Training Log: May 26 - Jun 1 and Inspiration

life update:

life has rolled on by over the last 12 months which thinking back over it i can't believe how quickly time has passed since we left the blue mountains. i still receive the facebook updates for weekly run invitations from my bmmc mates and leading up to north face i watched with envy as roads made way for the trails and the runs got longer...

watching IM port macquarie live so that i could track all of my friends back home - ben b, gareth, tim and others, new friends up here like mark and my brother-in-law ken.

speaking of ken's unbelievable finish at the ironman considering that it was his first and was highlighted by his complete lack of training leading up to the event has totally blown me away. also considering that he has settled and works in port macquarie and that his wife has taken a position in brisbane just prior to xmas meant that his weekends were spent picking his wife up from newcastle airport on a friday night and driving back to port before turning around and doing the reverse on a sunday. often he was up here and we spent time eating, playing in the park and exploring markets rather than training. every conversation we had about the IM just confirmed that there was no way he was going to do it and i agreed that considering he hadn't swum, completed more than a casual ride here and there and often complained about his knees affecting his ability to run more than 20 kilometres at a stretch... well i think you'd agree that he was nuts for even considering the IM.

well as most of my endurance mates would understand hanging around a race venue leads you to perhaps do the irrational - i'm pretty sure that watching the IM in 2011 lead me to sign up for it in 2012. considering that ken lives in port and had signed up the year before to do the race he rang me to let me know that he registered so that he could at least do the swim, perhaps the bike but no way was he considering on doing the run he assured me on the phone call to me while he was standing outside waiting for the race brief to start. my advice was just to go out and enjoy the experience. well enjoy it he most certainly did!!!

his dedication to finish has become my motivation to do another...

so after making the decision to sign up for another ironman and being disappointed that i didn't bother keeping a record of my training as i progressed from being just a runner to being capable of finishing the IM i thought this time around i'll try and keep a record of the sessions and log my fitness as it improves.

my swim and cycling ability left a lot of room for improvement while my run was good. so after i get a couple of running races out of the way over the next few weeks i'll start to focus on those other two disciplines.

time to start filling up on all the good things in life including swim, bike and running...

random stats:

weight: about 6-7kg above race weight (previous not optimal)
resting heart rate: 37-40bpm
diet: mostly good but laced with tasty high calorie snacks
current fitness: room for improvement
feeling: MELLOW thanks to the JIM BEAM

training:

sun: 13.5km steady run (0:57, avg pace 4:14/km)

i ran 1km repeats (3:25-3:35/km) the day before so planned on going out for an easy run but ended up running through the first 10km in 39:48 then rolled through the last 3.5km at a cruisy 5:00/km pace. great night for running in the dark with the concrete path through the park illuminated by the moon with only the wallabies and a few cane toads for company. good times!

mon: 11.4km easy run (0:51, 4:31/km)

discovered a new loop around home and will definitely use this for other runs.

tue: am) ride to work 42km/1h30 + lunch) 13km easy run (1:00)

ran without the garmin so that i would keep it easy. right heel/achilles feeling a little tender. better keep an eye on that.

note: signed up for a running study and for the next 12 months will be running in these... (thankfully my hair grew back after IM)

can't say that i'm impressed with these shoes and i'm currently thinking they are more gimmick than useful design but will give them a chance.

wed: run workout - 1x2k, 1x1k, 7x30sec on/30sec off

went out without anything planned and ran an easy warmup out to the story bridge waiting for the garmin to get it's satellite fix (about 10mins). gradually worked into it and ran 2km (3:47, 3:37) and 1km (3:39) before throwing in some 30sec 200m runs to get the legs turning over.

thu: double run day 10km (lunch) / 11km (victoria point to home - 6:30pm)

easy run with work colleague at lunch and then home off the bus. easy to rest the legs up after a few hard days on the feet.

fri: 10.7km steady run (:46, 4:20/km pace) w/ 5km threshold in 18:37 + 4x200m fast

late night run. easy 3km out to the park and then ran progressively faster loops of the park (~900m) - 3:50/3:45/3:45/3:44/3:38/km pace.

sat: rest day

after my first week back of faster running decided that a rest day would help consolidate my fitness.

random photos.

great bushwalking only a few kms from home - kids love water!!!

future home of my weekly long run

Meltdown

Things are heating up here in Brisbane. I have experienced training in the heat during summer in the Blue Mountains and around Penrith but the heat combined with the humidity up here north of the border adds a new dimension to hot.

Looking at weatherzone for the last few days reveals just how pleasant running is around here.

Sun - 26.4C | 82% humidity
Mon - 31.4C | 54% humidity
Tue - 27.2C | 77% humidity
Wed - 30.5C | 60% humidity

Note: data recorded during training times

Training:

Training has also seen some changes with a reduction in total training time and volume and an increase in quality sessions. Last weeks training looked like the following:

Sat (8/12/12) - 5k warmup, 10k threshold in 38:36, 3k cooldown
Sun - 19k easy (around Mt Cotton)
Mon - 7k easy in 32:00 + strides
Tue - PM) Hill session 16x200m avg ~ 60sec (total elevation gained/200m = 30m)
Wed - 11k run (went out too hard in the heat and paid for it)
Thu - Run workout 4 x 6min (pace 3:37, 3:41, 3:43, 3:41) 5k warmup/3k cooldown
Fri - 7k easy run + 3-4hrs of walking around Brisbane (PM)

This week:

Sat (15/12/12) - 5k warmup, 5k in 18:37, 3k cooldown (planned to run sub 18 minutes but legs several things were against me - the heat/humidity, legs still sore from Tuesday's hill session and went out too fast in 3:30 pace for the first km and then tried to maintain it in the second km which included a hill)
Sun - 1h30 long run included 3km avg 3:38/k pace (legs felt recovered)
Mon - 7k easy + strides
Tue - AM) 42k ride (to work) PM) Track session 8x200m avg ~33sec + 20k ride in electrical storm
Wed - 11k planned easy but went hard and completed melted in heat

Remainder of the week looks like the following:
Thu - AM) Track session + ride PM) Ride
Fri - easy run
Sat - Run workout - long repeats
Sun - Long run

Planned races for 2013:
January 5000m track
Park Run 5km runs
Gold Coast Marathon
Ironman Cairns (probably not but ?)
Bridge to Brisbane
Noosa Triathlon

plan on racing more often next year...

The honeymoon is over

Ironman training has continued in some form or another for the last few months. Have had great expectations for completing epic training days and weeks but when it came down to putting the rubber on the road that’s where the romance ended. The honeymoon period lasts for about 2 hours on the bike before we start disagreeing about the state of our relationship and while I continue to hold onto the dream of our union I’m always thankful when we split up. Thankfully running has become my new mistress...

As far as training is concerned my typical week has become... actually I have no typical week so I'll just put down what I've done since I can remember (about 5 days back) and what I'm planning on doing through to the weekend.

Saturday: ride 90km steady (down Northern Road to Narellan and back) + transition run down to Glenbrook oval for some mile repeats - managed 6 this week 5:52, 56, 59, 6:02, 6:02, 5:54 on 7 minutes) - the last two were great but number 4 almost broke me. Think they were definitely too quick for the desired training effect.

Sunday: planned long ride but swam instead 3500m straight - arms too tired to pull myself out of the pool so just sort of rolled out

Monday: double run day. 12k run at lunch in 48:20 then four hours later 13.4k run in 56:46 - last half around 4:00/km pace feeling good

Tuesday: missed lunch swim but had a great lunch. After work managed a brick session of 40k ride with 3 x 10min hard (5min recovery) followed up with a run which included 2 x 2km repeats in 7:52, 7:06 - headwind one way, tailwind on the other (enjoying the run at the moment!)

Planned sessions for the rest of the week (subject to change)

Wednesday: lunch swim hopefully covering around 3000m. After work longish ride on the M7 for at least 3 hours with a short run off the bike.

Thursday: morning long run for 2hrs to 2h30 and a swim at lunch. After work might try and put in another run or easy ride.

Friday: ride and long swim day

Saturday: long ride 4-5 hours with either a longish run off the bike or mile repeats (8) like last Saturday. - better get up early for this one!

Sunday: another longish ride (maybe 3 hours) and a swim if time.

Pleasant Distractions

Fern on tummy

Training has been a little haphazard since the birth of Fern but I've been more than happy to skip a morning session or two to enjoy her smiles of which there are plenty. She is a bit of a Daddy's girl and enjoys a nice cuddle. No complaints from me.

On to the training update - I've been running almost every day again and have enjoyed a couple of great sessions. Of note - ran a great 28km long run where I averaged close to 4min/k pace for most of the run, a couple of good interval sessions including mile repeats all under 6mins and 400s averaging quicker than 71 seconds. It seems the higher intensity sessions also take less out of my legs than the longer endurance runs.

As I've also signed up for a triathlon or two I've also started swimming and biking. Unfortunately they haven't been going too well as I'm finding that I need to spend considerably more time doing those activities to improve than I do with running. Swimming was starting to improve but then kids and wife all got sick I ended up missing three weeks. Going back to the pool this week felt like I was starting all over again. The biking is going OK but I've been putting in too much intensity and not enough endurance work. While I'm slowly getting fitter on the bike the biggest return has been the fitness/strength crossover to my running.

Discovery --- less running + biking = better running

Looking forward to August to put in some serious training hours as my wife's work schedule becomes a little less busy and chaotic.

Listening to my two boys talking in the back of the car over the weekend before going to the movies with their 16 year old sister.

Boy7 - "I bet we eat lots of crap when we go to the movies"
Boy4 - "I don't want to eat crap, I want to eat lollies."

Had us all laughing...

perspective

what really matters in life...

best smoothie ever

just had to post this smoothie recipe as i've decided that it is the best, tastiest and most refreshing smoothie i have ever made.


berry aloe smoothie
ingredients
1 cup frozen mixed berries
2 apples
1 punnet fresh strawberries
2 oranges
1-2 scoops pea protein
1 cup rice milk
1 cup iced water
2 large fresh aloe vera leaves


directions
- remove outer green part of aloe vera leaf to extract gel.
- throw everything into the blender except for water and aloe vera and blend until smooth. throw in aloe and enough water to reach desired consistency and blend for a maximum of 10 seconds (read something about maintaining the nutritional/medicinal quality of the aloe vera with minimal blending).
- drink


** no photo of this delicious smoothie as i was too busy drinking it...

weekly update: 15-21 november

training week summary (15-17/11/2010):


mon AM: 15k easy run

- typical lake loop. achilles felt good which proved the session on the grass yesterday was a good idea. 


PM: 21k mixed session (dr. van aaken style)
- have been re-reading van aaken's book and it made sense to me last night. so ran the following session 10k easy (sub 130HR), 2kMP (surprised to see HR figures 15-20 beats lower than marathon race effort for marathon pace PB), 3min jog, 10 x 350m with 50m walk, 2k tempo, 3k easy. felt great at end of session. heart rate never above 80%mhr.

tue AM: 16k easy (run/walk/jog/sprints)
- loop of the lake with some extensions to get around the learner drivers. threw in a couple of 30 second sprints on the return trip. felt tired but better after eating.

PM: 32k easy run (sub 140HR)
- used van aaken's guidelines to keep hr in the 130-150bpm range. backed off on the hills and cruised the rest. surprised to hit the 12.5k checkpoint 1 minute quicker than my usual long run effort. extended the turn around and ran back feeling great. finished the run wanting to go further. about an hour after stopping legs started aching and i had trouble sleeping.


wed AM: 13k easy
- unplanned loop through jamisontown to regentville and back via the river. started with a 5min walk to warmup the achilles which was feeling a little tight but ok after about 500m of running. didn't bother me for the rest of the run.

PM: 14k easy/steady


thu AM: i know i did something in the morning and at lunchtime but have forgotten. high volume training has eroded my memory even further. 

fri AM: 10k easy + strides


PM: 35-40mins w/ tempo intervals
- headed to the grass oval to be kind to the legs. bored after 1600m (not sure why i thought it would be any different this time). workout heading into the sleep train-style repeats on short rest with the plan for anything of up to two hours worth. short rests became slightly longer and then much longer at the sighting of sean and mel standing on the side of the track. was ok chalking today's effort up to a recovery day.

sat: nothing yet

sun: something bigger than saturday?

weekly totals:
run km