Still not a fish

I think this is officially the first time that I have crapped out on one of these workouts. Exactly halfway and the thought of another 700 yards was too much to bear, so I bailed on the second half. The campus is closed today, so although I have been at work all day, I have been living on Diet Coke and coffee, with no input of real food. This was probably the main cause---but a secondary, and somewhat less reliable reason is the not-a-fish factor. It seems that whenever I have more than two days out of the pool, the following workout is REALLY difficult to bear. It's not that I don't have the strength, I just seem to drink too much of the pool and get frustrated by it all. That was the general feeling today---just not enjoying it at all.

Got out of the pool did the core workout (better balance on the ball; strangely the planks seem harder than they did last week) and then went for a 2-mile run at 10:00 pace and 1% incline on the treadmill, ensuring that HR stayed around 145 (c.75%). This was boring, but if I am going to find a 4th day of running beginning in March, then I want to add these 2-milers for a few weeks. My idea is to follow the program that I have outlined but do 4-days of running and then substitute swimming and cycling on the easy- and off- days. This will require me to be ready to alternate 8-mile and 4-mile days each week on Monday and then do speedwork on Tuesday. Starting in February, I will kick it up to 3 miles on the off day and then we will be ready to transition into a real 10k training schedule March 1.

kata skopon dioko

I press on toward the goal, forgetting what lies behind, reaching forward to what lies ahead (Philippians 3:14). Not without some difficulty---January is a cruel month with grant deadlines, closing out year end books, reports, the first stab at taxes, budgets, annual meetings, and it does not help that it is cold. And then there are the new things---planning a running fund raiser for the Gargoyle and working on changes in web services for Augustana. It all adds up and takes a toll on work and home and even sport. This morning I just could not get moving and I decided to skip my planned swim, take an extra hour in the sack, and see where it left me. By late afternoon I felt better and I decided to stick the workout back in the evening hours. This is the second night-swim this week (and, I think, overall). I am surprised how much I enjoy it.

Did the core exercises from RW again. I thought that I was pretty weak in the core, but I am having no trouble with these exercises (some trembling at the end of a 2 minute plank, notwithstanding). This gives me some sense that the combination of swimming/biking/running is working the core adequately. I will keep these up and add some tougher ones down the road with the hope of trimming down more of the gut---but all in all, I feel pretty good about where things stand in terms of core strength.

The quote from Paul at the beginning has come back into my mind these past couple months and it strikes me as profound both for running and life. He does not see the run as a simple here-to-there, but as a long, continuous striving that reaches the prize at the END, but not at some interim end. Always becoming, always captured by the endeavor, always engaging oneself fully in the moment and the day---looking toward what is ahead. I will probably come back to this again.

Core Work and Swim

Finally had time to hit the pool just before 8pm and was running on fumes for most of the workout---which also means sucking in more than my share of pool water. I noted that the more tired I get, the less I am able to maintain any type of form in the pool---and my breathing goes downhill as well. I also work less efficiently: I swam 18 and 16 s/l during the first of two sets and then 20 and 18 s/l on the second. My flip turns are improving (one was nearly perfect), but getting the breathing right for the turns is still an issue. I know that flip turns are hardly critical, but they add an element of fun to the equation.

I have been doing crunches and planks for the past couple months, but the recent Runners World article on core strength reminded me to get more serious about it. After the swim last night I added the first four core exercises in the base fitness workout (Plank/Side Plank, Bird Dog, Back Extension, Swiss Hip Extension) and was surprised at how well I was able to do them. The hip extensions are done on a balance ball, and this is the place where I had trouble (I kept falling off), but I should also see some rapid improvements as I build the strength and muscle control on the ball. In contrast to swimming (and regular lifting) these kinds of exercises fit with the reasons that I love running---they are really endurance work and require one to develop sustained muscle control.