The major highlights of this month included swimming like crazy, riding my bike outside again, doing brick (bike->"run") workouts, and doing walk/jog intervals. I've also been able to wear more normal shoes and work my way back into wearing wedges!
Swim
I have stuck with my Masters swim team training twice a week. I can easily swim well over 2,000m a workout and my technique, speed, and stamina are all improving. I am really enjoying practice. It is hard work but also really refreshing.
Bike and Brick Workouts
The weather was tolerable (around 50 degrees) a few days this month, so I took my bike out on the road again. My new training course is where they are building this new road by my apartment. It really isn't officially opened yet, but they are finished with this section of it. The best thing is that the roads are super smooth and there are almost no cars on it. I repeat a 1 mile loop that includes going up and down hills and some technical turns. It has really helped my handling skills. I have been riding my bike on the indoor trainer for most of the winter, so this course has been good practice for me to get re-acclimated to outdoor riding.
I have also started brick workouts. Bricks are combination workouts that triathletes do to practice the transition between the sports, as it happens on race day. They include swim-bike, bike-run, and swim-run workouts. I have been focusing on the bike->run transition. I ride my bike for 45 mins or so, quickly put my bike away, throw on my running shoes, and go for a 20-30 min walk/jog. My body is responding well to these workouts.
Walk/Jog Intervals
I found this great interval program on the treadmill at my gym. It does 4 intervals, all 30 seconds each. You select the "rest" and the "work" speeds. When I first started, I selected 3.0 and 4.0, which consisted of 3.0, 3.3, 3.7, and 4.0, all for 30 seconds each. I generally set it to go for 30 minutes. At these speeds, I walked all the intervals. My ultimate goal will be to jog for 30 minutes continuous. That is the usual minimum standard of fitness for beginning any run training program.
As I started getting better, I increased the speed. By the time I was able to do 4.3 as my highest speed, I began to jog. The first time that I jogged, I was confused with my running form. I didn't know whether I would heel strike (my natural form) or mid-foot strike (the form I have done for the last few years). I tried to convince myself to heel strike, since that would be the most protective running form for my weak tendons, but it wasn't happening. What surprised me the most was that once I had a little bit of speed going on the belt, my body snapped back into auto pilot, to the form that I used for running marathons. My shoulders were relaxed, my arm movement limited, my hands in a comfortable semi-fist, and my breathing calm and controlled. As I got going, I realized that mid foot striking was what my body remembered and what felt the most comfortable. All this time, I have wondered how my body would respond to "running" again. Through all the rehab, I haven't been able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It seems that just like the heel raises where one day I could suddenly do them, eventhough just the day before I couldn't, my run form returned. I have almost instantly gone back to my former form, like a light bulb turning on. Of course I was going really slow, only for 30 seconds, and my strides are shorter, with a faster cadence, but overall, it was just like my old self.
Currently, I am doing 3.0 and 4.5, which makes the treadmill go at 3.0, 3.5, 4.3, and 4.5. I jog both the latter intervals, so it turns out to be 1 minute walking and 1 minute jogging per rep.
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Reflection
Throughout this month I have worked on living my life freely again, the way I was before my surgeries. I have let go of the past and am working towards my future again. I have lifted the restrictions on my life and returned to fighting for my goals. As my feet are continuing to improve, all areas of my life are following suit.
I'm busting walls down and lighting matches daily...
