Yesterday I went to the gym and did my swimming. I did another 500M (22 laps) timed test and did it in 12 minutes. I was really focusing on getting my elbows high in between strokes and finding the rhythm of the hip rotation. After that I swam another 18 laps practicing my breathing. It went well and I am feeling more and more confident about swimming each day.
After the laps I worked on doing some intervals. Swimming as hard as I could I was able to get down and back (2 laps) in 35 seconds. Now this would be awesome if I could swim like this for an entire 500M but at this point my chest would probably explode.
Today I am going to go for a 4-5 mile run. It is pretty darn hot outside so I might have to go back to the dreaded treadmill!
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
Friday, June 5, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Triathlon Training Day 46: 3.1 Mile Run + ARX
I couldn't get out of bed this morning to do my run. I tried but was sleeping so good I just couldn't do it! So, when I got home from work today I planned on running outside but the severe thunderstorms made me go to the gym and hit the treadmill.
I actually had an enjoyable treadmill session today. I had my iPod and the TV in front of me had Hannity interviewing Rush Limbaugh so I was able to read the text as I was running. It was enough to keep my ADHD self from getting bored soI got in a solid 5K.
Being that I am not a Treadmill person I never know what speed to start with. Today I started at 6.6 mph. I did this for about the first mile and realized I could go faster so I bumped the speed up to 7.4 mph. I did this until about 2.4 miles and still was feeling good so I ended up turning it up to 8.0 mph and eventually finished on 8.4 mph. My total time on the treadmill was 26:53 for 3.1 miles. I was feeling really good but had to go home and eat dinner. Instead of doing another mile I went to the back of the gym and did Ab Ripper X. And as usual, kicked the crap out of ARX. Just for fun I did 35 reps on every exercise!
My running is getting much better since I scraped the "run in your aerobic zone technique". The theory behind this was that if I ran within my Aerobic zone (148-155 BPM) that my time would get better and better. So, if I was running 5K in 30:00 minutes in this zone after a couple of months I'd still be in the same zone but my time would be a 24:00 minutes and would keep going down. I tried this for 40 days and did see some time gains. But the gains were too minimal for my liking so now I am just running until it gets uncomfortable and then I will push it even a little more. This aerobic running would be the way to go if I was training for a marathon but I am training for a triathlon, completely different. Time to change my mindset and start bringing it.
I am an athlete and I am in good shape and I'm going to run like that from now on. Screw you "aerobic zone", we are no longer friends. I am leaving you for your much hotter friend "Anaerobic Zone".
Tomorrow is swimming again and I am gong to continue to time myself and do interval laps.
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
I actually had an enjoyable treadmill session today. I had my iPod and the TV in front of me had Hannity interviewing Rush Limbaugh so I was able to read the text as I was running. It was enough to keep my ADHD self from getting bored soI got in a solid 5K.
Being that I am not a Treadmill person I never know what speed to start with. Today I started at 6.6 mph. I did this for about the first mile and realized I could go faster so I bumped the speed up to 7.4 mph. I did this until about 2.4 miles and still was feeling good so I ended up turning it up to 8.0 mph and eventually finished on 8.4 mph. My total time on the treadmill was 26:53 for 3.1 miles. I was feeling really good but had to go home and eat dinner. Instead of doing another mile I went to the back of the gym and did Ab Ripper X. And as usual, kicked the crap out of ARX. Just for fun I did 35 reps on every exercise!
My running is getting much better since I scraped the "run in your aerobic zone technique". The theory behind this was that if I ran within my Aerobic zone (148-155 BPM) that my time would get better and better. So, if I was running 5K in 30:00 minutes in this zone after a couple of months I'd still be in the same zone but my time would be a 24:00 minutes and would keep going down. I tried this for 40 days and did see some time gains. But the gains were too minimal for my liking so now I am just running until it gets uncomfortable and then I will push it even a little more. This aerobic running would be the way to go if I was training for a marathon but I am training for a triathlon, completely different. Time to change my mindset and start bringing it.
I am an athlete and I am in good shape and I'm going to run like that from now on. Screw you "aerobic zone", we are no longer friends. I am leaving you for your much hotter friend "Anaerobic Zone".
Tomorrow is swimming again and I am gong to continue to time myself and do interval laps.
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Triathlon Training Day 45: P90X Core Synergistics
Got home around 8:30PM tonight. I wanted to go for a run but didn't want to do it at night. Lighting in my neighborhood is less than desirable and I am not a big fan of getting run over by an SUV!
I ate a quick turkey sandwich and figured I could go to the gym and run on the dreaded treadmill. Well, it was about 9:15 and I got dressed and started thinking to myself, "How late is the gym opened?" -- I checked the schedule and the answer was 10pm. So, I basically would have had about 25 -30 minutes to stretch and run on the treadmill. Not a real good option. So, Core Synergistics it was and I am glad it worked out that way because this is just a great workout. My obliques are still feeling some soreness! And I forgot how much the Superman-Banana is a butt-kicker!
According to my HRM I burned 385 calories and my HR average was 144 so this was a good aerobic workout. But I still need to get my running in so I'm going to wake up early tomorrow and get in 3-4 miles. Then if I don't have to go deal with some real estate stuff (actually hopeful that I do) then a 15-20 mile cycle is going to happen tomorrow evening. Sort of a day/night doubleheader! With my Tri only 60 days away I want to start pushing myself harder than I have been.
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
I ate a quick turkey sandwich and figured I could go to the gym and run on the dreaded treadmill. Well, it was about 9:15 and I got dressed and started thinking to myself, "How late is the gym opened?" -- I checked the schedule and the answer was 10pm. So, I basically would have had about 25 -30 minutes to stretch and run on the treadmill. Not a real good option. So, Core Synergistics it was and I am glad it worked out that way because this is just a great workout. My obliques are still feeling some soreness! And I forgot how much the Superman-Banana is a butt-kicker!
According to my HRM I burned 385 calories and my HR average was 144 so this was a good aerobic workout. But I still need to get my running in so I'm going to wake up early tomorrow and get in 3-4 miles. Then if I don't have to go deal with some real estate stuff (actually hopeful that I do) then a 15-20 mile cycle is going to happen tomorrow evening. Sort of a day/night doubleheader! With my Tri only 60 days away I want to start pushing myself harder than I have been.
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
Monday, June 1, 2009
Triathlon Training Day 44: Timed Swim and Interval Laps (+ My Goals)
Today I decided to time myself swimming 500 Meters to see how I am doing with my Total Immersion Freestyle technique. I used the lap clock that is on the wall of the pool. And my time was 11:00 minutes flat! I focused on just swimming comfortable and did not try and kill myself. I figured this could be a starting point for me to build on and continue to get better. Overall, I was pretty happy with the time. I then checked the results of last years Triathlon and this time would put me right in the middle of the pack of my age group! After the timed swim I decided to do some Interval swimming. I'd swim one lap very slow. Then the next lap a little more rushed and final the last lap as quick as possible. This really got my heart rate going and I am going to incorporate more of this into my training.
Back to my time today. This got me thinking about what I'd like for my goals to be in the Triathlon. Well, when I first began this little journey of mine my goals were twofold: 1 - Just Finish and have Fun; 2 - When standing at the starting line I want my last thought to be, "I am ready" and not, "I wish I trained more!".
But being that I am stat guy and am pretty confident both of the previous goals are going to be accomplished I am now going to add some time per event goals.
Swimming Goal - 10 minutes - Based upon today's time and the fact that I have never done an open water swim (OWS) this is a solid goal for me. In my age group (30-34) wave last years race had 102 people. So chances are I might be a bit freaked with that many people kicking and slapping around and a bloody nose or foot to the jaw may slow me a few seconds!
Cycling Goal - 49 minutes - This is an average of 17 mph over the 14 mile course. From reading the message boards about the race the cycling conditions are not ideal due to the large amount of participants and narrow bike course. I'd be happy to average 17 mph and hopeful I can avoid the crowds and do better than 49 minutes.
Running Goal - 27 minutes - Running right now is my weakest of the three disciplines. If I can average 9 minute miles after swimming and cycling I will be very pleased. I also believe over the next 60 days running is the sport were I can make my greatest gains.
Transitions - 6 minutes - I have been practicing the transitions in my garage on brick days. However, until I do it for the first time I am not sure what to expect! Six minutes for the two transitions is probably more than what I will need but chances are I will screw something up here!
Total time - 1 hour 32 minutes.
Tomorrow is a Running Day. Gonna try and do it in the morning -- bedtime now!
Back to my time today. This got me thinking about what I'd like for my goals to be in the Triathlon. Well, when I first began this little journey of mine my goals were twofold: 1 - Just Finish and have Fun; 2 - When standing at the starting line I want my last thought to be, "I am ready" and not, "I wish I trained more!".
But being that I am stat guy and am pretty confident both of the previous goals are going to be accomplished I am now going to add some time per event goals.
Swimming Goal - 10 minutes - Based upon today's time and the fact that I have never done an open water swim (OWS) this is a solid goal for me. In my age group (30-34) wave last years race had 102 people. So chances are I might be a bit freaked with that many people kicking and slapping around and a bloody nose or foot to the jaw may slow me a few seconds!
Cycling Goal - 49 minutes - This is an average of 17 mph over the 14 mile course. From reading the message boards about the race the cycling conditions are not ideal due to the large amount of participants and narrow bike course. I'd be happy to average 17 mph and hopeful I can avoid the crowds and do better than 49 minutes.
Running Goal - 27 minutes - Running right now is my weakest of the three disciplines. If I can average 9 minute miles after swimming and cycling I will be very pleased. I also believe over the next 60 days running is the sport were I can make my greatest gains.
Transitions - 6 minutes - I have been practicing the transitions in my garage on brick days. However, until I do it for the first time I am not sure what to expect! Six minutes for the two transitions is probably more than what I will need but chances are I will screw something up here!
Total time - 1 hour 32 minutes.
Tomorrow is a Running Day. Gonna try and do it in the morning -- bedtime now!
Triathlon Training Day 43: 15 Mile Cylce + ARX
Yesterday was a good Sunday. I woke up and had my usual Protein Shake and then it was on the bike before it got too hot outside.
I ended up getting in 15 miles before I had to go home and help Annie with preparations for her baby shower. I had a pretty good ride. The streets were a little busy so I had to slow down and stop a few times but other than that a good workout was had! I averaged about 18 mph - a little less than what I want but my track is not the most ideal.
Today is swimming. I am confident about my ability to swim the 500 meters, now I need to work on getting a faster with my Total Immersion technique. So for the next few swim days I am going to work on quickening my freestyle stroke.
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
I ended up getting in 15 miles before I had to go home and help Annie with preparations for her baby shower. I had a pretty good ride. The streets were a little busy so I had to slow down and stop a few times but other than that a good workout was had! I averaged about 18 mph - a little less than what I want but my track is not the most ideal.
Today is swimming. I am confident about my ability to swim the 500 meters, now I need to work on getting a faster with my Total Immersion technique. So for the next few swim days I am going to work on quickening my freestyle stroke.
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
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