JuniperJen's Keeping It Consistent Group - FULL (Page 22)

Happy Superbowl Sunday!!

Did a reverse brick this morning.  20 mins on treadmill, followed by spin class.

That's 2 runs this week for me.  Knee felt better today than last time.  

Taking the week off from work.  Gonna try & exercise every day & do a few runs to start to build again. 

Took an ibuprofen prior to going to gym today, to see if the anti-inflammatory effects, reduces knee swelling.  Gotta monitor today.

Snow is falling now...expecting 6-9 inches.  Shovelling again!! 

Richard.

PS.  Lindsay...hope your Superbowl 5k is a fast one!!!  Go Lindsay Go!!

Edited by GoGoGo 2011-02-06 11:16 AM

So, is that good, bad or probably shouldn't say 

Awesome, it is!!

Cool man 

It isn't good nor bad, just a lot of family time!  My mother in law is good, father in law drives me nuts!  No me time....thank goodness for my run today...I needed it

Edited by debbiereid06 2011-02-06 2:22 PM

Good morning team!! How was the weekend?? What's on tap for the week?



Edited by juniperjen 2011-02-07 8:35 AM

I had a great long run - it was one of those true character builders - it had snowed over night but the temps were around freezing so it was pretty wet and slushy out.  We weaved up and down side streets where we could run on the road and threw in a couple of big hills to mimic our race course.  It's one of those days where pace doesn't matter a lick because there's really no controlling it without totally demolishing myself. 

So? How did it go??

sleepy this morning. Snowed a ton last night, traffic was a nightmare. Running at lunch should be fun.

We were in Vermont the past few days visiting my in-laws, so I haven't been posting much.  I'm still getting over this nasty cough/cold, so have been taking it pretty easy lately.  I'm hoping that this week will be better since this is my first week of my official 20-week training schedule!  I was able to fit in a pretty good run on the treadmill at my in-laws on Saturday, although their treadmill gave me distance and speed in km's, so that was so confusing to me!  I ran consistently (although not fast) for 50 minutes, felt pretty awesome! 

My plan for this week:
Mon - rest day
Tues - 1 hour spin
Wed - 20 min swim
Thurs - 1 hour spin
Fri - 12 min run
Sat - masters swim
Sun - 20 min run

for this week:

14k
13k with 10 strides
8k
26k with 13k at marathon pace eek!
rest
19k
8k

Here's my plan for the week:

Mon: 30 min bike, 45 min swim
Tues: Hill run (10k-ish)
Wed: 60 min Bike, swim 40 (may move this to the weekend)
Thurs: Tempo run (13k), swim group
Friday: optional yoga
Saturday: 21k long run
Sunday: 1 hour bike

Don't mean to steal Lindsay's  (osfan4life) thunder, but our group had it's first race.

Go "Race Report" & read her "Superbowl 5k" report.

A great read.  Show her some luv!!!



Edited by GoGoGo 2011-02-07 4:42 PM

Topic of the week:

Heart Rate...

Does anyone heart rate train?  

If so, how?  Zones?  Max HR formula?

Ever measured you HR with running & cycling.  Do they differ?  How much?

For those who use a dreadmill, with HR monitor, ever watch your HR "decay" during cooldown?  Look at HR at end of your run & then every minute during your jog/run cooldown.  My cooldown is usually 5mins.  Where are you with regards to your resting heart rate?  A fairly good test of your cardiac fitness & improvements over time.

Speaking of resting heart rate...what is it?  ever measure it, upon waking in the morning?  Supposedly the best time to measure it.

Doing these things gives you a peek at your own fitness levels & gives you a baseline for further measurement.   To the "number geeks" among us, we just like to know these things!!!

Anyway, things to think about for the inspired!

R 

PS.  anyone who wants to teach me something about Heart rate zones, fire away!!! 

Have you seen this?  A very inspirational article on cnn.com about triathlete:

http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2011/02/07/triathlons-saved-my-life/?hpt=Sbin


Richard - I don't know anything about my HR.  I am purchasing a HR monitor/chest strap for spin class and am curious to learn more.  Thanks for the info!

Richard- I have a garmin, but rarely use the heart rate part of it.  i did when I was doing P90X so I wouldn't die, but haven't while running.  I am going to tomorrow thanks to you!!!  I will let you know after my morning run!

Plan for the week:

Mon.-rest
Tue-3 mile
Wed-BL boot camp
Thurs. 2.5 mile
Fri-cross train
Sat.-rest
Sun.-4.5

Richard - my book tells me to train per heart rate zone, so I borrowed a NIKE something monitor, and TOTALLY freaked myself out on the numbers. zone I was supposed to be an average of like 120 or something - I could barely walk and my heart rate was there. I dropped the monitor and went on RPE instead - thats been a better fit for me. Would guess my rate has come down a bit, and I do check it on the treadmill just out of curiousity. Haven't really attempted a zone-this-or-that, at this point I'm just hoping to finish. I will pay closer atten during taper week though - I'll take it easy.

Got the Ghost 3's in - new shoes are AWESOME!!! Here they are in the snow today (and yes, this was on the way to the TREADMILL )
 Oh nevermind, can't figure out pics on here - so they are on the blog

thanks richard and thank you everyone for your support leading up to and post race!

i <3 knowing my heart rate during training/racing. i don't do zone stuff, yet anyway, but i generally know that i can sustain a pace in the low to mid 150s for training and that's what i shoot for. it has taken a long time but when i first started, i'd have to run a 13:30 to stay there. the other day i ran 12:30 in the mid 150s.

i can't get my hr that high on the bike, at least not on the trainer anyway. mid 140s feels about my limit for now.

i'd be thrilled to pieces if more of the group posted hr data - love to see how yall are doing! even though then you'll realize how out of shape i am. haha. i ran with the FI once and while i was at 145 he was at 115. but really though HR data has been THE best thing for sustainable training for me.

Edited by Osfan4life 2011-02-07 10:08 PM

Ran at the gym today.  Used the HR part of my garmin today.  Don't know what my resting was, but I ran the majority at 5.6 mph and I stayed right at 160.  After 2.5 miles I bumped the speed up to 6.0 and my HR went up to 174 and stayed there for .5 miles.  I have no idea if that is good or bad.  I do a 2 min. walking cool down and it was down to 140 and then I stretch for 2-3 min. and when I was leaving the gym it was 120ish.  When I sat down at home about 15 min. after I was done, for breakfast i was at like 88. 
So all you HR people out there is that good, bad or what? 

Excellent topic, Richard.  I don't train by HR. I've never done the HR test for the bike or the run that would set my zones.  The pre-programmed ones are just not sufficient.  I may dive into that for my HIM training that will begin at the end of April.  I know i can hit some pretty high BPM's but I am still pretty young and female where our HR's tend to be on the higher side in general

I know it can be super effective tool, especially if:

- you're going too easy or too hard all the time and aren't seeing any improvements
- if you're training for a long distance and really need to manage your efforts - example is keeping effort in check on the bike for the ironman

For most beginners using RPE (rate of perceived exertion) along with the 'talk test' is sufficient.  The talk test is really good but means you have to have someone to talk to.  I am totally cool with talking myself but it just depends on how many people are around!

Debbie, it's not really about good or bad.  It's more of a benchmark.  The numbers alone won't really tell the story. It's also your effort along with the hr, and over time it will change.

So, if you're thinking about trying it my main advice is to not use the pre-programmed zones, we'll find some links about the kind of tests you can do to assess your max heart rate (usually an all-out 5k)

I used to have a heart rate monitor and used it for a bit but never trained by it. I had a garmin 305 and found it to be all over the place. Not sure if because I have a hairy chest or use an mp3 player or what but it would always chime in and out.

Right now I am training for a marathon so only doing running so I am running in pace zones which are calculated based on recent race or time trial results. I use the mcmillian calculator

http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm

I think it works really well for run training on making sure you are training in the right effort zone as long as you are over consistent terrain. I have used it off and on for the last 2 years but always give up on it because the easy paces always seemed to easy and the hard paces always seemed to hard. They still do but I guess that is how it is supposed to be.

My own personal opinion is that HRM are more for intermediate or advanced players and going HARD one day and easy on other days. If you are a beginner the point more than anything else is just to get out there and get the workout in. You likely won't be able to stay in that z1 zone or whatever they call it, for very long, because you don't have the fitness. I think HRM are useful for making sure you stay in a high zone for a short time or a low zone for a LONG time.

I can see a HRM being much more useful on the bike than running as there does not seem to be as much correlation between pace and effort on the bike as running.

I suppose Lisa, I would not be concerned if I were you about your inability to put your heart rate where the book says it should be. You are developing fitness, and running fitness can take a long time to develop. Your higher heart rate is compensating for inexperienced muscles (not necessarily weaker, just muscles that don't know how to run as efficiently as they can).

My heart rate in front of the computer is 54. It must be lower than that in the morning. I keep meaning to check it.

And this site is very helpful:

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=53
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=54

Articles specifically about heart rate training from someone with more formal training in it. 

My Tuesday report...

Am enjoying a week off work!  Exercising in morning, when I have energy!!  What a concept!  Reading an investment book & reviewing my own financial status.  Sipping on a little wine.  All around a good week.

Had my yearly visit with Fam MD today. All good.  My blood count (hemoglobin) is marginally low, which they tell me is runner's anemia.  If any of you have this in a blood profile, might be worth looking up.  Otherwise, cholesterol, glucose, etc within normal limits!  I attribute that to exercise, a good reason to keep going!!!

Went looking for a spin class this morning, & only 1 in town, in a gym that I had never been to.  Wanted a spin & hence, decided to be adventurous.  Had a 20 minute run & knee is feeling good (fingers crossed).  Ran a progression run, increasing speed every 5 mins as I warmed up & felt good. Finished last 5 mins at 8.5mph, which I am trying to be able to sustain for a to get me closer to a sub 20 minute 5k.  Need 9 mph, not sure if I can get there, as the years build on me, but gives me a goal.

Then went to spin, couldn't clip in my cycling shoes, wasn't too impressed with this.  Instructor was good.  Got about 15 mins in & in middle of hill track, went from standing to a seated, power climb & snapped off the seat post!!!!  Seat cracked off!!  Never saw that before!!  I suspect I won't be allowed back!!

Expecting another winter storm tonight, so either another run/spin combo tomorrow, or shovelling snow!  Gonna have to see about that one.



Edited by GoGoGo 2011-02-08 12:43 PM

Heart Rate training.  Interesting discussion so far...

Jen, the two BT links you gave were excellent.

A few of my own thoughts, for those who have the time to read. I am not a coach or exercise physiologist, just my own thoughts.

Cardiac performance is a major factor in factor in athletic performance.  This coupled with skeletal muscular efficiency, determine ability.   

Now for some necessary physiology to understand the concepts.  Cardiac Output (CO) is the amount of blood your heart can pump to your body, per minute.  It feeds your exercising muscles.  Cardiac Output is a function of Heart rate (HR) & Stroke Volume (SV).  Stroke Volume is the amount of blood your heart can pump per contraction.

Hence, CO=HR*SV 

As you heart gets stronger , and more efficient, it can pump more blood per stroke (contraction) & needs less HR to maintain same CO.  Furthermore,  as it pumps better, you deliver a greater output to your sketetal muscles who are in dire need during exercise.  As you become fitter, your resting HR drops, as it can easily feed your resting body.  As you become fitter, your heart recovers quicker, as well.  This deals the the time to return to normal.  It is interesting to watch the HR decrease as you cool-down.  The fitter you are, the quicker it normalises.

So generally, the lower your resting HR, the fitter your heart.  This also changes slowly as you get fitter.  Resting Heart Rate (RHR) is best calculated when you are completely rested, in otherwords, 1st thing in the morning.  Take your watch to bed.  Upon waking, count your pulse for 15 secs & multiply by 4 to give your RHR.  Slightly better is for 30 secs & multiply by 2.

If you are participating in "Juniper Jens Heart Week" do this tonite & report Back tomorrow!!

Some also use RHR as one of the factors in deciding if one is "over-training".  If usualy RHR is 60 bpm & you are running 70 or 80ish in morning, it is a sign of over training.  Another topic!! 

The next HR number in maximum heart rate.  From a safety point of view, this changes with age.  Jens article talks about this.  There are 3 common ways of finding yours.

1.  Easiest, & least precise, & used on all the treadmills in the gym.  

220-age.  So if you are 30 then 190.

2.  My favourite because I am lazy.  Karvonen calculator...

http://www.briancalkins.com/HeartRate.htm

This also will help with predicting heart rate zones.

3.   A MHR test.  This is described in the articles that Jen linked to.  

Why talk about this stuff?

1. it allows you to see scientific progress, as you move forward.

2.  If you are a beginner, it allows you to determine the level of exertion needed for a specific workout.  It ensues that your hard workouts are hard enough & you easy, recovery workouts are easy enough.  You don't cheat.

3.  Once you do some of your runs & cycling workouts with HR monitoring, you can better "feel" your exertion level.  Your preceived exertion.  Once you get the hang of it, many drop the HR monitor.  I used it this way initially.  Now I use it every 2or 3 months, to remind myself with hard numbers.

So...Homework...Measure your RHR & calculated MHR!!!

Tomorrow, if I am not shovelling, will chat about Heart rate monitoring during exercise & maybe the different zones.  I don't use the zones much, but many are very firm believers.  My buddy, Tim, on BT, uses zone training religiously!

That's all for now...that's a lot of typing & I'm tired!!



Edited by GoGoGo 2011-02-08 2:00 PM

My hr training is very casual. It's a basic perceived rate of exertion thing. I started by just collecting data and making notes about how I felt on my runs. That helped me determine that - for me - 175 is only sustainable for 8-10 mins, 165 is maybe sustainable for 15-20 (raceday is the exception), and 150 is sustainable for 30 mins (and so on). You could start wuth that or you might want to determine your zones. It can be useful fOr intervals.

nice to see you are easing back into things. what is your 5k pr?