Posts Tagged ‘cross-training’

Swimma Cum Laude

Eight miles this week at an average pace of 9:20. Stepped up to 2.4 miles yesterday and today and managed a 9-minute pace. Everything is proceeding according to my non-plan plan.

I completed my swimming lessons on Thursday, and although we didn’t get certificates and gold stars like the kids did, the instructor said my progress over two weeks was “amazing.” I have to agree, if I do say so myself. I started with virtually no mobility at all in the water and finished with technically sound freestyle laps back and forth across a 25-meter pool. I can side-breathe, though this is still my weakest skill, but I’ll continue to practice until it becomes as natural as, well, breathing.

If you’re a non-swimmer, don’t wait as long as I did to learn. It’s worth your time and effort. I will say, however, that swimming lessons and overcoming your fear of water are really two different things. It’s probably better to wait to attempt the former until after you’ve done the latter. Fortunately, there are programs designed specifically to make you comfortable in the water before you get to the details of kicks, strokes and form.

Check out the Miracle Swimming Institute and its programs if just the idea of putting your head underwater gives you the heebie-jeebies. But if, like me, you’re comfortable in the water and just never bothered to learn to swim, your local parks and recreation district probably offers beginner lessons for adults.

I now have a cross-training sport that I enjoy, plus a cardio activity if (God forbid) I get another running injury. The next step is to look for local indoor pools so I can continue to practice during the winter.

The Best $54 I Ever Spent

It was a good running week, as long as you ignore my getting lost on the No Boundaries route for the second time in two weeks. I ran a two-mile loop instead of the 1.75 mile loop. This made for a better workout but it’s getting embarrassing.

It was a seven-mile week at a 9:16 average pace, but this morning I ran my regular 1.75 mile loop at 8:29 pace, so it’s time to increase mileage. Next week I’ll run the prescribed distances with the NoBo group on Tuesday and Thursday, and 2.4 miles on Saturday and Sunday.

The improvement in running is noteworthy because this week I also began my swimming lessons – four days of a half-hour each. Monday was spent getting acquainted with the water, which wasn’t a problem for me, but some of the other students have a primeval fear of it.

Tuesday was kickboard day, and I was having a tough time of it. No matter how much kicking I did, I remained in one spot. It was frustrating but I had a major breakthrough on Wednesday when I did one simple thing – I got rid of the kickboard.

Suddenly I was moving through the water like this guy:

OK, maybe not, but everything worked as advertised. On Thursday we added arm strokes, and although I thought tying it all together would be difficult, it was actually easier. The arm strokes and leg kicks worked in unison, I had my head down in proper position, and I swam across the pool.

You might think it’s hard to get excited about doing something that eight-year-olds are doing better than you at the same time down at the other end of the pool, but I was overjoyed.

I spent the rest of the session practicing my newfound skill, and worked further on my own on Friday. The instructor was able to give me pointers on side-breathing, and I need more practice not lifting my head to breathe, but really, everything went… swimmingly.

If I had known I could progress this far after two hours of instruction and a $54 investment, I would have done this, oh, about 30 years ago.

I have another four lessons this week, but I think I finally found cross-training I can enjoy. I find it’s easier on my muscles than I thought, but it’s a lot more cardio than I thought, too. It feels kind of like running intervals.

I’m not going to turn this into a swimming blog, but it was a nice reminder of the feeling I got when I first started running. We get so caught up in PRs and training plans that we forget how neat it is just to do a sport.

Why Did the Chicken Cross-Train?

And so begins my 39th comeback.

Thursday I completed a slow jog of my favorite 1.75 mile loop. I ran gingerly but comfortably. I spent the rest of the day anxiously waiting for the pain to begin, but I felt fine. And all day Friday, too.

It being 103 degrees yesterday, I moseyed over to the fitness center and did an easy circuit with minimum weight – biceps, triceps, row, lats and shoulders. I didn’t want to risk anything that might strain my back. Then 20 minutes of low speed on the recumbent stationary bike. One more set of weights and done. Wow. Turns out cross-training doesn’t have to be excruciating after all.

This morning I got up early for another 1.75 mile loop. I managed a 9:30 pace but I am badly out of running shape. In order to avoid overtraining and reinjury, I’m going to sign up for one of those Couch-to-5k training programs – the No Boundaries program sponsored by Fleet Feet and New Balance. Following the training plan we’ll keep me from building up mileage too fast, and running with newbies will keep me from trying to speed up too much. Cross-training is built into the schedule so it should be perfect.

“Staying injury-free” isn’t a sexy goal, but it’s one I’ve overlooked too many times. Better to be a 5k guy who runs than a marathoner who can’t.

Zen and the Art of Vacuuming

A couple of months ago we took in a feral kitten we had been feeding (along with her sibs and mom) since she was a few weeks old. It was an unusual decision for us, since we have never had a pet, we prefer dogs, and the Lovely Mrs. A. has a cat allergy. Nevertheless, we grew greatly attached to one of the brood who, unlike her family, was completely comfortable with our presence at all times and allowed herself to be handled without complaint. We named her Zen for her calm demeanor, and we have all adjusted to the new situation nicely.

The Lovely Mrs. A.’s allergy requires medication on her part, and frequent vacuuming of the house on my part. Which brings me to my point: Does vacuuming count as cross-training?

Perhaps the act of vacuuming itself wouldn’t qualify, but it also involves lifting and moving furniture, repeated bending over for hard-to-reach areas, and wrangling the cat because she’s afraid of the vacuum cleaner. Add all that on to the repetitive aerobic motion, and working over the cat condo with the brush, and I think it beats 30 minutes on the life cycle or a couple dozen sit-ups.

Throw in window washing and carrying the groceries in from the car and you could probably give up running entirely. And you would save on apparel, too.

My Cross (Training) to Bear

For once, I’ve done everything correctly in my rehab. I took three weeks off from running. The pain is gone in my right leg and I can do every physical activity comfortably – except run. My ankle is still stiff during a run and sore afterwards.

Age is definitely a factor… OK, I’m 50, which is not exactly dead, but yesterday I pulled a muscle in my right arm putting my pants on. It’s enough to make you give up pants. There aren’t too many other explanations for why it should take four to six weeks for tendinitis to dissipate, except my rubber bands are stretched pretty thin.

So, from being a runner with a little cross-training thrown in, I’ve become a cross-trainer with a little bit of running thrown in. Instead of reducing my splits, I’m increasing the distance and intensity on non-weight-bearing cardio-apparatuses (apparati? apparatusimus? appareo decet nihil munditia?).

Here’s how it’s gone:

April 16 – 20 minutes at level 3 on the elliptical (starting slow to avoid destroying my calves again).

April 17 – 30 minutes at level 3 on the stationary bike, 7.5 miles.

April 18 – 1.75 mile run at an 8:58 pace.

April 19 – 4 mile walk.

April 20 – 30 minutes at level 4 on the bike, 8.1 miles.

April 22 – 1.75 mile run at an 8:27 pace.

Today – 30 minutes at level 4 on the elliptical, 6.6 miles.

My running pace suggests the cross-training is keeping me fit (even if endurance is already out the window), but more importantly it has cured my unscheduled taper madness. I got my heart rate up to 175 on the elliptical, so I’m pretty sure my body is getting the message.

But it’s funny. I started running to get into shape, but now being in shape is not enough. I get pangs when I see people running down my street. I stare longingly at race brochures.

I always thought getting all deep about running was an affectation. Now I’m not so sure. Now I want to run because I need to run.

Winter Sweat

Yesterday I spent 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. It’s hard to compare my progress relative to running. At Level 5, the machine said I covered 7.8 miles. That’s bicycle speed, not running speed, but I looked like a wet rag when I was finished.

Nothing compared to today, however. It’s 68 degrees right now in Sacramento, on its way up to 76. In the middle of November. I sloshed my way through 6 miles in under 51 minutes. If I lived closer to the beach I’d be lying on the sand right now with a bad spy novel.

Two Arms!

I love running.

I don’t love swimming, biking, push-ups, weightlifting, discus throwing, tossing the caber or Johnny on the Pony.

Running seven days a week is really, really bad for my legs, so my off-days are off-days. I don’t run and I don’t (grimace) cross-train.

That is, until an injury forced me to find some way to maintain a semblance of aerobic fitness while recuperating. Standing in the gym with dozens of machines from which to choose, my lone criterion was to find the one that most closely approximated running but didn’t involve slamming my feet onto a hard surface thousands of times.

So I mounted an elliptical trainer. Designed to mimic cross-country skiing, in practice it is sort of halfway between a treadmill and a stationary bike. I had never used one before, but I figured if Otis the cat could figure it out in three minutes, so could I.

Ellipticals are increasingly popular, with everyone from marathoners to Darth Vader using them. It is especially good to know that if terrorists attack your local fitness center, our Marines are trained to fight without dismounting the elliptical machine.

My first outing was for 15 minutes at Level 1, and I was racing away without a care in the world, my hands locked around the heart-rate handles. Then I finished, and for the next five days could not walk down stairs, step off curbs or stand on my toes. I had completely destroyed my calves.

It turns out my posture was bad, and failing to use the arm handles made the problem worse. When I returned to the gym, I stood up straight, started slower, and used the handles. I’m getting a reasonably good cardio workout, but I hadn’t anticipated the extra benefit of the arm work. The workout was easier because pulling on the handles takes some strain off your legs and, strangely enough, you get into the habit of using your arms more efficiently when you get back to running.

Arm drills for running aren’t exactly a new technique, but you may find a little elliptical work preferable to bouncing off your butt at the track.

I’ve got a long way to go before I’m a cross-training convert, but at least my non-running days are a little more productive than they used to be.