Monday, July 29, 2013

New Shoes for Baby

I took my new shoes out for a spin at lunchtime -- to Airport Rd. and back in 34:29.  The shoes are black mesh uppers with red-and-black Vibram soles, about the minimum a shoe could be and still have a Vibram sole.  They really make it easy to attend to footfall mechanics.  They're not all-weather shoes, but they did very well today.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Variance

Today I walked a new route -- down Stadium way to Olympia, then east through the dorms and apartment complexes, bending uphill and north until I was behing the Global Animal Health building, then back to CUE.  About 20 minutes, with a not-too-intense incline in the middle.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Maximum Effort (for now)

Today it was one more trek to Airport Rd. and back.  Even though it was a personal best time (33:08), it felt kind of empty.  I really pushed myself to maximum (safe) effort, including leg and foot biomechanics, pace (just about 132/minute throughout), and stride.  I lost concentration for part of the way back with the usual mental chit-chat, but I kept calling myself back to the effort -- a kind of walking Yoga workout.  So I'm not sure why it didn't feel better...

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Back in the Saddle Again

I did the Airport Rd. walk in 34:17 on a somewhat muggy day (unusual for this part of the world):

"Lap" times:


Start End Elapsed
CUE Diary Rd 10:45
Dairy Rd Airport Rd 6:55
Airport Rd Dairy Rd 6:25
Dairy Rd CUE 10:17

Not too bad, considering the third "lap" is uphill, but about 30 seconds slower than my personal best on May 28th. Today's pace is about 14'17" per mile.

Still, I've recovered about the same level as before my shoulder injury in June.  I have only a little residual soreness in my shoulder (and related soreness in my neck and back).  So this is encouraging.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Resurgence & Motivation

I can't believe how long it's actually been since I've posted here! Ay, well, we move on.

I was still working out at least twice a week for a while there, but pretty much after my San Francisco trip (mid-April, which involved many lovely miles of walking after a night of vigorous dancing) I got wrapped up in the whirlwind of the end-of-the-semester at school and the beginning of my busiest season at work. Other than walking to classes (until Mid-May) and walking during events or whatnot there wasn't a lot of exercising going on for the beginning of Summer.

Eventually I started getting antsy to get back to it, and somehow became obsessed with the idea of being able to run. I've never been in "running shape" and until recently didn't have the patience to work up to it slowly enough to not hurt my knees, hips, or ankles. Last week I went on a "jog," which involved a few minutes of walking, then alternating 1 min walking with 1 min jogging. It was pretty great. I had a couple days long camping trip this weekend so I didn't run, but I did spend a couple hours each day swimming. I took yesterday and Monday off due to a scrape on my food from the camping trip that I didn't take care of well enough at first. It's better today so the plan is 12 repetitions of 1 min walking / 1 min jogging. I'll keep updating here as I progress! Maybe even include links to my routes if I figure out how. I'm using MapMyRun to track my distance/time/routes. I have a rough plan for getting in shape to run a 10k on September 15th, so we'll see how it goes!

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Two Dairy Days

I walked to Dairy Rd. yesterday and today -- there's too much going on at work and I'm too tired to take on more.  Today's round-trip time was 21'37", a little faster I think than yesterday, but I didn't keep time.  I focused on pushing with the thighs again on these walks.  I believe it yields better times, but it's more work.

My esitmate of the Diary Rd distance is 0.7 miles (per Google Maps).  Assume that has an error term of plus-or-minus .05 miles.  Then the round trip is 1.4 plus-or-minus .1 miles.  Today's time computes to a 16.6-minute or a 14.4-minute mile, depending on which way the error lies.

Friday, July 5, 2013

Not So Light Day

... but not super-heavy, either.

I did the Dairy Rd. walk at lunchtime, outbound in 10:46, inbound 10:40, total 21:26. I believe that's a "personal best" by about 4 seconds.  It's approximately 15.03 minutes per mile.

I got the improvement over Wednesday's times primarily by upping the pace to about the maximum I can do at this time without real straining (except for the first and last minute-and-a-half, which I walked as a "purposeful" but not quickstep pace as a warmup and cool-down).  I also tried to focus on mechanics, especially focusing on the "push" part of the step (thighs) rather than the "pull" part of the step (calves).  This is in preparation for a changed biomechanics with the hip-swivel, which I'm not ready to try seriously yet, given my recent sore hips.

This rate of walking introduced just a little aerobic stress (beginnings of exercise asthma) to the walkout, so I think that's about the right level for the time being.  I am still on the return-to-practice path after the layoff caused by injury.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Light Day

Even though the weather has moderated (82 degrees, per Weather Underground),  my hip is a little sore (prbably from trying to get out of bed without re-injuring my shoulder), and I decided not to push it.  Daity Rd. in 11:35 out, 12:00 in, at about 120 steps per minute.  Maximum heart rate 90.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Only Mad Dogs

... and Joshua go out in the noonday sun.

99 degrees out, a good excuse not to walk, but hey!  My shoulder would probably love the heat.  Besides, I have a deposit to make at the bank.  So I walk down the hill and on downtown to the bank in 14:45, about the usual time, even though it is hot, especially where the campus streets (asphalt) are surrounded by sidewalks (concrete) and building walls (concrete and brick).

On the way back (uphill), I determined to take it easy, regardless of time.  Excluding a 6-minute stop for a cell-phone call, I took 25 minutes (usual uphill time: about 19).  At least I got smart and walked on the shady side of the street, Tin Pan Alley not withstanding.