Swimming, Biking, Running...Oh My!

Going to cover a little bit of everything today, since it seems like I havent done that in a while. Heck, I haven't even really been posting!

Events Update
So I've finally registered for the NYRR Sprint Tri (400m swim, 13 mile bike, 5k run) on June 30th. I was falling into my trap of "I want to make sure I'm ready, then I'll sign up"- which we all know will eventually never happen. So when I saw that it was nearing capacity, I jumped on it. One month to train.

Speaking of Triathlons, in a bit of sad news, the DC Tri, which I did about a year ago, has been cancelled for this year. Whats more is, it appears the race itself will no longer exist! This makes me sad since, although I was not signed up for this year, I was hoping to do it again in the future. It was very well run, very organized. And it was my first Tri, so it has a special place in my heart. RIP DC Tri!

I've also signed up for the Celebrate Israel 4-miler in Central Park. I felt I needed to do this one again, since this was not only my 4 mile PR, but my overall pace PR as well.  Not that the course is any different from any other 4 miler organized by NYRR (Japan Day run was the exact same course), but its just that it was this race last year where I got that, so I felt I should give it another go for another big PR.

And just to highlight again, I'm also signed up for the Rock 'n' Roll NY 10K, which is October 13th, in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. As well as Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Half (again!). This will total 3 Rock 'n' Roll events this year, meaning, not only will I be receiving medals for each individual event, but an additional one for doing 2 and then 3 races! Thats 5 medals in all, score! Easily amused, I know.

Upcoming Races/Events
A couple races coming up, the American Heart Associations' Wall Street Run (3 miles) on Thursday, May 31 and the above mentioned Celebrate Israel run on Sunday, June 3. I did not realize that they were only a couple days apart when I signed up! I guess it'll be similar to the Healthy Kindey/Japan Day weekend. Except its not back to back. That was rough!

And on Saturday, June 16th, will be the Ride to Montauk with Team Viscardi! Please click on the link or the link above (Support my Ride!) for more details on how you can support this very wonderful school for disabled children. I will be doing the 100 mile ride (my first one, yikes!). Though not a race, I would like to complete it in or around 6 hours. That is my goal. Okay, maybe 6.5 hrs. I dont have the ability to do things, "just for fun". Its either all out competition, or not at all. Even if I'm just competing against myself.

Training
Oh yea, then theres training...haha. So I finally renewed my pool membership, and went back for a swim this past monday. It went alright, but I kept getting impeded by other swimmers, to the point where I completely lost count of how much I swam. I think I totaled about 800m that night.

Biking will probably be contained to the weekends. The weather has been poor as of late too. Not really sure when the last time the sun was out. I'm doing decently, and can maintain 80rpm fairly easily now on flats. It actually wasn't as fast as I thought it was, so I guess it means I'm in decent shape....

So my goal from now until the Sprint Tri in June 30 is to focus on speedwork. I started this week. I did 2 runs, with hills this past Tues and then intervals last night, which was distributed across the 5 mile loop in CP. Started with a 10 min warm up, then 1 minute at about 80%, with the last 15-20 seconds going almost full out. Walk for the next 60 seconds to recover, and then 3 minutes of easy, light jog, with the final minute back to about my 4 mile pace. Lather, rinse, repeat. Finally, did a cool down for the final mile. The challenge in doing it this way, especially in CP is the inclines and declines. Doing it based on time, it always seemed the "speed" portions of the intervals landed on the downhills, which, well, made them a bit easier. Perhaps I'll have to go the other direction next time I try it.

So, thats whats up for the next month or so for me. Lots coming up, and lots to do. 'Till next time.

Training Recap: Superbowl Edition

There really is nothing "Superbowl" about this post other than the fact that the Giants won this past sunday! Just thought it'd be fun add that to the title of the post.

In any case, its been almost three weeks since my last update, and training is cruising right along. Have been pretty consistent with my weeks, with 3 runs per week- hills, easy, and long runs. Have been adding one extra hill rep per week, and this past Friday I got back up to 9 (well, 9.2 to be exact) miles on my long run, with total mileage last week at 17.2. I've made this week somewhat of a recovery/taper week, with an easy run on Monday, and a 5 mile run last night, with some intervals thrown in. That will probably do it for the week, giving me about 8.5 miles for the week. I do plan to remain active by going swimming tonight, the first time since the Tri! So its been like what? 6, 7 months? Saturday, I hope to get in some Yoga X  (which I also did a couple saturdays ago, more details later). And since Mon and Tue are busy next week, I plan on getting the week started on Sunday. This should be interesting, running on the weekend, what a novel idea!

My Yoga X session a couple weeks ago, to my surprise, went fairly decently. I made it through all 92 minutes, and stamina was actually pretty good, and held some of the more difficult poses. I even made it through the entire warrior 3/half moon sequence on my right side. The same could not be said on the left though, which is odd since my left leg was always my stronger leg. Through the workout, I did find that I am far less flexible than I once was. Especially in my hip flexors, working through a lot of the lunge moves proved to be difficult as a result. Another difficulty, which was expected, was all the push ups and vinyasas. My chest/tri's have seriously atrophied from the lack of strength training. Though I was satisfied with my performance through the Yoga belly 7 section of the workout. The next day, my hammies were very sore, but my abs were not. I had expected my abs to be a lot more sore than it was.

NYRR had posted their Q2 races and I am eying some of them. Will update as they open registration (supposedly tomorrow) and/or when I actually register.

Just What the Doctor Ordered

After having a completely crap of a training run on monday, turns out I came down with somewhat of a bug that night into Tuesday. And still feeling the after-effects of it today, Wednesday.  What's funny, is that I was kicking myself for having such a bad training day, especially since Friday's hill training went exceptionally well, but then today, I stumbled on Nike Running's Training Blog:

Turning around early on a run when something hurts just plain stinks. You feel like a failure, you question your toughness and the running you did do feels pointless. But there are times where you get out on a run and something feels bad or wrong and you need to flip around. A funky ankle, a tight IT-band, a sore achilles, a balky knee. Whatever it is, continuing to run on it probably isn't going to make it better. But most people continue to run when they feel weird pains, thinking "I should just keep going" or "it's not that bad" or "if I can't be tough through this little issue how am I going to be tough in my next race?" Wrong. You need to flip around, go back and call it a day and then figure out what you're going to do. Do you need to simply take a day or two off from running? Can you afford to go see a medical professional and get an opinion on what is wrong? Should you be cross training and if so, what modality is best? You've got lots to think about, but what you don't want to do is continue to run on something that hurts because it's just not worth it. By flipping on a run the first day something hurts, you greatly increase your chance of healing and getting back to running quickly; if you hobble through a run when something is obviously wrong, you run the risk of missing weeks (months?) of running rather than days. I'd argue it takes the same amount of guts to turn around on a run and head back home than it takes to push through the discomfort of your original run. So have the guts to turn around when something hurts.

Wow. Just what I needed to hear! Though the blog post is geared more towards what seems to be an injury, I feel its applicable here, when you just dont feel right, and your energy is just WAY down.  Since I had been doing well training and race wise, my plan for Monday was to just roll at my normal pace for 6 miles. Within a mile into it, I already felt sluggish, but thought to myself, "I've felt this before, it'll go away by mile 2". It didnt. In fact, I got to the top of Cat Hill and had to take a breather. I regrouped and continued. Same thing. Got up to 90th and kinda threw in the towel.  As to not make the run a complete waste, I decided to throw in some speedwork, basically using the lampposts as my markers. Alternating sprinting and walking as I passed each one. Totaled about 3.5 miles for the run.

So, its going to be another rest day today to hopefully shake this bug. Since the weather looks nice tomorrow (and the Mets will be in town Friday), I'll go for a run tomorrow and swim on Friday. Health dependent, of course. 'Till next time....

Since 10/29??

Somehow, I let almost 2.5 weeks go without a recap. Maybe because I've allowed 8 rest days in the last 2 weeks. *hangs head in shame...

anyways, since 10/29 (which fittingly became a rest day, was going to do yoga...) the schedule has been a bit spotty, P90X-wise, but I did throw in a few runs. Did a 2.75 run (intervals), 6 miles in central park (a race simulation) and the actual race (the NYRR5) itself last friday. Finished in just under 52 min, which is a personal best at this distance. I must admit that I made the most rookie-est of rookie mistakes- FORGETTING TO DOUBLE KNOT MY LACES!!! Costly. I debated with myself for about a minute whether or not I should even bother to stop and tie them, or just let them be. My shoe didnt feel like it was coming loose anyway. But I thought better of it and stopped to tie them. Lost probably around 30 seconds, which at this kind of distance, makes a difference!! Ugh, lesson learned. Anyway, it was a cold and dreary day, but at start time, the sun did come out and the rain stopped, so only the ground was wet. Overall, good and fun race, and got to experience (if only slightly) the excitement of the NYC Marathon. Will soon get to a 10 min/mile pace soon, I hope.

The only other training I got in were 2 Chest & Back days, which seems to be the workout I've been most consistent with. Which is okay, because its the areas I need most improvement in, push-ups and pull ups. Volleyball was the only other "training" day I had. Like I said, its been a spotty 2 weeks.

So, since this really is week 4, and what should be recovery week, I'm actually doing an extra Phase 1 week to sort of make up for it.  So with C/B last night, I'll do another run tonight (instead of plyo- with my track record for the last couple weeks, I feel its safer to just do a run after work, than risk going home and getting lazy!!). Shooting for 5 miles, which I think I can soon call my "base" mileage. Then Shoulders & Arms, Yoga, Legs & Back on Sat, Sun, and Mon respectively.  Then on Tue, jump into recovery week.

Recap: Maine Edition and the Home Stretch

Wow, we're down to single digit days until the half. Cue the anxiety!

Its been 2 weeks since the last update, and I've done only three *gasp!* runs! BUT! (there is a but), I did rack up about 60 miles worth of bike riding! So it's not as bad as it seems.

So I was in Bar Harbor, ME from 8/21-8/28, and only got one run in, on the first full day there. A moderately hilly 5 miles, which entered Acadia National Park. The hills were challenging, and once I got into the more level portion of my route, I was able to challenge myself by doing extended intervals. The temperature was in the lower 60s, but since it was gloomy and on the verge of rain, meant 100% humidity. Overall, it was an "okay" run.

For the next 3 days, as mentioned earlier, we did a lot of biking, to the tune of over 50 miles. The first day was the biggest challenge. Riding up Cadillac Mountain. From the house, it was just over 6 miles, and a 1500 ft. climb to the top, with the bulk of the climb coming in the final 3 miles, taking just under 2 hours. A far cry from the estimated "30 minutes" which the guy at the bike shop advised. Honestly, it was an amazing accomplishment, and had it not been for the running, I think I would have passed out.

Fresh off the 1500 ft climb, I did about 15 miles the next day, with moderate hills. A very scenic ride through Acadia National Park, down to Jordan Pond. Nothing too challenging, at least when compared to the previous day's feat.

The third and final bike day was a doozy, totalling 30+ miles on a rainy cold day. Thing was, it only ended up being 30+ miles due to a couple wrong turns! On some pretty hilly terrain to boot. Rode from Bar Harbor down to Sand Beach, then Thunder Hole, which was about 9 miles. Then the return trip would have taken us back through Jordan Pond, repeating the previous day's return. One swift wrong turn, then another, tacked on a bunch of needless HILLY miles. But hey, in the end, it was a GREAT workout.

Took the next 4 days off to recover (though I should mention that I did kayak one of those days), and did a 5 mile run, in 90+ degree weather. Though hot, humidity was down. First half of the run went great, then deteriorated quickly as the heat caught up with me. Last night's run, though a touch cooler (89 degrees?), the humidity was up, so was cut short after one lap around the southern
loop.

So its been an interesting past 2 weeks, and should be even more interesting next 10 days. The plan is to hit 10 miles tomorrow, and will cap the training there. Two shorter runs for the upcoming week before the race, and then it's showtime. Man oh man, here we go. Hope to have an update before then.

Running Recap Week of 3/1 and a Horrible Reminder....

Spring is (almost) in the air and with that, came my first 4-run week. Ran on Mon, Tue, Thur and Sat., with distances: 2, 3.5, 3.5, and 3 miles; for a grand total of roughly 12 miles! Very productive week, with the Saturday run feeling very easy and energetic. I also split the Saturday run into 1.5 splits (CIP Path- Crocheron Park to Ft. Totten), doing an easy pace for the first 1.5, then intervals for the second 1.5.  Pace is still in the mid to high 10 min/mile- so definite room for improvement there. Weather is looking good (and warmer) this week, so hoping to match last week's outting.

So a couple weekends ago, we made a trip to PetCo to pick up some dog food for little Oreo. We were orignally going to pick up two 5-lb bags, but figured we'd save some money by just buying the big 20 pounder.  We didnt use a cart, because we didnt think we needed it.  I ended up just picking up the 20 lb bag and carrying it around. This is when I got a really really stark reminder of what it felt like to weigh 230+ pounds. As we walked around a little more, which could not have been more than 5 min, with an addition 20 lbs in hand, my knees and hips started to ache. I was getting fatigued. Just to think- at my current 205-210, with the added 20lbs, put me right back to where i was. That was a very scary thought. Never again, will I let myself go like that. Never.

A Good Start to a New Month

So, the plan is PlyoX tomorrow, and maybe Intervals X Plus on Sunday.

We'll see how I end up.

Lets just say, I ended up very well! Okay, let me back off a little bit and just say it went well. I really wanted to continue my half-marathon training, but that was virtually impossible with the sub-zero wind chills. I mean, I'm one that can take the cold reasonably well, but even I have my limits! I really wanted to hit some resistance training and cardio, though, so my solution? I did half of Chest & Back followed up with 25-30 min of Plyo X. I wanted to take it light on C&B, since its been a while. So I capped the push ups at 10 reps, and pull ups at 8 (doing what I could unassisted, and finishing up with the chair). And let me tell you, even doing that, was HARD! By the time I got to the dive-bombers, I was spent. And to imagine, I only did one round. Plyo went ok- though was disappointed with my perfomance. Thought it would be a touch better from my *four runs...wishful thinking I suppose. Perhaps I was spent from just doing C&B.

So, I woke up Sunday morning, motivated, and tackled Intervals X Plus. I actually did pretty well with this. It wasnt as hard as I last remembered it. Was able to do all the moves, except 2, which were the push up moves. I was incredibly sore from the day before, so there was no way I could do those. So they were pretty much extra 60 sec breaks, and I didnt take any more than that, which I was proud of. So to revisit the question of which is harder, Plyo or Intervals X? Hands down, PLYO X.

One thing I tried this weekend, which I read was good to do, was I did all my workouts with no sneakers. It was interesting. My ankles did get sore, since my ankles are all kinds of messed up, but I think I did alright. I find shoes get in the way sometimes, so I enjoyed it. It'll even help with stability, so may help out my ankles in the long run. I'm working out on carpet so impact wasn't much of an issue.

So I'm still incredibly sore today, but its such a nice feeling. Was going to pound out Shoulders & Arms this morning, but once again, failed at waking up. So, I should get it done tonight, which watching the Bachelor....haha. Dont ask.

'Till next time, BRING IT!

Intervals X Plus

Ok, I won't say that I'm starting Round 3, yet. But since its been over a month since I last worked out, I felt the desire to do SOMEthing. Had planned to do plyo, but remembered I had purchased the P90X+ videos, and said, "AH! Perhaps I'll take a stab at one of the workouts". So that is what I did.

My focus was to do some cardio, in order to just get my blood pumping, so naturally, I looked to Intervals X Plus. Can I just say, "O. M. G." For my first workout back after a month, this was a KILLER. I'm not sure where I'd rate it against plyo, but this is right up there.

This workout has 15 moves, all for 1 min each, but with 3 intensity levels per move. So you go from moves 1 to 15, break, then 15 back to 1. What makes this one harder than plyo is the lack of built in water breaks (I had to make many of my own!). I'd say I did the workout at maybe 80%. I was so tapped out of energy halfway through, I skipped some of the moves entirely, and others I skipped the highest intensity part. I finished the workout a bit dizzy, but hey, that is to be expected, jumping into a workout like this after a month of slacking off.

My legs and glutes are especially sore this morning, but it feels really good to have worked out again. Stood taller. Felt fitter. But nothing like getting on the scale to tell me that i'm 211 lbs @ 23% fat. AHHHHH!!!!!!! (if y'all recall, I made it all the way down to 196 and 19% fat at the end of round 2.5!). I eat entirely way too much.

Hopefully, I can continue now, doing somewhat of a hybrid of the X and X Plus. My plan is to Yoga X tonight. Lets hope that happens =)

BRING IT!