The First Mowing ...

Today I mowed for the first time this season. I thought maybe it could wait two weeks but I'm afraid of the jungle it would be at that point. Guess that fertilizer helps. And lots of rain and some nice warm days. I need to get a tune-up for that mower as it's been around several years but I don't think it has been tuned up. But that is just a logistical problem so I had to mow anyway. Even with old gas and a blade that probably needs sharpening. The view from the porch sure is green and full. You can't tell how clumpy it is from a distance.

I wasn't as stiff and sore as I expected today. I feel it from yesterday to be sure but not as bad as some previous efforts. Maybe that's due to my stretching and yoga additions in the last few years? The duathlon is actually part of a three race series. I did not do the first one because I didn't feel confident riding the Clinton Lake trails, which I had never done. The next one is at Smithville in two weeks. I have ridden Smithville a time or two and it has a mix of singletrack. Some is smooth and fast, some are a rock garden. I hope they would use the mellower stuff for a race ....

At any rate, it's a good excuse to check out the Saucony line of trail running shoes. I need some new running shoes anyway and I'd like to see how their trail shoes feel.

Today's workout was a recovery workout, due to yesterday's efforts and that I have Take No Prisoners spinning tomorrow morning.
- 35 minutes on "fat burner" mode on the elliptical ( http://us.commercial.lifefitness.com/content.cfm/90x ). I like this elliptical because it's flat. Some of the others are more stair climber like and they can stress my knee occasionally.
- Fat burning mode means keeping the HR at 65% so for me, that's about 116 or 118. That's a pretty casual pace. Also, I would dispute the fat burning aspect. It was my understanding that true fat burning did not happen until your body had used all its available energy sources, which would take close to an hour or so. But I am not a nutritionist or a trainer, so take that for what it's worth.
- Claims I burned 300 calories. Which might be sort of accurate, given that it knows my weight and speed.
- The alleged pace would be about a 7 minute mile. There is no way if I was running 7 minute miles, my HR would be in the low 120's. But that's the difference between a trainer and running in the wild, I guess.
- Finished with my usual core and stretching routine. Some basic yoga postures, especially for the hips and legs, my problem flexibility areas. 20 pushups (sometimes 30 but I was a little beat), 150 crunches (50 standard, 100 bicycle style). A little of that plank pose on your forearms.