Run ...

Great run today! I was afraid I was going to be relegated to the treadmill due to the storms but after 5 - 10 minutes of pouring, it stopped. It's now started again, with rumbling thunder and all. But there was about an hour break. I'll run in the rain and I've been stuck miles out in some really heavy rain but it was coming down too hard to really start out for awhile.

Anyway, 38 minutes, Trolley Trail to Gregory. Felt good. Knees good. Of course I have no idea how fast or far I run ... Did my hill acceleration up 58th st. The TT is flat but I've got to go down a short steep hill to get there and then back up. So at the end of most TT runs, I like to try and accelerate all the way up the hill. For fun! Well maybe not on runs over an hour or when it's really hot.

Which reminds me ... the danger of heat and humidity .... It wasn't that warm when I went out, ~70 degrees, but it was thick, RH ~70%. No sun, though. I felt fine the whole way but that's getting up to the point where you need to be aware of the heat, because heat and humidity can be really dangerous. No matter how fit you are. The humidity has never bothered me much and with the cloud cover I was comfortable, dripping sweat but comfortable. Hopefully I can build up some heat acclimatization in the next few weeks before summer really sets in. And I avoid running when the sun is high in the sky once it really starts to heat up. The humidity, of course, adds to the danger, as your sweat cannot evaporate and cool you.

I guess the rain is good for the grass. But I'm hoping to be able to ride singletrack next week sometime .....

Run ....

Ran with my sister, 3.25 miles, easy pace. Nice day to run, most of it on dirt.

Usual post-run routine and a ham sandwich.

Treadmill ...

I had a little more time this morning as I have to take my car in to get a new tire and they won't have it from the warehouse until later. So I thought I could get a weight and cardio workout this morning.

I used to always do cardio first and then lift, if I were doing both. But then I read that you should lift first. Something about the lifting being anaerobic and the cardio could use fat as energy, I don't know exactly. So I did my usual weight routine, which I think might need review. Jackie from Workout, if you're reading, feel free to comment. Everything is three sets of ten, unless otherwise noted, and m is machine and f is free.
- Leg extension (m) 50 lbs through limited range of motion. This was suggested by the orthopedist last summer to build up my quads without stressing the knee.
- Shoulder press (m) - 80
- Bench press (f) - 70
- Lat pull (m) - 72
- Row (m) - 72
- Bicep curl (f) - 30
- Tricep press (f) - 30
- Back extensions (less than 30 reps)
- Leg lifts (20) in the chair (I always thought that was the Roman Chair but apparently but back extension thing is the Roman Chair, so what is the high chair thing called ?)
- Leg press (m) - 160

I think that is all. I think it needs review and maybe some changes.

Then I thought I would give running on the treadmill a real try. I have never run on a treadmill until recently. I would very rarely run on the indoor track at the gym if it was too crappy out, but for the most part, I run outside. The only condition that is a real problem is ice. One advantage of the treadmill is that you can set a pace and keep it, the other is that it seems alot softer than the ground. So I cranked up the ipod (that's another advantage I guess, not that I have much desire to use that outside anyway) and after a short warm-up pushed it up to 9 minute mile pace. Actually 8:57 or 6.7 mph. I always think in terms of minutes per mile, not miles per hour, when running. I played around with the incline a little but mostly left it flat.

I sounded a lot less like Sasquatch this time. I don't know if it was because it was a different machine or what, but I could not believe how much noise I made the last time. I thought I was a little lighter on my feet than that. I also noticed that I probably need to try one of my other running bras. Anyway, I ran on the treadmill for a little over 30 minutes, including the warmup and cooldown. It's a little boring. I don't think I could do it for much more than 30 minutes. But it was nice to know that I could keep that pace. I thought about going down to a 8:30 or so, but figured maybe I should just see how it felt.

Oh yeah, and then I did the stretches and crunches. No pushups. Extra attention to the hip stretches.