A bit of recovery before the fun begins

As I said in the previous post, I really wasn't supposed to race that 15K on Sunday. I really wasn't trained for the volume or the intensity of that run. I'm glad that I did it but now I have to be smart and recover from it. (because I can definitely feel it)
I skipped the bike I was supposed to do later in the day Sunday. Monday was an hour easy spin on the bike then stretch. That made a big difference. Tuesday was a 45 min easy run. The run definitely let me know that the hamstrings are still recovering. Overall, I'm still feeling good.

I built my 20 week training schedule to prepare for Timberman 70.3. It starts on Monday. I guess it's happening at just the right time. I feel like I've become quite comfortable with the plan I had been following.
As I looked over the first 6 weeks, I kind of took in a big breath and thought, "Here we go". It looks like a bunch. I'm going to have to adjust my sleep schedule to make this happen.
I had been arriving at the pool at 6AM twice during the week. I think I'm going to have to start at 5:30 now.
I may have to start running before work twice a week as well. I'll be glad to do this once summer hits and the morning is the coolest part of the day. But right now, I'm just thinking how I've enjoyed only waking up early twice a week. I'll definitely have to start going to sleep earlier.

As the volume picks up, maybe I'll be glad I still have this extra 10 pounds to burn off before August? I keep reading about people that have this extra weight at the start, as part of their plan. I missed my "ideal weight" goal but I lost 10 pounds in about 18 weeks. I'll just have to do that again over the next 20.

NYRR 15K Colon Cancer Challenge / Lazy Sunday

Results Page

I didn’t write anything about running this race this weekend because I had planned it to be a training run. Meaning 146 max HR. So it just wasn’t going to be anything worth mentioning. Also I wasn’t sure I was going until late Thursday.

The race was an 11:15 start, much later than normal. We knew parking was going to be an issue so I had printed some coupons for parking garages (Side story to this)*. We had time to cruise for street parking but we were having no luck. So we headed for the garage, half a block from the garage someone pulled out. Nice!

It’s a cool morning for late March, I think it was low 40’s with just a bit of wind. We had time for a short warmup with some striders. I was feeling good. Now I had to make a decision. HR Training run, Max 146. Jog/run/cooldown, 5K each. Or pace it?

What pace tho? I haven’t run 15K since early December. My only speed run was the 5K a few weeks ago. I decide to go for an 8 minute mile and see what happens.

I’m in the 2^nd corral and it’s not too crowded, so when the gun goes off I go with the flow.

1st mile: I’m not dodging around trying to find space. Everything is feeling good. I click my watch at the first mile. 7:49. Alright, that works, but I notice that my watch calibration is off and had me at an 8:10. So my instantaneous pace information was going to be worthless. Not a big deal. I do need to fix that soon tho'.

2^nd mile: well there were 2 of them because there was the 4 miler earlier. So initially my split was a 6:50 or something like that, which I knew was wrong. Then shortly after was our mile 2 mark and I was in at 7:20 (down hill help). Still I’m sure that’s faster than I should go for 9 miles so I dial back a bit.

3^rd mile. 8:26 Up Hill and a bit of an overcorrection on my dialing it back.

4^th mile: I’m rather familiar with the course but I make a point of watching for a “GO” point as this will be the end of the run. There is one short incline then a good descent into the finish. Mile 4 was a 7:36, back on track.

5^th mile: So my watch isn’t giving me my pace accurately and I know that I’ll be ascending over the next few miles. I don’t want a repeat of mile 3. So I start to pick out people to reel in. I’ll gauge my effort by my breathing pattern, I don’t want to get going too fast. I just don’t want to fall off. 7:49 for mile 5.

6^th mile: Eat my 2nd GU. Heading back into the starting area. I’ve passed a couple people and have a girl with a large red headband as my next target. 7:50 for mile 6

7^th mile: I have not gained a single step on this girl with the red headband. I run down hill better than she does, she runs uphill better than I do. 7:39 for mile 7.

8^th mile: 2 years ago I ran this race hard and I cramped up at about this time. Funny how that was on my mind, I didn’t stop for water anywhere I shouldn’t need it but I was thinking about it. This girl with the red headband is still leading the way. I’ve got to keep close, I should be able to make the pass on the downhill next mile. 7:51 for mile 8.

9^th mile: Really feeling good, it’s been a very comfortable run. I spot my “GO” mark and I turn it up. I’m past the red headband (thanks for the pace!) and am now just focused on holding this quicker tempo. Probably less than a mile to the finish and a nice downhill to speed the way. 7:15 for mile 9.

.3 to the finish: Within this stretch, there are quite a few coaches walking along the side of the race here. One shouts, “Choose your victim and GO!” She wasn’t talking to me but I wasn’t going to be anyone’s victim, so I open it up the rest of the way. (why wasn’t I running all out already?) To add to the sprint push, they call my name over the loudspeakers as I’m in the finish chute. The last bit I ran in 2:17 or a 7:07 pace.

I finished in 1:11:55 a 7:44 min/mile average. Not a PR but I wasn’t expecting one.

Once again, I am more than a little surprised that I had this good of a race in me. I don’t think I’ve run over 10K since early December. (My last 15K “race”.)

2 years ago I raced this 15k and finished in 1:09:01, I had done a ton of running that winter. That was a great race for me and I had a very good tri season. The difference this year is I feel like I haven’t been training hard yet. I’m very interested to see how I respond to the build/speed training.

I meet up with Todd, he’s not as happy with his run. He said it started well but then felt like the brake was dragging on the wheel and he just lost power throughout the entire run. (he still beat me by just over a minute). Then he says, “I probably shouldn’t have run 8 miles yesterday… Or stayed out until 2AM with friends… Yep, that’s a terrible race alright..

So we head back to the car. We get within’ half a block and I say, “I did not notice that on the way TO the park.” As I point to the store on the corner. He looks and has no idea what the place is. But I know that Genine would be disappointed if I was this close to the place and didn’t buy something for her.

Ah yes! Magnolia Bakery, thus the Lazy Sunday in the title. If you are unfamiliar with this reference. You need to go to this link and watch.

*Printer side story:

My home printer stopped working a couple weeks ago. I finally decided I should try to fix it so I could print out these parking coupons. The network card was the bad card. $35 on ebay but it that would take a few days. Search the forums for any additional help. This is what I find. "remove plastic face plate, preheat oven at 350 degrees. Place the card in the oven in such a way that it is suspended and flat. (I used toothpicks, hoped they wouldn't burn at 350) 8 minutes in the oven, 30 minute cool down and install it back into the printer. It worked. Ha!

NYRR Volunteering / Aches and Pains / Cool Video

Friday afternoon I went to the NYRR NYC Half Marathon Expo and I handed out bib numbers to the racers. This gives me credit towards my 9+1 entry for the 2012 NYC Marathon.

When I first saw just how many bibs there were to hand out, I was thinking it was going to get crazy busy once everyone got out of work at 5-6PM. There was a bit of a rush hour but there were more than enough people handing out numbers. I don’t think that the line was more than three people deep at any point.

The time went by very quickly because it wasn’t very often that you weren’t helping someone. I also think it was enjoyable because there were so many people there that were not from the metro area. Many people were using their passports as their ID to get their race number. I wish I had kept track of how many different countries I helped.

They were excited to be there. They had all sorts of questions. The most concerning of them being. “This looks to be the 3^rd corral. Am I going to have to run through slow people?” These people were serious. I had them check with the info desk to verify the pace of the corral. I’m guessing they were in the right spot. They just might not be used to there being so many people that are faster than them.

Many of them couldn’t help but tell us just how long it had been since they’ve run in Central Park, or how long it’s been since they’ve moved away from the city. Fortunately, as I said we were never swamped, so we were more than happy to listen.

The most difficult thing about the race logistics seems to be where their families should be during the race. (the start and finish are not close to each other). Fortunately not too many people asked for help with this issue. (so maybe it’s not an issue?)

I’d say the NYC Half Marathon looks to be turning into a great “destination race”. Which is great for the city and great for NYRR. (Maybe not so great for me, because getting in via the lottery is going to be tough.)

Aches and Pains:

I’ve just finished 20 weeks of “maintenance” training.

I’ve got 2 weeks until I start my 20 week build for the Timberman Half Iron.

So? What to do for the next 2 weeks? The plan was just to continue with the maintenance. The trouble is this. I’ve got a few aches and pains that I don’t think I should have at this point in time. It’s become a bit of a checklist.

Left forearm: Tendonitis, not a big deal. Just annoying.

Upper Back and Ribs: The trip to the chiropractor made a huge difference. Now I’ve become hyper aware of just how much I hunch at my desk all day. Also concerned that it could be related to my posture on the bike as well.

Right Calf: Stiff and sore at times. I’ve been working hard at gaining some flexibility here. Guess I’ve got a long ways to go.

Left Hip: This one concerns me the most. Every now and again I get apain that really zaps me. It’s so quick that I have a hard time figuring out where it’s from. I keep thinking it’s in the socket. (that would be bad) Yet it only seems to happen when I’m tight, usually later in the day following a run. Which makes me think that it’s muscles/tendons, not bone/cartilage.

I’m going to email the coaches and see what they think.

I’m figuring I should just drop to 2 bikes and 2 runs a week and make them low intensity. I’ll keep the 3 swims a week but again, low intensity.

I also plan on plenty of stretching, along with a massage in there some time too.

I need to work on getting more sleep as well. I’ve started falling asleep on the train during my commute the last week or so. That’s as easy of a signal to read as there is.

I’ll admit all of this just makes me think that I’m old and I’d better get used to the aches and pains. If that’s the case, then what can you do? I just don’t want to miss my races this year, so I’m going to try like crazy to keep stuff like this in check. I’d rather race slower than not at all.

Now the cool video.

VCA 2010 RACE RUN from changoman on Vimeo.

Random

Last week my blog post about the 5K was tweeted by NYRR.

You would think that would inspire met to write more insightful posts. Instead you get the following bunch of random stuff that I’ve been meaning to work into a post but I haven’t had the time.

Ultra-runners:

Diet Stuff:

We all read all sorts of things regarding what we should or shouldn’t eat. All too often it’s backed up by some pretty flimsy research. So when I come across something that is from a reliable source or is written without too many assumptions that leave you wondering, I make note of them. Here are a few things I’ve come across lately. Plenty of other good stuff on these sites as well.

Soy products and breast cancer.

http://www.dana-farber.org/pat/support/nutrition/ask-the-nutritionist.html#number43

Gluten Free?

http://www.acefitness.org/blog/1242/does-a-gluten-free-diet-improve-athletic

Diet vs Changing your eating habits forever

http://www.acefitness.org/blog/1253/why-is-it-so-hard-to-lose-the-last-10-pounds

I suppose I should own up to the fact that I completely stalled on the diet. I’m not sure what happened exactly. Just got into a funk about a week ago. Fortunately the funk seems to be fading and I’m falling back into line.

Dropped a few I.Q. points this weekend.

Saturday morning we went to the pool early. The high school is right across the street. It was busy. Something was going on over there. It turns out the pool was busy too because of this. Many of the adults were at the pool after having dropped their kids off across the street for the SATs. I’d be interested to know what my score would be now compared to 1987. I think I read that they’ve changed how they score those things now. So maybe there’s no longer a direct comparison.

Onto the swim: Because it was so busy, Genine and I didn’t swim in the same lane. We had different workouts planned anyhow, so it wasn’t a big deal. As it turns out I ended up swimming in the lane next to Aaron. He’s a great swimmer. I haven’t seen him in awhile so we chat for a few before I start my swim. When I got to my kick set, when I hit the wall I hear “Hey Matt”. I stop and Aaron says, “when you kick you need to kick from your hips, you are kicking from your knees too much”. ::sigh:: just when I think I’m actually improving something… He then says that he doesn’t think I kick like that when I swim, just when I do my kick sets. So after a bit of discussion, I go back to kicking, now more from the hips. Which now means, I don’t have the strength to kick through the distance without breaking up the set. I mention this to him. His response? “Yeah, kicking hurts”. Ah well, I’m glad to get the advice. If I’m going to do the drills, I may as well do them correctly.

I had mentioned in my previous post that I had gone to the chiropractor. I took Thursday and Friday off figuring I should give myself a break. Saturday turned out to be a bigger day as a result. The swim, I mentioned above. Then later in the evening I hopped on the bike trainer for a 45 minute ride. I guess the legs liked the time off. I was pushing speeds I don’t typically see at the HR I was scheduled for. Then Genine got home from work and we ran for an hour. That got us home at 11 or so. Late night run. Especially since the clocks were moving forward overnight.

Sunday morning was going to be early and busy. We were going to meet up for our first ride outdoors this year. So we had to get the bike rack back onto the car and gather everything for that.

When I went to put the bikes on top of the car. I was having trouble getting the forks to sit into the mounts properly. Upon closer inspection, the forks on our new tri bikes run into the base bar of the roof rack. So they weren’t seated 100%. Ummm, we are running late already…. Plan B…. Plan B… Where are the bike lock cables for this rack? I have no idea….I’ve got no plan B. I decide to drive on the local roads and take it slower than if I’d drive on the interstate. Well we have to get onto the interstate for all of ¼ mile. When I get to the exit 3 miles from our destination…. Yep, the fork mount loses its grip on my bike!!! (How my IQ points do I lose for that decision?) Fortunately, the rear tire strap holds on for dear life and I didn’t have to watch my bike slide across the pavement. Genine was freaked out. I was just annoyed with myself. All I could think was, how I totally deserved that happening for being so stupid.

Once I got to where we were meeting. I started to dig through the car to see what I had available to strap the bikes down better and.... I find the cable locks for the roof rack. Honestly, this will keep the bikes from hitting the pavement if they break loose, but they could still break loose. Drive slowly and stop a few times to check them out on the way home.

The bike ride? It was fine. An easy ride, but honestly I didn’t find it AWESOME to finally be outside riding. I’m not sure I’ll ever be one of those people that ride year round. I definitely prefer warmer biking conditions.

So my bike was shorter than it was supposed to be. When I got home I contemplated jumping in the shower to warm up, but I still had a run to do and weights. So I just threw on a sweatshirt and crashed on the couch for a bit. Alright more than a bit. I think being out in the cold kind of exhausted me more than the workout. (Can I find more reasons for not enjoying riding outside at this point?)

Neither the run nor the weight lifting ever happened. (I’ll blame the bike ride for this too)

I did dig out our old bike rack that doesn’t fit either of our cars and check to see if that system would hold the forks of the “new” tribikes. It does. I had thought I’d eventually buy a 2^nd roof rack system but now it’s kind of a priority. I’ll sell the bars from the old VW Golf setup and probably keep the bike mounts. Now I’m wondering if I should sell my Saris rack as well, since it doesn’t hold the Cervelo forks. Maybe I can modify it somehow? I bought it off of eBay back in the late 90’s. It’s definitely served us well. It’s also very flexible. Currently I have it setup to hold 3 bikes and 2 front wheels. I have parts that would allow me to get 4 bikes and 4 wheels up there. It would be tough to give all that up. Unless it actually has some value on eBay to help pay for the new stuff I suppose.

Oh, I forgot to mention we ran into a friend we haven’t seen in quite awhile at the pool. We asked about his race schedule and he said he’d be doing Sprints and Olys. This guy is a really good cyclist, I’ve been hoping to get good enough to go out on some rides with him. I figured this might be my year. That is until he mentioned he had been doing P90X. He had 2 comments about the program. He hates the yoga but does it anyhow. And… that when he finally decided to get on his bike trainer to prepare for 2011, he felt so much stronger than he ever has before…

I guess I just have to accept that if I ever get to go riding with him, it’s going to be a tough ride.

Back to the chiropractor.

It has been quite awhile since I've been to the chiropractor. Honestly, I'm one of those people that should probably go in once a month for a tune up. Unfortunately, I haven't been doing that.

I should have seen this one coming. Sunday evening, my ribs were giving me some grief. I was thinking maybe I had my HR strap on too tightly for the 5K. Then the last couple days during my commute on the train, I could not get comfortable no matter how I'd sit.

Finally this morning, my upper back tweaked and I was in pain. ::sigh:: Tonight was supposed to be my swim lesson. I had to cancel. This was not one of those, give it a shot maybe the swim will work it out type of things. Today became an unscheduled day off.

Of course now I'm trying to decide what to do to try to keep this from happening. I haven't been to yoga in 4-6 weeks. I'm already doing 11 workouts a week. Then an extra swim occasionally when the lessons happen. Fitting yoga in was getting to be tough. Maybe it's worth the extra time tho'. I mean, I know it's worth the time, but there is a limit to what you can do every week.

I actually went to the expensive chiropractor today. I haven't been there in over 3 years. He was surprised to see me. He remembers me from when I was 230 pounds and the neurosurgeon wanted to take a disc out of my back. (that didn't happen). He was glad to see that I've continued to keep the weight off. I was glad that he wasn't terribly busy, in addition to my back being adjusted, he worked on my left arm. He did about 4 adjustments to the elbow trying to get that lined back up and then one for my shoulder. That arm/shoulder is the problem side that keeps me from doing pull ups. It always seems to end up with tendinitis. Last year it was the bicep, this year it's the forearm. Ah well, I can think of worse things to have.

Lastly, I was stuck in traffic for quite awhile today due to an accident. I got to listen to a ton of Led Zeppelin this morning as a result. This is the song that got the "rock block" goin'.

5K Race video / Some new recipes

I thought this video of the NYRR Coogan's 5K was put together quite nicely.
If you pause it as soon as it starts, 0:00 or 0:01. You can see me on the right quarter of the screen. White hat, Grey Shirt, about mid frame. Just to the left of the person with the orange vest.

I ran about 35-40 minutes Tuesday night. My hamstrings could still feel the race. Which I suppose isn't too surprising. I haven’t run hard in quite some time. Recovery is definitely something that’s on my mind this year. I don’t want a repeat of last fall’s ankle problem. I’ve been trying my best to stretch out after workouts. I’ll probably have to work massage back into the mix once the intensity is added back in.

I’ve really been enjoying the swim workouts now that I’m not dragging myself through the water. I still fall apart but I’m much more aware of what I’m doing. I think before I just had no clue as to what I needed to refocus on, to try and keep it together.

So running and swimming seem to be in a good place. Biking is still unknown. I’m hoping that I’ll be pleasantly surprised, once I’m finally off the trainer. (hopefully soon)

We’ve posted a couple new recipes on the tab at the top of the page.
One is a Veggie Burger, the other is for Brownies.

NYRR Coogans 5K in Washington Heights

Link to Results Page

Todd and I went into the city this morning to run the 5K. This race was way uptown 168^th street. We haven’t been up this way before so we left early. Good thing, the GPS initially put us on East 168^th Street even tho’ we programmed West. So we lost 10-15 minutes with that. Because of the mistake, we drove by Yankee’s Stadium, which I’ve never seen before, so that was cool. (yeah, been here since '93 and haven't been to a Yankees game, go figure)

Parking is always an adventure. We found parking about 13 blocks from the start. We ended up jogging to the start as our warm-up. Once we got over there, we had just enough time to do a few striders. These short fast efforts help me get out of the gate quicker. I didn’t have to use the first mile as a warm-up today.

Saturday was a tough 2500m swim, 1:40:00 bike then weight lifting and I’ve done no speed work so I wasn’t sure what to expect from myself this morning. Also it’s 50 degrees and raining… I decided 7:30 min/mile would be a good goal. I was also hoping that by starting 7:30 pace, I wouldn’t blow up. The idea here is to get a baseline. This would not be a Heart Rate run tho’. We are going to RUN today! 23:18 or better is the goal.

Todd and I started in the same corral today. Because we did our warmup and got to the corral late (5 minutes to go) they had already compressed the corrals. (not sure why they bother to do this, it’s unnecessary). So we packed into our corral as best we could. Plenty of people with slower numbers mixed in with us. Probably not going to be an issue for me but Todd is going to have to fight for his pace in the first mile or so.

Horn sounds and we are off. I’m not even sure I could see Todd 60 seconds into the race. I kept peeking at my watch for pace info, I have zero feel for my speed right now, the watch is going to be helpful today. There is a bit of a hill and I’m reminded that I need to start doing my hill runs soon! I was not strong on the hills today as you can see on the graph.

There were 5370 runners today and yes it was crowded but the corrals definitely make a difference. I did very little dodging around today. A mile into the race, I felt that the pack had established itself. The hills provided opportunities but overall it was a good running environment. I’m sure as you go back further in the pack they might not agree.

I missed the mile mark but I was fairly confident that I was 7:30ish. Mile marker 2 I caught and my lap time was 14:34. Good deal, that inspired me to keep powering up the hill. I eventually stopped looking at my watch on the inclines. I wasn’t going to be able to stay at 7:30 pace on those… Make up for it on the descents!

I cross the finish in 22:32. 7:16 pace, much better than the 7:30 I had expected. Heck my best NYRR run was a 7:13 pace. (6:46 is the PR). I’m glad to see that I’m already running nearly as well as I did at any point last year. I feel I have plenty of room to improve. I’m hoping to see those results at the May races.

I’m not sure what to think about my HR. I think it’s too early to read into that at all. I just figured I’d post it for future reference.

Blue is pace

Red is Heart Rate

Brown is elevation

click graph to enlarge

Patience

My patience has returned. A couple weeks ago I couldn’t lose weight fast enough, I couldn’t wait for speed work to begin, for warm weather…. And so on. I’ve chilled back out. Now I’m back to the mindset, stay on track and let things fall into place.

It’s likely there are a few reasons for this. The first is the diet. Being impatient and turning up the willpower definitely got the scale moving downward again, so that’s good. Being stressed about a self imposed deadline, not so good. I’ve got to chill about the time frame and just focus on keeping the willpower strong. I’m not that far behind schedule.

The swim lesson definitely helped. I really didn’t know where I was with my racing fitness. Everything I’ve done lately has been slow. Knocking out a PR out of nowhere built back up the confidence that the Mark Allen training program is having an effect. The lesson also has me moving through the water better. I feel that I’m spending more time swimming with good form than I had been. It had been quite frustrating only to have that good form once every week or so.

I’m starting to see the Heart Rate training effects during my runs as well. My pace has increased and I also think that my recovery HR time has quickened. (I realize I’m running slowly). It’s just that when I stop at a light, I’ll look down at my watch and I’m surprised at how low it is after just 10 seconds or so.

My biggest concern in terms of running is preparing for the hills. Both Columbia and Mooseman have some hills to contend with. I plan on adding some of my old hill runs to the mix now that it’s not so icy around here.

If there is anything I’m still left wondering about, it’s the bike. Some things have fallen into place already. The Chain Catcher and the adjusted derailleur (3^rd time was a charm) have relieved that I’m not going to be dropping the chain multiple times during a race, or even more concerning, in traffic during a training ride.

I also installed my speedfil hydration system. I guess I can’t give it much of a review until I’m out on the road with it. I already like the fact I’ve got a hands free system. I’ll be able to keep my eyes on the road. I won’t drop my water bottle. There definitely won’t be a bottle launch or splashing when I hit rough road. (Maybe my legs will get splashed a bit?) All good stuff.

I still have a list of concerns tho’. I really think my shoes are too tight. Enough so that I’m wondering how I didn’t notice this last year. Have my feet changed that much in a year? Not sure what’s up there, unfortunately shoes aren’t cheap. Also you don’t get a ton of selection in the triathlon specific department. (Which may not be a concern). Also I’m questioning my cleat position. I’ve already moved the cleat on my right shoe. I’m not sure how much I’m going to mess with it because I also wonder if the fact that they are so tight that it’s playing a part… ugh! Hopefully I get this figured out. I really don’t want to end up with overuse injuries that could have been avoided by a simple adjustment.

Last is the saddle. I’m not sure any saddle is good when you are indoors on the trainer. I’d like to think when you get one that feels good indoors it’s going to be awesome outdoors but I’m not sure that’s true.

The two saddles I have right now, neither has a cut out. (Genine is using the Adamo). I’ve gotta switch to the other saddle for a week. If it’s more of the same, I need to order up a couple saddles to try out. More on that later.

Indoor Tri results

Well, the first Tri of the year for me was near perfect!! On my 41st birthday, I WON my first triathlon ever ( and very likely the last).

The guy who won the last 2 years did not come to the race this year, or I would have easily been second. But ,... let's focus on the positive:

The race goes on straight distance,...15 min for swim, 15 for bike and 15 for run. 5 minute transitions for each change. Thus the swim is negligible even for the great swimmers. Most distance is from the bike and I've been training harder than ever in that category.

I swam 575 to 585 yards in 15 min- A 15% improvement from last year.
I biked on the recumbent bike 6.41 miles- a 10% improvement. and
I ran 2.066 miles on the treadmill.- A decrease of 10%.

By plan, my goal was to work as hard as humanly possible on the bike knowing fully that my run would suffer. But even a reduced run would not be reduced by the amount of the improved bike. And it worked, I gained a little of .5 miles on the bike and lost a little less than .2 on the run. Thus a net improvement. The downside was that the run treadmill almost saw a stomach reaction that I did not want to see rotating on the belt. They did not have any barf bags available so I had to decrease the speed a couple of times to prevent this from happening.

50+ participants- A very, very rewarding day!!! Total distance 8.8 miles.

Swim Lesson

Last night Genine and I went to our first swim lesson of the year. I've been dying to get this rolling. I haven't had feedback regarding my swim technique since May of last year. (I think.) My longest swim workout since my return from the ankle injury in November has been 2500m. I have definitely been questioning my swim volume. I suppose that's a good sign. I must finally feel like I'm ready for more. I know I didn't feel this way back in December.

I feel like my swimming is very on and off. Meaning that there are times when I get into the pool and I feel like I’m doing everything right. But the majority of the time, I feel like I’m working way harder than those days when I am ON.

Of course swimming is largely form/technique so I guess this makes sense. If I apply this to other sports that rely on form/technique I guess I see the same thing. Basketball for example, I can remember times when everything I threw towards the hoop would go in. Same with golf, there are those rare days when everything would go just as you saw it in your head. Those are fun days. To make those days happen more often you need to practice good technique as much as possible. Which is why we are taking the lessons. I really didn’t know what I was doing wrong, so the practices had lost focus in terms of technique. Obviously just getting the laps/distance in builds swim fitness but technique is where it's at.

Going into these lessons I always have a bunch of questions that I think that I need to have answered. Then I get there and realize I don’t have to work that hard at finding answers.

He hasn’t seen us in 10 months so he has us swim 50yds to take a look at us. I finish and he immediately tells me I’m breathing late and quickly explains what he means by that and then I’m off to try it on another 50. Then it’s the hand entry, then it’s the pull and so on. I’m always so impressed with how he sees these things but even more importantly, he explains the how to correct it and how it fits into the big picture.

When I get back home after these lessons, I always have to write down all the things he’s told me. I guess it’s because I have so many things wrong, the list is long. Ha ha!

He had asked us what our times were at the beginning of the lesson. Neither of us have really timed ourselves in a long time so….. At the end of the lesson he wanted to find out. We did 2 25s fast with some rest, then a 50 with some rest. Then it was time to go all out on a 100.

There is no clock at this pool and I’m usually in a meter pool so the numbers would be meaningless to me anyhow. I take off and because it’s only 100yd I know I just have to try to leave the throttle wide open. When I hit the wall for the first 50, I think to myself that I have to push hard and try not to fall off horribly during the second 50. I finish and look up to see the coach writing splits on the board. He looks at me and says that he can’t believe that I negative split the 2^nd 50 by 2 seconds. Then asks what time I thought I’d finish in. I said I had no expectations because it had been so long since I’ve tried and that because it’s a yard pool it’s even more unknown to me. Well I finished in 1:16. I instantly tried to remember what the math is from yards to meters. Decided that doing math in the pool is not my strong point and left it alone. I’ll figure it out later.

Well it’s later and I finally figured it out. I believe my PR 100m from 12 months ago or more was 1:30/100m which would equal 1:22/100yd. 1:16 is obviously better, and was totally unexpected. I wish we did this test before we started the lesson. I think his instruction shaved off a good chunk of time during that hour. I wouldn’t be surprised it if would have been as much as 10 seconds. I’m not joking. During my workouts lately my 100yd times typically start at 1:41 and fall off (significantly) from there.

Anyhow, that right there was a pleasant surprise. I may not be able to repeat the feat anytime soon, but now I know that is in me. (without having done much (any?) speed work). Sadly I don’t think there is a 100yd triathlon swim anywhere. I’ve now got a bunch of work to do to try and pull off the pace he calculated for our miles.

I'm glad to be getting some instruction again!

Chain Catcher / Do helmets expire?

I took my bike back to the shop on Monday to have them work on the front derailleur. This is the 2nd time this shop has worked on it. I took it to one other shop since their first adjustment.

What's funny/frustrating is they get my bike onto the stand and as they look at it they say, "That is a funky chain line you have going on there." I think to myself, "Wouldn't you be responsible for that? Seeing how you re-cabled the bike when it was last in and then adjusted both derailleurs?" Maybe I'm missing something here as I'm not the best bike tech out there.
Anyhow, I show him the K-Edge chain catcher that I brought with me to have installed. I explain to him that of course I'd like to have the front derailleur adjusted so that this is an unnecessary piece of equipment but at the moment my confidence in the shifting is zero. This would give me some piece of mind. Not only has the chain been dropping but shifting up to the big ring has been ugly too. Thus my frustration.
He works on adjusting it on the stand for a bit but then eventually says it would be easier for him to install the catcher if he took it to the back room to work on it. 10 minutes later he's back with everything adjusted and installed. He tells me it's shifting really well now. Unfortunately their trainer was in use, so I couldn't hop on to try it out under load. So I crossed my fingers and headed for home.
Last night I had a 80 minute ride on the trainer with a bunch of shift changes. No drops! And stepping up to the big ring is soooo much better. It's probably as good as I can expect. I just need to readjust my feel for the shifting now that it's working properly.
I finally feel that my dread of shifting on this bike is going to go away. Of course I'm a bit disappointed that I couldn't manage the adjustments on my own but that's how it goes. Until I work at a bike shop making those adjustments every day and learning from a pro, I'll be spending the money when adjusting the trims just isn't enough. (hopefully I'm set for a good long while now)

While I was at the bike shop I also wanted to try on helmets. My helmet is old and I keep hearing people say that they lose their effectiveness with age. Which, when I think about it, makes sense. Especially with a model like mine which is 99% foam. It's going to get brittle with age along with heat (leaving it in a hot car) and light deterioration (normal use).

If I'm going to buy a helmet, I figure I'd like to consider upgrading to something that allows for a ton of airflow to keep me cool. So I started at the top and tried on the Giro Ionos. As soon as I put it on, I thought, "My current helmet is crap". Why? Because of the lack of fit adjustment and such. Obviously there are many other helmets that have the nice fit adjustments, it's just that I've never worn one. This helmet feels like it would stay on your head in a crash, whereas my current one, I'm not so sure.
The second thing that came to mind is just how huge the vents are in this helmet! Seeing it in the pictures didn't give me enough appreciation for how big these vents are. One of the main reasons I'm really not that interested in an areo helmet is the lack of air. I sweat... buckets. These are the types of vents I'm looking for. Obviously this is a spendy helmet. What else is out there?
I then tried on the Bell Volt. $65 less MSRP than the Ionos which is considerable in my opinion. I felt that it fit equally as well. Venting also looked to be very good.
I didn't buy either of them, they both very nice options. I'll make a decision on that soon.

Training and the eating plan are both on track. I've been thinking about my base training and I've been feeling that maybe the volume has been a little low. That may be a good thing. Err on the side of caution rather than doing too much right? I'm probably just feeling this way because I'm itching to start the build for race season. I'm sure I'm not the only one out there feeling this way.

Lastly, is anyone going to the Endurance Expo down near Philly this weekend?

Added some run races

I was on the NYRR website looking at race options between now and mid May.
Here is what made my list.

March 6th Coogan's Salsa, Blues, and Shamrocks 5K
March 18th Volunteer for the NYC Half Marathon (credit for 2012 NYC marathon)
March 27th New York Colon Cancer Challenge 15K
April 10th Scotland Run (10K)
May 8th Japan Run (4M)
May 14th UAE Healthy Kidney 10K

There will likely be another 4 miler in April. I'm just not sure which one.

The March races I don't have high expectations for those.
By April I should be able to turn up the suffer meter and they will be speed workouts.
Then in May I expect to be racing. I'm very curious to see what my speed will be. Hopefully they will be confidence boosters leading into Columbia and Mooseman.

Quick Update

This will be pretty random. I'm just not finding the time to post lately.

I heard about a 1 mile or 2.4 mile swim that is happening at Spruce Run in Clinton NJ the weekend of May 7-8. I can't find anything about it online tho', which is frustrating. I want to sign up for the mile, it would be a good practice swim for Columbia & Mooseman. Water will probably still be cold enough for me to try out the swim cap I bought to put under my race cap. There are times that the Mooseman swim is cold enough to give you a good brain freeze. I figure it's probably a good idea to give this a shot. Especially if it's a cold day for the bike.
EDIT: Here is a link to the JackRabbit Jerseyman Open Water Swim at Spruce Run May 7th.
3 events .6, 1.2 and 2.4 mile

Last week as I was parallel parking the car out front, I pulled the front tire into the snow (ice) bank a bit and it completely flatted the tire. It pushed the tire off the rim. Fortunately it didn't cause any damage to the tire, I just had to take it in to be reseated. (free because I buy all my tires at Costco)

I dropped 2 pounds during the first week of this new plan. If you watch the biggest loser, it doesn't sound very impressive. As much as I'd like to think I can power through these last 10 pounds or so and make it happen in a hurry. I have to realize 2 pounds every week would be terrific. (I'll be happy with 1 every week)
As expected the low carb thing really evens out my highs and lows through the day. Which means I'm not in search of food in between meals. I'm feeling pretty good about it all. I only bonked during one of my workouts. The others aren't necessarily my best but I'm in my HR zones and that's all I need to do right now.
The one thing I'm still slacking on is food tracking. I manage breakfast and lunch well but then I figure I don't need to write down dinner because, well, I know it's not going to put me over. So what's the point of figuring it all out? I need to start doing this so if I stall, I can look to see what I can modify. Also it's a good habit for when I start changing my diet again.


I found the Polar 625x's (HR watches) selling on ebay used for good prices so I picked up a couple of them. I spent a bunch of time messing around with setting them up. It's been awhile since I've used the software and there have been some updates. I figure it will be nice to have some of these charts to see the progress. (for those days when you don't think there has been any).
So it's typically set to capture speed from the front fork of the bike. Well, I'd like to start picking up some data from my trainer rides now. So I rigged up my bike so it's reading off the back wheel. I just had to put the watch under my seat, that way it's close enough to pickup the speed.
I had my other watch on my wrist for HR, that is until the battery died. I'll send that in for a battery swap this week, Genine's as well. Once they get back, all our watches will have new batteries and will be set for the year. The extra watches will also mean we can leave one attached on the bike during the race. Much easier to see it on the aerobars than on your wrist while riding. And Ruth will appreciate that I won't have to mess with it in transition.

I had ordered a Tri jersey and when it arrived it was the wrong one. So when I sent it back instead of asking for a refund, I changed my order to a Speedfil. I've read good things and bad things about this system. I like the concept of it and figured it's worth giving it a shot. I've been considering figuring out a pair of bottle holders behind my seat as well. For the Half Iron, I've been thinking about having one with flat Coke in it. I'll have to try it out on my long training rides. Caffeine and calories in a hurry. Also if the speedfil fails, at least I'll have a place to put bottles from the aid station.

The chain on my Cervelo still drops often. I'm hoping to get to the bike shop tomorrow to have them install the Chain Catcher. I was a bit hesitant about this idea at first but when I was at the bike shop the last time, many of the guys there say they have them on their cyclocross bikes. Also they said they would work with me to get the derailleur "tuning" better.

I finally put 2 and 2 together and realized that my swim workouts have always felt rough because I've been doing my weight training the night before my swim. I'm now moving it to the same day as my swim but after going to the pool. Hopefully that will allow me to hold better form longer.

Not too long ago I said my ankle has not been a issue. Naturally as soon as I say that, it reminds me that it's still there. So I've got to get back on track with my ankle exercises. While I was at it, I went looking for some other things that I consider weaknesses of mine. This is what I found.

Exercises for Hips and Glutes.
Clam Shell exercises for Gluteus Medius.

That's what's up.

Follow up to my last post.

In response to Dawn's comment in the previous post. I started typing it as a comment then it just got out of hand.

This is a short-term diet to shed the weight, I shouldn't be on it long enough that it will give me issues.

I know that once I lose the weight and I go back to eating normally, and I’ll have to keep track of calories to keep the weight off. I’m hoping that part will be easier than the diet. It should be.

I also should have been more specific about the diet. I called it Atkins just because I figured everyone was familiar with the low carb thing. Here is a rough outline. I’m guessing this might fit any number of “diet plans” out there.

Week one is about forcing the body to go into fat burn.

Breakfast: Grapefruit and Eggs

Lunch: Raw Veggies and Lean Protein

Dinner: Raw Veggies and lean Protein

Snacks, more of the same.

Second week if the weight is falling off, you can add some steamed veggies and various types of nuts.

Third week, if you are still losing, you get to add a fruit or 2 to the mix.

Depending on how the weight is falling off, I’ll either be done with this, or I’ll repeat parts of it if necessary. They go on to explain a long term plan and there's really nothing wrong with it, it's just I know I'm not going to be on it long term.

So why am I doing this rather than just calorie restriction? Because I'm familiar with it and it was successful for me in the past. It's likely successful because I can manage significantly large calorie restriction and not go crazy.

I believe we did this for about 6 or 7 months back in 2001 (maybe longer, I'm not sure). I don’t have cravings on this diet. That is the key. I also remember having very steady energy all the time. (I wasn’t working out then tho’). Once I adapted (finished week 1) I felt very normal.

The difference this time around is I’m working out 6 days a week, I’m 45 pounds lighter to start, I already eat a fairly low glycemic diet, and I don’t consume artificial sweeteners or any soda. So it’s not as much as a shock to the system and there isn’t as much easy weight to lose.

I also don’t have a problem doing this because I’m not eating anything that’s unhealthy. It does lack variety so taking vitamins is important.

I’m also not concerned about having perfect workouts right now. I ran out of power on the bike last night. I just didn't have the calories. So I only finished 80% of the workout. I’m fine with that. Once I’m done with the diet, it should be worth it.

I should have taken a picture of the salad I made for dinner yesterday. It was massive. Cukes, red pepper, sweet pepper, tomato, bean sprouts, avocado, olives, with 4 or more types of greens, topped with grilled chicken and balsamic vinegar.

I already eat that salad several times (4-5x) a week anyhow. So I’m really not adding anything new, I’m just temporarily eliminating this stuff: fruit, sweet potatoes, beans oatmeal, sprouted wheat bread, natural peanut butter, cheese, milk,. And the bad stuff: Cliff Bars the occasional beer, sharing a piece of cake at the diner on the weekend….

I figure I’ll be doing this for 3 weeks, maybe more. I’ll just see how it goes. (would love for it to be over quickly but that is unlikely)

Time to drop more weight

I’ve been doing a terrible job maintaining the calorie deficit needed to slowly lose the weight. I’m not gaining but unfortunately my goal weight keeps falling further away from me. I’m 3 pounds behind schedule. That doesn’t sound like much but I’d like to be ahead of this curve instead of behind it. Yes, I’m being impatient at the moment but I also think I’m in the right mindset to take on a more aggressive diet for a while. (We will see if that’s true). So I’m going to an old plan that worked for me back in 2001 when I weighed 230 pounds. I’m curious to see how well it works starting at 184 pounds. It’s a modified Atkins diet and it’s supposed to be one that you don’t count anything but carbs. (Making sure you keep it low). This worked great at 230lbs but I plan on tracking calories and my carb/fat/protein this time. I want to know the ratios and know how it affects my workouts. Also you need to maintain a calorie deficit to drop the weight even if it says don’t concern yourself with a calorie count.

Our swim lesson was canceled because there was a swim meet at the pool. Now I have to wait 3 weeks until the next one. Another late start to my swim lessons this year… kind of frustrating. Maybe this will work out for the best. We should have 3 lessons before my build plan starts and at least 2 after.

My lungs are still not 100%. If I have another illness between now and the race season, I’ll get to the doctor quick for antibiotics. It’s a drag to not be 100% for weeks on end.

Not very exciting but that’s what’s up.

Central Park NYRR Gridiron Classic 4 miler.

2011 Results can be found here.

I wasn’t sure how this was going to go. My lungs were still not clear from the cold I’ve had the last 2 weeks. Fortunately, I was going to have company during the run. Todd usually starts in the front corral but he ran the Miami Marathon last weekend. So we decided today would be an easy effort.

The walking paths were very very icy. Getting around before the race was slow and dangerous. Yet it was sunny and 41 degrees with very little wind, so a nice day to run. Genine was our photographer for the day.

Because it was Superbowl Sunday they asked people to wear football jerseys. I was wearing a Bruce Smith jersey. There were only 1 comment all day. As I was walking through the baggage claim at the start, someone yelled Bruuuuuuce!

We started back in the 4000-5000 corral, which meant it was plenty crowded on the run. No problem, we didn’t even do a warm-up. The warm-up will be the first couple miles. It always surprises me to see just how rough of a go it is without a warm-up. Here’s the graph.

First mile 9:50

Second mile 8:55

Third mile 8:40

Fourth mile 7:16

My watch/footpod is out of calibration. It measured the race at 3.9 miles and typically it is spot on. So the first 3 miles were probably a bit faster and the last mile a bit slower. My watch hasn’t been working in so long, I forgot to hit splits at the mile markers. I had to add them in using the software.

I’m pleased with the effort. Considering the fact I haven’t run outside in a month and that I’m still recovering from a chest cold, I was glad it wasn’t a sufferfest.

34:37 or 8:39 min/mile.

I realize it’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything impressive. No PRs. Not even a race where I go into it trying for one. Where is my motivation coming from? How can I possibly be optimistic about the upcoming season? Well there are a few things I can think of.

My left heel: I had been dealing with Plantar Fasciitis, for what was probably a year or more, it has not been an issue. Will it come back when I start pushing harder? I hope not.

My right ankle: Last fall I was seriously concerned that the sprain I gave myself training for the marathon last year could have been the end of running for me. Now I don’t even think about it.

Mark Allen Online: I often question whether I am doing enough. When I start to doubt myself, I figure I’ll never know how it’s going to turn out unless I follow the plan as closely as possible. I have a feeling I’ll be doing plenty once the race prep schedule starts in 8 weeks.

I can also look to many of the people that have followed his plan and had great success. If I even capture a part of what they have learned and accomplished following the plan. I will be happy.

Looking forward to race day: I love race days. I never would have guessed how much I would enjoy the events. I can't wait to get back into the water for a swim start. I only got to swim at one triathlon last summer!! When I line up for Columbia in May, it will have been a full year between swim starts. Too long!

Anyhow, motivation isn't a problem. If anything is going to get into my head it's going to be my swimming. Last Sunday I had an amazing swim, it felt like I had it all figured out. My 3 swims since then? All garbage... so frustrating! I wonder how much of that great swim can be attributed to a full week of no biking or running?

This Thursday is our first swim lesson of the year with Coach Q. I think I'm arriving to him slower than last year but with fewer problems. (sounds strange but I think it's true). I know he will help me out. Not only is he good at spotting the problems, he's really good at communicating what it is you need to do to change. Should be fun.

NYC Marathon, take 2.

I registered for the NYC Marathon today. I’m guaranteed a spot from the NYRR 9+1 program. So now the trick is to get to the starting line this year.

Last year I obviously over trained and under recovered in preparation for the race and injured my ankle. I think I was hoping to have a really good marathon to make up for the lack of triathlons last year. Well this year I think my marathon goal won’t be so aggressive. I have a feeling it will be a go out and have fun kind of race. (if marathons can be fun). I guess I'm also assuming my triathlons will go better than last year.

I haven’t run or biked in a week. My sinuses and lungs are still messed up which is frustrating. Very frustrating. I have done my weight lifting and I’ve been in the pool twice.

Oddly enough the swimming has been pretty fantastic in terms of technique. My swim today was 2500. The last set was 2x400. Typically the first 100 goes well then the next 300 is a sufferfest. Today I could have kept going and my balance was as good as it’s been in a long long time. It felt like I was climbing a ladder. The timing was all there. Smoooooth. I can only hope that it sticks around. I’ve been working very hard at staying relaxed and not fighting for speed. Just take what’s there and focus on the form. Efficiency and form, Timberman is a long way off, no need to be fast now.

It would be great to show up for our swim lesson and actually feel like I’m going in better than where I left off last year. That wasn’t going to be the case a month ago. It’s nice to see some progress.

I know we just bought tri bikes, but I’ve been spending quite a bit of time researching fun off road bikes. I’ll definitely be checking out 29ers at some point. Genine may end up with a mountain bike unless the women’s specific frame on a 29er is small enough. We had her stand over a 15.5” trek 29er and it was too big. The guys at the shop were explaining that at her size she may not get much of the advantages of a 29er anyhow. We will have to do a bit more digging around to see what’s out there. She’s been happy with Michelle’s Cannondale the last 2 Tangos, so as long as it’s something along that line. She will be happy.

Speaking of Tango, it's probably a good time to see what people are thinking about doing for this year's Tango. I'm still only looking to be part of a relay. With Timberman on the schedule, I'm not going to do more than 2 events at the Tango.

Falling down

I had a short run scheduled Friday night. I was going to run it on the dreadmill again because I have no interest in taking a fall on the ice and breaking something. I’m not home during daylight hours on weekdays. But first I have to stop at Costco and do some shopping. Naturally almost everything I buy is packaged huge. I go home and unload the car. My final trip to the basement turns into a TRIP. I guess wet boots and my stairs, equaled zero friction. I slid down the stairs on my back. It’s pretty amazing how quickly you get to the basement if you don’t use the stairs properly. It’s a shame I didn’t have my HR monitor on, I think I would have found out what my max HR really is. All I could think was, what did I break? Right triceps are sore. Right glute took a massive hit. Left hand and wrist was hit by an 8 pack of progresso soup. Left elbow tried to catch a stair on the way down. How the back of my head escaped being struck on the way down is surprising to me.

I caught my breath and got up and found nothing was broken. Phew! Genine wasn’t home. Is it odd that what came to mind was the necklace button/pager they give to the elderly when they’ve fallen and can’t get up. Seriously! That was painful and more than a little scary.

Well that nixed the evening run. I figured I’d better wait and see how this is going to feel the next day before doing anything.

Saturday was a long bike. Fortunately the bruise on my glute was higher up than my sit bones so it was not an issue. My right calf and foot always seems to be an issue for me while biking. I spent a bunch of time focusing on what I might be doing differently than my left. It’s possible that I push more toe down on my right so I tried to focus on that. I also decided to order another set of cleats to put onto my older bike shoes. That pair is a bit wider and may be a better fit.

The funniest part about the ride was this. I have the front derailleur set so the chain will rub in the small chain ring on the innermost rear cogs, so the chain doesn’t drop. Well I hit the finish time, gear down for a cool down and… the chain drops. The K-Edge chain catcher did arrive this week. I just haven’t taken the time to try an install it yet. Honestly, I’d prefer not to use this thing but if it works, it’s going to be well worth it.

Sunday: Long swim day. (relative). I can feel where my right triceps took a hit. The short stuff went well. My pacing on descends is improving. I also focused on my exhalations. It’s funny that I seem to breathe well on race day, but when I train I often hold my breath. Reading this article helped me make this a priority today. The last set was an 800 and I was struggling. When I got out of the pool, my muscles were aching, especially up around my neck. I didn’t think too much of it.

I go home and watch part of the Bears/Packers game on TiVo. I get bored and head up to the dreadmill for a 60 minute run. It was an easy run but my breathing wasn’t feeling all that great. I had to really focus on it to keep my HR down.

I get a shower, make some dinner, start watching the Steelers game on the TiVo. It wasn’t too much longer before I realized I was burning a fever. That would explain the muscle ache.

I wake up the next morning and I realize I’ve got the flu. Sweats one minute, chills the next. The muscle ache was pretty bad. It’s times like this when you realize just how awesome being in good health really is. Tuesday was somewhat better but not much. Wednesday was less with the chills, more with the respiratory infection. Muscinex gets added to the mix along with frequent netipot use. Here it is Thursday and we are buried under 12+ inches of heavy snow. My fever kicks in if I don’t netipot often enough to keep the sinus infection in check. Maybe I should just go to the doctor now that the flu is gone and an antibiotic would actually be effective on the respiratory infection. I know the drill tho’. I’d go and they would say has it been a week? If no, then they tell me to come back next week if it’s still a problem and they will prescribe something then. (Or I lie and tell them it’s been over a week).

Obviously I’ve missed a few days of workouts. It may end up being 5 or 6. I think this bothers me less now that I have a training schedule. I know I’ll be able to pick up where I left off and it won’t take that long to get back on track.

If I were in the build part of my schedule, I might not feel this way. If I broke something falling down the stairs, I’d be much further behind so I’m not going to sweat it.

Also, I finally got my IR receiver working with my PC software on my mac. Which means I finally downloaded my Columbia and Mooseman race information from my watch. Pretty un-spectactular. The good news is I’ll be back at both those races again very soon.

Bree Wee Fans

Rev 3 has a phone in tonight at 8PM EST with special guest Bree Wee.
Yoga was canceled tonight so Genine will be home.
Kind of late notice but here is the link.