veginator

Sun. 5/22: Slow, easy bike ride, 20.67 miles 1:38:28, 12.6 mph, avg HR 102, max 120. Had some calf soreness from Saturday's 5k, so didn't want to push it.

Weight this morning: 159.2 Under 160 for first time in several months. 5k race this morning: 24:37. About 20 seconds slower than last week's, but this course was somewhat hilly whereas last week's was flat as a pancake. Humblingly, the winner did it in about 15:30! My splits were 7:43, 8:20, and 7:45, with the last 1/10th at 6:30. I'm pretty sure I was under 7:00 pace for the last half mile or so. Avg HR 161, max 179.

Thur. 5/19: 20.55 mi. bike ride, 1:26:41, avg. speed 14.2, avg HR 114, max 137. Fri. 5/20: 18.61 mi. bike ride, 1:13:40, avg speed 15.2, avg HR 125, max 149. Weight was at 160.8 this morning. Wasn't as strict with diet yesterday, had several glasses of wine and ate a lot at a vegan potluck. Back on track today!

Thur. 5/19: Weight holding steady at 160.4 this morning. Geez, what have I got to do to keep losing weight every day, run 20 miles? Tuesday I went for a long (75 min.) walk with my dog. Wed: 23.16 mile bike ride, 1:38:44, 14.1 mph pace, avg HR 121, max 138. Warmed up with slow first 4 miles, then averaged over 15 mph and avg HR a little over 125 the rest of the ride.

Sun. 5/15: elliptical machine, 32 min: avg HR 115, max 140. Did bench presses, squats, curls, upright row. I've gotten noticeably weaker since I've been lifting weight so infrequently the last few months, so I need to get back on that. Mon. 5/16: Biked 23.99 miles, 1:48:47, avg speed 13.2, max 36.3, avg HR 115, max 132. Took it easy this ride because I was playing racquetball later. Played 5 games of racquetball. Intense workout day! Tues. 5/17: Weight this morning 160.4. Still a little sore from Sunday's weight training, so I may hold off 'til tomorrow on doing more.

5k race: Not one of my best but not horrible. 24:17, splits were 7:30, 7:47 and 7:59 with the last 10th in 1:00. I pretty much died the last 2/10 or so. Heart rate went way up even though I slowed down. Avg HR 162, max 172, although I'm pretty sure my watch hit 176 at one point near the finish. Not sure what accounted for the colossal lack of stamina.

Thur. 5/12: about 17 miles, about 1:15, about 14 mph, avg HR 126, max 147. Pretty solid effort on the bike, good preparation for today's 5k. Fri. 5/13: 23.5 miles, about 1:50, very leisurely pace with avg HR 107. I was tired, plus didn't want to wear myself out for today's 5k. Weight this morning: 161.6. Not sure why, but the scale was reading up around 164-165 all day yesterday, so this morning was a relief.

Been pretty strict the last 2 days about following a diet that meets McDougall's Maximum Weight Loss program guidelines, only broke it once for dinner last night and had some alcohol later in the evening. Yesterday I was at 163.4, and this morning I was at 162.8. Monday and Tuesday I didn't get any exercise other than walking the dogs due to end of the semester grading. Sunday 5/9: about 5 miles to/from grocery store. Forgot to re-set my watch, so no way to separate out data from that day and the subsequent workout. Wed. 5/11: 9.32 miles, 43:57. Avg HR about 118.

Weight up to about 164 (from 161 or so in mid-April). No idea why. In any case, I need to get strict about my diet again. Just watching the sugar and fat and processed flour most of the time doesn't seem to be enough for me to maintain a good weight unless I exercise more than I sometimes have time for. 5/2: Rode bike trainer, 43:52, avg HR 92 5/3: Interval session on bike trainer, 15:05, avg HR 137, max 162. Did 7 intervals ranging from 30 seconds to 1 minute. 5/4: interval session on trainer, 10:20, avg HR 130, max 160 Biked 5.33 miles, 29:25, avg HR 109 5/5: Biked 17.87 miles, 1:23:28, avg HR 120, max 160 5/6: Biked 25.30 miles, 1:44:08, avg HR 124, max 162. Started this ride at an easy, slow pace, then picked it up considerably after the first 5 miles, as I was trying to keep up with a couple of other riders faster than me. Roughly, it looks like I averaged about a 135 heart rate for nearly 20 miles. 5/7: Interval session on trainer, 10:06, 5 intervals, avg HR 136, max 153.

Sat. 4/16: 5k race, 24:21.2, HR data not really usable. Time was over 40 seconds improved over my last 5k race even though it was a hilly course. It will be tough to get in better shape with my feet preventing me from running much other than on race days, but I'll keep trying! 4/17: 4 miles on bike Mon. 4/18: played 4 games of racquetball Sat. 4/23: Did 6 30+ second sprints on bike trainer, max HR above 140 on each one, 161 on the last one. Just 10 minutes total riding, avg HR 130. Sun. 4/24: 22:23 on bike trainer, avg HR 128, did 7 or 8 sprints interspersed with some slower riding. Mon. 4/25: 10 min. slow riding on bike trainer and played 3 games of racquetball 4/26: 13: 46 on bike trainer, about 8 sprints with the hardest reaching max HR of 166. Avg. HR 133. 4/27: 15 min. slow on trainer, avg HR 91. The weather has been terrible lately, which is why I haven't ridden outdoors much this spring. Played 5 games of racquetball! 4/29: Rode 21.4 miles, 1:35, avg HR 117, max 134. 4/30: 5k race, 23:57, avg HR 157, max 170. Splits were 7:22, 7:53, 8:03, and 40 seconds for last 10th. Good race for me, because it was a hilly course and I'm obviously not in mid-season shape.

3/28: 8.31 mi. bike ride, avg HR 116, max 139 3/30: 3.26 mi., 34:58, pace 10:42, avg HR 126 4/2: 7.78 mi. on bike, 42:30, avg HR 105 4/4: played 3 games of racquetball 4/5: 24 mi. on bike, 1:58:32, avg HR 115, max 145 4/6: 34.3 mi. on bike, time about 3:15:00 (accidentally turned off watch for a while), avg HR about 110, max 151 4/7: ran mile in about 7:30--watch battery gave out so no exact data 4/8: 4.04 mi. in 38:13, pace 9:28, avg HR 138, max 150 4/11: played 4 games of racquetball 4/12: 22:41 on trainer, avg HR 98 4/13: 4 miles on bike, avg HR 97, max 124 4/14: 4 miles on bike, HR data inaccurate due to wind 4/14: 5 mi. in 44:14, pace 8:50, avg HR 147, max 170 Feet have been bothering me a lot, so running has necessarily been pretty limited. Weight is holding steady at about 161. Tomorrow is a 5k race--we'll see whether I'm in any better shape than I was 3 weeks ago. I sort of doubt it.

5k race yesterday (3/26). Not fast, but better than expected given that I took over 3 weeks almost entirely off from running last month. Time 25:03.5, pace 8:03. Heart rate data for first mile was inaccurate, but averaging over the next 2.1 it looks like it was about 161 with a max of 178.

Mon. 3/21: 20.93 mi. bike ride, 1:43, avg HR 117, max 145. Tues. 3/22: 2.86 mi., 25:26, pace 8:52, avg HR 149, max 159. Thur. 3/24: 5 miles, 44:45, pace 8:57, avg HR 152, max 165. Ran the first 5k (3.1 mi.) briskly to see what kind of 5k shape I was in. Did it in 26:41, about an 8:35 pace. So, I'm already more than 2 minutes faster than I was a couple of weeks ago.

7k race today. Slow, but better than expected--covered the 4.34 miles or so in about 38:35, pace 8:49, avg HR 159, max 170. That's more than 30 seconds per mile faster than my time last week, despite it being over a mile longer race. Hopefully the trend will continue for the next race.

Been pretty lazy about updating this. After getting over my neck & shoulder injury, I wound up getting some sort of horrible indigestion for about a week, so I've really worked out very little the last month and a half compared to the usual. 2/9: 2.06 miles, 22:26, pace 10:52, avg HR 124, max 139. 2/12: 7 miles, 1:10:20, pace 10:02, avg HR 140, max 165 2/13: biked 10.67 miles, 55:20, avg HR 107, max 126 2/15: 3.12 miles, 32:57, pace 10:34, avg HR 130, max 150 2/16: 5.05 miles, 48:07, pace 9:32, avg HR 140, max 157 2/17: 2.80 miles, 30:49, pace 11:00, avg HR 124, max 143 2/19: 4.19 miles, 45:48, pace 10:56, avg HR 134, max 163 2/21: 43 minutes on the bike trainer, avg HR 91 2/23: 26:54 on the trainer, avg HR 94 2/26: 53:33 on the trainer, avg HR 92 2/27: 29:31 on the trainer, avg HR 102, max 131 3/1: 25:08 on the trainer, avg HR 99, max 114 3/3: biked 17.20 miles, 1:19:44, avg HR 122, max 153 3/6: 3.55 miles, 38:03, pace 10:42, avg HR 134, max 162 3/10: 37:09 on the trainer, avg HR 94 3/13: Ran a "Pi" race--3.14 miles. Not that it was any big surprise, but I am REALLY out of shape! Time 29:26, pace 9:24, avg HR 165!!! (max 175) Oh well, at least my weight didn't go up that much this winter. I'm in the low 160s, about 10 lb. over what I weighed back in October or so. 3/14: 2.75 miles, 27:26, pace 9:57, avg HR 143--around 13 bpm faster than it was at 10 minute pace back when I was in good shape. 3/15 or 16, not sure which: played basketball for about 45 minutes with my son and 2 other kids. Another huge surprise: not only am I out of shape, but after not playing for months and months, I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a basketball! 3/16: 72:27 (split into 2 segments) on the trainer, avg HR 95. 3/17: 4.43 miles, 41:23, pace 9:20, avg HR 150, max 162. I have a 7k (4.34 miles?) race this weekend, so hopefully I can break 40 minutes. It's a modest goal, but I'm in no condition to go much faster than that. 3/18: played 45 minutes of basketball with my son. Damn, I hate being out of shape!

Decided to rest my feet for a while, so I haven't been running in a couple of weeks. Have been riding the bike indoors on the trainer as well as a couple of outdoor rides, but definitely not enough to make up for the lack of running. I'm getting pretty frustrated with the lack of progress with my foot ailments.

My, how I've neglected this blog! It's been a challenging last few weeks as far as staying in shape. My racquetball partner is out for a couple of months with a groin injury and I really haven't come across anyone else I can play regularly who is at about my level. It's been bitterly cold most of the time, AND I had an excruciating neck injury a month ago. Suddenly had intense pain in my left upper back/lower neck which radiated out to my shoulder and upper arm as well as shoulder blade. Eventually I also had numbness in my left thumb. Apparently in addition to lots of really tender trigger points in my left shoulder, neck and upper back, the main one in my neck was pressing pretty hard on a nerve. I still, after about $500 worth of massage and other treatments, have some numbness and a little bit of pain, but it's gotten a lot better. Anyway, here are the past month's workouts: 1/3: rode bike 7 miles, ran 2.95 miles at a 10:50 pace, avg HR 123. 1/4: 4.01 miles, 43:53, 10:56 pace, avg HR 119. 1/5: 3.5 miles, 29:22, 8:23 pace, avg HR 149, max 164 1/7: 8.53 miles, 1:23:22, pace 9:46, avg HR 136, max 155. INJURED 1/15: 5.1 miles, 50:59, pace 10:00, avg HR 135. 1/17: 3.06 mi., 28:09, pace 9:12, avg HR 142 1/18: 5.06 mi., 52:34, pace 10:23, avg HR 140 1/19: 2.58 mi., 27:57, pace 10:51, avg HR 126 1/21: 2.02 mi., 23:11, pace 11:27, avg HR 129 1/23: 2.84 mi., 30:06, pace 10:35, avg HR 128 1/24: 5.03 mi., 48:02, pace 9:32, avg HR 143, max 160 1/25: 4.08 mi., 41:54, pace 10:15, avg HR 133 1/28: 5.7 mi., 1:00:18, pace 10:35, avg HR 131 1/29: 7.1 mi., 1:11:58, pace 10:07, avg HR 136 1/30: walked 2 miles 1/31: 5.08 mi. 54:14, pace 10:40, avg HR 131 2/3: 4.41 mi., 45:03, pace 10:12, avg HR 140 2/6: 5.5 mi., 53:01, pace 9:38, avg HR 149, max 165 2/8: about 5 miles, will post details later. Thankfully, knock on wood, unlike the past two winters I haven't gained very much weight so far this winter despite the relatively light workout schedule. Holding it below 160 last I checked.

Fri. 12/31: 3.20 miles, 31:34, pace 9:52, avg HR 120, max 140, splits 10:10, 9:12, 10:07. Took it easy, as I had a little right hamstring soreness from Thursday's run. Sat. 1/1: 10 miles, my longest run in quite some time. Calves were a little sore and tight the last couple of miles and my left foot was starting to hurt more, so I didn't push it. Time 1:48, pace 10:48, avg HR 126, max 160. 47.66 miles for the week, my highest ever I think. But running has been my only exercise lately.

Thur. 12/30: 9.13 miles, 1:23:25, pace 9:08, splits 10:20, 8:50, 8:39, 8:39, 8:56, 9:07, 9:04, 8:52, 9:33, and 10:01 pace for last .13. Avg HR 147, max 159.

Wed. 12/29: 5.01 miles, 49:05, pace 9:48, splits 11:18, 9:36, 9:21, 9:18, 9:28, avg HR 136, max 166. Later, ran 4.4 miles, 43:41, pace 9:55, splits 10:13, 9:40, 9:55, 9:47. Avg HR 135, max 167. Did 5 sprints toward the end.

Tues. 12/21: Hiked about 6 miles in a beautiful state park (Carolina Beach). My feet were complaining a lot by the end--not having as much opportunity to ice them after exercising makes a difference. Wed. 12/22: Ran 4.01 miles. Pace 9:43, avg HR 129, max 146. Thur. 12/23: Did a full-body workout with free weights and machines, and about 12 minutes on the elliptical, avg HR 146, max 168. Fri. 12/24: Hiked about 2 miles in a park on the trip back to Indiana. Sun. 12/26: Ran 6.08 miles. Pace 10:36, avg HR 129, max 165, fastest mile was 9:33. Alternated faster pace, including a couple of sprints, with slower pace and some walking. Mon. 12/27: Must not have fully pressed the start button on my watch, didn't notice til a little over a mile in. My best guess is that I went about 5 1/2 miles. For the part I do have timed, it was 4.20 miles in 38:43, pace 9:13, avg HR 138, max 157, splits 9:39, 9:34, 8:20, and 9:29, 8:12 pace on the last .20. Tues. 12/28: 4.34 miles, 43:21, pace 9:59, avg HR 127, max 161, splits 12:03, 9:22, 9:21, 8:55.

I'm missing data on a workout somewhere since the last one posted, and I really can't remember any details. In any case, yesterday (12/20), I worked out at a gym in the town I grew up, Wilmington, NC. About half an hour's worth of machine and free weights, then about 22 minutes on the treadmill at an average of around 8 mph. I forgot to stop my watch, so I don't have exact heart rate data, but I would guess around 150, with a max of 170. Today I walked and ran the dogs about 5 miles on the beach. Fort Fisher is beautiful!

Sat. 12/11 and Sun. 12/12: Rode bike on trainer for 40 minutes one night and 20 the next. Easy spinning while I was watching the NCAA soccer championship game and a basketball game. Sun. 12/12: Did about 7 miles (watch didn't start until about a mile and a half in, so I'm just guessing) in bitter cold and blowing snow. Took a lot of walking breaks due to at times slippery footing, so it's not even worth bothering to record my time. Mon. 12/13: 4.25 miles, 48 minutes, pace 11:18, avg HR 122. Tues. 12/14: 7.24 miles, 72:24, pace 10 min./mile, avg HR 138, max 161.

Fri. 12/10: 8 miles, 78:08, pace 9:45, avg HR 135 and max 152. Haven't posted my weight in a while because there's been nothing good to report--I've put on about 5 pounds since my low of 150.8 back in October. But as long as I keep up this amount of exercise, I should be able to hold it under 160 through the winter. We'll see what happens.

Sun. 12/5: 6.3 miles, 68:07, pace 10:49, avg HR 124. Ran the last 1.3 at 8:00/mile pace, HR around 145. Mon. 12/6: 10.04 miles, 1:39:55, pace 9:57, with miles 3 and 4 the fastest at 8:30 and 8:46. Avg HR 135, max 158. Wed. 12/8: 4.5 miles, 42;23, pace 9:24, avg HR 141, max152.