10K recovery complete

While I am almost 100% recovered from the 10K on April 1st, my left knee just refuses to cooperate. Running on the soft, cushy treadmill was apparently not sufficient training for said knee. With a good bit of pain after running each day, I have started to ice it down. The rest of my body is doing well after the daily workouts, pain perhaps masked by the left knee. It's like the old headache fix. If you hit your fingers with a hammer, you forget all about your headache - at least for a while!

My workouts are going well. I've been at the gym 5 - 6 days a week for over 2 months now, grinding through 3+ miles daily on the treadmill and lifting weights 2 - 3 times each week. My weight loss has leveled off, so I need to change my weight lifting routine. Gwynne is going to help us today get a better plan programmed on our "smartkeys." Those keys have the routine on them, so we don't need to remember seat positions, weights, ROM or PAD settings for the various machines. Instead of working a bit on everything each 2 - 3 days, we will work on upper body one day, legs the next, and so on. More sets of 12 reps each. Supposedly it allows for a much better workout.

I'm all into a better workout - since I'm already in pain daily...

Monument Avenue 10K

The Monument Avenue 10K was held on Saturday. The weather was far warmer than it has been, so there were lots of people with hydration issues. For me, the training at the YMCA paid off. I cut 6 1/2 minutes off from last year's time (and I trained for last year), so was pleased. My time was 1:14:13 and last year was 1:20:49 (that's 6:36 faster). It was, however, punishment of my body.

As of Monday, the only thing that still bothered me was my knees. I think it was the uneven streets. They are a bit different from the nice, cushy treadmill!

Note to self: Next year train outside for a while!

Oh no - V.D.!

VD - short for Valentine's Day, of course... What were you thinking?

Okay - I've always hated Valentine's Day. It's not that I don't want to spend time with Sue, but I never ever know what to get or how much to spend. VD is a mere two weeks before our anniversary, so we have always downplayed it. This year, I was presented with an opportunity to do a nice job of being a loving husband. As previously stated, we joined the local YMCA. I always find that I do a much better job working out with music blasting in my ears - and help take the concentration away from the pain in my body. I obtained an iPOD Shuffle last year and use it whenever I work out (walk, etc.). Sue has no such device. So.... I bought her a new MP3 player and filled it with several hours of love songs. I think she was touched by the personalization (rather than just from the electronic device). She has used it daily since then, and really likes the music. As a side note, this player has an integrated FM radio that can be used to listen to the TV audio that plays as well. So, you can sit on your butt, watching TV - all the while you are cruzing on the stationary bike.