Weekly Workout Totals 12/11/2006-12/17/2006 and Too Much Time on a Treadmill

Here are my happy totals for the week:

Swim: 4200 yards (2.38 miles) in 1.42 hours; 11% of weekly workout time; approx. 496 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 65.91 miles in 3.77 hours; 29% of weekly workout time; approx. 1981 calories burned
Run: Approx. 39.62 miles in 6.17 hours; 47% of weekly workout time; approx. 2806 calories burned
Strength: 1.75 hours; 13% of weekly workout time; approx. 438 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 107.91 miles in 13.11 hours; approx. 5721 calories burned
Sleep: 9.39 hours avg./night
Stretching: 3.07 hours. Massage: 0 hours

It turned out to be a pretty good week. I was shelled on Tuesday, so I skipped a swim and a bike, which is why my weekly hours are a little lower than planned (about 2.5, to be exact). But I executed every single run, which is the point of my training right now, so that was a good thing. I didn't get a massage (crap), and I need one. My calves are full of trigger points. I worked just on my calves for 10 minutes this morning! I kneaded them, rolled them on a TP massage ball, used The Stick on them, and they are still full of knots.

But look at that sleeping! I think I'm wired like ancestors of centuries ago, since I tend to want to sleep a lot in the fall/winter. I don't like getting up in the dark, and I avoid doing so whenever I can.

Pretty good stretching total there, too. The last 4 weeks have all been 3+ hours. Think it has anything to do with all the running?

Today was my longest pre-Goofy run. 2:30. And I ran all of it on a treadmill. During the 2nd of 2 quick breaks I took, one of the trainers asked me if I was doing all of it on the treadmill. Yes. Doesn't that makes your knees hurt? Nope. Just my brain. I explained that the treadmill is one of the softest things you can run on, and the mental monotony of it makes running 26.2 not seem so bad. REALLY!

I wore out a cheapo CD player this week (that I use when on the treadmill) that I had for maybe a year? So I went to buy a new one yesterday and picked up a couple of new CD's. I picked up 2 dance CD's that I had no idea what was on them, but the one I played today was pretty good. Good enough to motivate me after listening to Madonna's "Confessions on a Dance Floor" first, which is pretty good in my book.

After 1:30 on the treadmill (break #2), I decided I needed a little more cooling action, despite being positioned on a machine just below a ceiling fan. So I grabbed one of the small towels and soaked it in ice cold water from the filtered water dispenser. I wrung it out slightly, and then I wore it on my head for about 30 minutes. With the fan blowing on me, it was like a personal air conditioner! About 10 minutes after donning my new head gear, I switched from Gatorade to Ultra Violence, which perked me up even more. Yes, I plan on loading up my Fuel Belt with the Ultra Violence for Goofy Challenge both days, but won't use it before the halfway point of each race.

I don't remember the last time I ran 2:30 on a treadmill. Not last year, and not the year before (I checked--remember I keep records!). Actually I haven't done many 2:30 training runs in the last 3-4 years. The only reason I scheduled one this time is that I thought I should go for it. I doubt my coach would have scheduled a 2:30, but we will see what happens. My longest run last winter prior to Goofy Challenge was 2:10, unless you count the solo marathon I ran in October. So I won't have a marathon under my belt 3 months prior to Goofy this time, but I have been running a lot and solidly.

So my taper is officially beginning. On Wednesday, though, I'm running 2:15. I think I'll be as prepared as possible for Goofy, and I'm faster, so hopefully that will translate into race results. If not, well there are many, many beers waiting for me in Epcot the day after!