Back to the Zones

Well I apologize for the long lapse in posting. Last week just happened to be midterms. I am also nursing a bum ankle and am still in a holding pattern in my training with respect to my funky heart. My records did not transfer from one hospital system to the other and I practically had to do it myself. So the cardiologist's office finally called back and I was scheduled for a follow up next Friday. I have had stretches where my heart feels perfectly fine and some where I can feel my heart go wacky for a good length of time.

I am on a three week recovery period in my training. I was supposed to start a lactate threshold block three weeks ago (four - if you go by my schedule set up in November) . But do I really want to push into Zone 4 heart rates for an extended period of time? I am going to have to if I want to do an Ironman this year. So after talking with my coach, I am, with caution, going to start this block this week. I am only going into Z4 once this week during some climbs on my bike. I know have trained in Z4 recently even pushing into Z5, but boy the thought of it is still a little unsettling.

So how about a little good news on the training front. Sunday I sloshed through the rain for seven miles. (A little more about this tomorrow...) This was only my third run in the last two weeks and my first run outside since shredding my ankle. I started off very conservatively. But on my way back, I decided to give the engine a little more gas. For the three miles going out: 27:01. Three miles coming back: 23:12. The ankle is a little tender today and I know I need to do a little extra in the weight room on that leg. I know I am still way off of my pace from 2004 when I could rip off mile after mile at sub 7:00 pace, but hey I have a lot of miles yet to run. I look back and at this time last year I was struggling to get through a 20 minute run. Oh what a long and winding road it has been, but as others have discovered, it's all about the journey...