Glute is healing s l o w l y

I went out for an easy ride on Saturday. It was a great day to ride, 85 and sunny. I was sweating a lot out there. I decided to flush out the engine with a couple of efforts below Olympic distance pace. The first was 19 minutes long near the time trial route. I averaged 23.9mph. The second effort was after the stop sign to range 93. A group of roadies started before me. I decided to play a game. How far could I let them go until I could catch them. After a mile of easy riding, I went after them. I caught them at the rolling hills and passed the last guy on the last hill. I averaged 24.6mph for 14 minutes. I wanted to do a 20' power test, but knew that would not be the smartest thing. I rode easy for rest of the ride. At one point, I thought 2 big rottweilers were going to get lunch, me.

Yesterday I took the dogs for a short easy run. Two hours later I headed to the pool. The main set was 12x100 desc every 3. I progressively slowed down each set. The water was warm like soup, 87 degrees. I finished with 3.4k.

This morning I took the dogs out for an easy 30 minute jog/walk. It was a little humid out and glimpses of sunshine. I predicted the clouds would burn off. It is 4:30PM and no sign of sun.

Less than 12 weeks to go until Arizona.

glute is healing

I have kept things low key trying to allow the glute to heal. It has been hard with the great weather we are having here in Washington.

I swam an easy 1.8k on Monday and an easy 3k on Tuesday.

On Wednesday I swam 3.7k. The main set was 10x100 on 1:30. I averaged 1:18 through 6 and then the piano dropped.

Thursday I jogged/walk for 12 minutes to test the glute. I felt pretty good. It feels like the glute is healing. It is not 100%, but getting close. I rode an easy 70 minutes and the glute felt the same.

Yesterday I headed to the pool for an easy 1k. I took the furkids for an easy 20 minute run. I ran laps around the field. The dogs started figuring out ways to run less in the 80+ heat. After lap 1, they waited at the start line for me to run 200 meters then sprint down to catch up. Fina was a little smarter. She knew I was running a square, so she cut the square diagonally.

glute day 2

My glute was bothering me all day. I decided to try and ride to see how it would hold up. I could not get into aero because it caused more pain. I attempted the first set of 8x (30" hard + 30" easy). I rode sitting up. After cruising for 6.5 minutes,  I started the 15 minutes at race pace. My glute felt fine at first then started to act up, so I stopped the interval 2.5 minutes in and cruised back home. It is very frustrating to be back to training and have an injury holding me back. GRRR!!!

Left glute

This morning I jumped into the pool for 3.7k. I love it when you can actually feel the water. The main set was 10x150 (100fast/50easy) with 15 seconds rest after each. I averaged 1:15.2 on the set. I felt strong in the water. You gotta love these days.

After work I headed to the track. It was 80 and sunny. I had to ditch my sunglasses after the warm-up. I needed the air flowing on my face to dry the sweat. The set was 12x200 with 25 seconds rest after each. I built into the set and was feeling good until #8. My left glute started to hurt. I backed off and decided no more fast 200s. After a mile of cooling down, I cleaned up and sat on a bag of ice.

Back to training after mid-season reset

I used the last two weeks to get my body ready for the next phase in gearing up for Arizona.

Yesterday I swam an easy 1.8k. I felt good.

Today I rode for 70 minutes. The main set was 20x (30" hard + 30" easy). I started second guessing the number I completed, so I ended up doing an extra repeat. I felt good on the entire workout. My legs started to tighten up after 12. I maintained my power level all the way through. After the ride, I took the dogs out for an easy run.

Finishing up the easy weekend

Yesterday I went for a 55 mile ride. It was nice to be able to ride to the bridge then Ranier. The range roads were closed for most of the summer. It was the first time I climbed the hill past the bridge this year. I felt pretty good staying in the big ring all the way up. After the ride I took the dogs out for an easy 25 minute run.

This morning I took the dogs out for a 1 hour run. I wasn't sure if Fina was going to make it, but she held strong.

14 weeks til Arizona

Thanks to NW Guardian for wanting to write and article about me

NW Guardian Aug 12