So, it appears that although I am not hobbling from my race on Sunday, I might have a little residual hurt hanging on! What? Well, today I swam, ran and yoga'd and some of it was a little thougher than usual!
Over the course of each week I am adding a couple of short runs for the run clubs that I am leading. They are casual quality miles from my perspective, usually running in low HR Zone1 for nothing more that 6k. I consider that good base miles, heck I could put on more miles walking around the block if I was going to the store. But, on top of training and the race, it made for a strenuous workout today.
My swim today was a 3500m technique day. It was made up of a lot of 50 and 100m repeats with almost no rest. Each repeat had a length and a drill aspect to it. As I started out it wasn't to bad, the warm up was a straight 400 which was a breeze. Then the repeats kicked in the main set. It isn't bad doing them, but as they piled on today I started to tucker out a bit. It is a crazy feeling though, as I got tired I became even more focused o the technique and improved my times. I guess I am a sucker for punishment, so it was a hard practice but a fun one. Overall if was god, 3500m in about 1h11m After the practice today, I was talking with a friend of mine about the progress since last September. Doing a swim today that is less than 1500m seems like a bit of a waste of time. Back a few months ago, a swim of 1500m was a reason to go and celebrate, finishing that kind of swim was a PB for me every time. It is a great victory for me as figuring out how to swim was the catalyst to signing up for IRONMAN.
I did have the swim idiot story today. As every pool does there is the assigned lanes according to your speed. Usually we end up in the faster lane as most of the people swimming are floating along doing the lanes they probable have done every day for 20 years since they retired. It is fairly apparent where you should swim, slow in slow fast in faster. NO, not this lady. As I came to the end of the pool, she was standing there, I figured she was waiting to wait until I pushed off. NO, next time I came down the lane, she was doing the dog paddle down the centre of the lane! What the heck. I was patient and kept going around her, for a while. Then when she almost kicked me in the teeth, I had to say something! I dont like pushing her of, but have some common sense, there are 3 people motoring down a lane, figure it out!
My run clinic tonight was a blast! the weather was awesome, the sun as shining and everyone was in a great mood! As we started out 3rd week, the group has all shown good progress and is moving forward. Almost all of them finshed the miles that were set out to complete on their own time, and they are looking forward to the race in the spring. Two if them have committed to the 1/2marathon and are putting in the miles and drills. It will be an awesome feeling to support them across the line!
Following the run today, was the Yoga practice, it was a killer!
Usually they are tough and a good workout, today was exceptionally challenging! I guess it was ht past few days piled on. Although it was a tough day it is still such a therapeutic part of my week. I leave hte class feeling stretched and truly refreshed! A great deal of my stretching is now made up of yoga poses. They are far more dynamic and stretch my full body along with the specific area that I am focused on.
Tomorrow is another crazy day for both work and training, so bed time it is! Happy training and enjoy hte evening! Cheers
The new Adventure has Started!!!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Bring it on.....
This morning was a second day of post race hobbling! Not near as bad as yesterday, but some pain to be noted! I love that feeling as I know that it means good things are happening. All I know is I am happy that I worked out yesterday as it helped to get the blood flowing and help out in the recovery. Today was another day to push some limits and get this machine into fighting shape.
Although I was ready, willing and able to get ready for the bike, I felt it was going to be a push as it is my quads that are shouting at me. But, I have never been a person to let a little obstacle stop me. Todays workout was 1 hour on the trainer, this week a little more push in the HR zones than last week. here is what it looked like:
Warm up: 15 minutes w/ single leg drills
Main: 2 x 20s each leg 40 second both legs
2 x 30 seconds each leg, 30 seconds both legs
2 x 40 seconds, 40 seconds both legs
2 x 50 seconds each leg, 50 seconds both legs
ALL IN SMALL RING >80RPM
4 x 5 min as:
2 min big gear seated <80RPM
1 min fast spin>100RPM
2 min big gear standing
ALL AT High HR2 with 2 minute easy spin after each set
Cool: 10-15 easy spin
The single leg drills are new for me, I learnt that I need to put a good focus on that training. Although my cycling doesnt suck, I am certain that this will push it further forward with some focus. Here are my stats for the ride:
Avg SP: 34kmh
Avg Watt: 215
Avg HR: 148
CAD: 79
Time: 1 hr
Distance: 34k
Overall I felt it was a good workout. On a 1-10 perceived effort, I would rate it at about a 7. I am not giving it 100% as yet as, 1) still recovering from weekend 2) I have 23 weeks of this and do not need to be a hero today to prove anything, or get hurt trying to push it for no particular reason. There will be a lot of time to push hard in the coming weeks. Over all the workout was very satisfying, I did leave a good puddle under the bike. The TACX trainer I got over the winter is awesome for this training. It gives me all the data that I could want to use as I do the rides. It will serve as a great benchmark for me as I work through the training. I have no regrets with the investment.
Following my good ride today, I headed out to Lululemon for one the weekly run clubs that I host. The store is awesome and has a very enthusiastic following. The miles that I am doing are extra miles and are good quality build miles at a slow pace. We generally run a 6 min/k and I spend my time getting the people in the group to push themselves a little. Tonight I also let them all know that I have an expectation of them. Next week they are to all show up with a goal race to share with others. I feel that this is the best way to get them all to be on board and to invest in the run that they come out to each week. It was received with enthusiasm. So next week we will all spend part of our run sharing our goals with others and making each other accountable to those goals. It is a great community and they will all reach towards the goal together. The runs that they set will be a blast, as they will all be together to push other forward! The evening was a lot of fun running and working with the group. Some of them are now going to come out and join us on the weekend runs and other events that we do. Slowly I am building my own run community to help to move towards goals, after a short while the groups are already joining together and building momentum. As I work towards my IM goal, this is a great satisfaction and motivation for me as well. I would love nothing more than to see 20 people get to start line and finish their first race. It would be a successful season for many!
Looking forward to another good workout day! time for some rest to get read for it! Cheers
Although I was ready, willing and able to get ready for the bike, I felt it was going to be a push as it is my quads that are shouting at me. But, I have never been a person to let a little obstacle stop me. Todays workout was 1 hour on the trainer, this week a little more push in the HR zones than last week. here is what it looked like:
Warm up: 15 minutes w/ single leg drills
Main: 2 x 20s each leg 40 second both legs
2 x 30 seconds each leg, 30 seconds both legs
2 x 40 seconds, 40 seconds both legs
2 x 50 seconds each leg, 50 seconds both legs
ALL IN SMALL RING >80RPM
4 x 5 min as:
2 min big gear seated <80RPM
1 min fast spin>100RPM
2 min big gear standing
ALL AT High HR2 with 2 minute easy spin after each set
Cool: 10-15 easy spin
The single leg drills are new for me, I learnt that I need to put a good focus on that training. Although my cycling doesnt suck, I am certain that this will push it further forward with some focus. Here are my stats for the ride:
Avg SP: 34kmh
Avg Watt: 215
Avg HR: 148
CAD: 79
Time: 1 hr
Distance: 34k
Overall I felt it was a good workout. On a 1-10 perceived effort, I would rate it at about a 7. I am not giving it 100% as yet as, 1) still recovering from weekend 2) I have 23 weeks of this and do not need to be a hero today to prove anything, or get hurt trying to push it for no particular reason. There will be a lot of time to push hard in the coming weeks. Over all the workout was very satisfying, I did leave a good puddle under the bike. The TACX trainer I got over the winter is awesome for this training. It gives me all the data that I could want to use as I do the rides. It will serve as a great benchmark for me as I work through the training. I have no regrets with the investment.
Following my good ride today, I headed out to Lululemon for one the weekly run clubs that I host. The store is awesome and has a very enthusiastic following. The miles that I am doing are extra miles and are good quality build miles at a slow pace. We generally run a 6 min/k and I spend my time getting the people in the group to push themselves a little. Tonight I also let them all know that I have an expectation of them. Next week they are to all show up with a goal race to share with others. I feel that this is the best way to get them all to be on board and to invest in the run that they come out to each week. It was received with enthusiasm. So next week we will all spend part of our run sharing our goals with others and making each other accountable to those goals. It is a great community and they will all reach towards the goal together. The runs that they set will be a blast, as they will all be together to push other forward! The evening was a lot of fun running and working with the group. Some of them are now going to come out and join us on the weekend runs and other events that we do. Slowly I am building my own run community to help to move towards goals, after a short while the groups are already joining together and building momentum. As I work towards my IM goal, this is a great satisfaction and motivation for me as well. I would love nothing more than to see 20 people get to start line and finish their first race. It would be a successful season for many!
Looking forward to another good workout day! time for some rest to get read for it! Cheers
Monday, March 29, 2010
Where to start?!
It has been a few busy days since I have been able to blog, but a few awesome days it has been! I have done so much stuff, I can't figure out where to begin. Let me begin by reiterating the purpose of this blog is to capture this experience in as much detail for future reference and entertaining reflection. If I tend to babble on about stuff, too bad, some day I will enjoy what I wrote and there is a purpose behind it! I guess I will try and recap the last few days in a chronological time frame so that I ideally get it all in.
Thursday has been my usual day of exercise excess with my usual 5am run followed by Yoga and then the rest of the day's events. Last Thursday our run was off as everyone had other lat night commitments thte night before. When the alarm went off for Yoga, I decided to hit snooze. WHAT? not do Yoga? Well I am one to listen to my body and to respect what I have in front of me. I knew that Thursday was a run(sprints) and run club, a 3500m swim, weigths as well as an evening Yoga class that I was hosting as part of my run club. So rather than be a hero, I figured I would grab an extra hour of sleep to get me set for the day.
My swim on Thursday was great! I had not done a long swim in quite a while, putting in some lengths felt great to do. It was an awesome balance of drills and speed with a gradual and aggressive throughout the whole practice. It was quite satisfying as I finished with steam in the engine and not burned out from the gradual build of the week. I suppose it was a good thing as I had a couple more workouts to go. So from the pool I headed into the gym(the new Y membership is great) for my 'first' official IM weights! It was a good workout. Following the structure they have given is positive and has a good full body. I do think I will modify a bit to hit some more specific areas while keeping the intensity that is set out. I have several books on run, bike , swim anatomy that provide a ton of good exercises for areas that should have focus. I am going to use a couple of them in order to do some preventative stuff to protect from a couple of old injuries. I have a lot of weeks doing weights so it should work well! My goal is to build both a balanced and appropriate strength balance over this period. A little weights combined with the push up challenge should add a little strength to the overall equation. My weights for my 'first' resistance workout called for only 1 set with lighter weight. even though it was only 1 set the workout is still 30+ minutes. Overall it is a good effort and I could feel the whole body having been out to work. I did my push up challenge during this workout, hhhmmmm.....maybe not so smart, it killed me! But workout one was done and I was feeling an accomplishment.
After the Y part of the day, it was time to head out to Lululemon to lead the weekly run club. I thought that I would combine my run club with my required workout for the evening. As soon as I arrived, I left while others were gathering in order to get my warmup done. It was a sub 5min/k run of 3km to get the blood flowing. The run for the evening was 6k with 45 second sprints every 2-3 minutes. I thought I could go out with the group, do the run and add my sprints. It worked out well. I did them as planned and after each sprint circles back to run with the group again. The sprints were great. It was my first intro back into and intensity in my training. It has been a productive winter, but for the most part 'lazy' as far as any intensity goes. The run was a great success! After the run club I invited a Yoga instructor to join us to complete a short run focused practice that lent itself well to runners. WOW, what a relief. After a failrly intense day, it was a treat to be able to do a good focused 45 minute session loosening up and spending some time collecting the days efforts. I have to say I felt like a million $$ following the class. Thursday was one of the best workout days that I have spent in a long time. The time spent the intensity and the quality were awesome.
My pln for Friday, which was a scheduled rest day was to get in my long ride that was supposed to be on Saturday. The weekend was busy as I was MC'ing a season end ski event and doing my run clinic in the morning. WIth Friday as on an off day I figured I could knock it off and have more time on Saturday. Well, Friday morning proved to show me why I had a scheduled off day. I woke up and I was sore!! Yep, first time in a long time since I felt that way! LOved it, a great reminder of what it feels like to be getting into 'fighting' shape! So, like the training plan says, I took the day off! So I ran around like a fool getting all my work done for the day. As I have been invited to be on TEAM RUNNING FREE I spent the afternoon as a race expo with other team mates. Around the Bay(Americas oldest running race) was held on Sunday and I was there to help out. It worked out well as I needed to pick up my race packet for the event. Over all the day was awesome. I did get some needed rest for a day and enjoyed the excitement of a race event. I spent Friday evening at the Raptors basketball game, it was a great game(even though they blew it in the last quarter).
Saturday turned out to be an action packed day! I started the morning hosting my run clinic. It was dame cold after a few days of warm weather, but after 5 minutes it is all warm again! After my run I had to drive 2 hours north to my event. I still needed to get my ride in, so I packed all my gear and my bike and started the trek! I figured out if I got there fast enough, I could do some intro's, and while the first couple of events were taking place I could get a ride in for 1:15 minutes. It was a little less than the 2 in the program, but excusable as I was going to to a 3 hour run on Sunday instead of the 1 hour on the program. So off I went into the sunny day for my ride. Someone told me there was no wind, yeah right! I headed south into a straight head wind for the first 20k of my ride(all uphill as well). It was a grind but, a good bike ride will always have a grind so I loved every minute of it! It was also better than having to sit indoors for the ride on my trainer. The day worked out well! I finished my ride, finished my event and managed to get home for 7pm to get ready for the race the next day. I am particular when it comes to pre-race prep. I like to have my stuff out and organized and enjoy my routine breakfast! So being home by 7 allowed me to be set for the day!
I had a good rest and was up and ready to go for the race bright and early. I had never done the race before so was not familiar with the scene. It was a great race to be at. The finish line of the race is in a hockey arena which is a cool finish to a race. I had planned on doing the race at a 2:45 pace. This is a new pace for me. My last distance race was at a 6min/k pace and it was 4 years ago. I have done one long run, 21k this winter Otherwise my runs have all been 8-10k and twice a week. I have done quite a bit of short distance but not proper training for this event. So off I went with teh 2:45 pace bunny! A few minutes into the event I thought it was a little much, as this was supposed to be a slow run and a training day of 1 hour, I should have been taking it easy. I thought I might drop back a take it easy! After few more minutes, I figured out that I was feeling OK and that I would run it out. SO I trotted along and enjoyed the day. The course is great, but the second half is all hills. The last hill was especially fun, someone told me it is nicknamed suicide hill! The race was a great one for me. Although I did cramp up in the last 4k, I managed to get enough Gatorade in me to get it done. I stopped my watch at 2:41. That was an awesome result for me, although I have never done the race, it is a 30+ second per KM improvement for a distance race for me. I felt great knowing that all the cross training and work from the winter have been of benefit at an early point in the season. Although I had completed a great result, it was a little against what I was supposed to do. And I have to say, I was already getting stiff from the run. Oh well, a little pain will only be future gain.
Monday AM proved to be quite an adventure. The little sore I was feeling on Sunday was now a good old hurt! OUch! I guess that is what running a little faster than I am used to will get me! So I hobbled out to the office. It was a productive day at the office, but all I could think about was the fast that I had a swim in hte afternoon. OUch, I was sure it was going to hurt like hell! Too bad, I would have it suck it up! As soon as I got into the water, I was relieved. Although I felt a little better than the morning, I did still hobble to the pool deck. As soon as I started to to swim the 'pain' left me. I had a great swim! It was short, 2000m but I did not feel like the practice was held back at all because of my run! So, I did my 2000m with a smile on my face and a relief that I did not have slow down or cut back!
So, the last 5 days have been awesome. I have knocked down my first week of IM training! I felt some pain, covered some miles, did all my workouts and a little bit more. I have finished my fisrt week with a smile on my face and the knowledge that I am going to get stronger. I did learn that at some point this is going to hurt! But, that is only a good thing! As always, this is one fun adventure and I look forward to the next 23 weeks! Wahoo! Cheers!
Thursday has been my usual day of exercise excess with my usual 5am run followed by Yoga and then the rest of the day's events. Last Thursday our run was off as everyone had other lat night commitments thte night before. When the alarm went off for Yoga, I decided to hit snooze. WHAT? not do Yoga? Well I am one to listen to my body and to respect what I have in front of me. I knew that Thursday was a run(sprints) and run club, a 3500m swim, weigths as well as an evening Yoga class that I was hosting as part of my run club. So rather than be a hero, I figured I would grab an extra hour of sleep to get me set for the day.
My swim on Thursday was great! I had not done a long swim in quite a while, putting in some lengths felt great to do. It was an awesome balance of drills and speed with a gradual and aggressive throughout the whole practice. It was quite satisfying as I finished with steam in the engine and not burned out from the gradual build of the week. I suppose it was a good thing as I had a couple more workouts to go. So from the pool I headed into the gym(the new Y membership is great) for my 'first' official IM weights! It was a good workout. Following the structure they have given is positive and has a good full body. I do think I will modify a bit to hit some more specific areas while keeping the intensity that is set out. I have several books on run, bike , swim anatomy that provide a ton of good exercises for areas that should have focus. I am going to use a couple of them in order to do some preventative stuff to protect from a couple of old injuries. I have a lot of weeks doing weights so it should work well! My goal is to build both a balanced and appropriate strength balance over this period. A little weights combined with the push up challenge should add a little strength to the overall equation. My weights for my 'first' resistance workout called for only 1 set with lighter weight. even though it was only 1 set the workout is still 30+ minutes. Overall it is a good effort and I could feel the whole body having been out to work. I did my push up challenge during this workout, hhhmmmm.....maybe not so smart, it killed me! But workout one was done and I was feeling an accomplishment.
After the Y part of the day, it was time to head out to Lululemon to lead the weekly run club. I thought that I would combine my run club with my required workout for the evening. As soon as I arrived, I left while others were gathering in order to get my warmup done. It was a sub 5min/k run of 3km to get the blood flowing. The run for the evening was 6k with 45 second sprints every 2-3 minutes. I thought I could go out with the group, do the run and add my sprints. It worked out well. I did them as planned and after each sprint circles back to run with the group again. The sprints were great. It was my first intro back into and intensity in my training. It has been a productive winter, but for the most part 'lazy' as far as any intensity goes. The run was a great success! After the run club I invited a Yoga instructor to join us to complete a short run focused practice that lent itself well to runners. WOW, what a relief. After a failrly intense day, it was a treat to be able to do a good focused 45 minute session loosening up and spending some time collecting the days efforts. I have to say I felt like a million $$ following the class. Thursday was one of the best workout days that I have spent in a long time. The time spent the intensity and the quality were awesome.
My pln for Friday, which was a scheduled rest day was to get in my long ride that was supposed to be on Saturday. The weekend was busy as I was MC'ing a season end ski event and doing my run clinic in the morning. WIth Friday as on an off day I figured I could knock it off and have more time on Saturday. Well, Friday morning proved to show me why I had a scheduled off day. I woke up and I was sore!! Yep, first time in a long time since I felt that way! LOved it, a great reminder of what it feels like to be getting into 'fighting' shape! So, like the training plan says, I took the day off! So I ran around like a fool getting all my work done for the day. As I have been invited to be on TEAM RUNNING FREE I spent the afternoon as a race expo with other team mates. Around the Bay(Americas oldest running race) was held on Sunday and I was there to help out. It worked out well as I needed to pick up my race packet for the event. Over all the day was awesome. I did get some needed rest for a day and enjoyed the excitement of a race event. I spent Friday evening at the Raptors basketball game, it was a great game(even though they blew it in the last quarter).
Saturday turned out to be an action packed day! I started the morning hosting my run clinic. It was dame cold after a few days of warm weather, but after 5 minutes it is all warm again! After my run I had to drive 2 hours north to my event. I still needed to get my ride in, so I packed all my gear and my bike and started the trek! I figured out if I got there fast enough, I could do some intro's, and while the first couple of events were taking place I could get a ride in for 1:15 minutes. It was a little less than the 2 in the program, but excusable as I was going to to a 3 hour run on Sunday instead of the 1 hour on the program. So off I went into the sunny day for my ride. Someone told me there was no wind, yeah right! I headed south into a straight head wind for the first 20k of my ride(all uphill as well). It was a grind but, a good bike ride will always have a grind so I loved every minute of it! It was also better than having to sit indoors for the ride on my trainer. The day worked out well! I finished my ride, finished my event and managed to get home for 7pm to get ready for the race the next day. I am particular when it comes to pre-race prep. I like to have my stuff out and organized and enjoy my routine breakfast! So being home by 7 allowed me to be set for the day!
I had a good rest and was up and ready to go for the race bright and early. I had never done the race before so was not familiar with the scene. It was a great race to be at. The finish line of the race is in a hockey arena which is a cool finish to a race. I had planned on doing the race at a 2:45 pace. This is a new pace for me. My last distance race was at a 6min/k pace and it was 4 years ago. I have done one long run, 21k this winter Otherwise my runs have all been 8-10k and twice a week. I have done quite a bit of short distance but not proper training for this event. So off I went with teh 2:45 pace bunny! A few minutes into the event I thought it was a little much, as this was supposed to be a slow run and a training day of 1 hour, I should have been taking it easy. I thought I might drop back a take it easy! After few more minutes, I figured out that I was feeling OK and that I would run it out. SO I trotted along and enjoyed the day. The course is great, but the second half is all hills. The last hill was especially fun, someone told me it is nicknamed suicide hill! The race was a great one for me. Although I did cramp up in the last 4k, I managed to get enough Gatorade in me to get it done. I stopped my watch at 2:41. That was an awesome result for me, although I have never done the race, it is a 30+ second per KM improvement for a distance race for me. I felt great knowing that all the cross training and work from the winter have been of benefit at an early point in the season. Although I had completed a great result, it was a little against what I was supposed to do. And I have to say, I was already getting stiff from the run. Oh well, a little pain will only be future gain.
Monday AM proved to be quite an adventure. The little sore I was feeling on Sunday was now a good old hurt! OUch! I guess that is what running a little faster than I am used to will get me! So I hobbled out to the office. It was a productive day at the office, but all I could think about was the fast that I had a swim in hte afternoon. OUch, I was sure it was going to hurt like hell! Too bad, I would have it suck it up! As soon as I got into the water, I was relieved. Although I felt a little better than the morning, I did still hobble to the pool deck. As soon as I started to to swim the 'pain' left me. I had a great swim! It was short, 2000m but I did not feel like the practice was held back at all because of my run! So, I did my 2000m with a smile on my face and a relief that I did not have slow down or cut back!
So, the last 5 days have been awesome. I have knocked down my first week of IM training! I felt some pain, covered some miles, did all my workouts and a little bit more. I have finished my fisrt week with a smile on my face and the knowledge that I am going to get stronger. I did learn that at some point this is going to hurt! But, that is only a good thing! As always, this is one fun adventure and I look forward to the next 23 weeks! Wahoo! Cheers!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
What a busy day!
Mother Nature is in a great mood today and has given us another beautiful sunny day. It sure makes the day go by wonderfully. As I sit in my car waiting for an event, the temp is 14c(don't know what that is in American) let's just say it is great! Kind of wish I had a ride scheduled today so that I could enjoy it. I am staying loyal to my program, if every time I had an urge to workout I would be smoked in no time.
Workouts today consisted of a 3500 m swim practice. Today I actually was able to use my arms. As a couple of people indicated, my kicking workout would be beneficial, and it was. Hard to believe one focused kick workout and there is a different feel. Most of the practice today focused on stroke technique and lengths. Although it was listed as 'stroke' I took the liberty of using drills to get further improvement. Overall I found the session to be great. My adjusted time for my 10s breaks was just under 1:13, a total time of 1:20. I was quite happy with that. I figured out that this week will see me complete a total of 8+km of pool time. As it is an area that I can use the practice, I love it. I finally broke down today and bought a membership at the Y. I figured out that paying per visit was eventually going to break me. At 3 swims per week, plus weights at least twice it would add up to over $100 per month. So as much as I am not big on belonging to a gym, the choice made sense. The staff chuckled as I did it. They have seen me pay my $5 for so long I think they probably had wagers on when I would break down.
Since Monday I have been tracking my nutrition, what a great process to complete. You learn very quickly how under nourished you truly become as you workout. I always thought a ate quite a bit, but apparently I need to eat a little more. Next week I am sending my log into Fuel your Passion for an analysis, it will be interesting to see what she comes back with. In the meantime, I am going to keep doing what I am doing and top it off to try and stay at an even weight. It is far to early in the process to lose any more weight. My goal is to get my BMI down to 16-17 as the summer progresses, as I start doing more resistance and more workouts, it should be doable!
This evening I am off to a Team Running Free season launch event. I mentioned a while back I was selected to be part of the team for this season. It is great to be a part of this group. It is an opportunity to feed of the energy of a lot of like minded individuals as we head into the summer. As well it provides me some great opportunities to feed the requirements for gear for this crazy sport. Tonight is a cool night, all the gear manufacturers are here presenting their latest and greatest for this year. It is a good chance to learn some new tech stuff to share with others in the run club and clinics. As a gear nerd I am looking forward to this. A bonus is many chances to be the person who tests this gear for them this season, never a thing wrong with a little free gear!
Off to my little party to schmooze with other athletes and reps! Hope your day was awesome!
Cheers and happy training!
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network
Workouts today consisted of a 3500 m swim practice. Today I actually was able to use my arms. As a couple of people indicated, my kicking workout would be beneficial, and it was. Hard to believe one focused kick workout and there is a different feel. Most of the practice today focused on stroke technique and lengths. Although it was listed as 'stroke' I took the liberty of using drills to get further improvement. Overall I found the session to be great. My adjusted time for my 10s breaks was just under 1:13, a total time of 1:20. I was quite happy with that. I figured out that this week will see me complete a total of 8+km of pool time. As it is an area that I can use the practice, I love it. I finally broke down today and bought a membership at the Y. I figured out that paying per visit was eventually going to break me. At 3 swims per week, plus weights at least twice it would add up to over $100 per month. So as much as I am not big on belonging to a gym, the choice made sense. The staff chuckled as I did it. They have seen me pay my $5 for so long I think they probably had wagers on when I would break down.
Since Monday I have been tracking my nutrition, what a great process to complete. You learn very quickly how under nourished you truly become as you workout. I always thought a ate quite a bit, but apparently I need to eat a little more. Next week I am sending my log into Fuel your Passion for an analysis, it will be interesting to see what she comes back with. In the meantime, I am going to keep doing what I am doing and top it off to try and stay at an even weight. It is far to early in the process to lose any more weight. My goal is to get my BMI down to 16-17 as the summer progresses, as I start doing more resistance and more workouts, it should be doable!
This evening I am off to a Team Running Free season launch event. I mentioned a while back I was selected to be part of the team for this season. It is great to be a part of this group. It is an opportunity to feed of the energy of a lot of like minded individuals as we head into the summer. As well it provides me some great opportunities to feed the requirements for gear for this crazy sport. Tonight is a cool night, all the gear manufacturers are here presenting their latest and greatest for this year. It is a good chance to learn some new tech stuff to share with others in the run club and clinics. As a gear nerd I am looking forward to this. A bonus is many chances to be the person who tests this gear for them this season, never a thing wrong with a little free gear!
Off to my little party to schmooze with other athletes and reps! Hope your day was awesome!
Cheers and happy training!
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
I have to bottle this high!
Somehow I know at some point a few weeks down the road, I am going to want to read these posts as they are so full of energy and positive spirit. I wish I could put some of how I am feeling into a jar to drink it later!
My day was awesome once again. I guess I could find fault in it, I had an early morning workout schedule, but chose to stay in bed! No, I did not blow it off, just readjusted the timing a bit!
At the end of a decently productive day at work, I came home for my first formal bike trainer workout. My program ramps me up in a logical manner so it wasn't stupid hard or insanely long, but it is one that keeps you honest. Thank goodness it is full of sprints and rest and starts and stops, because it made the time fly by. I have noted to stats for my workout below. I am not a technician or statistician so I invite comments on the ratios that are there. I am happy with my speed for the ride, and I kept my HR decent as well. I felt that if I could maintain and build from here I should become a decent cyclist. As I look at it , the power output is the one that I wonder about?? What is a good output? On my high cadence sprints I managed to get into high 300's for most of the sprint, but is that good? Comments please?
Av Speed: 35kmh
Av watt: 219
CAD: 88
HR: 137
Dist: 26k
Time: 45min
One of my barometers of how I did is the T-run of the bike. I felt great when I pulled out of the pedals, I certainly had all sorts of juice left and could have kept going for a long while. When my feet hit the road is where I knew it was an efficient ride. I went out on my T-run at a 5min/k pace without my HR blowing up. I did put on the wrong HR chest strap, however, perceived effort for me is as accurate as an HR as I have geeked out on that damn watch for so long, I know when I am feeling good or when I am going to explode. My run was very short, the purpose of it is not to build my run, it is to get my legs going off the bike. As I ran down the road, i thought back to my performance from last year as I rolled my fat asz down the road off the bike. I kind of felt like I was going to be sick when I ran last summer, I look forward to some short races this year to see where I have improved. It is good to feel strong, and I am moving in that direction right now!
After my improvised brick, I had to get my 100push up challenge done. All I can say is thank goodness I suck at push ups. Doing what few I had to do was a killer, the first 12 were OK, the next 17 alright, the next 17.........the next 13..hmmmm, the last 17, holy crap! I can only imagine the gruelling effort of some of the folks who have the bar set at the top! Best of luck to all!
After my home workouts, it was time to head out to Lululemon! Tonight was the start of the run club that I host at another store close to home. WOW, the first night in bad weather and there were 7 of us! This store has the potential to have a crazy huge run club! I hope to get it to 30-40 people and build a great run community. It would be great to create another bunch of obsessed people who chase races and live to fit in workouts amongst the busy lives they lead! It was a great run, again a short 5k but a great night for many who likely have not run since last fall.
So, overall my day was awesome. I worked, I ate, I biked, I ran, I ate, I ran, I ate.....have to think about what else! Hope your training is going awesome!
Cheers!
My day was awesome once again. I guess I could find fault in it, I had an early morning workout schedule, but chose to stay in bed! No, I did not blow it off, just readjusted the timing a bit!
At the end of a decently productive day at work, I came home for my first formal bike trainer workout. My program ramps me up in a logical manner so it wasn't stupid hard or insanely long, but it is one that keeps you honest. Thank goodness it is full of sprints and rest and starts and stops, because it made the time fly by. I have noted to stats for my workout below. I am not a technician or statistician so I invite comments on the ratios that are there. I am happy with my speed for the ride, and I kept my HR decent as well. I felt that if I could maintain and build from here I should become a decent cyclist. As I look at it , the power output is the one that I wonder about?? What is a good output? On my high cadence sprints I managed to get into high 300's for most of the sprint, but is that good? Comments please?
Av watt: 219
CAD: 88
HR: 137
Dist: 26k
Time: 45min
One of my barometers of how I did is the T-run of the bike. I felt great when I pulled out of the pedals, I certainly had all sorts of juice left and could have kept going for a long while. When my feet hit the road is where I knew it was an efficient ride. I went out on my T-run at a 5min/k pace without my HR blowing up. I did put on the wrong HR chest strap, however, perceived effort for me is as accurate as an HR as I have geeked out on that damn watch for so long, I know when I am feeling good or when I am going to explode. My run was very short, the purpose of it is not to build my run, it is to get my legs going off the bike. As I ran down the road, i thought back to my performance from last year as I rolled my fat asz down the road off the bike. I kind of felt like I was going to be sick when I ran last summer, I look forward to some short races this year to see where I have improved. It is good to feel strong, and I am moving in that direction right now!
After my improvised brick, I had to get my 100push up challenge done. All I can say is thank goodness I suck at push ups. Doing what few I had to do was a killer, the first 12 were OK, the next 17 alright, the next 17.........the next 13..hmmmm, the last 17, holy crap! I can only imagine the gruelling effort of some of the folks who have the bar set at the top! Best of luck to all!
After my home workouts, it was time to head out to Lululemon! Tonight was the start of the run club that I host at another store close to home. WOW, the first night in bad weather and there were 7 of us! This store has the potential to have a crazy huge run club! I hope to get it to 30-40 people and build a great run community. It would be great to create another bunch of obsessed people who chase races and live to fit in workouts amongst the busy lives they lead! It was a great run, again a short 5k but a great night for many who likely have not run since last fall.
So, overall my day was awesome. I worked, I ate, I biked, I ran, I ate, I ran, I ate.....have to think about what else! Hope your training is going awesome!
Cheers!
Monday, March 22, 2010
One down 171 to go!
As I imagined today was another day like any other! But, it was even better! I am on my way, with my first workout done and feeling good!
My weekend efforts seem to have paid off well. I had all of my tools set out for me today. My blackberry now has all my workouts at my fingertips(numb from typing them in) but I know at a moment what I am doing! As well as being able to know what I need to do, I can log the results as well. I have been somewhat lazy at doing it most of the winter, my goal was to start properly with my program. As well as training, I am tracking my nutrition. I am a number and analytical kind of guy, so I have the tools that I need to be able to geek out look at what I am doing and make any changes to my program as I think will help me out! Wahoo! More geek toys to obsess over!
Workout #1 turned out to be a great swim today. Although it was short, it was full of fun drills! I think I drank my fill of pool urine for the next few weeks! I did a 2200 m workout with about 400m using my hands. The rest of the day was all kicking. I did a lot of kicking over the course of the last few months but not like todays workout! I kicked on my side, my stomach, my other side, side 2 side, hands in front, hands on side, let's just say I kicked a lot. The workout was super productive for finding my balance in my stroke and finding the deficiencies in balance as well. Overall I would rank today as an 9 out of 10 kind of workout. It was very sow workout, but great for improvement!
WIth workout #1 underway the games have begun! Time to go and stretch a little and get some beauty sleep. That is a bad term when it comes to me, beauty and sleep should not go togther when you see me in the AM. I am a bitch getting out of bed, but, once I start lookout! Early day tomorrow, here I go! Cheers
My weekend efforts seem to have paid off well. I had all of my tools set out for me today. My blackberry now has all my workouts at my fingertips(numb from typing them in) but I know at a moment what I am doing! As well as being able to know what I need to do, I can log the results as well. I have been somewhat lazy at doing it most of the winter, my goal was to start properly with my program. As well as training, I am tracking my nutrition. I am a number and analytical kind of guy, so I have the tools that I need to be able to geek out look at what I am doing and make any changes to my program as I think will help me out! Wahoo! More geek toys to obsess over!
Workout #1 turned out to be a great swim today. Although it was short, it was full of fun drills! I think I drank my fill of pool urine for the next few weeks! I did a 2200 m workout with about 400m using my hands. The rest of the day was all kicking. I did a lot of kicking over the course of the last few months but not like todays workout! I kicked on my side, my stomach, my other side, side 2 side, hands in front, hands on side, let's just say I kicked a lot. The workout was super productive for finding my balance in my stroke and finding the deficiencies in balance as well. Overall I would rank today as an 9 out of 10 kind of workout. It was very sow workout, but great for improvement!
WIth workout #1 underway the games have begun! Time to go and stretch a little and get some beauty sleep. That is a bad term when it comes to me, beauty and sleep should not go togther when you see me in the AM. I am a bitch getting out of bed, but, once I start lookout! Early day tomorrow, here I go! Cheers
Sunday, March 21, 2010
WAW! no not WOW! WAW!
WHAT A WEEKEND! yep, that is my most accurate description of this weekend! It has been a few days since my last post, but a great few days it has been!
As I have said many times before, the key to a great life is to 'Live for your Dreams'! Yes, believe that you can accomplish what may seem unreachable, trust your passion and chase it! The only true obstacle to accomplishing something is you! Patience, perseverance and a passion for your beliefs will get you to your goal!
From time to time, a few days are spent with a true momentum towards the things that you want to achieve. You feel a productive contribution towards the things that are striving towards and a growing energy to push a little harder. It is a great feeling and one that you need to tuck into your little tool box for those times you feel like it is all falling apart!
This weekend was a weekend of those moments for me! From beginning to end a sense of accomplishment and moving ahead!
On Saturday morning, mother nature came back to her normal mood for this time of year! She chilled it down a little for a 1-2c run for the ROGA clinic. Still a great event, another new participant joined us with a goal in mind that she is working towards. So although it was cold the run clinic and me worked towards our goal. It is great how after a little time there is a sense of community developing. The runners are helping each other out and pushing and pulling each other through runs, it is great progress after a short while. I hope when I get to 12 weeks of training that I feel as good as they did!
After my Saturday run, I spent the rest of my weekend at my triathlon coach certification course. It was a great productive weekend, learning a lot of new tools and gaining the insight from many other athletes and coaches. I could not have read as many books and magazines in 2 years to gain the knowledge and insight I did this weekend. As I work towards my IM dream, this is a huge bonus for me to have gained!
As well as spending time thinking about practical tri strategies this weekend, I also was able to get myself into a great mind space to start my training. Since I first thought about IM I said that when I started my training I would put all my focus and energy towards it. Well, this weekend was my opportunity to get myself into that space.
From the posts I have read, from the successful athletes I have met and followed, I know that doing well is about the commitment you follow. As my 'official' training starts on Monday I had a weekend of enjoying of relaxation. I had a few beers, I watched a good movie, I spent time getting my tools set up and my program reviewed and entered into my computer and crackberry. The time I spent was great to get my head further into a great space to be training. So that again was another great part of my WAW weekend! Wahoo!
SO, I hope that all of you had a wonderful weekend! My next post will be the first in my official journey to Wisconsin! Wahoo! I am truly on the road to becoming an IRONMAN! Stay tuned!
As I have said many times before, the key to a great life is to 'Live for your Dreams'! Yes, believe that you can accomplish what may seem unreachable, trust your passion and chase it! The only true obstacle to accomplishing something is you! Patience, perseverance and a passion for your beliefs will get you to your goal!
From time to time, a few days are spent with a true momentum towards the things that you want to achieve. You feel a productive contribution towards the things that are striving towards and a growing energy to push a little harder. It is a great feeling and one that you need to tuck into your little tool box for those times you feel like it is all falling apart!
This weekend was a weekend of those moments for me! From beginning to end a sense of accomplishment and moving ahead!
On Saturday morning, mother nature came back to her normal mood for this time of year! She chilled it down a little for a 1-2c run for the ROGA clinic. Still a great event, another new participant joined us with a goal in mind that she is working towards. So although it was cold the run clinic and me worked towards our goal. It is great how after a little time there is a sense of community developing. The runners are helping each other out and pushing and pulling each other through runs, it is great progress after a short while. I hope when I get to 12 weeks of training that I feel as good as they did!
After my Saturday run, I spent the rest of my weekend at my triathlon coach certification course. It was a great productive weekend, learning a lot of new tools and gaining the insight from many other athletes and coaches. I could not have read as many books and magazines in 2 years to gain the knowledge and insight I did this weekend. As I work towards my IM dream, this is a huge bonus for me to have gained!
As well as spending time thinking about practical tri strategies this weekend, I also was able to get myself into a great mind space to start my training. Since I first thought about IM I said that when I started my training I would put all my focus and energy towards it. Well, this weekend was my opportunity to get myself into that space.
From the posts I have read, from the successful athletes I have met and followed, I know that doing well is about the commitment you follow. As my 'official' training starts on Monday I had a weekend of enjoying of relaxation. I had a few beers, I watched a good movie, I spent time getting my tools set up and my program reviewed and entered into my computer and crackberry. The time I spent was great to get my head further into a great space to be training. So that again was another great part of my WAW weekend! Wahoo!
SO, I hope that all of you had a wonderful weekend! My next post will be the first in my official journey to Wisconsin! Wahoo! I am truly on the road to becoming an IRONMAN! Stay tuned!
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