3 Mile Run

Went to the track and ran an easy 2 miles in 19:40 with a heart rate of 147. Then I walked a lap, and then I ran a lap as fast as I could, which wasn't fast because my legs were tired. I did the lap in 1:50. I walked a lap, and then ran three laps at a 10:00 pace.

No Workout

Too busy at work to get time to ride. I tried riding late when it was pitch bl;ack out. There are some street lights on the circle, but too many areas of black. I was worried I would hit a hole and go flying. It would have been nice to ride though. Maybe I will get a light.

9 Mile Bike

Did 9 miles at 11.1 mph. My front tire is a little soft. Just riding easy, much better than yesterday. Last night my knees were a little sore and I had to ice them. They feel good now.

5 Mile Bike

At work, it's a beautiful day, but it is also chilly and windy. I just rode five miles at 9.8 mph. I just couldn't get up any speed and I was all bundled up against the wind. I may try again later.

3 Mile Run/1/4 Mile Swim

Ran three miles after work on the roads and hills near my house, and then went to the pool and got in a quick swim.

4 Mile Bike

All I could manage at work today was 4 miles.

5K

Cold and rainy. I ran the resovouir in 36:30 with a 137 average heart rate. I ran really easy because the path was wet and covered with leaves and I was starting cold.

Today was supposed to be my long run or long bike day, but the weather was bad and I wasn't real motivated.

1/2 Mile Swim

Waited too late to workout, and then got caught in other duties, in addition to feeling very fatigued still from lifting weights. Fortunately, I managed a twenty minute swim at the end of the day.

If I want to do a good workout tomorrow, I must do it early in the day.

Lift/Bike

Got up at 4:30, went to the gymn. Did two circuits. I laid in bed for a little while after the alarm went off and debated sleeping more, but I was able to get up.

I need to get in there at least twice a week.

Felt like I had been run over by a steamroller most of the day. In the evening I did a twenty minute-four mile ride just to get the blood flowing and felt pretty good.

Off Day

Tired from staying up past midnight watching the Red Sox and very busy at work. I could have swum when I got home, but I let the time slip by.

Triathlon Books and Training

I've been reading two excellent triathlon books: Going Long by Joel Friel and The Perfect Distance by Tom Rogers. Going Long is about ironman distance races and The Perfect Distance is about half-iron man. While my goal for next year is to do an Olympic Distance race, I like the idea of focusing training on a longer race.

Here's some of what I have learned:

Friel says the heart of your training is one long slow run, one long slow bike and one long swim a week. He says don't do the run and the bike on consecutive days. One should be midweek, the other on the weekend.

Long runs begin at 90 minutes, long bikes at 2 hours and swims are 4000 yards (not all at once). Runs should get up to two and a half hours and bikes to five to six hours. Once your runs are getting up there, you can start to increase the length of the 2nd run. Two medium long runs are better than one superlong run.

You should swim at least three times a week. Focus on technique until you can go at a certain speed, and then you can work on swimming harder.

Both books list sample training programs for novices, which they define as someone with only a couple years triathlon experience.

Friel breaks down the athlete's goals and I clearly fall in the train to finish category. Train to complete rather than to compete. For me that means, all my emphasis should be on building endurance.

If you are older, you should stay in the gym during triathlon season to maintain stretgth and muscle mass, where if you are younger you only need to weight train in the offseason.

I also read an article on long running on the Runner's World web site and they suggest that you do one long run every two weeks, increasing by 10 percent, while running two other times a week for a half an hour to maintain conditioning.

So ideally, this seems like a possibly practical plan for me:

One long run every other week. One long bike every other week. Increasing by 10 percent each time. My current long run is 6.2 miles. My long bike goal will be 18-24 miles to start. I reserve the right to do a long run or long bike every week.

Run three times a week, at least 3 miles.

Bike three times a week 9-12 miles.

Swim three times a week, including one mile straight swim a week.

Lift 2-3 times a week.

Eat well.

***

9 Mile Bike

Did nine easy and slow miles at work, staying in one gear the entire time. Averaged 10.8 mph. I wanted to go 12 miles, but was too bored and a little stiff from recent runs maybe so I didn't press.

3 Mile Run

Set my alarm for 6 AM to run before work. The alarm went off, I looked out the window, it was pitch black outside. So I ran 3 miles when I got home from work. Nice little neighborhood run with a 245 foot up hill climb.

3/4 Mile Swim

Swam 3/4 of a mile, doing lots of drills, then finishing with a 1/4 mile swim.

I can do 50 yards of breathing every third stroke now. I did fifty yards of left sided breathing and almost drowned. I am still kicking as slow as ever. Mainly I did stroke technique drills.

5K/5K

Went to the resovouir with the intention of doing a long slow run. It was a little chilly so I started off with my hoodie, but soon realized it was very humid. I was also carrying a small water bottle that I sipped off, and then set it down at about the two mile mark. I finished the first 5k in 34:40 with a heart rate of 152. I was extremely soaked and my back felt stiff. I stopped running, walked to my car, took off my hoodie, had a gulp of my HEET drink, and then walked back to the 5k start line and ran it again. This time I finished in 38:00 with a heart rate of 142. I was very tight and somewhat chilled from my damp tee-shirt. I should run with a wicking shirt instead of cotton. When I stopped to pick up my water bottle at the two mile mark, I could barely get back started running. Still I feel pretty good.

I have been thinking that instead of running another 5k this year I need to just work on endurance, long slow runs and long slow bikes. Running a hard 5K race wipes me out for a few days. Since my goal is long distance triathlons, I need to just focus on endurance and not speed.

***

I also finally posted my 5K Race report from the other day. See Below :

Huck Finn 5K

No Workout

Again made the mistake of planning a late day workout. You have to act early. Either things come up or you get tied or both.

No Workout

Busy day at work, no chance to ride the bike. I have been exhausted since my weight workout yesterday morning.

I have been eating crappy lately, too This morning on my way to my first call I was eating a doughnut, and then I just rolled down the window and chucked it out. No more doughnuts. For lunch, I had a sandwich, no cookies of chips. Last night I finished the ice cream.

Got to get back to the healthy stuff.

Back to the Gym

Went to bed at 9:30. Got up at 4:30. Went to the gym and did two circuits of my abs diet workout with low weights before work. It used to tax my heart rate, but I barely got short of breath.

Squats/ Dumbell Lunge
Incline Bench Press
Dumbell Stepup
Lat Pull downs
Leg Extensions
Shoulder Press
Leg Curl
Bicep Curl to Shoulder Press
Upright Dumbell Row
Back Extension
Leg Lifts
Tricept Extensions
Ab Twist
Ab Crunch

My goal is at least 2 workouts a week, increasing weight and maybe adding a third circuit. One day doing 12-15 reps, the other day doing 8-10 reps.

Rest Day

Took today as a post race rest day. I felt good in the morning and then in the afternoon, my body felt dead. I thought about swimming after work, but decided to just take it easy.

Upcoming 5Ks

Already thinking about the next race. The benefit of this one is it is at the West Hartford Resovoiur, my "home field." I can not only compare myself with my June 29:43, but run the course a couple times a week between then and now.

Nov 4 West Hartford 5K

The other race possibility is the November 10
Freedom Run 5K, which is run by the Marathon Foundation and is another Hartford city street run.

I will only do one of the races. It will probably depend on whether or not I get some Saturday overtime at work.

Huck Finn 5K Race Report

I slept poorly again. I don’t know why the night before a 5K race I should feel as nervous as I do before a triathlon. There isn’t much to worry about. All you need are sneakers. I’ve run the distance easily enough and have been doing well enough that I feel assured I will at least set a new personal record (PR) if not break 29:00. I wake up every couple of hours, and then decide to sleep past the early time I have set to get up.

Some of the nervousness was that I was taking the girls with me, with the youngest one to run in the Kids 50 yard dash after my race. I am a little uneasy about leaving them for a half hour while I run, but am pretty certain they will be okay. They will have a cell phone and I will run with one.

I have a banana and a diet Coke for breakfast. I have a morning coughing fit, which is not unusual for me with the change of weather. It’s a chilly morning and I wear sweats and a hoodie with the plan to disrobe down to a tee-shirt and running pants when the race nears.

We park in one of the downtown parking garages near the highway so we will be able to get out of the city after the race. Many of the streets will be shut down for the races. They have three races going off at the same time – the marathon, half-marathon, and my event – the 5K.

Bushnell Park is bustling with runners, stretching a jogging about. I leave the girls with their instructions to meet me at the finish just before 29:00, and head across the park to the eastern end where the 5K will start. It is somewhat of a motley collection of runners. There are over 700, and a fair number of them appear to be recreational. There is also a group of pint-sized runners wearing green tee-shirts from a kids’ running program. It is my guess that most of the best runners will be trying the half or the full marathon today.

When the horn goes off the start is very slow, as the crowd of runners slowly goes from a walk to a slow jog to a faster jog. A woman ahead of me trips, but appears unhurt. Everyone steps around her. Me too. Sorry, lady. I keep on. It’s hard to find space to get any kind of speed up. It is also chilly. I’m glad I left my hoodie on, although I shed my sweat pants. I can see my breath. There are some people passing me, but I am passing at least an equal number of runners. It is nice to be running on familiar city streets. We run around the north end of the park and then up toward the capitol and then down Washington Street and then right onto Park, the Latino section of town. The streets are mostly deserted. Spanish music blares from a sound system under a telemundo banner, but there is just one man in charge of the system. There are some homeless men on the sidewalks. Just a few other spectators.

I hit the mile mark at 9:36. Maybe a little slower than I was planning. I haven’t really found anyone to pace me. Two of the green-shirted kid runners are ahead of me. One is barely past my knees – he can’t be more than seven or eight. People laugh at the difference in our heights. “Muy alto,” I hear someone say.

I am somewhat thinking, why am I doing this? I am running a little faster than I normally do and I am feeling a little strain. At the two mile mark, I am at 18:50. Doing okay, but still slightly behind the pace I would like. I am storing up a sprint for the end.

While I know the streets I am not certain of the running distances. I want to make a move, but not to soon. Hardly anyone has passed me for awhile so I know I am keeping an okay pace. We run behind the state legislative office building and then along the railroad tracks on a trail that leads us back toward the park. I slowly start to kick it up. I glance at my heart rate monitor for the first time and see I am going at 174 – much higher than I thought. Still, I can’t back off. In the past I have had no kick. I have one now, but I also am for the first time experience some pain – not injury pain, but fatigue pain, the battle between wanting to stop and to press harder. This is the internal battle. Run hard and you won’t regret it later. You can do it. But I’m tired. I really don’t have it in me. It isn’t worth it. No, it is, you can do it, you don’t want to say later you didn’t give your all. I keep it up. I am in need of cheering crowds, but there are only a few people where we round the bend. Still it helps. Just a little farther, they shout, good going. The end is in sight now and I can see the arches and the banner and the timing clock. I see the numbers 28 and then 30. I can do it, I think.







I just have to run faster and then I am sprinting – sprinting rather easily, up the hill and through the arches, hitting the mat in 28:54.



It is amazing how you can run 3.1 miles and be able to guess your time within 6 seconds.

And while I was clearly sucking for air, I ran so easily at the end, I am a little upset I didn’t start to run harder earlier. Still though I had a great time, I had a finishing kick and I sucked the pain up. At the end of a year of running, I am no longer a novice runner.

***

Overall Results

Time: 28:54
Pace: 9:19 Mile

276 out of 705

13 out of 24 within 45-49 Age Group

Top Ten Clydesdales: Finish #8

Gain from 1st 5K in April: 2:20
Difference in Place it would have made: 276th instead of 390th

Gain from Last 5K in June: 0:50
Difference in Place it would have made: 276th instead of 323rd

Reason I had such a high finish place order(for me) comparatively: Better Runners all did Marathon or Half-Marathon

***

WTNH Channel 8 in New Haven did a story on the marathon. Guess who they show crossing the finish line?

Chilly Conditions Make for Perfect Running Weather in Hartford

1/2 Mile Swim

Swam 1/2 mile working on technique. I swam with my paddle gloves, did some kickboard laps -- still very pathetically slow, and also practiced more breathing every third stroke and also bilateral breathing. I think it will be very good to master this as it definately improves your stroke, by making you more balanced.

Rest Day

Another unintentional rest day. I need to better preplan my workouts because life interferes too easily.

3 Mile Run

Did a 3 mile 30 minute run in the neighborhood. I actually have quite an excellent neighborhood to run in with some huge hills if I chose to tackle them.

Rest Day

Worked 8 to 8, which left no time to workout due to darkness and the pool's hours.

12 Mile Bike/ 3/4 Mile Swim/Aqua Bike

Rode 12 miles at work at 12.1 mph. I was up to 12.4 mph halfway and slowly tailed off. Very sweaty afterwards. Fortunately I had a clean shirt to put on.

After work I swam 3/4 of a mile.

I did 1/4 mile of drills, using hand paddles, then kickboard, then working of technique. I am incredibly slow with my kicking.

Then I swam 4 X 100 on two minute intervals. It takes me 1:50 to swim 100 yards. I'd rest ten seconds, then swim another hundred.

I finished up with some regular swimming, including some breathing every third stroke, which is hard. I guess the purpose is it makes your left hand stroke better and also gets you used to carbon dioxide buidup.

Afterwards I tried the aquabike, but had a hard time making all the adjustments to get it to fit right. I'm beginning to think the whole Aqua Crosstraining is sort of not to valuable. Maybe I need to take an aquacycle class to give it a fair trial.

6 Mile Ride

Rode 6 miles at 12.1 mph. Lots of acorns on the road. I'm hoping to run or swim after work.

Rest Day

Worked 16 hours. I was hoping to get a chance to ride the bike, but had none. I don't feel too bad from my 10K run. A little stiff in the morning. That's all.

10K

Ran the West Hartford reservoir 5K course at an easy pace, got to the end, turned around and ran it back to the start.

10K Time: 1:14:58 5K Split - 36:20
Heart Rate: 136

Feel pretty good. That is the longest I have run. I ran it without water. I was drenched with sweat by the end, but felt okay.

The weather was cool, slightly humid.

My heart rate went up to 144 on most inclines, although on one steep one it hit 150.

If I had run this time in the Bradley 10K, I would have come in last, but if this had been a race, I would have run quite a bit faster.

I was most pleased with the ability to keep the heart rate in the 130's.

Lake Compounce Pictures

Got these in the mail today.

1/2 Mile Swim

Swam 1/2 mile in 18 minutes swimming very easy. I actually felt like I was swimming well, gliding, not much kicking. I've gone faster, but this was just to go easy.

My plan was to swim 1/2 mile. bike for 20 minutes on the aquabike, and then run 20 minutes on the water treadmill.

They had a class going so I couldn't get on the bikes. I tried the treadmill using my water sneakers for the first time and the treadmill was stupid. It was like walking on rollers in the water, which is really not any workout at all. Maybe if you were rehabbing and that was all you could do.

Tomorrow i hope to do a long run.

3 Mile Bike

All I had time for at work was a 3 mile bike at 13.2 mph.

No Workout

Unable to fit in a workout today due to work and teaching schedule.

Swim 1/4 Mile

No chance to ride at work. Managed a 1/4 mile swim before swimming with the girls.

Monthly Report

September Highlights

Finished with a great Lake Compounce triathlon, completing the run without having to walk.

Stayed Injury free

Monthly Mileage

Swim - 5 Miles
Bike - 112 Miles
Run - 27 Miles

October Goals

Increase Mileage (6 miles swim, 150 miles - bike, 30 miles run)
Set PR in Oct 13 5K