Some Fun Races Coming Up

I’m really looking forward to the next 3 weekends because I have some fun races and race-related activities coming up. I should be terrified because I haven’t been doing the training that I should but I really think that getting out and being around other athletes at races is going to be great inspiration for me. Plus, just seeing how bad I feel after racing while untrained should motivate me to do more regular training than I have been doing.

I’m really excited about this weekend’s event. I’m volunteering at one of the exchanges for the Ragnar Relay. I think being part of this environment and seeing everyone’s fun and excitement as they come through my exchange is going to be a great introduction to this event and I’m hoping to compete next year. I’m going to bring along my Compex, extra pads, and some cleansing wipes and plan to offer a Compex test to runners as they come through.

The next two weekends, I’ll be using Compex for myself. First, I’m doing the Half-Full Triathlon on October 3rd. It’s almost a half-ironman distance but with a shorter swim, so very good for me, especially with as little swimming as I have been dong since my last race in June. Then, I’ll need to recover to be ready for my first cyclo-cross race of the season on October 9. I’m really glad that I’ll have the Compex to use during the week between these two races to help my undertrained muscles recover from the first effort and get ready for the second.

I also started playing with my video camera and have a short clip of me using the Endurance program on my quads. I’ll try to make some more videos: maybe I can do a compilation of Ragnarians enjoying the treat.

Not My Half Marathon

This isn’t about me but about one of my friends/clients. He’s been borrowing my Compex on and off as he trains this summer. On Sunday, he ran his first half-marathon (2:07, very good and in line with what we expected). After the race he texted me with his results - and a question about coming over to borrow the Compex. He went home first, took an ice bath (and a shower!) then came over for an hour of Recovery Plus on his quads, hamstrings, and calves. (I was glad I had some unused pads to share!) He’s definitely thinking about whether he can afford to buy one for himself! Until then, I’m sure he’ll continue to stop by whenever he needs some Compex recovery.

Restarting

I’ve been doing my best to return to regular training over the last couple of weeks - the fact that I have a marathon in two months should be enough to scare me but with everything else that’s been going on, it hasn’t quite gotten me there. But I did something, so I’m proud of myself for getting started. I’ve done yoga and pilates, an easy bike ride, and some easy short runs. I also used my Compex Sport Elite to do two endurance workouts each week for each of quads, traps, and hamstrings and to do some nice active recovery each evening. Oh, and I’ve been doing my key core exercises almost every day - between that and Compex, I should be able to avoid getting hurt.

One of the nice things that I can report is that I’m not feeling sore at all. Given that I also picked up extra hours at the bike shop - that is eight-hour days on my feet - I’m pretty happy. And while my runs aren’t phenomenal, I was pleasantly surprised by the pace that I was able to maintain with the level of effort that I was expending.

Keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll have even more good news and progress next week!