Nude Numbers are my weekly progress reports on my fitness goals. See About Running Naked for the philosophies involved.

Summary

Week 7 of the winter plan. I’m broadly on track, but nagging pains are telling me to cut back for a week or two. And so that’s the plan. Read on for more if you care.

Subjective Data

It was a heavy (85% RM) lifting week, and I’m exhausted writing this. I took an extra rest day at the start of the week (Monday) but then kept working hard through the rest of the week. On Friday, I cut out of work a little early (5:30pm) and went nuts (see the data if you’re really curious). Still, it was a fun week.

I have a weird pain in my left knee (after Yoga yesterday) which hopefully will go away soon, and a tightness/soreness in my right hamstring/adductor area that is annoying me a little (nothing too serious though). My one run this week was in Central Park (the weather in New York was unseasonably pleasant) and I was reminded that hard-street running is harder on my foot than the thread-mill.

My swimming kick isn’t as strong as I thought it was, and my long-swim on Tuesday really exhausted my upper body (which is pulling most of the weight). So Saturday I restricted my swim to just the kickboard, and I’ll keep trying that for a few more Saturdays to get the feel.

My eating stayed good all week – that eating 6-times-a-day thing is really working for me right now.

Objective Data

Blue lines == actuals; Gray areas == my target range for that week.

Assessment

The appearance of some pain is not very surprising (I’m not that young anymore), and does mean I should cut back a little. On the bright side, the plan calls for that anyway, so it’s good timing. I have to be careful to not let good weather make me run outside for now, so shame on me for doing that this week.

Eating is going well, and the data is starting to show that. I need to make sure I don’t lose weight – just stabilize.

But all in, I’m actually quite happy with progress. Swimming is slowly getting better, and I am gaining more muscle than fat.

Plan

I’m going to adjust the plan to be lighter on my legs for the next two weeks, to see if I can get the nagging soreness to abate a little. Specifically it means reduced weights for glutes, hamstrings and adductors, and holding back on climbs in spinning classes. I’ll do no more than 45-50% max-RM during my lifting. I’m going to keep spinning though as it’s the only real cardio work I’ve got going at the moment.

My swimming plan is currently: Tuesday – long swim; Thursday – swim lesson; Saturday – Kicking drills.

The eating plan will continue for at least two more weeks, and then I’ll revisit to see if I should eat more to gain faster.

Reminders

I’m still undecided between running a marathon in New York (November) or in Dublin Ireland. If you’re interested in running either with me, let me know. I’m not going to decide until around April. Also, if anyone is interested in doing the Philly Triathlon (June) with me, you’re welcome to join the team!

Presentation Notes

These notes are always presented in SOAP Note format. Click here for all the Nude Numbers posts.

Thanks for reading.

– Art