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Chronicles of a fish: the days of surf and turf
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Our night out cancelled. Bloody kids both riddled with chickenpox, wife asleep on couch but every time I switch over from Gary Barlow in concert she wakes up and tells me to put it back on :rolleyes:
Hence I might as well log in and see what's going on in Virginia - training as per usual - you put me to shame
Hope 2014 goes well for you, we are all expecting great things from you!0 -
This session was actually scheduled for tomorrow night (Tuesday), but because I have not received my running orders yet <waves to coach
>, and because I've got social commitments tomorrow evening which will make any training just about impossible, I decided to move this to tonight.
Sack the coach :pac:
Wishing you a happy and successful new year (even more so than 2013
) 0 -
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NEW YEAR'S DAY, 2014!!!! :eek:
Run plan: 7 miles easy
Because the clinic is closed today, it was a hard decision to choose between doing this run or grabbing the opportunity to get a decent bike ride in....but I feel my running has slipped as of late, so running it was. And I'm glad I ran because what started out as a struggle of labored breathing and forced/choppy technique for the first few miles turned out in the end to be a relaxed and fluid jaunt on the happy sunshiney streets of my little town.
For the morning after New Year's Eve and all that comes with it, I was surprised to see as many folks out as I did this morning, but it was nice to be greeted by friendly faces, which brought a smile to mine....however, the biggest smile was at the hand of the Tutt brothers' holiday lawn frenzy. As I have written previously in this log, the Tutt brothers live on Main Street and each year have a battle to see who can cram the most holiday cheer on their lawn, fence, roof, deck and house. It's simply amazing. And I am basically blinded by the light that is cast from their properties each time I run by at night (not to mention the heat I can feel and faint buzz I can hear), but it's a real hoot for me. Well, today must've been the first time all holiday that I've run by their houses in the daylight, and I got so tickled at the sight of the dozens (yes, dozens) of blow-up lawn ornaments laying lifeless and strewn about, sort of like what the losing battlefield in a Disney animation Christmas tragedy might look like. Quite a sight, I tell ya.
I ran with my HR monitor on - trying my best to run to HR, especially on these easy runs - but I let it creep up there a bit. I figure my max easy HR should be in the neighborhood of the low 150s, and my average on this run was 154. In my defense, the streets of my little town are pretty hilly. I did, however, try to ease up the hills, but I guess I just didn't ease up them enough. Still, I'm happy with the overall "everything" of this run.
Happy New Year everyone!!! May all your dreams come true in 2014!
Actual: 8.7 miles in 1:12:41 for an average pace of 8:21 min/mile with an average HR of 154 bpm and a max HR of 166 bpm0 -
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Kurt Godel wrote: »It's New Years Day, and still no mention of Santa's Swim Bubble? I'm confused, I thought you were a good girl with a heap of pb's last year???
Time to get creative... two of these, sewn back to back, and a gas heater.
And this is why I chose you to be on the stranded island with me! Brilliant!!!:) 0 -
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shotgunmcos wrote: »Hey Happy New Year Sweetie, any chance you will be taking part in the SBR this year? Or will I just tot up the totals from your detailed log each month and post to keep RC honest?
Happy New Year Dah-ling. I'm actually considering being part of the "in" crowd again this year if you'll have me back. I'll take a look tonight at your SBR rules and regs to see if I fit into your demographics and minimum standards. xo 0 -
Happy New Year Dah-ling. I'm actually considering being part of the "in" crowd again this year if you'll have me back. I'll take a look tonight at your SBR rules and regs to see if I fit into your demographics and minimum standards. xo
I'll sponsor a bottle of champagne for the overall swim prime 0 -
Thursday, January 2nd, 2014
Bike plan:
5 minutes easy
5 x (30 sec build, 30 sec easy)
4 x (10 min threshold w/cadence > 90 rpm, 5 min easy)
5 minutes easy
I didn't have my contacts in tonight <ugh!> so this was done all bleary eyed, and it was a bit of a pain in the arse having to squint to see what the heck my HR stats were in real time. 3s looked like 8s......5s looked like 6s.
<ugh!> Like I said, a real pain in the arse.
But, after making the decision to commit to this sans contacts (briefly thought about running upstairs and popping them in) off I went....sort of sluggishly at first. The first set began after only 10 minutes on the trainer, which is 5 minutes sooner than the previous sessions I've done. I have no idea if this contributed to my misery in the first set, but my thighs were protesting and I was hating life. I also had to adjust my cadence because I was trying to revert to my mashing ways, and I realized early on that 1) I was not meeting my target of >90 rpm, and 2) there was no way I was going to sustain the resistance I was subjecting myself to for 10 minutes. So, into an "easier" gear I shifted....but the demons were trying to come a knocking. I seriously considered caving in the very first set.....I seriously considered aborting this session (which just doesn't happen to me very often) because I didn't feel I had "it" in me tonight to hit the threshold HR target of 161-178....but then I figured I'd just keep trying and if I didn't hit it, then I didn't hit it.
Long story short, I felt stronger and stronger and tougher and tougher as the session went on.....and I heard the voice of an Olympic speed skating commentator from yesterday's trials remarking about the "courage" of one of the skaters who had started disappointingly slower than he is capable of, but he kept at it, kept grinding it out, he didn't give up even though he certainly knew he would fall short of his overall potential. I drew strength and inspiration from that, and I kept going. Seems silly writing this when I was merely on my trainer in my basement and not on an Olympic sheet of ice, but perhaps that's one of the super awesome things about the Olympics - the positive effect it can have on us mere mortals.
Stats stated as 10 min threshold avg HR/max HR...5 min easy avg HR/max HR:
#1 - 153/161...139/160
#2 - 157/161...138/160
#3 - 162/166...142/164
#4 - 161/166...137/164
Actual: as per above, 23.93 miles in 1:15:00 with an average HR of 145 and max HR of 1660 -
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Friday, January 3rd, 2014
Run plan: 5 miles easy, am.....5 miles easy, pm
Do you remember how your mom always told you when you were a kid that you had to wait at least 30 minutes after eating before you could go swimming?? Well, you need to at least double that number when it comes to eating and running!!
Due to the snowstorm we had last night, this was 6 miles on the treadmill over lunch, and 4 miles on the treadmill after dinner out with friends.
Actual: 6 sneaky lunchtime miles, and 4 nauseated post-dinner-with-friends miles...all on the t(h)readmill due to dangerously slippy-icy-snowy streets 0 -
Saturday, January 4th, 2014
Bike plan:
20 minutes easy
10 x (1 min high cadence, 1 min easy) HC > 100 rpm
3 x (15 min tempo, 5 min easy)
3 x (10 min threshold, 10 min easy)
10 x (15 sec sprint, 45 sec easy)
10 minutes easy
Run plan:
5 minutes steady
10 minutes easy
This was supposed to be a brick session outdoors (and the bike plan was different than the one posted above because it was supposed to be done outdoors), but due to the fact that I don't ride a bike on ice, I opted to do this one on the trainer with adjustments from my "coach".
Because I knew this was going to be long and grueling, I made a conscious effort to keep the tempo set HR somewhere around 150, and I was quite comfortable there. No issues with the three tempo sets other than the boredom factor of going 15 minutes without a change in what I was doing while on the trainer. Variety is certainly more stimulating.
Tempo set stats, stated as avg HR/max HR (tempo zone is 142-160):
#1 - 144/148
#2 - 147/151
#3 - 147/152
By the time I got to the threshold sets I had gone an hour and 40 minutes, so the legs were definitely feeling the strain. The first set was a bit of a struggle to get to my threshold zone, and starting out at the lower end of "easy" and having to build into threshold can make 10 minutes feel so short. Head down, eyes closed, music blasting, and I felt like just hitting the bottom of the zone was a success. The second set was a little better as I hit the 161 mark earlier than I did on the first set, and once I hit the 161/162 mark I was able to stay there for the remainder of the set. The third set....well, when I was three minutes into the third set and was stuck on a HR of 156, I rolled my eyes and said to myself, "f****ck, just let the thighs explode," and I commenced to throw the kitchen sink at it. I was delighted when I saw that I had hit a max HR of 165, but am actually quite surprised my avg HR was only 159. ???? Oh well. ???? Perhaps it was the distraction of a well-intentioned individual forwarding me twitter feeds of maps showing countries that don't use the metric system that caused me to fall a bit short on that last set. Or perhaps I just hit the high notes a little too late after starting out too low in the "easy".
Threshold set stats, stated as avg HR/max HR (threshold zone is 161-178):
#1 - 156/161
#2 - 159/162
#3 - 159/165
Actual: 52.01 miles in 3:00:20 with an avg HR of 138 and max HR of 165
Immediately off the trainer, into my running shoes, and on the treadmill I went. Good god the legs felt like they were made of cement. :eek: I realized once I got going that I could not remember what I was supposed to do. Did the plan say 5 minutes steady and 10 minutes easy? Or was it 10 minutes steady and 5 minutes easy? Ugh, so I decided to make the first 5 minutes building, the next 5 minutes at 8 min/mile, and the last 5 minutes very easy at 10 min/mile. In the first few minutes on the treadie I was afraid my legs were thinking about cramping - memories of Boston last year - but I kept my body relaxed and fluid and the feeling went away. And once I got going, the body didn't protest too much to be trotting away....however I kept wondering what my mental outlook will be when I'm facing having to run 13.1 miles at this stage in the HIM.
Very glad this session is behind me. Very glad!!!!
Actual: 1.69 miles in 15 minutes0 -
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Kurt Godel wrote: »Put the heater in your pool, voila!
All expenses paid holiday to Dory's domain if you can hook me up!!!:DI disagree, you wont lose much at all and i bet you will surprise yourself running up hills some day i reckon the cycling improves that aspect of running.
Take a look at your log yesterday after the cycling session, your legs were always going to be tired today, I always found my best running days were after a rest day or a swim session during training plans
I have certainly been hoping that cycling would be kind to my running...and hoping that upping my bike cadence would also up my run turnover. In fact, when I was on the treadie today I just very nonchalantly kept tellng myself that it was common knowledge that increasing run speed would not require additional effort, it only had to do with upping my turnover. The trick worked for a while. 0 -
With all this pool chit-chat by Kurt, I've gone ahead and scheduled the pool opening for 12 weeks and 2 days from now. Whoop whoop!!! That will give me ~8/9 weeks before Eagleman, which isn't much time but I'm hoping it will be enough. I'm thinking a lovely morning dip before work each day to wake me up might be nice...... 0
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With all this pool chit-chat by Kurt, I've gone ahead and scheduled the pool opening for 12 weeks and 2 days from now. Whoop whoop!!! That will give me ~8/9 weeks before Eagleman, which isn't much time but I'm hoping it will be enough. I'm thinking a lovely morning dip before work each day to wake me up might be nice......
12 weeks? I presume Eagleman is a wetsuit swim? Can we get a stampede of well-intentioned chit-chatters in here to back me up, we can bring that 12 week target right down... March has a nice ring to it;)0 -
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Kurt Godel wrote: »12 weeks? I presume Eagleman is a wetsuit swim? Can we get a stampede of well-intentioned chit-chatters in here to back me up, we can bring that 12 week target right down... March has a nice ring to it;)
Ha!
Yes, Eagleman should be a wetsuit swim, unless there is a herd of spectators on little bikes generating energy to heat the body of water I'm swimming in.
And, March?? Yikes! I'm already pushing things by opening it on April 2nd! :eek::)0 -
patchy ice and snow littering the streets that is making my training life a living hell. :rolleyes: (seeking sunshine very soon!!!)
....I can tell I've lost some of my, eh hem, running finesse..
I hear ya ! We're looking at 8F again tomorrow
. I cannot remember what the outside world looked like.
Running finesse ? Eh ... whatever that is.... it will return very quickly when you need it. It's just a question of some sharpening up at the right time. It didn't just leg it out the back door when you weren't looking.:)0 -
Monday, January 6th, 2014
Run plan: 4 miles easy
Holysweetmotherofjesus it's chilly outside!!! 14 degrees Fahrenheit (that's -10 degrees Celsius to you conversion-challenged folks) with howling wind....and this is as warm as it will be for the next 24 hours!!! :eek: Needless to say, this was done in the greater indoors. Not much elaboration needed....just a simple trot in shorts and a t-shirt while I dreamed of warm, sunny days.
Actual: 4 easy miles on the treadie while daydreaming of palm trees and cold, slushy drinks that sport those cute little colorful (colourful?) umbrellas0 -
Tuesday, January 7th, 2013
Bike plan:
5 minutes easy
4 x (1 min high cadence, 30 sec easy)
4 x (30 sec build, 30 sec easy)
10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1 minutes with half recovery, increasing intensity as duration decreases
5 minutes easy
My thighs are still feeling Saturday's crazy 3 hour trainer session, specifically my quads, which probably means I am only adding girth to my currently expanding cycling thunder thighs. :eek::rolleyes: But, add that girth I must, I suppose , and I will have to say that once the legs got all warmed up tonight, they played ball.
The main set was left for me to decide intensity, so I decided to keep the 10-8-6 in the tempo zone, and to push the 4-2-1 into the threshold zone as best I could with the time allowed. I noticed that my speed was up a bit tonight (yay!), so my fingers are crossed that I am actually becoming a stronger cyclist and not just a crap cyclist with gams parading as a stronger cyclist.
Stats as tempo/threshold avg HR/max HR..and recovery avg HR/max HR:
10 mins - 144/149
5 mins - 134/142
8 mins - 147/150
4 mins - 133/148
6 mins - 152/155
3 mins - 136/154
4 mins - 156/160
2 mins -143/158
2 mins - 155/164
1 min -156/164
1 min - 155/162
Actual: as above, 20.92 miles in 1:06:08 with an average HR of 139 and max HR of 1640 -
Wednesday, January 8th, 2014
Run plan: 4 miles easy, am.....7 miles steady, pm
We are still in the deep freeze here so once again my treadmill and I are getting to know each other really well. Thank god for options when you need them.
I did the 4 miles easy sneaky-lunchtime-style, and this felt amazing. Slow, yes...but the legs felt in good shape and I had loads of energy. This was a joy.
I did the post-work 7 miles steady at a pace of 8 min/mile with my trusty treadie on a 1% incline. I kept things all loosey-goosey and this felt pretty easy-sleezy. To prolong the love and pass the time while I rocked out, I played a game where I would not allow myself to look down at the mileage until "x" number of songs had played...but I kept losing count of the songs, so I'd just agree to hold off looking until two more songs had played....but I'd even lose count with just two songs and I'd get so confused and eventually just said to hell with the song counting and started looking at the digital clock sitting on the table, which sort of defeated the whole purpose of not looking down at the mileage. But I did...and then I started doing the math, and started estimating how many miles I had done based on what time the clock said, the pace I was trotting, and the estimated time I started the session....which then led to another game of estimating the approximate time I'd be done with this session, but restricting how often I'd allow myself to look at the clock based once again on a specific number of songs played...but yet again, I lost count of songs...and then I accidentally looked down at the mileage and, BOOM! Game over. Mileage was 5.74 miles. And the last 1.26 miles seemed to drag on forever after that.
Actual: 4 easy treadie miles, am......7 very busy treadie miles at 8 min/mile, pm0 -
Thursday, January 9th, 2014
Bike plan:
5 minutes easy
5 x (30 sec build, 30 sec easy)
3 x (15 min threshold w/cadence > 90 rpm, 5 min easy)
5 minutes easy
Trust me, there is a very big difference in a 10 min threshold set and a 15 minute threshold set. :eek: Omg, this was tough. And perhaps I need to do a little stretching before I start these trainer sessions because I am finding my thighs really fight this for the first 15+ minutes.
The first set started out kind of slow - I was trying to spin, spin, spin while willing my HR to go into the 161-178 threshold zone, but I had to up the gear while still spinning at >90 rpm to finally get into the proper zone. The next set was better - I hit z4 around the 6 minute mark and was able to hold the HR where it needed to be for the remainder of that set. The third set was the toughest. The legs were spent, and I had to dip into my bag of tricks big time to even get into z4 before the 6 minute mark (competing with set 2!) - tricks included closing the eyes while hanging the head and pulsing to the music, telling myself that "they are only thighs", and pretending that qualifying for any big event would hang on the success of this set. I managed to get to 161 just before 6 minutes had ticked by, but try as I might, I just couldn't get it much higher after that...however the silver lining is the HR stayed pretty steady from that point on.
Stats....15 minute threshold set avg HR/max HR...5 minute easy set avg HR/max HR:
#1 - 156/164...130/161
#2 - 159/164...140/162
#3 - 158/162...133/162
Actual: as above, 24 miles in 1:15:12 with an average HR of 146 and a max HR of 164
I followed this with some stretching and foam rolling. I've never foam rolled before, and I felt like a total dolt while doing this. Even Norris the house kitty was shaking his head at my lack of ease with this new training implement. And good god did it hurt while rolling the front, side and interior of my ever increasing ginormous thighs. :eek: Which begs the question: why is the lady in the booklet who is demonstrating how to foam roll smiling and looking so happy??? 0 -
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Saturday, January 11th, 2013
Run plan: 12 miles easy
Today was actually supposed to be a proper bike ride, but due to the weather I decided to make the executive decision to swap today and tomorrow around.
It's been way too long since I've actually done a proper run as I've been giving my treadmill a lot of love because of the ice, snow and freezing cold temps we've been experiencing for the last few weeks. I was sort of looking forward to this run, even though it was supposed to rain, but I wanted to let the body and legs do their thing in the freedom of the out of doors. Unfortunately, the legs screamed bloody murder before I even made my way out of the clinic parking lot, and they really never felt the joy of this run. This was not my finest 12 miles. In fact, this 12 miles was pretty poor....which has got me a bit worried about how far I've gone back in running....but hoping with my fingers crossed that today was just an optical illusion due to the cummulative effect of some pretty intense trainer sessions the past 6 days.
Oh, and I think my HR monitor thingy died. It seemed pretty accurate until mile 8 or 9, at which point it started showing a HR of 85. Ha! I wish. Prior to that I was probably averaging ~155ish, which is the upper end of acceptable for me and for the hills I was chugging up. The last 2 miles of this run, however, were the most miserable - the wind kicked up, and I honestly did not fight it. I reasoned that this was supposed to be easy, so easy I made it. But I was slow as molasses in January. But on a positive note, the worst of the rain waited to begin until shortly after I was back in the house post run. And it is coming down like mad.
Actual: 12.2 miles in 1:45:14 for an average pace of 8:38 min/mile*
* I will not bother to post the HR data in bold due to it's inaccuracy - but the watch shows avg HR of 127 (wrong!) and max HR of 163 (right!).0
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