This week has been crazy busy, but the good news is that I have not skipped a training day. I have just postponed blogging about them.
I still have not gotten around to changing out the bike tubes, so my cycling this week has been limited to spinning at the gym. That's fine by me. Now that it is getting darker earlier and the morning light has disappeared as well, I think a lot of my rides will be at the gym or on a trainer anyways. The only bad thing about the gym spin is that sometimes the instructor gets carried away with sprints and jumps and all I really want to do is keep a steady pace and heart rate. This morning I found my self OFP (own F#@king Program) while the rest of the class played along. It worked great for me, I was able to get in a great workout without causing too much of a distraction to others.
Last night was run club and it was a fantastic workout. We teamed up in groups of threes and ran relays. I ran six 400m sprints in sets of three with a three minute rest in between. During the sets my rest was only as long as it took the other two members of my group to run their 400's. It was actually really fun. It broke up the monotony of running intervals all of the time, and it made me push it a little harder. Its hard to pull up short when you just watched a teammate sprint the last 150m of his lap to put us in second before the hand off. We managed to stay in second or third for most of the sets, but the sprinters always took over on the last 400m and bumped us down. I wasn't really keeping track that intently, so I will just say we great.
Coming up in the next few days I have a couple of light runs scheduled leading up to the Boulder Half Marathon on Sunday. Initially I was going to run the full, but after the 4 Mile Canyon fire pushed it back two weeks, it would be insane for me to attempt the Boulder and Denver Marathons within on two weeks rest. It would set me back more than it would offer. I still plan on taking on the Denver full in a few weeks.
The next few days continue to be crazy, so wish me luck in Boulder!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Long Run
I just finished my long run for the evening. Rather than trying to map a course around the west side I decided to run laps around the park until my time was up. I set out to run 4 laps in an hour and fifteen minutes and at the same time I was going to try and keep my foot step per minute count at 90. It just so happened that it was easier than I though to keep up my foot steps, which led to five or six laps around the park instead.
There were a few guys walking the loop in the opposite direction and every time I passed I could hear them mutter under their breaths how crazy I was for running so much. It made me smile every time.
After another great workout, I carried on with my time honored tradition.... Old C's. I had a few Black and Tans (I'm starting to be convinced that passing out is better than falling asleep) with some friends and called it a day.
There were a few guys walking the loop in the opposite direction and every time I passed I could hear them mutter under their breaths how crazy I was for running so much. It made me smile every time.
After another great workout, I carried on with my time honored tradition.... Old C's. I had a few Black and Tans (I'm starting to be convinced that passing out is better than falling asleep) with some friends and called it a day.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
50 Miler
Once again I decided that I didn't want to sleep in so I woke Kayleigh up early (around 7:00am) for a long ride. I wanted to do a two and a half hour ride so I mapped out a 50 mile course. After I invited Kayleigh to join me I realized the figure eight loop that I had charted would take a little longer than planed but I decided not to change it. I figured there is not too much of a difference between 2 and a half hours and three hours when you have been riding that long.
The ride was pretty uneventful until just over half way when we were about to enter Miliken and someone decided that they wanted to throw a newspaper out of their window at us. They threw it from the drivers side window so it was hung up in the air stream and never made it to the side of the road. You have to love the country hicks that live in our area. I appreciate the free read, but it is extremely hard to keep my heart rate up when I am reading the Tribune article about how exercise is more than a trend in Weld County.
We kept on pushing until we were about 7 miles from home and I pulled up with a front flat tire. We were prepared to change out one tube so it wasn't a problem. Before I jumped back on my bike, I checked my rear tire, and it appeared to be a little squishy too. I figured that if I pushed it hard home I could make it before it went flat. After three more miles or so I began to feel some hard impacts coming from the rear so I pulled over onto the sidewalk. The rear was completely flat, as I waited for Kayleigh to catch up to tell her to go and grab the pick up wagon (Bruce the truck) I took off my shoes and helmet and hung out on the side of the road. When she finally pulled up, she noticed she had a front flat as well.
We were not prepared to fix three flats in one ride, so rather than finishing an awesome 50 mile ride in two hours and forty-five minutes, we had to walk our bikes the last part of the ride and finished our day just under four hours.
I now know that one spare tube and CO2 cartridge is not enough, I may find that I race in St. George with at least three tubes and four cartridges. I would not want to put in all of this work and then not finish because of a blown tube. I would rather carry the weight and be over prepared than DNF in my first Ironman.
The ride was pretty uneventful until just over half way when we were about to enter Miliken and someone decided that they wanted to throw a newspaper out of their window at us. They threw it from the drivers side window so it was hung up in the air stream and never made it to the side of the road. You have to love the country hicks that live in our area. I appreciate the free read, but it is extremely hard to keep my heart rate up when I am reading the Tribune article about how exercise is more than a trend in Weld County.
We kept on pushing until we were about 7 miles from home and I pulled up with a front flat tire. We were prepared to change out one tube so it wasn't a problem. Before I jumped back on my bike, I checked my rear tire, and it appeared to be a little squishy too. I figured that if I pushed it hard home I could make it before it went flat. After three more miles or so I began to feel some hard impacts coming from the rear so I pulled over onto the sidewalk. The rear was completely flat, as I waited for Kayleigh to catch up to tell her to go and grab the pick up wagon (Bruce the truck) I took off my shoes and helmet and hung out on the side of the road. When she finally pulled up, she noticed she had a front flat as well.
We were not prepared to fix three flats in one ride, so rather than finishing an awesome 50 mile ride in two hours and forty-five minutes, we had to walk our bikes the last part of the ride and finished our day just under four hours.
I now know that one spare tube and CO2 cartridge is not enough, I may find that I race in St. George with at least three tubes and four cartridges. I would not want to put in all of this work and then not finish because of a blown tube. I would rather carry the weight and be over prepared than DNF in my first Ironman.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
7th Place
Instead of being a bum on a Saturday morning, I woke up and drove to Brighton for a charity 5k. It was not a big time race at all, in fact most of the people there were employees of the school district or students who were trying to raise money for their PE program.
Right at the start I took off and found myself in the lead pack. I figured it was because people didn't place themselves in the start very well and that I would soon get passed by a flood of runners. After the first mile, no one had passed from behind yet, and I started to feel real great about my race. The pack started to stretch out and one by one I was knocking off the individuals that started out too fast. I started to hear footsteps around mile two and I was finally passed by two women who appeared to be racing for the top female spot. They were neck and neck and both of them were breathing insanely hard. I tried to keep pace with them for a little bit, then I figured I needed to stick to my own race and let them go. I am over the fact that it is possible to be beaten by women, I only tried to keep up with them due to their faster pace.
The last part of the course was down hill but it didn't really matter. Everyone in front of me was able to pick up the pace as well and we were all locked into our finishing places. The finish consisted of a lap around the quarter mile track and as soon as I hit it, it was a full blown sprint to the finish. The first finisher was crossing the finish as I entered the track, I had only been a quarter of a mile from the leader. That alone made excited me, then as I started to count the finishers I realized I had gotten 7th place.
Had anyone from my run club been at the race, the outcome would have been different, but they weren't. So I am going to brag about my 7th place finish (out of 400ish) for a very long time. I don't think I have ever finished that high in the overall category of any race, ever. Kudos to me!
Prior to the race I decided that I have been putting in enough miles with my KSO's and I didn't really care about trying to win so I would run in them. The decision did not hurt me at all. I first I found myself running on my toes and it was due to the fact that I was wearing by barefoot shoes that I realized my stride was off. I corrected it around the half mile mark and had a smooth race to the end. The downhill section did not bother me either. I thought I might feel it in my knees more from the pounding, but it was as comfortable as my track shoes.
I could never just train for a run race, I enjoy doing other activities too much. However it is obvious that my training is going well and I continue to improve each step of the way. Look out St. George, I'm coming for you.
Right at the start I took off and found myself in the lead pack. I figured it was because people didn't place themselves in the start very well and that I would soon get passed by a flood of runners. After the first mile, no one had passed from behind yet, and I started to feel real great about my race. The pack started to stretch out and one by one I was knocking off the individuals that started out too fast. I started to hear footsteps around mile two and I was finally passed by two women who appeared to be racing for the top female spot. They were neck and neck and both of them were breathing insanely hard. I tried to keep pace with them for a little bit, then I figured I needed to stick to my own race and let them go. I am over the fact that it is possible to be beaten by women, I only tried to keep up with them due to their faster pace.
The last part of the course was down hill but it didn't really matter. Everyone in front of me was able to pick up the pace as well and we were all locked into our finishing places. The finish consisted of a lap around the quarter mile track and as soon as I hit it, it was a full blown sprint to the finish. The first finisher was crossing the finish as I entered the track, I had only been a quarter of a mile from the leader. That alone made excited me, then as I started to count the finishers I realized I had gotten 7th place.
Had anyone from my run club been at the race, the outcome would have been different, but they weren't. So I am going to brag about my 7th place finish (out of 400ish) for a very long time. I don't think I have ever finished that high in the overall category of any race, ever. Kudos to me!
Prior to the race I decided that I have been putting in enough miles with my KSO's and I didn't really care about trying to win so I would run in them. The decision did not hurt me at all. I first I found myself running on my toes and it was due to the fact that I was wearing by barefoot shoes that I realized my stride was off. I corrected it around the half mile mark and had a smooth race to the end. The downhill section did not bother me either. I thought I might feel it in my knees more from the pounding, but it was as comfortable as my track shoes.
I could never just train for a run race, I enjoy doing other activities too much. However it is obvious that my training is going well and I continue to improve each step of the way. Look out St. George, I'm coming for you.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Run Club
It was a rough start tonight running with the run club. We ran 6/3/6/3/6 min splits, in somewhat in-climate weather. It was raining pretty good from the start, and it made me not want to climb out of my truck and start warming up. Since I had already made it to the track, the least I could do is get out and warm up.
After warming up I still wasn''t feeling up to par. I carried on with my normal pace group for the first two splits, then my stomach started to knot up. I ran the next two splits with a slower group to avoid further discomfort. I realized the knot was not going away so I ran hard on the last six.
I have been utilizing a shorter yet faster stride on my longer runs in order to keep my feet directly underneath me and my body position straighter. I returned to this stride on the last lap and ran better than I had on the previous splits even with a stomach ache. I have had to adapt to a new stride with my barefoot running, but it works great when I wear my track shoes too.
Tomorrow is a lifting day, so I will have a day off from endurance training to let my stomach settle.
After warming up I still wasn''t feeling up to par. I carried on with my normal pace group for the first two splits, then my stomach started to knot up. I ran the next two splits with a slower group to avoid further discomfort. I realized the knot was not going away so I ran hard on the last six.
I have been utilizing a shorter yet faster stride on my longer runs in order to keep my feet directly underneath me and my body position straighter. I returned to this stride on the last lap and ran better than I had on the previous splits even with a stomach ache. I have had to adapt to a new stride with my barefoot running, but it works great when I wear my track shoes too.
Tomorrow is a lifting day, so I will have a day off from endurance training to let my stomach settle.
Pool Time
After a month of down time due to repairs, my swimming pool is open again. Actually it has been open for the last two weeks and I have been ignoring that fact to concentrate on my run. This morning I decided to break away from running and get back to the pool.
I swam 2000 meters at a somewhat fast pace. Well the first 1000 was fast and the second trailed off a little at the end. I really concentrated on trying to fix my form. For those that know me and have ever watched me swim, I really can't. I think I may have addressed it earlier, but I don't use my legs very well at all. I was trying to master the flutter kick this morning but it ended up turning into a body roll side stroke kick thingy. I don't know. It was faster than my normal stroke but it still doesn't look or feel right. I often times look up on a breath to see the lifeguards staring and I always wonder what is going through their heads. Maybe they think I look awesome! Who knows. I have a few months to get it down as long as I keep working on it.
As important as it is, the swim is less than 10% of an Ironman race, so I will work on my stroke when I can, but my focus will continue to be on biking and running.
I swam 2000 meters at a somewhat fast pace. Well the first 1000 was fast and the second trailed off a little at the end. I really concentrated on trying to fix my form. For those that know me and have ever watched me swim, I really can't. I think I may have addressed it earlier, but I don't use my legs very well at all. I was trying to master the flutter kick this morning but it ended up turning into a body roll side stroke kick thingy. I don't know. It was faster than my normal stroke but it still doesn't look or feel right. I often times look up on a breath to see the lifeguards staring and I always wonder what is going through their heads. Maybe they think I look awesome! Who knows. I have a few months to get it down as long as I keep working on it.
As important as it is, the swim is less than 10% of an Ironman race, so I will work on my stroke when I can, but my focus will continue to be on biking and running.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Long Run
The last tri of the season has come and gone which means its time for the maintenance program to start. I will have two and a half months to stretch out my run, bike and swim fitness before I will kick it into high gear for St. George.
Tonight I took a break from homework to enjoy a nice cool evening jog around Bittersweet Park and the neighboring street. I ran for 55 minutes and kept my heart rate at 165 bpm. It was a little higher rate than my training called for, but the pace felt great and I didn't like I was working hard at all so I let it go.
The next few months will probably be more difficult than the months directly preceding St. George. As daylight fades away earlier and earlier every day I need to keep my motivation up. The work I put in now will establish the base for future training. If I am going to turn in an impressive time I need to start with a sturdy base.
Tonight I took a break from homework to enjoy a nice cool evening jog around Bittersweet Park and the neighboring street. I ran for 55 minutes and kept my heart rate at 165 bpm. It was a little higher rate than my training called for, but the pace felt great and I didn't like I was working hard at all so I let it go.
The next few months will probably be more difficult than the months directly preceding St. George. As daylight fades away earlier and earlier every day I need to keep my motivation up. The work I put in now will establish the base for future training. If I am going to turn in an impressive time I need to start with a sturdy base.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Training Program
I have known for a long time that my training is eradicate and it has not been tested in a lab. I have achieved huge gains in my tri times by doing what I do, but it is time to take it to the next level. I had originally planned on waiting until December to begin an official training schedule but the more and more I think about Ironman St. George the more and more I want to do really well. It almost consumes my entire thought process.
Believe it or not, there are tri programs and coaches who are eager to provide coaching, training schedules, nutrition plans and software to help any triathlete to achieve their goals for the correct price. The choice of my training plan actually came down to coaching and training software. Most coaches use Training Peaks software to map plans and track workouts and diets. It is a nice program that is pushed by USA Tri, but it isn't very flexible. If for some reason a workout is missed or only part of the work out is finished, Training Peaks does not update future workouts. The training is lost, and this doesn't work for me. It is important to me to have a very flexible schedule. With my thesis approaching and the desire to spend some time with my lovely wife, it is unacceptable for me to have a training schedule set in stone.
I am also not interested in having phone conversations or daily emails from a coach. I would like to be able to get a hold of them if I need to, but I would rather not have contact. I could learn a lot from a personable coach, but I don't want to fake my way through a conversation just to have a conversation and I feel that's how most of the discussions would happen.
For these reasons, I have decided to use MarkAllenOnline for my coaching needs. Mark Allen is an Ironman hall of Famer from the 90's and a legend in the Ironman circles. His knowledge of how to train and how not to train has been tested in numerous Ironman races and 6 Kona titles. Mark paired up with Luis Vargas, another Ironman competitor and software designer to create a different type of training program. Through collaboration, they developed the eGrip coaching engine; an adaptable training software that shuffles workouts based on performance and completion of previous work outs. They also provide email support (with quick responses, I already tested it) if I ever needed anything, or wanted to discuss strategy. In addition to meeting my exact needs, eGrip has a maintenance program that I can start now and start to organize my workout. In December, I will be able to transition to my full blown training schedule with a base line of training data already established.
Mark Allen has a little elevator slogan; "Train smart, get results." I think it makes perfect sense and the smartest thing I have done for my results is to jump on board.
Believe it or not, there are tri programs and coaches who are eager to provide coaching, training schedules, nutrition plans and software to help any triathlete to achieve their goals for the correct price. The choice of my training plan actually came down to coaching and training software. Most coaches use Training Peaks software to map plans and track workouts and diets. It is a nice program that is pushed by USA Tri, but it isn't very flexible. If for some reason a workout is missed or only part of the work out is finished, Training Peaks does not update future workouts. The training is lost, and this doesn't work for me. It is important to me to have a very flexible schedule. With my thesis approaching and the desire to spend some time with my lovely wife, it is unacceptable for me to have a training schedule set in stone.
I am also not interested in having phone conversations or daily emails from a coach. I would like to be able to get a hold of them if I need to, but I would rather not have contact. I could learn a lot from a personable coach, but I don't want to fake my way through a conversation just to have a conversation and I feel that's how most of the discussions would happen.
For these reasons, I have decided to use MarkAllenOnline for my coaching needs. Mark Allen is an Ironman hall of Famer from the 90's and a legend in the Ironman circles. His knowledge of how to train and how not to train has been tested in numerous Ironman races and 6 Kona titles. Mark paired up with Luis Vargas, another Ironman competitor and software designer to create a different type of training program. Through collaboration, they developed the eGrip coaching engine; an adaptable training software that shuffles workouts based on performance and completion of previous work outs. They also provide email support (with quick responses, I already tested it) if I ever needed anything, or wanted to discuss strategy. In addition to meeting my exact needs, eGrip has a maintenance program that I can start now and start to organize my workout. In December, I will be able to transition to my full blown training schedule with a base line of training data already established.
Mark Allen has a little elevator slogan; "Train smart, get results." I think it makes perfect sense and the smartest thing I have done for my results is to jump on board.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Not As Grumpy Today
I just received an email containing the official results of the Parker Tri and I am not as grumpy as I was yesterday. In fact I feel awesome. I finished in 1:10:26.1, 32nd overall and 4th in my age group. I missed out on the podium by 37 seconds. I am really ok with that because I had a great race and I made a few mental errors and transition mistakes that easily could equate to that 37 second difference.
I failed to talk about the race yesterday because I was so upset with my timing drama. Now that its over I think I can reflect on my race. I didn't have any issues with my swim other than the fact that I really don't know how to swim. I decided on the way home that I am going to take a few lessons so that I can learn to efficiently kick. I usually just drag myself through the water using by upper body, I think if I learn to kick I may be able to knock a few minutes off of my swim and look a little cooler doing it.
My swim to bike transition went well too. It was a long run from the pool to the transition but I managed to keep a good pace and catch my breath from the swim to make the first few minutes on the bike easier. The bike went really good. I may have been able to push it a little more, but I never safe anything for the run and I backed off a couple of times so my run time would be better. I managed to average 20.48 mph on the bike leg which is really good because there were a few tough uphills.
The bike to run transition was a complete disaster. I am pretty sure I missed the podium because of it. Normally I slip out of my shoes while riding the last portion of the bike to safe time. This time, I didn't see the transition marker until it was too late to slip them off so I ran into transition with them all. I told my self it wasn't a big deal and it wouldn't hurt my time at all. It did take a little longer but had that been the only mistake I wouldn't have cared. In addition to the shoes, I forgot to unbuckle my helmet on the fly and I tried to decapitate myself when I got to my station and attempted to remove it. Next, I had tied my shoes too tight, so when I went to slip them on I had an extremely difficult time. It probably took me 20 seconds per foot to wiggle into my shoes. I can usually keep my transition times under 40 seconds and my second transition was twice that.
The run leg was fantastic. Right out of the transition I had a good pace as I regained my legs and as they started to feel better I picked up the pace. I managed a 7:55 per mile pace (my goal was under 8) so I was thrilled to have done that. I think I could have ran harder, especially at the end, but overall it was a great performance. I may have been able to shave off another 10 seconds had I started sprinting where I initially had planned to, but I held off. It may have been a mental mistake or a good move, but it is impossible to tell.
It is a real bummer that my second transition cost me a podium position, but transition are part of the race and I now know to practice them before my next sprint tri. It turned out to be a really great day.
I almost forgot, Kayleigh was 4th in her age group too. I actually had her admit that a better run time would make her a competitive triathlete. She may just join me at run club sooner than later.
I failed to talk about the race yesterday because I was so upset with my timing drama. Now that its over I think I can reflect on my race. I didn't have any issues with my swim other than the fact that I really don't know how to swim. I decided on the way home that I am going to take a few lessons so that I can learn to efficiently kick. I usually just drag myself through the water using by upper body, I think if I learn to kick I may be able to knock a few minutes off of my swim and look a little cooler doing it.
My swim to bike transition went well too. It was a long run from the pool to the transition but I managed to keep a good pace and catch my breath from the swim to make the first few minutes on the bike easier. The bike went really good. I may have been able to push it a little more, but I never safe anything for the run and I backed off a couple of times so my run time would be better. I managed to average 20.48 mph on the bike leg which is really good because there were a few tough uphills.
The bike to run transition was a complete disaster. I am pretty sure I missed the podium because of it. Normally I slip out of my shoes while riding the last portion of the bike to safe time. This time, I didn't see the transition marker until it was too late to slip them off so I ran into transition with them all. I told my self it wasn't a big deal and it wouldn't hurt my time at all. It did take a little longer but had that been the only mistake I wouldn't have cared. In addition to the shoes, I forgot to unbuckle my helmet on the fly and I tried to decapitate myself when I got to my station and attempted to remove it. Next, I had tied my shoes too tight, so when I went to slip them on I had an extremely difficult time. It probably took me 20 seconds per foot to wiggle into my shoes. I can usually keep my transition times under 40 seconds and my second transition was twice that.
The run leg was fantastic. Right out of the transition I had a good pace as I regained my legs and as they started to feel better I picked up the pace. I managed a 7:55 per mile pace (my goal was under 8) so I was thrilled to have done that. I think I could have ran harder, especially at the end, but overall it was a great performance. I may have been able to shave off another 10 seconds had I started sprinting where I initially had planned to, but I held off. It may have been a mental mistake or a good move, but it is impossible to tell.
It is a real bummer that my second transition cost me a podium position, but transition are part of the race and I now know to practice them before my next sprint tri. It turned out to be a really great day.
I almost forgot, Kayleigh was 4th in her age group too. I actually had her admit that a better run time would make her a competitive triathlete. She may just join me at run club sooner than later.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Parker Tri
I wasn't quite done running sprints this year so I found a smaller tri that I could enter, I even convinced Kayleigh to do it as well because the swim was in a pool rather than open water. So this morning we drove to Parker for the last tri before my Ironman.
It was probably the least organized race I have ever been to. I understand that it is extremely hard to get 400 people to swim 500m in 6 lanes of a swimming pool, but after ten years (that's how long the race has been around for) you would have thought they figured it out. My start was delayed over an hour, which means I was standing around wasting energy for an extra hour and it would be hot by the time I made it out to the run course. Lets just say, I wasn't very happy.
Besides having a bad start, I actually had a great race. However, due to another issue I had with the race, I am unsure of my time or splits. I never received a complete answer, but it sounds like the hand held PDA device used by the swim starters failed to record my start time. This means that even though I received time splits for every phase of the race, there was no base to compare them too. I have no idea what my time was.
I have decided to use other measures to determine how awesome I am. I shared a lap lane with four other people during the swim leg, and I was the first to finish out of that group. I know for a fact that I at least beat four people. I had an amazing bike leg as well. I managed to avoid being passed by all but one other competitor, and I managed to pick off a large number of racers that had a head start. I felt good coming off of the bike, my legs were a little wobbly at first but I managed to overcome that feeling after a few hundred meters. Similar to the bike leg, I also avoided getting passed and managed to overtake a few handfuls of runners as well. It felt like the best race I have ever put together, I just wish I had a time to pair up with the feeling.
It was probably the least organized race I have ever been to. I understand that it is extremely hard to get 400 people to swim 500m in 6 lanes of a swimming pool, but after ten years (that's how long the race has been around for) you would have thought they figured it out. My start was delayed over an hour, which means I was standing around wasting energy for an extra hour and it would be hot by the time I made it out to the run course. Lets just say, I wasn't very happy.
Besides having a bad start, I actually had a great race. However, due to another issue I had with the race, I am unsure of my time or splits. I never received a complete answer, but it sounds like the hand held PDA device used by the swim starters failed to record my start time. This means that even though I received time splits for every phase of the race, there was no base to compare them too. I have no idea what my time was.
I have decided to use other measures to determine how awesome I am. I shared a lap lane with four other people during the swim leg, and I was the first to finish out of that group. I know for a fact that I at least beat four people. I had an amazing bike leg as well. I managed to avoid being passed by all but one other competitor, and I managed to pick off a large number of racers that had a head start. I felt good coming off of the bike, my legs were a little wobbly at first but I managed to overcome that feeling after a few hundred meters. Similar to the bike leg, I also avoided getting passed and managed to overtake a few handfuls of runners as well. It felt like the best race I have ever put together, I just wish I had a time to pair up with the feeling.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
I Finally Belong!!
Last nights workout with run club was fast and exhausting, which was partly my fault. I always get anxious while sitting around at work waiting for the correct time to leave so I can get to training on time. This usually leads to an early departure and not coincidental, an early arrival. I hate to sit around at the track too, so I started warming up. By the time it was ready to start our workout, I had already run two miles around the track.
Then the real work started. We ran intervals of 3 min/5/3/5/3/3 with a 3 min break in between each interval. Coming off of my epic sub 6 min mile I was attempting to train at the same pace. The first three were ok, I managed to sneak in with a quick pace group and I held my own. However after the second 5 min interval, it felt like I was running through a lake full of gravy. I managed to keep my pace group within 100-200 meters, but I could no longer stay with the group.
The best part was the light rain we had near the end of the workout, it was very refreshing. It was just the perfect temperature to cool you down and not extremely wet so it didn't slow you down either.
Actually I lied, the best part of the night was not the weather. At the beginning of each practice our run coach (Doug) reads off race results from the weekend so we can congratulate everyone on their performances. Out of no where he brought up my mile time (and a few others but it makes me feel special to believe it was just mine) and how much I had taken off of my previous mile. It was the first time I have ever been congratulated by the club and afterwards a few of the elite runners approached me to offer personal congrats. After a couple of months of being in the shadows and going through the motions, I felt like I really belonged to the run club. It was awesome, I may just become a runner one day after all.
Then the real work started. We ran intervals of 3 min/5/3/5/3/3 with a 3 min break in between each interval. Coming off of my epic sub 6 min mile I was attempting to train at the same pace. The first three were ok, I managed to sneak in with a quick pace group and I held my own. However after the second 5 min interval, it felt like I was running through a lake full of gravy. I managed to keep my pace group within 100-200 meters, but I could no longer stay with the group.
The best part was the light rain we had near the end of the workout, it was very refreshing. It was just the perfect temperature to cool you down and not extremely wet so it didn't slow you down either.
Actually I lied, the best part of the night was not the weather. At the beginning of each practice our run coach (Doug) reads off race results from the weekend so we can congratulate everyone on their performances. Out of no where he brought up my mile time (and a few others but it makes me feel special to believe it was just mine) and how much I had taken off of my previous mile. It was the first time I have ever been congratulated by the club and afterwards a few of the elite runners approached me to offer personal congrats. After a couple of months of being in the shadows and going through the motions, I felt like I really belonged to the run club. It was awesome, I may just become a runner one day after all.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Two Types of Goals
I'm sitting at work right now and really do not feel like inputting data, so instead I'm going to talk about the two types of goals. I have noticed that every time I set out to do something I set two goals for myself, a realistic goal and a fantasy goal. The realistic goal is something that you know you can accomplish with a little effort and reaching it will make you happy. The fantasy goal is something you would love to accomplish and you would be ecstatic if you reached it, but it feels like it is just outside of your reach.
An example of the two goal system occurred last week when I ran my timed mile. My realistic goal was to finish under 6:20 and show improvement from the last mile, and my fantasy goal was to finish under 6 minutes. It was a discussion at the mile that made me realize that most everyone (maybe just runners and triathletes) set two goals for themselves prior to each event that they take on. My running partner and I were discussing our goals and we starting joking about this multi goal system. If you really think about, it is everywhere.
After realizing that I follow the two goal system pretty religiously, I started to think about Ironman St. George and my goals. At first I thought that my realistic goal was to finish the Ironman in under 17 hours and be an official finisher and my fantasy goal was to finish in under 13 hours with a respectable time that I would be comfortable bragging about. After thinking about my goals for sometime, I believe I may have set them too low. In my mind I have revised my plan or just added a third tier. My legitimate goal for Ironman St. George is to finish somewhere in the 12 hour range or below, once again so I feel like I have a respectable time that I am comfortable sharing with others. The fantasy goal then becomes extremely challenging, to finish and qualify for Kona. For those of you who don't know, Ironman in Kona is considered the Ironman Championships and generally the top 5 age group finishers from each Ironman race from around the world qualify.
Don't get me wrong, I would be content to finish. I just would rather be someone who trained for the race and whose time was a reflection of the hours of training that was put in, instead of someone who is trying to cross the finish line as one last speed bump in the way of their M dot tattoo.
An example of the two goal system occurred last week when I ran my timed mile. My realistic goal was to finish under 6:20 and show improvement from the last mile, and my fantasy goal was to finish under 6 minutes. It was a discussion at the mile that made me realize that most everyone (maybe just runners and triathletes) set two goals for themselves prior to each event that they take on. My running partner and I were discussing our goals and we starting joking about this multi goal system. If you really think about, it is everywhere.
After realizing that I follow the two goal system pretty religiously, I started to think about Ironman St. George and my goals. At first I thought that my realistic goal was to finish the Ironman in under 17 hours and be an official finisher and my fantasy goal was to finish in under 13 hours with a respectable time that I would be comfortable bragging about. After thinking about my goals for sometime, I believe I may have set them too low. In my mind I have revised my plan or just added a third tier. My legitimate goal for Ironman St. George is to finish somewhere in the 12 hour range or below, once again so I feel like I have a respectable time that I am comfortable sharing with others. The fantasy goal then becomes extremely challenging, to finish and qualify for Kona. For those of you who don't know, Ironman in Kona is considered the Ironman Championships and generally the top 5 age group finishers from each Ironman race from around the world qualify.
Don't get me wrong, I would be content to finish. I just would rather be someone who trained for the race and whose time was a reflection of the hours of training that was put in, instead of someone who is trying to cross the finish line as one last speed bump in the way of their M dot tattoo.
Routine is OK
This week has been pretty routine so far, and I am fine with that. I was able to get a more aggressive (but shorter) ride in on Monday like I had planned. It was rather windy on the way home from Windsor and a few times wind gusts hit me in the side and managed to push me over a foot or two.
Other than the ride to Windsor, I have been spinning and running as normal. Tonight is run club so I will be getting one last work 5k workout in before my last summer sprint tri this weekend.
I am pretty excited for the Fall Frenzy Tri in Parker. I don't think it is a very high profile race and the swim is in a pool, so I think I have a pretty fair shot at placing in my age group. From my last sprint tri in Loveland, my cycling is looking better and my run pace is down so I am expecting phenomenal gains in my splits. I am a little worried about my swim time, the rec pool has been closed for almost a month so I haven't swam in about a month. I don't believe it will effect me that much, I just hope it doesn't cost me my fantasy goal.
Other than the ride to Windsor, I have been spinning and running as normal. Tonight is run club so I will be getting one last work 5k workout in before my last summer sprint tri this weekend.
I am pretty excited for the Fall Frenzy Tri in Parker. I don't think it is a very high profile race and the swim is in a pool, so I think I have a pretty fair shot at placing in my age group. From my last sprint tri in Loveland, my cycling is looking better and my run pace is down so I am expecting phenomenal gains in my splits. I am a little worried about my swim time, the rec pool has been closed for almost a month so I haven't swam in about a month. I don't believe it will effect me that much, I just hope it doesn't cost me my fantasy goal.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Saddle Time
Today my lovely wife and I along with a few friends went for a long ride on the Cherry Creek bike trail through downtown Denver to Cherry Creek Reservoir. The trails and the reservoir were pretty busy (we didn't expect anything less on Labor Day weekend) so we took our time and had a relaxing ride.
Our ride wasn't really a training ride, I think we rode around 40 miles but at a nice and slow pace. Even though I wasn't pushing it hard, I still got a lot of saddle time which is one of my major concerns for Ironman.
I know I can ride 112 miles, but the key will be riding 112 miles and staying relaxed enough to run the marathon afterwords. As I close in on the big day, I will start picking up the pace and getting my saddle time on the same rides. Tomorrow I have a shorter ride planned up and through Windsor so I am sure I will be pushing it a little more.
Our ride wasn't really a training ride, I think we rode around 40 miles but at a nice and slow pace. Even though I wasn't pushing it hard, I still got a lot of saddle time which is one of my major concerns for Ironman.
I know I can ride 112 miles, but the key will be riding 112 miles and staying relaxed enough to run the marathon afterwords. As I close in on the big day, I will start picking up the pace and getting my saddle time on the same rides. Tomorrow I have a shorter ride planned up and through Windsor so I am sure I will be pushing it a little more.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
The Timed Mile
So I realize running a timed mile is not going to help my marathon time at all, but about every 2 months my running club gets together to see how fast we can run. We don't really train for the mile so it is sort of interesting to see how much everyone improves. Enough about the rest of the running club, I'm here to write about me. Lets just say I kicked ass.
My first timed mile I ran in 6:40 and that was my first day of going to run club practices. I had little speed work leading up that point so I was excited and felt great about my time. After two months of speed work outs I knew I could break 6 minutes in the mile. So I showed up early and ran the course forwards and backwards as a warm up and to refresh my memory on the turns. I was so early that I had to run another half mile 20 minutes later just to stay warmed up. My legs have felt heavy lately so I didn't think I was going to beat 6 minutes but as long as I ran better than the last time I would have been happy.
At the start of the run I found a pacer that was going to run 6 minutes flat and I knew I had to stay with her and surge past at the end to accomplish my goal. I kept up with her for what felt like hours and every time I looked sideways someone else had dropped out of the lead pack. My lungs were on fire, I couldn't breath, and my legs felt like bricks. We finally turned the last corner and I could see the finish about 300m away. At about the same time I started to fall back, I don't know if it was mental or if I was physically spent, but I sensed my goal escaping me. I managed to hold what I had for a little longer and finished just behind my pacer.
I was pissed, I was so close to finishing under 6 and I let it go at the very end. The anger didn't last long because soon after I started dry heaving and puking. My only concern then was to not look like too much of an asshole. With my lungs still on fire, I ran the course backwards to cool down and head over to our social in the park. The official finish times greeted me us there and everyone dashed over to see what their official times were. I wasn't in too much of a hurry because deep down I was disappointed even though I had still improved.
The times are posted in order of finish, so I found the 6 minute marker and starting looking down the list. I passed six or seven names and was looking at the 6:20 times thinking to myself I knew I hadn't ran that bad. I went back to the 6 minute marker and started looking backwards. It turned out to be a glorious sight; there it was, Kevin G. at 5:59, success was mine.
In the end I am unsure if it was worth it, my lungs still hurt today, a half day later, and I didn't do anything but lay on the couch like a turd for the rest of the night last night. However, in two months I would love to be writing about how I ran a 5:30 mile, even if it does hurt like this.
My first timed mile I ran in 6:40 and that was my first day of going to run club practices. I had little speed work leading up that point so I was excited and felt great about my time. After two months of speed work outs I knew I could break 6 minutes in the mile. So I showed up early and ran the course forwards and backwards as a warm up and to refresh my memory on the turns. I was so early that I had to run another half mile 20 minutes later just to stay warmed up. My legs have felt heavy lately so I didn't think I was going to beat 6 minutes but as long as I ran better than the last time I would have been happy.
At the start of the run I found a pacer that was going to run 6 minutes flat and I knew I had to stay with her and surge past at the end to accomplish my goal. I kept up with her for what felt like hours and every time I looked sideways someone else had dropped out of the lead pack. My lungs were on fire, I couldn't breath, and my legs felt like bricks. We finally turned the last corner and I could see the finish about 300m away. At about the same time I started to fall back, I don't know if it was mental or if I was physically spent, but I sensed my goal escaping me. I managed to hold what I had for a little longer and finished just behind my pacer.
I was pissed, I was so close to finishing under 6 and I let it go at the very end. The anger didn't last long because soon after I started dry heaving and puking. My only concern then was to not look like too much of an asshole. With my lungs still on fire, I ran the course backwards to cool down and head over to our social in the park. The official finish times greeted me us there and everyone dashed over to see what their official times were. I wasn't in too much of a hurry because deep down I was disappointed even though I had still improved.
The times are posted in order of finish, so I found the 6 minute marker and starting looking down the list. I passed six or seven names and was looking at the 6:20 times thinking to myself I knew I hadn't ran that bad. I went back to the 6 minute marker and started looking backwards. It turned out to be a glorious sight; there it was, Kevin G. at 5:59, success was mine.
In the end I am unsure if it was worth it, my lungs still hurt today, a half day later, and I didn't do anything but lay on the couch like a turd for the rest of the night last night. However, in two months I would love to be writing about how I ran a 5:30 mile, even if it does hurt like this.
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