I did 3100m of swimming today, including several tests. First up was 5 x 200m at 90%. I did the first in 3:15, the second, third and fourth in 3:19, and the fifth in 3:21.
Next up was 500m all out. I finished to find that my total time was 6:43, which would be about 1:20 pace. That ain't right. I think I missed the start button at the very start of the 500m. However, I was pressing "lap" each 100m while flip-turning so that I could see how well I paced the 500m, and the lap button is also the start button. So, I think the 6:43 is for meters 100-500 of the 500m. My splits were pretty even: 1:39, 1:41, 1:42: and 1:39. I think I paced myself a bit to slowly, because I wasn't totally spent at the end.
The third test was 200m all-out. I did that in 3:08, with the first 100m in 1:32 and the second in 1:36.
Finally, I did 100m in 1:25. (I think I can drop that by a second or two next time I do it.)
I was a bit stressed out today from work, and wasn't as motivated as normal for the workout. Bah.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sunday
My legs felt decent on Sunday, but my heart wouldn't pump enough. I did a 3:00 ride with hour 1 at about 120 bpm, hour 2 at about 130 bpm, and hour 3 at about 125 bpm. Even when pushing a tough gear, my HR would not go up. Hitting 135 bpm required working pretty hard.
I followed the ride up with a 1:00 run and killed it the first 20 minutes or so. After that, I think my pace dipped a bit, but my HR stayed in the mid to high 160s. At 27 minutes, I was spent, and I went the last 33 minutes easy.
Post-run, I ate and relaxed for a bit before heading to the pool for a 30 minute swim. I did a few 25m sprints and 8 x 125m pulling. I was noticably tired, but was able to push through it.
Today, I am rewarded with an off day, which I used to do lots of work. Now that I'm brain dead, I'm having a Guiness and will take a warm bath.
I followed the ride up with a 1:00 run and killed it the first 20 minutes or so. After that, I think my pace dipped a bit, but my HR stayed in the mid to high 160s. At 27 minutes, I was spent, and I went the last 33 minutes easy.
Post-run, I ate and relaxed for a bit before heading to the pool for a 30 minute swim. I did a few 25m sprints and 8 x 125m pulling. I was noticably tired, but was able to push through it.
Today, I am rewarded with an off day, which I used to do lots of work. Now that I'm brain dead, I'm having a Guiness and will take a warm bath.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Long ride
Stacey and I headed up to Stoney Creek Metropark, this time by car, for a 5 hour ride. The park has a main loop of about 6 or 7 miles, plus to off-shoots that add another 5 miles. It takes me about 35 minutes to ride the estimated 11-12 miles (I don't have a CPU on my bike, so I don't know the actual distance). While traveling the same route 9 times of the course of 5 hours is not the most exciting, adventurous or interesting way to do a long ride, there are several advantages. I'm never too far from a bathroom or drinking fountain, I can pack a bunch of food in the car instead of carrying it all or stopping at a gas station to pick something else up, and there are no lights and only one stop sign. I can ride at a target HR (and soon power) without being interrupted or, since I'm always pretty close by anyhow, having to turn around for Stacey. I only got off my bike twice during the whole ride. Plus, the terrain isn't too bad. There is one climb that takes about 3 minutes to do, and several others that are more gradual or shorter but still provide a significant amount of climbing when traversed nine times.
I rode pretty steadily with a few harder efforts where my HR stayed around 150-155 bpm for 5 to 20 minutes to catch Stacey, drop someone that was trying to draft of me, and catch some guy a mile or so up the path that, as I discovered upon passing him, was wearing an IMLP jacket. After all, as BSNYC says, a bicycle is an elegant and efficient tool designed for seeking out and defeating people who aren't as good as you. That actually reminds me of another benefit of riding in Stoney Creek - there are lots of riders to pass, keeping motivation high. Average HR for the ride including 10 minute cool-down but excluding 10 minute warm-up: 139 bpm.
I felt pretty strong the whole way, but probably didn't eat enough. I ate the same per hour as last year (typically 1 Clif Bar + 1/2 sports drink, or about 350 calories/hour), but by the third hour I was really hunger and ate probably 500 calories that hour, in addition to drinking about 50 ounces of water. Next time I will try to increase my calories consumption slightly at the beginning so that it stays steady throughout the ride.
Oh, and the park may have okay open water swimming (depending on whether or not life guards allow swimmers outside of the designated swimming area...and whether the water is not too gross to swim in ...weeds scare me) and trails for running or MTBing.
Afterwards, Stacey and I went for an hour walk on the trails in the park. I think it sped up recovery, as I feel good today.
I rode pretty steadily with a few harder efforts where my HR stayed around 150-155 bpm for 5 to 20 minutes to catch Stacey, drop someone that was trying to draft of me, and catch some guy a mile or so up the path that, as I discovered upon passing him, was wearing an IMLP jacket. After all, as BSNYC says, a bicycle is an elegant and efficient tool designed for seeking out and defeating people who aren't as good as you. That actually reminds me of another benefit of riding in Stoney Creek - there are lots of riders to pass, keeping motivation high. Average HR for the ride including 10 minute cool-down but excluding 10 minute warm-up: 139 bpm.
I felt pretty strong the whole way, but probably didn't eat enough. I ate the same per hour as last year (typically 1 Clif Bar + 1/2 sports drink, or about 350 calories/hour), but by the third hour I was really hunger and ate probably 500 calories that hour, in addition to drinking about 50 ounces of water. Next time I will try to increase my calories consumption slightly at the beginning so that it stays steady throughout the ride.
Oh, and the park may have okay open water swimming (depending on whether or not life guards allow swimmers outside of the designated swimming area...and whether the water is not too gross to swim in ...weeds scare me) and trails for running or MTBing.
Afterwards, Stacey and I went for an hour walk on the trails in the park. I think it sped up recovery, as I feel good today.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Picking back up from Wed
Now where was I? Let's see, when I last left you, my faithful reads, I had completed a two hour run on Wednesday morning. I followed that up with a 30 minute run in the evening doing laps around the park across the street from my apt. with a low HR.
Thursday evening included an interesting workout. First up was a 1:15 bike. Between a 10 min. warm-up and 5 minute cool down, I had to increase my HR by 5 bpm every 10 minutes starting I 135 bpm and finishing at a leg-burning 160 bpm. I met or surpased by a beat or two each HR target, though the last one required working pretty hard. Building by 5 bpm makes the workout easier, however, as 160 bpm for 10 minutes is a bit intimidating (at least on the trainer, where all effort is magnified).
I hopped off the bike, took a quick shower, and headed over to get a massage. Coincidentally, stepping back in time to Wednesday afternoon, I had been walking through Whole Foods to pick up some lunch when I was handed a card for a free 30 minute massage with another 30 minutes for only $30. With me having a massage required as part of what was then tomorrow's workout, this was perfect. So, after getting off the bike, Stacey and I went and got us some massages. My neck and upper back were pretty much one big knot. I guess that's a sign that I need to relax a bit more (undestatement) in the shoulders while swimming. I will work on being a bit more aware of tension that I'm unnecessarily exerting. My shoulders and neck are a bit sore from the massage today (i.e. Friday), but otherwise I feel good. Oh, and my calve was not sensitive at all during the massage, unlike it had been when I first noticed the tightness - at that time, even Stacey's light massages were a bit painful. I'll take the lack of calve pain at the massage as a good sign.
Anyhow, post massage, I got back on the bike for another 45 minutes of pretty easy spinning while watching an episode of Lost (I'm still on season 1, so no spoilers! Good show so far, by the way, though you should probably start at the beginning or else it likely won't make any sense.)
This morning I went for an easy 1 hour run with a HR of around 120 bpm. I think I'm slowly picked up speed at that HR, and don't feel like my stride is altered too much. My calve was still not 100% however, though it didn't bother me. Really, right now I wouldn't even notice any different between calves if I weren't thinking about it.
Next up, after looking up the tabs for the Jane's Addiction song "Stop!" (I only know the intro riff, which is a kinda cool one), is a swim this evening, something like 3600m. Gotta get that 100m time down to 1:20, and then lower from there. Watch out Phelps!
Thursday evening included an interesting workout. First up was a 1:15 bike. Between a 10 min. warm-up and 5 minute cool down, I had to increase my HR by 5 bpm every 10 minutes starting I 135 bpm and finishing at a leg-burning 160 bpm. I met or surpased by a beat or two each HR target, though the last one required working pretty hard. Building by 5 bpm makes the workout easier, however, as 160 bpm for 10 minutes is a bit intimidating (at least on the trainer, where all effort is magnified).
I hopped off the bike, took a quick shower, and headed over to get a massage. Coincidentally, stepping back in time to Wednesday afternoon, I had been walking through Whole Foods to pick up some lunch when I was handed a card for a free 30 minute massage with another 30 minutes for only $30. With me having a massage required as part of what was then tomorrow's workout, this was perfect. So, after getting off the bike, Stacey and I went and got us some massages. My neck and upper back were pretty much one big knot. I guess that's a sign that I need to relax a bit more (undestatement) in the shoulders while swimming. I will work on being a bit more aware of tension that I'm unnecessarily exerting. My shoulders and neck are a bit sore from the massage today (i.e. Friday), but otherwise I feel good. Oh, and my calve was not sensitive at all during the massage, unlike it had been when I first noticed the tightness - at that time, even Stacey's light massages were a bit painful. I'll take the lack of calve pain at the massage as a good sign.
Anyhow, post massage, I got back on the bike for another 45 minutes of pretty easy spinning while watching an episode of Lost (I'm still on season 1, so no spoilers! Good show so far, by the way, though you should probably start at the beginning or else it likely won't make any sense.)
This morning I went for an easy 1 hour run with a HR of around 120 bpm. I think I'm slowly picked up speed at that HR, and don't feel like my stride is altered too much. My calve was still not 100% however, though it didn't bother me. Really, right now I wouldn't even notice any different between calves if I weren't thinking about it.
Next up, after looking up the tabs for the Jane's Addiction song "Stop!" (I only know the intro riff, which is a kinda cool one), is a swim this evening, something like 3600m. Gotta get that 100m time down to 1:20, and then lower from there. Watch out Phelps!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
M-W
Let's see...Monday included an easy run and a swim of 3000m, if I recall correctly, and Tuesday included a secret workout and 3600m of swimming. Tuesday's swim went well, meaning I had no shoulder pain during the 10 x 300m @ 95% effort (not that I've had shoulder pain in the past, but the first five 300m's were with paddles, so I made sure to closely monitor my shoulders for any signs of strain). Working hard with the paddles is tough, as I equate hard work with respiratory stress. With the paddles, though, even when working hard my respiratory system isn't taxed that much; instead, I think strength is my limiter. Even at the end of this workout, I wasn't that spent.
This morning I awoke at 5am, downed a cup of coffee and small bowl of cereal, and headed out into the darkness and rain along with Stacey for a 2 hour run. I did an extended warm-up, which worked well because unlike how I often feel on early morning runs I had no problem getting the legs going. After the warm-up, I cruised around 7:30 to 8:30 pace, though I didn't pay particularly close attention to my Garmin, going instead mostly by feel with only the occassional reference to the watch to make sure my internal gauge was accurate. Other than my hands becoming frozen, the run went great. I felt fresher at the end of the run than I'm used to. My calve didn't bother me, but I did notice it once when going up a steep hill. Real massage tomorrow.
This morning I awoke at 5am, downed a cup of coffee and small bowl of cereal, and headed out into the darkness and rain along with Stacey for a 2 hour run. I did an extended warm-up, which worked well because unlike how I often feel on early morning runs I had no problem getting the legs going. After the warm-up, I cruised around 7:30 to 8:30 pace, though I didn't pay particularly close attention to my Garmin, going instead mostly by feel with only the occassional reference to the watch to make sure my internal gauge was accurate. Other than my hands becoming frozen, the run went great. I felt fresher at the end of the run than I'm used to. My calve didn't bother me, but I did notice it once when going up a steep hill. Real massage tomorrow.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Two long rides
Saturday started with a 3000m swim of long, steady sets. I did 800m of pulling, 600m of free with a bit of backstroke thrown in, 400m of pulling, and then 200m free, all sandwiched by a warm-up and cool-down. Afterwards, I hopped on the bike for 4 hours on the trainer expecting my legs to feel great, as they felt during Friday's run. Instead, my legs were sluggish. I was slowly able to elevate the HR throughout the ride as my legs warmed up, and I averaged 137 bpm for the second hour and 142 bpm for the third hour. I toned it down a bit for the fourth hour to save something for Sunday.
On Sunday, the weather was nice so Stacey and I ventured outside. The plan was to ride up through Rochester to Stoney Creek Metro Park, do a few loops around the 6 to 7 mile route in the park, and then head home. We hoped to get in 4 hours, then do a 1 hour transition run. Stacey had wrote out directions for getting from Rochester to the park, but due to some miscommunication we didn't bring the directions along with us on the ride. No worries, we thought, we remember the route well enough. Turns out...not so much. Our ad hoc route took us on rails-to-trails gravel paths, down dirt roads, through a foot-wide gap in fencing around the park, and even along a mountain bike path for a short distance. We passed through industrial grave yards, by what appeared to be an old mining operation, and through the landfill district (I was amazed to see so many landfills in close proximity to one another, and even more amazed to see houses boardered on two or three sides by different landfills...SE MI sure is a beautiful place). We even had an encounter with an obese gas station attendent. Stacey bought a Snickers bar and a Coke from the station, and the attendent asked how long Stacey was riding for. While Stacey and I were outside eating and taking a break, the attendent came outside for her break. Interrupted by sips of pop from her two-liter mug (the biggest I've ever seen!), hits of her cigarette, and coughing like a coal miner, she mentioned that she wished she had somebody to do four hour bike rides with. I get conflicted feelings whenever I come across people like this. Of course I feel sorry for them, but personal responsibility has to come into play at some point.
Back to the actual ride, I didn't feel much fatigue at the start of the ride, and my HR quickly elevated to an easy 130 bpm. I maintained my HR in the 130 bpm range for the first hour and a half or so. Once we got into the park, I picked up the effort to 140 bpm for stretches. I kept expecting my legs to begin burning while climbing the hills in the park or riding into the strong wind, but where that normally occurs in relation to RPE, I felt nothing. After leaving the park, I had a fair amount of riding at a lower HR as Stacey and I tried to find a safe route home. Once we got back to streets we knew around the 3 hour mark, I took the HR up to 145 to 150 for a while because I felt like riding harder (I credit the Snickers bar and Coke). I finished the ride feeling like I could have gone much longer, whereas by the end of most long rides I'm ready to get off the bike.
The ride ended up taking longer than planned as a result of getting lost (I didn't count down time in the ride time), so I didn't do the transition run. Still, 9+ hours for the weekend ain't too shabby.
On Sunday, the weather was nice so Stacey and I ventured outside. The plan was to ride up through Rochester to Stoney Creek Metro Park, do a few loops around the 6 to 7 mile route in the park, and then head home. We hoped to get in 4 hours, then do a 1 hour transition run. Stacey had wrote out directions for getting from Rochester to the park, but due to some miscommunication we didn't bring the directions along with us on the ride. No worries, we thought, we remember the route well enough. Turns out...not so much. Our ad hoc route took us on rails-to-trails gravel paths, down dirt roads, through a foot-wide gap in fencing around the park, and even along a mountain bike path for a short distance. We passed through industrial grave yards, by what appeared to be an old mining operation, and through the landfill district (I was amazed to see so many landfills in close proximity to one another, and even more amazed to see houses boardered on two or three sides by different landfills...SE MI sure is a beautiful place). We even had an encounter with an obese gas station attendent. Stacey bought a Snickers bar and a Coke from the station, and the attendent asked how long Stacey was riding for. While Stacey and I were outside eating and taking a break, the attendent came outside for her break. Interrupted by sips of pop from her two-liter mug (the biggest I've ever seen!), hits of her cigarette, and coughing like a coal miner, she mentioned that she wished she had somebody to do four hour bike rides with. I get conflicted feelings whenever I come across people like this. Of course I feel sorry for them, but personal responsibility has to come into play at some point.
Back to the actual ride, I didn't feel much fatigue at the start of the ride, and my HR quickly elevated to an easy 130 bpm. I maintained my HR in the 130 bpm range for the first hour and a half or so. Once we got into the park, I picked up the effort to 140 bpm for stretches. I kept expecting my legs to begin burning while climbing the hills in the park or riding into the strong wind, but where that normally occurs in relation to RPE, I felt nothing. After leaving the park, I had a fair amount of riding at a lower HR as Stacey and I tried to find a safe route home. Once we got back to streets we knew around the 3 hour mark, I took the HR up to 145 to 150 for a while because I felt like riding harder (I credit the Snickers bar and Coke). I finished the ride feeling like I could have gone much longer, whereas by the end of most long rides I'm ready to get off the bike.
The ride ended up taking longer than planned as a result of getting lost (I didn't count down time in the ride time), so I didn't do the transition run. Still, 9+ hours for the weekend ain't too shabby.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Feeling rested
On Thursday I went to the gym with the intention of getting in an hour swim (about 3000m), but every lane having two swimmers in it (one even had three - a first for my gym!). I had to wait a while before I could get in, and due to time constraints was only about to swim 45 or 50 minutes. Oh well.
I also got in 1:10 on the bike. It was an odd workout, because I could easily push a big gear requiring a lower than normal cadence and keep my HR around 145-150, which is usually working pretty hard for me. Maybe it was because I was watching the exciting U of M v. Clemson b-ball game...but hopefully the ease of the workout was a sign of increased fitness. I don't think the high HR was fatigue because my output was correspondingly high. But then again, what do I know.
On Friday I got in a 1:30 run. I would have gone longer, but didn't want to hinder the weekend's workouts. I kept my HR pretty low, 134 bpm average. Still I averaged 7:49 per mile, which isn't too shabby for not working. My legs felt very fresh, and I tried to keep my turnover high.
I also got in 1:10 on the bike. It was an odd workout, because I could easily push a big gear requiring a lower than normal cadence and keep my HR around 145-150, which is usually working pretty hard for me. Maybe it was because I was watching the exciting U of M v. Clemson b-ball game...but hopefully the ease of the workout was a sign of increased fitness. I don't think the high HR was fatigue because my output was correspondingly high. But then again, what do I know.
On Friday I got in a 1:30 run. I would have gone longer, but didn't want to hinder the weekend's workouts. I kept my HR pretty low, 134 bpm average. Still I averaged 7:49 per mile, which isn't too shabby for not working. My legs felt very fresh, and I tried to keep my turnover high.
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