Treadmill run

If you have been following my posts you will know that not too long ago I made a resolution to run more. Well, today I followed through on that (at least in part).

Nothing real special about this morning, just another La Mariposa morning swim practice for my daughter and another morning workout for me. The Trap strain from yesterday is still an issue. My neck was stiff and sore when I work up this morning. Turning my head to the right was no problem. But, turning to the left, well that was a different story. So, the best thing for me to do today was to get a run in. And that is exactly what I did.

Treadmill
4.5 miles / 45 minutes

• 1 mile @ 6.0 mph (10:00 min/mile)
  
• 2.5 miles @ 6.5 mph (9:13 min/mile)
  
• .5 mile @ 6.0 mph (10:00 min/mile)
  
• .5 mile @ 5.5 mph (10:49 min/mile)

Bosu ball lunges - 2x6
Wide-Stance Medicine ball fig. 8's - 1x30

Had a good run. My neck didn't really bother me at all. My left knee on the other hand, was fine during the run, but now is a little sore. No real concerns though. Just trying to slowly get back to a place where I can handle the longer runs.

Side Note: I remembered to wear my HRM chest strap and the gym treadmills are supposed to pick up the chest strap signal automatically. The treadmill I was on never did register my heart rate though. So, I am a little disappointed that I don't know my HR range for today's run.

Musical organization

Spent some time this weekend organizing my CD collection and getting a lot of the CDs added to iTunes. Actually, I spent quite a bit of time on this task. But, I'm not sure if it was that, or the TVSC Premier '92 end-of-season party, or the TVSC Summer Skills planning meeting which did me in. One, or all of the above, drained me this weekend. At least, that is what I am thinking, because I was awful tired and sluggish this morning.

Sometimes, when I am tired and unmotivated, all it takes is one set or two and my energy is up and I am ready to go. Today, this was the case, but to a lesser degree. I had enough energy to make it through my workout, but I have had better workouts before.

I don't think I trained Back last week, so a Back strength training session is the way I decided to open the new week.

Back
Good Mornings - 3x10 @45
PullUps - 6, 4, 3, 3
Lat Pulldowns - 4x10 @125
Lat Pulldowns (to chest) - 2x10 @115.5
Seated Cable Row - 4x8 @125
Roman Chair LowBack Extension - 4x10
ChinUps - 3x6

On the second set of Chin Ups I strained something in my neck. My left Trap was aching and I decided I was done with strength training for the day. But with a little more than 20 minutes until eight o'clock, I needed to find something to do. So, I rode the recumbent bike to get some cardio in.

I think it was a good thing to stop lifting when I did. The pain in my Trapezius is not going away. In fact, it's starting to throb. Looks like I have a ice pack and heat pad in my immediate future. It's never pleasant being injured, so I hope this goes away fast.

Good thing we went early

You ride the same route enough times and you start to get a little bored. It was for this reason that when discussing this weeks Sunday morning ride with Dan we decided to change it up a bit. We were to meet at my house at 6 o'clock. Take Catalina Hwy south to Tanque Verde, west to Sabino Canyon Rd. and head north.

In route to my house, while driving up Houghton, Dan got stuck behind some old guy doing 30mph (been there, done that). When that happens, there is nothing you can do but ride it out. As a result, it was about 6:15a bfore Dan got to my place and about 6:20a when we got on the road.

The weather was great, the traffic was light, and we were setting a decent pace. Having a great ride, until... about a mile up Sabino Canyon Rd. Dan's rear tire blew. Damn it. That sucks. But, in reality, this is the first riding flat we have had in a long time. When Dan first started riding with Chris and I, he had a rash of flats that would shake the confidence of anyone new to cycling. But since then, flats seem to have been extremely few and far between (fwiw, I am knocking on wood as I write this). So, since it's been such a long time since our last flat, it's really hard to complain about this one.

Less than ten minutes to replace the tube, and we were ready to get back on the road. With the tube replaced and Dan putting his rear wheel back in place, these two women ride by us. Hey, they were cute. (I think). Sometimes it's hard to tell with the helmets and the sunglasses and all, but, I think they were cute. By the way, there were a number of other cyclists which passed us while Dan changed his tire, but most of them were male and frankly not worth mentioning.

The two cute cyclists, as I will call them here, turned west onto Cloud Rd. I have never ridden down that way so I don't know what is down there, but that was not be the time to find out. Dan and I kept straight through the Cloud light and again through the light at River Rd. We bared slightly right to stay on Sabino Canyon and climb Sabino Mountain.

Sabino Mountain is a deceptively long hill which kind of winds upward and seems to conceal the fact that it continues to incline around each bend. It had been so long since we had ridden out this way, that I had forgotten just how long that climb was. As I continued up the hill, my quads started burning. OMG, it was like my legs were on fire. I was trying to push myself and I could heard Dan right behind me.

At some point, graciously, we reached the top of the hill and came to the light at the Snyder intersection shortly there after. We decided to continue up Sabino Canyon to the end. We reached the end of Sabino Canyon right around 52 minutes into our ride. I told Dan that I wanted to head home so that we could try and get back by eight. My Dad's birthday was last week and we had a family belated birthday brunch planned.

So we made our way back down Sabino Canyon Rd. and headed for home. Going through the light at Snyder, we picked up a guy on a mountain bike who drafted off of Dan all the way to the Kolb light. Upon arrival he told Dan, "sorry, I just couldn't resist the free ride".

Usually, the most difficult part of this route is making the turn eastbound onto Tanque Verde from Sabino Canyon. Three lanes turning, lots of cars, a cyclist nightmare (at least this cyclist anyway). But, it was early enough today that traffic was still really light, not many people out and the turn was no problem.

Similarly, the rest of the ride was pleasant. Especially the last 1.2 miles which is a slight incline up Catalina Hwy to my street. We tried to finish the ride strong and go hard that last mile. Every time I looked down at my Garmin, we were maintaining a speed of 16.5 mph. That is a very good pace for us.

As desired, we made it home before eight o'clock. A quick shower, throw on some decent clothes and a car ride across town later, we arrived at the JW Marriott Starr Pass for our birthday breakfast brunch. But, this was not the most interesting thing that happend to me today. More interesting is when we came down Tanque Verde at about 10:30am, trying to get home. The TV overpass was blocked off from Tanque Verde and the Wrightsown onramp as well. We weren't real sure what was going on, but had to go down Wrigthstown to Harrison and up to Speedway and finally to Houghton, like everybody else, to get around. Once there we saw more barriers at Tanque Verde and Houghton. What a huge mess. It wasn't until we got home, via the long detour, that we found out about the crazy guy and his cross town shooting spree. Weird, this kind of stuff never happens in my neighborhood.

All I can say is, I'm glad we rode early. I told Dan, we ride much later, and we might have been caught up in a high speed chase. Scary stuff!

Two outta three ain't bad

Six o'clock at the church is the tradition. And once again, that was the plan for today. But, today, like has happened once before in the past, the entrance to the church parking lot was blocked off. So, instead of parking at that church, I had to go to one of the other dozen churches at the Houghton/Old Spanish Trail intersection. I had expected Dan and Chris to arrive on their bikes, so I would just get on mine and ride around the corner to the meet location. However, no more than two minutes after I pulled up, Dan pulled up in his car and parked next to me. Previous experience told us that THIS church was our alternate meet location if the other was unavailable. So, together we both mounted our trusty aluminum and/or carbon steeds (i.e. bikes) and rounded the corner to find Baker their waiting.

The plan for today was the same as one we've done many times before... OST out to CC and back. But this time, to mix it up a bit, I suggested we alternate leaders and see if we could push the pace.

We were doing just that and making good time as we dove down the hill to Jeremy Wash. I am no cycling expert and don't know all the specifics of drafting, but I must have been drafting Baker, because as he was working hard in front, I kept having to break a bit, so as not to overtake him.

We went down through the wash and rounded the corner to head a little more south-east toward the market and Colossal Cave. Just as we were approaching the Rincon Market, Baker yelled that he was going to pull over and needed to stop. Apparently, on his recent trip to Mexico, he stepped on a stingray. And although he had 'boiled' some water and soaked his foot in it (don't ask me... something he read on the Internet) and it hadn't bothered him when he played basketball, apparently, it was killing him to ride. The pedal cleat was pressing directly on the sore point on the sole of his foot and he decided he wasn't going to be able to continue. He sent Dan and I on as he decided he would turn back.

Dan and I started again and I continued to press that pace as best I could. We made it to CC in one-hour and two minutes by my Garmin, but Dan's cyclocomputer had our time as fifty-nine minutes, as it did not include the 3-minutes we stopped and talked with Chris. So, once again, two out of three of us made the ride out to CC in under an hour. Excellent!

The pause at CC this time was extremely short. Right around 5-minutes in fact. Much more downhill on the return ride. And as usual, a much faster time. Another great ride. We completed the entire trip in 1 hour and 53 minutes. Average speed 14.5 mph. Average Heart Rate 120 bpm.

Stability Thursday

Recently, my training has gotten a little stale. I'm riding and swimming. Strength training and lately, even a little more running. But, I haven't kept up with my agility and speed work. Now, it might just be my imagination, or my age, but I feel like I am getting slower. Like I haven't been spending enough time working on quickness. So, along with some stability and/or core work, I added some of that to today's session.

La Mariposa racquetball court:

> Right leg gallop - 8 lengths
> Left leg gallop - 8 lengths
> Shuffle - 30 widths
> Lunges w/ medicine ball figure 8's - 4 lengths
> Standing medicine ball figure 8's - 3x30

Core work
> Bosu ball balance abs - 3x15
> Bosu ball v-ups - 3x10
> One-leg front/back kicks - 3x20 (each leg)
> Crunches - 4x12
> Side bridge w/ pulse - 2x20
> Side bridge rotations - 2x20

Good workout. Just what I needed at this point in my training. The plan will be to incorporate similar session more often.

On my way out, I talked to a girl which I had seen working out the last couple of days. She said, "I notice you doing a lot of stability work. Are you training for a specific event". I told her not really. I am trying to do more stability and core work, because as a general rule, I haven't done enough. It turns out her name is Katrina, and she is from Sahuaro H.S., class of '96. She said she was part of ASU Diving in college. Her husband was Sabino, class of '92. And her husband's brother was Sabino, class of '96. Nice lady. I'm sure I will continue to see her around L.M.

Virtual Tuesday

Monday was Memorial Day. And since I took the day off on Monday, Tuesday became a virtual Monday and Wednesday became a virtual Tuesday. So, today is Virtual Tuesday... which is Leg day. Was all that clear?

In any case...
Legs
Squat - 2x10 @135, 2x8 @185, 2x8 @205, 2x4 @225
Leg Press - 5x8 @180
Barbell Lunges - 3x8 @45
Bosu Ball Squats - 4x10
Easy Jog (around grass area) ~ 1mile

Once again, this was a La Mariposa morning workout. Looks like that will be the status quo for the foreseeable future.

First run in a while

The plan for today was to go on the first run I have been on in at least two weeks. Albeit on a treadmill.

My eldest daughter swims on the La Mariposa swim team. And, now that school is out, swim practice is every morning from 6:45a - 8:00a. Since I am the one who takes her to swimming, I have decided to use that time to my advantage and get my workout in while she is in the pool.

Today was the first day of this new found decision and schedule. So, that made today a good day to run.

The La Mariposa workout room is actually a series of four rooms connected by a small doorway between each. The identical size and shape of each room makes it appear as though they used to be racquetball courts and were converted for weight training use. In this setup, rooms 1 and 2 contain free weights, room 3 is all cardio machines and room four is full of weight machines.

Since I was running today, I spent my time in room 3:

Treadmill - 3.4 miles, 37 minutes
Elliptical - 1.5 miles, 17 minutes

During my treadmill run, I felt good, for the most part. My left knee was a bit sore, but not enough to cause me to stop. After completing my run, I hopped onto the elliptical, almost as an extended cool down.

By 8 o'clock my workout was complete. Cyd was finishing up with her swim, and we were ready to head home. I realize that I have to do a better job of incorporating runs into my weekly training.