Day 445: 95 Flights of Stairs

Though my UP band read differently, I slept lighter than usual. I shifted, rolled and woke briefly to every small sound. I still felt well rested when I woke up so, luckily, it didn’t affect how alert I was to start my day. 

I battled deep soreness on the left side of my mid-back all day long. I’m not sure if I slept wrong, if it’s from my workouts over the past couple of days or a combination of both. 

I tried using a lacrosse ball to get deep into the muscle using a wall at work to apply the pressure. It helped but didn’t break up all of it. 

What I didn’t feel however, was any soreness or pain in my shoulders which is always a good sign. 

I had a productive day in between a few meetings and a vendor lunch which made me happy. It wasn’t a “tackle my to-do list” type of day but I was able to deal with several things on the fly as they came in. 

My final workout before having a rest day tomorrow was focused on cardio and core. 

After stretching out, especially trying to stretch my mid-back, I hopped on the Stairmaster for the first time in over a year. 

In 20 minutes I was able to tackle 95 flights of stairs. My previous personal best was 100 flights. It makes me happy that I am only 5 flights off of my PR with not really focusing on it. 

Both of my stadium races had more flights of stairs than I can ever begin to recount and before next season I want to make sure that they come easier to me than they did this year. 

Once I finished the 95 flights of stairs, I turned to the following core workout along with a suitcase carry as a finisher: 

• Smith Machine Crunch - 1 x 10 reps (45 lbs), 1 x 10 reps (65 lbs), 2 x 10 reps (75 lbs)
• Reverse Crunch - 3 x 20 reps
• Planks - 3 x 60 seconds
• Suitcase Carry - 60 seconds per arm (55 lb dumbbell)

It was my first time ever trying Smith Machine crunches. I’ll have to adjust the weights over the next couple of weeks but I could feel it targeting my abs. By the time I got to the last couple of sets I could really start to feel the weight. 

I had wanted to go for longer with the suitcase carry but my body was exhausted and my grip wasn’t as strong as I’d like it to be. But, even a minute of it is better than not doing it at all. 

Loaded carries are an excellent way to gain muscle, improve grip, burn fat, improve core strength and so much more. Even better is that the exercise can be performed anywhere and has real world application (such as carrying a heavy suitcase). 

When I got home I used my TriggerPoint GRID to try working out the knots in my back and hoping to break up more the soreness in my mid-back. 

Surprisingly I received my ninth round of chemo meds today without any issue. I know, it shocked me too! 

In the morning I’ll go for my Day 28 blood work and then await the green light to start this round on Sunday night. 

Tomorrow is my rest day before attacking back, bis and legs over the next few days.