Sunday, February 28, 2010

Race report - Hyannis Marathon

I hope you are not looking for inspiration in my race report - it is not going to be here. This report is going to be laced with emotion and disappointment. I implore you not to ask me not to beat myself up - you would all do it if you had a bad result as well.

I will start with the ugly. My ending time was 5:06 - my worst marathon yet. I crossed the halfway point at 2:11, eight minutes slower than Hartford, but four minutes faster than Hyannis last year. It started to fall apart at mile 15. I felt a cramp coming on and stretched it out. My fuel was good and my hydration was good - cramping due to other reasons. At this point I was able to keep running - my head was clear and I felt energetic so this was not a classic bonk.

At mile 20 my legs were so sore that I could not keep running. Walking hurt as well - I don't ever remember feeling pain like this before. I tried to start running again and my legs immediately cramped - all from the knees down - both front and back. I have never cramped in the front (outside of the shins) before. I walked mile 20. At this point if someone offered me a ride back to the finish I would have taken it. Right around mile 21 a woman passed me and I asked if she minded if I tried to run with her. She said no. Apparently she was having the same problem as me, perhaps not quite as bad. I told her that for the first time ever in an event I was thinking about a DNF. She told me that she felt like crap as well and that this was her first marathon and she was going to finish it if she had to crawl over the line. Then she looked me in the eye and said you're going to finish too! I knew I couldn't quit now. I could not find her at the finish, but owe her enormous gratitude for getting me through to the end.

I had to walk mile 24 and somehow found the gumption to run the last 1.2 miles.

I immediately jumped in my car as I was late to check out at my hotel. When I got out of the car at the hotel I could barely walk. My knees were killing me. I hobbled my way into the hotel and got in the elevator. The pain was so bad at this point that I could barely stand. I got to my room and shut and deadbolted the door (I was already late to checkout - did not want the cleaning crew to come in on me). I started the shower and then sat on the bed for a few minutes dreading having to stand up again. I eventually got up and got in the shower - the warm water felt good; however it was hard to stand up in the shower. After I got out of the shower I sat down unable to even dry off. It was here that the wave of depression hit. I started to cry (yes, I said it). The thought of how the hell am I ever going to finish an Ironman after this dismal result hit me like a brick. This was just a stopping point on the way. It was supposed to give me confidence, not take it away from me!

I pulled myself together and slowly got dressed. I knew I had to get out of there, but was not able to move quickly.

One of the nicest things about this was that when I checked out I asked if there was going to be an extra charge for checking out late. The lady said no, don't worry about it. I was very thankful for this.

Now any of you saying Holy Shit! this crossfit stuff doesn't work - I can tell you to just stop! I don't blame the training, there is something else going on that I need to resolve.

I am stronger and faster than I have ever been (at least in the last five years - the power of raw youth is long gone). Look at what Jane and Dan are doing and you will know that this protocol is very powerful.

Anyone who has been reading for a while knows that running is my nemesis. Has been forever. I did a running workshop and discovered that I was running totally wrong - heal striker, broken at the hip, and other problems.

After talking to Max it sounds like I corrected some of my bad habits and picked up others on the way. I no longer strike with the heel, rather I land on the ball of my foot. Additionally, my foot is not supple. These two bad running form issues cause a jolt to go up my leg and it gets absorbed by my knees. Additionally, because my foot is not supple, the muscles in my calves and whatever that muscle is running up your shin is flexed instead of relaxed. Hence, the cramping (or so we think). Your body can handle bad form for a 5K and a 10K and can probably even withstand it for a half marathon, but you can't hide from bad form for a marathon.

Max gave me some running drills to do after the running workshop and I am embarrassed to say that I have not been doing them. I have been trying to correct my running by simply concentrating on my form while doing my running workouts.

Yes, I am beating myself up. No I will not stop at least for a couple of days. I need to wallow in my despair for a couple of days. Here's the thing - if it did not bother me so much that would mean I didn't care.

Now here's the question. What am I going to do about this? I am going to incorporate running drills in twice a week. I am going to drill before my Crossfit WODs. It will be a good warm-up before the WODs anyway. Is it going to be easy with my current workload? No, but I am going to do it because I have to! As soon as my busy season is over I will do another running workshop and then another one after that. I am going to beat this!

Sorry for the long post. If you didn't get to this point I don't blame you. I am going to need to refer back to this post frequently because I never want to feel like this again.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

My first Triathlon

I'm not sure what got me to thinking about this, but I started thinking about the first triathlon that I did. At first I was thinking of Greenfield in 2007 and then it dawned on me, I actually did my first triathlon about 25 years ago in South Carolina.

I was probably 20 years old and in the Air Force at the time. A couple of friends were getting a team together to do a triathlon. I was a decent swimmer (only two years out of competetive high school swimming) and a decent biker, but even then running was my nemesis. Triathlons were still new back then - I'm surprised that there was one in SC as that state is not exactly known as progressive (at least not back then). It was not run the same way they are run today. The bike was the first event and drafting was allowed. I am a classic wheel sucker so that was good for me, except I did not get on the right wheel. The swim was next and was done in a pool. There was no transition - the bike and the run were both mass starts. I can't remember how the swim went, but it was probably the same way with various waves so the pool would not get overcrowded. I was the odd man out so I did not get on the team - did it alone.

I think I even remember my results. There was between 30 and 40 people competing. I came in 12th on the bike - my buddy who I was very competetive with came in 5th - he found a better wheel to suck than the one I did. I was not a very smart competitor back then - these days I would never let that happen. I came in 5th in the swim beating the relay guy from my friend's team - that felt good. The run, what can I say about the run. I think I came in second to last or maybe even tied for last. When the run was not going very well, I decided to keep the other guy back there company. He was about 25 years older than me (not that it is an exuse - I am in better shape now than I was back then).

For some reason I did not get hooked back then. My sport of choice at that time was body building. I just wanted to get big. You would never know that looking at me now.

Paleo man

I find myself eating with my hands a lot lately. It must be this cave man way of eating that I have taken to.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

What am I, chopped liver?

One of the things I get a charge out of is the comments that people post to the blog. I see comments in Ariel's blog, Janes blog, etc. Mine? Zilch, zero, none!!

I guess my posts have gotten boring, blah, blah blah.................. Same 'ol rhetoric, different day.

Today's workout - AMRAP in 15 minutes of 5 burpees, 10 pushups, 500m row. I started the workout and thought wow! this is going to be easy. Yeah, shoot me now - how can I be so naive still? When I finished the burpees and pushups on the second set I noticed that my watch wasn't running - I know I hit the button. Come to think of it though, I did not hear it beep. I turned it on at that time and estimated that 2.5 minutes had gone by. I finished five full rounds by the time my watch read 12:30 (my estimated 15 minutes). Time might have been a little over, but I'm fairly certain it was no more than 16 minutes.

Tomorrow is my last workout before Hyannis. It's an easy one so there probably won't be a report - but I might still write just for the heck of it - no one reads it anyway so I will just blah, blah, blah............................................

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

It wasn't possible

I did another 500 yd swim time trial today. Concentrated on keeping a good count - no way I screwed it up this week. Finished in 8:21 proving that the 7:31 from last week was not a good number. I must have swam a 450. I didn't think it was possible to take that much time off in such a short amount of time, but who can help but to be hopeful. The pace was pretty much the same as last week (after adjusting it to a 450). It's not the strongest I have felt swimming, but not the worst either.

Second workout was Fran. I used 80 pounds for the entire workout - no weight changes. I did it in 14:22 vs. 14:52 last time; however, last time the time to change the weights is included in the time so it was probably about even. I did this about an hour or less after the swim so I was not at full power - not that I'm making exuses or anything.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Mixed results

First workout was 5 x 3 reps of squats. Warmed up with bar and then 135 x 10 and then started first set with 155. Progressed to 165, 175, 185, 185. Considering that 185 was my max not too long ago, this is a good result.

Biked a 15k TT in the dungeon. My perception was that it was going to be one of my best results, but I finished in 30:34 making my average speed about 18.25. I'm baffled because everytime I looked at my bike computer it had my speed between 18.7 and 19.2. Not sure how I ended up only averaging 18.25 except I did drop my water bottle and had to pick it up, but that could not have added too much. Oh well, it's still a good result on the trainer.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Perception can be quite different from reality

I decided to do my first workout in the morning due to my beautiful daughter having a gymnastics meet in the afternoon. I warmed up with an easy 200. My stroke did not feel strong during the warm up. I figured it might have to do with fighting a cold and even thought about bagging the workout. I decided to at least get started to see how I felt. My stroke still felt weak, but I decided that his was more likely to do with the 150 wall balls yesterday than the minor sniffles that I have so I soldiered on. 200 swim, 10 pushups, 10 squats X 5. After two sets there was no way I was going to stop. I finished in 22:43. The last time I did this was 1/17/2010 where I finished in 24:14. Considering how I felt and that I was even considering quitting quite honestly before I even started, this is a phenomonal result. (I know that was a bad sentence, but I'm not going to fix it). This is one case where I am happy perception and reality do not match up.

Second workout - done in the evening. Tabata - 8 each of knee pushups, squats, situps and burpees. I wish I could keep track of how many rounds I do, but there is no way that I can push my hardest and concentrate on how many rounds I'm doing. I'm -positive that it was more than the last time I did it- this felt like an awesome session. Strange how diffent two workouts in the same day can feel. It did not hurt that I had my daughter working the stopwatch telling me when to start and stop. I want her to understand how hard you have to work if you want to reach your goals.

A couple of words on Paleo. I have never cooked so much in my life. I keep it simple most of the time, but I did a pork loin roast last week that came out awesome if I do say so myself and I am cooking a pot roast right now. It's hard to find a lean pot roast - picked up the leanest one I could find and then trimmed the fat off of it before popping it in the oven. I seem to be getting it dialed in as I am not hungry all the time anymore. I'm still trying to eat about six times a day - same as the Zone. I'm eating slightly more protein than I was on the Zone and slightly less carbs. The reason for this is that it is hard to get Zone like quantities of carbs when you cut out wheat and dairy which is denser than veggies and fruits. I feel great - my energy is good and my weight is consistent.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

One week out from marathon

I'm one week out from running my 3rd marathon. Max decided to rest me a little bit before the race - how fortunate am I? There is a ball in my left calf that I have been trying to work out for two days now. It's bugging me because it feels like a cramp waiting to happen. I worked at it a bit today, but I'm not sure I broke it up at all. Used the foam roller on my legs as well - hurts so good! I need to do that more often.

I did 150 wall balls today. I used the heaviest ball I could find which weighed in about 12 pounds - weight was rubbed off the ball from so much use I took it in the locker room and weighed it on the scale. I'm glad this was the heaviest ball I could find - not sure what I would have done with a heavier ball. I forgot to turn my watch on until after the first 50 shots - the last 100 took about five minutes. Assuming I did it even it took me about 7:30.

Finding little niches of time seems to be working for getting me to push the workouts even harder. Like last night when the gym was closing and tonight I was running late for dinner. Tomorrow I have important plans with my daughter so I have to make sure I get the workout in early.

I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their workouts (and hopefully good nutrition).

Last night's quickie

Get your mind out of the gutter - I'm talking about a workout.

Actually left work a little later than planned - thought LAF was open till 11:00, but they close at 10:00 on Fridays. As soon as I got out of the locker room they announced that they were closing in 15 minutes. I figured that's o.k. I have a short workout to do.

Got on the treadmill and warmed up for a half mile and then punched it. I kept upping the speed to see what I could do and managed to increase it to about 9.5 by the end of the 400m (I think I could have gone faster). Did the 50 squats as fast as I could - talk about a burn. Hopped right on the treadmill for my 800 (damn thing takes about 20 seconds to get up to speed) did the same thing with the speed - kept upping it till the end. They turned the lights out about the end of the run which I thought was pretty rude since their own clocks clearly showed more than five minutes left. I finished anyway. Total time 8:18.

Friday, February 19, 2010

off to do a workout

Abs feeling better - still feel it when I cough (yes, I have a little cold). It was bound to happen - everyone around me is sick. I thought I was immune, but...........

Still haven't missed a workout this year. Did a couple at 11:30 p.m. or later. I told myself that I would get one in at lunch today, but I could not break my day up - had to concentrate.

I'm off to get an early one in (it's only 9:00 p.m.). At least it's a short one. Run 400m, 50 squats, run 800m 50 squats. I didn't say easy - just short.

I'm still sore/tight from the glutes down due to doing lunges. I do them stationary and finish one leg before starting the other. Am I doing them wrong? It took me more than twice the amount of time everyone else is reporting. Personally, I think you are all fabricating times to pump yourselves up. Yes, I said it!

Distance for yesterday's 5/1/10/1/15 bike 9.72.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Is it possible?

Today was a swim time trial. 500 yards, so not very long. According to my watch I did it in 7:31. Is this possible? I have been averaging about 1:40 - 1:44 per 100 on my time trials. I would expect that I could do a little better on a shorter distance, but 10 seconds per 100? I did push real hard. I intententially started hard - as if I was swimming 200 yards only and then tried to hang on for the remaining 300 yards. I was in extreme oxygen debt by the time I finished almost to the point that I was going to black out (don't worry, pool's only four feet deep). So I ask again, is it possible that I took 10 seconds off per 100? I have another 500 yard time trial next week so I am going to find out. I wonder if I can find someone to count the laps for me....................

I didn't know you could pull an ab muscle

Well.... that's what I seem to have done. I felt it during the thrusters/burpees workouts. Worked through it and finished that workout in 16:59. I woke up the next day thinking that I felt o.k. and decided to do my first workout in the morning since I got up early. I started doing the box jumps and immediately felt the pain in my abs - felt it on the burpees and especially on the situps. I quit after the first round. So happens that I had my annual physical yesterday so I asked the Doc about it and he confirmed that it was nothing serious.

Did my 20 minute run on the treadmill due to the snow. My home treadmill sucks! I got it for free so I should not complain. I think the speed readings are accurate, but the distance readings are way off. It was very evident yesterday and explains why all of the runs I have done on that treadmill have seemed miserably slow. Running did not hurt so I put my all into it. I had no trouble getting my HR to 160 and kept it there for a while - it crept up to close to 170 by the time I was finished. I kept the speed over 8mph and slowed it down to 7.7 midway through, but brought it back up after a minute (I reminded myself that it was supposed to hurt). I am fairly confident that my average speed was very close to 8mph. Treadmill said I completed 2.12 miles. That does not compute - I estimate it was more like 2.65 miles.

Not to miss a workout I modified the xfit circuit to something that would not aggravate the abs - 20 squats, 20 pushups, 18/18 down to 2. Finished in 7:48.

P.s. burpees are hard after thrusters - I nearly smashed my chin into the cement floor on my first burpee as I did not expect that the thrusters had robbed that much power from me.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

This was a tough week

I won't even go into the work aspects that made this a tough week - the workouts alone were difficult. I started off the week with a bang. 100 pullups on Monday followed by a great circuit and fantastic running result on Tuesday. That circuit chased me for the rest of the week. Wed was a good swim followed up by a good bike and WOD effort on Thursday. Friday is when I started to feel a little run down. Run intervals never thrill me, but I put forth the effort as I know these workouts are helping me acheive my goals. Saturday I misread my program. I thought I was doing five sets of three squats and then a 40k bike TT. The squat session was actually pretty good considering how tired I felt. I thought I might be able to get 185 up three times as I felt really strong the last time I squatted. Reality hit as I realized that I would be lucky to hold 175 for four of the five sets (first set done with 165). I'm thinking about doing the deadlifts today so I can claim to not have missed a workout all year (I didn't really miss it, just did the wrong thing).

40k Bike TT. I really struggle mentally with this workout as it is difficult to keep the motivation up down in the basement for up to an hour and a half. Plus, I was really feeling run down and was concerned that my time would degrade (I know It's all about the effort). Well, would you know I actually took 3 minutes and 11 seconds off of my last indoor TT time. I'm still in shock the next day. I was actually afraid to look at my watch when I was done - didn't look until today (had to log it into my spreadsheet). Oh yeah - the time was 1:25:42 vs. 1:28:53 the last TT.

Today (Sunday) was a swim workout. I procrastinated a little in the morning putzing around the house as I knew this was going to be a painful session. I finally dragged myself out and drove to LAF. Pool was crowded, but not so much that I couldn't share a lane with someone. I warmed-up with 200 yards, rested a couple of minutes and then off I went. 200 yds, 10 pushups seven times for time. It is difficult to do pushups after swimming and difficult to swim after doing pushups. Good thing I like pain. Total time 29:58. Total yards swam today was 2000. Oh yeah, and I was the fastest one in the pool today. It doesn't happen often, but it's good for the ego.

Not that I have totally bored you, a couple of interesting stats. I have not drank a beer all year - last beer I had was around Christmas. I have had a couple of glasses of wine this year, if I had to add them up I would say probably around 10 and never more than two in a night.

No pasta at all this year (though I plan on doing pasta and meatballs for my next cheat day).

I have been on Paleo for about two weeks and only cheated once (last night). I did not enjoy my cheat night.

It costs more to eat Paleo; however, lean meats are actually cheaper than the fatty meats that you are supposed to stay away from.

I weigh between 153 and 154. When I started this journey I weighed in about 174.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Please sir, can I have some more

I just finished up the run 400m, 50 squats times six workout. I did it in 23 minutes, thank you for asking. I was thinking why stop at six, why not do twelve - I am training for an ironman after all. Well....I'll tell you, my legs were so swollen and numb on the last set of squats I could barely walk when finished. Six was enough - thank you again.

I did yesterday's workouts back to back. First was the bike standing for one minutes, one min down, two up, two down up to five and then back down. Wow, this is a really different feeling on the legs than riding hard while sitting. I rode some big gears while doing this and really worked the legs. I can't really explain this, but I get excited when I see bike intervals on the schedule - I love them! Run intervals - not so much.

I went right into the 21 KB swings (25#)/21 knees to elbows for four rounds. Go this done in 10:25. I would not say that my form was great on the knees to elbows, but I felt the abs alright. They were, and still are, sore from Tuesdays workout. I actually thought about skipping it, but my pride got the better of me (plus I don't want to have to write about a missed workout).

They are getting harder to get in. My work days are getting longer and the workouts are happening later at night. I will persevere!

Tomorrow is a 40k TT. I am looking forward to it. I plan to put my new seat on before hitting this - should make the effort slightly more confortable.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Another swimming miscalculation

Unfortunately I have to wait until my next swim time trial to confirm that I am improving significantly on my swim. As I was getting towards the end of my swim I was having a little trouble with cognotive reasoning (oxygen debt). I remember telling myself 150 yards to go. Then I remember thinking is it 150 yards after these laps or do these laps include the 150 yards. Like always, I tagged on 50 yards rather than short the swim. My time was 14:23 which would make this one of my slowest 800 yard time trials in recent history. I am fairly certain that I swam 850 yards which then turns this into my fastest time trial in recent history. I felt really good on this swim even though I was sore all over from the prior day's sessions. I feel real confident that this was a good swim - I know I pushed hard and my stroke felt strong. After I caught my breath enough to funtion a little bit I checked my HR and it was still over 160. Next week is a 500 yard TT. I know I can count to 20!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

I Rock!

Had a great day today. I generally do my TT's before my strength workouts, but for some reason decided to switch it up today. I did the Amrap, 4 burpees, 8 pushups, 12 situps workout in the afternoon. Did 19 full rounds and the burpees and pushups on the 20th round. I hit 20 min almost exactly as I finished the pushups. I finished off the set just to make it a complete set. I'm not sure what got into me today - I pushed this workout to the max. My chest and abs were screaming for mercy, but the more it hurt the harder I pushed. I did not care if got to muscle failure - I just kept pushing, no thought whatsoever about pacing it to make sure I could complete.

I ran a couple of hours later. As soon as I started I knew it was going to be a good run. I modified the 5.8 mile (the failed 10k) route to make sure it was 10k. According to mapquest it is exactly 10k, but my GPS had it at 6.5. I'm not sure what to believe as they have both proven to be accurate in the past. Either way it was a good run. I finished in 52:54 - if 10k my running pace was 8:30 and this is close to, or the best time that I have done for a 10k. If 6.5, pace drops to 8:08 and it is by far the best run I have done at this distance any time in the last three years. Like I said, either way it was a good run. I will clock it by car soon, but will have to deal with this uncertainty for now.

I am sore all over. Back and bi's from 100 pullups yesterday. Chest, tris and abs from today's workout. My legs aren't necessarily sore (we'll see what tomorrow brings), but they know they have been worked.

I have intentionally left the time for the pullups out of this entry. I'm proud of the time; however it is irrelevant. I did all 100, no assist (didn't even know about those machines until reading about them in the blogs). I did this workout at 11:00 p.m. at night as it was a long work day and I had a lunch appointment so couldn't get out then. I am so programmed to getting my workouts done that I don't think I would have been able to sleep if I skipped it. Here's the thing that I keep coming back to - one year ago, scratch that, nine months ago I would not have been able to do 100 pullups (if I could it would have taken at least 3 times the amount of time). I was 20 pounds heavier and less muscled. I had motivation but lacked direction. It has been an unbelievable ride, one that I hope to continue for a long time. Thank you Max!

Monday, February 8, 2010

Hard to eat out when you're on a diet

I went to supposedly a nice restraunt for lunch today. The only thing on the menu that looked appealing from a Paleo perspective was a sirloin steak, but it was way overpriced. I ordered a steak salad. I had to trim an unbelievable amount of fat off the steak and the only vegetable in the salad was lettuce. Good thing I brought lots of food to work with me today as I left the restraunt almost as hungry as when I when I got there. To top it off I asked for some fruit - they don't have any!! I've had better salads at Burger King!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Last couple of days

Saturday was a 45 min bike TT. I managed to get 14.11 miles in on my trainer which equates to 18.81 mph average. This really fired me up as my one hour average last week was 18.25 and my 30 min average a week before that was 18.2. I felt like I could keep this up for another 15 minutes - don't get me wrong, it was hard - I just think I am learning how to suffer.

Today was a swim and a squat/row combo. I did the swim first as I wanted to have energy for the intervals. I'm not particularly fond of 400s, but it had to be done. workout was 4x400 at 80%. My times were as follows: 6:58, 6:57, 6:59 & 7:00. The time on my watch actually said 7:07 for the last one, but some bozo was in my lane unexpectantly and caused me to have to stop. I'm pretty sure I swam it close to the other three so I adjusted.

And then ouch! I got a stinking cramp again. And while I was warming down. I don't know what's going on but it is getting really annoying. This cramp was in the hamstring. I don't think I ever cramped in the hamstring before. Of course I had to cut my cooldown short again. I managed 2100 total yards - was shooting for 2200.

I was going to do the next workout after the swim but decided to wait due to the cramp. I was back at the gym about three hours later (Carol dropped me off while she did a little shopping at Evergreen). I did the squats with 135 pounds - so it was squat 21 reps, row 500, squat 15 reps, row 500, squat 9 reps and row 500. It did not say "for time" but I think that's implied. I finished the workout in 16:11. All rows were done under 1:50 pace (around 1:48 average). There was no ill effects from the morning cramping.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

New diet

So far Paleo is going well. I am almost totally off of dairy and am totally off of sugar and wheat. I am eating lots of meat, veggies, fruits and a few nuts. I'm eating a little more fish than I have in the past, but still not much fish. Still popping fish oil supplements due to this.

I am hungry all the time! The Zone would partially satiate me, but I am hungry within an hour after eating a Paleo meal or snack. I think it is due to less fiber filling up the stomache or something like that. I have not lost any energy which is important and have already leaned out a little and that is after only a week and not being 100% Paleo.

Paleo for athletes allows for some deviations during exercise and post exercise. I am trying to drink a recovery drink within a half hour after exercise to try to speed up recovery. This is only after the real intense efforts (aren't they all!) lasting more than half an hour. I made an exception yesterday and drank a recovery drink as that circuit really kicked my but.

I'm not trying to lose any weight and don't expect to. I just want to be a lean, mean, triathlon machine.

Friday, February 5, 2010

I'm a slacker

I had the same workout on my schedule that a couple of other Trimaxers did recently. I saw the times posted and hoped I could at least come close to their times. I got smoked!

4x 400m run, 50 squats, 10 burpees. This took me 19:14. My total run time was about 8 minutes, probably a little less - it was the squats that really burned.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Two more

Max back squats x 7. 165, 185, 195, 185, 185, 185, 185

165 went up real easy. 185 felt pretty comfortable so I went to 195. I could feel my form falling apart at 195. I was hoping to break 200, but felt it best to play it safe. the next two 185s went so well that I thought about putting some weight back on the bar but decided that keeping good form and getting full range of motion would benefit me more.

Bike 5 min on two minute off four times. distances: 1.63, 1.65, 1.66, 1.63.

They can't all be PR's

but one of them was.



I had to do my workouts back to back yesterday as they both needed to be done at LAF and I can't afford the time to get out twice. First workout row 500m, swing 20#x50, row 500m, swing 20# x 40, row 500m, swing 20# x 30, row 500m. I averaged about 1:50 per 500m and was below this going into the final 500m, but ran out of gas. Total rowing time for the 200m was 7:20. The entire workout was 13:17. The last time I did this workout it took me 15:35 (MORE THAN TWO MINUTES - I'M STOKED). So here's my secret. I used my race shoes - the ones with the elastic shoe laces. I strapped into the rowing machine and after the 500 I slipped out of the shoes and got right to the swings and then easily slipped back in for the rowing. Not sure how much time this saved, but it was definately a portion of the difference.

The next workout was an 800m swim TT. I warmed up with 250 and could tell that I was not full of energy after the rowing and swinging. I swam with as much effort as I could muster and finished the 800 in 14:17. Considering that this is only 20 seconds off my best its not too bad. I thought it was going to come in much slower than this.

Side note - got a new seat for my bike - the Adamo tri saddle. I tried this on the fit bike at the bike shop a few months ago and loved it. I can't wait to put it on my bike - it will make the TTs so much more comfortable.

Side note 2: I'm morphing into Paleo (Paleo for athletes to be exact). I'm not into throwing away food so as I finish things (i.e. yogurt, cheese, bread) I am not replacing them. I also stocked up on chicken, steak & fish. I was already eating a lot of fruit and veggies so this is not new. I cut way back on the dairy and should be totally off it (other than cream in my coffee - gotta have a vice) in a week. Anyone got any good Paleo recipes?

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

PR - kind of

Today was a 5k for time. I don't breathe well running in the cold and cars have been a problem at night anyway so I went to LAF to run on the treadmill. I warmed up for a mile and then stretched real good. I decided to run the first mile conservative to see if I could get into a rhythm and perhaps pick the speed up as I went. I generally take the first mile out too hard. My beginning pace was 7.5 mph (8 min pace).

The first mile went pretty good, but I did not feel that had a significant amount more in me when I got to that first mile so I kept the pace even. What I didn't want to happen is to increase the pace just to have to take it back down. When I got to 2.1 I notched it up a tenth. When I saw 2.6 I notched it up another tenth. I did the same at 2.85 and then brought it up to 8 mph at mile 3. The treadmill gave me a time of 24:30 which is about 9 seconds away from my outdoors race conditions PR. I believe the treadmill getting up to speed is at least that 9 seconds. It's not officially a PR, but it's the best I have done on a treadmill.

I forgot to mention

I forgot to mention that I decided to test my sweat rate during the one hour bike TT. It seemed like the perfect time to do it. Concept is simple - weigh yourself before the workout, weigh yourself after the workout and account for any liquids consumed. I need to do it again - I obviously did something wrong. According to my scale I weighed 155.8 before the workout and 154 after the workout and I drank 22 ounces of liquid. I don't think I need to do the math here - it just simply cannot be right. I have a decent scale, but it is still just a bathroom scale.......

I love rowing

but the dumbell thruster have got to go!

500 m row, 21 DB thrusters w/25#, 3 times for time.

I thought I was going to kill this workout. I finished the first 500m row in about 1:45. As soon as I started the thrusters I knew I was in trouble. Did 11 before I had to take a break. 25 lbs were definately heavy!! Barely managed the other 10 on my second set in the first round and then I'm off and rowing again. It felt good to row!! I broke up the thrusters in the remaining two sets into sevens.

Completed entire workout in 15 minutes. I'm trying to keep up with all of the Trimax muscleheads, but......................