30 November 2013

hot yoga

After Thursday's jog and yesterday's aborted stair workout it seemed prudent to not push it. Breathe Hot Yoga to the rescue.

I am not sleeping well. My brain is way too busy at night.
Sleep 5
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day 9:00 AM
Workout Type
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Course
Results
Time 60 min
Distance
Pace
Equipment
Clothing
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29 November 2013

Howe Street stairs

Originally I was thinking I'd like to join TNAB for their annual Turkey Burner hike. I posed this plan to Shelley and she gave me 'the look' and I have to say she was right. I tend to push too much too soon and this would have been a disaster in hindsight.

So I opted for a workout that would let me bail at any time. I was hoping to log one hour today but my knee would not cooperate so I pulled the plug and went home. I'm probably being overly optimistic about what my IT band is capable of. As usual.

Great morning though, not too cold and dry and peaceful.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food large bottle w/2 scoops HEED
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 8:20 AM
Workout Type  
Weather low 40s, dry, calm
Course Howe Street stairs
Results  
Time 28:15
Distance 1.2 miles (7 flights)
Pace  
Equipment Brooks Launch, Garmin Fenix
Clothing Brooks 5" Essential Run Short, Brooks Podium LS shirt, Brooks Podium SS shirt

28 November 2013

Lake WA Blvd walk/jog/walk

Last year around this time I was getting ready to pace my sister at the Seattle Marathon. Even just one month ago I still held out hope that I would be able to do it again but unfortunately this year things are different.

My sister and her husband are spending a few days with us for the holiday and for my father's birthday which is pretty cool. It seems like we don't see Lucca much. This afternoon she wanted to get in a short shakedown run and I impulsively joined her. She was just heading down Lake WA Blvd and back so I figured I could bag running and walk if my knee started to hurt.

Well it didn't hurt. And I actually jogged for about 2.5 miles at a 9:10 pace. And when we did meet her husband on the way back and started walking it kept on not hurting. I was so elated I took them on a detour up some stairs and through a park on the way home. Still no hurting.

That isn't to say I couldn't feel my knee, but I'm positive I did not overdo it today. Never has running at 9:10 felt so good and made me so happy.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food  
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 12:30 PM
Workout Type  
Weather mid 40s, dry, calm
Course  
Results  
Time 1:05
Distance 5 miles
Pace  
Equipment Brooks Launch, Garmin Fenix
Clothing  

27 November 2013

core | walk home from bus stop

Core workouts are starting to feel good again! As in I am getting a little stronger.

My knee felt totally fine walking home today. Nice. I also got off work a bit early due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Not a bad day. Did I mention it wasn't raining? Oh yeah.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight 6:15 AM - 181 lb.
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day core - 5:30 AM
walk - 4:00 PM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course
plank 4 min, 2 min each side w/3 x 20 sec leg lifts each side
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
back extensions 3 x 40
hip raisers 60
fire hydrants 40 each side
side leg lifts 60 each side
clam knee lifts 60 each side
roman chair leg lifts 20
push-ups 14/14/14
wobble disk 2 min each leg
Results  
Time core - 45 min
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment walk - Garmin Fenix
Clothing  

26 November 2013

Howe Street stairs | hot yoga | walk home from bus stop

Okay, believe me when I tell you that stairs are hard as hell when you do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE ALL WEEK. I was wicked winded today. Come to think of it, the only aerobic workout I have done in the last three weeks is two sessions on these stairs. Ouch.

Today I walked three (because I was scared that more would be too much for my knee) flights on my own and then connected with Jim Kodjababian for seven more alternation waling with running.

I was prepared for the worst but my knee/IT band survived. I do feel like I am totally and aimlessly treading water though and need some direction for a recovery. Hopefully soon.

on the bright side my knee felt good all day at work and also while walking home from the bus.
I started the stairs with gloves and a hat but they lasted right up to the first runner and then they came off. It really did not feel that cold.

Yoga was a bit of a shock to the system as I have not practiced in a while but I took it easy and the routine was new/fun/challenging so good stuff.

Sleep 5
Waking HR
Body Weight 7:15 AM - 184 lb.
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food water
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day stairs - 5:45 AM
yoga - 5:45 PM
walk - 7:15 PM
Workout Type
Weather mid 30s, dry, calm
Course stairs - Howe Street
Results
Time stairs - 46:24
yoga - 60 min
Distance stairs - 1.8 miles (10 flights)
Pace
Equipment stairs - Brooks Launch, Garmin Fenix
walk - Garmin Fenix
Clothing stairs - Brooks 5" Essential Run Short, Brooks Podium LS shirt, Brooks Podium SS shirt

25 November 2013

core

After a few days of doing nothing and moping around I managed to get to the gym this morning. It's slowly dawning on my that doing anything, even if I can't do the activities that I would if I was healthy, is better than doing nothing. But damn, it is a s l o w dawning.

My cold is pretty much gone now. Whew.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight 6:15 AM - 182 lb.
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 5:30 AM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course
plank 4 min, 2 min each side w/3 x 20 sec leg lifts each side
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
back extensions 3 x 40
hip raisers 60
fire hydrants 40 each side
side leg lifts 60 each side
clam knee lifts 50 each side
roman chair leg lifts 20
push-ups 14/14/14
wobble disk 2 min each leg
Results  
Time 45 min
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment  
Clothing  

22 November 2013

walk home from bus stop

I must admit I do think it's pretty humorous that I am posting one mile walks in a training diary that ostensibly is for an endurance athlete. Just over three months ago a 10 mile run was a 'short' run and now I feel like a contestant on The Biggest Loser or something where the challenge is just to do anything active on a regular basis. No, I don't feel fat but yes, my self-esteem is low.

Sleep  
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Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 5:30 PM
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Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment Garmin Fenix
Clothing  

Anna Frost says it better than I can

As I struggle with my worst injury to date I am finding that EVERYTHING is affected.

It isn't just my self-esteem, it's my relationship with my wife, my ability to have fun doing other stuff, my attitude toward food, even my ability to watch others do something athletic or to read the online training diaries and blogs I used to frequent. Even uploading my (pitiful compared to what I used to do) workouts to athletic social networks and online training diaries is hard as I can see what I used to do and what others are doing. It's been shocking really how much I identify as an 'athlete' and how un-whole I feel when I can't live up to that self-imposed standard.

Today I read a blog post by a friend and fellow Seattle Running Club member.

The post itself was good and evoked some personal memories that relate to this subject but the post also contained a video by Anna Frost.



Wow.

She was talking about me. And her mental evolution was light years ahead of mine.

During these last three months since my injury I have waffled between being mildly depressed, angry, sad and feeling like a teenage girl with an eating disorder. Not to mention drinking a bit more alcohol than I did when I was more active. I have come so far in running in a relatively short amount of time and it's such a new and exciting part of my life and there are still so many things (read: runs) that I want to experience.

Watching this video made me realize the following.

  • I'm pretty selfish.
  • Some cliches like, "you can't fully appreciate what you have until it's gone" are true.
  • There is hope.
  • There is a lot of other stuff to appreciate besides running and I have blinders on.
There are so many quotes from this video that struck a chord!

"Maybe home is just a collection of memories."
"You can lose sight of what you are or who you are."
"I'm missing the things that home has to offer."
"Running was who I was."
"Running is really, just running."
"If you get disappointed by running, then, it's not running that you are actually disappointed in, it's yourself."
"You have to love who you are, because that's what you've got. That's all you've got."

[Pause while Martin reaches for a tissue...]

Seriously, this shit hit home.

Granted Anna was not talking about my specific situation but a light went on for sure. Will I be able to deal with this as maturely as Anna? Hopefully... in time. IT IS NOT EASY WHEN YOU CAN'T DO THE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO.

Of course I have objective moments when I try to put my 1st world problems into perspective but so far that has just been an intellectual exercise and my logical conclusions from these exercises have not been sticking.

This video was pretty inspirational. And for a change it was not the kind of inspiration that makes me want to try more or harder running events. Here's hoping I am not too old or stubborn to learn another valuable life lesson.

21 November 2013

core

Made it to the gym again and my cold is improving even more. Whew, not sure why I get hit so hard with these annual colds but I'm glad I'm getting better.

I tried to keep ALL walking to a minimum today. My left knee is still sore. My knee is to the point where I have stopped doing my leg extensions as just bending my knee repeatedly with no weight on the leg at all hurts. Seems almost comical to me at this point.

Sleep  
Waking HR  
Body Weight 6:15 AM - 183 lb.
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 5:30 AM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course
plank 4 min, 2 min each side w/3 x 20 sec leg lifts each side
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
back extensions 3 x 40
hip raisers 60
fire hydrants 40 each side
clam knee lifts 60 each side
side leg lifts 40 each side
push-ups 14/14/12
wobble disk 2 min each leg
Results  
Time 45 min
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment  
Clothing  

20 November 2013

core | walk home from bus stop

My cold continues to improve and my knee continues to get worse and worse. Just walking on he FLAT GROUND hurt today and going down the stairs in our house this morning so I could head to the gym was an arduous process.

Obviously yesterday was too much even though it didn't feel that bad at the time.

Lame.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight 6:15 AM - 182 lb.
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day gym - 5:30 AM
walk - 6:00 PM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course
plank 4 min, 2 min each side w/3 x 20 sec leg lifts each side
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
back extensions 3 x 40
hip raisers 60
fire hydrants 30 each side
clam knee lifts 60 each side
side leg lifts 50 each side
push-ups 12/12/12
wobble disk 2 min each leg
Results  
Time core - 45 min
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment walk - Garmin Fenix
Clothing  

19 November 2013

Howe Street stairs | walk home from bus stop

Dang. I'm just now feeling like I can do anything after a cold wiped me out for almost an entire week. Sometimes I wonder why I'm so religious about getting a flu shot...

On the stairs it felt like I was breathing through one of those tiny stirring straws you get at McDonald's. Not. Big. Enough. Obviously I am not totally over this cold. And surprise surprise, my left knee is still fucked up. I felt it twinge some on the stairs but then it got slightly better so I finished the workout. During the course of the day it just kept getting worse and worse and walking home was not fun.

I'm not out, just kinda down currently.

Sleep  
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 5:40 AM
Workout Type  
Weather mid 40s, dry, calm
Course Howe Street stairs
Results  
Time 50:44
Distance 2.17 miles (11 flights)
Pace  
Equipment Brooks Launch, Garmin Fenix
Clothing Brooks 5" Essential Run Short, Brooks Podium LS shirt, Brooks Podium SS shirt

17 November 2013

homage to Mom

ULRIKE

I seem to be in the midst of an accelerating mid-life crisis or some similar need to live in a manner that people stereotypically do when they are younger. So it goes; I'm having fun and won't fight it.

I got my first tattoo (Cameron's hand print on my left shoulder blade) a long time ago. I still love this piece and have never even come close to buyer's remorse. Then for quite a while I did nothing more.

After some years I saw an incredibly cool piece of art which spawned an idea for a second tattoo (a cyclist on my left forearm). I had to really work in order to contact the original artist but eventually I managed to get hold of him and asked him if I could get a copy of the image so I could manipulate it. It took months but finally he agreed - but only when he was sure I was not going to mass produce his work. I dumbed the piece down so the level of detail was appropriate for skin and got it done.

Just a few years later came two more; a copy of the wedding ring I designed when I got married to Shelley and a piece on my upper left arm that is perhaps the only 'symbolic' piece I have. Not that symbolism is important mind you, I figure you just need to like your tattoos for whatever reason.

About two weeks ago I got some text on the inside of my left forearm which although it looks like serious advice is rally just a friendly reminder to myself about why (and how) I do the stuff that I like to do.

Last night I got this:

Arm

I had been thinking about some way to represent Ulrike (my mother) for what seemed like ages and try as I might I kept drawing a blank. Not being in a rush I let the thought simmer. This is roughly how this piece became reality.

I use a massage therapist that likes to decorate herself. I really like some of her pieces that use little dots (stippling) as color fill and shading. One day as I was surfing fonts I stumbled on a color blindness test and it hit me. I had been looking at all these lame (in my humble opinion of course) Gothic fonts because my mother was German but they were all putting a big, fat "X" in the cliché box for me. This looked cool. Plus, it was so colorful! I asked who the tattoo artist was and got the ball rolling.

ASIDE - having waited do long it was torture to have to book this so far in advance once I knew what I wanted. But I'm not such a bargain hunter when it comes to ink in my skin so opted to wait it out.

There is no hidden meaning here and as far as I know Mom was not color blind. If she was it dawned on me that this could be construed as a cruel joke.

"Hey Mom, look what I got, a tattoo to honor you! What's that you say, you can't read it...?"

Hahaha... oops. Here's hoping she was not but if she was I think she would still appreciate the work.

I just love this piece! Not sure if I'm lucky but so far I'm batting a thousand when it comes to these and I am still super excited about each one. Of course you know what that means, right? This mid-life crisis is most likely going to get extended.

13 November 2013

core | walk home from bus stop

I decided that since I have not yoga in a while and have not done my core work in a long while it was time to check in. The verdict? Ouch!

Guess what, time off makes exercise harder.

Pretty much every core exercise that I used to go was harder especially the side plank, side leg lifts and push-ups.

Then as the day wore on I got a cold. It was one of the fastest progressions from healthy to sick that I have ever experienced. In the AM I'm fine, by lunch my throat is sore and by the time I walked home I was hating life and wanting to take tomorrow off from work with aches and that awesome (not) 'hot' feeling.

Drat.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 5:30 AM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course
plank 4 min, 2 min each side w/3 x 20 sec leg lifts each side
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
leg extensions 80/20
back extensions 3 x 40
hip raisers 60
fire hydrants 40 each side
clam knee lifts 60 each side
side leg lifts 30 each side
push-ups 20/12
wobble disk 2 min each leg
Results  
Time core - 45 min
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment walk - Garmin Fenix
Clothing  

12 November 2013

Howe Street stairs

Dang it, dang it, dang it...

My IT band still has not fully recovered from last Saturday's ride and with a couple of flights to go it flared up.

So much for riding to work.

On the bright side, these conditions are perfect for stairs. Not so cold that you need gloves or a hat and not so warm that you overheat.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 5:40 AM
Workout Type  
Weather 51 degrees, light rain, calm
Course Howe Street
Results  
Time 45:08
Distance 1.9 miles (10 flights)
Pace  
Equipment Brooks Launch, Garmin Fenix
Clothing Brooks 5" Essential Run Short, Brooks Podium LS shirt, Brooks Podium SS shirt

09 November 2013

carnation ride

Today I (once again!) found out just how much is too much for my IT band/left knee.

From previous experience I know that I can ride three hours if the pace is not wicked fast. Looking for something longer and wanting company I did a bit of research meaning I talked to Jim Kodjababian last Tuesday when we were doing stairs and asked him what the Saturday Fisher Plumbing Cycling Team ride was like. Jim said it would not be fast so I hooked up with Rick Benson the ride organizer, got the start time/location and showed up.

Boy was I wrong, on ALL counts.

DISCLAIMER - I also found out I all too easily fall into the role of salty old cycling know-it-all; aka the guy that thinks he's constantly right and can't give the new guy a break. Oh well, I choose not to fight my assigned role in the grand scheme of things.

Before I get started with this rant let me say that it was a beautiful day. There were still pretty leaves on the ground (meaning they had not all turned to brown mush yet), it was dry out, it was not too cold and I can think of a million worse ways to spend my Saturday.

That said, here is what happened.

I had not ridden my rain bike in ages! As I pulled it down off the wall not only were the tires very flat, there was dust all over the bike. I hung it in the repair stand and got busy. In addition to airing up the tires I also wiped off the chain, chainrings, jockey wheels and then oiled the chain again. I even checked the brakes. Oops...

My front brake was not working properly, one of the front disc brake pads kept wanting to grab the rotor as the wheel spun and it was creating a lot of drag. I backed the pad out with the adjuster knob and rolled away hoping this would solve the problem. On the way to the Leschi Starbucks the brakes grabbed many more times and each time it just took a flick of the front brake lever but what a major annoyance! When I got to Leschi I backed off the front brake one more turn of the adjuster knob.

I met Rick and about six other people and we rolled out.

Right away I could tell this was not what I had signed up for. We left Starbucks at 20 mph and as we got on the I-90 bridge, Rick promptly dropped all but one of us as he dialed it up to something close to 25 mph. Eventually the front two slowed a bit allowing me (with everyone behind me) to catch up but when the bridge tipped up as we hit Mercer Island I got dropped for real and everyone behind me came around and suddenly I was solo. Nice.

Not only was my front brake still rubbing a lot, I was just not fit enough to hang!

Lucky for me the next stop was the Mercer Island Park & Ride. The eventual slowing of the front bunch plus me working really hard let me join up once again.

At the Park & Ride I got to listen to all the usual (read: lame) conversations that all people who are relatively new to a physical activity have. Ride stories, blah, blah, blah, equipment nuances, blah, blah, blah, "I could have won such-and-such a race but I [insert excuse of the day here]", "my [insert some manufacturer's bike part here] weighs less than [insert some other manufacturer's equivalent bike part here]"; I felt like making myself throw up.

But I was here for a group ride and talking does taper off as rides get longer so I opted to stick it out for a bit. I also backed my front brake adjuster off one more click... For sure there was no way would I be able to hang with this thing dragging this much.

As we rolled out the group confirmed a suspicion I had. First of all the first person to leave would take off like they were riding alone. We were about 15 people by now and they never once looked over a shoulder, checked to see if everyone was still around, etc., etc. We were not racing by any means but this was not conducive to keeping the group intact by any stretch of the imagination.

Did I mention that on every incline some guy would accelerate and drop everyone else? Don't get me started... Oops, too late. :)

On our way east we rode along the 520 trail. This is a mixed use path along the north side of the freeway and connects Bellevue with Redmond. There were a lot of joggers out on this beautiful day and at one point we had to pass some that were running three abreast. At the next stop light I heard one of the guys in our group say something like, "I almost yelled at those runners to stop hogging the trail!"

Really...?! You did what you self-inflated, blinder-wearing, nothing-matters-to-me-except-for-the-sport-I-happen-to-be-interested-in, punk-ass, (probably) category 4 racer? I actually turned to him and said, "You were going to say WHAT?" To which he somewhat sheepishly and with a confused look on his face replied, "I said I felt like it, I didn't do it..." Someone at the Cascade Bicycle Club needs to hire this guy in a PR position stat. I managed to bite my tongue and let it drop.

As we rolled down into Redmond (where we were going to pick up some more people) it turns out we were 30 minutes early! Gee, seems like this ride started 30 minutes later last year but we were told to meet earlier this year but the Redmond meeting time didn't change. The solution? A loop through Redmond so we could drop more people at traffic lights because the leader rolled through as they were changing.

We finally got to Marymoor Park where we picked up one(!) person but still had to sit around for 15 minutes because we arrived so far ahead of schedule.

ASIDE - we finally ended up leaving ahead of schedule too. Here's hoping no one else was actually planning on joining us because if they were they were SOL.

At the park I got to listen to a scintillating discussion about 'recovery drinks'. Some guy was comparing and contrasting one brand to another and excitedly blurted that, "If these things do what they say they will, I'll be able to ride another 30-40 miles tomorrow!" Oh. My. God.

Finally, we were out of there.

Luckily my front brake was not dragging any longer. Sometimes it's the little things.

At the very FIRST intersection with a light (the one leaving the park!) we dropped half the group because we were going too fast or no one was paying attention and didn't bother to grab a wheel. So what did everyone do? They milled about in the middle of a side street effectively blocking traffic. Thank goodness a semi truck happened by and the air horn managed to rouse everyone sufficiently and they s l o w l y moved out of the road to where I was waiting. Is it really that hard...? Obviously sometimes (or for some people) it is.

After we regrouped and got out of Redmond this kid goes to the front and ramps it up. Of course no one is paying attention and within about 100 meters he, one other guy and myself are WAY off the front. I'm thinking 1) I don't want to ride this fast, 2) I can't ride this fast for very long and 3) is this kid ever going to pull his head out, err... turn his head around? Did I mention it's the same cycling ambassador that I had a conversation with on the 520 trail?

After this acceleration we came to a climb. Kid gets replaced by old-guy-who-doesn't-race-but-needs-to-assert-climbing-prowess-to-feed-weak-ego at the front and those at the very back who were already on the verge of losing sight of the leaders are now properly out of sight and out of mind. At least as far as 90% of this group is concerned.

I'll take this opportunity to give Rick some kudos that I'm hoping are deserved. He actually waited with the last couple of riders for as long as he deemed prudent in hopes that they would (by an act of God perhaps?) speed up. When they didn't he left them behind - I'm assuming he asked them if this was okay first - and raced back up to us. Then again, when he arrived he didn't tell us to slow down the pace or at least to try and stay together or even that thy the hapless riders behind had told us to go on ahead, he just proudly announced that, "I just had to ride a 2 km TT to catch you guys!" Good times on the 'group' ride.

At this point I was shaking my head.

On the upside my legs were warming up and although this somewhat surging pace was not easy for me, I was no longer on the rivet as they say. I decided I would just watch out for #1, stick to the front of this group and to hell with everyone behind. Besides, it wasn't MY ride, if this is what everyone wanted/expected/tolerated, who was I to say otherwise?

And so we carried on. At each hill one (usually the same person) or two people would ride ahead of everyone else, there was no rhyme or reason to the flow or paceline (and I use that term very loosely) and most of the bunch - including of course Mr. Cycling Ambassador himself - were frequently riding three abreast seemingly oblivious to automobiles. I just stayed in the top three and kept to the shoulder.

Finally, after descending into the Carnation Valley I turned to Rick and said I was through. I told him this ride was not what I had been looking for today, wished him a good time and told him I was going to find my own way home.

After asking me if I know the way home(?!) I told Rick the route I intended to ride and wouldn't you know it, he was planning on going the same way. He also announced that that the group should 'keep it steady' and 'take short pulls'. I almost blurted out that the length of the pull was not the problem and barely avoided being Captain Asshole. Of course this blog post might just be picking up the slack in that area...

As I tried to make my exit the group caught me and since the pace did indeed seem more reasonable I slotted in thinking I'd give it one more shot.

All the way into Carnation and riding south past the golf course things went swimmingly. As we crossed the road and began to head up Old Issaquah-Fall City Road I even went to the front in an attempt to lead by example. No dice. First one guy passed me, then another 'bridged' up to him and then I was solo again.

At the next intersection just past Duthie Hill the front runners had to wait as they had dropped a few of their friends and so I simply rolled past and carried on by myself.

The bliss!

I was laughing to myself as I'm usually the guy that is always looking for company! Today riding alone was working out much better. For a change I went my pace and took my route and didn't have to keep up or wait or feel like all drivers were hating me.

This nirvana lasted almost all the way back to West Lake Sammamish Pkwy when my quads cramped up. Yikes! Seems like that overly aggressive pace (for me at least) was catching up to me and I had to ratchet things down. Luckily the cramps eased quickly and I was able to keep rolling. It did lead me to take a shortcut thought, I figured the quickest route home would be smart.

On the way back I kept looking around every few minutes wondering if the pack was going to close me down. On Mercer Island it finally happened. By now the 'pack' was just two people, Rick and Mr. Hill Climber. These guys dropped me climbing up to the path that crosses the bridge, waited for me at the start of the bridge and then dropped me again as I-90 climbs up to the west tunnel. Then we went our separate ways.

I forgot to mention that shortly after my cramp I realized that my IT band was making itself known. Drat. I guess the effort and the length of this ride was too much for me. What to do? I had to limp it home.

After getting off my bike I realized just how much too much this ride was, my knee hurt. :(

What did I learn today? Lots.

  • Be careful when you exercise longer! Having a way to bail would be ideal.
  • Maybe hold off on the group rides. Or at least go with a much smaller group. Or one that includes people I know.
  • Be okay with the fact that some people will read this and be offended. I only knew two people on this ride anyway so odds are high that I won't lose any friends. Perhaps I'm being naïve? Whatev.
Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food 1.5 large bottles each w/2 scoops HEED, Hammer Bar, 1 flask of Hammer Gel
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 7:45 AM
Workout Type endurance (supposedly)
Weather upper 40s to start, 50 at the finish, dry, calm, mostly cloudy
Course  
Results  
Time total time - 4:14
moving time - 3:44
Distance 67 miles
Pace 17.9 mph
Equipment Redline Conquest Pro, Garmin Edge 500
Clothing knit shoe covers, Santini leg warmers, bib shorts, Craft long sleeve undershirts, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, wind vest, OR Gripper gloves, cap

08 November 2013

Howe Street stairs | walk

I think I had some inner demons to work out today as I was on a roll and just kept going.

At first I just wanted to get in a solid 30 minutes and then I figured why not go for 40 and then I figured why not just round up and try for 60. I did it. I started to feel my left knee with about three flights to go but it never hurt so I finished up the workout.

I walked all the flights today, two steps at a time at a brisk pace with no fucking around at the top or bottom. And I carried a water bottle the whole time to further 'enhance efficiency' (or whatever).

All day I was worried that my IT band would flare up but it didn't and walking home from the bus actually seemed to make everything feel better.

Nice.

Looking at my mile splits (which is only so accurate when doing stairs I know), my pace was super consistent and I did not slow down.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food stairs - large bottle w/2 scoops HEED
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day stairs - 5:20 AM
Workout Type  
Weather stairs - 50, dry, calm
Course stairs - Howe Street
Results  
Time stairs - 1:02:31
Distance stairs - 2.9 miles (17 flights)
Pace stairs - 3:40/flight
Equipment stairs - Brooks Launch, Garmin Fenix
Clothing  

07 November 2013

hot yoga

Breathe Hot Yoga again, this is a great place. Lots of sustained lunges and chair pose today, not easy but good stuff.

I was too tired to hit he gym/stairs/etc. this morning. I have not been sleeping so hot. Life stresses and all that...
Sleep 5
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food
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Therapy
Time of Day 5:45 PM
Workout Type
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Course
Results
Time 60 min
Distance
Pace
Equipment
Clothing
Technorati Tags: ,

06 November 2013

weights

Gym time!

Another day of eccentric leg exercises because I can't run. A little heavier today and guess what, heavier is harder... I know!

Sleep 5
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 5:15 AM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course
barbell lunges 3 x 15 each leg - 65 lb.
incline leg press 3 x 10 each leg - 90 lb.
donkey kick 3 x 10 each leg - 90 lb.
leg extensions 3 x 10 each leg - 135 lb.
leg curls 3 x 15 - 150 lb.
calf raisers 3 x 15 each leg
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment  
Clothing  

05 November 2013

Howe Street stairs | bike commute

After realizing that it is still SO easy to overdo it when it comes to impact activities last Saturday I rested up and went back out to try these stairs one more time. Thank goodness today was much better.

Today was also the first day of stairs with Jim Kodjababian who has been my training partner here for the last umpteen winters. We always start in November, add one flight per week and stop when we hit 15 which is usually sometime in February as we invariably miss one week (and sometimes two) because of the holidays.

As always, we started the 'stair season' with four flights. alternating walking one flight two steps at a time and running one flight two steps at a time.

Just like last winter I managed to show up early and sneak in six walking flights prior to hooking up with Jim to make this a more substantial workout. Today was my first time running these since last winter and holy cow does that spike your heart rate...

Training partners are good to have.

My ride to and from work was fine. Actually, riding home I felt awesome! One of those days when your legs just feel excellent. And it was a beautiful fall afternoon. Good times.

Sleep 5
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food stairs - large bottle w/2 scoops HEED
commute - water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day stairs - 5:40 AM
Workout Type  
Weather stairs - 50, dry, calm
Course stairs - Howe Street
Results  
Time stairs - 41:24
Distance stairs - 1.8 miles (10 flights)
Pace  
Equipment stairs - Brooks Launch, Garmin Fenix
commute - Raleigh Mojave 8.0, Garmin Edge 500
Clothing  
Technorati Tags:

04 November 2013

weights | Expresso exercise bike | hot yoga | walk

Today was my first day of trying to lift weights like my PT told me to. The goal is to maximize the eccentric contraction so I push with both legs and then return the weight with one leg. How did it go?

I. Am. Weak.

On the bright side, when you start at the bottom it's easy to improve.

Expresso_2013-11-04
I think I must have tweaked my back doing squats as it felt vulnerable all day and then when I got to Breathe Hot Yoga it felt positively awful.  I took it easy, moved slowly, tried to engage my core and by the end of class I felt a little better than when I started so that's good at least.

At lunch I hit the Expresso exercise bike again, that's where I first noticed my back. I selected a flat course to try and get a sustained, consistent effort and that worked. I also went pretty hard and beat my previous effort on this course by about 1:30... it's going to be much harder to get a PR next time. :) There is this guy named, "P. Crusher" that seems to have the top times for just about every course. Today's effort put me in 2nd place on this one about 60 seconds back.

Walking home was great. We just had a really windy day and so all these fall colors are on the ground now instead of up in the trees. Unfortunately it won't last, the rains are coming and soon all this orange and red will turn to brown soup. But we have snow to look forward to!

Sleep 7
Waking HR
Body Weight 6:00 AM - 182 lb.
12:00 PM - 183 lb.
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food water
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day weights - 5:15 AM
exercise bike - 12:00 PM
yoga - 5:45 PM
Workout Type
Weather
Course
squats 3 x 20 - 95 lb.
incline press 3 x 10 each leg - 90 lb.
leg extensions 3 x 10 each leg - 115 lb.
leg curls 3 x 20 - 120 lb.
donkey kick 3 x 10 each leg - 70 lb.
calf raisers 3 x 15 each leg
Results
Time exercise bike - 24:13
Distance exercise bike - 8.3 miles
Pace exercise bike - 20.7 mph
Equipment trainer - Expresso exercise bike
walk - Garmin Fenix
Clothing

03 November 2013

shopping in the International District

Tonight Shelley wanted to try this yummy sounding Mahogany Chicken (but more authentic than this recipe) so we figured why not head down to the International District and shop for ingredients. And since it was such a gorgeous day, why not walk!

It was beautiful out and came home via the bike path which offered up some really cool views of Seattle and Beacon Hill that I have not seen (at a walking speed anyway) before.

The Seahawks were playing, the fans were LOUD and it was so good to be outside.

Nice.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
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Workout Food apple, beef jerky, dark chocolate
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 11:00 AM
Workout Type  
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Course  
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment low-top Converse Chuck Taylor Classic sneakers, Garmin Fenix
Clothing  

02 November 2013

hot yoga

What a letdown.

Just as I thought I was recovering I get a dose of reality. Friday I went for a little treadmill run and it felt reasonable. As soon as I experienced any discomfort I shut it down. I was a little sore after but walking home from work actually made my knee feel better. So this morning I went to the Howe Street stairs for a workout and I lasted exactly half of one flight.

Crap.

I guess my IT band got much more irritated than I thought yesterday and I still need to cool it when it comes to impact activities. As usual, I want to rush things and it is taking a super-human (to me anyway) effort to not screw this recovery up.
Blah, blah, blah, Martin gripes about not being able to run, blah, blah, blah.

Plan A was to to do stairs and then top it off with some hot yoga. Plan B was to sit in the car and dork out with my phone for 30 minutes and then do yoga. Hey, at least I had a plan B.

I'm just glad Breathe Hot Yoga has a location relatively close to our house because I like it. Today the instructor was hauling ass and being the yoga n00b that I am it was hard to keep up. Still, good times.

Sleep 7
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day 9:00 AM
Workout Type
Weather
Course
Results
Time 60 min
Distance
Pace
Equipment
Clothing
Technorati Tags:

01 November 2013

treadmill run | walk

First run in a while and it was both good and bad.

Good in that I was able to go slightly longer than last time, bad in that even though I shut it down as soon as it got uncomfortable I could feel my IT band for the rest of the day. Sigh.

At least the effort felt fine.

Walking home from the bus stop after work I could feel my IT band but today walking actually seemed to make it better.

What's bizarre is how my Garmin Fenix wanted to record not only heart rate but also cadence...?! I was not wearing a heart rate strap or a foot pod.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight 1:30 PM - 183 lb.
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food  
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day run - 1:45 PM
walk - 5:15 PM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course run - treadmill, 1% incline
Results  
Time run - 35 min
Distance run - 4.6 miles
Pace run - 5 min at 8:00, 25 min at 7:30, 5 min at 7:00
Equipment run - Brooks Launch, Garmin Fenix
Clothing  

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