September 2012

Running

I continued doing a lot of shorter runs throughout September (if 8+ miles per run can be considered short). More importantly I got back on track of running 3-4 times per week. I raced the Forest Park Cross Country Festival, my first race after the epic Howl. Later in the month I gradually started ramping my mileage up in preparation for The Next Ultra in October.

Month | Distance | # Workouts | Avg per Workout
January | 78.06 Mile | 9 | 8.67333 Mile
February | 75.2586 Mile | 9 | 8.36206 Mile
March | 126.15 Mile | 14 | 9.01071 Mile
April | 146.28 Mile | 16 | 9.1425 Mile
May | 166.75 Mile | 18 | 9.26389 Mile
June | 54.83 Mile | 7 | 7.83286 Mile
July | 115.76 Mile | 9 | 12.8622 Mile
August | 91.81 Mile | 9 | 10.2011 Mile
September | 123.61 Mile | 15 | 8.24067 Mile
Total | 978.509 Mile | 106 | 9.23121 Mile

Cycling

Unfortunately, I missed out on Gateway Cup this year. My knee just wasn’t ready for bike racing yet. I took a few more weeks off before starting to get back into the swing of bike racing at Gateway Cross Cup.

Bike | Distance | # Rides | Avg per Ride
Bianchi | 16.65 Mile | 2 | 8.325 Mile
Pocket Rocket | 17.2 Mile | 5 | 3.44 Mile
Thundercougarfalconbird | 11.61 Mile | 1 | 11.61 Mile
Total | 45.46 Mile | 8 | 5.6825 Mile

Month | Distance | # Workouts | Avg per Workout
January | 25.33 Mile | 2 | 12.665 Mile
February | 40.08 Mile | 3 | 13.36 Mile
March | 213.43 Mile | 20 | 10.6715 Mile
April | 253.27 Mile | 23 | 11.0117 Mile
May | 322.147 Mile | 24 | 13.4228 Mile
June | 282.57 Mile | 13 | 21.7362 Mile
July | 260.12 Mile | 16 | 16.2575 Mile
August | 81.87 Mile | 8 | 10.2338 Mile
September | 45.46 Mile | 8 | 5.6825 Mile
Total | 1524.28 Mile | 117 | 13.028 Mile

Walking/Hiking

I found walking and hiking to be the best thing for helping my knee recover. I could stretch out my legs and get blood flowing to the problem areas with no impact and little risk of further injury.

Month | Distance | # Workouts | Avg per Workout
January | 51.53 Mile | 16 | 3.22063 Mile
February | 42.92 Mile | 18 | 2.38444 Mile
March | 41.15 Mile | 14 | 2.93929 Mile
April | 31.89 Mile | 12 | 2.6575 Mile
May | 37.5107 Mile | 13 | 2.88544 Mile
June | 39.4 Mile | 18 | 2.18889 Mile
July | 2 Mile | 2 | Mile
August | 64.99 Mile | 25 | 2.5996 Mile
September | 85.88 Mile | 25 | 3.4352 Mile
Total | 397.271 Mile | 143 | 2.77812 Mile

Stairmaster

And now for something completely different. I found a reasonably priced, high quality, used StairMaster stepper machine on Craigslist and bought it. I have wanted one of these for years. I first started using a machine nearly identical to this during the winters at the UIUC gyms a few years back. I wanted to do it more, but going to the gym was a bit of a hassle. Here in STL I don’t have a gym to go to, and going would still be a hassle. With this machine at home I can use it whenever I want. I’ve mentioned repeatedly how I don’t run on consecutive days as a rule. With this stepper I can get a comparable workout with zero impact on my knees. As a side effect, I’ve already noticed (after less than 20 miles of stepping) that my hill running has dramatically improved. I might just have a chance on the slopes of Volcan Maderas next year…

Month | Distance | # Workouts | Avg per Workout
January | 0 | 0 | 0
February | 0 | 0 | 0
March | 0 | 0 | 0
April | 0 | 0 | 0
May | 0 | 0 | 0
June | 0 | 0 | 0
July | 0 | 0 | 0
August | 0 | 0 | 0
September | 13.85 Mile | 4 | 3.4625 Mile
Total | 13.85 Mile | 4 | 3.4625 Mile