Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Wednesday Q2 workout

8 miles 1:06:02 HR 154



Ran outside again, a little misty rain but OK. Felt fairly strong and ran the hard intervals near a 7:20 pace and the easy near 8:50 pace

2 miles E pace

3X5 min hard - 5 min easy

2 miles E pace


Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Tuesday Swim Run

Swim 2000yds

500 warm up

15X100 on 1:50 comming in 1:35



Run 7 miles 58:30 HR 157

Easy run at ballys, HR was high cuz it was immediatly after the swim, got really hungry in the last mile.

Training Thoughts

Feeling so much better than the last 2 weeks, the rest has really helped.



Changing my running ideas again. I feel that running in zone 1 has not helped me as much as I thought it would. Maybe it helped with building the volume but has seemed to hurt me with speed. Daniel's running formula has called for 2 quality sessions a week and easy running to fill in the rest of the milage. It seems that I've not been able to accomplish the faster sessions lately and my steady/faster running has become very difficult.



What am I changing?

1. I'm bringing up the intensity of my easier runs from zone 1 up to middle of zone 2, that would be 8:30's to 8:15's and/or HR of 148 to 154. Running slower that 8:30's has brought my cadence down and I think it's degrading economy.



2. I'm going back to 5 runs a week with slightly longer runs. Instead of 3.5 mile runs I'll be doing 6-7 with a mid-zone 2 intensity. My visions of 30 runs in 30 days are slipping away, I feel that it's not right for me now and that I need 2 days off for recovery, maybe next off season I will fit it in.



3. My easy weeks will be easier. Daniels running didn't give me enough rest on the easy week. I will go down near 25 miles instead of 30.



4. I'm going to start biking earlier that I had planned. I'm getting into the idea that I need bring my biking ability up so high that I can run any distance afterwards. If I can run the Half Marathon paces that I'm running now after biking, I'd be really happy. I just need to work on my bike pacing.


Monday, January 02, 2006

Monday

Normally a day off but I had a lot of time and energy so I used it



Swim approx 1500yds of breaststroke and butterfly drills.

Worked on kicking and stroke mechanics from a book that I have, had some fun doing it too.



Bike - yes bike for 20 minutes on trainer, just to get legs spinning, planning on getting 2 30 min sessions in this week.

Sunday, January 01, 2006

Thursday through sunday

Thursday swim 2600yds

I've been so tired lately that I cut the swim down a couple hundred yards.



Friday run 3 miles

Still tired again so I ran 3 instead of 7, going to take saturday off from training.



Sunday run 10.4 miles 1:29:00 really easy HR 153. Ran on Hines and felt much better.

Thursday, December 29, 2005


Our new kitty Freddie. He's about 6 months old and is a solid 8 lbs Posted by Picasa

On the prowl under the tree Posted by Picasa

 Posted by Picasa

He's been playing for a couple of hours now Posted by Picasa

More playtime Posted by Picasa

Freddie at a calm moment Posted by Picasa

Freddie with his mousie Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Wednesday

Run 4 miles, really tired, I cut it short cuz my legs just wouldn't go.



It's looking like this training program has too much intensity in it for me right now and I'm going to cut it back to 1 quality workout a week for the next few weeks to see how I feel. The rest of the time will be filled with easy running with a long run too, I guess that could be my other quality workout, just not as intense as before.

Weekly plans

Yes, I know I'm a little bit late with this. It's the holiday season and I've got other plans too. I'm going back to five runs a week instead of the six that I've been doing. My feet hurt and I feel that I need another day off for their recovery. My knees on the other hand feel great, no problems at all. I may break friday's run into 2 runs for that day only.



Mon off

Tue swim light run 6 miles

Wed Run Q2 7 miles Bike :30 if I can stand it

Thu Swim E1-E2~3500yds Bike :30

Fri Swim 2000 AE or Espd, Run 1:00~7 miles

Sat Swim 3500 ME Run :30 easy

Sun Run Q1 workout or possibly a relay on the Poto trail



Q1 workout~12.5 miles

2 miles E pace (8:30-8:40) +

2 X 10 to 12 min at T pace (7:25 with 2 min rests +

1 hr E pace

Q2 workout~7 miles

2 miles E pace +

Sets of 5 min hard (near 7:00) with 3 to 5 min jogs~3 miles +

2 miles E pace

Tuesday, December 27, 2005

Tuesday

After 2 days off I finally got back to working out.



Swim 1000yds, didn't feel like swimming much so I cut it short.



Run 6 miles on Hines. First run outside in a while. I got some cold weather stuff to keep me warm and it works quite well. It was about 35 degrees F and I felt OK. The only thing I'm concerned about keeping warm now is my head.



6 miles 51:50 HR 152

Saturday, December 24, 2005

Friday Saturday

I really didn't feel good on Friday. I did my warm up for my swim and then quit. I got 1000yds in.



Saturday run 10 miles 1:23:19 HR 154. Very uneventful, just went around in circles for 140 laps. I had to really work on keeping it slow cuz there were a lot of people on the track and they all wanted to follow me. I really wanted to run 8:30's but I wound up running 8:20 min/mile pace, that's why the HR is a little bit high.



After the run I got some shopping done. I got me some running shirts, two regular short sleeve loose fit and one cold weather running shirt. With that I will probably get outside and run, going to try to get 6 miles in tomorrow.

Friday, December 23, 2005

Thursday

Lots of stuff on thursday



Run 3 miles during lunch 25:15 HR 147



Felt pretty tired, like I was low on energy. I only ran 3 instead of 4.



Swim 2600yds pull set.

800 warm up

8X100 pull decending sets of 2

400 easy

8X50 pull decending sets of 2

200 easy



Arms felt pretty weirs swimming the easy sets without paddles after pretty much sprinting at the end of the 100's and 50's.



Run 4 miles 32:10 HR 152. Felt much better than first run. I ate a gel before starting.

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Wednesday

Run Q2 workout

8.4 miles 1:08:01 HR 157

2 miles warm up

3X 1K @ 6:50 pace with about 5 minutes recovery jog

--that is what I was supposed to do last week

2+ miles of cool down



I felt really strong as soon as I got to the second interval. With the workout getting over 1 hour I probably should have eaten something during the workout besides Gatorade, I was getting a bit drained at the end.

Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Tuesday

Swim 3800yds 1:20



Sets of 300 on 5:30 I really like this workout, it gets me to work on some shorter stuff.

600 warm up

300 swim

2X150 on 2:35

300

3X100 on 1:50

300

4X75 on 1:20

300

6X50 on :50-:55

300

12X25 on :25-:30

200 cool down

Monday, December 19, 2005

Monday

Run 4 miles 33:39 HR 145

Easy run, legs were tired going in but felt much better when I was done.

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Training Thoughts

Last week was different for me in that I ran less miles than normal but there was still quite of bit of intensity for me. Thursday's screw up had me run much harder than I should have and Sunday's run wasn't as fast but had an hour of running after the stressfull part.



Things that I've noticed this week while running is that my HR seems to have dropped about 7 beats for the same pace, I am running smoother and more economical. I feel this is a direct result of the faster running I've been doing. All of my running has been in my heavier shoes so no run has been easier than any other.



This week I was near 30 miles while the last 2 weeks were near 33. Next week and following week I'll be at 90% of my peak so I should be getting in about 36 miles.

Next weeks plans have Q1 workout of 2.5 hours or 25% of the week's total milage, that would be 9 miles and seems to be on the short side. I need to look forward in the program and see what long runs are planned, I may need to go to 35% of the week's volume to make it a quality workout. Q2 is the same as last week's Q2: 2 miles E pace, sets of 1Km with 3 4-5 min recovery jogs and then about 2 miles at E pace. I shouldn't screw it up this week. The other 4 runs will be easy and about 30 minutes long. I haven't done the math yet.



Swimmming will be 4 swims with E2,ME,F,Espd workouts spread about 10 to 12K. There is no masters workouts for 2 weeks and the holiday's may shut down Bally's over the weekend so I need to plan accordingly.



I'm also going to try to get on the bike at least once next week.

Saturday - Sunday

Saturday

Swim 3000 Masters workout with some fun relays at the end

600 Warm up

5X100 on 1:45

10X50 non-free on 1:15

5X100 on 1:45

4X25 relay

300 cool down

500 post-cool down



Sunday

Run Q1 workout 13.1 miles 1:48:12 HR 156

2 miles easy HR 139,146

5 X 5 min at T pace (7:25) 1 min easy HR 162

1 Hour easy HR 149,152,153,155,158,167,165,161(.22miles)

I had someone pacing me for the last couple of miles that was really bugging me so I had to shake him.

Friday, December 16, 2005

Friday

Run 3.6 miles 30:20 HR 142



The average HR seems to be getting lower and lower. I ran slightly easier today and it felt unusually easy. Running is becomming more and more effortless.

uuuuhhhgg!!!

Oh my, I'm feeling the stress from yesterday's workout. It's a good thing I got a lot of sleep last night.

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Thursday

Swim 2000yds 40 minutes during lunch, force set



Run 7 miles 55:38 Intervals HR 156

I messed up the set and didn't give myself enough rest between intervals.



I did 5 sets of 1K at I pace (6:50 min/mile) with 1:40 recovery jogs between them. I thought I was only supposed to have 1 min recovery jog and was dissapointed that I couldn't recover that fast. The workout called for 5 min recovery jogs...Oops!!! It's no wonder I had trouble holding the pace on the last set.



It was fast and it took a lot out of me, next time I'll make sure I have the written workout in front of me instead of doing it from memory. Good thing the next workout is an easy one.

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Wednesday

Run 30:10 HR 144 3.6 miles



HR was really low today as well as PE, Don't really know why, maybe it's cuz I was well rested.



Swim 3400 Endurance speed

900 warm up (300S,200K,100S,12X25 :10RI)

4X450 as:

---300 swim moderate

---2X75 on 1:20

400 kick (100 easy, 200 moderate, 100 easy)

100 cool down

200 backstroke drills

Tuesday

I took monday off, I was really tired.



Tuesday Run 3.6 miles in 30 minutes HR 148.



The pool was closed because of a pump problem so I didn't swim. Instead I went home and took a nap cuz I knew I would be up late coaching hockey.

Monday, December 12, 2005

Weekly plans

This is an easier week with about 28 miles of running and about 10K of swimming. I might try to get on the bike this week sometime, friday might be a good day.



Mon Swim 2000 E Form

Tue run 30 min easy

Wed Swim 3000 E speed Run 30 min easy

Thu Swim 2000 Test Run Q2 7 miles

Friday Off

Sat Swim Masters Run 30 min easy

Sun Run Q1



Q1 run

2 miles E pace + 5 X 5 to 6 min T pace w/1 min rests + 1 hr E pace

Q2 run

Sets of 1Km 1.2Km or mile I pace w/3 or 4 5 min recovery jogs to total lesser of 6% or 8K



VDOT 45

E pace 8:30 - supposed to be 9:17 but that is so slow that it hurts, it is so easy to run at 8:30-8:40 that I can't imagine how to run slower and hold good form. When I try, my cadence drops off and I wind up stomping like I used to do.

T Pace 7:25 - fairly fast for me

I Pace 400m @ 1:42 or 6:48 miles - really fast for me

Sunday, December 11, 2005

Sunday

Just one workout today. I got hit by a puck while coaching my son's team last night on my right thigh and it's killing me. I had planned on getting a couple extra easy miles in today but it just wasn't going to happen. Also having 3 quality workouts in 3 days proved to be very difficult (run/swim/run)



Sunday Run quality workout 1

20 min easy 8:25 pace HR 145

20 min T pace (7:25) HR 163

20 min E pace 8:25 HR 155



Total 7.5 miles HR 154

Saturday, December 10, 2005

Friday Saturday

Friday

Run Q2 workout - same as last tuesday



10 min warm up, about 1.2 miles

5 X 7 min as 4 min hard and 3 min easy, about 4.6 miles

10 min cool down, about 1.2 miles



7.2 miles 56 minutes HR 158



I ran a little harder on this one.



Saturday

Swim Masters group 4000yds

I moved down to lane 4 to build some confidence again



500 warm up

8X200 on 3:30

300 pull

8X100 on 1:45

8X50 odds non-free

400 cool down



Run 30 min easy 3.7 miles HR 148

Friday, December 09, 2005

Thursday

Run during lunch 3.7 miles in 30:07 HR 150.



Swim 3500yds 1:10 fun workout for me to get me back into the swimming routine.

600 warm up

4X600 as

---200 pull

---200 swim moderate

---100 kick (work on different kicks)

---100 fast (shooting for uner 1:25)

---1:00 rest then repeat



6X50 odds non-free

200 cool down

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Training Thoughts

I've been kicking around this idea for a few weeks now and I wanted to note it somewhere so I wouldn't forget it.



My goals for next seasons' HIM's are:

Swim 32:00

Bike 2:30

Run under 1:45



I can do these individually right now (fairly easy for the bike and run) but I haven't been able to put them together yet. Since I came from cycling I have allways taken my cycling abilities for granted but last year I got much faster than I expected and then felt that I should allways be able to ride that fast no matter what I did. Because of that I really didn't put enough emphasis on the bike later in the season and what happened is that my run suffered while racing.



Planned changes:

Get on the bike at the end of February and getting in longer rides by the end of March instead of starting at the end of March with my first really long ride at the end of May. Get my 4 hour ride on the weekend with my 2 hour ride during the week with a fun ride on sunday.



Build my run endurance up through April using Daniels Marathon plan A to run a spring marathon and then switch to Daniels Running formula Blue plan so I can get in the right types of workouts leading up to my A races. Last season I was lost on the types of workouts to do. Long easy runs, shorter fast runs, repetitions and pickups had no real structure, this year they will.



Swim long and hard untill June, then back off to 8 to 10K a week following Gale Bernhardt's swim plans from workout in a binder just like I did last season.

Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday

Monday Swim 1000yds I was really tired and decided to cut the swim short.

Run 3.6 miles 30 minutes HR 148


Tuesday off



Wednesday Swim 2000yds straight - about 35 minutes

Run 7 miles 58 minutes HR 149



Starting to get back into the swimming mood, I had little sleep lately with extra work and coaching late hockey games. I just can't train on 5 hours of sleep. Last night I got 9 hours and feel much more rested, tonight I should get that much again, hopefully by the weekend I'll be back to normal.



I've gotten a new pair of running shoes, with 500 miles on my Kayano X's I needed to replace them. I really wanted to go with the Asics 2110 but it was too wide for my foot. I've got a wide foot but it is fairly thin from top to bottom so that's why I like a standard or narrow shoe, all the extra room above my foot just lets it slide around. I tried the ladies model on and it felt really good except I wanted to try on a half size bigger but they didn't have one, the biggest ladies size they had was a 10. I wound up going with the Kayano XI cuz it really felt the best. I'm not really happy with the color (white/gold) but it will have to do for another 500 miles. I decided to run my quality workout on friday so I could work with these shoes for a couple days, it's a good thing cuz my right foot was a bit uncomfortable for a while. It will be just fine when I break them in.

Monday, December 05, 2005

Friday - Saturday - Sunday

I've gotten behind on some training but I got all of my runs in that I planned on doing. I had to work all weekend and drive out to Jackson for Justin's hockey game on saturday



Friday Run 1:03 minutes 7 miles, HR 1. My warm up and cool down were really easy but the hilly part of the run is misleading. While running the hill program on the treadmill it seems so hard to run a fast pace, meaning the PE is high but the HR is normal for that speed. I'm thinking the PE is so high either cuz I don't like the treadmill and/or I'm not used to hill running and need to build more strength for it.

Saturday Off

Sunday Run 12 miles 1:39:57 HR 152

Friday, December 02, 2005

Wednesday - Thursday

I had a lot of running around to do on wednesday and decided to take the day off or I wouldn't have been able to cook dinner and get to bed at a decent hour.



This has deviated slightly from my origional schedule but I still plan on getting most of the workouts in.



Thursday:

Easy Run during lunch 30 minutes 3.7 miles HR 150



Swim 4000yds (a little longer than I planned but it seemed easy)

I've done this workout before but I made it easier by changing the straight 300s to pulls. I need to concentrate on finishing my stroke and keeping my left eblow a little bit higher on the pull phase.

500 warm up

300 pull (all 300s were on 5:45)

2X150 on 2:30

300 pull

3X100 on 1:50

300 pull

4X75 on 1:20

300 pull

6X50 on :50

300 pull

12X25 on :30

300 pull

200 cool down



The rest of the week:

Fri Run 7 miles easy or hill program, swim 2000yds optional

Sat Swim masters and run 3 miles easy or bike on trainer

Sun Run Q1 workout 12 to 14 miles at E pace

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Tuesday run - quality workout 2

This run was a lot harder than it looked like on paper. After the third interval I was wondering if I should do the next ones so I just went by the feeling that if I felt like I could do 2 more, I would keep going untill I reached 5. I finished feeling like I could have done one more.



10 min warm up, about 1.2 miles

5 X 7 min as 4 min hard and 3 min easy, about 4.6 miles

10 min cool down, about 1.2 miles



7 miles 55 minutes



The 4's were about a 6:50 pace while the 3's were about an 8:30 pace. The armswing is getting more and more natural. Thanks Mike.

Monday

Run 3.5 miles outside (it was nice) 30 min HR 152



Swim 1000yds, I just didn't feel like swimming. I warmed up, started my first set and then got out. I'll get back to it on wednesday.

Monday, November 28, 2005

Weekly plans

Mon Swim 3000 E2, Run 30 min E pace (8:30's)

Tue Run Q2 workout Sets of 4 min hard w/3 min rec jogs wu and cd

Wed Swim 3000 E form

Thu Swim 2000 Force, Run 7 miles hill program

Fri Off or Easy Bike

Sat Swim Masters or ME 3500, Run 30 min easy and/or MTB trail

Sun Run Q1 workout 12 to 14 miles E pace



32 miles of running or 4:30

11000 to 12000yds swimming or 3:50

Biking 15 to 30 miles or 2 to 3 hours depending on weather



Yes, the runs are from Daniel's Running Formula - Marathon Training Plan A.



I am going through the marathon program in prep for the Martian Marathon on 4/1. After that I am starting the Blue plan which should take me to Aug (or Steelhead) Then I will either redo the Blue plan or move to the Gold plan which should take me through the 70.3 champs if I qualify.

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Sunday

Run 10 miles 1:24:52 HR 151



Long run at Ballys. It was warm enough to run outside but it was raining and I don't want to take a chance and get sick while I've got so much to gain over the winter.

Saturday, November 26, 2005

Thursday Friday Saturday

After taking wednesday off I got some training in on Thanksgiving day.



Bike 15 miles on my dad's trainer. He's got one from Performance bike that I like better than the old CT I used last winter. It has a nicer flywheel and nicer computer interface.



Friday run 7.2 miles 55:30 HR 164, just a fun run.



Saturday run 3.5 miles easy 30 min HR 148, Swim 3100yds E2 in about 60 minutes.

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Hilly run

7.2 miles 1:01:something HR 150



1 mile warm up on track then 5 miles on the treadmill with the hill program. Then about 1 mile cool down.



My PE is really high while running the hill program compared to my average HR. I wasn't watching the peaks but I expected it to be higher overall.



The program goes like this:

1 min 2%, 1 min 0%

1 min 2.5%, 1 min 0%

1 min 3%, 1 min 0%

1 min 3.5%, 1 min 0%

1 min 4%, 1 min 0%

Then it repeats untill there's about 5 min left, then it levels off.


I started at 6.6 mph (9 min/mile) then bumped up .1mph a couple of times 'till I was at 6.9 at the end. Next time I'm going to start at 6.8 and see how I feel. I'll get my HR well into zone 3 for the 4% hills.



Still working on the armswing. I was next to the mirror so I could watch myself every once in a while, it's starting to feel more natural. I still need to work on leaning forward.



Swim 2000yds during lunch.

300 warm up

5X100@1:50

5X100@1:45

5X100@1:40

200 cool down

Monday

A short run for recovery



3 miles 24:15 HR 156



Worked on armswing and toe-off

Monday, November 21, 2005

Here I go again, changing things

Yes, I'm changing some training plans around again, here are some thoughts.



Looking at my training log I've been putting 4.5+ hours of swimming in a week while I've only been putting in well under 4 hours for the run. The run being my weakest discipline I should be training more. I feel that I have the most to gain (or most to lose) on the run for next season.



So what am I going to do? It seems obvious to me that I need to spend more time in the running department to achieve my goals for next season. To do that I am looking at switching up my run program. Looking at a run program that I got from Polar, it has two hilly runs a week, an easy run and a long run. Later in the program it has some interval runs but they're pretty scarce.



I have historically been weak in the hills so I feel the hill programs on the treadmill will help me. In the spring, when it is warmer, I can move outdoors to some trails with hills. Only a few races of mine will be hilly but I feel the strength I get will be beneficial for all of them.



Thinking of a schedule that includes these runs:

1 long run

1-2 hilly runs

1 threshold run

1-2 easy recovery runs



Long run will be on sunday untill it's warm enough to bike outside then I'll probably move it to wednesday again.



Hilly runs will be on tuesday and thursday and I might put a threshold run on one of those days to change up every once in a while.



Recovery runs may be inserted on monday, wednesday or friday when needed. Saturday may see a run if I can't get on the bike but I probably won't go over 6 runs a week untill January when I may attempt 30 runs in 30 days.

Sunday, November 20, 2005

Sunday

Starting to get some longer runs in.



10 miles 1:23:15 HR 153



I felt pretty good and worked on armswing. I had a discussion with Mike Ricci while I was on Slowtwitch and am trying to improve my running.



Today's focus was to keep arms bent tighter, hands straight and no higher than my nipples while keeping them from dropping below my waist on the backswing. I was also trying to focus on driving my elbows back and run off my toes.

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Saturday

Swim 3500yds, kind of an imprompt swim cuz Vince forgot the workout sheets. He made up the workouts as he went along and stayed on the deck helping people with their swim strokes. One thing he noticed was that most people in my lane (5) and lane 4 didn't kick hardly at all. I've had some thoughts on that and I think I'm going to start kicking with an easy 4 to 6 beat now and see how it goes.



600 warm up

12X25 drill

7X100 Free @1:45

7X100 Free @1:40

7X100 Free @1:30

4X100 kick @2:15

100 cool down

Don't really know why but I was pretty tired this morning or maybe the workout was tougher than I thought. I'm going to do it again this week.



Bike 2:30 on Potowatomi trail 17-18 miles

A little be better than last week, the new gears helped a lot. Sean T rode with me and helped out and provided encouragement. He let me set the pace, when he was in front he would pull away on the downhills and technical parts.

Friday, November 18, 2005

Friday lunch swim

2000yds

4X500 @9:00 decending

(8:25,8:10,8:05,7:55)



I haven't done 500's in quite a while, I was surprised at how quick I was at them.



I did some reading on Gordo's site about bilateral breathing and brought up my effort so that I needed to breath more than every third stroke. I grabbed a couple extra breaths per length by taking 2 on the left then 2 on the right when I needed them. I think the last time I did 4X500 I was in the high 8 min range so this was a pleasant surprise.



Looks like the extra time and intensity in the pool is working for me.

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Thursday

It's been freezing cold the last couple of days. I hope it warms up just a bit for the weekend.



Run 7 miles 57:43 HR 151. Easy run to work on base endurance.



I got my new Polar RS200sd last sunday and have 4 runs with it. I'm still working on the calibration but it's pretty close right now. Finally I've got a new toy to play with, hopefully it will make my running more interesting.

Wednesday 11/16 long swim

4500yds in the pool again 1:30:00



Workout Three from Gordoworld.com (Muscular Endurance)

600 free, start easy and build to steady for last 2-300

5x200, 25 fly/175 free steady on 15s rest

4x300, (pull,free,pull,free) on 30s rest (gear mod-hard, no gear steady)

1x100 back, easy

4x300 as before

1x100 back, easy

2x50 hard

200 easy



I kept saying I wasn't going to do another 25 fly in the beginning set but at the end of every 200 I felt pretty good. My fly is getting much better too.

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Tuesday's run

I planned on an easy run but I knew that I needed to get some faster paced work in and there was someone at the track that was running fairly fast so I stuck with him.



7 miles 55:35 HR 160.

Monday, November 14, 2005

Monday

Swim 3500yds

600 warm up

500 steady

5X100@1:45

400

4X100

300

3X100

200

2X100

100 cd



Run 3.1 miles 25:00 HR 156

Sunday, November 13, 2005

Sunday

Swim with Masters group in Brighton. I did the lane 4 workout cuz of all the off-stroke stuff.



3700yds

600 warm up.

4X350 pull w/paddles @6:00

4X50 kick (25 fast, 25 easy)

4X200-4X25 IM order @:45

------100 IM

100 easy swim

8X50 free decending sets of 4

200 cool down



Run 5.2 miles 45:30 HR 145 on Hines drive.

Planned on more but it was cold and windy and I didn't dress properly.

Saturday, November 12, 2005

Saturday

I'm getting burned out very quickly on swimming so I've got to take another approach. Instead of looking for volume I'm going to look at frequency. Going to shoot for 4 swims of near 3500yds instead of the 16K/20K/16K/12K route I was looking at before. Swimming is not my limiter right now, running is so I'm turning my focus on running for now while still holding about 14K a week in the pool.



Friday I took off for recovery, kind of imprompt but I needed it.



Saturday my masters swim was cancelled so I'm going to swim sunday morning in brighton with another group.



Got on the mountain bike again today at Pinckney Rec Area and rode the Potawatomi trail. This trail really humbled me, people told me it was really difficult so I took off a bit on the easy side. Within the first mile I was winded from the hills and decided to take it even easier than I started. There is a section on the map that says "Serious Hills" and it was no joke. They kicked my butt. There were several hills that I couldn't climb cuz I didn't have the skill as well as a few later on that I didn't have the strength to climb. I fell 3 times but at very slow speeds so I wasn't injured and it was on some soft ground, that was within the first 5 miles on the ride.



So a total of 17-18 miles (depending who you ask) took me 2:45:00. That had about 15 min of breaks in it. I didn't eat anything untill 2 hours into it when I ate a Cliff Bar. Other than that I drank 20 oz of Gatorade and another 30ozs of water from my Camelbak. I should have taken a second at 1 hour to eat something but I really didn't plan on it.



The trails were a lot of fun and I will be out there again soon if it stays dry. I can see this really helping my strength for time-trialing. There may be another bike in my future if I stick with it. I'd like to borrow a full suspension bike just to see what the difference is.

Friday, November 11, 2005

Thursday

Run 7 miles 1:02 HR 149



Ran on Treadmill set on the hill program. Set it at 9:00 min/mile to be conservative and ran quite easily. 1 mile warm up, 4.5 miles hills, 1.5 miles cool down. Then some stretching afterwards.



Swim 2000yds

Force workout staying on the short side.



400yds warm up

6X150 pull on 2:30

6X100 pull on 1:45

100 cool down

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Next season's plans

Started to make some early plans for next season.



Here's what I've got so far. Muncie is a maybe. I might do Waterloo and Clark Lake sprints instead.



Marathon on 4/1

Michigan Masters State Meet is somewhere in this time frame.

Willow Duathlon 5/7

Nankin Mills Duathlon 5/21

Desoto Triple T 5/26 to 5/28

Ann Arbor Triathlon 6/11

Muskoka 6/18

Muncie Endurathon (HIM) 7/15

Steelhead 70.3 (HIM) 8/5

Sylvania Oly 8/13

Mid East Regionals Oly 8/27

Great Lake Escape or Stoney Creek 9/10

70.3 Championships on 11/11 if I qualify



I want to do an early season marathon to give myself a goal for the winter months. Confidence would be another benefit, I would like to know that I can run 26.2 miles without getting injured. That way if I decide to do another Ironman I won't be so worried about the distance and be able to train right.



Muskoka is still in the air right now. I left it in just in case I would like to try to qualify for IM Moo. I could also use the experience this year to race again next year. If I decide not to do it there is a local race that same weekend that I've done the past 2 years that I enjoy.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Wednesday

Another Gordo workout that kicked my butt. I only swam 25yds fly for the IM, the second 25 I swam an easy free. I wore fins on the last 800.



4500 yards

Workout Two (Muscular Endurance)

Warm up 200 easy

4x100 as 100 drill, 100 steady, repeat

200/400 on 20s rest (x3)

200 band and pull buoy, moderately-hard

400 free, steady

100 back, easy

4x200 on 15s rest (IM / Free / IM / Free) all steady

100 back, easy

800 free, steady, no gear (reduce if short of time - fins permitted if whipped)

4x50 hard on 20s rest (eliminate if whipped or short of time)

100 easy



I've planned 20,000yds this week but I don't know if I'll make it. I figure I'll get 2000 today, 2000 tomorrow and 4000 on Saturday, that will give me 17,000 for the week. If I push today and tomorrow to 3000 then I'll be just a little bit short.



Swimming 4500 really takes a lot out of me. When I get home all I want to do is sleep. Last night I went to bed at 8pm just like I did on monday.

Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Tuesday

I finally got on the mountain bike today. I rode the blue and yellow trail at Island Lake Rec Area. It was a lot of fun and took about 1:30 for 15.5 miles.



Run 4 miles 33:07 HR 154

Monday, November 07, 2005

Monday - A long swim

Swim 4500yds, about 1:30

This is another one of Gordo's workout's modified a little bit to make it easier.



http://www.byrn.org/gtips/ls1.htm Click on the header to bring up his page of long workouts.



Since I don't have any bands I just made those pulls. I actually did the 25 flys in the beginning even though they were killing me.



Workout Three (Muscular Endurance)

600 free, start easy and build to steady for last 2-300

5x200, 25 fly/175 free steady on 15s rest

4x300, (pull,free,pull,free) on 30s rest (gear mod-hard, no gear steady)
1x100 back, easy

4x300 as before

1x100 back, easy

2x50 hard

200 easy

Sunday

Run 7 miles 57:40 HR 154



It is so easy to run fast on the track at Ballys. My percieved exertion is so low there that I don't realize how fast I am running untill I look at my HRM. If running 8 min/miles outside, my RPE is about 15, running it on the track it's about 12. My heart rates are about even for each speed, indoors or outdoors.



I cut my run from saturday cuz my left heel was a bit sore. I was trying to run more miles in my DS Trainers and overdid it somewhat. I think the run last sunday is what hurt it. I'm going back to my Kayano's for weekend training and use the DS Trainers for faster week day training.



I've got near 400 miles on my second pair of Kayano's and near 200 on my DS Trainers. The DST's have got a considerable amount of wear on the soles and will probably be retired soon. The Kayano's seem to have a lot of life left in them but realistically there is probably only a hundred miles left in them.

Saturday, November 05, 2005

Friday-Saturday

I took friday off cuz I was tired



Saturday masters swim was a bit above my ability but I hung in there.



3800yds

600 warm up

4X225 @ 3:45 Free (draft)

8X50 Kick 1,4,7 butterfly on back (lead)

8X100 @ 2:00 last 25 non-free (lead)

1X250 pull bilateral (as if I could swim any other way) (lead)

12X50 @ :55 IM order (draft)

250 cool down

Friday, November 04, 2005

Thursday 11-4

Swim during lunch

2100yds with paddles (not the whole swim)



Run 7 miles 55:35 HR 157, top of zone 2



It is so much easier to run with a higher intensity at the track so I constantly have to slow myself down. I was running 8 min/miles pretty consistantly for the first 5 miles then let myself run what I felt was comfortable for the last 2 miles. They were about 7:40's. HR was a bit high for the last 2 miles too.



I've been running in my DS Trainers for the last 2 weeks and really like them although I still feel like they aren't enough shoe for me for long outdoor runs. I'm looking to go to a lighter shoe than the Kayano for my long distance. Looking through catalogs it seems that the Asics Gel Foundation may be the next choice for me. I'll be going to the running store soon to try on some new stuff. I really like the Kayano's but the $130 price tag is killing me and if I don't need them anymore why should I buy them.



I've noticed that my flat foot isn't as flat as it used to be. Now when I get out of the pool, my footprint has an arch in it. Instead of looking like a duck footprint, it's starting to look more like everyone else's. I've also noticed over the last few months that my foot is getting shorter. Shoes that were tight on me before fit well now and my normal shoes are seeming kind of big. My foot moves around in my Kayano's and I may need to go 1/2 size smaller.



I hope that is good news --- :|

Thursday, November 03, 2005

Wednesday

Swim 4000yds 1:18

600 warm up

200 fast,100 pull

300 fast,100 pull

400 fast,100 pull

500 fast,100 pull

400 fast,100 pull

300 fast,100 pull

200 fast,100 pull

400 cool down

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Tuesday

Run 7 miles 55:41 No HRM



I forgot the HRM transmitter at home so I just ran to pace. Since I was wearing the DS Trainers I figured I would run an 8:10 to 8:20 pace. The first mile was an 8:10, the next 4 were 8:00 which seemed easy, I even felt like I eased up a bit. The last two I ran 7:45's to finish below an 8:00 pace. I guess this is my fast run for the week, I want to do a hill run this week and two easy runs on the weekend.

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

New basic week

Anyone that knows me knows that I'm not a great runner, OK but not great. I've made big strides (pun intended) in the running this year but I'm not sure if I'll be able to do the same for next year. I've gone from 8:30's to 7:30's this season for my 10K pace which to me was what I planned, but didn't really expect.



My performance for HIM's didn't fair as well for a couple of reasons. The first time I was sick to my stomach from the course gatorade and the second was cuz I went too hard on the bike. Pacing got better at the end of the season but I didn't do what I planned and the run suffered because of it. I also started to lose respect for the Half-Marathon distance since I've done it in training so much, I figured I had it mastered. The Half-Marathon distance this season was like the 10K distance in 2004 to me. I was strong enough to do it, but not as well as I thought I could.



Swimming on the other hand was a pleasant surprise. I was just unable to hold the volume that I swam over the winter when I started riding and had to cut it down. While doing so, I changed my approach from swimming yards and building endurance to making every yard that I swam count. This included a long open water swim, Muscular Endurance, Anerobic Endurance, Force and Speed workouts. During the pool workouts I was limited to about 40 minutes of training time a day so I normally got about 2200yds in for a total of near 8000yds a week. That was much lower than the 12K to 16K I was doing in the spring. I was very surprised to see that after 4 weeks of doing that, I got a lot faster in the water. Since it was working, I stuck with it and finished the season with a 29 min HIM swim. (wetsuit).



My goals for 2006 are to run my Oly under a 7:00 pace and my HIM runs near an 8:15 pace. I want to come out of the water in the top 15% so I don't get bashed around at the swim start and can take it a little easier on the bike. I obviously want to be faster on the bike next season but I can see the most gains on the run so my approach to the bike will be the same but if I stick to my plan better, I know I will be stronger than this year.


I've just about made up my mind on which races I'm going to train for next season and an Ironman isn't one of them. Tenatively I'm looking at the following races:



Martian Marathon in April

The Desoto Triple T in late May

Ann Arbor

Muskoka long course or Big Fish oly (local)

Muncie HIM (maybe)

Steelhead HIM

Sylvania oly

Mid East Regional champs

Stony Creek oly or Great Lake Escape oly



Through the winter months my basic week will be just swimming and running with a bike ride when I feel like it. Through November I'll be running 4 to 5 times while holding about 30 miles a week, December I would like to be a 6 runs a week with the same volume, January I want to run 30 times in 30 days and then have a look at where I'm at to make further plans. I will use a 4 week cycle for running and swimming, my swimming cycle will be something like this.



Week 1 16K

Week 2 20K

Week 3 16K

Week 4 12K



My basic week during the winter will be something like this:



Mon Swim 4K

Tue Run 1 HR (aprox 7 miles)

Wed Swim 4K

Thu Swim 3K Run 1 HR

Fri Swim 2K Run 1 HR

Sat Swim 4K Masters

Sun Run 1.5 HR

Monday

I really don't like to take monday's off cuz I feel that I'm trying to catch up all week after that. I think friday might be a better day off during the winter.



Swim 4000yds

Warm up 600

3X800 @~ 15:00 as follows:

---100 kick :10 rest for all intervals

---150 pull

---300 swim

---150 kick

---100 pull



10X50 hypoxic

1. breathe every 2 strokes: 2. every 3

3. every 4: 4. every 5

5. every 6: 6. every 7

7. every 8: 8. every 9

9. every 8: 10. every 7

500 cool down

Monday, October 31, 2005

Late Saturday and Sunday

Saturday evening

Run 3 miles 24:10 HR 153.



HR was really low, I don't know why, but I was very relaxed. I ran at ballys track and didn't realize that they closed at 7pm and ran out of time. I really planned on running for 1 hour. I got some good quality stretching in.



Sunday

Run 10 miles 1:24:20 HR 153, about 60 degrees outside, I ran my normal Hines drive route.



I did all of my running in my DS Trainers this week including the long run. My feet and legs feel good and I'm debating on continuing to run in them or go back to my Kayano's for a while. 2 things happen when I run in the DS Trainers vs. the Kayano's. My turnover is higher and I don't heelstrike as much. The shoes are slightly lighter with a lot of the weight savings from the smaller sole so it's easier for me to lift my feet. Since the heel is smaller it doesn't hit the ground like the Kayano's do, instead I strike outside-midfoot and roll off in a very smooth motion. I'm not sure if the change in cushioning is going to be a problem, it was last summer and will probably still be while running outside on asphalt or concrete.

Since the track at Bally's is rubber I don't need as much cushioning and I feel that working on turnover is a better option right now.

Saturday, October 29, 2005

Saturday Masters Swim

Another hard swim, I used a pull bouy for the last 6 100's. Maddy helped me stay in too. I drafted a little bit throughout the 100's.



4200yds

600 warm up (200S,200K,200S)

100 free fist

200 kick

3X100 IM

300 pull

15X100 free on 1:40

300 pull

3X100 IM

200 kick

300 cool down

Friday, October 28, 2005

Friday

Swim 2000

500 warm up

2X the following

250 catch-up w/pull bouy

250 moderate pace

100 kick

100 fast



100 cool down

Thursday

Swim 3700yds, a modified workout from Gordo's site. I made it a little easier by swimming the 100's with a pull bouy. I took about 5 seconds between each distance. All the distances were at a 1:40 pace or beter.



500 warm up

200 Swim 100 pull

300 Swim 100 pull

400 Swim 100 pull

500 Swim 100 pull

400 Swim 100 pull

300 Swim 100 pull

200 Swim 100 pull

200 cool down



Run 3 miles in 24:10 HR 153 and did a lot of stretching afterwards. I met a nice lady named Linda and extended my stretching session to keep talking to her.

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Tuesday Wednesday

I took monday off, just cuz I felt like it.



Tuesday Swim 2000 during lunch, I did half of last saturday's workout.

500 warm up

2X700 as follows

250 pull

250 swim moderate

100 kick

100 fast



100 cool down



Wednesday Run Ballys track during lunch

5.1 miles in 40:08 HR 161

Monday, October 24, 2005

Saturday Sunday

Saturday Masters swim, I felt really tired, was supposed to be 4000yds but I probably swam 3000 of it.



Sunday, Run blue loop at Island Lake 1:23:30 HR 152, quite a bit faster than last week and I really wasn't trying to go faster. Maybe it was because I knew what to expect. I brought Justin with me and he rode his bike and kept me company. He also carried my gatorade and 1 gel.

Saturday, October 22, 2005

Katey Kat

Katey Kat passed away on friday from a congenital liver problem



It started just after I got back from Pineman. She stopped eating and started to get really thin. The Vet said it was either Hepatitis or something that she was born with. Since the antibiotics didn't work we assumed that she was born with it.



She was only 4 1/2 years old





Close up.





Ready to play.





Still play time.





Lazy days.


Thursday, October 20, 2005

Thursday

I did a random hill program on the treadmill. Warmed up 1 mile (8:00) on the track, 3 miles of hills varying from 1 to 4% (8:45) then 1 mile cool down (9:00).



5 miles 43:15 HR 151

Tuesday Wednesday

I had a lot of stuff to do on Tuesday so I took it off.



Wednesday swim during lunch 2100 pull sets with paddles.



200 warm up

300 pull (4:45)

6X50 fast :15 RI

300 pull

4X50 fast

2X300 pull

2X50 fast

100 cool down



Fast means 95% normally I was about :42 for the 50's



Run on Ballys track 7 miles 58:30 HR 152, easy run, working on strengthing the slowtwitch muscle fibers. Starting to think of running a spring marathon.

Monday, October 17, 2005

Monday

Endurance swim with a little bit of grind to it



3000yds

400S,300P,200K

400 :20 rest (7:00)

2X200 :15 rest (3:20)

400 :20 rest (6:50)

2X200 :15 rest (3:15)

400 (7:00)

100 cool down

Sunday

Run 9.3 miles 1:28:38 HR 151



I wanted to run some trails so I looked up Maybury State park on the web, found a map and drove out there. I had a difficult time finding the trail head and when I did find the trail, it didn't look right for me. Instead of running that trail I decided to drive out to Island Lake and run the Blue Loop.



I've never ran the blue loop before but I knew it was about 3 miles longer than the yellow loop which I have run several times. It is advertised at 9.3 miles but I would have to say it was closer to 9.8 miles or I was running 10:30's for my first 5 miles. The pace I set was fairly easy, feeling near a 9:00 pace with a HR that seemed ballpark.



It was fairly flat with some occasional ups and downs, not much sand and protected from the wind. There was a spot where all you could see was a few hundred pine trees and the trail wound in and around them, it was pretty fun going through there. I wish I had my camera with me. Maybe I'll run it next week and bring the camera along to show everyone.



It was a nice change from running on Hines Drive and Ballys. There were several Mountain-Bikers out there and they were very courtious. I even saw Matt J. from my club out on his bike. I'm going to have to get out there on my Mountain Bike sometime soom.

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Friday Saturday

Friday night I had a hockey game very late. I was a sub for the 3rd line center.


60 minutes of basicly anerobic work, 1:30 on 3:00 off.



Saturday morning swim with Masters group Lane 5

4000yds

200S,200K,200S

All 300's are on 5:30

1. 300 straight (came in consistantly at 4:45)

2. 2X150 on 2:45

3. 300

4. 3X100 on 1:50

5. 300

6. 4X75 on 1:20

7. 300

8. 6X50 on :55

9. 300

10. 12X25 on :25

Extra rest after 6 and 10, we took a minute

Cool down

4X100 Kick, Back, Breast, Free

It was just Maddy and I so we decided to work on Backstroke for the 400

We took turns leading so we would hold the interval, the shorter distances were difficult for me but the 300's I breezed through.



I again was relying on good swimming form to carry me through the sets instead of muscling through them. I'm starting to do that a lot now and I think it's a good thing. My plan for the new season was to move to lane 5 and hold on to the end of the group but it's just been a few people in the lane and I've had to do a lot of the leading so it's been harder than I planned, but I've been able to do it. Maddy is a great swimmer that swam Lane 4 with me a lot before and we seemed to have made the switch at the same time. I'm really glad to have her company.

Friday, October 14, 2005

Thursday

I did the swim I planned on doing on tuesday



3650yds

200 swim 250 backstroke drills 200 swim

500 8:30

5X100 @ 1:50

400 7:00

4X100

300 5:15

3X100

200 3:30

2X200

100 1:45

100 1:35



All of the 100's I came in at 1:30 to 1:35 and left on 1:50, I was really tired at the end and relied on form to keep the pace up. I seemed to have dropped two strokes per 25 yds in then last few weeks. I've been hitting the wall earlier and not taking the extra breath on the right just before the wall. I was also taking the same number of strokes on the faster 100's as I did on the longer intervals.



Taking the advise that Jason gave me (a great swimmer in my club) I've been working on finishing my stroke at my leg and rotating more to get a longer reach and to reduce drag. It's becomming more and more natural for me to do this.



I've also started to work on the backstroke. The drills I have been doing are shoulder pops, sliding along the lane lines with one arm extended and single arm drills. After I've done those I normally swim about 100yds of backstroke easy, I've been wearing fins for all of this.

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Thinking of new training plan

Starting to think of an off-season training plan. What I want to accomplish this winter is to become a better runner and swimmer. How I plan to accomlish this is still in the air.



What I feel worked last year was the increase in the frequency of running. I was pretty consistant with my runs as follows.



Tue: Short easy run, bike skills were the focus that day.

Wed: Long run, probably done a little too fast

Fri: Speedwork or hill work on treadmill

Sat: Hill work when at Island lake, moderate distance any other time.

Sun: Run Bike Run brick, stead pace



While I got much faster, I seemed to gain most of my speed and endurance during the months of Jan to May. Why that was? Looking at my log I stopped doing overdistance in May. After that my longest runs were 12 miles with a little bit harder effort. That made me faster but didn't increase my endurance as much. I'm starting to feel that I should have kept the longer run at a lower intensity all the way to the beginning of August. Most of the early long runs were done near an 8:40 pace while the later runs were closer to 8:20.



It was also during the early months that I did speedwork on a regular basis with intervals on the treadmill and tempo runs on the indoor track. The tempo runs were fun cuz I just found someone that ran fast and stuck with them. When I got on the road I ran by myself and just ran a comfortable pace.



The plan for now 'till January is to build back up to 5 runs a week with 3-one hour runs at an easy pace and 2-half hour runs at a quicker pace or something fun. Planned running milage during that time will be 28 to 30 miles a week. In January I'm thinking of a running 30 times in 30 days challenge and see what happens. It would be mostly easy running with a double run on 1 day and 1 day off.



The swimming plan will go close to what I did last year but I'll start training faster earlier. Instead of waiting untill June to work on muscular endurance and speed I will start in February with the Michigan Masters State meet as a race goal. I'll set goals for the distances as I get closer to them. I've allready moved up a lane at my weekly masters workout and will continue with that lane while during the week I will focus 2 of my swims on endurance and 1 on force or muscluar endurance.



So about 16000yds a week in the pool is planned but I will slowly work up to that. I will be taking it easy untill late November.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Tuesday - Wednesday

Tuesday swim but I cut it short cuz I felt tired. I'm starting to work on the backstroke and worked on the first of the key drills in my swimming book.

2000yds

warm up 200 swim, 200 kick back w/fins, 200 swim

500 easy

5@100 @1:50

200 easy

200 kick drills back w/fins



Wednesday run 7 miles easy 1:02:25 HR 145

Going to do the easy run thing for a while, I've got some new ideas from "The Lore of Running" I'll write my theory (or plan) later.

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Weekend and Monday

Saturday night I played hockey and had an OK time. I could skate really fast but I really couldn't handle the stick and puck that well. We played for about 90 minutes.



I took sunday off and helped my dad do some yard work. We spread out 4 yards of mulch in his back yard. Just before that I put the bagging system on Michelle's (my X-wife) lawnmower and picked up the leaves in her yard.



Monday I ran 7 miles at the track at Ballys. It was warm enough to run outside but I wanted to run in a controlled environment plus I had some stuff to do on that side of town afterwards. HR was a bit freaky, I think the HRM is going away.



7 miles 58:20 HR 155

Saturday, October 08, 2005

Saturday

I took friday off cuz I really didn't get much sleep this week and I just felt generally tired.



Saturday masters swim was a little bit different with some 100% 100's.



2600

500 warm up

16X50 drills on 1:00

8X50 kick

6X100 all out with 4:00 break

300 cool down



We didn't get through all of the 100's cuz we ran out of time but I added 300 to my cool down to get the total yards in. I swam so much faster than I thought I would. Maddy and I were swimming in adjacent lanes and were pushing eachother. She is so cool and fun to swim with, one of the nicest people that I know.



Anywho, my times for the 3-100's I did were 1:15, 1:15, 1:16. About 10 seconds faster than I expected, other than at the state meet when I swam a 1:17 for 100 meters from a diving block, this is the fastest I've ever swam. The last time we did this I was swimming 1:25's, that was last spring. Starting to think that the Pineman swim wasn't as short as I thought, maybe I just swam that much faster.

Friday, October 07, 2005

Thursday swim

I've been working on two of the three things my friend Jason pointed out to me from my swim video.



1. Finishing my stroke...I'm making sure that I touch my leg at the end of my stroke, sometimes I get lazy and quit the pull early.



2. Side swimming...While swimming bilateral, I tend to not to rotate my body as much as I should on the two strokes that I don't breathe on. I'm concentrating on rotating more and reaching further in front of me to get a longer stroke.



3. The third thing he pointed out that I haven't worked on yet is how I put my hand in the water. I dive my hand in and then lift it slightly, while this isn't a problem know, it might be when I get a bit faster.



Thursday 3150yds Endurance swim #2

600yd warm up

2X200 :20 rest (3:20)

100 moderate :20 rest (1:35)

2X300 :30 rest (4:55)

100 moderate :20 rest (1:35)

2X400 :40 rest (6:45)

100 moderate :20 rest (1:35)

6X75 cool down :20 rest, 50 free 25 back

Thursday, October 06, 2005

Wednesday

Still no structure to the training but here is what I did



Bike 18 miles 20mph, HR 137



Run 4 miles 35:30 HR 152

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Starting back up slowly

I just got back into training after a few weeks off.



Sat Masters swim 3200yds mixed sets but fairly short

Hockey game Sat evening 50 min

Sun Off



Mon Run 5k easy 27:00 HR 150



Tue Swim 3200 E2

600 warm up

400,300,200,100 :20 rest

300,200,100 neg split :25 rest

200 fast :30 rest

100 fast :30 rest

4X150 pull :20 rest

100 cd

Friday, September 30, 2005

Plans for off season

After my long break from hockey (last skate was in January) I've decided to give it a try again. My friend at work invited me to skate with his team this saturday and I'm giving it a try. I'm a defenseman and it seems difficult to find to find decent ones in the local rec leagues. I'm not great but fairly solid. This is a change of pace that I feel will rekindle my desire for hard training.



Starting next week I'm going to get back to steady running again. 4 runs is the plan now and am going to build up to 6 runs. Starting in November I'm thinking of doing a 30-30 (30 runs in 30 days) and see what it does for me.



I'm going to bring my swimming volume up too. I should be able to handle 4 swims of 3000-3500yds to start with and then increase those swims to 4000-4500yds. This year the swims will have more of a purpose than last year's swims to build base endurance. I'm starting to believe that mixing intensities is a better route for me instead of all long slow distance. Another weekly swim will be dedicated to work on the other strokes. I really want to be a better breast stroker and a back stroker but I feel that 1500 to 2000 yds is all that will be required initially.



Cycling will take a back seat again untill Feb-Mar when it will be warm enough outside to ride again. While it is still warm now, I'll just ride when I feel like it.



Hockey should provide anerobic workouts as well as strength. I've just have to be carefull not to build muscle mass again in the wrong places (around the stomach).

Friday

I've been pretty much just been screwing around this week, I haven't done much. I'm working on bringing my calorie intake down cuz of the reduced need. Only eating 1 bowl of cereal in the morning, 1 lunch and a smaller dinner. I'm down to about 2-3 bananas a day and no energy foods (cliff bars)



Mon nothing

Tue nothing

Wed ummm...nothing

Thu Skate sticks and pucks (hockey) for about 90 minutes, I felt much betting on the ice than I thought I would. Swam for about 30 minutes working on breast stroke drills with a focus on the kick. I'm not very good at it yet.



Fri planning on swimming at lunch and running 4 or 5 miles later

Sat planning on masters' swim and maybe a short run

Sun Maybe a bike tour 50 to 100 miles with Rhonda

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

Pineman

I didn't have a good time at this race. The week before the race we had some anouncements at work about how the company would be split up. I work for Visteon and didn't know if I was going to the services group or staying with corporate Visteon.



It turned out that I was chosen to stay with Visteon while my peers are moving to the service group, which one is better I still don't know but I feel I'm in a better position with the ability to advance now. Still, there were a lot of nights where I had difficulty sleeping and missed some training days. My nutrition wasn't the greatest but I decided to go on with the race plans.



The race: Got there the day before, went over the bike and run course and got a feel for them. I stayed at the camp ground and had a good nights' rest.



The start was delayed for about an hour due to fog. The management changed the swim course to keep it closer to shore, which was probably a good idea and the race started. The start waves were fairly small and there was a lot of room so I had no trouble with people bashing around. It was a wetsuit race so I expected to go a bit faster and felt good. I started brisk and then settled into my race pace, I felt someone drafting me for a while but I couldn't find a pair of feet to follow. There was 3 minutes between waves so I caught a lot of people that started in front of me, it was easy to go around them. The second loop was even more wide open since there was no mini-tri people left on the course. I came out of the water in 28 minutes and took a minute to get to transition so the total swim time was 28:53. Yes, it was really short, I expected to come out of the water near 34 minutes.



The bike ride I didn't like. It seemed like 40 of the 56 miles were on bumpy roads that got me pretty upset. There's nothing like riding on bumpy roads with 150psig in your tires for 2:42. It was pretty uneventfull and nutrition went exactly as planned. 1 GU every 30 minutes, 2 bottles of Gatorade (my mix) and 3 bottles of water picked up from the course. Average HR was 158, a bit higher than I planned but this wasn't a flat course like it was advertised.



The run started uneventfull but near the end of the first loop I twisted my ankle running on the grass just after crossing the dam. I must have stepped on the only hole on the course cuz it was well laid out with mile markers and aid stations, it was just some bad luck on my part. I finished the first loop and called it quits, I really didn't want to hurt myself in a race that I wasn't really enjoying and meant nothing to me. Up untill the time of the incident I was running 8:30's to 8:40's, just like I planned on doing but I probably wouldn't have been able to pick it up on the second loop.

This is the first race that I haven't finished and I'm not proud of it, Oh Well, there will be more races in the future for me but probably not this one.



I would give HFP Racing a good thumbs up for their organization and execution of the race. The fog and road conditions were beyond their control. I look forward to doing one of their races in the future, likely the Little Smokies HIM and maybe the Triple T if it fits my schedule.

Sunday, September 25, 2005

last update for a while

I've had a lot of stress at work and didn't have a fun race at Pineman so I decided to take a few weeks off.

Sunday, September 11, 2005

Sunday

My last hard training day before Pineman HIM.



Run 5.1 miles 43:41.2 HR 146

Bike 52.8 miles 2:38:04 HR 137

Run 5.1 miles 42:28.0 HR 154



I didn't go into this as rested as I would have liked to but I had some specific things I wanted to work on. First of all, Bike pacing, I wanted to keep my HR under 150bpm for the entire ride, I only let it drift up when climbing and only for a few minutes at a time. I was a little bit slower, but felt very strong comming off the bike.



I had a bigger breakfast than normal on a training day. I had a race day breakfast. 3 pancakes, water, lite syrup and a cliff bar.



The first run I felt like crap. After I got 3 miles in I felt better but not great. I took my first gel at 2.5 miles and the second just before the bike started.



Started the bike easy and warmed up into it. The temp was about 70 to start and then warmed up to 85. 1 gell every 30 minutes with 2 bottles of my Gatorade and 1 bottle of water. I got off the bike with what seemed like an empty stomach, which is what I wanted, I didn't want to feel bloated.



Started the second run with a plan to run an 8:30 pace and then neg split the run. What actually happened was I started with a 8:15 pace and I held it for the entire run. It felt like an easy pace so I stuck with it. I got 1 gel down at 1 mile and the second at 3.5 miles which is a good start for my run nutrition. Since my stomach didn't get upset, I know that the rest of the run would go well since I could keep eating.



Race wheels and shoes will help my splits so I feel pretty confident going into my next race. My goals are somewhat relaxed from Muncie which was probably a little too fast for me. Swim 35:00 w/wetsuit 38:00 w/o, bike 2:35, run 1:50 or better so I'll start with an 8:30 pace and see how I feel at the half way point, if I feel good, I'll pick it up. I'll keep the Bike HR under 150 again but ride closer to it than I did today. Total, I hope to be under 5:10 and be able to run my last mile hard.



Right now I feel healthy, my knee and shoulder have healed up from last weekend and my legs feel strong. My swimming has been fast lately, I killed everyone in lane 4 yesterday since there was no lane 5 workout. I really hope this race is a wetsuit race so I can use the new suit I bought earlier this year. I feel slightly under trained for this race, but that is a good thing as I know I will go into it healthy and strong.

Saturday, September 10, 2005

Saturday Bike and Run

Bike 53.6 miles in 2:45, I forgot my HR transmitter.



Run 3 miles a little bit later, 26:00, easy run.

Friday and Saturday swims

Friday Force swim



2100yds

200 warm up

300 pull with paddles

6X50 fast (1:00SI)

300 pull

4X50 fast

2X300 pull Neg split

2X50

100 cd



Saturday Masters lead lane 4 (there was no lane 5 workout)



3200yds


400 warm up

2X100 on 2:00

2X150 on 3:00

2:200 on 4:00

2X150 on 3:00

2X100 on 2:00

5X50 kick on 1:15 (I had to wait for the rest of the lane)

2X50 on 1:00

2X75 on 1:30

2X100 on 1:50

2X75 on 1:20

2X50 on :50

1X50 easy

8X25 Broken IM on :35

200 cd

Thursday, September 08, 2005

Thursday

Run during lunch, easy 4 miles 0:33:07 HR 146. Making up missed run from tuesday. I ran on the track at Ballys for a soft surface and cooler air.



Bike in the evening, 22.8 miles 1:11:00 HR 131. Easy ride to spin legs out. Still a little tired from yesterday's long run.



With my season allmost at an end I have debated on what to do in the off season (Oct through Feb). I've been asked to play on a hockey team again and I'm seriously considering it for a change of pace. The only problem is that I haven't had my hockey gear on since January and I know a lot of it is too big for me know. It was too big for me then and I'm 8lbs lighter now, 40lbs lighter than when I bought it.

Wednesday

Swim 1750 Anerobic Endurance, I cut a little short cuz I was running late.



warm up 300yds

4X50 build (All 50's on 1:00 Swim Interval)

2X50 fast

1X50 easy

3X50 fast

1X50 easy

4X50 fast

cool down 700yds



Run 12 miles 1:43:33 HR 154

HR was screwy for the first 2 miles so I omitted them, warm 85 degrees and sunny.

Wednesday, September 07, 2005

Shoulder is feeling much better

I was a little bit worried about my right shoulder yesterday during the swim but it is healing up very fast. I've got some scrape marks that I thought might get soft in the pool but they didn't. I don't want any of my scabs floating around :(



Strength-wise I was a bit concerned too but since I was able to swim 1:30's with no problem it seems as though I didn't hurt it as bad as I thought. In fact, I felt amazingly strong in the pool yesterday.



This saturday is our first masters workout of the season and I'm going to do my best to move up a lane. I'm planning on staying in the back of lane 5 and see what happens. Hopefully the draft will help me enough to complete the entire workout, I feel I have enough speed to keep up with them now but I know it is a big step. So long lane 4, you'll have to find a new leader this season.

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

Tuesday

Swim 2200yds



300yd warm up

400 moderate

4X100 @1:50

300

3X100 @1:45

200

2X100 @1:40

100 cool down



Bike 17.8 miles 53:00 HR 137

Weekend training

I wound up taking the rest of saturday off and I probably needed it cuz I feel that I was on the edge of overtraining. Having that extra day off helped get my resting HR down.



Sunday Run 5.1 miles 41:50 HR 153, bike 2.5 hrs 52 miles HR 154, run 5 miles 42:00 HR 163. The heart rates were a bit high and I'm not sure if it was a monitor problem or the HR was really up there. I was pretty close to being wasted at the end so maybe it was a combination of both.



I have really eaten poorly last week and I feel that has a lot to do with my performance on sunday. I have my last race in 2 weeks so I'll be going hard for the first part of this week and then go to a 10 day taper. I'll use the same plan that I used for Muncie since that seemed to work well.

Weekend disaster

Fell off of my bike on Saturday. It was about 1 mile into the ride, I got a tire stuck in a crack and dropped the bike on the side of the road. Luckily my fall was dampened by the grass and I didn't get scraped up too bad, just my right shoulder and my right knee. That should heal up fairly quick but the impact made my shoulder pretty sore.



The bike was damaged to the point that I couldn't ride it and had to walk home. I broke the rear derailleur hanger and twisted the chain. All I could think about was that I had to get to Bikesport before they closed to get it fixed since they were probably the only place around that would have the right parts. I had an important workout planned for sunday that I wanted to get done and I obviously needed the bike for it.



I cleaned myself up and got the bike fixed. Mike at Bikesport has allways been very friendly and has helped me with most of my bike maintenence needs. He found a hanger and had it fixed in no time.

Saturday, September 03, 2005

Ouch, I'm hurt. I talk about it later.

Friday, September 02, 2005

Friday swim

I couldn't remember which workout I was supposed to do so I just picked a fun looking ME workout. By the end I was swimming my 100's under a 1:30 pace.



2100yds

400yds warm up

4X100 on 1:50

300 pull

3X100 on 1:45

300 pull

3X100 on 1:50

100 cool down

Thursday, September 01, 2005

Thursday

Swim 2100yds 40 min, I really like having a pull workout the day after my long run. It works really well for me.

200 warm up

300 pull with paddles 5:00 Swim Interval

6X50 fast :15 Rest, SI 1:00

300 pull

4X50 fast

2X300 pull

2X50 fast

100 cool down



Bike 22.8 1:10:00 kept hr under 140 most of the time. The HRM got kind of screwy, some kind of interference