First bike climb in a week and it was a good one. Season PR by 19 sec, 22:04, hard effort. It was tough because of heat index about 100ºF at the top, 88º and dewpoint of 78º, very humid. Definitely worse at the bottom. Probably heat index over 105ºF.
My HR hit a high max, but overall, wasn't super high. I didn't set out to get a PR, just wanted to work hard. It was.
Max HR - 189
HR over 170 - 14:37
HR over 180 - 4:14
Avg HR - 167
Avg speed - 6.3 mph
Total climb time - 22:04
Hot today at 1pm at the Sewanee track. Temperature of 91º and dewpoint near 80º, heat index of 107º.
After a full warmup, drills, and bands... I hooked up the harness to the 2x45 lb plates. It was hard. I did 3 sets of 2, down and back for 40 yds. Not much but happy to do this strengthening work. Probably best to not do stuff like this more than 2x / week at this point, but i tolerated it well.
Hoka trainers on
stretches, drills, bands, high knee running
6 x 40yd 90lb weight pulls
Despite being totally winded, HR maxed at 173. Legs not yet back to parity, getting there.
142 lbs after workout. Swim tomorrow.
I had my CRP and insulin checked, the last results I've been waiting on. They were good.
Result - hs-CRP: <0.2 mg/L
My previous result was 1.1 a few yrs ago.
Here is what Ulta lab says about the hs-CRP test:
A high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) test may be used by itself, in combination with other cardiac risk markers... a test that evaluates vascular inflammation. The hs-CRP test accurately detects low concentrations of C-reactive protein to help predict a healthy person's risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). High-sensitivity CRP is promoted by some as a test for determining a person's risk level for CVD, heart attacks, and strokes. The current thinking is that hs-CRP can play a role in the evaluation process before a person develops one of these health problems.
Reference range mg/L:
<1.0 - Optimal
1.0-3.0 - Average risk
3.1-10.0 - Higher relative risk
I wonder if this reading is related to diet, stress, training?
The other test was insulin.
Result - 4.1 uIU/ml.Fasting insulin less than 10 uIU/mL is optimal or ideal. Less than 20 uIU/mL is considered good.
So, I think I'm ok for an old guy. About to go try some weight pulls in 100ºF heat index.
I went to the lake today and had it to myself for almost 2 hrs and did a little casual swimming and a few reps of water running.
I wanted to try some weight pulls with the harness on the football field but there is a football camp going on. I went twice, once at 3 and again at 6, both times the field was being used. I took two 45 lb plates from the equipment room at the football field and went down to the soccer field, but that was being used. So, I just went to the weight room.
I was able to use 85lb of kettlebells to add to the 150 lb stack for the glute machine. Did 2 x 40. Also did 2 sets of seated ham curls and hip flexors. Didn't do stairmaster so tomorrow I should be able to do some weight pulls by early afternoon on the field. Could be the hottest day of the year, but maximum heat usually occurs later, about 3-4 pm. Today, heat index peaked about 3 pm at 105ºF and it hit 90º for just the second time this month. Forecast for tomorrow at noon, heat index of 100ºF.
Lush time of year.
Breakfast: cappuccino w/ collagen
Photo: Orange Fringed Orchid, they grow wild around here.
Yesterday went for a failed bike interval workout. Sprinted 2 reps at 27.9 and 28.2 mph, much slower than I had been sprinting, then I saw someone and got into a conversation which interrupted my 2:30 rest, so i did one more and called it a day. Last one was also 28.2 mph.
Since I've had some lower back soreness I started doing hanging ab raises. It seems to help. I also cut and stacked 3 wheel barrows full of wood. Pushing a heavy wheel barrow up a grassy hill makes me think I could try some weight pulls tomorrow on the field. Tomorrow looks like today, isolated storms, hot and humid but not super hot. 80ºs not 90ºs. Tuesday may be the hottest day of the month. It's only hit 90º once this month, which is pretty fair weather for summer. I do like training in the heat, coated in sunscreen.
I was in Murfreesboro for a meeting Friday so I ran the stadium stairs for the time and had some blood work. Have most of the results in.
I got to the stadium, warmed up and stretched, and ran 6 reps, first 3 fast with no rest at the bottom. The heat index was about 107º, no shade, and was coated with sunscreen. I hadn't eaten in 24 hrs due to fasting blood work. The first one up felt great. Joyous. Strong. The feeling of running again with no pain was awesome. It got harder. My HR hit 181 walking down just after the 3rd rep. I knew I wouldn't be doing many of these so I did them hard.
It was a good start to running. Now that I know I can run hills, I need not abuse it or try to do it too often.
Due to fasting, I'm down to race weight, in the 140-142 range.
Blood work
It has only been 7 weeks since my last test for lipids, but I had some other ones: PSA, A1C, CRP, glucose, and Total Testosterone.
Lipids - an improvement but not optimal. Not as good as Dec. Here's a comparison, first number is June 3, second number July 25:
Total Cholesterol: 220 to 205
LDL: 152 to 137
TriG: 174 to 138
LDL/HDL ratio: 4.1 to 3.3
Non HDL Chol: 183 to 164
HDL: 35 to 41
Additional tests:
Glucose: 100
A1C: 5.5
PSA: 1.58
Total testost: 418
I'm still waiting on tests for insulin, and CRP. My first CRP in '21 was decent, 1.1 mg/l. I think inflammation has a lot to do with my sugar intake. It has been down in the past several weeks as I've eliminated raw sugar and am using only allulose/ monkfruit sweetener.
