Strength Training

Strength Training Today -- Full Body workout at the gym.

Possible Triathlon Debut Races

Possible Triathlon Debut Races

Winding Trails Tri-Training Series
The weekly triathlon series will run on Tuesday evenings at Winding Trails. This year’s series will consist of a 1/4-mile swim or kayak in Dunning Lake, a 8k trail ride (you must use a hybrid or off-road bike for the biking portion of the race), and a 5K-trail run through our beautiful woods. All ability levels are encouraged to come out and train in this friendly and fun environment.

Terramuggus Sprint Triathlon Series (Bi-weekly June-August Thursday Nights)
The race starts with a 400yard splash in Lake Terramuggus, followed by a 12 mile ride through scenic Marlborough and finishes with a 3,2 mile run around the lake. This event draws a myriad of athletes from the first timer to the Ironman. Located in Blish park, it's a great loaction and a fun place to bring the family to be spectators, go swimming or play at the awesome playground!

Pat Griskus Triathlon - SPRINT DISTANCE TRIATHLON

THE RACE DATE/TIME:
Wednesday, July 11, 2007 at 6:00 p.m.
Quassy Amusement Park, Middlebury CT.
No rain date. In case of inclement weather, management reserves the right to shorten the course, hold a duathlon, or a 10K run. Wetsuits allowed. Management reserves the right to accept or reject any entry. Race limit is 500. First Timers Division. ChampionChip Timing by Road and Track Sports. Results posted within 24 hrs at Road and Track Sports

THE RACE COURSE:
Half-mile lake swim (wetsuits allowed), 10.5-mile bike around the lake, 3.1-mile run.


Capital City DIRT Triathlon Sunday in July
Swim with the current in the Connecticut River for 1/2 mile (oh yeah, there is a huge sandbar in the middle of the river which you will run through), then throw on your shoes for a shaded 5K run along the riverfront trails and finish up with a tame 12-mile trail ride through the woods. As always, we will have great awards and food at the beautiful new riverfront boathouse .

1/4 mile -- Pain Free

Went to the track today with the intention of walk running 3 miles, but it was very cold and I had my girlfriend's six year old with me, who was going to write down my times as I went past, so I ended up just doing a mile because she was freezing despite all the layers of clothes. I only ran 1/4 mile. I did it in 2:10 without even trying to go fast. It took me 12:20 to walk/run the mile. The best part was my knees feel great like I didn't even run at all. I know 1/4 of a mile is nothing, but being pain-free is great. I'll do 1/2 mile next.

Later we went swimming, and again having the girls with me, my only lap time was after our instruction/fun-time was over. I did a 1/4 mile -- no sweat.

I have joined the pool fill-time now so I expect to be swimming much more.

Target Date

I'm hoping to make my running debut on April 27 at the following 5K race (If my knees hold up and I don't overexert). It gives me almost four months to get ready.

Bradley Road Race

My triathlon debut hopefully will be sometime in June when they all seem to start.

Did a half hour on the stationary bike at level 2 while watching the football game. I really ought to think about buying a real bike. We haven't had any snow yet so its not like I couldn't get some ride time in.

On another issue, my knees feel completely normal now. I almsot think I should go running. I think I will wait at least another two weeks and then start a walk run program.

I got two triathlon books for Christmas and reading them made me feel less alone about about painful knees. It seems injury is typical for new runners who like me almost always run too fast and too far too early.

Here are the books:





I'm working sixteen hours tomorrow, so my next workout won't be until Wednesday.

Bike

Did 15 minutes on the bike. Nice and easy. I just want to make sure there is no carryover from the knee pain from running.

Strength training

Did some strength training today. I talked to the gym owner my friend Bob and he said my leg pain was a typical overuse injury, and I just need to take it easy on it for awhile. And ice it always after running on it.

I missed some workouts this week due to babysitting my girlfriend's kids and other errands.

Boomeritis

Working 16 hours today on three hours sleep so no exercising. I did come across this article in the New York Times.

To Avoid ‘Boomeritis,’ Exercise, Exercise, Exercise

All I can say is I need to get cracking. Yeas, I have trouble standing on one leg while I change clothes. I have trouble getting up sometimes. I am getting old, and it has to stop.

***

December 19, 2006
Personal Health
To Avoid ‘Boomeritis,’ Exercise, Exercise, Exercise
By JANE E. BRODY
An apology to all baby boomers and beyond: I’m afraid that in our efforts to get everyone to become physically active, we’ve sold you a bill of goods. A 30-minute walk on most days is just not enough. There is much more to becoming — and staying — physically fit as you age than engaging in regular aerobic activity. (Of course, the same applies to those younger than 60.)

In addition to activities like walking, jogging, cycling and swimming that promote endurance, cardiovascular health and weight control, there is a dire need for exercises that improve posture and increase strength, flexibility and balance. These exercises can greatly reduce the risk of injuries from sports and endurance activities, the demands of daily life, falls and other accidents.

Musculoskeletal injuries are now the No. 1 one reason for seeking medical care in the United States. And falls, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last month, have become the leading cause of injury deaths for men and women 65 and older.

Unless you do something to slow the deterioration in muscle, bone strength and agility that naturally accompanies aging, you will become a prime candidate for what Dr. Nicholas A. DiNubile, an orthopedic surgeon at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, calls “boomeritis.”

“By their 40th birthday, people often have vulnerabilities — weak links — and as the first generation that is trying to stay active in droves, baby boomers are pushing their frames to the breakpoint,” Dr. DiNubile said in introducing a November press event in New York sponsored by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and the National Athletic Trainers’ Association.

“Baby boomers are falling apart — developing tendinitis, bursitis, arthritis and ‘fix-me-itis,’ the idea that modern medicine can fix anything,” he said. “It’s much better to prevent things than to have to try to fix them.”

Dr. DiNubile pointed out that evolution had not kept up with the doubling of the human life span in the last 100 years. To counter the inevitable declines with age, we have to provide our bodies with an extended warranty.

Assess Your Fitness

In their recently published book, “Age-Defying Fitness” (Peachtree Publishers), two prominent physical therapists, Marilyn Moffat of New York University and Carole B. Lewis of Washington, D.C., provide the ingredients to help you make the most of your body for the rest of your life: a quick quiz and a five-part test to assess the status of your posture, strength, balance, flexibility and endurance, followed by five chapters with step-by-step instructions on how to safely improve the areas in which you are lacking.

The therapists describe what happens to these “five domains of fitness” as you age. Posture begins changing as early as the teenage years, the result of activities like prolonged sitting, carrying a heavy purse or briefcase, or working at a computer.

Strength declines as muscle fibers decrease in size and number and as the supply of nerve stimulation and energy to the muscles diminishes. Balance deteriorates as muscles tighten and weaken and joints lose their full range of motion.

Flexibility declines because connective tissue throughout the body becomes less elastic. And endurance falls off because of reduced flexibility, weakened muscles, and stiffer lungs and blood vessels.

Still not convinced you need to work on your fitness? See how you do on the therapists’ quiz:

¶Are you not standing as straight and tall as you once did?

¶Is walking up a flight of stairs a strain at times?

¶Are you getting up from a chair more slowly than you used to?

¶Is it getting harder to look to the left and right while backing up?

¶Do you get stiff sitting through a long movie?

¶Is standing on one leg to put on your shoe difficult or impossible?

¶Do you trip or lose your balance more easily?

¶Does walking or jogging a distance take longer than it used to?

As a daily exerciser I consider myself a physically fit 65-year-old, and I did well on the quick quiz, but I flunked the tests for balance and flexibility. So I’ve added exercises to my weekly regime to improve these two domains of fitness.

“The antidote to aging is activity,” the therapists wrote. “Inactivity magnifies age-related changes, but action maintains and increases your abilities in all five domains.”

No Time to Waste

Dr. Vonda J. Wright, a sports medicine specialist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, said at the New York meeting that “boomers are 59, and we must intervene now to head off what happens to those who age in a sedentary way.”

Injury and arthritis are the main reasons people stop exercising, she said. She urged those in need of a joint replacement not to postpone the surgery, which she likened to repairing a pothole.

Marjorie J. Albohm, a certified athletic trainer affiliated with OrthoIndy and the Indiana Orthopedic Hospital in Indianapolis, cautioned against “cookbook recipes” for exercise. “The key to a good workout is customization,” based on a professional assessment of flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, strength and balance, she said. “The goal is to minimize symptoms and prevent new injuries,” Ms. Albohm said, and she urged people to listen to their bodies to avoid making things worse.

Ms. Albohm emphasized flexibility, saying it is “not optional” as you age. “To prevent stiffness and maintain joint mobility you should stretch daily for 15 to 20 minutes,” she said “using slow, controlled movements, before or after your exercise program.”

For cardiovascular endurance, she recommended alternating between weight-bearing (walking, jogging) and non-weight-bearing (swimming, cycling) aerobic activities three days a week for 30 to 45 minutes each time.

Muscle strength, Ms. Albohm noted, can be increased at any age, even in one’s 90s, to protect against falls, maintain mobility, prevent new injuries and empower individuals. Especially important is strengthening the muscles in the front and sides of the thighs, which help support the knees, and strengthening core muscles of the trunk (back, buttocks and abdomen) to protect the spine and support the entire body.

Finally, we need to worry about our bones. At least 1.5 million “fragility fractures” occur annually in the United States. These are breaks that result when someone falls from a standing height or less, trips over the cat or lifts something heavy, and they affect men as well as women, Dr. Laura Tosi, an orthopedic surgeon at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., said at the New York event.

“A history of a fragility fracture is far more predictive of future fractures than a bone density test,” Dr. Tosi said, adding that a major cause is a shortage of vitamin D, which lets calcium into bones.

“The current standard for vitamin D is not adequate,” she said, and predicted it would soon be raised to perhaps 1,000 International Units a day. Vitamin supplements are crucial, because adequate amounts of vitamin D cannot be absorbed through diet and sunshine alone.

Can't Quit

I was on vacation for a week -- not from exercising but from work. The bad news is my knees were killing me after my run. This time it was more in one knee than the other. I pressed against the bone on the inside aspect of my tibia just below the knee and it felt bruised. I only ran 3/4 of a mile. What am I some kind of invalid.

The airplane rides and two hour bus trip may not have helped, but I shouldn't be limping around. I am worried I have a stress fracture.

At night I dance at the disco with my girlfriend and tht does not help. It feeel better when I ice it and take some motrin. Maybe its not broken.

Still I hobble for a week, and have trouble getting down into the pool unless I use the stairs.

They have a nice gym and I use it twice for strength training and 30 minute bike rides. The biking doesn't seem to bother my legs.

I also do three distance swims in the bay. The trouble is the roped off swiming area is not very deep. I am barely above the seaweed. I am guessing the area is 100 yards. I swim down and back. It is a lot harder swimming in open water. No rest at the end of 25 yards with the easy pushoff. At first I swim too fast and need to slow my breathing, which almost seems panicky. I see a baby sting ray in the water. The third time I step on something -- it feels like maybe a sea urchin, but it doesn't kill me although later I find a cut under my middle toe -- maybe it was glass I stepped on.

This triathlon is not going to be easy. I think I need to see a doctor before I run anymore.

Here's where I stand now. While I can run three miles -- I have the wind and my legs are strong -- I can't even seem to run 3/4 of a mile without being a cripple the next day. Do I take a whole month off, and then start very very slow?

Swimming -- I can do a mile in the pool, but open water appears to be harder. Still I ought to be able to do 1/4 mile fine. But my experience with cramping leads me to believe the bike transition may be more difficult than I thought.

Biking -- While I do the stationary bike fine, I still haven't gotten up on a bike yet.

Not good. I guess I can say everything so far has been merely exploratory. The training begins for real next month. Or I can say, I have till I am fifty so take it slow.

Don't give up.

Can't quit. Can't quit.

OOOOOOwww! James Brown soul turn.

Careful

Went to the gym for strength training and ran 3/4 of a mile. Stopped because my knees started to feel funny. I have to be real careful.

1 Mile Swim

Went to the pool. Swam 36 down and back laps for a total of

1 MILE

Heart rate was 120 at the end. It took me 40 minutes.

I swim mostly with my arms. It seems like i don't kick too much.

I think I could probably swim two miles. Its just a matter of moving your arms, lulling yourself.

I am going to buy a book on swimming and maybe get a lesson.

That's what everyone reccomends. Plus what little I read in my triathlon book was good advice.

1)Roll when you breathe (Turn your body) and swim downhill (it helps bring your legs up.

Both really helped.

When I was done, I lifted myself rather violently out of the pool. You know arms on the deck and driving myself up.

Both my calves immediately cramped. I was in serious pain. I had to quickly turn over and stretcheh my legs out. The cramps went away but for the rest of the day I fet a little tight knot in my left calf.

So much for not using my legs.

Outdoor Track

Went out and bought a pulse watch and a stopwatch, and then drove to the high school track.

There I am with my new sneakers, New Balance 857's, new sweatpants, a new hoodie and my new watches. No one was at the track. I walked around it one time to warm up and then ran a mile and a half. My first quarter was 2:16. The mile was was 9:27. i must have hit the button because when I checked it at the end it was stopped shortly after the mile time. I think I slowed some so I credited myself with a 14:27 mile and a half. Then I walked around the track one more time, stretched and left. My heart rate after a mile and a half was 150.

My knees feel okay. I will try to run at the track some more. Next time I go for a mile and three quarters. I don't want to push it like I did the last time.

***

Later in the evening. I'm icing my knees down. Reading the Runner's Handbook, it is evident I ran too fast. My heart rate shouldn't have gotten over 132. I was up to 150. I also think I failed to properly warm up and cool down. I need to be careful, but at the same time I don't want to run like an old man.

Rest

My knees feel good today. Maybe I have been too paranoid. I haven't really felt pain, just a sort of heavy stiffness. I'm hoping to run again at least twice more this week, possibly with an outdoor run on track. I'd like to do at least 1.5 or maybe even 2 miles. I hope I am not pressing.

Last night I bought The Runner's Handbook, which I guess is a classic.


I was glancing through it last night and found it very interesting.

One of the causes of knee pain is weak legs, but my legs are very strong. I have been doing squats and leg extensions and leg curls for many years now.

I also bought a Runner's World magazine, which I like more than the Triathlon magazines. It is very beginner oriented. The triathlon magazines seem all about the pros.

Back on the Mill Mile

I went to bed early last night so I woke up at 4 and decided to hit the gym before work. I went to a new gym in the town where I work on Sunday through Tuesday.

I started off on the treadmill, walked for five minutes than ran a ten minute mile, and then walked for a couple minutes. The knees felt great. Let's hope it lasts through the day.

Then I did some weightlifting, and almost passed out at one point. I don't normally lift after running.

It was good to be at a place with new machines. I think I will try to lift there once a week stictly on machines I haven't used or don't use at my other gym.

I am wondering about my running pace. 6.0 on a treadmill is a ten minute mile. Is it too fast for a beginner?

I'm hoping to run again on Wednesday. I will probably try a mile and a half. If I can run pain free up to two miles, then I can get on the 10% increase every week up to three miles with the goal of hitting the three miles on the race day on January 7. I sure hope my knees hold out and it is a nice day and not too cold.

I almost puked driving to work.

I'll leave it with that thought.

Listen

Okay, I know what you are thinking. No posts for nine days.

Listen. That's what I am doing. Listening to my body. I'm letting my knees recover. Last week I went to the gym, did my strength training and ran a half mile. My knees hurt for maybe a day after. I'm hoping the next time I run -- I'll just do a mile, that they don't hurt at all.

Also, I went and bought a pair of new running shoes, especially fitted. Size 14's with support for someone who pronates, according to the guy at the store. i went to this old hole in the wall place. The guy getting fitted next to me said he has been going there for twenty years. I found out he has run hundreds of triathlons and we talked a little about that. He recommended I get a mountain bike or at least a hybrid if I am only going to get one bike.

I'm still hoping to be able to run in the January 5K in east Hartford.