Week Recap (03/09/08 - 03/015/08) - 31 Miles

It's good to finally have some mileage to write about, even though it's not much. I'm being as conservative as I've ever been in building up but I'm definitely happy with my progress. I have been running pain-free and generally feeling good on my runs. It was my intention to supplement my runs with some cross training but didn't really do much of that. It was harder to find the motivation to get on the elliptical, the stationary bike or in the pool after putting in 5 or 6 miles. I'm still going for physical therapy 3 times a week and spending quite a bit of time every day for stretching and strengthening so I can't say that I'm not doing enough. Next week my goal is to get the mileage in the 40s and if all goes well I'll be back to decent mileage soon.

~25 Mile bike ride

I met with Nestor this morning and we hit the roads with our bikes. I'm still contemplating buying my own bike but for today I had to settle with Nestor's older bike. He has turned into a triathlete so he had the $1200 bike plus all the necessary gear, like bike shorts and shoes. I, on the other hand, was wearing basketball shorts, running shoes and a cotton T-shirt and riding a hybrid bike. I guess if there's an equivalent to a jogger for cycling that's what I looked like. We started from Nestor's place and headed to the bay trail behind Shoreline, bringing back memories on from the summer I spent in the bay area 3 years ago. We continued along the bay to Embarcadero, continued towards Stanford, making a brief stop at a bike shop so that I could have a look at some bikes. We went on to Junipero Serra Blvd afterwards and looped back to Mountain View. I'm not sure exactly how long the loop was but I won't bother measuring it. We were out for just under 2 hours and probably spent about 1:40-1:45 on the bikes. The pace was decent but comfortable for the most part with the occasional burst of speed every now and then. It didn't take me long to realize how much difference the bike makes as it was fairly obvious that I was working harder than Nestor to maintain the same pace. Fortunately I'm in much better so I didn't have trouble keeping up. It was a pretty good ride overall and made me start thinking about getting a bike more seriously. I don't intend on becoming a biker but it's definitely a great form of cross training. I think I could motivate myself more easily to go on a 2 hour bike ride instead of getting on the elliptical for half an hour.

Foster City [6M]

Another exploratory run in Foster City. I tried to run along one of the lagoons at first but I kept running into backyards and had to get back on the streets. I ended up wandering through residential areas for a while before getting back to the more familiar territory along Marina Lagoon. I was only shooting for 5 miles but wound up back after almost 43 minutes so definitely a solid 6. I decided to add on some cross training and jumped on the elliptical as soon as I got back to PJCC. I only managed to stay on for 15 minutes but I think putting any amount of time for cross training after a 6 mile run is a win. I got off when the two high school girls who were on the ellipticals next to me started discussing how "it's a proven fact" that running with an ipod makes you faster. I was doing my best to ignore their conversation the entire time but that last comment just pushed me over the edge.

Alameda - San Carlos [5M]

I wound up working late and didn't leave the office until 9PM. I opted to go home instead of Club O so that I wouldn't have to rush to finish everything by 10. I didn't waste much time and headed out for one of my usual loops. My legs started feeling the increase in mileage a bit but nothing too bad really. I was comfortably running 6:50s for most of the run.

Foster City [5M]

I started around 6:30 PM after my physical therapy session and went on a somewhat random loop around Foster City. Just over 36 minutes for the loop, which probably makes up for yesterday being a bit short.

Redwood Shores [5M]

I was out of Club O at 8PM, getting a bit of a late start again. I was out for 32:30 so the loop was probably a bit short but not by much as I was moving at a decent pace. Stretching and some strengthening exercise afterwards.

5 Mile loop for PJCC

I headed out from PJCC at 6:30 PM, after spending the usual hour for physical therapy. I picked up the bay trail, ran along to Mariners Island Blvd and looped back to PJCC. Wound up back after 38:30 so a bit longer than 5.

Holly St - Ralston - 5 Miles

I headed out from home around 1PM on another glorious day. I went down El Camino, crossed to Redwood shores along Holly St and came back on Ralston. I felt great again, averaging just under 6:50 pace. I should probably be taking it easier but I can't blame myself for getting a little too excited.

Week Recap (03/02/08 - 03/08/08) - 12 Miles

Making a return to running after a long break is always exciting news. I didn't run much of course but it's definitely good to be able to put in some mileage. My runs were pain free but I plan on taking my time to build up again and continue physical therapy for another couple of weeks. What was most encouraging was how good I felt on my runs. Unlike other times I took a month long break, I'm not feeling out of shape. I feel that I managed to maintain some fitness by cross training and I'll just need some time for my legs get used to the pounding again.

Alameda - Notre Dame Ave - 4 Miles

I headed out from home around 2PM in beautiful, sunny, 60+ degree weather, nice enough to be out shirtless. I don't really need any more motivation to run these days but with weather like this I was even more excited. I took the usual route up Ralston and went north on Alameda. The climb up Alameda was a bit of a challenge and I took my time going up but after that I was moving along at a good pace. Averaged right around 7:00 pace, feeling pretty good the whole time.

4 Miles + 20 min on elliptical

I left work early today as I had a 4PM appointment for physical therapy. I spent about an hour there as usual and got out for a run in Foster City. I forgot to bring my running shorts and had to run in the basketball shorts I wear while in the gym. I wasn't running very fast for the most part so I pretty much looked like the average jogger. Eventually it will all turn around, though. I was planning to put in 3 miles but underestimated the loop I ran and ended up going a bit longer. I went up in the gym afterwards and hopped on the elliptical for about 20 minutes, then spent some more time stretching and working the core.

2 Miles

I didn't get to Club O until almost 9PM and had to rush things a bit. I went out for a 2 mile loop in Foster City, my first outdoors run in over a month. It seemed weird to be going out for only a couple of miles but it was good to be out there. I was feeling good, no pain on my foot and only some minor soreness in the Achilles. I was planning to add on some cross training afterwards but since I didn't have much time I opted to do some stretching and lifting instead.

Elliptical + 1 mile run

I went in for physical therapy at 5:30 PM, and got on the elliptical after about an hour. I stayed on for just over 40 minutes and switched to a treadmill for a little over a mile. I was thinking of running a couple of miles but my Achilles felt a bit sore and I figured I'd rather play it safe. I don't think it's anything to worry about, though, I have been doing a lot of strengthening exercises for the foot and ankle area so some soreness is not very surprising.

Spin bike + 1 mile of running!

In the exciting news of the day was my return to running after an almost month long hiatus. I was thinking of waiting until tomorrow to start running again but I've been feeling good for some time so I figured there wasn't really any reason to wait another day. I didn't have time to do much today as I stayed at work late again and didn't get to Club O until after 9. I hopped on the spin bike for 20-25 minutes, stretched briefly and jumped on the treadmill. Of course I would hardly call a mile on the treadmill, at just under 8:00 pace, a run but it's a good start after a long break. I pretty much just wanted to see how my foot will feel and was glad that I didn't feel any pain. I'm planning on taking things slowly so I'll probably stick to a couple miles a day for this week and play it by ear from then on. I was planning to do some more cross training after running but I only had 10 minutes or so before Club O closed so I just headed back home. I spent some time at home stretching, doing some strengthening stuff and working the core while watching some champions league football (aka soccer).

Physical therapy, aquajogging, swimming

I had a physical therapy appointment at 5:30 and spent about 45 minutes there, first with the trainers and then doing some strengthening exercises. I went down to the pool afterwards for some aquajogging. The pool went from 4 feet deep to 5 1/2 so it was deep enough for me to float for about half its length. Not perfect but slightly better than Club O. It also helped to have a floatation belt which reduced the impact at the shallower end. I switched to swimming after a while and spent a total of about an hour in the pool. I probably aquajogged for 40-45 minutes and swam for 15-20.

5-6 mile walk

The weather was even nicer today, sunny as usual and in the high 60s, and I thought I'd do a bit of walking like yesterday and go to Club O for some biking or swimming. First I walked by a bike store close to my place to have a look at a few bikes and even took one for a short test ride. I never rode a road bike before and was amazed at how smooth it felt. The test ride made me want to get a bike soon but I'm still not sure if I want to spend $700 to get one. After leaving the bike store I took a long route to Club O. It ended up being a bit longer than I thought and I didn't have much time since I was planning to go to the city for dinner later so I eventually I didn't stop by Club O and just headed back home.

6 mile walk + spin bike

After being sidelined for over 3 weeks it's needless to say that I've missed running. Today, with weather in the mid 60s and sunny, I felt the need to be out there more than ever. I was originally planning to go to Club O for cross training and I figured I might as well walk over instead of driving, which would be about a 3 mile walk round trip. I don't normally enjoy walking but today I really wanted to be outside and decided to extend my walk to Foster City. I ended up back at Club O after about an hour and got on the spin bike for about 20-25 minutes. I was going to jump in the pool afterwards but all lanes were taken and I just spent some time stretching before heading back home.

Day off

I wanted to leave early today, since I've worked more than enough this week, but a few things came up and I ended up staying until 6:30. I was planning to go to a Bay area alumni mixer at 6:30 and since I was already late I opted out of cross training and just headed to Palo Alto.

Elliptical

I got caught up at work again and didn't leave until 9PM. Club O closes at 10 so I was only able to stay on the elliptical for 35 minutes. I kept it pretty fast, though, so I got a decent workout. I went home right away and spent some time stretching and doing some strengthening exercises while watching Lost.

Elliptical at PJCC

I went back for another physical therapy session at 5:30 this afternoon. The plan is to have these sessions 3 times a week for 4 weeks so it will be a regular thing for a while. Today I got a deep tissue massage on my foot and did some strengthening stuff for about an hour before getting on the elliptical. The physical therapy clinic is in the Peninsula Jewish Community Center, which has a nice gym I can use. It's good that I have access to it and didn't have to drive back to Club O. I had a good session on the elliptical, managing to stay on for 65-70 minutes. I was moving along well and was happy with both the duration and the intensity. I was at PJCC for about 2.5 hours, not a bad day overall.