Monday, February 25, 2008

Ramping back up again!

Since I am neither old enough, nor wealthy enough to retire to a warm climate, I guess it was time to get back to the grind. My week of vacation was great, but to be quite honest, I am actually glad to be back. The crowds and the traffic in Orlando were almost too much for this good ol’ country boy. It was nice to be back in the slow pace and in my familiar setting.
Sunday was an aerobic effort on the bike. The workout was 1:10 minutes at cadences between 95 – 100 RPM in both the big and small chain rings. For the most part the legs felt okay, although this Achilles on my left leg is still causing me some grief. I thought the rest would have cleared it up, but it actually bothered me while I was just walking during my holidays. I iced it after today’s workout and I have been using the Trigger Point Massager twice a day to keep working on the scar tissue.
After the bike ride I did a quick 25 minutes on the treadmill to complete a mini brick workout.
Today the Achilles felt a little better and I continued with the massaging to keep working on busting up the knots. It definitely is painful when you start using the roller on it, but it is one of those “hurts so good” kind of pain that you know is going to help you in the long run. As soon as I am done with the massager it instantly feels better.
Lunchtime was a 2,600 metre swim in about 56 minutes. I think it was longer as I lost lap count a number of times. When I lose count I usually go back and add 50 to 100 metres to the workout to make sure I have covered the required distance. Anyway I got a good swim in and felt reasonably comfortable in the water. The first swim after a bit of a layoff is always kind of weird as it is the one discipline that you seem to lose the most in the shortest amount of time. Because it is so technical, you really have to concentrate to get everything flowing again and regain your composure in the water. Today was not that bad as I felt well balanced and had good body rotation. A couple of times I could feel I was lifting my head a little too much when I was breathing, but other than that I was moving through the water quite well.

After work I decided perhaps it was time for a new pair of shoes. So I stopped off at the local Athlete's World and looked around. With my recent Achilles trouble I thought that I would go for a more stable ride so I tried on a few different pairs of New Balance shoes. After a couple of different models I decided on the NB 1024. Good solid shoe, with a good heel counter and felt very supportive. The fact that they were on sale also made them even more attractive! (I am a bean counter after all) So off I head home with my new purchase, set to take them on a nice test run as the weather was beautiful, +10 C and sunny. Once I got home I quickly changed and went to get my orthodics out of my old shoes to put in the new ones. As I am taking the original insoles out I notice that one is a different colour than the other. Then on closer inspection I realize I have two different shoes. one NB 1024 and one NB 661. So much for the test run! Back in the box and I will return them tomorrow.

The evening run netted a distance of 8.25 miles in 55:22. The Achilles didn't bother me too much and I iced it as soon as I got back. I will also use the massager again tonight to keep things loose.

This is a picture of Nicholas and Nicole at New Smyrna Beach during our vacation. It was a little cool that day as it was only around 21 C. However we still had a great day and enjoyed a wonderful seafood lunch before we headed back to Orlando. Usually when we go to Florida this is where we stay as it is a beautiful little community with great beaches and some really awesome seafood restaurants.
Have a great day!

2 comments:

Keith power said...

Maybe you should go back and buy the other pair?

Love2Run said...

Keith is so funny! I see several of my cousins in Nicholas (Bernie, Blaine for starters and of course his dad ;-)