Big Steve's Group (Year Two) - CLOSED (Page 12)

Kind of a slow week for me, too much going on this weekend to get in my long run. switching shifts again this week so back to days means I will be working out late, I have to be to work by 7 and and hour drive doesn't leave any time in the morning.

+ 2 hours of shoveling snow, that has to count for something, cardio and core work!

It was 7 degrees at the time I normally run so I waited until 10:15 when it was all of 15 degrees. There was no wind so I was pretty comfortable but just could not get lose. First two miles were a warm up and last 5 tempo.

Warmup 10:49/mile @ 154 average heart rate

Tempo 8:34/mile @ 151 average heart rate

I think that accentuates not being able to limber up pretty well. Even the first mile of the tempo was 8:49 and everything after less. I had been planning on one mile warm up and one mile cool down but glad I adjusted and did it the way I did.

Here is the summary for last week.  We're up to 927 YTD bike miles!  Sorry that I couldn't contribute more to this number, my ski trip got in the way of my long ride/run this week.  I put in 3 "other" hours as my snowboarding experiment yesterday was one hell of a workout.

Legs still sore from the weekend, but got in a small but tough brick this morning.

	48m 16.00 miles 20.00 Mi/hr	Min HR: 108 Avg HR: 145 Max HR: 170
Avg Pwr: 159 Max Pwr: 350 yPower: 0 Score: 0 Factor: 0 Cad: 74

17m 23s 2.00 miles 08m 41s/Mi

Min HR: 134 Avg HR: 169 Max HR: 180

Great week. Some impressive numbers for sure. Kathy on the run and An in the pool, wow.

Nice brick.

I did masters and then a 3 mile recovery run after @ 9:56/mile pace and 128 average heart rate.

100 free
200 2X100 pull with paddles on :10 RI
50 kick with fins
250 free every 4th breast
300 4X75 kick, swim, pull
1000 4X(3X50 @55, 2X50 @50)
1000 2X(3X100 @1:45, 2X100 @140)
200 pull with paddles
3100

What is the pull with paddles? I assume its swimming freestyle with gloves butI am just checking.

Paddles are better than gloves because they help your form. If you're doing them correctly your finger tips should push the front of the paddle down first. Next you should sweep back BUT from the elbow to the shoulder should remain at the surface. This is the biggest mistake novices make and it took me forever to break. When I'm sloppy I still fall into the bad habit.

Why is it bad? Because it creates more drag than power. When you fully extent your arm from the shoulder down you do create more force but the drag is also much higher. By only dropping the elbow down for as long as possible in the stroke you go faster with less effort. When I find myself doing this and correct it I literally speed up 5 to 10 seconds per 100 with no extra effort.

Paddles will also help your power and help you get loose. The first time you use them the pump on your lats tells the story. When I first get in I'll do a couple hundreds slowly and really strecth out my hip and torso by taking advantage of the extra pressure. This also puts my form in perspective for the workout. Later its about developing power.

You all put me to shame with my heart rate as I have such a high one when exercising.  But that is just me so I won't be posting my heart rate.

Good job everyone!

You should train in your zones even though it's slower. By doing so you build your aerobic capacity which will eventually allow you to go longer and faster. A year ago if I ran at 8:30-ish pace for say 7 miles my heart rate would average in the high 160's. I do it now and it's in the low 150's. That came from running in the 130's and going what felt like super slow.

It's all about putting in your time and training right.

Oh even my Zone 1 and 2 are a lot higher then most people.  I am not worry about it anymore, I just  shake my head when I am working out next to people and they have a really low heart rate while mine is in Zone 2 which would be really high for them.  

Now that I know what my Heart Rate Zones are I have notice that the heart rate has lowered.  Those first few times it did feel like I was barely moving as I was trying to keep my rate down.  

OK this is a blatant bragging post........

1:45 on the trainer this morning. 34.06 miles, 19.46 mph, 248 average watts, 503 max watts, 137 average heart rate, 157 max heart rate and 87 average cadence.

These were some heavy intervals as noticed by the lower cadence. On some one minute intervals of which there were 15 I was pushing over 400 watts for half the interval which is a nice improvement. The final 17 minutes I did a sprint where I maintained 270+ watts and a 93+ cadence for the duration.

These are all nice improvements for me so I'm pretty stoked. The trainer was worth every dime, because why do we even have nickles or pennies any more?

Wow, that is intense.  Great job!!!

Since we're bragging.....had a great run in 60* weather in Orlando this morning.  What a pleasant change from 0* in Vermont this weekend.  OK bragging over.... run was 5 miles @ a 9:30 pace, Avg HR 165.

You two are animals. I am competitive and I hate getting smoked and you 2 are definitely inspiring me to be better.

My plans to run yesterday went out the window so right before bed I did the Plyometrics workout from the P90x. I forgot how challenging that workout is. I wore my HRM and my heart rate was well above 170 for a few extended periods of time. Is it strange that I love to hurt and sweat?

There is a swim clinic this saturday that my wife and I are doing so I'll be posting my first swim of the year Saturday or Sunday.

Not strange at all........at least to this group of people. I need to try the P90X at some point. Heard lots of good things.

Cool on the swim. Drills help a lot.

Finally got back into the pool today after a four-month layoff.

Definitely lost some endurance, but the worst thing was foot cramps... not the kind you work out after a couple of laps - these were debilitating, painful, foot-contorting monsters.  I couldn't go fifty yards without getting them.   Only got it in 1100 yards of fifties before I gave up.

Can't wait to get home and break-out the foot massager my son got me for Christmas.

Ouch!  I know how you feel.  I mainly get them when I swim in the evening.  They rarely show up in the morning.  I've found that this stretch helps me a lot.

Regarding the P90X comments... I swear by those DVD's!  I love them and have recently got the sequel - P90X2 , even more intense than the original with a lot of core work built into every DVD.  Great for building both muscle and endurance.  Warning, you will get sick of Tony Horton's voice after a while.  Each DVD does have a "Silence w/Ques" option so you only hear him start a new exercise and don't need to listen to him through out the routine.

Thanks Steve, I'll give that a try... but it looks like I may have a whole new set of cramps

LMAO!