Week in review August 3-9: A surprisingly excellent quarantraining week

Pleasantly surprising myself seems to be the theme for these last couple of days adding up July and then last week. I was feeling OK about last week, happy that I'd gotten in three PT sessions but still wishing I had done an extra swim and some extra yoga. But I'm pretty sure this is my highest volume week in at least a couple of months.

I would really like to get in a third swim on Saturdays but I just haven't been making that happen. Saturday is the one day I don't set a morning alarm unless I have to, since I am usually behind on sleep by then. I cook a nice brunch, then tidy up the condo while that settles, and then go for a run and do my weights routine. The last two weeks we've taken friends or family out to dinner (safely outside and following precautions) and I didn't have time to squeeze in another swim. But... part of me doesn't even care. I've been hitting the pool twice a week, and it's not like I have any races coming up, so right now I'm not willing to give up sleep or family time for a third.

I did do my PT three times last week, which I was very happy about. I only did yoga once, which my body is not very happy about. I've been good about doing at least 15 minutes of yoga on Sunday evenings, but I am SO sore and stiff by then. My body would appreciate me carving out another day or even two for those quick sessions.

As I get older, I'd also like to work in more actual mobility work. I keep seeing social ads for functional pattern training — has anyone tried that? I need quick routines that I can tack onto things I'm already doing, or else they'll never get done. 

Anyway, last week was: 

Not a shabby week at all.

Bike: Three times, twice on the trainer for 39 fake miles and once on the road for 36 real miles, for a total of 5:07 in the saddle. I know I have to take advantage of mid-week rides to make lemonade out of my furlough days, and while the weather is still nice. Everything felt fine, both on the trainer and outside.

Run: Three times, all on the road, for 18 miles in a hair longer than 3 hours. These were all hot but I felt like something clicked form-wise and was actually lifting my knees up instead of dragging my feet and tripping. I noticed that this did not aggravate my hip flexor any more and I was able to add an extra mile onto my Saturday run. I was also super fatigued on Thursday, which I assume was from my long bike the day before, and my heart rate randomly went sky high at the very end of my run Saturday, which I assume was because of the heat. I felt fine both times afterwards with some rest and/or ice cold sparking water, though, so I'm not concerned unless either thing becomes a real issue.

Weights: Twice, one online barre class with some chinups and pushups and one heavy/body routine, for about 2:25. Twice a week is my goal so hooray for me! I can actually do three sets of five hanging pullups in a row now — the overhand, hard kind! Doing my full chinup/pullup routine an extra time during the week got to be too much, but I can bang out three sets of 10 standing chinups, and that seems to be a good mid-week challenge without going overboard.

Swim: Twice, both in the pool, for 4000 meters in about 1:55. Who ever thought I would love swimming again! I have been doing some easy drills and then a long set on Mondays, and this Wednesday I worked a few extra meters into some extra short sets. Still slow but feeling good.

PT: Three rounds for about 1:45. Twice per week is OK but three times is definitely better, I find.

Yoga: Just once for 20 minutes. I could have done this every day! A goal for next week, to be sure.

Total: 14 sessions in about 14:35. This is my best week in months — wow! A long bike and consistency in everything else seems to be paying off.

Overall, a pretty darn good week that I'm pretty happy with. I hope you also had a great week and are staying safe and healthy.