The past couple weeks I've done a mid-week run of about 90 minutes. However, given how much I've put my legs through over the past few weeks, I figured this would be a good week to give things a bit of a rest. It also coincided with a week where I was travelling for work Sunday night through Wednesday. Even though I could have done the P90X legs routine in the hotel room, if I was going to give myself a bit of a rest, that meant no strength training that might result in muscle tightness.
As it turned out, I think I needed it. My legs definitely felt fatigued on Monday, and although better on Tuesday, they still didn't feel 100%. It was a very subtle not-quite-recovered-feeling - one that I'd have underestimated, except for the fact that this morning, it was pretty much gone. I guess it gets chalked up to 'The things you learn about how your body speaks to you..'
So instead of the 90 minute run, I just did a quick 45 minutes or so after I got home. I wanted to do something to keep my running legs, after having not run since the 20 miler the other weekend, but I certainly didn't want to do more than I could recover from between now and this weekend, when I plan on doing another 20 miles.
In my head, I still have this idea that a warm up mile or two, for me, should be done at 9:30 or 10 minute miles, a solid effort that can be sustained for a half marathon distance is about 9 minute miles (maybe closer to 8:40), and my threshold pace should be about 8:20 minute miles (based on the Daniels vdot calculation). However, ever since I started these midweek runs, and paying attention to cadence - I'm finding that the 8:45 min/mile pace puts my heartrate at or below 150 bpm - which for me tends to be my target for long and slow distance type running (ie, 9:30 min/miles). I guess I'm mostly shocked at how the combination of exercises I do, and the relatively low amount of running actually still translates to improved performance without having to do any real speed work. Or it could be that for the first time since high school, I've been able to run on a somewhat regular basis for more than about three to four months without reaching the end of the season, or being sidelined due to IT band issues.
Of course, part of the faster pace for tonights run was that I did two stints of an 8 min/mile pace for 5 minutes - just to throw a little something in.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
Thinking about fuel/electrolytes for Lake Placid
After volunteering at Lake Placid this year, I found out that Ironman has been replacing Gatorade Endurance for Powerbar Perform as the sports drink of choise. This is somewhat concerning to me, because I have been training with the Gatorade for a few years now (ever since my friend Dave introduced it to me, having seen it at the aid stations at IMLP '04 and '08). Most people probably figure a sports drink is a sports drink - but as in the words of John Pinette, 'nay, nay!'. The issue of concern to me is not necessarily the amount of sodium, but rather the amount of potassium. The Gatorade Endurance formula has a significant amount of potassium - if I remember correctly the ratio of sodium to potassium is close to 2:1, whereas other gatorade formulas (and many other sports drinks) are closer to 3:1, and even 4:1.
Ironman Perform? The ratio is a whopping 19:1.
Granted, part of that is because the sodium content is boosted, but the potassium representation is virtually nonexistent. I could be fretting over nothing, though. For one thing, when I use endurance, a LOT of salt is lost through sweat -significantly more than normal. That lends me to believe that the endurance formula is probably providing me with more than enough sodium and/or potassium (even at 2/3 strength). So there is potentially some validity to the thought that I simply don't need as much potassium as I might think. The other thing is that I have to have faith in the idea that if everyone else is using it successfully, and crossing the finish line, that the Perform drink is probably perfectly adequate.
Still, until I actually do some long runs and rides without the potassium, I'm hesitant to just assume it'll work on the spot come July 22, 2012. As a result, starting this past weekend, I'm toying around with some different fuel and nutrition possibilities. It also helped that my endurance formula happened to just run out.
Late last week I picked up a bottle of Accelerade. This is a sports drink product with protein, going on the idea that having some protein in a sports drink helps speed hydration, and help performance by allowing some regeneration (or slow down degeneration - whichever) of muscle tissue during exercise. Part of the reason I wanted to try it was because I thought I might be able to get away with not having to eat a protein bar periodically during my rides/runs. I tried the Accelerade during my ride this weekend, and I almost immediately remembered why I didn't pick up more after using a trial package of it a few years ago - the damn protein makes a mess. First off, it doesn't always dissolve well and easily - but that was the least of the concerns. The biggest concern is that the protein sticks to the side of my water bottle, leaving a residue. I know from experience that when this happens, if it gets really dried out, it is a bitch to remove. It is mildly annoying on the side of the bottle, but a real pain in the ass when it sticks to the nozzle part of the bottle. Lastly, it's just not incredibly palletable - which is not something you want in a product that you are supposed to consume rather large quantities of in order to keep energy and muscle function from bottoming out. Oh, and even with the protein, I eventually craved solid food.
So, Accelerade is off the table. I ended up going to BJ's and getting some regular Gatorade - it doesn't have as high an absolute level of sodium as the endurance formula, but it has a higher sodium to potassium ratio than endurance. Still not quite as high as the perform drink, but it will give me a chance to see if I end up feeling like the lower potassium content affects me negatively.
One idea I had thought of was taking advantage of the aid stations and eating half a banana every 10 miles on the bike ride. It would provide fuel, lots of potassium., and very importantly - the taste of something different! However - I'm hesitant to do so without training in that fashion, and its not like I'm going to ride with a backpack full of bananas. But who knows - maybe I can work something out, like doing a century comprised of 2 x 50 mile loops, or 3 x 33 mile loops around the house, giving me an opportunity to pick up two halves of a banana from the house. Or plan stops at convenience stores that sell individual bananas.
Another option that came to mind was using electrolyte tablets, such as nuun, as a supplement. In my experience, the sugars and carbs in a sports drink are incredibly important to sustaining energy output, and with nuun providing basically no calories, it can't be the one trick pony. I also wouldn't want to mix it with a sports drink either, as that would shoot the sodium content through the roof. So maybe one idea is to alternate between a bottle of gatorade and water/nuun. The appealing thing about that is that after a while, just having gatorade by itself gets tiring, so sometimes plain water is a nice change of pace.
Ironman Perform? The ratio is a whopping 19:1.
Granted, part of that is because the sodium content is boosted, but the potassium representation is virtually nonexistent. I could be fretting over nothing, though. For one thing, when I use endurance, a LOT of salt is lost through sweat -significantly more than normal. That lends me to believe that the endurance formula is probably providing me with more than enough sodium and/or potassium (even at 2/3 strength). So there is potentially some validity to the thought that I simply don't need as much potassium as I might think. The other thing is that I have to have faith in the idea that if everyone else is using it successfully, and crossing the finish line, that the Perform drink is probably perfectly adequate.
Still, until I actually do some long runs and rides without the potassium, I'm hesitant to just assume it'll work on the spot come July 22, 2012. As a result, starting this past weekend, I'm toying around with some different fuel and nutrition possibilities. It also helped that my endurance formula happened to just run out.
Late last week I picked up a bottle of Accelerade. This is a sports drink product with protein, going on the idea that having some protein in a sports drink helps speed hydration, and help performance by allowing some regeneration (or slow down degeneration - whichever) of muscle tissue during exercise. Part of the reason I wanted to try it was because I thought I might be able to get away with not having to eat a protein bar periodically during my rides/runs. I tried the Accelerade during my ride this weekend, and I almost immediately remembered why I didn't pick up more after using a trial package of it a few years ago - the damn protein makes a mess. First off, it doesn't always dissolve well and easily - but that was the least of the concerns. The biggest concern is that the protein sticks to the side of my water bottle, leaving a residue. I know from experience that when this happens, if it gets really dried out, it is a bitch to remove. It is mildly annoying on the side of the bottle, but a real pain in the ass when it sticks to the nozzle part of the bottle. Lastly, it's just not incredibly palletable - which is not something you want in a product that you are supposed to consume rather large quantities of in order to keep energy and muscle function from bottoming out. Oh, and even with the protein, I eventually craved solid food.
So, Accelerade is off the table. I ended up going to BJ's and getting some regular Gatorade - it doesn't have as high an absolute level of sodium as the endurance formula, but it has a higher sodium to potassium ratio than endurance. Still not quite as high as the perform drink, but it will give me a chance to see if I end up feeling like the lower potassium content affects me negatively.
One idea I had thought of was taking advantage of the aid stations and eating half a banana every 10 miles on the bike ride. It would provide fuel, lots of potassium., and very importantly - the taste of something different! However - I'm hesitant to do so without training in that fashion, and its not like I'm going to ride with a backpack full of bananas. But who knows - maybe I can work something out, like doing a century comprised of 2 x 50 mile loops, or 3 x 33 mile loops around the house, giving me an opportunity to pick up two halves of a banana from the house. Or plan stops at convenience stores that sell individual bananas.
Another option that came to mind was using electrolyte tablets, such as nuun, as a supplement. In my experience, the sugars and carbs in a sports drink are incredibly important to sustaining energy output, and with nuun providing basically no calories, it can't be the one trick pony. I also wouldn't want to mix it with a sports drink either, as that would shoot the sodium content through the roof. So maybe one idea is to alternate between a bottle of gatorade and water/nuun. The appealing thing about that is that after a while, just having gatorade by itself gets tiring, so sometimes plain water is a nice change of pace.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Century bike ride (100 miles) - 8/6
Today marked the first 100 mile bike ride I've done. Four weeks ago, I did an 82 mile ride, and then two weeks ago did the Lake Placid 56 mile course twice over two days as an intermediary step towards a full century in one day. For a few weeks, I've been debating what course to follow: I could do my ~50 mile Wachusett Reservoir loop twice, I could do the 72 mile Wachusett Mountain loop, and find a way to add 30 miles to it, I could go to my parents in Sturbridge and back (provided I could find a decent route), or I could blaze a new trail that I hadn't ever done before.
I ended up deciding to head to my parents place and back, for multiple reasons. I really wasn't feeling in the mood to do the Wachusett Reservoir loop, then be back home, and head out again. I didn't want to do the Wachusett Mtn loop because I didn't want to put the climb stress on my legs, after they've been beat on pretty good over the past couple weeks. I almost did a course that brought me to the base of the mountain, and then continued on instead of heading up, but at that point known water stops were few and far between. Finally, I didn't want to go on a whole new trail because of the water supply issue, plus the 82 mile loop was forging a new trail, and there was enough to not like about that course that I was hesitant to do it again. True, I'd be going on a new course to my parents, but at least there was a sure water filling stop half way, and knowing a way to get there could prove useful in the future.
Right off the bat I kinda screwed up by not taking the time to get some food in my stomach before leaving. I had thought about scrambled eggs, but opted not to since we didn't have any milk. Usually if nothing else, I have a Clif bar, but it just kinda skipped my mind. I think I was in too much of a rush to get out the door, as it was pushing 6:30 am. Adding to the disappointment within the first two miles was the realization that my legs were still not recovered from the run on Thursday. This was going to be a long 100 miles.
I ended up reverting to being conservative - doing my first century on already somewhat fatigued legs that had been showing some IT band rubbing over the past day, plus it being an unknown course in terms of difficulty (all I knew was that Sturbridge is a hill town - so I had no idea what to expect in terms of climbing), and not having breakfast - I decided I was going to be ok with it being a little slow. Hell, I'd probably have to take a good length rest break in Sturbridge. I was ok with that - I've still got plenty of time in my training schedule that I wasn't going to worry about it too much on the first century go around.
Once out on the road, it was a typical ride. I stopped at 25 miles for a quick break to munch on half a protein bar. It was somewhere around that point that I started thinking about the elevation changes - I knew that Sturbridge is higher than Framingham, but not a more than about 700' or so. However it seemed like I was already having to climb a good number of small hills. The problem was that I knew there were bigger hills coming up getting into Sturbridge. So that meant that the course must be hillier than I anticipated - maybe not a huge net elevation change, but a good amount of ups and downs. That did not bode well, considering I was only 1/4 through the ride on already tired legs. I managed to plod through it, though - but the last 10-15 miles just seemed like a lot of uphill. Not necessarily steep (although there were moments) - but unrelenting. It crossed my mind whether this would be decent training for Lake Placid - certainly not quite as intense, but maybe a worthwhile option.
I eventually rolled into Sturbridge after about 3.5 hours, with an elevation gain of 3000' - a full 600' more than Lake Placid. I don't know how much stock I put into that estimate - GPS altitude estimates are notoriously inaccurate. However, I'd think it would be in a similar ballpark. Once in Sturbridge, I refilled the water bottles, and got lucky as there was some chocolate milk available (those who know me know I love that stuff - it's fantastic). I also grabbed some blueberry cobbler - figuring some solid food would be good.
After about an hour and fifteen minute break, I headed back out. I did feel revitalized, which was good - and I was surely hoping that while I knew some good uphill climbs were coming, it'd be more downhill than up on the way back. I'm not sure whether it was the food I ate, or the rest, or the downhill (probably a combination of all three), but the trip back seemed noticably easier than the trip out. Although I did stop at about 82 miles for a quick break to finish the protein bar I had started earlier in the day.
I also think the mental aspect of 'only 30 miles to go', 'only 20 miles to go' helps as well. Because at that point, after having been on a bicycle seat and propelling yourself, you look for anything to make yourself feel better, because your body starts to feel like shit. Feet get tired of having so much weight on them constantly, hands get tired of being jarred into the handlebars (although this depends on traffic and road conditions), back gets tired of leaning forward. It doesn't matter how comfortable a position may be - after 6 hours, it starts to get uncomfortable. Hell, even laying down in bed during the night people flip over from side to side, and your not even conscious of the discomfort that creeps in!
Surprisingly (in consideration of how I felt when I left in the morning), I actually managed a negative split for the return. Not by much, but I'll take what I can get.
I ended up deciding to head to my parents place and back, for multiple reasons. I really wasn't feeling in the mood to do the Wachusett Reservoir loop, then be back home, and head out again. I didn't want to do the Wachusett Mtn loop because I didn't want to put the climb stress on my legs, after they've been beat on pretty good over the past couple weeks. I almost did a course that brought me to the base of the mountain, and then continued on instead of heading up, but at that point known water stops were few and far between. Finally, I didn't want to go on a whole new trail because of the water supply issue, plus the 82 mile loop was forging a new trail, and there was enough to not like about that course that I was hesitant to do it again. True, I'd be going on a new course to my parents, but at least there was a sure water filling stop half way, and knowing a way to get there could prove useful in the future.
Right off the bat I kinda screwed up by not taking the time to get some food in my stomach before leaving. I had thought about scrambled eggs, but opted not to since we didn't have any milk. Usually if nothing else, I have a Clif bar, but it just kinda skipped my mind. I think I was in too much of a rush to get out the door, as it was pushing 6:30 am. Adding to the disappointment within the first two miles was the realization that my legs were still not recovered from the run on Thursday. This was going to be a long 100 miles.
I ended up reverting to being conservative - doing my first century on already somewhat fatigued legs that had been showing some IT band rubbing over the past day, plus it being an unknown course in terms of difficulty (all I knew was that Sturbridge is a hill town - so I had no idea what to expect in terms of climbing), and not having breakfast - I decided I was going to be ok with it being a little slow. Hell, I'd probably have to take a good length rest break in Sturbridge. I was ok with that - I've still got plenty of time in my training schedule that I wasn't going to worry about it too much on the first century go around.
Once out on the road, it was a typical ride. I stopped at 25 miles for a quick break to munch on half a protein bar. It was somewhere around that point that I started thinking about the elevation changes - I knew that Sturbridge is higher than Framingham, but not a more than about 700' or so. However it seemed like I was already having to climb a good number of small hills. The problem was that I knew there were bigger hills coming up getting into Sturbridge. So that meant that the course must be hillier than I anticipated - maybe not a huge net elevation change, but a good amount of ups and downs. That did not bode well, considering I was only 1/4 through the ride on already tired legs. I managed to plod through it, though - but the last 10-15 miles just seemed like a lot of uphill. Not necessarily steep (although there were moments) - but unrelenting. It crossed my mind whether this would be decent training for Lake Placid - certainly not quite as intense, but maybe a worthwhile option.
I eventually rolled into Sturbridge after about 3.5 hours, with an elevation gain of 3000' - a full 600' more than Lake Placid. I don't know how much stock I put into that estimate - GPS altitude estimates are notoriously inaccurate. However, I'd think it would be in a similar ballpark. Once in Sturbridge, I refilled the water bottles, and got lucky as there was some chocolate milk available (those who know me know I love that stuff - it's fantastic). I also grabbed some blueberry cobbler - figuring some solid food would be good.
After about an hour and fifteen minute break, I headed back out. I did feel revitalized, which was good - and I was surely hoping that while I knew some good uphill climbs were coming, it'd be more downhill than up on the way back. I'm not sure whether it was the food I ate, or the rest, or the downhill (probably a combination of all three), but the trip back seemed noticably easier than the trip out. Although I did stop at about 82 miles for a quick break to finish the protein bar I had started earlier in the day.
I also think the mental aspect of 'only 30 miles to go', 'only 20 miles to go' helps as well. Because at that point, after having been on a bicycle seat and propelling yourself, you look for anything to make yourself feel better, because your body starts to feel like shit. Feet get tired of having so much weight on them constantly, hands get tired of being jarred into the handlebars (although this depends on traffic and road conditions), back gets tired of leaning forward. It doesn't matter how comfortable a position may be - after 6 hours, it starts to get uncomfortable. Hell, even laying down in bed during the night people flip over from side to side, and your not even conscious of the discomfort that creeps in!
Surprisingly (in consideration of how I felt when I left in the morning), I actually managed a negative split for the return. Not by much, but I'll take what I can get.
Friday, August 5, 2011
90 minute run - 8/4
After the 20 miler from this past weekend, I was out of town from Sunday night until Wednesday afternoon for work. Normally I try to make Monday my yoga night, but obviously that wasn't going to work. However, I did bring the P90x DVD's with me - so I did the legs routine on Tuesday, leaving me with the question of whether to do yoga Wednesday night, or go for a run. I opted to go to yoga instead, taking the more conservative approach of giving my legs an extra day of rest after the legs routine, in addition to giving myself a chance to stretch back out from the 20 miler on Sunday.
That left Thursday for the 90 minute mid-week run. I was a little concerned right off the bat, because no more than 1/4 mile into it, I could feel the IT band rubbing. Damn it - still a bit stiff from P90x before. I actually thought about stopping right then and there, but decided to continue on based on two factors: I've had this happen before, and found that with some slow pace running, the muscles eventually open up and the rubbing goes away; and I've also found that if I keep my cadence up, thus assuring I don't heel strike, I can keep IT band rubbing at bay.
Sure enough after a couple miles, things started to loosen up a bit. I still took a few minutes at mile 3 to stretch out a bit. All in all, things felt pretty good and strong, which was a little bit of a surprise. I guess I was expecting to feel some residual fatigue from the 20 miles on Sunday, plus the legs routine on Tuesday.
With it now being a day after, unfortunately I'm feeling that things are still tight, which has caused me to feel the IT band a few times throughout the day. So at this point, I'm thinking I'll skip on the weekend run, as I'm planning a century bike ride for tomorrow, and don't want to over stress the muscles. My thinking is that the benefits of the legs routine are great enough to warrant holding back on the running a bit until my legs are used to all the squats and lunges, and can do them without getting as sore and tight.
But for right now, time for a hot bath and some good stretching time (I was stupid and neglected the ice bath and post-run stretching yesterday after I got back home).
That left Thursday for the 90 minute mid-week run. I was a little concerned right off the bat, because no more than 1/4 mile into it, I could feel the IT band rubbing. Damn it - still a bit stiff from P90x before. I actually thought about stopping right then and there, but decided to continue on based on two factors: I've had this happen before, and found that with some slow pace running, the muscles eventually open up and the rubbing goes away; and I've also found that if I keep my cadence up, thus assuring I don't heel strike, I can keep IT band rubbing at bay.
Sure enough after a couple miles, things started to loosen up a bit. I still took a few minutes at mile 3 to stretch out a bit. All in all, things felt pretty good and strong, which was a little bit of a surprise. I guess I was expecting to feel some residual fatigue from the 20 miles on Sunday, plus the legs routine on Tuesday.
With it now being a day after, unfortunately I'm feeling that things are still tight, which has caused me to feel the IT band a few times throughout the day. So at this point, I'm thinking I'll skip on the weekend run, as I'm planning a century bike ride for tomorrow, and don't want to over stress the muscles. My thinking is that the benefits of the legs routine are great enough to warrant holding back on the running a bit until my legs are used to all the squats and lunges, and can do them without getting as sore and tight.
But for right now, time for a hot bath and some good stretching time (I was stupid and neglected the ice bath and post-run stretching yesterday after I got back home).
Open water swim with two beat kick - 7/30
Towards the beginning of July, I rented a tri wetsuit to see what effect it would have on my swimming (since I was only one of three people in my age group at the Patriot that did not have a wetsuit, and I knew that I'd want one for the full iron), as well as to get an idea for what features/model I'd be looking for. The difference was startling - details of which I'll put into another post - but the main takeaway for now is that it fixed two of my major problems in becoming more streamlined in the water: disjointed hip/shoulder rotation (especially after fatigue sets in), and leg drag.
Up until this point, I knew that I was doing either a 4-beat (two kicks per stroke) or 6-beat (three kicks per stoke) kick, and knew that at some point I needed to transition to a 2-beat kick for energy conservation purposes - but what I didn't know was how much my kick was actually affecting my ability to streamline through the water. Once I felt what it was like to swim without all that fluttering, a couple things became obvious: it was time to work on the two beat kick, and that the two beat kick would actually help fix the two major issues at hand. I had avoided working on the 2-beat kick in the past because I felt like I had other, more important things to work on at the time - bilateral breathing, head positioning, swimming straight, etc.
So the past couple weeks, I've been hitting the pool more frequently, doing another round of starting over with regards to swimming, in an effort to sink the two beat kick into muscle memory. At first it was just 50 yds, then 100, then a couple 200's. While at Lake Placid, we swam the 1.2 mile course, and after about a mile, when I was sufficiently fatigued, I actually found I was able to relax a bit and settle into somewhat of a rhythm.
Feeling a little more comfortable with swimming in open water using the two beat kick, I took advantage of another opportunity, doing a 1.3 mile session.
Garmin Results
The water on this day was a bit choppy, and since it was in the afternoon, there were a couple boats in the water, which added to the waves I had to contend with. Annoying, but then again, swimming in open water during a tri is just as bad, if not worse. So I rolled with it, taking it in as part of conditioning.
Overall I am pretty happy with the results - mostly that I was able to do 1.3 miles with the two beat kick, but also because at this point, I'm not significantly slowed down. If anything, I might be slightly faster - but I don't have a swim to compare against. All I know is that I'll naturally speed up, and with the wetsuit I'll speed up even more.
Up until this point, I knew that I was doing either a 4-beat (two kicks per stroke) or 6-beat (three kicks per stoke) kick, and knew that at some point I needed to transition to a 2-beat kick for energy conservation purposes - but what I didn't know was how much my kick was actually affecting my ability to streamline through the water. Once I felt what it was like to swim without all that fluttering, a couple things became obvious: it was time to work on the two beat kick, and that the two beat kick would actually help fix the two major issues at hand. I had avoided working on the 2-beat kick in the past because I felt like I had other, more important things to work on at the time - bilateral breathing, head positioning, swimming straight, etc.
So the past couple weeks, I've been hitting the pool more frequently, doing another round of starting over with regards to swimming, in an effort to sink the two beat kick into muscle memory. At first it was just 50 yds, then 100, then a couple 200's. While at Lake Placid, we swam the 1.2 mile course, and after about a mile, when I was sufficiently fatigued, I actually found I was able to relax a bit and settle into somewhat of a rhythm.
Feeling a little more comfortable with swimming in open water using the two beat kick, I took advantage of another opportunity, doing a 1.3 mile session.
Garmin Results
The water on this day was a bit choppy, and since it was in the afternoon, there were a couple boats in the water, which added to the waves I had to contend with. Annoying, but then again, swimming in open water during a tri is just as bad, if not worse. So I rolled with it, taking it in as part of conditioning.
Overall I am pretty happy with the results - mostly that I was able to do 1.3 miles with the two beat kick, but also because at this point, I'm not significantly slowed down. If anything, I might be slightly faster - but I don't have a swim to compare against. All I know is that I'll naturally speed up, and with the wetsuit I'll speed up even more.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Quick catchup
I guess it makes sense to establish a baseline of where I am at this point, and to do this requires going back about six weeks.
On June 18, I did the Patriot Half Iron. I finished in about 6:30 - considering I had no real time goal, I was pretty happy about that. I think earlier in the year I was just wanting to finish under seven hours. A quick recap of each part, based on what I remember:
Swim - Finished in about 43 minutes, if I remember correctly. A little disappointing - I had been doing a mile (36 laps, up and back, in a 25 yd pool) consistently in about 30-31 minutes - so I was hoping for a swim time closer to 36-37 minutes. In retrospect, I think part of the problem may have been that I had been training using bilateral breathing, on the idea that on race day I'd just breath from the right side. The thought was that I'd be breathing more, and thus have more oxygen available to muscles and be able to perform better. I think this backfired on me, and caused some directional issues (not a lot, but enough), as well as breakdown of form, since I was not as symmetrical on both sides.
About 1/2 to 3/4 of the way through, I got a mild sprain on my upper left quad. Not sure whether it was because of water temps (71 degrees) and lack of a wetsuit or what - but fortunately it was just an annoyance and nothing debilitating.
Bike - Finished in just over 3 hours, averaging close to 18 mph (more precisely, 17.7). The first loop I think I averaged 18.1 mph, and on the second it was close to 17.4 mph. I took about 3-5 minutes halfway through to stretch and down a clif bar. But overall, I was pretty happy with the bike performance for a first go around at a half iron.
Run - My game plan was simple - stop every half mile and walk for 0.05 miles (about 30-40 seconds). If I remember correctly, when I hit 9 miles during my training, I switched from running once/week to once every other week, but increased the distance by two miles - so on one week I did 9, and then two weeks later I did 11. It was probably two weeks after that when I did a single 12 miler. Then, about two weeks before the Patriot, at the beginning of June, I ran the Worcester Half in about 1:53, a PR for me. That was my last long run before the Patriot half. My legs were definitely quite gassed - I couldn't even manage to bring home the last 1.2 miles without having to take a walk break. However on the last 1/2 mile I was able to get to an 8 minute mile for the finish line. My run time was around 2:20 or so. Considering that during last years Cranberry olympic my legs were so shot I could barely run the last 300 feet, I was just happy to have finished this run fairly strong - even if it was short lived.
So overall, I was reasonably happy. I got a time under my expected goal of 7 hours, I managed to keep any IT band issues at bay, and I was able to walk and function afterwards.
From July 22 to July 25, my friend Dave and I went up to Lake Placid to volunteer for the Ironman there. By this time I was due for a 100 mile bike ride (having done 84 miles two weeks prior), so I figured I'd do the IM bike course twice. We set out on Friday anticipating being out all day, but after Dave got a flat followed by a full on blowout of a replacement tube at mile 20, and a flat I got at mile 46 - we were out of CO2 canisters, so we called it a day. As it turned out, I was still fairly fatigued from the P90x legs and back routine I had done on Tuesday, as my legs were still stiff and sore from that workout - so even that first loop felt like I had already put on 30-40 miles.
We ended up doing a 2nd loop on Saturday, so I still got 112 miles in for the weekend, but just not all in one ride. In the end I decided that this was fine and that I was ok with the more conservative approach before doing a full on century in a single ride. It would give me a couple weeks to get acclimated to the P90x legs and back - a routine with a lot of exercises similar to what was prescribed in PT for my IT band - and thus something I wanted to work in on a regular basis into my training regiment.
On Sunday, after catching the start of the race, we headed back to the hotel and did a 90 minute run. I ended up doing around 9 miles or so, keeping the pace relatively light, as it was already a legs-heavy week. Also, it was decently hilly - so I wanted to make sure I didn't do anything to cause undue tightening of my quads (thus giving me IT band issues).
In part due to that 90 minute run, I decided it was about time to bring a 2nd day of running per week into my routine. What I had done before was fine for the half, but being able to sustain a full 26.2 miles after 112 miles of that bike course was going to need much stronger running legs than running once/week (which actually fell to every other week, as I had been alternating weeks between long bike rides and long runs). It seemed like Wednesday or Thursday would be the best days to do this second run, as it would give a few days before and after to recover before going through either the upcoming long bike or long run. That would maintain Monday as the Yoga/recovery day, Tuesday as the P90x legs workout (which, in time, would hopefully not result in such soreness), Wednesday or Thursday as a mid-week run with the other day and Friday being flex days (either rest, or an upper body P90x workout).
Oh, and I started going to the pool M, W and F mornings to work on getting my two beat kick sorted out. So some days are double training sessions. I'm still amazed I've been able to get my ass out of bed early enough to do that - because getting out of bed early is so not me.
So that is what I've been trying to maintain.
This past weekend saw a 20 mile distance-extending run on Sunday, where I started taking a 0.05 mile walk break every mile instead of every half mile, as I had before on my distance extending runs. The mid-week runs seem to have helped, as my pace per mile on that 20 miler was 9:30 min/mile, whereas my other long runs were many times well over 10 min/mile. This coming weekend should see a full 100 mile bike ride. My thinking is that I'll pause here, at 20 miles run and 100 miles bike, for most of the month of August. By not extending the distance, I'm hoping it'll give my legs a chance to get used to that distance for a while, and allow things to catch up regarding that 2nd running day/week as well as the legs strength routine. Then, around September, I can start extending the distance again for the run, and making the bike more challenging by either bringing more terrain and hills into the rides, or trying for a faster pace.
My overall plan is to run and bike as long as possible into the winter - basically until either bitter cold or snow force me off the road - and then come spring get out as early as possible. During the 2-3 months of the winter where cycling is an impossibility and running is drastically reduced due to icy sidewalks, I'll continue with the yoga (maybe go to 2x per week), and hit the P90x, as I've wanted to go through the full 90 day cycle.
On June 18, I did the Patriot Half Iron. I finished in about 6:30 - considering I had no real time goal, I was pretty happy about that. I think earlier in the year I was just wanting to finish under seven hours. A quick recap of each part, based on what I remember:
Swim - Finished in about 43 minutes, if I remember correctly. A little disappointing - I had been doing a mile (36 laps, up and back, in a 25 yd pool) consistently in about 30-31 minutes - so I was hoping for a swim time closer to 36-37 minutes. In retrospect, I think part of the problem may have been that I had been training using bilateral breathing, on the idea that on race day I'd just breath from the right side. The thought was that I'd be breathing more, and thus have more oxygen available to muscles and be able to perform better. I think this backfired on me, and caused some directional issues (not a lot, but enough), as well as breakdown of form, since I was not as symmetrical on both sides.
About 1/2 to 3/4 of the way through, I got a mild sprain on my upper left quad. Not sure whether it was because of water temps (71 degrees) and lack of a wetsuit or what - but fortunately it was just an annoyance and nothing debilitating.
Bike - Finished in just over 3 hours, averaging close to 18 mph (more precisely, 17.7). The first loop I think I averaged 18.1 mph, and on the second it was close to 17.4 mph. I took about 3-5 minutes halfway through to stretch and down a clif bar. But overall, I was pretty happy with the bike performance for a first go around at a half iron.
Run - My game plan was simple - stop every half mile and walk for 0.05 miles (about 30-40 seconds). If I remember correctly, when I hit 9 miles during my training, I switched from running once/week to once every other week, but increased the distance by two miles - so on one week I did 9, and then two weeks later I did 11. It was probably two weeks after that when I did a single 12 miler. Then, about two weeks before the Patriot, at the beginning of June, I ran the Worcester Half in about 1:53, a PR for me. That was my last long run before the Patriot half. My legs were definitely quite gassed - I couldn't even manage to bring home the last 1.2 miles without having to take a walk break. However on the last 1/2 mile I was able to get to an 8 minute mile for the finish line. My run time was around 2:20 or so. Considering that during last years Cranberry olympic my legs were so shot I could barely run the last 300 feet, I was just happy to have finished this run fairly strong - even if it was short lived.
So overall, I was reasonably happy. I got a time under my expected goal of 7 hours, I managed to keep any IT band issues at bay, and I was able to walk and function afterwards.
From July 22 to July 25, my friend Dave and I went up to Lake Placid to volunteer for the Ironman there. By this time I was due for a 100 mile bike ride (having done 84 miles two weeks prior), so I figured I'd do the IM bike course twice. We set out on Friday anticipating being out all day, but after Dave got a flat followed by a full on blowout of a replacement tube at mile 20, and a flat I got at mile 46 - we were out of CO2 canisters, so we called it a day. As it turned out, I was still fairly fatigued from the P90x legs and back routine I had done on Tuesday, as my legs were still stiff and sore from that workout - so even that first loop felt like I had already put on 30-40 miles.
We ended up doing a 2nd loop on Saturday, so I still got 112 miles in for the weekend, but just not all in one ride. In the end I decided that this was fine and that I was ok with the more conservative approach before doing a full on century in a single ride. It would give me a couple weeks to get acclimated to the P90x legs and back - a routine with a lot of exercises similar to what was prescribed in PT for my IT band - and thus something I wanted to work in on a regular basis into my training regiment.
On Sunday, after catching the start of the race, we headed back to the hotel and did a 90 minute run. I ended up doing around 9 miles or so, keeping the pace relatively light, as it was already a legs-heavy week. Also, it was decently hilly - so I wanted to make sure I didn't do anything to cause undue tightening of my quads (thus giving me IT band issues).
In part due to that 90 minute run, I decided it was about time to bring a 2nd day of running per week into my routine. What I had done before was fine for the half, but being able to sustain a full 26.2 miles after 112 miles of that bike course was going to need much stronger running legs than running once/week (which actually fell to every other week, as I had been alternating weeks between long bike rides and long runs). It seemed like Wednesday or Thursday would be the best days to do this second run, as it would give a few days before and after to recover before going through either the upcoming long bike or long run. That would maintain Monday as the Yoga/recovery day, Tuesday as the P90x legs workout (which, in time, would hopefully not result in such soreness), Wednesday or Thursday as a mid-week run with the other day and Friday being flex days (either rest, or an upper body P90x workout).
Oh, and I started going to the pool M, W and F mornings to work on getting my two beat kick sorted out. So some days are double training sessions. I'm still amazed I've been able to get my ass out of bed early enough to do that - because getting out of bed early is so not me.
So that is what I've been trying to maintain.
This past weekend saw a 20 mile distance-extending run on Sunday, where I started taking a 0.05 mile walk break every mile instead of every half mile, as I had before on my distance extending runs. The mid-week runs seem to have helped, as my pace per mile on that 20 miler was 9:30 min/mile, whereas my other long runs were many times well over 10 min/mile. This coming weekend should see a full 100 mile bike ride. My thinking is that I'll pause here, at 20 miles run and 100 miles bike, for most of the month of August. By not extending the distance, I'm hoping it'll give my legs a chance to get used to that distance for a while, and allow things to catch up regarding that 2nd running day/week as well as the legs strength routine. Then, around September, I can start extending the distance again for the run, and making the bike more challenging by either bringing more terrain and hills into the rides, or trying for a faster pace.
My overall plan is to run and bike as long as possible into the winter - basically until either bitter cold or snow force me off the road - and then come spring get out as early as possible. During the 2-3 months of the winter where cycling is an impossibility and running is drastically reduced due to icy sidewalks, I'll continue with the yoga (maybe go to 2x per week), and hit the P90x, as I've wanted to go through the full 90 day cycle.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
BLOG REBOOT - Focus on IMLP 2012
I've obviously kinda been ignoring this blog for a while, but now that that Patriot Half Iron is finished, and I'm officially signed up for the full iron at Lake Placid in 2012, I thought I might start up again. Now that I actually have an end goal to write about, and it is a year away - it seems more purposeful to detail my training with that goal in mind, as opposed to an open ended 'this is what I did today', etc. Because really, who cares about that?
PS - and after trying to publish this post, I remember why I stopped - IE9 doesn't work so well with blogger, unless in compatibility mode. Unfortunately that makes me lose all the writing of my post, which is infuriating.
PS - and after trying to publish this post, I remember why I stopped - IE9 doesn't work so well with blogger, unless in compatibility mode. Unfortunately that makes me lose all the writing of my post, which is infuriating.
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