Scott Adcox

Doing More With Less Since 1972

Tag: running (Page 6 of 9)

Friendly Neighborhood Track Meet – Why I Hate The Mile

June 28, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Last night we went to an open track meet hosted by the Holy Trinity track team and The Running Zone. What a blast, and a great idea for a fundraiser for a track program or running club. There were all sorts of ages and abilities there, and lots of events.

 

The cool thing is that all the little kids run too. They have heats at the shorter distances for them (it’s so cool to see a 7 year old PR the 800 by 1 second). They also get to high jump, long jump, put, and everything else. Our kids had a blast just running around the track and drinking Gatorade, aka “shiny yellow”.

Now for the nitty-gritty…

My original plan was to only run the 5000 meters, but I was the only one who registered for it, so it got cut. I ended up running the 1600 and 800 and scratching the 3200 because it was the last event and my quads felt like car batteries at that point–very heavy and full of acid.

The 1600 sucks. I have no idea how to judge my pace for that distance because, you know, when do you ever run that fast when you’re training for distance running? Sure, you may do some 1 mile repeats, but those are run knowing that you have more of them to run and that you need to be able to run that pace multiple times (hence the word “repeat”). The 1600 is a one-shot distance–how fast can you get it done. I knew ~6:00 is the best I’ve ever run it, but I wasn’t expecting to be able to run that. Unfortunately, I didn’t really know where I’d be.

6:15? 6:20? 6:30?

Imagine what went through my head when I finished my first painful lap at 1:27.

Great. I’m hurting really bad and I’m running way too fast.

I quickly came to two conclusions:

  1. I’m about to slow down whether I want to or not.
  2. The pain isn’t going anywhere.

I ended up at 6:28. Ugh…way off anything close to negative splits, and going out fast probably cost me at least 5-7 seconds. I just didn’t know how to pace that first lap, and I’d probably make the exact same mistake if I ran it again tomorrow. I’m not sure how many of these I’d have to run to get it right, but I’m pretty sure I don’t want to run that many of them. 🙂

The 800 was a little better. Still DFL’d my heat it by one second at 2:59, but at least I got a 4 second negative split and had some kick at the finish.

Your Gateway To The Pocket Chainsaw and More

June 26, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Pocket Chainsaw – Genius! Please develop a pocket band saw and forklift as well please.

A Marathon of Measurements – I’m glad someone wants to do this. Wish there were more of these guys.

2:16 Marathoner Says He Can Break 2:00 – If he didn’t have to work. I could do it too…if I didn’t weight 200 lbs, had a coach and dietitian, and more flexibility in my hips. Oh yeah, I’d like a shoe sponsor as well. Geesh.

Custom themes in Gmail – Add photos to your gmail theme…cool!

The Libraries, Studies, and Writing Rooms of 15 Famous Men – Counting down the days to the time when I will take the room I want for my office!

Choose, Lace, and Replace Your Running Shoes Based on How You Run – Hopefully this will make a bigger difference than the podiatrist did.

Twitter moves toward the news system of the future – Or, as it is known in many circles, Google+

Better With Age – This is comforting

Thinking of going this route – FIRST marathon training plan

Never-before-seen photos from 100 years ago tell vivid story of gritty New York City – Awsum.

A Simple, Responsive, Mobile First Navigation

Google Semantic Search: Bad for SEO, Good for You – Make your SEO money now!

Tired Of Running Sloppy, Slimy Courses

June 25, 2012 / / 0 Comments

We had a pretty rainy weekend here with Debby sitting out in the Gulf. No storms, just a slow rain. Maybe not the optimal weather to go out and run in, but at least it wasn’t hot…right?

I did 8 miles in the rainiest part of the day yesterday and took it pretty easy up until the last mile. I’m hoping to test out with an 8:3x 10k in a couple of weeks, so I was happy to get that last mile in at 7:35 after having run 7 already in squishy wet shoes. I used to run in squishy shoes all the time and it didn’t seem to bother me, but I’m not liking it so much lately. The upside is that I only have one pair of runners right now, so they’re too squishy to go do anything today other than swim, bike, stretch, or do yoga. So I don’t feel any pressure to work out at all.

Here’s Jesco.

Trying A Running Program That Fits My Style and Lifestyle

June 19, 2012 / / 0 Comments

When I first started running just after the turn of the century (haha) I sought out some experts and tried to leverage their knowledge as best I could. That meant using the Hal Higdon (awesome running coach) Novice Marathon program, reading message boards that focus on training, and finding some locals who gave me good advice based on years of experience (“If we’re running so fast we can’t talk, we’re running too fast.”)

Around the same time, some guys at Furman University were starting to do some research on running based on science. I know…the horror! At FIRST (Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training), what they learned flew in the face of the observed conventional wisdom coaches had been passing along for years.  The result was a program featuring only three days of running a week.

Ah…there’s something worth noting there. It’s not a three days of exercise program. It’s a three days of running program. The program has at least two other days of cross-training. And the three days of running are all difficult–intervals one day, tempo runs another, and a long-distance day that doesn’t let you go as slow as you want. It’s slower for sure, but still challenging.

No easy running days.

Personally, I’m not short changing the conventional wisdom at all. I followed the Higdon programs for many distances and was very happy with my results. These programs will get you where you want to be, for sure. My only real complaints with them are the number of days I have to spend running , which really takes its toll on my knees, and the fact that there are a lot of slow/easy miles involved, which is against my natural tendency is to try to race every day. Granted,  it takes some restraint on my part to run these miles without going hard, and there are some valuable lessons to be learned there about patience and restraint that can really help on race day. I haven’t learned those lessons as well as I’d like, but I know the lessons are there.


But this weekend I grabbed a copy of Run Less, Run Faster at the library and gave it a really quick scan. It looks like a really thick book, but lots of the pages are calculated pace tables, so only a small part of that material will apply to any one person. I’d read the Runner’s World article about FIRST a few years ago, so I was already familiar with the basic concepts and reasoning laid out in the book.

I was a little disappointed that the marathon programs in the book start with a 13 mile run on week one and feature five 20 mile runs. That’s probably a great program if you’re coming into the training in marathon shape, but I was looking for a beginners/not-quite-ready-for-marathon version. A web search turned up this schedule, which seems like it was part of the FIRST program…I’m just not sure why it’s not in the book.

Right now I’m working on getting ready for a 10k test in mid-July to determine what my predicted marathon pace will be and hopefully squeeze every second I can out of my finish time. This is so I can go into my next 70.3 with the best running base possible and fix what’s ailing me there. This, so I can (hopefully) convince myself I’m ready to tackle the 140.6 distance. Lots of miles ahead of me.

Finally Training Out Of The House

June 14, 2012 / / 0 Comments

One of the downsides to telecommuting is that it’s very easy to become withdrawn, especially if  you are a natural introvert like me. I find myself going days on end without leaving the house unless it’s for a quick trip to the gym,and I’m usually under water for most of the time I’m there. I do make it off of our street quite often to go out running and riding, but that hardly counts as “going out”.

The upside is that training solo makes racing solo a little easier. The downside is that you don’t get that little extra push on the tough days when you’re training alone, and you don’t get little nuggets of wisdom and information from other athletes. I was really lucky to find out about an open water swim/run brick group that meets close to the house, and I was able to actually go out last night and participate, which was awesome!

The Running Zone sponsors this workout every Wednesday night at Pineapple Park near the Eau Gallie causeway. There are a couple of swim options, and all kinds of athletes swimming a variety of paces show up. Lots of people do a quick 0.4 mile out and back swim, but there’s also the opportunity to get a full 0.8 mile (~1400 yards) swim without doing two laps of the .4 course.

See how close that is to the 1500 meters you’d swim in a Oly? See how easy it would be to do the 0.8 + 0.4 for a total of 1.2, which just happens to be the exact distance you swim in a 70.3?

Dang. I wish I’d known about this when I was training for the Haines City 70.3. I did one short single solitary open water swim before that race, and I really paid for it.

The great thing about swimming here is that when you’re done you are in the perfect spot to get a run that includes the causeway. That’s the closest thing we have to a hill here. It’s not very steep and not very long, but it’s the the best we have, and it has a very nice pedestrian walkway that is safely protected from traffic by a bike lane and concrete dividers, so it’s very safe.

Now for the best part…all the added information you get by going to where people are and actually talking to them. I met a couple of good dudes last night who gave me all kinds of information on local and semi-local races. Better than that, I got information on even more organized open-water swims and group runs. There are all kinds of opportunities for long runs with Gatorade/water support and social runs throughout the week. I’m going to make it out Sunday for the group long run, and this Wednesday night swim is going to be a staple of my weekly schedule!

 

Practicing Race Plans In Training

May 10, 2012 / / 3 Comments

My race plans usually aren’t very complicated. I’m just a regular ol’ MOP’er. I don’t have the latest equipment or a coach. I don’t race very often, and I don’t live and breathe triathlon. It’s just fun for me, and I actually enjoy the training more than the racing. I’m not racing anyone but myself anyway…no realistic chance of placing in my age group.

But I loves me a PR.

So here are some of the things I’m thinking about for my upcoming race, and how I work on them in training.

Swim

The course has changed to an ‘M’ shaped swim. Sort of unconventional, and I’ve never done one. As usual, I’d I’d like to take it easy for the first “out” part. I plan for what I want to happen on race day in my training swims by overcompensating for an easy start, swimming the first 500 yards as “long” as I can. This means really reaching and gliding with each stroke; usually about 11 strokes for the 25 yard length, breathing every three strokes. I then do at least 500 with a little faster turnover, breathing every two strokes. Sometimes I’ll go another 500 at that pace. I know I can handle that, and I’d like to pick up the pace a little on the diagonal parts of the ‘M’ on race day. From there, I like to take it easy on the way back, almost a cool down, because I don’t want to transition with a jacked up heart rate and body/mind that isn’t as relaxed as possible.

Now, I know realistically that the adrenaline is going to be a factor at the start, and I also know myself well enough to know that it takes me a couple of hundred yards to settle into an open water swim. And if I find some good feet, I’m jumping on them and riding as long as I can.  But the swim is negligible for my overall time, so I just deal with whatever happens there on race day. I won’t be worried if I swim a little faster than planned, and I won’t be worried if I swim a little slower than planned.

Bike

There are some rollers on this course, and winds could be a factor as well. I have a pretty old bike that never was the latest and greatest, and I don’t have multiple cassettes and wheel options to change based on terrain or what the wind is doing. I keep my strategy here simple. Fight the wind and fight the hills, and relax a little on the downhills and with the wind at my back. I practice this in training all the time. The rationale is pretty simple. When an object, in this case a fat guy on a bike, is going slow it doesn’t take as much energy to increase it’s speed by 1 mph as it does when the object is going fast. It’s tempting to ride harder when the wind is at your back because you can look down and see your mph jump on your computer, but physics says it’s a foolish thing to do. It sucks fighting to stay over 18 mph in a headwind, but it beats giving up and going 16.5.

I stay in aero all the time, or as much as possible. If any sitting up is going on it needs to be standing to power up a hill or, if seated, with wind at my back. Even then, only for a rest. Stay aero.

I like this course for my plan because the course is a loop that starts heading south, then heads back north. The biggest hill is at about mile 27, and there’s a good chance winds will be out of the south. That means I can put a bigger effort in at the beginning going generally uphill and into the wind, and get more of a rest at the end, going generally downhill with wind at my back. That will help with my plan to fight for a pre-determined average speed on the bike and (hopefully) get a chance to try my run strategy out.

Run

I’m doing something here I’ve never done before. Maybe it will work, and maybe it won’t. Either way, it’s a better plan than “just survive”, even if that’s what I end up doing. I’m breaking this run down into 3 separate pieces: 2 five mile sections followed by a 5k. I have paces I’d like to run for each of them, but the hard part is going to be holding those paces. For the first 5, the challenge will be getting up to speed getting off the bike. There will need to be some split differences in these miles. I know from experience that it takes me about a mile to get my legs back from the bike.

For the second 5, the challenge is going to be getting to the right pace in the first mile and then holding it without speeding up. I’m not really concerned with what will happen if I slow down during this section. If I can’t hold the pace for the entire 5, there’s no way I’d be able to race the last 5k anyway, so I’ll be better off saving myself whatever gas I can to get through it. But I don’t want to go faster than my predetermined pace, so I can have as much as possible available for the 5k.

If I make it through the second 5 on pace, it’s a 5k race with whatever is left in the tank. Again, there’s a course advantage here. The course is three loops, and the first part of the loop is uphill. If I can make it to the top of that hill on pace  in the last lap, what I’m left with is a mostly downhill 3 miles or so. That should help with the pace. Again, if I can’t keep on the pace schedule for the first 1o miles, then whatever happens happens.

To train for this, I’m going out and doing short runs and trying to hit those paces. For instance, I’ll do a one mile warm up, then try to do my first mile at the pace I plan on running the first 5 during the race. For the second mile, I’ll try to hit my planned pace for the second 5 during the race. And for the last mile, I go at the 5k pace I’d like to hit on race day. I’m actually doing my long run this weekend with the same strategy, but using 2 miles instead of one for each planned section.

It’s worth noting that this entire, detailed, thought-out plan is a product of two things: (1) Not listening to music when I run, so I have nothing to do but think about this and (2) Tapering right now, so I’m obsessed with thinking about this race. If you are using this plan as advice, keep in mind that it’s free advice, and it’s worth about what you paid for it…if that.

In a way, I’m looking forward to this all being over with so I can go back to worrying about what new features Google is pushing out this week. Or maybe I’ll keep up with the Kardashians for a day or two until I’m so repulsed that I want to train for something again.

 

 

Ironman 70.3 Haines City Course Preview

April 30, 2012 / / 0 Comments


I ended up riding long on Friday night because I had a schedule conflict on Sunday (Disney Princesses eat breakfast on a very tight schedule), but I went over on Saturday and checked out some of the course by car and on foot. Here’s what I’ve got…

Swim

The lake level is down…we’re in a drought here. I guess that’s the reason for the recent swim course change. I read on the site that it’s clear water, but it didn’t look especially clear to me. I didn’t get in, but I’d guess visibility of a few feet at the most. I’ve done a bunch of lake swim races in TN, so it’s about what I’d expect for a shallow lake swim. The beach for entry/exit looks pretty nice.

I didn’t see a single alligator if you’re someone who’s concerned about that. 🙂

Oh, and swim wave times are posted now.

Bike

My original plan was to go ride the course alone, but I’m glad I didn’t do that. I’d definitely recommend going with a group if you’re planning on getting a ride in before the race. It’s not the condition of the roads that is a problem, but the sections I saw were relatively narrow and in rural areas, so I’m not sure how safe I’d feel riding them alone. Admittedly, I’m a lot more cautious about when and where I’ll ride my bike than most people are.

The worst road conditions are on Masterpiece stretch, but I read that they are patching it before the race and repaving for next year. As long as the holes are patched and it’s clean, shouldn’t be a problem. Still, flat changing skills are never a bad thing to have.

There’s a really quick downhill and uphill right out of transition, which is something to be prepared for if you transition barefoot with with your shoes already in the pedals since that will probably be a higher traffic area. I’m a little torn between rushing to get my feet strapped in while in traffic to get up the hill quickly or waiting until I’m on a straight flat section with less traffic and dealing with it then. Right now, I’m thinking better safe than sorry, so I’ll probably just mash up the hill and wait until N. 30th street to deal with my feet where the course looks like it may open up a little.

The turn from Ledwidth onto 14th street at the beginning of the course is a little rough too…again, only really matters because it’s a higher traffic area and right in a turn. I’m not really expecting to get up to speed until after this section.

One concern I’ve had is winds. Here on the coast they are relentless, but the air in Haines City was pretty calm, at least on this day–small sample set.

Run

I didn’t check out the whole run course either, but the section that is in the park is a really nice, wide path. It’s concrete, not asphalt. Not a lot of shade, and it was pretty hot already at ~11:00 am, as expected. If you are expecting a “Florida flat” course, this isn’t it. But, again, by East TN standards it is far from hilly.

Transition

It looks like the Library parking lot is the transition area, and it’s set up with wide and easy to find entry and exits naturally. It is a terraced lot, and I’m not sure if they’ll only use the top, bottom, or both. If you’re on the bottom terrace I’d think it’s a little disadvantage because there’s slightly more hill to deal with and a longer course to cover.

Misc

For folks with kids, this is a great location. There’s a very nice park with a couple of playgrounds, splash pad, etc. They’ve marketed it that way, but it lives up to advertising. My kids had a blast playing while I was checking things out. Parking may be a bit of an issue for your supporters unless they get there early. This was a very happening spot with the locals…parking lots were pretty full. Also, I’m not sure how they’ll handle access to the majority of the parking spots at the park itself since the course cuts off access to that. More than likely, athletes arriving for the race will take those spots pretty early. With three kids under 5, the Missus is going to have a helper come with her to transport them around because there may be some hiking involved for them.

Feel free to post any questions in the comments and I’ll answer them if I can!

Tweeking 70.3 Training Three Weeks Out

April 27, 2012 / / 0 Comments

I’m three weeks away from my big (for me) race, and am having to make some pretty major training changes. Realistically, I know anything that happens from here out is going to have very little affect on what happens race day, provided I’m rested. “10% under trained is better than 1% over trained”.

Oh, and injuries could make a difference too. That’s the reason for the training tweek.

I pulled up with a cramp in my calf at the end of my brick on Sunday. I’d dug a nutrition/hydration hole I couldn’t get out of, and I thought that was the main cause. It was still a little tender on Tuesday, so I bailed on the run scheduled for that day and gave it a shot again for a quality run on Thursday. Pain was almost instantaneous, so I guess it wasn’t just a cramp. I’m self-diagnosing as a Grade 1.5 strain. And I’m self-treating it by taking a solid week off of running. That means I’ll miss one long run. No biggie. I still will have one more. If I have problems on that run I’m not going to push it…I’ll stop running entirely until a day or two before the race, just to test it out.

That means last night’s swim, which is one I usually take very easy, was a hard one. I really pushed to see what I could handle for a race pace, and the good news is I’ll probably be about three minutes faster than I was last time I did this distance. Shooting for 35:45.

It also means I’ll be spending a lot more time on the bike. I think I can bike enough that I won’t lose any run fitness, even if I don’t get another long one in before the race.

If all goes well, I’ll be pain free going into the race and can just manage my pace on the run to keep this from cropping back up again. Even if it becomes an issue, once I’m in the race I’ll be able to fight through it.

If this persists, well, that’s when it will get fun. If I’m going to the start line with any kind of pain at all, the race strategy will change completely for me. I will push the swim a little harder, and I will bike like the race is 57.2 miles long. Drop the hammer. Empty the tank. I’ll assume my run is already bonked and go for broke on the bike, getting every second out of it I can.

Why Some Twitter Threats Can’t Be Taken Seriously

April 24, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Lots of the threats documented here seem to come from people who think when a defendant makes bail means a case is closed. I’d bet the majority of these folks fall into one of the following categories.

  1. They’ve never been charged in the criminal justice system. If they had, they’d have a lot better understanding of how it works. So they probably aren’t the “violent criminal” type, despite what they try to portray themselves as on Twitter. Eazy E said it best, “I never met an OG who never did shit wrong”.
  2. They were too lazy to get a free education when it was placed in front of them on a silver platter. If you’re too lazy to do that, you’re probably too lazy to get off the computer long enough to engage in any sort of physical altercation with someone. This is in line with my theory that you are perfectly safe running in the dark in the early mornings, when criminals who are too lazy to work for a living probably aren’t awake.

Carry on.

Trusting the Training Plan

April 5, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Right now I’m about 6 weeks out from Haines City 70.3, and almost everything is pointing to a much better performance than the last time I did this distance. I credit this to sticking to the training plan much more strictly and actually listening to people who get paid to spout information about endurance training. I’m not saying I haven’t missed workouts…I have. Two separate sinus infections hurt me pretty bad. But I haven’t missed a single long workout, and I’ve done a much better job prioritizing workouts. For instance, most of what I’ve missed have been swims. If I’m going to miss something, I want it to be a swim.

I’ve also been reviewing my logged workouts from my last 70.3 as I go, and I’ve noticed a few differences. First of all, I never trained on heart rate before…I just did the distances. Also, it looks like my training was much more sporadic than I remember. This hurt me pretty badly last time around. In fact, I distinctly remember treading water right before the gun went off hoping the race would be cancelled because of lightning and wondering if I could really pull off that distance. I ended up having a pretty good race and hitting my goals, but I had no confidence going in. This time around, I know covering the distance isn’t a problem, even if I had to do it tomorrow.

So I’m expecting a PR this time. I do have a couple of doubts, but I’ve done my best to rationalize them away.

1.2 Mile Swim

This is no problem. An afterthought. I did a 40 minute swim last time, and I expect to go no slower than that this time. There’s a good chance I’ll go faster, but if I do it will only be by a couple of minutes…no real difference. I’ve done enough 1500+ meter open water swims since 2006 that I won’t be intimidated looking at the course itself. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming.

T1

I’m not sure I’ll be any faster here, but I doubt I’ll be much slower. No wetsuit to remove like last time, so that should save me 3 or 4 seconds. I will have to apply some sunscreen, so it’s probably a wash.

56 Mile Bike

Here’s where I feel confident in gaining the most time. Last time around I trained at around 18 mph on hilly courses and raced at 19 mph on a hilly course. These days, I’m training at ~ 20 mph in windy conditions on flat courses and will be racing on a flat (hopefully less windy) course; being 50 miles inland should help with the winds a little, right? Also, looking at my logs from 2006, it’s safe to say I was reasonably rested every time I went out on my bike, which wasn’t often. This time I’m already tired before I even get on the bike. My weight will be about 18 pounds below what it was last time as well.

I’m hoping for 21.5 mph. I have some test data here to back up my projection. Two years ago I did an Olympic distance race where I trained at just below 20 mph and raced at 22 mph. And this was on the coast, so winds were a factor. My weight was about where it will be on race day in May, but conditions weren’t as hot as I expect they will be then. Heat will be the big X factor here. If all goes well, I hope to pick up ~20 minutes here.

T2

I can guarantee an improvement here. I don’t plan on actually sitting down and eating a sandwich this time. I’m going to go ahead and get back out on the course. I should pick up at least 2 minutes here.

13.1 Mile Run

I really have no idea what’s going to happen on the run, but I’m trying to convince myself it will go great. And this is where I have to trust the program. Last time around, my training paces were waaaaaaay faster–sub 9:00 miles. I expected to go under 2 hours, but I ended up running a 2:14. That tells me that, again, I was running rested during training and was not really prepared to run 13.1 tired. This time around I’m training on heart rate, much slower pace, but I’m hurting pretty bad at the end of my long runs. Last week I did 100 minutes (10.25 miles) and was really struggling at the end.

The difference is that, just like on the bike, I’m running tired all the time now. The paces I’m running at are much closer to my training paces for my first marathon. That’s encouraging, because I raced at a pace 45 seconds faster than I trained for that race. If I can even get 35 seconds faster per mile on race day, I’ll be at 9:10/mile, and that will bring me home at 2 hours.

I’m working on a strategy to handle all possible situations for this run. I’m breaking it down into two five milers and a 5k.

  • First five miles at 9:30/mile
  • Second five miles at 9:15/mile
  • 5k at 8:30/mile

Starting off at 9:30 shouldn’t be a problem. If I don’t have 9:15 in me for the second 5 miles, it will take some pressure off because there’s no way I’d be able to accelerate to 8:30s for the final 5k. I can back it down to the 9;30 pace and still make it under 2:05. That’s still a 9 minute improvement. Not optimal, but not bad either.

If I can make it through the second 5 miles according to the plan, I’m pretty sure I will be able to mentally push myself for that last 5k.

Goals–Good, Better, Best

I don’t see any way I’ll be over 5:44:59 if I actually finish. Anything can happen on race day (flat tires, temps over 95), and a DNF isn’t ever out of the realm of possibility for anything over 10k. But I can’t plan on things like that. If I beat 5:45:00 I’ll consider that to be “Good”. It’s still a PR.

I’d really like to hit 5:29:59. If I can pull a 2hr run and 20 mph on the bike it will come down to those couple of minutes on the swim and fast transitions. I’ll even give myself some buffer here….I’d be really happy with anything under 5:35:00. This is my “Better” goal.

If everything goes perfectly equipment wise, I have no serious injuries between now and then, weather cooperates, and my run really pans out, I think I have 5:14:59 in me. This would be “Best”.

Pretty cool photo of a “plus-sized” swimmer  George Blagden courtesy of UIC Digital Collections

February 7, 2012 / / 0 Comments

I skipped this morning’s swim, and I’m not even going to think about making it up. It’s a recovery week anyway, and I definitely needed the rest. If I have to choose between making a swim and making a run, I’ll choose the run every time. I’m considering even waiting until late tonight to do that, just to soak up more rest.

On Missed Swim Sessions

January 19, 2012 / / 0 Comments

I know the general rule for missed short workouts is to just move on without worrying about picking them up. I usually follow this to a fault.

I’m rethinking this a little right now though, at least for the swim. I usually don’t place a huge amount of importance on the swim anyway…those are definitely workouts I don’t stress about missing since it’s the shortest leg of the race by far. This time around though, I’d planned on concentrating more on the swim for no other reason that it provides low-impact time training. I’m thinking of them as heart workouts as much as they are swim workouts.

But due to my inability to buy tickets for weekend youth hockey games in advance, I’m one week into a training plan with no access to a pool.

Long story.

What I’ve been doing instead is jumping on the spin bike and knocking out very light and short rides in place of the swims. My logic here is based on three ideas:

  1. Swim workouts are short periods at low heart rate, so I can ride the bike for 20-30 minutes at this low work rate without burning myself up and still get the heart benefits I’d have gotten from swimming, even if I’m not getting the swim technique benefits.
  2. The spin bike is available to me 24/7 and I don’t have to drive to it. It’s no problem to get on it at 2 am for 30 minutes if I have to.
  3. I’ve never (Ever!, EVER!!!) reviewed my performance in a race and concluded I spent too much time on the bike in training. Ever.

I still plan on abandoning scheduled short rides I miss, and definitely short runs. Missed runs are usually the result of being so whooped and beat up that I legitimately need the rest.

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Another Daggum Link Dump!

December 7, 2011 / / 0 Comments

‘Blue Christmas’ drug bust targets illegal prescription drug sales in Brevard – Big day tomorrow for mugshots!

Tools vs insight – I am Jack’s complete astonishment that Seth Godin can come up with these amazing posts for his blog on a daily basis. I would read it in a box, and I would read it with a fox.

Does Beer Affect Your Training? – I was warned not to read this, but I did anyway. Dammit.

Rethinking the Value of the Brick Run for Long Course Triathlon – And here I was thinking I was bucking the system by doing “rested bricks” on the weekends. Sounds like I may have been on to something.

How to Make a Citizen’s Arrest – Yes!

If Everyone Else is Such an Idiot, How Come You’re Not Rich? – Atlantic Mobile – Great article from someone who is NOT an idiot.

Stop Trying to Coach People Who Shouldn’t Be Coached! – This applies to so many people in so many situations. And I’ve been all four of these people at one time or another as well. I try my best to be coachable though.

Proper Pacing for Your Best Run – I’ve always just used HR control on the bike and tried to build a good run with negative splits with whatever I had left. There are some good ideas here I could definitely use to improve at different distances.

Cuba Libre! – Check out @hungrymother featured in this article!

A Food Label That Actually Teaches You About Food – There should be a “nom nom” graph on there somewhere too.

All Hallows Link Dump

October 31, 2011 / / 0 Comments

Apple to Make Remote Obsolete? – Because sitting on your ass staring at a screen just isn’t easy enough yet. For some people, the only exercise they get is lifting sofa cushions to look for the remote.

How to Get a Personalized Financial Plan Without Spending a Fortune – Awesome idea, but not sure if I like the idea of giving up the personal attention. Then again, I don’t like the idea of giving up $100 an hour for personal attention.

Signs Of A Slowdown Are Obvious (In China) – They should probably borrow some money to work on that wall thing. You know, infrastructure and all.

7 Steps for Building A Mobile Future In Your Enterprise

Gmail to Unveil New Interface – Unlike FB, I think something Google can really leverage is becoming a place you live, not a site you visit. This looks much more like G+.

100-Year-Old Man Completes Marathon – How old are you?

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