I haven't been posting much in this blog for the past couple weeks (obviously!) - mostly because nothing I've been doing has had much significance. But that doesn't mean I've been idle. I've mostly been doing some pool time as well as short runs. Many of the runs have been with the dog - since I have doubts about his endurance for longer distances, and I've also heard that dogs will keep going even when they shouldn't, in order to keep up - I wanted to start him off on runs that take about as long as one of our park walks. The other reason for shorter runs was that I just wanted to give the surgical repair from December more time to heal.
For the sake of jotting everything down, here's the summary of what I've done over the past few weeks:
Jogging:
1/24 - 1.8 miles, 17:42, avg HR: 157
1/26 - 3.4 miles, N/A (forgot to start HR monitor!)
1/27 - 3.4 miles, 32:55, avg HR: 158
Swimming:
1/17 - 30:28, avg HR: 149, power: 45-50
1/23 - 29:33, avg HR: 164, power: 50-55
1/28 - 33:35, avg HR: 148, power: ~50
The past few days, I had been wanting to go for a longer distance run. Mostly to test out the waters post-surgery, but also because I can only run loops in the neighborhood so many times in a row without going crazy. The problem has been that the weather has been cold enough to keep the ice and snow on the sidewalks from melting. Today it was a bit warmer though, and with it being daylight, I figured I'd give it a shot. It might require fancy footwork, result in wet feet sloshing through puddles, and jumping out into the road when able and jumping back onto the sidewalk when traffic approaches - but it was something different.
Total Distance: 6 miles
Total Time: 1:00:21
Avg HR: 165
So, my first thought was 'oh crap, here I am back at 10 minute miles again', followed by 'I hope this doesn't mean I'll effectively be starting over from scratch'. I guess we'll see - but I suspect that a good 30 sec/mile would be knocked off if I were to go do that loop again within the next two days. Unfortunately, that will not happen due to work and few daylight hours - but I might be able to do the loop twice next weekend and see what happens. Regardless, I should be able to do the 3.4 mile loop in the neighborhood a few times this week - so we'll see if todays exercise will help those times, and provide a comparison for the shorter runs over the past few weeks.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
30 minute swim - 1/11
Last week I did a couple pool sessions, but they were more centered around working the bugs out of the waterproof headphones. With very narrow ear canals that take a circuitous route to the eardrum - typical in-ear headphones dont work worth a damn for me. So I've had to adapt the waterproof ones by getting silicone earplugs from the drug store and finagling them so that they create a decent-enough seal. I was also toying around with some sprint work, where I'd swim at a high exertion rate for a couple-few minutes, and then rest. This is as opposed to all my workouts before in the pool where I just set the countercurrent machine to one setting and go.
So with most of the issues worked out, todays swim was the first one where I was able to concentrate more on the swimming then whether my ears were filling up with water.
Total time: 28 minutes (~20 minutes steady state, latter part of workout was interval based)
So with most of the issues worked out, todays swim was the first one where I was able to concentrate more on the swimming then whether my ears were filling up with water.
Total time: 28 minutes (~20 minutes steady state, latter part of workout was interval based)
Monday, January 5, 2009
30 minute swim - 1/4
Today I ventured into the pool, anxious to try out my new waterproof headset and iPod Shuffle. Normally, I'm the kind of person that can zone out when exercising as long as I'm moving and there is scenary going by. However, when I get on a treadmill or go in the Endless Pool, I've found I need some help to go beyond about 20 minutes.
The music definately helped out quite a bit - but it became pretty clear that rock music isn't the most ideal. While it can definately fire you up and get the adrenaline going - the beat isn't quite right. I've heard people say that certain types of techno is good for cardio workouts, because the rhythm just works for it. I'm not normally a big fan of techno music - but in this case it may be that the attributes which make me not like it end up being the exact reason why it would work for this application. I'll have to check that out.
Since I was more concerned with checking the viability of the headphones, I didn't worry too much about consistency on the pools power setting. It generally was around 40-50 - about average for what I have been doing.
Total Time: 28:18
Avg HR: 152
The music definately helped out quite a bit - but it became pretty clear that rock music isn't the most ideal. While it can definately fire you up and get the adrenaline going - the beat isn't quite right. I've heard people say that certain types of techno is good for cardio workouts, because the rhythm just works for it. I'm not normally a big fan of techno music - but in this case it may be that the attributes which make me not like it end up being the exact reason why it would work for this application. I'll have to check that out.
Since I was more concerned with checking the viability of the headphones, I didn't worry too much about consistency on the pools power setting. It generally was around 40-50 - about average for what I have been doing.
Total Time: 28:18
Avg HR: 152
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Baystate Marathon on October 18, 2009
I'm one of the first - and quite possibly THE first person to register for the 2009 Baystate Marathon. Registration supposedly opened on 1/1/09 - but when I went to register online on 1/2/09 - the page came up blank. So who knows.
If nothing else, it is a sign that I'm antsy - and I can't even start training yet, damnit!
My time goal is 3.5 hours.
If nothing else, it is a sign that I'm antsy - and I can't even start training yet, damnit!
My time goal is 3.5 hours.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Goals for 2009
Just to jot down a few things I want to accomplish in this up coming year of kicking my own ass. This is generally in order of increasing time/difficulty.
1) Complete the sprint triathlon I've registered for on 5/10
2) Build up to and finish a few century (100+ miles) bike rides
3) Complete the baystate marathon in October in 3:30
4) Bike to work on a more regular basis (weather and travel schedule permitting)
5) Starting around March or April - take 1 vacation day per month to dedicate to hardcore swimming/cycling/running training, working up to 6-7 hours worth.
6) Bike to my parents house (about 50 miles), swim across the lake and back (about 1 mile) and bike back home.
7) Get a few people together to cycle across the state (take a 3-4 day weekend to do this)
1) Complete the sprint triathlon I've registered for on 5/10
2) Build up to and finish a few century (100+ miles) bike rides
3) Complete the baystate marathon in October in 3:30
4) Bike to work on a more regular basis (weather and travel schedule permitting)
5) Starting around March or April - take 1 vacation day per month to dedicate to hardcore swimming/cycling/running training, working up to 6-7 hours worth.
6) Bike to my parents house (about 50 miles), swim across the lake and back (about 1 mile) and bike back home.
7) Get a few people together to cycle across the state (take a 3-4 day weekend to do this)
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Setting the stage for next year
This year's ass kicking is coming to a close - but I could not bring myself to allow that to happen without at least having something on the horizon.
So this morning I registered for the Sudbury Spring Sprint triathlon. It takes place on May 10, 2009 - so I should be plenty recovered from surgery by then, and hopefully a couple months into jogging, biking and swim training. Right now I could do a sprint tri any day of the week - I may not be fast, but I could complete it. So I've been figuring that a sprint tri in the spring of 2009 would be a good way to get back into the swing of things after the upcoming downtime.
So this morning I registered for the Sudbury Spring Sprint triathlon. It takes place on May 10, 2009 - so I should be plenty recovered from surgery by then, and hopefully a couple months into jogging, biking and swim training. Right now I could do a sprint tri any day of the week - I may not be fast, but I could complete it. So I've been figuring that a sprint tri in the spring of 2009 would be a good way to get back into the swing of things after the upcoming downtime.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
11 Miles - 12/6
One last longer run before surgery this coming Thursday. I'm hopeful that after about 3-4 weeks, I'll be able to resume runs in the 5 mile range, and after 2 months, I'll be able to get back into the 10 mile range. I want to hit the month of March being pretty much ready to go for full marathon training.
Today's run was quite a bit different than my typical long runs, as I had someone else to run with. I had recently been emailing with an old coworkers husband who has gotten back into running himself over the past few years. Although his pace is considerably faster than mine (he did a half marathon in the fall in less than 90 minutes), we both typically run solo. As a potential way to break that monotony once in a while, we decided to get a long run in before my surgery, with the possibility that next year, we might be able to meet up a couple times a month - depending on our respective training schedules and paces.
So we started off at about 7 am. I debated whether to bring water with me or not - but it was cold enough that I didn't anticipate I'd lose much water to sweat. Instead, I just made sure I got myself plenty hydrated beforehand (but not too hydrated that I'd have to take a bio break).
Total Time: 1:40
Total Distance: 10.85 miles
Avg HR: 168
So there are a couple interesting data points for this run. First - the pace was just over 9 min/miles. Normally I make these long runs on the slower side, but I feel like once in a while it is good to push things a little bit - and having a running partner certainly makes that easier.
Second - the HR of 168 is a bit high for the pace. By contrast, the half marathon in October was run with an avg HR of 150, and the pace was about 8:45 min/mile. Of course, I've lost some conditioning since then, but also a large factor in the higher HR was act of casual conversation during the run. I've never really had a datapoint for how much my HR would rise when engaged in conversation - but now I have an idea - about 10-15 bpm.
Today's run was quite a bit different than my typical long runs, as I had someone else to run with. I had recently been emailing with an old coworkers husband who has gotten back into running himself over the past few years. Although his pace is considerably faster than mine (he did a half marathon in the fall in less than 90 minutes), we both typically run solo. As a potential way to break that monotony once in a while, we decided to get a long run in before my surgery, with the possibility that next year, we might be able to meet up a couple times a month - depending on our respective training schedules and paces.
So we started off at about 7 am. I debated whether to bring water with me or not - but it was cold enough that I didn't anticipate I'd lose much water to sweat. Instead, I just made sure I got myself plenty hydrated beforehand (but not too hydrated that I'd have to take a bio break).
Total Time: 1:40
Total Distance: 10.85 miles
Avg HR: 168
So there are a couple interesting data points for this run. First - the pace was just over 9 min/miles. Normally I make these long runs on the slower side, but I feel like once in a while it is good to push things a little bit - and having a running partner certainly makes that easier.
Second - the HR of 168 is a bit high for the pace. By contrast, the half marathon in October was run with an avg HR of 150, and the pace was about 8:45 min/mile. Of course, I've lost some conditioning since then, but also a large factor in the higher HR was act of casual conversation during the run. I've never really had a datapoint for how much my HR would rise when engaged in conversation - but now I have an idea - about 10-15 bpm.
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