Not a heck of alot is happening, last week was my first week of getting back to some 'normal' workout and feeling 100 percent healthy. Here's the numbers from build week number 1:
Swim: 7.1k
Spin: 7 hrs
Run: 49k
Two swims, with one of them being a 4k'er. I like the 4k swims because in my mind they are the ones that 'count'. Anything 4k and over counts because an IM swim is 3.8k, so I figure 4k plus is great for building endurance. If I can get 20 or so 4k+ swims between now and IMLP, my swim will be fine.
7 hours on the bike - no complaints there. The highpoint being last Thursday I did a 45 minute zone 3 workout - pushed 268 watts for the duration, felt good. I've come to the conclusion that to get fast on the bike, one really must embrace suffering. I don't know why, but when the legs start to hurt, I think they are fibbing because you can keep pushing at the same effort for a very long time before they truely start to give out. I only bring this up because I have an 80k time trial on the books for this week - and I'm looking forward to it with apprehensive trepidation.
Yay, I'm back running. While 49k isn't alot, it felt good and felt strong. I don't think I lost much run fitness during my sickness. Sunday's run was a 20k'er (hmm, nice -20C windchill) and I held sub 5min/K for the duration while keeping the heartrate in zone 1. A good sign.
So basically the plan for this week is to maintain swimming and biking and up the running K's a bit. Cheers!
Monday, February 26, 2007
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Bye-bye California, hello Arizona!
Egad, it's been awhile. I have not forgotten about you - honest! I was going to do an update on Friday, but got sidetracked by computer issues. Actually, the computer royally ticked me off, so I reformatted. Anyone who has done this before, knows it's a pain in the butt. The good news, I have my most of my old software back up and running and the system is running so much better now.
The last 2 weeks, I've been rather hamstrung by a nasty little bug that is being rather persistent. Last week I was going to 'get back at it' - and to a certain extent I was successful, but I was lacking heart. Things weren't still at 100%, so I kept the intensity down and just concentrated on getting back to being sick-free. Here is what I ended up doing last week:
Swim 5.9k
Spin: 9hr 10min
What? No running??! Yes, the running mileage has taken a severe beating in recent weeks. Sickness, snow storms and minus 25C windchills = no running for me! Decent spin time though and the extra time on the bike should help my muscle endurance. (which, in my opinion is my primary limiter for an Ironman) Which brings me to bye bye California, hello Arizona:
I'm slowly plugging away on the Race Across AMerica (RAAM) on my Computrainer. Curently, I'm on stage 8 out of 57, which puts me pretty much smack in the middle of Arizona. Depending how much RAAM riding I do, I should be in Utah by next week sometime.
So what's the plan? Ahhh, the 'plan', is always dynamic, but here is it's current incarnation. A 3 or 4 week build phase, followed by an easy week, followed by a big bike week, followed by an easy week. That'll put me into the beginning of April. Gotta get the running legs back, that's a priority - just consistent mileage and getting out 5 or 6 times a week. I had a scheduled 'A' race in the beginning of March, which actually sold out before I registered. I'm on the waiting list, if I'm offered a spot I'll take it, but it sure won't be an A race - it'll just be a good hard run.
That's all for now. Cheers!
The last 2 weeks, I've been rather hamstrung by a nasty little bug that is being rather persistent. Last week I was going to 'get back at it' - and to a certain extent I was successful, but I was lacking heart. Things weren't still at 100%, so I kept the intensity down and just concentrated on getting back to being sick-free. Here is what I ended up doing last week:
Swim 5.9k
Spin: 9hr 10min
What? No running??! Yes, the running mileage has taken a severe beating in recent weeks. Sickness, snow storms and minus 25C windchills = no running for me! Decent spin time though and the extra time on the bike should help my muscle endurance. (which, in my opinion is my primary limiter for an Ironman) Which brings me to bye bye California, hello Arizona:
I'm slowly plugging away on the Race Across AMerica (RAAM) on my Computrainer. Curently, I'm on stage 8 out of 57, which puts me pretty much smack in the middle of Arizona. Depending how much RAAM riding I do, I should be in Utah by next week sometime.
So what's the plan? Ahhh, the 'plan', is always dynamic, but here is it's current incarnation. A 3 or 4 week build phase, followed by an easy week, followed by a big bike week, followed by an easy week. That'll put me into the beginning of April. Gotta get the running legs back, that's a priority - just consistent mileage and getting out 5 or 6 times a week. I had a scheduled 'A' race in the beginning of March, which actually sold out before I registered. I'm on the waiting list, if I'm offered a spot I'll take it, but it sure won't be an A race - it'll just be a good hard run.
That's all for now. Cheers!
Friday, February 09, 2007
I've been sponsored and smoted!
The BIG news first. My employer, Canada Post, has agreed to sponsor me for 2007! I had some wacky promotional ideas, (carrying a letter around during the course of an Ironman was one..), that luckily they aren't going make me do. (I'm still not sure the best place to put the letter during the swim portion...) Bascially it boiled down to this, we like what you did you last year - keep up the good work. Hey! I can live with that. I've provided a nice helpful link to the Canada Post website on the left of your screen, so go click on it and buy a stamp or something!
And now for the 'smoting' part of today's post. It appears that the Super Bowl Gods weren't too fond of last Friday's mini rant against their game, by Monday I was sick as a dog - I've been smoted. I don't get sick often, but when I do, I usually go down for the count. So my workouts for this week look like this:
Monday - OFF
Tuesday - NADA
Wednesday - ZIP
Thursday - Z-E-R-O
Friday- run 7k and hack a lung out. (nah, it wasn't that bad)
So I'm starting to feel better today and did get a short run in. It's funny, being sick makes me depressed in ways like : 'I don't want to workout' or : 'I don't even feel like working out' or 'Bah, I've already lost fitness.. missing another day won't matter'.
That's the bad side...
The good side is: 'ahhh a forced rest, time for some extra muscle repair, so I can really start to rip it up' or 'this rest will make me stronger for later..'
Naturally, I side with the good, a forced rest this early and after some pretty good mileage for Oct, Nov, Dec and Jan is probably good for me. Either way, I'm looking forward to getting back to 100% so I can assauge some of this guilt of missing 4 days in a row! My recipe for getting well: rest, quality food, rest some more, get active when possible and just 'focus on getting well.'
Oh yeah another thing, I'm down to 156 pounds - that's only 5 pounds away from when I used to swim seriously, a mere 20 years ago! I think my new race weight will be 155.
Ok, I must go nap now. Have a great weekend!
And now for the 'smoting' part of today's post. It appears that the Super Bowl Gods weren't too fond of last Friday's mini rant against their game, by Monday I was sick as a dog - I've been smoted. I don't get sick often, but when I do, I usually go down for the count. So my workouts for this week look like this:
Monday - OFF
Tuesday - NADA
Wednesday - ZIP
Thursday - Z-E-R-O
Friday- run 7k and hack a lung out. (nah, it wasn't that bad)
So I'm starting to feel better today and did get a short run in. It's funny, being sick makes me depressed in ways like : 'I don't want to workout' or : 'I don't even feel like working out' or 'Bah, I've already lost fitness.. missing another day won't matter'.
That's the bad side...
The good side is: 'ahhh a forced rest, time for some extra muscle repair, so I can really start to rip it up' or 'this rest will make me stronger for later..'
Naturally, I side with the good, a forced rest this early and after some pretty good mileage for Oct, Nov, Dec and Jan is probably good for me. Either way, I'm looking forward to getting back to 100% so I can assauge some of this guilt of missing 4 days in a row! My recipe for getting well: rest, quality food, rest some more, get active when possible and just 'focus on getting well.'
Oh yeah another thing, I'm down to 156 pounds - that's only 5 pounds away from when I used to swim seriously, a mere 20 years ago! I think my new race weight will be 155.
Ok, I must go nap now. Have a great weekend!
Friday, February 02, 2007
SUPER January totals..
Hi, my name is Darren and and I couldn't care less that this weekend is super bowl Sunday. Can't stand the game. Can't stand the hype. Can't stand the hooplah. You couldn't pay me to watch it. I suppose many would consider that sacrilege and blasphemous, ahh well, to each his own. I do like the junk food though.....
Ok so the January totals aren't SUPER, but they aren't bad either - here ya go:
Run: 255.5k
Spin: 31 hrs 15 min
Swim: 15.65k
Failed to meet my monthly run goal of 300k, but I smashed my projected bike time. That was mostly due to my bike focus week where I did 16 hrs in 8 days. So even though I missed my run goal, the extra time on the bike made up for it.
As for swimming, I'm just getting back into it and progress has been good. Example: when I first got into the pool, I was winded doing a 5X200m on 3:15, coming in on 3:00. Today, I did the same set coming in sub 2:50's and more importantly it felt better. I think by mid March swimming will be back to normal.
I tried to sign up for my early season "A" race - The Chilly Half Marathon and it's SOLD OUT. Doh Doh Doh Doh Doh. I'm on the waiting list, so I'm hoping between that and me begging the race director I'll get in. I can't believe it sold in January - is this running thing catching on or what?
The weekend plan: Sat: spin 3 hrs or so. Not sure if I'm going to do Lake Placid or another leg on the RAAM course. Sunday: run. A cold run according to the forcast - oh joy.
Here's hoping you have a SUPER weekend! :) Cheers!
Ok so the January totals aren't SUPER, but they aren't bad either - here ya go:
Run: 255.5k
Spin: 31 hrs 15 min
Swim: 15.65k
Failed to meet my monthly run goal of 300k, but I smashed my projected bike time. That was mostly due to my bike focus week where I did 16 hrs in 8 days. So even though I missed my run goal, the extra time on the bike made up for it.
As for swimming, I'm just getting back into it and progress has been good. Example: when I first got into the pool, I was winded doing a 5X200m on 3:15, coming in on 3:00. Today, I did the same set coming in sub 2:50's and more importantly it felt better. I think by mid March swimming will be back to normal.
I tried to sign up for my early season "A" race - The Chilly Half Marathon and it's SOLD OUT. Doh Doh Doh Doh Doh. I'm on the waiting list, so I'm hoping between that and me begging the race director I'll get in. I can't believe it sold in January - is this running thing catching on or what?
The weekend plan: Sat: spin 3 hrs or so. Not sure if I'm going to do Lake Placid or another leg on the RAAM course. Sunday: run. A cold run according to the forcast - oh joy.
Here's hoping you have a SUPER weekend! :) Cheers!
Monday, January 29, 2007
Monday weigh in..
Bike focus week is done. From Saturday the 20th to Saturday 27th a total of 16 hours on the trainer, that's the equivalent of 500k -not too shaboo for January! Lesson learned: due to easier/faster recovery the key for building muscular endurance is to log lots of cycling miles. I mean lets face it, you can be great runner but if you don't have the cycling miles in your legs, you will not run well after a 180k bike in an Ironman!
So here are my Monday to Sunday totals:
Swim 5.85k
Spin: 10 hrs
Run: 42k
Weight: 160
Swimming is coming along ok, the stroke is slowly starting to feel better, which is pretty cool because today was only my 6th swim since IMC (Aug /06) - so it's only natural I'm going to be a little rusty in the water. I'm still just focusing on drill work, some pulling and the odd 5 X 200.
The goal for this week is to bring back up running frequency and mileage, log around 5 to 6 hours on the trainer and swim twice and take two easy days. (Monday and Friday).
Still no word on sponsorship, I'm hoping to get news in the next week or two so I can update my '07 race schedule. I'll keep you posted.
The 50/50 draw at work is progressing well - closing in 600 bux for the kids - good stuff.
Must... go.. make... dinner.. hmmmm... foooooooooood.
Cheers!
So here are my Monday to Sunday totals:
Swim 5.85k
Spin: 10 hrs
Run: 42k
Weight: 160
Swimming is coming along ok, the stroke is slowly starting to feel better, which is pretty cool because today was only my 6th swim since IMC (Aug /06) - so it's only natural I'm going to be a little rusty in the water. I'm still just focusing on drill work, some pulling and the odd 5 X 200.
The goal for this week is to bring back up running frequency and mileage, log around 5 to 6 hours on the trainer and swim twice and take two easy days. (Monday and Friday).
Still no word on sponsorship, I'm hoping to get news in the next week or two so I can update my '07 race schedule. I'll keep you posted.
The 50/50 draw at work is progressing well - closing in 600 bux for the kids - good stuff.
Must... go.. make... dinner.. hmmmm... foooooooooood.
Cheers!
Friday, January 26, 2007
Focus & Bonking
Note there is no 'i' in the title.
'Bonking' occurs when you deplete your energy stores, you are basically trying to complete a workout or race with the needle below empty. Generally, it's not a fun experience, power output is minimal and all you really want to do is curl up somewhere, eat some food and grab a nap.
Why am I talking about bonking in January? Usually this only happend during a long bike ride... Well, funny you should mention, but this is a bike focus week. I've been logging some good hours on the Computrainer this week and yesterday's workout was a douzy.
Let me recap the week thus far: Tues: Run 11k (25 min @tempo), 2 hours on the trainer. Wed: Run 9k (trails) 1 hour spinning. Thurs: a 3.5 hour trainer session. (new record!).
The thing about yesterday's workout was not only was it long, it was hard. I downloaded all the RAAM courses for the Computrainer. What is RAAM? Oh, it's a little race where people Ride Across AMerica.... on their bikes. Yea, it's whole new level insanity, which we can discuss at another time. So my thinking is
'hey, over the next little while, I'll plug away on the RAAM courses and eventually I'll be able to say I rode across America in training - so it's virtual riding, but it still counts. So I fire up stage one, (there are 57 in total) and holy crap it's HILLacious. I got more than I bargained for: net elevation was over 1100 meters and that's just net elevation, not even including all the ups and downs on the way. Zoinks. ALOT of hard climbing, I'm talking 15% grades up and out of saddle climbing. Wheeeee!
Average speed for the whole workout was a mere 24kph! Did I bonk? No, but it was close - power output was low and I feeling a little grumpy by the end, but at least I finished that sucker!
So, since Sat, I'm at 12.5 hours of trainer time and I still have 2.5 days to go...
That's all for now. Cheers!
'Bonking' occurs when you deplete your energy stores, you are basically trying to complete a workout or race with the needle below empty. Generally, it's not a fun experience, power output is minimal and all you really want to do is curl up somewhere, eat some food and grab a nap.
Why am I talking about bonking in January? Usually this only happend during a long bike ride... Well, funny you should mention, but this is a bike focus week. I've been logging some good hours on the Computrainer this week and yesterday's workout was a douzy.
Let me recap the week thus far: Tues: Run 11k (25 min @tempo), 2 hours on the trainer. Wed: Run 9k (trails) 1 hour spinning. Thurs: a 3.5 hour trainer session. (new record!).
The thing about yesterday's workout was not only was it long, it was hard. I downloaded all the RAAM courses for the Computrainer. What is RAAM? Oh, it's a little race where people Ride Across AMerica.... on their bikes. Yea, it's whole new level insanity, which we can discuss at another time. So my thinking is
'hey, over the next little while, I'll plug away on the RAAM courses and eventually I'll be able to say I rode across America in training - so it's virtual riding, but it still counts. So I fire up stage one, (there are 57 in total) and holy crap it's HILLacious. I got more than I bargained for: net elevation was over 1100 meters and that's just net elevation, not even including all the ups and downs on the way. Zoinks. ALOT of hard climbing, I'm talking 15% grades up and out of saddle climbing. Wheeeee!
Average speed for the whole workout was a mere 24kph! Did I bonk? No, but it was close - power output was low and I feeling a little grumpy by the end, but at least I finished that sucker!
So, since Sat, I'm at 12.5 hours of trainer time and I still have 2.5 days to go...
That's all for now. Cheers!
Monday, January 22, 2007
Monday weigh in
Ok ok.. I admit it. I'm a fair weather runner. My tolerance for cold weather running stops around the -8C degree mark. Throw some wind in the mix and my will to run evaporates. Luckily last week, was a designated easy week, so even though I bailed on a run or two, I won't allow myself to feel too guilty over it. Here's the mileage report:
swim: 5.6k
bike: 8hrs
run: 23.5k
weight: 160 (down another pound)
Only 2 runs for the week. Did I mention I'm a wuss when it's too cold? Here's what actually happened. Saturday woke up, walked the dog with Sally - all the while she got to listen to grumpy Darren cursing the weather the gods. I get backand bailed on my Sat morning run, instead I fire up the spinner and do a Lake Placid loop on my Computrainer. Phew, that makes up for the run I bailed on. Sunday... brrrr too cold. Run for 2 hours with -20C wind chills? Nah. So I did the Lake Placid loop again on Sunday - hence the spike in bike hours for the week.
I guess with the weekend dedicated to spinning, my bike focus week got bumped up a couple of days. So instead of a 6-day bike focus, it'll be a an 8 day focus. I've adjusted my build weeks. I used to do a 3 week build, followed by an easy week. This Jan I've been trying something new - 2 week build, easy week, focus week, easy week. We'll see how it goes..
Sorry for the short post, but Sal and I have a dvd date - we're starting 24 season 3. Cheers!
swim: 5.6k
bike: 8hrs
run: 23.5k
weight: 160 (down another pound)
Only 2 runs for the week. Did I mention I'm a wuss when it's too cold? Here's what actually happened. Saturday woke up, walked the dog with Sally - all the while she got to listen to grumpy Darren cursing the weather the gods. I get backand bailed on my Sat morning run, instead I fire up the spinner and do a Lake Placid loop on my Computrainer. Phew, that makes up for the run I bailed on. Sunday... brrrr too cold. Run for 2 hours with -20C wind chills? Nah. So I did the Lake Placid loop again on Sunday - hence the spike in bike hours for the week.
I guess with the weekend dedicated to spinning, my bike focus week got bumped up a couple of days. So instead of a 6-day bike focus, it'll be a an 8 day focus. I've adjusted my build weeks. I used to do a 3 week build, followed by an easy week. This Jan I've been trying something new - 2 week build, easy week, focus week, easy week. We'll see how it goes..
Sorry for the short post, but Sal and I have a dvd date - we're starting 24 season 3. Cheers!
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
The Hungry Trout, bike LT test.
Slowly starting to get things in place for Ironman Lake Placid. After a few days of searching and finding absolutely nothing in the accomodation department, we lucked out and secured a spot at The Hungry Trout Inn. Would I make this stuff up? Actually, the place looks pretty good and it's about 30 minutes outside of Lake Placid located on the bike course. Phew, I can now cross 'find accomodations' off the list.
Yesterday, I did my very first lactate threshold test on the bike. Zoinks, that was fun. If fun means 'sweating profusely while gasping for air and having your legs screaming at you to stop'. Then yes, that was fun. The bike LT test is similar to the run LT test - it's basically a 30 minute all out time trial in which you record your heartrate and determine your 'lactate threshold'. Your LT is then used to establish your training zones. The numbers are: avg watts 283, average HR: 170 - initially I didn't think I could hold this for 30 minutes, but I did - so I think it was a good test. Painful, but good.
So zone 1 (easy) is <139 HR and zone 2 (endurance) is 140-151 HR. Kind of funny as I've been training between 135 and 142 HR on the bike for the last few months.
I also got my 2nd swim of the year in yestereday, 2.6k. Easy sets, drillwork, nothing too hard - slowly getting the arms back in the swing of things.
Today: run 11k plus 1 hr on the bike - more drill work.
Tomorrow: swim & run
Fri: 2nd easy day of the week .. bike 60-90 min.
That's all for now, it's bedtime and I need my 8!
Yesterday, I did my very first lactate threshold test on the bike. Zoinks, that was fun. If fun means 'sweating profusely while gasping for air and having your legs screaming at you to stop'. Then yes, that was fun. The bike LT test is similar to the run LT test - it's basically a 30 minute all out time trial in which you record your heartrate and determine your 'lactate threshold'. Your LT is then used to establish your training zones. The numbers are: avg watts 283, average HR: 170 - initially I didn't think I could hold this for 30 minutes, but I did - so I think it was a good test. Painful, but good.
So zone 1 (easy) is <139 HR and zone 2 (endurance) is 140-151 HR. Kind of funny as I've been training between 135 and 142 HR on the bike for the last few months.
I also got my 2nd swim of the year in yestereday, 2.6k. Easy sets, drillwork, nothing too hard - slowly getting the arms back in the swing of things.
Today: run 11k plus 1 hr on the bike - more drill work.
Tomorrow: swim & run
Fri: 2nd easy day of the week .. bike 60-90 min.
That's all for now, it's bedtime and I need my 8!
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Weekend update
It's interesting to see how other people approach training. I keep an eye out on follow bloggers, visit many forums, websites and pro's blogs all in effort to garner as much information as possible and make an informed decision on what is good for me. The bottom line is there is no one definite clear answer that works for everyone. Some people speed train all year around, some 'periodize', some do huge amounts of base training and little else. Regardless of what works for you, one thing is clear, you have to log the miles. Which is kind of a nice segui into the this week's mileage report:
Swim: 2.1k
Bike/spin: 6hr 45min
Run: 84.5k
Weight: 161 (dropped 2 pounds!)
I guess the big news is that I went for my first swim - just did some basic drill stuff and took it easy. While at the pool, I was chatting with the lifeguard and as it turns out, Lisa Bentley regularly swims there. Yes, THAT Lisa Bentley. So not oly does the pool have a maximum of 4 swimmers for the entire pool during adult swim, a 10 time IronWoman champion also trains there. -Yup, I'm liking my new pool.
I guess most other news for the week pales in comparison. I ditched one run, so only got 5 runs in on the week, but gained 75 minutes of bike time and a pool workout. Fair trade I'd say.
I'm going to back off a bit this week, cut the running mileage down to ~50k, swim twice and bike maybe 4.5 -5 hrs - depends how I feel. I have TWO very easy days this week. Wacky stuff. The point of this week is rest up for the following week, which will be my first bike focused week.
That's it for now.. Cheers!
Swim: 2.1k
Bike/spin: 6hr 45min
Run: 84.5k
Weight: 161 (dropped 2 pounds!)
I guess the big news is that I went for my first swim - just did some basic drill stuff and took it easy. While at the pool, I was chatting with the lifeguard and as it turns out, Lisa Bentley regularly swims there. Yes, THAT Lisa Bentley. So not oly does the pool have a maximum of 4 swimmers for the entire pool during adult swim, a 10 time IronWoman champion also trains there. -Yup, I'm liking my new pool.
I guess most other news for the week pales in comparison. I ditched one run, so only got 5 runs in on the week, but gained 75 minutes of bike time and a pool workout. Fair trade I'd say.
I'm going to back off a bit this week, cut the running mileage down to ~50k, swim twice and bike maybe 4.5 -5 hrs - depends how I feel. I have TWO very easy days this week. Wacky stuff. The point of this week is rest up for the following week, which will be my first bike focused week.
That's it for now.. Cheers!
Monday, January 08, 2007
Monday weigh in..
I meant to update on Friday, but got sidetracked. Why you ask? After being ever so patient, my Computrainer finally arrived and like a little kid at Christmas I naturally had to start 'playing' right away! For those that don't know, a Computrainer hooks your bike up to the computer and you can race other opponents, pre-race a course ( or build your own), it simulates hills and grade percentages, provides you with loads of data: speed, rpm, watts, real time 'spin analysis', heart rate and the list goes on.
After I hooked it up, I fired up spinscan and could tell immediately my left leg does more work than my right and that I have a 'dead spot' at top-dead-centre. I have more work to do on the bike than I originally thought!
Anyway, enough of my new toy, if you are interested, go click on the link above or drop me a note. Incidentally, I bought mine through Mike Plumb over at Tripower. He did a group deal that provided a substantial discount. So in addition to being an athlete and a triathlon coach, he's an all around nice guy!
Last week's mileage report:
Run: 91.5k
Spin: 5.5 hrs
Weight: 163
Not too shaboo. I did a 30 minute tempo run on Tuesday which went well, held a heartrate of 175 for the duration. Other than the Computrainer, the only other thing of note was that yesterday I did 25k run in which I acutally had to push myself to maintain a high zone 1 heartrate. ie not over 150 bpm. Held 4:58/k over hilly terrain, in zone 1 for 25k. I'm happy with that because it's tangible evidence my fitness level is increasing.
This week the plan is pretty much the same, maybe add an extra spinning hour and increase the tempo run to 35 minutes.
Oh yeah.. I checked out a new pool today. The problem is my old pool, which is an excellent facility, just can't get their act togethor regarding lane swims. So I go and check out this other pool, which is not as nice as a facility, but .. and this is a big but, it only had ONE swimmer in the whole pool for the adult/lane swim. I think I found a new swim home... :)
Cheers!
After I hooked it up, I fired up spinscan and could tell immediately my left leg does more work than my right and that I have a 'dead spot' at top-dead-centre. I have more work to do on the bike than I originally thought!
Anyway, enough of my new toy, if you are interested, go click on the link above or drop me a note. Incidentally, I bought mine through Mike Plumb over at Tripower. He did a group deal that provided a substantial discount. So in addition to being an athlete and a triathlon coach, he's an all around nice guy!
Last week's mileage report:
Run: 91.5k
Spin: 5.5 hrs
Weight: 163
Not too shaboo. I did a 30 minute tempo run on Tuesday which went well, held a heartrate of 175 for the duration. Other than the Computrainer, the only other thing of note was that yesterday I did 25k run in which I acutally had to push myself to maintain a high zone 1 heartrate. ie not over 150 bpm. Held 4:58/k over hilly terrain, in zone 1 for 25k. I'm happy with that because it's tangible evidence my fitness level is increasing.
This week the plan is pretty much the same, maybe add an extra spinning hour and increase the tempo run to 35 minutes.
Oh yeah.. I checked out a new pool today. The problem is my old pool, which is an excellent facility, just can't get their act togethor regarding lane swims. So I go and check out this other pool, which is not as nice as a facility, but .. and this is a big but, it only had ONE swimmer in the whole pool for the adult/lane swim. I think I found a new swim home... :)
Cheers!
Monday, January 01, 2007
I resolve to..
Stop making resolutions. Not that I ever really did anyway. However, I hope in '07 that I can expand my physical, mental and spiritual horizons, which really is an ongoing process as opposed to any arbitrary 'resolution.'
Last night some good friends came over, including Reddog. Good food, friends, converstion, a beverage or two and a board game. Pretty low key and casual - just the way I like it now. A far cry from my younger days, upon reflection, I have sure done some stupid things. Fortuneately, we kept the festivities to a dull roar and I emerged in '07 relatively unscathed, though perhaps a little sleep deprived. Yes, today is a designated off-day. :)
However, a new phase starts tomorrow. Here's the plan: for January: week 1, 2 run focused. week 3: easy. week 4: bike week. Bring the total spinning hours to ~22-24. Try to maintain 300+ running K's. Do 4 tempo runs and 2 interval sessions. The major change is the addtion of speed work, this period will last for Jan and Feb. The goal for week 4, bike week, is to get 10 hours on the trainer. Oh yea, I may even make it to the pool 2 or 3 times this month... wacky stuff.
Monthly stats:
run: 332k (mileage PR!)
spin: 18.5 hours
Jan 1/06 - Dec 31/06 mileage:
run: 2424k
spin: 131 hours
bike: 3432k
swim: 191k
A good 'build year'. I think if I can build more in '07, I could have a break out year in '08. Hehe, '07 is only 15 hours old and I'm already to starting to think of '08.
This quote seems fitting for Jan 1:
"Never live in the past but always learn from it. " -Unknown
Last night some good friends came over, including Reddog. Good food, friends, converstion, a beverage or two and a board game. Pretty low key and casual - just the way I like it now. A far cry from my younger days, upon reflection, I have sure done some stupid things. Fortuneately, we kept the festivities to a dull roar and I emerged in '07 relatively unscathed, though perhaps a little sleep deprived. Yes, today is a designated off-day. :)
However, a new phase starts tomorrow. Here's the plan: for January: week 1, 2 run focused. week 3: easy. week 4: bike week. Bring the total spinning hours to ~22-24. Try to maintain 300+ running K's. Do 4 tempo runs and 2 interval sessions. The major change is the addtion of speed work, this period will last for Jan and Feb. The goal for week 4, bike week, is to get 10 hours on the trainer. Oh yea, I may even make it to the pool 2 or 3 times this month... wacky stuff.
Monthly stats:
run: 332k (mileage PR!)
spin: 18.5 hours
Jan 1/06 - Dec 31/06 mileage:
run: 2424k
spin: 131 hours
bike: 3432k
swim: 191k
A good 'build year'. I think if I can build more in '07, I could have a break out year in '08. Hehe, '07 is only 15 hours old and I'm already to starting to think of '08.
This quote seems fitting for Jan 1:
"Never live in the past but always learn from it. " -Unknown
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Milestones
A couple of minor milestones. One is relating to winter. You see, psychologically, I break winter down into two major milestones. The first one is the winter solstice, which just passed on Dec 22. Daylight has been increasing for the last 5 days! The next major winter milestone for me isn't until March 1, when it's so close to the end of the tunnel and you can taste spring. Jan/Feb can be a tough stretch, but once March is here, it's game on!
2006 is winding down real fast. As I reflect on the year, specifically relating to triathlon, I think of the top 3 things I've learned. 1) speed is icing on the cake and I don't have cake yet. Off the top of my head, I can't recall who said that, so I can't give proper credit, but it was someone wiser than me! It really is all about building a bigger engine. 2) It really is all about the run. Which is kind of a trick statement. It should be: it's all about arriving at the run with enough endurance to actually run." I thought I was working on the run in '06, but truthfully I did not end up doing what is required. I believe you have train like a runner to become a better runner. Also, just as importantly, do the bike miles to arrive at the run in reasonable shape. Lastly, nutrition really is king. I've found that 'nailing' my nutritional needs for the longer events quite difficult and even though I've learned alot, I still have a ways to go. Such is life.
Another milestone... 101 running K's last week. Yea! A nice Christmas present to myself - a mileage PR. Here's the belated stats for last week:
run: 101 k
spin 4 hr
Plus the usual 2 hours dedicated to stretching and core work.
Ok, well I was a little reluctant to post this, but I did promise I'd post my new bike position, so here it is. Constructive criticism always welcome.. note, I did stay constructive. :)
The only real adjustments over last year is that now there are no spacers in the stem. I played with angling the aerobars down a bit, but after some research decided against it. I was able to achieve a nice flat scapula area and have so far found this position to be comfortable, so for the time being this is the position I'll go with.
The camera did point out some technical flaws in my pedal stroke, just some minor things to work on while logging the spinning hours.
Speaking of spinning, I better stop typing and start logging some miles in front of the TV. Cheers!
2006 is winding down real fast. As I reflect on the year, specifically relating to triathlon, I think of the top 3 things I've learned. 1) speed is icing on the cake and I don't have cake yet. Off the top of my head, I can't recall who said that, so I can't give proper credit, but it was someone wiser than me! It really is all about building a bigger engine. 2) It really is all about the run. Which is kind of a trick statement. It should be: it's all about arriving at the run with enough endurance to actually run." I thought I was working on the run in '06, but truthfully I did not end up doing what is required. I believe you have train like a runner to become a better runner. Also, just as importantly, do the bike miles to arrive at the run in reasonable shape. Lastly, nutrition really is king. I've found that 'nailing' my nutritional needs for the longer events quite difficult and even though I've learned alot, I still have a ways to go. Such is life.
Another milestone... 101 running K's last week. Yea! A nice Christmas present to myself - a mileage PR. Here's the belated stats for last week:
run: 101 k
spin 4 hr
Plus the usual 2 hours dedicated to stretching and core work.
Ok, well I was a little reluctant to post this, but I did promise I'd post my new bike position, so here it is. Constructive criticism always welcome.. note, I did stay constructive. :)
The only real adjustments over last year is that now there are no spacers in the stem. I played with angling the aerobars down a bit, but after some research decided against it. I was able to achieve a nice flat scapula area and have so far found this position to be comfortable, so for the time being this is the position I'll go with.
The camera did point out some technical flaws in my pedal stroke, just some minor things to work on while logging the spinning hours.
Speaking of spinning, I better stop typing and start logging some miles in front of the TV. Cheers!
Friday, December 22, 2006
It's crunch time..
It's crunch time at the North Pole. I'd imagine those poor elves must be 'in the weeds'. <-- bartending lingo for when your busier than hell. I hope Santa is good to everyone.
The week is progressing well, I'm on track for 100 running K's, just have to do a couple 22k runs this weekend. Monday was off, Tuesday: run 17, spin 1hr, Wed: run 12, spin 1hr, Thur: run 17, spin 1 and today was run 9 in the nice cold rain and spin 1. At least the weather looks decent, so I shouldn't have a problem finishing the week out strong.
POGO news:
I finally got the 50/50 off the ground at work- yea 2 weeks later than I orginally thought... office politics, ya gotta love it. The good news is for the inaugural draw $120.00 was collected. Let's just hope it lasts. So current collected total is $220.00, with almost $200.00 in pledges to be collected. Hey, it's a start.
Hmm.. not much else is happening. I'm still waiting on my Computrainer, though with things pretty much shutting down next week, I probably won't receive it until January. Waiting, it's the hardest part.
That's all for now. Don't forget what Christmas is really about, give a loved 0ne a hug and raise a glass for everything we have to be thankful for. Cheers!
The week is progressing well, I'm on track for 100 running K's, just have to do a couple 22k runs this weekend. Monday was off, Tuesday: run 17, spin 1hr, Wed: run 12, spin 1hr, Thur: run 17, spin 1 and today was run 9 in the nice cold rain and spin 1. At least the weather looks decent, so I shouldn't have a problem finishing the week out strong.
POGO news:
I finally got the 50/50 off the ground at work- yea 2 weeks later than I orginally thought... office politics, ya gotta love it. The good news is for the inaugural draw $120.00 was collected. Let's just hope it lasts. So current collected total is $220.00, with almost $200.00 in pledges to be collected. Hey, it's a start.
Hmm.. not much else is happening. I'm still waiting on my Computrainer, though with things pretty much shutting down next week, I probably won't receive it until January. Waiting, it's the hardest part.
That's all for now. Don't forget what Christmas is really about, give a loved 0ne a hug and raise a glass for everything we have to be thankful for. Cheers!
Monday, December 18, 2006
Monday weigh in
Picture this. It's December 17th (yesterday), one hour north of Toronto, a mere 4 days before the official start of winter... it's a gorgeous sunny day with temperature just shy of 10C. If that's not shorts weather I don't what is. Yup, smart money says it'll be a green Christmas. The 'angel' on the right shoulder says "global warming = bad!" The 'devil' on the left shoulder says "get outside and enjoy that global warming!" I kinda feel guilty for running shorts in the second half of December.
The tally for last week:
Run: 87.5 k
Spin: 5 hrs
Weight: 163
Met my goals for the week - all is good. This week I'm thinking of giving myself a Christmas present - a running mileage PR. Yup, going for triple digits next week and maintain the same amount of time on the bike. I figure go for 100 running K's next week, then take the last week of the year real easy, with January 2/07 bringing in a new training phase. So there ya have it. Cheers!
The tally for last week:
Run: 87.5 k
Spin: 5 hrs
Weight: 163
Met my goals for the week - all is good. This week I'm thinking of giving myself a Christmas present - a running mileage PR. Yup, going for triple digits next week and maintain the same amount of time on the bike. I figure go for 100 running K's next week, then take the last week of the year real easy, with January 2/07 bringing in a new training phase. So there ya have it. Cheers!
Thursday, December 14, 2006
LT test and getting clocked.
Standard warning: Do not attempt this test without the consent of a physician. I'm being serious, the last thing I want on my concious is being responsible for someone else's heart attack.
So what is an LT test? LT stands for lactate threshold which is the level of exercise intensity when lactate starts to accumulate in the blood and you change from a primarly fat burning to a glycogen (carbs) burning metabolism.
Methodology: Get yourself good and warmed up ending with a few stride repeats to jack up the heart rate. Once warmed up run a 30 minute time trial. At the 10 minute mark, hit the lap button on your heartrate monitor, your LT will be your average heartrate for the last 20 minutes. You should give the time trial 100 percent effort and be pretty well spent at the end of it. Ideally, you want a hard, but consistent pace throughout the whole time trial.
Ok, so that's the nuts and bolts of the matter. Tuesday seemed like a good time for a LT test, my prep work for next year is almost done, I've logged some decent running K's, and the roads were fairly dry (well the paved ones were, the dirt roads were pretty muddy). Might as well embrace some pain and get this test done. Here's the numbers:
0-10 minute mark: distance: 2.51k heartrate: 181 bpm
10-20 minutes: distance 2.54k heartrate: 183bpm
20-30 minutes: distance: 2.49k heartrate: 183 bpm
Average heartrate for last 2o minutes: 183 bpm.
So my LT is 183 bpm. I was able to maintain pretty much the same pace throughout and by the end I was sucking wind pretty hard. I believe I got an accurate reading, which is what matters. So what does this number mean? Well from my LT we can determine correct trainings 'zones', (using Joe Friel's method)
Zone 1: easy / recovery workout: <155
Zone 2: endurance training: 155-164
Zone 3: 'intensive' endurance training: 165-173
Zone 4: Threshold training: 174- 180
Zone 5 Threshold training 181-184
Personally I think these values are a little on the high side, maybe 5 beats. I'll experiment during my 'build phase' and zone in on what I think is appropriate - but at least it gives me a starting point.
So yesterday I ran through a speed trap and the officer clocked me at 13kph. Now I 'know' I was only at a max of 12 kph, my internal speedometer is quite accurate I assured him. However, he'd have none of that as his laser thingy clearly clocked me at 13kph. Fortuneately, it was a 40 zone, so I didn't get a ticket. Luckily I was just 'warming up' and he'd didn't catch me during Tuesday's LT test. :)
Cheers!
So what is an LT test? LT stands for lactate threshold which is the level of exercise intensity when lactate starts to accumulate in the blood and you change from a primarly fat burning to a glycogen (carbs) burning metabolism.
Methodology: Get yourself good and warmed up ending with a few stride repeats to jack up the heart rate. Once warmed up run a 30 minute time trial. At the 10 minute mark, hit the lap button on your heartrate monitor, your LT will be your average heartrate for the last 20 minutes. You should give the time trial 100 percent effort and be pretty well spent at the end of it. Ideally, you want a hard, but consistent pace throughout the whole time trial.
Ok, so that's the nuts and bolts of the matter. Tuesday seemed like a good time for a LT test, my prep work for next year is almost done, I've logged some decent running K's, and the roads were fairly dry (well the paved ones were, the dirt roads were pretty muddy). Might as well embrace some pain and get this test done. Here's the numbers:
0-10 minute mark: distance: 2.51k heartrate: 181 bpm
10-20 minutes: distance 2.54k heartrate: 183bpm
20-30 minutes: distance: 2.49k heartrate: 183 bpm
Average heartrate for last 2o minutes: 183 bpm.
So my LT is 183 bpm. I was able to maintain pretty much the same pace throughout and by the end I was sucking wind pretty hard. I believe I got an accurate reading, which is what matters. So what does this number mean? Well from my LT we can determine correct trainings 'zones', (using Joe Friel's method)
Zone 1: easy / recovery workout: <155
Zone 2: endurance training: 155-164
Zone 3: 'intensive' endurance training: 165-173
Zone 4: Threshold training: 174- 180
Zone 5 Threshold training 181-184
Personally I think these values are a little on the high side, maybe 5 beats. I'll experiment during my 'build phase' and zone in on what I think is appropriate - but at least it gives me a starting point.
So yesterday I ran through a speed trap and the officer clocked me at 13kph. Now I 'know' I was only at a max of 12 kph, my internal speedometer is quite accurate I assured him. However, he'd have none of that as his laser thingy clearly clocked me at 13kph. Fortuneately, it was a 40 zone, so I didn't get a ticket. Luckily I was just 'warming up' and he'd didn't catch me during Tuesday's LT test. :)
Cheers!
Monday, December 11, 2006
Monday weigh in
Today, I'm a kid. Why? Just ordered a new Computrainer, through Mike Plumb at Tripower Multisports. Mike, is doing a large bulk deal and is able to get a substantial discount which he graciously passes on to us. So, if you are in market for a Computrainer, do yourself a favour and contact Mike asap. I think he's wrapping things up in about 1 week.
It will probably take 2-3 weeks until I actually receive it and naturally when I get it up and running I'll want to ride the snot out of it. I better be getting my cycling legs back in a hurry. So the plan for this week is to increase my spinning time by an hour and get about 80 running K's in. This week's outline is: Tues: run 1 hr, spin 1.5hrs. Wed: run 40min, spin 1 hr. Thurs. Run 1 hr, spin 1.5hrs. Fri: run 40, spin 1hr. Sat run 1.5 hrs. Sun run 2.0 hrs.
The weekend saw the last of my cold go bye-bye and I was operating at a respectable 90%. I did an 18k run on Sat and a 22k run on Sun. The weekly totals are:
Run: 63.5k
Spin: 4 hours.
Weight: 163 (down a pound)
Running K's are low due to the fact I bailed on two runs - for which I blame my cold. On the other hand, I'm happy I got >60k's in 4 runs. I'd love about 2 more months of consistent 80k weeks.. but I know Jan/Feb will be particularly challenging in the mileage department. Which brings me to swimming...
Swimming is still very much on the back burner, at least for another month, maybe two. I'm not looking forward to going back to the pool - just yet. Although watching NBC's coverage Kona on Saturday gave me goosebumps - it made me at least start to think about swimming. Hey, thinking about it is the first step, now I just have to move to the 'doing' part... Cheers!
It will probably take 2-3 weeks until I actually receive it and naturally when I get it up and running I'll want to ride the snot out of it. I better be getting my cycling legs back in a hurry. So the plan for this week is to increase my spinning time by an hour and get about 80 running K's in. This week's outline is: Tues: run 1 hr, spin 1.5hrs. Wed: run 40min, spin 1 hr. Thurs. Run 1 hr, spin 1.5hrs. Fri: run 40, spin 1hr. Sat run 1.5 hrs. Sun run 2.0 hrs.
The weekend saw the last of my cold go bye-bye and I was operating at a respectable 90%. I did an 18k run on Sat and a 22k run on Sun. The weekly totals are:
Run: 63.5k
Spin: 4 hours.
Weight: 163 (down a pound)
Running K's are low due to the fact I bailed on two runs - for which I blame my cold. On the other hand, I'm happy I got >60k's in 4 runs. I'd love about 2 more months of consistent 80k weeks.. but I know Jan/Feb will be particularly challenging in the mileage department. Which brings me to swimming...
Swimming is still very much on the back burner, at least for another month, maybe two. I'm not looking forward to going back to the pool - just yet. Although watching NBC's coverage Kona on Saturday gave me goosebumps - it made me at least start to think about swimming. Hey, thinking about it is the first step, now I just have to move to the 'doing' part... Cheers!
Friday, December 08, 2006
Cough... cough..
Had a bit of a cold this week, I should have know something was up last weekend - during my run my heartrate was higher than normal and I wasn't just feeling 'right'. Turns out it's a bit of cold, it's been so long since I've had one, I almost forgot what it's like. It wasn't too bad, a couple of restless nights and a stuffed nose - at least the bugger didn't migrate to my lungs.
I erred on the side of caution and ditched two of my runs this week and opted for additonal zzzz's instead. Focus on getting back to 100% health then focus on training. I still did my bike workouts, so I wasn't in 100% slacker mode - just semi-slacker.
The good news is, I had a great sleep last night and was able to get a run and bike workout in today. Hey, if cold only buggers up two runs, I sure the hell won't complain.
As you know, I'm still in a pre-season/base phase. ie: during all workouts, heartrate is not allowed over 145 and is usually kept between 140 - 142. The one thing I have been working on is my run cadence. My natural cadence seems to be dialed in at 88 strides/min (176 steps). The goal is to increased that to 92. In order to do that, every so often during a run, I'll do real quick increase in cadence for 20 to 30 sec. The theory being, that eventually running at 92 strides will feel natural.
Anyway, this got me a thinking. (yea it happens every so often). Increasing cadence from 88 to 92 = 8 an extra 8 steps per minute. Big deal you say. Well extrapolate that over the course of a marathon. 1 step =1.25m (it's propably more), so that's 10 extra meters travelled in 1 minute. For arguments sake, let's say you run a 3 hour marathon. That's 180 minutes, at 10 extra meters/ minute, that's 1800 meters, or 1.8k. A 3 hour marathon requires a 4:16/k pace, so by merely increasing your cadence, in this case you could shave over 7.5 minutes. Points to ponder. Now all I have to do is break that elusive 3 hour barrier for a marathon - something that is at least a year away...
Have a great weekend!
I erred on the side of caution and ditched two of my runs this week and opted for additonal zzzz's instead. Focus on getting back to 100% health then focus on training. I still did my bike workouts, so I wasn't in 100% slacker mode - just semi-slacker.
The good news is, I had a great sleep last night and was able to get a run and bike workout in today. Hey, if cold only buggers up two runs, I sure the hell won't complain.
As you know, I'm still in a pre-season/base phase. ie: during all workouts, heartrate is not allowed over 145 and is usually kept between 140 - 142. The one thing I have been working on is my run cadence. My natural cadence seems to be dialed in at 88 strides/min (176 steps). The goal is to increased that to 92. In order to do that, every so often during a run, I'll do real quick increase in cadence for 20 to 30 sec. The theory being, that eventually running at 92 strides will feel natural.
Anyway, this got me a thinking. (yea it happens every so often). Increasing cadence from 88 to 92 = 8 an extra 8 steps per minute. Big deal you say. Well extrapolate that over the course of a marathon. 1 step =1.25m (it's propably more), so that's 10 extra meters travelled in 1 minute. For arguments sake, let's say you run a 3 hour marathon. That's 180 minutes, at 10 extra meters/ minute, that's 1800 meters, or 1.8k. A 3 hour marathon requires a 4:16/k pace, so by merely increasing your cadence, in this case you could shave over 7.5 minutes. Points to ponder. Now all I have to do is break that elusive 3 hour barrier for a marathon - something that is at least a year away...
Have a great weekend!
Monday, December 04, 2006
Monday weigh in
The i's are dotted, the t's are crossed... my sponsorship proposal for Canada Post is officially completed. Now just have to wait a month or two until I receive word back. Fingers are crossed. I understand HED Cycling sponsors amatuers, so some inquiries are in order, hey I have nothing to lose, right? As usual, I'll keep you posted.
Let see, what else is happening.. oh right, I should update you on my fundraising for POGO. Good news. In conjunction with the Brampton Post Office, a regularly scheduled 50/50 draw should generate a good $400.00 /month towards this worthy cause. The first draw is scheduled to start this coming Friday -woo hoo! Between, Debbie (a co-worker helping me) and myself, we've already got the ball rolling with over $200.00 in pledges. I'll update the total on the left after I actually receive the pledge and send it in. So things are starting to roll in that department, which is good news indeed.
On to training news... Last week was a scheduled easy week. (ya gotta love those..) Here's the totals:
Run: 44k
Spin: 4 hrs
Weight: 164
The plan for this week is log between 70 and 75 running K's and maintain the spinning time.
In an effort to get into a more aero position I'm currently tweaking my bike setup. Every month, I'm taking a small spacer out of the stem of my bike and thus getting a little bit more aero. So last week I did this and much to my suprise I was quite comfortable. I'm doing very minute adjustments every 2 to 4 weeks and I'm hoping by February I'll be 'dialed in'. I'll get Sally to take a pic and I'll show you my progress.
Cheers!
Let see, what else is happening.. oh right, I should update you on my fundraising for POGO. Good news. In conjunction with the Brampton Post Office, a regularly scheduled 50/50 draw should generate a good $400.00 /month towards this worthy cause. The first draw is scheduled to start this coming Friday -woo hoo! Between, Debbie (a co-worker helping me) and myself, we've already got the ball rolling with over $200.00 in pledges. I'll update the total on the left after I actually receive the pledge and send it in. So things are starting to roll in that department, which is good news indeed.
On to training news... Last week was a scheduled easy week. (ya gotta love those..) Here's the totals:
Run: 44k
Spin: 4 hrs
Weight: 164
The plan for this week is log between 70 and 75 running K's and maintain the spinning time.
In an effort to get into a more aero position I'm currently tweaking my bike setup. Every month, I'm taking a small spacer out of the stem of my bike and thus getting a little bit more aero. So last week I did this and much to my suprise I was quite comfortable. I'm doing very minute adjustments every 2 to 4 weeks and I'm hoping by February I'll be 'dialed in'. I'll get Sally to take a pic and I'll show you my progress.
Cheers!
Friday, December 01, 2006
Monthly mileage report
Well I guess shorts weather is officially over. The mild spell officially left us yesterday and while our weather is not as bad as those poor folks on the west coast, it has turned to a mixed bag of freezing rain, rain and sleet. Oh joy. Fortuneately, I've lucked out as this is my easy week and I can blow off a run workout without feeling too much guilt. However, the cost of missing a run equals increased spinning time, so it's not like I'm being a total lazy ass. So, here's the numbers November:
Run: 310k
Spin: 8 hrs
A gold star to me for busting the 300k in November. I really hope I can maintain a few more months of solid mileage and that I'll live up to my vow of actually trying to becoming a runner.
The running plan for December, starting Monday (rest day), is to do a 3 week build followed by a week of rest. So I'm putting my order in for some decent weather for December now. As for cycling/spinning, the plan is to increase frequency. I'll be starting to do alot more double workout days of 1) running as soon as I get home for work and 2) spinning for an hour later in the day. That's the plan.
This weekend, the low pressure system bringing us this slew of wet weather is moving out, so Sat/Sun is shaping up to be OK. I'm going to run for an hour tomorrow and run for 1:30 or so Sunday. Then it's officially bye-bye easy week.
Lastly, a thanks to Mark. I've pretty much let everyone know that I've been lusting after a Computrainer, and Mark was kind enough to point out a Slowtwitch post that I actually missed! That simple act of kindness of emailing could save me a quite few bucks and it certainly is appreciated. Just goes show you, us tri-wienies watch each others back!
Have a great weekend!
Run: 310k
Spin: 8 hrs
A gold star to me for busting the 300k in November. I really hope I can maintain a few more months of solid mileage and that I'll live up to my vow of actually trying to becoming a runner.
The running plan for December, starting Monday (rest day), is to do a 3 week build followed by a week of rest. So I'm putting my order in for some decent weather for December now. As for cycling/spinning, the plan is to increase frequency. I'll be starting to do alot more double workout days of 1) running as soon as I get home for work and 2) spinning for an hour later in the day. That's the plan.
This weekend, the low pressure system bringing us this slew of wet weather is moving out, so Sat/Sun is shaping up to be OK. I'm going to run for an hour tomorrow and run for 1:30 or so Sunday. Then it's officially bye-bye easy week.
Lastly, a thanks to Mark. I've pretty much let everyone know that I've been lusting after a Computrainer, and Mark was kind enough to point out a Slowtwitch post that I actually missed! That simple act of kindness of emailing could save me a quite few bucks and it certainly is appreciated. Just goes show you, us tri-wienies watch each others back!
Have a great weekend!
Monday, November 27, 2006
Monday weigh in
So... how about that weather? Whenever it's nice like it has been for the last few days, I always feel I have to go out and run because I know the nice weather isn't going to last forever - so I better bank a few extra K's when I can. That being said, even though today was a damned fine day, it was a scheduled off day. Sometimes it's difficult to force myself to take a day off - but it must be done.
Last week was a good week:
Run: 85k
Spin: 2 hours
Weight: 164
Add my usual 2 hours of stretching and core work and November's mileage is shaping up rather nicely. The last 4 weeks of run totals look like this: 75k, 77k, 80k and 85k. A very gradual increase in mileage and I'm feeling great. I'm happy I'm comfortably over the 80k/week mileage mark and the body seems to be soaking up the miles without any problems. So, since it did what I wanted, it's time to reward it with an easy week. The plan for this week is to run no more than 50k and spin 3 hours.
QOTD:
"Whatever you are, be a good one." - Abraham Lincoln
Last week was a good week:
Run: 85k
Spin: 2 hours
Weight: 164
Add my usual 2 hours of stretching and core work and November's mileage is shaping up rather nicely. The last 4 weeks of run totals look like this: 75k, 77k, 80k and 85k. A very gradual increase in mileage and I'm feeling great. I'm happy I'm comfortably over the 80k/week mileage mark and the body seems to be soaking up the miles without any problems. So, since it did what I wanted, it's time to reward it with an easy week. The plan for this week is to run no more than 50k and spin 3 hours.
QOTD:
"Whatever you are, be a good one." - Abraham Lincoln
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