Another good workout

Today was my long run. I was going to do it yesterday, but I wore cotton socks instead of workout socks. I was afraid of blisters. I was going to do some exercise at PWC but I only had my running shoes and didn't want to do the workout in them. I didn't get much done yesterday except for making lousy excuses. When I did run today, I had a pretty damn good run. It was pretty chilly out this morning but I love running in that weather. I ended up leaving from Jack & Adam's and did two of the 3.44 mile loops. I saw some friends and I actually felt a lot better at the end of the run than at the beginning. My HR was higher in the 2nd lap, but I felt better and felt like my form was better as well. Overall, I ran 7.5 miles in about 59:17. Now, the ride I did yesterday was great. But by yesterday, I mean tomorrow. I still need get about another mile in this weekend though to get my total mileage for the week. I'll probably do that tomorrow.

Asics shoe mileage: 108 miles

That's the fucking workout that I needed!

Tonight's workout was the 8 mile South Mopac time trial loop. This was after an 3 mile run this morning with 5x1min mod, 2min easy. As I was warming up, I really didn't know how I was going to do since my legs weren't feeling it. I kept warming up and doing a few faster intervals to get my heart rate up. Going into the TT, I would be satisfied with anything under 21:00 and happy with anything under 20:40. You see, for the last 4 TTs that I've done around this loop, they've always been 19:40+/-0:04 no matter the conditions nor my fitness level at the time. I've been feeling really out of shape lately so I thought I was going to be really slow for me tonight.

Tonight, I went out and just kept going. I got my heart rate at 170+ fairly quickly. It hurt like a TT is suppose to hurt, but I wasn't going all out quite yet. When I've been doing intervals lately, my HR gets in the 160-163 range and that's it. At 170+, I didn't know how long I could last before I blew up. I just kept a high cadence and kept pedaling my ass off. I didn't take it strong up the Escarpment hill and I even think I went to the little chain ring. Didn't want to blow my load yet. I was passing a decent amount of people at the time though. I just kept going. Turned around at the half way point and was over 10:00 (10:48 to be exact). I knew that I could do the backside faster than that so I had a decent shot at breaking 21:00. I just kept going at it but I was feeling the affects as usual. I actually felt like I was letting up a bit on the way back. I picked off a few more people, but the ranks were thinning out. Once again, stayed in my aero bars and kept pedaling. Climbed up the last hill and was almost toast. I knew I had maybe half a mile and I could kick it up a bit so I tried. As I was coming up the last hill, I was grunting and puffing to get up out of the saddle and across the line.

I stopped my watch and it read 20:06. I knew the official time would be a little bit faster than that. It was 20:03. Holy fucking shit, I blew my goals away. Finally, I wasn't around 19:40, but I was way, way faster than I was expecting. I guess I do have a few extra horsepower sitting around somewhere. This was a workout that I really, really needed mentally though. I didn't do as fast as I have in the past, but I didn't do so bad either. This proves that even though I feel completely out of shape, I'm just being a fucking pussy about going faster. I need to push myself more because I have it inside of me. The way out was 10:48 with an avg HR of 166 and the way back was 9:18 with an avg HR of 166 so I was pretty even the entire time. I had a max of 177 which was right at the end. If I did it again, I could break 20:00 easily. I'm really stoked about this because I still have a lot of fitness left inside of me, but I'm not letting it out because of issues mentally.

This is the exact type of workout that I needed as a kick in the ass and it feels great. I have regained a lot of my confidence now.

Recovery Week

Last week was a recovery week and I still missed a few workouts. L-A-M-E! Running is still going well and I think I put in 13.3 miles last week. Well, close to it. I do my long runs around Town Lake Trail, aka Lady Bird Lake Trail, and there are 3 different maps for the distances which makes it a bit confusing. I'm going to say that the "5.8 mile run" that I did on Sunday was closer to 6.94 miles according to this map. I did it in about 57 minutes or so. I don't know what was going on, but I didn't feel that comfortable during the long run. I had a good, hard bike ride on Saturday afternoon as well.

Asics shoe mileage: 94 miles

Running is going well!

I've been running consistently pretty well for a few weeks now. Two weeks ago, I ran about 8.6 when I was suppose to run 11. I just didn't get around to the last 2.4 miles for whatever reason (laziness). This week, I did all 12.1 miles that I was suppose to do. This upcoming week, I'm suppose to run 13.3 miles. I'm not having any heel pain or anything like that, but I am getting a bit of soreness in my soleus. My PT and me will get it worked out though.

I'm still cycling about twice a week and swimming about as frequently as well. I don't have anything holding me back from cycling but I'm still having shoulder issues. Even though I am getting out and working out, I'm still having some motivation issues. I am feeling more fit and trim, but not that much. It'll come around eventually though. I has really affected me taking nearly a year off.

Asus run mileage: 81 miles

Overdue Update

I don't know what the hell is wrong with me. I have the desire to get back into shape, but I'm completely lacking the motivation and discipline to do it. I'm doing work outs, but I'm kind of autopilot through them. I think the issue is that I'm doing a lot of base stuff without pushing myself hoping that speed will come with that. However, I need to hurt a bit and push my limits before the speed will come. Also, I'm unable to lose weight, but the culprit for that is beer and I'm drinking it about 2-3 times a week now. Bad, Eric!

I am making progress. My foot is feeling a lot better. I did a 5 mile run around Town Lake and it was absolutely beautiful. It wasn't that fast, but I felt great during the entire run. I did have some pain in my lower leg, but it moved around and it never got that bad. I ran 11 miles this week and 10.5 miles last week. This is an amount of mileage which makes me feel a lot better about my progress.

My shoulder is feeling better as well. I haven't had as much progress with it as my foot, but that's OK. I'm still swimming though but only about 800yds at a time.

Asics run mileage: 60 miles

I'm back with Texas Iron!

Well, I rejoined Texas Iron this month. It's nice to be back to a regular routine in a group setting. I'm following my workouts much more regularly now and that is a very good thing. I think I am making some improvements with fitness, but not much with weight loss. My run mileage is increasing as well. My PT wants me to do 11 miles this week and hopefully it won't cause any issues. I'm some new shoes, Asics Gel-Nimbus, and I think I'll like them better than the NB 106x series. They have gel in them instead of the EVA foam so hopefully they'll last longer. My PF in my left foot has made some huge strides lately working with my PT. I really hope that it is gone for good this time so that I can get back into running.

My shoulder is still having issues. I'm still having some adhesions with the tissues in there which is causing some pain. Once again, I'm working with my PT to get this resolved. I have been keeping up swimming 2-3x/week though. It's only about 800yds at a time, but I'm still getting in the water.

Asics run mileage: ~35 miles

What's going on?

Man, no update for awhile. I've been trying really hard to get back into training and I just realized that it isn't happening by myself. Even though I'm probably not ready to run that far yet, I've decided to get back to Texas Iron in February. I just need that extra motivation to get in my ass in gear. The good news is that I'm up to running 6 miles a week this week. My PT wanted me in some different shoes and now that I'm in them, it should be better. My foot and my shoulder are both feeling better. Things are actually progressing! Except for my weight which keeps going up.

Wow, has it been a month?

I can't believe that it has been a month since I've last updated. Well, there really isn't much new. I'm getting my 3 runs in a week but I'm stuck at 4.4 miles per week because I'm getting some pain down in my heel. I'm getting about 2-3 rides a week, but nothing really hard or long. It's OK though. Finally, I'm swimming 2 times per week at about 650yds each. My foot is feeling OK. My shoulder is feeling better as well. I think the bicipital tendonitis has cleared up, but I have some other painful adhesions in my shoulder. Oh, over the Christmas break, I've been taking yoga about 3 times per week. I've also completely lost track of my shoe mileage so I'm going to assume about 5 miles per week.

NB shoe mileage: 75 miles

Update

As usual, my boring update about me doing nearly nothing. I ran 4 miles last week which is getting better. I'm still having a bit of pain in the foot though. It seems more muscular than inflamed fascia though. My shoulder seems to be getting better as well. I was feeling a bit frustrated on Thursday so I went out and did a hard bike ride at lunch. I was high from that ride until Friday night which was great. I need to do more of those because lately when I get on the bike, or any workout in particular, I'm such a pussy about it. This is one thing that I know that I lack when I'm training by myself. I need to train with others to push me because it is going to be tough for me to do it on my own. And as I push myself, I get in better physical shape which makes me feel better. I'll get back to Texas Iron soon, though.

NB 1062 mileage: 49 miles

Shoe Mileage

Not much to say here. I'm trying to get back into a regular workout routine because the holiday pounds have already started creeping on to my stomach. I'm up to 196.5 on Friday. No more! I ran 3.7 miles this week with the longest run of about 1.5 miles. If I keep this up, I'll be at 15 mpw by the end of February.

NB 1062 milage: ~45 miles

Back hurts, crappy run

My back hurts. It is my lower back. I think my lax posture while sitting in my office chair is getting to me. It's been hurting for about 3 days now. Not good. I did go for a run this morning and it felt like my legs were made out of lead. Not a good run, but at least I was running and I ran 1.3 miles. This is the first week where I'm ramping up my running again. We'll see how my feet hold out.

NB mileage: 38 miles

Swimming

I'm swimming again. Well, kind of. I was in the water twice last week. I went to Big Stacey for a 20x33 on Tuesday and then Dick Nichols on Saturday for 25x25. My shoulder felt OK, but I had some aching in it since Friday when I did some weights. I see my PT today so I'm going to address that with him. The weird thing is that it doesn't seem to be the biceps tendon anymore and more towards the anterior deltoid. We'll get it taken care of, though.

I rode once, maybe twice last week. Luckily, I didn't have any flats! I did get 3x1 mile runs in last week. I was going to ramp one of those runs up to 1.3 miles but I didn't have my head in the game at the gym yesterday. This week is where I'll ramp it up more. I think I should be fine because I've been doing 3x1 mile pretty consistently the last few weeks and haven't had any heel pain issues. The only time I really have heel pain is when I'm on my feet a lot or when I wear dress shoes without my orthodics.

Two weight sessions were also done. That's about it for me last week.

Tire Issues

Well, I've had some tire issues recently. I don't know what the hell is up with my bike but I keep flatting. I flatted about once every other ride and decided that it was time to replace my tires. They were shot and in some parts, the rubber was completely worn throw so that the fabric underneath was showing. Not good at all. I replaced the rear tire and went for a ride 2 weeks ago. I flatted on my first ride on that tire. I checked it out and I had a pretty big slice in the tire and also a piece of wire piercing through it. The front tire had developed a leak in it or something because it would hold air for about 12 hours even if I replaced the tube in it. It wasn't as bad as the back tire but it was still bad. And while I was replacing a tube on the rear tire, I pinched a brand new tube so it had to come back off. Then, when I was riding today, I flatted about a mile and a quarter from my house on the rear tire. I seriously have no clue what the hell is going on. I'm going to try to go for a ride tomorrow for maybe an hour and I'm going to take 2 spare tubes and 2 CO2 cartridges as well.

Other than that, I was sick earlier in the week and didn't work out much. I ran yesterday morning and swam 20x33yds in Big Stacey. My PT wanted me to get into the pool. My shoulder felt OK. I strained my biceps tendon a few times but it wasn't that bad. My shoulder is getting better though. I can't wait to be back in a regular workout schedule. I can live without swimming, but I really want to get back to running. I'll get there.

NB 1062 mileage: 33 miles

Resigned

I've resigned to post only 1-2 times per week at this point. Not much is going on so not much to post. I got in a decent ride on Saturday and then a short ride on Sunday. The ride on Sunday was short because I got a flat tire. I'm sick of changing flats, damnit! This was a brand new tire, too. I think it is the area that I'm riding in (Circle C) and the residential streets have a lot of crap on the side of the road. I found a piece of glass and a small wire in my tire. I didn't have any CO2 so I had to call my roommate for SAG support. It wasn't bad because it was a gorgeous day outside that day and I just sat on the curb enjoying the breeze. Oh, I did go for a run that morning. And I did another last Wednesday which was incredible because it was about 58 degrees outside for the run. Those were my 2 runs last week. I did one on Monday as well as weights. My weigh in was 190.5 as well.

Eh, not much else is going on. Oh, I am done with my iontophoresis for my shoulder so that cuts down the number of times I have to see my PT. I don't mind seeing my PT, but when it takes 30 minutes there, an hour there, and then 30 minutes back, it takes up a lot of time every week.

NB 1062 mileage: 28.5 miles

Busy and stressed

I've been stressed lately because I've had so much to do. I don't have much time so it is tough to get my workouts in. When I don't get my workouts in, I get stressed. More stress causes me to sleep less. Lately, I've been waking up 1-3 hours before my alarm and unable to get back to sleep. To sleep, I need to workout more. See the problem?

Last week, I only ran twice and did my shoulder exercises twice. I really need to be doing these 3x per week at least. I think I did get 3 rides in though. I volunteered at the Longhorn 70.3 on Sunday. It was fun and it was nice to kind of help out but be a bit lazy as well. I drank beer and cheered people on.

My Monday weigh in was 193 which is crap, but I weighed in at 190.5 this morning. It was excess weight from drinking on Sunday.

NB 1062 mileage: 25.5 miles

Iontophoresis

I am currently learning about iontophoresis because I'm using it right now. My doc has me doing this some medication that I forget the name of but I'm pretty sure it is a NSAID on my left shoulder/biceps tendon. We'll see how it goes but I have to go by 3x/week to get this patch put on. It's pretty cool, though.

Other than that, I'm did bike rides on Tuesday and Thursday. I also ran twice this week for 1 mile at a time. My PT, Dr. Phil, wants me to cut back on the running since I said that my PF was acting up a bit when I was ramping up my running. That's fine with me because I want this fixed for good. I guess I'll do the 3x1mi for a few weeks and then start ramping up. I'm also doing some shoulder stuff as well. No swimming and no yoga currently. It sucks because I'm feeling a bit fat and lazy. However, yesterday I was feeling slim and I weighed in at 189 this morning so I am making progress that way.

NB 1062 mileage: 22.5 miles

Where was I?

Where was I? It's tough to update this when I'm not working out much. My morning weigh in was 190 which isn't bad considering I'm doing volume training only 3 days a week and I've been going out a decent amount lately. I rode on Thursday and Saturday this past week and ran 2 days. I'm up to 3.3 miles last week and then 3.7 this week. I'm also doing some PT exercises in the gym. Between the running, weights, and riding, my legs always feel dead and heavy. That'll change though. My foot is feeling much, much better. The problem is that I have some aching pain now that I'm running again. I don't know what's up with that. My shoulder is a lot better as well. And that's about all that I have to say for now. Oh, I did a 1 mile run around my neighborhood this morning but I'm going to count that towards last week's total.

NB 1062 mileage: 19.5 miles

Shoulder update: bicipital tendonitis

After having two MRIs, the first one without contrast and the second one with contrast, it is confirmed that I do not have a SLAP tear in my shoulder. I have a bad case of bicipital tendonitis. This is very good because surgery is required in only 5-10% of cases. I'm taking a conservative approach with it and treating it with PT and NSAIDs. I see Dr. Phil on Monday to start the PT stuff again and we'll go from there. I'm excited that surgery isn't required and I plan on being back in the water in January, hopefully.

Also, running is still going well.

NB 1062 mileage: 14.5 miles

I'm running again

I'm running again. Not far, only 1 miles 3 times a week, but I'm running again. I'm using my new orthotics and my feet feel much, much better. I get very little heel pain anymore, but I still do get it from time to time. We'll see how it goes but I'm actually pretty excited about this.

As for biking, I've been ramping it up a bit lately. I rode 3 times over the Labor Day Weekend so that was good. I got really burned on Wednesday during a lunchtime ride. I also saw a snake, too. Big one. Then, I got 2 rides in this weekend with a 3 hour on Saturday and then 1:45 easy today.

My shoulder is still a mess. I saw another doctor last week to get a 2nd opinion. He also doesn't think I have a SLAP tear, but I have really bad bicep tendonitis. This is better because it doesn't require surgery and 6 months of recovery. I'm imposing a self declared 3 month break from swimming. The last 4 times that I've swam since the Celestone shot, I've had my shoulder aching. It's time to give it a rest for awhile.

New Balance 1062 mileage: 10 miles

No surgery, yet

Well, I haven't updated this in awhile. I don't have to have shoulder surgery, yet. I saw a doc and he gave me a shot of Celestone into my shoulder. It felt great for about 30 minutes and then hurt like hell for the rest of the day. I'm glad that I asked what possible side effects were because I would've been freaking out otherwise. It seemed to be great after about 24 hours, but still didn't feel quite 100%. I went swimming about 6 days later. I got 600m in before it started hurting and then I had to call it quits about 1000m in. I went back into the water 3 days later and got 1800m so that was an improvement. I saw one of my team of physical therapists, Phil, and he gave me some exercises to do for my shoulder. He also gave me a 2nd ortho surgeon to see to get a 2nd opinion. I see them next week and we'll go from them. This shoulder has been bothering me for over 4 years now and if I can get it fixed with surgery, put me under the knife tomorrow.

I finally got my replacement orthodics after losing the last pair. I can start running again and I'm happy about that. Also, my PF seems to have gotten a lot better in the last month. I used to be able to stand on my feet for only an hour before it would hurt so bad that it would be sore for 2 days. Now, I have to be on my feet one and a half days before it starts to hurt and it doesn't hurt that bad when it does. Also, I've done a lot to strengthen my posterior tibialis muscle and that has done a lot to make sure that my foot strikes the ground better. It shows and I'm happy about that. I'm going to start running again. I've been off of it for over 8 months so I'm excited about being back into it.