cross training; 14K

This week has been insane. It's amazing I got anything at all done in the workout department. I ate poorly too :(. Gained back a couple pounds, but I am motivated and I am not letting a small setback stop me from getting back in shape, at least that's what I am telling myself. At least today was a good food day :).

Thursday: legs still very tired, and couldn't risk the 5K fartlek :(. So I rode my bike a lot instead. Rode to IHOP for breakfast with dad, rode to work, rode to sign kids up for afterschool, rode home. About 35K total! I felt a bit drained on the last ride home but was fine once I hydrated a bit more.

Friday: legs felt decent. Rode bike to gym, did elliptical for ~20 min, rode home. Then rode to work and back.

Today: 14K was scheduled. I was operating on 4.5 hours of sleep Friday night, and only 6 hr sleep Thursday night. Not good. I started off slowly and carefully, doing about 6:40 for the first km. I sped up a bit toward the middle of the workout, but overall my pace was slow and steady, which I think was good. My legs were tired but not awful, and I never got ridiculously slow. Starting about 11.5km they were very tired, but then I only had 2.5km, so it was an effort to finish but not too bad. Total time was 1:32:42 for 6:35/km (Garmin got screwed up for the last 500m so if you look at that it's wrong) with average HR 142. Obviously was taking it very easy, but I think that was wise. Best part? After sitting in the car the rest of the day my legs feel totally fine :). Oh, and my hip flexor bothered me just the teensiest bit. It seems to be improving! My left foot is hurting a bit tonight but I wonder if it's cramping up from being in an awkward position in the car? Not sure. Babying it now and hoping it's 100% tomorrow. I think it's just a muscle spasm.

8K

In brief: very hot for morning here - hottest I think it's ever been so early (6:30am). It was 81F (27C), but at least it wasn't humid. The heat got me though. My legs were heavy and after 6K very very slow. In addition, I got GI cramping that was pretty bad through the last few km. Loren had some GI bug so maybe I got it?

It didn't feel good today. I was going OK through 5K but never felt fantastic. My legs are fine though - no weird soreness, nothing wrong that a bit of heat and a GI bug doesn't explain.

Total was 52:46 for 6:36/km with ave HR 150. Garmin data here. 

Hip flexor felt much better but had some pain more medial almost in the groin area in same leg (right). It wasn't bad, but with the heat and GI issues it added to the fun today.

12K

I wasn't sure how my hip flexor would hold up this morning, but there's nothing like going out and giving it a try to see what will happen. I waited until 7:30 am to go out, reveling in the luxury of a Saturday morning without kids (they were at my parents' house). I probably should have gone earlier, as it was rather hot when I finished, at 77F (25C) and humid for here at 50% humidity. Icky! But I don't think the weather slowed me down. I did very well this morning, finishing the 12K in 1:15:50 for 6:19/km with ave HR 150. Awesome! I'm on my way back!

My hip flexor did bug me a bit, but because of the weather I had to stop several times to get water for myself and the dog, so every time I stopped I massaged it. That helped a lot. It never got really bad, and was merely annoying at times.

I was extremely sweaty when I returned and I wonder if I could have wrung out my sports bra? The cool shower felt amazing, except for the chafing on my back from my heart rate monitor that I was blissfully unaware of until I stepped in the shower. Ouch! Oh well… small price to pay. It was great to be out there today.

Garmin data here.