Pair Shaped

Week three is in the books. Over all, solid week. Lebron is out of the NBA playoffs (admittedly an irrational Lebron hater), did my first open water swim in a year, and got in a ride/swim with Ben, who I hadn’t ever trained with before.

Even though I worked out with a friend only 1/7 days this week, I want this post to have a focus on the advantages of working out with someone. Almost all good things come in pairs. A pair of lungs (plug), a pair of legs (plug), a pair of wheels on a bike, and a pair of friends pushing each other to be better and stronger.

There is a massive difference between working out alone and working out with a partner. The days when I am alone and any one of my head, lungs, or legs are’t feeling it and I think I’ve pushed through - It is never as strong of a ‘push through’ had I been doing that same work out with another person.

In 2015 my friend Connor and I ran a marathon together. Talking after our runs we realized we’d often have similar mid run thoughts - “I want to walk so bad right now but I can’t because he isn’t walking, and I am not going to be the guy that needs to walk.“ I’m not sure if you call that accountability or competitiveness, but it was awesome. He and I were able to keep pushing each other without having to say anything.

Along with increased performance, there is something rewarding about getting to know someone while you both suffer, misery loves company I guess. Some of the best conversations have happened during a long run, in the gym, and on bike rides (or immediately following). I don’t know if it is the endorphins, or being with someone for an hour+ outside, but walls come down. Genuine thoughts are shared. It is an amazingly weird bond you create with the person you work out with.

My thought at the end of this week was - I need to be more flexible with my schedule and do workouts with people if possible. Obviously I am not going to be able to do that everyday. Our lives are all far too busy for that. But making it a priority to find someone to get a long run in with or jumping in on someone else’s workout is always beneficial. That way my lungs and legs won’t be the only pair pushing through adversity and getting better as we train.

That was my week and here is the summary of work outs:

Tuesday:

• Run after work

  • 9.08mi - 7:30/mi - 1 hour 8 min

Wednesday:

• Chest and Back / Cycle class

  • Dumbbell Bench 5x10 -> Dumbbell lawn mower row 5x10 (superset)

  • Bosu Ball push Ups 4x15 -> pull ups 4x6 (superset)

  • 1 hour cycle class - Watch not working - ear drums not working after either

Thursday:

• Run before work

  • 8.33mi - 8:18 /mi - 1 hour 9 min

Friday:

• Evening on spinner bike interval training

  • 50min - HR monitor said 109 Avg (definitely wrong) and forgot to start watch till almost half way through

Saturday:

• Tennis / Biceps and triceps / Spinner Bike

  • 30 min playing Tennis with MaK

  • Bar curl 4x10 -> Military bar press 4x10 (superset)

  • Burn out curl/tri extension that I don’t know what to call 3x10

  • Spinner bike 50 min interval (watch was dead)

Sunday:

• Ride to Lifetime Arboretum (cut short due to flat) / Swim / Ride back

  • 6.75mi - Avg speed 15.0 mi/h - Avg HR 135

  • Swim .85mi - Avg Hr 111 (I think wrong again)

  • Ride back ≈ 10mi (forgot to start watch)

Monday:

• Run after work

  • 5.92mi - 7.39 /mi - 45 min - HR avg 160

Goals Last week:

• 20+ miles running -> Ran 23.22

• 5.5 hours on the bike -> Biked 3.87 Hours

• 60 min in the pool -> 27 min

• 60 min of weight training/stretching -> ≈ 60 min lifting/stretching

Goals for this week: (Bit off more than I could chew last week - humbly scaling back)

• 18 miles running

• 5 hours on the bike or 70 Mi

• 60 min in the pool

• 60 min of weight training/stretching