Easy 6 mile run and weights

It's NYC marathon weekend and the weather is perfect.  Today is an easy 6 miler over the brooklyn bridge and some weights, abs, and yoga.  Warmed up 1 mile then hit the bridge a little hard.  Noticed on my return that my average pace was faster then the 9:00 I had planned so I slowed it down.  Was nice to see others in team uniforms and small groups running this morning.  My legs feel tight from the weight training yesterday, but other than that all was well.  Av HR was 155, lower than usual for this run, and average speed for the main set was 8:52.  Cooled down 5 min and stretched.  Had my first meal right after, an Isalean shake.For lunch I will have some soup and a 2 egg omelet.

I almost didn't fit this in.  Got cought up in work but was really needing a lift and a short workout did the trick.  Did back and legs yesterday so attacking shoulders and chest today.  Went down to basement and found that the building staff had left the place a mess.  They started painting the gym earlier this week and it's still not completed.  Cranked the air and propped open the doors for circulation. For shoulders worked in a rep range of 10-12 with 60s or less rest.  Did 2 shoulders followed by 1 tricep, 2 more shoulders and 1 more tricep.  Inbetween these exercises I did pushups using a bosu and ended up doing 6 sets of 20.  Left shoulder a bit testy today and still weak.  Finished with 10 minutes of abs then went up to my apartment for some yoga work.  Going out tonight to a marathon pasta dinner to meet new people.  Should be fun!

Moderate Training day. 7 mile run and weight training

My day started at 5 am and didn't feel hungry at all until around 8:00 but i was with a client so had an isadelight chocolate to hold me over.  Didn't sleep too well last night again because of the construction lights outside, but basically got 7 hours of sleep.  My body feels tight today, i didn't stretch after my run yesterday nor did I do any yoga and i'm feeling particularly tight in my hips today. After clients I had half a shake around 9:30 and waited a half hour before the run.  Another nice crisp, sunny day and i'm going over the brooklyn bridge, around city hall park, back to brooklyn and a few laps around Cadman park.   Not feeling as light or upright as i have been on other recent runs, mostly due to the tension is in my hips.  Heart rate was a bit high for the hill portion today.  My goal was to run a bit faster than 9:00.  I warmed up 1 mile to the bridge and the main set was 5.3 miles at 8:44mm and 167ave bpm.  Cool down was an easy jog for 1/2 mie.

I had the other half of my shake around noon, about 45 minutes after the run.  Had some other work to do and my energy, mental clarity and desire to get work done was very high.  Had a productive afternoon and then went to the basement at 3pm to get in an hour workout.  Needed a little treat before my workout.  Had an isadelight and put want more energy in my water bottle for the workout.  Worked lower body and chest in supersets.  Some exercises were strength and some were more stability.  Did 4 exercises for each and kept moving primarily in the rep range of 10-15.  Used the TRX quite a bit and kept it out for a good abs session.  Spent 15 min on abs followed by 15 min yoga.  Think it works best to do my yoga work right after either a weight training session or after cardio.  If I plan to do it later in the evening I tend to run out of time.  Had lunch immediately after the workout at 4:30.  I lined a plate with fresh spinach, topped with a lentil mixture including some fresh asparagys and finally added the smoked trout.  Was not hungry, but this is my main meal for the day and don't want it to be later than 5pm.

I made a soup that I will post.  Had about a cup of that and that was it for the day.  Tomorrow is a light day.  No running, just weights and cycling.

Easy Light Day with a Delicious Ending

I woke up feeling pretty energized and looking forward to seeing clients, one of which has been away for about 10 days.  At 8am i had an hour break so went off again to have my breakfast.  I packed my usual chocolate shake combo in a tupperwear and this time with cocoa nubs again plus some dried cranberries.  For some reason I didn't think that was enough and indulged in a poppy seed muffin as well.  I like geting out of the gym for a break but need to find a little something extra to add to my breakfast that isn't so "baked". Around 11:30 I went for my run.  My energy is OK, not as good as yesterday.  Today is an easy 5 mile run up the east side.  Have not run this route in a long time, very flat and as i remembered it the air quality is worse then on west side.  I think the air quality is worse here because there tends to be lesss wind on the East river compared to the Hudson.  But wasn't too bothered by it becaus it's a beautiful sunny day, about 60 degrees out and although the run felt fine was anxious to get on with my day and not focusing on the run, but hey it's just an easy run.  Heart rate stayed pretty low at 150bpm throught much of the run.  Did a short warm up then did a main set of 4.45 miles at 8:42 pace (goal was 9:00) and AV hr 152.  Found it annoying that GPS was lost while i was running underneith the FDR.  Had to run on the sidewalk on the other side of the road instead of along the river to get a connection.

I had a good afternoon working on the computer and on a training call for awhile.  Had another shake at 2:00.  Was hungry at that point, but energy was still good.  Had to leave for a bit while our realator showed the apartment and then went down to the gym in my building for a quick workout.  Im not ffeling motivated at all to do weights and figure an energy boost would help so had 2 Isa Delight Chocolates and two glasses of water.  The weight training session was not too energetic.  My mind is on all the work I didn't get done today and on getting on with dinner as David will be home tonight.  Short workout in basement was rushed to start dinner.  For 30 minutes I  did  back and shoulders in supersets.  3 exercises each and 1 extra for shoulders.  Rep range was 12-15 and light intensity.  No time for yoga today, so will put more focus on that tomorrow.

For dinner we had some leftovers but I added some wild rice.  It was chicken and asparagus in a creamy sauce topped with a little gryuere.   I get so bored with chicken, but this one is saucy yet still very low in calories.  Total calories was probably around 500 including the rice, low in fat, moderate carbs and high in protein.  Unfortunately I made the mistake of picking up dessert again, so looks like I'm committed to eating a pumpkn spice cake with David this evening.

A new application for blogging- diet and exercise

I was thinking about how now that tri season is over and i'm not accumulating as many training hours a week how my food intake, mood, and hunger levels have changed so I will attempt to include food log along with my daily training. Today is Monday,  first training day of the week and I woke up not feeling very rested.  It doesn't help that it's 4:45am but i did get almost 7 hours of restful sleep.  Last night I had wine with dinner and had dessert about 30 minutes before bed and that didn't help.  So i started my morning with 2 ounces of cleanse for life along with my regular shot of Ionix Supreme which will give me the morning boost i need.  I had two clients before i had time to eat and now it's 8:15.  I had the intention to just  have an Isalean Shake in pudding form but was quite hungry and have about 35 minutes to kill so I went to a favorite spot across the street from the fitness center.  I saw a bran muffin that was fat free and had peaches in it so I ordered that and a cup of tea.  After consuming the pudding and the muffin I was completely satisfied.  Breakfast was probably about 700 calories.

Finally we have a sunny day after 3 days of dreary cold.  I'm in a good mood and ready for a run after finishing with clients.  It's about 1.5 hours since i ate that big breakfast and i'm feeling really satisfied and energized.  Today i'm running 7 miles downtown from John street around battery park and up the west side briefly.  Very little wind today which is a nice change.  Started with a one mile warm up a little slower than 9mm.  Main set was 5.25 miles at 8:35 (goal pace was a bit faster than 9:00) and average hr was at 159.  Feeling really tall and wondering if the yoga and stretching work is having an effect or if it has to do with not running yesterday and having a moderate short bike workout instead.  Finished with a 1 mile cool down.  I really enjoyed the run and think the heavy carb breakfast helped with that plus i didn't stop moving after eating it.  If I had sat instead of busying myself with clients I may not have been so energetic.

David and I are only eating one dinner together this week.  Either he is out every night or I am so that got me thinking about consuming the majority of my calories before dinner and having just a shake, soup, salad or something else light for dinner every day this week.  Also to not eat because it's a specific time, but because i'm hungry.  Since i had so many calories before the run there was no reason to refuel after.  I wasn't hungry again until 3pm, that's 6 1/2 hours after breakfast which is really unusual for me.  For lunch I had some leftovers from Saturday but served it a little differently.  I lined a plate with fresh baby spinach and topped it with a lentil mixture that i made on Saturday.  Basically it's lentils, leak, carrot and bean sprouts.  Then i heated up some smoked trout and topped the meal with that.  Although it was a lot of food it was only about 500 calories.  Was really satisfying and i took my time eating it at the dinner table with some water.  I bet i wont get hungry again until about 8pm.  Heres a quick link to the trout recipe.

That's the other thing.  I'm going to be very conscious of my water consumption.  In the summer i was drinking a lot more and have noticed i'm not drinking as much and need to be more conscious of drinking plenty during the day and not waiting till evening to catch up.

Around 8:30 I had my last meal which was another shake, but half Isalean and half Pro leaving me with a higher protein, lower carb meal.  I included isafruits and calcium for the antioxidants.  While relaxing with David I indulged in a new treat I found which was a rice crispy bar topped with a glaze of peanut butter and chocolate.  Very decidant.  Almost wish I had not found it because they are a regular dessert I can pick up anytime on the way home from the subway.

Base Building Paris Marathon- week 1

Last week durinig recovery i signed up for the Paris Marathon for April 11th.  That gives me 26 weeks to train.  This is the first marathon where I have time to build up a good base and also have time for a long sharpening phase.  To review, the base period starts this week with 28 miles total and slowly builds for 13 weeks up to 62 miles.  During the first 9 weeks of base all the training is really simple, no hill work, no tempo work, just building a steady pace which is specific to the given distance. This week all my training is under 8 miles, and based on my 3:30 marathon goal any distance under 8 miles can be run at 9:00 mm or slightly faster depending upon the goal for the day.  Monday moderate 6 miles, tuesday off, Wednestay moderate 6 miles, Thursday easy 4, friday another easy 4, and Saturday hard long 8 miles.

Monday was my first run for the season where I had to wear long sleeves, what a bummer.  I ran flat downtown around battery park.  Started with a 1 mile warm up then picked up the pace with the goal being an average of 9mm.  Everything felt good, some wind, knee is totally fine, although it was bothering me today walking up and down stairs.  The main set was 4.39 miles at 8:42pace and HR ave 159bpm.  I had a shake 15 minutes before the run and that was fine and had a banana after.  Was hoping to have time today for weights, but no such luck.

Tuesday was an off day.  I used this free day as an opportunity to do a partial cleane day.  Fasted until about 5pm.

Wednesday I started with 2 oz of cleanse while training clients.  Had a shake made of half Isalean, half Isapro, plus fruits, calcium and coconut milk right before heading out for the run at 9am.  It's a beautiful, clear, crisp day and I'm running 6 miles, a moderate length and at a moderate effort.  Went over the Brooklyn bridge and back.  I've decided that when it is cool out i don't need to carry water and feels nice to not have that camelback pack around my waist.  My legs feel great today, no knee pain, light fast steps.  Warmed up 1 mile to the bridge and then set my pace based on keeping HR around 160 as an average and planned for a bit faster than 9:00 mm.  Had to go to the bathroom so ran to John street, short chat with a trainer there and then headed back.  Everything is feeling really good and it's nice to  have a low volume week getting into this first week of marathon training.  The main set was for 5 miles, AV hr was 158 and speed was 8:49.  For lunch I had 1 scooop of isalean chicken soup plus 1 cup of a  home made greens soup.  Around 4pm I went downstaris and got in a short TRX workout.  Working my legs for the first time in ages.  Everything was body weight.  Focused on legs, back, and rear delts for 30 minutes.  Kept supersetting with no rest.  Finished with TRX abs for 15 minutes doing about 5 different exercises, some of which were new.  My food focus today was low carb, low cal and high protein because i'm going out for pizza tonight.  A rare treat.

Thursday morning my morning rutine was shaken up and so was my diet.  Guess that pizza last night left me craving bad carbs in the morning.  All would have been fine had i not had a cancellation.  I got news of the cancellation and now had 2  hours before my next client.  Before degressing to food i put in a easy 35 minute sports specific training with cables, medicine balls ets.  I did no lower body because i'm surprisingly sore from the body weight TRX stuff I did yesterday.  Did some BB over head pressing and was only able to do the bar (45#) 6 reps x4.  Did some chest, shoulder and back strength focusing on more functional movements.

More on the meals.  After weight training i went to eat at a coffee shop where i had my protein pudding and a low fat yogurt muffin and a cup of coffee.  Had a banana before my run and and Isalean shake for lunch around 3:30.  Had a fantastic salad for dinner at a restaurant. Not the most healthy as it was topped with a 10 oz turkey burger.  But boy was it tasty.  Interesting concept.

My run on Thrusday was an easy 4 miles.  It was a cold rainy day and not feeling like running in the cold at all so i hit the treadmill in my building gym.  I got some good ideas on the treadmill about variations for winter training when it gets nasty.  If i have to adjust a long run and move it inside i can run and hour or so, jump on the bike trainer for a bit and then run again.  It's variety at least, but don't know if i can handle training inside for three hours.  Today I warmed up for .5 miles then set the treadmill at 9:00mm.  I increased the grade to 2% and ran that about 5 min.  The work sest was an increase in grade for 3 min followed by 0 grade for 2 min all at a 9:00 pace.  It looks like this: 2%, 3%-0. 4%-0, 5%-0, 4%-0, 3% for last .5 miles.  The interval set was for 3.25 miles then did cool down for .25 miles.  Nice way to jazz up a short, easy indoor session.

Friday was an easy 4 miler through Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo.  Wore tights and loves.  Breathing feels good, hamstrins are still tigh from the leg work I did on Wednesday.  Run was some hills, but mostly flat.  10 min warm up and 5  min cool down.  Main set was 3 miles at 9:07 pace.

Saturday was my hardest run of the week.  Funny to call a long run 8 miles, but that's my schedule and it feels good to be logging some easy runs.  I warmed up 1 mile going to Prospect park.  Continued with a 9:00 pace in mind and turned around at 4 miles.  Worked hard on hills both up and down and easier on the flats.  Work interval was for 6.51 miles, average pace 8:55 and average HR 162, max 177.  All was just where it should  have been.  Weather was damp, drizzled a little but the temps were quite comfortable while wearing gloves.  Only drank a little water with Want More Energy.  Cool down was half mile.

On Sunday i really wanted to go to the pool but was going to be a rush to train with the team and get home in time to pick up and get out of the house for an open house so I opted for an indoor trainer session.  Yesterday i changed tires from race tires to 4 season continental tires.  I have an old back wheel with old tires on it that i'll use on the trainer permanently and the front wheels are new with the 4 season tires.  Easier break down and set up.  Also using a new riser block which kept the bike much more stable.  Noticed that i need to adjust the speed sensor next time because it wasn't working.  I warmed up for 13 min and followed this with a short set of 15 min of fast intervals.  15 sec hard then 30s rest.  Rest was in 2nd gear and work in 4th gear.  Max HR was 163 at the bottom of zone 5a, a good place to be, and my cadence was around 90.  The 2nd set was 12 minutes and longer intervals.  Worked 60 sec hard followed by 90 sec rest.  Rest and work were in 3rd gear.  Max hr was 169 putting me in zone 5b (better) and cadence was a little slower.  Next time will extend this interval to 20 minutes.  This was a new workout i found on line and will continue to use it throughout the winter.  Note i still have a cough, it's been about 4 weeks now.

In addition to the 28 miles of running and little over an hour of weight training I started practicing yoga on my own this week. I ordered a book which came in on Tuesday called The Athlete's Pocket guide to Yoga.  It has balance movements, meditative movements as well as core, back, shoulder, chest, hip, leg specific routines.  This week i started by picking 2 sequences each day and getting familiar with them.  Over time i will spend more time on this, but for my first week i did pretty well adding in about 15 min of yoga outside my regular stretching from Wednesday through Sunday.

BASSMAN HALF IRON RECOVERY WEEK

Strangely after the race i didn't crash like i usually do.  We had a long drive home from NJ and David seemed more tired than I was.  Ate quite a bit of food at the post race party and then ordered in some Thai Curry for dinner, but didn't over eat and wasn't terrible hungry.  Looking forward to allowing myself to eat carbs as much as i want for the next few days. On Monday I awoke to feeling similar to when you have the flu.  My chest is still congested and my body aches, but nothing in particular is sore.  Well my calves are tight and that's a new one for me.  Between clients did some foam rolling and stretching.  Throughout the day i just took it easy and did take a nap in the afternoon.  Tuesday was much like Monday except my chest feels better, but i'm still lethargic.  For the first time following a race i don't feel motivated to do anything.  Usually whenether my body feels great or not I have a mental urge to do some exercise, but not this time around.  I don't know how much of this is due to the race but feel it's a combination of the race and still having this cold.  Did more stretching and foam rolling on Tuesday as well.

On Wednesday i was still feeling lethargic, but muscles all feel fine.  By mid day i got the urge to run and decided to just get out for an easy jog.  I coughed a lot at the beginning of the run and although i wasn't thinking about pace at all was surprised how slow it was.  That's a good clue to stop and go home and rest some more.  Only ran 2.5 miles and pace was 10:12.

Thursday i continued to rest my body, still not even feeling like doing any weight training and i've been eating whatever i want which is not a good thing.  For instance, board between clients, went to have coffee and a muffin even though i had brought my Isalean shake with me as well as a banana.  Hope tomorrow i'm feeling up for the task of running again.  Put my energy into setting up my next race.  Signed up for the Paris marathon 4/11/2010.  David already has his airline tickets so decided now was the time for me to take some action.  Also started working on my training program.  It will be a 26 week program with a nice long base period.  Looking forward to having more time to train (never had a plan this long) and therefore i can put in a longer sharpening phase.  Last year the sharpening phase was real short and I feel I worked too hard because of the shorter period.  This program will also be more forgiving if i need to take a day off because of weather or travel.

Friday im feeling like it's ok to run.  Not coughing much today and my body doesn't feel achy anymore.  From my house i jogged easy to the bridge.  I took the hills real slow and the flats and downhills probably a little too fast for my first real post race run, but it felt good.  Didn't cough during the run but did hack a bid after.  Averaged about a 9:20mm fter a 10 min warm up which is about where i should be for an easy run on hills.

Saturday is my first long run since the race on Sunday.  I warmed up 10 minutes at 10mm to the bridge.  The main set was 57 minutes over the bridge, up the west side and back over the brige and down court street.  Miles for the main set were 6.35 and my pace average was 9:00, exactly where it should be for my marathon goals.  I stopped at the hardware shop for an o ring for my water pack and finished with a cool down all down hill for a little over a mile.  Everything feels good although it felt like more effort than i would normally predict for an easy long run covering only 8.5 miles.  I'm still congested, but itns' not apparent at rest.  Was coughing a bit during the run.

I've been looking forward to sunday for a while.  I met this great guy in the bike shop who invited me out on long bike rides with him.  I don't know a lot of courses and was getting bored with the 9W rides i did during tri training all summer.  And i don't like having to drive over the bridge and take away from training time by commuting.

Anthony lives in Brooklyn as well and we met on a corner at 9:15am and planned for a 3 hour ride.  As he described the route on the phone i got the feeling that this was going to be longer than three hours.  If i needed to turn back at an hour and a half i could, but it was a really nice day and decided to go along with his plan.

We ended up in long island, ending at point lookout which is almost to Jones beach.  We started on 4th ave, rode over the path running along bay ridge, past coney island and along the belt parkway in the Jamaica Bay area.  All this was familiar.   We passed one bridge and took the second to the broad challel??  Continued out to the rockaways, passing atlantic beach, long beach, lido beach and ended at point lookout.  It was a nice sunny day but a cool breeze.  I wore just the right amount of clothing.  The ride out felt easy and we cruised at about 17mph even with all the traffic lights.  We stopped for some food.  I had an egg sandwich while Anthony indulged in his regular treat for that route, apple pie ala mode.  As we headed back the wind had picked up.  I didn't feel like there was wind at out back when we went out, but there was a stiff wind returning home.  We took a different bridge back over the channel and followed ocean parkway back into Brooklyn.  On the way back my left knee started to hurt quite a bit.  I did some drafting as i was getting tired around the 4 h our mark and was not expecting this wind.  Total time was 5:33min.  I didn't look at my monitor at all during the ride, just went with the flow and that was the whole point of this ride.  My cadence was about 72 on the flats, hr av 124, av speed 13.33 and total distance a whopping 74 miles.  Yikes.  Thoroughly enjoyed my shower that afternoon and then started cooking dinner.  Iced my knee that night as well.

Bassman Half Ironman 2009 Race Day

SET UP AND BRIEFING My first half Ironman and Triathlon number 8.  As predicted the race is going to start late.  Before the half there is a sprint and a duathlon as well.  Other that that little detour everything is running smoothly this morning.  There was plenty of time to set up.  Transition is easy to access but small and a bit over crowded.  It’s on sand, which sucks as that will slow down transitions.  After setting everything up I went for a short swim.  Breathing isn’t easy, but if I remain relaxed I think everything will be fine.  I practiced coughing and clearing my nose and throat while either doing breast stroke or treading water.  So the situation is not ideal but I’m sure I can get through it.  I spent about 20 minutes doing various stretches and had David assist me with some upper body stretches.

The race will start at 9am not 8.  There was a very thorough orientation.  Only surprise here was that the run has lots of turns, signs to look out for and much of it is on trails, not roads.  I don’t run on trails so not sure how that’s going to go.  I think there are under 150 people here (a little more than last year) and a younger crowd than any other course I’ve done.

I’m really counting on my Garmin 310xt to give me all the data I need on each leg of the race to get me through.  This is the second time I’m using it in a race and the first time in DC did not go well but I’ve had more time to get to know the settings and feel I’m in good shape today.

SWIM 1.2 miles

Every time I show up for a race the swim course looks like it’s much longer than I’ve prepared for.  Today’s course is a clockwise loop of an entire lake done twice.  There are three waves.  Young men, older men, and all women each set 3 minutes apart.  We start standing in the water and I’m feeling ready.

The first 5 minutes are always the scary part. I noticed that as long is I kept my exhale forceful that my congestion did not effect the swim but if I started to breath more shallowly I felt worse. Also I felt the cold of the water in my chest but after about 10 minutes my body warmed up and I didn’t feel that uncomfortable.   Now I have my breathing down, I’m more relaxed and I stopped worrying about all the women who are in front of me.  This is my race, I want to breathe without coughing, focus on long strokes, and sight my lines regularly of the 5 buoys that make up the circle.  The water is clean, probably 65 degrees, with lots of sea plants.  I get the sense that it’s very shallow and often swipe a plant with my hand. Once through the first lap I’m feeling like this is no problem.  As is usually the case, I find myself passing people on the second loop.  These are mostly people with poor form and fast strokes.  I know my form has improved but want to be more powerful in the water but today is not the day to think about that.  It is reassuring to know as I’m passing these people that at least I’m more economical with my energy and stroke than many others on the course today.  Finish 44:40 (goal 47-50min)

T1

First step is to sit on the grass at the waters edge and take off my wetsuit.   I want to avoid sitting on the sand in transition and thought this through before hand.  Have to take the watch off first and as I did so I looked at my time.  I’m really happy and get side tracked a little and fumble with the watch.   Had some trouble stripping the wetsuit from my calves and got a cramp in my calf.  Didn’t last long.  Ran to my bike, found it easily, sat down, toweled off my feet, put on shoes (no socks), helmet, sunglasses, grabbed extra hankie and ran out of transition.  Didn’t check my time but thought it was slower than I wanted but not by much.  Finish 4:34 (goal 2-4 min)

BIKE  56 miles

So I’m thinking I will be able to ride about 20mph as long as my breathing doesn’t get labored.  Well I’m wrong.  Even though my plan was to start with a HR of 153 and build to an average of 155 I find within 5 minutes that I’ve skyrocketed to 160 and my average speed is only 16mph.  It’s a bit slow getting out of the park and since I know the route I know I will be able to get my speed up once I get on the main road.

This is a fantastic biking course.  It’s either country road with very limited traffic, or main road with a large shoulder and little traffic.  Minor intersections had a volunteer and major intersections had police to stop traffic.  It was a really safe route, not technical at all and virtually no hills to speak of.

The course is two loops which got boring but at least I learned a bit from the first loop.  It was easy to pass people, traffic was minimal and although my HR was higher than I wanted at 161 bpm (as opposed to 155 planned) I felt really comfortable on the bike and with my speed.  Through the first half I was averaging 19.3mph and my goal was to be between 19 and 20mph.  My plan was also to increase the speed for the second half but based on my HR I don’t think that is going to happen.

At the turn around there was a bottle exchange, which went smoothly.  I was down to ¼ tank on my never reach and a volunteer took a bottle of water and dumped it into my tank.  Took maybe 30 seconds.  Rethinking my race plan I think I should have added want more energy to my water from the beginning and then added it again for the refill.  I think I didn’t get enough non-food calories during the race.  The race offered Heed, which I don’t like and I’ve found for cycling alone that I don’t need an electrolyte replacement.  Seems needs change under race circumstances.

I consumed food and gels a bit more frequently than planned throughout the bike.  I would have a Power Gel or Hammer Gel at 30 min then half of a Pure Bar 15 min later.  I continued this pattern for the whole ride and increased frequency a bit at the end.  By the end I had eaten 2 bars and 4 gels.  That’s about 480 calories and about 150 carbohydrates.  I learned when I reviewed my race data that I burned 1423 calories during this ride.

Another problem came up about an hour into the ride, which was that I had to go to the bathroom.  I wasn’t terribly uncomfortable so I thought about this and decided that if my goal was to finish under 6 hours (which looks attainable) and I wait until 3 hrs into the race to pee that should take care of bathroom stops for the rest of the race.  So about 3 hours into the race on a side road with more coverage I pulled over.  Side note here is that men really have an advantage here.  Guys just pull over, turn their backs to traffic, pee, and are back on the bike in 30 seconds.  I on the other hand, have to scurry off into the bushes and take about 2 min to take care of business.

When I get back on my bike my average speed for the entire ride (now about 38 miles in) has dropped to 16.8 just because I had to take the time to pee.  So I pick up the pace again and finish the last loop focusing my eyes on my average speed working that number back up.  As for cadence I was really confused from the beginning.  Even from the start my monitor said my cadence average was 118, which is really messed up.  Every so often I would count my strokes and probably averaged about 75rpm.  Finish 3:00:53   18.9mph  161 Av HR (goal  2:54-3:00  )

T2

I dumped my bike, helmet and glasses quickly.  Got rid of the trash in my pockets including 2 thoroughly used hankies.   Sat down to take off shoes, wiped off excess sand, put on socks, sneakers, added gels and fresh hankie to pockets, put on a visor and speed out the gate. Leaving T2 I see David and Kramer and David asks how I’m feeling and I give a big smile.  My legs feel great, my swim was a bit faster than I expected, my bike was just a hair short and now I’m going into my favorite leg.  Finish 1:52  (goal 1-3 min).

RUN 13.2

It’s a bit warmer  than I expected and I’m thinking about the last long distance race I’ve had in the heat and can’t remember when I had one.  It’s probably only 72 degrees but feels hotter.  All my marathons have been in early spring or fall and I have not run a half marathon in two years.  About 3 miles into the 13.2 miles I start to get worried.

Here are the limiting factors.  I don’t run on trails and about 50% of this course is sand, small gravel, or wooded debris.  My cold is keeping my lungs from expanding fully, which means I have to take more frequent breaths to keep up my pace and my HR is higher than it should be.  My stomach is talking to me, not feeling nauseous but I’m burping and that never happens.  Don’t think I can take more gels at least not for a while.  There are aid stations, but they are attended by only 2 people and I have to really slow down to get water.  Some aid stations have food and I’m looking at what’s there because I don’t want any more gels but know I need to eat something and I’m going to have to experiment with new food here because I don’t eat food during training runs.  The course has lots of turns, some very sharp and lots of signs indicating course direction so I would consider this a technical course.  All things I can deal with but feel my pace goal is way off considering all these variables.  I’m having to think about and address problems that have never come up for me during a triathlon or road race and it’s stressing me out a bit.

I’m at the 6 mile mark and what’s going well is that my legs feel fine, I’ve found a comfortable pace and my HR is holding at 174 bpm (92% max) and speed at 8:30.  I’m having trouble wrapping my head around the fact that I thought my HR would be around 169 and pace around 8:25 and I don’t feel I can push the pace.  My lungs don’t feel good and I’m partially afraid of pushing it too hard because of the cold I have.  Last thing I want is to finish the race well but get severely sick.  I think I had a gel at this point.  And another problem has arisen, I have to go to the bathroom again and this time a toilet would be a preferable option.  I’ve never had this happen during a race and hadn’t planned for it.  I’m wondering if I can make it another 45 minutes but its getting really uncomfortable.  Much of the trail is through the campgrounds and I sight a bathroom and run in quickly.

The last half I find myself slowing a bit.  I think it’s mental more than anything but seriously cant get a good breath.  On the up side there isn’t anyone passing me and I’m making up some lost time from my bathroom stop but hate that every time I look at my monitor is shows a slower average pace than I ever expected.  At an aid station I saw some gum drops and that looked like a good idea so I sucked on 4 of those over a mile or so.  The last two miles were not a problem.  At that point I knew I could hold my pace.   There is a turn to approach the last 100 meters or so and as I turn that corner I saw David and Kramer waiting for me.  I hope the photographer got a picture of this because this is one photo I would buy and would bring me joy every time I looked at it.  I pick up the pace to finish and Kramer and David ran next to me to the finish line.  The crowd loved it and it was just what I needed to end the race feeling triumphant.  Finish 1:58:45  pace 8:47  Hr average 174  (goal 1:50 at 8:20 pace)

FINAL TIME  5:51:26  within my goal range of 5:34 and 5:54.  Placed 2^nd in my age group out of 5 finishers.  The first place competitor in my age group finished in 5:30:29.

AFTER THOUGHTS

I’m going to have to rethink my nutrition for race days of this distance.  My calorie consumption on the bike was 480 calories and I burned 1430 calories leaving me with a deficit of 950 going into the run.  During the run I burned 1350 calories and was only able to stomach less than 200.   I’m probably going to need to find a liquid carbohydrate that I can use as a supplement on the bike and reduce some of the gel consumption so that my stomach does not get uneasy and so that I don’t have to go to the bathroom as frequently.  I’ve held back in this area because during training the want more energy added to water on long rides has been fine, but it’s not enough calories for the long distances.

Because this was not a priority race and I had an A priority race only three weeks prior I did not spend any time doing long bike run brick workouts and will definitely add those next year.

This was only the second year for this race and there were very few online comments or reviews from competitors so was hard to plan a race strategy.  Next year I will select a half Ironman that is more recognized and plan it as an A priority race.  I already started looking at some local options and the top three would be Rhode Island, New Hampshire, or Syracuse depending on which part of the season I feel I can be ready for.

Overall I’m really happy with my accomplishment.  It was more difficult than I thought it would be and the mental and physical fatigue has been greater than following marathons.  It’s three days from the event, my cold is better but still coughing and my body aches a little all over.   I don’t actually feel sore, but my calves are quite tight and I feel the kind of fatigue you feel when you have the flu but more mild.  I have almost no desire to work out or train and this has never happened to me before.  Even after a difficult race, I emotionally desire to at least get in an easy run, but this time around I just want and need to recover.  Also a note about my weight.  I did not weigh myself on race day but the day prior I weighed 116.  On the morning following the race I was down to 113.5.  I forced myself to eat high carbohydrate meals on Monday (think my cold was really the only thing holding me back) and was back to 116 again on Tuesday.

Bassman Half Ironman Pre Race Day and Goals

PRE RACE DAY Saturday I woke up still feeling congested mostly in my chest but better with my nose.  Unfortunately now David is feeling lousy.  Cleaned up the apartment to prepare for an open house on Sunday.  Had an Isalean shake around 9am and we were on the road by 10am.

Drove to a friends house in Manasquan NJ because it’s an hour closer to the race than Brooklyn.  Figured spend the day in a beach town, chill and get up at 4:15 for a race was better than driving from Brooklyn.  David was up for the adventure and we had Richard’s beach house to ourselves.

Once we got there we walked to a sports bar nearby where David could watch the Michigan/MSU football game.  I read most of the time but caught some of the game while I ate.  Had a blackened grouper sandwich (no top bun) and a green salad.  Also, two pints of beer.

After all that excitement we both needed a nap so slept for an hour.  Set out to find a Kmart so I could buy hankies.  Tissues are not going to do the trick for the race tomorrow and must have something to blow my nose especially during the bike.

Took care of that business and set out for a good meal.  Found a cute place, seafood and steaks.  I ordered penne pasta with vodka sauce and shrimp.  Penne ala vodka is my favorite pasta dish and I only eat it maybe once a year.  I ate the 4 jumbo shrimp and half the pasta along with 2 glasses of wine.  We split a brownie ala mode for dessert.

I already have my bike prepped and my goals on paper but need to set out my clothes for tomorrow.  I wrote specific speed, time, and HR goals on masking tape and placed it on the bike aero bars.  Also did the same for my run and attached that to a packet of gels.   Set out my clothing and warm up clothes for tomorrow, took some more Robitussin and went to bed at 9pm as planned.

A note about water and fluids today.  I’ve been carrying around a bottle of purified water throughout the day and sipping throughout.  I drank at least 100 oz of water, which is what I would normally consume on a day that I trained at least an hour.  Also the alcohol consumption is pretty normal for me.  Although the beers during the day were not a good idea, nor is that normal, I just couldn’t sit at a sports bar, watch a football game and not drink beer.  I have no idea when I last sat and watched a whole football game, never the less in a sports bar.  The wine is typical for pre race evening.  Either wine, beer or cocktails but limit them to two.

Gong to bed did not work well.  David’s cold was effecting his breathing and I couldn’t sleep in the same room with him.  My sinuses are a bit clearer, but chest is still congested so decided to try something new.  I placed a drop or two of eucalyptus oil on a piece of tissue and placed it in one nostril.  Moved to another bedroom and slept on my back all night with that tissue up my nose.  I never sleep well before a race and last night was pretty typical.  Kept getting up to look at my phone and make sure I didn’t miss the alarm.  Got about 6 ½ hours of sleep and felt surprisingly good in the morning.

RACE MORNING

I really think the eucalyptus trick worked.  My chest feels clearer, my nose is dry, and I don’t wheeze when I breathe.  Yes my cold had gotten that bad that when I took a deep breath I could feel my lungs rattle.  This makes me feel much better about the day ahead.

David didn’t want to wake up so I kept things moving.  Made an Isalean shake and drank that right away and pulled everything together for the race.  Took a bit to get the car packed as we are not coming back to the house after the race.  Also pulled out my breakfast for later that I pre made yesterday.  My traditional race morning meal that has worked well for every race in the last 2 years.  1/2 cup oatmeal, ½ cup yogurt and a little water soaked over night (rolled oats, uncooked) plus a smashed up banana.

By 5am David, Kramer and I were all in the car and ready.  David is pretty grouchy but feeling better than yesterday.  We stop for coffee, a must on race mornings.  It’s the only thing I can consume that will guarantee that I eliminate before a race.  It’s really foggy but very mild out.  Pretty sure I’ll be able to race in shorts and sleeveless shirt, nothing additional will be needed.

The race is supposed to start at 8 and I want to be there not later than 6:15.  I had my breakfast at 5am as I always plan for the last meal 2 hours before the race start.  When we got off highway there was lots of race traffic leading to the park and knew at that point the race was not going to start on time.

RACE GOALS

These goals were set when I was healthy so since then I adapted the goals to allow some extra time since I’m feeling less than healthy today.

SWIM -  47 MIN AT BEST/52 AT WORST.

My last long easy swim was on 9/2 a whole month ago.  That was 48:27.  Some of my better days were as fast as 44 min for 1.2 miles.  So am going down the middle and hoping the time off from working out my shoulder plus the benefit of the wetsuit will bring me to a pace of about 39 min/mile.  With my congestion I must admit I’m not felling confident about this swim and should get in a practice on race morning to test out the breathing.

T1  2 MIN AT BEST/ 4 MIN AT WORST

The Transition is really close to the swim exit and if I don’t have to put on any additional clothing due to the cold I’m pretty sure I can get this done in 2 minutes.  If I have to think about what to put on that will slow me down.  If the AM temps are mid 60s then I will wear pull on sleeves and if it is colder than I will add a long sleeve top.  For the bike transition remember to have time goals up to this point on the bike as well as av speed, av cadence, hr goal ranges taped to the bike.  Also plan on 1 gel every 45 minutes and a half bar on each hour or so (put that on the bike as well).  Put two bars opened in my bento box and 4 gels opened in the bento box.  Fill up the water tank of the bike ¾ way and hope to not need any extra at the half way refill.

BIKE  2:54 MIN BEST/ 3 HRS AT WORST

I’m basing this mostly on the trial ride Richard and I did in august.  We rode at 17mph the first lap and 18 the second lap and we really were not pushing it.   HR ave was 142.  Now I have new wheels, which should automatically increase my speed by about 1mph for such a flat course.  So if I go 19 mph I will finish the 58 miles in 3 hours, and if I average 20mph I will finish at 2:54.  My HR at NYC olympic distance tri this year was 167 (really high even for that race) and 159 the year before which felt really easy.  Based on my training zones I should be safe if I start slower HR, build through the middle and then slow a bit before the run again.  HR goals are 153-163 bpm with 155 being a good safe average goal.  With my cold I will need to have two hankies.  One in my hand at all times and a second in my shirt pocket as back up.

T2  1 MIN AT BEST/3 MIN AT WORST

Again the transition area is small so just need to change shoes and maybe take off a top or jacket.  Make sure gels are in my shoes for the run.  On one gel pack indicate your pace and HR goals because you don’t want to loose it here.  This is what you’ve been waiting for.  Will want 4 gels for the run to be safe.  Start drinking electrolyte drink right away and assess how much water is left on the bike.  Pray that you still don’t need to pee.

RUN 1:50 best/1:55 worst

Since my training going into this has been to focus on my bike and swim legs so I’ve not spent much time on the run as it’s always been my easiest leg.  I have done about 5 runs at 13-15 miles as well as a lot of tempo and hill workouts.  It seems logical that I should be able to hold a pace slightly faster than my marathon pace of 8:25 in which case I would finish in 1:50 if I run 8:20.  If I slow to an 8:40 pace I will finish in 1:55.  Work on an average hr of 169 (my HR at Rome marathon was 172) and progress to 172 after half way if think I’m behind and feel I can push it a bit.  Start a bit slow and build.  Make sure to have a gel or food every 30-40 min.

Final numbers are a best-case scenario of finishing at 5:34 and worst scenario of 5:54.  If I finish in 5:54 I will have beat the best times from last years top 3 in my age group so looks like I could place well for this race.

Pre Half-Iron Race training

My first Half-Iron, the NJ Bassman, is Sunday of this weekend.  so this is my training plan leading up to that race.  My week will consist of 6-7 hours of training.   Since my peak week did not turn out as I had hoped and i now have a cold i have to take each day as it comes but this is my plan.  Bike 4 hours, Run 2 hours, Swim 1 hour and an hour of light weight training and shoulder therapy which i am not counting.  I don't know that i will be able to get in the swim.  If the congestions doesn't go away by Friday i'm going to have to give that idea up. Monday I rode my bike in the Poconos while we were visiting my parents.  David and i set out for an easy exploratory ride.  We rarely ride together because my training pace is always faster than his, but my goal is just to get some exercise since I took off Saturday and Sunday.  Where the roads were good they were hilly and I kept a pretty slow pace and high cadence.  The areas that were flat were highly trafficked and the pavement was not as smooth, also lots of stop and go.  Frankly was fine with an easy ride exploring a new area.  If this were a real training ride i would have been annoyed.  The ride did help with my energy level and broke up some of the mucus, so for today's purposes, a good ride.  Rode 1 hr 20 min at 16mph and hr average was and easy 136bpm.

Tuesday was a nice easy run.  The temperature was perfect for a run but there was a lot of wind.  This will be a totally flat run with not stopping.  I ran from John street, down to battery park and up the west side bike path.  On the way out I ran about 9:20 pace and on the way back 9:10.  My goal was to keep my HR below 160bpm and average of around 150 which worked well.  Still very congested and some coughing.  Later that day i went to the bike shop for my new wheels.  Will discuss that in a separate post when i have something to report.  But... i'm really excited about these wheels.  Basically did a lot of research and found that the budget i  had in mind was not going to be much of an upgrade from my current set if i bought new.   I found someone who was happy to unload a new pair of Rolf Prima Vigor SL's with only 50 miles on them, plus a new 10 speed cassette and new continental 4000 race tires for a song.

Wednesday was my first ride on my new wheels.  My congestion is a bit better today and energy is a bit better too after doing a partial cleanse day yesterday.  I went out about 10:30 after having an IsaLean shake for breakfast.  It was very windy and i'm not sure these conditions gave me the test of speed that I wanted for my first trial with the new wheels.    I rode and  easy 12  min to park then did 5 laps.  First was easy, 2,3,4 were pretty hard but not time trial hard.  Best of those was 17.3mph, lap of 11:38 and HR betw 150-159 av, cadence about 75.  Compared to last set of moderate difficult laps which was on sept 18 (friday following DC race) where my best lap was 17.6mph and 11:21 per lap, hr 151 and cadence 75.    A little disappointed, but it was really windy today.  I did feel a much smoother ride which i think is in part the race tires.   The ride was not bumpy at all and didn't feel the cross wind as much as i did with the other wheels.   The gearing tune up was noticable.  I didn't take the big hill very hard, but felt it was a fairly good effort and was surprised that i was a bit slower than that last ride.  Will plan to do the same ride on Friday.  Also need to keep in mind that I have a cold, but that didn't seem like a deterrent today except that my heart rate was more elevated than without congestion.  Taking lots of vitamin C, about 3000mg a day, and drinking 3-4 cups of tea per day.

It's Thursday morning and I'm finished with morning clients and i'm disappointed that its too cold out for the short sleeve shirt i have on.  It feels like the mornings of NYC marathon which is a month away.  Dont like that it's october 1st and feel like i need to be wearing tights, not shorts.  Physically i'm feeling about the same as yesterday with lots of nasal congestions.  Prior to my run i put in a short 35 minute training session of supsesets.  2 back exercises, followed by two shoulder and 2 more back.  All in the rep range of 15-20 and light to moderate effort and everythig feels good, even my left shoulder.  Want to keep this run under 45 minutes as i still have one more bike before race day and maybe a swim.  Body feels tired, not sore, just tired.  Took the run easy, HR mostly 150 bpm or so until i approched the hill going up chambers street.   On my way home from the gym I stopped by a health food store and bought eucalyptus essential oil to rub under my nose and inhale to clean up sinuses and an herbal tea to help with congestion.  Going to take a nap later also.  Have a client this evening at the track and will not be running with her today.

It's Friday afternoon and time for my last pre race training session.  i'm really congested and didn't realize it until i got on the bike.  Just going to do 4 laps of the park today.  Stopped during the 2nd lap of PPark to get some tissue and then it was better.  Took the first 2 laps easy and 3rd lap was a trial.  On that lap did 11:06/ 18.1 mph at 73 cadence and HR av 161.  That's what i was looking for!  This was my best lap ever, compared to 17.6mph/11:21min.  So i got what i wanted before my race.  Big problem is that i am really sick and sniffeling through a 3hr bike ride followig a swim where i'm going to feel like im drowning in my own fluids wont' be fun.  But at least i know what i'm capable of on the bike and can just focus on relaxing on the swim.

A Week in Review

This is supposed to be a peak week for the last race of the year, my Half-ironman.  Last week i felt good during recovery and didn't plan my training advance.  This week was pretty planned out with the goal of 14 hours of training.  As the week progressed i felt this was too much volume and i'm not sure if i needed more recovery from the race or if i was building up to catch a cold or what.  So aside from the indoor trainer ride on Tuesday, here is how the rest of the week panned out. On Wednesday i did only twenty minutes of TRX work and some abs followed by Hill repeats run.  This is the same series of hill repeats that i had done before the DC race.  Started with a nice 23 min warm up then went to the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge.  Completed 8x1 min repeats with 2 min rest inbetween.  My HR got up to about 178-181 for each repeat.  My best pac was 7:43 and worst was 8:13.  Didn't work these hills as hard as some of those from prior training.  Total mileage was 5.96.  Went out that night to a concert and didn't get as much sleep as usual.

On Thursday i did some moderate weight training.  Mostly 10 -15 reps focusing on Back (3 exercises) and shoulders (2 exercises).  This was followed by a run.  I did 10 miles averaging 8:38min mile.  Started with a 10 minute warm up the set out for 1hr and 15 min at half marathon race pace.  My HR was a bit higher than i feel I can manage for a race.  had to rest briefly a few times to drink and gel.  It was unseasonably hot, otherwise a good run.  Feeling that the hard work from the hills yesterday left me less than recovered for today though.  Average pace for the 1:15 was 8:23 and HR was 172.  This run was a good indicator for what i think i can run for the race.  I need to keep my HR for the race around 169.  Wait, the day isn't over, i still have to get in a swim.  Since the riverbank pool is closed for cleaning my o=nly option at the moment is to swim with my team.  Unfortunately that means swimming from 8-9:30pm in the city.  I've never had to do this before and i hate the idea of swimming so late in the day.  I went to Baruch for the team swim and much of the workout was freestyle.  I was in a lane with some swimmers who were a bit faster than usual for my lane so the coach set the intervals at a more challenging time than i was used to.  I kept up ok but was frustrated that i got behind as the workout progressed and the intervals became shorter.  Overall i swam about 1.25 miles and i hoped to swim at least 1.5 that day.  I liket the last 12 intervals which were 25 yards really hard (a breath every 4-6 strokes) followed by 25 yards at 50% effort.  It was later than my usual bedtime when i got home and took about an hour to unwind and get ready for bed.  Again i slept less than usual.

Friday is long run day.  Plan was for 2 hours in prospect park at an easy pace.  I started with a 21 min warm up to the park and everything was feeling good.  In the park i did 44 minutes at an easy 9:21 pace and hr at 150 (about 79%) but legs felt real heavy.  Although i was planning for 2 hours I decided to cut the run much shorter than planned.  I have off on Saturday and Sunday i want to get in a good long bike ride, so decided to add the extra time missed on the run onto the bike ride.  My not so long run was 1:25 at 9:28pace.  Note i rarn three days in a row, totally not the norm for me.  Thinking back i should have done the bike ride on thursday or Friday instead of waiting fot the weekend, but since we were headinig to the country for the weekend i wanted to enjoy ther ride there instead of the typical park rides that my body has gotten so accustomed to.

Saturday i woke up with a sore throat.  Somehow i wasn't surprised.  When i cut the run short on Friday i knew something was not right with my body.

Sunday i had head congestion, sore throat is gone, and a bit of a cough.  David and i are up in the Pocono's region of PA visiting my parents.  We drove Saturday and will return Monday.  We bought the bikes intending to ride on Sunday for a good 2 1/2 hours but not only was my body not cooperating, but we had rain all day on Sunday.

My intended peak weak was a bit of a disaster.  My ride on the trainer was awesome, the rarce pace run was valuable and the rest of it was pretty useless.  If i were to schedule the week again i would have done the following:  Monday- ride on the trainer.  Tuesday  race pace run.  Wed off.  Thursday  2-2.5 hour ride in prospect park and swim with team in the evening.  Friday easy 6 mile run if i felt like it (note sleep patterns).  Saturday off or 6 mile run if didn't do it on Friday.  Sunday long run 1.5-2 hours.

I should have cut out the hill run and rode long on my bike during the week and I should not have run three days in a row.  I should have kept the long run, but saved it for the weekend instead of dragging the bikes out of town. And should have planned for only 9 hours for the week.