Week in review January 20-26: A strong start and a sore knee

More run than bike, for once.

Eeep! I’m a day late. Yesterday I dealt with an upset to my usual routine and that threw me off.

But, last week was pretty good! Big wins of the week were three times on the bike and treadmill, and two more swims. A big bummer to end the week is that my knee was and still is killing me. The only thing I’m doing differently is swimming, but I find it extremely hard to believe that a few thousand yards of easy swimming is the culprit. It’s more likely that the weather is changing and that I have been slacking on my weights and PT.

So, although I started the week pretty solidly, I had to tone it down by the end. Boo. But the silver lining is that I had extra time for PT and a second swim, had a nice night out with my husband on Saturday, and spent a lot of time relaxing and organizing on Sunday before gearing up for the week. It’s wasn’t all gloom and doom.

By the numbers:

Run: Three times, all on the treadmill, for 22.25 miles in about 3:42. This worked out to be a medium run on Monday, and easy run Wednesday, and a speed run Friday. I’m not sure what happened during the speed run, since it was the exact one I did two weeks ago, but as soon as I was done my knee let me know it wasn’t happy. I had wanted to get back into a long-run-on-Sunday routine but it was not happening since I could barely walk without pain.

I’m going to take a couple more days off and maybe, maybe, do a fun 5K Sunday morning. I guess another silver lining is that I’m not signed up for anything in the coming weeks and months, so if I have to cut back on my runs for a while, it’s not the end of the world. A bummer, yes, but not a tragedy.

Bike: Three times, all on the trainer, for 37.5 fake trainer miles in about 2:35. This was my two regular hour-ish rides during the week and an easy ride Saturday basically to keep my knee loose and warm up for PT.

Swim: Twice, both in the pool, for 2000 meters + 2100 yards of mostly drills for about 1:54. After a kickboard and pull buoy warmup on Friday, I tried to do a freestyle ladder to try to get a better idea of where my “distance” fitness is. I noticed that I am barely moving while breathing on the left side, so on Sunday, I worked in some paddle drills. HA HA HA HA HA did it go badly – I’m sure I was a sight to see as my paddles went every which way. BUT, even after a few laps I felt like I had a better feel for pulling in the water, which, is the point, right? Getting back into swimming shape is definitely a target-rich environment for me.

PT: Twice for about 1:10.

Yoga: Once for about 15 minutes. I can tell my hips and hamstrings are tighter than usual.

Total: 11 sessions in about 9:36. Not great, not terrible, a solid week.

I’m going to continue to take it easy on my knee this week, so I’m hoping that frees up some time for weights and swimming. A trainer ride didn’t hurt too badly yesterday, so I think I’m OK there. Ugh – getting old is not for the faint of heart.

I hope you had a great week and that this week is off to a good start! May your swims be straight and your knees be pain-free. =)