I've been away from here for entirely too long.
My training has been going so-so. I've had some really, really good days and some less than good days.
Last Sunday through Tuesday (3/30-4/1) were some GREAT training days. Sunday I started ignoring my watch when out on my run. Well, not entirely, basically I just set it so that I couldn't see what my pace was, instead just watching the total time and trying to monitor my current effort. I ended up doing 10.2 miles in 90 minutes, an 8:48 pace! And I felt really good.
Monday was more of the same, this time on the bike. My 90 minute bike ride resulted in an average 138 watts. When i did my swim, the pool was set to 50m instead of 25 yards... what a difference THAT makes! I think i mentioned this once before, but holy cow...
Then Tuesday I rocked the bike AND the run on my interval sets.
On the not so great side, I missed my speed workouts the last two weeks... I just got so caught up in my work that I completely missed them. My swim on Sunday was short too because, again, I got caught up working and forgot how late it was so I was only able to get in part of the workout.
On the plus side, these are time management problems, not problems due to injury, over-training or anything like that so I should be (and I am!) thankful for that. Eventually I'm going to get my internal clock straight and get my sorry butt out of bed early enough to work out BEFORE I go to studio, that way I can't get caught up in work and lose track of time.
Showing posts with label Run. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Run. Show all posts
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
The Post of Shame...
I hate missing workouts. If I miss one, I get grumpy, a couple and I'm miserable... miss a whole week and all I've got is shame.
Ok, so maybe I shouldn't feel that bad about it. my thesis was due on Friday and I literally didn't leave the school except to go home and sleep (one night not even that happened). I'm sure Matt over at Athletic Wannabee knows what that's like. Surviving off of homemade trail mix and whatever food I could get delivered and spending a ridiculous number of hours writing. I missed the whole week. As excited as I was to get going on training with the new benchmarks, the time just wasn't there.
however, i'm back in the saddle now. I got a decent ride in Saturday while watching the Original version of Empire Strikes Back, then got ina nice long run outdoors on Sunday. I'd have gone for a swim too but the rec was closed for Easter. I had forgotten it was Easter... this time last year I was in Boulder.
Oh, and I turned 29 on Friday.
Today i had a great swim. Well, not great, but certainly quite enjoyable. The pool was set to the 50m orientation for a change so i got to do my workout in a 50m pool for the first time. it was also a 3400m swim, my longest single workout yet, just over 2 miles. I thought about shooting for 2.4 miles... but decided against it, I'll get there soon enough.
Ok, so maybe I shouldn't feel that bad about it. my thesis was due on Friday and I literally didn't leave the school except to go home and sleep (one night not even that happened). I'm sure Matt over at Athletic Wannabee knows what that's like. Surviving off of homemade trail mix and whatever food I could get delivered and spending a ridiculous number of hours writing. I missed the whole week. As excited as I was to get going on training with the new benchmarks, the time just wasn't there.
however, i'm back in the saddle now. I got a decent ride in Saturday while watching the Original version of Empire Strikes Back, then got ina nice long run outdoors on Sunday. I'd have gone for a swim too but the rec was closed for Easter. I had forgotten it was Easter... this time last year I was in Boulder.
Oh, and I turned 29 on Friday.
Today i had a great swim. Well, not great, but certainly quite enjoyable. The pool was set to the 50m orientation for a change so i got to do my workout in a 50m pool for the first time. it was also a 3400m swim, my longest single workout yet, just over 2 miles. I thought about shooting for 2.4 miles... but decided against it, I'll get there soon enough.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Gonna fly now...
I had been looking forward to this test from the moment Mark had told me I'd be doing benchmark testing this week. As much as I enjoy cycling and running, I consider myself a runner first and foremost. Not a great one, but a runner nonetheless.
I wasn't entirely sure, going into the run test, what to hope for as far as a time or pace. I had been doing an 8:10 pace during fartleks without much in the way of trouble, but that was also with a 1'00" break after every 5 so I figured I'd use that as a starting point. What I probably should have done have done was ask Mark but that crusty independent streak we New Englanders have kept me from even thinking about asking him. D'oh!
Still, I was hoping to break 40'00", although now I wish I'd set the bar higher. A lot higher.
The Workout: in the evening…. 5 mile TT at the track… even pace it… ALL OUT for this distance… WU and CD properly… focus… kill it (get splits please 400's if you can)
The Approach: I took a modified fartlek approach, I didn't want to burn out early and worked in occasional half laps that were easier than my steady pace by about :30/mile. In retrospect, I wish I hadn't done that (should have asked Mark).
The Results:
Splits are per/400 with the net time after
1. 2'00" 2'00"
2. 2'07" 4'07"
3. 2'00" 6'08"
4. 2'00" 8'08"
5. 2'07" 10'15"
6. 2'00" 12'15"
7. 1'56" 14'12"
8. 1'52" 16'04"
9. 2'02" 18'07"
10. 1'56" 20'04"
11. 1'55" 21'59"
12. 1'56" 23'55"
13. 2'03" 25'59"
14. 1'55" 27'54"
15. 1'57" 29'52"
16. 2'05" 31'57"
17. 1'49" 33'46"
18. 1'49" 35'35"
19. 1'45" 37'21"
20. 1'35" 38'56
I'm pretty pleased with the results although, honestly, I think I could have done better, which is a shame. I started a little timid I think, reminding myself not to burn myself out early like I felt I did on the swim. As far as how i felt, my lungs never really got pumping until the last lap and a half though my legs were certainly feeling the burn throughout. I was very pleased with the finish and was stumbling pretty good after the finish but I think I underestimated myself early on.
*Edit: I was a little down on my results by the time I finished my post. Out of curiousity I decided to see how it compared to my last best 5k time. My best 5k was 23'46" a 7'40" pace. The last 5k of my 5 mile run was 23'48"... just under a 7'41" pace. This was after putting in almost 2 miles in front of it. maybe I shouldn't be quite so dissatisfied...
I wasn't entirely sure, going into the run test, what to hope for as far as a time or pace. I had been doing an 8:10 pace during fartleks without much in the way of trouble, but that was also with a 1'00" break after every 5 so I figured I'd use that as a starting point. What I probably should have done have done was ask Mark but that crusty independent streak we New Englanders have kept me from even thinking about asking him. D'oh!
Still, I was hoping to break 40'00", although now I wish I'd set the bar higher. A lot higher.
The Workout: in the evening…. 5 mile TT at the track… even pace it… ALL OUT for this distance… WU and CD properly… focus… kill it (get splits please 400's if you can)
The Approach: I took a modified fartlek approach, I didn't want to burn out early and worked in occasional half laps that were easier than my steady pace by about :30/mile. In retrospect, I wish I hadn't done that (should have asked Mark).
The Results:
Splits are per/400 with the net time after
1. 2'00" 2'00"
2. 2'07" 4'07"
3. 2'00" 6'08"
4. 2'00" 8'08"
5. 2'07" 10'15"
6. 2'00" 12'15"
7. 1'56" 14'12"
8. 1'52" 16'04"
9. 2'02" 18'07"
10. 1'56" 20'04"
11. 1'55" 21'59"
12. 1'56" 23'55"
13. 2'03" 25'59"
14. 1'55" 27'54"
15. 1'57" 29'52"
16. 2'05" 31'57"
17. 1'49" 33'46"
18. 1'49" 35'35"
19. 1'45" 37'21"
20. 1'35" 38'56
I'm pretty pleased with the results although, honestly, I think I could have done better, which is a shame. I started a little timid I think, reminding myself not to burn myself out early like I felt I did on the swim. As far as how i felt, my lungs never really got pumping until the last lap and a half though my legs were certainly feeling the burn throughout. I was very pleased with the finish and was stumbling pretty good after the finish but I think I underestimated myself early on.
*Edit: I was a little down on my results by the time I finished my post. Out of curiousity I decided to see how it compared to my last best 5k time. My best 5k was 23'46" a 7'40" pace. The last 5k of my 5 mile run was 23'48"... just under a 7'41" pace. This was after putting in almost 2 miles in front of it. maybe I shouldn't be quite so dissatisfied...
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Good News, Bad News, Unrelated News...
First, the Bad News...
I changed the battery on my footpod Monday. Every time I have changed the battery in the past, I've checked the calibration afterwards with a mile run on the treadmill and a run on the outdoor track. I didn't do that this time since it's never, ever, been off before. I should note that the battery doesn't wear out fast typically, but I do often forget to turn the thing off after I run... oops. Anyhow, this time I didn't calibrate it first. This was also the first time I used a rechargeable battery in it. The instructions say not to use a rechargeable, but that just seemed silly and I wanted to be environmentally conscious.
Well, turns out, it made a difference... about .02 miles out of each mile. No big deal right? Wrong. That .02 difference is the difference between 5.19 miles and 5.29 miles a week later in the same workout and accounted for the difference in my paces that I was running this week on Tuesday night and the paces I ran last week during the same workout set.
So, that fantastic Tuesday workout, wasn't quite so fantastic.
Now for the Good News...
The Good News is that the paces that felt 'right' and 'good' Tuesday night were the paces I was supposed to be running. My bod was seeking out those paces on its own and knew what felt right. My watch may have been off, but my body knew what was right.
Also, I still felt great after the workout so i got in the workout I was supposed to and still felt really good afterwards, so it was still a great workout, it just wasn't quite Super Fantastic...
In Unrelated News...
Last night the Mies van der Rollers won the DAAP Bowling League Championship. This was the MvdR's 6th season in the league (where we have also been known as Frank Lloyd Strikes, Bowlhaus and The T-Spares) and we had to battle through a 3 round tournament, including facing two other teams of Thesis Year students to claim our prize and glory. Leading the way was Brendan "Father Time" Dillon who rolled 100 pins over his average for the three combined games.
Way to go van der Rollers!
I changed the battery on my footpod Monday. Every time I have changed the battery in the past, I've checked the calibration afterwards with a mile run on the treadmill and a run on the outdoor track. I didn't do that this time since it's never, ever, been off before. I should note that the battery doesn't wear out fast typically, but I do often forget to turn the thing off after I run... oops. Anyhow, this time I didn't calibrate it first. This was also the first time I used a rechargeable battery in it. The instructions say not to use a rechargeable, but that just seemed silly and I wanted to be environmentally conscious.
Well, turns out, it made a difference... about .02 miles out of each mile. No big deal right? Wrong. That .02 difference is the difference between 5.19 miles and 5.29 miles a week later in the same workout and accounted for the difference in my paces that I was running this week on Tuesday night and the paces I ran last week during the same workout set.
So, that fantastic Tuesday workout, wasn't quite so fantastic.
Now for the Good News...
The Good News is that the paces that felt 'right' and 'good' Tuesday night were the paces I was supposed to be running. My bod was seeking out those paces on its own and knew what felt right. My watch may have been off, but my body knew what was right.
Also, I still felt great after the workout so i got in the workout I was supposed to and still felt really good afterwards, so it was still a great workout, it just wasn't quite Super Fantastic...
In Unrelated News...
Last night the Mies van der Rollers won the DAAP Bowling League Championship. This was the MvdR's 6th season in the league (where we have also been known as Frank Lloyd Strikes, Bowlhaus and The T-Spares) and we had to battle through a 3 round tournament, including facing two other teams of Thesis Year students to claim our prize and glory. Leading the way was Brendan "Father Time" Dillon who rolled 100 pins over his average for the three combined games.
Way to go van der Rollers!
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Eat my dust...
I rocked my run tonight. Rocked it. I kept trying to slow myself down, trying to ease back to the 8:10 pace I'm supposed to keep up... but that isn't what happened. I'll have to check the workout tomorrow when i upload it but I know I rocked it.
More on the good news front, Mark has me scheduled for some time trial testing to set some new benchmarks. He's been very pleased with the progress so far and I've been thrilled. I can't wait for the tests...
More on the good news front, Mark has me scheduled for some time trial testing to set some new benchmarks. He's been very pleased with the progress so far and I've been thrilled. I can't wait for the tests...
Monday, March 03, 2008
Week in Review
Well, last week was a pretty good week all around. I got my 2500yd swim under 50' 00" which was a goal from the prior week.
My long ride on Saturday was agonizing... not from a physical standpoint, far from it. Mentally, however, it's not easy to maintain focus, or even interest, when riding indoors for three hours. The last half hour was a conscious battle, tracking every step of the workout set, telling myself over and over again that it was almost done. That aspect, more than anything else, is where the most training is coming in on those days. I watched the end of Transformers, all of the first X-Men movie and about half of X-Men 2 over the course of the ride.
Sunday my long run started off slow and a little tough. The battery died in my footpod so I was out of luck with that and had to resort to other means to track my pace. It didn't help that the hardest part of my Sunday long runs is always the first 10-20 minutes (again, a mental thing) and I had trouble finding my groove but about halfway through my second mile I found it and felt great for the rest of the run.
My long ride on Saturday was agonizing... not from a physical standpoint, far from it. Mentally, however, it's not easy to maintain focus, or even interest, when riding indoors for three hours. The last half hour was a conscious battle, tracking every step of the workout set, telling myself over and over again that it was almost done. That aspect, more than anything else, is where the most training is coming in on those days. I watched the end of Transformers, all of the first X-Men movie and about half of X-Men 2 over the course of the ride.
Sunday my long run started off slow and a little tough. The battery died in my footpod so I was out of luck with that and had to resort to other means to track my pace. It didn't help that the hardest part of my Sunday long runs is always the first 10-20 minutes (again, a mental thing) and I had trouble finding my groove but about halfway through my second mile I found it and felt great for the rest of the run.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Workouts and Race Schedule
Tuesday's workouts were great. Once again, I made a conscious effort to pay attention to how I felt during each workout.
During the run I had no recurrence of the side stitch that popped up during the same run last week. I spent some time talking to myself during the run in a way of trying to gauge my effort level, but since this isn't something I do frequently I don't have anything to judge it against. I can only say I wouldn't have had much trouble keeping up a conversation. I tried singing to myself (very quietly since I was in the gym) as well but that wasn't too successful. Then again, I don't think I've ever had an instance where I tried singing that could be called successful.
I lost track of time during the fourth repeat and went two minutes over the 5 minute set without blinking an eye. I felt pretty good when it was over and I think I probably would have been able to repeat the workout right away.
According to my HR monitor (which I finally found in the very bottom of my gym bag, underneath the board that keeps the bag stiff) I was peaking at about 162 during the intervals and bottoming out at 146 during the recovery periods but mostly holding at around 155bpm. I was again holding a solid 8'10" pace so I'm pretty pleased.
I did some light upper body weight work after the run since I had the day off from swimming. Enough to feel the difference in the strengths of my right and left shoulders but not labour my left too much.
The bike ride was 80 minutes with 10 sets of 3'00" @ 130w and 3'00" @ 185+w and was also pretty good. I did the bike ride in the early evening and went out with friends almost immediately afterwards, spending a pretty fair amount of time on my feet without giving it any thought.
No noticeable aches or pains the next day and I got Wednesday's workouts done without giving Tuesday a second thought.
I feel like the Oliver Twist of triathlon... Please sir, can I have some more?
I've finally, officially, registered for my races. I'm signed up for...
8/10/08 - 5430 Long Course Triathlon in Boulder - I did this race last year in 7:21:50 and I'm looking forward to taking a BIG chunk of time off that precedent, at least getting below 7 hours and shooting for closer to 6:30. I know this is possible because last time I raced foolishly. This time I will race smart, I will train smart and I will kick butt.
8/30/08 - The Mayflower Triathlon in my hometown (and "America's Hometown" as it's sometimes known) of Plymouth, MA - This is only 3 weeks after the long course, but I'm doing it as a much more casual event. It's an international distance race and I chose this race largely so that my family could see me do a race.
July/August - 6 pack of Stroke and Strides at the Boulder Reservoir - I love these events, they're a lot of fun.
During the run I had no recurrence of the side stitch that popped up during the same run last week. I spent some time talking to myself during the run in a way of trying to gauge my effort level, but since this isn't something I do frequently I don't have anything to judge it against. I can only say I wouldn't have had much trouble keeping up a conversation. I tried singing to myself (very quietly since I was in the gym) as well but that wasn't too successful. Then again, I don't think I've ever had an instance where I tried singing that could be called successful.
I lost track of time during the fourth repeat and went two minutes over the 5 minute set without blinking an eye. I felt pretty good when it was over and I think I probably would have been able to repeat the workout right away.
According to my HR monitor (which I finally found in the very bottom of my gym bag, underneath the board that keeps the bag stiff) I was peaking at about 162 during the intervals and bottoming out at 146 during the recovery periods but mostly holding at around 155bpm. I was again holding a solid 8'10" pace so I'm pretty pleased.
I did some light upper body weight work after the run since I had the day off from swimming. Enough to feel the difference in the strengths of my right and left shoulders but not labour my left too much.
The bike ride was 80 minutes with 10 sets of 3'00" @ 130w and 3'00" @ 185+w and was also pretty good. I did the bike ride in the early evening and went out with friends almost immediately afterwards, spending a pretty fair amount of time on my feet without giving it any thought.
No noticeable aches or pains the next day and I got Wednesday's workouts done without giving Tuesday a second thought.
I feel like the Oliver Twist of triathlon... Please sir, can I have some more?
I've finally, officially, registered for my races. I'm signed up for...
8/10/08 - 5430 Long Course Triathlon in Boulder - I did this race last year in 7:21:50 and I'm looking forward to taking a BIG chunk of time off that precedent, at least getting below 7 hours and shooting for closer to 6:30. I know this is possible because last time I raced foolishly. This time I will race smart, I will train smart and I will kick butt.
8/30/08 - The Mayflower Triathlon in my hometown (and "America's Hometown" as it's sometimes known) of Plymouth, MA - This is only 3 weeks after the long course, but I'm doing it as a much more casual event. It's an international distance race and I chose this race largely so that my family could see me do a race.
July/August - 6 pack of Stroke and Strides at the Boulder Reservoir - I love these events, they're a lot of fun.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Tuesday Intervals and a Long Swim
I've been meaning to get this down... Mark has wanted to know how the Tuesday workouts feel and I said I'd write something up that's a little more detailed on them. I jotted down some notes so here they are.
The Run - I did this workout first. The switch to 5:00 on and 1:00 off was kind of a big one. I had a little bit of a stitch in my side toward the end of the second repetition but it faded during the recovery minute and didn't return. I nailed the paces pretty good for each interval though, .61 miles for every 5 minutes which breaks down to an 8:11 interval. My goal pace was 8:10. I felt like I had a couple more repetitions in me but I was stopped by 1. The Schedule and 2. The bike ride I had later.
The Bike - This was fun. Sort of. Actually it really was. The bulk of the workout was 10x 3'00" at 130 followed by 3'00" at 185. No trouble really during the workout but I was certainly glad it was over! This was a bump up from the 10x 3'00 at 160 followed by 3'00" at 185 Mark had me doing before. That said though, the switch from the god-awful stationary bikes to my bike on a trainer with a power meter with an actual fan in front of me instead of a tiny little vent on the top of the stationary bike felt like a much better workout. I was finishing those workouts on the stationary bike dripping an unhealthy amount of sweat. I'm pretty sure their power readings were off as well.
The next day - I was definitely glad I didn't have to do either of those workouts again the next day, I had a little bit of heaviness in the legs, more of a tiredness than a soreness but I was looking forward to the run and didn't have any trouble with it.
Friday...
I got to the Rec for my swim, checked my workout and realized.. Whoa! 1500Yard steady swim? Really? 2500? I've never done a straight swim that long before, freestyle OR breast stroke. That's 1.4 miles... straight. Well, knowing me, I was up for the challenge! I got the first 2000 yards in feeling pretty solid in 40 minutes flat but I really felt my form slip in the last 500 yards and slowed down a lot (or at least it felt like a lot) finishing in 50:15. Still, I'm pretty pleased with that result and I look forward to pushing my time under 50 even.
The Run - I did this workout first. The switch to 5:00 on and 1:00 off was kind of a big one. I had a little bit of a stitch in my side toward the end of the second repetition but it faded during the recovery minute and didn't return. I nailed the paces pretty good for each interval though, .61 miles for every 5 minutes which breaks down to an 8:11 interval. My goal pace was 8:10. I felt like I had a couple more repetitions in me but I was stopped by 1. The Schedule and 2. The bike ride I had later.
The Bike - This was fun. Sort of. Actually it really was. The bulk of the workout was 10x 3'00" at 130 followed by 3'00" at 185. No trouble really during the workout but I was certainly glad it was over! This was a bump up from the 10x 3'00 at 160 followed by 3'00" at 185 Mark had me doing before. That said though, the switch from the god-awful stationary bikes to my bike on a trainer with a power meter with an actual fan in front of me instead of a tiny little vent on the top of the stationary bike felt like a much better workout. I was finishing those workouts on the stationary bike dripping an unhealthy amount of sweat. I'm pretty sure their power readings were off as well.
The next day - I was definitely glad I didn't have to do either of those workouts again the next day, I had a little bit of heaviness in the legs, more of a tiredness than a soreness but I was looking forward to the run and didn't have any trouble with it.
Friday...
I got to the Rec for my swim, checked my workout and realized.. Whoa! 1500Yard steady swim? Really? 2500? I've never done a straight swim that long before, freestyle OR breast stroke. That's 1.4 miles... straight. Well, knowing me, I was up for the challenge! I got the first 2000 yards in feeling pretty solid in 40 minutes flat but I really felt my form slip in the last 500 yards and slowed down a lot (or at least it felt like a lot) finishing in 50:15. Still, I'm pretty pleased with that result and I look forward to pushing my time under 50 even.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)