Workout August 12, 2010 - Run, Bike, Rugby Skills Day

On a side note before I get to the workout, this shift started out on a very positive note. When we arrived at the station this morning, a plate of brownies with a card was waiting for us in our fridge. Apparently, a few days ago marked the one year anniversary of the the engine saving a two year old baby girl from drowning in a pool. One year later the kid's doing great with no deficits. With all the new changes in patient privacy we can't call up the hospital anymore and find out patient outcomes, so it's always nice when we can get updates on calls like these.

Now, on to the workout

Warm-up
Super joints/ Z-Health

A quick run for a car wreck and then resumed the main workout once back at the station

Run
Wearing Vibram Five Fingers
Mystery Hike
Max Speed 7.0 (8:34 min/mile pace)
Max incline 5.0
Average inline 3.0
Distance 1.59 miles


After the run, I hopped on the exercise bike
15 min
random hill program 15:15 interval
distance 4.9 miles
ave speed 18.8 mph


After dinner, rugby ball handling skills

Around the body passes
Through the legs figure 8s

50 times each, each direction



I was still a little hesitant to wear my five fingers on the treadmill while running at a faster pace. I thought the lack of cushioning might be pretty rough on the knees. Surprisingly the knees held up just fine. My body mechanics in the run felt smooth and fluid, with my arches getting a nice workout as well.

The run felt really good cardio wise better than I can remember in years. My heart rate averaged around 160 bpm, yet my breathing stayed nice and even, and my lungs never got anywhere close to that out of breath pukie feeling. I had an inkling yesterday that my cardio was improving. My heart rate monitor yesterday morning was reading as low as 34-36 bpm. A quick manual check of my pulse proved that it was indeed significantly slower than my previous low of 45 bpm. I took this as a good sign that my training and nutrition regimen are on the right track, and that my body is in fact adapting to more efficiently use oxygen. Today's workout supported this.