wear and tear

had a great training day today! I finally got enjoy quality sleep last night and it feels so good to wake up before the alarm instead of attempting to drag myself out of bed when the alarm goes off. overall pretty happy with the way today went.

first up was a swim - did 500 of drills to warm up then 10 rounds of 200s paddling on the odds and pull on the evens. I actually felt like I was swimming really well. Alternating between the paddles and the pull really helped to work on my stroke. I felt like I was swimming really smoothly. It was great. This needs to be in my programming more often. swam a 50 breaststroke to cooldown. would have done more but didn't have the time.

cf wod = helen

I actually thought for awhile I was going to get this as rxed and not have to modify anything but of course i ended up having to do it the same way ive been doing it for at least a year now which is rowing instead of running. It was good in the sense that I had a real comparison to my previous times. That was nice because I crushed the workout bettering my time by 1.16 seconds!

Helen is 3 rounds of run 400 meters, 21 kettlebell swings @ 35 lb pounds and 12 pullups.

I am particularily happy with the time because i did not connect a single pullup because my hands are still torn up and raw so i was trying to save them a bit. The combo of kb swings and pullups always tears them up. I only got one new tear today. I held my own on the row times but I was able to go unbroken on the kb swings for the first 2 rounds and only took 1 break in the 3rd round to chalk. Like i said the pullups could have gone faster if i connected them but given the situation I am ok with it. for now anyway.

The reason I had to row the wod instead of run it is because my left knee is bothering me. I have been trying to avoid admitting to this but it is time to get serious about it and get after it and get over it. I think I have chondomalacia because steps seem to bother it the most especially going down them. Also running flares it up and sometimes cycling too. the pain is on the anterior part of my knee right up the knee cap. I have been using ice on it all day and even took some ibu. Im going to try to rest it from running and see if it improves. I have been trigger pointing my lower legs everyday trying to get them to loosen up in addition to the usual stretching. If that is what is wrong with my knee it could either be from when i got hit on my bike or just an overuse thing. Or most likely a combination of both. This is just an inflammation of the cartilige under the knee cap hopefully. Having my lower legs be so tight doesn't help the situation but as much as i work on them they really just do not seem to get any better in any significant way.

Tomorrow I will be riding (hoping it won't be raining!) and rowing so that's a little of a recovery day for saturday's cycling race. the mon-tour!

here is a little info about the race.....When we created this course, it was based on trying to put together the hardest ride in Montour County. We were looking for ways to make the smallest County in Pennsylvania ride like a beast. And I think we accomplished that goal with the 75 mile version of the race. We incorporated every horrible hill and valley we could think of over a post ride conversation and beer. Then we went and rode the course; and it was good.

That being said, it has its warts. It has uneven roads. It has dirt roads. It has gravel (some of which is loose). It has always had at least one section under construction for the ride. It has off-camber turns that are hard to negotiate at speed. It has railroad crossings on active tracks that could cause a delay if you are unlucky enough to catch a train. Things happen on a 75 mile course.

But to our way of thinking (as Organizers) that’s part of cycle road racing. It’s not about perfect conditions. It’s about racing in the conditions you are given.

Paris–Roubaix has its cobblestones. The Tour de France has its sketchy sections of road. All great rides have their “warts” that actually define their character. The 75 miles is no different. It’s a road race and not a track race. Things happen in Road Racing, and that’s what makes it exciting!