Swimming, Potluck, and Chinups

Last night I changed the back wheel on my bike and now I feel a bit safer. The other wheel was pretty old and saw me through my bike courier days and beyond, almost a decade! The new wheel works great and I am back in business for the rest of the winter, but am seriously considering going to a fixed gear track bike in the Spring for simplicity's sake.

I did get to the pool at lunch today and managed 2000m non-stop, though at about the 400m mark I was having real doubts that I would manage to finish. My shoulders were aching like crazy, most likely from all the push ups I've been doing.

Tonight saw us at Owen's Beaver Potluck Christmas Dinner, which is a mouthful to say and to eat. It was fun, the kids ate lots and behaved well. What more can a parent ask?

We got them home and in bed a little late, and then I did some more chin ups. I managed 8-8-7-6-6 pull ups and 8-8-7-6-6 chin ups for a total of 70. That's the most I've managed in one round since I started, but I am still having real trouble believing that I'll be able to do 20 in a row anytime soon.

Swimming and Dripping

Yes, I've managed to catch another cold (that's the dripping part, BTW). Bummer, but I suppose things could be worse.

That didn't stop me from going swimming at lunch, though I was pretty tired and weak and had difficulty staying motivated to swim the entire planned 2000m. I managed in the end, but had to break up the second 1000m after completing the first 1K straight. I did some "easy on the brain" descending sets with about 20sec rest in between - 400m-300m-200m-100m - and then got out of there...

Tonight I still did some chin ups, once more keeping the exhaustion sets out of the equation since I am feeling run down and weak. The sets went 6-6-5-5-5 pull ups, and then 6-6-5-5-5 chin ups for a total of 54 "ups".

Doing pretty much nothing but push ups, chin ups, and swimming is great and all, but I really can't wait to get back into running, you know!!! All the great race reports I've been reading from the running bloggers have got me really itching to get back out there, but alas I am weak below the ass... The foot better start behaving and get better, though I do think that in the last two days it's been getting slightly, just slightly, almost imperceptibly, agonizingly, annoyingly, infuriatingly, confoundedubadebadibidily better...

Morning Plunge

I took off early enough this morning to make it to the pool for another swim, my third of the week! Mon was kind enough to cope with getting the kids to school on her own to allow me to do this, and that is no small task as you can imagine. Anyway, I felt weak and tired this morning, most likely from the chin ups that I did last night. I think a break this weekend will be in order, especially since I have that final paper hanging over my head and due on Tuesday. I am so close to the end of my grad studies, and yet so far given that my paper is NOWHERE near completion, and the insubordinate bastard won't just up and write itself!

The swim was pretty lax and I only managed 1500m, but was happy with that. The lane was pretty crowded, with a few wide-stroking "swimmers", one of which hit me a couple of times as I passed by. Thanks for nothin', stone arms! I swam 300-200-100-200-300-200-100 and then 100 backstroke to finish off the 1500, taking 20-30 second breaks in between.

Tonight was Week 5 Day 3 of the hundred push ups challenge, and it was not easy. The sets went 20-20-24-24-20-20-22 and then the max, where I pushed out a surprising 70! I had to start taking short breathing breaks after about 35, where I "rest" while maintaining the plank position. A few times I had to readjust this a bit by bending up at the waist and moving my hands a little, partly because my shoulders were screaming for relief and partly because my hands started slipping from getting too sweaty on the hardwood floor. Either way, I take it as a good sign that I can make it to 70 any way I can. The total number of push ups was 220! In the span of a little under three weeks I doubled my max from 35 to 70, and my total more than doubled, going from 95 to 220. Now if only this foot would heal so that I could start making strides in my running.

Tomorrow I think I will head off to the library to get this damned paper done. Well, at least the first draft. That way I can take a couple of days to polish it up before submitting it on Tuesday, bringing to an end my academic career.

Bustin' a Flat

This morning was hurried and crazy, but it seems every morning is like that for our family and we still somehow get the kids to their schools on time. I know I'll look back upon these days years from now and wonder how in the world we did it? I'm also certain that all parents of little kids face the same morning challenges, with the possible exception of those in warmer climes who have no idea what it's like to have to deal with snowsuits, boots, hats, scarves, mittens, mufflers, long underwear, t-shirts, long sleeved t-shirts, turtle necks, sweaters, vests, lip balm, balaclavas, blah blah blahvas...

Anyway, as I was saying, this morning was hurried as usual. Mon got the older loin-fruit to the bus, and I managed to get the younger one to school on time. All was going according to plan until I was about half-way to work and BAM!, my back tire blew out. I pumped it up with my hand pump hoping it was a slow leak and could still get me to work where I could deal with it at lunch or something, but no - I made it about another 100 metres (11o yards for the American readers) before the thing was flat as a Chinese diver's chest. (Nothing against flat chests, mind you. It's just what came to mind...)

I stood there for a minute wondering whether to walk to work or head home. For some reason I didn't have a patch kit in my backpack! I decided to walk home, which took me a half-hour, and fixed my flat there. Naturally, I was pretty late for work, but at least now I have a spare inner tube and some patches in my backpack for the next time. It seems like there is more glass on the roads this year than ever before. I used to go for months at a time when I was a courier, biking 8 or 9 hours per day, and not get any flats. Now it seems to happen more frequently, and I only commute!

Anyway, I still managed a lunchtime swim, though I was really tired. my shoulders are so tired! I did 1000m straight, then 5X200m with 20 seconds rest for a total of 2000m in about 32 minutes.

Tonight I also managed some more chin ups. I think I have to back off a bit on these as I am feeling weaker and weaker, which is not a good thing. I managed 10-8-6-8 wide grip overhand, and only 8-8-8 narrow grip underhand, for a total of 56. I guess going to exhaustion with every set is not going to cut it and I have to do some shorter sets with maybe an exhaustion set at the end, or something...

Another Regular Day

Yup. Nothing much to report other than another regular lunchtime swim and a set of chin ups.

The swim was status quo: 2000m in 30 minutes. My left hand totally cramped up at the end, which was a bit weird. Why not the right? Gross guy in the showers also put me off a bit, and that's where I'll leave that little story, in your collective imaginations...

The chin ups were done while my wife (whose taste in most things I respect, but in this I simply cannot!) was watching The Biggest Loser. Guess how I felt given that I'll never have that time back? The chin up sets: 10-10-10 wide grip overhand, 10-9-8-8 narrow grip underhand, for a total of 65. I go to failure with each set, and it seems odd that I can go to pretty much the same failure point each time. Perhaps I need to rethink this and do it more like the push up challenge with some sets that are shorter and easier and then the last one to failure. I am making strides, though, so maybe I shouldn't mess with it at all. Mentally it would be easier to not have to go to failure with every set.

Foot still hurts, but the pain doesn't really set in until late in the day so I guess that's a good sign. Before it just hurt all day long. I guess I'd better go stretch and ice a bit now...

Swimming and Pushing

This morning I made up my "missed" swim from yesterday (on account of another High School meet bouncing me from my usual lunch time sojourn). I was a little late leaving the house, but managed to bike to the pool by about 8:15. I was on deck five minutes later and ready to go. On Friday mornings only half the pool is open for drop-in lane swimming and the "fast" lane had six other people in it. The other half of the pool I can only assume is reserved for the UofT swim team, but today it was totally empty. Navigating the other swimmers was going to be a challenge also since a couple seemed to be pretty quick and the others slower than me. In the end this was not much of an issue since I could only manage 200m at a time before my shoulders screamed for rest, and that allowed me to let the faster folks pass and to find a suitable spot to start again on another 200. I think the chin ups from last night were the reason for my shoulder fatigue, but I was not expecting this at all! I managed 10X200m in 35 minutes and made it to work a bit late, but glad to have gotten the workout in.

When I arrived, my manager dropped by my desk and gave me his extra copy of Run Less, Run Faster, which was very cool. I read this book a few months ago, and now have a copy of my own to follow throughout 2009. As good as that is, it does have me thinking of some goals for the year, the first of which is to try and get my 10k under 42 minutes so that I can dream about achieving a BQ time in the marathon of 3:15. Yeah right! The book does state that that's the equivalent time for the marathon distance, but my body may have something else to say about the whole thing. For the time being I am committed to taking the rest of the year off and waiting two weeks after my foot is completely pain free before starting to run again.

Tonight we watched Monsters Inc. with the boys, and I snuck off to do my push ups and catch the end of the Raptors game on TV. The Raptors are looking OK this year, though they are continuing their historic pattern of win a few lose a few, never stringing more than three or four wins together at a time. Chris Bosh is playing like an MVP, but I'm worried that the extra minutes he seems to be playing just to keep the team around .500 will result in injury as they did every other year he's been asked to play this much.

On the push up front I completed Day 3 of Week 4 of the hundred push up challenge thusly: 29-33-29-29 and maxed out at 50 for a total of 170. I'm definitely feeling stronger with this program, and am quite confident that I'll be able to do 100 in a row by Christmas. The question that comes to mind is will I be able to keep it going afterwards? Not to do more than a hundred, but to maintain that level of strength. It seems easier somehow to work towards a goal rather that aimlessly "working out"...

Swimming and Chinning

Official Day 2 of my self-imposed period of convalescence and, as I sit with my foot in a bucket of ice water, I am left wondering just how this non-running period will affect my weight. Specifically, I will have to pay a little more attention to eating better given that the running thing has allowed me to eat more pizza in recent weeks than I've eaten in a long long time.

This afternoon I managed a lunch time swim. I felt pretty weak and tired for some reason. I usually can do 2000m straight without stopping, but today I had to rest for a few seconds after 500m, then I stopped after another 500m and decided to mix it up a bit and started doing 100's on 1:30. I managed 8 of these before missing the interval time and finished the swim off with an easy 200 for a total of 2000m.

Tonight I managed another set of chin ups and the lethargy was still present. My sets were 8-7-6 wide grip overhand, 8-6-5-6 narrow grip underhand for a total of 46. The last set was more than the second last because I was once more distracted and lost concentration. I really must learn to block everything out when doing these...

A Mostly Uneventful Day

Not much to report other than:

1. I got my flu shot today, and my shoulder feels like someone punched it a little bit.

2. I got in the pool at lunchtime again for another 2000m, this time in about 29 minutes.

I should mention that last night Monica and I started our own little 100 push up challenge. I did 14-18-14-14-35. The goal is to loosely follow the 100 push up challenge of Internet fame and to achieve 100 by Christmas.

Added to this I have started doing lots of pull ups since I put the chin up bar in the door to our bedroom (is there a difference between a "pull up" and a "chin up"?) Pretty much every time I enter or leave the room I do 5, though this is not likely to continue. However, I did a set tonight that consisted of 7-5-4 wide grip overhand, and 6-5-5 close grip underhand. Later I will get some ab work done, and do another easy and short set of lunges. The last time I did this (sometime last week) I only did 10 lunges on each leg and I definitely felt it the next day. Pathetic, I know! But that is why I have made a commitment to improving my leg strength over the winter.

Right now I have to keep moving my foot from ice water to hot water, so g'night! Tomorrow? Another 5k, perhaps even in the morning...

Without Limits (Except when it comes to facial hair)

Last night I watched the movie Without Limits. I picked it up on Tuesday while grocery shopping for $5! How could I lose, right? Naturally, I couldn't and the movie did not disappoint. I enjoyed it very much, though I would not call it cinematic genius or anything. I could have done without the whole college crush angle, but the race scenes were great and Billy Crudup is Pre reincarnate - the resemblance is eerie! My main impressions were that Steve Prefontaine was a tremendous runner (duh!), Donald Sutherland is great and still Canadian (duh?), Monica Potter shares a first name with my wife (duh?), and I can't grow a mustache so will never be able to play Steve Prefontaine in another movie about his life (d'oh!). Yes, that's the only reason why I couldn't play Pre. What? Lack of speed? No muscle tone? CGI people, C.G. friggin' I.!

(I do realize that facial hair is easily done with makeup, but that would cheapen the whole thing don't you think?)

Anyway, after that movie I am even more motivated to run, and visit Oregon again cuz the view from Bill Bowerman's fictional home was awesome! However, I am sticking to the new plan and did not run today. Instead, I made my way through the rain on my bike to the swimming pool for another lunchtime swim. The process can be summed up with "wet-dry-wet-dry-wet-dry". I sound like a broken record here, but once more the thing lasted 2000m in 30 minutes, and I am NOT getting any faster... Maybe if I could grow a mustache like Mark Spitz then I might be able to play him in a movie, and gain some speed? Hmmm... Damn lack of facial hair has been holding me down all this time and I am just waking up to these shackles! But at least I save on expensive razorblades. Is it just me, or are these things made of oil or something because the price of a set of blades has gotten ridiculous! I say they're the reason the economy is tanking like the Exxon Valdes, not sub-prime mortgages. Unless, of course, you have to borrow money to buy disposable razor blades...

This afternoon I was supposed to get another treatment at the chiropractor's, but they had my office phone number noted incorrectly and so I never got the message that he was sick. Two issues with this thing: 1. for some reason, to them my "4" looks like a "5" on the form I filled out (and apparently it's my fault!), and 2. they can't refund the charge onto my credit card for the prepayment I made for the session! Say what? Your swipey machine thing is somehow missing the minus sign or something? There is nothing that sours me more on a business than poor customer service. Good impressions last until the next visit, bad impressions last forever and some people just don't get that.

Anyway, tomorrow is another off day, and perhaps I will try to elaborate on my developing racing plans for 2009. If you haven't noticed, the list on the right side of this page is growing and I am getting more and more excited about the prospect of running lots of races next year. The question remains, how much is too much?

Back in the Gym

After my regular lunchtime swim, where I managed another 2000m in 30 minutes (doesn't seem like I'm getting any faster yet...) I went to see the doc for another treatment. While there I brought up the whole shoe issue, and my suspicions that the current NB 1062's I've been wearing might be the cause of my foot problems. After a bit of a discussion, and a close look at the shoes I was wearing (not my running shoes since I neglected to bring them with me) it seems I might be looking for runners that offer good cushioning and some stability to support my arches. I guess that's what I will be looking for, starting this Saturday when I visit a great running store in Markham called Running Free. Apparently they really know their stuff, and I will spend as much time and try on as many shoes as possible to come up with something that will hopefully work out in the long term.

Tonight I managed to get back in the gym for some light weights. I feel pretty weak, having missed a few weeks, and I'm sure the candy I've been consuming during and post Halloween is not helping matters either. I took it real easy...

• Crunches 50-40-30-20-10
• Bench Press 12-12 115lbs
• Seated Rows 12-12 100lbs
• Lateral Flys 15-15 15lbs
• Lat Pulldowns 12-12 115lbs
• Dumbell Biceps Curls 12-12 25lbs
• Triceps Extensions 15-15 50lbs

Swimming 2k, and the Lumbar Blues

Another lunchtime swim today - 2000m in 30 minutes. I think all the lying around in bed on the weekend, or the 30 minutes on the stationary bike last night, did something to my lower back cuz it hurts today. It's like I picked up one of my kids early in the morning or something, except I don't have that excuse. I'm not worried about it, as much as it really does hurt, because I suspect it was the stationary bike thing - I didn't spend much time setting up the bike properly...

The other thing that I really don't want to admit may be the cause of the pain is that we got a new mattress this weekend, and it's super nice. My wife loves it, and I like it too, but if that's the reason my back is seizing up then things are going to be a little strained on the home front. I'll be like, "Either that mattress goes, or I go!" And she'll be like, "Can I help you pack?"

Perhaps a good soiling will bring her onside???

I was planning on going to the gym for some weights tonight, but will have to see how my back feels when that time comes around. Maybe I'll go and just do a lot of stretching, some ab stuff (I've been totally neglecting core strength for the past three weeks, and that might be another reason for the lumbar blues) and maybe some lying down resistance crap. We'll see.

Then again, a couple of Robaxacets may be the thing to do for tonight, then just settle in and watch the election stuff, complete with mucho controversies to keep the advertisers happy no doubt.

Contemplating the Future

Well, I couldn't get onto blogger.com yesterday for some reason, which I guess is just as well since I had a tonne of schoolwork to catch up on and didn't need to report on my "general body soreness", a favorite term in the NHL when the team doesn't want to let anyone know what the actual injury to a player is...

It seems that Blogger has been giving me issues when publishing posts for over a month, and I'm beginning to wonder how reliable this thing is. Perhaps I should switch to publishing straight to a blogspot.com account? If anyone has experience with publishing using ftp and a similar history of problems please let me know if switching is the right move, or if publishing to blogspot.com is also ripe with problems.

And yes, I am sore! My foot is definitely plantar fasciitising, and my quads are so stiff it is excruciating going up, and especially down, stairs. But it was definitely worth it, and in fact I'd probably be a little upset with myself if I wasn't sore.

This afternoon I went for a short and easy lunchtime swim and managed 1200m in about 18 minutes. I am not going to the gym tonight, instead choosing to rest my legs. I have another treatment scheduled for Thursday and I hope that the pain subsides by then since the treatment I received on Monday morning was super painful! (In a good kind of way, but pretty close to unbearable...)

However, the racing bug has got a good hold of me and I am already contemplating my next race. The one that seems like it will be a lot of fun, and far enough off in the future to allow for good recovery and a resumption of training, is the Hamilton Boxing Day 10 miler. This year will mark the 88th straight year for this event, put on exclusively by volunteers from the Hamilton Harriers Running Club. Apparently the route for the race has been the same since day one! Although I am not ready to run 16 kilometres, I think I will have enough time to prepare for the distance and I will not be running this as a race, but rather for fun and to finish. Also, one can register with the option to get some pretty good gear such as running tights and a jacket, two things I need anyway so this seems to be a perfect marriage of swag and racing fun!

The other one that also seems great, though a bit farther off in the future, is the Around the Bay race, also in Hamilton, at the end of March. That one is a 30km race, and is the oldest long distance race in North America. Yes, even older than the Boston Marathon!

In the spring I will be once again trying to go under 45 minutes in the 10k, most likely during the Ottawa Race Weekend events in May, but I figure getting some longer races under my belt, and running them to finish rather than to exhaustion, will be great motivation and training for a fast 10k. Sound good? It does to me, but I am tired and sore so who knows what this will feel like in the morning.

Easy Maintenance Day, Preparing to Pop the Cherry

As I prep for the 10k I am in uncharted territory as far as what I should be doing leading up to Sunday's start time. What to eat? How much to rest? How much should I be staying off my foot? Did that peanut butter cookie ruin everything? How many litres of water should I be chugging every hour? Do I have to obey the laws of thermodynamics?

Anyway, these things will fall into place I'm sure, and I am going to have a blast!

I swam again at lunch - 1500m in 22:30. Not bad, but the pool was super busy today. All the people in my lane were experienced swimmers and everything was cool as far as passing went, which was refreshing.

Then after work I went out for a real easy 5k mostly because I felt it was prudent to get a short run in and avoid five full days of no running leading into Sunday. I really held back and went slow, trying my best to minimize the pounding on the foot. It still feels tight, which is not surprising, but I want to let it heal as much as possible before running hard. One more treatment with the doctor awaits tomorrow morning, and then I am on my own for the weekend.

Garmin don't lie.


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Pacing vs. Racing

Just to start, I think that I may have unintentionally given some the impression that I am fast or something when I listed the splits for the "slow and steady" 6K I did yesterday. Just so we are all clear, my splits are based on kilometres and not miles, and no, I CANNOT do repeat miles in and around 6 minutes!

OK, now that we've established that my pacing for "slow and steady" is somewhere in the 9:30/mile range (using my somewhat unscientific, but reasonably accurate pace converter on the right hand side of the blog... scroll a little down, and BANG, there it is!) I am soliciting help with how I should prepare for my first ever race this coming weekend. Let me say that again: FIRST EVER RACE this coming weekend.

I am coming into this thing with no experience running with/against other people, and I have only my imagination to guide me. Specifically I am wondering about how to pace myself. Do I go blind and just run on feel, or do I strap on the Garmin and come up with a goal pace and try and hold it as long as possible? This is only a 10k mind you, and for a longer race I think the answer might be more clear to me. Also, I am getting advice from other runners I know, and those who used to run, to do it one way or the other and am a bit confused. Also, if Garmin is the way should the heart rate monitor be brought along for the ride?

My tendency is to use the Garmin since I have been training with it and am comfortable with glancing at it now and then, adjusting my pace, etc... However, I am concerned that it may be a source of negative thoughts if I fail to hold the pace I set for myself, or if I realize that my goal pace is too easy and I start kicking myself for not going out harder.

As far as how my day went, I pretty much was too busy to do much of anything other than work today. I did sneak out for a lunchtime swim, though I cut it down to 1500m partly because of time and partly because I am trying to save energy this week. It took me 23:00 to finish, and I am not doing weights tonight.

And lastly, it is SNOWING here! Not much, but definitely white stuff falling from the sky. It was so cold this morning that my fingers froze inside my biking gloves on the way down to work, and the wind was so strong it nearly blew me off my bike at one point. Either it was that strong, or I've lost too much weight... The weather forecast said it would be windy, but nothing about snow.
I fired up the furnace tonight...

Summer is officially over...

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Before I get to my day, doctor and all, I just want to report that I have slain the beast Microsoft! After three days of hell, I have worked out all the technical obstacles that Bill Gates has set in my way, like a mean father who moves around the furniture and waits in the dark until you come home past curfew and bash yourself all over the place... If anyone ever needs help embedding multiple audio clips, sent to you in a myriad of formats, into a PowerPoint presentation so that the whole damned .ppt file actually includes audio, just let me know... I will save you much stress.

Now, I get a glass of scotch and continue. (Sorry FrayedLaces, but my abstinence did not account for Microsloth issues...)

OK, big swig later, and ready to blog...

The doctor checked me out, poked and prodded, watched me walk, and stand on my toes. The verdict: plantar fasciitis, but not a bad case all things considered. Apparently it all goes back to my g'damn hips! Man, everything seems to go back to my hip flexors and weak ass muscles. In short, my range of motion in the hip and pelvic area has forced my body to adapt and push off too much from the big toe on my right foot. The big toe was overworked, and as a result inflamed my plantar fascia. I will have another treatment tomorrow, and a few next week leading into the race and then things should be Happy McHapsHaps...

I managed a lunchtime swim today as well. 2000m in 30:55, and my arms felt like lead. I must admit that at the 500m mark I was having real trouble convincing myself that it was possible to not stop for another 1500m, but I persevered. My arms are likely tired because I've taken to doing sets of 30 push ups every evening: my own 100 push up challenge so to speak...

Tonight, after getting home and getting dinner started, I even managed a short weight workout. My wife had somewhere else to be at 7:30, so that didn't leave me much time, but I managed a decent quickie anyway. I didn't get any abs in, but I will maybe try to get some crunches done later on...

• Bench Press 12-12-12 135lbs
• Chin Ups 8-6-5-4
• Dumbell Military Press 12-12 40lbs
• Biceps Curls 12-12 60lbs
• Triceps Extensions 12-12 60lbs

Swimming is good, Foot not as good, and E-mail woes

I managed another lunchtime swim, and it really should stop being a suprise now that I am consistently doing these every Tuesday and Thursday. The only hickup was trying to get my lock open so that I could secure my bike outside at the pool. This lock sucks major ass, and the only reason I bought it was because I needed something when I arrived at work one day and had forgotten my lock. I spent almost $60 on this thing, brand name "On Guard", and the actual locking mechanism is terrible. Stay away from this brand if you are considering replacing your lock. I just didn't want to spend $100 or more on a Kryptonite since my bike is a real commuter that I put together over the years, and it really isn't worth stealing - no gears, super big to fit my 6'4" self, and pretty heavy.

Anyway, I struggled to get this thing open for 10 minutes, all the while thinking that maybe even if I was successful in unlocking it would it be worth the risk to secure it onto my bike only to return and not be able to unlock it at all. In the end the thing miraculously opened, though my hand was cramping by then, and I was able to get into the pool.

I did a non-stop 2000m in 30 minutes and it was back to work...

Afterwards, the lock opened with merely a jiggle and I was very surprised, let me tell you. When I returned to work, however, I again struggled for 10 minutes to get the thing open again! And once more, my hand was in major crampy mode by the time the thing did decide to cooperate. After work it only took a couple of minutes to unlock it, and once I got home I lubed the hell out of that sucker and things seem to be better now.

As far as the foot is concerned, I think it feels a bit better today, but it's really hard to tell. Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part. At work I have been rolling it by standing on a semi-hard ball, and that feels pretty good. I am hopeful that this issue doesn't keep me from running some more in preparation for the 10k on October 26th, that's for sure. If anything, I will run in pain and then take time off after the race. (Unless I think that major damage will occur, at which point the decision to pull out of the race will have to be made. I don't even want to think about that though!)

Tonight I was supposed to go weight train again, and since I missed Tuesday I am a little upset that this is not going to happen. I had agreed to share a presentation with a few people this evening and had emailed it to myself from work hoping to work on it a little more this evening. This usually works with no problems, but for some reason the email never arrived! My sent mail box shows that the attachment was sent at 4:42 in the afternoon, but nothing shows up in my inbox! Of course, I didn't check the option that would have stopped the program from stripping the attachment from the sent mail items. Damn it! Sometimes I just have to curse this technology! Now I have to start from scratch and redo the two hours of work I put into the damned presentation earlier in the day. Memory should help cut down some of the effort, but still - what a pain in the ass!

A Little Worn Down

Yes, it's true. I am feeling worn down today, and as such am making the executive decision to not go to the gym for weights this evening. I spent the day at a privacy and access to information conference, but did manage to sneak out for a swim at lunch. I wasn't planning to do this, but just felt like it and took off, and boy am I glad that I did given how I am feeling tonight. It's awesome to have everything in a locker at the UofT pool so that I can make a spur of the moment decision like this and not have to plan to go and bring all the swimming stuff along with me all over the city.

The swim was great. I jumped in and swam 2000m non-stop in a little under 30 minutes. The shoulders are definitely stronger and I could have kept going for at least another kilometre, but had to get back to the conference.

Now, I am back home, kids are asleep, and the cold I caught this weekend is lingering. The foot is feeling tighter than I would like it to feel, and it definitely feels like plantar fasciitis. I've had it before and hope that rest, ice, heat, and some massage helps this to heal enough to let me train a bit more on the way to the 10k on October 26th. Anyone else dealt with this problem? I'll take all and any advice, home remedies, mysticism, prayers, whatever you've got to get this to get better fast.

In happy news, my manager (who is quite possibly the most normal, sane, and nice person I've ever had to work for) told me I could go watch Owen race tomorrow morning and show up at the conference a bit late! He watched his kids race this morning, and I'm so excited to see Owen race tomorrow morning. It should be awesome, and when I told him I'd be able to go he was very excited. I hope he has a great time and is left with many happy memories from his first running competition. I'll do the proud Dad report tomorrow on how it went, of course.

The postmortem - It's Aaallllllllll Good!

Yes, the day after I really pushed myself in the 5k and everything seems good. The knee feels great, the ankle is good, and I am rejuvenated to continue with my training as I head towards my first ever running race on October 26th. Also, a big Thanks! to all the folks that left comments on my last post - for the first time I hit double digits in comments! Your encouragement is very much appreciated. A special thank you for the sobering comment from Beachrunner who said "You never learn. LOL" - It's true man, but I try, and fully intend to slow down my runs heading into the race as I slowly continue to up the mileage. I know, Yoda says, "Do or Do Not. There is no Try.", but he's just a freakin' character in some movie based on Spaceballs, so what does he know anyway? I mean, am I really supposed to listen to THIS:


One word: toothbrush. OK two words: toothbrush, hat. And dude, whatever it is you are smoking, you had too much! Watch this for proof, though I have no idea what the images have to do with the skit, which I think was made for radio.

By the time the Niagara Falls 10k starts I will be so jumpy and ready to run fast who knows what will happen. May the Shwartz be with me!

Today was another lunchtime swim, and I was a bit more fatigued than normal. I still completed the first 1500m at my usual pace, finishing 22:54. Then a 300m cool down, for a total of 1800m in about 28 minutes, and I was out. On the way back to the office, as I was totally starving, I decided to hit up this great little Thai takeout that I frequent when I forget to bring my own lunch. Alas, the place was closed! Plan B was good too, probably the best Shwarma in the city, but I wanted more food. The Shwarma is huge by Shwarma standards, but the Thai place lets you load up a container with whatever you want, buffet style, as long as the container can still close. Oh well, next time...

Tonight I squeezed in a short workout at the gym. Not very inspired, and in fact I feel a little worn out, so I just did some light weights and got the hell out of there. Looking forward to the off day tomorrow, and I am alone with the boys for the evening so it should be a fun movie night for the three of us.

Details:

• 10 minute stationary bike warm up
• HS Chest Press 20-20 85lbs
• Lat Pulldowns 20-20 100lbs
• Dumbell Shoulder Press 16-16 25lbs
• Seated Rows 20-20 85lbs
• Biceps Curls 18-18 45lbs
• Triceps Extensions 25-25 40lbs

Wet Wet Wet Wet Wet and a Big Rookie Mistake Bummer

This morning I biked with Owen over to his school for his regular 8am cross-country running practice. The grey clouds in the sky looked like they would hold off until mid morning, so I figured Owen would have a good workout outdoors instead of in the gym, and I'd get to work dry, ready for my all-day meeting. Instead, not two minutes after I left his school the sky started pissing on me hard! I stopped and pulled on my rain pants, but I did not have the right footwear. By the time I got to work my feet were totally soaked. Damn Damn Damn! Didn't bring extra socks...

Oh well, that's what you get when you bike to work I guess... I sat through the morning meeting with wet socks in dress shoes, and that just felt so lovely I can't even begin to explain how happy it made me...

At least the weather cooperated on my way to the pool at lunch time as it was no longer raining. I got there a little late since the meeting went well past it's scheduled lunch break time, and the lanes were clogged with swimmers. I vented on this subject before, so I won't do it again here. I jumped in and was ready for an uninterrupted 1500m, navigating others of course.

The swim was fine even though I had to stop a couple of times when I was hampered in my efforts to pass others. I completed the 1500m in 22:20 and then did another 300m to bring the total to 1800m in about 27 minutes. Then, got out, got dry, got wet socks back on, got on bike, got back workin'...

At the end of the workday, my marathon running manager said that he'd registered his family for the October 18th Zoorun and that he would use the 10k as a warm up for his marathon at Niagara Falls the following week. Excited by the news I went online to finally register myself for the event, and was totally bummed out to find that the event was SOLD OUT!!! Man! I'd been so looking forward to running this event, and made a rookie mistake by not registering early. I was overly cautious with the ankle and knee and didn't want to commit to something until I was more sure that my body would allow me to race. Won't do THAT again...

So, now I had to find a backup plan. The Niagara Falls race looked interesting, and it would be cool to see someone I know run the marathon. So tonight I registered myself and my wife for the 10k race on October 26th! I have no idea how this will work out, where we'll stay the night before, who will look after the boys, or anything else really, but I don't care! I'm going to race!!!

And, of course, I had to rework the training plan a bit.

Prior to the above Internet magic I managed some weights at the gym. It was fun.

• 10 minutes stationary bike warm up
• Chin Ups 8-7-5-4
• Incline Bench Press 12-12-12 115lbs
• Dumbell Rows 12-12 40lbs
• Lateral Dumbell Flys 12-12 20lbs
• Seated Dumbel Biceps Curls 12-12 30lbs
• Dumbell Triceps Extensions 12-12 20lbs
• Bicycle Crunches 50-50-50

Another Day Gone Swimmingly

Work has been a little nuts as we prepare for a major network migration, and I am the lead for the project so stress, stress, stress... That wasn't going to keep me from my lunchtime swim, though I probably should have stayed back and monitored the situation. What's 45 minutes, I figured? In the end that won't make any difference.

Today I swam 1500m straight in about 22 minutes, once again maintaining a 1:30/100m pace. It was a bit harder than on Tuesday mostly because my shoulders were tired. I then managed another 200m warm down for a total of 1700m in about 26 minutes, then got back on the bike as fast as I could and headed back to the office and the myriad of messages, both voice and electronic, that awaited me there.

On the ankle front, I am quite pleased with how this gimpy appendage feels today. I certainly expected more pain, but it seems to be holding up well. I think if things continue like this I will be able to get that 10k run in on Saturday morning! I have been slowly adding one kilometre per week since the beginning of August to get to this point and feel like 10k is a great milestone. I would like to keep adding onto the distance until I am running my longest in the 15k range, but that depends on how the body responds. This winter the theme will be getting the legs stronger so that next spring I can avoid as much of the nagging aches and pains that I think are attributable to my relative weaknesses in this area. For now, I am happy with how things are progressing and keep telling myself to hold back.

Saturday, I will be taking Owen to Ashbridges Bay Park so that he can run the cross-country course that he will be competing on with his school in a couple of weeks. This is a great idea by the kids' coach, who will be there to help them (and us parents) out. I will have to get my run in pretty early, or in the afternoon should I sleep in too late. In any case, this should be fun for all, and perhaps I will be introduced to another good running spot.

Lastly, you may have noticed a subtle change to my stated goal at the top of this blog. I have changed "to get back in shape" to "to become a runner". I feel like I am in pretty good shape now, having sustained a good routine of at least three workouts per week since last January, shedding about 20lbs of useless flab in the process, and feel like I have reached this first goal. Now I have my sights set on something else, to achieve enough proficiency in running to call myself a runner.

Tonight, another weights routine awaits. Until then, keep your sticks on the ice!

The weights update:

• 10 minute stationary bike warm up
• Bench Press 12-12-12 135lbs
• HS Seated Rows 12-12-12 180lbs
• Dumbell Shoulder Press 12-12 40lbs
• Chin Ups 5-4-3-2-1 (yikes!)
• Biceps Curls 12-12 60lbs
• Triceps Kickbacks 12-12 15lbs
• Captain Chair Crunches 20-20-20-20 (WTF!!! These kicked my ass!)

And Thanks Marcy for your comment - You are too kind!

Stopping is for the weak!

As my muscle stiffness finally begins to dissipate I am faced with a question about training that, in one shape or another, has been on my mind for years. Ever since I was a skinny kid starting out in competitive swimming, and especially after tasting some success, I have equated training with muscle pain. In fact, I cannot break out of this mold and feel like I somehow am getting cheated if I DON'T feel some pain. Looking back on the past nine months while on my quest to get back into shape, I realize that this may be the number one reason why I bounce from one injury to another like a pinball. The ankle will always be a maintenance project, but since January I've had a variety of ailments, all due to over training and none of the acute kind. Is it possible to break out of this cycle of torture? Will I ever get to the point where I am satisfied with just going out for a long, slow jog arriving back home not completely exhausted?

Case in point, today I made it to another lunchtime swim. This is the start of my third week of swimming, so I am not anywhere near in swimming shape (nor do I delude myself that I ever will reach swimming shape with two short swims per week). In fact, I am slightly embarrassed at how slow I am because the training and racing times I used to be able to do are still etched in my head and I compare myself against these. But I digress...

Today I decided to try and swim longer before having to stop and take a short break. So I jumped in and off I went hoping to reach 600m before "adjusting my goggles" (a clear sign of weakness, like a gimpy leg on an adolescent zebra being stalked by a lioness). The first week I only managed 300m and then my shoulders were burning - mission accomplished from a training perspective, though slightly emasculating. This time I was quite happily swimming not too fast, lost in my thoughts, when I decided to check my time while executing a flip turn at the 500m mark - 7:30, which translated to 1:30/100m splits (for competitive swimmers this is exceedingly slow, at best a warm up pace, but for me this was a clear challenge!). By now my shoulders were starting to feel the burn, but the splits made my brain believe that I wasn't working out hard enough, and so I did not stop at 600m, or 700m, or 800m, or... You get the picture.

Upon reaching 1600m I ran out of time and had to get back to the office, "saved by the bell" or I might have gone for a nice round number like 2000m, or more, and ended with biceps tendinitis.
Anyway, I am just wondering if anyone else out there suffers from this "not getting my money's worth" syndrome when training? I simply can't hold back as much as I plan to. Is it possible that I am not as mature as I think I am? (My wife is not allowed to respond to that question!)

For good measure I plan on doing some weights tonight as well; you know, I've once again grown fond of muscle pain...

Dryer Vent Update:

And oh yeah! We also figured out why the fruits-of-me-loin were pouring water down the neighbour's dryer vent hole!!! In their infinite wisdom, they were simply trying to wash out (cover up) the huge amounts of grass clippings that they had stuffed down said hole earlier in the day! Ahhhh... Can a Dad be any more proud? Well done, you freakin' kids! But the huge wad of grass that came back up the pipe once the neighbour started her dryer kind of gave it all away... At least the dryer seems to be working, for now.


Tonight's weights:

• 10 minute stationary bike warm up
• Incline Dumbell Bench Press 10-10-10 55lbs
• Seated Rows 10-10-10 140lbs
• Dumbell Shoulder Press 10-10 40lbs
• Lat Pulldowns 8-8 145lbs
• Biceps Curls 10-10 65lbs 10 45lbs
• Dips 12-12
• Bicycle Crunches 50-50-50

Managing Expectations, Swimming, and Ankle Issues

My current ankle ailment has forced me to re-evaluate my running expectations. Looking back, I was sidelined for two years, unable to do any load bearing exercise while waiting for surgery. Then, I took things into my own hands and started to diligently stretch and strengthen the ankle to a point where I though doing a little bit of jogging was reasonable. As I continued to improve and my mileage increased I became more and more addicted to running, and over the past month have really pushed myself. In retrospect, the ankle flaring up should not have come as a surprise. I am still very disappointed and hope that I recover fast enough to make that 10k race on October 18th, but have also resigned to try (and this will take some effort) to be more realistic as far as expectations go. I am not wired to hold back and be happy with just the bare minimum, and I lost sight of the ultimate goal: the potential for playing sports with my sons as they grow up. Instead I started to think about how fast I could run. What a joke - I'm a swimmer not a runner, and should have known better...

On the swimming front I managed another lunchtime outing today: 1500 metres done in 500-400-300-200-100 sets with 30 seconds or so rest in between. All free, no kick. The weird part was getting hand cramps near the end! I haven't felt those since my swimming days, and then only when we had long sculling sets. I am really enjoying these lunchtime swims these days, in particular given that I have to stay off the ankle right now. On that front, the pain is not exactly getting better. I sure hope that I start to feel like it's healing soon or I will begin to worry about stress fracture issues, and those take a long time to fix.

Tonight the plan is to get back to the gym for a short weight workout as per usual. It's going to be tough getting this done since my wife has a meeting for this years Beavers (little scouts, for my 6 year-old) and those last somewhere in the waaaayyyy too long range (ie. 7-9pm +). If I get it in I will try and remember to update this post (for my reference, I realize nobody else is interested in how much weight I can lift...)

Now, back to another icing session!

Weights tonight:

• 10 minute stationary bike warm up
• Dumbell Bench Press 12-12-12 55lbs
• HS Seated Rows 12-12-12 180lbs
• Military Press 10-10 105lbs
• Lap Pulldowns 10-10 140lbs
• Dumbell Biceps Curls 12-12 30lbs
• Triceps Extensions 12-12 60lbs
• Captains Chair Abs 30-30

That's all I had time for tonight...

Also, thank you for the kind comments on this post. It certainly helps to put perspective on the ups and downs on training.

Swimming, and The Return of the Ankle

Another lunch time swim this afternoon, and no weights tonight. I managed to squeeze in 1500m in the pool in the midst of an all-day meeting, and was considerably late getting back from the planned 30 minute lunch since I had to eat after getting out of the pool and then make my way back to the boardroom. Oh well...

I have a conference call to do with my course this evening so no time for weights. (Boo!)

My ankle has started acting up again, with some not unusual pain (for me), but more intense than I've felt it in months. I don't think this will stop me from running just yet. However, it certainly was a surprise to feel it at the beginning of yesterday's run since the ankle has been a good little joint for a while now. The pain is right where I tore the ATFL (anterior talofibular ligament in medical speak), which is odd given that this ligament is completely torn! I was hoping that today I'd be OK, but that was just wishful thinking. In any case, given my plan to scale things back a little this week the timing is not so bad. On the knee front, I continue to improve though slowly. I still feel a twinge now and then when I walk and with the odd step when running. Perhaps a couple of weeks of easy running after the race in October will cure all my ailments.

And lastly, after talking to some people, and getting a helpful comment from Marcy on my last post (GI issues) I am convinced that my elevated level of sugar intake was the culprit behind my stomach pains. I am feeling better today, thankfully. Tomorrow I will have to get my 5k run in before going to work (I never had to do this before, but scheduling is forcing this upon me) and hopefully everything will be back to normal by then, at least on the gastrointestinal front.

A Little Swim, a Smidgen of Weights, with a Dash of Bike Accident

Got into the pool just as it opened up today so I was free and clear of any crowds for at least the first part. I managed 1500m, of which 400 was kick, in about 25 minutes and then had to get back to the office. I really like having all my stuff inside a locker at the gym - just remember my student card and keys, jump on the bike, and off I go! Easy.

Weighed myself again while there and the scale stopped at a more reasonable 190.25lbs. I guess my previous trip to the scale at the pool was ultra light because I was uber-hungry.

However, my day took a bit of a downturn on the way home. Somehow I managed to hit an invisible pothole just around the corner from my younger one's school and I went right over the handlebars of my bike, sprawled onto the asphalt. I must admit that the only thing that ran through my mind as it was happening was whether or not I'd be able to make my run on Saturday, which I guess means I am bordering on obsessive or something. Anyway, I managed to walk away with some bruises on both knees and my left wrist, as well as some skinned knuckles. (How the hell did I land to get skinned knuckles, anyway?) My bike was not as fortunate and I had some repairs to get to once I did manage to hobble home, son in tow.

I didn't feel like it, but managed another weight workout despite feeling like I'd been punched repeatedly. I wasn't too sure how the left wrist would hold up and my shoulders felt really tired from the swimming so I decided to go light and play it by ear. In the end it was a largely uninspired workout...

Details:

• 10 minute warm up on stationary bike
• Incline Bench Press 10-10-10 115lbs
• Bicycle Crunches 50-50-50
• Seated Rows 10-10-10 140lbs
• Lateral Shoulder Flys 12-12 20lbs
• Dumbell Biceps Curls 10-10 30lbs
• Rope Triceps Extensions 12-12 40lbs

Tomorrow is another off day, then I will tackle a fast (10k pace or so) 9k on Saturday morning. I have decided to modify my training plan slightly and have put the "tempo" type runs on Saturdays and the "LSD" type runs on Mondays. I figure since the race I am preparing for is on a Saturday morning my body will be better prepared if I push it on the same day of the week. Does this make sense? All the books I've been reading say the weekend run should be the LSD, but races are ALWAYS on weekends. I don't get it. Is it simply that these authors assume people don't have time mid-week for a long slow run? Maybe those plans are specific to marathon training and not for something short like a 10k.

Swimming Again, and Wasting Away

I managed my first lunchtime swim finally, and it was a bit tougher than I'd anticipated. The cardio was fine, but my shoulders are definitely not used to this and they were the first to feel the burn. I didn't have too much time since a morning meeting went a little late, and then I had to take about ten minutes to select and buy a pair of goggles (mine are packed away somewhere in a box still from the move last May). Once I got my stuff in the locker and was ready to go it only left me about 20 minutes to swim. I managed 1200m, of which 400 was kick. Man, I'm slow!

Vent: I will only mention this here and try my best to never bring it up again, but why do slow-ass people choose the FAST lane and then get the hell in my way??? There were like 2 people in the MEDIUM lane, and one in the SLOW lane! (I considered moving over, but didn't want to piss those people off.) Not only are these folks slow, they swim wide with inflexible arms that flail away like seagulls fighting over day old bread, giving the lane rope the widest berth possible for touching it would be disastrous, and pushing off the wall to do yet another slow-assed lap right as I am ready to flip turn and keep going on my merry way!!!! The lifeguards ignored the whole flailing arms thing of one guy who I'd have pulled out cuz he was struggling mightily at one point - it wasn't my wake that made him choke, BTW, but I almost wish it had been... then again, maybe it was, maybe it was...

AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

OK, that's enough of that. Perhaps it's just that there are too many keeners out there starting out a new semester with visions of attaining athletic physiques or something to that effect. I suspect many will drop out and return to their sedentary lives... One can at least dream, right?

On the wasting away bit, I weighed myself at the UofT gym on what I can only assume is an accurate scale - very big, very digital. As the machine was flipping numbers, slowly coming to equilibrium, I had a sick feeling that I was all of a sudden way lighter than I'd ever expected to be. Sure enough, the number shot out at me like a slap in the face:



188.5 lbs!


What the hell! Now I have to be worried about not eating enough rather than eating too much. My strength at the gym has not diminished so I figure that muscle mass is not the issue, but I can't believe I had that much fat to lose. Anyway, I'll have to monitor this a little bit and hope that it stabilizes because, if it doesn't, it won't be long before I start resembling a drought victim! Perhaps the scale IS wrong???

So, tonight I went off to the gym to do my usual routine, and also to test the scale there. This time with shoes, shorts and a t-shirt, as well as two large hamburgers in my belly, I topped the scale 192.5lbs. I guess I can average the two and come out at around 190.5lbs or so, which is still much lower than my target weight of 195lbs. I don't know what to make of this, but I'm beginning to suspect that my goal was set more with what I remember to be a good weight for me and not taking into account all this running. Anyway, I still feel OK, but I don't think I should be getting any lighter - you know, what with winter coming and all...

Details:

• 10 minute stationary bike warm up
• Bicycle Crunches 50-50-50
• Dumbell Bench Press 12-12-12 55lbs
• One Arm Dumbell Rows 12-12-12 40lbs
• Dumbell Military Press 12-10 40lbs
• Lat Pulldowns 8-8 145lbs
• Biceps Curls 12-10 65lbs
• Rope Triceps Extensions 12-12 40lbs