June 29th, Friday

Rest & continue to heat the heel.  Heating up in NJ!

June 30th, Saturday

In anticipation of a very warm forcast, I set my alarm for 7 a.m. planning on a early morning bike ride. I’m not typically a very strong morning person, but this seemed necessary and will probably be necessary for the next 3 weeks based on future weather predictions. I have concluded I can do bike rides early in the morning when the roads are still shade covered from the early morning sun.  Later in the day when the crowd clears out I can swim and run in the cool of the evening in the pool.

So I rode the 11 and 1/2 Mile distance that I will be racing on July 21st. There are moments of severe stress along this route because there are some fairly intense Hills. 11 and a half miles took me 73 and a half minutes. That does not seem very fast compared to the results I have seen from last year’s New Jersey triathlon. I am a bit confused as to how people can ride 11 and a half miles in 28 or 32 minutes when it takes me 73 minutes. I know I don’t have a great bike but I don’t think it’s a horrible bike. These people have to be averaging over 20 miles per hour for the entire time. I average about 12 miles an hour. I am not sure if things get quicker during the race or not. And I am told there are no Hills on this race course in Mercer County. But even on flat portions of my route my watch tells me I am going at best 5 minutes per mile. That’s still comes out to 57 minutes, which according to the results of last year’s race would be one of the slowest bike elements in the entire race. I need to do more research on this issue. One dude actually finished the entire Triathlon in 51 minutes. That is crazy!

Stats.

Morning heart rate = 54 beats per minute

Sleep = 6 hours

Morning foot indexes much better = 2

Weight = 153 lb

June 28, Thursday

Another 45 minutes in the water both swimming and running as my heel gets increasingly better.  Swam 5 nonstop circuits of 100 strokes.  Than ran for 20 minutes.  It was good work.  Currently on day 7 of a 10 day ibuprofen program. It appears to be working.  Also not doing any impact work.  Must have patience.p!

June 26, Tuesday

More work in the water today. Moving for 65 minutes both swimming and running.  Once again the pool was totally mine.

Heel still hurts…….

Stats holding steady .

June 25, Monday

My bike ride today was 11.5 miles.  Along the way I added about 14 or 15 surges of 50 to 120 pumps.  This fatigued my quads and worked my aerobic system pretty well.

I am continuing a program of ibuprofen for my sore heel that consists of 400mg Ibuprofen three times a day.  I will continue this for at least 10 days and maybe go to 14. I really miss running, but I think I am keeping fit doing the things I’m doing in the pool and on the bike.  I am determined not to begin running again until my heel is completely pain-free. That has not occurred yet.  So I continue with weightless running in the water, swimming and cycling for the time being.

Stats –

Sleep = 9 hours

Morning indexes = Heel 3/4.  Achilles 0

Weight = #154

a.m.HR = 54BPM

June 23rd, Saturday

No workout today

June 24th, Sunday

On a warm Sunday afternoon I swam and ran in the pool for 1 hour. It is a little strange to be swimming around in circles and running in my new Speedo as the only person  in the pool while a few dozen people lounge around the pool complex.(Watching?)

Good workout!

Stats steady.

June 22nd, Friday

Rode my 21speed for 1 hour 15 minutes to cover 12 miles today.  Not bad…

June 21, Thursday

L

My Speedo circa 1980

Today marks exactly one month until my attempt at a triathlon event on July 21st.  Having purchased my first pair of Speedo swimming trunks in about 40 years I decided to try a transition exercise today. Everyone you I have personally spoken to who has run a triathlon was disappointed in the time it took them during transition. So I thought it would be a good idea to practice. I prepared my transition kit  and  brought my bike over to the clubhouse on the back of my car hanging on my new bike rack . I wanted to see how quickly the Speedos would dry and how comfortable they would be on the bike after getting wet. I felt a little shy because I have never worn such a tight fitting pair of swimming trunks in this development among the + 55 crowd. But I bravely entered the pool & immediately began swimming 500 strokes in a circle around the edge of the pool non- stop. I have been trying to figure out how many strokes  it will take me to swim 500 m .  I am beginning with the concept that I would swim 1 meter per stroke . That may be a little too optimistic but it’s a place to start . I can say that swimming did seem a little easier in my new streamlined trunks.  Then I ran for 20 minutes in the deep water. Next I jumped out of the water and headed for my transition area. I put on my socks and shoes and t-shirt + my helmet and sunglasses and grabbed my watch and jumped on my bike. It did seem to take more time that I had anticipated. I will get faster.  The whole exercise was kind of fun. I was in motion for 75 minutes and to my surprise did not feel very tired at all in any stage. But that is only about half of the time it will likely take me to complete the triathlon.

But it was fun!

Stats-

Sleep = 8 hours

Morning HR = 54BPM

WEIGHT = #154

Morning heel pain = 3

Workout = 75 minutes  in motion…20 swim, 20 run in water, 35 bike

June 16, 17, 18

Rest days.

June 19th, Tuesday

Finally a workout. It has been a very busy 3 days, or was it 4,  that I had no workout. This of course causes me great anxiety. But today I got into the pool for a full 45 minutes swimming and running, and it felt wonderful. I’m sure my muscles appreciated the three or 4 days of rest that they haven’t had in quite a while. I swam and ran with conviction and ease.  I have concluded that a full 72 hours of rest prior to my Triathlon event will be an excellent idea.

Stats-

Sleep = 8 hours

I- Mhd = 4

I-Mad  = 0

a.m.HR = 55bom

Weight  = #154

June 15 and 16,  Friday and Saturday

Feeling tired and generally sore for the last two days… So I took off from working out completely. It seemed  like a good opportunity to pamper my troubled heal also.  I think the 40 minute non-stop swim on Thursday took a lot out of me,  more than I realized.

State are stable.

June 14,  Thursday

Bright sun,  blue sky, painted clouds and 78* at the outdoor pool today as I swam almost non-stop  for 40 minutes: then a 15 minute whirlpool.  Pretty tired afterward.

Stats – Steady