Feeling good to be back on the wagon

The longest break I have had in nearly 4 years because of injury and illness has finally come to an end. This last week has been solid. The strength training I have done has also helped. Feels good to have it coming together. Core strength has been helping my back. I have adopted the core program the distance coach at UNLV has given his athletes, with whom I have been working with. Leg strength has made the running around here happen. It is very hilly and I have been good on the hills. My only complaint is my lungs. Still kinda crappy but today I hardly had a cough. When the cough comes though it is productive. Here is how the week went:

Monday-750 m swim. My stroke is coming nice. I am not going fast but trying to keep a very high elbow, plenty of rotation, and make each stroke meaningful. It is translating to swimming fitness and interestingly enough speed too.

Tuesday-Ran 3 miles with sully/julie. He got a little pooped in the last quarter to half miles. I think 3 miles will be his max for a while.

Wednesday-30 min bike trainer steady state bike. Followed by core work. High cadence, light to moderate resistance work for the entire 30 min. Boy the trainer is boring. I also have significantly weak core. I can feel my back work the same it hurt last season when I was on long bike or long run. I feel like I addressing last season hole in training.

Thursday-3 mile run. Hardly any limits for me or sully. We are going to be good training buddies. He would like me to go faster though. Neither of us stopped and I did not get any fatigue.

Friday-rest

Saturday-Since the rain and wind were going to prevent any outside activity I took to the pool. 1500 meter long swim, in 36:--. Last March I did a time trial and went 38 min. I was not time trial-ing and I went faster. The pool has come around quick. I would like to see that trend continue. High elbows, face in the water, and steady/controlled turnover.

Sunday (today)-4.5 mile run. my longest run since my 22 miler pre calf blowup. It felt strong. I climbed the biggest hill today without fatigue and no walking at all. The weather was gorgeous. Had I known that was going to happen I would have biked out at the lake. Overally, very happy were my run is going and looking forward to getting into the thick of things and get ready for RAGE.

I am signed up for RAGE. I will be doing the olympic. I will try and break last years goals. I am going to also sign up for the Charlottesville 10 miler and try to beat last years time. I will be in VA for the Running Medicine series again. It is a phenomenal course every year. I will get my schedule together and start planning out my next few months. Quote:

“I pray to be like the ocean, with soft currents, maybe waves at times. More and more, I want the consistency rather than the highs and the lows.”

Drew Barrymore

After a relative low in the last few months I feel this ship turning right around.