I missed out on my swim yesterday, because I slept in. I couldn't sleep the night before and was wrecked the next day, so I decided to delay my swim until today. I'm glad I did. I felt fresh and I hit the pool without doing something else first, which gave me that much more of a boost in the water.
Here's what I did.
Warm up
100 free
Core
4 X 400 alternating 150 free and 50 breast (30 seconds rest between)
4 X 50 free sprints (on the 1:00)
Cool down
100 breast
I increased my bilateral breathing sets by 50 yards. I'll do the same for a few more swims before bumping it up to 200 yards before switching to the 50 breast set. The shoulder is sore, as usual, but I'm tired of pampering the damn thing if it's just going to be sore all the time even if I'm not swimming. I think I'm going to try one more swim tomorrow, this one a little shorter.
Total distance: 2,000 yards swimming
Showing posts with label Sleep. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sleep. Show all posts
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Playing Sherlock and a new cycling best
Today was a great day for two reasons. The first, I think I may have found the reason my shoulder isn't healing as fast as I'd like. The second, I hit a new personal-best on the bike today.
The shoulder: Two days ago, Jen and I bought a new bed. We've been kind of waiting for our tax return to do it, but now that we have the dough, we bought it. It's an upgrade from a full size to a queen and during the past four months or so, I've been sleeping on the floor because it's too crowded with Jen, myself and two dogs. I genuinely sleep better on the floor. However, I'm just now realizing that my shoulder pain almost exactly overlaps the time frame where I've been sleeping on the floor. Being a side sleeper, it makes sense that it could be the reason my shoulder isn't healing right. The inner Sherlock Holmes in me failed to put two-and-two together.
I know it's only been two days on the new bed, but I haven't had even a wince of pain in those two days. I'm going back to have my yearly check up with the doctor next week, so I'll double check to see if that's a possibility. Here's hoping.
The bike: Today, I woke up determined to push myself hard during my workout. I had to wait a few minutes for my favorite bike to get freed up, but I took that time to stretch and warm up on the indoor track. Once I got on, my goal was to beat my previous best distance of 17.5 miles in an hour. I set it for my normal pace (level 8), but this time, every 15 minutes I'd increase it to level 9 for 2 1/2 minutes, then level 10 for another 2 1/2 minutes. Then, I'd drop it down to level 8 again. I did that for three increments of 20 minutes and I think that extra 15 minutes of higher levels did the job, because I managed 17.65 miles before doing a two-minute cool down.
By the end, I was sweating particularly bad, so I knew I didn't slack off. I followed it up with some shoulder work with dumbbells and sat in the sauna for about 15 minutes and did some nice deep stretching. My stupid nose started bleeding in the shower, though. I probably should have hydrated better.
Total distance: 18 miles cycling
The shoulder: Two days ago, Jen and I bought a new bed. We've been kind of waiting for our tax return to do it, but now that we have the dough, we bought it. It's an upgrade from a full size to a queen and during the past four months or so, I've been sleeping on the floor because it's too crowded with Jen, myself and two dogs. I genuinely sleep better on the floor. However, I'm just now realizing that my shoulder pain almost exactly overlaps the time frame where I've been sleeping on the floor. Being a side sleeper, it makes sense that it could be the reason my shoulder isn't healing right. The inner Sherlock Holmes in me failed to put two-and-two together.
 |
| The new bed. Now it's time to paint the bedroom. |
The bike: Today, I woke up determined to push myself hard during my workout. I had to wait a few minutes for my favorite bike to get freed up, but I took that time to stretch and warm up on the indoor track. Once I got on, my goal was to beat my previous best distance of 17.5 miles in an hour. I set it for my normal pace (level 8), but this time, every 15 minutes I'd increase it to level 9 for 2 1/2 minutes, then level 10 for another 2 1/2 minutes. Then, I'd drop it down to level 8 again. I did that for three increments of 20 minutes and I think that extra 15 minutes of higher levels did the job, because I managed 17.65 miles before doing a two-minute cool down.
 |
| Did a hair over 18 miles if you include my cool down. |
Total distance: 18 miles cycling
Monday, December 19, 2011
Pushed it too hard
This morning I woke up at about 9:30, which is unusually early for me. I don't get home from work until almost 12:30 every night and I don't fall asleep until well after 2 a.m., so I generally wake up around 10-11 a.m. before going to the gym.
I didn't have a set plan on what I was going to do, but when I walked into the cardio room, all the bikes were taken and only one treadmill was available. I guess running was my only option. I started nice and easy for about 1.5 miles and then increased the speed a little bit. By the time I hit three miles I cranked it up even more. Just after I reached 4.5 miles I saw a bike open up and I was quick to snag it before someone else did. I usually don't like to immediately stop when I'm running (cooling down with a brisk walk for a couple of minutes is good for your heart) but I didn't want to waste the opportunity.
When I got on the bike, I initially wanted to go for a full 30 minutes, but after running for 45 minutes, my energy was sapped. I only lasted 15 minutes and managed a measly 3.6 miles before I had to stop. My legs were like jello.
Once again, against my better judgement, I immediately crawled into the pool, even though I was already very tired. Here's what I did.
Warm up: (although I was very much already warm)
150 free
Core:
3 x 150 100 free with bilateral breathing & 50 breast
Cool down:
200 breast
Afterward, I was feeling shaky and sick. I don't think the swim pushed me over the edge, because I only did a little bit and it was mostly relaxing breaststroke. I sat in the sauna for about 10 minutes and that seemed to just compound the problem. I knew I was in trouble and possibly dehydrated and I need calories badly. I jumped in my car (probably not a good idea) and sped off to the nearest food joint, which happened to be Wendy's. Once I sucked down some more water and got some food in me, I immediately started to feel better.
I think I need to do a better job of hydrating and eating a small snack before going to the gym. This isn't the first time I've had something like this happen, although it isn't common.
Total distance: 850-yard swim, 4.6-mile run, 3.6-mile bike.
I didn't have a set plan on what I was going to do, but when I walked into the cardio room, all the bikes were taken and only one treadmill was available. I guess running was my only option. I started nice and easy for about 1.5 miles and then increased the speed a little bit. By the time I hit three miles I cranked it up even more. Just after I reached 4.5 miles I saw a bike open up and I was quick to snag it before someone else did. I usually don't like to immediately stop when I'm running (cooling down with a brisk walk for a couple of minutes is good for your heart) but I didn't want to waste the opportunity.
When I got on the bike, I initially wanted to go for a full 30 minutes, but after running for 45 minutes, my energy was sapped. I only lasted 15 minutes and managed a measly 3.6 miles before I had to stop. My legs were like jello.
Once again, against my better judgement, I immediately crawled into the pool, even though I was already very tired. Here's what I did.
Warm up: (although I was very much already warm)
150 free
Core:
3 x 150 100 free with bilateral breathing & 50 breast
Cool down:
200 breast
Afterward, I was feeling shaky and sick. I don't think the swim pushed me over the edge, because I only did a little bit and it was mostly relaxing breaststroke. I sat in the sauna for about 10 minutes and that seemed to just compound the problem. I knew I was in trouble and possibly dehydrated and I need calories badly. I jumped in my car (probably not a good idea) and sped off to the nearest food joint, which happened to be Wendy's. Once I sucked down some more water and got some food in me, I immediately started to feel better.
I think I need to do a better job of hydrating and eating a small snack before going to the gym. This isn't the first time I've had something like this happen, although it isn't common.
Total distance: 850-yard swim, 4.6-mile run, 3.6-mile bike.
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