Running again...

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

My brother-in-law called to say he was going out on the boat but would be anchoring just off Fairport Beach so they could scrub the underside of the sailboat in preparation for some racing they were going to do this weekend. I agreed to go along for the chance to do another life jacket assessment of passing boats and to help with the cleaning. Since I wouldn’t have much time before heading to the boat, I decided it was time for a run…and a test of the knee.

I started on the trail I enjoy so much, but with the thought that, depending on how it was going, I might go into my Clear Creek Trail run and see how fit I was. It’s the only trail on which I keep a pr time and I know splits along the trail to see how I’m progressing. I hit my first split about 30 seconds faster than my I did on my pr time for the course and since I haven’t been running, can attribute this only to the lost weight. I wondered how much longer I would be able to hold the pace since I lacked any base…but I didn’t have to wonder long. At the 23-minute mark reality began to set in. I really shouldn’t have been trying to run a course that would take me over 50 minutes when I haven’t been running at all…and have a torn meniscus. I kept telling myself I’d ridden over three hours the night before, but the fact is…that shit don’t matter. To be in shape for running…you must run. I slowed, turned and finished the run fairly strongly, but having gone only 35 minutes…a reasonable amount. The good news is the knee felt strong…and I’m going to crush my previous pr when I return from the Adirondacks.

I arrived at the dock and hopped on board a little after 6 p.m. There was absolutely no breeze, so it looked like we’d be motoring out of the river and into the harbor with little chance of sailing after the hull cleaning. Once anchored, I dove into the water with goggles in hand and prepared for the scrubbing. The water wasn’t clear enough to see the hull, so we dove beneath it and felt for the scum we needed to scrub off for the boat to perform most efficiently in the coming races. I must have held my breath and made fifty trips beneath the boat before we were finished…which is some kind of workout though not one I’m sure how to classify. The biggest challenge was getting back on the deck of the boat…which sat about five feet above the water…without using the ladder. I got both hands on the deck and once I did that, knew I’d be able to make it. I was able to pull my chest even with the deck and swing a leg up and on it. After that, it was only a matter of time before I’d pulled the rest of my body from the water. There is no way I could have done this two months ago…the Survival Workout and all the pull-ups and lifting was the difference. It didn’t hurt that I’ve lost 20 pounds either.

I tried to do some paddle boarding, which is standing on something about the size of a surf board and paddling while you stand. The balance is tricky in waves…at least for me it was…and I couldn’t get the speed I did when kayaking so for me there was little attraction. I’m told it’s a great workout for the core, though I didn’t really see that in the short time I was on it, but it certainly works the balancing muscles. The good boards run well north of $1,000…for which I could get a decent sea kayak which I would find to be much more versatile. I like carrying camping gear on occasion and I particularly like to have my camera along for tooling down a river and shooting wild life…neither of which would be practical on the paddle board. I suppose they have a limited use and if you’ve got the discretionary dough…okay.

I finished the night with an interesting Paleo dinner. I baked some tuna, scrambled some eggs and cut up a garden fresh tomato and put it all together. Not too bad…filling and low calorie.

Run workout: 35 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 140 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 600.