It’s a good thing I had almost 10 weeks of base building underneath me before I started training for the Giretto, or I’d be a hurtin’ puppy right now. As it was, the first two weeks (even while I was waiting on approval from Livestrong I started training in earnest) were pretty painful. I am used to training hard for events and races, but the real concern I had was the pain in my most recent hip replacement. The right hip is almost 10 years old, but the left hip is only 1.5 yrs old – still finding it’s way and settling into my humble abode… or … abody. Hence, my concern has been not will my conditioning stand up – even though it has never been tested at this level – it has been will my hips hold up.

I’m happy to report that during my 3rd week, training harder than the previous 2 weeks, the pain has subsided, and I feel better than ever. I’m making a point also of taking no supplements, no Advil or aspirin of any kind, nothing to mask the pain; I want to listen to my body to know what it feels, how it is responding to the training. It’s not a walk in the park, but the fact that I feel better under more difficult levels of stress gives me a great sense of relief.

As you know, I am a big supporter of the Heart Zones™ system of training. In addition to knowing and understanding the need to manage and structure workouts according to your time in zone, I’ve also begun to use the Heart Zone point system to manage the progression of my training. The graph you see above is how these points have steadily increased this year (base building actually started in December however).

By the way, we use the Fitness Journal online to track literally everything related to our training. I’ve researched a lot of training logs, and this one totally rocks! Maybe I’ll do a post exclusively on their system sometime in the future. You will note on the graph above, the significant jump this week in Heart Zone points. This is actually a bit contrary to Heart Zone principals, of 10% increase per week or so, but this was primarily due to beginning my first outdoor ride this Sunday (since September). This will bump everything up a notch, and we should be able to resume a 10% to 15% rate of increase going forward.

I am also looking now looking for a partner or sponsor to work with to add power to my workouts. These days there are multiple choices, and I want to work with the group that is willing to work with me and our group of athletes and clients at my local club, Global Ride.