Training in Montana

3 elliptical miles at the Y. Wore a calf sleeve to work today, and during the workout, and it feels much better with the sleeve. Calf was pretty tight the first bit, so I need to find a way to warm it up next time before hitting the elliptical, maybe cycling, not sure yet. After a bit it felt fine and I was able to up the difficulty and got a little bit of a sweat on. Followed with 30 situps, 20 pushups, 10 pullups. Pullups are hard!

3 elliptical miles. Not bad! Warmed up by doing some calf strengthening on the stairs (I forget the proper term, but lower the heel, up with the tow, lower again. Repeat 10-20 times, then switch.) I've done them before - concentric heel drops is what they're called - and they work great for sore achilles and/or calf strains. Doing much better, no limp when walking.

3 or so cross country skiing miles with my wife and 14 yr old son. I never really broke a sweat as it was my son's first time, and cross country skiing is tough, especially when going uphill. Had a fun time, got snowed on, and enjoyed being out amongst gorgeous snow covered pine trees and a mostly frozen creek nearby. Gorgeous.

3 elliptical miles.

2 miles walking from home this morning. Chilly and snowy roads, hopefully it will all melt soon.

I found my new routine while my calf is still healing: 10 minutes on the recumbent bike first, then hit the elliptical. I did 3 miles in 10 minutes on the bike, resistance was 10, then an elliptical machine opened up so I did 2 miles there, at resistance of 15, then 16 after a while. I got my sweat on! Didn't think it was possible on the elliptical.

2 miles on the bike, 2 miles on the elliptical, and I was warm, so I used the TM and ran 0.5 miles! No pain - wahoo! Went slow, 10 minute pace, but felt fine. Would've gone more but needed to be somewhere. Cooled down with 50 concentric heel drops - I think these have helped my calf heal the quickest.

2 miles running this morning! Got up early, did some concentric heel drops to get the calves warmed up, then headed out way overdressed, and went very slowly. No watch, but it was a turtle's pace. No pain or niggles, so that's a good sign. Hope to do 4 miles tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

4 miles! It's the furthest in weeks. I was being pulled by our dog Hazel. She's just over 1 year old and the last time I tried to take her she was horrible - ran all over the place, not just straight ahead. She pulled me - the entire way. My arm is sore from trying to pull her back. Bought her a harness later in the day, looking forward to trying her out again. She certainly loved it.

Since then, my quads and legs have been crazy sore. Kind of nice.

3 TM miles at the Y, 1% incline, mostly slow, but finished at 8:27 pace. Quads sore, effort was harder than it should have been. 30 situps, 20 pushups after. Left shoulder still sore, need a massage and chiro to fix it.

3 TM miles at the Y. 1% incline, 1/2 at 6.0, 1/2 at 6.5, 1 at 7.0, 3/4 at 7.5, then stepped up to 8.1, and 8.6 for the last 0.1.

4 miles! TM at the Y, 1% incline. Similar to yesterday. 6 mph 1/2 mile, 6.5 1/2 mile, 7.0 1 mile, 7.5 1 mile, 8.0 3/4 mile, then faster last 1/4 mile. 5 minute cool down.

30 situps, 25 pushups, 10 pullups.

3 TM miles at the Y after work. 1% incline, 6.0-8.0.

I let Hazel drag me this morning for 5 miles. It went pretty well, and she learned a lot since the run last week; she stayed on the side of the road (although she went after a car that drove past), and she (mostly) paid attention to my "uh uh" or tongue clicks or "Hazel" calls or leash pulls. The harness is definitely much better than the neck collar, but I need to buy a waist leash so she doesn't pull my right arm out of my socket. It was nice to go 5 miles for the first time in a while, but the left calf niggle came back up as I forgot to wear compression sleeves/socks and I forgot to warm up with concentric heel drops before running. I need to do that.

4 miles early this mornig and Hazel appeared as I was getting ready to head out, so how could I say no? She was so excited. I honestly think she could go 10 miles with ease, with no previous training. She pulled me most of the way, until I tugged at her harness multiple times in a row on the return trip and she sort of figured it out. I again forgot calf sleeves/compression socks and forgot to warm up my calf first, so the niggle returned, and continues this morning. I will keep doing concentric heel drops in the stair well and hope nobody else uses the stairs (rarely used above the 3rd floor, and I'm on 4th).

4 miles this morning with Hazel. She has quickly figured out that if I'm up early, I'm probably going for a run. I got up, got ready, then woke up our Junior at 6:00 as he's taking the ACT and wanted to be up early. Hazel found me in his room and was going berserk. She was being very good - she sat without being told to, kept looking at me and trying to lick me. So funny. My left calf niggle is still a thing, so I warmed it up, wore compression socks, and headed out slowly. I kept about an 8:30 pace the whole time, which seemed to be okay. No clouds in the sky, so a gorgeous very pre-dawn Eastern sky, but the headlamp was still needed until the very end of the run. A nice way to start the day.

Unfortunately my day ended poorly for my left calf muscle. I took my two youngest to the NAIA women's basketball championship game (we had free tickets all week). As we exited my kids both did the heel click thing (jump, click heels together) and normally I can do a nice funny high kick to my side. When I did this, I felt a pop in my left calf and I hobbled the rest of the way to the car. Poop. Might be a while before I run again.

2 elliptical miles. I haven't done anything since reinjuring my calf last Tuesday, as it's not been feeling well at all. It didn't hurt walking normal, but even half running across the street to beat the light, or half jumping on the bed to pretend attack someone I felt a jolt of pain in the left calf. Argh. Then, been busy in the mornings and at lunchtime, so finally snuck away for an hour today. Elliptical isn't too satisfying, but better than nothing. 30 situps, 20 pushups, 1 pullup (right forearm hurts).