Week of July 15-21, 2013
Monday the 15th - Lunch Run
My wife had the morning, so I slept in. But I did head home and hop on the treadmill at lunch. It took a few minutes to change and get the fan set up, so I only had time to run 2.5 miles, burning 268 calories, in 31:35. It was a very slow pace, but easy and aerobic. I also went to bed with about a 305 calorie deficit.
Tuesday the 16th - AM Ride/Run Brick and Lunch Gym
I was going to do the usual routine and bike 27 miles with the three big hills. But I decided to do a bike ride/run brick. A brick just means you do two exercises back to back, to more closely simulate race day. The most common is bike to run, versus swim to bike, as the first mile you run after biking a decent distance takes some getting used to.
I left the house at 4:45am, and biked my usual route but only climbed new Indian Hill. This is much easier than climbing Given, Old Indian Hill, AND Kugler Mill. Everything was going fine, and after the climb up Indian Hill I turned right onto Drake and was eating a Clif Bar with one hand - just coasting along. I went down the first roller and before I knew it there were giant steel construction plates across the road, right at the bottom when your speed is highest. Hitting these with only one hand on the bars, going maybe 25 mph, nearly sent me to the ground.
I finished the ride uneventfully after that, and at home changed into my running shoes. I ran my usual 3.2 mile route but my iPhone registered 3.4 miles. The ride was 23.9 miles in 1:31:39, avg speed of 15.6mph. The run was 3.4 miles in 33:19, avg pace of 9:56mm. Remember that I don't have a HR monitor now, and my new watch won't arrive until Thursday, so I was just cruising along. I didn't know how fast or slow I was going.
At lunch, I went to the Rec Center and worked out with weights, hitting back and biceps. I probably did 15 sets of 10 on three machines. I snuck out early, after only 30 minutes of fast sets, and headed to Chipotle for a 900 calorie burrito. I was craving calories and I knew my plain turkey sandwich meal of 450 calories would leave me hungry in the afternoon. These cravings lead to either an apple or a trip to the vending machines (Snickers!). I think I burned about 900 calories on the bike ride, and another 500 calories on the run. 1,400 calories plus my usual, oatmeal for breakfast, Chipotle for lunch, and my plain turkey sandwich for lunch meant I will be leaving 520 calories in the hole for the day.
Here is the Strava data for the ride and run:
Wednesday the 17th - AM Swim and Lunch Run
I slept in today. It's weak, I know. My two swimming partners couldn't make it, and I got about 4 hours of sleep Monday night. So I enjoyed sleeping in. I actually went to bed at 7:30 last night, and slept until 6:30. Great night of sleep. I notice that Monday nights have been rough getting to bed. I hope that trend doesn't continue.
At lunch, I came home and ran for "400 calories" on the treadmill. This was about 4 miles, in roughly 45 minutes. I ran in the 11:19 to 12:00 ran, slowly going slower as the run went on. My fan was on me at full blast, which made a great help. I watched part of the movie The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Great movie. I highly relate to the main character, though I was always tall so didn't get picked on.
When I came home I saw a package on my doorstep. I am expecting my new GPS watch, the quick release kit for said watch, and a new ultra bright bike tail light. Sure enough, it was my awesome new GPS watch: the Garmin 310XT. It took about 10 seconds to set up the user profile. It's bigger than the 210 I had, but smaller than the 305 I had last year (which was stolen while getting a signal on the porch of our Hilton Head condo! Still pissed about that.). Tomorrow, I will be running on the treadmill in the morning, so I won't get to go out with it until Friday AM. Should be fun.
Thursday the 18th - Lunch Treadmill Run
My wife and I went back and forth on who would workout Thursday and Friday, and I ended up sleeping in both days. I watched my calories and ran "400 calories" at lunch, which was about 45 minutes and nearly 4 miles. I had my Garmin 310XT though, and realized that to run with a heart rate in the 140-148 bpm range I wasn't running fast enough. My pace here was around 9:54 to 10:10 as the run progressed, and my aerobic HR float kicked in. This means that as I run 10:00, let's say, after a while my HR will slowly creep up. If it's 145bpm at 10:00, after 30 minutes it might get to 146 or 147. This, I believe, has something to do with conditioning and the more conditioned I am the longer I'll be able to hold the 10:00mm/145bpm. Either way, it's great having a HR monitor again and the 310XT is a bad ass watch.
Friday the 19th - Rest day
Not only was today a rest day, but I went to a pizza place with some co-workers to talk about training and races. One of the guys with us has done 9 full Ironman races, so he is great to talk to about training and nutrition. I wound up eating half a large Dewey's cheese pizza with banana peppers and mushrooms - so good! This is probably 1500 calories or more. Terrible day.
Also, my wife got us an overnight babysitter, so we went out for drinks and dinner. We ended up eating tacos at Bakersfield in OTR. I couldn't believe how different OTR is. The Bakersfield fish taco rocked. We also checked out the new casino in Cincinnati, the Horseshoe. My wife played some slots for a minute. Willie Nelson was playing a concert there, which was cool. We went to a comedy show at 10:30 and didn't get home until 12:30. So, I was probably asleep by 1.
Saturday the 20th - AM Bike/Run Brick
I met 2 Cincy Express guys, 1 BAM guy, and his friend at Lunken Airport at 6:15am for a 6:30am ride. The four of us were all triathletes and planned to ride 40 miles out Route 8 and then run 5-10 miles around Lunken. One of the guys has a 56cm Felt B-16 that he let me roll around the parking lot on. This thing is sweet! Full carbon fiber frameset with Shimano Ultegra components. It felt light, though I didn't crank hard (my cleats didn't fit the pedals) so I couldn't speak to how it flexed. Though I'm sure it's awesome. What a great bike. They run around $2k new, and about $1500 used on eBay. Very cool bike.
The 5 of us left Lunken and headed west on Kellogg Avenue downtown, crossed the Purple People Bridge, and then headed east on Route 8. The pace wasn't going to be crazy, roughly 17 mph. Going out Kellogg we kept pretty easy. Crossing the bridge and going through Dayton, Kentucky, we didn't push too hard. Once we got outside of Dayton, we pushed it a little. We were doing 20-22 mph on the mostly flat Route 8. It was a great pace for the group, as we all stuck together well. The day was windy, but otherwise it didn't get too hot for our ride. One of the people needed to get back by 9am, so we headed out 18 miles and turned around. To make it 40 some of us rode another 5 miles around Lunken and ended at a 41 mph ride. The average speed was 17.1 for the 41 miles. This is great because on March 30th I did this same route with some Cincy Express guys and they actually dropped me on a 26 mile out and back. I was glad my bike progress has improved to the point that I can do 41 now without getting dropped.
After the ride, I changed and started running a loop around Lunken. It was about 9:30 by this time, and the heat and humidity was pretty rough. After about 2.5 miles, I noticed my HR was 177 bpm at about 10:00mm. Though I felt fine, I slowed down and eventually walked on and off for the rest of the run. The heat, humidity, pushing harder than I'm used to on the bike, getting about 4 hours of sleep, and drinking lots of beer last night all could have helped in my poor run today. But I think the main problem is that I haven't been running much lately. My 3 miles lunch runs on a treadmill just aren't cutting it. I think it's much easier to run on a treadmill, so my hiding from the heat isn't the best training. Although, I felt much better after a recent 60 mile ride at about 15 mph average. For my half Ironman race in September, I'll keep the pace around 15/16 so I can save my legs for the run. I ended up running 5 miles at about 12:30mm. Sucky run.
I'm still learning the new watch, so the bike and run are combined here in the Strava data:
Sunday the 21th - Lazy Sunday (rest day)
Nothing planned for today. Just a relaxing day with the family. My legs are fine though. Yesterday's brick didn't beat me up too much. I'm making progress! A year ago, I would need a week to recover.
Monday, July 15, 2013
Week July 8-14, 2013
Week of July 8-14
I have had trouble updating these blogs for each day. I've also had trouble making the blogs interesting. So, I think I'll create weekly blogs going forward, going from Mondays to Sundays.
Monday the 8th - Rest day
Tuesday the 9th - Morning bike ride and lunch gym trip.
I wrote about this already. See previous blog.
Wednesday the 10th - Morning Swim
I met a co-worker at the YMCA at 5am, like usual, for a morning swim. We decided to swim outside in the 50m pool from now on, while the weather is nice. There was a maintenance timeout, as the lifeguard had to adjust the lane dividers. As a result, I was only able to swim 40 laps in the 50 meter pool. This is 2,000 meters, or 1.24 miles. Not a bad swim.
At lunch, my two co-workers and I went for a run. The temperature was 91 and it "felt like" 104. The run about killed me. We ran about 1.5 miles to the YMCA and ran their Par Course, and then ran 10 sets on the stairs. It was all fine until I started running back to work. About half a mile from work, I had to walk and take it easy. I was completely soaked in sweat and my legs were dead from the bike and swim. I vowed to not run at lunch while it's this hot. As I was putting my Garmin into my gym bag, it fell on the floor at work (concrete with thin carpet) and went blank. It died. I could not get it to turn back on. I spent the next few days researching which watch to replace this with.
Thursday the 11th - Rest day
I switched the wife Thursday mornings. So, I now have Tue/Wed/Fri mornings to workout. At the gym during lunch, I focused only on lifting weights. I worked out my chest and triceps and called it a day (no rowing).
Friday the 12th - Snooze!
I slept in, like a chump. But I did go home for a 3.15 mile run on the treadmill, at a slow, aerobic pace. Besides getting hot from the run, I've since put a fan down there to keep me cool, the set up is great. TV with a DVD player showed the movie 300 while I ran, and I had music on my headphones. Nice little run, having blown it in the morning.
Saturday the 13th - Treadmill Run
I spent the day with the family and was only able to hop on the treadmill for about 4 or 5 miles, just enough to burn 500 calories. More of the movie 300. Good stuff.
Sunday the 14th - Rest day
More time with family. After the family went to bed, I ordered a Garmin 310XT off eBay. The watch should arrive by Thursday. I also ordered a more powerful bike tail light, the PDW Danger Zone.
Here is a full review of the 310XT: http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2009/09/garmin-forerunner-310xt-in-depth-review.html
I have had trouble updating these blogs for each day. I've also had trouble making the blogs interesting. So, I think I'll create weekly blogs going forward, going from Mondays to Sundays.
Monday the 8th - Rest day
Tuesday the 9th - Morning bike ride and lunch gym trip.
I wrote about this already. See previous blog.
Wednesday the 10th - Morning Swim
I met a co-worker at the YMCA at 5am, like usual, for a morning swim. We decided to swim outside in the 50m pool from now on, while the weather is nice. There was a maintenance timeout, as the lifeguard had to adjust the lane dividers. As a result, I was only able to swim 40 laps in the 50 meter pool. This is 2,000 meters, or 1.24 miles. Not a bad swim.
At lunch, my two co-workers and I went for a run. The temperature was 91 and it "felt like" 104. The run about killed me. We ran about 1.5 miles to the YMCA and ran their Par Course, and then ran 10 sets on the stairs. It was all fine until I started running back to work. About half a mile from work, I had to walk and take it easy. I was completely soaked in sweat and my legs were dead from the bike and swim. I vowed to not run at lunch while it's this hot. As I was putting my Garmin into my gym bag, it fell on the floor at work (concrete with thin carpet) and went blank. It died. I could not get it to turn back on. I spent the next few days researching which watch to replace this with.
Thursday the 11th - Rest day
I switched the wife Thursday mornings. So, I now have Tue/Wed/Fri mornings to workout. At the gym during lunch, I focused only on lifting weights. I worked out my chest and triceps and called it a day (no rowing).
Friday the 12th - Snooze!
I slept in, like a chump. But I did go home for a 3.15 mile run on the treadmill, at a slow, aerobic pace. Besides getting hot from the run, I've since put a fan down there to keep me cool, the set up is great. TV with a DVD player showed the movie 300 while I ran, and I had music on my headphones. Nice little run, having blown it in the morning.
Saturday the 13th - Treadmill Run
I spent the day with the family and was only able to hop on the treadmill for about 4 or 5 miles, just enough to burn 500 calories. More of the movie 300. Good stuff.
Sunday the 14th - Rest day
More time with family. After the family went to bed, I ordered a Garmin 310XT off eBay. The watch should arrive by Thursday. I also ordered a more powerful bike tail light, the PDW Danger Zone.
Here is a full review of the 310XT: http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2009/09/garmin-forerunner-310xt-in-depth-review.html
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Tuesday - Jul 9, 2013 - AM Bike & Lunch Gym
Tuesday - July 9, 2013
AM Bike
Monday night, I wanted to go to bed at 8pm. But, out of my control, there was a Tour de France recap show on from 8pm to 10:30pm! I couldn't pass this up. I've only caught part of stages 5, 8, and 9. The show was about 15 minutes on each stage. I watched until 9:30, before finally going to bed. Unfortunately, the recap got me all "jazzed" up and I laid in bed until 11:00 before I dozed off.
I set the alarm for 4am. But like last week, I was up at 3:50am on my own. I laid there thinking how little sleep I had gotten and how I could snooze until 5am and then go for a short 5 mile run and bike Thursday. As soon as this thought left my head, another entered. This time it was Eric Thomas, the hip hop preacher with one of his motivational, real life lessons. I thought, "To some of you, sleep is more important to you than your success." My success here being to train or get in shape or finish a half Ironman. That was all it took, and I was up and getting dressed.
Monday, I had picked up my Cincy Express "kit". This "kit" consisted of a team cycling short sleeve jersey, a sleeveless team triathlon top, and a pair of team bib shorts. This is my first official team outfit. They look great. Needless to say, I was wearing the cycling jersey and bib shorts for today's ride. Here is a photo:
I pumped up my tires, attached my fully charged headlight, grabbed a few Clip Bars and Gu packets for the road, and filled up two water bottles with Gatorade G2 low calorie Fruit Punch (my favorite!) and hit the road. I was out of the house by 4:30am. Though humidity was high, once I started biking the wind felt nice. Surprisingly, I saw a runner on my road. Another brave soul in Blue Ash at 4:30am! That's what I'm talking about!
My plan today was to bike the same 27 mile route I did last time, hitting three hills (Given, Kugler Mill, and Indian Hill). I planned to eat a Gu after about 5 miles and hope it kicked in by Given's hill. Camargo road was ground up in preparation for being repaved. This sucks, but luckily my route only has me on this section of Camargo for about 200 feet. I turned onto Loveland Madeira and went well, hitting an average of 24 mph on one of the miles. I turned onto Spooky Hollow, then left onto Given and started to round Camp Livingston park before hitting the hill. The night before, I had watched Tour de France guys climb hundreds of miles of steeper hills, and felt possessed. I was able to hold my Tour de France impression for about 50 feet, before I started to zigzag and eventually get out of the saddle and crank up the hill. However, I felt good. It felt like a new best time for climbing the hill. I rolled down Spooky Hollow (which was also ground up for repaving) and turned back onto Loveland Madeira.
Following my usual route, I next turned up Kugler Mill/Galbraith. This hill is great, but not nearly as difficult as Given. I shifted down to my lowest gear and just cruised on up. I had my iPhone on the bike as a speedometer, running the Strava application, with music playing at full volume. There's no one around, and it's dead quiet, so the music is the perfect compliment to each ride. I love music, in case you didn't know. I had everything from Boston's Foreplay/Long Time and Blondie's Rapture, to Lil Wayne Bring It Back and Stuntin' Like My Daddy. I'm very cultured. Hah ha.
I turned onto Given and cruised down the hill, hitting today's top speed of 37 mph. Though I always descend like a wimp, with both hands in the drops and fingers on the brakes. I'm over-cautious most of the time. I turned onto Indian Hill and started to cruise toward my third and final hill of the day. I felt good. As I approached, I heard Eric Thomas' voice in my head again, badgering me. I was planning to just go up Indian Hill, but here came the voice telling me to man up and hit Old Indian Hill. I heard the voice say that the hill was short and sweet. Well, I'm here to train on hills, not lolly-gag around like a geek. I went up Old Indian Hill just like Given, and it also felt like a new best time. Sure enough, the crazy wall of a hill didn't last forever and I was over it and sipping Gatorade, listening to whatever, barking at deer to NOT run into me as I rolled by. I probably passed 7 or 8 deer just feet away from me. I usually bark at them to scare them away, as they just stare at me in awe/confusion. If you haven't seen the video of the mountain biker getting nailed by a gazelle, check this out for another reason to be cautious around wildlife.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm9GSB446jo
I was recharged by the time I got to Shawnee Run, and I cruised along pretty well. I was thinking of the Tour videos and I was even standing and pumping as I rode along. No reason, I just felt like going fast. Legs were burning, but it was great. I turned down Miami and headed home. Near Red Lobster on Galbraith, I passed about 8 or 9 Queen City Wheels guys heading out for their quick (as in they haul complete ass) morning ride.
I ended up going 26.9 miles in 1:49:42 for an average speed of 14.7mph. My average HR was 138bpm, and I burned about 889 calories.
Here is the Strava data:
Lunch Gym
It's so "easy" to get into this routine and hit the gym twice a week at lunch. I wanted to do chest and triceps, but these machines were all tied up. Come to think of it, they're always tied up. Gym etiquette pointer - it is discourteous to sit on a machine for 10-15 minutes while you do three slow sets of 5 reps of 500 pounds. One kid was even on two machines at once. What the fuck? I just worked on back and biceps, because most gym rats are clueless to symmetry and never workout their backs. I did 7 sets of the lat/back pull down machine, in about 10 minutes. Take note gym hoodlum, as I only take a 30 second break between sets - half of which is me adding/subtracting weight. I also did 5 sets of the upper back machine that doesn't use any biceps, though I started with 45's. So, 90/110/130/110/90 versus my usual 70/90/110/130/then down. I also did 5 sets of military presses with 50/70/90/70/50. These burned. I rarely hit shoulders. I finished up with bicep isolation "kill" sets with a 30 and 15 pound dumbbell. I didn't have time for the rowing machine, so I headed out.
Nice and easy trip to the gym. It might be hard to get to the chest machines on Thursday, but time will tell. Tomorrow is the lunch run with two co-workers. We're going to shoot for 10 sets of stair repeats at the end of the YMCA Par Course trail. And, tomorrow morning is a swim with some buddies. I've realized that the 100 lap swim is the "hardest" thing I do all week. Even though it only takes about an hour, and my bike and runs are 1-2 hours, the swim really wears me out. I will be dragging for sure tomorrow. It's important to get these swims in, so I'm not complaining, but it's the hardest part of my week. It wears me out even more than my recent 60 mile ride. It's a full body, all inclusive, workout. Even though the impact is zero and I feel "good", it zaps my energy reserves. I can't wait!
Also, we got our treadmill hooked up and positioned. We needed a new outlet installed, which we put on its own breaker. My wife was running on it when I came home from my AM ride today. I can tell we're going to get a lot of use out of it. It's a 2006 Precor 956i from a local gym, and it's in great shape. It also feels very sturdy, as it weighs about 300 pounds.
Giddyup. To quote Ice Cube, "Today was a good day."
AM Bike
Monday night, I wanted to go to bed at 8pm. But, out of my control, there was a Tour de France recap show on from 8pm to 10:30pm! I couldn't pass this up. I've only caught part of stages 5, 8, and 9. The show was about 15 minutes on each stage. I watched until 9:30, before finally going to bed. Unfortunately, the recap got me all "jazzed" up and I laid in bed until 11:00 before I dozed off.
I set the alarm for 4am. But like last week, I was up at 3:50am on my own. I laid there thinking how little sleep I had gotten and how I could snooze until 5am and then go for a short 5 mile run and bike Thursday. As soon as this thought left my head, another entered. This time it was Eric Thomas, the hip hop preacher with one of his motivational, real life lessons. I thought, "To some of you, sleep is more important to you than your success." My success here being to train or get in shape or finish a half Ironman. That was all it took, and I was up and getting dressed.
Monday, I had picked up my Cincy Express "kit". This "kit" consisted of a team cycling short sleeve jersey, a sleeveless team triathlon top, and a pair of team bib shorts. This is my first official team outfit. They look great. Needless to say, I was wearing the cycling jersey and bib shorts for today's ride. Here is a photo:
I pumped up my tires, attached my fully charged headlight, grabbed a few Clip Bars and Gu packets for the road, and filled up two water bottles with Gatorade G2 low calorie Fruit Punch (my favorite!) and hit the road. I was out of the house by 4:30am. Though humidity was high, once I started biking the wind felt nice. Surprisingly, I saw a runner on my road. Another brave soul in Blue Ash at 4:30am! That's what I'm talking about!
My plan today was to bike the same 27 mile route I did last time, hitting three hills (Given, Kugler Mill, and Indian Hill). I planned to eat a Gu after about 5 miles and hope it kicked in by Given's hill. Camargo road was ground up in preparation for being repaved. This sucks, but luckily my route only has me on this section of Camargo for about 200 feet. I turned onto Loveland Madeira and went well, hitting an average of 24 mph on one of the miles. I turned onto Spooky Hollow, then left onto Given and started to round Camp Livingston park before hitting the hill. The night before, I had watched Tour de France guys climb hundreds of miles of steeper hills, and felt possessed. I was able to hold my Tour de France impression for about 50 feet, before I started to zigzag and eventually get out of the saddle and crank up the hill. However, I felt good. It felt like a new best time for climbing the hill. I rolled down Spooky Hollow (which was also ground up for repaving) and turned back onto Loveland Madeira.
Following my usual route, I next turned up Kugler Mill/Galbraith. This hill is great, but not nearly as difficult as Given. I shifted down to my lowest gear and just cruised on up. I had my iPhone on the bike as a speedometer, running the Strava application, with music playing at full volume. There's no one around, and it's dead quiet, so the music is the perfect compliment to each ride. I love music, in case you didn't know. I had everything from Boston's Foreplay/Long Time and Blondie's Rapture, to Lil Wayne Bring It Back and Stuntin' Like My Daddy. I'm very cultured. Hah ha.
I turned onto Given and cruised down the hill, hitting today's top speed of 37 mph. Though I always descend like a wimp, with both hands in the drops and fingers on the brakes. I'm over-cautious most of the time. I turned onto Indian Hill and started to cruise toward my third and final hill of the day. I felt good. As I approached, I heard Eric Thomas' voice in my head again, badgering me. I was planning to just go up Indian Hill, but here came the voice telling me to man up and hit Old Indian Hill. I heard the voice say that the hill was short and sweet. Well, I'm here to train on hills, not lolly-gag around like a geek. I went up Old Indian Hill just like Given, and it also felt like a new best time. Sure enough, the crazy wall of a hill didn't last forever and I was over it and sipping Gatorade, listening to whatever, barking at deer to NOT run into me as I rolled by. I probably passed 7 or 8 deer just feet away from me. I usually bark at them to scare them away, as they just stare at me in awe/confusion. If you haven't seen the video of the mountain biker getting nailed by a gazelle, check this out for another reason to be cautious around wildlife.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dm9GSB446jo
I was recharged by the time I got to Shawnee Run, and I cruised along pretty well. I was thinking of the Tour videos and I was even standing and pumping as I rode along. No reason, I just felt like going fast. Legs were burning, but it was great. I turned down Miami and headed home. Near Red Lobster on Galbraith, I passed about 8 or 9 Queen City Wheels guys heading out for their quick (as in they haul complete ass) morning ride.
I ended up going 26.9 miles in 1:49:42 for an average speed of 14.7mph. My average HR was 138bpm, and I burned about 889 calories.
Here is the Strava data:
Lunch Gym
It's so "easy" to get into this routine and hit the gym twice a week at lunch. I wanted to do chest and triceps, but these machines were all tied up. Come to think of it, they're always tied up. Gym etiquette pointer - it is discourteous to sit on a machine for 10-15 minutes while you do three slow sets of 5 reps of 500 pounds. One kid was even on two machines at once. What the fuck? I just worked on back and biceps, because most gym rats are clueless to symmetry and never workout their backs. I did 7 sets of the lat/back pull down machine, in about 10 minutes. Take note gym hoodlum, as I only take a 30 second break between sets - half of which is me adding/subtracting weight. I also did 5 sets of the upper back machine that doesn't use any biceps, though I started with 45's. So, 90/110/130/110/90 versus my usual 70/90/110/130/then down. I also did 5 sets of military presses with 50/70/90/70/50. These burned. I rarely hit shoulders. I finished up with bicep isolation "kill" sets with a 30 and 15 pound dumbbell. I didn't have time for the rowing machine, so I headed out.
Nice and easy trip to the gym. It might be hard to get to the chest machines on Thursday, but time will tell. Tomorrow is the lunch run with two co-workers. We're going to shoot for 10 sets of stair repeats at the end of the YMCA Par Course trail. And, tomorrow morning is a swim with some buddies. I've realized that the 100 lap swim is the "hardest" thing I do all week. Even though it only takes about an hour, and my bike and runs are 1-2 hours, the swim really wears me out. I will be dragging for sure tomorrow. It's important to get these swims in, so I'm not complaining, but it's the hardest part of my week. It wears me out even more than my recent 60 mile ride. It's a full body, all inclusive, workout. Even though the impact is zero and I feel "good", it zaps my energy reserves. I can't wait!
Also, we got our treadmill hooked up and positioned. We needed a new outlet installed, which we put on its own breaker. My wife was running on it when I came home from my AM ride today. I can tell we're going to get a lot of use out of it. It's a 2006 Precor 956i from a local gym, and it's in great shape. It also feels very sturdy, as it weighs about 300 pounds.
Giddyup. To quote Ice Cube, "Today was a good day."
Friday - Jul 5, 2013 - Afternoon Run
Friday - July 5, 2013
Afternoon Run
The couple days of non-stop rain killed my mood and plans for a great day off. My wife was working and the kids were at school. I slept until 11am. Winner. I then got lunch and headed to Milford theaters to watch the 12:10pm showing of Man of Steel. Again, winner. After the Superman movie, which I liked, I decided to go for a short run.
I ran 4.7 miles in 53:38, with an average pace of 11:17mm. This was an aerobic run. I think I'm done with aerobic running. To keep my HR between 140 and 145 I had to walk a little, which is annoying. My average HR for this run was 147 bpm.
Today had so much potential (no family = free day), but the weather saw otherwise. Just a lazy Friday.
Here is the run's Strava data:
Afternoon Run
The couple days of non-stop rain killed my mood and plans for a great day off. My wife was working and the kids were at school. I slept until 11am. Winner. I then got lunch and headed to Milford theaters to watch the 12:10pm showing of Man of Steel. Again, winner. After the Superman movie, which I liked, I decided to go for a short run.
I ran 4.7 miles in 53:38, with an average pace of 11:17mm. This was an aerobic run. I think I'm done with aerobic running. To keep my HR between 140 and 145 I had to walk a little, which is annoying. My average HR for this run was 147 bpm.
Today had so much potential (no family = free day), but the weather saw otherwise. Just a lazy Friday.
Here is the run's Strava data:
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Wednesday - Jul 3, 2013 - AM Swim & Lunch Run
Wednesday - July 3, 2013
AM Swim
Andy and I got to the YMCA lobby at 5am, and waited for James for about 10 minutes before I sent him a text to grab me if he makes it. In that time, Mitch from BAM Racing walked through and gave me a hard time to join them out back in the 50 meter "long course" (LC) pool. I said, "Sure, what the hell?" So, Andy and I jumped in with the BAM triathlete guys (and gals) in the outdoor LC pool. Because it's outside, it was a little chilly at 5:15am. We were only wearing our jammers. The pool is so long, the floating lane lines were drifting here and there.
This is my first time in the LC pool, but not stopping at the wall as often is nice. I enjoyed it, though I found it slightly harder to find my groove for some reason. Andy and I shared a lane, and a third guy hopped in after a while. We were hoping to swim 50 laps, but at the time I didn't realize that 50 laps in the 50m pool was 2500 meters, which is further than 2500 yards from the 100 laps indoor. Our 50 laps outside would be like 109/110 indoor laps. Not a huge difference, but over time it adds up.
After 38 laps, he and I were worn out! Also, the swim team was stretching and eyeing our lane. There were about 30 kids ready to jump in the pool. We decided to do 4 more laps and call it a day. I wound up swimming 42 laps in the LC pool in 57:15, which is 2,100 meters or 1.3 miles or 2,297 yards. These 42 laps in the LC pool would also be equal to 84 laps in a 25 meter pool, or 91.9 laps in a 25 yard pool. Doing about 46 laps in the LC pool would be very close to the 100 laps indoor. My 50m laps today were ranging from 1:09 to 1:35 - all over the place. I need to switch gears and focus less on distance and time, and focus on form and breathing. Swimming once a week, sometimes twice a week, will never get me much better so I need to focus on good form. I get the aerobic exercise, which helps in the swim, from biking and running. All said and done, the swim felt great and was fun.
We actually met James at Starbucks and caught up for a bit after we left. This is a great way to start the day: nice swim and good laughs with buddies.
Lunch Run
Two co-workers and I went out for another lunch run today. Andy, who also swims with me, and Jay. We headed out and the weather wasn't bad at all. Low humidity, clear(ish) skies. Great time for a run. We ran from the building on Malsbary Road, through the business park to Kenwood Road and turned south/right. From the business park to the YMCA, Kenwood has a very slight decline. So, we cruised along at 9:00mm without any issue. Andy was actually chatting on his cell phone half the time, so we were all doing well.
At the YMCA Par Course, we didn't even touch the activities and just jogged around the trail to the stairs. Our plan was to do five sets, and we knocked them out pretty easily, actually. We'll have to go for 8 or something next time. They're not too bad. Last week, when this about killed me, I had biked 27 miles with 3 big hills the day before. Today, I was fresh and only had the swim prior.
We headed back to work, Andy talked more on the phone, and we wrapped it up without issue. Nice lunch run. We covered 3.46 miles in 36:16.30, for an average pace of 10:30mm, avg HR of 162, burning 422 calories. The run was very anaerobic, with my HR hitting 181 and 182 at two different points. But, it was good.
Here is the Strava data for the run:
AM Swim
Andy and I got to the YMCA lobby at 5am, and waited for James for about 10 minutes before I sent him a text to grab me if he makes it. In that time, Mitch from BAM Racing walked through and gave me a hard time to join them out back in the 50 meter "long course" (LC) pool. I said, "Sure, what the hell?" So, Andy and I jumped in with the BAM triathlete guys (and gals) in the outdoor LC pool. Because it's outside, it was a little chilly at 5:15am. We were only wearing our jammers. The pool is so long, the floating lane lines were drifting here and there.
This is my first time in the LC pool, but not stopping at the wall as often is nice. I enjoyed it, though I found it slightly harder to find my groove for some reason. Andy and I shared a lane, and a third guy hopped in after a while. We were hoping to swim 50 laps, but at the time I didn't realize that 50 laps in the 50m pool was 2500 meters, which is further than 2500 yards from the 100 laps indoor. Our 50 laps outside would be like 109/110 indoor laps. Not a huge difference, but over time it adds up.
After 38 laps, he and I were worn out! Also, the swim team was stretching and eyeing our lane. There were about 30 kids ready to jump in the pool. We decided to do 4 more laps and call it a day. I wound up swimming 42 laps in the LC pool in 57:15, which is 2,100 meters or 1.3 miles or 2,297 yards. These 42 laps in the LC pool would also be equal to 84 laps in a 25 meter pool, or 91.9 laps in a 25 yard pool. Doing about 46 laps in the LC pool would be very close to the 100 laps indoor. My 50m laps today were ranging from 1:09 to 1:35 - all over the place. I need to switch gears and focus less on distance and time, and focus on form and breathing. Swimming once a week, sometimes twice a week, will never get me much better so I need to focus on good form. I get the aerobic exercise, which helps in the swim, from biking and running. All said and done, the swim felt great and was fun.
We actually met James at Starbucks and caught up for a bit after we left. This is a great way to start the day: nice swim and good laughs with buddies.
Lunch Run
Two co-workers and I went out for another lunch run today. Andy, who also swims with me, and Jay. We headed out and the weather wasn't bad at all. Low humidity, clear(ish) skies. Great time for a run. We ran from the building on Malsbary Road, through the business park to Kenwood Road and turned south/right. From the business park to the YMCA, Kenwood has a very slight decline. So, we cruised along at 9:00mm without any issue. Andy was actually chatting on his cell phone half the time, so we were all doing well.
At the YMCA Par Course, we didn't even touch the activities and just jogged around the trail to the stairs. Our plan was to do five sets, and we knocked them out pretty easily, actually. We'll have to go for 8 or something next time. They're not too bad. Last week, when this about killed me, I had biked 27 miles with 3 big hills the day before. Today, I was fresh and only had the swim prior.
We headed back to work, Andy talked more on the phone, and we wrapped it up without issue. Nice lunch run. We covered 3.46 miles in 36:16.30, for an average pace of 10:30mm, avg HR of 162, burning 422 calories. The run was very anaerobic, with my HR hitting 181 and 182 at two different points. But, it was good.
Here is the Strava data for the run:
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Tuesday - Jul 2, 2013 - Lunch Gym Only
Tuesday - July 2, 2013
Lunch Gym Only - back/bis/rowing
My wife and I switched Monday and Tuesday mornings. This will make things much easier on her, and break up my 3 days in a row of training. Should work out well. That said, I haven't trained since Sunday's bike ride, so I was looking forward to the gym. I wanted to do back and biceps, with some rowing.
The gym was not too crowded, but each machine I wanted was busy. So, I did lat pull downs for 6 sets of 10, with varying weight. I never really do these since I never "feel" them in my lats, but they're supposed to hit part of my back. I figured, "What the hell?" My usual machines were still busy, so I just did some isolation bicep curls. I used a 25 and 10 pound dumbbell and did my usual "kill" sets. After four of these, I headed to the rowing machine. My machines weren't opening up and my attitude was like, "Screw it." Weak day at the gym. No big deal.
If you read my rowing machine post, a non-rower who does 2000m in under 8 minutes is "good". Guess what my goal was today. If you guessed 7:59, you would be wrong. Hah ha. I was stupidly hoping for something in the 6's. Hah ha. I'm an idiot. So, I basically started the rowing machine way too hard. I was on pace for a mid-6 time, but then felt the burn after a couple minutes and had to slow down a lot. I ended up doing the 2000m in 8:05. My fault. I blew up early and need to pace myself. This was only my 3rd time really doing it, so I'll do better at pacing next time. Even if I'm rowing 2000m in 10 minutes, at least I'm getting out there and doing it. I like to push myself though and can't help but notice the numbers on the screen! Hah ha. (wink)
I have a swim in the morning and lunch run tomorrow. Should be fun. I'm watching Stage 4 of the Tour de France as I type this. Team time trial day. Giddyup!
And now, your moment of Zen:
It's Two-For-Tuesday!
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Lunch Gym Only - back/bis/rowing
My wife and I switched Monday and Tuesday mornings. This will make things much easier on her, and break up my 3 days in a row of training. Should work out well. That said, I haven't trained since Sunday's bike ride, so I was looking forward to the gym. I wanted to do back and biceps, with some rowing.
The gym was not too crowded, but each machine I wanted was busy. So, I did lat pull downs for 6 sets of 10, with varying weight. I never really do these since I never "feel" them in my lats, but they're supposed to hit part of my back. I figured, "What the hell?" My usual machines were still busy, so I just did some isolation bicep curls. I used a 25 and 10 pound dumbbell and did my usual "kill" sets. After four of these, I headed to the rowing machine. My machines weren't opening up and my attitude was like, "Screw it." Weak day at the gym. No big deal.
If you read my rowing machine post, a non-rower who does 2000m in under 8 minutes is "good". Guess what my goal was today. If you guessed 7:59, you would be wrong. Hah ha. I was stupidly hoping for something in the 6's. Hah ha. I'm an idiot. So, I basically started the rowing machine way too hard. I was on pace for a mid-6 time, but then felt the burn after a couple minutes and had to slow down a lot. I ended up doing the 2000m in 8:05. My fault. I blew up early and need to pace myself. This was only my 3rd time really doing it, so I'll do better at pacing next time. Even if I'm rowing 2000m in 10 minutes, at least I'm getting out there and doing it. I like to push myself though and can't help but notice the numbers on the screen! Hah ha. (wink)
I have a swim in the morning and lunch run tomorrow. Should be fun. I'm watching Stage 4 of the Tour de France as I type this. Team time trial day. Giddyup!
And now, your moment of Zen:
It's Two-For-Tuesday!
Sunday - Jun 30, 2013 - LSD Ride
Sunday - June 30, 2013
Long, Slow Distance Bike Ride
I was able to sneak out for a bike ride while the kids took their nap after lunch. With about 3-4 hours on my hands, I headed out for a 60 mile ride. I figured I could go at an easy speed of 15mph and do the 60 miles in 4 hours. I parked in Milford, next to 126 (near Indian Hill Road, kind of) and there were tons of people out. The parking lot only had two empty spots, though it's not a huge lot. I took the aero bars off a while ago, had two Gatorade bottles (Grape flavored low calorie G2), and a couple PowerBars in my jersey. I put Rancid's ...And Out Come The Wolves album on repeat. I'm not sure why I love this so much. Before last week, I haven't heard it since high school.
I set out around 15-16mph, which is actually pretty slow to bikers. 15-16 is usually a slow group, 17-18 is usually a moderate group, and 20+ is usually a fast group. Just a side note. Like I mentioned, there were a lot of people on the bike trail. The weather Sunday around 1pm was perfect, so I'm not surprised a lot of people were out. That being said, they're not exactly "bike friendly". People were stopped and talking in the middle of the path. People walking their dogs with the leash pulled across the trail, like a trip wire. Guess what happens to your little dog if I hit that leash at 15 mph? Or worse, little kids riding their bikes 5mph, swerving all over the path. I'm actually a very passive everything - I have lost my temper in public once or twice ever. So, I don't get fired up about these bike path "hazards". I just slow down and go around them. No big deal. I'm just out for an easy 60 miler, nothing to get uptight about.
I headed northeast from Milford, toward Loveland. Loveland came after about 9 miles. I had Strava running on my iPhone, in my jersey, and I had my Garmin 210 on my wrist. So, I actually didn't know how fast I was going during the entire ride. The watch only shows min/mile paces. I'm not good at converting 3:25mm into miles per hour speed, so I had no idea what my speed was. I took off my CatEye. This "blind" ride was kind of nice. I just went at an easy pace, not worrying about anything.
Loveland came and went. I decided to save my PowerBars for the turn around point, after 30 miles. My plan was simply to ride 30 miles up and then 30 miles back. My longest bike ride ever was last summer, when I rode 59 miles with the GE Flyers. That ride hurt a lot. There were several points where I was about to stop and call my wife to pick me up. But the group urged me on with lots of great enthusiasm and encouragement. They're a great group, but way too good for me last summer - even now. They're not triathletes, they're hardcore cyclists. They don't have to split their time between swimming, biking, and running. They just bike and are rockstars. Also, that GE ride came out of no where. I didn't ramp up my bike mileage and originally the plan was to just do 35. But we got lost and everyone kept saying, "Hey, let's keep going!" Since I've been biking for a few weeks on a regular basis, and no longer getting sore unless I'm really pushing it, I thought 60 easy miles should be no big deal.
I went past South Lebanon, Morrow, and Fort Ancient. It's always cool going by the Morgan's Little Miami Triathlon course, near Fort Ancient. I made it to Oregonia, not really sure where that is, and hit 30 miles. I was feeling fine. I ate my two PowerBars and drank some G2. But, I was getting low on fluid and I didn't bring any money. Oops! I sweat a lot and drink a lot, so a 3rd bottle of G2 or water would have been nice. As luck would have it, in Morrow there was an ice cream place next to the trail that had a giant water station out front. Not only was it full of water, but it was very cold and tasted great. I filled one bottle with water and still had about half a G2 left. I pushed on. I knew if I could make it to Loveland, Nisbet Park has a water fountain I could fill up with to cover my last 10 miles. So, I just had about 10/15 miles to make it. I tried to ration the fluid, and still ran out a few miles before Nisbet. But I filled up at Nisbet and cruised on.
Nisbet is a great place to see other bikers and local Loveland people out to enjoy the weather. Up to this point, I had only been passed by one biker all day. I had gone about 50 miles, passed at least 100 people (not kidding), but only been passed by one guy. He was moving though. Surprising, because I was going so slow. But most people out were just casual, not even wearing tights. Most serious bikers ride on the roads as they're less crowded, smoother, and more open with hills and wind and just a more interesting route. Between Nisbet and Milford I hit 56 miles - the distance you bike in a half Ironman triathlon. I covered the 56 miles in 3:45:00 almost exactly, and kept rolling. Maybe I was pumped up, but those last 4 miles felt very fast and easy. I got to my car around 4:00:00 and felt solid. If I trusted leaving my bike at my car, which I don't, I could have gone for a run. I burned about 1500 calories, though Strava says 1700. I rewarded myself on the way home with a UDF large chocolate milk shake. I almost ordered the giant, but thought I better behave. Delicious! I could do this everyday.
I joined the June Strava bike challenge and covered 305km, ranking me 55,619 out of 85,267 overall, about 65%. I'm competing with professionals and unemployed guys, so it's hard to compare. Imagine a 20 year old, who is home from college for the summer, and has nothing to do but bike 5 hours a day. I can't compete with that. That would be a nice vacation! Just riding (or running or swimming) all day, each day.
It's Tuesday night now as I type this, and the 60 mile bike ride didn't really beat me up too much. Next time, I'll take money and get a snack in Morrow at a gas station or that ice cream shop, but I think I could do 75 without too much drama. At what point do I stop and chill out? I actually found some articles on something called "Triathlon Widow", where the one spouse obsesses over triathlon and trains way too much. I hope I'm not going down that rabbit hole.
I have July 5th off work, my wife works, and the kid's school is open. So, I'll take the kids to school and have a day to myself. What should I do? Maybe I'll go for a long run or bike ride? Not sure. I might see that new Superman movie, since my wife doesn't really like those kinds of things. Should be fun.
Here's the Strava data from the 60 mile ride:
Long, Slow Distance Bike Ride
I was able to sneak out for a bike ride while the kids took their nap after lunch. With about 3-4 hours on my hands, I headed out for a 60 mile ride. I figured I could go at an easy speed of 15mph and do the 60 miles in 4 hours. I parked in Milford, next to 126 (near Indian Hill Road, kind of) and there were tons of people out. The parking lot only had two empty spots, though it's not a huge lot. I took the aero bars off a while ago, had two Gatorade bottles (Grape flavored low calorie G2), and a couple PowerBars in my jersey. I put Rancid's ...And Out Come The Wolves album on repeat. I'm not sure why I love this so much. Before last week, I haven't heard it since high school.
I set out around 15-16mph, which is actually pretty slow to bikers. 15-16 is usually a slow group, 17-18 is usually a moderate group, and 20+ is usually a fast group. Just a side note. Like I mentioned, there were a lot of people on the bike trail. The weather Sunday around 1pm was perfect, so I'm not surprised a lot of people were out. That being said, they're not exactly "bike friendly". People were stopped and talking in the middle of the path. People walking their dogs with the leash pulled across the trail, like a trip wire. Guess what happens to your little dog if I hit that leash at 15 mph? Or worse, little kids riding their bikes 5mph, swerving all over the path. I'm actually a very passive everything - I have lost my temper in public once or twice ever. So, I don't get fired up about these bike path "hazards". I just slow down and go around them. No big deal. I'm just out for an easy 60 miler, nothing to get uptight about.
I headed northeast from Milford, toward Loveland. Loveland came after about 9 miles. I had Strava running on my iPhone, in my jersey, and I had my Garmin 210 on my wrist. So, I actually didn't know how fast I was going during the entire ride. The watch only shows min/mile paces. I'm not good at converting 3:25mm into miles per hour speed, so I had no idea what my speed was. I took off my CatEye. This "blind" ride was kind of nice. I just went at an easy pace, not worrying about anything.
Loveland came and went. I decided to save my PowerBars for the turn around point, after 30 miles. My plan was simply to ride 30 miles up and then 30 miles back. My longest bike ride ever was last summer, when I rode 59 miles with the GE Flyers. That ride hurt a lot. There were several points where I was about to stop and call my wife to pick me up. But the group urged me on with lots of great enthusiasm and encouragement. They're a great group, but way too good for me last summer - even now. They're not triathletes, they're hardcore cyclists. They don't have to split their time between swimming, biking, and running. They just bike and are rockstars. Also, that GE ride came out of no where. I didn't ramp up my bike mileage and originally the plan was to just do 35. But we got lost and everyone kept saying, "Hey, let's keep going!" Since I've been biking for a few weeks on a regular basis, and no longer getting sore unless I'm really pushing it, I thought 60 easy miles should be no big deal.
I went past South Lebanon, Morrow, and Fort Ancient. It's always cool going by the Morgan's Little Miami Triathlon course, near Fort Ancient. I made it to Oregonia, not really sure where that is, and hit 30 miles. I was feeling fine. I ate my two PowerBars and drank some G2. But, I was getting low on fluid and I didn't bring any money. Oops! I sweat a lot and drink a lot, so a 3rd bottle of G2 or water would have been nice. As luck would have it, in Morrow there was an ice cream place next to the trail that had a giant water station out front. Not only was it full of water, but it was very cold and tasted great. I filled one bottle with water and still had about half a G2 left. I pushed on. I knew if I could make it to Loveland, Nisbet Park has a water fountain I could fill up with to cover my last 10 miles. So, I just had about 10/15 miles to make it. I tried to ration the fluid, and still ran out a few miles before Nisbet. But I filled up at Nisbet and cruised on.
Nisbet is a great place to see other bikers and local Loveland people out to enjoy the weather. Up to this point, I had only been passed by one biker all day. I had gone about 50 miles, passed at least 100 people (not kidding), but only been passed by one guy. He was moving though. Surprising, because I was going so slow. But most people out were just casual, not even wearing tights. Most serious bikers ride on the roads as they're less crowded, smoother, and more open with hills and wind and just a more interesting route. Between Nisbet and Milford I hit 56 miles - the distance you bike in a half Ironman triathlon. I covered the 56 miles in 3:45:00 almost exactly, and kept rolling. Maybe I was pumped up, but those last 4 miles felt very fast and easy. I got to my car around 4:00:00 and felt solid. If I trusted leaving my bike at my car, which I don't, I could have gone for a run. I burned about 1500 calories, though Strava says 1700. I rewarded myself on the way home with a UDF large chocolate milk shake. I almost ordered the giant, but thought I better behave. Delicious! I could do this everyday.
I joined the June Strava bike challenge and covered 305km, ranking me 55,619 out of 85,267 overall, about 65%. I'm competing with professionals and unemployed guys, so it's hard to compare. Imagine a 20 year old, who is home from college for the summer, and has nothing to do but bike 5 hours a day. I can't compete with that. That would be a nice vacation! Just riding (or running or swimming) all day, each day.
It's Tuesday night now as I type this, and the 60 mile bike ride didn't really beat me up too much. Next time, I'll take money and get a snack in Morrow at a gas station or that ice cream shop, but I think I could do 75 without too much drama. At what point do I stop and chill out? I actually found some articles on something called "Triathlon Widow", where the one spouse obsesses over triathlon and trains way too much. I hope I'm not going down that rabbit hole.
I have July 5th off work, my wife works, and the kid's school is open. So, I'll take the kids to school and have a day to myself. What should I do? Maybe I'll go for a long run or bike ride? Not sure. I might see that new Superman movie, since my wife doesn't really like those kinds of things. Should be fun.
Here's the Strava data from the 60 mile ride:
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