• 3:45pm - Skating Pond via Fit Rec - 6mi

A nice jaunt with Anne. Our runs are always so good, it’s pretty much impossible to have a bad day. All I did today was run, postponed the lift with Lizzie until tomorrow morning.

• 4:30pm - Harvard Sq. - 5.5mi

I ran by myself today so I wouldn’t be tempted to run more than I should. I felt ok, just very heavy. Hopefully that will go away as I get back into it more. The pace was pretty good, but now I am really carefully about easing into and out of runs. I take the first few and last few minutes really easy.

After the run we had med balls, so I did 3 sets with the yellow ball. I’m feeling tired from all the upper-body stuff I’ve been doing lately. I need to space it out more and maybe kick it down a notch.

I stopped by the pool on the way home just to get in 15 minutes so my legs wouldn’t be tight tomorrow. Despite the heavy feeling, I am feeling good and I really need it to stay this way.

• 5pm - stationary bike - 60 minutes

At first I did about 28 minutes then I stopped to try the elliptical machine. After confirmation that the elliptical is indeed the worst machine ever, I went back to the bike to finish the hour. My total time on the elliptical was 2 minutes. I took it really easy on the bike today, to the point where I wonder if I took it too easy, but I guess it’s better to be conservative on easy days anyway.

Following the bike I did some abs and the lifted with Lizzie:
- 50 MB on the ball
- 100 on ball regular

Lift:
- Pull-ups (on the machine w/ the weight set to 100 lbs - 3×12)
- Curls (10 lbs 3×12)
- Overhead (35 lbs 3×12)

This afternoon I got what was hopefully my last MRI. Tomorrow I get it read and see the doctor. Everything is feeling really good so I’m thinking things will be back to normal very soon.

• 5pm - stationary bike - 60 minutes

Ran easy out to Fit Rec, then 20 minute warm-up, 20 minute tempo, and a 20 minute cooldown. My goal for the tempo was do keep the pace over 120 RPMs, which I did (min: 118, max: 124). I keep the resistance on the easiest level because I think that will help my turnover on the track. According to the heartrate monitor on the bike my heartrate got up to about 180, which I think is pretty good. It was probably the best workout I’ve done on the bike. Aside from feeling really strong, I don’t think that even a month ago I would’ve had the focus to push myself on the bike for that long. When the 20 minutes was over I felt as though I’d given a solid effort, but I felt like I could’ve kept going for a few minutes longer so I know I wasn’t killing myself.

After the workout, I did some abs:
2×50 (alternating 10 regular sit-ups with 10 twisting sit-ups)
2×50 (crunches)

In an effort to increase my overall strength I also threw in some push-ups:
3×12 (taking 30 seconds rest between sets)

Once finished I ran home - making a quick stop at the Buick Street Cafe for a Snickers bar. My plan is to make eating chocolate bars and candy a regular event so I do it in moderation and don’t just go crazy when I eat it once a week or whenever…it’s reminiscent of my Hostess Fruitpie/Raspberry Cigar days…although not quite to that extent.

Overall, I am really pleased with my workout today. It really couldn’t have gone any better. My outlook for coming back is nothing but positive. Right now the hardest part is going to keep everything controlled, because now that I’m feeling good I want to run everywhere and get outdoor going. My heel hurt a bit walking around today, but it’s not getting worse and I’m still sure it’ll go away on its own. If things keep going as they have been the past few days I think I’ll be on the track by the end of the week.

• 2pm - Fells - 5mi

An easy five with Jordan around his old trails. Felt good, nice and relaxed. No problems from the shin. My heel hurts walking around, but not bad when I’m running — just going to ignore it as i’m sure it will eventually go away just like last time.