You know what I love about running? It's such an easy sport to come home, grab your stuff, and go! Here's a list of the things that went with me on my run today. (In order of appearance)
Undies
Heart Rate Monitor strap
Short sleeve shirt
Socks
Tights
Long sleeve shirt
Track pants
Long sleeve shirt with collar and thumb holes
Winter hat
Running jacket w/hood
Shoes
Reflective vest
Head lamp
Blinky light for my back
Watch
3 8-oz water bottles
3 gels
Baggie to hold gel wrappers
Gloves
Mitten shells to go over gloves
House key
Yaktrax
See, it's amazingly simple! I didn't take my iPod, mainly because I was so tired of grabbing stuff to take with me.
Today was a 95 minute run that ended up being through about 1-4 inches of snow. I think it should count as a strength workout as well, because that much extra resistance really puts a hurting on the quads, and especially on the ankles from the bad footing. Tomorrow may not be pretty, but today I was happy with my effort. Best 10:28s I've ever run!
Happy 2009! The days are getting longer, it's (theoretically) going to get warmer soon...right? Also, happy birthday to my Mom today!
Biggest Challenge This Month:
My headcase of a mind. I don't know if it's because I'm now past the length of a marathon training schedule, the cold, or what, but it's been hard to focus for the last few weeks. I've kept the missed workouts fairly low, but that doesn't mean I've been excited to get on the treadmill or trainer.
I've also started having some issues with my shoulder. These are nothing new, but have been in control for the last couple years. It's just irritation as the tendons cross over, common in swimmers, tennis players, and anyone who swings their arm overhead a lot. To combat this, I've begun to modify my stroke a bit. From what I read, 80% of the strain on one's shoulder is during entry and recovery, and only 20% during pull. So, I now leave my thumb up during the first two, and only rotate it over to catch the water during my pull. Seems to be working pretty well so far - a couple weeks ago, I thought I was going to have to take some significant time off in the pool, and now the worst it's been is a dull ache from time to time.
Biggest Success This Month:
Let's see. I cracked three hours on the trainer (thank you, "Batman Begins"). The time went by pretty fast, but I was really tired at the end of it. Coach assures me that it will be easier outside on the roads. That's good, because I definitely could not have done two of those and then a marathon that day.
I also have continued to improve my swimming. My last timed swim came in at 1:52/100 over 1000m. I had hoped for a little better, but it wasn't supposed to be an all-out test; rather, it was a race pace swim. Since I don't yet have a race pace, I just picked a speed somewhere beyond easy, but not quite hard, and stuck with it. I actually have another swim test today (3x300), so we'll see how that goes!
How I Feel About Training:
Like I said, the indoor stuff is starting to grind on me. What's keeping me going right now is the continued improvement, and the hope that winter will someday end.
How I Feel About The Race:
Yikes! Now that it's 2009, it seems like it's on top of me. I have to keep reminding myself that there's still 5 months to train and improve. That's more than I'd spend training for a marathon from scratch, and I certainly have a nice base built up now.
What's Next?
Coach just approved my participation in the Lifetime Fitness Indoor Triathlon on February 22 and/or March 22. Rather than by distance, you're scored by your ranking in each sport. It seems to reward balanced athletes, since even if you beat the field by 5 miles in the run, you'd only get one more point than the second place guy. The event is a 10 minute swim, 30 minute bike, and 20 minute run.
I'm also supposed to find a "warm up" Half Ironman race in the spring, but haven't done so yet.
5 Months Out Theme Song:
"A Flowery Song", Five Iron Frenzy. It's physically impossible not to tap your foot or run along to this song. (Seriously. Scientific studies prove it.) Time to make sure it's on the old iPod!
When approaching the wall, make sure to get a deep breath.
Take one more breath, just to be sure.
Seriously, one last breath.
Put both arms back and duck your head.
Use your abs to pull your head down and around. Ideally, it should be below the rest of your body at some point.
Push off the wall if you happen to be close enough. (Optional)
Get at least one hand (preferably two) on the floor of the pool to steer. As you get better at this, try keeping your hands out in streamline position. This will allow you to use your chest/belly on the floor instead.
Spin over so you're right side up. Bonus points if you can do a full barrel roll.
While gliding off the wall, count the lane lines to make sure you're still in the same lane.
Apologize to neighbor for intruding on their lane.
Duck the rope, blow the water out that went up your nose, take a big breath, and continue.
To this point, my longest swim has been 2800m. I was supposed to have a 3000 swim a couple weeks ago, but I missed it due to illness. Yesterday, it was time to blow that out of the water, and go straight to 2 miles! (3250m, to be exact)
After a mixed warmup of drills and kicks, it was time for the main set. To start off, I had 4x400, and for a kicker, I had to swim one length of each 100 with my head out of the water! For those who haven't tried it, it's like slamming on your brakes. By the end of the set, my core was too tired to hold both my head and legs up, so I was dragging my feet pretty badly. I wasn't quite able to hit my goal times for these, but I was only a few seconds off.
Next came a 3x200, picking up the pace a little more. And then was the final 4x100, all out, suffer-and-like-it sprint. The goal here was to go at the pace of my last swim test, 1:45/100m.
And not to pat myself on the back too hard, but I knocked it out of the park.
1:37 1:41 1:40 1:36 (!)
My arms were absolutely toast and I was gasping for air at the end, but I was thrilled when I finally saw my times. Plus, I think I had plenty of juice left that I could have finished off the last 0.4 mile (slower) without a problem.
I'm having some issues with my right shoulder, so now the challenge will be to keep it healthy as I go forward. Lots of ice and PT exercises! I do think the core and strength work I'm doing is paying off big time in the pool. And next time my swim test comes up, I'd love to try and crack 1:40/100!
Last night, I had a ride on the trainer for two and a half hours. After that, I had to get on the treadmill for another 25 minutes. Lately, I've been timing my long workouts to be during sporting events, so I have something to distract me. Sunday night at 8:00 PM? No interesting sporting events that I could find.
Spike TV to the rescue! They were showing the original Star Wars trilogy, which is probably my favorite series of movies (minus the revisionist scenes they stuck in after the new movies...grr...but I digress). I tuned in around the middle of The Empire Strikes Back, and by the time Meredith and I were drinking our recovery hot chocolates (well, mine was for recovery, hers was just for the sake of hot chocolate), the rebels were assaulting the second Death Star.
So, in honor of last night's training sessions, here are the top 10 Star Wars quotes to use in your triathlon training and races:
10. Would it help if I got out and pushed? 9. We seem to be made to suffer. It's our lot in life. 8. Well why don't you outrun them? I thought you said this thing was fast? 7. How do you get so big eating food of this kind? 6. Rest I need. Yes. Rest. 5. The told me they fixed it! I trusted them to fix it! It's not my fault! 4. Watch your mouth kid, or you're gonna find yourself floating home. 3. You have your moments. Not many of them, but you do have them. 2. Do...or do not. There is no try. 1. One thing's for sure, we're all gonna be a lot thinner.
The cold is finally on it's way out! As of yesterday, training is back underway at long last.
Meredith and I braved the elements after work for a run in the snow and ice. We were supposed to get up into zone 2, but we pretty much had to run at the pace the ice would allow. Still, it felt great to get outdoors and get the blood pumping a little.
Today, it was back to the pool, and it was an adventure! I had 400 of a mixed warmup, which went fine. Then, I forgot how to swim. I don't know what happened, but all of a sudden, everything was a struggle.
I fought through the next 1000, and decided to call it a day. 1100 meters short of my target.
But I just couldn't do it. I took a deep breath, gathered myself for a couple minutes, and then set off for my main 1000. The goal was a steady swim at race pace. Since this will be my first Ironman, I don't have a firm grasp of what that is. But it's got to be somewhere between easy and hard, right? Checking my watch every 100, I crawled my way up and down the pool, and somehow, I remembered how to swim again! My times were consistent, and when I finished, I had done it in 18:46, or 1:52/100m. Not my fastest ever, but not bad for not swimming as hard as I can like in a time trial!
Now it's time to stay healthy for a while, and get back to some consistency. Spring is just around the corner, right? Right?
I helped Meredith work the Columbus Bride show this weekend, which was a smashing success for her new company. My training took a backseat for the weekend, which was fine. But now?
Coach has prohibited me from training until I'm "sparky", so this week is sort of a dud. Here's hoping for a quick recovery so I can get back on track! Other than these issues, the training is going well. I've got a bit of a twinge in my shoulder, so maybe I'll do some PT exercises and ice it down while I'm out of commission.
Hey, we're under half a year until the race! Sorry for the delay in posting...the holidays, training, and life all got in the way.
Biggest Challenge This Month:
Now that I'm pretty used to the multiple workouts a day thing, I'd say it's ramping up the difficulty and length of the training sessions. I'm pretty consistently doing 2800m in the pool, and I'm up to 2:30 on the bike and 1:40 on the run. Fortunately, coach does a great job of giving intervals during those long sessions, and it helps keep my mind off the duration.
Another challenge this month was training during the holiday season. I'm happy to say that I kept going right on through (including a hill run on Christmas!), so I didn't lose any progress going into next month.
Oh, and finding reasonable accommodations in Coeur d'Alene! Happily, I did finally get a place reserved this month, so that's one stress off my mind.
Biggest Success This Month:
I learned to flip turn! Though I'm still awful at it, there have been a few successful ones in there, and I'm not getting water up my nose the majority of the time.
There was also the success at the Thanksgiving race, and a couple runs in the last week where I've really seen the improvement in my fitness.
How I Feel About Training:
Excited to see the change in my results! It also helps that the weather has taken a brief but dramatic turn for the better, and I've gotten to be outside the last couple days.
I also got some pretty cool running and biking gear from my family, so I'm eager to see how it all does. So far, everything I received has been great!
How I Feel About The Race:
Obviously still pretty nervous, as I started thinking about it during my run yesterday, and was completely stressed out by the length. I'm definitely making progress, though, and my training distances are now nearing (or surpassing, in the swim) half the race distance. Mentally, that's a big thing for me to know: even on a training day when I'm already worn out from previous days, I could finish half the race.
What's Next?
More strength work, and continued building of duration and distance. I don't have any races on the horizon right now, so it's just a matter of getting in the hours and staying healthy.
I just got back from my run today. Yes, I ran on my birthday. We just saw a story on Michael Phelps in which his coach said he trains on his birthday, so I figured I'd better get out there if I'm planning on winning any gold medals.
Today called for a hilly run, so I hit the trails at a nearby park. It was a nice, peaceful, snowy run in the woods, and I was just listening to some music and enjoying the afternoon. The trail was slippery, so it was a slow pace, and I was looking down at my feet a lot. I came around a corner, and saw movement on the trail in my peripheral vision. I pulled up, and suddenly saw what it was.
A GIANT wild turkey. Seriously, the thing must have been up to my waist. And after another look, I saw there was another one right behind it. And then I scanned the woods. Three, four...all the way to 17 turkeys surrounding me. I waited until the two on the trail moved away, then slowly walked through. Around the bend, there were another 6, bringing it to 23 turkeys. Good thing it wasn't whatever their version of Thanksgiving is, or I might have been dinner.
On my way back, I usually take another trail, but I looped back that way to see them again. They were gone, leaving nothing but their huge 4-inch turkey tracks in the snow.
Thanksgiving morning took us out to Dublin again this year for the Flying Feather Four Miler. Last year, we showed up right about as the race started, and had to fight our way through a huge pack. It wasn't chip timed, so our finish times weren't all that accurate.
This year, the race limited the number of entrants, and also decided to use chip timing. Nice moves both, and I thought it was a better race overall.
The plan this year, as dictated by my coach, was to go out easy, then hit the last three miles hard. After a 10 minute warmup, we got in the corral and awaited the start.
For the first mile, I tried to ease into the race, but didn't do a very good job of it. Even so, I felt pretty good until the end of the second mile, where I started to get a stitch in my side. I had to back off until it went away, and then just hung on until the finish. A girl tried to outsprint me at the end, but I managed to hold her off around the corner.
I think I worked pretty hard at this one, and it was about 6 minutes faster than last year. Taking into account the couple minutes we spent getting to the start line in 2007, I'd guess it was about a 4 minute PR. I think this was also my best placement in any good sized race.
Wow, already time for another monthly update. That seemed quick.
Biggest Challenge This Month:
Getting used to two workouts a day! Even in my heaviest marathon training, I've never had to do more than one session a day, and now that's the norm. I'm averaging about 10 per week right now, with a pretty even mix among the three sports.
Biggest Success This Month:
I was pretty happy with the effort I put out in my heart rate tests. It's been interesting getting used to that style of training, and I think it will pay dividends.
With the early onset of winter around here, my biggest success has probably been getting my bike on the trainer for some long rides, and continuing to go out for runs despite the cold. This will be my first winter with any serious training, since all my marathons have been in the fall.
How I Feel About Training:
My body is a little beat up right now, but I'm in the last few hard days before falling back next week, so that's expected. I don't look forward to the trainer or the cold, but to this point, I'm getting them done. My swimming is coming along - there's another test in the near future there, so it'll be interesting to see if I've improved.
How I Feel About The Race:
Glad that it'll be outdoors, and above freezing. :)
I'm pretty sure I could swim 2.4 miles right now, though it might not be pretty. I know I can train and do 26.2 miles of running. It's still tough to visualize biking for that distance, though.
What's Next?
I'm signed up for the 4 miler on Thanksgiving. The plan is to build for the first mile, then go hard for the remainder of the race. It's a fairly big race, so it's not like I'll be competing for a place or anything. My only other 4 miler was this same race last year, and I don't have a time from that one. So, I'm not really sure how to gauge my performance other than "somewhere between my 5K and 5 mile pace".
Edit - Hmm. I guess they did have results last year after all! How about that. I ran a 39:05, for a 9:47 pace. That's a little deceptive, though. It wasn't chip timed, we showed up late, and the start line was a huge bottleneck, so it was some time before I hit the start. Still, it's something to go on. I heard a rumor that this year's is chip timed, but now I can't find anything about that.
Two days later, I've got my second swim test, another 10x100 all-out bundle of fun. It's somewhere in the space between anticipation and dread. :)
I'll also be going past 2 hours on the trainer, and getting close to 3, I'd imagine.
7 Months Out Theme Song:
"You've Got To Make It Through The Winter", from Seven Brides For Seven Brothers
If I heard it right, the lyrics go like this:
You've got to make it through the winter And hope for some racing in the spring.
You've got to make it through the winter The time will come when cowbells will start to ring
Just be patient till the spring. (clarinet solo!) (till the spring) (till the spring) (till the spring)
My coach posted an excellent summary today of a book arguing that talent takes a back seat to good old fashioned hard work when it comes to athletic achievement.
So, how do we gauge this? Who, I ask, is more naturally talented than a celebrity? Finding this list led me to draw up an inspirational list of famous people I've beaten in a marathon. (Discounting course, condition, age, and other minor details)
So, in no particular order, a partial list of the 2008 Celebrities Slower Than Me:
Katie Holmes Mario Lopez Freddie Prinze, Jr. Oprah Winfrey Sean Combs David Lee Roth Lynn Swann Al Gore
Saturday's ride was debated from the start. Meredith thought I was crazy to ride outdoors, but I really wanted to get out there, since in Ohio, you never know how even remotely reasonable weather will last in this time of the year. So, I bundled up in booties, gloves, mitten covers for the gloves, a coat, a hat, a helmet on top of that...and I went out for my 90 minute ride.
I was supposed to start getting used to nutrition on the bike with this ride. My first nutrition turned out to be a vanilla Clif Shot gel sample from some past race that had gone bad. At least I hope it had gone bad. If that's what they actually taste like... *shudder* I had to spit it out and dump the rest in a trash can.
Once done with that, things were well, and only got better. I hit my first of two low-cadence portions on a nice flat road, and I let my legs loose on it. Quickly, I was up over 20 mph, and feeling good. Also feeling good? The dog on a farm I passed. It decided to run along the road with me (who was hoping there was an invisible fence installed). And the race was on.
At first, Mr. Dog held the advantage. He got about a 10 foot lead on me, and at 22 mph, was holding me off. So, I pedaled a little harder...23...24. The gap narrowed, and he appeared to get tired. Finally, as I passed him and put a few feet in between us, he gave it up. Score one for humanity.
Again, I underestimated the effect of the wind out in the flat farmland. When I turned to come back home, it hit me, and the second low-cadence section was a grind. I wish I had video of one farm's windmill, which was spinning like crazy, and pointing exactly the same direction I was riding. That may have been the same farm with miniature ponies out front. I couldn't figure out a way to have them pull me, but given more time, I think I could come up with something.
Eventually, my 90 minutes came to a close, as evidenced by the joyous little song on my Garmin. The only problem? I was still 20 minutes from home. So, my 90 minutes turned into a 1:51 ride. When I finally got home, I was beat.
On Sunday, I was not looking forward to my 70 minute run. Funny enough, it ended up being a very good, comfortable run in zones 1-2. I wound up covering a little over 7 miles, which isn't bad for me in those zones. Chalk up one good workout for the weekend to bring some positive energy for the week ahead!
Except me. I went out for a ride today, and was feeling really good for the first 30 minutes or so. I felt like I was cruising pretty easily, and keeping a good pace.
Then I turned.
Roads that last week were an easy 17-18 mph became 10-11 today. It was all I could do to keep my cadence over 90, like my coach asked me to do. I guess I should have known that the first couple roads were too good to be true.
The other part of the prescribed ride, though? The important part? I did just fine, thank you very much.
On the way home, I was spinning my way along, and passed a guy on a mountain bike wearing a backpack. I didn't think anything of it until a minute later, when he passed me back, pedaling furiously! I'm self confident enough that I didn't feel any need to race him, despite his obvious attempt at it.
But...I did anyway. One big gear later, and he was nowhere to be seen by the next stoplight. :)
I actually missed it yesterday, but I wanted to start a series of these posts so I can look back and see my progress. Yesterday marked 8 months out from Ironman.
Biggest Challenge This Month:
I think the biggest challenge in October was simply getting back to training. After Muncie, I took a fair amount of time off other than a little pre-Reach the Beach training. Swimming, especially, has been tough to recover; my form left me quickly after a couple months of neglect, but is starting to come back a bit now.
Biggest Success This Month:
Since there haven't really been any "epic" workouts or anything so far, one success has been building up a little bit of a base without the usual nagging injuries I seem to get when starting out.
However, the biggest success for me has been finding some mental toughness to get in nearly all my workouts. I'm usually pretty bad at this, but maybe the magnitude of the race has scared me into it. Other than the week I was sick, I've only missed one workout without making it up later.
How I Feel About Training:
Pretty good so far! I'm really excited to be working with my coach Liz, and look forward to seeing what's next. I'm starting to feel my body adapting to the training, and not just by being hungry and sleepy. :)
How I Feel About The Race:
It's still a long way off, and doesn't seem very real at this point. The longest I've ever trained for anything to this point is probably about 4 months. Watching Meredith train hard and speed through her race has inspired me to want to be faster, and not just plod across the line. That said, I'll gladly accept a 16:59:59 finish if that's what it takes.
What's Next?
Heart rate training next week. I've never done anything with a heart rate monitor before, so I'll be really interested to see how it goes. I'm also trying to convince my coach to let me run a 4 mile race on Thanksgiving.
Also very important: finding a place to stay in Coeur D'Alene. If anyone out there has a good recommendation for lodging for two (hopefully not excessively pricey), let me know!
8 Months Out Theme Song:
"Eight Days A Week", The Beatles
Chosen because it is also the answer to the question, "How often will Dave be swimming/biking/running from here on out?"
It was good news for Meredith this weekend, as the temperature in Columbus fell off a cliff to the 60s. She, after all, was running the Columbus Marathon on Sunday!
Before we got there, we had a Saturday of fun and rest. Our niece was playing in a soccer game conveniently located in a town just over an hour by bike from our house. My scheduled workout? A 75 minute bike ride. Charlie and I got up early and left the house about 7:45 AM. Now, I've never really trained in the winter. And I *certainly* haven't ridden a bike in cold weather before. Just a few minutes out, I found myself wishing that I had more than three layers on, or at least something to break the chilly morning winds. Once I got going, my core was fine, but my fingers and toes were not! (This led to a trip to my local Roll store to pick up some booties for future rides.)
I'd never ridden this way before, so it was sight unseen as to how the little back roads I was taking would look. The course ended up not being too bad, though it was uphill most of the way, and on a one way ride, there's no "at least it'll be downhill on the way back" with which to comfort yourself. One of the roads got a little rough, too, but was more of an "uggityuggityuggityuggity" rough, as opposed to the end of the Muncie race's "ka-CHUNK ka-CHUNK ka-CHUNK" of crack repairs. A few stretches, though, were new blacktop, which just feels like heaven on a bike.
Meredith met me out at the...um...pitch?, and got me some warm clothes (whew, much better) in which to watch the soccer match. After that, it was back home for the first lazy Saturday in a long while, and a chance to watch our Buckeyes beat up on Michigan State.
Sunday was marathon day, and we were downtown really early this year for the 7:30 start. I'll let you read Meredith's report for the details, but suffice it to say that she ran a great race, and hit her goal of 3:30. I was really proud of her for achieving it after putting in so much hard work.
And what better way to celebrate than to go out for a run of my own? I hit the trails at a local park for an hour run. Let's just say that cross country is not my strength, and I may have booed out loud when I came upon a couple flights of unexpected stairs on one of the trails. After an hour, I had gone just over 6 miles, which isn't too bad for the terrain and for trying to keep it at a fairly easy pace.
Today's my first brick (bike-run) of the training plan, which I'm actually looking forward to quite a bit. Next week begins the harder training, as well as heart rate testing. I'm not exactly sure what that will entail, but the words "Here be dragons" from old maps come to mind...
If I said that my race number from Muncie was still on my bike, would that give any indication of how much I've ridden since July? Okay, there were a couple little rides in there, but they involved things like stops at Starbucks for hot chocolate...I'm not sure that counts.
Today, the number came off, the helmet went on, and Charlie and I hit the road again. My first ride of Ironman training was a 60 minute easy ride, and it couldn't have been a more beautiful day for a spin on the bike. The temperature was just a little brisk, the sky was completely blue, and the wind stayed to a minimum. I decided to reprise the course for my first ride in the Muncie training plan and ride out past Abercrombie headquarters.
Since it was just an easy ride, I didn't go into aero position very much; I just took in the day. Other than a few cars starting left turns into me before hitting their brakes, the traffic was light, and I was able to pick a high cadence and stick with it. Because the traffic was a little too light, I had to push my way over one-footed to the crossing buttons for one of the stoplights, or I never would have gotten across. 32 minutes out, I hit my turn and headed back home. My cadence meter decided to flake out on me (18 rpm? Really? That must be the biggest gear ever if I'm going 19 mph on flat ground!), but I tried to keep it light and easy back through town, and hit the driveway at 59 minutes.
One thing I learned today: Cool Mint Chocolate Clif Bars are my new favorite bike fuel. Today's ride wasn't one that really needed a mid-ride bar, but riding at 1:00 without lunch demanded some calories. This flavor will definitely be making the trip with me on all future long rides.
I didn't realize how much I had missed riding. It's so nice to do a workout that isn't in the same 4 miles that most of my runs take place in, or in the pool. Now, if I can just keep enjoying my bike this much, I might just make it through those six hour rides I'll be doing in the spring!
I really hope getting back to training keeps me healthy. Ever since Muncie, I haven't been able to make it more than a few weeks without problems.
I'm now working with a coach, Elizabeth (Fedofsky) Waterstraat, who's a pro triathlete based out of Chicago. Very excited to see what her training can push me to accomplish!
On Monday, Ironman training kicked off with a 2200m swim. Close to a mile and a half for the first workout, eh? I was a little worried since I hadn't been in the pool for a while, but it actually went pretty well. Even then, I was starting to feel a little sick, and my stamina tapered off before I finished, but finishing wasn't any problem.
The problem came the next morning, when I woke up with a massive cold, which (as always) turned into sinus issues. Sigh. So, I've been laid up with that until yesterday, and I think today I can finally get back to my plan.
