Fitness data

Yesterday was a picture perfect summer day on the Island so after the days work was finished Sheryl and I headed to the beach to enjoy some of the clear blue skies while she walked and I went for a run. The Gulfshore parkway is a wonderful stretch of road perfect for a Sunday afternoon run. And if you keep going from the Cavendish boardwalk until New Glasgow, you could enjoy a nice post run feast at the New Glasgow Lobster suppers – something I will consider for later in the season.

While the weather was perfect, my run was less so. The whole 12k was a struggle, not just due to my now chronic Achilles issues, but also a seeming inability to keep going. The blame is in part mental, it can be hard to enter that zen like state where you forget the discomfort of running. 10+k has always been my sweet spot. I’d just put on my shoes and go, with little to no thought. So I was surprised at how difficult the run felt. I shouldn’t have been, as the charts below suggest, for distance running I am completely out of shape.

Running distance – my distances this past year pale in comparison to years past

Time spent on Crossfit

Health data is a wonderful thing. I can track trends and make correlations – like how my BP has taken a surprising spike along with a decrease in sleep and an increase in weight. In the case illustrated above, I can see that despite continuing to spend roughly the same amount of time focusing on fitness, the amount of time I have spent on my feet has decreased dramatically. Having good cardio fitness is only one part of running and CrossFit doesn’t focus enough on endurance.

I can expect more discomfort until my legs adjust to the increase in mileage, and if my Achilles holds, I should be back to my old self in September.