Last week in training...

Just completely another great week on the stationary bike. 194 miles last week. I am starting to get the itch to run again. And not a moment to soon. It is nearly time. This week I will see my podiatrist to get a feel for how to get back to running. My foot feels 100%, but I am sure is still healing and thus I will take it easy as I ease back into training. My cardio is solid. I have biked no less than 26.5 miles everyday for the last 2-3 weeks and logged something close to 700 miles of stationary biking in Oct. My heart is strong; 40 bpm at rest and 135-140 at a pretty decent effort on the bike with many tempo rides maintaining 160-170 bpm for an hour. It will be interesting to see how I return to running after a fair amount of cross training.

Snowing on a Tuesday: I am eating an apple and so might you be

The scene:

Currently, I am listening to Coldplay, eating an apple, watching the snow begin to fall from the comfort of my office. It is Tuesday.

Now, it is not just any Tuesday. This one, this particular day of the week, is unique. It is Tuesday, Oct. 27th, 2009: The First and The Last (caps because the moniker is likely to become normalized as a proper noun worthy of everyone's respect). Hear you me, this is the last. The last Tuesday, Oct. 27th, 2009 for some time. It is possible that man's system of time is cyclical, but it is highly unlikely that things will ever reset to a point previous to this date. Even if a new system of timekeeping was created and implemented, eliminating our present one, thousands of years in the making, it is highly improbable to expect Oct. 27th, 2009 to fall on a Tuesday, again. You see this? No? It is crazy talk; crazy talk to think that another Tues., Oct. 27th, 2009 will occur, either in this universe, a parallel one, or in a parallel one that decides to reset it's clock. The odds are greatly in favor of that NOT happening, a repeat of Tues., Oct. 27th, 2009.

So, don't fret, my friends. Enjoy today, Tuesday, Oct. 27th, 2009. Cherish every moment of this wonderful, rare sort of day/date combination. It is truly unique. Love it. Love it like it is the last sort of day/date combination of this type that you will ever have the chance to love and cherish. Then know - live on this hope - that tomorrow provides a comparatively unique scenario.

The snow has abated and I ought to get back to work. Coldplay continues to ring through my underpowered desktop computer speakers and my boredom has come full circle. Back to work.

Week Recap

Well, it looks as if I may be running in a couple of weeks. My foot has been healing rather quickly and I suspect that my podiatrist will give me the go ahead at my next appointment. Slow and steady wins the race this time around. Just in time, this healing, as I am beginning to get the itch to run again.

Last week I achieved my weekly fitness goal of stationary cycling 200+ miles. 203 miles in 7 rides. I put in a hard 35 miler on Friday to meet, and then surpass, the benchmark. Every one of those miles was with a good effort. Though 200+/week is no thing for cyclists, it proved almost difficult, in turns of time. The miles fly by on the cycle, of course, when compared with running. The thing that I still can't get my mind around is the fact that 203 miles isn't even my furthest distance travelled in a week via self-propulsion. I had a 204 mile running week last September. Thought of that sort of running mileage currently makes my knees quake. Anyways, it was a great week of cycling. My fitness is good. My heart is strong.

Lord of the Rings

Frodo, Bilbo, Gandalf, Gloin, Lagelas, Elrond, Strider, Sam and Tom are my favorite characters of Middle Earth. Gandalf is likely the most venerable. Tom is rather likable as well. Frodo and Bilbo, of course, are the carriers of The Ring and, consequently, rise as inextricable, lovable Hobbit-folk. Great characters. Gloin is fairly hard-edged dwarf. Strider is an incredible ranger. Elrond is godlike. Lagelas an excellent archer and Sam is, well, Sam is loyal and astute.


So far this week in stationary biking (in miles):

SA: 28 (tempo)
SU: 32
M: 26
TU: 27 (high, steady heart-rate)
W: 28 (high RPM)

This may end up being a 200+ mile stationary bike week, it may not. We will see.

Bilbo Baggins, stationary century, etc.

I just finished my first go around with "The Hobbit". A delicious read. And I mean delicious in the truest sense of the word. It was tasty. Sometimes we eat - now I am talking about food - for nourishment, sometimes for health, often for both. Sometimes we eat food simply because it is delicious - it tastes a little like heaven though it may give us a little hell. "The Hobbit" is delicious. It is a tasty adventure tracking the journey of Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf and the dwarves as they battle goblins, elves, Smaug and wargs en route to reclaiming a treasure that rightfully belongs to the small, bearded-folk. Bilbo is the champion of the ring and the champion of stepping out of a homely comfort zone. Through Bilbo we learn that when adventure knocks at our door, challenging our beliefs and assumptions of the world - oh dreadful risk! - we are foolish to pass, lest we die standing up. Thank you Tolkien.

I just completed another stationary bike intensive week. Here it is:

SA: 26 miles

SU: 24 miles

M: core work out

TU: 14 miles

W: 28 miles (intervals)/core

TH: 26 miles

F: 27 miles (intervals)/core

145 miles total

I have decided to have a go at a stationary century ride. My goal is to put in the 100 miles in less than 4.5 hours. I don't think that this will be a problem - it won't be easy, but it will be a nice challenge. I will probably go for it next weekend. Game on.

Etc. - I have begun the transition back to shoes. My left foot is healing quickly. I have been wearing stiff-soled, hiking books every other day, in lieu of the left boot. Feels great to walk with some semblance of normalcy. A couple more weeks and I should be able to start jogging again. Yeehaw. But all in good time. If it takes longer, fine. I am fine with that. The point is to heal fully. That is what I am aim to do.

This week in training

Whelp, I did a lot of stationary cycling this week. Quite honestly, that is all I can do for my heart presently. Swimming is out of the question. I am a horrible swimmer. Now, let me be clear, I can swim and for quite awhile, but I am in no way an efficient or graceful swimmer. I am a thrasher, to be sure. I admit this could all be changed if I buckled down and focused on becoming a good swimmer. Without question, such a move would be a boon to my training - both broken foot and in full health -, but presently, I have absolutely no desire (in fact, my stomach churns at the very idea - the antipathy of desire, the abhorrence of my day) to fight the precocious throngs of fish at the university pool. The very thought of the time - the total percentage of my day dedicated to that which I am not keen on - required to change, swim, shower and change again is, well, insurmountable at this juncture in my training life.

In short, I don't own goggles.

This week in training (stationary biking miles):

SA: 14 miles, weight lifting/core

SU: 25 miles

M: 20 miles

TU: 22 miles, core

W: Off

TH: 27 miles (intervals), core

F: 19 miles

Total: 127 miles

Lying by omission

Yesterday I had an appointment with a podiatrist to do sort of a 3 week checkup on my foot - x-rays, pushing here or there to incite pain, waiting in a series of subsequently smaller rooms, etc. The doctor was baffled by my fracture. How did it happen? I didn't know. Any changes in your footwear just prior to the incident? Not that I could think of. Hmmm. A mystery. No, not quite doc, I thought, knowing full well that my own foolish, unbridled tenacity for all things extreme - in this case excessive barefoot running - was the culprit. I was too embarrassed to admit it. Anyways, the outlook he gave me was good; over the next three weeks I can begin transitioning to shoes, the fracture is healing quite well. I plan to apologize for withholding damning evidence and tell all! to the doctor at our next visit in three weeks.

Yesterday afternoon, I threw down (and nearly threw up) on the bike. I cranked out a little over 27 miles in 1:05 at the upper levels of the exercise bikes limits (and mine). It was great. Sweated profusely, burned the caloric equivalent of a double whopper w/cheese and had fun. I did feel quite nauseous toward the end of the ride, but held it in, fought it off and succeeced in completing the ride, sans projectile expulsion. Yeehaw. Doubtless, I miss running, but these exercise bike rides have been enjoyable and provided great mind, body and soul work outs. What more can one ask for? It is time for work. Peace.