I continue to have trouble sleeping more than 7 hours per night, although Saturday night I slept 9, and it felt so odd to have so much "extra" energy. So I take this to mean that maybe I am not needing so much sleep right now. Still, I see my doctor on Friday and will get something to help this along.
I got in about 15.5 hours of training last week, and the best part of it was this weekend. On Saturday we had beautiful, warm weather, and I rode my MTB wearing very little in glorious sunshine for about 1:30. This is the first time that it didn't feel hard to ride that bike. I am always amazed at just how fast adaptations to things occur. This was my second week back riding that thing, and it's good to know that I just needed to get used to it again. I am not trying to ride it hard--I typically average 15mph on it--but the strength to push that heavy thing is good for me, and I'm using different muscles than on the other bikes.
After the ride, I drove to Greene Valley to get some quality time on the big hill. There were no clouds in the sky! I decided I would try running partway up this time, so I ran the approach, then ran 5' on the way up and walked the rest of the way, then ran 5' down and walked the rest. I figured this would be a good way to build up my tolerance to run up the entire way. It was great, but I could really tell that my hill fitness was not very good. How do I fix that? Keep doing it!
After all that, I did some yard work--I removed all this weed grass from the perimeter of my yard next to the foreclosed house, because it's encroaching on my yard. It's one of those things that you start and then you just can't stop. I'm really enjoying getting some quality time with my landscaping. I also prepared my downstairs for the treadmill, which meant putting some things away that I just never got to over the summer. It will be a tight-ish fit down there with a treadmill and bike trainer and furniture, but hey, that's how I like it!
Then, of course, I took in some of Ironman Hawaii online. 2 of my very, very fast guy friends did quite well--one went 9:16 and the other went 9:32. For the guy who went 9:32, it was his third Ironman in 6 weeks! He did Louisville and qualified for Kona, then he did Wisconsin 2 weeks later and went faster and qualified for Kona 2011, then he went to Hawaii and went even faster! It seems to me we have another Petr Vabrousek on our hands! A woman I know just online did really well, using it as her tune-up for Ultraman Hawaii, and a guy I met who crewed at UMC also did really, really well, considering he has one good arm and 2 prosthetic legs (Raj Durbal).
See now, when I am feeling sorry for myself and like I can't continue in a workout, it's people like Raj that remind me that I have it pretty good. There is some true inspiration! Honestly, the troubles some people think they have are nothing. I am so grateful for my health every day!
Yesterday morning I watched the beginning of the Chicago Marathon on TV. It always gives me chills to hear a gun go off to start a race! The weather was nice again, but warm for a marathon, but not as bad as last year when it was in the 90's. Then I headed back to Greene Valley to run the flats. Right away as I started, I noticed a few things: my ankles were fine. This is Week 2 of this hill stuff, and last week I really did a number on my ankles, but they have adapted! Next thing is that my abs were still sore from my Friday strength workout. I laughed at myself and realized that I should have cut back the size of the medicine ball I was using, but hey, that's all part of the fun, right? Next thing is that my lungs wanted to go faster, but my legs weren't up to it. I actually had to work to slow myself down. I don't really enjoy running pure flatness, but it's needed so that I don't kill myself by running on hills every single run during a week. I still had to stop maybe every 5 minutes, so it was like I was doing an interval run, which is fine. My run fitness is coming back to me, and I'm not one to go easy on myself, but it was OK by me to just stop for a few seconds before continuing.
I ran the whole flat section, which is about 7 miles the way I do it. Then I figured I'd spend the rest of the time on the hill. I wanted to get in 1:30 of running. Since on Saturday I had been able to run 5' up the hill, I thought I would go all the way up, doing a 1 minute run and 1 minute walk. It worked great! It took me 12 minutes to get up the hill this way, and I felt great doing it! And then I got a real treat. I saw a small group of people looking at something so I walked over to see what it was. It was a man from the Willowbrook Wildlife Center, and he was holding a red-tailed hawk! So I tucked into the group and listened. At one point, the man asked us to guess what this guy (his name is Professor) weighs, and I was the closest--I guessed 2.5 lbs, and he weighs 3.1. The bird has a bum right wing, so he can't be released into the wild. Still, another man got close to him behind him and was told to back off! When you see that beak and those talons close up, you know not to mess with these birds! I learned that red tails are the most successful raptor in the US because of what we have done with habitat that they have adjusted to. For example, these birds are just fine perching on light posts along the major expressways, scanning the nearby open areas for prey. There is a pair of them that lives near me, and one or both of them land in my backyard frequently. I am happy that they are contributing to keeping the rodent and rabbit populations down. There is another pair that nests at the exit off of I294 to get into O'Hare airport. If you look at the trees in that area off to the right of the tollbooth just as you begin turning right, you can see the huge nest in one of the trees. I have seen one of the hawks perched on a fence maybe 1 mile outside the airport! So obviously, the birds don't mind the jet engine noise, and are most happy to have the open, flat areas with a few trees for perching to hunt for their favorite meals!
I just love birds, especially raptors, but I had to get going since I still wanted to swim. So I ran all the way down the hill, stretched a little, toweled off, and headed to the Y, where I swam just a nice, easy 1000 yards and noticed that I got quite the tan! I went home, ate some lunch, then headed off to run some errands. When I got back home, I finished weeding next to the foreclosed house, put mulch down, then cleaned up LGL's drivetrain and frame. I checked in on 2 friends who ran the Chicago Marathon, and they both did well--one woman doing her very first marathon that I had given some last-minute tips to (like use New Skin on her feet to avoid blisters), and the other who is now recovered from a broken back and this was her first comeback race (she is usually sub-3:30). So proud of both of them! Last thing was to sign the contract for the new roof, which will be put on this Friday.
This coming week I will add more running, and I hope I see even more improvement in my hamstrings. The dedicated stretching seems to be doing the trick, even as I am really pushing it running!
I wanted to take a picture of my birch tree while it is looking so lovely with its fall colors, and so here it is as well as a picture of my house with its fall look:
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