Ten Miler Monday: CUCB Week 3

Workout

Yesterday morning I anxiously approached the elliptical to get in what I was hoping would be a 15 minute workout before switching to the bike.  I got on, started (at a level 6), placed my hands on the stationary arm holds, and focused on engaging my core and keeping my back perfectly straight.  About 5 minutes or so in, I was feeling good and my PT told me I could play around with intensity as long as I kept it at a 9 or below.  So I jumped up to a 7 and after a few minutes my knee started to ache…not hurt, just ache.  I dropped back down to 6 until I was at 13 minutes.  And then I pushed it up to 7 again for the final 2 minutes.

I got off the elliptical and jumped on the bike to wrap up my ‘long’ ride with 45 minutes of Cosby Show entertainment (TV Land is quickly becoming my go-to for entertainment).  My knee was a little achy still but not painful.  I was able to do 10.09 miles before getting off.  (And don’t tell my therapist but later in the day I was about to miss the bus so I ran an entire block to catch it…and didn’t feel any pain!!!)

I also did my PT exercises on Saturday and Sunday nights, and I can already see a difference in some of the exercises.

Today, for the first time since Goofy, I got to take my workout to the outdoors!!  Last night, Matt aired up my tires and oiled my bike chain, and this morning I had a glorious return to bike commuting !  I was definitely rusty…it’s been over 2 months.  But it came back like riding a bike haha.  (Sorry, that was really bad, but I’m a bit of an I got to work up a sweat outside today high.)  The ride to work is really easy since it’s pretty much straight downhill.  But the real test was getting home…how would my knee handle the hills?  Turns out, like a champ!  It may have had something to do with the 15 mph winds coming from the south, but I made it up no sweat (ok I was sweating because I forgot how to dress for 53 F) and no strain on my knee.  I legit almost cried at one point with the feeling of the wind blowing through my hair in the slits in my helmet and the smell of being outside.  If that’s what getting to bike outdoors does to me, I’m going to be a mess when I get to run!

CUCB Training Week 2 Recap

Here’s a look back at last week’s plan:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 30 min bike with intensity intervals
Wednesday: 30 min easy bike
Thursday: 30 min pool running
Friday: Rest
Saturday: bike, done to mimic the track workout
Sunday: 60 min easy bike

I didn’t do my ride on Saturday morning, opting instead for some MUCH needed sleep.  And Sunday I did the 15 minutes on the elliptical before finishing up on the bike.  It felt like a solid week, and I was glad to not have to fight for the bike in the gym at all.  I’m amazed that the workouts I am able to do are keeping my body feeling strong.  And I’m REALLY glad to have the pool running and elliptical to now change things up a bit because the stationary bike is getting a little old.  Between everything, I was able to get in some pretty decent workouts last week:

CUCB Training Week 3

Here’s what I have coming up this week:

Monday: Bike commute
Tuesday: 15 minutes elliptical, 15 minutes bike; Bike commute
Wednesday: 15 minutes elliptical, 15 minutes bike
Thursday: 30 min pool running
Friday: Bike commute
Saturday: Bike, done to mimic the track workout
Sunday: 15 minutes elliptical, 45 minutes bike; Bike commute

Sunday’s plan could change depending on Thursday’s PT appointment, but other than that I’m looking forward to some good workouts this week!

As I mentioned earlier, getting to bike today was like being a kid in a candy shop.  I’m loving the opportunity to be back on the road and am listening to my body.  Yes, I’ve had some aches but they quickly go away and are nothing like the pain I was having earlier in the year.  I’m sticking with my PT exercises…I want to make a full recovery.  And I am being diligent about smart cross training and core strengthening.  It may require learning the hard way, but when it comes to being the best runner any of us can be, we’re all always learning!

Your Turn:  What workouts are you looking forward to this week?  Anyone have suggestions for making indoor workouts more entertaining?  How’s everyone doing that was hit by Nemo over the weekend?