
Over the weekend I promised to give an update on my progress against April goals, and I missed my self-imposed deadline. I'm doing it now, so shut up.
I was rather aggressive in April with optimism fueled by recent successes. While March and early April saw unexpected success, May began with reality spitting in my face. My business trip to Vegas took me off my strength-training routine. The time on my feet tightened things up, and when I did return to the gym, we took it easy on the lower body because I kept up with my running (but not my sleep). The result . . . an Achilles that went from tight to being painful. After my run Saturday, I spent Sunday limping around the house. Things improved a bit today, but it's still not in great shape.
So the lesson I learned . . . I CANNOT let my lower body strength training slip. I need to continue working on mobility, and I need to build strength training throughout my day. I've developed some great habits, routines and rituals over the past few months, but I have not followed through to maintain strength training while on the road.
Back to April's goals . . . I set aggressive goals to (1) finish a 5K averaging 6:55/mile; (2) get my 6-pack; (3) do 100 push ups; and (4) do 20 pull ups. I was 0 for 4. The results aren't surprising because there wasn't adequate focus on each of those four.
So what about May? Limping into the month, averaging a 6:55 mile over 5K is too aggressive. If I can hit 7:20 per mile, that'd be a big accomplishment. How I finished the Wounded Warrior averaging 7:33 per mile, I do not know. The strength goals I'll keep, and add a couple:
- Average 7:20/mile over 5K: Do-able, but it'll be a challenge. Need to get back to pain free running. That's disappointing given I was more or less there before the Vegas trip.
- Get my 6-pack, knowing that'll be a challenge with increased travel.
- 100 Push Ups. I'll need to maintain my strength training on the road.
- 20 Pull Ups. Ditto.
- 30 Dips. Ditto.
- 10 Pistol Squats unassisted on each leg. Ditto.
So, here we go! On the road, and dedicated to keeping up with mobility / strength. The big question . . . do I run tomorrow? We'll see how the leg feels.