distance I've run without walking in between. My goal is to keep building up the distance and the speed so that when I do my next race, I'm able to run more of it and finish with a better time.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Thanks, Matt. I was in the 'Old and Slow' division -- Men's 35-plus C -- and placed sixth. The turnout was pretty small because of the weather, usually 50-75 of us in that division, but it was a blast and I'm glad I hardened up and raced.

Running can be a tough wall to break through. Keep it up, though. For now, don't worry about speed. Just add a quarter mile or a half mile per week and suddenly you'll be up to a 5K and won't think twice about it.

My coach has me scheduled for a bunch of running this week after a monster bike week last week. He tells me to pedal for 180 minutes (outside!) on New Year's Day and what does he do? Flies to Cancun for a week of R&R. His schedule for me last week was 17.25 hours of exercise and only two of those were weights - the rest was all cardio and bike/triathlon specific.

This time, it's an 'easy' week with only 11.5 hours of work to do.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

We've got some really nasty air quality in the area these days. The cold air sucks all the car exhaust, factory fumes, etc. to the ground and it's called an inversion. It gets so bad you can literally taste the air if it's been a week or more between storms that scrub the air clean for us.

That said, I opted to move my run today from the trails to the Olympic Oval where there is a running track around the ice skating surface. It's about 450 meters around instead of 400 meters so with a little math you can do a pretty good running workout without breathing the gunk in the outside air or doing the 0.1 mile laps in the gym.

Did a tempo workout for about 6.5 miles, but cooled down after my ankle started hurting. I came home, iced it and then tried to use the foam roller to massage the muscles -- the roller was the most intense localized pain I've felt in a long, long time.

I hope it's not something serious. Appointment with the sports med doc on Friday will tell me if I've actually got an injury or just need some orthotics in the right shoe to prevent a funky running stride

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

On Wednesdays I do a class at my gym called "Guts and buts."
It's mostly bodyweight circuits, but we also do some dumbbell stuff, run suicides and drag heavy bags. I felt like I was going to black out.
The guy who runs it played football at Arizona and coached at Richmond, so a lot of what we do is based on that experience.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Can you post the workout?

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

We started with a circuit of db squats, romanian deadlifts and overhead presses, 10 reps each four rounds.
Then suicide runs (similar to the basketball drill but in a smaller area) done for two or three minutes, alternating with an core circuit of 20 rainbows (windshield wipers or whatever you want to call them), 20 supermans, 20 situps, 20 hip thrusts and 20 russian twists (10 each side). Two sessions of suicides, two core circuits. We worked in groups of 3, so 1 guy ran, two rested during the suicides .
Then a dumbbell circuit of floor press, bent over row and 1-arm cleans, 4 circuits, 10 reps each
Finish with two timed circuits of band good mornings, planks, step-ups, heavy bag dragging, jump rope and mountain climbers, 45 seconds of work, 15 seconds between stations.
Each week is different, but that's what we did on Wednesday.

 

Re: Take care of yourself (LiveSTRONG)

Early disgnosis: Possible stress fracture on the tibia just above the knob on the inside of the right ankle.
Mood: depressed
Follow up: Radiologist/ortho to take closer look at x-rays, possible bone scans, etc. More accurate diagnosis in the next day or two
Treatment: Rest with no high-impact exercise (i.e. running or heavy climbs on the bike) for a minimum of three weeks.
Bad news: possible stress fracture and discontinued run training
Good news: I can still bike and swim as much as I want. Just have to lay off the heavy climbs
Mood: Not so depressed. Just want some warm weather so I can ride outside with fewer than three layers of clothes