Today's exercise simply continued on the previous swim sessions goals - spend reps on the new mechanics until they start feeling more normal. By the end of the session, having an earlier hand entry definately started feeling more second nature, but I still felt like when I wasn't paying much attention to it, my hand had a tendency to enter too far ahead, so I'm not quite there.
As a way to combat being out of breath during the skating, I tried something else - skating on one side for a few seconds, followed by a switch and skating on the other side. It wasn't quite as effective as I hoped, because I was still not breathing quite as often as my lungs wanted to.
Total distance was about 1300 yds.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
6 Mile run - 6/22
Today I decided to try out a 6 mile run, with the idea that I was interested to see how the heal would respond with the increase in mileage.
Even though it was hot and humid, it was actually one of the more enjoyable long distance runs I've done this year, which is quite a relief. Similar to last weeks 5 miler, I found that my heel was slightly sore for about 1/2 mile, then it went away until the 3.5 - 4 mile mark. Around the 5 mile spot, it started to get a little more aggravated, and I knew that 6 was about all that I should really do (in fact, it may have been pushing it a bit).
Total Distance: 6 miles
Total Time: 58:37
Avg HR: 150
Even though it was hot and humid, it was actually one of the more enjoyable long distance runs I've done this year, which is quite a relief. Similar to last weeks 5 miler, I found that my heel was slightly sore for about 1/2 mile, then it went away until the 3.5 - 4 mile mark. Around the 5 mile spot, it started to get a little more aggravated, and I knew that 6 was about all that I should really do (in fact, it may have been pushing it a bit).
Total Distance: 6 miles
Total Time: 58:37
Avg HR: 150
Monday, June 21, 2010
Swim form practice - 6/21
Last Saturday, the day before the Webster Lake Tri, I had a session with a TI coach. I knew that I had picked up a lot from the TI book and DVD, but still felt like I could make some improvements. The problem I had been dealing with was that I was limited in my feedback that could be used to improve my form - having a third party see my mechanics could potentially provide some tweaks and tips that could improve things.
I was slightly dubious at first, because the session would be in open water, and not the clear water of a pool. But I was pleasantly surprised when, right away, the coach found a couple things that I could improve on:
1) Arm entry was too far ahead. This was causing my mid-section to dip a bit into the water, and increase drag
2) My left arm had a tendency to reach to the center line, instead of straight ahead. The result was that every time the left arm pulled, it would guide me to the right just slightly. Certainly explains why I have had a hard time swimming in a straight line.
3) Practice the skating drill to get muscle memory for where the arm, hand, head and body position should be.
4) Tips to improve sighting
5) Tips to improve swimming around bouys
So with these items in mind, I went to the pool to work on the first three items. I did a few laps of skating on either side to start getting accustomed to that, but found that with kicking providing the only propulsion, I was running out of breath quickly. So my focus became items #1 and #2 - looking for nothing more than just repitition so that the change in mechanics started to feel normal.
I timed every 50 yd lap, and found that each one was consistently around 55 seconds (closer to 50 initially, closer to 58 towards the end). All in all, it was about 1200 yds of swimming.
I was slightly dubious at first, because the session would be in open water, and not the clear water of a pool. But I was pleasantly surprised when, right away, the coach found a couple things that I could improve on:
1) Arm entry was too far ahead. This was causing my mid-section to dip a bit into the water, and increase drag
2) My left arm had a tendency to reach to the center line, instead of straight ahead. The result was that every time the left arm pulled, it would guide me to the right just slightly. Certainly explains why I have had a hard time swimming in a straight line.
3) Practice the skating drill to get muscle memory for where the arm, hand, head and body position should be.
4) Tips to improve sighting
5) Tips to improve swimming around bouys
So with these items in mind, I went to the pool to work on the first three items. I did a few laps of skating on either side to start getting accustomed to that, but found that with kicking providing the only propulsion, I was running out of breath quickly. So my focus became items #1 and #2 - looking for nothing more than just repitition so that the change in mechanics started to feel normal.
I timed every 50 yd lap, and found that each one was consistently around 55 seconds (closer to 50 initially, closer to 58 towards the end). All in all, it was about 1200 yds of swimming.
Webster Lake Triathlon - 6/20/10
This year was the second year I did the Webster Lake triathlon, a sprint distance with a 1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike, and 3 mile run (actually just a bit short of that). Last year I sprained my back, and lost about 4 weeks of training just before the triathlon, and felt that my run time would suffer because of it. Turned out I was able to put out about 7:30 minute miles, which was a pleasant surprise.
This year, I knew there was no way I was going to match last year. First, I only had one speedwork session. Two, I had nowhere near the stamina training - I had only done one 15 mile bike ride (last year I had done at least 2 x 50 milers by this time), and my longest run has only been 5 miles (last year I had built up to 15 miles by this time).
The only thing that would be improved is the swim, with the improved technique I picked up throughout the season last year, and had been practicing some this year. I knew that if nothing else, the recovery and therefore T1 time would improve over last year, because I remember being winded coming out of the water and having to walk a good distance of the way from the water to the transition area.
So, here is how things went today:
Swim: Overall I felt pretty good. I felt as thought I was swimming faster and a bit easier than last year. My sighting was a bit off, but it wasn't too awful bad. Sighting still needs work, but my tendency to drift right has been greatly reduced after learning that I've been reaching with my left hand almost to the mid-line during extension.
When I exited the water, I checked my watch and saw I was around the 14 minute mark. I felt like I remember my time in the water last year being maybe 16 minutes, but not sure.
T1: T1 was definately better than last year. I did stop to walk briefly, but not nearly as much as last year.
Overall, up to this point, I felt like the difference between last year and this year was noticable, but perhaps not effective (ie, any faster).
Bike: Felt pretty typical - passed by a lot of people as usual. I remembered there was a big hill, and was actually pretty accurate about my memory in where it was (around the 3.5 to 4 mile mark). I also remembered that it wasn't one big hill, but was broken up. What I didn't remember was which portion was the hardest (turned out to be the first part).
The rest of the bike was pretty typical.
T2: This transition is usually pretty quick. Nothing too special.
Run: This sucked. It was a rough 3 mile run. I started out feeling ok, but just gassed overall. My heartrate was in the 170's pretty much the entire time, but I didn't feel energetic. The heel presented no issues at all, so that was good. I had to stop 2 or 3 times on the way back to walk for 30 seconds, because I couldn't run slow enough for my HR to drop - and after a point, I figured I'd be better off just walking or a bit and letting my HR recover rather than run really slow and maintain a high heartrate.
About halfway through the run, I decided that my goal would be to finish in under 1:30. I couldn't remember exactly what I had last year - I felt like it was in the 1:21 or 1:24 range. So there was no way I'd be ahead of last year. The last third of the run felt better, but that was mostly adrenaline at knowing I was almost done. So I was able to crank up the speed a bit and just deal with the discomfort.
I crossed the line in 1:28:47. Whew! Under 90 minutes! I decided to give myself a pat on the back, considering my run training was aborted for 6 weeks, I had done no real bike training, yet was only a few minutes behind last year.
Here are the stats:
Swim:16 of 19 in the M30-34 division, 168 overall. Time of 14:29
T1: 5:09 (last)
Bike:19 of 19 in the M30-34 division, 191 overall. Time of 43:43
T2: 1:11
Run:17 of 19 in the M30-34 division, 152 overall. Time of 24:14
Overall: 17 of 19 in M30-34, 174 overall
Later on in the day I looked up the times for last year, and to my surprise, it was 1:28:47. You read that right - the exact same time, down to the second! Consistent. Poor, but consistent.
This year, I knew there was no way I was going to match last year. First, I only had one speedwork session. Two, I had nowhere near the stamina training - I had only done one 15 mile bike ride (last year I had done at least 2 x 50 milers by this time), and my longest run has only been 5 miles (last year I had built up to 15 miles by this time).
The only thing that would be improved is the swim, with the improved technique I picked up throughout the season last year, and had been practicing some this year. I knew that if nothing else, the recovery and therefore T1 time would improve over last year, because I remember being winded coming out of the water and having to walk a good distance of the way from the water to the transition area.
So, here is how things went today:
Swim: Overall I felt pretty good. I felt as thought I was swimming faster and a bit easier than last year. My sighting was a bit off, but it wasn't too awful bad. Sighting still needs work, but my tendency to drift right has been greatly reduced after learning that I've been reaching with my left hand almost to the mid-line during extension.
When I exited the water, I checked my watch and saw I was around the 14 minute mark. I felt like I remember my time in the water last year being maybe 16 minutes, but not sure.
T1: T1 was definately better than last year. I did stop to walk briefly, but not nearly as much as last year.
Overall, up to this point, I felt like the difference between last year and this year was noticable, but perhaps not effective (ie, any faster).
Bike: Felt pretty typical - passed by a lot of people as usual. I remembered there was a big hill, and was actually pretty accurate about my memory in where it was (around the 3.5 to 4 mile mark). I also remembered that it wasn't one big hill, but was broken up. What I didn't remember was which portion was the hardest (turned out to be the first part).
The rest of the bike was pretty typical.
T2: This transition is usually pretty quick. Nothing too special.
Run: This sucked. It was a rough 3 mile run. I started out feeling ok, but just gassed overall. My heartrate was in the 170's pretty much the entire time, but I didn't feel energetic. The heel presented no issues at all, so that was good. I had to stop 2 or 3 times on the way back to walk for 30 seconds, because I couldn't run slow enough for my HR to drop - and after a point, I figured I'd be better off just walking or a bit and letting my HR recover rather than run really slow and maintain a high heartrate.
About halfway through the run, I decided that my goal would be to finish in under 1:30. I couldn't remember exactly what I had last year - I felt like it was in the 1:21 or 1:24 range. So there was no way I'd be ahead of last year. The last third of the run felt better, but that was mostly adrenaline at knowing I was almost done. So I was able to crank up the speed a bit and just deal with the discomfort.
I crossed the line in 1:28:47. Whew! Under 90 minutes! I decided to give myself a pat on the back, considering my run training was aborted for 6 weeks, I had done no real bike training, yet was only a few minutes behind last year.
Here are the stats:
Swim:16 of 19 in the M30-34 division, 168 overall. Time of 14:29
T1: 5:09 (last)
Bike:19 of 19 in the M30-34 division, 191 overall. Time of 43:43
T2: 1:11
Run:17 of 19 in the M30-34 division, 152 overall. Time of 24:14
Overall: 17 of 19 in M30-34, 174 overall
Later on in the day I looked up the times for last year, and to my surprise, it was 1:28:47. You read that right - the exact same time, down to the second! Consistent. Poor, but consistent.
5 Miles - 6/15
Nothing special - just a quick 5 miles to see how the heel would respond to increased mileage. Typical pattern has been about an hour of activity (either mowing lawn, running, whatever) and that 'uses up' the tolerance that the heel has for the day. Activity is usually followed by some soaking in an ice bath for a while, and some advil. Next day (often within about 6 hours, actually) the heel is ready to go again.
So I just wanted to get some extra distance in there to see if the recovery pattern was any different. I did recognize the familiar pattern - feel the heel slightly during the first 1/2-3/4 mile, then it feel perfectly normal. However since this run was a bit longer, I did notice that around the 3.5 mile mark, the heel felt sore again for a while, but then it felt normal again somewhere in the 4 to 4.25 mile range.
Overall though - same pattern. Good news, as that means I can do a 5 miler at least once a week for a while to start extending distance.
So I just wanted to get some extra distance in there to see if the recovery pattern was any different. I did recognize the familiar pattern - feel the heel slightly during the first 1/2-3/4 mile, then it feel perfectly normal. However since this run was a bit longer, I did notice that around the 3.5 mile mark, the heel felt sore again for a while, but then it felt normal again somewhere in the 4 to 4.25 mile range.
Overall though - same pattern. Good news, as that means I can do a 5 miler at least once a week for a while to start extending distance.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
3 Miles - 6/17
Since this was a week I was travelling for work, I didn't have access to the ice bath that I normally do - so it was a good opportunity to see whether doing a 3 mile run, followed only by taking some Advil, would feel the same the next day as I normally do.
The three miles wasn't fast - about 9 minute miles. The heel felt okay the next day, but it did seem slightly more aggravated than normal - just barely noticable.
I have noticed, though, that running in general has been a little on the rougher side. Not because of the heel, but just that my endurance and stamina has definately decreased. I'm hoping that its mostly from the time off, and that by running a few times a week again, it'll come back.
The three miles wasn't fast - about 9 minute miles. The heel felt okay the next day, but it did seem slightly more aggravated than normal - just barely noticable.
I have noticed, though, that running in general has been a little on the rougher side. Not because of the heel, but just that my endurance and stamina has definately decreased. I'm hoping that its mostly from the time off, and that by running a few times a week again, it'll come back.
Monday, June 14, 2010
1250 yd swimming - 6/14
Todays session in the pool was pretty much one non stop swim session. I was iinterrupted after a few hundred yards and asked to switch lanes, but other than that, I wanted to just swim nonstop.
The other weekend, I went for a swim in the lake and went for only about 15-20 minutes before being tired out and calling it a day. I thought I had been using the same form (based on Total Immersion) that I used last year, and was a little confused as to why I could only swim for 15 minutes. A couple days later, I went to the pool and remembered some important concepts from TI, and noticed an immediate difference. So todays session had two goals - see about swimming a long enough distance so that I would feel comfortable with next weekends half mile swim, and try and get some time in to help with muscle memory.
Below are the stopwatch times for each 50 yds (unless otherwise noted).
49.9 (50)
52.5 (50)
56.1 (50)
59.5 (50)
59.7 (50)
1:01 (50)
57.6 (50)
1:40.5 (50 - interrupted)
1:51.1 (100)
57.9 (50)
56.0 (50)
55.5 (50)
55.2 (50)
1:00.1 (50)
1:02.8 (50)
1:04.6 (50)
59.0 (50)
57.2 (50)
1:05.8 (50)
59.1 (50)
59.5 (50)
1:01.4 (50)
1:01.6 (50)
53.8 (50)
There was some variation in time as I was toying around with different things, 6 beat kick vs 2 beat (I seem faster with the lazy six beat kick), but all in all, I was pretty close to 1 sec/yard from beginning to end.
The other weekend, I went for a swim in the lake and went for only about 15-20 minutes before being tired out and calling it a day. I thought I had been using the same form (based on Total Immersion) that I used last year, and was a little confused as to why I could only swim for 15 minutes. A couple days later, I went to the pool and remembered some important concepts from TI, and noticed an immediate difference. So todays session had two goals - see about swimming a long enough distance so that I would feel comfortable with next weekends half mile swim, and try and get some time in to help with muscle memory.
Below are the stopwatch times for each 50 yds (unless otherwise noted).
49.9 (50)
52.5 (50)
56.1 (50)
59.5 (50)
59.7 (50)
1:01 (50)
57.6 (50)
1:40.5 (50 - interrupted)
1:51.1 (100)
57.9 (50)
56.0 (50)
55.5 (50)
55.2 (50)
1:00.1 (50)
1:02.8 (50)
1:04.6 (50)
59.0 (50)
57.2 (50)
1:05.8 (50)
59.1 (50)
59.5 (50)
1:01.4 (50)
1:01.6 (50)
53.8 (50)
There was some variation in time as I was toying around with different things, 6 beat kick vs 2 beat (I seem faster with the lazy six beat kick), but all in all, I was pretty close to 1 sec/yard from beginning to end.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
3 x 1 mile repeats - 6/13/10
With one week to go before the Webster Lake Triathlon, and having done no speed work, I decided to do a few mile repeats today. My goal wasn't necessarily to eek out as much performance as I can during the run portion of the triathlon, but rather to get somewhat exposed to a higher heartrate for a more extended period of time.
These repeats were done on the loop around the house, which is slightly downhill for the first 1/2 mile, flat for about 1/4 mile, and then a fairly good incline on the last 1/4 mile. I like doing this loop because it goes by the house (good for rehydration when its hot and humid), and the end being uphill definately provides a challenge.
Each repeat was done in about 8 minutes. I'm kind of surprised at that, simply because I hadn't done any speedwork since last year (actually, almost a year ago). Also, my HR topped at about 183 during the last one at the crest of the hill, but generally speaking it was around 170 bpm.
These repeats were done on the loop around the house, which is slightly downhill for the first 1/2 mile, flat for about 1/4 mile, and then a fairly good incline on the last 1/4 mile. I like doing this loop because it goes by the house (good for rehydration when its hot and humid), and the end being uphill definately provides a challenge.
Each repeat was done in about 8 minutes. I'm kind of surprised at that, simply because I hadn't done any speedwork since last year (actually, almost a year ago). Also, my HR topped at about 183 during the last one at the crest of the hill, but generally speaking it was around 170 bpm.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Back up on the horse
Last weekend (would have been May 29 or 30th), my heel had been feeling good enough for a long enough time that I decided to run a quick 1.8 miles. I mostly wanted to see how it would react after the previous week had seen some pretty encouraging improvements. Would it be a set-back? Would it be no worse for wear? Would the foot continue to feel better over the next couple days even with the running?
Fortunately, what I found was that the 1.8 miles did not appear to be a set-back. However, I also iced my heel a decent amount immediately afterwards, and after a couple days also applied heat. In another 2-3 days I felt good enough to do another 1.8 miles, with similar results - the heel continued to feel better as a whole as time went on.
I was going to cancel my doctor appointment on the 1st, but I never thought about it on the Friday before, and with the holiday on Monday, I decided to keep the appointment, see what he had to say, and at least have the visit on record in the event this thing flared up again or remained persistent.
When I went to the doctor, a couple things came out of it:
1) He suggested to continue icing only, no heat.
2) He recommended the green Superfeet arch support. In the same conversation, he said he doesn't like custom orthotics, which I found strange because I know a couple people who have been sold orthotics (and neither of them found them to be useful). The doctor indicated that custom ones are meant to change your foot structure and alignment, whereas off-the-shelf ones are meant to support your foot as currently built. It should be noted that I was suspicious of his trying to sell me custom orthotics, as it was a podiatrist. It was refreshing to hear him say he doesn't like custom orthotics. Also, he didn't suggest always using the supports - he just said to use them when running.
3) He also mentioned that soft surfaces (like mowing the lawn!) are notorious for aggravating PF. Due to the lower resistance provided by the ground surface, it places more strain on the connective tissue that is inflammed when you have PF.
So, while I took everything he said above into consideration, I have been finding that application of heat is actually helpful. Plus, that coincides with everything you hear - ice at first (durign first 48 hours) to control inflammation, heat afterwards to stimulate blood flow and healing. I also decided that I'd only use the supports while I have this issue - once it is healed, I'll remove them. I just dont see the need to use arch supports when I've never needed them in the past, and I have a very very good idea of what caused my problem in the first place (and its something I can avoid).
Another thing I came across last week is a different take on icing. I can't seem to find the specific article (this one is similar, though), it seems that there is a recent trend in using more direct ice application as opposed to only use ice packs. The article I found last week specifically mentioned using direct ice until an area feels numb, and then removing the ice for a while to let things warm back up, and then repeating with ice. The general idea was that this direct ice was good for controlling inflammation that is near the skin surface (within 1 cm), because the amount of time that ice is in contact with skin is relatively low. However, if you have inflammation that is deeper (like in the knee), the slower icing effect of ice packs is better for that. So last week that is what I did - during the work day, I filled up a plastic bag with ice, put it in the freezer, and while sitting at my desk, I'd let me heel rest on the ice until it felt numb, then remove it, and then put it back on. After two days, the improvement was dramatically noticable. While the heel had been feeling better - now there were actually times where it didn't feel at all that there was a sprain (and I'm not talking about times when I was icing, or had just iced).
I also started using heat pads at night, in order to stimulate blood flow during a time when the body heals itself and when the heel is not under any strain. So, during the day when the tissue could be aggravated, it was ice. At night when there was no weight on it, it's been heat. So far that seems to be working rather well. Well enough that I'm going to do another 3 miles today, another 3 miles later this week, and hopefully should be ok with doing 5 this weekend.
Fortunately, what I found was that the 1.8 miles did not appear to be a set-back. However, I also iced my heel a decent amount immediately afterwards, and after a couple days also applied heat. In another 2-3 days I felt good enough to do another 1.8 miles, with similar results - the heel continued to feel better as a whole as time went on.
I was going to cancel my doctor appointment on the 1st, but I never thought about it on the Friday before, and with the holiday on Monday, I decided to keep the appointment, see what he had to say, and at least have the visit on record in the event this thing flared up again or remained persistent.
When I went to the doctor, a couple things came out of it:
1) He suggested to continue icing only, no heat.
2) He recommended the green Superfeet arch support. In the same conversation, he said he doesn't like custom orthotics, which I found strange because I know a couple people who have been sold orthotics (and neither of them found them to be useful). The doctor indicated that custom ones are meant to change your foot structure and alignment, whereas off-the-shelf ones are meant to support your foot as currently built. It should be noted that I was suspicious of his trying to sell me custom orthotics, as it was a podiatrist. It was refreshing to hear him say he doesn't like custom orthotics. Also, he didn't suggest always using the supports - he just said to use them when running.
3) He also mentioned that soft surfaces (like mowing the lawn!) are notorious for aggravating PF. Due to the lower resistance provided by the ground surface, it places more strain on the connective tissue that is inflammed when you have PF.
So, while I took everything he said above into consideration, I have been finding that application of heat is actually helpful. Plus, that coincides with everything you hear - ice at first (durign first 48 hours) to control inflammation, heat afterwards to stimulate blood flow and healing. I also decided that I'd only use the supports while I have this issue - once it is healed, I'll remove them. I just dont see the need to use arch supports when I've never needed them in the past, and I have a very very good idea of what caused my problem in the first place (and its something I can avoid).
Another thing I came across last week is a different take on icing. I can't seem to find the specific article (this one is similar, though), it seems that there is a recent trend in using more direct ice application as opposed to only use ice packs. The article I found last week specifically mentioned using direct ice until an area feels numb, and then removing the ice for a while to let things warm back up, and then repeating with ice. The general idea was that this direct ice was good for controlling inflammation that is near the skin surface (within 1 cm), because the amount of time that ice is in contact with skin is relatively low. However, if you have inflammation that is deeper (like in the knee), the slower icing effect of ice packs is better for that. So last week that is what I did - during the work day, I filled up a plastic bag with ice, put it in the freezer, and while sitting at my desk, I'd let me heel rest on the ice until it felt numb, then remove it, and then put it back on. After two days, the improvement was dramatically noticable. While the heel had been feeling better - now there were actually times where it didn't feel at all that there was a sprain (and I'm not talking about times when I was icing, or had just iced).
I also started using heat pads at night, in order to stimulate blood flow during a time when the body heals itself and when the heel is not under any strain. So, during the day when the tissue could be aggravated, it was ice. At night when there was no weight on it, it's been heat. So far that seems to be working rather well. Well enough that I'm going to do another 3 miles today, another 3 miles later this week, and hopefully should be ok with doing 5 this weekend.
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