nice and easy

I’m still taking it easy, trying to fend off a cold. I swam 1500 this morning as:
2 x 250
5 x 100
10 x 50
I ran for 30 minutes during lunch at 158 average heart rate. I think I’m gonna take tomorrow off. I’m feeling crummy and I need some rest before a big week at work next week.
I’ve become addicted to TWITTER since getting my new iphone.

I’m sure I’ll be twittering all sorts of instant updates from my bike rides in the coming months, complete with pictures. Very cool technology.

Catching up

Sorry, no new posts lately. Busy Busy.

Here’s what the last few days have looked like on the training front:
Sat: 2 hour ride at 149 average HR
Sun: rest
Mon: Run 30 minutes (30/30/60 x4) workout with fast portions at 6:15 pace / ez portions at 8:30 pace.
Tues: Swim 2000 (1500 straight time trial in 22:03)

I love that 30/30/60 workout. This time I warmed up for 5 minutes then went into 4 repeats of that sequence. Do it like this:
30 sec FAST
30 sec Easy
60 sec FAST
2:00 Easy
repeat the sequence as many time as appropriate for the time of year. Right now that was 4 times for me.
I was pretty pleased with that 22:03 considering its only February. I wasn’t sure if I could even make it 1500 without stopping so I went at a very moderate pace. I probably could have taken :30-1:00 off of that time. My goal by June is to swim 1500 in 20:00 or less.

Thank you STUFFITTS! New racing sponsor

I finalized a new sponsorship for the season yesterday with a cool product called “Stuffitts“. I’ve been using them for about 6 months now and am a big believer in the product. Here’s a blurb from the stuffitts site:
Moisture is your shoes’ worst enemy – making them wet and smelly. Simply place these soft, foot-shaped forms in your shoes after work or work-outs to eliminate wetness. The pure cedar filling starts absorbing moisture in minutes and renews your shoes. Use them every day to keep your shoes in work-ready, race-ready, every day life-ready condition!

Here I am on their “sponsored athletes page (you might have to click on “sponsored athletes). That’s some pretty fast company there so I’m very honored to be a part of that team.

Stuffitts joins my long term sponsors!
Cambell Station Chiropractic
and
Franklin/Nashville Bicycle Co.

I’m enjoying a nice reduced training week. I’m chomping at the bit to start training hard again next week though. That’s the way an easy week is supposed to make you feel.

A good run,some tunes, and a quote

I had a nice comfortable 45 minute run on the treadmill out in the garage this morning. Average HR was 157 (low zone 2). I averaged a 7:45 which is still slow, but it felt very comfortable (ala zone 2 the whole way). The goal is to get back a 6:15 pace for 5k and a 6:45 for 10k by summer. It’ll happen; I can feel it already. I’m training with a chip on my shoulder these days, so I’m trying to restrain that energy until I’m fit enough to unleash my anger on my own training schedule and eventually in races.
I had a great shuffle going this morning on my old school nano. Among the highlights were: Blaze of Glory by Bon Jovi, Satin in a Coffin by Modest Mouse, New Year’s Day by u2, and If You Fear Dying (Then You’re Already Dead) by One Day as a Lion.
While reading tonight I came across a passage I like, and I can identify with these days, in “Every Second Counts” by Lance Armstrong. Enjoy:
“Suffering, I was beginning to think, was essential to a good life, and as inextricable from such a life as bliss. It’s a great enhancer. It might last a minute, or a month, but eventually it subsides, and when it does, something else takes its place, and maybe that thing is a greater space. For happiness. Each time I encountered suffering, I believed that I grew, and further defined my capacities – not just my physical ones, but my interior ones as well, for contentment, friendship, or any other human experience. The real reward for pain is this: self knowledge”

Well, that’s one way to get out of a workout: Frozen caveman

This morning I went to the ISC to get in 1500-2000 yards. I did a 400 yard time trial in 5:25. Just as I finished up 900 yards the facility sirens went off. Staff members scrambled telling everyone to get out…including those of us in the pool. I grabbed my towel and headed for the doors. I stepped out into the grey morning to the stark realization that I was dripping wet, naked except for my tri shorts and a towel, and barefooted – as were the rest of the swimmers. It was 24 degrees. They kept us out there for about 15 minutes. A kind triatlete in Ironman gear eventually handed me a jacket. Others followed his lead and started pulling clothing and shoes from their bags to give to other shivering swimmers. Well, that’s one way to get out of a workout.
Yesterday I went and ran with Bruce C. We did a total of 30 minutes as follows:
5 min warmup
30 sec fast/30 sec ez/ 60 sec fast / 120 sec. ez – repeat x 4
8 min cool down
Average HR was 171. The fast portions were at 6:30 pace / ez portions at 8:00 pace

Here are some new pics: (sorry, some are blurry for some reason)

Izzy on awards day at gymnastics

Kate’s first pair of blue jeans

Max “out of pocket” feels better

little sister is happy to have brother home

Some pics from last Saturday’s ride

Sorry for the delay in posting last weekends ride pics. These are from a 2:30 long ride through Theta and Leipers Fork.

The base of the Les Robinson climb into Theta

a little less than half way up the same climb

following Brett down one of the slower descents out of Theta

As for today; I ran 45 minutes this morning at 159 average HR. I’m getting stir crazy doing all of this easy base training. I’m ready to RUN and stop jogging!

Bonus picture! Spidergirl at the kitchen table apparently working on her pre-K workbook. She sat this way for about an hour.

one from the Archives

Hey Gang,
Sorry no new posts lately. Max was in the hospital again last weekend, so things have been crazy. Izzy went to Columbia to stay and Kate went to Hendersonville. Karen and spent days (and nights) at Vanderbilt with Max. He’s okay now and we’ll soon have both of our girls home as well. I did manage to train some, but that’s inconsiquential.
Here’s an old post from my other blog that I came across. I like it, so I’ll share it again (is it weird to quote yourself?):

“You gotta have confidence. The question is, what are you putting your confidence in: your own ability? And what do you believe about your ability? Do you believe you’ve done something to deserve it? Or is it a gift? I believe I have a gift from God. But then I also have to train really, really hard. So I see it as being a good steward of the gift God’s given me…it’s my obligation to God to develop this talent the best I can. So, I try and make that my focus rather than wanting to beat people. Not that it’s not fun to win, because it is…I think part of it too is just being content with whatever the Lord has for my life.”
-Ryan Hall as told to Runners World magazine

Good stuff, Ryan. I agree 100%. Although I’m not personally anywhere close to Ryan’s ability I feel the same way when I don’t want to get out of bed at 5:00 am on Saturday and Sunday mornings to ride or run. That little voice in my head telling me to get up is my gift. All of us have our own gift. Make sure you’re true to yours.

I’m a little under the weather from the stress we’ve been through lately – and I probably have whatever put Max in Vanderbilt. I’m motivated by reading my old training blog though. I’m capable of kicking some butt when I train. If you’re interested in those old blogs you can find them on Topstepfitness.com under “TS Blog” and “TS Blog Archive”.

I run for 30 minutes this morning at a 145 average HR then swam 1500 as 500 swim / 5 x 100 swim / 10 x 50 swim. I cut back my distances this week because I realize that external stress and a building training schedule don’t mix. I’m hoping to ditch the stress and the illness soon so I can “train like a madman” soon.

The story of the tortoise and the ….fish?

Thursday morning I cranked out another 2500 yards. I’m logging more yardage in the pool these days than I have since the summer of 2006. I used to overtrain my swim. Once I realized that I went the opposite direction and started only logging 1000-3000 yards in an entire month! I put 13,000+ yards in the pool in January and will exceed that this month. Swimming is the single sport of the three that I’m the most “naturally talented” in. I still don’t feel like I need to log endless yards in order to be among the top 5% swimmers at most races, but I do feel like it’s a good way to rebuild a base early in the season.
Now, for the story of the tortoise (weird word). I stopped training by heart rate a few years ago and decided to keep it old school by training by “feel” instead. Awhile back I had my VO2 max tested and my training zones set for me by my late friend Jon and his business partner Barry. This season I decided I would get back to letting science dictate my training. The early base building season is best suited for easy zone 1 and 2 training. For me, that means keeping my heart rate under 155 beats per minute on the run (and 142 on the bike). When I first started wearing the monitor again I soon realized that most of my running is done in the mid to high 160s…often in the 170s. Those heart rates don’t feel that difficult, but the simple truth is that for the early season it’s just too fast. You have to build an aerobic base to build your speed upon later. Today I had a 60 minute run to get in. I decided I would keep my heart rate in zone 2. Unfortunately that meant running a 9:25 pace the entire way. Trust me, it wasn’t easy. I would have rather run a 7:00 pace the entire. It’s just tough to run that slow when you’re not used to it. My race pace is still 6:15 or so, but for now on my “long” runs I’ll be a slave to my monitor and keep it slow…real slow…like a turtle…or a tortoise.

Hello Zone 4 plus some summer music in the dead of winter.

I was scheduled to only lift weights today, but I woke up a bit too early this morning. Since I was up I decided to go ahead and knock out tomorrow’s scheduled 30 minute run, so that I can focus on a good quality swim tomorrow.

I decided to go and run on Bill’s treadmill. I’m paying more attention to my heart rate zones this season as I’m hoping to have a good year. Here’s what I did (all at 1% incline):

10 minutes at 8:30 pace
5 minutes at 7:00 pace
5 minutes at 8:30 pace
5 minutes at 7:00 pace
5 minutes at 9:00 pace

During that second 5 minutes at 7:00 I hit 186 heart rate. That’s zone 4 (of 5) for me while running. I reached zone 4 while doing a bike time trial a couple of weeks ago, but this marks my first time this season in zone 4 while running. Honestly, it’s a little too soon for zone 4 and 5 training, so I need to back it down a bit. I was a little disappointed that I hit 186 while running what used to be an easy 7:00 pace. I should be running 6:00 pace in high zone 4 by late spring.

Tomorrow I’m scheduled for 2500 in the pool. Friday I’ll run 1:00-1:15. My plan is to stay zone 2 throughout (146-155bpm).

Off of the training subject, I’ve been listening the song “Isabelle” repeatedly lately. Great song by a great Charleston, SC band – The Blue Dogs. Check ‘um out.

Silversun Pickups new album plus a nice swim

I love the Silversun Pickups. They remind of everything that used to be pure and innocent about the Smashing Pumpkins in the beginning. Their latest critically acclaimed album Carnavas is everywhere and deservedly so. It rocks.

My buddy BT forwarded this article to me today though. I gotta be honest, at first I thought “yes! a new album!”, but then I thought more about what the article had to say. It sounds like the gang are planning to go big and try some new things – things that sound like the downfall of the Smashing Pumpkins. For a follow up album I’d rather they opt for the safe route and record some more songs that sound like Carnavas. Let’s hope the new one doesn’t “jump the shark”.

For now, here’s one of the early gems to enjoy:
CLICK ME
Want more?
CLICK HERE for their hit single.

I cranked out 2500 yards in the pool this morning with no ill effects. I’m rounding back into swim shape nicely.

Weekend training and another funeral

Sunrise in Spring Hill prior to a cold Saturday ride

It was a nice weekend for being on the bike – 60 degrees temps in February. Brett and I took advantage of the temps on Saturday by riding mid-day. We went just shy of 2 hours at a 15mph average. My average HR was 142. It’s funny how the body can forgot what going 2 plus hours feels like. I’ve done plenty of 4-8 hour rides, but this time of year your body feels like it’s been 4-8 when it’s only been 2. I’ll get there eventually.

Sunday we went at sunrise so we didn’t get to enjoy the 65 degree weather. Instead it was 34. We only went for an hour though. Later in the day I was able to sneak out for a 30 minute run in the nice weather. I pushed a little on this run and averaged 169 on the heart rate monitor. That’s still below lactate threshold.

It’s been a trying few months. As most of you know Karen, Max, and Kate spent months in the hospital. I also buried a friend a few weeks ago – much too young. Yesterday we attended the funeral of a 6 year old girl. Somehow I’ve managed not to shed a single tear through everything we’ve been through. I’ve bit my lip and managed. When Karen and I walked into the funeral on Sunday afternoon I looked at all of the pictures of the little girl and lost it. I ran outside and around the building so that no one would see me “coming apart.”  For some reason, that was the moment when I finally broke down. It didn’t last long. This little girl was very sick and is much better off in heaven where she has a new body and can be with God.

I gave my kids a big hug when we got home. Here are some new pics!

Izzy in a new outfit

Max watching the superbowl

Kate’s version of “enjoying the superbowl”

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