Sometimes, it's nice to not have a fixed goal out there

Usually, I thrive on races. It's not the race itself that matters so much, but rather the focus that a race gives to my training. Right now, I have no target race. I'm simply working on staying fit, trying to lose some body fat, and waiting for my hamstring to get better.

So, while I start each week with a training plan for the week, I can change things around whenever it's convenient. Yesterday, for example, I was planning to do a lower body lifting workout. But, I was still sore from my Thursday lifting workout, so I decided to ride my bike instead.

I decided I'd ride for about two hours and had a really nice ride. I pushed a bit harder than I'd planned and I was tired by the end, but it was a good workout. After the ride, I goofed off for the rest of the day. My wife and daughter are still out of town, so my son and I had a relaxing day. I did some work, watched a movie, cleaned the kitchen, and watched a baseball game on TV.

My wife ran 27:10 in her 5K on Saturday. Her goal was sub-27, which would have been a 40+ PR for her (she ran 27 flat at this same race 7 years ago when she was 40), but she couldn't quite pull it off. After that race, she decided to stay at her parents' camp a bit longer and skip the race this morning. I was only going to go to the race because she wanted to run, so today's workout was suddenly changed. So, I decided I'd do my lower body lifting day today since I'm finally not sore.

Then, this morning, while I was waking up and stretching a bit, I managed to do something to my right (non-injured) hamstring. You know you're getting old when you can pull a muscle in bed while doing nothing at all.

It's just a minor tweak to the hamstring, but I'll play it safe. So now, my plan is to do an upper body lifting day today and then lower body tomorrow. After I lift, I'll mow the lawn. What an exciting life I lead!

The PRP treatment for my hamstring is in two days. After the treatment, I'll have to take it easy for about two weeks or so. Even though my training has not been targeted to an event, I'm still working hard almost every day of the week. I think some forced rest, or at least some easier training days, will be good for me right now.

Last week, I lifted four times, rode my bike twice for a total of 3.5 hours, and ran once for 90 minutes. That's about nine hours of training. I'm enjoying the variety in my training right now, but I'd really like to get back to being a runner.