7.42 mile run: Good job Munson!

You too, Bryan, but you're already a runner so it doesn't count as much. Sorry. File a complaint.

So we did 7.42 miles today at Lake Zorinsky. By the time we started at 3:30, it was 15°F, but Bryan would tell you that the wind chill made it feel 9. It really didn't feel that bad. In fact, I'd contend that 30°F on a bike feels a lot worse.

It was a nice long run around the entire lake with good commentary and occasional grunts about firing the snow plow guy from Bryan to help pass the time. Thanks for the run, guys. We should do it again soon.

By the Numbers
Total elapsed time: 1:05
Avg pace: 8:45/mi
Heart rate: 133 avg; high 158
Calories: 740

Oh yeah, Mike got the bonus workout of helping me lug a 36" Toshiba television upstairs at my house afterwards. No, this wasn't a flat panel job; it was the old school, fully crystal tube weighing about 200 lbs. Seriously--Thanks Munson!!

Miracle Max

I've always been a quick healer. What are our liabilities?
   --The Princess Bride

After a four hour nap that was like a sleep with the dead, the fever broke early last night. My appetite has since returned, the headache is gone and things are staying down. I'd say that I'm about 95%. Staying fit certainly has its benefits when it comes to recovery.

So perhaps a Sunday afternoon run is in the works? Nothing strenuous, but just a nice little cold feet shake out. Tentatively, let's plan on:

Time: Sunday 3:00PM
Place: Lake Zorinski boat dock
Distance 4 - 7 miles


Sunday calls for a high of 18°F after 3-5 inches of snow on Saturday, so layer it up. In this kind of weather, I usually wear three long sleeve tech shirts, a tuke, gloves and liners, tights, warm up pants & wool socks. I have a pair of yaktrax pros, but I'd like to keep to plowed trails and hopefully will not need them.

Fever

That's WKRP's Johnny Fever.

Today, it was about the other one: 101 F and chills. Oh yeah, that feels good.

I haven't been listening to the clues of my body lately. Today I paid for that.

Over the past few days, the only thing odd was that I had a zero count on going number two. Going 48 hours without is very unusual for this altogether regular guy. Then this morning, all of a sudden it all wants to come out. And it did. Quite fast, in fact.

Whatever. So I shrugged it off and preceded to go to my Thursday morning plyometrics class. Bad idea #1. I didn't even consider re-hydrating. Bad idea #2. Twenty minutes into the class, my heart rate is a roller coaster of highs during floor drills and plummeting-lows during recoveries. Then the other signs of dehydration started manifesting: over heating, dryness and chills.

I pulled the plug on the workout and began the cool down phase. First good idea. My hope was to keep from barfing, but my stomach was making other plans. A quick glance in the mirror revealed a very pasty complexion, telling me that vomiting was not a question of if, but when.

Vomitorium:
The next ten minutes was spent in the locker room toilet emptying what remained in my gut. Oh yeah, I saw Lanny in the locker right after. He asked me, What are you training for? The tone in which he asked could have been my imagination, but it's quite possible that he heard the fracas in the stall and wondered what kind of nut I am. We had a nice little chat in a post-barfing surreal kind of way.

The rest of today has been on and off bouts of the chills and low grade fever. In conclusion, I must have picked up some sort of virus a few days ago that resulted in dehydration today. The aftermath of the day was all me.

Needless to say, Saturday's snow-run might have to be postponed.

Once A Runner

More heart rate monitor training today, this time during a recovery run.

Conditions
Time: 4:30 PM
Temp: 23 F with 13 mph winds and 23 mph gusts
Wore: Knit hat, two long sleeve tech shirts, reflective vest, gloves, liners & running pants.

Workout
Warmup: 1 mi easy w/Emmy.
Main: 6.2 miles; 52 minutes

45 minutes in zone (75% max)

Max during today's workout=155 bpm

612 calories burned

8:23 mi pace avg

Comments
Emmy dropped a pretty big log 1/2 mile into it, slowing us both down as I had to scoop & carry. Bet I look pretty stoopid running with a bag of dog shit flopping around. Looped around and dropped Emmy off at mile one to continue.

Today's run was a moderate 6 miles. My goal was to keep the heart rate between 70% and 80% max. After yesterday, this felt easy. In fact, it took discipline to keep the heart rate below 80% max when climbing any hill.

Tomorrow's plan: AM weight lifting legs with goal to become stronger at turning the big chain ring. Easy run at lunch.

I, Locutus

I'm being assimilated.

Being clipped into the Cervelo P2sL with a cyclo-computer and wearing a heart rate monitor, I couldn't help but feeling assimilated today during a 60 minute interval workout on the trainer.

And of course, the BORG was present: the G.Borg's perceived exertion and pain scales.
My first contact with the Borg RPE came during a six session stress test conducted by my friend and fellow triathlete Jorge at UNO last winter. It was quite an experience. Stationery bike, lactic acid blood sticks, and a darth vadar mask to capture my V02 max. I felt like crying at the end of each of those workouts. But I got good metrics from it. Thanks Jorge!

Today's encounter with the Borg wasn't much better.

Today's Trainer Workout
10 minutes spin warmup
6 x 3 minutes at 90% max BPM w/3 minute recovery at < 65%
10 minutes spin cooldown

Comments:
Watching Ironman Hawaii during workout was helpful
Having the fan behind me was a bad idea. Pits really stink.
I think that I've got Picard's nose & I hear voices in my head from time to time. Maybe I'll go for the bald look...