I woke up a little more worn down than usual today, and with some heavy work today, I decided to keep it easy another day.
PM Workout: 15 Mile Bike (19.22MPH)
Course: Great Kills Park
Time: 46:49
Weather: 76F, Clear, Very Windy
The wind was a major factor today, but was bearable at an easy pace. I managed to get in a couple of good laps in before the winds really whipped it up.
This will be the only workout today, as tomorrow, I have a long run scheduled.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
May 5 - Easy Paced 6 Mile Run - Capping an Easy Day
PM Workout: 6 Mile Run - Easy Pace
Course: Mall Run
Time: 55:34
Weather: 75F, Clear, Light Winds
Capping off an easy day with an easy run. And yes, a 2000 meter swim, a 25 mile bike, and a 6 mile run DOES constitute an easy day ONLY if they are taken REAL EASY. That means never pushing the pace. Even if you're only doing a marathon or Ironman, where speed is significant, the performance is gained the most on a significant base.
I didn't record it here, but I did a 3 Mile Fun Run this past Saturday by the Staten Island Athletic Club and finished the race at 20:59, breaking a 7 minute mile pace. I've never even approached training at this speed before. The speed comes from actually building a fantastic base this spring, a base built by easy paced runs such as this one.
A good base is extremely critical for optimal performance. That is the bottom line.
Course: Mall Run
Time: 55:34
Weather: 75F, Clear, Light Winds
Capping off an easy day with an easy run. And yes, a 2000 meter swim, a 25 mile bike, and a 6 mile run DOES constitute an easy day ONLY if they are taken REAL EASY. That means never pushing the pace. Even if you're only doing a marathon or Ironman, where speed is significant, the performance is gained the most on a significant base.
I didn't record it here, but I did a 3 Mile Fun Run this past Saturday by the Staten Island Athletic Club and finished the race at 20:59, breaking a 7 minute mile pace. I've never even approached training at this speed before. The speed comes from actually building a fantastic base this spring, a base built by easy paced runs such as this one.
A good base is extremely critical for optimal performance. That is the bottom line.
May 5 - 25 miles of cycling - A Nice Easy Alternative to a 25 Mile Run
Well, I did manage to travel over 20 miles today:
AM Workout#2 - 25 Mile Bike - Easy Pace
Course: Great Kills Park
Time: 1:16:50
Weather: 60F, Clear, Light Winds
Not bad. The day was a nice one, so there were at least 8 other cyclists out there in the park. I asked a group of cyclists if they wanted to do a small loop to Albany and back, but they wimped out. Oh well, I guess some people don't have a 400 mile bike ride in them. So I settled for a measly 25 miles.
(Seriously, this was an easy paced ride on an easy paced day. The bike itself needs more repairs, as the derailleur cable is splitting its housing, leaving me with only 4 speeds on the bike. I ordered some stuff from Performance, including a set of tires, that should address all the worn out parts on my bike).
AM Workout#2 - 25 Mile Bike - Easy Pace
Course: Great Kills Park
Time: 1:16:50
Weather: 60F, Clear, Light Winds
Not bad. The day was a nice one, so there were at least 8 other cyclists out there in the park. I asked a group of cyclists if they wanted to do a small loop to Albany and back, but they wimped out. Oh well, I guess some people don't have a 400 mile bike ride in them. So I settled for a measly 25 miles.
(Seriously, this was an easy paced ride on an easy paced day. The bike itself needs more repairs, as the derailleur cable is splitting its housing, leaving me with only 4 speeds on the bike. I ordered some stuff from Performance, including a set of tires, that should address all the worn out parts on my bike).
May 5 - 2000 Meters of Swimming
Well, this is different! I woke up anticipating a 80 mile run today. Looked in my log and found that I had to do a 2000 meter swim. What a letdown!
AM Workout: 2000 Meters of Swimming
5x100 Warmup
3x200 Individual Medleys on 4:15 (3:42, 3:45, 3:45)
3x150 freestyle drills with fins (one arm, bilateral, etc.)
3x150 freestyle drills with (one arm, bilateral, etc.)
-----------
2000 meters total
This workout only took about 40 minutes to do. Bummer man, I have 23 hours of free time left. I'll force myself not to try to swim to Martha's Vineyard from Staten Island today by doing some work, although it's going to be hard to resist.
The swim this morning utilizes drills for stroke symmetry as well as a concentration on specialty strokes like butterfly. Because who knows, maybe I might need to butterfly the whole Ironman swim one day.
AM Workout: 2000 Meters of Swimming
5x100 Warmup
3x200 Individual Medleys on 4:15 (3:42, 3:45, 3:45)
3x150 freestyle drills with fins (one arm, bilateral, etc.)
3x150 freestyle drills with (one arm, bilateral, etc.)
-----------
2000 meters total
This workout only took about 40 minutes to do. Bummer man, I have 23 hours of free time left. I'll force myself not to try to swim to Martha's Vineyard from Staten Island today by doing some work, although it's going to be hard to resist.
The swim this morning utilizes drills for stroke symmetry as well as a concentration on specialty strokes like butterfly. Because who knows, maybe I might need to butterfly the whole Ironman swim one day.
May 4 - 2000 Meter Swim - Lemme Love Loose Legs
PM Workout: 2000 Meter Swim
5x100 Warmup
10x100 easy freestyle w/ paddles - alternate breathing left side, right side
5x100 easy freestyle w/ fins
-------
2000 meters total
The main goal here is not any swimming technique, but as a therapeutic session for my legs. It's just like an easy massage; easy swimming allows the legs to be kept loose and supple, hastening recovery. I felt good and ready to go after the workout, so I achieved my goal here.
5x100 Warmup
10x100 easy freestyle w/ paddles - alternate breathing left side, right side
5x100 easy freestyle w/ fins
-------
2000 meters total
The main goal here is not any swimming technique, but as a therapeutic session for my legs. It's just like an easy massage; easy swimming allows the legs to be kept loose and supple, hastening recovery. I felt good and ready to go after the workout, so I achieved my goal here.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
May 4 - 20 Mile Trail Run - "That's What Soap & Water Is For"
AM Workout:
KEY WORKOUT: 20 Mile Trail Run
Time: 3 hours 31 minutes
Course: Greenbelt White Trail
Weather: 75F, Partly Cloudy
I went for 10 miles today, felt good, did 20.
This was also an eventful little run, as the White Trail on the Southern end of Staten Island was littered with deadfall, mud pits, hungry tigers, and poisonous snakes. Well, OK, there were no tigers and snakes, but the obstacles were aplenty.
After the first mile I dart onto the White Trail in Willowbrook Park, with nice white socks, nice red shorts, nice white singlet, and a smile on my face. By the time I emerged out onto Great Kills Park at the southern end (10 miles into the run), I had wet brown shoes, heavy brown socks, brown shorts, brown singlet, scratches all over my legs, and an even bigger smile on my face. What happened in between was a large section of continuous deadfall that I had to crawl under, jump over, and squeeze past in order to continue on the trail. The section actually reminded me of the Barkley Marathons, in which the course is so tough that there are normally no finishers of the 100 mile race. Of course, I could have ventured out onto the road and skip all that deadfall, but why would I want to do that? That would ruin the total trail running experience! Plus, it gives the trail some rugged character. I'm sure the trail's volunteers will eventually come in with chainsaws and clear it away, but in the meantime, it's time to have fun with it.
Some key instances on the way back to the finish. At the Crookes Point turnaround, a man with a dog noticed my muddy attire and asked, "been to the Greenbelt, have you?". I looked at the mud on my singlet, then looked at the guy and joked, "why yeah, how'd you notice?" He stated that he was there yesterday and noted the mud and deadfall that littered the path.
A second instance came at the Amudsen Circle (where the trail crosses Amboy Road at Clarke Ave). I was waiting for the light to change so that I crossed the street. A woman who was waiting for the bus looked at me and muttered, "ew". I turned to the woman, shrugged, and said, "That's what soap and water is for", smiled, then resumed my running. Apparently, the woman hasn't obviously gotten dirty before and liked it. Oh well, she doesn't know what she's missing.
I finished the run strong. My muscles still feel loose, and I feel like I'm ready to run again tomorrow. It's great being in this kind of shape; I feel I can do anything now, including finishing 100 miles in July.
(Key Workout 2 of 4 done this week)
KEY WORKOUT: 20 Mile Trail Run
Time: 3 hours 31 minutes
Course: Greenbelt White Trail
Weather: 75F, Partly Cloudy
I went for 10 miles today, felt good, did 20.
This was also an eventful little run, as the White Trail on the Southern end of Staten Island was littered with deadfall, mud pits, hungry tigers, and poisonous snakes. Well, OK, there were no tigers and snakes, but the obstacles were aplenty.
After the first mile I dart onto the White Trail in Willowbrook Park, with nice white socks, nice red shorts, nice white singlet, and a smile on my face. By the time I emerged out onto Great Kills Park at the southern end (10 miles into the run), I had wet brown shoes, heavy brown socks, brown shorts, brown singlet, scratches all over my legs, and an even bigger smile on my face. What happened in between was a large section of continuous deadfall that I had to crawl under, jump over, and squeeze past in order to continue on the trail. The section actually reminded me of the Barkley Marathons, in which the course is so tough that there are normally no finishers of the 100 mile race. Of course, I could have ventured out onto the road and skip all that deadfall, but why would I want to do that? That would ruin the total trail running experience! Plus, it gives the trail some rugged character. I'm sure the trail's volunteers will eventually come in with chainsaws and clear it away, but in the meantime, it's time to have fun with it.
Some key instances on the way back to the finish. At the Crookes Point turnaround, a man with a dog noticed my muddy attire and asked, "been to the Greenbelt, have you?". I looked at the mud on my singlet, then looked at the guy and joked, "why yeah, how'd you notice?" He stated that he was there yesterday and noted the mud and deadfall that littered the path.
A second instance came at the Amudsen Circle (where the trail crosses Amboy Road at Clarke Ave). I was waiting for the light to change so that I crossed the street. A woman who was waiting for the bus looked at me and muttered, "ew". I turned to the woman, shrugged, and said, "That's what soap and water is for", smiled, then resumed my running. Apparently, the woman hasn't obviously gotten dirty before and liked it. Oh well, she doesn't know what she's missing.
I finished the run strong. My muscles still feel loose, and I feel like I'm ready to run again tomorrow. It's great being in this kind of shape; I feel I can do anything now, including finishing 100 miles in July.
(Key Workout 2 of 4 done this week)
Monday, May 3, 2010
May 3 - 4000 meter swim - Fantastic!
I actually just might sign on to the Nav-e-Sink or Swim event on May 30. My swimming was surprisingly strong today, after all the running I did the past 2 weeks. I was in "Seek and Destroy" mode, this morning, mowing down this normally difficult workout and coming back for seconds.
AM Workout:
KEY WORKOUT #1: 4000 total meters of swimming
4x200 Meters Warmup
4x500 Meters Freestyle with 1 minute rest (Times: 8:17, 8:20, 8:20, 8:19)
5x100 snorkel drills
5x100 Meters Individual Medleys on 2:00 (Times: 1:35, 1:36, 1:36, 1:37, 1:36)
2x100 Warmdown
-------
4000 meters total
AM Workout:
KEY WORKOUT #1: 4000 total meters of swimming
4x200 Meters Warmup
4x500 Meters Freestyle with 1 minute rest (Times: 8:17, 8:20, 8:20, 8:19)
5x100 snorkel drills
5x100 Meters Individual Medleys on 2:00 (Times: 1:35, 1:36, 1:36, 1:37, 1:36)
2x100 Warmdown
-------
4000 meters total
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