Well, it's been a while hasn't it. Three long years and five longer months as I can honestly now tell you that I think I am in the worst shape of my life.
I haven't done a run of any length since the Spring, I haven't been on my bike since around Christmas, and the only swimming I've done is splashing around the pool or lake on my extended summer vacation... which is where it all went wrong. Sort of.
You see, I was doing P90x, the well known workout series from Tony Horton. I was doing it well, also, moving through the discs at the prescribed speed, eating well, and then April came. I'm not sure if it is the craziest month of travel in my life -- I've had some crazy ones, but this one was extreme. London, Bucharest, Mexico City, all within one month and all on separate trips. Throw in a weekend trip to Minnesota and some May midweek travel throughout the Southwest, and the workouts disappeared. Then, as we contemplate moving to the Bay Area, I got bogged down with the end of the school year and one of the busiest (and most profitable) work months of my life -- all of which led to poorer eating and less exercise.
June came and we were off to Minnesota. The entire reason to take my family to the Upper Midwest for the month was to bring them with family so that I could travel to Nashville and Pittsburgh and have someone look after the kids. The end result, especially when an eight day trip "to the lake" and six total days of driving a minivan from CA to MN and back, was a complete and utter derailment of the workout plan.
Oh, and I got fat. I've never been small -- my playing weight in college was 206 and after college anywhere from 212-215. My weight has hovered in the 230-250 range for the past few years, some of which time I was in a pretty good position to run a triathlon or a half-marathon. Yesterday I stepped on the scale and chimed in at 258. The mirror doesn't lie. When I was 225, I could fool those guys at the carnival who would guess I was 195. Now, they'll say I'm 250 and they'd be right.
Thankfully, I've already committed myself to a new workout plan and this blog is part of keeping my promise. The short-term goals are more modest than they've ever been -- all the better to prevent injury. The long-term goals, however, haven't changed. It's to run an Ironman and, who knows, get the Ironman tattoo.
Ahhh, but the medium term goals are the most interesting. You see, I'll be 40 in exactly four months. I want to continue my modest training plan for a month, then do the full on P90x "lean" set for the following 90 days and see where I am on November 15. I still have to circumnavigate some travel: London in August, Montreal and Buenos Aires in September, etc., but I'm motivated once again and hopefully can modify to my travel.
SO, today was day four. Modest as I say: 30 minutes of plyometrics (the most challenging workout P90x has to offer -- cannot get through the whole thing yet), followed by 1/4 mile run at 9:00 pace. It sounds like nothin' and it's not much, but it's 35 minutes of heart rate increase. I'll ramp it up in short order and you're welcome to join me for the ride.
Talk to you soon... who knows? ,Maybe even tomorrow.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Heal, Boy, Heal... Good Boy.
This has been a good week. I haven't set any personal best times, haven't once climbed onto my bike (although I have at the gym), and I've avoided the pool.
But, man, oh man, do I feel good.
When Matt Fitzgerald wrote his "training bible" that distance athletes the world over swear by, it's fair to say he never recommended taking a week off from heavy training, especially in the build phase. But he did contemplate being severely injured or sick -- and has said that the time off should be seen as an opportunity rather than a failure. You don't have to tell me twice!
You see the ear infection and back injury of the last few weeks reached their crest last Friday night -- shortly after my last blog entry, in fact. My eardrum perforated and my back tweaked one last time as I sat at the urgent care center at 6:30 am on Saturday morning.
Five days of antibiotics later, I'm not even sure I could point to the spot in my back that hurt (although every once in awhile I know EXACTLY where it is) and, while it seems slow, I know my ear is healing. But what has happened is I have been banned from the pool (obviously) and, taken in combination with my wife's four month move three hours north (yes, the kids are staying with me -- at least until the Princess is out of school), I basically took the week off. The entire family has a trip up to Alaska from tomorrow morning through Monday to see family and then I'll hit the ground running on Tuesday.
The best part is that I feel fresh, fresh, fresh. I have hit the gym bike for a couple of hour-long workouts and I feel like I have a new set of legs. An hour is not seven, to be sure, but all the muscles are healed and ready to attack. The swim? Well, as I have said, I was ahead of pace in terms of conditioning there, so I trust I could hop back in next week and feel my Wheaties there as well -- if not, I still have 14 weeks, not to mention another week off (heal, part II!) as the Lovely Wife and I head to New Zealand in late May for a long anticipated vacation alone as a couple. The two uncompromising months that are to come (June and July) will be there -- I've built a base, and will continue to, and then I'll work myself out to a silly degree.
Sound good? I'm glad you're convinced -- I'm right there with you... I think. :-)
But, man, oh man, do I feel good.
When Matt Fitzgerald wrote his "training bible" that distance athletes the world over swear by, it's fair to say he never recommended taking a week off from heavy training, especially in the build phase. But he did contemplate being severely injured or sick -- and has said that the time off should be seen as an opportunity rather than a failure. You don't have to tell me twice!
You see the ear infection and back injury of the last few weeks reached their crest last Friday night -- shortly after my last blog entry, in fact. My eardrum perforated and my back tweaked one last time as I sat at the urgent care center at 6:30 am on Saturday morning.
Five days of antibiotics later, I'm not even sure I could point to the spot in my back that hurt (although every once in awhile I know EXACTLY where it is) and, while it seems slow, I know my ear is healing. But what has happened is I have been banned from the pool (obviously) and, taken in combination with my wife's four month move three hours north (yes, the kids are staying with me -- at least until the Princess is out of school), I basically took the week off. The entire family has a trip up to Alaska from tomorrow morning through Monday to see family and then I'll hit the ground running on Tuesday.
The best part is that I feel fresh, fresh, fresh. I have hit the gym bike for a couple of hour-long workouts and I feel like I have a new set of legs. An hour is not seven, to be sure, but all the muscles are healed and ready to attack. The swim? Well, as I have said, I was ahead of pace in terms of conditioning there, so I trust I could hop back in next week and feel my Wheaties there as well -- if not, I still have 14 weeks, not to mention another week off (heal, part II!) as the Lovely Wife and I head to New Zealand in late May for a long anticipated vacation alone as a couple. The two uncompromising months that are to come (June and July) will be there -- I've built a base, and will continue to, and then I'll work myself out to a silly degree.
Sound good? I'm glad you're convinced -- I'm right there with you... I think. :-)
Friday, April 17, 2009
To $*&% and Back... In One Week.
When last I left you, I was just over a cold and ready for a challenging weekend pair of workouts -- 3000 yards in the water and 3:30 (60+ miles) on the bike.
I did it.
The swim went really, really well to be honest. It was a cold (by San Diego standards -- 55?), rainy day and, in keeping with trying to simulate race day, I decided to wear my wetsuit for the swim. Sure I gave off the appearance of a sea lion as I slinked into the water wrapped in neoprene, but the amount of confidence it gives you to cover significant distances in a wetsuit is immeasurable.
To be honest, swimming in a wetsuit is a double-edged sword. Sure, the 77 degree water feels that much warmer and you fatigue a bit quicker -- not to mention that your arms feel just a touch leaden after awhile of pulling such a thick surface through the water over and over. But it's also VERY buoyant, slick, and the rubber actually serves to restore energy to tired leg muscles -- or so they say.
In this particular instance, I believe them -- after all, I swam the 3000 yards in just under an hour. For me, that is Michael Phelps fast! Considering my goal all along is to be changed, on my bike, and pedaling into the 112 mile bike leg no later than 1:45 into the race, being on pace for a swim under 1:30 makes that a delightfully real possibility. Sure, a pool is not a river and conditions are not accounted for, but I still think with 16 more weeks of training ahead of me, it's a very good possibility that I'll hit my target.
The next day on the bike also had its encouraging moments, most significantly all of the hill climbing I did and without having to overexert or get out of the saddle, a traditionally energy sapping maneuver. What I did do, though, was learn a tough lesson about nutrition. It was Easter morning (yes, it was a heretical decision to ride) so rather than set myself up correctly with energy drink, gels, etc., I spent more time getting the Easter basket ready, basking in my beautiful kids, and then slipping out with an eye to having lunch with them when I got back. The problem is that a bowl of oat bran flakes, a banana, a granola bar and one gel pack is just not enough to fuel nearly four hours of riding on a warm day over hilly terrain. More scientifically, those items are about 600 calories and a rider of my size (over 200 pounds) needs more like 300-400 calories an HOUR. Considering I also didn't replace my electrolytes adequately, by the time I rolled into Del Mar, only about two miles from home but with a SERIOUS half-mile climb at some 25% grade, I was done. My quads seized up, presumably from all of the lactic acid, and I started to feel light headed. There I was, having rolled 60 some miles, covering much of North San Diego county amongst the flowers, ocean communities, rolling hills, etc. (it truly was God's morning, irrespective of your religious preference), and I couldn't get home. In fact, I couldn't even walk the hill -- believe me, I tried and it nearly brought me to tears.
So, I pulled the emergency cord, called the Lovely Wife and (a bit embarrassingly) took the three minute ride home.
It certainly taught me an important lesson about nutrition -- not only do you need pure calories, you also need a good mix of carbohydrate energy and electrolyte replacement. Needless to say, I have spent the better part of this week sorting that out and hope not to be left hitting the wall again any time soon.
But that was just the start of my week -- actually, Sunday night into Monday I felt FANTASTIC. I felt good just a few minutes after returning home, actually. I took a shower, put on comfortable clothes and went to lunch with my family. I enjoyed the evening with my wife, watching the Amazing Race among other things, and then flew off to Seattle Monday morning to help a friend gain her citizenship. By the time I flew back Monday evening, settling into a free first-class upgrade, I was ready for a beer.
Then, shoe number two dropped. I woke up about two in the morning Tuesday with a splitting headache, a sore throat, and more sinus congestion than you could shake a stick at. The morning wasn't much better, but by noon I had a fever, incredible fatigue and, you guessed it, I removed my lunch from my system. A couple more of those later, and with fever ache that was radiating up into my kidneys and I overreacted a bit -- I called the Lovely Wife, dropped the kids off with the neighbors, and headed to the emergency room.
Long story short, I was mostly just a victim of a virus, but I also took in two bags of saline (the doctor said I was more electrolyte depleted than dehydrated) and made sure my bloodwork was okay -- which, thankfully, it was.
It's Friday now, and I think I have an ear infection, but I've been able to ride and swim this week -- I've taken it easy, mostly, but I thought it important to get back on the proverbial horse. For the second time in as many weeks, I was derailed by the compromise that Ironman training does on your immune system -- especially if you don't treat it with appropriate care. Sure enough, when I brought the Princess to preschool today, several kids were out with a virus that sounds just like mine -- so I'm not alone and it's not just the training. It's frustrating nonetheless.
I've also managed to order all of the necessary nutrition products this week. I've got glucose polymers to add to the energy drink I already had. I have liquid shots of carbohydrates and electrolytes (potassium, sodium, and sodium bicarbonate to stave off lactic acid buildup), as well as a couple of leads on tasty solid foods and gels to top it all off. I won't head out unprepared again, I can tell you that.
So, with all of that in tow, it's time for another "brick" workout on Sunday -- 2000 yards in the pool, jump out and ride for about 20 miles. Should seem relatively easy compared to last weekend and with a weekend trip to Alaska to visit my cousins planned for the following weekend, I think it will be a couple of weeks before I go 60+ miles again. I've got lots of time, I'm still nursing a back injury (somass muscle?), and my confidence is heading back in the right direction. I'll let you know if things change. :-)
I did it.
The swim went really, really well to be honest. It was a cold (by San Diego standards -- 55?), rainy day and, in keeping with trying to simulate race day, I decided to wear my wetsuit for the swim. Sure I gave off the appearance of a sea lion as I slinked into the water wrapped in neoprene, but the amount of confidence it gives you to cover significant distances in a wetsuit is immeasurable.
To be honest, swimming in a wetsuit is a double-edged sword. Sure, the 77 degree water feels that much warmer and you fatigue a bit quicker -- not to mention that your arms feel just a touch leaden after awhile of pulling such a thick surface through the water over and over. But it's also VERY buoyant, slick, and the rubber actually serves to restore energy to tired leg muscles -- or so they say.
In this particular instance, I believe them -- after all, I swam the 3000 yards in just under an hour. For me, that is Michael Phelps fast! Considering my goal all along is to be changed, on my bike, and pedaling into the 112 mile bike leg no later than 1:45 into the race, being on pace for a swim under 1:30 makes that a delightfully real possibility. Sure, a pool is not a river and conditions are not accounted for, but I still think with 16 more weeks of training ahead of me, it's a very good possibility that I'll hit my target.
The next day on the bike also had its encouraging moments, most significantly all of the hill climbing I did and without having to overexert or get out of the saddle, a traditionally energy sapping maneuver. What I did do, though, was learn a tough lesson about nutrition. It was Easter morning (yes, it was a heretical decision to ride) so rather than set myself up correctly with energy drink, gels, etc., I spent more time getting the Easter basket ready, basking in my beautiful kids, and then slipping out with an eye to having lunch with them when I got back. The problem is that a bowl of oat bran flakes, a banana, a granola bar and one gel pack is just not enough to fuel nearly four hours of riding on a warm day over hilly terrain. More scientifically, those items are about 600 calories and a rider of my size (over 200 pounds) needs more like 300-400 calories an HOUR. Considering I also didn't replace my electrolytes adequately, by the time I rolled into Del Mar, only about two miles from home but with a SERIOUS half-mile climb at some 25% grade, I was done. My quads seized up, presumably from all of the lactic acid, and I started to feel light headed. There I was, having rolled 60 some miles, covering much of North San Diego county amongst the flowers, ocean communities, rolling hills, etc. (it truly was God's morning, irrespective of your religious preference), and I couldn't get home. In fact, I couldn't even walk the hill -- believe me, I tried and it nearly brought me to tears.
So, I pulled the emergency cord, called the Lovely Wife and (a bit embarrassingly) took the three minute ride home.
It certainly taught me an important lesson about nutrition -- not only do you need pure calories, you also need a good mix of carbohydrate energy and electrolyte replacement. Needless to say, I have spent the better part of this week sorting that out and hope not to be left hitting the wall again any time soon.
But that was just the start of my week -- actually, Sunday night into Monday I felt FANTASTIC. I felt good just a few minutes after returning home, actually. I took a shower, put on comfortable clothes and went to lunch with my family. I enjoyed the evening with my wife, watching the Amazing Race among other things, and then flew off to Seattle Monday morning to help a friend gain her citizenship. By the time I flew back Monday evening, settling into a free first-class upgrade, I was ready for a beer.
Then, shoe number two dropped. I woke up about two in the morning Tuesday with a splitting headache, a sore throat, and more sinus congestion than you could shake a stick at. The morning wasn't much better, but by noon I had a fever, incredible fatigue and, you guessed it, I removed my lunch from my system. A couple more of those later, and with fever ache that was radiating up into my kidneys and I overreacted a bit -- I called the Lovely Wife, dropped the kids off with the neighbors, and headed to the emergency room.
Long story short, I was mostly just a victim of a virus, but I also took in two bags of saline (the doctor said I was more electrolyte depleted than dehydrated) and made sure my bloodwork was okay -- which, thankfully, it was.
It's Friday now, and I think I have an ear infection, but I've been able to ride and swim this week -- I've taken it easy, mostly, but I thought it important to get back on the proverbial horse. For the second time in as many weeks, I was derailed by the compromise that Ironman training does on your immune system -- especially if you don't treat it with appropriate care. Sure enough, when I brought the Princess to preschool today, several kids were out with a virus that sounds just like mine -- so I'm not alone and it's not just the training. It's frustrating nonetheless.
I've also managed to order all of the necessary nutrition products this week. I've got glucose polymers to add to the energy drink I already had. I have liquid shots of carbohydrates and electrolytes (potassium, sodium, and sodium bicarbonate to stave off lactic acid buildup), as well as a couple of leads on tasty solid foods and gels to top it all off. I won't head out unprepared again, I can tell you that.
So, with all of that in tow, it's time for another "brick" workout on Sunday -- 2000 yards in the pool, jump out and ride for about 20 miles. Should seem relatively easy compared to last weekend and with a weekend trip to Alaska to visit my cousins planned for the following weekend, I think it will be a couple of weeks before I go 60+ miles again. I've got lots of time, I'm still nursing a back injury (somass muscle?), and my confidence is heading back in the right direction. I'll let you know if things change. :-)
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Babyin' the Old Corpus
So, I've returned to the world of the healthy -- well, sort of. After testing my "chest" with a serious set of sprint workouts on the bike yesterday, I feel like I've got the ol' wind back.
If only I could say the same for this pesky muscle on the right side of my back. I really ought to take a look at a muscle chart, because it doesn't feel like my back and it's a touch too high to be my gluteous. But, about fifteen times a day taking a step with my right foot feels like someone is pushing my hip bone right into the back of my ribcage. I think it is a back muscle of sorts, but what I know is that it's one of the few debilitating muscle injuries I've had in recent memory.
So, how does one accomplish an ironman length training program when he's walking like he just had hip surgery? Very carefully... in the case of today, by taking the day off from a swim workout and focusing on the fact that tomorrow was already a natural day off and two days' rest ought to make it possible to complete the long weekend workouts.
Eyes on the prize, I say -- and in the case of serious muscle issues, that means rest to as close to healing as you can before you push forward. I WILL be swimming my 2800 yards on Saturday -- that is non-negotiable. Until then? Slap on some back pads, keep the seat heater going in the car and stay off my feet... ahh, the things we do for sport. :-)
If only I could say the same for this pesky muscle on the right side of my back. I really ought to take a look at a muscle chart, because it doesn't feel like my back and it's a touch too high to be my gluteous. But, about fifteen times a day taking a step with my right foot feels like someone is pushing my hip bone right into the back of my ribcage. I think it is a back muscle of sorts, but what I know is that it's one of the few debilitating muscle injuries I've had in recent memory.
So, how does one accomplish an ironman length training program when he's walking like he just had hip surgery? Very carefully... in the case of today, by taking the day off from a swim workout and focusing on the fact that tomorrow was already a natural day off and two days' rest ought to make it possible to complete the long weekend workouts.
Eyes on the prize, I say -- and in the case of serious muscle issues, that means rest to as close to healing as you can before you push forward. I WILL be swimming my 2800 yards on Saturday -- that is non-negotiable. Until then? Slap on some back pads, keep the seat heater going in the car and stay off my feet... ahh, the things we do for sport. :-)
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
What a Difference a Cold (and Two Weeks) Makes
When I last posted, I think I can honestly say I was feeling at the peak of early training performance. I had just knocked off consecutive back to back workout days, accomplishing full training bikes and swims, and I felt as if I was 18 years old.
This is not the case now. After a quick three-day trip to the UK, which gave me not only a sore ankle (I stepped off of a curb walking back to my hotel), but a head-cold, I have had a heck of a time getting back into the groove. The first week back, I did accomplish all of my midweek workouts, but right as I was to hit the weekend longer workouts my cold hit full stride. Having already experienced in preparation for previous races the negative effects of working out during a cold, and thanks to the kindness of the Lovely Wife, I spent longer than normal nights in bed nursing my symptoms. While I felt a bit better on Monday (yesterday), all that time on my back left me with a tweak that is more than just a bit of a nuisance. Not to mention that in both my first bike workout since and my first pool workout since (yesterday and today, respectively), I have had to avoid the high intensity workouts that were meant to being this week. Rather than push myself in the first week of what is the "build" phase of the training program, I simply endured through by slogging out the 1:30 on the bike and the 2000 yards on the swim. I shudder to think how slow I was, but it is what it is and I hope to live to see another day.
Isn't it amazing how cyclical you start to feel as you get older? For those of you who know me, you know that I am fanatical about the Minnesota Twins baseball team. Their 37 year old catcher, Mike Redmond, tweaked his groin in the team's opener yesterday and lamented the fact, admitting: 1) that he couldn't remember his last muscle pull, and 2) that, as of last night, he couldn't imagine this one healing very fast. I feel the same way about my back at the moment. While the chiropractor, who I am grateful to for seeing me yesterday, says there is nothing to be concerned about with my back soreness, it certainly doesn't help that every stroke, whether on the pedal or in the pool is accompanied by a persistent jabbing sensation just above my right buttocks. It can only serve to distract and, when the workouts are measured in hours, not minutes, it is a form of Chinese water torture.
But I'll make it. In fact, I confirmed another event on my schedule this weekend -- I am now signed up to do a half-ironman, run and all(!), on September 13 in my hometown of Stillwater, MN. I haven't done a tri in Minnesota in five years and, if it means I can see my parents (and wife and kids -- the Lovely Wife says she might do the mid-distance race the day before) when finishing, it will all be worth it.
So, I'll persist. I just have to get to the weekend where a 3000 yard swim and 3:30 bike ride await me - if I can finish those, and I'd damned well better, the struggles of the last ten days or so will be behind me and the weeks ahead will fall like dominoes. That's the difference a week can make.
This is not the case now. After a quick three-day trip to the UK, which gave me not only a sore ankle (I stepped off of a curb walking back to my hotel), but a head-cold, I have had a heck of a time getting back into the groove. The first week back, I did accomplish all of my midweek workouts, but right as I was to hit the weekend longer workouts my cold hit full stride. Having already experienced in preparation for previous races the negative effects of working out during a cold, and thanks to the kindness of the Lovely Wife, I spent longer than normal nights in bed nursing my symptoms. While I felt a bit better on Monday (yesterday), all that time on my back left me with a tweak that is more than just a bit of a nuisance. Not to mention that in both my first bike workout since and my first pool workout since (yesterday and today, respectively), I have had to avoid the high intensity workouts that were meant to being this week. Rather than push myself in the first week of what is the "build" phase of the training program, I simply endured through by slogging out the 1:30 on the bike and the 2000 yards on the swim. I shudder to think how slow I was, but it is what it is and I hope to live to see another day.
Isn't it amazing how cyclical you start to feel as you get older? For those of you who know me, you know that I am fanatical about the Minnesota Twins baseball team. Their 37 year old catcher, Mike Redmond, tweaked his groin in the team's opener yesterday and lamented the fact, admitting: 1) that he couldn't remember his last muscle pull, and 2) that, as of last night, he couldn't imagine this one healing very fast. I feel the same way about my back at the moment. While the chiropractor, who I am grateful to for seeing me yesterday, says there is nothing to be concerned about with my back soreness, it certainly doesn't help that every stroke, whether on the pedal or in the pool is accompanied by a persistent jabbing sensation just above my right buttocks. It can only serve to distract and, when the workouts are measured in hours, not minutes, it is a form of Chinese water torture.
But I'll make it. In fact, I confirmed another event on my schedule this weekend -- I am now signed up to do a half-ironman, run and all(!), on September 13 in my hometown of Stillwater, MN. I haven't done a tri in Minnesota in five years and, if it means I can see my parents (and wife and kids -- the Lovely Wife says she might do the mid-distance race the day before) when finishing, it will all be worth it.
So, I'll persist. I just have to get to the weekend where a 3000 yard swim and 3:30 bike ride await me - if I can finish those, and I'd damned well better, the struggles of the last ten days or so will be behind me and the weeks ahead will fall like dominoes. That's the difference a week can make.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Two-A-Days
A staple of the triathlon diet is the BRICK workout. Anecdotally described as "bike, run, ick," it's the workout that trains the body to get off of the bike and start running -- something easier said than done, frankly, considering many of the muscles used in running have spent hours atrophying while on the bike.
For me, the brick workout is not part of the current plan. In fact, my body is quite enjoying not doing any running at all at the moment as I prepare for a swim/bike ironman length event this year before the full ironman in 2010. Nonetheless, it is important for me to tackle the getting out of the water and onto a bike dynamic, which is why I took Saturday off this week and scheduled a swim/bike dual workout for Sunday morning.
Sunday
It started with a pool swim of 1500 yards -- not coincidentally, the distances I was going to cover (1500 yd swim/25 mi bike) are the swim and bike distances for the Olympic level triathlon, a race significantly shorter than the Ironman but still long enough to test yourself six weeks into a 24-week program.
I felt good in the pool -- pacing myself in a steady, almost methodical fashion, I was pleased with my pace. Coming out of the pool in around 35 minutes (a time any real swimmer or triathlete would scoff at) was, for me, a sign that the training had been going well. At approximately seven minutes for every 3:00, that puts me at about a 1:40 pace for the 4224 yard ironman length swim. When put in the context of the 2:30 that one is required to complete it in, I give myself lots of time to spare. To be fair, that is what the swim is about for me -- get in, get out, have something left in my legs and endure the coming several hours on the bike.
With that bit of confidence in tow, I jogged into the locker room and put on my bike gear. This particular bike was going to be done inside due to the questionable spring weather outside (rainy in the 50's, which actually served me quite well in the pool). And so it went... you may recall that a few weeks ago I swam and biked and found myself unable to muster real quality minutes on the bike due to complete and utter leg fatigue. On this day, my better pacing in the pool and my intentional overreliance on my arm pulls saved me something in my legs. Whereas I had budgeted 1:40 for the bike, which would be slow, I beat that by a full seven minutes, accomplishing the 25 mile equivalent in 93 minutes. Yes, it was on a stationary bike and didn't have the elemental factors that a ride outside would, but it was a serious improvement on just a few weeks prior.
The best part was how I felt afterward. All the soreness was the kind of good soreness I spoke about earlier -- there was no "pain" to speak of and I felt duly fatigued as if I had accomplished something.... and accomplished something I had. While the conditions were pristine compared to what exists swimming out and back on the Russian River and cycling through Sonoma wine country, I had finished at a pace that would bring me home in 8:25, WELL clear of the 10:30 deadline. We'll see if I can hold the same pace for 112 miles, but having two hours of time to play with can only bring a smile to your face.
Monday
I felt so good, in fact, that it was with a huge smile on my face that I walked into my chiropractic appointment on Monday morning. With a half-hour massage focused primarily on my tight lower back and lactic acid drowned hamstrings (I told her I had cycled hard!) followed by some ultrasound treatment on my shoulder that had been giving me trouble in the swim but didn't bother me on Sunday, I was ready to hit the gym for my standard Monday workout of hills on the bike. On this day, the plan was for 1:15 with a series of ten short hills -- with the equipment available at the gym, I decided to push myself and try to do three loops of a seven mile stretch full of rolling hills. 21 miles in 1:15 is generally a bit ambitious (16.8mph), but I wanted to give it a shot.
As I closed in on one loop finished, I was in good shape... crossing the finish line at 24:38, I had averaged 16.9mph and had a 22 second cushion to work with. Then I hit the sweet spot. If you have never cycled, you may not know the phenomenon I am referring to, but suffice to say that it is a good thing. Scientists and physiologists have described it as some release of hormones or pheremones which are released in repetetive motion exercises such as cycling or running which permit you to continue to "hammer" forward and increase your rate, all the while feeling wonderful from a mental standpoint. Needless to say, my pace quickened, I added a gear or two, literally and figuratively, and I was closing in on a 23 minute(!) seven mile cycle on the second leg. I just missed it, coming in a 47:59, but still I had averaged well over 17mph for the section and was a full two minutes up on the required pace.
Now I was motivated. My legs were starting to feel it, albeit more fatigue from the 40+ miles over two days rather than anything more sinister, but my heart and brain were most definitely in it. I pushed, pushed, and pushed some more and managed a 17.9mph final leg, coming in nearly four full minutes ahead of schedule. I was absolutely drenched with sweat, had consumed about a quart of water, but man, oh man, did I feel good.
How good? Well, I'm glad you asked. So good that when the Princess and the Pea refused to nap later that afternoon, I decided to hit the pool for one of the fartlek workouts I would probably miss due to a business trip scheduled for Thursday through Sunday. 1150 yards later, having accomplished my second double workout in as many days and at a high intensity all throughout, I was well and truly feeling my oats -- the race is some 18 or 19 weeks off, but I am really up for it now... time to keep it going.
For me, the brick workout is not part of the current plan. In fact, my body is quite enjoying not doing any running at all at the moment as I prepare for a swim/bike ironman length event this year before the full ironman in 2010. Nonetheless, it is important for me to tackle the getting out of the water and onto a bike dynamic, which is why I took Saturday off this week and scheduled a swim/bike dual workout for Sunday morning.
Sunday
It started with a pool swim of 1500 yards -- not coincidentally, the distances I was going to cover (1500 yd swim/25 mi bike) are the swim and bike distances for the Olympic level triathlon, a race significantly shorter than the Ironman but still long enough to test yourself six weeks into a 24-week program.
I felt good in the pool -- pacing myself in a steady, almost methodical fashion, I was pleased with my pace. Coming out of the pool in around 35 minutes (a time any real swimmer or triathlete would scoff at) was, for me, a sign that the training had been going well. At approximately seven minutes for every 3:00, that puts me at about a 1:40 pace for the 4224 yard ironman length swim. When put in the context of the 2:30 that one is required to complete it in, I give myself lots of time to spare. To be fair, that is what the swim is about for me -- get in, get out, have something left in my legs and endure the coming several hours on the bike.
With that bit of confidence in tow, I jogged into the locker room and put on my bike gear. This particular bike was going to be done inside due to the questionable spring weather outside (rainy in the 50's, which actually served me quite well in the pool). And so it went... you may recall that a few weeks ago I swam and biked and found myself unable to muster real quality minutes on the bike due to complete and utter leg fatigue. On this day, my better pacing in the pool and my intentional overreliance on my arm pulls saved me something in my legs. Whereas I had budgeted 1:40 for the bike, which would be slow, I beat that by a full seven minutes, accomplishing the 25 mile equivalent in 93 minutes. Yes, it was on a stationary bike and didn't have the elemental factors that a ride outside would, but it was a serious improvement on just a few weeks prior.
The best part was how I felt afterward. All the soreness was the kind of good soreness I spoke about earlier -- there was no "pain" to speak of and I felt duly fatigued as if I had accomplished something.... and accomplished something I had. While the conditions were pristine compared to what exists swimming out and back on the Russian River and cycling through Sonoma wine country, I had finished at a pace that would bring me home in 8:25, WELL clear of the 10:30 deadline. We'll see if I can hold the same pace for 112 miles, but having two hours of time to play with can only bring a smile to your face.
Monday
I felt so good, in fact, that it was with a huge smile on my face that I walked into my chiropractic appointment on Monday morning. With a half-hour massage focused primarily on my tight lower back and lactic acid drowned hamstrings (I told her I had cycled hard!) followed by some ultrasound treatment on my shoulder that had been giving me trouble in the swim but didn't bother me on Sunday, I was ready to hit the gym for my standard Monday workout of hills on the bike. On this day, the plan was for 1:15 with a series of ten short hills -- with the equipment available at the gym, I decided to push myself and try to do three loops of a seven mile stretch full of rolling hills. 21 miles in 1:15 is generally a bit ambitious (16.8mph), but I wanted to give it a shot.
As I closed in on one loop finished, I was in good shape... crossing the finish line at 24:38, I had averaged 16.9mph and had a 22 second cushion to work with. Then I hit the sweet spot. If you have never cycled, you may not know the phenomenon I am referring to, but suffice to say that it is a good thing. Scientists and physiologists have described it as some release of hormones or pheremones which are released in repetetive motion exercises such as cycling or running which permit you to continue to "hammer" forward and increase your rate, all the while feeling wonderful from a mental standpoint. Needless to say, my pace quickened, I added a gear or two, literally and figuratively, and I was closing in on a 23 minute(!) seven mile cycle on the second leg. I just missed it, coming in a 47:59, but still I had averaged well over 17mph for the section and was a full two minutes up on the required pace.
Now I was motivated. My legs were starting to feel it, albeit more fatigue from the 40+ miles over two days rather than anything more sinister, but my heart and brain were most definitely in it. I pushed, pushed, and pushed some more and managed a 17.9mph final leg, coming in nearly four full minutes ahead of schedule. I was absolutely drenched with sweat, had consumed about a quart of water, but man, oh man, did I feel good.
How good? Well, I'm glad you asked. So good that when the Princess and the Pea refused to nap later that afternoon, I decided to hit the pool for one of the fartlek workouts I would probably miss due to a business trip scheduled for Thursday through Sunday. 1150 yards later, having accomplished my second double workout in as many days and at a high intensity all throughout, I was well and truly feeling my oats -- the race is some 18 or 19 weeks off, but I am really up for it now... time to keep it going.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Week Six: Splitting Hairs on Pain
One week on and it's fair to say that all is indeed on when it comes to high volume training. Since last we spoke, I have had three strong swim workouts, three bike workouts of varying difficulties, and a day off once again rung in with bizarre waves of soreness which don't seem to translate to any particular swim or bike overuse.
With that in mind, though, I think it's important to discuss this issue of pain. Twice this week, I have had to cut workouts short due to pain issues -- this is quite normal in a high volume training regimen, and, in fact, the results of pulling off of the reins just a smidge seem to have had immediate results.
For those who have trained as part of a regular routine, whether on a team or individually, you'll likely understand exactly what I mean when I compare pain to soreness. Soreness is expected and, frankly, you live with it through the entirety of the process. If I'm being 100% honest, soreness is also quite nice -- sure the actual discomfort and inflammation can have negative results, but usually an Ibuprofen or four will take care of them each night before you hit the hay. On balance, soreness is like fatigue -- you know you feel it, but you also know you've done something to "earn" it, for better or for worse. When it comes to doing a workout burning anywhere from 600-1200 calories, generally I like to think of that as better.
The flipside of the coin, however, is pain. Certain things happen when you swim 7000 yards and bike five hours in a week -- first of all, your ironman coach (which I don't have, save for the book) will tell you that you need to "pick it up a notch." In seriousness, though, certain muscles are being worked more than others and the potential for balance inequities are significant. In addition, there are simple issues of overworking from time to time. Throw in the effects on some cross-training, which in my case means the odd run-out for a softball, soccer, or basketball game... or maybe a hike... and you can experience real acute pain.
For the experts, experiencing pain is not something that should shut you down altogether, but rather something that you smartly manage. Look, you're not going to tax your body to this degree for 24+ weeks and not tweak something. As an example, I give you my left knee. In the hill workout I did late last week, I clearly left my bike in two high of a gear and left the ligaments in my left knee a bit out of whack. When I hopped on the bike on Saturday for a long ride, intending it to be 2:45, the pain began to grow and grow and grow until with about 1:30 under my belt I decided to call it quits.
The reasoning for this is as simple as the cause for the pain -- if you take a part of your body that is under duress, as opposed to experience soreness, and you continue to push it, you are only extending the recovery time. The 1:15 on the bike at the gym will NOT make or break your Ironman effort. The six weeks off recovering from a ligament strain most surely will.
The same thing happened later in the week during a high-effort swim workout, one in which I was supposed to do "sprints," defined as literally swimming as hard as one can, for 600 yards. About 200 yards into it, I realized that my anterior deltoid muscle and surrounding tendons, which I have had treated recently, were screaming out with something more than general soreness. It wasn't until I had hit the showers afterwards that I gleefully recalled throwing a runner out at home plate from deep center field the night before, but clearly that is why I was having a sore shoulder day -- swimming the rest of my set at a slow, building pace rather than chopping down on the water like a weightlifter was exactly what the doctor ordered. With a brick workout combining the disciplines right around the corner (Sunday), I hardly think that reducing the intensity of a swim for less than 1000 yards will have anything more than a nominal impact on my training.
Which is not to say it was a week where I was constantly pulling out of the tough assignments -- far from it. In fact, my swim on Sunday was my longest swim set since I was in college -- 2600 yards, or a little over a mile and three-quarters. I accomplished a few things on that day -- first and foremost, I managed to get it in under one hour. Considering it's nearly 2/3 of my race day total and I've always said I'd be happy to be on my bike within two hours of the race gun, that's a great thing for my confidence. Okay, it's in a pool and not in a mass start in the Russian river, but still, I left myself a good 20-minute cushion there at worst. I also managed to continue to stretch my mental preparedness for the marathon 2.4 mile swim that awaits on the day of the race. Every time I burst through a new distance hurdle, it's amazing to me that it's not THAT much more difficult than the previous high, which was generally a couple hundred yards shorter. In getting out of the pool on Sunday -- and don't get me wrong, I FELT it -- I was convinced I could have swam the remainder of the Ironman length right then and there. Could I have ridden 112 miles afterwards? Hmm... are there rabid dogs behind me? But, I'm getting there.
The final thing it taught me is that this training is working. Both parts of it are paying off when it comes to the swim. First, the long weekend swims and overall volume of swimming are making me more and more comfortable in the pool for long stretches of time. It's boring, to be honest, and mental acuity improves with every long swim. Second, the sprints and fartlek workouts do make a standard race-speed swim feel relatively easy.
As for the bike, it was another week of building endurance. It's slower than with the swim, but that's probably because while I'm looking at a 90-120 minute swim during the race, the bike will be my home for upwards of seven hours. It's awful hard to do a seven hour training swim with a wife and two kids -- it can only happen on the weekend and, even then, to do a ride that long takes more recovery time than one has. So, the long rides tend to max out at about three to four hours and the weekday workouts need to be intense -- which they have been. I am a virtual fountain of sweat when I hit the bike for my weekday workouts, keeping the wattage needle pinned at 180-220 watts of output. That's high, much higher than I can keep on my bike outside, but it all drives towards the goal of endurance on raceday. With the knee issue reminding me that volume should be done a comfortable gear level that allows for spinning rather than "pushing," it's easy to get into a rhythm as well -- and I have of late, feeling good, strong, if not a little tired after each ride. On Sunday it's 1750 in the pool and 25miles on my bike if time and weather permits. I'll let you know how that goes as it will be a good measure of how things are going. I'm confident it will go well and the recovery week next week (which is moved up a week because of my travel to the UK next weekend) will let it all soak in.
Until then...
With that in mind, though, I think it's important to discuss this issue of pain. Twice this week, I have had to cut workouts short due to pain issues -- this is quite normal in a high volume training regimen, and, in fact, the results of pulling off of the reins just a smidge seem to have had immediate results.
For those who have trained as part of a regular routine, whether on a team or individually, you'll likely understand exactly what I mean when I compare pain to soreness. Soreness is expected and, frankly, you live with it through the entirety of the process. If I'm being 100% honest, soreness is also quite nice -- sure the actual discomfort and inflammation can have negative results, but usually an Ibuprofen or four will take care of them each night before you hit the hay. On balance, soreness is like fatigue -- you know you feel it, but you also know you've done something to "earn" it, for better or for worse. When it comes to doing a workout burning anywhere from 600-1200 calories, generally I like to think of that as better.
The flipside of the coin, however, is pain. Certain things happen when you swim 7000 yards and bike five hours in a week -- first of all, your ironman coach (which I don't have, save for the book) will tell you that you need to "pick it up a notch." In seriousness, though, certain muscles are being worked more than others and the potential for balance inequities are significant. In addition, there are simple issues of overworking from time to time. Throw in the effects on some cross-training, which in my case means the odd run-out for a softball, soccer, or basketball game... or maybe a hike... and you can experience real acute pain.
For the experts, experiencing pain is not something that should shut you down altogether, but rather something that you smartly manage. Look, you're not going to tax your body to this degree for 24+ weeks and not tweak something. As an example, I give you my left knee. In the hill workout I did late last week, I clearly left my bike in two high of a gear and left the ligaments in my left knee a bit out of whack. When I hopped on the bike on Saturday for a long ride, intending it to be 2:45, the pain began to grow and grow and grow until with about 1:30 under my belt I decided to call it quits.
The reasoning for this is as simple as the cause for the pain -- if you take a part of your body that is under duress, as opposed to experience soreness, and you continue to push it, you are only extending the recovery time. The 1:15 on the bike at the gym will NOT make or break your Ironman effort. The six weeks off recovering from a ligament strain most surely will.
The same thing happened later in the week during a high-effort swim workout, one in which I was supposed to do "sprints," defined as literally swimming as hard as one can, for 600 yards. About 200 yards into it, I realized that my anterior deltoid muscle and surrounding tendons, which I have had treated recently, were screaming out with something more than general soreness. It wasn't until I had hit the showers afterwards that I gleefully recalled throwing a runner out at home plate from deep center field the night before, but clearly that is why I was having a sore shoulder day -- swimming the rest of my set at a slow, building pace rather than chopping down on the water like a weightlifter was exactly what the doctor ordered. With a brick workout combining the disciplines right around the corner (Sunday), I hardly think that reducing the intensity of a swim for less than 1000 yards will have anything more than a nominal impact on my training.
Which is not to say it was a week where I was constantly pulling out of the tough assignments -- far from it. In fact, my swim on Sunday was my longest swim set since I was in college -- 2600 yards, or a little over a mile and three-quarters. I accomplished a few things on that day -- first and foremost, I managed to get it in under one hour. Considering it's nearly 2/3 of my race day total and I've always said I'd be happy to be on my bike within two hours of the race gun, that's a great thing for my confidence. Okay, it's in a pool and not in a mass start in the Russian river, but still, I left myself a good 20-minute cushion there at worst. I also managed to continue to stretch my mental preparedness for the marathon 2.4 mile swim that awaits on the day of the race. Every time I burst through a new distance hurdle, it's amazing to me that it's not THAT much more difficult than the previous high, which was generally a couple hundred yards shorter. In getting out of the pool on Sunday -- and don't get me wrong, I FELT it -- I was convinced I could have swam the remainder of the Ironman length right then and there. Could I have ridden 112 miles afterwards? Hmm... are there rabid dogs behind me? But, I'm getting there.
The final thing it taught me is that this training is working. Both parts of it are paying off when it comes to the swim. First, the long weekend swims and overall volume of swimming are making me more and more comfortable in the pool for long stretches of time. It's boring, to be honest, and mental acuity improves with every long swim. Second, the sprints and fartlek workouts do make a standard race-speed swim feel relatively easy.
As for the bike, it was another week of building endurance. It's slower than with the swim, but that's probably because while I'm looking at a 90-120 minute swim during the race, the bike will be my home for upwards of seven hours. It's awful hard to do a seven hour training swim with a wife and two kids -- it can only happen on the weekend and, even then, to do a ride that long takes more recovery time than one has. So, the long rides tend to max out at about three to four hours and the weekday workouts need to be intense -- which they have been. I am a virtual fountain of sweat when I hit the bike for my weekday workouts, keeping the wattage needle pinned at 180-220 watts of output. That's high, much higher than I can keep on my bike outside, but it all drives towards the goal of endurance on raceday. With the knee issue reminding me that volume should be done a comfortable gear level that allows for spinning rather than "pushing," it's easy to get into a rhythm as well -- and I have of late, feeling good, strong, if not a little tired after each ride. On Sunday it's 1750 in the pool and 25miles on my bike if time and weather permits. I'll let you know how that goes as it will be a good measure of how things are going. I'm confident it will go well and the recovery week next week (which is moved up a week because of my travel to the UK next weekend) will let it all soak in.
Until then...
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