This week, is my third week of my new Ironman plan and I am starting to feel better... finally. the first couple of weeks were a nightmare. I was sick, jet-lagged from the new schedule and basically nothing was going right. A little bit of persistence and I am now emerging a bit stronger and more confident that I can do this.
I have gone every day to the spin class since 12/16/12, including optional days and not planning to miss any. That's 6 days a week. I am slowing getting used to the brutal 4 am wake up every day...
My typical day goes like this:
4am wake up, prepare+breakfast till 4:30, drive to the class (35min). Spin class is 60 to 90 min depending on days. Then I drive to the pool (20 - 25min), I swim for about 20 min (this time will slowly increase...) and by 7:30 - 8:00am I drive to work (15 min drive).
At lunch I try to do some weight training, if not I do it when I am back at home. I leave work around 5:30 pm and drive back home (30min). Then it's time for either a core workout in front of the TV or I go out and run (right now I don't run much because of my knees...). Just enough time left to have a quick dinner, then I'm off to bed at 8pm.
One of the side effect of this schedule is that my weight has been dropping like hell. So far so good though (I lost about 5 lbs to 137 lbs in the last 2 months). However, I will have to stabilize my weight pretty soon as I do not have much more to lose...
That is a tough schedule which could be improved a lot if I didn't have to drive so damn much... I guess that when the days are warmer and the spinning class is over, I might be able to bike to work instead of driving which will be a much more efficient use of my training time.
This week. I started running again for the first time since 12/10/12. After work, yesterday, I ran about 8.5 miles in my usual Porter Rockwell trail in Draper. Temperature was in the teens to low twenties ( in Celcius that's about -7 to -9). I took the dogs with me and we loved the run!!
It may seem strange to most but running at night is my favorite. That and the low temperatures and I am right in my element. Running through the dark trails has a different quality and feel which brings me a lot of peace and joy.
The run felt great. No pain in my knees, fairly conservative 7:30 to 8:00 min/mile pace. It was pure enjoyment after such a long break from running.
I knew I should not have run that long for a first time but I really did not want to stop. This morning though I felt it in my knees during the biking. I will have to take more time off running and ease up the mileage next time.
Swimming has been improving steadily as well. My first week was terribly demoralizing. I was not able to swim more than 5 pool lengths (25 yd) at a time without stopping. I could not catch my breath, my muscles were burning and I was really wondering if I'd ever improve. After taking a membership at the pool and stubbornly going almost everyday, I finally had a (small) breakthrough this Wednesday. I managed to swim 10 pools lengths without stopping.
Sure this is an incredibly modest achievement by any swimmer's standards, but for me, this was huge. This morning, I completed 500 yards, only stopping briefly after a few pool lengths. My pace is still very slow. In fact, i can barely pass the octogenarians swimming casually next to me. But finally, I am starting to feel I can swim for longer without total exhaustion.
I have 2 more spin class until the holiday break. Next week I am off from work, and with no spin class and my break from running, I am not sure what I am going to do with myself.
I have gone every day to the spin class since 12/16/12, including optional days and not planning to miss any. That's 6 days a week. I am slowing getting used to the brutal 4 am wake up every day...
My typical day goes like this:
4am wake up, prepare+breakfast till 4:30, drive to the class (35min). Spin class is 60 to 90 min depending on days. Then I drive to the pool (20 - 25min), I swim for about 20 min (this time will slowly increase...) and by 7:30 - 8:00am I drive to work (15 min drive).
At lunch I try to do some weight training, if not I do it when I am back at home. I leave work around 5:30 pm and drive back home (30min). Then it's time for either a core workout in front of the TV or I go out and run (right now I don't run much because of my knees...). Just enough time left to have a quick dinner, then I'm off to bed at 8pm.
One of the side effect of this schedule is that my weight has been dropping like hell. So far so good though (I lost about 5 lbs to 137 lbs in the last 2 months). However, I will have to stabilize my weight pretty soon as I do not have much more to lose...
That is a tough schedule which could be improved a lot if I didn't have to drive so damn much... I guess that when the days are warmer and the spinning class is over, I might be able to bike to work instead of driving which will be a much more efficient use of my training time.
This week. I started running again for the first time since 12/10/12. After work, yesterday, I ran about 8.5 miles in my usual Porter Rockwell trail in Draper. Temperature was in the teens to low twenties ( in Celcius that's about -7 to -9). I took the dogs with me and we loved the run!!
It may seem strange to most but running at night is my favorite. That and the low temperatures and I am right in my element. Running through the dark trails has a different quality and feel which brings me a lot of peace and joy.
The run felt great. No pain in my knees, fairly conservative 7:30 to 8:00 min/mile pace. It was pure enjoyment after such a long break from running.
I knew I should not have run that long for a first time but I really did not want to stop. This morning though I felt it in my knees during the biking. I will have to take more time off running and ease up the mileage next time.
Swimming has been improving steadily as well. My first week was terribly demoralizing. I was not able to swim more than 5 pool lengths (25 yd) at a time without stopping. I could not catch my breath, my muscles were burning and I was really wondering if I'd ever improve. After taking a membership at the pool and stubbornly going almost everyday, I finally had a (small) breakthrough this Wednesday. I managed to swim 10 pools lengths without stopping.
Sure this is an incredibly modest achievement by any swimmer's standards, but for me, this was huge. This morning, I completed 500 yards, only stopping briefly after a few pool lengths. My pace is still very slow. In fact, i can barely pass the octogenarians swimming casually next to me. But finally, I am starting to feel I can swim for longer without total exhaustion.
I have 2 more spin class until the holiday break. Next week I am off from work, and with no spin class and my break from running, I am not sure what I am going to do with myself.
