Long, COLD run

RUN: 11 miles, 1hr 46mins. COLD and WINDY. 9:36 pace in the snow and ice. High 20's but unknown windchill. Ran up to school road, then to N25th and to park entrance. That was the outbound, I then turned around and came back. I had very few troubles whatsoever--brief pains would come and go as I warmed up, and the right ankle was out of place a few steps, but other than that the only problem was some left foot numbness. It's likely my orthotic needs adjustment.

Once again, I got halfway thru a workout and was presented with the opportunity to cut out halfway. I could have easily come home along the highway and ended with a 6.5 mile run. My hands were so cold I couldn't eat my gel (mint chocolate!). The wind was cutting through my gloves, I ended up putting my water bottle under my arm. With the windout of the south, I knew my homebound route up the school road hill was going to suck. And did it ever. Up a long, long hill into a cutting wind, one step at a time.

I'm still enjoying the benefits of long distance training, as demonstrated by the fact that I felt no pains or aches afterwards. My ankles are doing great, I have limited flexibility in the left is all.

NEXT: Likely nothing for 2 days. My visit at home is wrapping up, and I have no bike or trainer. Maybe a run Friday morning, but it's supposed to be even COLDER!

Tuesday swim, gotta kick a little

SWIM: 1750y 49 mins, 2x600 intervals. Plan said to do 1st 600 swimming and 2nd 600 pulling, I didn't have a pull buoy so I did no kicking on the first and kicking on the 2nd. I was definitely faster on the second 600. My hips were higher and I didn't rely so much on my arms for propulsion. My arms wore out in the first interval, I actually debated whether I should do the second one! Part of my mind tried to say "but my form will suffer, it's not worth it" and the other part said "oh suck it up". In the end, the fatigue wasn't there in the second interval. So maybe one goal for an upcoming swim lesson is to review the best kick technique for me.

NEXT: A run, either a 5 miler or my long run of 10-12 miles. Maybe the canal path?

Monday's Swim/Run

SWIM: 1750y 50 mins 2x200 main set. Although I don't normally swim 2 days in a row, I didn't feel the previous days swim at all. I love this pool, with the sunshine coming through the windows. I focused on an even pace while swimming. The last 200 was weak compared to the first, but all I needed was a brief rest to get form back. I need to work on my endurance in swimming.

RUN:5mi, 45 mins 2x1600 @ 7:30 on a treadmill. Yeah, I swore I wouldn't treadmill but I had 3 good reasons: just swam so wet, just swam and popped right ankle, and sidewalks weren't clear yet, and wanted to do controlled intervals. OK, 4 reasons. The 1 mile intervals were pretty easy especially after I warmed up (>20mins) and I sped up a bit more. No problems at all with the ankles! They just hurt when I overextend.

I'm sticking so far to my healthier goals and keeping even energy levels. No soreness or fatigue yet, but my lungs and back of my throat hurt a bit--dry air maybe?

NEXT: I'm bikeless, so just a swim. Keep it easy so as not to push the 3 days in a row of swimming I'm doing. Bike for a bit on the stationary?

A journey of a thousand miles....

A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. --Lao Tzu,
Chinese Taoist philosopher

I found a silver ring with a similar saying engraved in it. (Must a copyright issue?). Looking up this quote took me to other relevant Lao Tzu quotes:

He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you
are heading.

And so tomorrow it begins. Sometimes I would tempt myself to think that I could start the day after Christmas, but I held out and waited until tomorrow. Even though my training will still be light with the FBR coming up, tomorrow is it! I can't help but wonder if I'll somehow change tomorrow when I start training--I'll be officially "training for an Ironman triathlon". Not getting ready to, and not planning to, but actually Training For An Ironman Triathlon. Yikes!

Another plan of mine was to make each training session count, to have a goal. To help with that, I'd planned to review the next day's training while recording the current one. Some schedule switching will be needed with the holidays and travel, but here goes....

Monday Dec 28th (Thurs workout): 45 min swim, main set of 1200y continuous; 45 min run, 15min at 65% and 20 min at 75% with perfect running form. There are 2-3 5 milers in the marathon training plan, this is one of them.

A squeezed-in swim

SWIM: 1500y in 36 minutes. Just swimming, no drills.

Mayhaps my best swim yet. And I keep saying that, sooner or later my swimming's gonna peak. I have one more lesson, but would like to get another set of 3 to work on the speed and refining the technique.

IM starts tomorrow!! That will get a special post. :-)

New numerics:

SWIM: 1500y / 26449

BIKE: 43 m / 421.2

RUN: 16.3m / 220.65

2009 RUN: 1035.5 miles

Christmas Running!

RUN: 6.5 miles ~58mins in FP, xmas eve run

RUN: 4.5 miles 42 mins at home, 26th Dec

The 4.5 miler run was in snow and ice, cold and windy. Tried the YakTrax for the 1st time and liked them! Also the first run in a long time in which neither ankle hurt at all. Not sure why--if I'm finally healed or just had a good day. Maybe the cold numbed them.

Ended up skipping the marathon plan 10-miler due to a busy schedule, I'll get it later.

Picked a plan finally

I've settled on the TriFuel Plan. It has a similar structure week to week and allows me to schedule into regular group runs and events.

This will have to combine with the RW marathon program I've picked. I've printed out both a 20-25 miler and 26-30 miler marathon plan, the goal is to do at least the 20-25 distances, and use the 4th run in the longer plan when I can. No need to overdue it now.

The overall for the TF plan is:
Monday: swim ---Will be able to use Masters swim in summer
Tuesday: Bike/Run--- Back to the old tues brick!
Weds: Swim/Bike
Thurs: Swim/Run --- Run first, thursday group run
Fri: Swim or off --- For now, do the sunday here
Sat: Bike or Bike/Run
Sun Run/Bike ---For now, switch the Friday swim to Sunday at crestview

Sounds like a plan! Marathon training starts this week, IM next week. I'm excited to get started, less excited that it's starting over the holidays. Luckily running is easy to do anywhere. I'll miss a few early bike sessions maybe, and that's all.

Indoor training

BIKE: 18 miles 60mins to MTB DVD

Indoor training is bad enough, but to have started it so early. It seems that once the seal is broken, ie the bike is on the trainer, it's so much easier to leave it there instead of lugging it downstairs for a cold ride. Not that it's a lug to carry. And not that indoor training is the worst thing I could be doing. It's the only time I really sit down to watch TV so I do enjoy that aspect of it. Does spinning away on the bike count as sitting down?

I'm going to miss the bike over xmas, so I'm squeezing in some miles now. Sadly, I might miss the first bike workouts of the IM plan!! I'm not even sure what that would be....And part of that is because I've yet to really settle on a plan. That should be a priority!! I tend to like the TriFuel one since week to week it's the same. Now would that be nice for scheduling purposes, or a terror? Would the change-up week-to-week be a nice change or hard to follow? I suppose they will both get me to the finish line, but I do need to pick one. Otherwise next Monday will be spent staring at paper and not roadway!

Last week of nothingness

RUN: 5.3 miles ?? time Big River xmas lights run
BIKE: 25 miles 90 mins trainer and SG1

Well, nothingness in terms of a schedule. I'm just now realizing that NEXT WEEK starts the IM countdown! So much for pre-base training.

The run was enjoyable, unfortunately I was looking less at lights and more at the ground. The right ankle felt out of place and i was worried about further damage by stepping on something. The left ankle is stiff and lacking flexibility. Not sure what to do about this.

2010 also has a marathon!

RUN: 6.5 in 55 mins
RUN: 6.2 in 60 mins
SWIM: 2240y in 79 mins FBR preview run
BIKE: 36 miles in 2hrs

Got behind again! A few things to report. The ankles are not doing well, even though in my opinion I'm resting. I've finally signed up for the marathon, training starts tomorrow!

Numerics: week/ since 14Sept
SWIM: 3940y / 24949y
BIKE: 36miles / 378.2
RUN: 12.7 miles/ 204.35
RUN in 2009: 1019.25 miles

What's the plan on Jan 1st? Restart counting? Or have a 3rd numeric?

Ladder swim

SWIM: 1250y 33mins

It sure seems like I swam more than that! I did 25 laps in a ladder of 1,2,3,4,5 etc laps. If I go too long, my form suffers. So for right now I'm keeping the intervals short (very short, apparently) to focus on holding good form. But this is one of the first swims in a long time in which I do intervals, I'm usually doing just 100's.

What is suffering on the form? Nice clean rotation from side to side. I get sloppy, which affects my head position and pulls. The head comes up. The pulls sweep too far under me. I'm also getting tired in my arms, leaving me to wonder if I'm not engaging my lats. My right ankle also had me quitting early. It just reached the point that even without pushing off the wall I had problems with pain. Although I still complain about it, it is improving.

As of now, it seems hard to imagine being able to swim the 2.4 miles or 4224 yards (I had to look that up just now) in one shot. But, it's only December and I have a long way to go!

I missed the group run tonight. I got out of work late and had to make the choice between the run and a swim, since I left the house too late to swim this morning. I chose the swim, the better option for me now. Tomorrow morning I'll get in 6-7 miles before the roofer gets here.

IM training just weeks away

RUN 6.5m 57mins? Thursday
RUN 7.4m 73mins Saturday Frostbite 12K
SWIM 2000m ?? Sunday
BIKE 23m 90mins Sunday

I don't mean to get so behind, but since my training is just going out to just do it, there's no real goals or updates to report. I'm busy busy busy, my list of things to get done just grows. It seems that as soon as I cross something off something else just comes up. It's only 10d until xmas and I've yet to start xmas shopping. Right now the focus is work, race, and club issues.

My IM training really starts on Dec 28th, 2 weeks from now. I'd hoped to have December as base building and getting back into the swing of a real schedule. I still have time, hope is not lost yet!

Numerics! totals are since 14 Sept.
Swim: 2320y/21459y
Bike: 29 m/342.2
Run: 20.5 / 191.6
2009 Running mileage: 1006.55 miles !!!

Back from injuries!

RUN 6miles 60 min (Tuesday)
SWIM 1200y 30mins (Wednesday)

The run was a bit awkward, I'm wondering if it's because I'm still lacking some flexibility? No pain while running, but some "feeling" on the left ligament. The right ankle feels better without the tape, I think!

As for swimming, neither ankle is perfect. But both are a distraction while swimming. They are tolerable but still hurting. At least I got in the pool!

I-64 Timetrial!

BIKE: 8miles 7mile TT in 23:16 Garmin said about 18.9mph?

Cold, but awesome ride this morning. I had rather high expectations based on all the biking I did this summer, but the miles have been low lately. It seemed like I was always climbing a hill--the legs were just not snappy. Also it's hard to stay relaxed when you're cold. I think the biggest regret is that when tucked down and trying to stay warm you don't get to see much of what's around you. So I tried at some points to look around and and take in what I was doing, but I would have had to go back for the rec ride to really soak it in. Overall I was pleased with the effort, even though I kept thinking I had a flat tire or stuck chain! It took some pushing on some of those hills. The new bike fit is great, but the front end still wobbly. I just need to learn to hold the aerobars a little more

Tomorrow is 1 week for the left ankle injury. I have little if any pain but occasionally I can feel it move funny. Mostly when I pull backwards when the foot is planted. Not painful, just a feeling. I'm ready to try a run tomorrow, but probably not the full 7 miler I'd like to be doing.

I'm working on the training plan for next year. I think I've picked the free plan LS found. The other one only has running 2x a week. I'm still considering doing the GO! marathon in April. I have time to train if I start ramping up now--the race is 15w into 2010 and my plans call for 16-17w. Clock is ticking on the decision. Pros: maybe more confidence in WI, great base, love the training. Cons: potential injury, poor ratio of running to bike and swim, potential long recovery.

Numerics:
Swim: 0/19140y
Bike: 33/313.2
Run:6/171.15
2009 Run: 986.05 Seems this number will never hit 1000!

Injury update

BIKE 90mins ~25miles HARD during commercials

I watched one of those Nanny shows on the trainer. They profiled a husband who took off on bike rides during kid tantrums. The caption at the bottom of the screen said "Freedom Ride". LOL

Injury update--I remember now the left ankle injury: anterior talofibular ligament damage. A strain I guess. And something to do with the sinus tarsi in the right foot is what causes the click/pop I feel. So more tape on the right foot, which actually feels pretty good, hopefully not just because I'm avoiding running and swimming. The left foot feels good until I over stretch it, which makes sense. So I'm still being gentle with both, and while I feel like I could ru- tomorrow I won't.

I'm surprised that I'm not running regardless of the injuries, that's my usual methodology. I think the fact that I was already limping on one foot is what is stopping me. I've run out of feet to limp on!

Some beginning that was

RUN 6miles 55mins

Well I've managed to twist the left ankle now. On a positive note, I see DrM today about the right one, so this will be the fastest turnaround for injury I've ever had. NUTS!

Run was going great otherwise, we were moving along at a decent clip. But running in the dark on a hill under trees wasn't a decent idea. NUTS!!

It rolled outwards, and was more of a tingly-pain, instead of a broken/torn pain. Numbness in the 3 outer toes for about a mile. I can put weight on it, but flexibility is low. NUTS!!!