And I just have to add this little tidbit in here. Now that I'm training again I'm getting the post run buzz. Bouncing legs, tapping things, humming, singing a little. My bay mate here at work has figured it out.
He came in this morning, went to ask me a question, got part way through it and realized I was bopping along to some mental music, and he just shook his head said "ah you've been running again!"
HAHA!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Masters and Minimalism
SWIM: 2000y in 60 mins WU=100, MS=2x200, 3x100 kick, 3x400 as 50f, 50e, 100f, 50e, 150f for #1 and #3, reverse intensity for #2
RUN: 3.5 miles in 35 mins on treadmill, about 1hr after swim. In Kinvaras.
It's worth getting up early for this swim. Compared to any other swim I do during the week, this one hurts the most. It's the structure, the other swimmers, and the knowledge that you aren't suffering alone. There's 3-5 people in your lane pushing you to keep going and they all look ragged after a long set.
Maybe not as ragged as I do, though.
I'm not sure what's different from last year, when I left Masters near tears and didn't come back too often. I'm not that much better of a swimmer now compared to then. Are there more "beginners" coming to MMM, thereby letting me feel more at home? Or is it some of that Iron Self Confidence, just knowing that I've done a 2.4 mile swim in a lake? Gotta admit, a 2000y Masters class doesnt seem all that hard compared to a 4224y bash-fest in IMWI.
And in proof that I'm still not that great of a swimmer, CHG worked with me a bit after the practice on some drills. Elementary drills, I should add. Here's the problems: My top arm is on my hip, my forward hand is too low and my arm under my head, I'm pressing the buoy too much, and my hips are high in the water. It all adds up to my biggest hugest problem: my head is too low in the water to easily turn and breath. The fix: top arm tucked alongside the body, my forward hand higher in the water and along my head, less 'push' on the buoy, and let the hips fall a bit. A few test laps of this had my forehead out of the water!! So my goal in the end is to have air on the back of my neck. Right now it's a few inches underwater.
This has been a long time problem for me. When I rotate to breath, my face is still underwater. I'd started to think that this was just me, just how I swam. I'd started to give up on it. But it seems there's a fix.
My other problem is my left arm. The elbow bends the wrong way and I don't grab the water. I need to focus on arms close to the body in my "slipstream" moment, and wide arm outside the body during the catch/pull phase. Narrow-wide-narrow-wide. But the other drills first.
And some of the problems are from me over-do-ing the drills. Pressing the buoy is something I learned with JM last year. Holding my forward arm tight under my head is from TI. Previously, I'd drill and drill and drill and drill only to find that drilling did not translate to reality. What I did drilling didn't happen swimming.
And so as always I'm psyched up about these new ideas and drills. Actually had crazy ideas of swimming at least 30 mins on my non-swim days just to drill. That'll wear off.
The run was at the Y treadmill. I wanted to ride in with DH to work and I was worried that the muy massivo ice storm and blizzard bearing down on us would keep me from running later in the day. So while I usually run later, I ran earlier and got it out of the way. The Kinvaras still feel good, and I still felt the strain in my calves. Not a pain, but an awareness. The only pain was from running on the ho-hum boring treadmill.
But I was done my 9am, meaning 5hrs into my day I had just over 1.5hrs of training DONE.
Yeah!
RUN: 3.5 miles in 35 mins on treadmill, about 1hr after swim. In Kinvaras.
It's worth getting up early for this swim. Compared to any other swim I do during the week, this one hurts the most. It's the structure, the other swimmers, and the knowledge that you aren't suffering alone. There's 3-5 people in your lane pushing you to keep going and they all look ragged after a long set.
Maybe not as ragged as I do, though.
I'm not sure what's different from last year, when I left Masters near tears and didn't come back too often. I'm not that much better of a swimmer now compared to then. Are there more "beginners" coming to MMM, thereby letting me feel more at home? Or is it some of that Iron Self Confidence, just knowing that I've done a 2.4 mile swim in a lake? Gotta admit, a 2000y Masters class doesnt seem all that hard compared to a 4224y bash-fest in IMWI.
And in proof that I'm still not that great of a swimmer, CHG worked with me a bit after the practice on some drills. Elementary drills, I should add. Here's the problems: My top arm is on my hip, my forward hand is too low and my arm under my head, I'm pressing the buoy too much, and my hips are high in the water. It all adds up to my biggest hugest problem: my head is too low in the water to easily turn and breath. The fix: top arm tucked alongside the body, my forward hand higher in the water and along my head, less 'push' on the buoy, and let the hips fall a bit. A few test laps of this had my forehead out of the water!! So my goal in the end is to have air on the back of my neck. Right now it's a few inches underwater.
This has been a long time problem for me. When I rotate to breath, my face is still underwater. I'd started to think that this was just me, just how I swam. I'd started to give up on it. But it seems there's a fix.
My other problem is my left arm. The elbow bends the wrong way and I don't grab the water. I need to focus on arms close to the body in my "slipstream" moment, and wide arm outside the body during the catch/pull phase. Narrow-wide-narrow-wide. But the other drills first.
And some of the problems are from me over-do-ing the drills. Pressing the buoy is something I learned with JM last year. Holding my forward arm tight under my head is from TI. Previously, I'd drill and drill and drill and drill only to find that drilling did not translate to reality. What I did drilling didn't happen swimming.
And so as always I'm psyched up about these new ideas and drills. Actually had crazy ideas of swimming at least 30 mins on my non-swim days just to drill. That'll wear off.
The run was at the Y treadmill. I wanted to ride in with DH to work and I was worried that the muy massivo ice storm and blizzard bearing down on us would keep me from running later in the day. So while I usually run later, I ran earlier and got it out of the way. The Kinvaras still feel good, and I still felt the strain in my calves. Not a pain, but an awareness. The only pain was from running on the ho-hum boring treadmill.
But I was done my 9am, meaning 5hrs into my day I had just over 1.5hrs of training DONE.
Yeah!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Sunday Triathlon
SWIM 1650y in 45 mins
BIKE 38 miles in 2hr 10 mins
RUN 1.35 miles in 12 mins
What a day!!
Started off with a late morning swim. WU of 200S, 200P, 200S. There was supposed to be a 200K, but that's not easy with circle swimming. I squeezed in 150y of K when I could. MS of 2x300. Then CD of 4x(25S, 25BS, 25S). It all felt good, but I'd get tired after 150y or so and have to rest. But a few seconds of rest really fixed things in my form. Need to build up! The SwimSense said mostly 12 stroke/25y, mostly 30-35s/25y. I wasn't hurrying and speed wasn't a focus here.
I didn't get my long ride yet, so did it today. Didn't get much riding in this week at all really. I almost could have ridden outdoors, but the slush and salt and mud weren't exciting me. So indoors. WU, drills, then 2x36 mins (4mins rest). Distances is a reasonable guess.
Then the run. Haha, I calculated that if I ran only 1.35 miles I'd have an even 36 miles for the week. So a quick look around CRes. All for an even number. My legs are tired!
Weekly summary:
SWIM 4650y or 2.64 miles
BIKE: 58 miles
RUN 36 miles
total of abt 10.5 hrs.
BIKE 38 miles in 2hr 10 mins
RUN 1.35 miles in 12 mins
What a day!!
Started off with a late morning swim. WU of 200S, 200P, 200S. There was supposed to be a 200K, but that's not easy with circle swimming. I squeezed in 150y of K when I could. MS of 2x300. Then CD of 4x(25S, 25BS, 25S). It all felt good, but I'd get tired after 150y or so and have to rest. But a few seconds of rest really fixed things in my form. Need to build up! The SwimSense said mostly 12 stroke/25y, mostly 30-35s/25y. I wasn't hurrying and speed wasn't a focus here.
I didn't get my long ride yet, so did it today. Didn't get much riding in this week at all really. I almost could have ridden outdoors, but the slush and salt and mud weren't exciting me. So indoors. WU, drills, then 2x36 mins (4mins rest). Distances is a reasonable guess.
Then the run. Haha, I calculated that if I ran only 1.35 miles I'd have an even 36 miles for the week. So a quick look around CRes. All for an even number. My legs are tired!
Weekly summary:
SWIM 4650y or 2.64 miles
BIKE: 58 miles
RUN 36 miles
total of abt 10.5 hrs.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Search, Slip, & Destroy
RUN RACE: Wildwood Frozen Feet 12 mile Trail Race. abt 39-42F, sunny, but ground still frozen. 1:42 for a pace of 8:34. 6th/20 in 30-39 AG and 11th/61 gender.
I have a tendency to get the last song I've heard stuck in my head for the rest of the day. Knowing this, the last song I listened to last night was Search & Destroy (artist?)--fast song, lots of guitar riffs, and lyrics I can't really understand. When I got out of the truck, I reset the CD so that was the first song I'd hear on the drive to the race. So, Search & Destroy was the theme of this race.
"And I'm the world's forgotten boy
The one who's searchin', searchin' to destroy"
Woke up early, ate banana, cashews, a date, some tater tots. Oh and some cheese. I stil had 2.5hrs til the race, so I was OK. About 6 friends were also doing this race so I was looking forward to seeing them and setting a PR. The trail surface in the flyer was described as a mix of asphalt and natural trail. Natural trail....that could mean a lot of things.
The weather was wonderful, the race field small (122 total), and I was feeling great. I didn't warm up much, figured I'd warm up in the first mile. I seeded by 10K time into the 3rd wave, and there were 2 min intervals between waves. It wasn't long before I'd dusted my wave and set out in search of the one in front of me. Maybe I could have seeded better. But who knew my 10K time wasn't 54-55 mins anymore?? Not me.
The dry asphalt of the start quickly turned to hard packed snow. Some of the path was still available in areas allowing for some traction, but for the most part it was step-step-step over slick, rough surface. I focused on keeping a pace that was about 80% of max.
It wasn't long before I could see stragglers from wave 2. Seachin' to destroy...and picked them off one by one. Around the loop of mile 3, to the Y at mile 6. I hit mile 6 at 51 mins, meaning my 10K time might be closer to 50 than 55! Then up a looooooonngggg 2 mile hill. With ice. Search, slip, and destroy through this section.
Then down a 2 mile hill. This was fun, even though it was iced over a bit. Managed to pass a few more peeps here. Seachin'....
I should have had the gel earlier, but since I wasnt carrying water I had to wait for a water station. One at 6, one at 8, and the one at 6 available again at 10. So it wasn't until mile 10 that I took my gingerbread gel. Might have been too late, I started to flag at mile 11.
But having an out-n-back course for the start/finish miles let me know that the finish was close that the terrain was flat. I could see runners ahead of me, I decided to focus on catching them to keep going. Search' to destroy.
Recover was quick. Fatigue but no pain. Hard to make a PR on trail, but considering that it's early in the year and last year's fastest 12.4 miles was only 2 mins slower, I'd say this is a good time to open the season!
The race was awesome, the variety of terrain a thrill, and I'll definitely look for this race again next year.
I have a tendency to get the last song I've heard stuck in my head for the rest of the day. Knowing this, the last song I listened to last night was Search & Destroy (artist?)--fast song, lots of guitar riffs, and lyrics I can't really understand. When I got out of the truck, I reset the CD so that was the first song I'd hear on the drive to the race. So, Search & Destroy was the theme of this race.
"And I'm the world's forgotten boy
The one who's searchin', searchin' to destroy"
Woke up early, ate banana, cashews, a date, some tater tots. Oh and some cheese. I stil had 2.5hrs til the race, so I was OK. About 6 friends were also doing this race so I was looking forward to seeing them and setting a PR. The trail surface in the flyer was described as a mix of asphalt and natural trail. Natural trail....that could mean a lot of things.
The weather was wonderful, the race field small (122 total), and I was feeling great. I didn't warm up much, figured I'd warm up in the first mile. I seeded by 10K time into the 3rd wave, and there were 2 min intervals between waves. It wasn't long before I'd dusted my wave and set out in search of the one in front of me. Maybe I could have seeded better. But who knew my 10K time wasn't 54-55 mins anymore?? Not me.
The dry asphalt of the start quickly turned to hard packed snow. Some of the path was still available in areas allowing for some traction, but for the most part it was step-step-step over slick, rough surface. I focused on keeping a pace that was about 80% of max.
It wasn't long before I could see stragglers from wave 2. Seachin' to destroy...and picked them off one by one. Around the loop of mile 3, to the Y at mile 6. I hit mile 6 at 51 mins, meaning my 10K time might be closer to 50 than 55! Then up a looooooonngggg 2 mile hill. With ice. Search, slip, and destroy through this section.
Then down a 2 mile hill. This was fun, even though it was iced over a bit. Managed to pass a few more peeps here. Seachin'....
I should have had the gel earlier, but since I wasnt carrying water I had to wait for a water station. One at 6, one at 8, and the one at 6 available again at 10. So it wasn't until mile 10 that I took my gingerbread gel. Might have been too late, I started to flag at mile 11.
But having an out-n-back course for the start/finish miles let me know that the finish was close that the terrain was flat. I could see runners ahead of me, I decided to focus on catching them to keep going. Search' to destroy.
Recover was quick. Fatigue but no pain. Hard to make a PR on trail, but considering that it's early in the year and last year's fastest 12.4 miles was only 2 mins slower, I'd say this is a good time to open the season!
The race was awesome, the variety of terrain a thrill, and I'll definitely look for this race again next year.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Late Friday Swim
SWIM: 30 mins 1100 yards
Better late than never.
I didn't have a plan, was distracted from good results at work, and was kinda just doing 50's and 100's. Got tired easily.
Practice makes perfect...er... perfecter, really, since I'll never be a perfect swimmer. But these 30 min sessions are needed!!!
Better late than never.
I didn't have a plan, was distracted from good results at work, and was kinda just doing 50's and 100's. Got tired easily.
Practice makes perfect...er... perfecter, really, since I'll never be a perfect swimmer. But these 30 min sessions are needed!!!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Fast Forest Park loop
RUN: 6.3 miles in 54.5 mins. 8:39 pace
Ok so not fast in terms of overall record breaking speed, but it felt fast. And easy. Knowing I didn't have to do anything more than the loop, I pushed up hills and kept the pace up. It's not often that run feels easy. In fact, it's almost rare. But this felt easy. That wind in your face (25F wind at that), fresh legs, light feet feeling. Oh damn I loved it.
And no I didn't swim last night. I had a work deadline to hit. Maybe tonight?
I was just thinking about previous Thursday morning runs, and remembered that Thursday Run was a tag for this blog. I skimmed a few, and found this one with a 12.4 mile PR of 1:40! Wow, with that 12-mile race coming up Saturday, this was a good reminder.
Ok so not fast in terms of overall record breaking speed, but it felt fast. And easy. Knowing I didn't have to do anything more than the loop, I pushed up hills and kept the pace up. It's not often that run feels easy. In fact, it's almost rare. But this felt easy. That wind in your face (25F wind at that), fresh legs, light feet feeling. Oh damn I loved it.
And no I didn't swim last night. I had a work deadline to hit. Maybe tonight?
I was just thinking about previous Thursday morning runs, and remembered that Thursday Run was a tag for this blog. I skimmed a few, and found this one with a 12.4 mile PR of 1:40! Wow, with that 12-mile race coming up Saturday, this was a good reminder.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Weds long run over lunch
RUN: 12.15 miles in 1hr 50 mins. FP out 6 miles and back. Took gel at 7 miles. Felt easy and good.
I want to get these long runs in early as possible to allow for the most recovery between Weds and Thurs as possible. But today it worked out better to run over lunch. I had a 2-3hr break in the middle of the day at work, and instead of sitting at my computer I decided to run. It worked out in the end. My left ankle didn't hurt much, and my right knee did just a little.
I'm still planning to swim tonight, so hopefully I will be able to come here later with a good swim update!
I want to get these long runs in early as possible to allow for the most recovery between Weds and Thurs as possible. But today it worked out better to run over lunch. I had a 2-3hr break in the middle of the day at work, and instead of sitting at my computer I decided to run. It worked out in the end. My left ankle didn't hurt much, and my right knee did just a little.
I'm still planning to swim tonight, so hopefully I will be able to come here later with a good swim update!
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