Breathing.

I had mortgage issues all week.  It's been so stressful - I feel as though I need to concentrate to breath out.  Good thing I had my favorite swim workout scheduled today - It's all about breathing.  After my normal warmup: 2x50 fast; 100 - breath every 6 strokes (ugh); 2x50 fast; 200 - breath every 5 strokes (ugggh); 2x50 fast; 300 - breath every 4 strokes (uggh ok that one wasn't so bad).  The 100 and 200 were really hard - but wonderfully so the way only a really hard workout can be.  Swimming is a great way for runners to improve v02max - and the breadth every 6 and 5 strokes - works the breathing like none-other.

Long Run?

I work up early this morning to do something novel - a long run with people.  Instead of my normal 1/2-day long - this was done at 7am - bright and early.  It was a bear.  I was told 7-8 miles - turned into 11.6.  It was slow, and I really had no problem with it.  I guess the marathon training really does stay with you for a few months.  For the week - very well rounded: 1 strength session; 1 hill workout; 1 swim; 1 long run - and oh, yeah - a 25 minute bike ride from the auto mechanic home.  Pretty much covered all the bases this week. Also, some cleanse benifit - weight is down near an all time low of 153 this morning (post long run) - probably bopping around the 154-155 range.  Lets see if I can keep it there a while.

Week 12 Update.

So I managed to bike in Tuesday, and then did a sloppy long 'tempo' Wednesday - the area got 2 inches of rain, I think I ran during a good inch of that.  Truth be told it wasn't that bad.  Larry dragged me out and pushed me the whole way.  I laid of the gas because I think I have a low-grade cold.   We did the first 5 in 43 minutes and the second 5 in 42 minutes - Larry could have easily done 40 for the second 5.  I wished I could have went faster - but didn't want to weaken my immune system too much.  Today I did the normal 1300 in the pool.  I'm pretty convinced the pool is great therapy.  Helps the muscles, helps the head cold.  I felt great - although it's a sneaky workout for burning calories - because now I feel like going to sleep.  Tomorrow - 13 or 14 miles - and week 12'll be a wrap ('cept for the strength workout).  Hopefully I'll feel better next week - but I'm pleased to have (mostly) gotten through this week without having to miss any days.

10 Weeks in and Still Going.

Some good news - I did 10 miles today at a sub 8:00 min/mile pace - and my calf/ankle felt fine the entire time.   Weather was still not perfect - but starting to feel much more fall like.  I did the normal loop around work twice  - both with Larry - and it felt like we were running hard the whole time.  This counts as a 'long tempo'.  Larry mentioned that it was probably 10.2 or more - which would put the pace in the 7:45 range.  It's definately an improvement over recent 'long' runs.  Friday I can 'relax' with a 12 miler - easy pace.

Yesterday I did the pool work at UCAP and Monday I sandbagged the intervals a little - since I'm still worried about the calf muscle.  I did the sneakers mile at about a 7:20 pace and then ran up the bitch - so it wasn't totally without intervals - but I just didn't want to push things.  I'd rather get the 10 and 12 in safely.  The swimming seems to be helping.

Week 9 Long Run.

I did my long run today.  16 miles - brutal.  2 hour 30 minutes.  My main goal was to keep my achillies from having issues, so, in addition to doing 2 swims this week instead of a mid-week run, I decided on a 4 minutes run; 1 minute walk strategy for the long run.  My  reasoning is that, if I'm going to miss a run, I'd rather not miss the long run - however I didn't want to push my luck.  I did the run/walk thing for the first 9 or 10 miles, then I tried running for 10-15 minutes at a time because I did want my legs to get tired (it is, after all, the 'long run').  The last half-hour felt pretty horrible.  The good news is the legs, though tired - did pretty well.  No stabbing pain the the achillies.  And that's probably the longest run I've done in almost 2 years - so that's good.  Hopefully the achillies will respond well to another few days of rest and I can get a good run in on Monday.  Next Wednesday and Friday I need to do runs of 10 and 12 miles - so I can do those at work.

Achillies.

I signed up for the UCAP pool yesterday and did 1300 in about 34 minutes.  That was the alternative to my 12x400 which I ditched because of lingering achillies tendon pain.  I'm hoping to do another swim and then try the 16 miler on Friday.  I may do the 4 minutes on 1 minute off plan.  At a moderate pace (8 min/miles while running) - I can still belt out 9 minute miles.  That'd put me a little over 2:20.  Hopefully the walk/run will let me train through the injury.  That, and heavy doses of ice and ibuprofen.

High Tide Workout.

Yesterday, in a time crunch, I skipped the UCAP pool thinking it'd be quicker to run down to the beach for a quick swim.  12 minutes down, 17 in the water, 13 back up.  The thing is, the water was weird.  I didn't notice it right away, but it was very brown for ocean water.  High tide effect?  Toxic sludge?  Feeling the need to get the workout done - I stayed in and swam - but a weird feeling to be sure.  What happened to my beautiful swims this year?  Anyway, as the topper I biked home ~9 miles after work.  Felt good - but sweltery.  So the day ended up being a good cross-training day.

Tempo run Wednesday.  5 miles total (40 minutes).  Did the middle 3 miles ~7:20 pace.  Again, very hot and humid and hard.  A good workout - although I'm lacking on the 'long' tempo runs.  The training plan is going pretty well, but I am starting to feel like my mileage is way down.  I may do a 1/2 next weekend to 'test my fitness'.  I haven't run a race since May (???) - so a tune-up would probably be a good plan.  Hopefully I can get to a consistent bike/swim/weights every week (2 of 3 probably more realistic).  Although I feel the mileage is lacking - I do feel more fit than ever.  So that's good.

Come on Irene.

Kind of a scary weather development the last few days - heading into this weekend. Looks like we'll have a real legit hurricane in the NE for the first time in decades. I haven't let that deter my awesome training week. I did a tempo run yesterday with Larry (who was seriously chatty and dragging). I think I managed to drag him for about 2.8 miles - about 21 minutes (7:30s), 5 miles total (41 minutes). I continued with the biking - home last night and in to work today for about 18 miles round trip.

The topper was today - my last Shenny beach swim of the year. My birthday swim: I'm 40 today - happy birthday me! The water was choppy - not from Irene - but another system that's suppose to bring thunderstorms tonight. This turned out be good - I focused on breathing every 2 instead of every 3 - something I wish I did *before* last weeks triathlon swim. I really got the hang of it and the swim felt awesome - I even enjoyed the relatively large swells bobbing me up and down.

Tomorrow - a massive 10 miler. My total time for the week running should top 3.5 hours, mileage over 23. X-training time is already at 3:22 (over 12 'equivalence miles'). It actually feels like I'm training for a marathon again.

Tri-Week.

Last night was the Pfizer Tri. I did the swim in a respectable but unspectacular 12:15 and our team won the 'mens' division (only 2 teams total). I fun night to be sure. I decided to do my own tri that day: biked into work 8.8 miles, swim that night (~750 m) and then a 1.3 mile run. I'm still missing my marks for marathon training - and still feeling 'sick' with this lingering throat respiratory problem - but hope to get the run in tomorrow (~9 miles) and then pickup normal training next week.

Laughably Horrible Two Weeks

Sometime life just gives you crap. The last 2 weeks have been a horrible start to my Philly Marathon hopes. Following the heel fiasco I got a head cold that sidelined me Friday, kept me up coughing every night and diminished my training tremendously this week. I have managed a few workouts - despite the sickness/allergies/whatever.

• Monday I did a strength/run combo with my wife in a hot/humid/bug-infested field. I actually felt ok - but only managed ~18 minutes of strength and running.
• Tuesday, feeling a little better I took the kidos to the Stockton college track - hoping to get what I thought was a very doable workout in: 4x800s. Easy right? To start, the infield of the track just had an application of fertilizer and workers there warned that the kids probably shouldn't be playing out there. So with bored kids and more hot weather and only managed 2x800 - with warmup, maybe 2.5 miles.
• Wednesday I was back to work in CT, but felt horrible so I didn't do anything.
• Thursday, I attempted a swim - thinking I should probably get something in before next week's Triathlon. I did about 10 minutes of swimming in choppy water. It felt horrible - hopefully it's more the cold than my swim conditioning - but I'll find out next week.
• Finally today - somewhat pissed at my health - I did 7.5 miles. I should mention - the weather the last two days has been fantastic - so at least that's been good.

Next week'll be a little tricky. Assuming I'm feeling better - I'll still be a little constrained by the Triathlon on Wednesday. What I'm thinking is: Monday - run at lunch (intervals) and bike home. Tuesday bike into work (greb at lunch). Wednesday - just the tri swim - and maybe a run after I dry off. Thursday, off at lunch or easy swim and strength train at home. Friday - long run. I'll be jumping for joy if I can get all that in - and feel ok/good doing it (I'll settle for ok at this point).

So Long July.

A great month to be sure. I finished it off with a solid week. Monday I did a 4.5 mile run. Tuesday 51 minute strength workout. Wednesday I did run-swim at lunch: 4 mile run and ~10 minutes of swimming and then biked home - over 9 miles - 42 minutes of biking. Thursday I biked back into work. Friday I did a 5 mile run. Still hot! Saturday off. Sunday I did a 1 hour 7 minutes strength workout. The totals were nice and balanced: 1 hour 59 minutes running, 1 hour 35 minutes bike/swimming and 1 hour 58 minutes of strength training.

Tomorrow I tentatively start my marathon training. I'm still only 60-70% committed to actually doing a philly and the humid weather is going to make it tough to do the workouts - but I'll give it a shot.

More Swelter.

I ended up skipping yet another race - the NB track mile on Tuesday night - because my side hurt from Monday's swim. I was unsure why it that day - it felt like an internal organ was rupturing whenever I stood up. But then I reasoned that it must be muscular since a ruptured organ would probably hurt when I sat back down. Anyway - I felt fine again come Wednesday morning - although a little bummed I missed another race.

Wednesday I did another run/swim. The water was absolutely perfect that day and it felt great. The only downside is I hit my first jelly of the season. It was a large one and it stung bad. Fortunately I was 5 1/2 laps into the six lap swim - so I just headed in. Nevertheless, it has me thinking about paying for the pool again.

Thursday I managed a 30 minute strength workout at night and Friday I did a brutal simmering 4.5 miler. I left early (10 am) wanting to beat the heat - but I was cooked after about 25 minutes. Never fun to run on the hottest day of the year - but somehow I always manage. It's all cooler from here on in though!

Summer Swimming

I haven't done a swim workout about 6 months. That changed today when I did the ol'run-swim down at the Shenny beach area with Bruce from work (thanks Bruce!). The normally placid water was unusually choppy due to high winds - so I sucked down a good bit of ocean. I also had my heel nipped by a crab. But overall it felt great to get back in. We did 6x165/170ish. I'm calling it about 1000 overall and 25 minutes. It was about 4 minutes per length, but the last few I started to slow. I'm not in good swim shape at all. Makes me a little scared to think about my first bike of the season. I'll probably be a disaster.

Tough Sledding

After 15 miles running and no swimming 2 weeks ago, I managed 1 swim and 3 more runs (13.5) miles - using 2 runs from home last week. We had a major snow storm Wednesday and I didn't do anything that day or Thursday. Both weeks were pretty good winter weeks - totaling over 4 hours of run/swim/yoga and strength training. I'm still tentatively eye-ing the Cholchester half - although It's been real tough getting the long runs in. Crap, I'm having trouble getting a half in per/week. It's just tough in the winter between snow/sickness and swims. Oh well, I'll just half to keep at it...

Last Few Weeks

December and training just don't go hand-and-hand. Two weeks ago I did no runs and 2 swims as I go back to the pool after a long lay-off. Last week I started with a nice swim workout and then did runs Wednesday and Friday (5miles each). I really just wanted to get out with some of my work buds - but definately shoulda pooled it on Wednesday as the run was brutally windy - a theme that's been reoccuring alot lately. Friday's run was nice - and my last from work for 2010. I did noth ing but eat and drink over the weekend - holidays...

This week started slow - just some yogo on Monday - then I did 1700 and 1600 in the pool on Tuesday and Wednesday. Today I managed a 4 mile jog (34 minutes) from home. It looked windy and cold - but actually felt pretty good.

I feel like, more in years past, that the holiday parties are taking there toll on me. I've been trying to eat and drink better - switch more to wine even though I'm floating in great beers. How am I suppose to resist a beer with a robotic dancing Ghandi?

I've starting to research cleanses. Outside had this article on the subject, and I've found a lot of internet stuff on the Master Cleanse. I may attempt it - even though it sounds horrible.

Short Term Swim Goal

I remember reading this swim plan a few years ago - and I think I may try and do that - swim a mile. Having said that, I only have 3 weeks and 2 swims/week. I figure I did week 3 this week, so my next swim needs to be: 400;200;4x100;4x50. Next week I can do the 600;300;4x100. The week after that I can try the 1000;4x100. My 50 splits were just over 1 minute - but that's without swimming for 2 months - so I should be right around a minute - which makes keeping track real easy. Not sure when I can do the 1200 week or the 1650 - but I'll figure that out later...

Swimming out the Year.

Finally made it to the pool. I forgot my training plans, but did make it. No matter, I started with 200 easy (w/fins - I do this to feel the kick), 50-back, 50-breast,100-pull, 100-kick (w/fins). Then I did 400 and 2x200. I felt tired during the 200s - like it'd been a few months. But overall it felt good to get back and work out in the pool - definately a whole different workout.

Off the Track and Into the Pool

Thursday I did off-track 5x800s. I wanted to do 6x800s - but I was feeling a little sick so I ran the second to last 800 at an easy pace. I think I managed all of them at about a 6:20 pace - although being off-track it's hard to tell. The day wasn't very nice - kinda cold and windy. Yesterday - more marginal weather - so I headed for the pool. It was the first time in 5 weeks and it felt difficult. I didn't do any of the 'fast' interval workouts - instead I did a 400 warmup (mixed), 400,200 free; 100 pull - and 100 cooldown (50 back, 50 breast). 1200 total - a good start. I'll try hitting it once a week - taking it easy and maybe resume 2/week workouts in December.

With many of my friends doing marathons this time of year - I've been considering a spring marathon - but have decided it's probably impossible given this years kid drop off schedule. Maybe next fall or spring...

Hay in the Barn

So week 6 is done (almost) and I've only just completed a run longer than the 1/2 distance - which is a little disturbing. Last week's Earlgasm really messed up my distance run plans. To summarize: I did 14.5 miles today in 2:10:30 - about a 9 min/mile pace. I ran from my house, to GLP, mumford's cove, bluff point - did the loop there and then came back. The trails were great - temperature was perfect for this time of year. Still my distance runs are: 11.6, 8.2, triathlon, 12, 10 and 14.5. I feel as though I may do another 14. 5 next week - that be 9 days before the race. Is there really a point to tapering before that?

Yesterday I did pool work. A little different this time. Warmup: 1x200; 1x50 (back and breast). Then I did 1x400; 1x50 (back and breast); 4x100 (breadth every 6, 5, 4 and 3). The 100s felt hard. Cooldown. Shorter total distance but those 100s crushed my lungs...

Tri Results

Yesterday I completed the Pfi Sprint Triathlon at Eastern Point Beach. I did about average: 1 hour 21 minutes and 36 seconds (10th out of 23 men). Unlike previous years I had a decent bike, great T2 transition and a pretty good run. I struggled mightily in the water - especially considering that I've been swimming all winter/spring this year. The breathing just wasn't there. The swim took 14:42 - which was the 15th/23 men. I was hoping to be at least in the top half - if not the top 3rd. I didn't have a wet suite which may account for some of it - but I think I should've done about one minute better based on the times of people I know I can swim with. Oh well, something to work on. On the plus side, I did much better on the bike. I did 41:54 which was good for 12th/23. Not great - but not horrible. My T2 was pretty much the fastest - about 30 seconds faster than anyone else - since I didn't have to switch shoes (mentally - I think that puts me up into the top 10 or so). The run started very hard - probably > 8 min/mile pace for the first mile, but once I caught my legs - I had a decent final 2 miles and finished strong: 7:38 min/mile pace. Of my 3 attempts at this try - this is by far my best attempt - so I am happy about that. It certainly is a lot harder that your standard run race.

I've taken the week pretty easy leading up to this. Monday I did my final BRICK: 47 minutes on the bike and 17 minutes running. Tuesday I did 6x400s at ConnCollege. They felt great. I can't wait to get back to the track in 2 weeks. I was suppose to do 8x400s - but I wanted to take it a little easy just 2 days before the tri. I have a 8 mile run tomorrow or Sunday and I'm done for the week.