Training Log Archive: heyU

am: Another big session at Rosalie Park. I wasn't sure how the left foot/ankle would go today because it had been niggling a bit for the last 2 days, and had given me some sharp pain a couple of times. Was OK when I started running though, apart from one painful jab when I tried to negotiate a mulched strip between the road and the footpath. It seems pretty good once it's warmed up. Limiting factor (apart from chronic lack of fitness) is the right adductors falling in a heap if I try to run for more than 5 minutes in one stretch.
Running ints: 2, 5, 5, 5, 6.5
recoveries: 1-1.5

am: In Kings Pk

pm: At SportsMed Subi.

am: Along the river out to Guildford and return. Quads were shot by the time I got half way home

am: 'Running' intervals. Went over to Rosalie Pk for a change. Freezing cold at first (especially because I have to walk a bit and stretch before I start running). Started with 3 min and increased by 1 min on each effort up to 6min. Then finished with 5 min, which almost took me back home. Got a little bit carried away and ended doing 7 min more than I intended. Obviously the foot was going OK.

pm: At SportsMed Subi.

am: Laps in Kings Pk pushing the hills. Mighty cold in the lower reaches of the park. Almost got frozen to the bike. Nearly cold enough to consider getting some gloves.

A stellar morning on the political scene.

Joke for the day (it's an old one):

Q: How can you tell when a politician is lying ?
A: When you see their lips moving.

am: At Subiaco Palms. Running intervals between 3 and 5 mins with about 1 min walking 'recovery'. A promising session at long last. Left ankle was much more stable than at any time since the op. Still a bit of soreness at times, but didn't feel like it was going to give me grief at the slighest misstep. Even felt like abandoning the laps and just going for a run somewhere. Just as well sanity prevailed because the right adductors and glute med became sore near the end.

am: Down to Tawarri and back. A nice, quiet uneventful ride. Surprisingly there were no other cyclists on the road this morning.

pm: SportsMed Subi. Double leg calf raises up to 2x15 @ 60kg.

am: Out to Guildford and return. Decided not to go beyond Guildford as the quads have been a bit sore in the last couple of weeks (since I got the new tyres, funny enough).

C • Tyre Pressure? 4

am: Easy ride to UWA and along the river to Tawarri and back.

am: Wembley Downs ride with a bit extra looking for a convenient way (i.e. avoiding busy roads) to extend the ride to the north. Came back via City Beach.

am: Laps in Kings Pk (2 long laps). Pushing the hills as usual. Thought briefly about doing 3 short laps (same amount of climb; shorter recoveries) but wimped out at the last moment. Did a bit extra at the end instead.

am: Short ride (in the rain) around Kings Pk

pm: SportsMed Subi.

am: Down to UWA, along the river to the Narrows and then, just for a change, south along the freeway bike path, south side of the river to Freo, and then back home via North Freo, Curtin Ave and the railway.
Happy to do something under 2hrs today because my quads have been a bit sore since I got the new tyres. I thought it would be nice to go somewhere different and take it a little bit easier. That all changed when I got overtaken by a small group of road cycling types near the old Brewery. They weren't going much faster so I upped the pace a bit and sat on the back. Stayed with them most of the way down the freeway until they picked up the pace to stay with a lone rider who came whizzing past. Started catching them after the Canning Bridge and was right with them again after the first hill. Tried to stick with them from here because I really didn't have much clue where we were going and I thought I might be able to follow them to Freo. Stayed with them as far as Point Walter, where they bailed out for a caffeine fix, and after that I stuffed around a bit finding my way over to Freo. Didn't want to go out to the highway, which would have been the easiest way, so I tried to find my way through the back streets. Got caught in one dead end so it's prob a good idea to check out nearmap before the next ride out here.
A couple of things I noticed from this close encounter with Roadus cyclistii are that they go fast at times (too fast for me), they accelerate faster than I can on my bus, and most interestingly, they're not that flash on hills. So, if there are a few hills, it doesn't matter how fast they're going I can likely catch up again at the top of the next hill :-)
Must be morphing into a cyclist.

am: Easy ride down to UWA and along the river to Tawarri and back. This would have been a 40min ride not too long ago.

am: Along the railway towards Freo as far as Marine Pde. Then back through Cottesloe Heights to North St and home along the railway.

pm: SportsMed Subi.
calf raises to 2x15@55kg

am: Short one in Kings Pk. The wind was mighty cold. Warmed up eventually though.
Originally planned to 'run' this morning but the left ankle has been niggling a little bit in the last couple days so I opted out.

am: Easy ride in Kings Pk.

pm: At SportsMed Subi. Tried one set of calf raises at 55kg.

am: Guildford ride with some bonus kms in the Swan Valley out as far as Caversham. Quads were pretty much shattered by the end and had to work hard to maintain a decent speed. Even had to stop near Burswood for a stretch, but didn't seem to help much.

am: Round and round at Subiaco Palms again. Unfortunately, this time my left ankle hurt a bit on the first two efforts. Warmed up and was OK by the 3rd one, but definitely still dodgy. If it hurts in the first few steps of each effort, I seem to favour it, which then results in more problems. Generally no problems if I can run pain free in the first 20m --> got to nail it right from the start.

am: Regular Fri morning ride out to Claremont and back with a lap of Kings Pk at the end. Smashed through the 26km/h barrier courtesy of the new tyres. Still didn't give me enough extra assistance to stay with a dude who came past on a road bike, but definitely cruising faster on the flat and downhills.

pm: All the usual stuff. At SportsMed Subi.

VMO activation exercises
bench press: 3 x 15@40kg
leg press: 1 x 10@100kg, 2 x 10@110kg
lat pulldown/pushdown: 3 x 15@25kg
balancing glutes: 1 x 15@30kg & 2 x 15@35kg back, 2 x 15@15kg to side
balancing adductors: 1 x 15 @ 20kg each side
calf raises (double): 2 x 15@50kg
pec dec: 1 x 15@35kg, 2 x 15@40kg
seated row: 1 x 15@40kg, 2 x 15@45kg
lat pulldown: 1 x 15@40kg, 2 x 15@45kg
gym ball work
bicep curls: 2 x 10@8kg each side
single-leg squats: 3 x 10 each side with 5kg dumbells

am: Two long laps of Kings Pk pushing the hills. First ride with a new tyre on the front. Seems like the old knobbly tyre was worth about 1km/h of drag :-)

am: Subiaco Palms again. No real left-foot soreness initially and was pretty solid at the start of each running interval (didn't feel like it might give some grief at any any step). Seems to be improving gradually.

am: Easy ride to the top of Kings Pk and return.

pm: SportsMed Subi