Keeping the Holiday Burn Going!

Today's was the 2nd day for my Holiday Running Streak.  I got to the gym late (around 5:45 pm) so I decided to make it a short trip to the gym on the Treddy - walked 2.0 mi, and jogged 1.0 mi (stats from equipment readout). 

Warm-up (bike) - 5:00

Walk
30:00 - 1.77 mi, 3.5 mph
Avg HR - 116'7.1 laps
242 cal
Pace - 16:40/mil

Jog (run)
1.0 mi, 14:10
0.15 mi 4.0 mph
0.10 mi - 4.5 mph

My back was still a little sore and achy, but I managed to finish my workout.

The Phoenix is (slowly) Rising ...

The past few weeks, I've been rehabbing my knee.  This will be my last week in rehab, so I felt I should try to get back into the workout groove.  Today I was off from work, so I took to the gym earlier than usual (for me - about 3:00 pm).  I wanted to get into the pool first, but a fellow gym-goer (male) was in there.  Well, I decided to wait unit he finished and exited the pool - not that I was afraid as I was embarrassed to be seen in a swimsuit (LOL)..  Anyway, I did my cardio trio - exercise bike, treadmill, elliptical - for a total of 45 minutes:
Exercise/stationary bike - 15:00 - alpine pass (level 3) - 5.18 mi, 49 cal
Treadmill - 15:00 - sports 5K (4.00 mph) - 1.00 mi., 121 cal
Elliptical - 15:00 - autopilot - 0.88 mi, 95 cal
After getting up a modest sweat, I finally jumped into the pool for 30 minutes.  This was really a great way to end my workout - the water was warm, so it really helped to relax my muscles.When I finished, my knees were sore - but I expected that.
It's going to be a long road back to the track - but slow and steady wins the race.

Running Does Not Always = Bad Knees

Check out this article:  you will look at running in a different light.
http://www.npr.org/2011/03/28/134861448/put-those-shoes-on-running-wont-kill-your-knees

March - My Month of Minor Medical Misfortunes (LOL)

Ahh, beware the Ides of March!  The utterance of such a poetic line has never been truer - at least for me.  With not even the first half of the month has yet vanished lest I have made numerous visits to various medical practitioners for a sundry list of ailments.  It's whimsical to me because after all I'm telling my tale with you in the vertical position - LMBO!!!  (And considering the alternative, I can deal with the discomforts and minor inconveniences.)

* Of course, you all are familiar with my knee trouble - getting rehab plus now fluid replacement shots to hopefully slow arthritis' progress.  And hopefully maintain some level/ability to continue 'runnning.
* A confirmed diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome - my right hand has been symptomatic for some time.  I've been working on better computing habits (ergo stuff with desk, positioning, posture, time, etc.) to help ease the pain - which has helped.  It's severe and the doctor is advising that I not put it off more than 6 months.  But the tests also indicate that I have it in my left hand, although I haven't had any symptoms.
* A couple of weeks ago, I was working in my flower bed and apparently came in contact with either poison oak, poison ivy, or poison somac.  I'm not certain which because all I remember is just lots of dead weeds taking over my flower bed and making it look horrible.  I noticed whelping, redness and had been scratching; I was using just about everything you could get OTC and nothing was helping.  So I went to the urgent care center a week ago, and got a steroid shot and pills.  Unfortunately, I think all that scratching made matters worse, which really didn't help much.  So I went to a dermo and got a prescription lotion and cream - almost $45.00!  I'm starting to see and feel some relief, but it's been slow too.

Needless to say, today was the first day after an extended hiatus that I made it to the gym for a workout - one hour of cardio exercise (25:00 recumbent bike, 25:00 modest walking on TM, and 15:00 on  elliptical).

Hopefully, the rest of the month is downhill - :)!

1st Race for 2011 - and It was a Good One!

This morning I ran Adam's Heart & Sole 5K (@ Lakeshore Running Trail).  The trail is mostly a flat course, which was good for me since this was my first race in 2011 and first race back since start rehabbing for me knee.  I set my target pace on the GPS-enabled app on my BB for 15:00, nit expecting to do much better than that.  And the weather certainly was weird today - we had snow flurries! And quite heavy at times during the race.  However, this wasn't a real factor for the course because they melted on contact with the ground, but it was certainly a sight to behold!

My stats - finished 41:36 (13:25 pace)! And my knee felt very good - no pain, but it did get a little tired about halfway between mile 2 & 3.  I was very pleased with performance in this race.  I'm looking for to next week's 5 and I may add a longer run (5 miles) this week to see what my knee can do.

Great Advice on Mending an Injury

Have a sports injury?  What you do in the first 48-72 hours can make the difference.  Click this link to find out more.

Rebounding

Just getting back to training today (recumbent bike - 30:00, 3.7 mi.). Pulled thigh muscles doing too much yardwork last weekend.