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Starting Over in Cardio

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As I explained in the previous post Searching For The Cardio Code, after a very long hiatus, I’m ready to reintroduce cardio training to my fitness plan.

Some would argue that my long urban hikes or my 10,000 steps a day would qualify as cardio, but I am doubtful that my heart rate stays in that (180 – your age) range for an extended period. Seattle and San Francisco have hills and when I hike the streets, my heart rate may jump up enough to qualify as cardio, but only for a few minutes at a time. Also, as I mentioned in a previous post, years of doing SuperSlow HIT with exercises such as the leg press actually keeps my heart rate lower during the hill portion of these hikes.

Injury and Pain are a Concern

The reason I stopped running shortly after college was a pain in my left upper hip. Think of the spot between your belt and pocket. I never figured that pain out and it only went away when I stopped running. Yesterday, after 20 years, I got reacquainted with a mild version of that same pain after just 20 minutes on an elliptical trainer.

Even though my knees are much better than that were in April, they aren’t 100% and I don’t know if they ever will be. The left one still feels spongy when I try to run across a street. Some people say running can protect and strengthen the knees and others say running hurts the knees. I suspect it is a survivorship bias thing and I may be one of the people that running is not good for. But I’d love to be proven wrong, however, I do fear reinjuring my knee. Considering the years I’ve dealt with this problem, I’d rather err on the side of caution.

Cardio Ideas

Here are some ideas and my initial thoughts. Correct me where I get things wrong.

Running

Not an option at this time, maybe never. See above for explanation.

Biking

I would never bike outside in Seattle. I would consider smoking to be a safer activity. I do have access to both types of stationary bikes in the gym. Both bore the hell out of me. I have been doing 5-minutes a few times a week for knee rehab. I’m watching the clock the entire time. My heart rate never gets into the cardio zone and my knee still doesn’t feel 100% comfortable with the movement.

Endless Rope Machine

Unfortunately, the 2 gyms I have access to right now do not have this glorious machine. This would have been a good option for shorter cardio sessions.

Rowing Machine

Dr. Jay from the Cardio Code loves the rowing machine. People I respect in fitness either love or hate this machine for injury risk. I honestly don’t know what to think. It is boring too.

Treadmill

Probably better than running, but not by much. I might experiment with power walking up an incline. If my knees are stable and my heart rate gets high enough, it is a candidate.

Elliptical Machine

Even though I got hip pain yesterday, this may have potential. My knees were happy. Too soon to tell.

Swimming

My new gym has a pool and I’m a decent swimmer, so this has potential. The only downside is depending on how crowded the gym is, my access to a pool lane will be less than certain. This would be a good backup choice.

Aerobic Dance

Never going to happen. Next.

Hiking

I love hiking, but I would need to travel to get to a trail where there was enough elevation to keep my heart rate up for 20+ minutes. For normal people that don’t know the power of HIT, there are hikes close by that would work for them, but not for me.

Stairs

I do have access to a very long set of outdoor stairs near my house. I’ll add them to the list.

Weighted Vest

Perhaps a Weighted Vest is an ideal way to get the heart rate up without increasing the speed of the cardio? Walking with a weighted vest is likely going to be better on my knees than running without one. Does that sound correct? It would need to be cheap. I see some on eBay. Wonder how many pounds I would need?

Your Thoughts

If you were me and my knees, what would you do for cardio? I will ease into cardio on both time and times per week. My motivation is to expand my fitness. I won’t continue if I’m in pain. If I can listen to podcasts that is a huge plus.

swimming

Photo by Marcus Ng

The Runner 1989-1995

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Back in 2002, I assembled all the photos and stats from my running days.

During my first year of college (1988) I had knee surgery to correct a condition known as Osgood-Schlatter’s Disease. I was forced to wear a full leg cast during my recovery. It was then I started to miss running. Later that year, I volunteered to work the finish line of the Columbus Marathon. Watching runners of all ages and abilities complete the race was my inspiration to run the marathon the next year.

Below is an overview of the most important races that I competed in from 1989 through 1995.

Date Race Where Distance Time
11/12/89 Columbus Marathon Columbus, OH 26.2 miles 3:41:56
07/03/92 Independence Day 10K Columbus, OH 6.2 miles 0:40:40
10/11/92 Columbus Marathon Columbus, OH 26.2 miles 3:33:51
02/18/95 Gasparilla 15K Tampa, FL 9.3 miles 1:14:57
03/25/95 Cha Cha Coconutman St. Pete, FL sprint triathlon 1:26:08
04/15/95 Clearwater 10K Clearwater, FL 6.2 miles 43:30
04/30/95 St. Anthony Triathlon St. Pete, FL olympic triathlon 2:45:24

Sprint Triathlon: Swim 0.5 mile, Bike 15.5 miles, Run 3.1 miles
Olympic Triathlon: Swim 0.9 mile, Bike 24.9 miles, Run 6.2 miles

1989

My first race ever was the 1989 Columbus Marathon. I’m sure most runners start off with a shorter race, but all I wanted to run was the marathon. My training for the race wasn’t consistent or even intelligent. Prior to the race the longest distance I had ran was just 13 miles. Although I wasn’t physically prepared for the race, I was mentally. Since the year before all I could think about was completing this race.

marathon-1989-mas

Little did I know that I would do it under 4 hours. In fact I ran the the race faster than my family expected. So after the race I spent 90 minutes walking around downtown looking for them.
marathon-1989-mas-2

marathon-1989-mas-3

After the race, winter came to Columbus. I stopped training and got out of shape. When the next year came I tried a few races, but I performed terribly. After I ran one marathon, I no longer wanted it as bad. My heart was no longer in it.

In 1991, although I still fancied myself a runner, I didn’t compete in any races. By the time the spring of 1992 rolled around I was starting to sound like an old high-school football player recounting the glory days when I mentioned the 1989 marathon. It was then I started to think that my 1989 sub-4 hour marathon was a fluke and that I needed to prove myself one more time. 1992 was to be a make or break year for me.

1992

Unlike 1989, I decided it would be wise to run a few races prior to the marathon. The one I remember the most was the Independence Day race. It was hilly and very hot. And I ran my fastest 10K ever and earned a 2nd place trophy for my age group. I was back!

The 1992 Columbus Marathon turned out to be my best race ever. Not only did I finish in under 4 hours again, but I beat my 1989 time by 8 minutes. My per mile pace was 8:10.

marathon-1992

marathon-1992

cols_1992_finish_close

In 1993, I started getting hip pain whenever I ran. This pain continues to this day. In 1994, I decided to reduce the amount of running I did and pick up biking and swimming in order to transition to the triathlon. I moved to Tampa Bay and started triathlon training in June of that year.

1995

What I realized when I first started training for the triathlon was that I was a great swimmer and terrible biker. My running was decent, but still painful. Unlike marathon running, I didn’t go into triathlons with any time goals. I just wanted to have fun. My first race was the Cha Cha Coconutman Sprint Triathlon.

cha_cha_photo2

cha_cha_photo1

My 2nd race was the St. Anthony, an Olympic distance triathlon. Prior to that I ran the Gasparilla, a 15K road race in Tampa.

15k-run

15k-finish

Doing triathlons never really clicked with me. I enjoyed the two races I did, but I lost interest in the sport in 1995.

Today I no longer run or participate in triathlons. Chalk it up to been there, done that. During my triathlon training I stumbled upon the book Optimum Sports Nutrition by Dr. Michael Colgan. In the book the doctor explained how weight training can give endurance athletes a competitive edge. I used that wisdom and started lifting weights as a way to avoid the pain of running. Before long I ended up enjoying weight training far more than running. So in 1995 I unofficially retired from running.

medals350