[S]he Conquers Who Endures

All around a great day. I think I got my health insurance figured out so I can get the world's best PT in Chicago with my girl who has been doing my video gait and specializes with runners. I got my heart rate monitor all programed up to my garmin easy peasy. Then went off to biking!

I have no idea what I am doing on the bike - especially in this walking boot! I tried to target zone 3 the majority of the time, which is aerobic/endurance zone. I ended up making a workout during the ride: 5 min wu, 20 min in zone 3-4, 5 mins zone 2, 20 mins zone 3-4+, cd in zone 2. Average zone: 3.0, Average HR: 129

I was planning on 1 hr ride, but as I approached 1 hr I was around 17 or 18 miles, so decided to round it out to an even 20. :) The first 15 miles were at 18 MPH - I never knew I could ride a bike that fast for that far! Although who knows with these exercise bikes.

Total ride: 20 miles at 17.48 MPH.

Yay, the ride was pain free in the boot! "Pain free" referring to my 4th metatarsal, my quads were on fire! Now I am getting a baseline and some numbers to play around with - my heart rate and bike speed! I have so many "!"'s bc I have biker's high and I feel like I'm back to training!!!

Finished up with upper body weights, 3x12 real pushups (I want to start improving this number) and 3x1:30 planks.

1 hour easy long run on the bike in my boot. Zone 2 all the way, baby! My quads felt pretty fried from last night. Love it! Average zone: 2.6, Average HR: 122

Finished with 3x14 real pushups, 3x1:30 planks, 3x1:15 walls sits (that's right, they are longer)! 

1 hour swim. I am pooped!!! 10 min waterjogging warmup, 2x[5x1:30 hard with 30 sec recovery], 2 min recovery between sets, 10 min cool down, swam some laps (~10 or 300 yards) to round out at 1 hr. First day of Pfitzinger's waterjogging schedule done!

As soon as I started my first hard effort I realized I was in for it! Man, I didn't realize how hard this could be! I pushed so hard I almost threw up. Then, when I got out of the pool, my legs almost buckled because they were shaking so bad from fatigue!!! I am so happy about this. I can work with this. People, don't be afraid of injury because this stuff is hard! 

I'm not sure if I can wear my garmin heart rate monitor in the pool, so I just estimated my heart rate with my fingers after some of the repeats. I was hitting 120-130s recovering. They say your hr is 10% lower in the pool. I'd say I was between zone 3-4 (aerobic/anaerobic). Gotta find out about my garmin! :)

Long bike in boot trying to maintain 70-75% max HR. My total time was around 2:05:00, so I averaged 21.18 MPH?! This is a different exercise bike than what I had used last week. Today I used an upright bike, last week was one of those granny bikes. It could be the bikes are calibrated differently or it could be more efficient to bike in the upright position. The important thing is that I maintained the correct HR (74%) for the entire long ride! Avg HR: 136

I need to practice better fueling on the bike. 25 oz of sodium free water is terrible! Must bring more fluids and a little carbs/electrolytes.

All-in-all a tough and wonderful workout! The first long ride of a century ride schedule. I feel comfortable with this. I might as well train for a century in my boot even if I'm not sure I will get out of my boot in time to ride it (a friend is riding one June 15th).

Finished with 3x15 pushups, 1:30, 1:00 planks then called it a day. 

1:10:00 swimming.

Aquajogging: 10 min wu, 7x2:30 hard with 30 sec recovery, 10 min cd

20 mins laps ~ 610 yards. I think I'm figuring out how to swim. This is over double what I swam on Friday and this time I took no breaks. :) I felt like I could have gone longer too!

Finished with 3x(1 lap frogs, 1 lap walking in the pool with my jogger belt to keep weight off my foot).

Once again I got out of the pool and my legs were shaking so bad with fatigue!! I love it! 

AM: Speed bike in boot! 30 min wu in zone 2 then 5x2:00 in zone 4-5 with 4:00 recovery followed by 15 min cd in zone 2-3. This was really hard, but it felt really good to push so hard, drip sweat, and get my hr up. My peak HR was near 165 for each interval. Kinda like running. Interesting factoid: I finally found the answer to my question: why is it so difficult to get your HR up when on the bike to be similar to your HR running? Answer: because in many individuals there is a strength that needs to be built first. Tri athletes generally have built the leg strength to be able to bike at a similar HR as they run. 

Finished up with a little weights focused on my hammies cause my quads are burnt! Arms and 3x15 real pushups, 3x1:30 plank in boot.

PM: Waterjogging. 5 min wu, 2 sets of 6x1:30 hard with 30 sec recovery with 2 min rest between, 5 min cd. Apparently I got into a pretty decent rhythm because I accidentally added an extra rep on my last set. Once again I came out of the water and my legs were shaking with fatigue. This new routine is really focusing on quad and hip strength!! Now I'm pooped and ready for an early bedtime!!

Waterjogging: 5 min wu, 35 min steady running. 

Laps: 30! I'm figuring out how to swim and that's making it so much more fun! I swam 900 yards not realizing that's over half a mile. 

I get skeptical about these swimming workouts because my body doesn't feel so beat up. Then I get out of the pool and my legs shake so bad with fatigue and it's kinda hard to tell my muscles to move, so I know I'm getting a good workout. :) 

1.5 h steady bike. 30 min wu at 60% max HR (115-120 bpm), 15 mins 80-85% max HR (150-155 bpm), 15 min recovery at 60% max HR, 20 mins 80-85% max HR, 10 min cd 125-135 bpm.

I really didn't believe I could maintain 80-85% max HR for so long on the bike. It's pretty hard for a runner because you just don't have the quad strength to get your HR up that high. I can tell I'm improving though because it wasn't as bad as I thought. It was actually a lot of fun! My watch gauges your training effect based on HR. I hit 4.1 out of 5.0 which stands for "drastically improving"! :)

65 min ladder waterjogging: 20 min wu, 1 min hard, 1 min recovery, 2/1, 3/1, 4/1, 5/1, 4/1, 3/1, 2/1, 1/1, 10 min cd. I know this must've been hard because a) I almost vomited a couple times and b) for the longer intervals it was hard to keep my head above water which I think means I had no oxygen in my lungs. :)

Swam 750 yards in 23:29 I am such a slow swimmer!! 

So a sprint triathlon is 750 yard swim, 20k bike, 5k run. Now I've swam and biked several times a week those distances or greater. There's a sprint triathlon the weekend in late June after the century ride. Hmm...

Okay, I've been keeping positive about this stress fracture for quite a while. I need a short venting session so please bare with me. I  have two friends who were at the same fitness as me before my stress fracture. I got a text from one friend this weekend that he ran 10 miles sub 7 AP (we were both trying to run a sub 7 AP half marathon in July). Then I got a text from a friend last night. She's tapering for a marathon next weekend where she will try to get her BQ. She did 5x1 mile repeats. Her last mile was 5:50! I text them back all excited and happy for them, but it really makes my heart heavy. I'm jealous I can't hit those paces and I worry they are just going to keep advancing while I'm working so hard just to maintain what I had. It makes my hard work seem inadequate too. Why?! That doesn't make sense for someone's one mile time to make a 1.5 h hard bike seem inadequate. What is wrong with me??? Okay venting over. Time to focus on my own recovery what I CAN do! 

I am flying to FL tomorrow to surprise my mom for Mother's Day, so I won't have access to a stationary bike. So, I did my long bike this am. 

3h at 70-75% max HR. Supposedly 64.8 miles on the bike. It was tough, but it was my longest ride yet!! I'm really thinking a century ride and/or triathlon will be in my immediate future (June). :)

I had great news from the PT yesterday! She had me hop on my bad foot without the boot. NO PAIN!!! Now I can walk around without the boot and no guarding. I'm getting through this!! 

2 hr water jogging. 

30 min wu, 2x[6x3 min hard, 2 min recovery], 5 min easy between sets, 25 min cd.

Phew!!! This was so hard!!! My legs were very sore after this. I don't know if my heart rate is getting high enough to maintain high heart rate fitness, but hopefully I'm gaining leg strength and maybe even gaining more efficient oxygen delivery? 

I'm walking more around the house without my boot and my foot is feeling really good!!! I think about fall marathons while I water jog. I think I'll nix an Oct and shoot for a Nov race. I just applied to the NYC marathon and thinking Philly as a backup. I can't wait to plan a new schedule! 

40 mins water jogging. 

5 min wu, 2x[7x1:30 hard, 30 sec recovery], 2 min easy between sets. 5 min cd. I am so incredibly sore from yesterday. It felt good to work with tired muscles. I don't know why, I'm crazy! Haha.

I took two naps today. I think this water jogging and biking program are working! I'm maintaining the same weight and I feel I'm getting more toned than when I marathon train. :) 

1.25 h speed bike. 30 min wu in zone 2, then true (as in I didn't start the interval time until I reached target HR) 6x2 min in zone 4-5a (81-93% max HR) with 4 min recovery (zone 3), then 12 min cd which ended up being zone 3. 

This was the first ride on my new bike trainer!! I already broke my computer thingy that tells you speed on my first ride so I have no idea how far I went. That's okay, I didn't trust that thing anyway. I'll just stick to HR/time training. That's more important anyway. AND, my first ride with no boot!!! I used the clip in shoes which keep your feet immobilized anyway. :)

Today is my 3 week checkup for my "stress fracture"! I've decided I probably was having more of a stress reaction than stress fracture, which my PT suggested. I looked it up, they will both show up on a bone scan. Now let's see if my dr agrees! Stay tuned...  

Big sigh. What a heavy heart I have right now. Ortho convinced me to pull out of Ragnar in June. It just seems stupid to invest so much time in healing my foot to run few, slow miles and potentially set back my recovery. I want to get back into marathon training, so I think the smartest thing for me is to bite the bullet and be conservative. This is such a tough decision for me. I was looking forward to this since last June. Things could be worse and by September I'm hoping my body will reward me for this investment. Time to dry my eyes and focus on biking. 

1h 20 min waterjogging. I was planning on an interval workout but when I got to the pool the girls from MIT track were jogging away so I decided to chat it up with them for awhile. Chatting it up meant I probbed them for all their secrets. :) One of these girls has a 4:40ish mile time!!! I found out they are putting in 55 mile weeks and waterjog 5 days a week on top of that!!! Yup, definitely adding this to my routine for marathon training this summer/fall.

After chatting with them for 40 mins, I finished up with swimming up and down the lane focusing on good form and trying to fatigue my hamstrings. The bike neglects the hammies so I gotta make sure they are getting adequate attention. Finished up with 5x45sec hard with 15 sec recoveries. I will just switch this workout with tomorrows since I was going to do a steady waterjog tomorrow anyway. :)

I felt like a normal person training with people! Yay!!! 

AM: 1.75 h steady bike. 15 min wu @ 60-65% MHR, then 3x15 min @ 80-85% MHR with 15 min recovery @ 70-75% MHR.

Ahhh...this is the first workout after my stress fracture that my body had that in sync feeling that it gets when you are running well and comfortably hard. This time, it wasn't about my foot, or my quads being too weak to get my HR to the correct zone. I was able to hit the zone and just close my eyes, let the sweat pour off my face and just jam to the music while I replayed a bunch of running memories during the hard interval. Today I feel good. Today I feel like I can maintain a decent base with this. I am happy. :) 

PM: 77 mins water jogging. 20 min wu, 2x[6x2:30 hard with 30 sec recovery] with 5 min easy between sets, 15 min cd.

74 mins waterjogging - ladder workout. 20 min wu, 1/2/3/4/5/4/3/2/1 min hard with 1 min easy between each, 20 min cd. I tried to focus really well on my form and tried to burn out my hammies. :) This felt comfortably hard. I tried to catch my HR between some sets, and it seemed to be around 13ish beats for 5 sec and once got up to 15, which means I'm hitting 156 - 180 bpm!!! I didn't think this was possible without running so I have been assuming I was getting my cardio work on the bike. It's so weird to work so hard and not feel like your body is all beaten up. I think I have conditioned my self to think I am only working hard and improving if I am in pain! This session also felt like my bike session yesterday - like everything is in sync. I think I'm finally gaining enough skill in these crosstraining exercises that now it's about the cardio/aerobic fitness. I didn't want to get out of the pool either. I think I'm falling in love with waterjogging!

3.5 h bike no boot! Averaged 72% max heart rate. This was so hard!! about 2 h in I wanted to quit so bad. It's funny, once you get to 3 h the last 30 mins are a breeze. :)

93 mins waterjogging. 20 min wu, then 8x5 min hard with 1 min recovery, then 5x45 sec hard with 15 sec recovery, then 20 min cd. 

This was nice and hard! I was getting my HR up to 132 - 156 bpm (73 - 87% max HR) roughly for the 5 min intervals, and the 45 sec were 156 - 180 bpm (87 - 100% max HR), roughly. This is crazy considering they say your HR in water is 10 bpm lower than on land. Maybe I'm an exception?

On a heavier note, my Chicago training partner ran her marathon today. Her goal was to finally get her BQ. She ran Chicago last fall injured and unexpectedly missed qualifying by 24 sec!! She has gotten even faster and has been injury free, so there was no doubt in my mind she was def going to BQ today. I was expecting a 325/330 from her. Well, with such a cold winter/spring, she unfortunately had a really hot and humid race. She was on pace (7:55 min/mi) up through mile 18 then stopped sweating and started getting chills. She was puking by 20, and walked it in just to collapse at 26.0 then again after crossing the finish in 3:59. Thankfully she is physically okay, but my heart breaks for her. It just goes to show you that you can do everything right, but a good race is definitely luck of the day and the weather. We wanted to run Boston together so bad!! Ugh, this makes my heart so heavy and there's nothing I can do. :(

AM: 1.25 h speed bike criss-cross workout. 20 mins wu @ 60-65% max HR, then 6x4 mins 80-93% max HR (slowly raise HR first 2 mins to 93%, then slowing lower HR last 2 mins to 80%), with 4 min recovery, then 15 min cd.

I loved this. Well, hated it during the intervals. I got that burning sensation in my legs that you get when you are running really, really hard. My muscles were definitely fatigued by the last repeat. My quads and glutes are getting stronger! Love!!

It's funny, the more I cross-train, the more I don't feel like I have a stress fracture!! :) 

PM: 1.25 h water jogging. 20 min wu, then 2x[8x1:30 min hard with 30 sec recovery], 2 min easy between sets, 20 min cd. It hurts so good. Funny, I am the only waterjogger at MIT it seems who does intervals, and I don't feel like a weirdo about it. 

AM: 1.25 h weights/core/PT. 3 sets of each exercise, 3 exercises per round, 5 rounds. Finished with 3x1:30 planks.

PM: 90 mins waterjogging. 20 min wu, 5x5:00 hard with 5:00 recovery, 20 min cd. This felt easier in some sense to have a longer recovery but definitely had to push hard for a longer amount of time.  

Scrapped all workouts today and worked from home in bed. My sinus infection that I've had for 1.5 weeks is getting worse and I think it's bc I'm training a tad too hard and not getting enough rest. I took a 2 h nap today and had a lot more calories and a few emergen-C's. I felt pretty energized by the end of the day so I think this was just what I needed!

HAPPY START WORKING OUT OF BOOT DAY TO ME!!! RA-RA, ZCHISH-BOOM-BA!

AM: 2h steady bike. 15 min wu @ 60-65% max hr, then 3x20 mins @ 80-85% max hr with 15 min recoveries @ 60-65% max hr. I definitely lolly gagged before this because I was worried about my body's strength. The impromptu rest day yesterday evidently was spot on what I needed because I crushed this workout!! I need a mop to cleanup my floor after this! I wonder how much this type of workout will help me to run a half marathon in July when I'm just getting back to running?

PM: 82 mins waterjogging downhill ladder. 20 mins wu, then downhill ladder starting at 7 mins hard/half interval time recovery down to 1 min hard, 20 mins cd.

I just noticed today that my right calf is noticeably smaller than my left!! It looks silly, gotta work on that! 

98 mins waterjogging. 20 min wu, then 8x5min hard with 1 min recovery, then 10x45 sec hard with 15 sec recoveries. Once again I was getting to ~170 bpm on the 45 sec intervals, that's 94% max hr!!! 15 sec was definitely not enough time to recover, but I think that's the point of the workout. :) I'm really loving water jogging, that in combination with the bike has got me feeling so strong. I'm hitting 12 h training per week, which is higher than I hit running (typically 8-10 h/week). It's gotta be lower intensity so I will call this excellent base building. :)

I had decided to scratch the half marathon in mid-July that I was targeting a 1:30, but now I'm wondering if I should use it as a baseline race to start marathon training (targeting a Nov marathon now). Who knows maybe I can even PR? That would be faster than 1:41 since I haven't run a half in a year. Ha! 

4h long bike. Maintained 72% max heart rate. This seemed easier than my 3.5 h long bike last weekend!! I think I'll stick to 4h max. Not sure what a longer bike ride would do for me?

30 mins weights on vacay just to get the day started off on the right foot. :)

1.25 h speed bike. 20 mins wu at 60-65% max hr, then 10x2mins @ 80-90% max hr with 2 mins recoveries, then cool down ~ 10 mins. These were harder than last week's speed bike (6x4 mins w 4 min recoveries). Could be from the shorter recoveries, could be from one sore right quad after dancing all night in my boot - either way, a great workout and very proud of myself for squeezing it in at night after a long travel day. :)

AM: 50 mins weights. 4 blocks of 3 sets of 3 exercises: weights, core, and PT. I measured my calves today. Last week people noticed my right was visually a lot smaller than my left. They measured the same today...score!

PM: 100 mins waterjogging. 20 min wu, then 6x5min hard with 5 min recoveries, 20 min cd.  

AM: 2.25 h steady bike. 15 min wu @ 60-65% max hr, then 4x15min @ 85% max hr with 15 min recoveries. It was one of those days where you wake up at 4:30am, you feel dead, think about pushing the workout to another day when you feel fresh, start the workout, have a hard time getting your hr up, then...bam! Things fall into place and you have a good, hard workout in the zone!! I finished strong, awake, and ready to start the day! It helped to get a text message from a friend saying this:

"This is you!":

I have to admit, I've been feeling kinda bummy about training. I'm putting in a ton of time and hard work to crosstrain, but it's all blind. I have no idea my pace/speed or if I'm improving/losing fitness. It's making me crazy. I have a hard workout like today, feel so proud, then an hr later feel so inadequate. It's mind games, I know. I just have to cage this and keep the faith. Thank you, my friend, I sooooo needed this text!!!

PM: 78 min waterjogging; 20 min wu, 2x[9x1:30 mins hard, 30 sec recoveries], 2 mins easy between sets, 20 min cd. There was hardly anyone in the pool, which meant minimal water slapping my face. :) I can't believe I worked up to 2x9 sets of these!!! I started at 2x5 4 weeks ago, and I can tell I have improved. Yay! 

AM: 50 mins weights. 4 sets of 3 exercises with 3 reps each: core, stability, PT finished with 3x1:30 planks then 3x20 abmat sit-ups to make them abs buuuuurrrn!!!

Officially done with the boot as of today!!! Dr. says I am healing nicely, and no pain when he pushed on my bone...hard!!! I asked him about racing a half mid-July, he said normally people give up on working out and have to build back cardio. I laughed and told him I'm training more hours per week doing bike and waterjogging than I did running 70 miles per week. He says then I just need to focus on rebuilding my bone. I guess all that hard work does pay off (besides keeping me temporarily sane)!! 

PM: 65 mins waterjogging. 20 min wu, 4x[3 mins hard, 1 min easy, 1 min hard, 1 min easy], 20 min cd. This felt hard but short. I'm definitely ready for a rest day now! 

Today is rest day, so my workout was to sleep over 9.5 h last night. :)