Category: whining

Almost over

Dang…summer is almost over and hopefully, I can get this darned project done. Just 2 more diagrams to smooth out.

Today was a bit achier than normal..though the way out was ok. Still, not bad; 15:20 uphill, 14:04 down and this came after 2100 meters of swimming:

600 strokes warm up (100 side, 100 back/breast, 100 side, 100 back/breast, 100 side, 100 back/breast). Breast was straighter.

500 in 10:38 (steady)

500 of 50 drill, 50 swim with fins.

4 x 50: 55, 55, 56, 55 (kind of slow)

100 fins

200 in 4:00

It was ok. Note: if I try this on Friday, I won’t have time to walk unless I get there 40-50 minutes earlier.

Swim, hike and Chiefs

Last night, the Chiefs beat the Bandits 5-0; one player hit two home runs and everything went well.

It did not start that way; the starting pitcher loaded the bases on walks in the very first inning, but then settled down to give 5 good innings.

This morning: got the pool at 6:20; that gave me time to swim but I would not have had time to walk. I should probably aim to get there at 5:30; try that on Monday.

How it went: sore shoulder last night (mildly…mostly felt it during the baseball game..NOT during sleeping). I stretched it some and made sure to do PT this morning before driving to the pool.

500 of side, back, breast, side, back

500 of drill swim (fins)

200 in 3:58

100 drill swim (fins)

2 x 100 on 3 (1:54, 1:55)

100 fins

4 x 50 on 1:30 (54, 55, 56, 55)

100 fins
200 “cruise” in 4:07 Crystal blew past me here (ok, she had fins on but still..)

Then the hike/walk: some discomfort (very, very mild) during the latter part of the single track (25:20) then some mild ache during the grass/gravel with a tiny bit of pavement part (17 min pace: too slow to help with stabilization )

One hazing program almost done

Mathematical papers these days; so much damned typesetting and so many figures..that YOU are responsible for. That is a big change from the days of old.

Workout notes: PT (what else?) 1 set of pull ups

Walk 1 (2.3 miles; bad time for it as school was just starting and I dodged families on sidewalks, cars, etc..and some discomfort from 1.8 or so)

rest of the pull ups (5 sets of 10, 2 sets of 5 mixed), push ups: 2 sets of 30 incline, 20, 15, 15, 10 regular

Walk 2 (not that bad; tried something different)

weights: bench 10 x 145, 6 x 155, 6 x 155, 4 x 160

deadlifts: 10 x 134, 10 x 184, 10 x 234 high handle (easier ..legs were fatigued)

shoulder (high incline) 3 sets of 10 x 94

curls: 3 sets of 10

And that was enough..took it to the edge.

1.5 weeks and counting

Let’s get it this afternoon.

Workout: PT, drive to the pool, 2000 meters, then a sort of rough 2 mile walk (felt it mostly in the second half; not terrible…come to think of it, a lot like last week.)

I think I got “too much credit” on my Garmin on the way out; not enough on the way back. LOL.

The fastest walks are the most pain free. Go figure. I was sort of tired when I started this one.

Swim: 600 warm up (back stroke is still crooked)
400 of 50 drill, 50 fins (love the yellow zoomers)

500 in 10:28 (I should be sub 10 but ok)
100 easy with fins
6 x 50 on the 1:30: 55 each (one 56)

then 100 in 1:55; can’t break out of the rut.

One hopeful sign: my 50 meter pool times for my swim (in meters) are now faster than my beginning 25 yard times (in yards). Not sure what that means.

Oh, 4’th of July: 10:52 for 500 (24 seconds faster) and today’s 500 was done at 2:05.6…which was my “fast” 100 meter on the 4’th of July. That is progress..albeit not outstanding.

Finishing up

I have less than 2 weeks prior to the start of classes….and that paper is still driving me nuts. But I can do some year set-up so I’ll have time to work on the paper a bit more.

Socially: I bought two Chiefs “half season” tickets and it appears as if I will have used them all. My two Friday tickets were spread to a single Tuesday and Wednesday, and my extra Sunday was changed to Thursday and..both Saturday tickets were used. Wow…I got my money’s worth.

Walking: no, not all unicorns and roses, but my current 2 mile walk was what my 1.2-1.4 mile walk was in May: kind of routine with perhaps a couple of tenths worth of discomfort on a bad day. Pace: much better. Gone are the 16-17 minute miles.

Ok, today:
PT (a lot of it)
Deadlifts: 10 x 134, 10 x 184 then

10 x 250 4 inch (pretty easy, really)
10 x 280 8 inch (also pretty easy)

Difference is that I did this pre-walk; was fresher.

First mile was slow; picked it up a bit in mile 2. Some discomfort at 1.6 or so..

Another week

PT, drive to the Y, swim 2000 meters, 2 mile walk.

What is going on: the swim: exposed. warm up of 1000 meters including drills, side, back (can’t keep myself straight), etc.

6 x 50 on the 1:30: 55, 54, 55, 55, 55, 55

200 of off strokes

5 x 100 on the 3: 1:55, 1:57, 1:57, 1:56, 1:57

Using this converter, I can take 6-7 seconds from each 50 about 13 from each 100. I am weak.

Walk: constricted by no place to walk but trail/grass at first; I’d say that about the middle 1.5-1.6 were nice walk, with some hills, and curiously, the downhill portion was slower (lack of concentration).

Walk; discomfort started at about 1.6; not really that bad but I need to work out my downhill parts.

I see the doctor tomorrow.

Barebones truth: in walking:

April: 28.3 miles .94 miles/day

May: 38.0 1.23 miles/day 31 percent increase

June 43.2 1.44 miles a day (injection month) 17 percent increase

July 68.0 2.19 miles a day 52 percent increase

First 8 days of August: 20.7 2.59 miles/day 18 percent increase

Another 4

Ok, not 4 all at once, but a lot like last week.

Today: PT (a LOT of it), pull ups, walk 1, pull ups, walk 2, more pull ups, walk 3, finish the strength stuff (about 35 minutes downstairs; upward of 2 hours (with delays) outside.

pull ups: 5 sets of 10, 2 sets of 5 mixed grip. These ARE getting easier.

push ups: 3 sets of 30 incline, 4 sets of 10 regular (super set with banded walks)

bench press: 5 x 155, 6 x 155, 5 x 160, 5 x 160 (last rep, too much leg)

curls 3 sets of 10

rows: 2 sets of 10 each arm (dumbbell)

high incline: 3 sets of 10 x 94

The weather was suffocating …I had to rest between the outdoor reps. The walk: each walk was faster than the previous one.

Back: glute pain was more or less what one would expect; some discomfort on the 2 miler (that I focused through) but I do have a “higher up” tightness/soreness that feels muscular; probably brought on my my “long set” of swimming yesterday.

Snapping out of it..

I am seeing more progress.

  1. Walks: are now starting with “I wonder what I can do today” instead of with dread. No, I am NOT up to 5K yet..still got a ways to go, but I am doing a lot of 1-2 milers and am at about 18 miles a week. YES, I know, in 2019 I could walk a marathon, but this isn’t 2019.
  2. Weights: I seem to have a good idea as to what hurts me and what doesn’t. I do have to be careful with the trap bar deadlifts and the “let’s see what I can do for 1-3 reps” days are probably over. I am not that far away from 10 reps with 300 lb (8 inch handles) though. I have to bear down on my form.
  3. Swims: most progress here. Again, where I am is laughably bad from where a good swimmer is and from where I once was (I was never good). But I think this is my best physical activity right now. This is where I restarted.
  4. Physical Therapy Routine: I think I have it down; I do these and add some of the Williams set.

It will be good to reach a point where I am no longer constantly whining about my back. It has been a long 2 years.

What went down today:

PT, included shoulders.

1.5 mile walk; a little tighter than I’d like but I probably wasn’t focused endough.

2000 meter swim, straight crawl (longest crawl set in forever). Great: well, no, but much, much, much better than were I was even in early July.

500 splits: 11:41, 22:50, 33:59, 45:04 (11:41, 11:09, 11:09, 11:05)

Miles: 9:25, 18:30, 27:20, 36:13 (final mile: 35:40)

Yes, I know; in 2001 I averaged 33 minute miles for a 5K swim; in 2008 I averaged 31 minute miles. But I am early in my training; I need to progress slowly. And I am well beyond where I was here (12:52 for 500, 11:44 for 500) and here. (11:14 after warm up, 10:52)

Afterward, a short hike ..and ONE stop (to take a photo..no stretching..though I did have to scramble under a fallen tree and that helped a bit. The hike was “easy effort” and in line with my other hikes on this course.

Weird back day

Today I wanted to walk a little, swim, and scout out my projected noon walk home. Here is how it went:

PT (no banded walks at first, mostly the lying down stuff)

2 mile walk (had intended 1 mile but was at 1.4 when I got home so…) Some discomfort toward the end but not like the limp fests of several months ago.

PT (banded walk, standing psoas marches, hip hikes, etc. )

1 mile walk: as pain free as it gets for me..there was a reason for that.

PT (again, light stretches)

Later: 11 am swim: 2200 yards. Did something different

800 of alternating side/free, back/free

200 of back and free

300 of 25 drill, 25 swim.

6 x 50 free on the 1:30: 49, 48, 48, 47, 47, 47

100 in 1:40

100 back

100 in 1:40 (disappointed)

50 back

250 in 4:36 (pull)

Weight: 203.1 before (water), 201.7 after. I have gone down some.

Back/glute: I was bothered some (glute) when swimming; had to do some stretching. It felt best when I was doing the intervals. I have to learn to streamline and tighten the abs.

The second walk (1 miler) felt much better than the first, but ..while Garmin might have inflated my pace a bit, 14:07 is an improvement on the 14:2x which was my previous best for this course.

Now IF I can improve with more PT, weight loss, and walking conditioning..to where I can maintain this pace for a 5K …I should meet my goal of a pain free 5K.

But I probably need to lose 10-15 lb and walk more, even if it means my 1 mile here, 1 mile there sorts of walks.

After the fact

I often do not know if what I did will hurt my back until later in the day; I tried to extend the walking a bit. As I sit this, I can feel tightness in the glute…pirformis or ..back? Always hard to tell.

Today: PT, walk, PT, walk, PT, walk, PT. Yes, 3 walks:

Order is bottom (first) to top (last); last one was gentle. I added PT stuff: 3 minute plank and chest taps.

During my second walk, some older lady said I was “walking too hard.” LOL.