Eli's Tri-ing to get ready for an IM (and a sprint, and an olympic, and some running) (Page 4)

Yikes,

 If it gets stiff when you sit, but feels OK when it warms up..Sounds like you strained a ligament or something.

That can take a while to go away, but sometimes you can still run with it. If it hurts for more than 2 or 3 weeks, you may want to see someone.

Nice!

How is the swimming going? Any cool scarring?

How about your diet? Have you been able to keep a steady weight while you were sidelined?

I had a 10K race "all out" on schedule today.  Didn't bother signing up for a race, but ran on my local trail.  Goal was to negative split, so I was hoping to go out at 11:15 pace, and come back at 11:00 pace.  First 5K was 33:30, overall pace was 10:39!  Not sure how it happened, but I'll take it!  And I achieved a negative split!

This was a recovery week...so back to it this week!

Eli. Thank you for the well wishes. As for my race.. (first multisport race ever, First race of any type in 2 yrs.) Lets just say, It was full of a few high feelings and a bunch of pretty low feelings...

I'll try and just give the "broad strokes" and if you(anyone) has any questions or comments or criticism to be helpful. I REALLY would like to hear anything at this point + or -...

Race format was changed less then 2 weeks before race due to NYPD all of sudden saying it would cost NYTri Club $40,000 to pay officers OT to shut down the required roadways for the bike portion of the race that has been run for about 28 years. so the distances are a touch sketchy but 90% accurate. I'm OK with it considering it really was not clubs fault. And not like I am some kind of high end Olympic hopeful. So  distance to the inch is not super important right now.

Total time was 1:49.37

Overall placed 108 of 122 finishers. (Personally I am slightly disappointed and pretty embarrassed by this. But I'm not going to cry. I learned some things. and I'm moving on to make myself better next time. I hope LOL

First Run 29:33 (listed distance was 2.5 director said in pre-race meeting closer to 3 about 2.7-2.8)

DEAD LAST in my age Grp. 23 of 23 By a solid 5mins... Started slow and apprehensive. HR blew up to about 167 and balanced out for rest of run there. I was quite sure that was not good. but I could not have slowed down any more if for no other reason but pride.

T1 54.24

Had no problem finding my bike that was for sure LOL! Im sure I will get better at transitions as time goes.

Bike 47:55(15 miles total 6ea 2.5 mile loops)

 If this was just a bike race I would have at least been able to hold my head up at the finish LOL. My bike time was good for 12th of 23.  By time I got on the bike I was very unsure what the hell I was ever thinking of even trying to run races like this. Totally embarrassed and plenty pissed off. Heart rate jumped to about 171-174 Could tell I was slightly pushing it. but was not going so hard I would have nothing for Run2. again never doing these I was certainly worried about making sure I had something for run2 considering run 1 was such a flop. I kept thinking how bad was run 2 going to be?? So I kept the effort high. Just short of blowing up and pushed on.. Ego was feeling better as I was passing a heck of a lot more people then the run. and really only people passing me was the "elite" fast guys on the tricked out TT bikes.

T2 1:15 (this was slow for no other reason other then I ran with a friend who is training for his 2nd IM Lake Placid. But showed up on race day beyond sick as dog. Just to see if when he started he would feel better and run along side my slow as "mentor coach friend" So I hit T2 and figured even him very sick he has to be right behind me. so i honestly just stood and waited for a good 20-30 seconds to see if he was coming. figured I was so far behind whats another 30sec for a friend. Not like I was in running for top 3! after 30 seconds I said heck he will catch me on the run if he didn't drop out. note: he dropped out after first bike loop and by time i was in T2 he was dead asleep in his car!LOL )

Run 2 29:58 (repeat run 1 exactly) 

Again Dead last by a huge margin...23 of 23...... First 100yards felt like I have never experienced before. was steps away from a lot of cramps all over my legs. Just told myself relax get into my proper running form and relax even more. It worked and I settled into a pace of run 1 scared to go any faster due to all the unknowns in my head. HR was about 161 still really high for me. but settled in and just told myself finish as I watched all the people I made up 10 min on the bike. all pass me back on the run. LOL I had no ego left at this point to even care. I just concentrated on good running form and not pushing to hard so as to crash before finish. Turn corner to see finish line and clock just tick past 1:49 and telling myself I'm beating 1:50 pushed to the end.

In hind site. I'm pleased I started and finished. happy that I was at least able to do it under 2 hrs. Understand a lot more then when I started the race. And understand I have MUCH MUCH MUCH further to go to even be able to say "I'm Competitive"... 

Sorry so long winded. But only place I can "vent" out all the stuff running thru my head. And not have that blank stare back at me like I am talking to Patrick from SpongeBob..LOL

Now I am off to replace the entire roof on my 122 Yo House this week. But hope to get at least a few short run/rides in..

Again any input positive or neg. would be welcomed.. Obviously I have A LOT MORE TRAINING TO DO!

Wow, way to go. The elusive negative split!

That is great, and some seriously solid running. Congratulations on a great training day.

AJ- Congratulations! Multi-sport races are a LOT different that regular running or cycling races, so you did great.

As for your times....that isn't too bad. Often times smaller races attract fast racers. Down here, there is safety in numbers. When 300 people race, the bell curve is your friend.

So, a couple of comments/questions...When you do a 5K test- 5K all out after a warm up, what is your HR for the last  mile to mile and a half. That is the type of HR you should use to judge where you would be in a run at a race like this. 167 seems a little high, but not that much. Plus, now you know a little more about pacing.

T1-Not bad actually. Did you switch to bike shoes or ride in running shoes? Did you put your shoes on first or slide in while riding?

Ride- Sounds like you had a good ride. 

T2-I wouldn't sweat it, since you were waiting. 

Run 2-Welcome to the world of running off the bike. The harder you rode, the worse this is, I think. It's like your legs have no idea how to run. you did the right thing, trying to settle into a good form. Since you ended up with the same time as the first leg, it sounds like you paced OK.

Your logs don't seem that up to date, so it is hard to say if your training matches to your performance. Just so you know, I would think that you need 4+ hours of training weekly for this kind of event. Have you been getting in that kind of time?

Also, how did the race paces compare to your training paces? Are runs of a similar distance at a similar pace? How about rides? I know for me, my long runs tend to be a bit slower, but if I run 5 miles or less, I often try to throw some "speed" in, 2-8 minutes at faster pace.

Overall, congratulations again. Any race that you finish thinking "That wasn't so bad, but I bet I can do better" is a good race.

Next step....what can you do different to make the next race better!!

Oh, and did they have chocolate chip cookies at the finish? I don't like races where there are no cookies.

Hey All,

How was the weekend? It was a wet one here.

Saturday was a good day. A bunch of my training pals bailed on me, but I got out for a 40 mile ride at about 7:45. Finished it off with a 3.5 mile run, which made for a nice day.

My legs were sore from working out at the gym, and I didn't feel like I could push quite as hard as I wanted on my intervals, but it was an OK day.

I got home and my wife was already out running. She did 23 miles!!! Took my daughter to a playdate and mostly hung around the house.

Sunday morning was a rain-out...My wife had a huge workout day planned, so I arranged a playdate for my daughter and my wife got started on the spin bike. She did 3.5 hours (with a few breaks) and then left for a run. When she went running, we took my duaghter's playmate home and then I got ready and went out to meet my wife.
I drove to a spot about 3 miles from home, ran 7 with my wife (she was running home) and then went back out for 6 more.

13 miles...not too bad. I should have ridden more, but considering how poor my recent runs have been, I figured to err on the side of running.

Legs were still sore from the gym an the brick, but I woke up today feeling good. I may even motivate to swim some.

My left leg has a high hamstring strain, it has been bothering me, a little, for a few weeks. Stretching helps, but when I sit for too long, it hurts some.

I am getting organized to put a plan together for my August IM. My rough weekly outline looks like...

Monday-Rest/Swim
Tuesday-Medium Run/60-90 Minute Bike
Wednesday-90 Minute Bike
Thursday- Longer run
Friday-90 Min Bike/Swim
Saturday-Long Ride(intervals)/Brick
Sunday- Long ride steady/ Long Run

For me, I will try to do 4 weeks with longer runs, and then switch the volume to riding as I get close to the race. This is rough outline, but I hope to be able to use it.

Eli. Thanks for the questions/comments..... Finally a place where I can "talk" about all the stuff running in my head!  I have not done any pure HR "testing" ever. After I get the roof on my house. Can you give me instructions on how to do these for the run and bike?

As for the Pace it felt slower then what I have done in past. But yet my HR never dropped to what I was expecting it too on the runs.

I dropped my running shoes and slide my clipless shoes on in T1. I'm not sure I see an advantage to trying to slide them on as you pedal. for your having to go so slow. I think the time you "gain" by running our w/o shoes is lost to you slowing down to buckle up. as compared to my "lost" time putting on in T1. for when I hit the bike Im hammering from stroke one? Obviously I'm wrong. Because if I was correct the legit Pro's would be doing it my way. LOL

as for my training time. I Dl my Garmin to the computer. I just never seem to DL a 2nd time to this traing log. Sorry.. I am doing more of a base building period right now. I threw this race in more for "fun" and just what I am finding out a mini "test" of where I am and where I would like to be.

But my training is at least 4 if not 6 days a week. and I am doing time based workouts only. and every 7 days I add 10% to my time. and on week 4 i drop the time for the recovery. All this time I attempt to concentrate on my HR and not worry about distance. I keep my pace as fast as I can but since base building I am not exceeding the 80% rule. try to stay 100% aerobic at this point.

I'm like everyone else who came of age in the early 80's. I have the i "want it now" mentality. but am trying sooo hard to every day remind myself. "big picture" "slow and steady" "Rome not built in a day" an Iron Fit level of fitness is NOT built overnight. But I can tell you I was down right embarrassed and angry that I performed so slow...But Ill repeat it was still fun. and has me even more excited about attaining that "Golden Ticket" one day. saying the phrase. Yeah...I did that! as someone talks about an IM....LOL

Yes when I finished I did say to myself. "hey not feeling so bad" as for making myself better. I think I just need to keep putting the time in to quality training. and "stay the course"And next race I need to find a way to stay relaxed on the run. If I can relax I think my pace may increase and HR stabilize. (I hope at least)

and sorry Pal. No cookies at finish. all the had was the WORST tasting coconut water I have ever had. It was horrible! LOL

Again long winded. but this place is great for finally getting to "talk" about all thoughts in my pea brain.

Off for another full day of roofing. Look forward to reading the forum when I get back inside tonight.

AJ, keep the questions coming!

So, as far as shoes on the bike...It depends. I haven't done the math, but I figure, even if it takes me the same amount of time to slip on my shoes on the bike as it does on the ground in T1, one the bike, I am going 15 mph while I slip in. of course, I could crash, so you do have to practice.

Also, you mention doing your training and keeping below 80%...80% of what? What HR are you using for your training?

And finally, send me your garmin file if you want and i can see if I can give you a HR to use based on how you performed at the race.

I will find the links for the field tests for HR. There are lots of different ones, so I will just give you the ones I think are easiest to manage. HR is used as a measure of output, but it isn't always perfect. However, if used consistently, it does give you the ability to train "smarter" not just harder.

I am becoming amazed at the effect tri training has had on my fitness level (duh, right?).  I have been marathon training for about 2 years.  My heart rate has always been high (it is not unusual for my average heartrate during a run to be in the 170's, with a max of 183-185), and remember, I am a glacially slow runner.  I see a cardiologist annually, just in case, but his take on it is that I just have a high heart rate.

Yesterday, after a one hour bike, I ran a 30 minute "recovery."  I was shooting for a 12:00 pace (which, compared to last year, would have been speed work!).  I ended up at an 11:26 pace, with an average heart rate of 151 (max 165). I was doing runwalk intervals of 1:15/0:45.  Felt great!  My breathing was always good when my heart rate is higher, but my chest would just feel tired.  I don't think I've ever run that "fast", and felt that comfortable since I started running!

Of course, losing almost 25 pounds so far probably has something to do with it, too.

Really excited to see more changes to come!  Looking to blow my 2:30 Half Mary PR out of the water at Bayshore on May 26!

Quick question, Eli:  My fitness seems to be improving greatly. Is there a way you would recommend to continue that?  I would love to continue to gain speed while dropping my heart rate.  I am not sure if yesterday had anything to do with the really long "warm up" on the bike?  Or is a result of the overall aerobic conditioning brought on by the months of swimming and biking?  Running has always spike my heart rate greatly - swimming and biking seems to allow me to train more aerobically.

Still nursing a sore knee from Marine Corps in October...really wonked on it during Sunday's speedwork.  Going back to wearing a brace while running...

I am returning to Upstate NY today for the May and June.  I'll be preparing for an enormous national exam to prove I can move on to the next phase of med school.  And  my study breaks are going to be food and training.  The roads up there have a lot more bike lanes, or just less traffic for me to deal with.  Plus I can use my dad's indoor trainer to get some more time on the bike. 

Anyone have some "fun" indoor trainer workouts for the bike? I tend to get bored and then just give up, definitely prefer running and biking outdoors!

Anne,

That is great! It is amazing when you look at your workout and realize, WOW, I got better!!! It doesn't happen every workout, but you do have those breakthroughs, and it is very rewarding.

As to your question...Continuing means consistency. My take on improving fitness is that you work with consistency until you plateau. Then, change something. Add in some speedwork (doesn't have to be sprints, can just be "faster" than your regular pace), add another couple of miles to the long run, do something.

As for the spike in HR while running, I think it is common. Eventually, your HR will adapt. This means two things-your HR will be lower for a given pace and/or you will be faster at a given HR. These are the types of changes you really see after weeks, if not months, of consistent training.

The good news..you can keep getting better for a while.

Good luck with the studying!!! Exercise is widely thought to improve cognitive functioning, so your breaks sound good!

Where in Upstate NY? Since I grew up in and near NYC, everything outside of the 5 boroughs is upstate to me.

For indoor rides....I like to watch movie, or even the Kona broadcasts from previous years. You can also get DVDs like Spinervals or download some of the videos from the Sufferfest.

Enjoy, and good studying!!!

"Fun" indoor trainer rides (of course - fun is a relative term) - go to the "free programs" section of this site - Jorge's Winter Cycling program will give you plenty of ideas!

If I'm not in the middle of the cycling program - I have a couple of "old standards" I pull out:

• 10 minute warm up + 2 (20 minutes at med/high effort (Z3 for HR/power folks) + 5 minutes at low effort (Z1))
• 10 minute warm up + 5 (30 sec all out + 30 sec recover) + 5 minutes Z2 + 7 (4 minutes all out (Z5) + 1 minute recover) + 5 minute cool down
• 10 minute warm up + 4 (starting at medium effort, shift to a harder gear every 5 minutes 4 times, at the end, back to the starting gear) + 5 minutes cool down

Enjoy!

Hey All,

So.....I can't stop eating!!! LOL.

I am one of those unlucky types who associates food with comfort. If there is any food, or even any ingredients, and I am feeling iffy, I will cook, and eat.

Only my 8 hour a week habit of cardio is keeping me healthy.

All I have to do now, convert the food habit to a pushup and air-squat habit....

We'll see how that goes.

Whew,

Went to a birthday celebration for a friend last night at one of those all you can eat meat places where they bring the meat by on a sword and cave a piece off.....yummy but WOW, I ate a bunch.

Weekend training is kind of up in the air, as we are traveling tomorrow. Plan right now is to get in a few miles with my wife tonight.

Need to pack and get ready to travel for work next week as well.

Crazy times....

How is everyone else doing? What is you training looking like this weekend? Anyone racing soon?

I am also one of those "eat for comfort" people...gets me into trouble far too often!

Beautiful weekend! I ran in a 5k race yesterday.  Ran a 30:26 which is my usual  easy pace, it was hotter than I was expecting and the heat really affects me.  It's one of the things on my long term goal list - learning to run well even when it's hot.

Great news. So....tell us about the bike!!!! I am sure it felt great to be out on the road.

Nice 5K! 

The heat affects everyone. I think Runner's world did an article that said that for every 5 degrees hotter than usual, you run 30 sec per mile slower in a marathon.

Not sure how it affects shorter runs, but I know it adds to the suffering. 

I think learning to run in the heat is about acclimatization and good water management. Of course, the better your fitness, the better you run in all conditions.

Hey All,

Sorry I was AFK for a few days. I am in Boston, and have been since saturday.

Had a great weekend seeing family and catching up with friends from when I lived here.

Sunday, my wife and I ran 15 easy miles along the Charles river. It was a little chilly, but other than that, a great run. Slow, but nice.

This week I am working out of the HQ in Wakefield, but there is a gym here, so I managed to get in a swim yesterday. Planning on running or cycling today. Hopefully I keep my motivation up.

How was everyone elses weekend?

Did a run/bike/run Sunday - 30 min/2 hour/30 min.  Knee is still very sore from last week's "all out" 10k.   Think I will baby it a bit until Bayshore at the end of the month, then baby it again until Welland. Was supposed to do a practice tri workout with full transitions, but couldn't get anyone to swim with me.  Swapped next Sunday's workout for this weekend (and found someone to swim with me this Sunday!).

Skipped my long swim yesterday - I was SO exhausted!   Going to squeeze it in with my run workouts tomorrow. Next week is my longest training week (10 1/2 hours), and then I get one week of recovery, 2 weeks of 9 hours, then taper!  We have a German exchange student living with us until Friday, so squeezing in workouts this week will be tight...

Was also incredibly hungry yesterday - wondering if my exhaustion level and hunger level are related (like maybe my body wanted me to eat more sugars to keep me going?)...