Got caught in a major downpour tonight and it was awesome. I went on the trainer because it looked like it was about to lash but it never did and then during my run a loud clap of Thunder and bang, some of the heaviest rain I have ever run in. I was running with a smile on my face and concern about my knee drifted away to an afterthought. Although I was concerned about my iPod, however all was good in the end and I capped off a lovely afternoon session sitting on the steps with some cytomax recovery watching the rain flood the streets. These are the kinds of things I miss about not being able to run.
Only had time for a training run today. Got caught up doing stuff at work and then had an evening engagement with some good friends from Reebok. Solid run mind you and extremely hot too. I am not going to complain because we have had such a poor Summer it is great to finally feel humidity although trying to stop the sweat when there is no AC is a challenge. I need to meet people to run because I go too quick when I am by myself. Either that or I use my Garmin for what its for and actually look at my pace!
Off to NYC tomorrow so will have a day off because it will be early start and late return. Its all good though. The legs could do with a break, especially my knee. I will pick things up on Friday!
You think you have good form on the bike and then you try to do some single leg drills and it all goes to crap. Thats what happened me. I did single leg drills for about 1 minutes and my legs, especially my left leg were exhausted. Its amazing how you cheat in the full pedal stroke even though the perception is that form is flawless. I need to do a lot more of this stuff. I kept my ride aerobic out side of the drills and toward the end pushed the pace a little. I took about 5 minutes before I went out running. My knee was a little sore today but I felt better as I increased pace. I was surprised to see that I was running below six minute miles. I felt pretty good and had my knee not hurt I could have run another 5 at the same pace. I know its not lightening fast but again it solidifies the fact that I have basic fitness from the bike and if my knee was not sore I could probably push through to low 5 minute mile pace on my runs. Too quick of course but thats what happens when I run 25 miles a week.
Went to BRUNO tonight and my expectations were very low so I was pleased that it was much funnier than I had anticipated. It is still very awkward and some of it looks fixed but there were scenes that had me in fits of laughter while other scenes were basically Borat repeated. During the film we were evacuated from the cinema because of a false fire alarm. It was a first for me along with getting evacuated from San Diego airport a few months back. I didn't like either scenario. Although we did get free movie tix with this one so Frankie and I will go and see the 500 days of summer flick when its on.
I have been lacking on the music front lately. My computer is acting the jock and I can't get online to my trusted blog sites. I could search using this computer but I can't be bothered. It will be more exciting for me when my computer is fixed. The old powerbook is going on 5 years old this fall so it may be time to upgrade to some new action. Until tomorrow,
Soft day of training. Feeling flat and lethargic. Good thing I ran at 11 bells when it was really warm. That felt great. Nothing like the sensation of burning skin. I did a loop from Reebok through the trails which did offer some protection. I'm not complaining though. We have been waiting a long time for summer and now that its here I am pleased. Great run with mild knee pain.
I got home with intentions of doing a hard hour on the trainer but it did not work out. I was really hungry clearly not eating enough during the afternoon. I had nothing in the tank at all and really should've bagged the session, however my mindset was to get through 45 minutes of spinning. That didn't really workout and overall I gained nothing except the need to shower.
Busy week ahead so I will have to anti up and get my ass out for some early morning and late evening training. All good in the East Side hood,
After slow start, meandering up through North Providence I finally woke up and got into the energy of the bike ride. I thought I was going to bag it after about 30 minutes because I felt really flat. However, my oatmeal and coffee kicked in on one of the long climbs along rt.112 and I began to feel amazing. I went into Lincoln woods for a few laps and decided to do an impromptu tempo. 10 laps of the woods equates to roughly 25+ miles and that is what I did. Since it is all rollers in the woods my session turned into a glorified hill workout. It was really tough and really enjoyable. Went down to the Blackstone bike path to get in more time in the saddle and continued to hammer home. Overall it was an easy opening hour followed by 3+ hard hours. Very cool. My body is pretty exhausted now.
I did no training yesterday. I woke up to an inflamed sciatic nerve and I found it difficult to bend over. In the old days I would have trucked on but I chose a dose of anti-inflammatory pills and a lot of rest. Just the ticket really. And the rest also allowed me to do a quality session today so rest days do actually work! My week has been set up for some great work but without the Tour there will be a void. I am very sad its all over.
A great day of training. Kicked things off with an early 60 minutes on the Trainer. Only had time for an hour so stayed inside and banged hard. Felt amazing too but had to get to a planned call with an account. After a work from home day and copious amounts of coffee I was raring to go in the afternoon. My plan was just a run but the lure of the bike for another hour was too much (does this mean I am starting to love the bike?) After a 10 minute warm up I rode tempo for 40 minutes before a 14 minute cool down. Right off the bike I hit the road for my 6+ mile loop (6.2) and I thought I was running slow but clearly I was running sub 6 minute pace. This is too quick and silly. My body is still sore from running but getting off the bike leads to fast running every time. I need to meet people in order to slow down. P-Town does not have the running crew it once had unfortunately. I might have to stop these 'brick' sessions. I had no intention of running tempo but given my current fitness level, 5:50 pace is tempo and even though it feels pretty comfortable I could only race a little quicker. I have only done a hand full of runs with my knee being so banged up so I have no idea why I am running quick. I need to JOG or my knee is going to explode!
I'm off for some Burrito and Gansett down at AS220. The Blessing is on tonight and I would love to be down there but alas I'm not able for 10 miles. Tomorrow is the peak of the tour. I am prob taking a day off because my hammy is a little tweaked. I may go for a Jog but I need a day off the bike.
Know the below track from Sasha's Involver 2 album. This original is really good. Need to get this new Engineers album.
What an amazing Race Of Truth. Bottom line Alberto Contador is amazing. He can climb like a demon and ride time trials like a thoroughbred. For a skinny little climber like Contador to beat Fabian Cancellara is just silly. Great ride by Andy Schleck too. For someone who was supposed to be awful at the TT he did well and deserves to be on the podium. Can't say he is gaurenteed to win one of these things because he will have to deal with AC for many a year to come. Larmstrong did well too but his buffer over Frank Schleck and Kloden is tight making the Saturday Mt. Vontoux a potentially epic day. I cannot wait. While watching this morning I rode my trainer. I had planned on doing 2:15 but I went a little hard early on and I became somewhat dehydrated. My sweat rate was super high due to the humidity in my apartment. I decided to get off 30 minutes early because I felt I was over doing it and getting to that point where the fitness gains are actually turning to losses.
In the afternoon I decided to run again. I did the same blvd lap that I usually do. It is just shy of 4.2 miles (4.17) and I ran it basically the same speed as last night. I felt great and my knee feels good running faster. I had a second opinion today on my last MRI and it was agreed that I have a little defect that will need to be fixed. I am waiting for it to get very sore again because so far its been bearable. I am going 6 miles tomorrow so that will tell me something.
My friend Nick sent me a link to a Miles Fisher cover of This Must Be The Place by Talking Heads. The video features the talented Fisher acting as Christian Bale aka Patrick Bateman in one of my favorite movies, American Psycho. He has it down. I thought his impressions of Tom Cruise were good but this is really perfect. He has the voice and the mannerisms down to perfection. Brilliant, albeit a little graphic. We will put a "Mature Viewing" on this you tube clip.
Also, Check out www.vinnymulveyfitness.com Vinny has started his own personal training service and will be offering training schedules, fitness programs, and general tips to motivated clients. There will be a lot of fitter, happier, and more productive people in the Dublin area after Vinny is done with them.
