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

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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

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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

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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