Elliptical high score

Went to the gym yesterday with the intention of doing some treadmill running/walking, a 1 minute on, 4 minutes off kind of deal-- I'm feeling like I'm ready for something like that. plus the elliptical is getting pretty stale. But I forgot to wear my running shoes, which have been buried for a while, so I stepped up to the elliptical yet again.... 27 minutes later, I had bested my elliptical PR. I keep track of this stuff....I'm so cool! it was set last March while watching the Bourne Identity at the end of my marathon recovery period. The action scenes helped in that case. In this case, I somehow bested my pre-surgery PR. Do they recalibrate those machines? Seriously. Or could it be my generalized frustration coupled with work stress? At any rate, I'll take it as a sign that my cardio work is paying off.

Last Sunday I gave Christina a pass to sleep in and took Banjo out for a long walk to the turtle pond at UT. Do they hibernate? Banjo wasn't too disappointed they weren't there though. I walked for 45 minutes, probably 2.5 miles or so. 45 minutes was way more than I've done before (roughly 2x) and I was expecting repercussions, but haven't noticed any. My hip is responding well lately.

Update wed: did a tad over 12 miles on the bike. Went from my house to Great Northern/Shoal Creek and back again. Austin marathoners are familiar with this route. Averaged 16.7 mph including stops. Hip felt good.

Thurs: I was near the trail this afternoon, so I put on some running clothes and did a 30 minute run/walk, 1 minute on, 4 off, for a total of 6 minutes of slow running. It was really cold. Hip felt OK, not great, and I'm glad I didn't try anything tougher, and I may wake up sore tomorrow. I'll probably do the same workout next thurs and see if it feels better before advancing to a 1/3 run/walk. This is my first official post-surgery "run"-- I'm happy, I guess, but again, it's clear that it's gonna take a long time......I'm still thinking that hip surgery is kind of a bitch.

Fri: Later in the day Thurs, the hip was a little stiff and I was expecting the same or worse this morning, but it was only a little bit sore when I got up-- honest. Went to the gym and did 40 reps of 70 pound squats and then 21 minutes on the stairs. Hip felt good.