Finally...
I have the quarq. I have the Garmin. I have them installed on my bikes. I'm ready to ride outside with power.
And yet I find myself in the middle of a rest week. A much needed rest week i might add.
As I mentioned last week, I have been really tired for key workouts. I should qualify that and say...my legs specifically have been really tired. Mind and most of my body are fine. But my legs were shot. Some adjustments were required.
I don't have a final plan in place, but I have some ideas.
First off I would like to maintain running 6 days per week. However I am going to eliminate one of my medium runs and turn it into a short recovery run. Every week moving forward I will have 2 key run workouts. A long run and a medium run. Both should feel peppy with recover runs in the middle.
The key here is to run within myself. This specifically means running with in prescribed paces as to not push beyond my limits. I've had the opportunity to use the garmin a few times now, it appears to be an ideal tool for this.
I will have 2 key bike workouts also. I will have a long ride which will be at prescribed wattages based on my FTP. And I will maintain at least one interval ride per week. My biggest concern here is ensuring my rides outside are quality. I may need to start my rides away from my house. Unfortunately there are a lot of stop signs and higher traffic areas before I get to a good place to ride. This makes it challenging to hold any pace for more than 5 minutes or so. This is typically an issue during the week. Once I get my powermeter outside I'll have to look at the power results and what I can maintain.
My interval ride will almost always be indoors. This will be during the week. So that only leaves a couple rides to worry about. If one of those rides is recovery...it won't matter. that leaves one ride during the week I need to find an alternative for. perhaps a group ride will be in order.
So here is what I am thinking:
Sunday
-Long Ride - Time varies 2:00-4:00
-Recovery Run - :30
Monday
-Swim - :45
-Medium Run - 1:00
Tuesday
-Recovery Run - :30
-Interval Ride - 1:30
(Some days the run will be in the morning, others it will follow the ride)
Wednesday
-Swim - :45
-Recovery Run - :30
Thursday
-Long Run - 1:30
Friday
-Swim - :45
-Moderate ride - 1:30-2:00
Saturday
-Swim - 1:30 Masters class
-Recovery Run - :30
To some this will still look like 14 workouts. But I will remove some workouts during different weeks. The recovery ride on Wednesday is somewhat optional. The saturday Swim is also somewhat optional as it is the masters swim class. I may replace it with a ride occassionally. It will depend on my focus for that week.
For some reason I really feel attached to running 6 days per week. Even if the runs are short runs, I feel like that frequency has really helped me. Perhaps I will remove a run completely in the future, but I'd like to try this first as running is still my weakest even. Although...if I can run a 40-42min 10k in a race, it may not be that weak any more.
So anyway, that is my current plan. The main thing I have to focus on now is to focus on the purpose of my workouts instead of burning calories. I am at 200lbs and the remaining 5-10 will fall off naturally if I simply watch my diet. But if I want to improve AND recover properly I need to listen to my body and rest where appropriate.
That means focusing on my 2 key runs and my 2 key bike rides.
Frankly I am not worried about my swim. I've bumped my yardage over the last two weeks and am already as fast, if not faster than I was at the end of last season. The shoulder feels good so long as I stretch it out and ice it properly.
Being that this is a rest week, it is also time to do some baseline testing.
Saturday was a pretty tough day with a 60min run and a 90min swim. Sunday we had plans so I rode inside for 45 minutes and ran for 30 minutes.
Yesterday I swam a little bit and took the afternoon off.
My plan for today is to do my FTP test with both the computrainer and quarq. But we'll see how I feel. I really beat myself up the last several weeks and my legs still feel a bit worn down. I'm not sure if that's my imagination or if I need a little more rest. We'll see how I am doing once I hop on the bike.
If I feel good and complete the test today I plan to do my swim threshold testing tomorrow morning and then do the run test on Thursday or Saturday.
I have really dialed it back this week and plan to train 8 hours or possibly even less. I want to make sure I am ready for the push to the season.
If the bike isn't showing me the love I plan to take my road bike outside. I have the garmin and would like to see how the course looks on the maps.
if that happens my first test will be the swim test tomorrow. I'll probably to my bike test tomrrow or Thursday and then the run test on saturday.
I really want to do the run test on a track. We'll see if I can get into Hart park on a Saturday at 6:45-7am or so. If not, I'll find a reasonably flat area around here. I am going to try to keep it flat in order to get my pacing steadier for the entire duration.
I am really hoping to hit about 1:10 for the swim test. 10x100's with 10s rest.
I'd like to bump my FTP to a solid 320. I'm not sure this will happen as I have not put in as much hard riding as I did over the winter. And Ideally for a flat run I'd like to be well under 7min/mile. possibly 6:45's or under. If my legs are rested and am on a track, I think I can do that. We'll see.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Suffering
So over the last two weeks I have managed to drop from about 208 to 201-202. I don't really know how that happened as I wasn't paying that close of attention. The news is good, but it is also a bit of a concern for me.
I've noticed a bit of a problem with my training the last 3 weeks or so...and I need to be a bit careful. So here is my typical scheudle...
Monday:
Run 25 am - recovery pace
Swim 30min am
Ride 1:30 pm - zone 4 intervals.
Tuesday:
Run: 50min am - medium run
Ride: 1:00 pm - moderate/recovery ride
Wednesday:
Swim :45 am
Ride 1:30 zone3/4 intervals
Run: :25 immediately following run. - recovery pace.
Thursday:
Run 1:20-1:30pm
Friday
Swim :45
Saturday:
Ride 2:00-2:30
Run - :50 medium run
Sunday
ride 2:00-2:30
Run: 25
With this current plan I'm running 6 days per week. Riding 5 days per week and swimming 3.
For the last few weeks I've been exhausted for my long run. Last week I was ready to die. Everything hurt, I was sore from the start and wanted to stop after 15 minutes.
Yesterday it was 85 degrees...so I have no doubt that played a roll, but I was exhausted from the beginning. and there aren't too many things worse than suffering through a long run after 10-15 minutes. It sucks BIG TIME.
I believe there are a couple reasons for this.
First, for months and months I've been really focusing on biking and running. And I had been able to schedule my hard workouts around my long run allowing for enough recovery. With the addition of 3 swims, that has become more challenging as my schedule allows for me to swim in the mornings. I had been running in the mornings.
In the off season those three hard rides are what really helped me see gains on the bike. My FTP went from around 260-275 up to whats now maybe 325. Hopefully that translates to riding outside. I also want to start adding one threshold run. So part of my problem is scheduling. 3 interval rides along with an interval run and a long run is too much for me as the season approaches. They need to be on seperate days...but that's 5 key workouts. I can't put a day between them all. I think it is probably better that I go down to one or two interval rides and keep my legs fresher for running as it is a bigger weakness and I still want to get up to 30:60:90. And the gains I've seen are astonishing. Last year my fastest Tri 10k was around a 48 or so. I honestly think I can drop that to a 42, maybe even lower than that on a flat course.
The second/third reasons for this fatigue are as follows. I am always ready to go on my diet on Monday Tuesday...and the last several weeks I've notice very large calorie defecits. On the order of 2,000. While that's a fast way to lose weight, it's a fast way to get tired too. Monday and tuesday workouts are pretty high in terms of calorie burn. I'll typically hit 4000-4500. If I only eat 2500 or so, its simply not enough. So I need to prepare more good food for those days. I can really feel those calories later in the week. so while part of me says to suffer through and drop that last 7 pounds really fast and then drop down to 190 much slower. the other part of me knows I need those calories to sustain the harder workouts. Starting Monday I am going to make sure my calorie defecit does not exceed 1,000. That is a starting point.
Lastly, I have no concept of pacing on the bike or run right now. On the trainer with my power readings I know exactly what I am doing. But I have my road bike fixed up and have been riding that. It has no bike computer at all. I don't have the quarq set up because I don't have my Garmin yet. So when I ride on the road bike I use my stop watch over certain sections, but don't know speed or power. And on the run I am finding it very difficult to run slow.
As an example I went on my long run yesterday. For the first mile I told myself repeatedly I was going to go slow. And I really felt like I was. I got to the mile mark at my watch said 7:55. There was a time when I couldn't sprint a 7:55. So on the one hand I'm always shocked when I see times like that for me. A year ago that would have been 9:30. Now I am consistently faster...much faster. But for a long run I shouldn't be going that fast. I should have been at an 8:20 or so. I must learn control!
So I need to really take a look at my training schedule over the weekend and make sure I am getting enough recovery to handle my workouts. I am doing a lot of work during the week, and should really push some of that to the weekend so I can take a nap after a tough workout.
I really like the road bike. It's a different feel than the tri bike. It's fun to ride again. But I can really tell the difference in my running afterward. When I run after riding my tri bike I often times feel faster running. My cadence is quicker and it feels good. Wednesday I got off the road bike, and while I rode hard, it wasn't that hard. The 25 minute run afterward was really tough.
Essentially I am coaching myself and am learning a lot by trial and error. So far my progress has been great. I have managed to not create any new injuries...that's always good. And despite some really tough weeks, I've been slowly eliminating nagging injuries. My shoulder is getting a lot better. It is still sore during the day after I swim. But that's getting worked out. My toe is mostly better. I still tape it a bit, but not always. My foot was better last week. I get some tightness in my legs and hips, but thats what the foam roller is for.
I had a bit of an epiphany the other day. In the literature for my running program I have been trying to run about 30 miles per week as elites run at least that many miles. Right now I run 6 days - 3x25, 2x50, 1x75 = 250 minutes. When I created this I always used 10 min/mile to calculate distance. Well I don't run that speed any more. In fact on average I'd say I run at an 8:15-8:30 pace. Last week I started adding minutes again and am up to about 265 minutes...which means I am running a little over 30 miles per week already. That's actually a pretty big milestone considering how many injuries I've had in the past.
I believe I will redo all my tests during the final week of April. So it will be a rest week for the most part. I will have the quarq and Garmin at that point. So the biking test will be indoors so I can get numbers on both that and the CT...and take that with me outside. then I can do a comparison to my indoor FTP and outdoor ftp. Although I will need to drive somewhere to do an outdoor ftp.
For swimming I'll be doing the 10x100's. My endurance is getting better. should be pretty solid by then. I am going to make sure I am rested and really push hard to hit 1:10.
For the running I am going to go to a track and get real numbers. I'll have the garmin as a comparison. But I can then take those numbers and plug them into McMillions calculator. that will give me all my running paces moving forward and they'll be more accurate. With the Garmin I'll be able to really use and compare that data to make sure I'm doing it right. I may invest in some coaching software then too. that should help me manage my workouts a lot better.
Should be fun!
I've noticed a bit of a problem with my training the last 3 weeks or so...and I need to be a bit careful. So here is my typical scheudle...
Monday:
Run 25 am - recovery pace
Swim 30min am
Ride 1:30 pm - zone 4 intervals.
Tuesday:
Run: 50min am - medium run
Ride: 1:00 pm - moderate/recovery ride
Wednesday:
Swim :45 am
Ride 1:30 zone3/4 intervals
Run: :25 immediately following run. - recovery pace.
Thursday:
Run 1:20-1:30pm
Friday
Swim :45
Saturday:
Ride 2:00-2:30
Run - :50 medium run
Sunday
ride 2:00-2:30
Run: 25
With this current plan I'm running 6 days per week. Riding 5 days per week and swimming 3.
For the last few weeks I've been exhausted for my long run. Last week I was ready to die. Everything hurt, I was sore from the start and wanted to stop after 15 minutes.
Yesterday it was 85 degrees...so I have no doubt that played a roll, but I was exhausted from the beginning. and there aren't too many things worse than suffering through a long run after 10-15 minutes. It sucks BIG TIME.
I believe there are a couple reasons for this.
First, for months and months I've been really focusing on biking and running. And I had been able to schedule my hard workouts around my long run allowing for enough recovery. With the addition of 3 swims, that has become more challenging as my schedule allows for me to swim in the mornings. I had been running in the mornings.
In the off season those three hard rides are what really helped me see gains on the bike. My FTP went from around 260-275 up to whats now maybe 325. Hopefully that translates to riding outside. I also want to start adding one threshold run. So part of my problem is scheduling. 3 interval rides along with an interval run and a long run is too much for me as the season approaches. They need to be on seperate days...but that's 5 key workouts. I can't put a day between them all. I think it is probably better that I go down to one or two interval rides and keep my legs fresher for running as it is a bigger weakness and I still want to get up to 30:60:90. And the gains I've seen are astonishing. Last year my fastest Tri 10k was around a 48 or so. I honestly think I can drop that to a 42, maybe even lower than that on a flat course.
The second/third reasons for this fatigue are as follows. I am always ready to go on my diet on Monday Tuesday...and the last several weeks I've notice very large calorie defecits. On the order of 2,000. While that's a fast way to lose weight, it's a fast way to get tired too. Monday and tuesday workouts are pretty high in terms of calorie burn. I'll typically hit 4000-4500. If I only eat 2500 or so, its simply not enough. So I need to prepare more good food for those days. I can really feel those calories later in the week. so while part of me says to suffer through and drop that last 7 pounds really fast and then drop down to 190 much slower. the other part of me knows I need those calories to sustain the harder workouts. Starting Monday I am going to make sure my calorie defecit does not exceed 1,000. That is a starting point.
Lastly, I have no concept of pacing on the bike or run right now. On the trainer with my power readings I know exactly what I am doing. But I have my road bike fixed up and have been riding that. It has no bike computer at all. I don't have the quarq set up because I don't have my Garmin yet. So when I ride on the road bike I use my stop watch over certain sections, but don't know speed or power. And on the run I am finding it very difficult to run slow.
As an example I went on my long run yesterday. For the first mile I told myself repeatedly I was going to go slow. And I really felt like I was. I got to the mile mark at my watch said 7:55. There was a time when I couldn't sprint a 7:55. So on the one hand I'm always shocked when I see times like that for me. A year ago that would have been 9:30. Now I am consistently faster...much faster. But for a long run I shouldn't be going that fast. I should have been at an 8:20 or so. I must learn control!
So I need to really take a look at my training schedule over the weekend and make sure I am getting enough recovery to handle my workouts. I am doing a lot of work during the week, and should really push some of that to the weekend so I can take a nap after a tough workout.
I really like the road bike. It's a different feel than the tri bike. It's fun to ride again. But I can really tell the difference in my running afterward. When I run after riding my tri bike I often times feel faster running. My cadence is quicker and it feels good. Wednesday I got off the road bike, and while I rode hard, it wasn't that hard. The 25 minute run afterward was really tough.
Essentially I am coaching myself and am learning a lot by trial and error. So far my progress has been great. I have managed to not create any new injuries...that's always good. And despite some really tough weeks, I've been slowly eliminating nagging injuries. My shoulder is getting a lot better. It is still sore during the day after I swim. But that's getting worked out. My toe is mostly better. I still tape it a bit, but not always. My foot was better last week. I get some tightness in my legs and hips, but thats what the foam roller is for.
I had a bit of an epiphany the other day. In the literature for my running program I have been trying to run about 30 miles per week as elites run at least that many miles. Right now I run 6 days - 3x25, 2x50, 1x75 = 250 minutes. When I created this I always used 10 min/mile to calculate distance. Well I don't run that speed any more. In fact on average I'd say I run at an 8:15-8:30 pace. Last week I started adding minutes again and am up to about 265 minutes...which means I am running a little over 30 miles per week already. That's actually a pretty big milestone considering how many injuries I've had in the past.
I believe I will redo all my tests during the final week of April. So it will be a rest week for the most part. I will have the quarq and Garmin at that point. So the biking test will be indoors so I can get numbers on both that and the CT...and take that with me outside. then I can do a comparison to my indoor FTP and outdoor ftp. Although I will need to drive somewhere to do an outdoor ftp.
For swimming I'll be doing the 10x100's. My endurance is getting better. should be pretty solid by then. I am going to make sure I am rested and really push hard to hit 1:10.
For the running I am going to go to a track and get real numbers. I'll have the garmin as a comparison. But I can then take those numbers and plug them into McMillions calculator. that will give me all my running paces moving forward and they'll be more accurate. With the Garmin I'll be able to really use and compare that data to make sure I'm doing it right. I may invest in some coaching software then too. that should help me manage my workouts a lot better.
Should be fun!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
When it rains it pours
It's been another busy week and I wanted to share. This blog, along with future blogs are hopefully going to be a bit more introspective. I will certainly discuss my training and what seems to be working vs not working. But I wanted to share some overall thoughts as well...perhaps that is more interesting to people. Who knows. Maybe it's less interesting.
So the other day I read two different blogs. I'm not as good about checking up on others as I should be. Simple forgetfullness really. Anyway, I started with Matts. (He reads this, so hi Matt). Anyway, I really enjoyed it, allow me to copy/paste a little blurb from it.
"The work of a triathlete is no different than the work of a sole-practitioner. I should know, I do both. Often times, it's done in solitude. Sometimes I stumble across others, individuals like myself who are on the same journey. Maybe our paths cross for a brief moment at a stop sign when on a bike ride, or it's at the pool when you got into the lane next to me, or maybe it's at the track when you showed up to do intervals. While our interaction may be brief it's not because we're rude or mean, it's because we're wolves. Legs fed the wolf so our time together is short by our character. It's time to move on, to keep ourselves strong, to find another meal, to live another day. In this game we got lots of work of do."
For some reason that little bit really rang true with me. I think most people understand the difference between introverts and extroverts. While I suspect most people believe extroverts are more outgoing and talkative, that isn't necessarily the case. In reality, the true difference between being an intro and an extro has more to do with your personal energy levels. Using myself as an example, in all of the little tests I've ever taken, I come out almost equal in both right v left brain tests as well as introverted v extroverted tests. But my true introversion comes through in how I recharge my battery, and that is often with quiet alone time.
One might think that I am equally adept at being a loner vs. being a very outgoing excitable person. But if I am being honest with myself, that is not necessarily true. Sure at the age of 34 I consider myself adept and fairly comfortable in large social settings. I don't get social anxeity or issues like that. I don't have a fear of public speaking like others do. In fact I am quite good at giving presentations. But that came from years of practice.
However in my day to day life, I am much more of a loner than many people realize. In fact, if you went to highschool or college with me, the change is pretty significant. In Highschool I was never the cool guy or the top athlete. I started swimming as a freshman and simply did the work. Swimming appealed to me because it was all on me. I was good at team sports, baseball, football, etc. But when I started swimming I was hooked. While there were lots of people in the pool, I was a distance swimmer. It was very easy to simply shut my brain off and swim.
I went to college and it was the same. However from a social perspective things were very different. We were much more of a team, but I was pretty shy and quiet. Especially my first two years. Coupled with my dry sarcasm I doubt people realized I was kidding around very often. To say I was socially awkward would be a bit of an understatement. I'd go party, but often times I'd just read in my room and be just as happy. I don't think people really got that. I won't even discuss my awkwardness with girls. Although I suspect some of you might find that rather amusing.
Anyway, junior year I met a couple people and a lot of my social awkwardness went away. Anyway, the point of all this is the lone-wolf mentality and Matt's blog. I found it so interesting because I've always thought of myself as a lone wolf and to hear someone else articulate the same thought was fascinating. As human nature and psychology have always fascinated me it makes me question what type of person is drawn to different endeavors.
I know people like me who are drawn to the solitude of triathlon. Much of our work is alone. I put in countless hours on the bike in my basement this winter. But I also know many people who specifically try to train with groups and can't get motivated withough a group event of some kind. I don't have any answers, just some basic thoughts. I suspect that the upper level of the triathlon community consists more of people like me. Lone wolves, rather competitive, perhaps quiet or introverted in some ways. But there are always outliers.
In any case, that is what I really love about triathlon. In fact I find myself going to great lenghts to perpetuate the lone-wolf mentality. I prefer riding on my trainer than going on group rides. Partially because I have not gone on real group rides before, I'm intimidated. But my excuse is that I get a better workout on the trainer doing intervals. I don't do group runs. Never have. I may in the future, but Im so paranoid about an injury that I don't want to be pushed out of my running zones unless I am racing. I'll swim in masters classes, but that comes natural from all the years of team swimming. I'm still new to running and biking, so the awkwardness is still there a bit.
So I am making a pact with myself. This weeked I don't have any real plans. So my goals are to first get the quarq installed on my tri-bike so I can do some riding outside with power readings. Second, I am going to set up my road bike. I am not good at fitting, so I may need help here. I want it to match my tri bike as much as possible. With that, I will do the occassional group ride. Even if it is out of my way...a typical excuse.
In life you never stay the same. You are either progressing or regressing. That is the way of things. So it's time for me to force a little change and see how it works for me. Perhaps I will see some big gains, perhaps I will crash and burn in a pile of bikes on the side of the road.
On to the details of the week.
Had a crohns attack on Sat night. Will discuss later.
Went clothes shopping on Friday. I actually fit into size 34 pants. I think I was in a 36 at birth. So that was exciting. I am currently sitting at 205. I have plans to drop to 190 by June. Now that I don't have to study for the PMP, I should be able to handle this.
I did my first outdoor ride on Thursday. It was an interesting experience. First I was very tired from Wednesdays workout. (Will discuss that in a moment.) Plus it was very very windy. In a couple cases I tried to drop the hammer to see what the winter of workouts gave me in terms of speed. But since the course is littered with stop signs and other obstacles where I can't push, it was very tough to tell. I have one section of road that I use as a time trial area. When I am hammering hard its a 5:30 section or so. If memory serves last year in my full race (dork) gear I did that section in 5:24. Thursday with no aero gear, heavy winds, and sitting up a couple times because I am not used to being aero on the road yet (plus crappy roads) I did a 5:20. So I have certainly made improvement. My problem is a lack of input. I am used to having a power reading to focus on...outside I won't have that until I get the Garmin. Which I will have to wait longer for because Garmin shipped the wrong model. Wonderful. All in all, a successful ride.
I believe that when I started this ride, I started at 500 watts or so because my legs quickly felt the effort and I was moving. I was then disappointed by how quickly I had to slow down. Part of that was certainly being tired from the previous day, but I do think if I had paced evenly I would have done and felt better.
Last week Wednesday night:
I read another team mates blog. Scott Bowe. In there he describes one of his workouts. It is a Spinnervals video that I also have. TimeTrialPalooza. It is one of my all time favorite workouts. Here is how it lays out.
1x20min - 5 min recover - 1x15 min - 5 min recover - 1x10 min - 5 min recover - 1x5 min max effort.
The 20 minute effort is supposed to be at your Functional Power (315) and then the additional sets add 5-10 watts. Historically I've started this set at 280 watts and never tried heavier. But I up my wattage fast going from 280 to 300 to 310-315 and then maxing out at 345-365 depending on the day.
I read Scott's blog and he planned to start at FTP which sounded incredibly difficult to me. In fact I doubted I would be able to complete the workout. Looking back I don't know why that was...perhaps it is because when I am told to add 5-10 watts I immediately add 10 or even 15. In this workout that would be really tough...but 5 is doable. Going from 315-320-325-max isn't that bad when I think about it. I had some kind of mental block going on.
So Wednesday I was determined to do that set as prescribed by coach Troy. 315-320-325-max(335)...and I succeeded. Great confidence booster.
Here's one thing I noticed. In the past I have really relied on the computrainers Erg mode. The trainer essentially forces the wattage on the trainer. You either do it or stop. I discovered that using this is very challenging at higher wattages as it seems to force me to a lower cadence than I prefer. I figured this out about 1/3 of the way through the 15 minute set. So I suffered through that and then switched over to normal spin mode which I use for all training. It was MUCH easier. I hit the wattage with ease and a lower HR and RPE.
My conclusion: Manual Erg mode has its place. Specifically sets that are at 90% of FTP or LOWER. It is great for lower wattage enduracne or recover trainer rides too. But with the season approaching fast, I am going to do almost all normal spin mode intervals from now until the end of the season.
Had a great Saturday training day. I'm still nursing the foot. It doesn't really hurt any more. But I am being very careful to not cause a problem. I ran 45 minutes in the AM and then stretched and iced. In the afternoon I did a hard 1:30 ride of intervals again. I was really happy with the day and felt great...until that evening.
I don't know what caused the problem, but I have some suspicions. I had a VERY big bowl of fruit after my ride. We made pizza for dinner...I ate a lot. The stress of the PMP and work catching up. All were contributors. In any case around 7pm my stomach was making some noise and causing discomfort. I went to bed early and had the heating pad. By 10pm I knew the crohns disease was flaring. I can often tell by doing an "intestinal massage". It is exaclty how it sounds...I rub the gut area to find spots of tenderness or areas that feel hard. there were several. In many cases, despite the pain, simply massaging these areas helps to let food through. I did that, took a lot of digestive enzymes to help break things up more. At about 9:30 I decided to take some prednisone. I don't care for taking drugs, and I think that is why my doctor allows me to self medicate without screaming at me. I don't take any OTC stuff unless it is absolutely necessary. I don't deviate from my scripts either. But when my guts get inflamed this way, the fastest way to get better is 20-30mg of the pred on a 5 day cycle. So I am in the middle of that right now.
Typically an attack like this would cause a 1-week training hiatus. However I think I caught this one early enought. I took off on Easter Sunday. But on Monday I ran and swam in the morning and hit the bike hard in the afternoon. 2x20 at 320 watts. The running wasn't the most comfortable as my guts were pretty tender...but all in all it wasn't horrible. The prospect of jumping into the cold swimming pool was the worst. In fact I stood on the edge of the pool for at least 10 minutes before jumping in.
Often times I wonder about the timing of these attacks. With my foot and shoulder problems the attack forced an extra day of "recovery". I had plans to run and bike that day...neither happened. Today my foot felt almost perfect. So perhaps the timing of that attack was perfect as well. Sometimes the mind and body are connected more than we know. And even if you don't know it consciously, the body knows when it is time for a break.
As for my shoulder. My PT and I discovered a tightness in my pec muscle that may have been causing much of the shoulder problem. I've been stretching that area and it seems to be helping quite a bit. I need to work on the rotator cuff strength a bit more...but all in all it seems to be progressing well. I have clearence from the Chiro and Ortho to swim hard again as I won't make it any worse. And seeing that I've noticed some pretty good improvement I'm ready to go. I've swam three times since then and have had little to no pain. In fact the tighness in my neck has gone down quite a bit. All from learning a new stretch. So that is good news. Today I did a solid 2200 yards and while the shoulder is tired and a little tight, it feels like normal muscle fatigue as opposed to a problem. Very good news.
In any case, break time is over. There are about 9 weeks until my first race. (Probably Lake Mills) and I am going to use them. My swim speed is still there, just need to build a little endurance. I can hold 1:20/100 yds for any distance without even thinking. I need to get myself down to the 1:10 range. My running and biking legs are ready to go. Time to put in some hard work and see what I can do this season.
I would like to do another resting week in 2-3 weeks. I'm not sure it's worth it yet. I don't have my garmin, so running data won't really be there. My bike training was inconsistent due to the PMP and I really want the quarq to quantify the difference between the CT and Quarq before going outdoors for testing. I won't worry about testing my swimming for another month.
Going back to the lone wolf/being quiet thoughts from earlier. Do I talk as much as I write? If so, someone needs to tell me to shut the hell up.
So the other day I read two different blogs. I'm not as good about checking up on others as I should be. Simple forgetfullness really. Anyway, I started with Matts. (He reads this, so hi Matt). Anyway, I really enjoyed it, allow me to copy/paste a little blurb from it.
"The work of a triathlete is no different than the work of a sole-practitioner. I should know, I do both. Often times, it's done in solitude. Sometimes I stumble across others, individuals like myself who are on the same journey. Maybe our paths cross for a brief moment at a stop sign when on a bike ride, or it's at the pool when you got into the lane next to me, or maybe it's at the track when you showed up to do intervals. While our interaction may be brief it's not because we're rude or mean, it's because we're wolves. Legs fed the wolf so our time together is short by our character. It's time to move on, to keep ourselves strong, to find another meal, to live another day. In this game we got lots of work of do."
For some reason that little bit really rang true with me. I think most people understand the difference between introverts and extroverts. While I suspect most people believe extroverts are more outgoing and talkative, that isn't necessarily the case. In reality, the true difference between being an intro and an extro has more to do with your personal energy levels. Using myself as an example, in all of the little tests I've ever taken, I come out almost equal in both right v left brain tests as well as introverted v extroverted tests. But my true introversion comes through in how I recharge my battery, and that is often with quiet alone time.
One might think that I am equally adept at being a loner vs. being a very outgoing excitable person. But if I am being honest with myself, that is not necessarily true. Sure at the age of 34 I consider myself adept and fairly comfortable in large social settings. I don't get social anxeity or issues like that. I don't have a fear of public speaking like others do. In fact I am quite good at giving presentations. But that came from years of practice.
However in my day to day life, I am much more of a loner than many people realize. In fact, if you went to highschool or college with me, the change is pretty significant. In Highschool I was never the cool guy or the top athlete. I started swimming as a freshman and simply did the work. Swimming appealed to me because it was all on me. I was good at team sports, baseball, football, etc. But when I started swimming I was hooked. While there were lots of people in the pool, I was a distance swimmer. It was very easy to simply shut my brain off and swim.
I went to college and it was the same. However from a social perspective things were very different. We were much more of a team, but I was pretty shy and quiet. Especially my first two years. Coupled with my dry sarcasm I doubt people realized I was kidding around very often. To say I was socially awkward would be a bit of an understatement. I'd go party, but often times I'd just read in my room and be just as happy. I don't think people really got that. I won't even discuss my awkwardness with girls. Although I suspect some of you might find that rather amusing.
Anyway, junior year I met a couple people and a lot of my social awkwardness went away. Anyway, the point of all this is the lone-wolf mentality and Matt's blog. I found it so interesting because I've always thought of myself as a lone wolf and to hear someone else articulate the same thought was fascinating. As human nature and psychology have always fascinated me it makes me question what type of person is drawn to different endeavors.
I know people like me who are drawn to the solitude of triathlon. Much of our work is alone. I put in countless hours on the bike in my basement this winter. But I also know many people who specifically try to train with groups and can't get motivated withough a group event of some kind. I don't have any answers, just some basic thoughts. I suspect that the upper level of the triathlon community consists more of people like me. Lone wolves, rather competitive, perhaps quiet or introverted in some ways. But there are always outliers.
In any case, that is what I really love about triathlon. In fact I find myself going to great lenghts to perpetuate the lone-wolf mentality. I prefer riding on my trainer than going on group rides. Partially because I have not gone on real group rides before, I'm intimidated. But my excuse is that I get a better workout on the trainer doing intervals. I don't do group runs. Never have. I may in the future, but Im so paranoid about an injury that I don't want to be pushed out of my running zones unless I am racing. I'll swim in masters classes, but that comes natural from all the years of team swimming. I'm still new to running and biking, so the awkwardness is still there a bit.
So I am making a pact with myself. This weeked I don't have any real plans. So my goals are to first get the quarq installed on my tri-bike so I can do some riding outside with power readings. Second, I am going to set up my road bike. I am not good at fitting, so I may need help here. I want it to match my tri bike as much as possible. With that, I will do the occassional group ride. Even if it is out of my way...a typical excuse.
In life you never stay the same. You are either progressing or regressing. That is the way of things. So it's time for me to force a little change and see how it works for me. Perhaps I will see some big gains, perhaps I will crash and burn in a pile of bikes on the side of the road.
On to the details of the week.
Had a crohns attack on Sat night. Will discuss later.
Went clothes shopping on Friday. I actually fit into size 34 pants. I think I was in a 36 at birth. So that was exciting. I am currently sitting at 205. I have plans to drop to 190 by June. Now that I don't have to study for the PMP, I should be able to handle this.
I did my first outdoor ride on Thursday. It was an interesting experience. First I was very tired from Wednesdays workout. (Will discuss that in a moment.) Plus it was very very windy. In a couple cases I tried to drop the hammer to see what the winter of workouts gave me in terms of speed. But since the course is littered with stop signs and other obstacles where I can't push, it was very tough to tell. I have one section of road that I use as a time trial area. When I am hammering hard its a 5:30 section or so. If memory serves last year in my full race (dork) gear I did that section in 5:24. Thursday with no aero gear, heavy winds, and sitting up a couple times because I am not used to being aero on the road yet (plus crappy roads) I did a 5:20. So I have certainly made improvement. My problem is a lack of input. I am used to having a power reading to focus on...outside I won't have that until I get the Garmin. Which I will have to wait longer for because Garmin shipped the wrong model. Wonderful. All in all, a successful ride.
I believe that when I started this ride, I started at 500 watts or so because my legs quickly felt the effort and I was moving. I was then disappointed by how quickly I had to slow down. Part of that was certainly being tired from the previous day, but I do think if I had paced evenly I would have done and felt better.
Last week Wednesday night:
I read another team mates blog. Scott Bowe. In there he describes one of his workouts. It is a Spinnervals video that I also have. TimeTrialPalooza. It is one of my all time favorite workouts. Here is how it lays out.
1x20min - 5 min recover - 1x15 min - 5 min recover - 1x10 min - 5 min recover - 1x5 min max effort.
The 20 minute effort is supposed to be at your Functional Power (315) and then the additional sets add 5-10 watts. Historically I've started this set at 280 watts and never tried heavier. But I up my wattage fast going from 280 to 300 to 310-315 and then maxing out at 345-365 depending on the day.
I read Scott's blog and he planned to start at FTP which sounded incredibly difficult to me. In fact I doubted I would be able to complete the workout. Looking back I don't know why that was...perhaps it is because when I am told to add 5-10 watts I immediately add 10 or even 15. In this workout that would be really tough...but 5 is doable. Going from 315-320-325-max isn't that bad when I think about it. I had some kind of mental block going on.
So Wednesday I was determined to do that set as prescribed by coach Troy. 315-320-325-max(335)...and I succeeded. Great confidence booster.
Here's one thing I noticed. In the past I have really relied on the computrainers Erg mode. The trainer essentially forces the wattage on the trainer. You either do it or stop. I discovered that using this is very challenging at higher wattages as it seems to force me to a lower cadence than I prefer. I figured this out about 1/3 of the way through the 15 minute set. So I suffered through that and then switched over to normal spin mode which I use for all training. It was MUCH easier. I hit the wattage with ease and a lower HR and RPE.
My conclusion: Manual Erg mode has its place. Specifically sets that are at 90% of FTP or LOWER. It is great for lower wattage enduracne or recover trainer rides too. But with the season approaching fast, I am going to do almost all normal spin mode intervals from now until the end of the season.
Had a great Saturday training day. I'm still nursing the foot. It doesn't really hurt any more. But I am being very careful to not cause a problem. I ran 45 minutes in the AM and then stretched and iced. In the afternoon I did a hard 1:30 ride of intervals again. I was really happy with the day and felt great...until that evening.
I don't know what caused the problem, but I have some suspicions. I had a VERY big bowl of fruit after my ride. We made pizza for dinner...I ate a lot. The stress of the PMP and work catching up. All were contributors. In any case around 7pm my stomach was making some noise and causing discomfort. I went to bed early and had the heating pad. By 10pm I knew the crohns disease was flaring. I can often tell by doing an "intestinal massage". It is exaclty how it sounds...I rub the gut area to find spots of tenderness or areas that feel hard. there were several. In many cases, despite the pain, simply massaging these areas helps to let food through. I did that, took a lot of digestive enzymes to help break things up more. At about 9:30 I decided to take some prednisone. I don't care for taking drugs, and I think that is why my doctor allows me to self medicate without screaming at me. I don't take any OTC stuff unless it is absolutely necessary. I don't deviate from my scripts either. But when my guts get inflamed this way, the fastest way to get better is 20-30mg of the pred on a 5 day cycle. So I am in the middle of that right now.
Typically an attack like this would cause a 1-week training hiatus. However I think I caught this one early enought. I took off on Easter Sunday. But on Monday I ran and swam in the morning and hit the bike hard in the afternoon. 2x20 at 320 watts. The running wasn't the most comfortable as my guts were pretty tender...but all in all it wasn't horrible. The prospect of jumping into the cold swimming pool was the worst. In fact I stood on the edge of the pool for at least 10 minutes before jumping in.
Often times I wonder about the timing of these attacks. With my foot and shoulder problems the attack forced an extra day of "recovery". I had plans to run and bike that day...neither happened. Today my foot felt almost perfect. So perhaps the timing of that attack was perfect as well. Sometimes the mind and body are connected more than we know. And even if you don't know it consciously, the body knows when it is time for a break.
As for my shoulder. My PT and I discovered a tightness in my pec muscle that may have been causing much of the shoulder problem. I've been stretching that area and it seems to be helping quite a bit. I need to work on the rotator cuff strength a bit more...but all in all it seems to be progressing well. I have clearence from the Chiro and Ortho to swim hard again as I won't make it any worse. And seeing that I've noticed some pretty good improvement I'm ready to go. I've swam three times since then and have had little to no pain. In fact the tighness in my neck has gone down quite a bit. All from learning a new stretch. So that is good news. Today I did a solid 2200 yards and while the shoulder is tired and a little tight, it feels like normal muscle fatigue as opposed to a problem. Very good news.
In any case, break time is over. There are about 9 weeks until my first race. (Probably Lake Mills) and I am going to use them. My swim speed is still there, just need to build a little endurance. I can hold 1:20/100 yds for any distance without even thinking. I need to get myself down to the 1:10 range. My running and biking legs are ready to go. Time to put in some hard work and see what I can do this season.
I would like to do another resting week in 2-3 weeks. I'm not sure it's worth it yet. I don't have my garmin, so running data won't really be there. My bike training was inconsistent due to the PMP and I really want the quarq to quantify the difference between the CT and Quarq before going outdoors for testing. I won't worry about testing my swimming for another month.
Going back to the lone wolf/being quiet thoughts from earlier. Do I talk as much as I write? If so, someone needs to tell me to shut the hell up.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
PMP, Injury, Training
So a lot's been going on the last week or so. I figured I'd write about it during my lunch today.
First, on Monday I passed my PMP exam. Thank God that's over with. Now I don't have to feel guilty every night I don't study...or trained to hard to study effectively. Very good news for me.
My shoulder is still a problem. I took a shot of cortisone in my back and it helped a little bit. The day-to-day pain is basically gone. I never even knew it hurt until the pain was gone. But it didn't help my shoulder specifically. If I work at my desk for extended periods or swim...I get the same burning pain. It is much more specific now however. So instead of the whole back of my shoulder burning I can feel it in my shoulder specifically and mostly in the armpit (sub-scapulara) area. I doubt I spelled that correctly.
So I have an appointment with the surgeon to discuss again tomorrow. I suspect I have a few choices...more cortisone in my back to help with a bulging disc...perhaps higher in my back where the nerve effecting this area is. A shot in my shoulder specifically...or surgery.
I've already resigned myself to the fact that I am going to need surgery on the shoulder. Realistically I've needed it for years. But I don't want to do it until the end of this season unless the doc tells me I will be causing real damage that can't be fixed by continuing to swim. I really doubt that's the case as its not like the swimming motion is that hard like throwing a baseball or football. My hope is that we can load the shoulder with drugs...make it through the season in reasonable shape...and then have surgery as soon is the season is done.
From what I hear, recovery from shoulder surgery isn't as bas as I thought. People are on their bikes (inside) after a week or so. Nothing hard, but still maintaining a little fitness. Swimming after a month or so and running is last because the impact. We'll see what he says.
The other injury was a bit of a surprise to me. My running (up until Saturday) had been going great. I don't think I had missed a single day since January. I was really happy with how things were going. On Saturday I had a 45 minute time trial at a local bike shop. I ran 50min in the morning, nothing hard. I got to the time trial, raced and did pretty well considering my lack of riding the previous 2 weeks...and was feeling great. I hung around for a while, went home and absolutely nothing out of the ordinary occured that I can remember.
I woke up on Sunday and my right foot was hurting...bottom of the foot near the base of the heel. Of course my first thoughts were "shit I have plantar faciitis again". I hate PF. But I seem to remember doing something somewhere...I can't remember any details...where I had my foot in an awkward position and it cramped up. But it never got bad because I can't rememeber it at all.
Anyway I did not run on Sunday. I studied that day and did not rehab it as much as I should...a little ice was all. Monday I took my exam and was gone quite a bit...but I did run 25 minutes. I could feel it the whole time and probably should not have run. But I wanted to try. I iced if immediately after.
Tuesday it wasn't any better...but not really worse. I swam in the morning and did some kicking sets. I like doing that for foot injuries because it really helps increase blood flow to the whole leg. In the afternoon I rode for 1:30 on the trainer and spent the rest of the evening alternating between stretching, icing, heating, contrast baths, and rolling my foot gently on a little ball to loosen things up. I have also been sleeping with the boot.
Thankfully today (Wednesday) I woke up and it was a LOT better. I'd say 95% better. And I can tell right now I got too lax on my calf stretching and trigger point rolling. It is sore from all the rolling I did last night. But the good news is that I must have loosened it up a bit and it is on the mend. I suspect I will simply take this week off from running to make sure it is all better as I don't want to be running with PF all season.
I know how to tape my foot if necessary and I put my orthotics back into my work shoes for the moment. Maybe I'll just have to run with them forever, but I'd like to not need them. So we'll see how things go when I remove them after a couple days. Hopefully this pain really was just caused by a foot cramp or bruise of sorts. I doubt it...but if I can get rid of the PF quickly then its all the same to me.
As for my training...nothing much to speak of the last couple weeks. I had been running well. I had done some harder rides, not too much. Swimming has been minimal at best.
I swam yesterday and today to test the shoulder. Yesterday wasn't bad. Today after a harder swim the shoulder was hurting pretty good. So I need to hear from the doctor on that one.
I have the quarq in the basement. Now that the PMP is over I can install it. But I don't have the garmin yet. I need the Garmin to read the Qauaq...so I am not going to install it until then. Why put miles on the chainring when it isn't serving a purpose.
The next two weeks will be interesting. I had planned to really start hitting it hard so my early June races would be great. In fact that is still my plan with some slight modifications. I plan to bike VERY hard the next two months for sure. I can get outside and will still do some intervals indoors.
If all goes well, and it should, I'll start running again on Saturday or Sunday. I had originally planned to begin increasing mileage this week to 30:60:90. Once there I was going to add some threshold/interval work. Instead I am going to dial it back a notch and do 25:50:60 the first week and see how it goes. If that goes well I'll go back to 25:50:75 and then begin a slow increase to 30:60:90. To be safe I'll stay there for a couple weeks before beginning threshold work or adding longer runs.
I think this will work well for me simply because the added volume I've already done. So far this year I am in much better shape than I have ever been. Even last year with ironman training, I was nowhere near as fast as I am now. Once I start riding outside I'll have a much better idea of how fast I am on the bike.
As for swimming...it is my strenght. Last season my workouts consisted of 1500-2000 yard swims...and almost all were closer to 1500 yards. Doing that I was still one of the top guys out of the water. I can certainly do that and continue to manage the pain I have through the season. I won't be as fast as I could be...but I would still be faster than most triathletes. However I am hopeful we can at least eliminate the pain for the season and fix it in the fall. We'll see.
So thankfully all my injuries at this point are all just minor setbacks. Nothing I can't work through.
Spring is approaching everyone, time to get outside.
First, on Monday I passed my PMP exam. Thank God that's over with. Now I don't have to feel guilty every night I don't study...or trained to hard to study effectively. Very good news for me.
My shoulder is still a problem. I took a shot of cortisone in my back and it helped a little bit. The day-to-day pain is basically gone. I never even knew it hurt until the pain was gone. But it didn't help my shoulder specifically. If I work at my desk for extended periods or swim...I get the same burning pain. It is much more specific now however. So instead of the whole back of my shoulder burning I can feel it in my shoulder specifically and mostly in the armpit (sub-scapulara) area. I doubt I spelled that correctly.
So I have an appointment with the surgeon to discuss again tomorrow. I suspect I have a few choices...more cortisone in my back to help with a bulging disc...perhaps higher in my back where the nerve effecting this area is. A shot in my shoulder specifically...or surgery.
I've already resigned myself to the fact that I am going to need surgery on the shoulder. Realistically I've needed it for years. But I don't want to do it until the end of this season unless the doc tells me I will be causing real damage that can't be fixed by continuing to swim. I really doubt that's the case as its not like the swimming motion is that hard like throwing a baseball or football. My hope is that we can load the shoulder with drugs...make it through the season in reasonable shape...and then have surgery as soon is the season is done.
From what I hear, recovery from shoulder surgery isn't as bas as I thought. People are on their bikes (inside) after a week or so. Nothing hard, but still maintaining a little fitness. Swimming after a month or so and running is last because the impact. We'll see what he says.
The other injury was a bit of a surprise to me. My running (up until Saturday) had been going great. I don't think I had missed a single day since January. I was really happy with how things were going. On Saturday I had a 45 minute time trial at a local bike shop. I ran 50min in the morning, nothing hard. I got to the time trial, raced and did pretty well considering my lack of riding the previous 2 weeks...and was feeling great. I hung around for a while, went home and absolutely nothing out of the ordinary occured that I can remember.
I woke up on Sunday and my right foot was hurting...bottom of the foot near the base of the heel. Of course my first thoughts were "shit I have plantar faciitis again". I hate PF. But I seem to remember doing something somewhere...I can't remember any details...where I had my foot in an awkward position and it cramped up. But it never got bad because I can't rememeber it at all.
Anyway I did not run on Sunday. I studied that day and did not rehab it as much as I should...a little ice was all. Monday I took my exam and was gone quite a bit...but I did run 25 minutes. I could feel it the whole time and probably should not have run. But I wanted to try. I iced if immediately after.
Tuesday it wasn't any better...but not really worse. I swam in the morning and did some kicking sets. I like doing that for foot injuries because it really helps increase blood flow to the whole leg. In the afternoon I rode for 1:30 on the trainer and spent the rest of the evening alternating between stretching, icing, heating, contrast baths, and rolling my foot gently on a little ball to loosen things up. I have also been sleeping with the boot.
Thankfully today (Wednesday) I woke up and it was a LOT better. I'd say 95% better. And I can tell right now I got too lax on my calf stretching and trigger point rolling. It is sore from all the rolling I did last night. But the good news is that I must have loosened it up a bit and it is on the mend. I suspect I will simply take this week off from running to make sure it is all better as I don't want to be running with PF all season.
I know how to tape my foot if necessary and I put my orthotics back into my work shoes for the moment. Maybe I'll just have to run with them forever, but I'd like to not need them. So we'll see how things go when I remove them after a couple days. Hopefully this pain really was just caused by a foot cramp or bruise of sorts. I doubt it...but if I can get rid of the PF quickly then its all the same to me.
As for my training...nothing much to speak of the last couple weeks. I had been running well. I had done some harder rides, not too much. Swimming has been minimal at best.
I swam yesterday and today to test the shoulder. Yesterday wasn't bad. Today after a harder swim the shoulder was hurting pretty good. So I need to hear from the doctor on that one.
I have the quarq in the basement. Now that the PMP is over I can install it. But I don't have the garmin yet. I need the Garmin to read the Qauaq...so I am not going to install it until then. Why put miles on the chainring when it isn't serving a purpose.
The next two weeks will be interesting. I had planned to really start hitting it hard so my early June races would be great. In fact that is still my plan with some slight modifications. I plan to bike VERY hard the next two months for sure. I can get outside and will still do some intervals indoors.
If all goes well, and it should, I'll start running again on Saturday or Sunday. I had originally planned to begin increasing mileage this week to 30:60:90. Once there I was going to add some threshold/interval work. Instead I am going to dial it back a notch and do 25:50:60 the first week and see how it goes. If that goes well I'll go back to 25:50:75 and then begin a slow increase to 30:60:90. To be safe I'll stay there for a couple weeks before beginning threshold work or adding longer runs.
I think this will work well for me simply because the added volume I've already done. So far this year I am in much better shape than I have ever been. Even last year with ironman training, I was nowhere near as fast as I am now. Once I start riding outside I'll have a much better idea of how fast I am on the bike.
As for swimming...it is my strenght. Last season my workouts consisted of 1500-2000 yard swims...and almost all were closer to 1500 yards. Doing that I was still one of the top guys out of the water. I can certainly do that and continue to manage the pain I have through the season. I won't be as fast as I could be...but I would still be faster than most triathletes. However I am hopeful we can at least eliminate the pain for the season and fix it in the fall. We'll see.
So thankfully all my injuries at this point are all just minor setbacks. Nothing I can't work through.
Spring is approaching everyone, time to get outside.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Nothing much
Not going to post too much today.
I got a cortisone shot in my spine Monday afternoon. I was told it would take a couple days and be gradual. But I am skeptical. Tuesday the shoulder felt ok. Today I have the same burning sensation in my armpit-ish area...and I didn't even swim.
I had my doubts about the bulging disc causing this. Hopefully the doctor is right. But I think they should have MRI'd the shoulder too. The burning seems to be all under the shoulder blade and down into the arm. Certainly not the same as the rotator cuff, but who knows. UGH.
My PMP exam is Monday. Once that is done I'll be picking up the mileage in running and biking.
Running is going great. Still doing 25:50:75. Will keep it there this week and then start increasing it next week. Once I hit 30:60:90 I'll stay there for quite a while. I'll probably start adding in some threshold work too.
Biking is coming along. Not getting in as much time as I'd like. But doing some solid interval work. Yesterday I did 30 minutes at 315 watts. That is supposed to be my FTP. I could have held it longer but I am not sure I could have held on 30 minutes more. Saturday is the 45 min time trial, assuming the trainer is calibrated properly I'm going to try to hit 315-320 watts.
I wanted to post the running program I'm doing. For any runners out there reading this, I suggest you read the links. They are great.
The Program Part 1
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=2611228;search_string=barryp;guest=82231354&t=search_engine#2611228
The Program Part 2
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/Slowtwitch_Forums_C1/Triathlon_Forum_F1/Run_Training_-_The_Program_(part_2)__P2548469
The Program Part 3
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=2564153;search_string=barryp;guest=82231354&t=search_engine#2564153
Train for the shape you are in:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=2571241;search_string=barryp;guest=82231354&t=search_engine#2571241
I got a cortisone shot in my spine Monday afternoon. I was told it would take a couple days and be gradual. But I am skeptical. Tuesday the shoulder felt ok. Today I have the same burning sensation in my armpit-ish area...and I didn't even swim.
I had my doubts about the bulging disc causing this. Hopefully the doctor is right. But I think they should have MRI'd the shoulder too. The burning seems to be all under the shoulder blade and down into the arm. Certainly not the same as the rotator cuff, but who knows. UGH.
My PMP exam is Monday. Once that is done I'll be picking up the mileage in running and biking.
Running is going great. Still doing 25:50:75. Will keep it there this week and then start increasing it next week. Once I hit 30:60:90 I'll stay there for quite a while. I'll probably start adding in some threshold work too.
Biking is coming along. Not getting in as much time as I'd like. But doing some solid interval work. Yesterday I did 30 minutes at 315 watts. That is supposed to be my FTP. I could have held it longer but I am not sure I could have held on 30 minutes more. Saturday is the 45 min time trial, assuming the trainer is calibrated properly I'm going to try to hit 315-320 watts.
I wanted to post the running program I'm doing. For any runners out there reading this, I suggest you read the links. They are great.
The Program Part 1
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=2611228;search_string=barryp;guest=82231354&t=search_engine#2611228
The Program Part 2
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/Slowtwitch_Forums_C1/Triathlon_Forum_F1/Run_Training_-_The_Program_(part_2)__P2548469
The Program Part 3
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=2564153;search_string=barryp;guest=82231354&t=search_engine#2564153
Train for the shape you are in:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/cgi-bin/gforum.cgi?post=2571241;search_string=barryp;guest=82231354&t=search_engine#2571241
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
My Quarq is here, my Quarq is here!!!
FINALLY. I ordered it back in November/December and it took this long. It's not actually here yet, but it is in transit. Hopefully I'll have it in hand today.
So the last couple weeks have been good and bad. We'll start with the bad:
I have to study for this stupid PMP exam. It's driving me crazy and causing my blood pressure to rise. I have no doubt I am making it out to be much worse than it actually is...but it does require a lot of study time and memorization. I am in a class all day saturday too. It really seems to screw up my entire training week. UGH. But I do have a plan.
This week is my last class. So at least that will be over. But in order to get the most out of the class I need to take the test as soon after the class as I can. So I will have to sacrifice a little training time to get this done. Here is my tentative schedule:
Final class - March 20. Sunday after class I will spend a couple hours taking the practice exam to see how I do, and where I need to concentrate more.
My plan is to take the test either the 29th or 30th. This will give me about one full week to do the final cramming. I know all the concepts, but need to do the memorization.
And the motivation for all this...I will not allow myself to hook up my quarq until that test is done and passed. (failing doesn't count).
PS - A Quarq is a power meter for the bike. I've discussed this in past blogs.
The second bad part...my shoulder is still bothering me a lot. I saw the orthopedic surgeon and have some good news. The problem does not appear to be my rotator cuff, it looks like it is in my neck. Too much sitting at a desk in one position. It may be pinching a nerve which is what causes the muscle spasms and more tightness and the pain all over the back/shoulder/arm. If that is a correct diagnosis, I won't need surgery, I need stretching and rehab. I have already begun, but have not seen any appreciable difference. I get the MRI results in the next couple days and will need to focus on my neck for at least a month. I am still swimming 3 days per week, but it is very light and easy swimming. Even after that my shoulder burns quite a bit.
I don't doubt that part of the problem is in my neck as it is incredibly tight and does hurt now that i am working on it. I just don't know that it is causing all the problems. Time will tell.
More bad news...my diet has SUCKED the last two weeks. I really let myself get into a funk and that is ending NOW. A co-worker has every kind of m&m in his office and I have to be in there for meetings all the time. It had been too much to resist. And when it comes to sugar I am like a shark. Just a little sniff and I go into an uncotrollable frenzy.
The nice thing about Mondays is it starts a new week for me. So while last week was bad, this week will be good.
Onto the good news.
My running is coming along really well. Still at 6 days per week. Right now I am doing 25:50:75 for this week and next. After that I'll beging bumping it up until I hit 30:60:90. I will stay at 30:60:90 for quite a while with some longer runs mixed in. I have a little tighness in my calves and the left side of each leg. Nothing the foam roller won't take care of. With all my PMP work, stretching is one of the things I've sacrificed. I need to make sure I workout a bit less and keep stretching. A shorter workout for a couple weeks is better than an overuse injury requiring multiple weeks off.
While I didn't do much biking last week, I haven't lost anything. I did a good 45-minute ride yesterday with 4x5 @ 300 watts dispersed throughout the workout. It wasn't much of a problem holding that, 300 is about 95% for me. I am confident I could have held that for 20 minutes or so. On Wednesday I plan to do some longer intervals to see what I can do at 95% or higher. The new power thresholds from my last test are pretty tough.
On a sad yet funny note...
Aimee and I got a new cat a month ago. She was in a home with dogs and terrorized. The guy was going to send her to the humane soceity...and with the dogs always after her we were concerned she'd fail the personality test and be put down. So we rescued her.
Well, she is not good with other animals...and we have two cats. Cassie, the older cat is what you'd call an alpha cat. Well Ziva (the new cat) is very afraid, but also an I'm not gonna take any shit alpha cat. We've been keeping them seperated, but cassie always sleeps with us and Ziva is too scared to go down stairs.
Anyway, Aimee slept in the spare room with cassie so she wouldn't get too upset about this whole situation.
Our house is a 2-story house, and near the stair case is a ledge (approx 5ftx4ft) over the entrance to our living room. The cats love it, we call it the cat walk as they are out there all the time. They also know big people can't get out there easily.
So this morning I get up at abot 4:30 to run. (yes, way too early if you ask me). I get ready and Ziva is out on the catwalk. She's typically out there in the later hours. I go get cassie from the guest room because I feed them in the morning.
well wouldn't you know it, cassie sees/smells ziva and b-lines it for the catwalk. I try to grab her...no good.
So she gets right to the edge effectivelly trapping Ziva. Not liking that one bit Ziva gets on her haunces and lifts a front paw in the mock "I'm gonna bitch-slap you" pose and starts growling, hissing, and making all kinds of noise.
Cassie doesn't quite know how to react but being the alpha cat in the house is not to be out-done. Instead of taking the bitch slap pose, she actually smacks her. Fortunately both cats have been de-clawed.
remember...they are on a 4-foot wide, no railing, ledge on the 2nd story.
Next thing I know, all hell breaks loose. cats are screaming, growling, hissing. I'm yelling at them because I don't want one falling off, and frankly they are both pissing me off at this point.
It's like a rocky movie that unfolds over the course of 5 seconds. Cassie smacks Ziva, Ziva smacks her back, they hiss, scream, roll around...seperate...jump back in and do it all again.
Next thing I know Cassie smacks Ziva and Ziva goes sailing into the air. She flies out over the living room...and being a cat manages to land on her feet and disappear. We found her and she is fine. Cassie ran downstairs because I was yelling at her.
All that before 5am.
Ziva doesn't know how lucky she is. Had she gone flying off the other side she would have smashed into the staircase railings and either landed on the stairs which are uneven or she would have fallen onto a bench loaded with "stuff". Either one of those could have hurt her pretty badly. Thankfully she landed on nice soft carpeting.
So we don't know what to do. It's been about a month. While we really want to give them a chance, there are so many dangerous places for fighting cats that we don't want to take the chance. I suspece Cassie has fallen due to a fight as she'd been limping a bit. Aimee thinks it occured before we left the two alone together.
So...if anyone reading this wants a cat, let me know. Ziva is 9. She has the potential to be a really great cat. She's very skittish from her dog (and cassie) experience, but she's shown flashes of being a really cool cat. She loves to play and when we don't allow the other cats upstairs she sleeps with Aimee and puuuurrrrsss all night. But I really think she needs a nice quiet home with no young kids or other animals that don't reside in a cage or tank.
So the last couple weeks have been good and bad. We'll start with the bad:
I have to study for this stupid PMP exam. It's driving me crazy and causing my blood pressure to rise. I have no doubt I am making it out to be much worse than it actually is...but it does require a lot of study time and memorization. I am in a class all day saturday too. It really seems to screw up my entire training week. UGH. But I do have a plan.
This week is my last class. So at least that will be over. But in order to get the most out of the class I need to take the test as soon after the class as I can. So I will have to sacrifice a little training time to get this done. Here is my tentative schedule:
Final class - March 20. Sunday after class I will spend a couple hours taking the practice exam to see how I do, and where I need to concentrate more.
My plan is to take the test either the 29th or 30th. This will give me about one full week to do the final cramming. I know all the concepts, but need to do the memorization.
And the motivation for all this...I will not allow myself to hook up my quarq until that test is done and passed. (failing doesn't count).
PS - A Quarq is a power meter for the bike. I've discussed this in past blogs.
The second bad part...my shoulder is still bothering me a lot. I saw the orthopedic surgeon and have some good news. The problem does not appear to be my rotator cuff, it looks like it is in my neck. Too much sitting at a desk in one position. It may be pinching a nerve which is what causes the muscle spasms and more tightness and the pain all over the back/shoulder/arm. If that is a correct diagnosis, I won't need surgery, I need stretching and rehab. I have already begun, but have not seen any appreciable difference. I get the MRI results in the next couple days and will need to focus on my neck for at least a month. I am still swimming 3 days per week, but it is very light and easy swimming. Even after that my shoulder burns quite a bit.
I don't doubt that part of the problem is in my neck as it is incredibly tight and does hurt now that i am working on it. I just don't know that it is causing all the problems. Time will tell.
More bad news...my diet has SUCKED the last two weeks. I really let myself get into a funk and that is ending NOW. A co-worker has every kind of m&m in his office and I have to be in there for meetings all the time. It had been too much to resist. And when it comes to sugar I am like a shark. Just a little sniff and I go into an uncotrollable frenzy.
The nice thing about Mondays is it starts a new week for me. So while last week was bad, this week will be good.
Onto the good news.
My running is coming along really well. Still at 6 days per week. Right now I am doing 25:50:75 for this week and next. After that I'll beging bumping it up until I hit 30:60:90. I will stay at 30:60:90 for quite a while with some longer runs mixed in. I have a little tighness in my calves and the left side of each leg. Nothing the foam roller won't take care of. With all my PMP work, stretching is one of the things I've sacrificed. I need to make sure I workout a bit less and keep stretching. A shorter workout for a couple weeks is better than an overuse injury requiring multiple weeks off.
While I didn't do much biking last week, I haven't lost anything. I did a good 45-minute ride yesterday with 4x5 @ 300 watts dispersed throughout the workout. It wasn't much of a problem holding that, 300 is about 95% for me. I am confident I could have held that for 20 minutes or so. On Wednesday I plan to do some longer intervals to see what I can do at 95% or higher. The new power thresholds from my last test are pretty tough.
On a sad yet funny note...
Aimee and I got a new cat a month ago. She was in a home with dogs and terrorized. The guy was going to send her to the humane soceity...and with the dogs always after her we were concerned she'd fail the personality test and be put down. So we rescued her.
Well, she is not good with other animals...and we have two cats. Cassie, the older cat is what you'd call an alpha cat. Well Ziva (the new cat) is very afraid, but also an I'm not gonna take any shit alpha cat. We've been keeping them seperated, but cassie always sleeps with us and Ziva is too scared to go down stairs.
Anyway, Aimee slept in the spare room with cassie so she wouldn't get too upset about this whole situation.
Our house is a 2-story house, and near the stair case is a ledge (approx 5ftx4ft) over the entrance to our living room. The cats love it, we call it the cat walk as they are out there all the time. They also know big people can't get out there easily.
So this morning I get up at abot 4:30 to run. (yes, way too early if you ask me). I get ready and Ziva is out on the catwalk. She's typically out there in the later hours. I go get cassie from the guest room because I feed them in the morning.
well wouldn't you know it, cassie sees/smells ziva and b-lines it for the catwalk. I try to grab her...no good.
So she gets right to the edge effectivelly trapping Ziva. Not liking that one bit Ziva gets on her haunces and lifts a front paw in the mock "I'm gonna bitch-slap you" pose and starts growling, hissing, and making all kinds of noise.
Cassie doesn't quite know how to react but being the alpha cat in the house is not to be out-done. Instead of taking the bitch slap pose, she actually smacks her. Fortunately both cats have been de-clawed.
remember...they are on a 4-foot wide, no railing, ledge on the 2nd story.
Next thing I know, all hell breaks loose. cats are screaming, growling, hissing. I'm yelling at them because I don't want one falling off, and frankly they are both pissing me off at this point.
It's like a rocky movie that unfolds over the course of 5 seconds. Cassie smacks Ziva, Ziva smacks her back, they hiss, scream, roll around...seperate...jump back in and do it all again.
Next thing I know Cassie smacks Ziva and Ziva goes sailing into the air. She flies out over the living room...and being a cat manages to land on her feet and disappear. We found her and she is fine. Cassie ran downstairs because I was yelling at her.
All that before 5am.
Ziva doesn't know how lucky she is. Had she gone flying off the other side she would have smashed into the staircase railings and either landed on the stairs which are uneven or she would have fallen onto a bench loaded with "stuff". Either one of those could have hurt her pretty badly. Thankfully she landed on nice soft carpeting.
So we don't know what to do. It's been about a month. While we really want to give them a chance, there are so many dangerous places for fighting cats that we don't want to take the chance. I suspece Cassie has fallen due to a fight as she'd been limping a bit. Aimee thinks it occured before we left the two alone together.
So...if anyone reading this wants a cat, let me know. Ziva is 9. She has the potential to be a really great cat. She's very skittish from her dog (and cassie) experience, but she's shown flashes of being a really cool cat. She loves to play and when we don't allow the other cats upstairs she sleeps with Aimee and puuuurrrrsss all night. But I really think she needs a nice quiet home with no young kids or other animals that don't reside in a cage or tank.
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