After returning home on the bike, I put my running shoes on and did my weekly 40 minute run. Normally these are done on Tuesdays - but with things a day off schedule this week, it fell on Wednesday.
This was also another opportunity for a brick workout. It took a good mile and a half before my legs became accustomed to running from cycling. During that mile and a half, my legs certainly felt heavy and brick-like. I was thinking that my pace is probably really slow, and I felt like my body was exerting a lot of effort for the speed I was going at.
A quick look at my HR monitor proved otherwise. While my legs felt slow, I was keeping a decent pace, and my HR was staying constant around 150 bpm. I concluded that maybe one of the reasons these bike/run brick workouts make it seem like the running portion is so laborious is because you are used to cycling at 4 min/mile speeds - so going down to something like 9-10 min/mile seems very slow by comparison.
Also, since my legs had taken some punishment recently (the 50 mile bike ride, the 11 mile run the other day, the combo bike/run on this day), I decided to forego and hills or intervals. I can do intervals on Friday - the other weekly running day.
Total Distance: 4.3 miles
Total Time: 41:20
Avg HR: 150
Thursday, April 30, 2009
34 Miles cycling (commute) - 4/29
Today was the first day of the season that I rode my bike to work. I needed a couple good rides to loosen up the clipless pedals, and to get confidence in how I would handle intersections where it is required to stop and get going again. I find I clip back into the pedals relatively easily about 30% of the time - most of the time I still have to look down to make sure the pedal isn't upside down, or to make sure my foot is in the right position to get the cleat positioned correctly. So the confidence I needed doesn't necessarily come from a high percentage of getting the shoe back in the pedal right away - but more the fact that I'm confident I can get moving, get out of the way of any traffic behind me, continue peddling with the other foot, while getting the clipped out foot clipped back in.
Other then the fact it was the first commute in on the bike this year, nothing too special. Seventeen miles in, a full work day, and seventeen miles out.
Ride In: 1:07:23
(no HR info)
Ride Home: 1:09:21
Avg HR: 145
Other then the fact it was the first commute in on the bike this year, nothing too special. Seventeen miles in, a full work day, and seventeen miles out.
Ride In: 1:07:23
(no HR info)
Ride Home: 1:09:21
Avg HR: 145
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
11 mile run - 4/27
I'm beginning to convince myself (although I already knew it in the back of my mind) that going slow initially is the key.
I first experienced this during the half marathon when we were forced to go at a 10:30-11 min/mile pace for the first mile to mile and a half. I was surprised how we were able to settle into a 9 minute mile pace at a nice HR of 150. I attributed it to race day adrenaline, cool weather, first activity of the day, and starting slowly. I may not have realized how much a factor starting slowly was.
On today's run, I finally found it in me not to submit to unconscious desires to pass the 1 mile mark at around 8:30 to 9 minutes. Part of it may have been some lingering fatigue from the bike ride - but whatever it was, by the time I reached the 2nd mile mark, I was doing around 10 min/miles and my HR was easily being maintained at around 150.
This is compared to other times that I try to go slow, and find myself fighting to keep my HR down after the 2nd or 3rd mile.
So on todays run, the miles kept going by, and the HR stayed right around 150. It'd creep up a bit on an uphill, but I was shocked how quickly it came right back down. It occured to me that I've heard before that it takes about 20 minutes for your body to start using fat as an energy source. Without going into the details on my thought process here, I am thinking that staying well within the aerobic zone during that first 20 minutes, until the body has started to convert fat into energy, has a huge impact on keeping your HR down and therefore keeping your body's exertion level from getting higher than desired. The end result was that even around mile 8-10, I was easily able to keep a HR of 150 or so, and I was actually able to speed up a little bit.
I also did take a couple breaks during the run. After about 45 minutes, I did a 2 minute walk break, and after another 15-20 minutes, I stretched for about 2 minutes. Towards the very end, on a section where there is a good sized hill, I ended up walking for about a minute after cresting the top of the hill. According to the Galloway plan, these long runs should have walk breaks in them - and since the point of these long runs is to build up aerobic capacity and not speed - I'm ok with it.
Total Distance: 10.7 miles
Total Time: 1:53:29
Avg HR: 147
I first experienced this during the half marathon when we were forced to go at a 10:30-11 min/mile pace for the first mile to mile and a half. I was surprised how we were able to settle into a 9 minute mile pace at a nice HR of 150. I attributed it to race day adrenaline, cool weather, first activity of the day, and starting slowly. I may not have realized how much a factor starting slowly was.
On today's run, I finally found it in me not to submit to unconscious desires to pass the 1 mile mark at around 8:30 to 9 minutes. Part of it may have been some lingering fatigue from the bike ride - but whatever it was, by the time I reached the 2nd mile mark, I was doing around 10 min/miles and my HR was easily being maintained at around 150.
This is compared to other times that I try to go slow, and find myself fighting to keep my HR down after the 2nd or 3rd mile.
So on todays run, the miles kept going by, and the HR stayed right around 150. It'd creep up a bit on an uphill, but I was shocked how quickly it came right back down. It occured to me that I've heard before that it takes about 20 minutes for your body to start using fat as an energy source. Without going into the details on my thought process here, I am thinking that staying well within the aerobic zone during that first 20 minutes, until the body has started to convert fat into energy, has a huge impact on keeping your HR down and therefore keeping your body's exertion level from getting higher than desired. The end result was that even around mile 8-10, I was easily able to keep a HR of 150 or so, and I was actually able to speed up a little bit.
I also did take a couple breaks during the run. After about 45 minutes, I did a 2 minute walk break, and after another 15-20 minutes, I stretched for about 2 minutes. Towards the very end, on a section where there is a good sized hill, I ended up walking for about a minute after cresting the top of the hill. According to the Galloway plan, these long runs should have walk breaks in them - and since the point of these long runs is to build up aerobic capacity and not speed - I'm ok with it.
Total Distance: 10.7 miles
Total Time: 1:53:29
Avg HR: 147
Sunday, April 26, 2009
50 Mile bicycle ride - 4/25
Today I guess I was feeling a bit masochistic, so instead of working back up to 50 miles on the bike (where the only ride I have done up to this point this year was last weekend 17 miles) - I went straight for the 50 mile ride.
I did the loop around the Wachusett Reservoir, and I had plans to go with someone else, but they ended up falling through. It was probably for the best, because that allowed me to go at my own pace.
The last time I had done this loop, I remember being very fatigued after only an hour and a half - a result of starting out too fast. This time I did a much better job of pacing myself, but I did run across something interesting. I left with 2 bottles of gatorade, and went through the first one within the first hour and twenty minutes or so. That wasn't anything note-worthy - but I stopped at a Cumberland Farms and refilled by gatorade bottle with regular water. My plan was to have the water next, and space out the gatorade consumption.
This is where things got interesting. The next portion of the ride had quite a bit of uphill. By the time I got around the reservoir (probably a good 45 minutes later), I was in rough shape. My legs were incredibly fatigued from going uphill, and I was exhausted. Unfortunately I was only around 1/2 through the trip. Once the bottle of regular water was out, I started drinking the gatorade again. After about 15 minutes, I started feeling better again. It may have been somewhat related to a bit of a break that some downhill provided - but I think a major effect was the replenishment of electrolytes and fluids. Afterall, it was the hottest part of the day, by that time (1-2 pm, on the first 75+ degree day of the year).
By the time I got to Northboro center, my bottles were pretty much empty, and I had to make a second stop to get more gatorade. I also got a Twix bar - I just wanted to make sure I had plenty of energy. The ride back was fine, although I was still tired. But I was not anywhere near the rough shape I was in previously.
Total Cycling Time: 3:19:34
Total Distance: 47 miles
Avg HR: 153 (this includes about 15 minutes total of rest)
It was definately an ass-kicking ride. It took a few hours and a nice solid meal before I felt relatively recovered - but I'm sure I'll have some soreness for a couple days.
I did the loop around the Wachusett Reservoir, and I had plans to go with someone else, but they ended up falling through. It was probably for the best, because that allowed me to go at my own pace.
The last time I had done this loop, I remember being very fatigued after only an hour and a half - a result of starting out too fast. This time I did a much better job of pacing myself, but I did run across something interesting. I left with 2 bottles of gatorade, and went through the first one within the first hour and twenty minutes or so. That wasn't anything note-worthy - but I stopped at a Cumberland Farms and refilled by gatorade bottle with regular water. My plan was to have the water next, and space out the gatorade consumption.
This is where things got interesting. The next portion of the ride had quite a bit of uphill. By the time I got around the reservoir (probably a good 45 minutes later), I was in rough shape. My legs were incredibly fatigued from going uphill, and I was exhausted. Unfortunately I was only around 1/2 through the trip. Once the bottle of regular water was out, I started drinking the gatorade again. After about 15 minutes, I started feeling better again. It may have been somewhat related to a bit of a break that some downhill provided - but I think a major effect was the replenishment of electrolytes and fluids. Afterall, it was the hottest part of the day, by that time (1-2 pm, on the first 75+ degree day of the year).
By the time I got to Northboro center, my bottles were pretty much empty, and I had to make a second stop to get more gatorade. I also got a Twix bar - I just wanted to make sure I had plenty of energy. The ride back was fine, although I was still tired. But I was not anywhere near the rough shape I was in previously.
Total Cycling Time: 3:19:34
Total Distance: 47 miles
Avg HR: 153 (this includes about 15 minutes total of rest)
It was definately an ass-kicking ride. It took a few hours and a nice solid meal before I felt relatively recovered - but I'm sure I'll have some soreness for a couple days.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Swimming: 1800 Yards - 4/25
For a while I've been wanting to get into a proper lap pool, partially because the sprint triathlon in Sudbury has its swimming portion in a pool, and partially because I wanted to have some sort of calibration information on what my swimming speed is. While the endless pool is a great tool, it's very difficult to get distance information out of it.
Another reason I wanted to do some swimming in either a pool or open water is because I have been suspicious that swimming in an endless pool is significantly different than a traditional pool. It's hard to explain - but the best I can do is say that there's a difference in effort swimming against a current than there is in propelling yourself through the water. Sure, you can increase the speed of the endless pool, but its not quite the same. No matter what the countercurrent flow rate, if you just let yourself float in an endless pool, you will drift at a slower rate than the counter current. As it turns out, my suspicions were right.
Thats not to say the endless pool is still not a phenominal tool - but it is important to realize it is just that - a tool. And like all tools, there is a right way and a wrong way to use it.
Anyhow - this morning I ventured over to the Atkinson pool in Sudbury. I chose this location because its where the sprint tri takes place, but also because it sounded like more of a workout type environment (based on the web site), as opposed to a pool at a Y or a gym. The nice thing about this pool is that it pretty much always have lanes open for lap swimming.
So - here are the results:
Lap 1 - 400 Yds - 9:23 (distance of the sprint tri swim, just to get an idea)
Lap 2 - 100 Yds - 1:46
Lap 3 - 400 Yds - 8:01 (timed in 50 Yd sections to measure how pace changes)
Lap 4 - 100 Yds - 1:57
Lap 5 - 100 Yds - 1:53
Lap 6 - 100 Yds - 1:53
Lap 7 - 200 Yds - 4:13 (mostly for practice of flip turns)
Lap 8 - 400 Yds - 8:22
So - it takes me about 2 minutes to do 100 Yds. A far cry from what I used to be able to do when swimming in high school - but at least I have a number. Also, I was glad to know that I was able to swim a mile in about 38 minutes total aggregated time (would certainly be a bit longer if done all at once).
Another reason I wanted to do some swimming in either a pool or open water is because I have been suspicious that swimming in an endless pool is significantly different than a traditional pool. It's hard to explain - but the best I can do is say that there's a difference in effort swimming against a current than there is in propelling yourself through the water. Sure, you can increase the speed of the endless pool, but its not quite the same. No matter what the countercurrent flow rate, if you just let yourself float in an endless pool, you will drift at a slower rate than the counter current. As it turns out, my suspicions were right.
Thats not to say the endless pool is still not a phenominal tool - but it is important to realize it is just that - a tool. And like all tools, there is a right way and a wrong way to use it.
Anyhow - this morning I ventured over to the Atkinson pool in Sudbury. I chose this location because its where the sprint tri takes place, but also because it sounded like more of a workout type environment (based on the web site), as opposed to a pool at a Y or a gym. The nice thing about this pool is that it pretty much always have lanes open for lap swimming.
So - here are the results:
Lap 1 - 400 Yds - 9:23 (distance of the sprint tri swim, just to get an idea)
Lap 2 - 100 Yds - 1:46
Lap 3 - 400 Yds - 8:01 (timed in 50 Yd sections to measure how pace changes)
Lap 4 - 100 Yds - 1:57
Lap 5 - 100 Yds - 1:53
Lap 6 - 100 Yds - 1:53
Lap 7 - 200 Yds - 4:13 (mostly for practice of flip turns)
Lap 8 - 400 Yds - 8:22
So - it takes me about 2 minutes to do 100 Yds. A far cry from what I used to be able to do when swimming in high school - but at least I have a number. Also, I was glad to know that I was able to swim a mile in about 38 minutes total aggregated time (would certainly be a bit longer if done all at once).
Thursday, April 23, 2009
5 mile run (intervals) - 4/23
The running program I followed last year had some speed work. The distances started off with 440's (1/4 mile), then got to 880 (1/2 mile), and then finally some mile repeats. I felt like these speed work sessions helped quite a bit, so I've been anticipating them being a pretty big part of my marathon training this year.
In looking at the Galloway plan - there are plenty of speed work sessions, but they tend to be mile repeat distances. While I don't doubt that these are extremely helpful when talking about a 26 mile race - I feel like it might be beneficial to work up to that kind of distance. It's probably more of a mental hurdle than a physical one - but if I can do something to help make those later workouts harder and more beneficial - then I mine as well give it a shot.
So today I decided to take one of these 35-40 minute mid-week runs, which are generally reserved for various drills (cadence, acceleration gliders, hills, etc) and so some speed work.
I started out figuring I'd just do some fartlek's - randomy speeding up and slowing down when I felt like it. However, after the first fast session, I decided to go with more of a structured interval regiment. Part of the reason is that I find it more helpful to have a time goal for the faster portions, as opposed to the fartlek methodology which is to speed up and slow down as you see fit. My problem with that method is that I don't want to speed up because it's more effort!
So as I was slowing down from my first interval, I decided I'd walk in between the intervals, as opposed to just slowing down the jogging speed. The reason for this was because I've found in previous interval runs that if I try to slow down, it takes a long time to recover to the point where I'm rested enough to speed up again. So in a 5 mile run, trying to continuously run, I'd get two maybe three intervals in. Didn't really seem too worthwhile.
However, if I walked in between, I could recover more quickly, and theoretically get more intervals in. More intervals means more time at a higher HR, which means better conditioning. Mine as well give it a shot!
Total Time: 49:17
Total Distance: 5.25 Miles
Avg HR: 157
Being an interval workout, the numbers above tell far from the whole story. However, to dictate each interval time and HR would be laborious, so I'll just sum up the general idea of how the workout went:
Warmup: 9 minutes (about 1 mile)
Running intervals of about 1:30, sustained HR > 170 for about 30-40 seconds
Rest intervals of about 1:30, with ending HR around 130
Cooldown: 6 minutes (about 2/3 mile)
About 12 total intervals
Comparing this time and distance to last Sunday, its nothing spectacular. It's a little bit faster (about 9:20/mile vs 9:40), and the HR is a little lower - but on the other hand last Sundays run was after an hour long bike ride. However, the major difference is that in this run, I was able to get myself into the intense and anaerobic HR training zone about a dozen times. This helps push the limits of what I can handle, which theoretically does more to improve my conditioning as opposed to a more leisurely jog that keeps a constant pace.
In looking at the Galloway plan - there are plenty of speed work sessions, but they tend to be mile repeat distances. While I don't doubt that these are extremely helpful when talking about a 26 mile race - I feel like it might be beneficial to work up to that kind of distance. It's probably more of a mental hurdle than a physical one - but if I can do something to help make those later workouts harder and more beneficial - then I mine as well give it a shot.
So today I decided to take one of these 35-40 minute mid-week runs, which are generally reserved for various drills (cadence, acceleration gliders, hills, etc) and so some speed work.
I started out figuring I'd just do some fartlek's - randomy speeding up and slowing down when I felt like it. However, after the first fast session, I decided to go with more of a structured interval regiment. Part of the reason is that I find it more helpful to have a time goal for the faster portions, as opposed to the fartlek methodology which is to speed up and slow down as you see fit. My problem with that method is that I don't want to speed up because it's more effort!
So as I was slowing down from my first interval, I decided I'd walk in between the intervals, as opposed to just slowing down the jogging speed. The reason for this was because I've found in previous interval runs that if I try to slow down, it takes a long time to recover to the point where I'm rested enough to speed up again. So in a 5 mile run, trying to continuously run, I'd get two maybe three intervals in. Didn't really seem too worthwhile.
However, if I walked in between, I could recover more quickly, and theoretically get more intervals in. More intervals means more time at a higher HR, which means better conditioning. Mine as well give it a shot!
Total Time: 49:17
Total Distance: 5.25 Miles
Avg HR: 157
Being an interval workout, the numbers above tell far from the whole story. However, to dictate each interval time and HR would be laborious, so I'll just sum up the general idea of how the workout went:
Warmup: 9 minutes (about 1 mile)
Running intervals of about 1:30, sustained HR > 170 for about 30-40 seconds
Rest intervals of about 1:30, with ending HR around 130
Cooldown: 6 minutes (about 2/3 mile)
About 12 total intervals
Comparing this time and distance to last Sunday, its nothing spectacular. It's a little bit faster (about 9:20/mile vs 9:40), and the HR is a little lower - but on the other hand last Sundays run was after an hour long bike ride. However, the major difference is that in this run, I was able to get myself into the intense and anaerobic HR training zone about a dozen times. This helps push the limits of what I can handle, which theoretically does more to improve my conditioning as opposed to a more leisurely jog that keeps a constant pace.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Swimming: 8 x 2 min intervals @ 55 - 4/22
This was pretty much the same workout as the other day, but I made sure to keep an accurate count of how many intervals, and at what speed. After a 5 minute warm up at a power setting of 40, I did two intervals at a power setting of 50, followed by 4 at 55, and closing out with 2 at 50.
Warm up (40) - 05:11 Avg HR: 120
Interval 1 (50) - 02:04 Avg HR: 133
Interval 2 (50) - 02:04 Avg HR: 139
Interval 3 (55) - 01:55 Avg HR: 149
Interval 4 (55) - 02:07 Avg HR: 153
Interval 5 (55) - 01:55 Avg HR: 153
Interval 6 (55) - 01:59 Avg HR: 151
Interval 7 (50) - 02:00 Avg HR: 151
Interval 8 (50) - 02:05 Avg HR: 150
Warm up (40) - 05:11 Avg HR: 120
Interval 1 (50) - 02:04 Avg HR: 133
Interval 2 (50) - 02:04 Avg HR: 139
Interval 3 (55) - 01:55 Avg HR: 149
Interval 4 (55) - 02:07 Avg HR: 153
Interval 5 (55) - 01:55 Avg HR: 153
Interval 6 (55) - 01:59 Avg HR: 151
Interval 7 (50) - 02:00 Avg HR: 151
Interval 8 (50) - 02:05 Avg HR: 150
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
40 minute run (4.3 miles) - 4/21
Today was a miserable weather day, and I had actually been planning on skipping on the run. But the rain broke and I decided to go for it. Had the dog not needed exercise, I may very well not have gone. Fittingly enough, the rain started coming down again only a few minutes after I got back.
It was a pretty hard effort run. Not sure whether it was due to the loss of conditioning from being sick, or the humid weather. I felt stronger on the 5 mile run on Sunday - and that was after an hour long bike ride, so I'm inclined to think that it wasn't a conditioning thing as much as it was just one of those days.
Total Time: 38:34
Total Distance: 4.3 miles
Avg HR: 160
It was a pretty hard effort run. Not sure whether it was due to the loss of conditioning from being sick, or the humid weather. I felt stronger on the 5 mile run on Sunday - and that was after an hour long bike ride, so I'm inclined to think that it wasn't a conditioning thing as much as it was just one of those days.
Total Time: 38:34
Total Distance: 4.3 miles
Avg HR: 160
Swimming: 8 x 2 min intervals @ 55 - 4/20
Continuing on the interval training for swimming. The overall workout time may be less than going for 30 minutes straight - but breaking up the workout into segments certainly makes it more interesting.
After a 5 minute warmup, I did a series of 2 minute intervals at a power setting of 55. After a few of these, I reduced the power a little to around 45. I was still only a day or two out of finally feeling above 90%, after being sick for a week, so I wanted to put in a couple rest intervals in.
Warm up (40) - 04:56 Avg HR: 125
Interval 1 - 02:01 Avg HR: 129 End HR: 156
Interval 2 - 02:00 Avg HR: 139 End HR: 157
Interval 3 - 02:00 Avg HR: 138 End HR: 141
Interval 4 - 01:59 Avg HR: 147 End HR: 166
Interval 5 - 02:00 Avg HR: 149 End HR: 158
Interval 6 - 01:57 Avg HR: 136 End HR: 136
Interval 7 - 02:00 Avg HR: 149 End HR: 169
Interval 8 - 02:00 Avg HR: 154 End HR: 169
After a 5 minute warmup, I did a series of 2 minute intervals at a power setting of 55. After a few of these, I reduced the power a little to around 45. I was still only a day or two out of finally feeling above 90%, after being sick for a week, so I wanted to put in a couple rest intervals in.
Warm up (40) - 04:56 Avg HR: 125
Interval 1 - 02:01 Avg HR: 129 End HR: 156
Interval 2 - 02:00 Avg HR: 139 End HR: 157
Interval 3 - 02:00 Avg HR: 138 End HR: 141
Interval 4 - 01:59 Avg HR: 147 End HR: 166
Interval 5 - 02:00 Avg HR: 149 End HR: 158
Interval 6 - 01:57 Avg HR: 136 End HR: 136
Interval 7 - 02:00 Avg HR: 149 End HR: 169
Interval 8 - 02:00 Avg HR: 154 End HR: 169
Sunday, April 19, 2009
5 Mile run - 4/19
Following the bike ride today, I figured I should go for a run, as it had been just over a week since my last run. I didn't feel I was quite up to doing the 11 miles I was supposed to do last week, so I decided to do something on the shorter side just to help get back in the swing of things. It's amazing how a sickness can make you feel so out of it.
The other reason I wanted to do a run was to experience what they call a BRICK workout. BRICK is a term given to running after a bikeride, and the feeling the legs have transitioning. It stand for [B]ike-[R]un-[ICK] - and it definately feels odd. The legs feel kinda leaden and... well, heavy - like they have bricks on them. This feeling lasts for a couple miles, even though the time (at least in this case) per mile may not be substandard.
Total Distance: 5.25 Miles
Total Time: 51:09
Avg HR: 159
The HR is high mostly because I was already warmed up and going from the bike ride, whereas a normal run-only exercise would start at rest. However, there will likely be plenty of chances for these brick workouts over the summer - as I'm hoping to ride my bike to work quite a bit, even on the run workout days (tuesday/thursdays).
The other reason I wanted to do a run was to experience what they call a BRICK workout. BRICK is a term given to running after a bikeride, and the feeling the legs have transitioning. It stand for [B]ike-[R]un-[ICK] - and it definately feels odd. The legs feel kinda leaden and... well, heavy - like they have bricks on them. This feeling lasts for a couple miles, even though the time (at least in this case) per mile may not be substandard.
Total Distance: 5.25 Miles
Total Time: 51:09
Avg HR: 159
The HR is high mostly because I was already warmed up and going from the bike ride, whereas a normal run-only exercise would start at rest. However, there will likely be plenty of chances for these brick workouts over the summer - as I'm hoping to ride my bike to work quite a bit, even on the run workout days (tuesday/thursdays).
16 mile bike ride - 4/19
This past week has been slow for exercise due to my being sick. I was supposed to do an 11 mile run last weekend, but saturday morning I was showing signs of a sore throat. I didn't have a chance to do the run on Saturday, so I thought I might be able to get it in on Sunday. However, by that time I knew I was sick - so I opted to skip the exercise and try and concentrate on staying warm and not putting additional stress on my body.
I was hoping that whatever I had would go away in a few days. Unfortunately, symptoms lasted for the better part of a week. This morning was the first where I woke up and didn't have a pretty bad sore throat. My clue that I was getting over whatever I had was yesterday, when I woke up with a sore throat, but which got better throughout the day.
So anyway - today was also a nice enough day that I could finally go for that elusive first bike ride of the season. There were a few reasons I had been pining for a bike ride. First was that I had recently gotten clipless pedals, and I wanted some real life practice is using them, as I've never used that type of show/pedal system before. I had been waiting for a relatively light traffic day to do so, so that the pressure to get moving at intersections would be a bit lower. Basically I just needed to start building my confidence at using them. The other reason I needed to go for a ride relatively soon is because of the sprint triathlon coming up - I hadn't biked all year and I needed to do at least something.
So I did a relatively short stint - halfway to work and back. It included a couple different types of intersections - some I was able to clip out, wait my turn, and clip back in in due time with no issues - other intersections I ended up clipping out of both sides and walking the bike a bit. One thing is for certain, though - its a good thing the cleats on the shoes are replaceable - because there's a good chance I'll be wearing through this original set relatively quickly.
Total Distance: 15.7 miles
Total Time: 1:02:15
Avg HR: 156 (doesn't include the first 12 minutes or so, as I had forgotten to start the HR monitor right away)
I was hoping that whatever I had would go away in a few days. Unfortunately, symptoms lasted for the better part of a week. This morning was the first where I woke up and didn't have a pretty bad sore throat. My clue that I was getting over whatever I had was yesterday, when I woke up with a sore throat, but which got better throughout the day.
So anyway - today was also a nice enough day that I could finally go for that elusive first bike ride of the season. There were a few reasons I had been pining for a bike ride. First was that I had recently gotten clipless pedals, and I wanted some real life practice is using them, as I've never used that type of show/pedal system before. I had been waiting for a relatively light traffic day to do so, so that the pressure to get moving at intersections would be a bit lower. Basically I just needed to start building my confidence at using them. The other reason I needed to go for a ride relatively soon is because of the sprint triathlon coming up - I hadn't biked all year and I needed to do at least something.
So I did a relatively short stint - halfway to work and back. It included a couple different types of intersections - some I was able to clip out, wait my turn, and clip back in in due time with no issues - other intersections I ended up clipping out of both sides and walking the bike a bit. One thing is for certain, though - its a good thing the cleats on the shoes are replaceable - because there's a good chance I'll be wearing through this original set relatively quickly.
Total Distance: 15.7 miles
Total Time: 1:02:15
Avg HR: 156 (doesn't include the first 12 minutes or so, as I had forgotten to start the HR monitor right away)
Friday, April 10, 2009
Swimming: 6 x 2 min intervals @ 55 - 4/10
As I mentioned in a previous post, this week I started doing some interval training in the pool. Previously I had just set the thing on, started swimming and didn't stop for 20, 25 or 30 minutes. The problem is that that gets boring. Real boring. Most of the time, too boring. Once in a while I'd have something bumbling around in my head to keep my occupied, but more often then not it would be just plain boring.
I tried to use the waterproof headphones, but my freakishly small ear canals are proving to be just too much of a hassle. For a few months, I've tried all kinds of variations using soft silicone, and even custom formed silicone ear plugs - to little avail. The best results I had were two times when I was using the included ear plugs with beads of soft silicone, and it kept the water out for 27 minutes. Most of the time, water found its way in after only a few minutes. And once the soft silicone and the skin gets wet - all ability for it it re-adhere is lost and its useless to try and readjust.
So - the interval training allows me to get my swimming workout in, and in a fashion that is more entertaining. The only problem I had during my swim workouts this past week were that I wanted to do an interval for a certain time - but determining when that time passed was difficult. The pool makes too much noise for a countdown timer on my HR monitor to be effective, and the light is too dim for me to be able to see it reliably without fully stopping and checking. So out to Target I went, and got a cheap wall clock (with a second hand - that was very important) that I was able to set on the side of the pool. Now, whenever I went to take a breath - I could glance at the clock and see how far along I was, and therefore when the interval was up. The was pretty much how it worked during swim practices in high school.
These intervals were 2 minutes in length, all at power setting 55, with a 1 minute rest in between.
Warm up (40) - 05:00 Avg HR: 131
Interval 1 - 02:00 Avg HR: 135 End HR: 163
Interval 2 - 01:59 Avg HR: 149 End HR: 164
Interval 3 - 01:57 Avg HR: 152 End HR: 169
Interval 4 - 01:59 Avg HR: 151 End HR: 166
Interval 5 - 02:01 Avg HR: 152 End HR: 164
Interval 6 - 01:59 Avg HR: 154 End HR: 170
Cool down (40) - 03:59 Avg HR: 154 End HR: 164
I tried to use the waterproof headphones, but my freakishly small ear canals are proving to be just too much of a hassle. For a few months, I've tried all kinds of variations using soft silicone, and even custom formed silicone ear plugs - to little avail. The best results I had were two times when I was using the included ear plugs with beads of soft silicone, and it kept the water out for 27 minutes. Most of the time, water found its way in after only a few minutes. And once the soft silicone and the skin gets wet - all ability for it it re-adhere is lost and its useless to try and readjust.
So - the interval training allows me to get my swimming workout in, and in a fashion that is more entertaining. The only problem I had during my swim workouts this past week were that I wanted to do an interval for a certain time - but determining when that time passed was difficult. The pool makes too much noise for a countdown timer on my HR monitor to be effective, and the light is too dim for me to be able to see it reliably without fully stopping and checking. So out to Target I went, and got a cheap wall clock (with a second hand - that was very important) that I was able to set on the side of the pool. Now, whenever I went to take a breath - I could glance at the clock and see how far along I was, and therefore when the interval was up. The was pretty much how it worked during swim practices in high school.
These intervals were 2 minutes in length, all at power setting 55, with a 1 minute rest in between.
Warm up (40) - 05:00 Avg HR: 131
Interval 1 - 02:00 Avg HR: 135 End HR: 163
Interval 2 - 01:59 Avg HR: 149 End HR: 164
Interval 3 - 01:57 Avg HR: 152 End HR: 169
Interval 4 - 01:59 Avg HR: 151 End HR: 166
Interval 5 - 02:01 Avg HR: 152 End HR: 164
Interval 6 - 01:59 Avg HR: 154 End HR: 170
Cool down (40) - 03:59 Avg HR: 154 End HR: 164
30 minute run (3.4 miles) - 4/9
Today was one of those days that I was kinda looking forward to a hard workout, did a reasonable job of getting myself excited for it during the day - but felt a little flat while running. I did the 3.4 mile loop around the house that has some hills (been on a bit of a hill kick ever since the 10k), and felt like I started out a little too fast.
The biggest problem with that particular loop is that it is only like 0.2 miles before the hill starts - which is not enough time to get warmed up. I've considered in the past that I should probably do some sort of warm up prior to doing that loop - but the problem is that sometimes the distance of 3.4 miles, and the hard workout that can be had from it just seems so perfect sometimes. A good, hard workout in 30 minutes is a very enticing idea.
Anyhow, I kept the pace up throughout the run, but didn't feel as strong at the end as I have in the past couple weeks. Not sure whether it was just one of those days, or whether the conditioning from the 10k is wearing off.
Total Time: 28:41
Total Distance: 3.4
Avg HR: 160
Well, now. Here is a perfect example of some days where you feel you dont have it, but when all is said and done, you look back and say 'holy shit!'.
The last time I ran this loop was five days after the 10k, when I ran it and felt really strong at the end. My time during that run was 29:41, with an avg HR of 161. Todays run was about the same HR, but a full minute faster!
The biggest problem with that particular loop is that it is only like 0.2 miles before the hill starts - which is not enough time to get warmed up. I've considered in the past that I should probably do some sort of warm up prior to doing that loop - but the problem is that sometimes the distance of 3.4 miles, and the hard workout that can be had from it just seems so perfect sometimes. A good, hard workout in 30 minutes is a very enticing idea.
Anyhow, I kept the pace up throughout the run, but didn't feel as strong at the end as I have in the past couple weeks. Not sure whether it was just one of those days, or whether the conditioning from the 10k is wearing off.
Total Time: 28:41
Total Distance: 3.4
Avg HR: 160
Well, now. Here is a perfect example of some days where you feel you dont have it, but when all is said and done, you look back and say 'holy shit!'.
The last time I ran this loop was five days after the 10k, when I ran it and felt really strong at the end. My time during that run was 29:41, with an avg HR of 161. Todays run was about the same HR, but a full minute faster!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
28 minute swim - 4/8
Today I continued on developing an interval workout. I started with a 5 minute warm up at the power setting I've typically used (40), followed by a 2 minute interval at a higher setting (55) and 1 minute of rest. After the intervals, I did a 5 minute cool down at the lower power setting.
Unfortunately, I never got down my HR information before I went for a run the next day - but it turned out not to matter all that much because I hadn't started and stopped split times on my watch properly anyway. Basically, it was kind of a test run for this interval idea - and as such, I didn't put too much effort into the details for tracking.
Total Time: 28 minutes
# intervals: 6
Unfortunately, I never got down my HR information before I went for a run the next day - but it turned out not to matter all that much because I hadn't started and stopped split times on my watch properly anyway. Basically, it was kind of a test run for this interval idea - and as such, I didn't put too much effort into the details for tracking.
Total Time: 28 minutes
# intervals: 6
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
30 Minute run - 4/7
Todays run was the same trail run I did the other week, but with adding the 0.2 miles from the house to the trail head. With the wet conditions (from rain the past couple days), it was a bit more trecherous and required stopping and side stepping quite a few muddy spots.
Total Time: 31:10
Total Distance: 2.6 miles
Avg HR: 160
Total Time: 31:10
Total Distance: 2.6 miles
Avg HR: 160
30 minutes swim - 4/6
Today's swim was a little abbreviated (actually came in at 27:29), because I started doing some interval training after about 18 minutes. No real structure yet, so no detail to report.
Total Time: 27:29
Avg HR: 139
Total Time: 27:29
Avg HR: 139
Saturday, April 4, 2009
5 Mile run (MM) - 4/4
I never had a chance to run on Thursday, as I was flying back from Arkansas. My original idea of running Friday instead never came to fruition because I was busy with other life stuff (test driving a car, etc).
So it was probably a good thing that this weekends run was only 5 miles. The Galloway plan does the long runs during the weekend, but initially they are every other week. Once the long runs get to the 13 mile mark, or so, they are every three weeks. Since there was a 9 mile run last week, this weeks run is a tad shorter, so that things can be fully recovered by the time next weeks 11 miler rolls around.
Just for the heck of it, I decided to do a magic mile during todays run. There are weeks in the schedule where these MM's are slotted in, but I kinda wanted to get an idea of my timing at the beginning of the training. The last one I did was in the fall, so while it gave me a general ballpark of what I could expect, too many things have changed between then and now to make it accurate.
Total Distance: 5.25 miles
Leg 1 (2 miles): 17:16 Avg HR: 151
Leg 2 (1 mile/MM): 7:25 Avg HR: 175
Leg 3 (2.25 miles): 22:54 Avg HR: 157
My last MM was at the end of October, where I clocked a 7:01 with a HR of 179. I recall during the last one that I started off too fast, because the latter half of the mile I had to slow down. That is probably part of the reason why the avg HR was 179 - once you get into the anaerobic zone, it takes a long time for the body to transition back. With that in mind, I tried to keep a more constant pace this time around. I felt like I accomplished that - but I think I could have pushed it a bit harder. You are supposed to do these magic miles at a hard enough pace that you don't feel you can maintain the pace for even another 100 yds. Finding that pace in the beginning is very difficult.
Anyway - with a MM of 7:25, the predicted marathon pace (at a hard effort) would be 1.3 times 7:25 - or 9:38 min/mile, or about 4 hours and 12 minutes. Not where I want to be - but I got 6 months to knock about 45 minutes, which translates to a MM of about 6 minutes. Yikes!
So it was probably a good thing that this weekends run was only 5 miles. The Galloway plan does the long runs during the weekend, but initially they are every other week. Once the long runs get to the 13 mile mark, or so, they are every three weeks. Since there was a 9 mile run last week, this weeks run is a tad shorter, so that things can be fully recovered by the time next weeks 11 miler rolls around.
Just for the heck of it, I decided to do a magic mile during todays run. There are weeks in the schedule where these MM's are slotted in, but I kinda wanted to get an idea of my timing at the beginning of the training. The last one I did was in the fall, so while it gave me a general ballpark of what I could expect, too many things have changed between then and now to make it accurate.
Total Distance: 5.25 miles
Leg 1 (2 miles): 17:16 Avg HR: 151
Leg 2 (1 mile/MM): 7:25 Avg HR: 175
Leg 3 (2.25 miles): 22:54 Avg HR: 157
My last MM was at the end of October, where I clocked a 7:01 with a HR of 179. I recall during the last one that I started off too fast, because the latter half of the mile I had to slow down. That is probably part of the reason why the avg HR was 179 - once you get into the anaerobic zone, it takes a long time for the body to transition back. With that in mind, I tried to keep a more constant pace this time around. I felt like I accomplished that - but I think I could have pushed it a bit harder. You are supposed to do these magic miles at a hard enough pace that you don't feel you can maintain the pace for even another 100 yds. Finding that pace in the beginning is very difficult.
Anyway - with a MM of 7:25, the predicted marathon pace (at a hard effort) would be 1.3 times 7:25 - or 9:38 min/mile, or about 4 hours and 12 minutes. Not where I want to be - but I got 6 months to knock about 45 minutes, which translates to a MM of about 6 minutes. Yikes!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
30 minute run (3.4 miles) - 3/31
There aint no hills in Arkansas!
One of the reasons why the Galloway plan piqued my interest is because the runs during the week are not incredibly involved - which suites me well in the cases where I am travelling for work. Cases like this week when I am in Little Rock, AR for a few days.
Fortunately, the hotel I picked is right on the Arkansas river, and there is a bit of a walk/bike/run path along the river. So I didn't have to be stuck between the decision to run on a treadmill, or finding some sort of urban path through streets.
The path along the river, at least in the area where the hotel is, isn't too awful long - but its fine for a relatively short run. So that is what I did today.
Total Distance: 3.4 miles
Total Time: 31:33
Avg HR: 149
The first thing that jumps out is that todays run was just over 9 min/mile, with the HR around 150. This is the goal HR I have for these non-intense workouts, and it is pretty obvious how much of an effect hills (or lack thereof) have during a run. Since the course was very flat, it was pretty easy to maintain a HR of 150, and I was pleasantly surprised that the speed was in the low 9 min/mile, since many of my runs lately have had substantially higher HR (high 150's to low 160's) for the same speed.
One of the reasons why the Galloway plan piqued my interest is because the runs during the week are not incredibly involved - which suites me well in the cases where I am travelling for work. Cases like this week when I am in Little Rock, AR for a few days.
Fortunately, the hotel I picked is right on the Arkansas river, and there is a bit of a walk/bike/run path along the river. So I didn't have to be stuck between the decision to run on a treadmill, or finding some sort of urban path through streets.
The path along the river, at least in the area where the hotel is, isn't too awful long - but its fine for a relatively short run. So that is what I did today.
Total Distance: 3.4 miles
Total Time: 31:33
Avg HR: 149
The first thing that jumps out is that todays run was just over 9 min/mile, with the HR around 150. This is the goal HR I have for these non-intense workouts, and it is pretty obvious how much of an effect hills (or lack thereof) have during a run. Since the course was very flat, it was pretty easy to maintain a HR of 150, and I was pleasantly surprised that the speed was in the low 9 min/mile, since many of my runs lately have had substantially higher HR (high 150's to low 160's) for the same speed.
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