Midweek Report

Despite the fairly abundant amount of working out I did over the weekend, I was still up a little too late on Sunday night. We had a nice chat with Melissa's sister Vicki and got caught up on the goings on in their neck of the woods. Afterwards, we still needed some chill time so we ended up staying up a tad too late. Rather than push my luck, I decided I would sleep in a little on Monday. After all, every good workout plan has to have rest built in. Everything I read about fitness stresses the importance of quality sleep.

Monday after work, I did P90X "Shoulders & Arms" and "Ab Ripper X." Afterwards, we had an early dinner. Well to be honest, it was not that early but it was early for us. I had to finish eating and drinking everything by 8PM as I had to do a 12 hour fast for my Tuesday morning blood work. I think I ended up with my last swig of post meal apple juice at about 7:55.

I had done some research about the potential consequences of working out before having blood taken. Most of what I read said to not exercise before the blood work because it could elevate levels of this and that. The Livestrong web site said working out before was ok but recommended a full hour of cool down before getting blood taken. Some web sites recommended skipping the workout entirely. Interestingly enough, the person who answered the phone at my doctors office said, "sure go ahead and work out." I thought that was interesting. Of course some people have different notions about what it means to workout. I decided to not workout and again to sleep a little later than normal. I figured the later I got up, the less time I would have to feel hungry. Actually I want to talk more about being hungry in a moment.

The blood test (I did not study) was a breeze. I got an A. Seriously though, the people at Labcorp were very pleasant and efficient and the technician who took my blood was a real pro. I was in the chair for under a minute I think and there was virtually no pain. I was impressed. Because no matter who you are, needles piercing into your veins is not a pleasant experience. But they made it easy. My actual physical is not until the 18th. I will find out the results of the blood work then. Unless they find something life threatening of course. Then they would call me. I would hope anyway.

Tuesday night after work, I decided I would go ahead and do the 30 minute cycle I had originally planned for Tuesday morning. I did the sprint/power Spinervals workout and then changed into my running shoes and did my 40 minute tempo run. I felt pretty good during the run but my left knee started bothering me a bit. After my run I took some Motrin and iced. My pesky knee has been acting up lately. Probably because of the increased mileage.

Back to the hunger. Ever since I ramped up my training, I have been more hungry. It seems like I eat all the time. I don't eat high calorie foods but it seems like I am always eating. I used to eat a banana, a yogurt, and a Luna Bar for breakfast. I quit dairy a while back so no more yogurt. Instead I am having a banana, an orange, a Luna Bar, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Then later I will have some nuts and sometimes another banana. In addition, a few times a week, I also have a piece of toast with peanut butter before I even leave the house.

This morning I logged all my calories with a the Calorie Counter app that I have on my iPhone. I came up with 572 calories for breakfast. I mostly have salad for lunch but I don't know how many calories are in my salads or in my dinners for that matter. I have decided I am going to try to do an accurate count of just how many calories I have for an entire day. I won't do it all the time but maybe 2 or 3 times every now and then. It should be fairly simple to figure out. We have a special scale that measure calories, fat, carbs, etc in just about any food. So we can put a piece of fish on there, punch in the code, and it will tell us all the nutrition information. I will have to plan some things out but I should be able to figure out a good average for how much many calories I am taking in.

Mostly I want to do this to make sure I am getting enough calories for the long swims, bike rides, and runs I will be doing. You have to fuel the machine! Learning how many calories I need and logging what I eat and how I feel will help me dial in my nutrition and increase the efficacy of my training.

On Wednesday, I went to early morning Pro K swim practice. We had another great workout. I was pretty gassed throughout most of the workout. We did lots of sprinting and we did some other drills that we had not done before. I think she is ramping us up for race season.

Wednesday night, I did my easy 3 miles followed by a serious of strength training including some hip and glute work. I also did some PT exercises that I learned during my post knee surgery physical therapy. I know I worked my glutes pretty hard because I could feel it today.

Thursday morning, I did not work out but after work, I did my Thursday night speed work at the track. The schedule called for 3X800 and I ended up doing the 800s in about 3:15 which is about a 6:30 minute mile pace. Between 800s, I jogged for 3:00 before doing the next repeat. I warmed up and cooled down of course. It was a good workout. Melissa also went with me to the track and did her easy 3 miler. After we got home from the track, we did Ab Ripper X. It is nice to have someone to workout with. It makes it all that much more fun. The fact that my workout partner is my wife is a double bonus!

Tomorrow is a rest day. Also I am supposed to be receiving a new purchase in the mail. I am excited about it! I will leave that for the big surprise for tomorrow. I will give you a hint. It has to do with working out. Well, of course, right?