Sunday ride

I went on an utterly miserable ride today; it wasn’t the weather that caused the problem this time, but rather my saddle. I’m trying out new ones — my bike shop has let me borrow two of them so far so I can test them out — and today’s saddle hurt. Thank God I was only doing a quick out and back ride to recover from yesterday’s workout because I’m not sure I could have stood anything longer than the 40 minutes I was out there. That saddle goes back to the shop tomorrow …

Also did weights and yoga this afternoon.

I’m considering trying to run again this week; my foot is mostly back to normal (I have some pain in my big toe joint that has hit me before and it goes away pretty quickly). But when I do run I’m going to take it slowly, as in doing workouts that are mostly walking at first in order to build up the endurance I need. I don’t care how long it takes me to build up a running base — I’m in no hurry, and so if it takes me two or three months to work up to running three miles, that’s fine. I just don’t want my foot to start hurting again. I’ll probably follow one of those couch to 5K training plans that are out there to make sure I don’t take on too much too soon.

Weekend training

Yesterday I rode for an hour and my legs were tired!  I could tell it was the third day in a row I’d ridden, and the fifth day this week, after a long week last week too.  So I took it very easy, avg. HR 138.

Today the weather has been all over the place, first clear, then raining, then snowing, then clear, then snowing, then gray, then snowing, and windy most of the day.  I wasn’t planning on riding because of the built-up fatigue, and I didn’t, although I did look out the window during the clear parts of the day and wonder if I made the wrong decision.  I did get outside for a walk in the woods, and the only bad thing about that was that it irritated my foot, which was a little more sore today than it has been in a while.

I rather desperately need to do some weights and yoga, and although I’m feeling lazy and might prefer to spend the evening reading, I haven’t exercised at all today, and that’s not a good thing, and I know it would do me so much good … so I’m off to do what I need to do …

Wednesday run and gym

Had a nice 33 minute run today, covering about 2.9 miles; I’m still dogged by some foot pain, and so am trying not to push too hard or to run far. I’ll stick to my half hour runs until it gets better. It was fun testing out the Garmin a bit more; I still don’t have it calibrated right, but I’ll try to take care of that this weekend. The data is fun to look through, though, even if it’s not perfectly accurate at the moment.

Lifted weights in the gym and did some yoga this afternoon; my hamstrings are loosening up — yay! If only I stick to yoga for a few weeks straight I notice such a difference. I’m excited about how much stronger and more flexible I’m becoming.

Thursday weights and yoga

I didn’t exercise at all yesterday — it’s been quite a while since I’ve taken an entire day off — but it wasn’t much of a rest day, as I was at work the entire time, from about 8 in the morning until 7 in the evening.  Ugh.  Today I had a very good weights and yoga session, but no riding or running.  I’m holding off on running for a while because I want my foot to get perfectly better — I’ve had some lingering pain.  By the time Monday gets here and my rest week is over, I’m going to be itching to work hard again …

Saturday ride, weights, and yoga

Rode 1 1/2 hours today and felt chilly the whole time.  It was 35 degrees, a temperature I’m used to, but a couple things kept me feeling chilly — not cold, exactly, I dressed well enough, but just chilled.  I didn’t dress well enough for my hour-long morning walk in the woods with the dog and got cold then, and then I came home and headed right back out again to walk to town to run errands.  So by the time I got on the bike I was tired of feeling cold.  Plus there was a bit of a breeze and no sun at all, which made things feel worse.

So my attitude wasn’t so great, and I almost let myself skip the weights and yoga.  I’m glad I didn’t, though; the yoga finally warmed me up and afterward I felt much better.  I’d better get used to the cold, though: there are some frigid temperatures in the forecast for next week.

Thursday ride and weights

Rode for two hours today, and boy am I tired!  These past three days have been hard, partly because I’m not used to lots of back-to-back days this early in the season, but mainly because I spent so much time climbing up hills.  So I took it slow today, for the most part, although I got a sudden burst of energy which came out of nowhere near the end of the ride and inspired me to work hard riding up some hills.  I was glad to see I wasn’t completely wiped out.

Then some weights and yoga — the yoga made my quad muscles feel better.  I can tell I’m loosening up a bit and gaining some flexibility, especially in my hamstrings.  Yay!

Friday weights and yoga

Worked out at home with dumbbells and then did some yoga; I like the way I’ve been doing weight-training in a number of different ways — sometimes at the gym with machines, sometimes with dumbbells, sometimes during a yoga class. Surely I’ll benefit from the variety, right? Everybody has different advice on what exercises to do, what kind of strength-training program to follow; I might as well do a bunch of different things and hope for the best.

Hobgoblin and I also took a long walk in the woods today; it was rainy, but we found a brief dry interlude. The woods were beautiful — colorful in the way even winter woods can be when it’s wet — and misty. Our walk would have been a bit shorter, except that Muttboy’s collar broke and fell off, and we didn’t realize it until we had been walking for quite a while. But it was fun to go back and retrieve it.

Wednesday run and weights

I ran for a half hour today, about 2.7 miles, although I can’t tell for sure, as there was construction I had to detour around. The unfortunate thing is that my foot was hurting a bit as I ran — not enough to make me stop, but enough to make me wonder if it will get worse and if I should ease off for a while. We’ll see how it feels as I walk around over the next couple days. It hurts somewhere in the area where the heel turns into the arch.  HR: 149.

I lifted weights too, and it felt surprisingly good — surprisingly because my body is so fatigued from the work of the last few days that I thought I wouldn’t do well. After the long rides on Sunday and yesterday, my quads are tired, and after yoga class on Monday, my arms are a little sore. But that’s all good — I’ll do a little less over the next couple days and will recover nicely.

Friday ride and weights

Rode for an hour today, 14.5 miles with a HR of 147. It was about 24 degrees when I left and about 29 when I got back. Pretty cold, certainly, but I felt fine. I don’t like wearing a balaklava or any other face covering, and I’m generally okay without it — the hard part is the first few minutes when I’m not warmed up and am riding fast downhill. Once I climb my first hill, however, I warm up and everything is fine. I remember doing some rides last winter when the temps were in the 20s and feeling miserable — I’m not sure if my attitude has changed, if I’ve gotten used to the cold, or if I’ll feel miserable later in the winter when I’ve had just about all I can stand of cold-weather riding.

Also did a half hour weight session at school.

Wednesday weight training

Just a half hour weight training session today — otherwise, I was kept busy working. But I really do need every weight session I can get. Today I worked out in my school’s gym. Gyms frighten me, but last month I decided to conquer my fear and get to it — and it helped that a good friend of mind has been working out there for a few months and could tell me how nice the place is. And it IS nice — not the equipment so much, which is just ordinary, but the people who work there. When I went in my first day, the student working there, who must be studying exercise science or something like that, spent 45 minutes with me, showing me around, adjusting the machines for me, telling me how many reps to do, etc. It was great.