Finally some progress...

Oh...   You thought that was about my fitness...  Silly rabbit!   I was talking about dealing with my dad's estate.   I'll be up in VA *again* next week and getting probate sorted.   While that's a good thing, it's goign to make for another rest type of week since I'll be away from home.

As to the main topic here, well, I'm finally starting to feel a little better.  I've been slowly lowering the intensity on the bike, as well as riding a little less, and I am beginning to see some results.   While my hip flexor is still tender, its not as painful as it was and I feel like I'm moving around better than I was.  I'm going to maintain that for a month or so and see how it feels.   What it looks like right now is a resistance cap of 25 and no out of saddle riding except for cooling down/stretching.

So, with the two weeks off in May and then the reduced workload, how am I doing?   I'd be lying if I didn't say I was struggling a bit, but lets see how it went:

Weight Results:

• Starting Weight: 230.50
• Ending Weight: 239.30

Exercise Info:

• Number of rides:  45
• Time on exercise: 11:55:14
• Distance on rides: 165.08
• Number of rows: 5
• Time rowing: 2:03:22
• Distance Rowing: 24560
• Weight Workouts: 15

And here were my May goals:

• Ride 450 miles (I adjusted to 400 but didnt account for being in VA)
• May Apple Fitness challenge
• Perfect Month in Apple
• Gold in my May challenge
• Continue weekly weight workouts.  Try for 2 dedicated weight routines and at least one I&A
• Continue weekly row.
• Break 17k meters in the 60 min row and warmup
• Depending on my knee/hip try to walk
• Get my weight below 230 and stay there

Yep, there it is.  I'm beyond frustrated with my weight.   I didn't think I ate poorly when we were away, and no I didn't, nor have I been eating poorly at home but for some reason my weight is holding solid and refuses to go down.  I'll spend all week chipping it down and then balloon back up on Saturday/Sunday.  I am building muscle, and my clothes still fit, so I don't necessarily think it's fat, but I still have a good amount of that to lose.

And that kind of set the tone for the month.  Going to VA and not riding for 2 weeks definitely hurt my mileage goal.  I am going to try and do some LI riding up in VA next week because I don't think I need a week off, but I'm only going to ride two or three times.  .  On top of that my challenge team wasn't full, so I missed the Gold. 

So what went well?  I've been rowing a little more and I started taking a live row class on Sunday mornings.   I'm going to miss a week of that, but I'll pick it back up when I get home, and if I feel up to it, I will probably add in a longer row afterwards.  No, I didn't get 17k, but I was away from the rower for most of the month.   I'm going to try to get that this month, but I think next month is more likely.

So what's my rebound plan?   Well here are my goals for June:

• Ride 350 miles
• June Apple Fitness challenge
• Perfect Month in Apple
• Gold in my June challenge
• Continue weekly weight workouts.   Monday and Thursday or Friday
• Fill in cycle rest days with rowing
• Break 17k meters in the 60 min row and warmup
• Get my weight below 230 and stay there.

This should look familiar.   I've cut my mileage down a bit and will probably end up closer to 300 miles by the end of the month.   It's not that I want to make it easy, but I do want my goals to be obtainable, and with travel and my hip, setting a goal and missing it because of circumstances is frustrating.   If we're away, we're away and I just need to accept that.   I won't stop pushing myself to get my weight down, because that is something I can control.  Since Sam left and Friday's schedule sucks, I made that a rest day.   

That's about it.   Hopefully this will be a better month.  Talk soon!

Rest weeks?!?

Yes you read that right.   I took almost half the month off the bike.  Merinda and I ended up spending a second week up in VA.   It just seemed to be a little rushed coming home the day after Tyler graduated, and Merinda might have celebrated a little too much to help with the driving.  Plus we got to see all the grandkids a little more so it was time well spent up north.   What I wasn't expecting was to take a full two weeks away from cardio.

My knee and hip were definitely struggling with going up and down stairs so I decided to do only stretching, mobility and strength training and see if that helped but I can't say it did or didn't help.   I think it did, and it felt great to actually give myself a bit of a rest, but I'm still struggling with my hip flexor.   Standing on the bike today was awkward at best, and cadences over 100 were much harder than before, so it looks like its going to take more time to heal.   I'll ask when I start physical therapy.

Based on this, I am goign to lower my mileage this month to 200.   I'm also considering increasing my "off" days to two or three.   Maybe something like this:

• Sunday:  Row
• Monday:  Strength/Stretch
• Tuesday:  Tabata/LI
• Wednesday:  Endurance
• Thursday:  Hills 
• Friday:  I&A (maybe strength/stretch)
• Saturday:  Endurance

I think it makes more sense for me to swap Friday to a strength class.  I love I&A, but I need to see how the speed work feels on my hip.   It's a lot easier to modify hills than intervals and the Long Center won't be reopening until July, so I won't be adding swimming back until then.  Regardless, it's good to be home and back to a routine. 

May Day

Here we are already into May.  Lot's going on, mostly good, some not so good, but let's dive into that shall we?  For the most part I've been feeling "ok" when I ride.   I'm still struggling with my hip flexor and right knee, more on those later, which is adversely affecting my overall bike performance.  What do I mean by that?  Well, I rarely do any out of saddle work anymore.   It is uncomfortable and makes me favor my left leg, so to avoid any further damage, I've been keeping it in saddle.   I also struggle a bit with high RPM riding and very heavy resistance.  I'm trying to ease up a bit on the overall intensity to let my hip rest and heal.  Finally, race week got cancelled so no sailing for me :(

With all that what good news?   Well, I saw the surgeon on Monday and I'm finally on the track to get a knee replacement.  The bad part is a year to fully recover, but it tracks with my goals and I'm looking forward to walking without pain.

So with all that, how was this month?   As they used to say..  Lets go to the videotape...

Weight Results:

• Starting Weight: 234.8
• Ending Weight: 230.5

Exercise Info:

• Number of rides: 93
• Time on exercise: 24:40:10
• Distance on rides: 376.25
• Number of rows: 5
• Time rowing: 75:00
• Distance Rowing: 18646
• Weight Workouts: 6

And here were my April goals:

• Ride 450 miles
• April Apple Fitness challenge
• Perfect Month in Apple
• Gold in my April challenge
• Continue weekly weight workouts.  Try for 2 dedicated weight routines and at least one I&A
• Continue weekly row.
• Break 17k meters in the 60 min row and warmup
• Depending on my knee/hip try to walk
• Get my weight below 230 and stay there.

To be honest, with the exception of missing my weight goal by a half pound, I'm happy with this month.  As I said earlier, my knee and hip have been painful all month, so anything beyond cycling is difficult.   Walking is out of the question right now, and the few times I've had to walk have been frustrating.  I didn't row as much this month and that's mostly because of taking some additional rest days, but my rowing performances have been getting stronger each time, and that's real progress.

I guess the real question is where do I go from here?  I'm planning to keep working out as much as I can right up until the surgery and I'll take it as it goes.   I don't have quite the stamina I want, but my class performances are staying consistent, so I'll take that.

Ok, so what's the plan for May?

• Ride 400 miles
• May Apple Fitness challenge
• Perfect Month in Apple
• Gold in my May challenge (this might be challenging)
• Continue weekly weight workouts.  Find a replacement for I&A :(
• Resume weekly rowing
• Break 17k meters in the 60 min row and warmup
• Get my weight below 230 and stay there.

These are pretty consistent, but if you're observant, you might notice I lowered my mileage target.  Merinda and I are going to Virginia for a week, so I'm going to be light riding at best for that time, and I won't be rowing, but I think I can get to 400, even maintaining row and rest days when we get home.  If not, I expect to be damn close.  I'll also need to fill in some schedule holes since Sam is leaving and that puts a big hole on my schedule for Friday.   I'd swap it to be my rest day, but I don't like ending the week on a rest day, nor do I like working out after work on Friday.   I'll have to see what it all looks like next week.

I am also going to finally dip below 230.   I was hoping I'd get there today, but some late night snacking was my undoing again.   However, I'm doing much less of that, and my appetite seems to be going down and my average seems to be going down slowly.

That's really all I had to say, stay safe friends and talk soon!

Frustrating...

Today I got an email saying that registration for the Dunedin Triathalon was open.   Yes, I could have signed up a while ago, but the email felt a lot different.  Normally, I would have been well into my training, but my knee and hip have ended those aspirations.   Now, I don't know if I will ever compete in one again.   What makes it more frustrating, is I wanted to finish on a better note than I did last year.

Still dragging ass...

I don't quite know what's going on, but I'm still dragging ass a bit.   I went to see Billy Strings last night and just didn't want to get up early today and work out.   No fears, I'll work out tonight, but I feel like I could just crawl back into bed for a few hours.  I've felt that way all week.

On a different note. just go see Billy Strings.   Hopefully before he's only playing in giant amphitheatres.   IMO, he's the best guitarist you can see today and after 4 or 5 shows, I'm still amazed that 5 guys, all playing accoustic instruments can make those sounds.  It's more like a psychedelic experience than a bluegrass concert.

Draggin Ass...

I don't know why, but the past day or so, I've been feeling like everything is a struggle.   It really came to a head last night during endurance.   I skipped speed in the morning because it was an encore, and had a great nights sleep, but I was struggling to keep up in endurance.  I still finished 9th, but I had to gut it out and felt wrecked afterwards.  I was wondering if I was getting sick, but Oura says no, and I felt better today.   Maybe it's because I skipped speed.  I do believe those are the days that matter more than the PR days, but I still felt awful...   Today was tough but not all there.  I guess I'm going to be the bug for a few days.

Otherwise, it's been a pretty solid month.  My weight feels like it's finally goign to go back under 230.  I've been keeping up with pretty regular weight training which I needed.   I've also been rowing every week (hit a new PB on Sunday) and sticking to Monday as a rest day.   I might need to move my rest day this quarter due to the new schedule changes, but I think I'll be able to adjust and come up with something new.   I'm looking forward to the Long Center re-opening so I can start swimming again.   Aside from all of that, I've been sleeping well and until recently feeling great.

All that said, let's talk about March shall we?

Weight Results:

• Starting Weight: 238.0
• Ending Weight: 234.4

Exercise Info:

• Number of rides: 112
• Time on exercise: 31:56:33
• Distance on rides: 493.7
• Number of rows: 10
• Time rowing: 310
• Distance Rowing: 75487m
• Weight Workouts: 5

And in case you forgot, here were my March goals:

• Ride 500 miles
• March Apple Fitness challenge
• Perfect Month in Apple
• Gold in my March challenge - This will be a challenge because my team only has 2 members.
• Continue weekly weight workouts.
• Continue weekly row.
• Break 14k meters in the 60 min row
• Depending on my knee/hip try to walk
• Get my weight below 230 and stay there.

Well, I think overall I did pretty well.   No, I didn't hit 500 miles, but I've made some choices to focus on a more balanced workout plan instead of just cycle, cycle, cycle.   I could have easily hopped on the bike on Sunday or Monday for 20 minutes and gotten the 7 miles, but I think rest and a better plan will be better overall for me.   I'll probably have to dial back the annual totals, but that's ok as long as I feel like I'm going in the right direction.   The more disappointing miss is my weight.   Yes, I feel like it's trending down, but good fucking god, I need to stop eating like a fat kid in a candy store every weekend and then having to catch up.  I also didn't get gold, but that's impossible on a two person team and my other teammate stopped halfway through the month, but I did my part.

Otherwise?   I've been smashing the rows, and weight training.  Definitely stronger and rowing faster.   I don't know if it's possible, but I think I can get a 17k meter day, and I am considering a 1/2 marathon row.  I think that will take about 90-100 minutes.  Won't be happening on Easter, but maybe next weekend.  Hip and knee still not ok with walking, but the good days seem to outnumber the bad ones.

So what's up for April?   Easter!  Race week!  Merinda is going to Ireland for a week or so, so busy times away from exercise, but I think I'll still get a good month in and here's what I want to accomplish:

• Ride 450 miles
• April Apple Fitness challenge
• Perfect Month in Apple
• Gold in my April challenge
• Continue weekly weight workouts.  Try for 2 dedicated weight routines and at least one I&A
• Continue weekly row.
• Break 17k meters in the 60 min row and warmup
• Depending on my knee/hip try to walk
• Get my weight below 230 and stay there.

Since I'll be in St. Augustine for a few days, and keeping some rest days, I decided to lower my monthly target to 450.   I'd like to get to 500 miles, and honestly, if I included the rows I'd be way over, but I'd rather push to 500 and beat my goal, than set it to 500 and miss again.  Everything else is feasible.  If my metrics had come through on my warmup I would have been at 16.9k meters last Sunday, so I can see a 17k day this month.

Ok, that's enough for this month.  Wish us luck at Race Week and we'll chat soon.  Stay safe!

In like a lion?!?

I though it would be good to talk about fitness instead of politics, even though both have me worn out right now.   Not really sure what I did to myself, but I feel absolutely shattered today.   Yes, wednesday is one of the "harder" days of the week this quarter, and yes, I didn't have a great nights sleep, but it doesn't explain why I feel devoid of energy.  I guess I'll just have to go to bed a little earlier tonight.  Hills was tough this morning, but not that hard...

 So how was February?  Lots of good and a little bit of bad.  Let's start with the raw numbers shall we:

Weight Results:

• Starting Weight: 235.8
• Ending Weight: 234.8

Exercise Info:

• Number of rides: 94
• Time on exercise: 30:03:18
• Distance on rides: 453.75
• Number of rows: 2
• Time rowing: 1:11:43
• Distance Rowing: 7508m
• Weight Workouts: 2

And in case you forgot, here were my February goals:

• Ride 500 miles
• February Apple Fitness challenge
• Perfect Month in Apple
• Gold in my February challenge
• Continue weekly weight workouts.
• Depending on my knee/hip try to row and possibly walk
• Read at least one book
• Get my weight below 230

I always like to start off with the bad because lets get that out of the way.   I missed my mileage target by almost 10%, nor did I get weekly weight training in.  However, neither of those were what I was most disappointed about, no that was my weight, which just refuses to go below 230 and stay there.  I did flash below 230 before I ballooned back up to over 240 just a few days later.   No, I didn't actually gain 11 pounds, but I am frustrated by the seesaw weight gain and loss.  

So what actually went well?  I knocked everything else out of the park.   Despite missing my target, I did take three rest days last month, and I've finally started remembering that I need to take those from time to time.   I'm hopeful that I will maintain my pace of taking one a week and doing some weight training and/or something not cardio focused.   I also started rowing again.  Echelon dropped a 60 minute row class with Michael Brown, which I took and loved, and have started taking that every Sunday as a replacement for Vibes.   Thanks to Merinda for that suggestion.   Yes, I closed my rings, yes I got gold.  No, I didn't do weight training every week, but I've been starting and that's what is important.   I've also begun to ramp up the intensity of my workouts.   More multi-workout days which I hope will push my weight down.  Finally, I read two, yes that's right TWO books on vacation and I'm trying to keep reading.

I've also embraced the Oura ring and it's been very helpful in helping me try and get better sleep.   Generally, my sleep scores are good, but more importantly I've eliminated my sleep debt which has made a huge difference in how I feel overall.

Ok, that's old news, what's the plan for this month?

• Ride 500 miles
• March Apple Fitness challenge
• Perfect Month in Apple
• Gold in my March challenge - This will be a challenge because my team only has 2 members.
• Continue weekly weight workouts.
• Continue weekly row.
• Break 14k meters in the 60 min row
• Depending on my knee/hip try to walk
• Get my weight below 230 and stay there.

As I look at this I think the biggest challenge I'm going to have, besides getting my weight where I want it to be, is going to hit 500 miles.   If I continue to row on Sunday, and then take rest days, I'll miss 1-2 days per week of cycling, and that's going to mean I need to make up the distance.  I might not take every Monday off, but it felt pretty good this week, so I'll see how it goes this month and if need be I'll revisit my monthly goal.   I would like to try and walk, but my knee and hip are proving to be awkward, so no promises there. 

One last thing I'll have to start soon is my dive certification.   I can still get some exercise in on those days, but I suspect swimming will be enough.   I'm also planning to get back to swim training when the Long Center reopens, so that will be cross training day.   Since I don't see running in any future plans I'm considering just bike/swim and maybe doing the Aquabike instead of the full triathalon later.

Enough chatting, I'm sure we all have other things to do.   Hopefully, the world will calm down and we can just stick to fitness...   Stay safe folks, have a great month and talk soon.