Sunday, January 17, 2010

run/cycle/swim/lift updates

I'm working on getting my running mojo back a bit. Friday I had a short shake-out run/walk and Jake had suggested walking the dog. I took him up on it and the combination of having Trixie along, running in a different part of the day, and the warmer air put a spring back in my step that I had been missing. Trixie enjoyed it and I was reminded how incredibly good she is on the leash like that...at least until she sees a squirrel. It was a good prelude to the following day.

I had a 17-mile run scheduled for Saturday and decided I didn't want to drive out of the valley for it, so I ran a big loop from the house with the elevation profile below. There was a nice climb for about 3 miles up through Deercroft and Nellie's Cave that humbled me to a walk on a few occasions. I bounced back and kept going through town, around campus, past the gym, up Main Street, returning via Mt. Tabor and Happy Hollow. About two and a half hours later I arrived back home. Most of my miles averaged around 8:25ish, but I logged a 10 minute mile and 11 minute mile up that blasted mountain, which was not as bad as I thought. There's just nothing like the feeling of knowing you can cover some distance on your own two feet - hit the zone and just keep going.



Friday I had a cycling time trial on Jim's CompuTrainer. He hooked my bike into his stationary trainer, added some sensors and controls, and off I went, eyes affixed to a computer screen, racing a computer nemesis. I led for most of the 10 miles but thanks to an overly aggressive start on my part, computer man won the race. I will seek my revenge in a few months time. This is what I ended up with:

10 mile TT = 29:22
Average watts = 196
watts/kg = 3.42
mph= 20.4
average HR = 163
Max HR = 174
spm average = 87
calories = 339

Incidentally, I had a bit of a swimming time trial too earlier in the week. I did a 400 in 6:52 and a 200 in 3:17. That wasn't so great considering I did an 800 in 14:35 not too long ago. I think it was an off day or I psyched myself out.

In better news, I hit a 130 bench press with a pause today. So that's coming along!

I'm continuing to focus on eating clean, getting good rest, staying on top of work, and minimizing mental stress. For a while now I feel like I have not been recovering well I think in large part due to stress. I'm getting a handle on it again, finally. It's important that things are kept in good balance otherwise they can quickly get out of whack.