Thursday to Saturday

Thursday - Swim lesson;  Since masters swim was cancelled this week I scheduled a swim lesson with Heather.  Here are her notes:

Goal:

Long arm on top of the water

Body position

Press down with chest

Drills:

Single switch (for body position - hand long and on top of water)

Catch up drill

Low stroke Count 

Here is video of catch up drill:

Thursday:  Physical therapy;  had session with Liam; she said basically the same thing that Tony said:  my knee soreness is a strain of the vertisuss muscle;  did some stretching exercises; 

Ran home from therapist:   28 minutes;  2.6 miles  knee was mildly sore, but not in a way that impeded running, at least at a slow pace;
Friday:  spin class w/ Heather - 60 minutes;

Saturday:  BRICK

Did 75 minutes in computrainer workout - Canadian Ironman;   avg watts: 175;  avg mph:  16.8; 

Ran outside:  31 minutes;  both vertissus muscles were sore, but I ran through it and they didn't get worse. The pain is very mild at least at the 9:30 to 10:00 pace that I was running at.  After workout I iced them and tool alleve.  They are not terribly sore.  

Computrainer Workout

We did the same workout as Monday.  Riding today were Mark, Amy, Elizabeth, Mo and me.  I did about the same workout level, although I might have been a little stronger on the 30 minute all out segment. Most of time I was at something over 425.  My maximum heart rate was 154 and I averaged about 180 watts. Traveled 22 miles. Average heart rate was 119, but I didn't shut off the monitor right away so that's probably low.  Good workout. 80 minutes.

Tuesday - Swim workout with video

Tuesday - Masters Swim:  No official masters class for next two weeks. I showed up and was working on my own when Heather came in to give a swim lesson to the other Heather. She videod me:

She pointed out, and it's pretty clear from video that I need to hold my glide longer before beginning the pull. Also I can see from the video that my kicking is weak. I'm not too please with body position either. But she said I am showing improvement.  The video really helps me to see what I'm not doing right. 

Thursday to Monday

Thursday - Masters swim; Joe's 12 days of Christmas workout;  approximately 2000 yards;

Friday - went to spinning class but no Heather no class. I spun by myself for 40 minutes; 

Saturday - CT workout;  rode different courses - 80 minutes;

Sunday - Christmas - day off;

Monday - got up for CT workout at 5:45.  Craig and Amy only ones there.  We did 10 minutes of warmup and then mainset was 5 x  2minutes at zone 2 / 2 minutes at zone 3/ 2 minutes at zone 4 / recover

and then 5 x 1 minute at zone 2 / 1 minutes at zone 3 / 30 seconds all out;  90 seconds recover; 

Got my power up to 430 to 450 on the 30 second all out. 

Total time:  80  avg heart rate  114  maxium 147;  averaged 180 watts;  rode 22 miles;

Sunday - Wednesday

Sunday - played basketball; there were only 8 of us and so I had to play even though my knee was sore. It really made it difficult at first to run up and down the court, which is usually the one thing I'm still good at. But eventually I got so I could ignore the pain, or maybe it dissipated.  Had a decent game - made some corner jumpshots and got some easy layins by running the court.  We lost both games, though.

Time:  90 minutes

Monday - CT trainer; only Amy and Scott with Craig today. rode various courses; 

Time:  90 minutes

Tuesday - Masters swim: 

Warm up :  250 yards

1st set:  10 50s at variable speeds, but since I was swimming with Eric and Mark K. I just tried to keep up and out of their way;   500 yards

2nd set:  200, 150, 100, 50  - pull buoy with paddles
              200, 150, 100, 50   - pull buoy w/o paddles
              200, 150, 100, 50  - swim
1500 yards

Total yards:  2,250 

Wednesday:  CT workout;   

totals:  75 minutes;  avg hr: 122  max hr:  151;   avg watts:  170;    avg speed:  16.0 

15 minute warmup;   5 minutes at zone 4
                                5 minutes at zone 2

6 x 2 minutes at zone 6; 3 minute recovery;  max hr:  146, 150,150,147,149,151

I would start out each interval at mid 300s and would fade to mid 200s by end of interval;  according to chart my zone 5B is 266 to 331

15 minutes at zone 3 - my zone 3 is 166to 198;  I finished above 200, but kept myself in high zone 3 for most of interval;

Friday - Saturday

Friday: Nibra workout:  

15 straight leg lifts, 15 squats   x 3
overhead press, pulldown machine, curls  x 3
step up with barbells; overhead press with barbells, step up, curls with barbells
tricep pulldown
some other stuff;

30 minutes;

Saturday:  Computrainer workout

total time:  90 minutes
avg heart rate 121;  max heart rate:  135;

Started out for about 10 miles on Ironman course;  then program swith to trainer mode; did one set of intervals then we switched to another course - a 30 mile route.  I finished about 12 miles of that route average 19.7 mph with avg watts of about 190;          

Masters Swim

Just three of us today:  Scott, Dave and me. 

Warmup:  250 yards
Main set:

400 pull
8 x 50   @ 1:00 - did all but one on interval. 
300 pull
6 x 50   @ 1:00  - all on interval
200 pull
4 x50   @1:00;   did two at 0:55 interval;
100 pull
2 x 50  @ 0:55; 

total yards = 2,250;    good workout;

At the end when I was tired I tried kicking harder and speeding up my rotation;  I actually finished the last 2 50s in under 50 seconds;  endurance is improving; 

Tuesday - Wednesday

Tuesday - Master Swim

Swam with Erica in middle lanes - a break from swimming in the far lane next to the wall. It didn't make me any faster, however.  But chasing Erica probably helped. She has better endurance. I can probably beat her for a given 25, 50 or 100, but she almost always pulls away in the mulitple sets. 

Warmup:  250 yards
First set:  4 x 100 with paddles; we concentrated on right arm for 25, left arm for 25, counted strokes for 25 (I find counting strokes to be difficult; I think I did a length in 18) 25 fast;  = 400

Main set:   300, 200, 200, 100, 100, 100   = 1,000
                         200, 200, 100, 100 =   600     We did all of these sets at a 2:10 interval. 

Total yards =  2,250 yards; 

Tuesday - Bodyshaping

Did the usual routine of cardio / strength / balance exercises with Heather.   Time = 60 minutes

Tuesday - Run on Treadmill

I ran a mile at 10 minute pace on treadmill after workout class and then 20 minutes walking at 3.9 mph with 13 degree incline;  good workout.  Left knee vertissus muscle is puffy and it hurts to run, but I can run; it hurts less with more incline. Doesn't hurt to walk hard at 13 degree incline, but it does hurt to walk on level ground.   This injury concerns me. I don't see a lot of improvement. 



Wednesday:  CT Workout

Full house at 5 am workout:  Mark K., Scott N. Dave S., Mo, Amy, Elizabeth, Michelle; 

amy, elizabeth and I did interval workout; the rest did FTP test; 

10 minutes warmup;

8 x 2 minutes all out with two minute recovery;  My power numbers for these sets probably averaged about 265;  I started out over 300 but drifted down;   My max heart rate for most of the sets was 145 with an average of 131; 

3 x 1 minutes all out with two minute recovery:  closer to 300 for these three sets;  I pushed legs to max - kept up a wattage about 320 for as long as I could but it was dropping fast for those last 15 seconds;  I'm guessing I averaged about 290; 

total workout time:  60 minutes;

FTP Test

We had another FTP test today. I'm sort of bummed with my results. I did the all out 5 minute test with an average wattage of about 230.  Last time it was closer to 265.  For my twenty minute test I averaged 208, versus 230 last time.  My average heart rate for both segments was 151 with a max of 159. 

Perceived level of exertion was at the max. I wonder if there some of it can be due to how the bike is set up.  It was tough workout, regardless of the results. I only had had one CT session between tests.  Legs felt okay.

Long spin

My left knee is still sort - the vertisus muscle. It feels like if I start to run on it, it should loosen up, but I haven't pushed it yet.  I watched the last half hour of the Kona Championships. I'm not sure whether it inspires me or scares me.  When I turned it on they were focused on the old guys - some in their 80s, who were struggling to finish. REally struggling. Like falling down because it's almost midnight and hard to see and they're tired and 80 years old. I bet they didn't look as old when they started the race.  I'm wonder what I will look like at the finish.

It was inspirational to watch the vets with artifical legs finishing. Incredible. The final story was of a woman who was running to finish before the official shutdown at 17 hours. She finished in 17 hours 4 seconds, so won't get a recorded finish. I guess if this were a movie, she would have made it.  It was still pretty emotional to watch.

Did the 90 minute spin class with Heather. Pushed it, but it's not as intense as the computrainer. I hope that next week, I can complete the schedule as scheduled. I think I can work through the nagging little injuries.

Recover Spin

I took an easy spin class today with Heather at 7 am. I was scheduled for outside run, but it is below freezing and I wanted to give my knee muscle more time to recover from the strain, which I think was caused by the stretching that Tony gave me for the flexor problem.  blah. 

Leg feels okay today. Sore, but I think I could run if needed. It doesn't hurt at all to cycle. 

Time:  50 minutes

Master Swim

Today only three guys in Masters.

Warm up = 200 yards

Main set:  6 x 100 pull; 200 free; 4 x 100 pull faster; 200 free;  4 x 100 pull faster; 

I did the first pull set at a 2:00 interval with my average time of about 1:45;  I did the second pull set at a 1:55 interval with an average time of about 1:50;  I did the last pull set at 1:55 interval with an average time of about 1:52;  I did the 200s in about 2:00 pace; 

After swimming I went back to Tony to see if he could help me with the knee soreness. He said it was a tight muscle, vertus something. He worked on it, taped it with that iso tape and told me to use the stick on it twice a day and always before and after running.

If it feels a little better, I will try to do the group run tomorrow morning.

Wednesday - Eye Exam

Ever since Sunday when I got poked in the eye playing basketball I've been having floaters and occasional flashes of light along the left side of my left eye. After looking on the internet and finding that those symptons could mean a detached retina I made an appointment to see Dr. Stein, Suzanne's opthamologist.

He examined both eyes, said by vision was pretty good, and that I had experienced a tear of the vitreous gel away from the retina, not a retinal tear. The floaters won't necessarily go away but I can resume normal activity.  I will check back with him in six weeks.

So at this point, I have a minor eye problem, a chronically sore left foot (on the bottom), a sore groin, and a very sore knee muscle.  Not a good start to the CDA quest. 

Tuesday - Crunch day

This was a tough day and I've run into a bunch of nagging injuries.

Masters swim -
warmup - 200 yards
first set:  4 x 100s:  50 one arm; 50 free;  = 400
Main set:  100s:  25 hard - 75 ez; 50 hard - 50 ez; 75 hard - 50 ez; 100 hard; 100 ez;  3 times  = 1500

total yards = 2,100

Exercise class - 10 am - took Heather's bodyshaping class as it involves strength work and balance and some stretching.    - 60 minutes

Run on treadmill - after Heather's class I ran on treadmill at 9 minute pace. I had been feeling some mild soreness on the muscle above and on the outside of the left knee. About 20 minutes into run it got much sorer and I decided to stop run at 22 minutes and then walk on incline for another 8 minutes for a 30 minute workout. 

Leg was increasingly sore the rest of the day.

First day of Official Training

Started back with the Craig program today.  It's going to be a challenge.  This was a tough opening day, as I finished playing basketball at 9:15 PM on Sunday and then I had to get up at 4:30 this morning to get my bike over to Computrainer facility to ride at 5:15.

I felt pretty good all things considered.  Rode for 80 minutes at an average speed of 17.3 and that included a few minutes while Craig helped me get my bike set up fixed.  Average watts = 186.  I kept up a consistent effort for the whole ride. We did the International course in Columbia, MD.  Finished 22 of the 26 mile course. 

I'm supposed to do a 40 minute run later in the day. We'll see.

I went into see Tony to see if he could give me some help with the groin/hernia concern. He said it was a tight flexor and he worked the muscle and gave me some stretching exercises to do 4 times a day.

Wednesay - Sunday

Wednesday - Did a long run into Wimette and east to Sheridan Road, past the Bahai Temple.  7.52 miles in one hour and six minutes.  Ran at a fairly steady 9 minute pace. 

Thursday - Masters swim class with Joe.  2,000 yards;

Friday - spin class with Heather;  skipped workout with Nibra because of groin /hernia soreness.

Saturday - long spin class with Heather - didn't do the long run before.

Sunday - basketball. Played decent, legs felt okay, hernia not bothering me much. two hours. 

Sunday - Tuesday

Sunday - had basketbally from 7 pm to 9 pm.  I'm still breaking in new shoes and for the first half hour I felt particulary uncomfortable. Not just the shoes. My knee hurt, sore whenever I tried to pivot or cut. Even when I was in super slo-mo.  Gradually the pain went away and I played poorly, but wasn't because of any specific pain. Haven't got in a groove yet. Shot poorly, too.  We lost both games.

Monday - light spin class with Heather.  Sort of like a day off. 

Tuesday - Masters class today. 

Warmup:  200 yards;

First set:  4 x 50  twice;  fast, medium, easy, fast;  (I skipped #4) did them on 1:00 interval; 

Second set:  8 x 150  = 1200 yards; 

3rd set:  200 pull;  bilateal breathing

total yards:  2,000 yards; 

I felt sluggish today.  Craig said that I'm bunched up.  Said I was trying to go faster by speeding up my arm rotation, but that I need to have my body rotation drive the increase in turnover.  I think he means that the hip rotation should push the arm rotation, instead of the arm rotation pulling the hip rotation. 

Neck is sore;  back is stiff; groin/hernia issue not worse, not better. I will continue to watch it.

There was a good crowd for Masters. Lots of fast swimmers, which makes it more difficult for me as the "slow" lane where I swim has to be shared by fast swimmers. Erica and I are the only legit slow swimmners; today we shared with dave and Katie - but they did longer distances and still finished the big set ahead of me.  Not discouraged, but not encouraged either.  Trying not to make age an excuse.

Wednesday - Saturday

Wednesday:  tempo run in the afternoon;  slow tempo I guess. 4.3 miles in 43 minutes;

Thursday:  Super spin class with Arawa - Thanksgiving special.  90 minutes;

Friday:  spin class with Heather.  50 minutes;

Saturday:  long run:  7 miles in 64 minutes;  9:16 pace overall; about 9 minute pace for last 3 miles; 
                 joined the end of spin class:  35 minutes;

I have a dull ache on the right side of my groin.  Based on my web md research, I'm afraid it might be a sports hernia.  No bulge - just the dull pain that persists;  it doesn't really bother me, but it sounds like it might get worse. 

Probaby need to have Dr. Ali check it out. 

Masters Swim

Monday - easy spin with Heather; a little sore after basketball.

Tuesday - Masters Swim:

Warmup:  200 yards

Prelim set:  4 25s ascending; 1 50 stretching out - 3 times  =  450 yards   all with paddles;  450

Main set  (all with pull buoy)  300;  2 x 150;  3 x 100; 4 x 75;  6 x50; 10 x25  =  1750

Total yards:  2400 yards

Brick Saturday

Drove to the Y and was out on the course by 7:30 am.  It's been super cold here for November, but today it was in the mid 40s.  I didn't need my gloves. I felt pretty good after two days off, no lingering effect from the anesthetic. 

I decided to do a slightly longer run and so I ran all the way south along the Lake to Calvary Cemetery which is on the Chicago - Evanston border.  Went north to Northwestern and then swung back along Chicago Avenue to the Y.  It was about 7 miles and I ran it in 1 hour 4 minutes, which is slightly over a 9 minute pace.

After run, I join super spin in progess and did a light spin workout for 40 minutes. 

Friday: Colonoscopy!

I had my fifty year old colonoscopy in March 2005 when I was 54.  Had the five year follow up exam on Friday.  It was an easy procedure the first time and it's even easier now as they put me to sleep and when I woke up 30 minutes later it was all over. The tough part is the 24 hour fast and all the sodium phosphate that you have to drink to prepare for the exam.  Glad it is over. No problems and won't have to do it again until I'm 70.  Probably won't be racing then. 

Didn't workout Thursday or Friday.

Wednesday: Strength Workout

Spin class with Heather for 50 minutes before workout;

Nibra workout: 

1.  Straight leg lifts;
2. Pushup position with feet on disks in small gym;  bring knees to chest 15x;  push backwards the width of the small bb court; lunge back;  repeat three times;  -

3. shoulder press; high step up (almost waist level) 8 times each leg;  leg curls;  repeat three times;

4. lat pull down; leg curls;

Master Swim Class

Tuesday Masters Swim Class: 

Warmup:  200 yards
Main Set:

                5 x 50  -   hard, medium, easy, medium, hard  - I did my first "hard" in 37 seconds which is about five seconds faster than my previous best;  took a lot out of me and the other Hard I did in 48 seconds.   250

                200 easy

                400, 300, 200, 100

                200 easy

                 300 200 100

total yards:  2400

Tough workout;   

Sunday - Monday

Sunday:  Played basketball for two hours.  No subs.  Used my new basketball shoes and felt good the first game and hurt for the second game. Legs and feet were tired for second half.  Won the first game lost the second. 

Monday:  Easy spin class

Saturday Brick

Got up 6:30 and was out on the run by 7:30.  Ran 5.5 miles along the lakeshore at an average pace of 9:03.  After 10 minute warmup at an average pace of 10:00, I ran about 3 miles at a pace of 8:31;  then I felt some tightening in the right glut and slowed my pace.  Final two miles at a pace of 9:30. 

It was a clear sunny, day with a temperature of 40 degrees.  Had gloves but I took them off after the warmup. 

After the run did 40 minutes of light spinning with Heather. 

Every time  I do one of these runs I try to imagine continuing on for another 21 miles. I'm not cardio tired after the run, but my legs don't feel like they are ready to do a marathon.  And they aren't. I have long way to go.  There are 224 days until CDA.

Wednesday to Friday

Wednesday - visiting at Tom & Karen's in Michigan.  Drove over to Grand Rapids to tour Gerald Ford Museusm. No workout.

Thursday - ran 45 minutes - about 4.5 minutes in Michigan. Cold but good running temp.

Friday - easy spin class with Heather;  then had Nibra workout - tough workout;

First set:  10 lb ball - lift it and throw towards ceiling, catch on bounce and repeat for length of court; return by lifting ball high over head and slamming it to the court for the lenght of court;  then pushup position, walk legs toward hands then move hands out to return to push up position;   - repeated this sequence 3 times;

Second set:  push up position - jump forward so feet approach hands; half the court; repeat 3 times;

Third set:  medicine ball twist sideways and toss ball against wall 20 times both sides; then 50 times with ball lifted high over head bounce against wall; 50x  - did two sets of this routine;

Muscles, especially left inner hamstring are sore.  Got a parking ticket too. 

Masters Swim

Tough workout this morning.  We started with the one arm swim drill again. I'm learning to hate that one. 25 yards with the right arm - breathing on the left, 25 yards with the right arm, 25 yards single switch (totally can't get the rhythm for that drill) and then 25 yards swim.  We repeated four times. Well we were supposed to, but I'm not sure I did a complete 4 sets.  When I use my left arm and breathe on my right, I mostly just breathe water and I'm gasping by the end of 25 yards.  So that's the first set.

then we did  2 25s fast trying to do a rapid turnover (lots of strokes), and then a 50 fast, but with more glide, less strokes.  We did that four times, too.  At 2:00 minute intervals. 

Then the killer:  10 100s descending 1 to 4; 5 to 8; and 9 to 10;   I don't really have four different speeds. I have slow, and not so slow.  I was gasping by the end of the first 4 100s.  Craig took mercy on us slower folks and for the second set we did #5 slow, #6 fast and then #7 slow and #8 fast.  And then we did 200 yards of pulling - which is like dessert. So much easier with that pull buoy.. 

In the slow group today: Len, Erica, Scott N. (but he's not slow).  Erica is slightly faster than me. She finished her last 100 in  1:45; mine was 1:48; 

Total yards:  Warmup:   200
                    Drill:          400
                  25-50:         400
                    100s          800
                 Pull               150

Total:                     1,950  but hard yards because we were sprinting; 

FTP Test - the official start of training

This morning Craig conducted an FTP (Functional Threshold Power) test at the new computrainer place that he and Tony Breitbach have set up.  It's much nicer - more room and on the ground floor - than where we trained last year. 

The FTP test that Craig runs is a 5 minute all-out on the trainer (with a 1 degree incline), followed by ten minutes of easy spin and then a 20 minute all-out.  The 5 minute piece helps us to figure out how much effort we can sustain on the 20 minute leg. The objective is to achieve maximum wattage but without large fluctuations in the power. Especially important (I think) not to fade and finish with much lower power than what you started with.

On the five minute portion I averaged about 265.  My recollection was that when I was tested last December I had a 20 minute score of about 230. (I'll find out soon enough from Craig.)  I was hoping I would be a little higher this year - after a year of training, but of course I've been in sort of non-training mode for awhile.

For the twenty minute test I averaged 232.  I was at 235 for the first ten minutes, but the cum average dropped to 230 after 15 minutes. However I finished strong enough to bring the average back up to 232.  So perhaps a slight improvement over last year.  I was pretty well spent at the end of the 20 minutes so I don't think I could have done much better. I haven't been on the bike pushing hard since Vermont Nationals in August.  Just spinning class.

Hopefully after a couple of months of training the number will be higher.

I took the test with Linc, Mark Kolar, Amy, Scott N., and George. Before the workout starts Craig collects birthdate and weight info for everyone. (more weight makes more power - so when a guy like Scott who only 140 or so puts out 300 watts, that is a whole lot more impressive (powerful) than if I were to do it with my 188 pounds.  His watts to weight ratio was over 2. Mine was 1.23  

Sometimes I confess that I take some comfort in observing that most everyone is twenty years younger. But I know that's an excuse so I try to fight the impulse. 

Oh and to make this test even more fun, I had to get up at 4:30 am so I could be at the center at 5 am.  That's too early.  But at least once I start training there I can keep my bike there and won't have to load that each time. Once I do that I'll be able to sleep until 4:45. 

Friday to Sunday

Friday:  this is my light day. I get to sleep until 6:30 and then I just have the spin class with Heather.  She had a tougher routine today so it was a good 50 minute workout.  Time goes by fast - she always has some wacky problem or issue to discuss. Last week it was if you had to get an STD which one you would pick.

Saturday:  didn't get up until almost 7:30. I couldn't decide what workout gear to wear for my run / spin workout.  It was about 40 degrees out - but sunny so I just wore basketball shorts and underarmour and my Wisconsin Marathon tee shirt. Ran for 40 minutes then did 60 minutes of spin class. 

Sunday:  I am supposed to play basketball today, but Craig has scheduled a fitness test for 5:15 am and it's hard enough to get up at 7 am after 9 pm basketball so I'm going to pass on basketball.

The fitness test will, I guess really mark the beginning of training for the Ironman. It will provide the baseline from which I will have, by race day, hopefully improved dramatically.  It's a tough test. 

Wednesday & Thursday

Wednesday - spin class with Flo.  She provides a rigourous workout. No real downtime. Today we were asked to focus on our hamstrings and quadriceps.  That was to keep our minds from drifting off. I sort of want my mind to drift off - and the last thing I want to visualize are my hamstrings. But I tried to.    50 mins.

After Spin I had my workout session with Nibra.  Started with jumping jack - pushup countdown 10-10-9-9...etc down to 1-1.  Jumping jacks aren't hard, but they are a lot more difficult than when I was a kid. My shoulders were still sore from basketball. 

Next set:  stand on platform slam medicine ball to the ground (triceps); then step on platform dumbbell press for right leg;  curls for left leg step up;  then stand on half ball and row with rubber band strap;  repeat set three times with weights increasing from 8 to 10 to 15; 

Last set:  15 straight leg lifts (abs); weights - arm press;  hamstring exercise - bend over holding on to dumbbells;  repeat set 3 x; 

Thursday:  Master Swim with Joe;

warmup:    200 yards
main set:  3 x 150
                200 pull
               3 x150
               200 pull
               3 x 150 

total yards:  1950

We were supposed to go increase speed on each set of 150s;  I kept pretty much at the same pace of just under 2:00; 

Sunday to Tuesday

Sunday - basketball from 7 pm to 9 pm.  This was my first game since April. I am definitely playing old man basketball now. I am very careful and cautious, trying to avoid any injuries. Which means very little jumping and no quick moves to the basket. More like slow mo moves.  I am still reasonably effective on defense because of conditioning, but I can't stay with the quick players. I can still hold my own against the bigger slower guys.  Got a few baskets just because of knowledge - knowing where to cut to or where to wait for a pass. Short shots. Made a couple of intermediate range jumpers, but mostly I looked to pass - to the guys who had better shots. 

It is a different type of workout. My arms are sore. Legs a little sore. But not too sore. Probably burned about 1,000 calories.

Monday - spin class with Heather. Light spin for 50 minutes. An easy workout after basketball. Better for the body than taking the day off. 

Tuesday - Masters swim - Craig was there. Good workout: 

Warmup:  200 yards

Drill:  4 x75:  single arm swim Left, right, swim  =  300
           5 x 50 = 250 


Main set:  2 x 200 with paddles; 100 swim
                2 x200 with paddles; 100 swim
                1 x 200 with paddles; 100 swim    1,300 yards

total yards:  2050

From the single arm drill - I learned to think about breathing earlier; glide, breathe, return to glide, catch;

Tempo Run

On Friday, I did a spin class with Boris. Not as cute as Heather, but a good class.  50 minutes.

Saturday morning, got up at 6:45 AM and drove to the Y.  Ran 5.42 miles per garmin in 48 minutes which included 10 minutes of warmup.  Did the warmup at a 10 minute pace and the balance of the run (4.4 miles) at an 8:35 pace.  After run I joined Super spin with Heather.  Did about 40 minutes of spin. 

total Saturday workout time:  90 minutes

Masters Swim

Masters swim with Joe at the Y.  Only four of us.  Did warmup then main set was:

Warmup = 300
4 x 200:  swim, pull, swim, pull  = 800
4 x150: swim, pull, swim, pull  = 600
4 x 100:  swim, pull, swim, pull = 400
5 x 50 @ 1:00 = 250

Total yards:  2,350

I was able to do all of the sets at 2:00 per 100 pace.  I have been focused on bringing my arm through without it cutting across my body when I breathe.  I think I'm getting better at it. I'm definitely more aware of it. Also getting better at not breathing on every stroke (until I get tired.) 

I pushed hard on the 50s. Was able to do the first four in about 50 seconds. The last one I finished in less than a minute. Breathing very hard at the finish.  Good workout.

Run

Flew home from Skaneateles.  Easy flight and we got home at 1 PM.  Unpacked and then decided to get a run workout in. I was going to take it easy, but my legs felt good (maybe the massage that I had yesterday?) so I pushed it a little bit. More like an uptempo run.  Finished 5.8 mile course in 51:45, with 71 seconds of waiting for lights to change.  So an overall pace of about 8:48.  Felt faster - at least at the finish.

I should have worn my Garmin. 

Skaneateles Run

Slept till almost 8 am.  Ran my usual Skaneateles course - it took me about ten minutes less time than yesterday. I'm not sure of the distance but estimating it to be about 4.5 miles. It's probably less. I ran easy, steady pace. My legs feel better than when I first resumed running after the clean up project.  My back and neck are tight.

Later today I'm going to have a massage. Hope that helps.  When I get back home I will start training program in earnest again. Plan to start with Craig in December. 

Workout:  4.5 miles - 44 minutes. 

October 10 to October 20 - House Cleaning Project

While Suzanne was on her cruise, Nicole and I took this once in a lifetime opportunity to clean (out) the house.  This was a great strength workout, I spent over 100 hours on this project, much of it lifting and carrying heavy boxes up and downstairs.  Many file boxes to the attic (which I cleaned first). This could count as a stairmaster - strength workout, but I think I will just define all of this time as non-workout time.

It did give me an even greater appreciation of how hard it is to have a physically demanding job as after 8 hours of this clean up work, I was not in any mood or condition to have a serious workout.

When Suzanne returned from her cruise we then had to travel to Rochester for Meliora Weekend, and then on to mom's house for a brief visit. I won't be able to re-establish a normal workout routine until Thursday, but will continue to run while on this trip.

October 9: Long Run - Sunday morning

This was Chicago Marathon Sunday. Beautiful morning. I ran my long course 7.5 miles in just under 64 minutes. A pace of 7:50.  This will be last workout for awhile as I'm planning to clean out the house while Suzanne is on her long cruise.

Workout Table

I'm still having difficulty doing the table thing correctly.  this time I copied with the box checked "as shown on screen" and  format "Bitmap."  Then when I go to paste special I check the box paste as picture (enhanced metafile).  but this looks blurrier than the earlier versions.

The Weather!

All week the weather has been great. I thought I should take a day off from workouts, but the weather is so nice I feel compelled to take advantage of it while it is here. Soon enough it will be sucky, grey and wet and cold. 

So yesterday which would be day off except I like to have that early morning Heatherspin, it is sort of my social time - so I did spin class - she had a new workout routine - a pyramid, which she described in detail but it is too hard to follow.  But it was basically a solid 40 minute ride with no break. 

Then later in the afternoon I did a run because the weather was too nice to not be out in it. I ran 4 miles in 34 minutes - a strong tempo run at a constant 8:32 pace. 

Today I would have done my usualy run and spin, but Suzanne needed the car, so I just did an easy 3.5 mile run at 10 minute pace. 

Masters Swim

Light turn out today:  Scott and Judge Dave and me. My focus continues to be the "catch" - especially on my right arm stroke when I breathe. REally conscious of it and doing a better job of not drawing the arm across my body.  When I get tired and breathe longer it happens, but now at least I'm aware of it.

Also more aware of keeping my head down. 

Workout: 

Warmup:  about 300 yards of free style, pulling and kicking.

Main set:

250 x 3 - pull, swim, pull
150 x4 - swim, pull, swim, pull
5 x 100 @2:00 minute intervals;  actual splits:  1:44, 1:51, 1:57, 2:03, 2:04; 

Total yards:  2,150

Total workout time:  60 minutes;  plus 10 minutes in hot tub. 

Spin - Strength - Run

I did the 7 am spin class with Flo. She runs a challenging class. Very little down time. It was  a good warm-up for my half hour with Nibra. 

Nibra's workout:

Stood on platform and hurled heavy  ball on to floor 25 times; 
Bench press
Lat pull downs
Laid out on weight bench and did crunches bringing legs and arms up - required balanced - I had trouble with it. 

repeated 3 times

Leg curls (hamstrings)
Ab crunches
step up on platform with right leg and bench press 15 times - step up on platform with left leg curls; holding barbells (10 lbs?); 

repeated 3 times; 

The step ups were really challenging; 

Nibra said we would work on building strength to get me ready for Ironman; good start;

Run - beautiful day and  I didn't want to wait until 6 pm ERC workout at the track. So at 4 PM I did a 45 minute run; easy tempo - about 4.5 miles; 

Masters Swim

Craig was back. He told us about Aurora's channel swim. 

We did a mix of pulling and 50 yard freestyle. 200 x 2 pulling and then 6 x50 at 1:10; then another 200 and another 6 x 200 at 1:10;  Swam about 2,000 yards.

I'm getting better at not breathing on every stroke. I can consistenty breathe on every stroke when pulling (not as strenuous) and can do so on freestyle until I get tired. And then I breathe on every stroke for two or three times and then skip a breath.

I've been really concentrating on keeping my head down and also keeping my right arm from pulling across my body after the "catch" which I have a tendency to do when I breathe to my left. If I breathe a little earlier in the stroke I can mitigate that problem, I think.

Heatherspin

Morning spin class with Heather. Always a good way to start the week.  50 minutes - good workout. 

After spin I did 15 minutes of strength work:  2 sets of dip and chin assists and 2 sets of situps with machine; then one set of hamstring lifts and one set of tricep pulldown.

Long Run

Soon I won't be able to call this a long run. But it's longer than my regular 4 to 5 mile run. Today I ran north to Lake Avenue and then east to Sheridan Road, south to Lincoln Avenue and then south on Central Park to home. 

This was my first GARMIN timed work out since returning from Cape Cod (I left my watch there and they had to mail it to me.) 

According to GARMIN's GPS I ran 7.54 miles in 1:07:23 for an average pace of 8:56.  A decent tempo run. Ran the whole course at about the same rate.  My average heart rate was 129 with a maximum of 143. 

I felt good throughout the run. I have some continuing tightness in right hamstring (side) and the left glut and also my right achilles feels a little tight. 

Workout Table

It took me an hour to remember how I did this last week.  So I am writing down the procedure.  I copy the excel table as a "picture" and then I paste it into Word.  In Word when I right click on the save picture in Word I can then click on the Save as Picture option which will save the picture as a JPEG file.

Friday and Saturday

I did a light spin on Friday morning with Heather. I took it easy - it was almost like taking the day off. I've worked out now every day since returning from Cape Cod on the 13th. So 17 straight days, but none of the workouts very hard and probably losing my conditioning - a little bit.

Saturday morning I was again going to do a long run, but we had plumbing issues so I had to call a plumber and prepare the basement, so I did a 40 minute run along the lakefront. It was neat, temperature was about 50 degrees and the winds were very strong along the lakeshore - really pounding surf. Then I did about the last hour of super spin with Heather.  Total workout about 1:40. 

Masters Swim

Despite sore post-Nibra workout muscles, I made myself get up and go to Masters swim. There were only two of us today and the pool was almost empty because of Rosh Hashanah.  The workout:

Warmup:  200 free; 100 kick; 100 pull;

Main set:

6 x 100 @2:00 minutes interval;  - had to take a 2:30 interval after the 4th 100;   600
6 x 75 pull                   450 
4 x 100 @2:00 minute interval;  took a 2:30 interval after 2nd 100;    400
4 x 75 pull    300
2 x 100 @2:00 minute interval;  200

Total yards:  2,350

Total time:  60 minutes plus 10 minutes in the jacuzzi.

Strength Workout

One of the diffrences about training when you get older is that nothing lasts. If I took two weeks off it would be a lot harder for me to get back in shape than a younger person. But I never take two weeks off. I like working out - the part I don't really like is the getting up at 5 am.  But now at least, it seems like sleeping in when I have a 7 am workout. Can sleep until 6:35. 

Today I had spin class. New instructor on Wednesdays is Flo. (Heather's took over Friday mornings.)  Flo has good workouts. Different from Heathers so I get some good variety. Today we did an interval of tempo low resistance and then for the second half very heavy resistance and slowly tapering down to lighter resistance. She called it a reverse pyramid.  Good workout. My back is sore and stiff, but considerably less stiff than Monday.

After spinning I had my first workout with Nibra (my personal trainer) since early July. I told him about the back issue and also mentioned that I'd been having some tugginess in my right side hamstring. He put in some excercises to deal with those issues.  He's good at creating effective workouts.

Today's workout was:

Superman lift (lay facedown on mat and raise hands and feet off the ground) x 15
Plank for about 30 seconds
Pushups x 15
Repeat 3 times;

Exercise ball - lay on back, soles on ball - lift butt off ground using hamstring muscles mostly;
arch back - hands and knees on ground - tighten core 15 times
repeated 3 times

Dip machine - with about 80 pounds of support weight (the weight makes it easier);
Pullups x 10
Dips x 10
lift 25 pound barbells with knees flexed lift weights about 18 inches off the ground..stretches works hamstring;
repeat sequence 3 times;

2 sets of deltoid pulldowns while I waited for Nibra;

exercise ball - forearms on ball - roll out and back.  Hard to do; only did one set;

It was a good workout and my back felt good afterward. Much less tight.  Muscles will be sore tomorrow. I don't think I will do the ERC tonight. Too wet and cold and hamstring is sore.

Masters Swim

Overcame the impulse to sleep in and made it to Masters. My back is still sore, but better than yesterday. 

Joe had a perfect workout planned for my sore back - all pulling with swim buoy.  We did 6 x150; 6 x100 and 6 x 50 for a total of 1800 yards. Plus a couple of hundred yards of warmup. Total swim workout of 2,000 yards. 

Soaked in whirlpool for about 10 minutes.  My back felt fine while swimming.  Should be okay for Nibra workout tomorrow.

Tweaked Back

About once a year I manage to tweak my back. It's usually in the morning when I do something rash like bending over before I've warmed up. Today I had it all planned. Stephen wanted a ride to the airport so I told him I would take him at 6 am so that would give me time to get back and go to spinning class at 7 am.

I got up at 5:30 and was groping in the dark for my bike shorts which I had laid out on the floor the night before and the back twinged. It's like a quick electrical jolt at the base of my spine. I think it is a nerve gets pinched and then all of the surrounding nerves fire and my back muscles tighten up in defense. So it hurts to stand up straight. 

This was about a 6 on a scale of 1 to 10 (the worst).  I got Stephen to the airport and then drove to the Y. After an hour in the car, it was really hard to stand up straight and walk into the Y. But I made it to spinning by  7:15, and got in 35 minutes of spinning. Not very strenuous. After class I did some back stretches. Mostly I try to lie on my stomach and arch my back. At first I have zero arch. After about ten minutes of trying I can arch a few degrees. About a tenth of my normal range of motion.

took a showere which helped and now I am semi-comfortable at my desk. I neeed to get up and walk around every hour so I don't get too stiff. It will take me a week to be back to normal. 

Schedule for the week:

Tuesday:  Masters Swim  and some whirlpool
Wednesday:  spin and Nibra
Thursday:  master swim  whirlpool
Friday:  spin and weights
Saturday:  long run?  (if back doesn't hurt) and spin
Sunday:  long run

Workout Log

I have been trying to figure out how to import an Excel table into my blog so I can show my workout stats as I start to compile them. So far this is the best I've been able to come up with.  When I try to import an excel table to the blog from Word nothing shows up.

This is a picture of the table. Imported as a jpeg file.

The Weekend

The weekend should be when I do my longer workouts, but I've sort of settled into the off season mode and I'm not waking up early enough. I had planned to go to Masters Swim with Joe on Saturday morning at 6 am. I wanted to an hour in the pool, then run for an hour and then catch the last of Heather's super spin class.

But I didn't wake up until 7:30 so I just went to Heather's class. Did 80 minutes of spin. 

Stephen came home Friday night for his cousin Brian's wedding reception Saturday and Nicole returned from London on Saturday afternoon. So we had a couple of drives to the airport. The four of us went to the reception at Maggiano's (no Christie - she's in London). The kids looked very much grown up now - conversing nicely with young and old. 

This morning it was cool and threatening rain. I got up at 7:30 and decided to do my regular run (6 mile course) instead of the longer run I had contemplated. I thought Suzanne might want to go to church with Stephen but they both slept in. Took me 54:10 to do the course. That's slower than last time - I took it easy but thought I was running faster than that. Legs felt good, a little soreness on the foot in the last mile. Some tightness in the right side hamstring and a little tweakiness in the achilles but nothing distracting.  Felt pretty strong. 

My weight after the run was 188.8 which is better than those 190 numbers. I remember when I was a serious younger runner, my weight dipped as low as 168, but was routinely around 173 to 175.  But I'm stronger upper body now. 

I have had a good offseason week. I've worked out every day since I returned from Norman Mailer - that's twelve days in a row. But they've been light workouts. I am going to try to build a little more intensity in next week.

STATS
Days Until CDA:   272
Weight:  188.8
Swim Yards / cum:  0 / 3,200
Swim Time/ Cum:  0 minutes  / 90
Run Miles / Cum Run Miles:  6 / 24.7
Run time/ Cum Run time:  54 minutes / 226 minutes
Spin time  / Cum time:   80 / 210 minutes
Total workout time / cum:  145  / 472

Physical

Yesterday I did an easy run in the late afternoon.  4.2 miles in 40 minutes.

Today I did light spin class with Heather for 45 minutes. Then I had my annual physical, which I last had in 2009 according to Doctor Ali. 

I weighed 190 pounds and remained slightly over 6 foot, but not a half inch extra any more. More like a 1/4 inch.  I don't want to follow below 72 inches. 

My pulse was 44 and that always gives the nurse and Doctor some pause. When I went in two years ago, she had me go on to a cardiologist. He did an EKG and told me to come back when I had a problem. I just have a low resting pulse. 

Blood pressure was 130 / 80.  Last time they took it it was 130 /90 - I guess 80 is better than 90.

The blood work for cholesterol will be sent to me later. I also need to get another colonoscopy. Maybe in November I will do that.  I hate the one day of fasting.

STATS
Days Until CDA:   274
Weight:  191.0
Swim Yards / cum:  1000 / 3,200
Swim Time/ Cum:  30 minutes  / 90
Run Miles / Cum Run Miles:  4.02 / 18.7
Run time/ Cum Run time:  40 minutes / 172 minutes
Spin time  45 min/ Cum time:   45 / 130 minutes
Total workout time / cum:  145  / 472

Swim Lesson

I had a swim lesson this morning with Heather.   She hadn't seen me swim since early in the year and she noticed improvement. I still need to do a better job of keeping my head down when I breathe, and not pulling acrossed my  body on my return. Not catching a lot of water yet either.

Here is a link to her video:
Swim Lesson

In the evening I went to Evanston Running Club workout. It was timed mile workout. We warmend up and then they timed us in the mile.  I ran with group 3. I finished in third or fourth in the group. Had plenty of cardio capacity, but I was a little skittish about my right leg side hamstring. It felt a little tuggy when I tried to accelerate.  I ran sort of a controlled mile, but pushed it somewhat at the end. Caught the guy I think was in 2nd or 3rd place, but then two other people passed me just before the finish. I could have caught them or stayed up, but didn't want to take any chances.  Time:  6:58 approx.    I used to run 6 min miles so I've lost some speed for sure. 



STATS
Days Until CDA:   276
Weight:  191.6
Swim Yards / cum:  1000 / 3,200
Swim Time/ Cum:  30 minutes  / 90
Run Miles / Cum Run Miles:  3.0  / 14.5
Run time/ Cum Run time:  30 minutes / 132 minutes
Spin time  45 min/ Cum time:   0 / 85 minutes
Total workout time / cum:  60  / 327

Masters Swim

I got back in the pool today.  I never look forward to swim workouts in the pool. We start at 6 am, so I have to get up at 5:30 and it's still dark out. At least right now I don't have to scrape ice of the windshield or shovel the car out, but it's still not a workout I look forward to.

But I know once I get to the Y and get in the pool, I don't mind the workout. It's just thinking about it. Like going to church.  I like the guys I swim with:  Judge Dave (Divorce court), Kiwanis Davis, Scott (lawyer) and today also we had Jeanette. Soon Ironwoman Jenna and Pam will be back.  Maybe Fernando too. 

Today it was just Jeanette and me in the slow lane and the two Daves in the fast lane.  Joe Agdern put the workout on the whiteboard for us. Joe does Thursday Masters but Craig is out of the country for Aurora's Channel swim. She goes tomorrow.  I hope.

Workout:
Warmup:  200 freestyle;  50 kick; 150 pull;   
Main Set:  2 x 200 pull;  100 free easy;  2 x 200 free;  100 easy;  3 x 150 free; 100 easy; 6 x 50 @1:00
total yards:  2200

STATS
Days Until CDA:   277
Weight:  191.0
Swim Yards / cum:  2,200 / 2,200
Swim Time:  60 minutes
Run Miles / Cum Run Miles:  6.0  / 11.5
Run time/ Cum Run time:  53 minutes / 102 minutes
Spin time  45 min/ Cum time:   0 / 85 minutes
Total workout time / cum:  60  / 267

Monday spin

My "normal" Monday routine is for an easy spin class and then a half hour personal training with Nibra. He varies the routine every week, but he focuses on core strength, but with a cardio component. Stuff like crabwalking across the gym floor on all fours - stopping every twenty feet to do ten pushups. But Nibra was out today so no workout.

Just did the Heather spin class.  Easy workout. 


STATS
Days Until CDA:   278
Weight:  191.1
Run Miles / Cum Run Miles:  6.0  / 11.5
Run time/ Cum Run time:  53 minutes / 102 minutes
Spin time  45 min/ Cum time:   0 / 85 minutes
Total workout time / cum:  45  / 207

Rain Day

I had planned to do an early morning bike ride if the weather was nice, or just take the day off. My last off day was Wednesday when I flew back from the Norman Mailer workshop. I don't usually schedule a day off because I know that about every ten days something unforseen will come up. And now when I'm just doing easy workouts I don't need a lot of recovery time. 

I often feel worse when I don't work out. Sometimes the soreness is greater or I just feel sluggish or bloated. Probably partly psychological.

Well, it was sort of threatening rain so I decided I'd just go to church and then watch the Bears game.  Bears got pummeled and I was feeling antsy, so I went out for a run. It was raining pretty hard, but the temperature was 61 degrees and I dressed with good non-absorbing clothes (hat, under armour, running shorts and my short sleeve warmup from the American Cancer Society. Also had my iPod. It was a nice run. I felt strong and didn't run a hard pace, but I finished the six miles in less than 52 minutes if I don't count the 50 seconds that I was waiting for the light to change. That's about an 8:40 pace. 

STATS
Days Until CDA:   279
Weight:  190.5
Run Miles / Cum Run Miles:  6.0  / 11.5
Run time/ Cum Run time:  53 minutes / 102 minutes
Spin time / Cum time:   0 / 40 minutes
Total workout time / cum:  53  / 162

The Training Begins - sort of

It's 280 days until theC'oeur D'Alene Ironman.  Right now I'm thinking I should have picked a location that was easier to spell.  CDA will have to do. 

I haven't started training yet. This is the offseason. But unbelievably it's been almost a month since the USAT Nationals in Burlington. Haven't touched my road bike or tri bike since. The road bike has a flat, actually two flats, and the tri bike is gunked up with gatorade and I need to clean it and fix the bottle bracket, which cost me ten minutes in the Nationals when the bottle came loose. 

So right now I'm just trying not to fall out of shape. And the woman with all the great writing ideas says I should start a diary of the Ironman prep so I can write a book about it.  Just an hour a day she says. An hour! Damn, that won't leave much time for rewriting my novel for the 5th time, which is what I am also doing now. And I'm officially starting that today.  Maybe I should make a diary on that too.

My plan for today was to do a lakefront run and then go to Heather's super spin class - super meaning it's a longer class - ninety minutes. But I slept until 7 am and didn't get to the Y where my run starts until 7:40. 

I ran for 51 minutes - easy tempo run - I figure it was probably about 5.5 miles. Don't know because I left my Garmin GPS in Provincetown, but they found in my room and are sending it to me.  So soon I will have data again. Right now it's okay because I'm not pushing anything and it's nice not have that monitor looking over my shoulder making me run faster. I felt good on the run. The hamstring which had been sore and tight at Cape Cod felt fine.  Sore foot good too.

I keep trying to imagine running a marathon after a 2.5 mile swim and 112 mile on the bike. I've never run a marathon. Craig says it is not necessary. It's a different experinece when you run that segment after everything else. In my ambitous imagination I see myself capable of running an 11 hour 30 minute triathlon. 

When I run go through the numbers:   I did a half marathon swim in 35 minutes - so if I get faster on the swim I should be able to do it 70 minutes. But let's be realistic and call it 75 plus 5 for transition.  So how long will th bike take.  If I can average 18.66 mph I can finish the bike in 6 hours.  Probably totally unrealistic.  I will need to figure out how to fuel myself better but it's possible I could do that. So after another five minute transition I would starting the run at 7 hours 25 minutes.  If I could run the marathon in 4 hours 5 minutes I would finish in 11 hours 30 minutes.  that would be a pace of 9:21 per mile.   Mostly when I do these calculations what I'm thinking is that four hours is goddamn long time to be running. 

It will be interesting to look back at this entry after the race.