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!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
20% Chance of Dry
I fully expected to wake to rain this morning being that the local weather guru's forcast was an 80% chance of rain. So I had the rain jacket set out just in case, turned out I didn't need it after all. Even though it was only about 45* this morning, it seemed warm, I guess due to the little bit of humidity in the air.
The one thing I did notice right away, except for the soreness in my knees, was the wind. It was howling pretty good out of the south and made the first mile a bit tough to get going. Seems the Monday run on the treadmill is making my knees a bit stiff and sore. It goes away after about a half mile thankfully.
I cruised along at a decent pace (8:15) and my heart rate was staying in check. Once I turned out of the wind it seemed to push me along and I actually started to heat up which will happen running with the wind. However I knew the last mile and a half would be right back into the wind. And it was... Running across both dams was like running in a wind tunnel. Felt like I was going nowhere fast.
I was actually looking forward to the last big hill to block the wind a bit. That hill is a good wind block and I motored up and over it and ran on in to finish the 6 mile loop. At that point I hussled back home to make sure A had set an alarm to wake up Kels for school! :)
Run Stats: 6 miles, 50:01 (8:19/mi), avg HR 147
Hitting the pool again at noon to get in a swim, and then the Tuesday night strength and conditioning workout tonight.
The one thing I did notice right away, except for the soreness in my knees, was the wind. It was howling pretty good out of the south and made the first mile a bit tough to get going. Seems the Monday run on the treadmill is making my knees a bit stiff and sore. It goes away after about a half mile thankfully.
I cruised along at a decent pace (8:15) and my heart rate was staying in check. Once I turned out of the wind it seemed to push me along and I actually started to heat up which will happen running with the wind. However I knew the last mile and a half would be right back into the wind. And it was... Running across both dams was like running in a wind tunnel. Felt like I was going nowhere fast.
I was actually looking forward to the last big hill to block the wind a bit. That hill is a good wind block and I motored up and over it and ran on in to finish the 6 mile loop. At that point I hussled back home to make sure A had set an alarm to wake up Kels for school! :)
Run Stats: 6 miles, 50:01 (8:19/mi), avg HR 147
Hitting the pool again at noon to get in a swim, and then the Tuesday night strength and conditioning workout tonight.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Busy Thursday
Ok so slowly but surely I'm getting back into the habit of getting up early to run. Up at 5:20 and out the door at 5:30 this morning. Not nearly as exciting as Tuesday's run in the snow showers. Unless you count screetching to a halt to avoid getting run over by the Lakewood security truck as it zoomed through a left turn in front of me. Not sure where he was going at 5:40am but he seemed to be in a hurry.
It was a pretty nice morning to run. Temps around 40 degrees, cloudy skies and not much wind. There was a bit of fog in the air which for some reason just makes everything seem so calm at that hour. I did see a few other souls out today too. One runner and five walkers. None of which were out in the snow Tuesday. Slackers! haha
Really feeling good right now. Not sure if it's the strength work or just better consistancy and frequency of running. I know I feel the same way during the first couple weeks of cycling class when I get out for a run. Pace is improving a bit at a steady heart rate which is always a good sign base training is going well.
Run Stats: 6 miles, 49:12 (8:10/mi), avg HR 152
Going to attempt another swim today at noon and hope my shoulder doesn't bother me. Couer d'Alene training starts the first week of December and opens with two swims each week of 3000 meters each. So I need to build back up to that distance in the next couple weeks. Plus tonights conditioning workout will probably be upper body stuff so a sore shoulder won't be pleasant to deal with doing a bazillion pushups!
***
Ok yeah shoulder still bothering me. Strange thing is it's now sore in the back side of the rotator cuff area now. Tuesday it was hurting in the front side. Just hurts to lift my left arm up and out of the water. So I bailed after 800. Save it for tonights workout...
It was a pretty nice morning to run. Temps around 40 degrees, cloudy skies and not much wind. There was a bit of fog in the air which for some reason just makes everything seem so calm at that hour. I did see a few other souls out today too. One runner and five walkers. None of which were out in the snow Tuesday. Slackers! haha
Really feeling good right now. Not sure if it's the strength work or just better consistancy and frequency of running. I know I feel the same way during the first couple weeks of cycling class when I get out for a run. Pace is improving a bit at a steady heart rate which is always a good sign base training is going well.
Run Stats: 6 miles, 49:12 (8:10/mi), avg HR 152
Going to attempt another swim today at noon and hope my shoulder doesn't bother me. Couer d'Alene training starts the first week of December and opens with two swims each week of 3000 meters each. So I need to build back up to that distance in the next couple weeks. Plus tonights conditioning workout will probably be upper body stuff so a sore shoulder won't be pleasant to deal with doing a bazillion pushups!
***
Ok yeah shoulder still bothering me. Strange thing is it's now sore in the back side of the rotator cuff area now. Tuesday it was hurting in the front side. Just hurts to lift my left arm up and out of the water. So I bailed after 800. Save it for tonights workout...
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Snow Showers
I had the first run of the year in the snow this morning. Uh yeah, snow! Heading out the door at 5:30am and into fat wet snow flakes was actually pretty fun. It was still very dark out and it was snowing so hard that the silhouette of the snow showers in the street lights seemed surreal as I ran through the thousands of snow flakes lit by the orange glow.
Fortunately the ground temperature was still warm and the streets and sidewalks were only wet and not slick. The snow was accumulating on the grass and parked cars, but the streets were still clear. Only thing to watch out for were the big puddles! I only stepped in a couple of those as I splashed along. Wet shoes reminded me ever so briefly of those warm morning runs last summer when the humidity sucked all the sweat out of me and made my shoes squishy. The cold north wind and snow flakes hitting me in the face quickly chased those thoughts away.
It was a very enjoyable run and well worth getting out of bed for. I have a feeling that this will be the first of many runs in the snow this year. At least it won't be boring! I felt really good too. The strength work might be paying off already?!
Run Stats: 6 miles, 50:05 (8:18/mi), 151 avg HR
Noon Swim just to find/keep what little form I have at this time of year. Actually felt fairly decent and managed to keep each 500 under 8:30. However left shoulder (rotator cuff?) is a bit painful. Not sure where that's coming from. Perhaps all the different upper body exercises are causing some problems. Hopeful that will work itself out in the next couple weeks.
To finish up the day a full on leg workout with Roberto and the gang at ITS.
Fortunately the ground temperature was still warm and the streets and sidewalks were only wet and not slick. The snow was accumulating on the grass and parked cars, but the streets were still clear. Only thing to watch out for were the big puddles! I only stepped in a couple of those as I splashed along. Wet shoes reminded me ever so briefly of those warm morning runs last summer when the humidity sucked all the sweat out of me and made my shoes squishy. The cold north wind and snow flakes hitting me in the face quickly chased those thoughts away.
It was a very enjoyable run and well worth getting out of bed for. I have a feeling that this will be the first of many runs in the snow this year. At least it won't be boring! I felt really good too. The strength work might be paying off already?!
Run Stats: 6 miles, 50:05 (8:18/mi), 151 avg HR
Noon Swim just to find/keep what little form I have at this time of year. Actually felt fairly decent and managed to keep each 500 under 8:30. However left shoulder (rotator cuff?) is a bit painful. Not sure where that's coming from. Perhaps all the different upper body exercises are causing some problems. Hopeful that will work itself out in the next couple weeks.
To finish up the day a full on leg workout with Roberto and the gang at ITS.
- Warmup: jump rope, spiderman crawls, stretching
- Kinetic bands-bag kicks (standing and prone) several sets
- Station 1 - single leg squats - 3 sets of 10 holding 25 lb plate
- Station 2 - weighted sled then tire down and back no rest between - 2 sets
- Station 3 - lateral hurdle step over / squat under holding 25 lb plate
- Station 4 - squats w/barbell overhead - 2 sets of 10
- Station 5 - dumbbell squats - 3 sets of 10 - 30 lb dumbbell
- Station 6 - back/hamstring extention - 2 sets of 10 holding 20 lb medicine ball
- Cool down - 2 x 25 yard sprints, stretching
Friday, November 13, 2009
More Upper Body Work
Roberto put us through another tough upper body workout Thursday night. And while I don't feel any soreness sneaking up on me yet, I do feel the fatigue in my shoulders today. I'll do my best to recall the workout. But first the day started with an early morning 6 mile run. Kind of tough to get out of bed but felt good once I was moving. Nice crisp morning with lots of stars in the sky. The soreness in my legs from Tuesday's workout worked itself out after about a mile. But the first 100 steps were pretty painful! Also managed to get in a short 1700 yard swim at the gym over lunch just to try and keep some swim form. Nothing too tough.
Ok now the evening workout...
Warmup:
- Squat, thrust, jump with medicine ball (30 sec)
- Squat, thrust, pushup, jump with medicine ball (30 sec)
- Front fold with rotation holding medicine ball above head (5 clockwise, 5 counter)
- Pushup, one hand on ball other on floor switch each rep (5 reps)
- Pushup, feet on medicine ball (approx 5 reps)
- Pushup, one foot on ball other foot in air (5 each foot)
Box jumps:
- 4 boxes, varying heights, 30 seconds two feet, quick hops
- Same as above, single foot, running form
Ok now the tough stuff...
7 stations setup:
- Station #1: Inverted pushup. Feet on table form 90* lower top of head to floor and push back up. (10 reps)
- Station #2: Power clean twist with barbell (5 reps per side)
- Station #3: Roll out ab extentions on short barbell (10 reps)
- Station #4: Rope climb with 10 pull ups
- Station #5: Squat, thrust, row, row, power clean, shoulder press (8 reps w/25 lb dumbell)
- Station #6: Sledgehammer truck tire (50 reps)
- Station #7: Weighted pushup (yes more pushups) 10, immediatly follow with 10 jump pushups
Grab 15 pound dumbell, hold straight above head and jog approx 100 yards. Hold dumbell out in front of chest and jog back.
Abs (holding 15 lb dumbell)
- trunck twist
- sit up
- bicycle
- single leg raise, weight to foot
- plank, raise opp. hand and foot, alternate every 5 seconds
Stretch and go home! Awesome workout. Felt great when done if not worn out.
Ok now the evening workout...
Warmup:
- Squat, thrust, jump with medicine ball (30 sec)
- Squat, thrust, pushup, jump with medicine ball (30 sec)
- Front fold with rotation holding medicine ball above head (5 clockwise, 5 counter)
- Pushup, one hand on ball other on floor switch each rep (5 reps)
- Pushup, feet on medicine ball (approx 5 reps)
- Pushup, one foot on ball other foot in air (5 each foot)
Box jumps:
- 4 boxes, varying heights, 30 seconds two feet, quick hops
- Same as above, single foot, running form
Ok now the tough stuff...
7 stations setup:
- Station #1: Inverted pushup. Feet on table form 90* lower top of head to floor and push back up. (10 reps)
- Station #2: Power clean twist with barbell (5 reps per side)
- Station #3: Roll out ab extentions on short barbell (10 reps)
- Station #4: Rope climb with 10 pull ups
- Station #5: Squat, thrust, row, row, power clean, shoulder press (8 reps w/25 lb dumbell)
- Station #6: Sledgehammer truck tire (50 reps)
- Station #7: Weighted pushup (yes more pushups) 10, immediatly follow with 10 jump pushups
Grab 15 pound dumbell, hold straight above head and jog approx 100 yards. Hold dumbell out in front of chest and jog back.
Abs (holding 15 lb dumbell)
- trunck twist
- sit up
- bicycle
- single leg raise, weight to foot
- plank, raise opp. hand and foot, alternate every 5 seconds
Stretch and go home! Awesome workout. Felt great when done if not worn out.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Strength and Power Training
Ok so we are getting to that time of year again where I gotta get back in shape for KMA cycling class which starts up again in January. I believe this will be year number 5 for this class?! Wow really? So for the next few weeks its back to the trainer for aerobic workouts to get those cycling muscles used to firing again. The key will be to hit these workouts twice a week on a consistant basis. I DO NOT want to go into the first class without a good aerobic base. Class number 1 will be either a functional threshold test or max heart rate test and I don't want to be the one who throws up this year!
In addition to these trainer workouts, I've also signed on to work with Roberto Parker, a former college and NFL strength and conditioning coach, to build more strength and power. If there is one thing I lack as an athlete, it is strength. I can swim, bike and run all day, but can't lift much weight to save my life! A group of us from the cycling class, plus KMA coach Greg, have signed up for a November and December schedule that should have us whipped into shape by the time we get going in Greg's class January 4th.
We meet on Tuesday and Thursday nights for about 75 minutes. So far the 3 workouts we've had have all been great. Tuesday's seem to be geared towards working the legs and Thursday is for upper body and core. Roberto has us doing all sorts of different exercises ranging from plyometric hops over boxes, to lunges even pushing tires across a cement floor! It's freaking awesome...
Last Thursday we did more push-ups and pull-ups then I've done in my life I think. I was sore for 5 days after that. This past Tuesday for our second leg day, we did 10 sets of lateral box jumps and my upper glutes on the outside are very sore. Basically worked muscles triathletes/runners just don't use going straight ahead all the time.
I'll try to summerize each days workout (as best I can remember, its funny how the mind seems to forget little things when you're smashing yourself!) to serve as a way to reproduce the workout later for myself or anyone else who wants to give it a try.
Workout #3 - Tuesday Nov. 10th: (workout #1 was similar so I won't recall it here)
Warm Up:
> Jump Rope: 10 jumps each foot, same backwards. 10 jumps each foot side to side, and backwards. Both feet with 2 turns of rope per jump.
> Medicine Ball: squat, thrust, leap across floor. Lunges coming back w/ball held above head.
> Kinetic Bands: side shuffle (feet wider than hips!)
> Kinetic Bands: faster shuffle (imagine defensive slide for basketball)
> Kinetic Bands: bear crawl (forwards down, backwards back)
Box Jumps: 5 boxes all different heights.
> With Kinetic Bands on, 20 seconds on 20 seconds off, lateral box jumps, one foot on box, other on floor to right or left of box. Quickly as possible, hop from one side of box to the other.
> Without bands, same protocol...
Now the hard(er) stuff... Mainset 5 stations
> Station 1 - single leg squat. one foot on box behind you and holding a weight plate 10 per leg.
> Station 2 - tire sled. push stack of two tires across concrete floor, down and back. Very Tough!
> Station 3 - punching back kicks, 10 each leg, side kick, outside cresent kick. Then laying on side, hip off ground, bicycle kick, 30 each leg.
>Station 4: dumbbell held on each shoulder, elbows pointing to front, 10-15 squats.
> Station 5: Back extension holding 15-25 pound ball. Legs at 90* with spotter pressing down on feet. Forces you to pull yourself up with hammies and glutes. Good exercise!
> 20 split jump squats with dumbbell, 10 split jump squats without.
Stretch and go home!
Oh man I'm still sore in my upper outside glutes. Calves are a bit tight to from that workout. Everyone out of breath and sweating buckets at the end.
In addition to these trainer workouts, I've also signed on to work with Roberto Parker, a former college and NFL strength and conditioning coach, to build more strength and power. If there is one thing I lack as an athlete, it is strength. I can swim, bike and run all day, but can't lift much weight to save my life! A group of us from the cycling class, plus KMA coach Greg, have signed up for a November and December schedule that should have us whipped into shape by the time we get going in Greg's class January 4th.
We meet on Tuesday and Thursday nights for about 75 minutes. So far the 3 workouts we've had have all been great. Tuesday's seem to be geared towards working the legs and Thursday is for upper body and core. Roberto has us doing all sorts of different exercises ranging from plyometric hops over boxes, to lunges even pushing tires across a cement floor! It's freaking awesome...
Last Thursday we did more push-ups and pull-ups then I've done in my life I think. I was sore for 5 days after that. This past Tuesday for our second leg day, we did 10 sets of lateral box jumps and my upper glutes on the outside are very sore. Basically worked muscles triathletes/runners just don't use going straight ahead all the time.
I'll try to summerize each days workout (as best I can remember, its funny how the mind seems to forget little things when you're smashing yourself!) to serve as a way to reproduce the workout later for myself or anyone else who wants to give it a try.
Workout #3 - Tuesday Nov. 10th: (workout #1 was similar so I won't recall it here)
Warm Up:
> Jump Rope: 10 jumps each foot, same backwards. 10 jumps each foot side to side, and backwards. Both feet with 2 turns of rope per jump.
> Medicine Ball: squat, thrust, leap across floor. Lunges coming back w/ball held above head.
> Kinetic Bands: side shuffle (feet wider than hips!)
> Kinetic Bands: faster shuffle (imagine defensive slide for basketball)
> Kinetic Bands: bear crawl (forwards down, backwards back)
Box Jumps: 5 boxes all different heights.
> With Kinetic Bands on, 20 seconds on 20 seconds off, lateral box jumps, one foot on box, other on floor to right or left of box. Quickly as possible, hop from one side of box to the other.
> Without bands, same protocol...
Now the hard(er) stuff... Mainset 5 stations
> Station 1 - single leg squat. one foot on box behind you and holding a weight plate 10 per leg.
> Station 2 - tire sled. push stack of two tires across concrete floor, down and back. Very Tough!
> Station 3 - punching back kicks, 10 each leg, side kick, outside cresent kick. Then laying on side, hip off ground, bicycle kick, 30 each leg.
>Station 4: dumbbell held on each shoulder, elbows pointing to front, 10-15 squats.
> Station 5: Back extension holding 15-25 pound ball. Legs at 90* with spotter pressing down on feet. Forces you to pull yourself up with hammies and glutes. Good exercise!
> 20 split jump squats with dumbbell, 10 split jump squats without.
Stretch and go home!
Oh man I'm still sore in my upper outside glutes. Calves are a bit tight to from that workout. Everyone out of breath and sweating buckets at the end.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Back At It
Apparently we are back to training...
At least that's how it felt during Sunday mornings group run. The first weekend of the month calls for a run through hilly Lake Jacomo and is always a tough run. But coming back from a month of low run volume made this run brutal. I think everyone in the group was feeling the hills but we still hammered it back from the turn around dropping 15 seconds plus off the pace on the trip back.
Out 6 miles to the turn around in about 8:38 pace and then finished the run at 8:25 per mile average. My heart rate was vey hight the entire run and I guess that's not surprising considering we're just getting back into the swing of things.
The problem is that this time of year is reserved for easy base mileage and this run was anything but easy. Not that it wasn't fun because it was. Just a beautiful fall morning to be out. Nice and cool, about 45*F and sunny with fog on the lake.
*Note* Don't dare mention how beautiful the sunrise is while running with a bunch of smart a$$ guys. You are just asking for abuse!
So this week I'm going easy every single run... Last nights (Tuesday) short 4miles felt just blah and I had no energy in my legs at all. Of course some of that might be from walking and standing while watching the high school golf tournament on Monday. So rather than push the pace I just cruised along at a sluggish 8:40 pace.
It does feel good to start back to training though.
At least that's how it felt during Sunday mornings group run. The first weekend of the month calls for a run through hilly Lake Jacomo and is always a tough run. But coming back from a month of low run volume made this run brutal. I think everyone in the group was feeling the hills but we still hammered it back from the turn around dropping 15 seconds plus off the pace on the trip back.
Out 6 miles to the turn around in about 8:38 pace and then finished the run at 8:25 per mile average. My heart rate was vey hight the entire run and I guess that's not surprising considering we're just getting back into the swing of things.
The problem is that this time of year is reserved for easy base mileage and this run was anything but easy. Not that it wasn't fun because it was. Just a beautiful fall morning to be out. Nice and cool, about 45*F and sunny with fog on the lake.
*Note* Don't dare mention how beautiful the sunrise is while running with a bunch of smart a$$ guys. You are just asking for abuse!
- Run Stats: 12.11 miles, 1:42:01 (8:25/mi), 160 avg HR
So this week I'm going easy every single run... Last nights (Tuesday) short 4miles felt just blah and I had no energy in my legs at all. Of course some of that might be from walking and standing while watching the high school golf tournament on Monday. So rather than push the pace I just cruised along at a sluggish 8:40 pace.
It does feel good to start back to training though.
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