http://nikeplus.nike.com/nikeplus/v1/swf/scrapablewidget/rundetail.swf

I continued doing the “Week 2” program for “Week 3” because my endurance just hasn’t built up yet. It’s been rough, too, in the Chicago heat. I played with the time of day that I did my program, as well as what I ate, and where I went. The lakeshore offered very little protection from direct sunlight, but offered gravel and asphalt. The streets going up to Rogers Park from Edgewater offered shade, but concrete sidewalks and street traffic. Trying to do the program after a late night of beers and friends was near disastrous. Even worse was going along the lakeshore at high noon.

I ended the week with two programs solidly over 2 miles in 30 min. My endurance got a bit better, as did my breathing and posture. I’m probably going to continue at my current plan, but try to expand it a little so I can do the Week 3 properly around actual Week 5. I think I’ll do better in the cooler mornings of Seattle, and I also think that doing some strength training or stretching (yoga?) on my off days will be beneficial. I’m not sure how this will work with diving, which is also pretty intense at times, but I’ll find out, I’m sure.

Tomorrow I pack up and do my last little things and then on Tuesday I head back to Seattle. It’s been a fun trip – very tiring, though. I think another thing that’s kicked my butt has been the walking around the city when I wasn’t intending to exercise. I failed at having a bunch of time to myself during my trip, however I find that the wealth of friends I have here have given me more than enough things to chew on in my brain to set me up for some good thinking when I get home.