Off Season Day 35 - End of Week 5

3 Aug - run, lower core
4 Aug - run, core

On 3 August I returned to my program.  Or at least those parts I felt safe doing.  I was able to do this because the pain in the butt that resulted from Saturday's game was almost all gone this morning and my leg movement was almost entirely free of adverse sensation (eg. when mounting the stairs).

I took my run at a slightly slower and regulated pace, keeping to a fairly inefficient technique for the running itself to shelter my muscles.  I felt I've taken quite a large step forward with my running as I managed the entire circuit with only a short break for some basic stretches in the middle.  Apart from that, I ran the whole way.  Perhaps not surprisingly (as the run consisted of smaller than usual steps and less spring in my step) my time was a good but not great 20 minutes.

Upon return home I counted my heart beats and averaged it up for a full minute.  The result was 100 beats per minute at the end of the exercise.  If I'm average for my age this is about 60% of my maximum and the least required to derive a training effect from the exercise.  Next time I'm out I'll aim at extending my paces a little, perhaps lope a bit more, push the heart rate up and the time down.

After I'd performed a few stretches at the end of my run I moved straight into a round of leg/core exercises, still respecting the fact that I am sheltering my arm muscles after their weekend strain.  Total time for the evening's exertions was 50 minutes.

 On 4 August I still was not confident regarding my arm muscle, though they could carry weight without pain in the morning there was still a discomfort.  So I gave it another rest and more or less followed the same plan as they day before, though with a greater emphasis on upper body and abdominal core exercises and a total duration of 55 minutes.

My run time was approximately the same as the day before, but heart rate had dropped significantly in comparison.  I am aware that there can be quite marked gains in the early days of any exercise program, but to drop from about a hundred to about sixty is ridiculous.  Admittedly, I felt a lot less fatigued and a lot more in control of my breathing throughout the journey, but even so...  Perhaps I need to get some sort of objective heart rate monitor?

For exercise routine, I added sumo squats and most of my Swedish ball exercises to what I did the day before.  I must have stepped up the intensity because I managed to fit it all in and still be at it only five minutes longer.

That completes week 5 of my program.  I have coloured it Yellow on the sidebar to mark the fact that I didn't complete all elements according to plan (didn't perform any interval training).  Partly because this lack was due to injury, partly because I managed to perform all other routines required, I didn't colour it orange or, worse, red, and still feel I am making significant progress each and every day.