Tuesday, December 29, 2009

My drug of choice

is endorphines. When I started doing triathlons it was to have a goal to get me to work out and get back in shape. I am at a point that I really enjoy the training as much as I enjoy the racing. Some of the workouts can be quite painful, but in the end I always have a great sense of satisfaction.

Today was a double. I was going to do them back to back, but I had to leave the house after the first workout to pick up my daughter. It worked out as my legs were a little wobbly after the first workout (4 x 5k bike time trials). I completed the time trials in 10:10, 10:07, 10:15 and 10:30. I was really out of gas on the last one. I rested (spun easy) for 4 - 5 minutes after each effort. I'm not sure that was enough rest.

These were very painful. My heart rate monitor needs a battery so I was not able to monitor my HR, but it did not matter - I took it right to the point where the legs burn - the pain threshhold. I believe on a flat road I'm around 9 minutes on these, but my indoor trainer really distorts the result - but if the winter is going to be like today (2 below during the day and 10 below at night), I will be on the indoor trainer quite a bit. This actually works out as I will be able to compare my times on the trainer vs. going back and forth.

The second workout was done about two hours later. This was the same workout I did a few days ago - 2 pullups, 4 deadlifts, 6 burpees and 8 situps. I substituted leg presses for deadlifts again, but did the burpees. I went heavier on the leg presses than last time. I managed to eek out 14 of these in 20 minutes. I'm happy as it is 1 whole round more than last time and I felt good doing them. There was less discomfort on the back than last time.

I read up on pulled back muscles to see what to expect as far as recovery goes. According to an article I read, it takes about three weeks for the pain to go away and about six weeks for a full recovery. I'm hoping for a faster recovery as the pain has already subsided quite a bit. It also mentioned that excercise helps break down the scar tissue. I don't think that will be a problem.

I feel well enough to do most any excercise with the exception of ones that put a direct strain on the back (weighted squats, deadlifts, swings, etc.).

1 comment:

  1. Hey Martin,

    Would like to chat whenever you like. My email is danbelmonte@gmail.com. Keep up the good work. It is good to see someone else going through similar pain.

    Dan

    ReplyDelete