stairmaster, rower

Bad weather here next for a few days.  Rain, 61º.  At the gym did stairmaster, then rower.

Stairmaster - 20 min hill program level 15

 

 - Avg HR 150, HR max 174

Concept 2 rower - 2 x 500m w/ 1 min rest

1:59 (stroke rate 43), 2:18 (stroke rate 38)

 - Avg HR 157, HR max 180

On the rower, went hard first one, easier second one, just sprinted the last 20 sec.  Got HR to 180 both times.  

Foot still recovering.  After the workout, I was unable to hold just 90 lbs on the ball of my R foot without significant pain.  So, may or may not run on Tue, may put it off til Fri.

Weight back up a bit, unfortunately 145-146.

Actually, was 144.5, mid day, so still ok.

bike sprints, trial

My first time trying sprint intervals on the bike.   I wasn't really sure what distance I should attempt for an all out sprint, so I carefully measured out a half mile and went.   It was too far, I couldn't maintain all out effort so I shortened the course to 0.3 miles, about 480m.   

I did 4 sprints all out and recorded my top speed as recorded on GPS.  Each sprint was about 40 sec.  Took ample rest between, like speed work rather than tempo.

Bike sprints - 480m (0.3 mi)

top speed: 

#1 - 29.68 mph

#2 - 29.59

#3 - 29.22

#4 - 27.05

Oddly, despite the fact I was lactic, spent, and panting after each sprint, my HR only went up to 160, probably due to the short duration, and HR peaked 30 sec after the sprint.  It was like running a hard 300m, but in some ways more effort because the resistance remains, it doesn't decrease with speed and momentum as on the track.  

It remains to be seen, but maybe this will help my sprint speed and strength more than the long climbs.

I definitely need to start wearing my helmet.  On the last one, my foot slipped off the pedal and I almost went down.  

bike, swim, run

 Saturday, I did a hard bike up the mountain.  I started fast and maintained a high HR throughout although it was 15 sec slower than my previous. 

Roark's Cove Rd bike climb - 22:12

Avg HR - 170

Max HR - 186

HR over 170 - 14:24

Avg speed - 6.33 mph

I also had a HR over 180 for somewhere around 4 min total, that's a long time.  I think these sessions are good for overall strength and calorie burning, but I don't think they do much for my long sprint endurance, speed, and only marginally helps my V02max.   Nothing like running.  Probably should do sprint intervals on the bike instead.

Sunday was swimming.   Did a casual swim of about 400m and then did water running 4x70 sec w/ 45 sec rest (120 strides).  

Monday, first running in almost two weeks and was able to tolerate 600m of sprints, and it was brutal.  Conditions were rough, heat index 90º and the plastic smell of the new track and turf was pretty nasty.  Happy that the lacrosse netting was not up so I put out the cones for some 150s on turf.  

Stretches, drills, bands, 2x100m

2x150m on turf w/ 30 sec rest - 22.45, 24.98

12 min rest

2x150m on turf w/ 30 sec rest - 24.40, 26.09

It was tough.  I ran the first one pretty fast for my present shape at the end of #2, my HR hit a max of 189!  After one minute it came down to 170.   Took 3 min to come down to 135 but soon as I stood up, it went back to mid 140s.  During the 12 min rest between sets it only fell to 128.  I started the las set at close to 150 and hit 174 on 1st rep, 186 on second.   Not much sprinting but hard in the heat and me in poor condition.  These are the type of workouts that are effective, time efficient, and a place to begin ramping up from.

I've been able to bring my weight down a little,  142.5 lbs after workout.   With Roya here, I eat better.  Grilled chicken, salad, melon, fruit, nuts and of course.... cappuccinos.  

 

visit to NY, night at the airport, bike climb

Went to NY to visit my parents.   I attended the SUNY Cortland football game in style with special invitation to the newly built skybox, attended my nephew's 6th grade football game, and met up with a few friends from high school I hadn't seen in 40+ yrs.  More on that below.  

On the way back, landed in the 'eyewall' of the remnants of Hurricane Francine over Charlotte, NC, very challenging approach in heavy rain, zero visibility.  Then my flight to Chattanooga was delayed from 11:25pm to 7:45 the next morning, so ... I slept in the airport. 

I canceled my 2 hrs of teaching today, went back to sleep til mid afternoon.  My foot was a bit sore from walking literally miles around the airport, so I decided to not run today and did a hard bike climb.  It was one of the top 3 or 4 fastest this summer.

Roarks Cove rd bike climb 

time - 21:52

Max HR - 186

HR over 170 - 13:00 min 

HR over 180 (consecutive) - 2:39

Avg HR - 164

Avg speed - 6.45 mph

Weight still up.  144.7 after workout.   

Photos from my trip:

With dad in the Cortland skybox home opener.   Cortland St. won the DIII National Championship in football last year.  Dad is in the Cortland Hall of Fame, so we were invited.  

With dad and mom at their condo in Binghamton

Dad in the back yard

Me and Tim M.  Bill, Tim, and family were in town to move their mom into a retirement home.  She is 90.  Tim I hadn't seen in about 42 yrs I think.  Also, saw Bob S., he was the doorman at the parents condo building.  He was in my graduating class and on our wrestling team.  

My 'bed' at the airport.

Me and Tom

4x100m tempo, 100, 60

Same as last time.  Not much different.  Still out of shape, about the same weight.  Felt hot in the sun,  86º, dry.  

Hoka trainers on

Stretches, drills, bands, 100m

Hoka rocket x2s on

100m on turf - 17

4x100m on turf w/ 30 sec rest ~ 17.5 avg

100m - 14.40

60m - 8.53

 

Still disappointing.  Can't run fast or far.  HR hit 180 after #3 of the tempo set so 5X was out.  I can't believe how slow I'm running but the foot isn't much better yet.  

144.2 lbs after workout.  If I'm able to lose 4 lbs, it will gets easier. 

Did nothing Wed-Sat, then on Sun, did a circuit of 5x10 burpees with a pushup and leap and some bicycle crunches.  Guess what was the sorest after?  My lats!  Surprised.  Not that many pushups but the lats were so sore today.  

Need to ramp up my cross training later this month.  Traveling this weekend to my home town so will not do much this weekend either.

On a side note.... our world changed on Monday when Roya was the victim of a corporate layoff, sudden and unjustified after 24 yrs of hard work for the ungrateful failing POS company, UPS.   4 days notice.  That's corporate America.  So glad not to be a part.  Really happy with my 15 hr/ 2 day per week low stress job at the college. Been playing more guitar lately, maybe work toward a performance.   Things could be worse.   One of my colleagues suffered a massive stroke while teaching this week.  Not a healthy individual, probably career ending and certainly life altering.  He's only 71.  I think blood vessels are like rubber tubing.  If you leave them sit long enough, they lose elasticity, dry rot and break.  If you stress them and stretch them routinely, they remain flexible, perhaps less likely to have ruptures, strokes, etc...  I think pushing to max HR for short duration a few times a week can be good in accomplishing CV health.  You can clearly see the 4 lbs of fat around my waist.  Not so good.  

 

 

4x100 tempo, 150, 100

I think I've pretty much hit rock bottom in terms of fitness.  This running session was much harder than it would be if in shape.  My stride is very compromised by my R foot unable to support my body weight on the ball of my foot without pain.  So, I gimped through another running session.  Time will tell if it will get better.  

Hoka trainers on

stretches, drills, 100m, bands

Hoka Rocket X2s on

4x100m on turf w/ 30 sec rest between  ~ 17 low

150m - 22.31

100 - 14.88

Definitely nowhere near able to sprint full stride unencumbered.  I was doing better on Aug 8 after my long break but now, still not recovered from the hiking a few weeks ago it seems.  Both my stamina and speed are terrible.  I was planning to do 5x100, but my HR hit 180 after #3, 185 after #4.   And these weren't fast, 16.6 for the first, 18.2 for the last.  

I did amble through 2 sprints on the track.  Despite the relatively low volume, 650m, the workout was really hard and I fell asleep right after.  I hope my foot recovers enough for me to continue these workouts because they are really far superior per the time I've spent on the bike.  

Also, I'm way too heavy.  146.5 before the workout, 145.4 after.  Being 5 lbs lighter will only help things.  It's hard enough to come back from a period of not running, but to do it with chronic foot pain is even harder.  I remember it was just late last winter that I was able to tolerate running 5 days / week.  I'd be happy to get back to 2 or 3.  But for now, no more than once a week and mostly on turf.  

bike climb

Back on the bike to burn some calories.  Been holding at 145-146 lbs and really difficult to get any weight off.  Seems that once I put on that nominal 4-5 lbs, it's really hard to lose.  I'm probably 15% body fat, and like to be 10-11%.  Losing that last 4% is tough.  

I did a moderate effort climb yesterday in a light rain, which made it feel a bit easier.  Was going to do bike sprints afterward but the rain picked up.

Roark's cove rd bike climb - 23:24

Avg HR - 161

Max HR - 183

HR over 170 - 9:50

HR over 180 - 2:18

Avg Speed - 6.00 mph

It was fairly comfortable and I didn't reach near max HR right until the final sprint at the end.   

Today, did pullups, ab wheel, pushups, and house/yard work.   Shoulder still healing but I can 18 pullups and 15 pushups.  

Hoping to run next on Monday or Tues.  Will likely be 100m tempo repeats on turf.