Killer Workout

Thursday nights gauntlet Roberto ran us through was a killer workout. I know upper body strength isn't really that big of deal for runners and triathletes, but the stuff we have been doing the last two months has my core feeling strong. Thursday is typically upper body stuff and this week was no different. My arms/shoulders were toast when done with all the stations. Had to take several seconds to recover each time I changed the channels on the radio driving home!

* Warmup- jumping jacks, squat/thrust/jump, mtn. climbers, run in place, skip in place, tin-soldiers in place, skip tin-soldiers in place, plank twist, side plank crunch, ring jumps and ring hops

* Stretch

*Station 1- Weighted pushups 30 reps, Jump pushups onto step 10 reps - 1 Set
*Station 2- Medicine Ball throws 10 face to face, 10 side to side (right and left) - 1 Set
*Station 3- Boxing- 100 punches against hand pads - 1 Set
*Station 4a- Bentover Lateral raises, chains attached to D-Rings 10 reps - 1 Set
*Station 4b- Keg throws 10 reps - 1 Set
*Station 5- Side Plank dumbbell raises 2 sets of 5 reps per side
*Station 6- Tornado Ball- 20 reps heavy ball; 80 reps lighter ball
*Station 7- Steering wheels w/barbbell +10 lbs 10 reps x 2 sets
*Station 8- Sandbag wood-choppers 5 per side, standing front rows 5 reps x 2 sets

*30 Seconds on Real Runner
*10 pull ups

*Stretch and go home

Swim and Strength

At first glance the swim workout on the plan for Thursday looked rather simple and easy. However once in the water and into the main set I was surprised at how difficult it felt. That just proves that no matter how confident we are in our fitness the work still needs to be done.

Swim Workout #4

• 300 warm up
• 8 x 50 drills
• 1 x 300 (30 sec rest)
• 3 x 200 (30 sec rest)
• 1 x 300 (30 sec rest)
• 8 x 50 drills
• 200 cool down

I'm really enjoying the Tuesday and Thursday night strength workouts and feel like I'm making good progress. The workouts are a blast and very challenging. Especially for an endurance athlete with little upper body strength like myself. Thursday is typically upper body day and when Roberto is stressing that you warm up your upper body with a specific warmup, you know it's going to be a hard workout!

Warmup:

• Jump Rope: single leg alternate 10 per leg; same backwards (60 sec)
• Medicine Ball: squat-thrust-jump; bicycle; v-ups; 10 pushups on ball
• Jump Rope: scissor jump forward and backward; side to side scissor forward and backward
• Medicine Ball: squat-thrust-pushup-jump; standing med ball circles

Stretch

Stations

• 1 - Over unders (35lb plate) down and back over & under hurdles - 1 set
• 2 - Tornado Ball - 20 w/heavy ball; 80 w/light ball
• 3 - Standing weight plate circles 5 per direction; 5 x 5 x 5 shoulder raises - 1 set
• 4 - Bicep curls and tricep ext. on swiss ball 1 x 10-15 each
• 5 - Praying mantis on barbell 1 x 10
• 6 - Partner pushups 2 x 10
• 7 - Pull ups 1 x 15
• 8 - Keg lifts 2 x 8

Boxing

• Left-right combination x 60 seconds
• 100 fast punches ("sounds" easy...)

Stretch

No Snow?!

I was really looking forward to running in the snow this morning, but only a cold mist was in the air as I headed out the door today. So just a boring cold run in the dark is all it turned out to be. There were a few slick spots on the roads and sidewalks, but other than that it was a pretty uneventful run.

Felt a bit tired today and my legs didn't have the same zip in them they had last week. It appears the last 3 weeks have taken a toll and I need to cut back this week and get recovered. So rather than the normal 6, I cut today's run short at 4 miles.

Working out tonight so save the legs a bit for that...

Run Stats: 4 miles, 33:56 (8:28/mi), avg HR 141

Noon Swim -
Felt good at the beginning but the first set of 25 yard sprints made the 1 x 400 seem harder than it should have. Second set of 25's didn't feel too bad though.

• 700 warmup
• 16 x 25 yards with 10 seconds rest (held these all under 20 seconds)
• 1 x 400 with 60 seconds rest
• 16 x 25 yards with 10 seconds rest (again all under 20 seconds)
• 600 cool down
• 2500 total in 48:00

Evening strength training workout at Roberto's -

• Warmup: jumping jacks, running in place, squat thrust jumps, mtn climbers, squat thrust high knee jumps, ice-skaters, spiderman, forward bent lunges, high knee jumps, skier jumps, stretching
• Station 1 - Tire push then sled push x 2 sets
• Station 2 - Dumbbell Romanian dead lift 3 x 8
• Station 3 - Glute hamstring raises 2 x 10 (30lb med ball, 40lb med ball)
• Station 4 - Lateral shuffles on box / speed skaters (30sec reps) Set 1 with bands, Set 2 without
• Station 5 - Side kicks / Speed skaters (20 reps per) Set 1 with bands, Set 2 without
• Station 6 - Heel raises / Dorsi flesions 2 x 20
• Station 7 - Real Runner machine 2 x 70 (Set 1 level 2, Set 2 level 3)
• Stretching

Indoor Brick

Up early today to get in an indoor brick. Company Christmas party tonight so won't be able to workout after work. So to the trainer we go...

Just a quick 30 minutes steady but it took about 5 minutes to get the legs awake after last nights strength training. I was pretty happy with how the heart rate responded and made it up to the middle of the aerobic zone. Got to around 144 or so and just tried to hold it steady at a 90 rpm cadence.

After 30 minutes on the bike, quick change of shoes, and hopped on the treadmill for 15 minutes. Again stayed aerobic and just cruised along watching the news on TV all the while sweating buckets. Amazing how good it feels to start the day with a good aerobic workout.

30 Weeks

This week marks the beginning of "official" Ironman training for Coeur d'Alene. Kicked it off with a good 6 mile run Tuesday morning. Andrea got up with me and did her 2 miles in the chilly darkness. I think all the strength training with Roberto and the gang is really helping because I have felt very strong the last couple runs.

Run Stats: 6 miles, 49:48 (8:15/mi), 150 avg HR

Next up was a noon swim. Swim workout number 1 from the book. No pain in the left rotator cuff this time!

Swim Workout:
- 300 swim warmup
- 8 x 50 drills
-12 x 100 with 20 sec rest (leaving on 1:50's)
- 8 x 50 drills
- 200 cool down
2500 total yards. 46:00

7:00pm workout with Roberto putting us through the paces again.
- warmup of running in place, squat thrusts, etc
- stretching
- Station #1: overhead squats 5 reps / hurdle and box jumps x 2 sets
- Station #2: Sled push & Tire push / 50 yard sprint x 2 sets
- Station #3: Hamstring Ext 10 reps / Single leg squat jump on bench 5 reps per leg x 2 sets
- Station #4: Single leg squats 8 reps / Single legs bounds into sprint x 2 sets
- Station #5: Lateral lunges 5 reps / Ice-skaters 10 reps
- Station #6: Tire Flip (picture big dump truck tire laying on its side, pick up one side and flip it over... and over... and over... about 25 yards) x 2 sets
- 100 yard run with dumbbell / 100 yard 75% sprint without dumbbell
- Stretch

Yeah, nice full day, and this was day one!