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My goals for the 2006 year were:Webster Triathlon Sprint Distance-Finished 106 out of 315 Greenfield Lightlife Triathlon International Distance New England Club Championships- Finished 4th out of 9 in divisionFirmman 70.3 Ironman Triathlon-Finished 6:05 5 Star Triathlon-Finished 2nd place in division, 40th overall The B.A.A. Half Marathon- Finished 1:53:58, 1483 out of 3497, Pace-8:42
The 2007 Season Overview is here
Sunday, October 29, 2006
A really hard effort today at the Cape Cod Marathon relay 10K leg and a new max heart rate. 185 BPM recorded and 186 showing on the wrist monitor. I would give this an RPE (Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion) of 19-20. Time was 52:20 and there were a few hills and winds. Lap 4 was the finish followed by a 10 minute recovery on the graph including a light cool down jog, some stretching and about the last 3-4 minutes laying down with legs elevated. Even with the high heart rate and several hills and an RPE of 19-20 I never experienced any lactate acid burning in my legs. First two miles averaged an 8:15 pace, third mile 8:45 and last three probably close to 8:15. I never felt like I found my rhythm until about 30 minutes in and the start was hard and fast without benefit of much warm-up except for a few strides and some joint loosening. I was able to hold 185 BPM for 45-60 seconds at the end.
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Friday, October 27, 2006
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
I did the Arc Trainer for 50 minutes. I went a little aggressive but felt good. Top end still seems to be there with no loss and if anything an ability to hold the higher end a little better than a year ago. Afterwards I ran through a new resistance routine. Nice!
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Monday, October 23, 2006
Sunday, October 22, 2006
My resistance workout yesterday went better than it did 9 days ago which after a 7 week layoff had left me with quite a bit of delayed muscle soreness for 3-4 days just about everywhere. Today I feel pretty good with just a little sensation in my shoulders. I also managed to get some much needed rest yesterday including a 2 hour nap and feel mentally and physically better. My intake is also back in control after a 5 day vacation in which I didn't track and over indulged in a little too much ice cream but that seems out of my system now. That little non-tracking foray experiment and not doing my morning weight check showed me how dangerous that is for me. In 5 days my weight went up 6 pounds and now I'm down 3 pounds so it looks like I gained 3 pounds in 5 days. So for me I must track or else pay the piper. I have one short 10K run left this season as part of a Sovereign Bank relay team in the Cape Cod Marathon. It should be fun and I'm looking forward to it.
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Friday, October 20, 2006
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Monday, October 16, 2006
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Friday, October 13, 2006
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Monday, October 9, 2006
What I found interesting regarding my fitness in running Sunday's race was that I can maintain a heart rate of 160 for a 2 hour duration and probably longer. It has been at least 10 years or better since I've been at that level and I'm guessing my lactate threshold may be 160-163 or so. If my max HR is 181 this means I can maintain an 88-90 percent of max HR effort during a race.
Sunday, October 8, 2006
Finished the BAA Half Marathon today in 1:54 and 1482 out of 3497, pace 8:42. Not bad for little to no prep and just running on residual fitness left over from the season and just 4 weeks after the Firmman 1/2 Ironman. The Kenyans finished in 1:03. It was an idyllic running day, perfect temps, gorgeous sunshine and shade and blue skies. I had only gotten about 4 hours sleep the night before and possibly a 15 minute nap in the afternoon. My week before was pretty high stress at work and just too much going on to focus in on this race and be inspired by it. I seeded myself at the end so was boxed in the first 3-4 miles which forced me to go easy. It seemed there was always a hill we were heading up going out and coming back. I had a couple of missteps. My Fuel Belt fell on the floor of the Port-O-John and the one water stop I decided to use around mile 10 to get some water to throw over my head seemed to be Gatorade which I decided to just drink. As I swigged it down I realized it was beer. It seemed to help though. I watched the Kenyans warming up and passed a group of 4 of them coming back and they are smooth and fast and something to see. I felt like I was running like them but they must have a much higher turnover rate because they finished 51 minutes ahead of me. The last 3 miles my legs started to feel the effects so I picked up my speed and ignored them. I ran pretty steady at a heart rate of 160 give or take a few beats and the last 3 miles held it steady increasing to around 170 BPM. The first 14 minutes of my HR readings were in error and was maybe interference or some such technical difficulty. The last 6 minutes I had shut off my monitor at 1:54 but it must have started again but it shows my recovery HR I think after I had stretched a little. My legs were sore by the late afternoon.
Saturday, October 7, 2006
Friday, October 6, 2006
Thursday, October 5, 2006
Wednesday, October 4, 2006
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
Intake for September (Fiber averaged 59 grams a day)
Monday, October 2, 2006
Sunday, October 1, 2006
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Lemond Revmaster Bike:
Friday, September 29, 2006
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Running is such a mind game. I wanted to run well today in preparation for the BAA Half Marathon coming up in 11 days. I was hoping for 8:30 miles but this is a rather hilly course with 4 significant hills and a three good inclines. My left ham muscle seemed tight and my first mile was about 8:55, second mile about 9:02 so I backed off and just decided to run an easy pace. About 22 minutes in I hit the second incline and my heart rate came up and the cobwebs seemed to fade away. I held it from there on in. My tight muscle seemed to be no worse but no better either. I checked my time with one mile to go and saw if I ran an 8 minute mile that I would have a good time after all so I held on and took my HR up to 165. I ran the last mile at 7:45 and turned in a PR on this course by 2 minutes over my previous best time. This was a hard effort and will be my final long hard run for the BAA Half. Concentration now will be on taper and recovery. It is the end of the season after all I try to keep telling myself and I want to head into November base build up in good shape and without injury. I did add one more race the end of October. I'll be running a leg in a relay at the Cape Cod marathon. I had registered to run this marathon last year but backed out as I had run the MDI Marathon two weeks previous to that. I had meant to run MDI about 16-17 miles in prep for the Cape but ended up finishing it. My daughter has challenged me to run the Honolulu Marathon in December with her... She has already signed up. She ran it two years ago along with about 22,000 others. 7.8 mile run, 8:38 pace, 1:07:23
Monday, September 25, 2006
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Friday, September 22, 2006
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Wasn't sure if I was going to do a recovery run today or a short tempo run and I ended up doing a 5.7 mile tempo run. Once I got up to 150 beats per minute I thought I would just do a mile at that heart rate, then it was two, then I hit some hills and I wondered if I could maintain the 150, then it was one mile to go and so on. Last mile was an 8 minute mile. So I'll give it a rest and maybe in 4 or 5 days see if I can do 8 miles at a HR of 150, then 4 or 5 more days and I'll try a 10-11 miler at 150. If I can do that I will be in the ballpark to break a time of 1:50 for the B.A.A. Half Marathon and if not there is always next year.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Monday, September 18, 2006
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Saturday, September 16, 2006
This was my third race (Sprint Tri) in 13 days including a 1/2 Ironman and 5
mile road race and the final triathlon this year. I didn't hold anything back
and came in 38th overall and 2nd in division my best placing by far. The tri was
held for the first time in a town next to me so I had a chance to ride the
course ahead of time. I treated myself to some Crackerbarrel pancakes with peach topping and later on a strawberry shortcake ice cream sundae and some time on the sofa watching old movies, Golden Pond and Seabiscuit.
Friday, September 15, 2006
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
There is a new tri in town. 5 Star Triathlon this Saturday. This makes 3 local tris now with one being the all female Danskin tri. I'll be ready to go and being a local tri, intentions to do well are high. This will be the last tri this season and will be a make up tri for me to replace Boston.
Monday, September 11, 2006
Firmman times: The swim went exactly as expected. I went at a very leisurely pace being mindful a long day was ahead and pacing my energy reserves. The bike I pulled off at the water stop at mile 22 and stretched, checked my wheels for any rubbing and ate a banana. I gave up 4 minutes but ended up passing many bikes that went by me there. My bike went better than anticipated. There were some headwinds on Route 1 the last 12 miles or so but I had no signs of fading and good legs. The first 3 miles of the run went well and I was running about a 9:20 pace. The last 10 miles of the run were a bear. Muscle fatigue set in and I slowed to a 10:30 pace but finished the run pretty much at my projected time.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Firmman quick update: I finished! Roughly about 6:05. I'll post a more in depth report Monday sometime...
Saturday, September 9, 2006
Time to go outside and play! Ready or not here I go...
Friday, September 8, 2006
This should complete glycogen loading. Tanks should be full. |
 | Intake-3594 (F-93, C-583, P-147) |
| Burned-2947 |
| Over-647 |
| Exercise-567 |
| Intake-3083 (F-87, C-481, P-137) |
| Burned-3020 |
| Over-63 |
| Exercise-642 |
Boston Triathlon Cancellation Statement:
http://www.bostontriathlon.org/weatheradvisory.htm
| Intake-3102 (F-87, C-475, P-142) |
| Burned-2551 |
| Over-551 |
| Exercise-0 |
| Intake-3738 (F-111, C-596, P-127) |
| Burned-2934 |
| Over-804 |
| Exercise-534 |
Race Report-My strategy didn't take. I had seeded myself dead last and then stepped back another 10 yards thinking that should do it. There were 298 racers. Mile 1-8:17, mile 2-8:12, mile 3-7:27, mile 4-7:48, mile 5-7:57. The last 1.5 miles are uphill and there is about a .75 mile uphill just before the half way mark. Overall about 2.5 miles is uphill. I was aware of my HR and was soon running at 165 but breathing didn't seem labored so didn't back off. There were no hints of fading anywhere and I sprinted for the finish moving up one position while hitting a max HR of 181. I passed over 200 racers by the time I got to the finish. Official results in about a week. Basically the same time as I ran last year. Heart rate graph looks very similar to last year except my average was 5 beats higher this year.
Looking at the photos I seem to be hitting the front of my foot at a slower pace, mid foot at a medium pace and heel at a 5K and faster pace.
At the start:
Halfway:
Almost at the finish:
Update- Ok, after re-thinking strategy and tactics and this coming Sunday's half iron I'm changing tactics. I will run today's race as an exercise in pacing specifically for my Boston qualifying pace which is 8:30 per mile. This will allow me to see where my heart rate is falling at this pace as well as optimizing my recovery for Sunday. I'm going to try and keep my HR on the hills under 160. That's my final plan and I'm sticking to it!
I'm still not sure what my tactics will be for today's 5 mile road race. There are 3 good hills. My rough draft so far is to run at a heart rate of 150 for the first third, 160 for the second third and 170 for the final third which is all uphill. I'll go anaerobic for the last third but the duration should only be about 15 minutes. I'm thinking my lactate threshold is around 160-163 based on my experience. Last year my threshold was set at 153 on my heart rate monitor but I changed it this year to 160. Last year's HR metrics are here: http://www.scww.org/charlton_5_mile_road_race.htm The race is at 10:00 AM so I will try and eat a full breakfast by 7:30 AM. This will also be a good test for my Firmman breakfast.
My weight has been steady all year at 164 pounds with some minor fluctuations here and there. My body mass index for my 5 foot 7.25 inches is 25.5. With over 25 supposedly overweight I counter that by habitually weighing myself daily first thing in the morning on two scales one of which is a Tanita body fat scale. Also about every month or two I'll check body fat using Slim Guide Skin Fold Calipers which correlate with the readings of the Skyndex I that my gym uses, both using the Jackson/Pollock formula. For my readings I enter the 3 measurements here http://www.fitnesstransform.com/Bodyfat_Calculator_for_Men.php Using that methodology I seem to be averaging about 6 percent so allowing for inaccuracies I'm probably 10 percent or below. I've been able to maintain that regularly for over a year now. Even though my intake was up the past week and exercise down my weight has stayed the same.
Some interesting insights on my water intake are that I always have water with my meals when eating out and drink it but at home due to years of habit do not. I will try adding water to my meals at home and see what happens.
Intake for August (Fiber averaged 54 grams a day)
| Intake-3130 (F-83, C-478, P-145) |
| Burned-2808 |
| Over-322 |
| Exercise-449 |
Lemond stationary bike- 10 minute warm up then intervals of standing 1 minute at
a cadence of 80 and seated aero position at a cadence of 90 for 3 minutes for a
40 minute duration followed by a 10 minute cool down. Tension constant and
unchanged. Hydration 2-750 ml bottles of water, typical for me.
My initial reaction to today's race being cancelled was one of disappointment. This had been my favorite race last year partly because it was a closed course and partly because my fitness seemed to be peaking and partly because I got to watch the pros and elite race also. I hope they recover from this and tri again next year.
After I took my race number off my bike and unpacked my transition bag I went for an ice cream cone and to ponder the meaning of life. I felt like I hadn't raced much this year and that feeling leaves me chomping at the bit to get outside and play next Sunday. I recalled as a child spending an hour in the water splashing around, riding my bike around the neighborhood all morning and throughout the day and playing tag for an hour or two and I thought what's the big deal about a half iron. It's child's play really.
| Intake-3578 (F-111, C-567, P-113) |
| Burned-2639 |
| Over-939 |
Exercise-256
UGH!
Intake yesterday was pretty good, carbs-449 grams, fat-91 grams and protein-130 grams. My sleep has been down to 5 and 6 hours a night but I'm not tired during the day and no lethargy. I'll try and fit a nap in this afternoon. I'll do a mini brick today and generally rest up. The Big Dig tunnel opened up one lane last night so it looks like I'll be able to get in today for packet pick-up and tomorrow without too much bother. Last year race day was a fiasco trying to get there. The tunnel was closed in the wee hours for leak repair and I had to get off and then got lost. I could see the general direction of the ocean but couldn't figure out how to get to it. I made it on time though.
Changed my half Ironman goal time again this morning to under 6:20 based on my finish time and heart rate metrics at the Greenfield Lightlife International Triathlon of 4 weeks ago. I think that should be fairly accurate depending upon conditions.
| Intake-3019 |
| Burned-2631 |
| Over-388 |
Exercise-0
Today is a rest day. My legs feel recovered from yesterday's run and ready to go on Sunday in Boston. My appetite was up last night and I ended up taking in 607 grams of carbs, 114 grams of fat and 137 grams of protein. My weight has been steady and is at where it was a month ago. I tend to weight myself daily first thing in the morning and then usually after exercise to check fluid losses. I'm up about 5 pounds from a year ago but attribute that to muscle gains and have been pretty stable since February of this year.
Mentally I'm ready to go pretty hard in Boston. Looking at my HR from last year I ended up building going harder on the bike than the swim and harder yet on the run and that's my strategy for this year also. At the swim last year it was my first deep water start and I started at the back and inside and got boxed in by a few individuals that seemed to just freak out and stopped swimming for no apparent reason plus I had a woman on my right trying to swim over me who I eventually just got mad and dropped. I had to fight to find open water. This year I'm going to try to position closer to the front and outside so that I can establish a rhythm and avoid the start frenzy as much as possible.
Monday, Labor Day, I have a 5 mile hilly road race scheduled in the morning and I'm still not sure what my game plan is here. Last year I meant to just run it as a recovery run (What was I thinking?) and ended up turning in a PR. But this year I have to be mindful of recovery times for Firmman. So, can I run within a set goal pace or if my legs are tired will I skip this one or will I try for another PR to benchmark against last year? I really don't know at this point. I know the smart thing would be to skip it but that's probably not going to happen.
I'm also starting to feel mentally and physically prepared (in other words not intimidated) for the half Ironman a week after Boston. I reviewed my training log and I did do several 2 hour bikes during base buildup in the winter even if that was done on a stationary bike which is quite different than open road riding. I'll concentrate on rest, hydration and optimizing glycogen storage next week. Those will be the major workouts then I'll just take what I get on race day and have fun.
On my run yesterday I broke in a new pair of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 6 shoes. I also have some New Balance, several different pairs, and Asics Gel Keyano XI. They all have a different feel and I alternate with them on my runs but out of the pack the Brooks Adrenaline seem to be my favorites, feel the fastest, and leave me with no after effects.
| Intake-3814 |
| Burned-2983 |
| Over-831 |
Exercise-599
5.7 mile tempo run:
Appetite was normal yesterday and in control. Honey Nut Cheerios are a quick snack for me when I need something fast besides fruit or if I have a carb craving. I just scoop some in a 12 ounce cup and pick away at them like popcorn. I usually try to balance the carbs out with some protein but not always.
Wednesday's intake:
| Intake-3002 |
| Burned-3025 |
| Over-23 |
Exercise-643
Joined the Masters swim group today at the pool after 3 months off and just doing open water swims. My first reaction when I started open water swimming back in May was that I had lost stamina. I increased my swim times incrementally over the summer up to an hour for approximately 1.5 miles and was pretty comfortable with that. Upon returning to the pool today my recovery times seemed much better between intervals as well as my sense of pacing. My technique seemed to be more second nature and I could make corrections instantly when it started to break down. My shoulders were a little sore after from the effort.
Tuesday I had a bit of an appetite but held it in check and stayed away from junk food. This seems to happen during recovery and rest weeks and my guess is that my glycogen being low signals my appetite to replenish and then that usually settles out in a day or two. My sleep had been getting less and less also to the point where I was getting about 6.5 hours a night but I managed 8 hours last night. 7.5 hours has been pretty normal for me. Hydration has been plentiful.
Tuesday's intake:
| Intake-3265 |
| Burned-2414 |
| Over-851 |
Exercise-0
Today is a rest day. I keep going back and forth on my half Ironman projection finish time. A lot will depend on the bike and of course the weather but I changed the time again today from 6:45 to 6:00 even. I'm thinking if all goes well that should be in the ball park. My HR estimates for Firmman are:
I'm planning on pulling off at the two water stops and taking a 4-5 minute break off the bike but may skip one break if I feel real good. The run I'm planning on just running a 10:00 minute per mile pace.
My nutrition plan is to eat my normal breakfast of about 800-900 calories about 5:00 AM, drink Gatorade on the bike, 6 bottles or about 250 calories per hour and a Fuel Belt on the run with 2 bottle of Gatorade or about 250 calories. I'll also take some water on the water stops and if I can find a banana on the bike then 1 or 2 of those also. That should give me 1850-2050 in calories.
| Intake-3293 |
| Burned-2808 |
| Over-485 |
Exercise-449
I was planning on taking today as a rest day but work commitments Tuesday will make that a better fit. My legs felt fine and resting HR was normal, about 46-51 BPM. I biked one hour on my Lemond Revmaster spin bike with three 5 minute intervals done standing and cadences of 60-70, then 70-80, and thirdly 75-85.
| Intake-3871 |
| Burned-3688 |
| Over-183 |
Exercise-1356
Run 12.4 miles, 10:00 pace, HR 133 average BPM. 300 calories 1 hour before
run and 2 bottles of Gatorade during run.
Weather 60-65 degrees and cloudy.
| Intake-3420 |
| Burned-4927 |
| Deficit-1507 |
Exercise-2666
So you ride yourselves
over the fields and
you make all your animal deals and
your wise men don't know how it feels to be thick as a brick.
~Jethro Tull~
Bike-61 miles
Run-2 miles
It's a little late in the year to be working on stamina-endurance but I've finally been able to resolve some issues with the bike that I have had for several years on longer rides. This will count more for next year but today was certainly a breakthrough for me both mentally and physically. My legs were toast by the end of the bike but fine on the run. Run pace was about 9:23 per mile.
| 822 calories-full breakfast before ride. |
| 510 calories- 3 Gatorade and a banana on the bike. Could have used a 4th Gatorade. |
| 70 degrees and cloudy. |
| Ride time-3:48, average-15.9 MPH, three 20.3 mile loops and two 5 minute water stops in between. Bike/run transition-3:38, HR average 128 BPM. |
| Total time-4:21 |
| Intake-3601 |
| Burned-2889 |
| Over-712 |
Exercise-576
| Intake-3178 |
| Burned-3425 |
| Deficit-247 |
Exercise-1078
| Intake-3002 |
| Burned-2982 |
| Over-20 |
Exercise-588
| Intake-3359 |
| Burned-3269 |
| Over-90 |
Exercise-885
| Intake-3105 |
| Burned-2619 |
| Over-486 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-2643 |
| Burned-2976 |
| Deficit-333 |
Exercise-673
| Intake-3721 |
| Burned-2890 |
| Over-831 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-3084 |
| Burned-3039 |
| Over-45 |
Exercise-680
| Intake-2824 |
| Burned-3221 |
| Deficit-397 |
Exercise-846
| Intake-3208 |
| Burned-3141 |
| Over-67 |
Exercise-778
| Intake-2847 |
| Burned-2889 |
| Deficit-42 |
Exercise-576
| Intake-3019 |
| Burned-3004 |
| Over-15 |
Exercise-613
| Intake-3283 |
| Burned-4166 |
| Deficit-883 |
Exercise-1847
| Intake-4676 |
| Burned-2830 |
| Over-1846 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-3098 |
| Burned-3036 |
| Over-62 |
Exercise-671
| Intake-3105 |
| Burned-3193 |
| Deficit-88 |
Exercise-821
| Intake-2946 |
| Burned-2409 |
| Over-537 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-2990 |
| Burned-3097 |
| Deficit-107 |
Exercise-726
| Intake-2541 |
| Burned-2403 |
| Over-138 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-3033 |
| Burned-4537 |
| Deficit-1504 |
Exercise-2212
AM
A long hunt is on today, Olympic tri, .63 mile river swim, 30.4 miles bike 4
lap course through a covered bridge, 7.2 mile run. I'm a little intimidated by
the distance plus the fact that this is a New England Club Championship so the
really
fast people will be there. The first two spots in age division are sewed up but
I may have a chance at third but realistically 4th, 5th or 6th is more like it.
We'll see...
PM
OK, finished 4th in division out of 9. There were many clubs and some very fast
competitors but I managed to beat 5 of them in my division.
Ready to roll~
| Intake-2538 |
| Burned-2694 |
| Deficit-156 |
Exercise-171
| Intake-4004 |
| Burned-2404 |
| Over-1600 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-2862 |
| Burned-2812 |
| Over-50 |
Exercise-422
| Intake-3042 |
| Burned-2918 |
| Over-124 |
Exercise-535
| Intake-2946 |
| Burned-2928 |
| Over-18 |
Exercise-428
| Intake-2406 |
| Burned-2743 |
| Deficit-337 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-3361 |
| Burned-3479 |
| Deficit-118 |
Exercise-1125
| Intake-3118 |
| Burned-3636 |
| Deficit-518 |
Exercise-1287
| Intake-2994 |
| Burned-3067 |
| Deficit-73 |
Exercise-772
| Intake-3128 |
| Burned-3054 |
| Over-74 |
Exercise-675
| Intake-3325 |
| Burned-2758 |
| Over-467 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-2932 |
| Burned-3199 |
| Deficit-257 |
Exercise-809
| Intake-4323 |
| Burned-3125 |
| Over-1198 |
Exercise-750
Had a little binge episode going in the evening but first one in a long time and stuck to healthy choices as there is no junk food around. Hopefully it was just my glycogen storage tanks calling out for refueling and not the start of a trend plus I just stayed up too late. I am trying to up my volume this week as next week is a scheduled recovery week and day to day recovery now is paramount.
| Intake-3825 |
| Burned-3462 |
| Over-363 |
Exercise-1063
I had a good race today. It started out as a monsoon. Passed a badly crashed
car that had hydroplaned out of control about 5:30 this morning on the way to
the venue and it was raining so hard I even thought of turning around and going
home but I don't think I could have lived with myself.
The swim was a GPS measured 1/2 mile, 10 mile bike and 3 mile run including 1 mile through the
mud an up and down hills and over rocks and roots in the woods. The swim is a
contact sport with a lot of bumping kicking and getting kicked and grabbing
other's body parts while being grabbed at the same time.
14 months ago I couldn't swim at all. I came in 168th on the swim out of a field
of 419. My bike split (includes T1 and T2 times) I came in 37th overall. I'm still in
disbelief there too. My bike is 18 years old. The run I placed 116th and out of the entire field I came in
85th, my best placing ever.
There were athletes from as far away as California today and these are some very
fit individuals both men and women. Many have been jocks since high school and
were excellent runners and swimmers from way back then.
It's good company on a Sunday morning and everyone is friendly and helpful. Even
the spectators enjoy these races.
This is the fellow that won today, Bill Reeves, and these are the types of
athletes I compete with. He has a 2002 Half Ironman time of 4:07 so is at an
elite level if not pro.
The first 3 photos are before the race. The wetsuit one is right after coming out of the water and the run one is just before the finish line.
| Intake-2594 |
| Burned-2571 |
| Over-23 |
Exercise-171
| Intake-2643 |
| Burned-2988 |
| Deficit-345 |
Exercise-592
| Intake-3982 |
| Burned-3098 |
| Over-884 |
Exercise-708
| Intake-2921 |
| Burned-3068 |
| Deficit-147 |
Exercise-772
| Intake-3448 |
| Burned-2969 |
| Over-479 |
Exercise-588
Interesting wet suit test today. I had plenty of energy for the sans wetsuit set and finished quite strong. What I noticed was a lot less glide and my arms had to pull harder on the catch with more resistance. Balance seemed about the same. 4 lengths is pretty close to 800 yards or so. Lake was ripple and no current. 1/2 mile without the wetsuit added about 4 minutes.
With wetsuit:
2 lengths of the buoys as warm-up at 10:20
4 lengths at 20:37
Without wetsuit:
4 lengths at
24:43
| Intake-2776 |
| Burned-3224 |
| Deficit-448 |
Exercise-838
| Intake-3306 |
| Burned-3493 |
| Deficit-187 |
Exercise-1113
| Intake-3532 |
| Burned-2672 |
| Over-860 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-3448 |
| Burned-3130 |
| Over-318 |
Exercise-751
| Intake-3057 |
| Burned-3069 |
| Deficit-12 |
Exercise-772
| Intake-3229 |
| Burned-3039 |
| Over-190 |
Exercise-648
| Intake-2977 |
| Burned-2976 |
| Over-1 |
Exercise-590
| Intake-2973 |
| Burned-3129 |
| Deficit-156 |
Exercise-751
| Intake-3317 |
| Burned-3704 |
| Deficit-387 |
Exercise-1319
Holliston Triathlon-Approximately 1:40:11. Great tri. Everything couldn't have gone better. Very talented field today in my age division. I came in 5th in division and 107 overall out of about 300. Bike was 61st over all.
| Intake-4223 |
| Burned-2749 |
| Over-1474 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-3076 |
| Burned-3048 |
| Over-28 |
Exercise-650
| Intake-3634 |
| Burned-2419 |
| Over-1215 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-2905 |
| Burned-2976 |
| Deficit-71 |
Exercise-590
| Intake-3446 |
| Burned-3531 |
| Deficit-85 |
Exercise-1179
| Intake-3161 |
| Burned-3058 |
| Over-103 |
Exercise-769
| Intake-3239 |
| Burned-3203 |
| Over-36 |
Exercise-824
| Intake-3064 |
| Burned-3266 |
| Deficit-202 |
Exercise-942
| Intake-3118 |
| Burned-3027 |
| Over-91 |
Exercise-619
| Intake-3944 |
| Burned-2819 |
| Over-1125 |
Exercise-451
| Intake-3497 |
| Burned-3019 |
| Over-478 |
Exercise-642
| Intake-2990 |
| Burned-2980 |
| Over-10 |
Exercise-674
| Intake-2668 |
| Burned-2705 |
| Deficit-37 |
Exercise-353
| Intake-3892 |
| Burned-3492 |
| Over-400 |
Exercise-1116
What a soggy mess. A rainy, muggy Webster Tri. I went from shivering before the swim to pouring water over my head during the run to cool off. All in all I was happy with my results. I gave 100 percent and the field was very competitive and talented despite the weather. I ranked 5th in age group and 106 out of 316 overall. I missed 4th place by 19 seconds and if I hadn't of lollygagged coming out of the water I would have had 20 seconds easily. Near the end of the run a 69 year old guy blew by me like I was standing still. He probably gets a kick out dusting us youngsters. Looking at my heart rate metrics I think physically I don't have much more room for improvement so I need to concentrate on technique in order to improve times at this point.
Webster Tri Metrics 2006
Webster Tri Metrics 2005
| Intake-3026 |
| Burned-2588 |
| Over-438 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-2634 |
| Burned-2638 |
| Deficit-4 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-3248 |
| Burned-3070 |
| Over-178 |
Exercise-708
| Intake-2625 |
| Burned-2650 |
| Deficit-25 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-3385 |
| Burned-3200 |
| Over-185 |
Exercise-830
| Intake-2424 |
| Burned-2327 |
| Deficit-3 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-3698 |
| Burned-3354 |
| Over-344 |
Exercise-985
| Intake-3245 |
| Burned-3292 |
| Deficit-47 |
Exercise-933
Swam my first continuous mile this year. No records ( 46 minutes, 8 lengths of the buoys, HR 130-135) but I could have gone a little more. Followed up with a 16 mile bike ride averaging 18.3 mph in easy mode, taking Mt Daniels seated.
| Intake-3911 |
| Burned-3079 |
| Over-832 |
Exercise-697
"Hey! Look over there."
"What is that?"
"It looks like a duck."
Rowing a little closer, "No, it looks like a big dog."
Rowing closer still, "I think it's a person."
Thank goodness they weren't duck hunters instead of fisherman in a kayak.
| Intake-3549 |
| Burned-2939 |
| Over-610 |
Exercise-563
| Intake-2674 |
| Burned-3109 |
| Deficit-435 |
Exercise-725
| Intake-3055 |
| Burned-2910 |
| Over-145 |
Exercise-580
| Intake-2798 |
| Burned-2924 |
| Deficit-126 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-2978 |
| Burned-3424 |
| Deficit-446 |
Exercise-1038
The water temp was 62 degrees. Breathing became an issue for many. The Hoyts
were there and were being filmed for an upcoming movie or TV show and are doing
The Kona Ironman this October. Dick is 66 and is rebounding from a heart attack.
I rounded the first buoy and was met with a stiff headwind. I swam hard but was
making little progress then all of a sudden my head hit something soft. I
crashed head first into the raft Dick was pulling his son in. They had started 9
minutes in front of me and were dead in the water. The raft is like towing a
sail and into a headwind yet.
I had serious doubts that Team Hoyt would pull this off but failure is not an
option with them and over coming adversity is their lifestyle. It was a very
humbling experience to see them complete today after having trouble on the swim
and then running into some mechanical issues on the bike.
All in all I didn't do too bad, third in age group and 67 out of about 200
overall with 40 something over all on the bike. I had a great bike until a van
pulled out in front of me and blocked the road and I couldn't stop. I still
don't know how I managed to get around it.
| Intake-2424 |
| Burned-2437 |
| Deficit-3 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-3763 |
| Burned-3216 |
| Over-547 |
Exercise-808
| Intake-3127 |
| Burned-2422 |
| Over-705 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-2768 |
| Burned-2979 |
| Deficit-211 |
Exercise-600
| Intake-2775 |
| Burned-3543 |
| Deficit-768 |
Exercise-947
| Intake-3603 |
| Burned-3688 |
| Deficit-85 |
Exercise-1421
| Intake-3541 |
| Burned-3597 |
| Deficit-56 |
Exercise-1212
| Intake-2757 |
| Burned-2718 |
| Over-39 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-2328 |
| Burned-2760 |
| Deficit-432 |
Exercise-383
| Intake-2583 |
| Burned-2855 |
| Deficit-272 |
Exercise-451
| Intake-2837 |
| Burned-3036 |
| Deficit-199 |
Exercise-645
| Intake-3064 |
| Burned-3063 |
| Over-1 |
Exercise-705
| Intake-2799 |
| Burned-3149 |
| Deficit-350 |
Exercise-744
| Intake-2162 |
| Burned-3007 |
| Deficit-845 |
Exercise-680
| Intake-3162 |
| Burned-3203 |
| Deficit-41 |
Exercise-436
| Intake-3141 |
| Burned-3521 |
| Deficit-380 |
Exercise-1161
| Intake-2962 |
| Burned-3017 |
| Deficit-55 |
Exercise-624
| Intake-2938 |
| Burned-3180 |
| Deficit-242 |
Exercise-853
| Intake-2414 |
| Burned-2418 |
| Deficit-4 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-2873 |
| Burned-2722 |
| Over-151 |
Exercise-321
| Intake-3199 |
| Burned-3123 |
| Over-76 |
Exercise-755
| Intake-3948 |
| Burned-2904 |
| Over-1044 |
Exercise-579
| Intake-4163 |
| Burned-2990 |
| Over-1173 |
Exercise-611
| Intake-2930 |
| Burned-2686 |
| Over-244 |
Exercise-289
| Intake-3339 |
| Burned-3088 |
| Over-251 |
Exercise-723
| Intake-3383 |
| Burned-3172 |
| Over-211 |
Exercise-868
| Intake-4247 |
| Burned-2954 |
| Over-1293 |
Exercise-579
| Intake-4402 |
| Burned-2686 |
| Over-1716 |
Exercise-289
| Intake-3575 |
| Burned-2588 |
| Over-987 |
Exercise-177
| Intake-2560 |
| Burned-3025 |
| Deficit-465 |
Exercise-643
| Intake-2177 |
| Burned-3046 |
| Deficit-869 |
Exercise-650
| Intake-2791 |
| Burned-3069 |
| Deficit-278 |
Exercise-772
| Intake-2613 |
| Burned-3047 |
| Deficit-434 |
Exercise-743
| Intake-2922 |
| Burned-3025 |
| Deficit-103 |
Exercise-643
| Intake-2825 |
| Burned-2974 |
| Deficit-149 |
Exercise-589
| Intake-2681 |
| Burned-2418 |
| Over-263 |
Exercise-0
My goal was to limit intake to 2700 calories today and the last 4 or 5 days and not go over by more than that if possible. It was touch and go a couple of times but I was able to hold on. It's easier to maintain than it is to lose especially when you need calories for recovery and the next exercise session.
Speaking of recovery:
THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Barbaro outpaces the field by 6 1/2 lengths
"Every step of the way he was running so easily," Prado said. "I wasn't
even concerned about the horses in front. ... I looked back a couple of times
and didn't see anybody. It was just a matter of time when I can turn him loose,
and you see what happened when I did."
Originally published May 4, 2006
LOUISVILLE, Ky. // One of the things that
has fascinated trainer Michael Matz this week leading up to Saturday's Kentucky
Derby is how often he hears the same question.
The question boils down to this: How in the world does he think he can win the
Kentucky Derby when his horse, Maryland-based Barbaro, ran his last prep race
five weeks ago?
Matz would laugh if he weren't so sick of it.
"I don't understand it," Matz said. "I wish you could explain it to me. You tell
me what prep races have been five weeks out from the Derby before this year.
There haven't been any five weeks out, so how can anyone say it doesn't work?
"I don't know how you can criticize somebody for doing it just because nobody
could go in a race at that time."
It has been 50 years since a horse - Needles - has won the Kentucky Derby after
a five-week layoff.
Horsemen are as much creatures of habit as competitors in any other sport. They
do things the way they do because it has always been done that way - unless
someone tries something different and it works.
And maybe this comment sums it up:
"I think Michael knows his horse and has made a plan to suit him," he
said.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/horseracing/bal-sp.derby04may04,0,186556.story?coll=bal-home-headlines
| Intake-2909 |
| Burned-3189 |
| Deficit-280 |
Exercise-807
Recovery bike ride - 21 miles 17.5 average, HR 133 average. Sweet ride, felt good and definitely could have hammered but held back to stay on purpose with recovery. Intake has been dead on the last 4 days and Saturday hopefully will too to even out the 4 excessive days from last week and to be back on track there as well. I seem to have a repertoire that I can go to now when needed, The key at this point is keeping calorie restriction to a 10 percent or 300 calorie deficit to keep the muscle mass I need. The next three weeks are rigorous build weeks and I'm feeling quite ready now to hit it.
| Intake-2686 |
| Burned-2844 |
| Deficit-158 |
Exercise-432
| Intake-2709 |
| Burned-3057 |
| Deficit-348 |
Exercise-650
| Intake-2744 |
| Burned-3101 |
| Deficit-357 |
Exercise-780
| Intake-3633 |
| Burned-2438 |
| Over-1195 |
Exercise-0
May Day, May Day! Over by 1195 calories today and establishing a trend with 4 out of 5 days over (3365 net calories over in 5 days).
Without exercise I can only eat a very small (to me) amount. I only ate healthy foods yet the calories still add up even on fruit. Today and Friday are rest days with no scheduled exercise except rest. Better attention to meal planning pays off.
This is why I exercise:
| Intake-3708 |
| Burned-3241 |
| Over-467 |
Exercise-946
| Intake-3400 |
| Burned-3752 |
| Deficit-352 |
Exercise-1400
34 mile bike ride. It seemed there were headwinds the first 17 miles so the return trip should have had a gentle push. Boy was I ever wrong. I had mistaken crosswinds for a headwind. Turning the corner at 17 miles with 17 miles back I was in for quite a surprise. I got to spend 17 miles visiting my small chain ring. It was a long steady climb with no rest for the weary. There doesn't seem to be vocabulary descriptive enough to paint an accurate picture of the ordeal.
What helped was recalling and thinking about my base. Even though the winds were strong and feeling fatigued perhaps as much from the pollen as the wind I knew I had ridden 2 hours without any problem previously so just needed to stick it out and choose appropriate gearing. Even though I felt dreadfully slow I still managed a 16.1 MPH average at a 133 average HR which is what my plan's target HR called for.
| Intake-3490 |
| Burned-2438 |
| Over-1052 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-3558 |
| Burned-3034 |
| Over-524 |
Exercise-645
| Intake-2698 |
| Burned-3046 |
| Deficit-348 |
Exercise-647
| Intake-2791 |
| Burned-2993 |
| Deficit-202 |
Exercise-677
| Intake-3214 |
| Burned-2891 |
| Over-323 |
Exercise-516
| Intake-3272 |
| Burned-3439 |
| Deficit-167 |
Exercise-1033
In the
first photo the guy in blue is Jarrod Shoemaker the number 1 ranked ITU
triathlete in the world. The blond bent over is his sister Jenna and both have a
pretty good chance of making the 2008 Olympic team. The guy in yellow #40 is me
wondering what the heck I've gotten myself into and reminds me of those "Can you
find the things wrong?" photo puzzles.
All in all I didn't do bad, 123rd out of about 300. Third
in my age group and I'm still alive as I type this.
The second photo is me trying to get the heck out of the way before I get run
over about 100 yards from the start.
This was a duathlon-3 mile run, 11 mile bike, 2 mile run.
Anecdote-Jarrod Shoemaker swims 20,000 yards a week. Jenna is also a professional triathlete.
http://www.jennashoemaker.com/
http://www.jarrodshoemaker.com/
| Intake-2899 |
| Burned-2754 |
| Over-145 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-2950 |
| Burned-3125 |
| Deficit-175 |
Exercise-774
| Intake-3102 |
| Burned-3258 |
| Deficit-156 |
Exercise-843
Biked 20 miles, average 18.5 MPH, HR 137 average.
| Intake-3060 |
| Burned-3057 |
| Over-3 |
Exercise-652
| Intake-2860 |
| Burned-3007 |
| Deficit-147 |
Exercise-680
| Intake-2871 |
| Burned-2894 |
| Deficit-23 |
Exercise-486
| Intake-3700 |
| Burned-3278 |
| Over-422 |
Exercise-888
7.8 mile hill run today with two good climbs. My legs felt good but I had some fatigue the last 1.5 miles that may have been due more because I didn't hydrate during the run. Recovery was excellent.
| Intake-4660 |
| Burned-3428 |
| Over-1232 |
Exercise-1115
32 mile bike ride to help with depletion. Whoopie Pie testing to help with restoration.
| Intake-3280 |
| Burned-3017 |
| Over-263 |
Exercise-641
Winter is officially over! My favorite ice cream place opened yesterday. I
try and limit intake to one medium cone per week which is about 1.5 cups
and 400 calories, 21 grams of fat, 13 grams of saturated fat, 49 grams of carbs
and 7 grams of protein. Not a perfect food but when mixed in with a low fat day
the results can be within tolerance as shown.
| Intake-3129 |
| Burned-2820 |
| Over-309 |
Exercise-460
| Intake-2731 |
| Burned-2920 |
| Deficit-189 |
Exercise-535
| Intake-2622 |
| Burned-2992 |
| Deficit-370 |
Exercise-677
Today starts the 10 week build phase of my training. My base training period of 21 weeks averaged out to about 10 hours a week at the most and typically 3 of those hours were spent swimming. After a few dry runs it is apparent that my form is good and seemingly better than last year at this time. I strongly believe the coaching I received from Comprehensive Training has helped me and wish to share the following testimonial:
Last year at 54 years old I attempted my first triathlon, the Webster Triathlon. Being a newbie I didn’t know what to expect and by the time I hit the last mile of the run I realized that I was in over my head and that I had no business competing with athletes and that I would never attempt anything so foolish again. What I didn’t count on was the competitive spirit I had discovered and went on to do seven more tris.
I realized I had some missing components to my training and that I couldn’t count on my subjectivity alone and that if I wanted to progress AND stay injury free I would need assistance and coaching that would recognize my limitations and time constraints and philosophy. I had heard of Comprehensive Training and saw that they actually raced in several tris themselves and that they performed well so contacted them through email.
It was soon apparent to me that we shared the same philosophy. Train smart, avoid over training and injury, work on my limiters which after careful assessment were apparent and work within MY time constraints of about 10 hours a week.
Near the end of my base training plan provided by Comprehensive Training I ran a 4 mile and 5 mile road race two weeks apart with a personal best time on both. I just finished second in the 35 and up age category at a pentathlon at my gym. The following day I managed somehow to swim in our Masters Regional Championships where our group took first and managed a personal best on my 200 yard swim from 3 months earlier all the while feeling the fatigue of racing 3 events in eight days.
I am excited and looking ahead to performing at a top level within my age group this year all the while having fun AND staying injury free. I consider my relationship with Comprehensive Training to be a partnership where I can count on them to look out for my best interests and provide me with valuable guidance and feedback and I highly recommend them!
| Intake-2533 |
| Burned-2426 |
| Over-107 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-2761 |
| Burned-2618 |
| Over-143 |
Exercise-225
| Intake-2906 |
| Burned-3084 |
| Deficit-178 |
Exercise-695
| Intake-3328 |
| Burned-3029 |
| Over-299 |
Exercise-644
| Intake-3105 |
| Burned-3023 |
| Over-82 |
Exercise-642
| Intake-2849 |
| Burned-3590 |
| Deficit-741 |
Exercise-1226
| Intake-3341 |
| Burned-3230 |
| Over-111 |
Exercise-936
| Intake-3139 |
| Burned-3044 |
| Over-95 |
Exercise-647
| Intake-3363 |
| Burned-2968 |
| Over-395 |
Exercise-541
Marathon Sports 5 mile City Run - 38:41 7:45
| Intake-3775 |
| Burned-3062 |
| Over-713 |
Exercise-852
| Intake-5616 |
| Burned-3390 |
| Over-2226 |
Exercise-1004
A recipe for over indulgence:
| Intake-3702 |
| Burned-2912 |
| Over-790 |
Exercise-580
| Intake-2958 |
| Burned-3043 |
| Deficit-85 |
Exercise-647
| Intake-2751 |
| Burned-2828 |
| Deficit-77 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-3302 |
| Burned-3063 |
| Over-239 |
Exercise-651
Another recovery week and I'm really liking these now. I was definitely looking forward to this one. Last week I was unable to swim and when I returned to the pool yesterday I wasn't sure what to expect. What I found was that after the strangeness wore off after my prep ritual was that it seemed much more intuitive to me and I spent more mental time focusing on execution and less on trying to get something right that seemed to need correction. A subtle difference but performance wise the gains were significant. It was a good workout and an eye opener.
On these recovery weeks my weight bounces all over the place as does my appetite. It seems to be my body's way of taking care of it's needs in order to get stronger and adapt to the previous weeks' loads and prepare for what lies ahead. I'm ready now to kick it up a notch and grab hold of the next level. I'm definitely stronger than last year at this time due in large part to a well designed resistance plan and a more diversified base plan designed around my personal limiters and time constraints. Using a local triathlon specific coaching resource has proven to be a smart decision.
My training program is provided by Comprehensive Training Systems.
| Intake-3877 |
| Burned-2763 |
| Over-1114 |
Exercise-437
| Intake-3885 |
| Burned-3182 |
| Over-703 |
Exercise-902
| Intake-3307 |
| Burned-2816 |
| Over-491 |
Exercise-451
| Intake-3048 |
| Burned-3001 |
| Over-47 |
Exercise-621
| Intake-2914 |
| Burned-3330 |
| Deficit-416 |
Exercise-945
| Intake-3054 |
| Burned-2814 |
| Over-240 |
Exercise-450
| Intake-3012 |
| Burned-3007 |
| Over-5 |
Exercise-623
| Intake-3224 |
| Burned-3056 |
| Over-168 |
Exercise-769
| Intake-3304 |
| Burned-2855 |
| Over-449 |
Exercise-448
Ran the Barton 4 mile road race today and came in 28th with a time of 31:00 a pace of 7:45. My best run to date by far and it's only March and I've only run once on the road so far this year. I'm hoping to see a 7:30 pace by summer. Race HR.
| Intake-3715 |
| Burned-3571 |
| Over-144 |
Exercise-1414
| Intake-2796 |
| Burned-2616 |
| Over-180 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-3515 |
| Burned-3511 |
| Over-4 |
Exercise-1176
| Intake-3122 |
| Burned-3062 |
| Over-60 |
Exercise-771
| Intake-3452 |
| Burned-3561 |
| Deficit-109 |
Exercise-1221
| Intake-3130 |
| Burned-3310 |
| Deficit-180 |
Exercise-994
| Intake-3777 |
| Burned-3120 |
| Over-657 |
Exercise-822
| Intake-2617 |
| Burned-3029 |
| Deficit-412 |
Exercise-644
First non treadmill run of the year. Regular 5.7 mile loop. Legs and posture felt great and yesterday was a resistance workout but the top end seemed to be gone. The treadmill running over the winter doesn't translate well to the road but is better than nothing I suppose. The hills seemed much easier to me compared to last year and my resistance work has helped there I'll bet.
| Intake-3552 |
| Burned-3067 |
| Over-485 |
Exercise-772
| Intake-3119 |
| Burned-3526 |
| Deficit-407 |
Exercise-1208
| Intake-3074 |
| Burned-3019 |
| Over-55 |
Exercise-642
| Intake-2705 |
| Burned-2813 |
| Deficit-108 |
Exercise-450
| Intake-3052 |
| Burned-3056 |
| Deficit-4 |
Exercise-769
| Intake-3247 |
| Burned-3300 |
| Deficit-53 |
Exercise-991
| Intake-2931 |
| Burned-2631 |
| Over-300 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-3191 |
| Burned-2876 |
| Over-315 |
Exercise-510
| Intake-2891 |
| Burned-3343 |
| Deficit-452 |
Exercise-1064
| Intake-3197 |
| Burned-2412 |
| Over-785 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-2921 |
| Burned-3028 |
| Deficit-107 |
Exercise-644
| Intake-2794 |
| Burned-2819 |
| Deficit-25 |
Exercise-451
This starts a recovery week for me. Recovery workouts are some of the hardest for me to do because I have to exercise restraint. As I get more rested my energy levels rise and I tend to want to hit the gas so I have to keep the bigger picture in mind and stick to the goal of the workout which is a zone 2 heart rate and active recovery.
My body fat is back to where it was before the holidays but my weight is up 3-4 pounds so the resistance has added muscle and lean mass it looks like. I've also been mindful of stretching after workouts and working on balance. Last year I was not always successful at changing shoes in T1 and T2 without sitting down and I'm hoping this year to shave my transition times down and I think that would help. When Kurt Maw of Comprehensive Training Systems did my fitness assessments last October I was not able to do any of the various plank exercises and I tried again this past week and was able to do them all for about 15-20 seconds each with a little cheat from my heel touching the wall. I'll try and progress away from the wall as time goes on. I still haven't been able to do the Supermans on the ball without touching the wall but perhaps I need a softer ball.
One last area that needs my attention is that during recovery weeks I have to adjust my caloric intake to match my output so I need to adjust my diet for those needs and having two off days means I need to limit those days to about 2400 in calories down from my typical 3000 calorie intake on regular workout days.
I am very pleased with the results I've gotten from my periodized training program thus far set up for me by Kurt Maw from Comprehensive Training Systems. I've increased lean mass, bike skills and power and although I've been running on the treadmill my recovery and endurance are way ahead of where I was last year. Increasing running speed and swim speed seem to be slow processes which may take a few years but I think my biking is where I will gain the most improved times this year.
| Intake-3231 |
| Burned-3063 |
| Over-168 |
Exercise-771
| Intake-2748 |
| Burned-3036 |
| Deficit-288 |
Exercise-645
| Intake-3334 |
| Burned-3208 |
| Over-126 |
Exercise-847
| Intake-3177 |
| Burned-3036 |
| Over-141 |
Exercise-645
| Intake-3109 |
| Burned-3075 |
| Over-34 |
Exercise-774
| Intake-3387 |
| Burned-3473 |
| Deficit-86 |
Exercise-1131
| Intake-3286 |
| Burned-3312 |
| Deficit-26 |
Exercise-991
| Intake-2898 |
| Burned-3066 |
| Deficit-168 |
Exercise-772
| Intake-4417 |
| Burned-3438 |
| Over-979 |
Exercise-1109
I didn't follow my plan. Visiting I was offered some cookies and milk. 5 store bought cookies (No Trans-Fats) BUT 110 calories a cookie and about 10 ounces of 1 percent milk totaled 680 calories more than my evening meal and didn't even quench my hunger so on the return home I had 2 bowls of Cheerios and a toast with peanut butter for another 900 calories. Next time if I know I will be out like that I might bring some fruit to eat just in case.
| Intake-2681 |
| Burned-2420 |
| Over-261 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-3377 |
| Burned-3463 |
| Deficit-86 |
Exercise-1128
| Intake-3126 |
| Burned-3066 |
| Over-60 |
Exercise-771
| Intake-3122 |
| Burned-2417 |
| Over-705 |
Exercise-0
Today's workout was to rest. It had been 15 days since my last rest day which is too long and I was starting to feel the cumulative effects of not taking any. Previously I had been averaging about one per week. On top of that the last 7 workout days all included an anaerobic component which further exacerbated the effects. So I ate well today to give my body some resources to do some repair work.
Because today's meal plan was very untypical for me I've included it here. Dinner was more of a 1 hour meal then snack fest. The Kellogg's cereal (partly hidden) was mini-shredded wheat.
| Intake-3372 |
| Burned-3187 |
| Over-185 |
Exercise-894
| Intake-3245 |
| Burned-3168 |
| Over-77 |
Exercise-801
I went out for lunch at Longhorn Steak House and ordered a 7 ounce tenderloin with salad and yam. I ate a little over half and took the rest home for dinner. Polished off the day with a half pint of Haagen Dazs Vanilla Swiss Almond at 600 calories but as you can see the overall numbers worked. Saturated fat was over 10 percent but was 9 percent for the week. Total fat was 25 percent for the week. Running 7 miles on the treadmill certainly helped today's intake balance.
By tracking or journaling I knew where I stood. I could have easily gone to a "What the heck day" and just over indulged had I not realized where I stood but by tracking I was able to maintain control and stay reasonable.
I had a better than expected run today on the treadmill. The last 4 minutes I bumped my pace up to 7.5 MPH and the last minute to 8.5 MPH and I felt I could have gone even a little faster, perhaps 9 MPH (at max heart rate though). So....I am going to assume that I am genetically predisposed to being a fast runner. I had previously thought I was destined to be in the slower rankings but now I am changing my mental outlook and visualization and going with "I am a fast runner". Can't wait to start doing some speed workouts once the snow clears this Spring.
| Intake-2989 |
| Burned-2976 |
| Over-13 |
Exercise-596
| Intake-3182 |
| Burned-3019 |
| Over-163 |
Exercise-725
What to eat? With the exception of the Gatorade this is a pretty typical day for me:
| Intake-3054 |
| Burned-3321 |
| Deficit-267 |
Exercise-1029
Pretty interesting drill tonight. First time I did it so didn't know what to expect. Fairly simple performed on a stationary bike with a cadence readout. Start with a cadence of 70 and increase 5 revolutions every 7 minutes. I took 1 90 second recovery between 110 and 115. Besides improving my muscle memory it showed me I was pretty efficient up to and including a cadence of 105. The jump to 110 there was a steep increase in heart rate. Tension didn't change at that point either.
| Intake-3073 |
| Burned-3079 |
| Deficit-6 |
Exercise-721
| Intake-3002 |
| Burned-2971 |
| Over-31 |
Exercise-594
| Intake-2443 |
| Burned-2954 |
| Deficit-511 |
Exercise-674
Some Attawaugan Common Photos:
| Intake-3233 |
| Burned-3561 |
| Deficit-328 |
Exercise-1197
Pretty hard to believe but it was another day in the 50's today. No snow or ice or salt on the roads so I headed out for a 28.5 mile bike ride. This was my longest ride last year and I did it in the same exact time as I did on August 25th, 1:39. Average speed about 17.5 MPH. Last year my cycling volume was down and this year I'm hoping to increase the ride lengths so this was an excellent start and I was very pleased.
On the aesthetic side I headed out about 10:00 AM with very light to no traffic and 43 degrees. I rode into the center of Attawaugan which is a century's old pristine village with an old militia training common on the left pretty much grown in and surrounded by stone walls around the perimeter, the general's home and an old New England church complete with steeple that sits on the end of the common and is somewhat in decay and disrepair. As I came up the incline there is a crossroad and to my right approached a man driving an antique surrey. I watched in awe transported momentarily to a different era as the buggy crossed in front of me and continued on down the hill and out of site. The only sound was the clop, clop, clop of the horse's hooves. It was a beautiful site that would have been missed by a 10 second time difference. It was certainly a peak moment.
I also re-assessed my one half Ironman time of 5:30 and am changing it to
trying to finish in under 6 hours. I think that is more realistic and still
quite a push. My current estimates would be:
Swim-0:35
Bike-3:20
Run-2:15
T1 and T2-0:05
Total time-6:15
| Intake-2951 |
| Burned-2969 |
| Deficit-18 |
Exercise-594
| Intake-2901 |
| Burned-2814 |
| Over-87 |
Exercise-450
| Intake-2995 |
| Burned-3033 |
| Deficit-38 |
Exercise-645
| Intake-3073 |
| Burned-2905 |
| Over-168 |
Exercise-561
| Intake-2862 |
| Burned-2905 |
| Deficit-43 |
Exercise-579
| Intake-3347 |
| Burned-2872 |
| Over-475 |
Exercise-546
| Intake-2697 |
| Burned-2418 |
| Over-279 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-3112 |
| Burned-2921 |
| Over-191 |
Exercise-547
| Intake-2997 |
| Burned-2806 |
| Over-191 |
Exercise-449
| Intake-2821 |
| Burned-2969 |
| Deficit-148 |
Exercise-594
| Intake-3091 |
| Burned-3168 |
| Deficit-77 |
Exercise-801
| Intake-2948 |
| Burned-3038 |
| Deficit-90 |
Exercise-741
I've decided on the MDI Marathon same as last year.
| Intake-3032 |
| Burned-3271 |
| Deficit-239 |
Exercise-951
Crazy day Sunday. It felt like I was over eating but I was in range. Breakfast was my usual but then I went to an all you can eat chicken restaurant, Wright's Farm, and escaped with under 700 calories which is a small miracle. Skipped the customary fudge saving about 200 calories ending up a Dairy Queen with about 375 calories for a medium cone. Came home and ate 2 bowls of Honeynut Cheerios with skim milk, a whole wheat toast smothered with natural peanut butter about 4 tablespoons worth and polished off an apple and a non-fat yogurt.
Eating a handful of baby carrots while driving to Wrights Farm Restaurant took the edge off my appetite so I didn't feel ravenous when I got there. Biking for 2 hours indoors, equivalent to about 25 miles the computer told me, certainly helped to balance things today.
My bike workout was a 1 hour moderate spin warm up at about 120-130 BPM heart rate with a 13 minute all out power interval above 150 BPM. My heart rate didn't get much above 160 BPM but I had a resistance workout the day before so I don't think my legs were fully recovered. I could feel my leg muscles had been worked pretty good by the evening.
As a contrast to the above aerobic workout can a resistance workout be aerobic also? I say absolutely and even a HIIT workout. This graph shows my heart rate from my resistance workout on January 12th:
And one more from last Wednesday's spin class showing more of an interval workout:
And last but certainly not least:
I changed my perspective this morning. I registered for a 1/2 Ironman in
September with a 1.2 mile swim in the ocean, 56 mile bike and a 13.1 mile run.
My goal is to complete this in under 5:30 and the bike has some issues which I
am trying to work on now by changing my positioning and style. The finish is
running along the beach in soft sand kind of like those bad dreams when I was
young and someone was chasing me through deep snow.
I also have registered for a sprint tri in June in my hometown and will add an
Olympic distance tri in August but the registration hasn't opened yet. I am on
the fence for a marathon in October. I am looking at two and am leaning towards
the same one I did last year as I am now familiar with the course and love the
location and would be looking to qualify for Boston which means I would need a
finishing time under 3:45.
| Intake-3727 |
| Burned-2894 |
| Over-833 |
Exercise-577
2 cups of enriched (with butter cream fat) ice cream added 600 needless calories and about 52 grams of fat or half a day's worth.
| Intake-3031 |
| Burned-3530 |
| Deficit-499 |
Exercise-1191
| Intake-3369 |
| Burned-2406 |
| Over-963 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-2724 |
| Burned-3617 |
| Deficit-893 |
Exercise-1271
| Intake-3047 |
| Burned-2903 |
| Over-144 |
Exercise-579
| Intake-2825 |
| Burned-3567 |
| Deficit-743 |
Exercise-1200
| Intake-3044 |
| Burned-3111 |
| Deficit-67 |
Exercise-806
| Intake-2994 |
| Burned-3021 |
| Deficit-27 |
Exercise-642
| Intake-2843 |
| Burned-2872 |
| Deficit-29 |
Exercise-482
| Intake-2899 |
| Burned-2904 |
| Deficit-5 |
Exercise-579
| Intake-2941 |
| Burned-2971 |
| Deficit-30 |
Exercise-594
| Intake-2704 |
| Burned-3120 |
| Deficit-416 |
Exercise-796
| Intake-2800 |
| Burned-3582 |
| Deficit-782 |
Exercise-1239
| Intake-2885 |
| Burned-2910 |
| Deficit-25 |
Exercise-580
| Intake-2887 |
| Burned-2418 |
| Over-469 |
Exercise-0
| Intake-2633 |
| Burned-2981 |
| Deficit-348 |
Exercise-597
| Intake-3096 |
| Burned-3019 |
| Over-77 |
Exercise-606
| Intake-3274 |
| Burned-3004 |
| Over-270 |
Exercise-601
| Intake-3194 |
| Burned-3453 |
| Deficit-259 |
Exercise-1234
Exercise included some snow removal.
| Intake-2982 |
| Burned-3005 |
| Deficit-23 |
Exercise-601
This week is a taper week with very light exercise so I will just be trying to break even more or less on intake vs. burned energy stores. Then the next couple of weeks I will increase exercise and decrease intake slightly so I can create a deficit of 1500-3000 calories a week and slowly drop the increase in body fat from the holidays but still keep the lean mass I seemed to have gained. Measuring body fat will help me decide where I ended up as the scale doesn't tell the whole story. I'm thinking it will take 1-2 months to get my body fat percentage to where it was before the holidays. My weight went up 5 pounds but I'm thinking 1-2 pounds may have been lean mass (muscle).
| Intake-3337 |
| Burned-3093 |
| Over-244 |
Exercise-778
|
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