About once every two months I get caught in a situation where it's late- close to 6AM- I need to start my workout and my Apple TV is not connected to my media server (a mac pro).
That's what happened today, so rather than waste time fixing the problem, I just did a simple, but hard, workout.
I set iTunes to shuffle my collect of Nickelback songs and started up my spin. here's what I did:
1 song warm-up in small ring 15
shift up to big ring 23
1 song per gear, starting with 23, shifting down to a harder gear 7 times (8 songs total) at race pace tempo
then shift back up 23 and sprint for one song
shift back to small ring 15 for 1 song cool down
This whole workout is under 45 minutes and really makes you work while taking you through all your gears. It doesn't have to be Nickelback, but you should do a random mix. It's nice as you go from gear to gear to have that variability of 3:30-5:00 per gear. Each time you do this, it will be different and I think that was the point this morning, to get something different.
Showing posts with label spinervals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spinervals. Show all posts
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Climbing Gates Pass- In My Driveway
Filed under: Things I've never done before
We're having some insane weather here in CT for March. On the first day of spring it was 65 degrees at 2:45 PM and through a series of events I found myself not having worked out yet. Normally Saturday is long ride day, but I did the IMLP course on a computrainer Thursday night so I really just needed a good hard 75 minutes or so.
I finagled a car nap out of my son Ian- not by his choice, of course, but a nap is a nap. I immediately set to work, getting my trainer into the driveway. I grabbed my MacBook Pro, my helmet, and a step ladder and next thing I was doing Gates Pass with Coach Troy- in my driveway.
I made the mistake of adjusting my trainer tension (more tension) just before the ride, so it was a tough one.
Why the helmet ? I wanted to get used to it because I may use it in a race next week. Let me tell you- helmet plus training equals milky-white sweat.
Still, it was a great way to get 70 minutes of high tempo spinning in, outdoors, while my son took a nice long nap.
It's all about picking your spots.
We're having some insane weather here in CT for March. On the first day of spring it was 65 degrees at 2:45 PM and through a series of events I found myself not having worked out yet. Normally Saturday is long ride day, but I did the IMLP course on a computrainer Thursday night so I really just needed a good hard 75 minutes or so.
I finagled a car nap out of my son Ian- not by his choice, of course, but a nap is a nap. I immediately set to work, getting my trainer into the driveway. I grabbed my MacBook Pro, my helmet, and a step ladder and next thing I was doing Gates Pass with Coach Troy- in my driveway.
I made the mistake of adjusting my trainer tension (more tension) just before the ride, so it was a tough one.
Why the helmet ? I wanted to get used to it because I may use it in a race next week. Let me tell you- helmet plus training equals milky-white sweat.
Still, it was a great way to get 70 minutes of high tempo spinning in, outdoors, while my son took a nice long nap.
It's all about picking your spots.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Cleanse Day 9
I feel like I'm learning more from the cleanse this year then in previous years. Or at least I'm trying different things- like decaf coffee in the evening after I've drunk all my water.
Today was a real hump day for the cleanse, the last weekend day. I always feel like the weekdays are easier, and the longer weekend workouts make the cleanse a little more of a nutritional challenge, because they are the only days you might not really get everything you need.
I was going to do a challenging 90-minute spin today- Time Trialpalooza- followed by a 40 run. I didn't want to use a Hammer-Gel again today, but because I started at 9:20 I figured I would try something new, that I've never done during a workout. I'd try eating a yogurt during my workout.
The workout is four reps- 20 minutes at 40K time trial, pace, followed by 15, followed by 10, followed by 5. You start out at 95 RPM and work your way down to 80 RPM for the last five minute set, so your effort and heart rate go up, although you're doing your best to stay at about 10 beats above threshold.
I wanted to make the yogurt last, to hold off until after the 15 minute rep. But I thought about it- after the last two days, I thought getting through more than half the spin before eating was exactly the sort of boneheaded thinking that gets me into trouble in shorter races where I'm 'going too hard' to stop and eat. I mean, in an ironman, or even a half, you can bonk and still recover (been there, done that this year at both distances). In a sprint, which is about the same length of time you're looking at with a 40K time trial, your race is done when you bonk.
So I sucked down the yogurt before the second interval, and had a great workout. I was really steady for the first three reps, and then I actually was able to pick it up for the final rep and have my best one last.
My 35 minute run was SLOW, but overall, another good day on the cleanse.
I also decided I'm going to try to add two things to my nutrition package- high fiber oatmeal in the morning, and 1-2 a week, whole wheat pasta for lunch.
After the cleanse.
Today was a real hump day for the cleanse, the last weekend day. I always feel like the weekdays are easier, and the longer weekend workouts make the cleanse a little more of a nutritional challenge, because they are the only days you might not really get everything you need.
I was going to do a challenging 90-minute spin today- Time Trialpalooza- followed by a 40 run. I didn't want to use a Hammer-Gel again today, but because I started at 9:20 I figured I would try something new, that I've never done during a workout. I'd try eating a yogurt during my workout.
The workout is four reps- 20 minutes at 40K time trial, pace, followed by 15, followed by 10, followed by 5. You start out at 95 RPM and work your way down to 80 RPM for the last five minute set, so your effort and heart rate go up, although you're doing your best to stay at about 10 beats above threshold.
I wanted to make the yogurt last, to hold off until after the 15 minute rep. But I thought about it- after the last two days, I thought getting through more than half the spin before eating was exactly the sort of boneheaded thinking that gets me into trouble in shorter races where I'm 'going too hard' to stop and eat. I mean, in an ironman, or even a half, you can bonk and still recover (been there, done that this year at both distances). In a sprint, which is about the same length of time you're looking at with a 40K time trial, your race is done when you bonk.
So I sucked down the yogurt before the second interval, and had a great workout. I was really steady for the first three reps, and then I actually was able to pick it up for the final rep and have my best one last.
My 35 minute run was SLOW, but overall, another good day on the cleanse.
I also decided I'm going to try to add two things to my nutrition package- high fiber oatmeal in the morning, and 1-2 a week, whole wheat pasta for lunch.
After the cleanse.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Back to the Long Run
The weather was not what you'd hope for the first day home with your new bike. A little before 8 AM it was pouring rain, pounding down on the skylights.
My schedule said 2 hour run. I'd been off the last two days after a nice hard run on the treadmill and spin on Thursday. So a little spin wasn't the worst thing, just to get on the bike and kind of get a feel for the fit. I slipped an old wheel on about 90 minutes before my run and spun for about 50 minutes and all I can say is that I want to get that bike on the road, where it belongs, and if I listen to my coach and the things Dave Greenfield told me, that could be one fast bike.
I had time after my spin to get settled in for my run, so it wasn't a brick. I ran over to meet Mike D'Addetta at 1 PM at what I thought was a pretty sedate pace and then we got up to speed. We ran a nice 65 minute loop at a very steady pace, drizzle on and off, and then I was on my own again, running in the opposite direction from home.
I know that taking time off is important. So is time with your family. I'd asked Eric not to give me anything for that Friday-Saturday trip. I know myself. If I have an hour run, I'm going to try and cram it in. Margit even asked me if I wanted to go for a run Saturday morning. I passed. Instead I moved the car down the street, walked to Starbuck's for coffee and even treated myself to a doughnut, which is usually only post-workout food.
So I wanted to have a good run today. I got into that last forty minutes and the drizzle was coming down, the Sunday afternoon traffic was seemingly everywhere. A bleak spring day, the kind that is easy to let demotivate you. I felt like I hadn't been running hard, that I'd been running that way you run when you're coming off some rest and you've eaten a bit too well the last few days.
As so often happens, a little music changed everything up. Snow Patrol's 'Chasing Cars'. The rhythm of the song was just right and I found myself settling into that long stride that I have when I'm running, well, like a runner.
I had to forward the shuffle twice over the next 50 minutes. But when I hit the three way intersection at the armory and had to decide whether to take a left and end up running only about 1:50 or take the right and run 2:05-2:10, I took the right, and picked it up a notch. And maybe some of that run in the last 40 minutes was a bit too hard and I know my legs will be a little sore tomorrow.
But then again, late in the run is when you want to know you can pick up the pace in a two hour run, and I ran the last section hard, steady, and when I was done I felt strong, and, well, I enjoyed my long run. It wasn't the usual somewhat dull satisfaction of having met the time requirements. This was a real satisfaction with having run well and picked it when I started to maybe flag mentally a little bit. It's a soreness I won't mind tomorrow when I get up.
I'm glad I had a long run today. Sometimes it's the simple, straightforward workouts that bring the most satisfaction...
My schedule said 2 hour run. I'd been off the last two days after a nice hard run on the treadmill and spin on Thursday. So a little spin wasn't the worst thing, just to get on the bike and kind of get a feel for the fit. I slipped an old wheel on about 90 minutes before my run and spun for about 50 minutes and all I can say is that I want to get that bike on the road, where it belongs, and if I listen to my coach and the things Dave Greenfield told me, that could be one fast bike.
I had time after my spin to get settled in for my run, so it wasn't a brick. I ran over to meet Mike D'Addetta at 1 PM at what I thought was a pretty sedate pace and then we got up to speed. We ran a nice 65 minute loop at a very steady pace, drizzle on and off, and then I was on my own again, running in the opposite direction from home.
I know that taking time off is important. So is time with your family. I'd asked Eric not to give me anything for that Friday-Saturday trip. I know myself. If I have an hour run, I'm going to try and cram it in. Margit even asked me if I wanted to go for a run Saturday morning. I passed. Instead I moved the car down the street, walked to Starbuck's for coffee and even treated myself to a doughnut, which is usually only post-workout food.
So I wanted to have a good run today. I got into that last forty minutes and the drizzle was coming down, the Sunday afternoon traffic was seemingly everywhere. A bleak spring day, the kind that is easy to let demotivate you. I felt like I hadn't been running hard, that I'd been running that way you run when you're coming off some rest and you've eaten a bit too well the last few days.
As so often happens, a little music changed everything up. Snow Patrol's 'Chasing Cars'. The rhythm of the song was just right and I found myself settling into that long stride that I have when I'm running, well, like a runner.
I had to forward the shuffle twice over the next 50 minutes. But when I hit the three way intersection at the armory and had to decide whether to take a left and end up running only about 1:50 or take the right and run 2:05-2:10, I took the right, and picked it up a notch. And maybe some of that run in the last 40 minutes was a bit too hard and I know my legs will be a little sore tomorrow.
But then again, late in the run is when you want to know you can pick up the pace in a two hour run, and I ran the last section hard, steady, and when I was done I felt strong, and, well, I enjoyed my long run. It wasn't the usual somewhat dull satisfaction of having met the time requirements. This was a real satisfaction with having run well and picked it when I started to maybe flag mentally a little bit. It's a soreness I won't mind tomorrow when I get up.
I'm glad I had a long run today. Sometimes it's the simple, straightforward workouts that bring the most satisfaction...
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tuesday Treadmill Workout- The Uphill Grind
Tuesday I wanted a hard treadmill workout and I'm getting ready for a 5K with a psychotic uphill climb in the first mile, so here's what I did on the treadmill Tuesday at lunch after spinning for 45 minutes earlier in the day. With apologies to Coach Troy, who I stole the idea from:
definition of base pace- what pace you run on the treadmill when you are in high A or low B- a run, not a jog. The number in parenthesis is my speed Tuesday (mph)
2 minute warm up at .5 miles an hour above base (8.0) at elevation of 1.5
3 minutes at 30 seconds 1.5 miles an hour above base (9.0), 30 seconds at base (7.5) at elevation of 1.5
2 minutes at base (7.5)
hill repeats
30 seconds at base plus .1 (7.6) at elevation of 5.0
30 seconds at base plus .1 (7.6) at elevation of 5.5
30 seconds at base plus .1 (7.6) at elevation of 5.0
30 seconds at base plus .1 (7.6) at elevation of 5.5
30 seconds at base plus .2 (7.8) at elevation of 4.5
30 seconds at base plus .2 (7.8) at elevation of 5.0
30 seconds at base plus .2 (7.8) at elevation of 5.5
30 seconds at base plus .5 (8.0) at elevation of 6.0
1 minute at base plus 1.5 (9.0) at elevation of 0.0
do the hill repeat 4 times
2 minutes at base (7.5)
3 minutes at 10 seconds hard, base plus .5 (8.0) and elevation of 4.5, 10 seconds easy, base plus .5 (8.0) and elevation of 0.0
(start descending on the 10, start ascending on the 8 of the rest, and go 15 seconds on/off if your treadmill is slow to change elevation)
6 minutes at base plus .1 (7.6), no elevation
I then added 8 minutes of easy spinning on an aerobics bike at high cadence and low tension. This really helped flushed the lactic acid out of my legs.
Probably a silly workout, but sometimes it's fun to just make something up and do it, and anything that releaves treadmill boredom is a plus.
The bonus is that last minute on the repeats you feel like you are roaring downhill.
definition of base pace- what pace you run on the treadmill when you are in high A or low B- a run, not a jog. The number in parenthesis is my speed Tuesday (mph)
2 minute warm up at .5 miles an hour above base (8.0) at elevation of 1.5
3 minutes at 30 seconds 1.5 miles an hour above base (9.0), 30 seconds at base (7.5) at elevation of 1.5
2 minutes at base (7.5)
hill repeats
30 seconds at base plus .1 (7.6) at elevation of 5.0
30 seconds at base plus .1 (7.6) at elevation of 5.5
30 seconds at base plus .1 (7.6) at elevation of 5.0
30 seconds at base plus .1 (7.6) at elevation of 5.5
30 seconds at base plus .2 (7.8) at elevation of 4.5
30 seconds at base plus .2 (7.8) at elevation of 5.0
30 seconds at base plus .2 (7.8) at elevation of 5.5
30 seconds at base plus .5 (8.0) at elevation of 6.0
1 minute at base plus 1.5 (9.0) at elevation of 0.0
do the hill repeat 4 times
2 minutes at base (7.5)
3 minutes at 10 seconds hard, base plus .5 (8.0) and elevation of 4.5, 10 seconds easy, base plus .5 (8.0) and elevation of 0.0
(start descending on the 10, start ascending on the 8 of the rest, and go 15 seconds on/off if your treadmill is slow to change elevation)
6 minutes at base plus .1 (7.6), no elevation
I then added 8 minutes of easy spinning on an aerobics bike at high cadence and low tension. This really helped flushed the lactic acid out of my legs.
Probably a silly workout, but sometimes it's fun to just make something up and do it, and anything that releaves treadmill boredom is a plus.
The bonus is that last minute on the repeats you feel like you are roaring downhill.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
The Ghost of Me
I went out today to run for two hours. It was my first long run in three weeks, and my first long run since November that was alone. I've been doing my long Saturday runs with a friend who was getting ready for the New Orleans marathon- great job, Michael, by the way- so it's allowed me to go out, keep my base in tact, but still go at a managed pace.
My first long run coming back after a break of time, especially when alone, is always a little bit more of a challenge, and to be honest, every long run by myself is a challenge, not so much to do the distance, but to keep the intensity down to where it's supposed to be. Eric had actually given me a run on my schedule with Michael, not knowing he was out of town. It told me where my intensity should be.
Why ? Well, it's not uncommon for many of us when we do our long runs to struggle a little bit with pacing, and I think most endurance athletes struggle more often to keep he pace down than to keep the pace up.
I call this 'the ghost of me.' The ghost of me is a few years younger, a little bit faster, and a LOT better looking than I am. He's also very quick to remind me, as soon as I start to flag a little, about how I didn't keep up the pace on the second loop in Florida last November and that cost me a sub-ten, or how I walked in Arizona. As Jon Stewart would say, he's kind of a dick.
I'll get out there and I start chasing the ghost. I start thinking I'm not quite pushing hard enough. I'll start to fatigue and instead of moderating I'll push harder because 'in a race you have to push past the fatigue.' The funny thing is, on my good days racing, it's my steady approach more than my modicum of skill that gets me to the finish line in a reasonable amount of time.
And so, I'll run for two hours and run closer to my hour run pace. As I often hear when doing Spinervals, 'you should be going hard enough that you want to slow down, but you don't have to'. And that's what my long run feels like when I'm pushing just a little bit too hard. I can run my hour training run pace for two hours, but it's not comfortable and it's not my goal.
About 90 minutes in, right after my second gel I really started to feel like I wasn't putting out a great effort any more. I'd gone just a little too hard and now, I was having that same thought I have every long run that doesn't go perfectly- 'what if this happens at (fill in the blank with name of next IM race) ?' I was running up a steep hill and maybe berating myself a little bit.
Then I had a little run-in with a pissed off SUV driver that was more concerned about having to drive two miles an hour under the speed limit than the safety of a seventy-year old man. I know this because after I'd run up the hill and turned towards the POYCC the driver reversed direction, came back, and told me I should have told the old man to cross to the correct side of the road so there wouldn't have been two pedestrians in the same spot forcing him to reduce speed.
Long story short- I should never let drivers aggravate me. I should stay inside myself, focus on my workout, not let anyone take any energy away from me.
If you're shaking your head or laughing, it's because you know me.
But you know what- the adrenaline rush made me feel better. I also was no longer thinking about the ghost of me. I ws running well, I was no longer fatigued and- my mind was actually clear. What should have been stressful and irritating actually was calming and liberating.
Whatever works- but don't let the ghost of you affect your workouts. Those old races where you let yourself down ? History. The fact that you are older, and perhaps slower than the ghost ? You certainly are older- every workout you are older/ Slower ? Don't be sure about that- and even if your are there's no shame in that unless you are Benjamin Button.
Which would be curious indeed...
My first long run coming back after a break of time, especially when alone, is always a little bit more of a challenge, and to be honest, every long run by myself is a challenge, not so much to do the distance, but to keep the intensity down to where it's supposed to be. Eric had actually given me a run on my schedule with Michael, not knowing he was out of town. It told me where my intensity should be.
Why ? Well, it's not uncommon for many of us when we do our long runs to struggle a little bit with pacing, and I think most endurance athletes struggle more often to keep he pace down than to keep the pace up.
I call this 'the ghost of me.' The ghost of me is a few years younger, a little bit faster, and a LOT better looking than I am. He's also very quick to remind me, as soon as I start to flag a little, about how I didn't keep up the pace on the second loop in Florida last November and that cost me a sub-ten, or how I walked in Arizona. As Jon Stewart would say, he's kind of a dick.
I'll get out there and I start chasing the ghost. I start thinking I'm not quite pushing hard enough. I'll start to fatigue and instead of moderating I'll push harder because 'in a race you have to push past the fatigue.' The funny thing is, on my good days racing, it's my steady approach more than my modicum of skill that gets me to the finish line in a reasonable amount of time.
And so, I'll run for two hours and run closer to my hour run pace. As I often hear when doing Spinervals, 'you should be going hard enough that you want to slow down, but you don't have to'. And that's what my long run feels like when I'm pushing just a little bit too hard. I can run my hour training run pace for two hours, but it's not comfortable and it's not my goal.
About 90 minutes in, right after my second gel I really started to feel like I wasn't putting out a great effort any more. I'd gone just a little too hard and now, I was having that same thought I have every long run that doesn't go perfectly- 'what if this happens at (fill in the blank with name of next IM race) ?' I was running up a steep hill and maybe berating myself a little bit.
Then I had a little run-in with a pissed off SUV driver that was more concerned about having to drive two miles an hour under the speed limit than the safety of a seventy-year old man. I know this because after I'd run up the hill and turned towards the POYCC the driver reversed direction, came back, and told me I should have told the old man to cross to the correct side of the road so there wouldn't have been two pedestrians in the same spot forcing him to reduce speed.
Long story short- I should never let drivers aggravate me. I should stay inside myself, focus on my workout, not let anyone take any energy away from me.
If you're shaking your head or laughing, it's because you know me.
But you know what- the adrenaline rush made me feel better. I also was no longer thinking about the ghost of me. I ws running well, I was no longer fatigued and- my mind was actually clear. What should have been stressful and irritating actually was calming and liberating.
Whatever works- but don't let the ghost of you affect your workouts. Those old races where you let yourself down ? History. The fact that you are older, and perhaps slower than the ghost ? You certainly are older- every workout you are older/ Slower ? Don't be sure about that- and even if your are there's no shame in that unless you are Benjamin Button.
Which would be curious indeed...
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Snow Day
Who doesn't love a snow day ? You get up and the weather hands you an invitation to trade what you do for what you want to do -if those two things are really different.
True, a snow day starts for me at 6 AM, when I get the call that there is a closing (or delay, which is what we started with today). Then it takes me about 15 minutes to get the word out, starting with the text message and ending with Twitter. But then I can relax- go back to bed for another fifteen or twenty minutes and then get up and eat or workout.
I'd been itching to do Time Trialapalooza for a week now. The workout is a little over one hour and twenty minutes, and every time I'd thought I was going to get 80 minutes together to do it, my free time turned into 60 minutes.
Today though, I was able to get up, do my job, check the day care closings (Ian's was) make some coffee and eat some grapefruit, and then have most of the workout done before anyone else in the house had even gotten up.
The great thing about getting this opportunity was realizing why I'd been itching to do this workout. I'd only done it once or twice before and didn't really remember what it was like at all. Time trial efforts really are important- if there is one thing that we triathletes are prone to it's blowing up during races because we go out to hard, and the whole point of this particular DVD is to cook yourself until you are well-done, without getting burnt. You start with 20 minutes at 85%, then 15 minutes at 90%, then 10 minutes at 92.5% and 5 minutes at 95%- reminding you how you have to get stronger as the race goes on.
I felt like I nailed the workout today- I was tired, but I felt really good about how I'd actually paced myself. Instead of being worn-out, was a recharged, especially after a very hard week at work.
Yes- everyone loves a snow day.
True, a snow day starts for me at 6 AM, when I get the call that there is a closing (or delay, which is what we started with today). Then it takes me about 15 minutes to get the word out, starting with the text message and ending with Twitter. But then I can relax- go back to bed for another fifteen or twenty minutes and then get up and eat or workout.
I'd been itching to do Time Trialapalooza for a week now. The workout is a little over one hour and twenty minutes, and every time I'd thought I was going to get 80 minutes together to do it, my free time turned into 60 minutes.
Today though, I was able to get up, do my job, check the day care closings (Ian's was) make some coffee and eat some grapefruit, and then have most of the workout done before anyone else in the house had even gotten up.
The great thing about getting this opportunity was realizing why I'd been itching to do this workout. I'd only done it once or twice before and didn't really remember what it was like at all. Time trial efforts really are important- if there is one thing that we triathletes are prone to it's blowing up during races because we go out to hard, and the whole point of this particular DVD is to cook yourself until you are well-done, without getting burnt. You start with 20 minutes at 85%, then 15 minutes at 90%, then 10 minutes at 92.5% and 5 minutes at 95%- reminding you how you have to get stronger as the race goes on.
I felt like I nailed the workout today- I was tired, but I felt really good about how I'd actually paced myself. Instead of being worn-out, was a recharged, especially after a very hard week at work.
Yes- everyone loves a snow day.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The Advice We Carelessly Give
When you spend most of the working day on line and use social media tools like Twitter, IM, and so on, you catch a lot of chatter and tend to respond to it in line- that is, you see it and react to it all in one stroke.
I saw someone today post 'I'm thinking of skipping my workout' and I posted back 'Don't skip your workout.' I was trying to be encouraging, but it was probably the wrong response.
I was probably mostly coming off a very hectic day yesterday that saw me not even trying to get my workout started until 8:30 last night and finally giving up after a combination of my son wanting to play one of the games he'd just opened (birthday present) and trying to finish doing some work on my wife's Mac. It was the first day I'd missed this year.
A better response would have been 'Why are you thinking of skipping today ?' Turns out the person runs four days or more a week and just needed the down time.
It's funny how our own perceptions and experiences colour the advice we give- and let's face it, I'm not the guy you should necessarily be taking advice from. That's what coaches are for. Just last week I was telling someone that if their body was saying to take a day off, then that might be the best thing. After a day off myself, chastising myself for not trying hard enough to get my workout in, it was hard to think the same way. Then again, it was my son's birthday.
But it's true. Sometimes our bodies need a day off. Sometimes we need a mental health day. Sometimes, the chores are out of hand. And truth be told, sometimes when we think we need a day off, we don't.
Sometimes, we should just spend the day with the family and forget the workouts...
Figuring out which one is the truth is hard. Figuring out what's best for someone else, again, is what coaches are for.
All I know is this. on Monday, I did an extremely hard spin focused on hill work. Brutal. After a day off, I did another hard spinervals focused on hill work. I felt fresh, and I had the best back-to back workouts in a long time.
Even if they weren't back-to-back.
So take any advice I give with a grain of salt.
I saw someone today post 'I'm thinking of skipping my workout' and I posted back 'Don't skip your workout.' I was trying to be encouraging, but it was probably the wrong response.
I was probably mostly coming off a very hectic day yesterday that saw me not even trying to get my workout started until 8:30 last night and finally giving up after a combination of my son wanting to play one of the games he'd just opened (birthday present) and trying to finish doing some work on my wife's Mac. It was the first day I'd missed this year.
A better response would have been 'Why are you thinking of skipping today ?' Turns out the person runs four days or more a week and just needed the down time.
It's funny how our own perceptions and experiences colour the advice we give- and let's face it, I'm not the guy you should necessarily be taking advice from. That's what coaches are for. Just last week I was telling someone that if their body was saying to take a day off, then that might be the best thing. After a day off myself, chastising myself for not trying hard enough to get my workout in, it was hard to think the same way. Then again, it was my son's birthday.
But it's true. Sometimes our bodies need a day off. Sometimes we need a mental health day. Sometimes, the chores are out of hand. And truth be told, sometimes when we think we need a day off, we don't.
Sometimes, we should just spend the day with the family and forget the workouts...
Figuring out which one is the truth is hard. Figuring out what's best for someone else, again, is what coaches are for.
All I know is this. on Monday, I did an extremely hard spin focused on hill work. Brutal. After a day off, I did another hard spinervals focused on hill work. I felt fresh, and I had the best back-to back workouts in a long time.
Even if they weren't back-to-back.
So take any advice I give with a grain of salt.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Cleanse, Day Ten- The Dowhill Grind ?
Eric usually coincides my downtime (one easy 45 minute workout a week) with the cleanse.
This year I've tried a new approach, spinning Monday through Friday, or spinning interspersed with short intervals. But I like structure when I spin, and I'm a big Spinervals fan, so I typically have those workouts to drawn on, even if I'm in the gym on a spinning bike. Basically, I have some of the shorter, simpler workouts memorized. Give me a clock or watch and the ability to adjust the tension while I spin and I'm off.
But I'm supposed to be going easy so when I thought about doing the Uphill Grind, I realised that's not what Eric had in mind.
So I inverted it, doing the Downhill Grind. The heart of the workout is 4 X 5 minute efforts with one minute rest- climb (hard gears) for four minutes, then super-spin in a moderately easy gear to simulate downhill work for one minute. So I did four minutes super-spinning in any easy gear, and one minute standing and climbing in a moderate gear.
The result ? A fun workout that was within the A-B zone (okay definitely B). And the Cleanse ? Certainly did not feel it on this workout. I felt perfectly fine.
Four days to go !
This year I've tried a new approach, spinning Monday through Friday, or spinning interspersed with short intervals. But I like structure when I spin, and I'm a big Spinervals fan, so I typically have those workouts to drawn on, even if I'm in the gym on a spinning bike. Basically, I have some of the shorter, simpler workouts memorized. Give me a clock or watch and the ability to adjust the tension while I spin and I'm off.
But I'm supposed to be going easy so when I thought about doing the Uphill Grind, I realised that's not what Eric had in mind.
So I inverted it, doing the Downhill Grind. The heart of the workout is 4 X 5 minute efforts with one minute rest- climb (hard gears) for four minutes, then super-spin in a moderately easy gear to simulate downhill work for one minute. So I did four minutes super-spinning in any easy gear, and one minute standing and climbing in a moderate gear.
The result ? A fun workout that was within the A-B zone (okay definitely B). And the Cleanse ? Certainly did not feel it on this workout. I felt perfectly fine.
Four days to go !
Friday, May 16, 2008
Lake Placid, Virtually Yours
Let me preference the rest of what I'm going to say by saying that there is no substitute for actually riding the IM Lake Placid course. The more times you can fit it in to your training, the better, and better still, attend a camp, like the one my coach Eric holds in June. If you don't get a chance to ride IM Florida's course ahead of the race, well, you probably haven't missed anything. But the Lake Placid course requires experience- the screaming descent towards Keene, the need to hold back for the first 40 miles (or is that 60 ?), the brutality of ride back along the river.
There's also no substitute for camp. I know where what confidence on the bike I have really developed- camp.
And hopefully Eric will have some videos of his own soon...
Because it was raining today, I decided to use the Spinervals Lake Placid Virtual Reality DVD as the basis for my 3.5 to 4 hour ride. Although Eric would rather I was either on the road or doing something else on the trainer, he's pretty good about when I decide to go the Spinervals route.
I've had this plan in my back pocket, sort of the Opera House of my Lake Placid training. I'm probably not going to get up there ahead of the race, which is OK. I've been there. I have the course pretty well in my memory- I learned how to check my fear of being on such a small bike on those downhills. But I still wanted to see the course, feel it. I have some questions about my nutrition.
So I climbed on the bike, started out. This is a great training ride. Maybe it's not quite as precise as riding the course on a compu-trainer, but there I was, my heart rate barely in three digits as I started- and Coach Troy telling me to keep it easy, stay moderated. Truer words have never been spoken. There probably aren't too many IM races where you can completely frak yourself in the first ten miles of the bike. Which are not easy. Before you get to the really big downhills, there are rollers and some climbing and you can fry yourself pretty good, pretty quickly.
The other thing about the course besides the need to really know it, is how unbelievably beautiful it is. I'm from upstate New York, and I mean really upstate, outside Albany. In the summer, LP is stunning. I'm reminded of the rides I used to take when I was in high school and summers in college- on my 3 speed (I once rode it from Albany to Rochester).
The DVD really pushes you to be smart. Keen to Jay- you have to ride this part of the course smart- again, it's about moderation, about intelligence expenditure, staying aerobic, working your nutrition. Get there with at least half a tank of gas and you've got a chance, then the fun begins- one of the harder climbs, more rollers, and finally- that out and back.
Here's where the DVD really either passes or fails. The out and back is hard. People really lose sight of this. It's hard going out. It's harder going back. The DVD completely captures that. I got to the turn-around on the out and back and bam, it hit me. Suddenly, this was getting hard. It really captured the nature of the ride. This was my second time doing the whole DVD and each time I've had trouble convincing myself I was applying myself enough- until this point, when it all comes home.
I was also struggling with the question I always have when drinking gatorade- Cliff Blocks every 30 or every 40 minutes ? Today, it should have been forty, and with the way I was sweating, I should have been using electrolytes as well.
And that last hour ? The best hour of the DVD. you feel like you are climbing up the big hill on the out and back and you certainly feel like you're climbing the cherries and the bears. When you finally turn back towards the town, you are relieved- in a big way.
I started the video up again and rode back down to to Keene, because Eric has told me that is when my race really starts, after I get into Keene a second time. Also, that gave me 3:40 on the bike. Energized (and having fixed the nutrition issue by substituting water for a gatorade after starting to bloat), I hopped on the treadmill and got a good IM pace run in.
The bottom line- I recommend this video to anyone who can't get up (or down or over) to Lake Placid to train. The more you know the course, the better off you are.
There's also no substitute for camp. I know where what confidence on the bike I have really developed- camp.
And hopefully Eric will have some videos of his own soon...
Because it was raining today, I decided to use the Spinervals Lake Placid Virtual Reality DVD as the basis for my 3.5 to 4 hour ride. Although Eric would rather I was either on the road or doing something else on the trainer, he's pretty good about when I decide to go the Spinervals route.
I've had this plan in my back pocket, sort of the Opera House of my Lake Placid training. I'm probably not going to get up there ahead of the race, which is OK. I've been there. I have the course pretty well in my memory- I learned how to check my fear of being on such a small bike on those downhills. But I still wanted to see the course, feel it. I have some questions about my nutrition.
So I climbed on the bike, started out. This is a great training ride. Maybe it's not quite as precise as riding the course on a compu-trainer, but there I was, my heart rate barely in three digits as I started- and Coach Troy telling me to keep it easy, stay moderated. Truer words have never been spoken. There probably aren't too many IM races where you can completely frak yourself in the first ten miles of the bike. Which are not easy. Before you get to the really big downhills, there are rollers and some climbing and you can fry yourself pretty good, pretty quickly.
The other thing about the course besides the need to really know it, is how unbelievably beautiful it is. I'm from upstate New York, and I mean really upstate, outside Albany. In the summer, LP is stunning. I'm reminded of the rides I used to take when I was in high school and summers in college- on my 3 speed (I once rode it from Albany to Rochester).
The DVD really pushes you to be smart. Keen to Jay- you have to ride this part of the course smart- again, it's about moderation, about intelligence expenditure, staying aerobic, working your nutrition. Get there with at least half a tank of gas and you've got a chance, then the fun begins- one of the harder climbs, more rollers, and finally- that out and back.
Here's where the DVD really either passes or fails. The out and back is hard. People really lose sight of this. It's hard going out. It's harder going back. The DVD completely captures that. I got to the turn-around on the out and back and bam, it hit me. Suddenly, this was getting hard. It really captured the nature of the ride. This was my second time doing the whole DVD and each time I've had trouble convincing myself I was applying myself enough- until this point, when it all comes home.
I was also struggling with the question I always have when drinking gatorade- Cliff Blocks every 30 or every 40 minutes ? Today, it should have been forty, and with the way I was sweating, I should have been using electrolytes as well.
And that last hour ? The best hour of the DVD. you feel like you are climbing up the big hill on the out and back and you certainly feel like you're climbing the cherries and the bears. When you finally turn back towards the town, you are relieved- in a big way.
I started the video up again and rode back down to to Keene, because Eric has told me that is when my race really starts, after I get into Keene a second time. Also, that gave me 3:40 on the bike. Energized (and having fixed the nutrition issue by substituting water for a gatorade after starting to bloat), I hopped on the treadmill and got a good IM pace run in.
The bottom line- I recommend this video to anyone who can't get up (or down or over) to Lake Placid to train. The more you know the course, the better off you are.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
The Morning
Sometimes, everything works out the way you want. As a dad, I can no longer remember what it was like to get up in the morning and not be worried about anything other than feeding the cats in the condo and the cats outside the condo.
Don't get me wrong- I still wake up with a cat on the bed, another one staring at me from the floor, and a third one wanders into the bathroom. The day starts with a group feeding. But after that, the dynamic is different than it used to be. Pressure to get in a morning workout used to be reserved for those days when we were going to a play or had a meeting at night. Which is not to say there weren't plenty of days I wanted to get up and do that early workout. It's when you feel like you have to that it takes on a different dynamic.
I like to spin more than most people, so at 5:50 AM I found myself doing Virtual Reality 1.0 with the sound low and the baby monitor cranked up. It's 51 minutes long but my goal was just to get 30 minutes in, and I picked the workout because it's easy to get lost in the scenery and forget the clock and that gnawing certainty your son is going to wake up before having even slept 8 hours. When I hit 30 minutes, the goal was 40. When I hit forty, the goal was to finish, and random chance was totally in my favour. As I started to take my bike shoes off, Ian started to cough and cry, having woken up. Talk about perfect timing.
Of course, having a good morning is about more than whether you got your workout in. Getting lunches packed, dishes washed, getting my son dressed and out the door, that's all part of the day, along with him having some fun time after he gets up and before he goes to school. Today that included Wonder Pets, castles, and drawing butterflies on the driveway...
Don't get me wrong- I still wake up with a cat on the bed, another one staring at me from the floor, and a third one wanders into the bathroom. The day starts with a group feeding. But after that, the dynamic is different than it used to be. Pressure to get in a morning workout used to be reserved for those days when we were going to a play or had a meeting at night. Which is not to say there weren't plenty of days I wanted to get up and do that early workout. It's when you feel like you have to that it takes on a different dynamic.
I like to spin more than most people, so at 5:50 AM I found myself doing Virtual Reality 1.0 with the sound low and the baby monitor cranked up. It's 51 minutes long but my goal was just to get 30 minutes in, and I picked the workout because it's easy to get lost in the scenery and forget the clock and that gnawing certainty your son is going to wake up before having even slept 8 hours. When I hit 30 minutes, the goal was 40. When I hit forty, the goal was to finish, and random chance was totally in my favour. As I started to take my bike shoes off, Ian started to cough and cry, having woken up. Talk about perfect timing.
Of course, having a good morning is about more than whether you got your workout in. Getting lunches packed, dishes washed, getting my son dressed and out the door, that's all part of the day, along with him having some fun time after he gets up and before he goes to school. Today that included Wonder Pets, castles, and drawing butterflies on the driveway...
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