Rest of vacation

Friday was a short, intense workout. I actually enjoyed it - the 20 minutes went by pretty fast. Saturday I swam 1650 yds for time and ran a 10k for time. I kept losing my lap count on my swim so I may have swam some extra laps. Overall time was 34:11. I ran the same hilly 10k as a few days ago. I tried a different tactic - I went easy on the way out and as hard as possible on the way back. It took me 33 minutes to do the first 5k and 25:50 for the second. My overall time was a little slower than the other day so I guess pushing throughout is a better tactic, though I did think that my return trip was going to be faster than this as I felt like I was flying down the hills and I really attacked the uphill at mile 4.

Hills are brutal

I ran 10k for time this morning. Most people don't know where Lake Havasu, AZ is and even those who do don't understand the terrain unless they have been here. The only flat areas are down by the lake. Other than that it is uphill to the west (CA side) and uphill on the East (AZ side). I did not want to drive someplace to go for run so I set out from my parent's house. My intention was to have all of the uphill on my run out and have the run back be basically downhill. I pretty much succeeded as the run out was mostly uphill - but there was one steep downhill that I knew I was going to have to run up on the way back. That should not have been a big deal since most of the run back was downhill - but it hit at mile four - ouch!

The run out took slightly over 30 minutes, or five minutes more than a 5k should take me. I was hoping to really shave a lot of time off the second 5k to try to get a good overall time, but my downhill running did not speed up by as much as my uphill running slowed down. I tried to concentrate on having fast turnover on the way down and letting gravity do the work, but my return trip was not a great time. My overall time was 57:27; therefore, my second 5k was about 27:25 - not a great time. My average HR was 160 and my max was 167 so I definately worked the run, just got beat up by the terrain. It was a good run; however, I don't think the time can be used to guage much since the 10ks I have been running back home are much flatter than this.

Training in AZ

I've been in AZ since Sunday. The weather has been great - mid 60s to 70s and dry. I swam Monday morning even though plan did not call for it. Swam for half hour - warmed up with a 200 and then swam a bunch of 50's and warmed down with a slow 100. Mainly just trying to stay loose plus the Wed swim wasn't going to happen as I was going to be in Sedona. After breakfast I did my 500 squats in 19:54. I'm pretty sure that beats the last time I did 500 squats, but I have to wait to get home to be sure.

Tue I ran the 5k for time. I completed this in 24:35. The course was flat but very windy. I did not realize how windy it was when I started. After I completed about a half mile I looked at my watch and I was running about six minute pace. I was shocked, pleased and also knew something was very wrong - I don't run this fast (yet). I figured it out when the course turned - it was very windy - slowed my pace all the way down to 8:30 in the blink of an eye. I concentrated on keeping my form together and having quick feet to see how much of my beginning pace I could salvage. As the course turned I speeded up and slowed down according to the wind. My final average pace was 7:55 which is just about right.

I had to get going as soon as I was done as everyone was ready to go to Sedona. Did not do the 200 pushups for time until this morning. Finished in 19:30. 10k for time will be done in the morning. Swim will be done either Friday or Sat depending on the pool hours. One way or the other, the workouts will all get done, just not in the order originally intended.

Woo Boy

four times one mile with ten minutes rest doesn't sound that bad, but this was a tough one. Each mile was slower than the one before. Funny thing is, I actually felt like I was running faster and that my form was better as I was going, but I actually got slower.

1: 7:05
2: 7:27
3: 7:41
4: 7:45

I tried to concentrate on form throughout. Today I concentrated on having good turnover and supple joints - especially the ankles. I think my form is getting better, but I have a ways to go before it becomes second nature (if it ever does).

I may be silent next week as I will be in AZ. I plan to stick to the program though. May have to switch a few days around as I am going to Sedona for a couple of days and probably won't have access to a pool there.

ONe workout done

I hope I don't start to sound like a broken record as everything was going so well. I missed another workout due to work (kind-of). Wed was a workout day off. I had training all day Wed and then had to go to the office as we were moving locations. This is our second move in two years so we had to make sure that it went very well. We were there until 1:30 in the morning and then I had to drive for an hour to get home. I got about four and a half hours sleep which if this was the first day that it happened I would be fine, but I was up late the night before as well. Thur was a fairly normal schedule day, but I was exhausted - when I got home the only thing I could think about was sleep.

I decided to do yesterday's workout today as it looks pretty tough and I don't want to be accused of skipping the hard ones. The first workout was 35 squats, 25 pushups and 15 pullups 15x for time. Finished in 43:47. WOW! This one hurt. Squats were fine all the way through, but my chest was on fire with the pushups. I could barely get the pullup done on the sixth and seventh set. I thought about skipping the last set of pullups - I mean who would know anyway? I couldn't do it - as painful as they were I forced myself to get them done. Well.....I'm off to do my second workout of the day which is an intense bike workout. Good thing I like to sweat.

30 min bike TT and yesterday's WOD (done today)

Today called for a 30 minute bike TT - record distance. I rode 10.2 miles. Not overly impressive at face value, but here is why it was a great ride:

1. I carved time out of a busy schedule (I had training today) to get the ride in;
2. Tire pressure was low - did not have a pump with me;
3. Ride was hilly in unknown territory (Rocky Hill and Cromwell);
4. Warm-up time was limited;
5. Did an out and back which meant slowing down to turn around and get back up to speed;
6. Got stopped at a light to make a left turn - too much traffic to blow through it.

Putting all of those factors together makes me believe that I could have done 10.5 miles or 21 mph. Not bad considering how hilly the ride was. Additionally, I am still getting used to the new bike - I am getting much more comfortable on the bike and am looking forward to tweaking it to my liking, getting race wheels, and getting more rides in on it.

WOD - yesterdays WOD called for 25 pullups, 50 pushups and 75 squats AMRAP in 20 minutes. I did the first round in 10 minutes. 12 reps for the first set up pullups (pretty cool!). I knew second set was going to take longer - finished two sets in 24 minutes. I felt it best to finish the whole set rather than stop part way through.

I did not do the workout yesterday as I worked a long day (about 14 hours). I started to do it, but had absolutely no gas. This is due to the long day, bad diet and hydration, and the fact that I completed my swim workout about an hour before attempting to start the WOD. I got my diet and hydration back on track today and it makes a world of difference.

Yesterday's swim workout went well. Four 400s with 45 sec rest in between. First three went well - felt fatigued for last set (most likely due to diet and hydration as mentioned above). Overall, swim went quite well - finished entire workout in 31 minutes (includes rest intervals).

10k running time trial

Ran 10k for time today. My time was 55:13 which is clearly three minutes slower than the last time I ran 10k for time. Additionally, I ran 10k a couple of weeks ago at an easy pace and finished in 53:00. I felt good - not fatigued, or sick, or sore, or tight. I'm not sure why this run would be slow in comparison to other runs of the same distance. There are minor rollers on the course but that cannot be the problem - the time I ran it in 52:00 I ended with a big hill.

The one thing that I can point to that may have had a big impact is that it was very humid out. It was very foggy in some spots. I was having trouble breathing and couldn't get my HR up as high as it usually is for these time trials - my average HR was 154 vs. the 160 - 162 that I usually hit.

I double checked the distance and it was definately a 10k.