urban ride

I think that if you were looking for THE day to have a picnic or BBQ in Seattle then today or tomorrow is probably it.

Tomorrow is my last 'summer' event and since I made myself pretty tired Thursday I took Friday off and wanted to spin out the legs today. But I had a conflict. It was hot outside. And when it gets hot Martin likes to hang out in the sun.

Now as everyone who has ever pinned on a race number knows, if there is one thing that is not PRO it's riding with no shirt on. Can you imagine bib shorts and nothing else…? Exactly. Hence my dilemma.

Luckily I own bikes that are not made of carbon. And don't have drop bars. Or titanium-railed saddles. And have platform pedals. That's right, today was Martin-pretends-he's-a-regular-cyclist-or-one-of-those-guys-from-the-PEMCO-adds day. And it was a blast.

Baggy shorts, Vans, helmet and dark glasses. Done. My only concession to elitist cycling was that I stuck my GPS on at the last minute just so I wouldn't have to wear a watch. Did I mention that deliberately waited until it was nice and hot outside?

It was a beautiful day!

I went down to the Ballard Locks, up through Discovery Park, along the Seattle Waterfront, discovered the temporary bike path along Alaskan Way during the tunnel construction and did tons of people watching. Good times.

Sleep
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	water, sample size Builder's bar
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day	11:30 AM
Workout Type	fun ride
Weather	80, sunny, dry, fairly calm
Course
Results
Time	1:56
Distance	26 miles
Pace
Equipment	Town Bike
Clothing	baggy MTB shorts

Technorati Tags: urban ride,town bike

core

Yesterday was such a smashing success I decided to throw caution to the wind and do TWO core workouts in TWO DAYS. Someone alert Ted Koppel.

I'm still not able to do the plank which is arguably one of the 10 best core exercises in the world. I also can't do any push-ups or the roman chain on account of my shoulder and hand/wrist injuries but hey, something is better than nothing.

I went to the gym wearing my running shoes just in case my indoor running buddy was up for another 30 minute sprint down the road that goes nowhere. When I asked Thom W if he wanted to run he said no and it turns out I was kinda relieved.

Just like that the day turned into one of rest.

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	back extensions 3 x 40 clam knee lifts 100 each leg side leg lifts 100 each leg twisters 50 each side - 12 lb. leg scissors 70 hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results
Time
Distance
Pace
Equipment
Clothing

core | run | commute | stairs

First day of core post-tumble, yeah for me.

I was not able to do all the exercises I usually do but was surprised that I could accomplish what I did. Obviously I'm a huge whiner and should just get to it.

it was interesting to note how leisurely this run felt compared to yesterday. 30 seconds is obviously a huge difference in pace.

My commute was broken up into four segments today. I rode to work, back up to Capitol Hill during lunch, back to work and then home. I am constantly amazed how quickly I can make it to the top of the hill…! I keep thinking it will take about 45 minutes and it only takes 25 and that's on my Town Bike and I am not killing it by any means.

When I got home Shelley wanted to hit the stairs so I said sure! Oh man was that first flight tough… but I did warm up and it got easier. By the end I looked like someone had sprayed me with water except it was sweat.

Sleep	6
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	water
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day	gym - 5:30 AM stairs - 6:30 PM
Workout Type
Weather	low 80s, sunny, dry, calm
Course	back extensions 3 x 40 clam knee lifts 100 each leg side leg lifts 100 each leg twisters 50 each side - 12 lb. leg scissors 50 hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb. run - treadmill, 1% incline, 8 mph stairs - Howe Street
Results
Time	run - 30 min stairs - 29:30
Distance	run - 4 miles commute - 20 miles stairs - 8 flights
Pace	run - 7:30 min/mile
Equipment	run - Brooks Cascadia commute - Town Bike stairs - Brooks Cascadia
Clothing

Technorati Tags: Howe Street stairs

run | commute

Since my foot didn't hurt me yesterday while doing stairs I decided to push my luck and give running a shot today in the same comfy shoes. And it worked! Nice.

Not sure how well my Brooks Cascadia trail running shoes are supporting my feet but there was no discomfort during and immediately after so here's hoping it was okay… I have heard people say that it's okay to run in the dirt with road shoes but that you really shouldn't run on the road with trail shoes as they are usually too soft. :(

As an extra bonus I got to run with Thom W who is training for a 5 km event in a few weeks and I loves me some company when I exercise so that was great.

To top it all off the weather report looks absolutely fabulous and this is going to be the hottest week of the year! Bring it.

I got on the treadmill and immediately hit the gas which may not have been the smartest thing… I was breathing hard in a hurry. It leveled off after about 11 minutes but then towards the end I got that old familiar feeling of not getting enough oxygen in my lungs. :( I'm hoping it's just because I have not exercised hard in a long time. 7:00 pace is hard for me.

Sleep	6
Waking HR
Body Weight
Body Fat
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Workout Food	water
Injuries
Therapy
Time of Day	gym - 5:45 AM
Workout Type
Weather
Course	run - treadmill, 1% incline, 8.5 mph
Results
Time	run - 30 min
Distance	run - 4.2 miles commute - 10 miles
Pace	run - 7:03 min/mile
Equipment	run - Brooks Cascadia commute - Town Bike
Clothing