The IGP™ called for 45 min 4/1 this morning. Since I'd mixed it up a bit on Tuesday, I thought I'd do what the Tuesday plan had called for.
5 min warmup
6x 5R 1W
5 min cooldown
46 Min total.
In fact I got back to the car a few minutes early, and spent the time draped over a gate stretching. My legs felt good. I started off the run gradually, and settled into a nice groove by the second set. The fourth and fifth sets felt strong and I pushed a little there, with my heart rate going into the low 140's. Recovery over the walking minute is usually about 20 bpm. The last set was a bit tough, as my legs were getting tired. So it worked out to be just about the right amount for a workout.
The sky was just beginning to light up as I was running back to the car. Very nice. Just before that I saw what I think of as the UFO bike. This person has multi flashing strobe lights on their head, a head lamp, and a couple more strobes around the seat, and some reflectors on the wheels that shine toward the front. It's quite the sight.
I had some Shiatsu and acupuncture done this afternoon. That felt great. There's still some tightness and muscle soreness at the back of the knee, but I'm told that the workouts are good providing I don't over do it, stretching, keeping it warm, and getting plenty of liquids and rest are the best thing for it. We won't even talk about what he said about my neck and upper back being all scrunched from my hunching over the keyboard and trying to type faster. Work is going by in a blur. I'm sure that if I hadn't started the workout program before starting at IMS, I'd be keeled over by now.
The IGP™ called for a 45 min spin tonight.
20 min warmup, gradually building to 90 rpm or so
10 x 30 second effort, 1:30 recovery
5 min cooldown, plus some stretching
Total 45 min.
The 30 seconds effort was high rpm in a medium gear, something I could spin but not have to force, and yet not so easy that it's easy to get jerky. The first couple were just under 110 rpm or so, most of the rest were between 110 and 120, there was one about 130, and the last about 110. The idea was to engage the core, concentrate on smooth spinning, with no muscle jerking, and no bouncing. By and large it worked out pretty well, though I was bouncing at 130.
All in all a day I'm happy with. I'm looking forward to a nice swim with some intervals at the fast pool tomorrow.
Ironman Canada - DONE! What next?
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
longer swim good pace
Holy Hannah FOMC was busy this am. I went out to my usual lanes, and between the two there was 5 people swimming. Happily, one guy moved over and I shared with one other person until one of the regulars joined. I swim just a bit faster than both, and they're really good about sharing.
There were some other people there swimming much quicker than normal, doing intervals or something, or maybe they've been sandbagging. That encouraged me to keep up the pace, or try to. The goal was to swim for 30 minutes and see how far I got.
1550 m in 29:46 if I've counted right.
1:41, 1:54, 1:55, 1:56, 1:53, (500 m 9:22) 1:54, 1:55, 1:54, 1:58, 1:57 (1000 m 19:02) 1:55, 1:58, 1:58, 1:58, 1:55 (1500 m 28:46) + 1 minute for the last 50 m. Overall that works out to about 57.5 seconds per 50 m.
Considering I had no expectations whatever about this, I'm very pleased. My 1K time is only 14 seconds off my fastest time. It's clear the last half of the swim was sliding toward my relaxed 1 min 50 m pace but overall it's a very consistent swim for me. My stroke felt strong and steady.
And it's WARM here today!! Well, not everybody would think -2 is warm, but compared to the deep freeze of the last little while, it's practically shorts and T shirt weather.
There were some other people there swimming much quicker than normal, doing intervals or something, or maybe they've been sandbagging. That encouraged me to keep up the pace, or try to. The goal was to swim for 30 minutes and see how far I got.
1550 m in 29:46 if I've counted right.
1:41, 1:54, 1:55, 1:56, 1:53, (500 m 9:22) 1:54, 1:55, 1:54, 1:58, 1:57 (1000 m 19:02) 1:55, 1:58, 1:58, 1:58, 1:55 (1500 m 28:46) + 1 minute for the last 50 m. Overall that works out to about 57.5 seconds per 50 m.
Considering I had no expectations whatever about this, I'm very pleased. My 1K time is only 14 seconds off my fastest time. It's clear the last half of the swim was sliding toward my relaxed 1 min 50 m pace but overall it's a very consistent swim for me. My stroke felt strong and steady.
And it's WARM here today!! Well, not everybody would think -2 is warm, but compared to the deep freeze of the last little while, it's practically shorts and T shirt weather.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Back in the groove
Today was the day to find out if I was getting back on the fitness bus, or was going to be a weenie. The weather page said it was -17 this morning, and even though the Feb IGP™ hasn't arrived (hint hint) it was the usual day for a morning run. My legs have been feeling pretty good, so out into the cold it was. I dropped my wife at work, and parked under 8th ave where it goes over Deerfoot. That's a nice fairly flat path.
5 min warmup brisk walk
6 x 4R 1W
not quite 5 min cooldown, and some stretches beside the car.
It took a little while to get back in the groove. There was one point where I think I was unconciously running faster, and and I started to get this odd muscle flicker in my calf. So I slowed down for a bit, and chugged along till the turnaround just north of the Fox Hollow Golf Dome. The run back didn't take quite as long as out.
The spin class tonight was fun. Lots of people were there, and we got to check out the new store. Very nice! The floor looks great when it's clean but it shows every spec of water, sweat, mud, ect. Greg had us putting mats under our bikes. I'm not sure why, more water and crud gets tracked in from the outside than we sweat off during the ride.
We did a bit of one leg drill, then started the main set of 4 x 10 min at a low heartrate, medium cadence, fairly big gear. For me then ended up being about 80 to 85 rpm at about 115 to 120 heart rate. The last one was tough and I had a bit of trouble getting into the groove again. During the cool down I was trying to spin a bit faster for a minute, and found it really hard. Greg did a bit of showing off, going to max power for 20 seconds. I thought the bearings on his spin trainer were going to explode.
My total ride ended up being 1 hr 40 min.
5 min warmup brisk walk
6 x 4R 1W
not quite 5 min cooldown, and some stretches beside the car.
It took a little while to get back in the groove. There was one point where I think I was unconciously running faster, and and I started to get this odd muscle flicker in my calf. So I slowed down for a bit, and chugged along till the turnaround just north of the Fox Hollow Golf Dome. The run back didn't take quite as long as out.
The spin class tonight was fun. Lots of people were there, and we got to check out the new store. Very nice! The floor looks great when it's clean but it shows every spec of water, sweat, mud, ect. Greg had us putting mats under our bikes. I'm not sure why, more water and crud gets tracked in from the outside than we sweat off during the ride.
We did a bit of one leg drill, then started the main set of 4 x 10 min at a low heartrate, medium cadence, fairly big gear. For me then ended up being about 80 to 85 rpm at about 115 to 120 heart rate. The last one was tough and I had a bit of trouble getting into the groove again. During the cool down I was trying to spin a bit faster for a minute, and found it really hard. Greg did a bit of showing off, going to max power for 20 seconds. I thought the bearings on his spin trainer were going to explode.
My total ride ended up being 1 hr 40 min.
Monday, February 4, 2008
questions from my faithful fans
Yes, I picked up the pace a little in the last 100 m, but it wasn't a sprint or anything. I could have turned around and kept going if I wanted. Although it wouldn't have been at the same pace. I'm trying to teach myself to swim a consistent 1:50 for 100 m. That gets me down to about an 18:30 K, or 37 min 2 K. That's respectable for a half tri. Even if I can't keep up with swim demons J and K.
Hmmm, I'm not so far off that time now. Maybe what I should do is try 55 second 50 m laps and see how long I can keep it up. And hope that nobody gets in my way.
The watch and heart monitor I use is from Timex. It's the 30 lap model. The hardest part about the whole thing was teaching myself to push the button during the turn. Normally I only put one hand on the wall, tuck my feet, turn and push. The other arm trails behind ready to lead the way. So now I had to figure out how to get both hands together. And remember to push the button every other lap, for 100 m split times.
I've never had any problems with the heart rate monitor, biking, running, or swimming. The only reason I got a new one is that the idiot who replaced the watch battery didn't seal the watch up properly. You can't buy just the watch part. I like this one, once I got used to the buttons. If I'm wearing the heart rate, the review lets me look at minimum, maximum, and average heart rates for the whole workout, and it gives the average heart rate for each lap, the lap time, and the cumulative time for that lap. Not as fancy as the Garmin, but way cheaper.
Hmmm, I'm not so far off that time now. Maybe what I should do is try 55 second 50 m laps and see how long I can keep it up. And hope that nobody gets in my way.
The watch and heart monitor I use is from Timex. It's the 30 lap model. The hardest part about the whole thing was teaching myself to push the button during the turn. Normally I only put one hand on the wall, tuck my feet, turn and push. The other arm trails behind ready to lead the way. So now I had to figure out how to get both hands together. And remember to push the button every other lap, for 100 m split times.
I've never had any problems with the heart rate monitor, biking, running, or swimming. The only reason I got a new one is that the idiot who replaced the watch battery didn't seal the watch up properly. You can't buy just the watch part. I like this one, once I got used to the buttons. If I'm wearing the heart rate, the review lets me look at minimum, maximum, and average heart rates for the whole workout, and it gives the average heart rate for each lap, the lap time, and the cumulative time for that lap. Not as fancy as the Garmin, but way cheaper.
1000 m new personal best!
Just when I was thinking I was on a bit of a plateau with swimming, along came today.
1000 m 18:48
This is the fastest I've done 1000 m since some time in my late 20's. My heart rate at the end was 144 which is also the highest it's been after a swim in a long time, but I didn't think I was actually working that hard. My stroke felt strong and smooth, and it wasn't until half way through I realized I was on track for a fast time.
100 m times were: 1:42, 1:50, 1:53, 1:55, 1:56 (500 m 9:18) 1:56, 1:54, 1:55, 1:54, 1:49.
1000 m 18:48
This is the fastest I've done 1000 m since some time in my late 20's. My heart rate at the end was 144 which is also the highest it's been after a swim in a long time, but I didn't think I was actually working that hard. My stroke felt strong and smooth, and it wasn't until half way through I realized I was on track for a fast time.
100 m times were: 1:42, 1:50, 1:53, 1:55, 1:56 (500 m 9:18) 1:56, 1:54, 1:55, 1:54, 1:49.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
First Sunday bike run in a couple of weeks
That felt great!
I was a bit apprehensive about the bike and run. My legs have been feeling better, but there's been odd twinges every now and then. So I decided on a short moderate effort workout today.
20 minute progressive warmup on the bike, topping out at a little over 100 rpm
10 x 2 min hard-ish then 2 relax
5 min cooldown
Change into run clothing for a 3 Km run walk.
2R 1W
3R 1W
3 x 4R 1W
3 min walking cooldown
20 min stretching
So, 1 hr on the bike, 25 min run.
The two minute effort on the bike was an alteration of 100-105 rpm in an easy gear, and about 80 rpm in a hard gear. Overall they started easy, and got harder throughout. However, let's not be mistaken in thinking I was sweating a bucket here; there was a bit but I didn't really need a towel. I don't think my heartrate ever got above 125 during the ride, and my breathing was always easy and steady. It wasn't about lungs and heart, it was about legs. They felt good, though during the higher rpm intervals, it's like the left calf was a bit flabbier and bouncing a bit more than the right. An odd feeling. The hams felt pretty good though I could feel some twinges there, especially on the left leg.
The run went really well, mostly about 130, and never over 135 heartrate. No twinges, aches or other complaints from my legs. It wasn't until the last set that my stride settled into a groove again. Most of the run felt a little bouncy, though I was trying to keep my stride smooth and light. I had guessed it was between -10 and -15 out and the weather people said -13. Positively balmy compared to the last little while. It was nice to be out running again.
During the strech I got an excellent click from the area in my back my massage therapist always works on. After my shower I rubbed most of my legs with Tiger Balm, and I'm feeling the heat now
Weekly totals
Swim 1 hr
Bike 1.5 hr
Run .35
Total 2.85
I'm thinking next week I should be able to get into my normal schedule for workouts, though I'll probably still dial back on intensity, and see how I feel.
I was a bit apprehensive about the bike and run. My legs have been feeling better, but there's been odd twinges every now and then. So I decided on a short moderate effort workout today.
20 minute progressive warmup on the bike, topping out at a little over 100 rpm
10 x 2 min hard-ish then 2 relax
5 min cooldown
Change into run clothing for a 3 Km run walk.
2R 1W
3R 1W
3 x 4R 1W
3 min walking cooldown
20 min stretching
So, 1 hr on the bike, 25 min run.
The two minute effort on the bike was an alteration of 100-105 rpm in an easy gear, and about 80 rpm in a hard gear. Overall they started easy, and got harder throughout. However, let's not be mistaken in thinking I was sweating a bucket here; there was a bit but I didn't really need a towel. I don't think my heartrate ever got above 125 during the ride, and my breathing was always easy and steady. It wasn't about lungs and heart, it was about legs. They felt good, though during the higher rpm intervals, it's like the left calf was a bit flabbier and bouncing a bit more than the right. An odd feeling. The hams felt pretty good though I could feel some twinges there, especially on the left leg.
The run went really well, mostly about 130, and never over 135 heartrate. No twinges, aches or other complaints from my legs. It wasn't until the last set that my stride settled into a groove again. Most of the run felt a little bouncy, though I was trying to keep my stride smooth and light. I had guessed it was between -10 and -15 out and the weather people said -13. Positively balmy compared to the last little while. It was nice to be out running again.
During the strech I got an excellent click from the area in my back my massage therapist always works on. After my shower I rubbed most of my legs with Tiger Balm, and I'm feeling the heat now
Weekly totals
Swim 1 hr
Bike 1.5 hr
Run .35
Total 2.85
I'm thinking next week I should be able to get into my normal schedule for workouts, though I'll probably still dial back on intensity, and see how I feel.
Friday, February 1, 2008
A fine swim
Today was the first regular swim workout for about a week. It's still dialed back a bit from my usual Friday routine.
1000 m 19 min exactly, at a strong effort. For a while I was on track for about 18:45 or so, with a 500 m time of 9:20, but there were a few slow laps in the last half where I lost focus. Then about 20 minutes in the dive tank working on core and flexibility.
I was feeling pretty good after the spin last night, though I didn't get as much sleep as I would have liked. I've been paying more attention to my legs in the last little while, and it's like they don't quite know what to think. The calves are ok, but the part I notice most is the hams, down low behind the knee. This morning the sore part is the hip flexors. Well, not sore, that isn't the right word. A bit tired perhaps.
And in the nice surprise department, 241. I was expecting to be up a bit, what with essentially not working out last week or so. So to be the same from last week is quite acceptable.
I've been feeling like I've been on a bit of a plateau again for swimming for the last while, but with the good progress in running and biking I've not worried about it. Having the rest is going to be a good thing, provided I don't overdo it as I get back into the routine. Oddly enough, I've missed the workouts a bit. Infected, yes, that was the word.
1000 m 19 min exactly, at a strong effort. For a while I was on track for about 18:45 or so, with a 500 m time of 9:20, but there were a few slow laps in the last half where I lost focus. Then about 20 minutes in the dive tank working on core and flexibility.
I was feeling pretty good after the spin last night, though I didn't get as much sleep as I would have liked. I've been paying more attention to my legs in the last little while, and it's like they don't quite know what to think. The calves are ok, but the part I notice most is the hams, down low behind the knee. This morning the sore part is the hip flexors. Well, not sore, that isn't the right word. A bit tired perhaps.
And in the nice surprise department, 241. I was expecting to be up a bit, what with essentially not working out last week or so. So to be the same from last week is quite acceptable.
I've been feeling like I've been on a bit of a plateau again for swimming for the last while, but with the good progress in running and biking I've not worried about it. Having the rest is going to be a good thing, provided I don't overdo it as I get back into the routine. Oddly enough, I've missed the workouts a bit. Infected, yes, that was the word.
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