Argh! Didn't like my run tonight very much.
When I woke up things seemed to be going somewhat well. I admit that after 7 hours, I felt like I hadn't slept more than 2, but it didn't last too long. I took my resting heart rate around then, and got a shock! 69 bpm! Holy cow! I don't think I've ever seen it that low!
On the other hand, I've heard that an abnormally low RHR is not necessarily a good sign, and could just be signaling that I've been over-training. Hope not. So with a good measure of optimism, I decided to go for my scheduled run. I mean if my RHR was 15-20 beats below normal, maybe I'd have a better run. Er...not so much.
I knew something was up after about 5 min. I hadn't reached my normal 5 min point of the course yet. That's odd. My HR was right where it was supposed to be, but I seemed to be a little slower than normal.
Okay, no problem, I'm training my heart and not my legs anyway, right?
I started my run about 7:30 in, right where I normally do, and at the normal HR, so I was beginning to think it was all just a fluke when I look down at the monitor and see it well above where I should be. Not cool.
I started to adjust, and managed to keep in just in check (after a slight malfunction with the HR monitor) with a relatively slow pace. Good enough. Then I get on the trail and some guy there effectively laps me. Well, that did it for me. Enough of this slower pace stuff, I want to run, so I pushed myself a little harder than I should have and paid the price. About 2.5 - 3 miles in I was ready to stop and walk. In fact I did end up walking at one point when my HR neared my upper limit despite my efforts to slow down before then.
All in all, I didn't finish much faster, didn't have a better time, and could've hurt myself by not following my schedule, all because my ego wouldn't allow some college kid 15 years my junior to show me up on an otherwise empty trail. And I'm supposed to be the passive one!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Too much lounging around
Okay, I know this already, but I have to say it again. Taking, almost, a week off of training is bad.
Yeah, it wasn't the brightest spot in my life, and completely avoidable, but nevertheless I missed a few workouts while I was away on business. In fact from the long run last weekend till my long bike ride this weekend I only ran ~1.5 miles. Pretty pathetic, and I'm paying for it now.
On Saturday, I did another long bike ride around 20 mi. I can't say that it really went well though, since for the first 5 miles or so, I was already breathing hard and legs tired. After that I seemed to settle more into a rhythm and just kept pace. Recovered yesterday, then rode into work tonight, much to the complaint of my quads, who up until this point really didn't have much to say about the whole deal. Oh well.
As for this week, the plan is to run Mon, Wed, & Fri, with an Interval, Regular, & Long run respectively, and then bike to work as often as I feel the need, probably at least every other day.
Yeah, it wasn't the brightest spot in my life, and completely avoidable, but nevertheless I missed a few workouts while I was away on business. In fact from the long run last weekend till my long bike ride this weekend I only ran ~1.5 miles. Pretty pathetic, and I'm paying for it now.
On Saturday, I did another long bike ride around 20 mi. I can't say that it really went well though, since for the first 5 miles or so, I was already breathing hard and legs tired. After that I seemed to settle more into a rhythm and just kept pace. Recovered yesterday, then rode into work tonight, much to the complaint of my quads, who up until this point really didn't have much to say about the whole deal. Oh well.
As for this week, the plan is to run Mon, Wed, & Fri, with an Interval, Regular, & Long run respectively, and then bike to work as often as I feel the need, probably at least every other day.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
CCCCCCombo-breaker!!!
Whenever I seem to be settling in on the right track, everything goes sideways. I was doing so darn good too! Running every other day, closing in on a long term goal, losing weight, the works! But then the stuff hit the fan, rolled downhill, however it splattered, it happened.
On Monday, I got a phone call from my Supervisor dropping the bombshell I knew had been coming for quite a while. Secretly I had hoped that it would all blow over before reaching my doorstep, but apparently, that was not to be. The factory I've been working at, as a resident contractor, for the last 3 years decided that they didn't need a 3rd shift person here, at least for qtrs 3 & 4. I was under the impression that when this did happen, I'd just be traveling all over the place like so many others in the company. Unfortunately, my supervisor said that he'd been struggling to do that already, and I was just another mouth to feed in that case. I went to the nuke supervisor, and oddly enough, he did have some availabilities, so it may be I'll just switch for a while/permanently. (There's an Eastern WA position that I've had my eye on for a while. ;-) )
Why is all this on my Tri blog? Well this job/region shift means that all the upcoming triathlons we had been planning, are now no longer practical. On the plus side, I get to do the triathlon I had wanted to do in the first place. Cool.
On Monday, I got a phone call from my Supervisor dropping the bombshell I knew had been coming for quite a while. Secretly I had hoped that it would all blow over before reaching my doorstep, but apparently, that was not to be. The factory I've been working at, as a resident contractor, for the last 3 years decided that they didn't need a 3rd shift person here, at least for qtrs 3 & 4. I was under the impression that when this did happen, I'd just be traveling all over the place like so many others in the company. Unfortunately, my supervisor said that he'd been struggling to do that already, and I was just another mouth to feed in that case. I went to the nuke supervisor, and oddly enough, he did have some availabilities, so it may be I'll just switch for a while/permanently. (There's an Eastern WA position that I've had my eye on for a while. ;-) )
Why is all this on my Tri blog? Well this job/region shift means that all the upcoming triathlons we had been planning, are now no longer practical. On the plus side, I get to do the triathlon I had wanted to do in the first place. Cool.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Long run day
Well it was a long run day for me.
I tried to make one of my long term goals today; run a 10k within my training heart rate zone. Although I made it and stayed in my zone, I don't think I can count it this time. First off I started like I always do, gradually coming up to my training zone, so for the first ~7 min I was walking. Second, I walked on the route twice. Both times were very short, once to keep in my HRZ at the beginning, and once to get a drink of water, but I think that disqualifies me this time around. It did rain on me a few times this morning, but I don't think that counts either. ;-)
On the positive side of things, I think I'm right about level with where I was in March/April before my first triathlon. Its comforting for me to know that if I really wanted to, I could survive the Pigman Sprint right now, and I still have a little over 9 months to go before my next tri! (Siouxperman sprint tri, 5/1/10) Maybe, just maybe I'll be able to reach my running goals by then. I'm working pretty hard at it.
Back to my run this morning though... I tried something a little different. Although I spent most of the run right where I wanted (My training HRZ is 150-170, but I try to keep it between 150-155), I decided to find out just how fast the upper end of the zone would allow me to go. So, on a long flat section on the run, around 4 miles in, I kicked it up to between 165-170. It really didn't feel like I was pushing myself too hard. I could definately feel it, but I think I could have kept it up for about 1.5-2 miles before it pushed about my limits. In any case, I was running about 11:45 min/mi then. Its been a LONG time since I've done that. I still have a ways to go though to meet my other goal of under 10 min miles for a 10k, but I'll get there. (By the way my best Navy PT pace was ~8.5 min/mi, and I'm hoping to break that too. I know thats not even close to Becca's (~6:30 min/mi), but I have to run my own race)
I tried to make one of my long term goals today; run a 10k within my training heart rate zone. Although I made it and stayed in my zone, I don't think I can count it this time. First off I started like I always do, gradually coming up to my training zone, so for the first ~7 min I was walking. Second, I walked on the route twice. Both times were very short, once to keep in my HRZ at the beginning, and once to get a drink of water, but I think that disqualifies me this time around. It did rain on me a few times this morning, but I don't think that counts either. ;-)
On the positive side of things, I think I'm right about level with where I was in March/April before my first triathlon. Its comforting for me to know that if I really wanted to, I could survive the Pigman Sprint right now, and I still have a little over 9 months to go before my next tri! (Siouxperman sprint tri, 5/1/10) Maybe, just maybe I'll be able to reach my running goals by then. I'm working pretty hard at it.
Back to my run this morning though... I tried something a little different. Although I spent most of the run right where I wanted (My training HRZ is 150-170, but I try to keep it between 150-155), I decided to find out just how fast the upper end of the zone would allow me to go. So, on a long flat section on the run, around 4 miles in, I kicked it up to between 165-170. It really didn't feel like I was pushing myself too hard. I could definately feel it, but I think I could have kept it up for about 1.5-2 miles before it pushed about my limits. In any case, I was running about 11:45 min/mi then. Its been a LONG time since I've done that. I still have a ways to go though to meet my other goal of under 10 min miles for a 10k, but I'll get there. (By the way my best Navy PT pace was ~8.5 min/mi, and I'm hoping to break that too. I know thats not even close to Becca's (~6:30 min/mi), but I have to run my own race)
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Oh....Deer
Interesting run tonight.
My legs were pretty sore from a couple days ago, but I refused to wuss out this time around. Lately I've been starting off very gradually, with 5 min in each progressive HR zone, before reaching a decent pace. Takes 15 min to get up to my running pace, but it seems to work better with my legs.
Anyway, I had just rounded the turn onto the nature trail, at my running pace, and I see a 'family' of deer on the trail ahead of me. A young buck, doe, and fawn just kinda staring at this sweaty guy jogging towards them. Didn't take them too long to get going, but I did get a lot closer that I thought I would. (Tried taking pictures with my phone, but they didn't turn out) The fawn was cute and relatively unafraid, standing in the high weeds watching as I run by.
Think that was cool... About 3/4 mi down the trail another deer was standing there. A nice doe out having a late snack before bed, I suppose. She politely moved off the trail, but that was it. She let me run... yes, run past within about 6 feet of her, and seemingly couldn't care less. She watched, just like the fawn, as I run by. I gave her a little wave, and we both continued on our way. I noticed after about 50 yards when a group of bikers were peddaling the other direction, that her patience had run out and sprinted into the high weeds.
I may just have to make this running at twilight thing permanent.
My legs were pretty sore from a couple days ago, but I refused to wuss out this time around. Lately I've been starting off very gradually, with 5 min in each progressive HR zone, before reaching a decent pace. Takes 15 min to get up to my running pace, but it seems to work better with my legs.
Anyway, I had just rounded the turn onto the nature trail, at my running pace, and I see a 'family' of deer on the trail ahead of me. A young buck, doe, and fawn just kinda staring at this sweaty guy jogging towards them. Didn't take them too long to get going, but I did get a lot closer that I thought I would. (Tried taking pictures with my phone, but they didn't turn out) The fawn was cute and relatively unafraid, standing in the high weeds watching as I run by.
Think that was cool... About 3/4 mi down the trail another deer was standing there. A nice doe out having a late snack before bed, I suppose. She politely moved off the trail, but that was it. She let me run... yes, run past within about 6 feet of her, and seemingly couldn't care less. She watched, just like the fawn, as I run by. I gave her a little wave, and we both continued on our way. I noticed after about 50 yards when a group of bikers were peddaling the other direction, that her patience had run out and sprinted into the high weeds.
I may just have to make this running at twilight thing permanent.
Day off
...from exercising that is.
Although that run went really well, my legs are pretty sore to the point of me walking a little funny. Also that darn cough just wont seem to go away. Its an annoyance at worst (I hope), but its still there reminding me that I'm still not at 100%. :(
So that said, its another running day, and with the unseasonably cool weather, I'm game for a great run today just like last time.
On a side note: The smack talk between myself and my beautiful wife has officially begun. We had a truce going where we would just support one another, but I think we were able to put that behind us. She does have a significant advantage in her past running ability (years of soccer practices), and if she's able to get back to that level of fitness, I'll be toast.
That said, I have the upper hand as far as the swim and bike go. My swim times are just about 3/4 down to 1/2 of her's, and she's not used to road riding, so I have her there too. Again, I could be screwed when her body remembers what its doing, but at the moment, I'm fairly comfortable in my lead.
One more thing. I got to thinking about goals; short term, long term, and decided that wasn't quite long enough for some of mine. In that thought I created my own category of "Oh, wouldn't it be cool if..." Here they are, though some have been around a while:
Although that run went really well, my legs are pretty sore to the point of me walking a little funny. Also that darn cough just wont seem to go away. Its an annoyance at worst (I hope), but its still there reminding me that I'm still not at 100%. :(
So that said, its another running day, and with the unseasonably cool weather, I'm game for a great run today just like last time.
On a side note: The smack talk between myself and my beautiful wife has officially begun. We had a truce going where we would just support one another, but I think we were able to put that behind us. She does have a significant advantage in her past running ability (years of soccer practices), and if she's able to get back to that level of fitness, I'll be toast.
That said, I have the upper hand as far as the swim and bike go. My swim times are just about 3/4 down to 1/2 of her's, and she's not used to road riding, so I have her there too. Again, I could be screwed when her body remembers what its doing, but at the moment, I'm fairly comfortable in my lead.
One more thing. I got to thinking about goals; short term, long term, and decided that wasn't quite long enough for some of mine. In that thought I created my own category of "Oh, wouldn't it be cool if..." Here they are, though some have been around a while:
- Weight less than 173. I've never been in a healthy BMI range
- RHR less than 50. Just sounds cool.
- Consistently run 7 min miles. ~1 min faster than I've ever run
- Consistently bike >23 mph on flat terrain. I can keep it up for about a block
- Consistent 100yd splits in the 1:30's. I can do it once, but can't keep it up...yet The 3 above put me about top 50 in the local tris
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Frustrating Biking, but Fabulous Running
No Really!
I know thats not really common for me, but I actually had a really good run today! I'll start with the frustrating rides lately though.
For the last couple days I've been riding my bike into work. I'd like to say it was purely out of love for the sport, or training for an upcoming race, but no, that just wouldn't be true. The fact is, I've been riding because I've been working 12+ hour days this week and Becca needs a vehicle for the kids, and since one of them is being a pain (Vehicle, not kids), I ride. Now don't get me wrong, I do like to ride, but I like to ride at a speed of my choosing. The last couple mornings have really made me slow down, wait for traffic, dodge inattentive drivers, and even hammer it out a couple times to avoid some loony-tune behind the wheel. All things considered, I think I like riding at night better. My rear flasher is fairly random, and I think it mimics firetruck lights a bit. Whether thats intentional or not, it tends to make people think twice. In any case, where my average speed should be around 17mph, the computer tells me its more like 14. :-(
Now for the good news.
My run tonight, was one of the best I've had in a long time; probably the best I've had since just before the triathlon last year! I'm not talking about speed, I know I'm a slowpoke lately, but my heart rate was awesome. Granted I've increased my HR zones a bit after finding out I calculated wrong, but I was running even in my old HRZ, which is very unusual for me. It felt like I could go on for hours, and got me thinking that maybe my long term goal of running a 10k within my heart rate zone, is not too far off. In fact, I think I'm going to give it a shot this weekend for my long run.
Stats:
I know thats not really common for me, but I actually had a really good run today! I'll start with the frustrating rides lately though.
For the last couple days I've been riding my bike into work. I'd like to say it was purely out of love for the sport, or training for an upcoming race, but no, that just wouldn't be true. The fact is, I've been riding because I've been working 12+ hour days this week and Becca needs a vehicle for the kids, and since one of them is being a pain (Vehicle, not kids), I ride. Now don't get me wrong, I do like to ride, but I like to ride at a speed of my choosing. The last couple mornings have really made me slow down, wait for traffic, dodge inattentive drivers, and even hammer it out a couple times to avoid some loony-tune behind the wheel. All things considered, I think I like riding at night better. My rear flasher is fairly random, and I think it mimics firetruck lights a bit. Whether thats intentional or not, it tends to make people think twice. In any case, where my average speed should be around 17mph, the computer tells me its more like 14. :-(
Now for the good news.
My run tonight, was one of the best I've had in a long time; probably the best I've had since just before the triathlon last year! I'm not talking about speed, I know I'm a slowpoke lately, but my heart rate was awesome. Granted I've increased my HR zones a bit after finding out I calculated wrong, but I was running even in my old HRZ, which is very unusual for me. It felt like I could go on for hours, and got me thinking that maybe my long term goal of running a 10k within my heart rate zone, is not too far off. In fact, I think I'm going to give it a shot this weekend for my long run.
Stats:
| Distance | Time | AHR | MHR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.56 | 53:07 | 149 | 165 |
Monday, July 13, 2009
Down with the sickness...
First allow me to say that I've found another totally great Triathlon blog that simultaneously motivates me and makes me feel like an absolute looser! The Adventures of TriSaraTops is a fantastic read. Loved every second.
Second, being sick sucks. Really sucks. I knew it was coming after my 25 mi bike last weekend, and my throat felt dry. The kind that I couldn't quite get, no matter how much water I poured down. I should have known and started taking mad Vit C, zinc, etc... just from past experience, but stupid me, didn't do it. Monday, mucus was belching from my nostrils, and I absolutely went crazy with the sinus rinse hoping in vain to head off the inevitable. Sorta kinda worked... the nose thing pretty much stopped, but the cough thing, just beginning. So from pretty much Wednesday until today, I've been coughing up lung after lung and trying to take it easy. Unfortunately that meant no bike, run, swim, or even a smidge of weightlifting. Nope. Just me and the meds.
Last night I finally said the hell with it and rode my bike into work. Normally EZ, it kicked my butt! I was a good 1-2 mph slower than normal and felt terrible for it. Thats what I get for taking a week off. Taime to play catch up.
Second, being sick sucks. Really sucks. I knew it was coming after my 25 mi bike last weekend, and my throat felt dry. The kind that I couldn't quite get, no matter how much water I poured down. I should have known and started taking mad Vit C, zinc, etc... just from past experience, but stupid me, didn't do it. Monday, mucus was belching from my nostrils, and I absolutely went crazy with the sinus rinse hoping in vain to head off the inevitable. Sorta kinda worked... the nose thing pretty much stopped, but the cough thing, just beginning. So from pretty much Wednesday until today, I've been coughing up lung after lung and trying to take it easy. Unfortunately that meant no bike, run, swim, or even a smidge of weightlifting. Nope. Just me and the meds.
Last night I finally said the hell with it and rode my bike into work. Normally EZ, it kicked my butt! I was a good 1-2 mph slower than normal and felt terrible for it. Thats what I get for taking a week off. Taime to play catch up.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Good Quote
Found this on Iron Wil's Site:
Nicely put.
It hurts, but only for a few minutes at a time, and then the next time it doesn't hurt as much to do the same thing. You just keep ramping it up until what used to seem like it would kill you is actually just default
Nicely put.
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