Weekly training summary May 30, 2010

I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but I had the best training week!!  I'll start with the best part -- I got to train with my wife this weekend at Bethany Beach (thanks to her folks for watching the kids).  On Saturday morning, she was scheduled for a 14 miler and me a 4 miler -- so she went out and back 5 miles and then we went out and back 2 miles (plus a mile of walking after getting coffee - her not me, I'm a tea-man).  Sunday morning, we hit the pool: me 2 miles (66 laps), her 45 laps.  Monday, we ran 6 miles together.  It was some of the best training I've done in a long long time.

Meanwhile, this past week was my first week of my build-up the mileage phase in running.  Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday were 4 milers, for a total of 16.74 miles this week.  I know I shouldn't have, but on Wednesday I experimented with some speed -- basically, I did not check my pace and found that, without too much effort and no residual after-pain in the pelvic region, I did my 4.24 miles at a 7:07 pace.  On Friday, I did it again at a 7:46 pace.  So that made me totally psyched --- I can still run a decent pace!

On the swimming front, I got in a decent 5 miles of swimming -- 1600 meters on Monday, 2 miles on Sunday, and 2 miles at masters swim on Thursday.  Here was our workout: 300 warm up. 4 x 75m (25 kick, 25 pull, 25 stroke); 100 easy; 2 x (200m, 150m, 100m, 50m); 100 easy; 3 x (100 m, 75m, 50m, 25m); 100 easy; 4 x 100m kick; 6 x 50m = 3300.  I spoke with the coach and asked if I could move down a lane (from lane 4 to 3).  What a difference that made!  I actually felt good about my swimming, was keeping up with everyone in the lane, and felt a part of the group.  So lane 3 it is for me.

On a side note, on the way to and from Bethany Beach, I took a quick peak at the where I'll be swimming.  1/2 mile out and back from the Kent Island side of the Bay Bridge is a LONG way. 

 What was I thinking?  Next  year, though, I'd like to try the whole 4.4 Chesapeake Bay Swim.

On the biking front, I've sort of settled into a groove:  45 minutes on Tuesday morning and 30 minutes on Thursday morning.  If I only didn't have to wake up so early.  Yikes (5:15 on Tue and 5:30 on Thur).  My road bike should be out of the shop this week, so on Sunday I'm hoping to try a brick -- bike then run.  Will keep you posted on that.

So, in a nutshell it was an awesome week on a variety of fronts:  I got to train with my wife which was the best.  I did two 4 milers at a sub-8 pace (one near 7).  And I finally found a masters swim lane that is comfortable.

Hope this next week is as good...

Training Update

8 weeks.  I can't believe it's been 8 weeks since I started running again after my forced break.  So this was my final week of running no more than 3 or so miles per run (weekly mileage of 13.59 miles).  Tomorrow, I up the mileage to a whopping 4 miles per run (to the Washington Monument and back).  I am actually very excited finally to run beyond the Mall. 

The best part of this week's running is that I started to test my speed.  No, I did not do any track work but I did push the pace on a couple of runs.  Monday and today I averaged 8:10s.  On Wednesday I was feeling particularly good and averaged 7:54s, yup sub-8s.  No pain (or at least nothing significant -- I still feel "something" sometimes in the pelvic region but nothing like what I felt 2 months ago).  So I am feeling very confident that once I build my mileage up over the next weeks, I will likewise be able to regain my speed.

On the swimming front, I swam a solid 5 miles. 1600meters on Monday, 3200 meters endurance swim yesterday and Masters swim on Thursday.  Masters Swim, of course, is my weekly helping of humble pie.  This week's workout consisted of:  400m warm up; 6 x 50m; 400m hard, 50m easy/300m hard 2x50m easy/200m hard 3x50m easy/100m hard 4x50m easy; 5 x (100m hard/50m easy); 6 x 75m kick, for a total of 3400meters.  Once again, I was LAST in my lane.  I'd like to think it is because I cannot flip turn or otherwise turn without literally grabbing on to the side of the pool (I lose probably 2-3 seconds per length this way).

Bikewise, I did 45 minutes on Tuesday and 30 minutes on Thursday morning on the trainer.  My brother was in town and brought up my sister-in-law's sweet Cannondale tri-bike.  It's at the bike shop getting a tune up.  I look forward to hitting the road on occaisions.  I'm thinking of doing the occaisional brick on the weekend.  (In tri-world, a brick is a workout using two triathlon disciplines, e.g. swim then bike, or bike then run, one directly after the other.)

So now that my 8 week doctor-ordered recovery period is over, I am very excited about finally really starting to train again.

Training Update

Each week gets better.  In week 7, I ran four times for a total of 13.39 miles, swam three times (1600m and 3200m on my own and masters swim on Thursday night), biked 35* miles on the trainer, and walked 7 miles (including a glorious 4 mile hike on the C&O Canal with my wife for date night).  The best part of running this week is that I hardly felt anything in the pelvic region.  Now, I'm not so naive to think that I'm 100% healed or that I should start running sub-7's again, but I am very optimistic.  Indeed, this morning I felt so good that I could not restrain myself to a 9 - 9:15 pace, and did my 3.47 miles at an 8:10 pace.  That felt good.  I was actually starting to get a bit worried whether I would be able to resume my old pace.  I am so glad that I think that I will be able to once I start increasing the mileage later in June.

Meanwhile, once again Masters swim is kicking my butt! One would think that a 3:01 marathoner would be a stronger swimmer.  This week, we did some long hard drills.  350meter warm-up. 4 x 75meters.  Then 3 sets of 5x100meters (first and third set, a build up in pace; second set at the pace of the 4th 100 of the 1st set).  Easy 100meter. 8x75meters. Easy 100 meter.  8x50 (alternate kick and swim -- still can't kick worth a damn).  Easy 100 meter cool down.  Total of 3450meters swum.  Funny how perspective changes things.  When I swim laps at the JCC, I'm probably one of the faster swimmers and I'm thinking to myself, hey I'm a pretty decent swimmer.  Then I come to the MAC pool and I'm barely able to keep up!!  But what do the sages say:  better to be a tail to lions...

Meanwhile, what's with the * next to my bike mileage?  So I'm showing my brother (who used to race on the Marine Corp's triathlon team when he was stationed at Camp Pendleton, CA) my cycling results.  15 miles in 40 minues?  22 mph?  Are you sure your trainer is set right?  I check it looks like the rear wheel may not have been engaged with the trainer.  Not that I wasn't getting any workout, I was just spinning with no real resistance at all.  Oh well.  A few turns of the bolt and I have a feeling Tuesday's ride will be a lot more difficult.  Live and learn. 

So, now that I'm starting my 3rd week of multi-sport training, I think I can safely conclude that I LOVE RUNNING!  I've got nothing against swimming or biking, I just love running.

Training Update

Each week seems to get better.  Week 6 of my return to running had me running 4 days, about 3 miles per day, for a total of 13.45 miles.  The best part was that the pelvic region barely felt sore during the Friday and Sunday run!  so that is very good news.  I swam 1600meters on Monday and did my first masters swim on Thursday (what a workout).  To top it all off, I bought a trainer last weekend to be able to ride on my bike indoors.  So this was my first tri-sport week.  I rode Tuesday and Thursday morning for 30 minutes each.  My cycling computer came in the mail on Saturday and I installed it today, so on Tuesday morning I'll finally know how far I "rode" on my bike.  I mustn't forget my walking -- 3 miles on Tuesday, 4 miles yesterday with my wife, and another 4 miles today with my (today we went walking on the Capital Crescent Trail or CCT for short) -- for a total of 11 miles.

It was a good week.

Meanwhile, I am excited that I have raised $226 already in my first week on my iRun for Autism giving page.  If you haven't checked it out yet, please do: www.firstgiving.com/gregoryashe.  I am dedicating this year's training to raising money for autism research (among other folks, my nephew is on the autistic spectrum).

Masters Swimming

After months of my wife suggesting I do masters swimming, I finally bit the bullet and gave it a try.  I figured, how hard could it be?  After all, I've been doing endurance swims of 1600m and 3200m for several months now.

Holy crap!  It kicked my jammer-clad butt!  It's one thing doing laps at cruising speed, but it's quite another to do speed work in the pool.

10 minutes warm up (about 10 laps).  Then 4 x 75m freestyle. Rest.  4 x 150m free, 4 x 100m free, 4 x 50m free.  Rest.  4 x 100m I.M., 4 x 75m free, 4 x 50m 2 breast/free, 4 x 25m free.  Rest.  8 x 50m kick.  Finish.  About 3500meters over about 1 1/2 hours.

Amazingly, my worst performance was doing kicks with the kickboard.  You would think that as a runner I would excel in this.  But I realized that most of my swimming is done with my upper body.  Perhaps this will serve me in good stead during the triathlons since I'm barely using my legs.

Anyhow, I think once a week speed work will be good for my swimming.

I can't wait until next week.

iRun for Autism

Being injured has made me appreciate what it is like to not be injured and as I return to running I have decided to dedicate my running to more worthy causes than just setting personal bests.  As the great sage Hillel said, if I am not for myself, who will be?  But if I am for myself only, who am I?  And, if not now, when?


So I have decided to join the iRun for Autism team to help raise money for the Organization for Autism Research.  Why this charity?  Charity usually starts at home.  My nephew has Asperger syndrome (a type of autism) and I have more friends than I would have thought whose children also have Aspergers or other types of autism.  So, I thought this would be a great charity to support.

So please check out my donation page: www.firstgiving.com/gregoryashe  and consider making a contribution.  Between my 1 mile swim, 2 olympic distance triathlons, and the Army 10 miler, I will be running, biking, and/or swimming a total of 76.06 miles or 122.68 kilometers.  Perhaps a pledge of $1 per mile or per kilometer?????

Training Update

Week 5 of my return to running and first week of adding a 4th day of running.  So instead of my usual 9.something mile weeks, I cleared 13.49 miles this week.  Yeehaw.  And to think I used to run that many miles in one long run.  My total mileage for the year stands at 60.96 miles --- less than I would run in two weeks.  Oh well.  No one said the road to recovery was easy.

Besides running, I walked 15 miles this week -- 3 miles on the Mall on Tue and Thur, 4 miles on the C&O Canal with my wife today.  Also, my wife is on a kick to walk a mile a day (in addition to all the miles she runs).  Usually, we walk as a family after dinner, so it's actually a fun way to be together (better than watching tv, playing the wii, or staring at the computer).  So that's a lot of walking.

Swam 1600 meters on Tuesday and 3200 meters yesterday.  Yesterday's swim was back in the Quantaroo wetsuit --- I'm definitely using that one.  I didn't feel like I was swimming that hard, but I did 3200 in 50:48 which is my fastest time by far (2.34 mph).  My fastest 50meter lap was 22 seconds, so I'm pretty pleased.  Of course, this is just pool swimming and I realize that open water presents totally different conditions.  Still, I am optimistic that I will due reasonably well at the Chesapeake Bay 1 mile Swim AND that I will do reasonably well on the swim portions of the triathlon.

Speaking of triathlons, I went out and got a bike trainer.  Went to Performance Bike Shop and bought an Ascent Fluid Trainer to begin getting into condition on the bike.  I figured between work and family, I really don't have the time to go out and ride.  The trainer should allow me to get the time I need on the bike at home -- either early in the AM or the late PM.  I know I will definitelyy use the trainer on Sunday mornings before my run (get at least one brick workout per week).  I'll let you know how it goes.

One last thought.  When my wife and I got to the canal today we saw what looked to be a water stop.  Then we remembered today was the Potomac River Run marathon -- 13.1 miles out and back on the canal.  We were there about 11:30 and we saw some of the back-of-the-pack runners.  Boy, what a hot and humid day to run a marathon. Yikes.  And to think, I was considering running this before I got injured.  The 2004 Boston might have been hot, but it was not humid.