So since my race on Sunday, I've had a couple of very light workouts. I am on the first of 2 consecutive days off. Wow, I can't believe this used to be my everyday life. Don't get me wrong, it is nice walking around without any soreness, but I miss the regimen.
How did I live like this? How could I consider this normal? Do most people live like this? Having a few days off is definitely good for the body, I've kept my diet on track. I am now realizing how much I truly like all of this training. It has become such an integral part of my life, I am thankful for it. The gains that I have made have me dreaming about a great season (now if I could only bike and swim).
Speaking of training, Max has me doing a 13.1 mile run TT on Tuesday, February 23rd. I am thinking of driving to Quassy (where the Rev3 Tri is held) and doing the same run course that we will be doing on race day. I am thinking it will have to be the weekend before or the weekend after. If anyone wants to join me, I'd welcome the company.
I have been impressed with everyone's results this week and I start back in full on February 1st. I may have Nancy guest blog as she has been grumbling a lot about Max this week.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Results!
As everyone knows who reads my posts, I had a half marathon earlier today. I know everyone likes the results first so here they are;
1:40:16; 193rd out of 661 in my age group (35-39) Avg. HR 167; 7:39 avg. mile
This morning I ate a PBJ on a bagel, which I will have to find something else as I tasted it throughout the race. Got to the race with time to spare, saw my friend who runs about the same as me and off we went.
I had told Max that in a perfect world I would like to hold 7:30 miles. I knew this was extremely ambitious as my only ever stand alone half marathon was a 1:59:28.
The first mile was 7:37, the second was even slower. I felt terrible between mile 1.5 and mile 3. By the time I hit mile 5 I was worried if I kept this up I might not break 1:45 (my realistic goal). At mile 7 I figured I better pick up the pace and move it. At mile 10 my watch read 1:19:04, which as I just calculated was 7:54 pace. My PR 5K is 20:27, so I thought there was no chance to sniff 1:40's. I managed somehow a 21:12 5K to get to the finish. Needless to say, I am thrilled with my time and even more so with how I finished.
I have no soreness whatsoever yet, my calves get a little tight sometimes from running (tight ankles). As I am sure we all do with our races, I am thinking I would have loved to break 1:40. When I told this to Max, he said "What's another 17 seconds off of about 20 minutes" Puts it into perspective how far I've come.
Another thing I just checked was my total mileage for the past 3 months, November was 28.2 miles. December was 16.5 miles and January up to today was 14. All of this with never doing more than a 10K.
I guess you really don't have to do a lot of running to improve your running times. I have a very light week coming up and hit the ground running (maybe not so much) in February.
1:40:16; 193rd out of 661 in my age group (35-39) Avg. HR 167; 7:39 avg. mile
This morning I ate a PBJ on a bagel, which I will have to find something else as I tasted it throughout the race. Got to the race with time to spare, saw my friend who runs about the same as me and off we went.
I had told Max that in a perfect world I would like to hold 7:30 miles. I knew this was extremely ambitious as my only ever stand alone half marathon was a 1:59:28.
The first mile was 7:37, the second was even slower. I felt terrible between mile 1.5 and mile 3. By the time I hit mile 5 I was worried if I kept this up I might not break 1:45 (my realistic goal). At mile 7 I figured I better pick up the pace and move it. At mile 10 my watch read 1:19:04, which as I just calculated was 7:54 pace. My PR 5K is 20:27, so I thought there was no chance to sniff 1:40's. I managed somehow a 21:12 5K to get to the finish. Needless to say, I am thrilled with my time and even more so with how I finished.
I have no soreness whatsoever yet, my calves get a little tight sometimes from running (tight ankles). As I am sure we all do with our races, I am thinking I would have loved to break 1:40. When I told this to Max, he said "What's another 17 seconds off of about 20 minutes" Puts it into perspective how far I've come.
Another thing I just checked was my total mileage for the past 3 months, November was 28.2 miles. December was 16.5 miles and January up to today was 14. All of this with never doing more than a 10K.
I guess you really don't have to do a lot of running to improve your running times. I have a very light week coming up and hit the ground running (maybe not so much) in February.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Ready to Run
Thursday's workout was 8x 200m run at 75% effort. I was still feeling a bit under the weather, but figured it would be nice to work up a sweat. As I started at 7.5 mph on the treadmill, it was about a minute of running. I was planning to rest the amount of time it took to run so I figured I'd run a minute/walk a minute. Finished up at 8.2 mph for the last minute. Felt better when I left than when I got there.
Yesterday was an off day and I had a conversation with Max about race strategy. We decided to deviate a little from the previous plans and try to hold a time/pace going through the race. I will wear my HR monitor, but turn the watch around so I can look back to see what my average HR was during the race.
Today was a 20 minute run at 70% effort. Put the treadmill at 7mph and felt really good. I still have some remnants of my cold, but am hoping they won't interfere with tomorrow morning.
I hope everyone is feeling good, reading your blogs definitly has me motivated, I will do my best to make "Team Trimax" proud.
Yesterday was an off day and I had a conversation with Max about race strategy. We decided to deviate a little from the previous plans and try to hold a time/pace going through the race. I will wear my HR monitor, but turn the watch around so I can look back to see what my average HR was during the race.
Today was a 20 minute run at 70% effort. Put the treadmill at 7mph and felt really good. I still have some remnants of my cold, but am hoping they won't interfere with tomorrow morning.
I hope everyone is feeling good, reading your blogs definitly has me motivated, I will do my best to make "Team Trimax" proud.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Back from the grave (almost)
Nancy and I just got back from a 4 night stay in beautiful Savannah, Georgia. Since I am tapering for my half marathon on 1/24 I felt that doing a couple of lighter runs outside in the nice weather would be great. I also figured I would be able to swim everyday. What's that saying "Man plans, God laughs"?
Friday night as I was getting ready for our trip I suddenly wasn't feeling too great. We got up early, made our flight (no delays) and got to Savannah. I had a 45 minute bike at 80% effort. Not feeling great still decided to give it a try. Then Saturday night the cold hit me. First time in over 2 years that I've had so much as a sniffle. Sunday was a beautiful day, we were suppose to play golf have a little 20 minute bike/run brick and enjoy. Well, it didn't happen. I didn't leave the house until about 7:30pm to get some food. Monday was a scheduled off day and I was planning on playing golf (it didn't happen). I was still feeling pretty stinky Monday night, but better. Yesterday was already feeling somewhat better. Had a squat workout at 70% for 5 sets of 5 reps. Did them all at 145lbs. It felt good to get moving again. We left today for NYC around noon and I feel I am about 80%, which is good because I had "Helen" today at 80% effort. Finished this in 14:42 with no assistance on the pullups. No troubles with our flight, for which I am thankful. I am really hoping I am at 100% for Sunday. Either way, I'll give it my best and be happy with my effort.
Friday night as I was getting ready for our trip I suddenly wasn't feeling too great. We got up early, made our flight (no delays) and got to Savannah. I had a 45 minute bike at 80% effort. Not feeling great still decided to give it a try. Then Saturday night the cold hit me. First time in over 2 years that I've had so much as a sniffle. Sunday was a beautiful day, we were suppose to play golf have a little 20 minute bike/run brick and enjoy. Well, it didn't happen. I didn't leave the house until about 7:30pm to get some food. Monday was a scheduled off day and I was planning on playing golf (it didn't happen). I was still feeling pretty stinky Monday night, but better. Yesterday was already feeling somewhat better. Had a squat workout at 70% for 5 sets of 5 reps. Did them all at 145lbs. It felt good to get moving again. We left today for NYC around noon and I feel I am about 80%, which is good because I had "Helen" today at 80% effort. Finished this in 14:42 with no assistance on the pullups. No troubles with our flight, for which I am thankful. I am really hoping I am at 100% for Sunday. Either way, I'll give it my best and be happy with my effort.
Friday, January 15, 2010
All is well
So yesterday I had a 5K for time. Did this on the treadmill as it would take a while to get to the Westside Highway, run, then stagger home. I warmed up for a few minutes and got started.
First minute was at 8.5mph, 2nd minute was 8.6, 3rd minute was 8.7, 4th minute 8.8, 5th minute 8.9, 6th minute at 9.0mph. Held it at 9.0 until 2.1 miles, then started bumping up the speed about every tenth of a mile or so. Was at 10.2mph when I hit the 5K mark at 20:27. This is a PR for me so I am really pleased with the result.
The only detractor is that it was done on the treadmill. I often wonder if I was outside, could I push it this hard. The treadmill forces us to run at the programmed speed.
Nancy and I are going away tomorrow through Wednesday next week. I won't be updating until then, but I will get all of my workouts in and some extra swimming.
First minute was at 8.5mph, 2nd minute was 8.6, 3rd minute was 8.7, 4th minute 8.8, 5th minute 8.9, 6th minute at 9.0mph. Held it at 9.0 until 2.1 miles, then started bumping up the speed about every tenth of a mile or so. Was at 10.2mph when I hit the 5K mark at 20:27. This is a PR for me so I am really pleased with the result.
The only detractor is that it was done on the treadmill. I often wonder if I was outside, could I push it this hard. The treadmill forces us to run at the programmed speed.
Nancy and I are going away tomorrow through Wednesday next week. I won't be updating until then, but I will get all of my workouts in and some extra swimming.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Happy Daze
So yesterday's workout was of course a double. The first part was 10,20,30 rep rounds of box jumps, squats, pushups and burpees. I thought I wasn't too sore from the previous day's squats until I tried my first box jump and realized my legs felt fully leaded. Then as I am doing my squats, I looked in the mirror and realized I looked like the Fonz from Happy Days when he did that crazy dancing. Made myself laugh and finished in 13:21.
Second part of the workout was a 20K bike TT. at 80% effort. This was hard to regulate after going all out on previous workouts. Finished this part in 49:31. This workout was done on the recumbent bike at the gym for my apartment complex. Not even close to being optimal.
I realize that after swimming, biking is a big weakness of mine. Not so much the strength needed, but the actual ability (or lack thereof). Living in NYC it is a pain to ride outside (although doable in nice weather). Living in an apartment with animals that like to chew anything, makes it a process to take my bike out of the closet, set up my trainer, set up the bike, lock the cats away and ride. This is why I usually end up doing the stationary bike at the gym. Also, my computer broke during my last race and I have not had it fixed yet. I realize as I am writing this that these all sound like excuses and not valid reasons. After my race on the 24th, I will use the trainer for all bike workouts (that I don't go outside for).
Second part of the workout was a 20K bike TT. at 80% effort. This was hard to regulate after going all out on previous workouts. Finished this part in 49:31. This workout was done on the recumbent bike at the gym for my apartment complex. Not even close to being optimal.
I realize that after swimming, biking is a big weakness of mine. Not so much the strength needed, but the actual ability (or lack thereof). Living in NYC it is a pain to ride outside (although doable in nice weather). Living in an apartment with animals that like to chew anything, makes it a process to take my bike out of the closet, set up my trainer, set up the bike, lock the cats away and ride. This is why I usually end up doing the stationary bike at the gym. Also, my computer broke during my last race and I have not had it fixed yet. I realize as I am writing this that these all sound like excuses and not valid reasons. After my race on the 24th, I will use the trainer for all bike workouts (that I don't go outside for).
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
I guess Max does know squat!
Today's workout called for 5 sets of 3 reps of max weight back squats. A little background first. My legs have always been skinny. More importantly they have always been weak. Even when I used to work out a lot (long time ago) I never did squats. When I started this training, I realized I couldn't care about my ego or what I looked like doing any type of exercise prescribed. The goal was to be able to finish. I was fortunate enough to stumble onto Max and he has been helping ever since. One thing I seem to be doing with some regularity is squats.
On November 3rd 2009, the most I could handle for 3 reps was 165lbs.
December 26th I was able to get 185lbs for 5 reps.
Tonight's result was one set at 185lbs, then 4 sets at 205lbs.
These results have made me optimistic about what the season might hold.
On November 3rd 2009, the most I could handle for 3 reps was 165lbs.
December 26th I was able to get 185lbs for 5 reps.
Tonight's result was one set at 185lbs, then 4 sets at 205lbs.
These results have made me optimistic about what the season might hold.
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