Great show of the work I've been able to put in thus far this week. Swam faster than I ever have the other day and ran fast today. Wasn't the best run I've ever done, but for a 5k and where I am now after my injury, I'll take it.
After the run test around noon, I headed over to the pool for a coached swim session. Man does my backstroke suck. It sucks so bad that when it's suppossed to be used for recovery it actually takes MORE energy out of me:) Gotta work on that one!
The second run of the day was just an easy 45 minute recovery run. Nothing special, but I have to say it was nice running slow and just taking in the day. The pollen here is nuts and my allergies have been quite a burden, but it was still nice to get out and see the sun set over the water during my last couple of miles. Can't wait for summer!
This is our new blog detailing our daily adventures, mountain bike racing, endurance sports, and maybe even some cooking (that's Anne's domain!). We will share our experiences with life, training, and most importantly, being a team-both in marriage and in our sport.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Swim
Great swim today. Allergies are killing me though, but glad that when I swim my headache seems to go away.
Worked on endurance today and had some of the best numbers to date...actually THE best numbers to date. Didn't realize it until after I got out of the pool though. Funny, because I felt tired and slow the whole swim. Interesting how your percieved exertion can be so much different from what's actually happening. Too bad there's no power meter for swimming. Would have helped my confidence quite a bit:).
The rest of the day is gonna be some yardwork, appointments and rest. I've got a dull lingering headache from all the pollen that I'm hoping will go away before I get outside. We'll see. Tomorrow is a 5k running TT. Looking forward to seeing how much progress I've made since returning to regular running.
Worked on endurance today and had some of the best numbers to date...actually THE best numbers to date. Didn't realize it until after I got out of the pool though. Funny, because I felt tired and slow the whole swim. Interesting how your percieved exertion can be so much different from what's actually happening. Too bad there's no power meter for swimming. Would have helped my confidence quite a bit:).
The rest of the day is gonna be some yardwork, appointments and rest. I've got a dull lingering headache from all the pollen that I'm hoping will go away before I get outside. We'll see. Tomorrow is a 5k running TT. Looking forward to seeing how much progress I've made since returning to regular running.
Great Quote
Found this today on Xterra pro Dan Hugo's blog. Pretty much sums up how I feel about my life too!
"I want to run through oceans of green littered with the colours of spring - I want to share in its wealth. I want to bike to the top of a clif’s edge, stand in awe, overwhelmed by space and magnificence till nothing else exists. I want to taste determination in the back of my throat as if my lungs could not contain its measure. I want to dream and turn dream to belief, undeniable resolve within self. I want to feel. I want to live and live with all I have."
"I want to run through oceans of green littered with the colours of spring - I want to share in its wealth. I want to bike to the top of a clif’s edge, stand in awe, overwhelmed by space and magnificence till nothing else exists. I want to taste determination in the back of my throat as if my lungs could not contain its measure. I want to dream and turn dream to belief, undeniable resolve within self. I want to feel. I want to live and live with all I have."
Monday, April 26, 2010
Run, Weights
No entry yesterday because it was a shit day. Not because my workouts were bad, but because I had one of the nastiest migranes I've had in a long time. I used to get them more frequently, but in recent years I tend to only get about one a year, usually around this time. I've thought of all the triggers-foods, activities, stress, etc.-and I'm pretty resigned to the fact that they only occur because of alergies. I try to take pretty good care of myself, and avoid a lot of fake foods and junk (well now anyways; I used to love me some McDonald's:) ), so I'm left to thinking that the seasonal change is what does it. Nonetheless it sucks.
However, I still managed to get a swim in yesterday that was pretty good. I think the pressure of the water on my head actually made things better, while I was in the water at least. After the swim I decided to nix my scheduled bike and try to rest up for a track session I had later in the day. It wouldn't be though as I still was not recovered by the evening. So yesterday wasn't totally scrapped, it just contained one finished workout instead of three:).
Today I made up my run session. It consisted of 6 one mile repeats. I usually do these on the track, but being that time was tight and I just didn't feel like running in circles, I planned out a relatively flat circut and got to work. I was still a little bit hazy from yesterday and had one of those "shaking my head" headaches, but managed to put down some comfortably fast numbers. Good day, but I'm glad I don't have to bike or swim because I really don't have the energy. Even the weight workout may have to be scrapped because I'm just not 100% today.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll be back to normal and back on schedule. I have a swim and bike on tap, both workouts that I really like to do. We'll see how it goes.
However, I still managed to get a swim in yesterday that was pretty good. I think the pressure of the water on my head actually made things better, while I was in the water at least. After the swim I decided to nix my scheduled bike and try to rest up for a track session I had later in the day. It wouldn't be though as I still was not recovered by the evening. So yesterday wasn't totally scrapped, it just contained one finished workout instead of three:).
Today I made up my run session. It consisted of 6 one mile repeats. I usually do these on the track, but being that time was tight and I just didn't feel like running in circles, I planned out a relatively flat circut and got to work. I was still a little bit hazy from yesterday and had one of those "shaking my head" headaches, but managed to put down some comfortably fast numbers. Good day, but I'm glad I don't have to bike or swim because I really don't have the energy. Even the weight workout may have to be scrapped because I'm just not 100% today.
Hopefully tomorrow I'll be back to normal and back on schedule. I have a swim and bike on tap, both workouts that I really like to do. We'll see how it goes.
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Bike and Brick Run
Nothing special today. Just rode my bike a bunch of miles, got off, and ran a few more miles hard:).
Rode some interesting roads today. Lots of time to think...More and more I'm dissappointed with the local politicians and the conditions of things around here. Maybe it echos some of what's going on with this country, but there just seems to be such a lack of pride in the places where we live and the little things that are important. As I said, I don't know if this is the case in other states, but simple things are just not taken care of. All people care about is what matters to them. They have no regard for others, or for the greater good of the community. Not to go off on a rant, but I just can't see how people can complain about things like teachers salaries. Yeah, so and so may make 200k a year, but what you may not know is that they've been working that job for 30 years to get what they have. Moreso, their contribution to society is priceless. I mean, these are the people that are educating your children! They're shaping the minds of future generations and still people don't find them important. And it's these very same people that complain who are not making a direct (or even indirect) contribution to society. These are the people that are making money off of other people just for the sake of making money. They're not effecting people's lives positvely. They're not making the community a better place to live. All they're doing is storing away their money like little squirrells, buying toys, and looking out for themselves. There's more to this and I could go on and on all day, but I'll end this here. This is just what I think of when I'm riding my bike and hitting the same pot holes that have been in the roads for twenty years. If you don't have respect for the appearance and well being of the community you live in, what do you have respect for?
Sorry for that, but exercising alone for 5 hours plays tricks on the mind:). Anyway, did some great work on the bike and had a terrific run after. I may need to work a bit on my fueling as I was starting to get a bit cranky by the end of the ride, but that's about it. Running-wise things are super-duper! It's incredible how easy running fast is again. And the best part is, I'm only scratching the surface. With more and more consistent work on my run (as I'm doing), I'll be flying by my first race. Very happy with everything.
Tomorrow is a big day. Swim and bike in the morning with a speed session on the track in the evening. Looking forward to it all! Only problem is that it's going to rain the whole day, but hey, it's better then not training!
Rode some interesting roads today. Lots of time to think...More and more I'm dissappointed with the local politicians and the conditions of things around here. Maybe it echos some of what's going on with this country, but there just seems to be such a lack of pride in the places where we live and the little things that are important. As I said, I don't know if this is the case in other states, but simple things are just not taken care of. All people care about is what matters to them. They have no regard for others, or for the greater good of the community. Not to go off on a rant, but I just can't see how people can complain about things like teachers salaries. Yeah, so and so may make 200k a year, but what you may not know is that they've been working that job for 30 years to get what they have. Moreso, their contribution to society is priceless. I mean, these are the people that are educating your children! They're shaping the minds of future generations and still people don't find them important. And it's these very same people that complain who are not making a direct (or even indirect) contribution to society. These are the people that are making money off of other people just for the sake of making money. They're not effecting people's lives positvely. They're not making the community a better place to live. All they're doing is storing away their money like little squirrells, buying toys, and looking out for themselves. There's more to this and I could go on and on all day, but I'll end this here. This is just what I think of when I'm riding my bike and hitting the same pot holes that have been in the roads for twenty years. If you don't have respect for the appearance and well being of the community you live in, what do you have respect for?
Sorry for that, but exercising alone for 5 hours plays tricks on the mind:). Anyway, did some great work on the bike and had a terrific run after. I may need to work a bit on my fueling as I was starting to get a bit cranky by the end of the ride, but that's about it. Running-wise things are super-duper! It's incredible how easy running fast is again. And the best part is, I'm only scratching the surface. With more and more consistent work on my run (as I'm doing), I'll be flying by my first race. Very happy with everything.
Tomorrow is a big day. Swim and bike in the morning with a speed session on the track in the evening. Looking forward to it all! Only problem is that it's going to rain the whole day, but hey, it's better then not training!
Friday, April 23, 2010
Bikes and Weights
Got back on the bike today. I really think there's no training that I love more than my bike. Something about the level of suffering I'm able to attain on the bike is just awesome. It's not that I like suffering, per se, it's just that I enjoy pushing myself. Suffering is what happens when you're dying. Pushing yourself is what happens when you're being reborn! At the risk of sounding cliche, I'm really gaining a new appreciation of what I'm capable of doing, and more often than not this is happening on the bike.
So today was some sustained efforts aboard my steed, and some weight work to keep my body happy and injury free. The bike was playtime and the weights were a chore, but you have to work just as hard as you play to be balanced, so it's all good.
Tomorrow is a long ride and brick run. Looking forward to both as the weather is suppossed to be excellent and sunny. My only regret is that I'm not able to ride with a group leaving a few hours before me as I have to work in the morning. So again, I'll be left to my lonesome for a few hours. Just gotta remember that champions are made when no one is looking and I'll be ok:).
So today was some sustained efforts aboard my steed, and some weight work to keep my body happy and injury free. The bike was playtime and the weights were a chore, but you have to work just as hard as you play to be balanced, so it's all good.
Tomorrow is a long ride and brick run. Looking forward to both as the weather is suppossed to be excellent and sunny. My only regret is that I'm not able to ride with a group leaving a few hours before me as I have to work in the morning. So again, I'll be left to my lonesome for a few hours. Just gotta remember that champions are made when no one is looking and I'll be ok:).
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Run, Swim, Run
Another solid Thursday in the books. Double run day with a swim sandwhiched in the middle. At first this day brought me a lot of anxiety, kind of like the type you have before a race. With hard work though, it's actually a day I look quite forward to. Not only is it a huge day of training, but a huge day at work too. basically, with training and work combined, I'm up at 5am and don't get home until 8pm. It's a long day, and I don't stop moving for one second, but I get sooooo much energy from it. This day carries me into the weekend with energy to spare and sets me up nicely to train hard until Sunday.
The first run was awesome. I headed out to one of the more rugged and technical trails here. It's used primarily for mountain biking, and is covered in rocks, roots, sharp uphills and bombing downhills. Also, it is about 100% singletrack with enough singletracks to confuse a compass. In other words, it's not exactly the speediest run, but it'll kick you in the arse more than once.
So about 20 mins in I had my first wipeout. Then at 30 mins another. And yet another around 45 mins. Gotta say though that it was the dirtiest fun I've had in a long time:) -and don't read into that-hahaha!
Swim was with coach Kerry and we worked more on form and breathing. My freestyle is to the point that we're just making minor tweeks. She says it's just about perfect and I'm not arguing:).
Second run was on a kinder, gentler trail system. Since these runs are endurance based, I'm keeping them on the trails. No need to be speedy, just get in the time on the feet. This was a much kinder session and I was able to keep my head above my feet the entire time:). Running is getting easy again and that makes me happy. Three weeks ago at this time (after my runs) I was ready to get in a coffin. Now I'm just as chipper as I was this morning. Ok, I'm not exactly chipper in the morning, but you get the idea:).
Tomorrow is a strength session and some serious work on the bike. It's a short bike session which means it's gonna hurt a lot. haha, love those!
The first run was awesome. I headed out to one of the more rugged and technical trails here. It's used primarily for mountain biking, and is covered in rocks, roots, sharp uphills and bombing downhills. Also, it is about 100% singletrack with enough singletracks to confuse a compass. In other words, it's not exactly the speediest run, but it'll kick you in the arse more than once.
So about 20 mins in I had my first wipeout. Then at 30 mins another. And yet another around 45 mins. Gotta say though that it was the dirtiest fun I've had in a long time:) -and don't read into that-hahaha!
Swim was with coach Kerry and we worked more on form and breathing. My freestyle is to the point that we're just making minor tweeks. She says it's just about perfect and I'm not arguing:).
Second run was on a kinder, gentler trail system. Since these runs are endurance based, I'm keeping them on the trails. No need to be speedy, just get in the time on the feet. This was a much kinder session and I was able to keep my head above my feet the entire time:). Running is getting easy again and that makes me happy. Three weeks ago at this time (after my runs) I was ready to get in a coffin. Now I'm just as chipper as I was this morning. Ok, I'm not exactly chipper in the morning, but you get the idea:).
Tomorrow is a strength session and some serious work on the bike. It's a short bike session which means it's gonna hurt a lot. haha, love those!
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