going nowhere: week 7

sunday, .5 miles . . .

. . . 30 minutes cycling

monday, 0 miles . . .

. . . 40 minutes cycling

tuesday, 0 miles . . .

. . . 60 minutes cycling

wednesday, 0 miles . . .

. . . 90 minutes cycling

thursday, 0 miles . . .

. . . 90 minutes cycling

friday, 0 miles . . .

. . . 120 minutes cycling

saturday, 3 miles . . .

. . . i had to come to a decision. this morning, after stretching, working my sore ankle tendon with my little piece of stolen bark, and going out for a run, i made a drastic decision. my tendon is not getting better. it is not getting worse either. i could suck up the pain and push through this week much like i pushed through last week. i have the resolve, the pain tolerance, and all the stupidity necessary for such a task. but the problems with this besides other injuries is that i won't get any quality workouts in and it will most likely be stretched out for two to three weeks. so i turned back home and decided the best thing to do is rest until it is healed one hundred percent. no day to put on this. it could be tomorrow or in a month from now, but it is the only chance i have.

so for now, thanks to my good friend tom who lent me a trainer, i will be going nowhere in my garage, until the tendon calms itself down. i drove over to his beautiful house out in the country this afternoon and picked it up. i set it up shortly after returning home and spent a half an hour on the bike. it gave me quite a workout as i listened to npr on the radio and sweating large drops on the floor. it's just not the same as running but it didn't agitate my ankle. so this is truly a blessing and for it i am thankful.

. . . teaching two classes at a local private college this morning. the first one starts at 8. i had my alarm set for 5:45 but baby gracie had different plans. or at least her stuffed up nose had different plans. i was out of bed at 5:20 which worked out fine. it's just that i'm really stinking tired right now. spinning those cogs for 40 minutes this morning. some tempo stuff. some sprint stuff. still trying to figure out this whole thing and how it works and at what pace. i could start using a heart rate monitor, but i never have before so i'm reluctant.

listened to npr again this morning. why does it have to be pledge drive week. i'm thinking of maybe setting up my computer tomorrow and watching some tv. or maybe i'll put in more minutes tonight after work. my right it band started getting a little sore. i'll need to work that out.

dear ankle,

please get better so that i can run.

. . . another beautiful day. fog filled frozen rain free day. my favorite. but i am stuck in my garage listening to npr people beg me to give them money. not really the most motivating cycling soundtrack but i couldn't find the dvd player. heart rate was going nice and strong for this hour. hoping this ankle heals soon. this is madness. more ice, more stretching, more ibeproffin. my butt is getting ridiculously sore. but still i shall press on.

. . . brought the portable dvd player out in the garage today. watched most of batman begins with the headphones in. got rid of much of the drudgery of cycling training. really felt my heart pounding nice and fast for the majority of this stationary ride. loads of sweat dripping of the ground. some good runner's (rather biker's) high afterwards. ankle is starting to show signs of healing. i just need to hold back, hold back, wait for it. at least now i know that this is an alternative to running (though a lesser alternative) if i ever start to feel another injury coming on. good to have options, more tools to keep the running in the best place possible. i have a camp coming up this weekend and i can't take the bike with me so i'm thinking of bringing my running shoes. maybe get someone else to run with me so that i am forced to run slow. i'v got to do an easy onset with this thing. i don't want all this to be for nothing. keep focused, continue with the ice and the drugs.

the ice and the drugs.

. . . watched more batman, on to the dark night. keep pushing this bicycle thing. how monotonous this garage life is becoming but at least there is no pain in my foot. i can tell that things are being healed. let's see what it looks like on saturday. tomorow's plan is 2 hour ride. bring it.

. . . and three episodes of lost later, he finishes his cycling. some minor problems with my right i.t. band, but nothing bad. butt no longer that sore. miss running to death.

. . . here i am at camp, decided to put in some miles today because i couldn't take my bicycle here with me. ankle feels much better. ran one mile on it before i started feeling pain and then went to a walk. this continued for the rest of the run which was mostly annoying. going to do some synergy yoga tonight. it was a beautiful day though. a little light mist running around a golf course. i just wish it could have been longer.

how long?