Monthly Review
So, it’s been about a month since I decided that enough was enough. I suppose some kind of status update is in order.
Things continue to go pretty well. I’m able to run now without any knee pain which I’m really happy about. I started out at the beginning of the month with just a short two miles and basically upped my mileage by one mile at the end of each week. Four weeks later, my long run ended up being six miles. That’s a comfortable place for me - just under an hour which makes it feel like a good, aerobic workout. That and there is enough time during that to start adding some additional speedwork. It’s time to start lowering that pace of mine…
My cycling has been pretty light still. I’m only doing two rides a week at this point and each for only an hour. I just really don’t enjoy riding on the trainer. I only do it to keep some sort of familiarity with the bike, so my butt and my legs will be happier come spring. Still, I can’t say that I look forward to spending time doing my spin workouts. I never thought I’d say this, but I’d rather be outside running.
I only had one week of swimming this past month. It started out horribly, but I think that was a fluke. I’ve only had three workouts since then, but each was significantly better than the first day back. I feel that I could swim longer if I really wanted or needed to at this point, but it’s a long season and there isn’t any point burning myself out with it now. Of the three, swimming has the potential to burn me out the fastest. It’s the only activity that requires me to wake up early in the morning. It’s often crowded and the lanes are sometimes a mess (today, we had four folks in my lane - the first set consisted of 8 x 150 and we had a mix of folks doing 150s, 125s and 100s; talk about chaos!).
Still working on stretching and strengthening my lower body so my ITB ailments keep at bay. I need to continue to focus on doing core work and eating well. Ugh. Despite a significant increase in physical activity this past month, I don’t think I’ve made any progress in the body composition department.
Thanks to you all for your supportive comments and encouragement, and to everyone that keeps a blog from which I can feed off your energy and positive vibes about the upcoming season. I’m sure you all know how much a few words of encouragement can completely turn your day around and psych you up. Thanks to Commodore for starting his No Limits challenge. He’s keeping us all honest and challenging us in a positive manner. I can’t wait to hear where everyone ends up at the end of this 39 day journey.
See you all on the other side! :)