Running training- Base training- Week 5 Paris Marathon

The plan this week is for 46 miles, an increase of 3 miles from last week.  One new change this week is to add a short run on Sunday, so now i'm running 6 days a week and my off running day will include a short set of upper body weight training.  Will include an indoor trainer workout midweek and swimming on the weekend. Monday- Left from john street around noon after finishing with clients for a 8 mile run.  My garmin did not pick up a satellite for the first mile or so and i feel the data is a bit skewed.  I think i ran slower than indicated in the data. I was feeling really good for the first 5 miles then lost some energy toward the end.  I ate about 4 hours before the run and didn't plan a snack and should have.  Dank pure water on the run.  The weather is beautiful, its 62 degrees or so and a ton of people are out for mid day lunch break in battery park.  Was supposed to be 8 miles total but was more like 8.5.  My warm up was nice and slow and the main  set was 6.11 miles at 8:52 and hr 158bpm.  My plan was 9:20 at 152bpm so i was a bit fast and worked a bit too hard, but not sure about the speed data as i said.  cooled down for a mile and stretched.

Tuesday- no running, just short upper body weights session.

Wednesday- My run plan is an easy run of moderate 8 mile distance at 9:20 pace.  After clients i had half a shake then left for my run.  Warmed up 1 mile and then it's a 1 mile hill all the way to the park.  I went clockwise to start to switch things up.  Had no problem holding an easy pace, was actually a little fast but my legs are heavy.  Particularly feeling my quads but felt recovered when i awoke today.  Yesterday was no running and only a short set of upper body weights, but maybe i'm feeling the leg weights from Monday.  Turned around at 4 miles and continued home.  Did a 1/4 mile cool down.  Main set was 7 miles at 9:09 and HR av was 156. Was planning on an indoor trainer session today as well but will put that off for tomorrow to follow an easy run.  Partially due to time constraints but also because my legs are feeling so heavy.

Thursday- I have a few hours free in a block so will run, bike and weight train within about 4 hours.

I went for this 6 mile easy run with an empty stomach and really didn't need any fuel.  It's much windier than I expected and feels cold.  Should have dressed warmer.  Started with 1 mile warm up to the bridge.  My pace started fast for the 5.5 mile set and i slowed a bit on the incline up the bridge.  It's really windy which made me want to go faster to get over the bridge and its drizzling a bit.  Legs feel great today, breathing is good and I'm not going to worry about going too fast.  Took the down side of the bridges slower to recover a bit.  AV HR for the main set was 158 (a little bit high 155 was goal) and pace ws 8:54 (9:00 was my goal).  After the run i had a single scoop shake.  I had about a 30 minute break to set up the trainer and plan my ride.

Did a new program tha I call Level 1 seated climbing at sub threshold level.  Warmed up for 15 min then went into the following set at HR goal 153-162bpm and 65-70rpm  8-6-4-2 min intervals with 2 min rest in between at easiest gear spinning 90rpm.  I followed this with 8 min at 75rpm at a level equivalent to a long endurance ride.  For the main set my HR ave was on target at an av of between 158 and 161 for each set.  Cadence was a bit low though at 62-64 per set. Would like to do this again with less warm up and go through the cycle twice.  Was fairly easy but if it was later in the day and I had more time allocated would have been good to do two sets of this.   Broke down my bike, changed clothes and went to basement for my 30 minute legs and shoulder workout.

Friday- Today is almost just like yesterday, dreary, cold, and windy.  I fasted 12 hours overnight and had half a shake before my run.  Running 6 miles in my neighborhood.  Mostly flat, but the headwind was pretty rough.  Goal is to warm up 1/2 mile and then run the 5.5 miles at 9:00.  Noticed when I go for these wandering runs through the neighborhood that i get really bored and seems like a much shorter run to go over the bridge and back.  But i wanted to run flat and easy today.  Need to come up with another flat easy short run.  For the 5.5 miles i ran exactly a 9:00 but my HR was a little high at 161bpm.  Walked for 5 min after my run, stretched, did 10 min of abdominals (been bad about that this week) and 10 min of yoga.  Hope weather is better tomorrow for my 14 mile run.

Saturday- Lovely damp day for a long run.  About 55 degrees out.  Today instead of using my speed goal of 9:20mm i'm going to use HR.  Over the last 2 long runs, one being hills and one being flat my ave pace has been 9:09.  On the hilly run my hr av was 148 and on the flat 159.  So today i'm going flat for 14 miles and setting hr average at 153bpm and watch my pace accordingly. First half had the wind against me much of the time.  Average HR was 153 and pace 9mm.  My water pack had want more energy in it and I had a gel and a bathroom stop around mile 7 and turned around.  On the way back it was really easy to pick up the pace and averaged 8:39 whith 153 hr.  This was a really encouraging run.  My average speed for the main set of 12.26 miles ws 8:49 and HR 153.  Think by time i get to the end of base training I may be able to increase my race pace goal.  Time will tell.

Sunday- I'm on a roll.  Two weeks in a row making it to team swim on Sunday morning. Missed the warm up for today's team swim.  Started out with a bunch of sets of 200m.  Spent the first 1/2 hour focusing on frestyle.  Second 1/2 hour was more IM but i modified that and added some drills where butterfly would have fit in.  Everyone was wearing fins in my lane except myself so had a hard time keeping up at times.  Therefore if the group was doing backstroke but i was behind I would swim free style to catch up.  Last 15 minutes was 25 meters which i would like to have been able to keep up on.  Were supposed to be 25measy 40s then 25m hard 20s x16.  Better goal for me would have been 45s, 25s.  Did 2350 yards total today over the 1:15 min wokout.

Folowing the swim there was a long commute home.  Snacked, and got ready for a short run.  There were lots of stops on todays route and the garmin did not pause sometimes when i stopped, so average speed is actually a bit faster than what was indicated here.  This is the first week of 6 days running, and this is the new 6th day.  Felt good to run the day after my long run.  Helped that it was 60 degrees out and i'm not swamped with other things to do today.  Got in the swim early and by time done with run it was 1pm.  Dont' want to put anymore time into working out so will skip my weight training today. For a short easy run my pace should be 9:00 and hr around 162.  Today was 9:02 and HR 158.  Like i said i know this run was faster than the data indicates so feel good about these numbers.  Must say it wasn't an easy effort though.  Since i ran to the bridge, half way over and back, there were some parts that took some effort.  Note Max HR was 178.

Next week should be interesting.  I really have 3 days of local running then i'm getting on a plane and going to FIji.  Between the air travel time and the jet lag I'm not sure how my training is going to go for the next two weeks.  The vacation focus is scuba diving, so will fit in my running where i can.

Weight Training- Week 2

The plan this week is similar to last week.  Monday legs and shoulders, Tuesday back and chest, Thursday modified as a total body workout, and weekend power and functional training. Monday- Good 35 minute session at John street.  Worked legs and shoulders.  Even though my shoulder was sore yesterday from swimming it feels pretty good today and i went heavier with 4 different exercises.  Did 3 for legs.

EXERCISE	DATE	REP	WT	COMMENT
warm up - trx overhead squats and lateral lunges for 3 minutes.
BB SQUAT	9-Nov	3x12	95#	not feeling heavy.  up the wt next time
arnold shoulder	9-Nov	3x10	20#	used legs a bit, 15# was too light.
BB DEADLIFT	9-Nov	3X12	95#	good weight.  Increase to #110
CURL OHP SEATED	9-Nov	3x10	40#	curl plus 20.  next go standing and more wt
LEG EXTENSIONS	9-Nov	3x10	70#	have not done in ages.  keep in program
DB LAT RAISE	9-Nov	2X10  1X12	15#	increase reps
DB should flexion	9-Nov	3x12	10#	good and easy

Tuesday- Back and Chest at John street in the AM for 30  minutes.  My off running day but doing a short set between clients.  Improved over last week in either weight, reps or shorter rest period for most exercises.  Left shoulder feels limited in lat pull down.

EXERCISE	DATE	REP	WT	COMMENT
ca supinate row	10-Nov	3x20	70	warm up 20s rest
ca chest press	10-Nov	3x15-20	50	warm up
Lat pd WG	10-Nov	3x10	75#	hard 60s rest- no change
Mach chest press	10-Nov	15,15,10	75#	5# heavie and 30 s rest
CG mach row	10-Nov	3x10	100#	30s rest 5# heavier and a little more rest
Asst Dip	10-Nov	3x12	plate 4- 16#	60s rest increased reps by 2
Ca rev fly- high/low	10-Nov	3x15	40#	30s rest. increased reps by 3
Ca chest fly	10-Nov	3x12	70	30s rest hard increased wt by 5 and reps by 2

Thursday- After running an hour and biking an hour I went down to the gym in my building.  Wanted a heavier workout but my gym doesn't allow that for lower body and today i want to hit legs and shoulders.  Will do some lower body endurance sets and swim specific shoulder exercies.

Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000193 EndHTML:0000003687 StartFragment:0000001554 EndFragment:0000003641 SourceURL:file://localhost/Users/carla/Desktop/2009%20goals/paris.strengthtraining.xls

EXERCISE	DATE	REP	WT	COMMENT
no warm up. spent the last 2 hrs running and biking. 30 min total and stretching at end. all were done as super sets except KB squats
KETTLE BELL (KB) front squat	19-Nov	3x20	40# total	harder than I expected. 30s rest
SS WALL TOWEL PULL	19-Nov	3x20		scapular depression range of motion.  good new exercise
SS BB STEP UP	19-Nov	3x15	50#	used the box
SS DB SCA[PTION	19-Nov	3X12	10#	increase in wt and rest
SS CABLE  EXT- BILAT- stagger stance	19-Nov	3x10	25#

Friday/sat or sunday.

Beautiful Long 13 Mile Run

Got up had a shake right away and waited 30 minutes to go for a run.  Going to Prostpect Park for 13 miler.  Warmed up 1 mile then continued to 6.5 and turned around.   I had a gel at that point and have been drinking want more energy from my pack.  The park is beautiful, the colors are always late in the city and I'm enjoying watching people and dogs have fun.  This run is feeling really easy, in general the easiest long run to date.  I'm mostly monitoring my HR instead of my pace.  It never got above 165bpm and my pace was above my 9:20 goal by 10sec per mile.  Average HR for 11.5 miles was 148bpm and pace was 9:09.  Last week I ran the same pace on a more flat course and my HR average was 159 average.No other training activities for today.  Had a meeting to learn about Team in Training and had to rush to it after the run so had an apple.  The TNT meeting was really informative.  I'm interested in coaching groups and think TNT would be a good place to start.  Don't know whether they need running or tri coaches right now but am exploring the possibilities.  Also spoke to two people there who ran Paris last year and I think this is going to be a really fast course.  There is some cobblestone, but in patches, unlike the miserable end of Rome.

For lunch I indulged and had a pumpernickel bagel with tofu cream cheese topped with tomato and 1 fried egg for each half.  It was so satisfying.  Munched on some granola mid day and had dinner which was a crock pot meal of beef and lots of vegetables.  Only about 400 calories per serving.  I had made a dessert which was a parfait of layers of pumpkin pie filling, plain yogurt and roasted oats and pumpkin seeds.  Very satisfying, low in sugar and about 300 calories.  Even so, I had too many carbohydrates and calories today.  Tomorrow is a light day of just swimming, so over did it a bit.

Finally I swim

I've been sort of trying,  but comming up with weekend plans that keep me from getting tho the pool.  Really, durring marathon seson, the only day that's reasonable for me to get to the pool is Sunday mornings at 9 am and today I finally made it.  It wasn't even hard to roll out of bed because it was actually seasonably nice outsite.  I had to get up at 6:30 and leave at 7:30 just to hit the water at 9:15 and i think that is a major inhibitor to my swim training.  it's a pain in the ass to get to the upper west side on the weekend. I got in the pool later than i wanted and only had 5 min to warm up.  It's a new group of people in my lane and different coach (Abagail)  We did a good mix of IM's and freestyle.  It felt good to get back in the water and it wsan't too cold either. I followed most of the plan for the group and therefore did a lot more backstroke and breaststroke than usual.  Felt the work of the external rotation in my left shoulder immediately after the parctice.  It's just muscle fatigue, and note that i need to do more external rotation work in the gym and with bands.  Thought i was on top of that, but needs more attention, internal rotation also. This was my fist swim since my race in early October and it went so well that i'm now motivated to go weekly on Sundays as long as i'm in town for the weekend.  Did 41 laps total  (2050 yards) which is equivalent to 1.16 miles.  not a lot, but i think a good start. My meals were terrible today.  All i'm willing to say is that i shared pancakes with David for brunch.  No syrup necessary.  They were topped with strawberries and white chocolate sauce.  No point in going any further.

Easy 6 mile bridge run and circuit weight training

After early morning clients I set out for my easy run.  Tomorrow is my long run, so really will take it easy.  Going over the brooklyn bridge and back for 6 miles, goal is 9:00 pace and HR ave 155.It's chilly, windy and sunny.  Got over the bridge and got trapped in the chaos of the Yankees parade that was set up to run down Broadway.  Streets were closed off and sidewalks packed with people whom I won't comment on.  I just don't get it!  Who takes off work to celebrate a world series win?  Added some length onto my run back in Brooklyn in Cadman park.  I really did take this run easy, my glutes are sore from yesterday's step ups.  Average pace was 8:50 and average HR was 154.

The gym in my building is now freshly painted and I have some ideas for moving things around.  Went downstairs, spent 45 minutes moving equipment and then warmed up for my workout. Started with some band work for my shoulder and scapular area.  Because I had a new playground to work in i just moved around a lot and worked lots of different equipment.  I had watched a video last night with a nice short workout specific to triathlon and started with that.  Have not done any power work in ages and did do some body weight leg power work (jumps with a platform), shoulder power with cables and kettle bells.  Also included some TRX body weight resistance training and a lot of work in the transverse plane.  Didn't put much thought into the session, just moved from exercise to exercise focusing primarily on back and shoulders with some leg power and stabilization.  Very little chest work and a lot of core work.  Session time was 40 minutes for weights and abs combined.  Most exercises were at a light or very light weight and reps between 12 and 20.. Finished the session with 15 minutes of yoga.  That felt really good.  Think tomorrow is going to be a great run. Nutrition for the day has been really good so far.  Before my run i had half (1 scoop protein) of an isalean shake and added want more energy for electrolytes.  Had a full Isalean chocolate shake with flax meal and an antioxidant boost of Isagenix greens along with 3 chunks of a frozen banana about and hour after my run.  Had lunch around 3:30 which was just one scoop of the isalean chicken soup with some fresh basil and half of a vegetarian chorizo sausage.  I bought the sausage today at Fairway, wanted something new to spice up my soups and eggs.  Will have dinner with David around 7 tonight.  It's date night and I'm craving fall root vegetables and meat.  Pork would be good.  Regardless of what I eat, it will be all whole foods,  and will fuel up for tomorrow's run with a solid combination of carbs protein and little fat.

Easy 6.5 mile flat run and weights

In the morning I had time for a leg and shoulder workout.  Got in a descent warm up and did 2 for legs and 4 for shoulders.  Had not done step ups in a long while and used a medium platform that required a large step up.  Had difficulty getting full extension from my hip and needed assistance from my other leg to extend fully.  Left side was harder than the right.

EXERCISE	DATE	REP	WT	COMMENT
warm up of front and lateral lunges with MB spinal extension and rotation
BB SQUAT	5-Nov	3X12	95#	increased reps over Monday
scaption	5-Nov	3x12	8#	30s rest
curl bar OHP standing	5-Nov	2x12 1x10	40#	increased reps over Monday
BB STEP UP	5-Nov	3X8	45# BB	left harder.  Poor extension of hip. used Med platform
Mach CG OHP	5-Nov	3x10	40#
DB lat raise alternating	5-Nov	2x10 1x12	15#	increased weight over Monday.  30s rest

Had my isalean pudding right after the workout and then had two clients.

After my clients I went for a run.  Really nice sunny day, a bit brisk but gorgeous, perfect for a marathon.  Planned to run 7 miles at 9:00 and HR below 160 average.  This is an easy run and it felt too easy and was enjoying the weather so I picked up the pace.  Was thinking about the blog my client wrote about her Marathon experience on Sunday and was just getting into my run.  Even though I just trained legs I feel really good and decided to have some fun with short spurts of faster pace as well as one big long hill up Chambers street.  I hit all the lights just right, don't think that's ever happened before.  The main set was for 6 miles and my average pace was 8:02 and HR ave only 153.  Wonder why this is feeling so easy today.  Yesterday was a fairly hard day yet this run was a breeze. The rest of my day is pretty low key.  Had lunch with a friend and ate at a Mediterranean place.  Had vegetable kebobs over rice with a tiny amount of babaganosh and a piece of pita.  Lots of water.  Really thirsty for the rest of the day.  For dinner I’m just planning on a shake since lunch was so late and i don't feel like eating what's left in the refrigerator.  Tomorrow is grocery shopping day!

MODERATE DAY- run and bike

I call today a moderate day but is actually fairly heavy compared to others since i started the program.  I'll be running 8 miles at a moderate 9mm pace and then getting on my trainer for intervals later in the day. After three morning clients I had time for my training run.  While with a client I ate my Isalean pudding (about 300 calories) and just before the run i had a handful of baby carrots and about 1T of hummus. Running to prospect park today for a moderate distance 8 miler which will be hilly.  Temps are really cool and I found my energy to be great.  Goal was to run the 8 miles at 9:00 pace and HR a bit over 160bpm.  I warmed up for a mile and then started my main set of 6.5 miles on a long hill going up to the park and my pace was quite even at about 9:22.  Once in the park my pace picked up and the run really felt easy.  I noticed the 1/2 mile hill on the way home that usually slows me down quite a bit felt quite easy today. Over the 6.5 main set my ave pace was 8:57 which was right on target and my HR was a bit below target at 159.

I at lunch really late, around 2:30.  I had bought a lentil salad with some apples and dried fruit and had that along with a leftover small fresh salmon patty over mixed greens.  Snacked on some baby carrots before my bike session, but not very hungry today.

I finished most of my work and got on my trainer around 5:30.  I've done this interval session only once before. Starts with a 15 min warm up.  Then 15 minutes of short intervals that look like this:  15s (30s rest) 30s (60s rest) repeat until the 15 minutes are up.  Took a 2 min rest then part 2 is 60s intervals with 90s rest for a total of 20 minutes (8 cycles). This was good for a dual training day.  Light leg work but fairly intense cardiovascularly.  For both the shorter intervals and the longer intervals i worked into my super threshold zone (163-166bpm) which is basically my race HR for shorter distances.  Cadence throughout was between 90-100rpm for the work intervals.  I cooled down for 8 minutes making this a nice one hour session.

Will have dinner around 7:30pm.  Just a serving of Isalean soup with some extra good stuff like a little leftover turkey sausage, fresh basil and scallions.  Feeling really satisfied today.  Very busy and no time to think about being hungry.

Easy Day- Weights only

Got to sleep in today and awoke with a stiff back.  Aah deadlifts.  Today is one of two days this week that I am not running but I will be doing a short weight training session for chest and back as well as abdominal and yoga. After finishing weighs I had a quick snack on some edemame and then worked with two clients.  When I got home i had a very substantial meal of a mexican, avocado, vegetable salad over greens, some Isalean soup, and a small fresh salmon patty.  For dinner i will have an Isalean shake.  Plan to go to bed early because my first client tomorrow is at 5:30am.

For weights i'm focusing on machines today primarily because I don't want my back to be affected and also because I'm at John street and have access to more equipemnt than I do at home.  Here is what i did over 30 minutes.

EXERCISE	DATE	REP	WT	COMMENT
ca supine row	3-Nov	3x20	60#	warm up 20s rest
BB bench	3-Nov	3x20	45#	warm up bar only
Lat pd WG	3-Nov	3x10	75#	hard 60x rest
Mach chest press	3-Nov	3x12	70#	20s rest
CG mach row	3-Nov	3x10	95#	20s rest
Asst Dip	3-Nov	3x10	plate 4- 16#	60s rest
Ca rev fly- high/low	3-Nov	3x12	40#	30s rest
Ca chest fly	3-Nov	3x10	65#	30s rest

MODERATE DISTANCE RUN AND STRENGTH TRAINING

Last night I got home a bit later than I expected from the Marathon and didn't have dinner until 8pm.  Had a gluten-free personal pizza, a new discovery, and added sauteed vegetables along with a green salad.  Wanted to fast 12 hours overnight so when I awoke at 4:30am I had two ounces of cleanse for life and went about training clients.  At 8:30 I had a break and went out for breakfast.  Had my Isalean shake in pudding form with a banana and I allowed myself the enjoyment of a bagel with light cream cheese.  I think that craving was because of the pizza the night before.  In any case I did consume a lot of calories, but it's best to have these early anyway.  Will put in a weight training session and a 9 mile run shortly after breakfast.Today's weight focus is on legs and shoulders.

Side lying shoulder external rotation	11/2/09	3x10	8#	Left still weaker.  12 reps with right
BB squat	11/2	3x10	95#	Good but heavy
BB deadlift	11/2	3x8	115#	Very heavy, not great ROM
Standing curl bar OHP	11/2	3x10	40#	Fairly easy
Seated DB Arnold shoulder	11/2	3 x10	12#	Fairly easy
Standing DB lateral raise	11/2	3x10	12#	moderate

Following the weight training session I went for a moderate distance 9 mile run, flat, from john street, through battery park and up the west side.  Turn around at 4.5 miles and return.  Goal was a pace of 9:20 and HR av below 160bpm.  Warmed up 1 mile, along the water there was a descent headwind on the way uptown.  Noticed my HR was well below the planned 160bpm so picked up the pace a bit.  Drinking pure water and energy feels great but had to stop for the bathroom at 4 miles before turning around near 14th street.  The main set was 7 miles, av pace 9:02 and HR av 156.  Had this been less flat i'm sure i would have slowed to the planned 9:20 pace, but everything was feeling really good so I went with the faster pace. Didn't eat anything for a while.  Not hungry at all.  Had lunch around 2:30 which was a scoop of iselean soup along with a 2 egg omelette with some leftover sauted veggies from yesterday.  Dinner will be a repeat of Saturday, fish in a predominantly tomato based sauce over sauteed swiss chard and a side of roasted asparagus.  So everything besides that bagel was really healthy and unprocessed.  Lets see if the scale shows a drop in weight tomorrow over the 116 this morning.  Might have dessert though.

INDOOR TRAINER STRENGTH INTERVALS

YEAH, it's NYC marathon morning and the weather is pretty good.  It rained overnight, is overcast and will be in the mid 50's today.  I have a few people i'm tracking, including a client and will be at the 24 mile water table later today to support and cheer people on.Woke up feeling rested and got on my bike about 1.5 hours after waking up.  Purpose of this indoor 1 hour training ride is intervals at a high resistance building strength. I warmed up 15 min then did 4x5min at sub threshold HR on the big chain ring working toward a HR of 153-162 followed by a 4 minute recovery of slightly lower HR but much easier resistance. Results were during work set average HR ranged from 155-159 with 168 the max at one point during the last set.  Cadence ranged between 58 and 63 for an average and felt the resistance was not too difficult.  During the recovery portion my HR average ranged from 139-145 and cagence between 79-81 for an average.  Time went by very quickly.

This was a good workout following a long run from yesterday and i've been feeling like i need to be doing more leg strength sessions.  Would do this again, could work on increasing sets as well as more work interval but keep the recovery interval the same. After taking down my bike i stretched, showered, did a short abs session and some yoga. My meal plan today is an Isalean shake with extra protein in it after my workout.  Won't have time for lunch today so will take some fruit and isadelights into the city with me to fuel up a bit during the marathon.  Hope to catch up with my client for dinner after the race, so really only two meals today.