Pool time trial, times two

Its been a bit slow going in the pool. I have no excuses except being lazy. I finally hit the pool yesterday. It was time for a time trial, and I needed to get some solid distance as well. So I sorta went off the deep end (ha ha..)

I warmed up for 400 yards, then I did my 1st 1000 yard time trial. Next, I did 400 yards of mild recovery speed drills, then I did a 2nd 1000 yard time trial. Finally I had 200 yards of cool down (though I was sort feeling a bit ill at that point). All told, it was 3000 yards (about 1.7 miles).

The first 1000, I finished in 17 minutes and 13s, for an average of 1m 43s per/100 yards
The second 1000, I finished in 18minutes and 37s, for an average of 1m 51s per/100yards

Not to bad for having about 6 weeks since the last time I was in the pool. That last time, I swam a 1m 42s average per/100 for the 1000 yards. I am not the fastest swimmer, and I certainly do not have the good form, but it gets the job down. And in race conditions, I can get that 100 yard time to just a little under 1m 30s. Although, that's only for a short race.

Peace

A Day "Beyond Measure"

After last weeks terrible "long run" I was not sure what to expect this week. The strength training was tough as usual, and the time trials were a bit of a surprise. As I gear up for tomorrow's "long run", I decided to go out for a "Bluebird Trail" run. Its a 5.24 mile circuit near work.

The weather was awesome (maybe mid 40's), the sun was rising, no real wind to speak off. Perfect, at least for me, running weather. After I warmed up, it was beautiful. On top of that I felt great. I believe I was running at a race pace, so it was not an easy run. As I finished the 5.24 miles and checked my watch I came in at a hair over 40 minutes. That comes out a speedy 7 min 38sec mile pace. Even faster than my best recorded 10k speed.

I felt so good, as some of my favorite songs played just as I hit the 1 mile to go mark, I darn near sprinted all the way in. A Great feeling. On top of that during the cool down, I was further lifted up by a great song on the mp3 player.

Inspirational Song for the Day:
From the title track to Jeremy Camp's newest album, "Beyond Measure"

I know that I’ve been,
Given more than beyond measure,
I come alive when,
I see beyond my fears
I know that I’ve been given more than earthly treasure,
I come alive when
I’ve broken down and given you control

There are 15 days left prior to the Great Western Trail Half marathon. It may come as a surprise to those that know me, but this will be my first ever official running race. I've jogged for years, but never entered a race. Not a 5k, 10k, anything. Nothing like jumping right into the deep end eh!

Peace

Its Time trial time

Because of the long vacation I've somewhat gotten away from the 3 weeks build up, and testing on the 4th week. To get back on schedule, it decided this week would be time trial week. There were some difficult tests, the 12.75 mile run on Saturday really crushed me. Even still, the time trials showed improvements.

In the bike, I my average and peak HR were basically the same at 168 and 187 respectively. What really changed was the average speed, cadence, max speed and the distance. The previous time trial had an avg speed of 17.45 mph, a max of 19.86 mph, a cadence of 91 rpm, with a distance of 5.91. This time the average was 23.21 mph, a max of 24.67 mph, a cadence of 101 rpm, with a distance of 7.86.

For the run I went from a 173 AVG HR, 193 MAX HR to 174 AVG HR and 197 MAX HR. The distance remained about the same. Just about 3miles. I need to be careful about how I'm recording the distance on the run time trials, since I'm not sure if I included the build up period in the first ten minutes, or just the distance of the final 20 minutes.

Bottom line however, I've appeared to make some noticeable gains on the bike. All those body sculpt classes and the new weight training might be paying off. We'll see soon, since the first event of the year is coming up in just over 2 weeks. More on that in the coming days..

Peace

Hola!

It would be easy to say that I've lost 3 weeks of training as a result of our vacation. Although, the altitude in Cusco, Peru is 11,200 feet. If you factor in that the Inca ruins we were climbing around (with a extra 30 lbs on my back carrying our son) were anywhere from 8,000 to 13,000 feet above sea level, that high altitude hiking is a serious workout. Point being, while I did not run, bike, or swim in the past few weeks, I had some significant length strengthening experiences.

This is a picture of us climbing down a path as the Inca ruins at Pisac.

Back to reality now. It is just under 4 weeks until my first official event of the year. The Great Western Trail 1/2 marathon. This will be my first official 1/2 marathon race. That is to say, I've run 13.1 miles before, just never in a timed raced.

So its time to get back into it..

Peace!

First Team World Vision Chicago Group Run

The cold weather in Chicago broke just enough to allow the first Team World Vision group run to be quite nice. I hoofed downtown (a good 45 miles), and dragged along a friend of mine. We started from the New Balance store on the north side, and ran along the lake front. While a bit windy, after you warmed up, it wasn't to bad. It was the first time most of us involved in Team World Vision met each other. It was pretty cool. People of all different level and backgrounds (new run, to marathoners, to Triathletes). I ended up with about 7 miles, even ran on a section of a 5k race that was about to start (oops!).

In all, it was good times, good run, but most of all good people. I look forward to future runs (and hopefully some cycling as well).

Peace

Its complete... My Copperman Registration is done

The last planned event of my season is now booked. The Copperman Sprint triathlon, in the Great White North (well almost), opened its registration today. My family has visited the Copper Harbor area of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula a number of times. I suppose it helps that my wife went to College in Houghton MI. Its a beautiful and scenic area of the country. Its also got some rolling hills that seems like small mountains to us Illinois Prairie flatlanders.

With my registration for the Copperman complete, I am now officially registered for all the events I had planned to do. Its a big year. 2 Sprint Triathlons. 1 Olympic distance, One 1/2 marathon, One Full marathon, and the big dog of the year is the Spirit of Racine 1/2 Ironman.

Training is going well. I have not yet seen the benefit of adding the body sculpt and weight training to my weekly regimen. Except for some mighty sore quads and hip flexors . In the end I am sure it will pay off. In the short term, those classes just eat into my midweek runs and also leave me a bit tired for the evening sessions on the bike trainer.

...And now for something completely different
Training will be very sparse, if not put on hold completely for the next few weeks as our family will be on vacation. Perhaps the mountain hiking in the Andes of Peru, or (if possible) the ocean swimming off the coast of the Galapagos will provide me some training possibilities. Should be a great trip. Until I return...

Peace
Ted

MapMyRun, what a cool concept

Have you ever wondered when you hit the pavement or the streets for a good run and take a new route how far you've gone. It on the streets you can drive the route in the car. If on a path or something you can take a bike with a computer on it. If you are not one of the lucky few with a handheld GPS, I've got something for you....

As I close out the week, I'll share a website that the director of the fitness center I go to. Its mapmyrun.com. Its not just any old mapping and destination software. But it allows you to click, place markets, and the best part, you can determine the distance of all those neighborhood run. I checked it out for the first time today. Its pretty cool...

Destination ????? The miles are racking up. We are sitting at 1719 miles. Although, with an upcoming vacation, mileage will be at a standstill. However, once we return, the volume and intensity will shoot up. There are only 56 days until the 1/2 Marathon (not only the first event of the year, but my first official 1/2 marathon)

Peace

Time has flown by

Its been awhile since my last post. Work has picked up considerably, which cannot be all bad. The time trials went very well last week. I'll will post an update shortly. I saw great improvement in distance on the bike, and an improvement in the run as well.

Running has been on the sides lines lately. I have managed to get on the trainer, and keep the swimming going. With a half marathon in about 2 months, I will need to start putting some more miles on very soon.

Something new however, if a new weight training program. Aside from the regular body sculpt classes, and circuit classes, I've began some more personalized, triathlon specific, weight training on Wednesday and Fridays. Wednesday and Friday are also my running days, so that's also impacting my distance. I'm sore, so the weights must be working. I'm hoping that the weight will allow for some jumps in improvement on the bike and run. Time will tell..

peace

7 weeks into base training, upcoming tests

As add up my weeks mileage, I realize that next week is a "rest" week. That means its time trials on the bike, run, and swim already. That's probably a good, thing. The rest. While my volume of training has been a bit on/off the past two week, the intensity has been to high. Resting, will be good. Then I'll get back to basics.

What's also nice, is that I've finally hit the pool again. First time since the Accenture Triathlon last august. It felt good. Not coming from a swimming background, I was pleased that I was able to go out and swim a mile as a decent page. I did a 1000 yard time trial (not all out though) in just over 20 minutes. We'll see what happens on this Sunday though. Either way, its good to finally get back into the pool.

Excluding a likely ride on the trainer tomorrow my week comprised of 1 mile swim on Sunday, 14 miles on the trainer on Monday, 4 mile run on Tuesday, a 10k (6.2 mile) on Wednesday and Friday, and a combination spin/run for 9 miles on Thursday. Assuming I get two hours on the trainer tomorrow that might add up to another 25 or so. So Destination ?????? has been updated. (psst, rumor has is that Destination ????? will be revealed around Easter)

What a difference intensities make..

I've posted before about base training, keeping the heart rate and intensities low, in order to build up an aerobic base. In the Working Your Heart article (a link can also be found in the Training Links on the right side of this blog), it shares how getting into the higher HR zones can leave you not just tired, but worn out, and feeling a step away from injury. How true is that...

About 5 or 6 weeks into my base training, I have felt very good. Except for not enough sleep, the increased mileage on the road and cycle have not negatively impacted me. That is until today. In a Spin/Jog class today, I push my intervals into the anaerobic zones. that is to say into Zone 5+ in which the HR gets to MAX. For my, Max heart rate is about 190 BPM or so. After 1 hours of this combination of biking/running in zones 3-5, I feel like I ran into a brick wall. My joints are sore, I'm exhausted, and in fact, I'm having a more difficult time getting my heart rate down and relaxing.

As i think back to prior years training, this is how I felt normally. That's because I used to train only in those higher HR ranges. So when I joked it felt like my heart was going to explode, perhaps it was not as far fetched as I thought. So the moral of the story here? This stuff works. Take care of yourself, and your body will take care of you.

Inspirational Song for the Day:
As we enter into the Lenten Season, I found these lyrics from the Jeremy Camp song "Tonight" interestingly relevant, in personally inspirational. Tonight, by Jeremy Camp is from the Beyond Measure Album.

...In this time,
You draw me by these words you've spoken,
I feel inside,
This never ending hope,
I've placed all that I trust in knowing one day I will see you,
The only thing worth holding onto is holding onto me...