Recovery day- Easy Run and a Massage

It's saturday and i'm supposed to do an open water swim but the beaches are closed due to high waves from a hurricane.  Bummer, I only got in 2 or my three swims this week and I really need to keep making progress here.  No way i'm going to have a productive swim at the pool today and it's drizzeling out anyway.  So i set out for my favorite easy run over the brooklyn bridge.   Set my mind on keeping it easy so i'd be fresh for my brick workout tomorrow.   I ran about an hour, covered 6.8 miles and my pace was easy at 9:25mm. Later that afternoon i got a fantastic massage followed by a manicure and pedicure.  We went to Element in our neighborhood.  Had not been there before but a client recommended it and they were able to accept an appointment for a couple's massage with very little warning.  Perfect for a dreary Saturday and made up for not being able to swim today.  David treated us to massages and then i treated us to manacures and pedicures.  Laid low that night.  Cooked dinner and went to bed early so i can get up at 6:30am for my long bike tomorrow.

Notice that just because i describe it as a recovery day doesn't mean i took the day off.  There are ways to train safely, without taking days off every week and tomorrow's training will prove my point.

Great One Hour Indoor Trainer Set

It's friday and i'm planning this as a moderate training day.  Yesterday was easy and Saturday i would like to do an open water swim but looks like a big storm is coming.  My calendar only allows for an hour ride and it's pointless riding outside for such a short time so i set up the indoor trainer.  Have not done a good indoor workoug in a couple of weeks. This is a great muscular endurance set.  I warmed up only briefly and then got into my sets.  I did 5 sets for 8 minutes working into Zone4 and 5a.  My cadence was between 60-70 trhroughout so it was like climbing long low grade hills.  I stayed at the low end of the HR range.  Set numbers were 141, 153, 155, 154, 155bpm.  Spun lightly for about 5 minutes as a cool down.

This was challenging but not too tough.  Want to keep my legs recovered for the 4 hour bike and 1 hour run planned for Sunday.  May actually move it to Saturday due to the weather forecast.

Swim Long intervals

Earlier today i got in a short set of weight training.  Just 30 minutes of back and shoulder work.  Back ws heavy 4 sets of 8 for 3 exercises and shoulder was three exercises but 3x12 reps. I warmed up with long slow strokes for 8 minutes.  In the beginning i had a lane to myself but that changed about 30 minutes into the workout when people just started jumping into the lane without any plans.  This really annoys me, but we all figured out how to do a circle and it goes pretty well.  the pool is packed and the water is much more turbulant than ususal.

After the warm up i did 6 x 5 laps with a 1:20 second recovery.  I started with 1.20 sec stroke rate and the last set was .95 sec stroke rate.  My goal was to work up to HR of 140bpm by time i got to the last 2-3 sets.

1st int 1.20 sec stroke rate 48/50 strokes per length HR 132 and time 10:50 min,  2nd int 1:15; 52/53  133hr 10:41.  3rd int 1:10  55/56  130hr 11:03; 4th int 1:05  58/60  130  11:01; 5th int 1:00  65 125 11:33; .95sec  65  128hr 11:32.  Best was at 1.15 rate and speed was 43.25 min/mile. totals were 2376meters / 1.47 miles  (a bit longer than usual, but there were 5 rest periods)  over 1:06:40 which is an average of 45:09 min/mile.  Pretty lousy again.

Interesting that my HR did not get that high.  It was much later in the day than i usually work out and the water was really warm.  There was a lot of turbulance and sometimes interference because i was working in a circle.  Would do this again starting at 1:15.  also even in warm up i was only getting 44-48 strokes per length.  So not sure why my stroke was short today.  partially because i can't focus, have had a bad week and am particularly bummed out today.

Two a day the hard way

Yesterday felt like a wash.  I only did 30 min of wt training and some shoulder rehab because my left shoulder injury was telling me i needed to pay attention.  I wanted to put in a good bike ride in the afternoon but i ran over something on the way to the park and got two flats.  After walking to the bike shop the owner was kind enough to sell me two tubes with an IOU for 3 bucks.  Went home, looked at the situation and saw both tires had gashes in them.  I have no idea how small a hole needs to be to be fixed with a patch kit, but i decided to give it a try.  35 minutes later, inflated tires and all the rear tube exploded after filling it with air.  This sucks!  I walk back to the bike shop and am told i need new tires.  Fine.  They hook me up in the last 10 minutes they were open and i'm relieved because i need to bike to the park again tomorrow morning to meet a client for running training. Now it's Wednesday and i'm with my client in the park and i get yet another flat in the rear.  I ride slowly home, really hating my bike, see another client and head out for a run.  It's about 88 degrees out and a 15 mile long run was set for today and i'm more than happy to run instead of ride the bike.  I focused on breathing only through my nose and that helped me keep my heart rate on target and breath deeply..  I ran 7.5 miles counterclockwise in the park, stopped for a gel, and turned around.  Refilled water once also.  Focused on keeping HR in Z3 which meant keeping the three major hills easy.  Felt pretty good expecially considering the temperature and the fact that i have not run 15 miles since probably March.

Had a Isalean shake with lots of good stuff in it right after my shower.  Did some work, made calls and then changed for my bike ride.  Took the bike back to the shop and asked them to help me understand why i got this flat.  Bad tube they said.   Learned how to look at the tube once inflated again to see what may have caused the damage, so at least i learned something form this whole 24hour bike mess.  Rode to the park and did 4 loops.  Goal was to have my HR in Z4-5A for all the flat and up-hill portions .  Couldn't pull that off.  Worked on Average about 6bpm below that for each loop.  The loops were at about 12 minutes which is good, but i didn't want to push because of all the work from the run.  although this is not a brick, putting in 3 hrs and 45 minutes in training in one day was a bit of an effort.  Tomorrow i may have to ride again if there are thunderstorms as predicted, so also kept that in mind throughout this ride.

Overview is that i ran 15 miles in 2.5 hours at 9:30 pace and three hours later biked 18.5 miles in one hour 20 (25 of which was in street traffic) at 14.2mph.  That means i get to eat a small bagel with cream cheese as a post workout snack.  Love that!

Two a Day the Right Way

I knew today was going to be a hot one so was glad to head to the pool after i finished with clients.  I drove to the pool, did 20 minutes of drills and a good warm up.  Found a tempo i was comfortable at for my main set of 1.2 miles at 1:10 seconds per stroke.  I had a lane to myself after the warm up and noticed for the first time today that i am much more comfortable when i am near the lane marker than in the middle as i was during the warm up.  Never noticed that before.  I swam the 1.2 miles in 48:30 with an average hr of 134 (on target) and kept the stroke length at 48-51 but my goal was 44-48.  Didn't really find my groove until about 10 laps.  I felt pretty streamlined but reality is that was a 40:25 min/mile, about 2 minutes below what i had planned for.  I wanted to do a set of speed work at the end but didn't have time.  Swam a total of 1 hr 10 min. I had all my gear with me to transition into a run.  Took my bag up to my apartment and headed out for a hill run.  Usually a do repeats on the Brooklyn side of the bridge which is a lesser grade than the Manhattan side.  I switched that around today.  I also ususlly only run about 5 miles total when i do hills but wanted to get in a longer warm up so ran 7 miles total.  Usually feel at my best around 5 miles into a run so went over the bridge and around city hall park.  That left me at 3 miles for the start of my set.

It's 89 degrees out, really humid and there's not too many tourists on the bridge which is the good part.  I didn't see a single other runner during my 7 hill repeats.  Each repeat was about 50-60 seconds.  I used a lamp post as my point to turn around and jog back down.  Rested about 1 minute at the bottom of the hill.  After the 7 repeats i ran the hill all the way  and over to home.  Goal was to keep my HR at the bottom of Zone5 but it was elevated a bit above that.

Considering the sun was hot and the humidity high i was really happy with this combo training or running and swimming.  Would like to do this more often.

Longest Bike of the year

I'm working on increasing my long bike rides so that 56 miles for the half iron doesn't seem like such a long ride.  Today i'll head out to 9W and ride 4 hours.  2 hours out and turn around.  Made plans to meet two others who were riding from the city and i'm taking my car.  Stopped at the local bike shop in NJ to buy a helmet and new lights for riding at dawn/dusk.  I don't ride at night but the days are getting shorter. Feeling really good today, although i partied a bit hard last night.  Since Friday and Saturday were just swimming my legs feel great.  Compensating a bit for my right leg though.  the bruise isn't apparent anymore, but the muscle has not yet recovered.  Rode with my friends for about an hour and then they turned around.  Rode that first hour with them harder than i would have by myself.  Slowed the pace and heart rate and kept a high cadence throughout the next 2 hours.

After 2 hours i turned around, stopped at a local market.  it seems to be a heavily hispanic dominated neighborhood which was apparent in the produce offered.  I love baby bananas and don't see them often so bought 4 and scarfed them down along with a new bottle of water which i added want more energy to.

Continued home and made a stupid mistake.  I cut off an intersection by crossing through a gas station.  There was a bit of gravel that i only noticed once i had no other option.  I was going very slow but still i hit the gravel and fell.  This time on my left side.  Gravel rash on my left forearm and a little blood on my left knee.  Went into the gas station to get clean water and some towels.  Attendant was an ASS.  He didn't like that i brought my bike into his shop and i sternly told him my situation and that i'd be out of his way in a minute.  He decided to be nice and offered a band aid and some ointment.  If i was a guy it probably wouldn't have turned out that way.

Rather annoyed that i fucked up again i continued home.  Looking for a private place to pee and couldn't find one so stopped into a coffee shop in one of the towns thinking maybe a pastry would comfort me as well.  A short rest for ice coffee and a silly mini muffin and a clean toilet left me feeling 80% better.  Took the last half hour fairly hard.  Felt good again and completed my 4 hour ride over 62 miles.  Not bad, but need to keep this going for a few more weeks and i don't have much time.

Should get a shipment this week of a new water bottle that will save on stopping for water, but need more food on hand.  I really don't like gels.  They do the trick, but i learned that i want food on the long rides.  My shirt pockets are small so bars or small items will have to work.

Open Water Swim with Current

My goal for the rest of summer is to get in an open water swim every weekend.  Works quite nicely because there are group swims at Brighton Beach on Saturdays and Sundays.  Ideally i will swim Saturdays and then do my long Bike on Sundays and follow with a swim again on Monday's. Finally a warm summer weekend.  I saw Lisa again, the local who swims just about every day and also met two newcomers one who is a seasoned triathlete and another doing her first in about a month and has never swam in open water.  Enjoyed talking to both of them after the swim and shared contact information.  Gina is interested in going on long bike rides with me which is great.  She also works free lance and may be available for week days out there.

I learned about the jettys.  Each is a 1/4 mile apart, so that is helpful in determining how far you've swam.  I wanted to swim for an hour 15 min.  Three of us left to swim half mile and turn around.  We swam with the current and didn't realize how strong it ws until we turned around.  Ultimately took me an hour to swim a mile.  Next time I will swim to start against the current and swim further, ideally a mile and then turn around and swim with the current.  Noticed my HR was about 3BPM faster than the same intensity of swim in a pool.  Felt comfortable in the water except when my goggles fogged and i couldn't see my targets.  Found it difficult to navigate and will work on sighting more frequently on my next swim.

Really a nice day.  David ran the boardwalk while i swam and then we headed home to clean up and go see friends for an evening BBQ.

Perfect day for a swim

After clients I did my lat 30 min of wt training for the week.  Have done nothing for my legs since before the NYC tri and my quad is feeling much better.  Did a TRX circuit of upper and lower body movements.  Only 1-2 sets each but focused on all legs, then chest then back and delts.  Felt easy. It's a beautiful sunny day and was able to get to the outdoor pool in the afternoon and catch some rays. I ran to the pool, very slow jog and stretched my upper body before changing.  Did a nice slow warm up for 15 min followed by 8 lengths at maximal exertion.  Each was about 45 seconds with 30 seconds rest, hr was around 144.  After eight of these i set my tempo trainer on slow and swam long and easy until i was able to keep a fairly long stroke but at a faster rate.  Found 1.10 seconds to be a good place for my long set.

I rested about 2 minutes then started the 1.2 mile set of 24 laps.  Stroke per length was very consistant at 48 in one direction and 52 in the other.  About half way through the set my body relaxed more, but did not gain or loose any of  the stroke length, just felt more at ease.  Av hr was 133 and took 47:45 which is 39:47 min per mile.   My goal for the end of season is 36:00 min/mile.  I have a way to go.  Just need to be consistant with 3 days a week, minimum of 1:15min  each sesion.

The next time i do a long set i want to warm up briefly and then jump into the set.  Think spending 30 min prior to my main set may have set me back a little.  Plus think doing the hard/speed etc after the main set might be better for improving power.  Seems like when i do the speed work first it becomes difficult for me to get back to a long relaxed stroke.

Misty Cool Easy Run

So i'm running three days in a row.  not ideal and i don't have any more runs scheduled for the week.  I wanted to do hill repeats tomorrow and Swim today but the weather is not cooperating.   It's actually a rather nice day for running.  The first in awhile.  Only about 70 degrees and it's misting. Between clients this morning i did a half hour set of upper body weight training.  Shouders and back only.  BB OHP, Supinated lat pull down, DB CG military press single arm, Seated wg row, bilateral cable shoulder extension, and DB reverse fly.  All in rep range of 6-8 and all 4 sets.  This is the second day this week i've gone heavy and it feels really good.  My right shoulder was much better today.

Around noon i went for my run.  My basic one hour run with a few minutes attached.  I wanted to run easy since both Tuesday and Wednesday were hard days.  Ran over the Brooklyn Bridge and down to west street so at least i would have some hills to run.  Everythig feels good and the weather is definately a factor.  I ran 7 miles in 1:05.  Av pace 9:17 and av hr 156.  Right on target.

Serious brick workout- bike to run

I have not done a brick workout since prior to the NYC traithlon.  I want to do two before my next race and like to separate them by a week.  Although i'm still bruised from my fall I'm going to have a go at it, and take it a little easier than if I was 100%. The bike goal was to ride the loop of Prospect Park at 132-152bpm.  Focusing on the higher end of that range but make sure i'm not working my legs so hard that the 1:15 min run to follow leaves me feeling wrecked.  The ride mostly up hill to the park is the 15 minute warm up and then I completed 5 loops.  Everything feels good, and no headache this time.  I worked the last two loops a bit harder and finished those under 12 minutes.  The bad part about these bricks is i never get to switch to the run off a hard effort on the bike because the 10 minute ride home is almost all down hill.  My only other reasonable option is to use the trainer. During the ride i consumed water with Want More Energy, no additional solid food.  I did have a IsaLean Shake about 30 minutes prior to the ride and added banana and flax meal for extra calories.

I took about 10 minutes to transition because i had to go to the bathroom.  Not ideal, but for today i'm not worried about it.  I ran to the promenade in the heights, then a couple laps around cadman plaza park, then over the brooklyn bridge and back.  I wanted to run 1:15 minutes with the intention of running straight home after coming off the bridge.  I didn't time it quite right and ended up cutting the run short by 10  minutes.

My HR goal was just below threshold at 163-169bpm, which would be about right for the 13.1 miles for the half ironman.  I jept this HR for the 7.3 miles but could not have maintained it for another 50 minutes needed for the half iron.  Still think that this is a good HR goal, just need less humidity which should be no problem in October.

Drank another shake when i got home.  I burned abotu 1000 calories and replaced maybe 400 of them with the IsaLean shake, coconut water, IsaFruits, and IsaCal.