I haven't checked my blood pressure in months. I used to keep a close eye on it in the beginning, especially when I decided to stop taking blood pressure shit. Absolute garbage. It doesn't help my trust issues with doctors to have them push that on me. I figured nothing much would change, and there's no point in checking it anymore. That it's down a little bit and that's enough for now.

I took my BP today after spinning. It read 120/78. That's the first normal reading I've had in... probably ever. There's always been one a little high and one a little low. This time they're both in line perfectly. I know one reading, especially one reading right after doing an hour and a half of cardio shouldn't be anything to get excited about. But I am. I know it doesn't mean I'm in the clear, and everything is back to normal, but it's the best news I've gotten yet.

I did my second running session today before spinning. It was sorta to get a bit of a feel of what a duathlon might feel like. It was way too early to try something like that. I will definitely keep my running and riding separate until I'm closer to my first race.

I condensed the warm up and cool down for my running because I was a bit late, and because I would get a chance to cool down after spinning. It definitely felt easier today, but I don't know why. I sped up the machine to 6 mph, for a 10 minute mile or 10 km/h (yes, I know it should have been 6.2). It didn't make things any harder, so I think I'll keep that as my speed. I might even bump it up a little bit. It's comfortable for me.

I logged a bit extra on my HRM today. I'm such a luzr. :) I screwed up on pushing the lap button (again), so some of these are estimates. I really need some practice with it.

rest: 56 bpm
sleep: 37 bpm (!?! is that normal???)
walk: 123 bpm - 5:00
run: 167 bpm - 6.10
walk: 122 bpm - 3:56
run: 174 bpm - 6:00
walk: 2:00
run: 6:00
spinning: 134 bpm - 38:52

I'm very surprised how low the spinning HR is. I didn't get my usual endorphin rush during it, so I probably overdid myself running. I had a bit of one in the last session where I was at 174. That's definitely a little high.

As for pain I'm not too bad right now. I'm very worried about my knee, and I can feel it starting to tease me a little bit, but I'm in much better shape than I was in the last time. I think the spinning right after running helps a lot. I don't know why, but I noticed when I had really bad pain a couple years ago that some light spinning made it feel better. A little strange. I hope it keeps in good shape today.

My right foot on the other hand isn't doing quite so well. Funny how one gets switched with the other. It got very tired from running, and I think forcing it to hold me up on the bike did it in. All this standing up while spinning is brutal on it. I actually had to sit a couple times because it was getting too sore. I'm sure it'll get used to it.

Oddly enough my back feels better than ever. I don't know what's up with that. It seems like the running helped it?!?

It kinda sucks to have to leave right when I'm getting into a proper routine. It'll be a little hard to get right back in where I started. I'm hoping to get back in pretty much where I left off when I get back. There's a gym in the hotel and the castle where we're staying, so I should be able to do something every day for the first week. For the second week it'll be a little harder, but I'll be spending a lot of time walking around. They've got bike tours as well, which would help a little bit (although not at the pace they'll be riding at). I'm sure there will be a bike rental place somewhere, and I'm sure Barcelona is a nice city to ride around if they have bike tours. So now I'm debating whether I should bring my pedals and bike shoes...

Hopefully when I get back my routine will be like this:

Monday: 30 minute run
Tuesday: 45 minute spin
Wednesday: 30 minute run
Thursday: 50 minute spin
Friday: 30 minute run
Saturday: 4 hour ride - LSD (long slow distance)
Sunday: off

That's a lot of stuff. I don't know if it's going to be too much, but the running plan needs three days a week. I might have to can a spin class (probably the Tuesday one). I'll also have to be a bit more disciplined about having a slow ride on Saturday. I always plan on it, and I have been able to keep my HR a bit lower than it was before, but I'm still killing myself out there.

Once I can run 5k in 30 minutes straight, I will cut down to two days a week and start increasing my distance 5-10% a week. I'll probably leave it at 10k and switch to maintaining it, or maybe working on increasing my speed. That's still a couple months off though, so I don't want to worry about it too much. It's just nice to have a plan.