Back on Track... Finally...

Well I knew it was only a matter of time before I got the whole training thing together again. The holidays can really stress the process and this year proved to be no exception. But I'm back on track with three good days of training and hopefully a fourth to come tomorrow (I'm trying not to jinx it). Of course the holidays can undo you in more ways than one, when I went to the pool today no one bothered to inform me that they we closing 1 hour early. So I ALMOST had another aborted swim. This time though, I went to my new gym L.A. Fitness, jumped in their pool and finished up. Anyways here is a synopsis of how I got the motor running again...

Thursday: Back in the game FINALLY! 15 minute elliptical warm up and 20 minute run on the treadmill at about an 8:45 pace. Wanted to ease back into running. Then I went and lifted for about 75 minutes hitting the upper, lower and core.

Friday: Hit the trainer on the bike. Worked on my pedaling technique doing 1 leg pedaling drills and some big gear strength exercises. Felt good to be on a bike with real shifters.....

Saturday: Got out and ran my 5k course. Didn't feel to great though, maybe because..

POP QUIZ

A) The long layoff
B) Running and lifting a few days ago
C) Cycling less than 24 hours previously
D) The brutally hilly course I run
E) ALL OF THE ABOVE

Give yourself 95 if you picked A,B,C or D. You get 100 if you picked E.

Saturday(still): Went and worked on my swimming, my bete noire, remember? I have been working on a program for gearing up to a mile swim. Here's the link if you want more info: Swimmer's mile. This program is 6 weeks long and I figure it will give me a good base to start from so I can work on improving the last 10 weeks or so before St. Anthony's. I did the workout nine days ago ( I know, I know, 3x a week cut me some slack it was Xmas!) and I have already shown signs of improvement. My 100 yd. times dropped by about 7 or 8 seconds per 100. Now I know that most progress comes early in training, because the less fit you are, the bigger the initial gains, but hey any good news is encouraging.

I should point out this is one great reason to keep notes in a journal about your workouts. I didn't really feel any faster or better today, but obviously I've improved something in the pool, my form maybe , or my stamina, or something... so I will continue to work and monitor my progress. My 50's went down less (by about 3-4 seconds per repeat) and my 25's were about the same. Still the progress is encouraging. In addition, I've dropped about a pound or 2 since November so hopefully having less of me to drag around may help as well.

OK enough about me let's hear from you guys! How's everyone's training going? Problems? Solutions? Just want to vent or give advice? Drop me some comments, I can't wait to hear.

Peace,

Rob,

P.S. Keep training....