January 2008 Recap

The first month of the new year is in the books and it is time, once again, to look back, reflect, consider, and move forward. We have experienced monumental amounts of snow and the result has been some magnificant running. It is crisp and beautiful and while sometimes a bit slippery, it does make me feel very glad to be healthy and alive.

Here are my numbers for last month.

Running – 146 miles

Biking – 404 miles

Swimming – 43,600 yards

Weight Lifting – 13 sessions

Abdominal/Core/Lower Back Exercises – 17 sessions

Stretching - 12

Analysis

I finally am beginning to feel like a runner. My numbers have continued to rise over the past couple of months as I get closer to the 150 miles per month that I like to maintain. My speed is non existent in that I have been working on endurance and getting the mileage in. I have begun to do thirty second pick-ups during each run and the number of pick ups equal the number of miles I run that day.

My bike riding, as a result of living in what has become the great white north (the above pictures were taken last week) consists of 100 percent trainer riding. I have been working on twice a week power sets for the past three weeks and plan on continuing in that direction. I have hopes that by increasing my power I can bike a bit faster than my normal mediocre speeds.

My swimming continues to improve. I have added tempo sections to every swim set as I attempt to get a tad bit faster. My swimming usually consists of four day a week sessions and two of those sessions are with a master’s swimming group.

As always, my weight lifting has been consistent with three sessions a week for most of the month. On the days I did not lift, I faithfully completed my Abdominal/Core/Lower Back exercises.

I continue to with my three times each week extended stretching routine. I am now really enjoying my 20 minute routines and the muscles feel good as I go through each stretch.

Consistency continues to be very important to me and combining that with a bit of speed and strength work will hopefully move me up a notch as my times decrease.

Thank you very much for reading.