As we continue to see COVID-19 cases soar and the number of hospitalizations continue to rise, I continue to feel anxious, sad, mad, and at the same time thankful. I am anxious about all the potential for sickness and death. I am sad to see so many people suffer from the direct effects of the disease to the indirect effects the disease has had on people's livelihoods and their ability to provide for themselves and their families. I am angry that our country has not done a better job at containing the spread of the virus. And I am disgusted with the injustice people of color continue to endure at the hands of the white authority. I don't really feel like i have done much to try to counter this injustice but I have to mention it because I feel strongly about it and mentioning it is the absolute least I can do.
The United States put a man on the moon over 5 decades ago. We have robots that can dance and AI assistants that can make dinner reservations for us. We can replace parts of the human body with artificial parts and have mastered a myriad of other medical technological innovations. And the list of amazing accomplishments goes on an on. However, when it comes to containing COVID-19, we have not done such a great job. Sure, it is not easy. I know that. But it seems like as a society full of super rich and super smart people, we could have done better. That is just how I feel about it.
And now onto the last emotion. Gratitude. I am thankful for so many things. I will list some of them here:
I am able to work from home 100 percent of the time. In fact, my productivity has gone up since moving to a WFH schedule.
My wife and I have both been very busy at work which helps keep our minds focused on positive things.
I lost 10 pounds since the first lockdown in March.
I have gotten leaner as I have added weight lifting into my training regiment.
I have added more Yoga, Pilates, and other types of training to supplement my running and biking (no swimming right now).
I get more sleep since I don't have to commute to and from work.
I walk more which seems to have many benefits.
I have saved money on eating out as I eat at home the majority of the time.
I drink more water than I ever have in my life I think.
I took the first college class I have taken since the early 90s and found it challenging but also really fun. I am looking forward to next semester for the next class.
I completed all 34 Ironman Virtual Racing Club events and got recognized as an IMVR legend. HA!
I am on my way to completing a 21 day IMVR Club challenge where the grand prize for doing all the events is a free entry into a 2021 IM event. Fingers crossed.
My wife and I have started playing cards and other games while listening to our favorite tunes as an alternative to simply watching TV. This seems like a healthy way to spend more quality time together although we are still enjoying many quality shows (currently watching The Queens Gambit).
My family has stayed healthy during this trying time.
At work, I have had time for leadership courses and other technical training which is helping me become a better manager and a better technician.
As I close out the year, I am hopeful that there will be more vaccines available leading to the eradication of this virus so we can all go back to doing some of the things we love doing. In 2021, I am hoping to toe the line at least some of the races that were deferred from 2020. I am hoping to learn new things and add even more variety into my training with the hopes of becoming fitter and more well rounded physically and mentally.
Thankfully my 2020 experience has been mostly positive in comparison to so many people in the world who are suffering and I feel quite privileged to be in this position. Who knows what 2021 will bring but I hope we start to move in the right direction.
I may write another recap with some of my 2020 Strava Stats just for fun but until then, Happy New Year everyone. Peace and love to you all.
Ah, the joy of the snow day. One of the perks of working for a school system is the occasional surprise school closing. This morning, I got up at my normal 4:45 AM for my early morning swim practice with ProK Racing. There was no snow in sight and everything was open at this point. I drove to the Y and walked in at the same time as my coach. We even got to chat a bit before practice about some of my race goals and my training progress. More on that later.
When I pulled myself out of the water at 6:30AM after an hour of nubby arm kicking (kicking with arms down at your sides and rotating the body left and right as you slowly make your way down the lane), sighting drills (swimming with your eyes closed and only opening them when you lift your head out of the water), swimming with fists, and other various drills, a teammate who was getting ready for the 6:30 class said that the school systems had all decided to go two hours late because it was snowing. I simply smiled and nodded my approval.
I was delighted to hear the news because that meant I would have about 2 and a half hours to myself before I would have to leave for work. I could relax, make a good breakfast and lunch, drink some hot water with lemon and read the news, etc.
When I got home from class, I was home for about 15 minutes when the phone rang. I recognized the number as Henrico County Public Schools. Alas, they had changed their mind and decided to call off school all together. Now, I am not going to complain about a free day off but it seemed odd since there was no snow on the roads at all. Even as I write this at 1:00PM, the snow is still falling but has yet to accumulate on the roads and has only just now started accumulating on the parked cars. In fact, I can still see the grass in my front yard.
So far, I have accomplished a few things on this free day off. I put in some time on our bathroom renovation, took a nap, and had lunch with Melissa which is something we rarely get to do. And now, I have the rest of the day to work on some other projects. My plans include writing my blog, cleaning the house, working the foam roller and doing some other PT exercises. If I get the gumption, I may even continue working on the bathroom renovation. Mostly, I am just going to dilly dally my way through the day. It is nice to have the extra day. Instead of rapidly refocusing in front of a few computers at work, I will just do what I want to do and get some extra relaxation. Like I said, the joys of a snow day.
And now a quick training update. Last week at track practice, I improved my 1 mile time by 2 seconds. I felt pretty good about that and after talking with my coach this morning, she believes that I can PR at Monument and make the Kinetic Half Triathlon my A race. She has faith in me which is reassuring. Since, I have not nailed all my pace runs, I am not sure about hitting the 40 minute 10K mark that I discussed earlier. Right now, I am going to continue to work hard and shoot for beating my last year's time at the very least. As we get closer to the race, I will have a better idea if 40 minutes is really doable.
Well, I got another item on my mental checklist completed. Now I have to work on some PT. I will never reach my race goals if I don't continue to work on my knees. With the extra time today, I should be able to make some good healing progress. That is all for now. Thanks for reading.
My knees are responding well to my treatment of stretching, leg lifts, foam roller and ice. I am still not without some discomfort especially after sitting at work for hours but I am turning the corner. In fact, last Sunday I ran 9 miles and felt pretty good overall. And then on Tuesday, I went to track practice which I had not been to in two weeks due to my knee issues.
Track was great. We ran our 1 mile warm up and then we ran a 1200 followed by a faster 800 followed by a broken 800 (200 fast, 200 recovery, 200 fast, 200 recovery). Then when we were done with that, the coach said that we would be doing 1 mile as fast as we could. For me, she said she wanted me to run a 6 minute mile.
I am sure I have never done a 6 minute mile. I have gotten up to that speed for very short distances but never for a full mile. I was skeptical that I would be able to manage that pace for 4 laps around the track but I said I would try. After 2 laps, I was on track to reach the goal but my breathing was extremely labored and I was struggling to maintain my pace. At around 1000 meters I started thinking about throwing in the towel and just jogging the rest. I often feel this way in races. Despite all my training and my fitness, I start to wonder why I am trying so hard and doubt my abilities. But I can usually push through these moments and at the end of the race, I am super stoked that I gave it my all.
After my brief lapse into doubt, I started to catch up to some of my other teammates who were running slightly slower than me. For me, passing people on the track is a great motivator. As I passed people, I was able to pick things up and know that I could go hard until the end. And after that, I had one more lap to go. I was still struggling and sucking wind. I think I must have sounded like an hyena and I sort of wondered what my teammates must have thought. I gave it my all and in the end was very close to meeting my goal. I had managed a 6:05. I was pretty happy about that.
After everyone finished up and I ran a cool down lap, I told my coach what I had accomplished at last year's Monument Avenue 10K and how I had trained. She told me that if she could run a 40 minute 10K that I could beat 40 minutes. My initial thoughts were "no way." After all, she is an accomplished pro triathlete who won Ironman Canada in 2005. My experience is soccer, not road racing.
I put the idea in the back of my mind but after getting home, I started thinking, "could I really run a 40?" That would be 3 minutes faster than my last year's PR. That is a significant difference in a 10K race. I am going to have to follow up with coach K and see if she really thinks I can pull that off and what it is going to take to get there. For now, I am excited about the possibility and it has given me new motivation to fix my knees.
After I finished up my first season of Triathlon last Fall, a friend of mine asked me what I had learned. I never did formulate a good reply to his query. With one race under my belt this year and my next races looming on the horizon, I thought I should take a few minutes to answer his question.
Going into Triathlon last year, I knew that I was very weak in the water. I had really just learned to swim a few months before my first race. My form was awful and still not stellar to this day. I also knew that I was pretty strong on the run and that running off the bike seemed to come naturally to me. However, it was my weakness on the bike that really surprised me. I had been mountain biking for many years and while I was not a powerful mountain biker, I thought my experience in the saddle would translate to the road more so than it did.
This fact really became obvious after my second Triathlon. I did much better in this race than I had in my first race. I passed a few people on the bike but also got passed by several people. When I looked at my results and compared them to some other people (arguably not something one should necessarily do), I noticed that there was a 78 year old man whose bike split was 37.56 compared to my 38.45. How was it that this 78 year old man had a faster bike split than me. Sure, I was 30 seconds faster than him on the run, nearly 10 minutes faster on the run, and had faster transitions. But his bike split was faster than mine. After looking at those results, I thought, "Am I really that slow on the bike?"
After a couple more Triathlons, it really sunk in that, yes, I am really that slow on the bike. I was constantly being passed by men and women of all ages. It was interesting and slightly annoying. Not that I am necessarily competing with the entire rest of the field. But I want to perform well and I want to get to the finish line faster than as many people as possible. After all, it is a race. In the end, I know that there will always be people faster than me and always people slower than me. It is not really that big a deal. But it is a goal to work towards.
To remedy my weakness on the bike, I have been doing lots of cycling. Twice a week, Melissa and I meet up with the rest of the gang at Richmond Cycling Corporation for a 1 hour class. We are learning technique as well as gaining fitness. In addition, my training team does a Saturday AM ride also at Richmond Cycling Corporation. I also had a bike fit this year which has helped enormously. I am getting a much more efficient pedal stroke and am more comfortable on the bike.
I am working on my other disciplines as well. I continue to do a coached swim once a week as well as another pool session on my own. Plus I am running 3 times a week including a weekly coached track practice. So far, I am enjoying the training very much and I look forward to seeing some better race results this year. It will only be my second year in Triathlon so I am not expecting to see vast improvements but I do expect some incremental improvement when compared to last year. Plus, this year I will be learning a new skill-racing in a wetsuit.
Finally, there are a few other small things I learned. I prefer bananas to energy bars. My pre-race smoothie should not contain pineapple because it makes me burp a lot during the swim. Vanilla flavored Hammer Gel seems to agree with me and be my food of choice while training and racing. Endurolytes and water seem preferable to other drinks such as Gatorade, etc while on the run. Lemon flavored HEED works well for me on the bike. This year I am going to remember to take a gel a few minutes before the swim start.
One other thing I also learned is that I am having a blast training and racing!
On January 14th, I am running the Willis River 35K Trail Race. The race takes place in Cumberland County, Virginia at Bear Creek State Park. As you may recall, I ran the Bear Creek 10 Miler at the same park on December 4th. The terrain is likely to be very similar although I won't know for sure until I run the race. Here is a video from the park's web site showing a little bit about the Willis River Trail. In the video, you don't really get to see too much of the trail but you sort of get the idea that the trail is on the wild side.
This race will be slightly more than twice the distance of the Bear Creek 10 Miler. I am not sure how long it will take me to complete the race. I am guessing around 4 hours. I have been running trails for the last month or so in addition to tempo runs, hill work, and other runs. Plus I have been keeping up with my cycling and swimming.
My goal for this race is to run hard and have fun. Running trails is a great way to gain fitness as well as strength. This particular race features lots of "blow downs" which means I will be leaping over downed trees as well as jumping around and through several creeks. A race like this will force me to use different muscles than a straight road race which will help me in my overall fitness. I am also hoping that training and racing this event will help build a strong running base which is something I have not really had for many years.
In preparation for this race, I have been running the trails downtown. Seems funny to link "trails" and "downtown" in the same sentence but here in Richmond that is exactly what we have. In the heart of downtown Richmond we have the James River Park with miles of single track trails that parallel the James River. There are several races each year on these trails and I have both ridden and run them many times.
For me, running trails is so much more interesting then simply running around my neighborhood. Don't get me wrong, the streets around my house are great for running but there is not much to inspire me. It is the same old parked cars, houses, lawns, fences, dogs barking, etc over and over again. When I run downtown, I have to concentrate more on my footing and there are always surprises in the way of other bikers and runners as well as wildlife and great scenery. Running through the woods seems more primal to me and thus more motivating.
For today's Saturday morning run, my training plan called for a 2 hours and 30 minute run nice and easy. A few of my friends from church met me downtown at 8AM to run. They would end up running one loop with me. I continued on after a brief stop at the cars to say adios for a second loop by myself. Running with friends definitely helps break up the monotony of a long run. But it was nice to also get some time by myself to ponder my training and upcoming races. Running alone on the trails can be meditative. I think my run this morning was a perfect mix of social running and running with my thoughts.
I ended up seeing a coworker and her children on the tail end of my run. I love seeing people I know exercising and it was great to see them running together as a family. I stopped to chat briefly before continuing on my last mile back to the car. I ended up running 2:45 at a very easy pace. I think I accomplished the goal of the workout by keeping my heart rate low. In fact, after getting home and analyzing my GPS data, I could see that my heart rate stayed in zone 1 and 2 for the entire run.
Tomorrow I have a 1 hour pace run to complete. After that run, my long runs will mostly be over for now. The rest of my preparation for the race in two weeks will involve shorter but faster workouts. I am not sure exactly what the coach has in store for me but I will likely find out tomorrow. Coach K seems to consistently update my weekly training plan on Sundays.
In general I feel pretty good about my preparation for the 35K. It will be the farthest I have run since my marathon training in 2007 but I am confident I will enjoy the race. I have learned a lot since the training I did for the marathon and I think I train better now. Plus I have been doing lots of cross training which I think will pay off when I run the trail race.
Until next time, thanks for reading. Comments appreciated but not required.
"Just keep pushing play." These are the words of Tony Horton who encourages people who are doing his P90x workout in the privacy of their own home to put his DVD in and just press play. It is a similar philosophy that you will hear runners talk about. Just lace up and hit the streets. Don't obsess about the workout or how many miles you need to do. Just get out there and run. Even it means just getting out for a 1 mile run. Often that 1 mile will turn into many more.
I reflected on this philosophy which is captured by the famous Nike slogan, "just do it." It is one thing to get out there and exercise simply for health. It is another thing to train for a specific event. For multisport athletes, just do it becomes just do what? How much should I swim, bike, and run? Thankfully, I have a training plan that tells me exactly what to do. Now, I can look at my training plan and say to myself, "just go run 1 hour." It is a luxury really. I have faith in the plan because I believe in my coach and my training team.
So far this week, the workouts have been great. We had a grueling swim class on Monday that had us up to 700 kick (some with fins) and push ups in between some swim intervals. It was a hard workout but I felt pretty darn good about it afterwards because I knew I had worked hard and done well. I still have my swim issues to work out and I will be getting in the pool as often as possible over the winter break. Hopefully with more time in the water, my stroke form will improve. It did last year when I increased my time in the water.
In addition to the swim, I had Monday night yoga which was wonderful as always, Tuesday morning cycling class which was hard but rewarding, Wednesday morning tempo run which turned out great, and Thursday morning cycling class. Next up is a 1 hour easy run. I plan to head out for that run very soon.
My job now is to follow my plan and just do the workouts. I am going to 'just say no' to skipping workouts and say yes to just doing it.
This morning we had our normal 1 hour cycling class with Karen. Karen lost her voice somehow so instead of her usual workout, we did a Spinervals DVD that I brought to class and ran off my computer connected to the projector. It was a relatively small class as some folks had opted to get their run in today rather than tomorrow due to h0liday obligations. We had a good workout although not as hard as when Karen leads the class.
After cycling, we went home and I refueled with a smoothie and got all my gear together to run. I made the quick drive downtown to run the trails- this week by myself. My training plan called for a 2 hours and 45 minute run and that is exactly what I did. I felt good on the run. I ended up doing about the same distance as last week but about 15 minutes faster. The trails were muddy and slick in some spots but I managed to stay upright the entire time. It was cold but I dressed appropriately.
During my run, I consumed 3 Vanilla Hammer Gels. At no time did I feel hungry or weak. Toward the end of my run, my legs and hips were starting to complain slightly and my right calf was starting to tighten up a bit but these things did not really slow me down. I was tired afterwards but not wrecked or anything. I did some quick stretches and headed home.
When I walked in, I was shivering. Melissa said that I looked cold. I told her I was about to get even colder. "Ice bath?" she asked. Yes indeed, that was my plan. I put on a bunch of clothes over the upper half of my body including a winter hat and the hood from my sweatshirt. Then I sat in the empty tub and let the cold water rise up so my hips and legs were submerged. Melissa then put the big back of ice in the tub for me and started the timer. Boy was it cold. Ice baths in the winter are always colder because the cold water comes out of the tap so much colder than during the summer. I did my 11:35 in the icy cold water before I had had enough. There is no doubt that the ice bath helped with inflammation. After I finished getting cleaned up and headed out to the store, I thought my legs felt pretty good.
Later that evening we had a Christmas party to go to. It was fun. There is nothing like a house full of like minded people talking about training and racing. I heard some great Ironman stories and discovered that one couple has traveled all over the world doing Ironman. It was neat to hear their stories of finishing their first Ironman.
One guy who also had some great stories told me I should do Florida Ironman in 2013. The bike and swim are flat and fast so it is good for a first Ironman race. Of course the 2.4 mike swim is in the Gulf of Mexico which can be very choppy. That would be the most daunting part I think. That and the 112 mile bike ride followed by 26.2 mile run. It all seems so crazy. In talking to the folks at the party, one woman told me that she thought it was crazy. But she said, after you do one, you have a new idea of what crazy really is.
I think I am on my way to someday going for it. But I am not really ready for that distance yet. My goals for this year are to get more time in the saddle, swim better, and learn how to pace and race better. I have planned to do 2 half iron distance races as well as a few Olympics and a sprint. We'll see how thing go. If, in November of 2012, my coach things I should go for it, I may just go ahead and register for the 2013 Florida Ironman. Then again, maybe I will wait another year. For now, I have to take things one workout at a time. And is it now time for some recovery. Good night.
This morning during cycling class, I felt pretty good up until we started doing the T-Max Absolute Power drills. It was then that I could feel the effects of Wednesday night's hill repeats. I did not quite have the gas to red line it like I have in the past. I still feel like I got a great workout and I am gradually progressing.
I think since I slept in on Wednesday and slept well last night, today almost felt like a rest day. I had the cycling class but then I had nothing scheduled for after work. My legs are not sore and I felt relaxed and alert all day. For some reason or another, it almost feels like a rest day.
My actual rest day is tomorrow. Having a rest day on Friday is nice because usually by the end of the work week, I am pretty tired and ready for a break. Another good reason to rest on Friday is to prepare for the busy weekend. This particular weekend will be very busy.
Saturday morning we have cycling class and then I have a 2:45 hour trail run. After refueling, I then have a little more shopping to do and some presents to wrap. Later we have a Christmas party to attend. And of course as I mentioned before, Sunday night we are going out with friends for dinner. I think I mentioned it.
There are 7 disciplines involved in Triathlon. Swimming, biking, and running are the obvious ones of course. Then there is transition, nutrition, and pacing. Finally, one of the most important and often overlooked parts of training for triathlon is recovery. With that, I must say goodnight.
After my break from hard, regimented training, I have recently started what I call my off season. My off season is structured in some ways, not too structured in other ways. My schedule from now through the winter is pretty much spelled out. The structured part follows this schedule:
Monday morning swim
Monday evening Yoga
Tuesday morning Cycling Class
Tuesday evening Track
Thursday morning Cycling Class
Saturday morning Cycling Class
The main goal of these off season training sessions is to work on my form. Each of the workouts on my schedule is done under the corrective eye of a coach. While I have not officially signed on with the coach, I will be meeting with her this Saturday to go over a few things and hopefully become a part of her Pro K triathlon training team.
The cycling class is being taught by Craig at the Richmond Cycling Corporation. Here is a snippet from their web site:
RICHMOND CYCLING CORPS (RCC) is a prestigious non-profit organization that provides leadership and personal development to Richmond’s urban youth through the sport of cycling. The corps connects highly qualified staff and volunteers to provide cycling opportunities, outreach, academic support, and fitness towards our youth participants in a knuckles-down, all for one environment. We obtain funding through Richmond-area business partnerships and individual supporters all over the country to provide these opportunities to Richmond-urban youth at no cost.
One of the way RCC raises money is through cycling classes. Karen arranged for her Tri team to get a group discount. We meet on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the RCC at 6 AM for a one hour session with Craig. Craig was a little reluctant at first to schedule such early sessions because he was not convinced the class would be consistently well attended. Little did he know that triathletes are committed to their sport and will make sacrifices to improve their fitness and abilities. So far the class has been full.
On Saturdays, Karen will lead a longer class that will be more laid back and less structured. This morning when there was a discussion about what time we were going to start on Saturday, Craig was again surprised that we would be starting so early, at 7AM. He asked if we ever slept in. One guy on our team said, "What is sleeping in?"
During the class, Craig is teaching us some physiology, some technique, and helping us train more efficiently. We do lots of drills, including one-leg drills, low-cadence drills, high-cadence drills to a metronome, biking to exhaustion (all-out drills that last 10 to 15 seconds), as well as some mental training. We have only had two sessions but I can already tell that I am going to love this class and get a great benefit from it. The bike portion of the Triathlon is the longest and takes the most time so training smart on the bike is very important. Also, as I learned in my first year of Triathlon, my bike skills need work. There are a few words and phrases that describe my abilities on the bike: Low Power, Inefficient, Low Endurance, and as a result of these things, Slow. I know this class will help me improve all of these things.
Track practice has also been fun. I have been attending the track practices for several weeks. Since it is the off season, the coach is really taking it easy on us. She is trying to get us to learn how to pace ourselves evenly. We do lots of timed 1200s, 1600s, and 800s, as well as some drills. There are two guys who are faster than me but I have about 10 years on them so I feel pretty good about that.
The last discipline I am trying to perfect is my swim. My swim stroke is horrible. Let me let the video do the talking:
I am not sure how I am going to get my stroke straightened out. I understand what I am doing wrong but it has been difficult for me to get my hips and shoulder to cooperate and I have a very weak kick. There are so many things to fix, sometimes it is hard to remember all the pieces of a good stroke and get it all to come together. My overall swimming fitness has improved. But I am still slow and inefficient. I know I will get there eventually.
Now to switch gears a little, I must talk about Yoga. Our Yoga instructor is the best. Her class is intimate and delightful. Kelly's class is the perfect pace and the vibe is so cleansing for both mind and body. For every move she teaches us, there is always a slight variation to make it more or less challenging. She knows how to gently guide us in and out of poses so we get the benefit of strong poses as well as rest in between. I have really come to love the class.
One of the best things about this entire schedule listed above is Melissa does it all with me. Being able to train together has been a great treat. I know that the training is going to help improve my time on the various courses next season and I know it will allow Melissa to enjoy the races even more. I am looking forward to the spring season. Now we just have to find a good destination race for next year.
Well that about wraps up my discussion of my off season training regimen. In addition to these scheduled practices, I will also be doing some trail runs. Last Sunday I ran 7.5 miles on the trails in about 1 hour. It was a beautiful day for a run in the park and I had a great workout. Also, I will be ratcheting things up a bit in anticipation of the Gobble Wobble 5K on Thanksgiving. The course is hilly so I will need to get some hill work in between now and then. It is all just for fun but if I run well, I could be in the top 10 in my age group.
As race day approaches I have to report that my knee has been bothering me more than usual this week. On Wednesday I was sitting on the ground in the data center at work for a while. When I got up, my knee was hurting. As the day went on, I realized that my knee was feeling pretty bad. I was able to do my Wednesday evening run. However, it did hurt more than normal.
I started a regimen of Motrin Wednesday evening after my run and have kept it going. The pain I am feeling is different than what I usually experience. My knee has this spot that is actually tender to the touch in addition to being painful when I walk around and go up and down stairs. What a major bummer.
I have been icing and stretching in an effort to improve it. Usually that works pretty well but it does not seem to be helping this particular manifestation.
I am still planning to run hard and do well in the 10K but this is a little bit of a set back. I guess we will see how it goes.
Well, it has been quite some time since I have taken the time to write my blog. In case you were worried, my training is still humming along nicely. As you recall from my last blog entry, I was feeling slightly run down and decided to skip one of my scheduled runs. That worked out pretty well as it allowed me to get a little more rest. Since then, I have been going strong although I have had to take a few breaks from training to get some chores done. I may have mentioned before that my yard needs lots of work and I finally started to do something about it. Of course that meant I had to miss out on a bike riding opportunity but I was able to compensate with a monster mountain bike ride with my friend Mario at a later date.
Mario is training for a 100-mile mountain bike race that takes place at the end of April. He has been riding a whole lot more than me so it was a nice challenge to ride with him. We did a 3-hour hard ride from his house down to the river, rode all the trails, and then rode hard back. It is amazing how riding with another person facilitates training by making the pace much faster than when riding alone. I was grateful for the opportunity to push the pace.
Before I talk about some of my specific workouts, I want to revisit the topic of my diet. As you may recall, I was experimenting with trying to cut wheat out of my diet or at least limit it. As it turns out, that experiment only lasted for about a week. The lure of the peanut butter and jelly and the toast with peanut butter was too strong. So I am still eating wheat but I have started experimenting with other grains.
For instance, according to all the fitness experts, steel cut oats (not rolled oats) are very good for one's health. Of course we are not talking about oatmeal that you get at McDonald's or instant oatmeal. The kind of oatmeal that is good for you is very plain with no added sugar, preservatives, sodium, or anything else for that matter.
The first batch I made was nearly inedible. It was like eating a cross between cardboard, dirt, and paste. So I did some more research and the next time I added some things to make it more tasty yet not ruin its positive nutritional content. After cooking up the oats, I added some organic raisins and some cinnamon. That really did the trick. It was tasty, hardy, and very nutritious.
Another thing that I have added to my diet comes from Melissa's mother Joan. Joan told us about a hot drink that she had started to drink and I just had to try it. It is very simple and takes the place of tea or coffee which I don't drink. Basically I chop up some fresh ginger and put it in this little steeper contraption. Then I heat up water in the microwave, squeeze a quarter lemon into the hot water, and then steep the ginger. It is a very calming drink. In addition, both ginger and lemon are very good for the body and mind. I would like to give a big thanks to Joan for sharing this drink idea with us. Thanks Joan!
Now back to training. Rather than list out all of my previous workouts that I have been doing since my last blog, I will focus on the most recent workouts. Last night, I did my 5/2-mile run which is 5 miles total with the last 2 miles at race pace. I felt slow last night and ended up running those last 2 miles at 7:24 min/mile. This pace is too slow if I want to PR. My PR is 46:01 from a couple of years ago. I definitely was off and did not really have the stomach to push the pace. One thing I have noticed is that my stomach is always in much better shape on my morning runs on Saturday when compared to my evening runs during the week.
Tonight's run called for a 50-minute tempo run. My tempo runs call for a 10-minute warm up followed by running at slightly faster than race pace and then another 10 minutes of cool down. I ran much better tonight. I managed to run my 30 minutes hard at a 6:51 min/mile pace. (see specifics below). If I was able to maintain the 6:51 for the entire race, I would end up running the upcoming 10K in roughly 42:33. Honestly, I don't think I can maintain that pace for the whole race. If I was able to maintain 7:00 min/miles for the whole race, I would end up with about a 43:30. Based on all of this information, I am starting to think that my goals will be something like this.
A+ goal-43 minutes.
A goal - 44 minutes
B goal - 46 minutes
Split
Time
Distance
Avg Pace
Summary
00:50:02
6.61
07:34
1
00:10:01
1.12
08:54
2
00:30:00
4.38
06:51
3
00:10:00
1.11
09:02
There are only 3 more weekends of training before the first race of the season. I am getting excited. The Monument Avenue 10K has over 37,00 people signed up so far. Should be a fun day!
This past weekend was a pretty busy one as far as workouts go. On Saturday, we did our Team Epiphany run as usual. I ran just shy of 9 miles with my team and felt pretty good. I even had a pretty strong sprint at the end to simulate the end of a race. After the run, we fueled up and rested a bit before heading to the pool for our 1-hour swim. Following the swim, I did a 1-hour mountain bike ride in the park. It was very windy so I decided riding in the woods might be a little easier as the trees usually break up the wind. I had not been to the trails in a while and it felt good to get into the peace of the woods, rocks, logs, and dirt.
Sunday we slept in a tad and then went to the late church service and then straight to the pool for another hour swim. After the swim, I did something I very rarely do. I took a nap. It was not a very sound nap but I did manage to doze in and out for a while. Often I feel like taking a nap but I usually fight the temptation. This time, I was pretty beat so I succumbed to the siren that is my comfy, warm bed.
I am not sure how long I was in bed or how long I actually slept but I did finally pop up, fuel up with a shake, and then hit the road on my road bike for an hour ride. It was still a bit chilly and there was still some wind to contend with so I felt like I was working pretty hard the whole time. When I got back from the run, I did my 3-mile easy run and then called it a day.
Sunday night something else very rare happened. I had trouble getting to sleep. You would think with all the exercise, I would just drop off. For whatever reason, I tossed and turned for a while and did not end up getting nearly enough sleep. On Monday, I ended up being pretty tired all day at work. When I got home from work, I did manage my 5/1 run with the last mile run at a 6:52 pace. I was pleased enough with that but I had to skip the post-run P90X workout because I was so tired. (see below for details about the run workout).
Split
Time
Distance
Avg Pace
Summary
00:43:05
5.01
08:36
1
00:36:11
4.00
09:02
2
00:06:53
1.00
06:52
3
00:00:00
0.00
--:--
On Tuesday morning another rare thing happened. I slept through my alarm. I usually get up around 6:30 but at 7:00, I was awoken by Melissa's alarm. I can't remember when the last time that has happened. Luckily I had a busy day at work which kept me distracted from my tiredness. On the way home from work, it was a big yawn festival.
And since things happen in 3's, yet another rare thing happened. Tonight, I skipped a workout. Tonight's workout was supposed to be a 60-minute tempo run. I decided that napping on Sunday and then not being able to sleep, and then sleeping through my alarm on Tuesday was a sign that I am slightly over training and that I need a rest. Next week is supposed to be my recovery week but I decided to go ahead and work in an extra day of rest. I am not too worried about missing out on a workout. If I had to run the 10K this Saturday, I think I could beat my goal of 46 minutes.
It is important to listen to one's body and pay attention to the signals. There are occasions where I may feel a little tired but am still be able to push a workout. Sometimes I may even get energized by a run. This time around though, all the signs point to a need to slow down and take a break. Thankfully, Melissa is there to step in and help me out. She graciously offered to make dinner and let me steal some bath time from her so I could relax and listen to some peaceful music. I could not train this hard without her support and she deserves a shout out. Thanks Melissa!
Tomorrow morning is our Pro K swim followed by work and then an after work easy run. I have not been paying close enough attention to my training schedule and have shorted myself some mileage. Tomorrow calls for a 6-mile easy run. Hopefully, Melissa and I can run 3 together and then I can tack on my extra 3. Then if I am feeling up to it, I can get in my P90X workout.
Regarding my physical. The doctor went over all my blood work numbers. Most of it does not mean that much to me as far as the numbers go. He explained that my liver function looked good, my electrolytes were good, my blood sugar was good, and my cholesterol measurements were also good.
Again, I do not really understand all the numbers and am too tired to google it. But the doctor said that they like to see Total Cholesterol under 200-mine was 171. He said they like to see Triglycerides under 150-mine measured 58. They like to see HDL cholesterol greater than 40-mine was 52. There was also a measure called LDL Cholesterol Calc that the doctor said they like to see less than 130-mine was 107. There were a lot of other measurements given with my blood work. Without going into all the gory details, the doctor said it all looked good. In addition to the blood work, my blood pressure was 112 over 68 which is also considered good. Finally, I had an EKG while at the physical which also turned out well. My heart rate was 55 while lying on the table with the wires connected to me.
Everything else also looked good. He examined all the essential parts of my body that you normally think of when being examined by a doctor. We also went over my history a bit. He asks about stuff and I tell him. Alcohol-no. Drugs-No. Smoking-No. Caffeine-No. Apparently my history indicated that I had about 1 soda a day. I updated his records. Soda-No. Before I left he said that they like to see a person my age for a physical either every year or every 2 years. He said that I am a two-year person. Overall I was pleased with the whole thing although I was not expecting bad news.
Tomorrow I am hoping to be back to normal and rested. Thanks for reading.
My training plan specified adding a run day this week for a total of 6 days of running. On Monday I usually do not run and just do my P90X upper body workout. This past Monday I decided to stick to the letter of the law and I completed my 4/1 workout. A 4/1 workout is 4 miles total with the last mile run at race pace. Of course my race pace has not really been concretely defined yet although I am starting to gather enough data to determine what my race pace goal should be. Below is a summary of my Monday run. Additional information about the run can be found by clicking View Details below the table which will take you to the Garmin Connect website and show you all the other data if you are interested.
Split
Time
Distance
Avg Pace
Summary
00:35:53
4.04
08:53
1
00:27:44
3.00
09:14
2
00:07:25
1.00
07:24
3
00:00:43
0.04
18:49
For this particular run, my "race pace" ended up being 7.24. If I was able to maintain that pace for the entire 10K, I would end up running about 46.11 which would be a good time for me but would not beat my best time of 46.01. So while 7.24 is a decent pace, I am going to declare that is slower than my goal "race pace."
After my run, I did my P90X Back and Biceps workout and Ab Ripper X. I still enjoy these once or twice a week P90X workouts. Strength training and core work is an important component to training for running and triathlon.
On Tuesday after work, I did 30 minutes on the bike trainer. I opted to do the sprint/power workout again because I feel like I get a lot out of it. After my ride on the trainer, I went out for my 50 minute Tempo Run. This time I used the lap button on my Garmin so I could see what my pace was for the 30 minutes of running at "pace." As a reminder, my tempo runs always consist of a 10 minute warm up and a 10 minute cool down. The warm up and cool down bookend the faster running which is supposed to be run just under 10K pace. Below is a summary of my workout. You will see that for this run, my tempo pace was 7:19. This pace is just under my race pace that I clocked on Monday which is precisely the goal of this particular workout. To be honest, while I am happy with all of this, I am hoping that with continued training, I can get my race pace down just a little bit more so I can at the very least beat my PR and if I am able to bring it down significantly, perhaps I can compete with the likes of the great young runner Chad who will be starting 2 waves in front of me at the Monument Avenue 10K.
Split
Time
Distance
Avg Pace
Summary
00:50:01
6.32
07:54
1
00:10:01
1.08
09:14
2
00:30:00
4.10
07:19
3
00:09:59
1.14
08:46
On Wednesday, Melissa and I both did our Pro K morning swim workout. I was a tough workout. We did lots of drills including swimming with tennis balls in our hands and kick drills. I was a bit burned out on the kick drills which is something I need to work on. Undoubtedly, the Tuesday night workout impacted my Wednesday morning swim.
On Wednesday we had unseasonably warm weather. After work, I ran with Melissa. Both our training plans call for an easy 3 miles on this day. Typically I find it hard to run slow and easy on these easy run days. Melissa runs slightly slower than me so running with her was a great way to force myself to take it easy. The bonus is we get to workout together and talk about this and that.
Thursday night's workout consisted of speed work at the track. Melissa and I both went to the track to do our repeats. My plan called for 4X800 followed by 2X400. The summary of my workout is below along with the link to more details. I ran pretty consistent 800s with a 400 rest interval. Again, when I rest, I am still running but at a much slower pace. I think knowing that I only had to do 2 400s at the end, I ran them pretty fast.
Split
Time
Distance
Avg Pace
Summary
00:45:49
5.42
08:27
1
00:11:43
1.13
10:24
2
00:03:21
0.51
06:33
3
00:02:30
0.25
09:51
4
00:03:25
0.51
06:44
5
00:02:31
0.26
09:49
6
00:03:21
0.51
06:34
7
00:02:28
0.25
09:45
8
00:03:26
0.50
06:51
9
00:02:29
0.25
09:51
10
00:01:30
0.25
05:59
11
00:01:16
0.13
10:01
12
00:01:34
0.25
06:11
13
00:06:08
0.61
10:06
14
00:00:01
0.00
30:00
Friday was our rest day. Also Friday I had my physical. My plan is to write about the results of my physical in the next blog entry so that this one is not too long. Without spoiling it too much, the last thing the doctor said to me was, "Whatever you are doing, keep doing it."
