(And really I should have gone straight back out to run a few miles, but the thought of COFFEE and INTERNET was too strong for me!)
I meant to get out very early for Central Park loops, but as usual could not quite drag myself out of bed at the appointed time. It was 8ish by the time I was actually starting my first loop, and it was getting noticeably more crowded as I rode - too many cyclists!
(It is the most beautiful day again, 70 degrees and hardly any humidity - freakishly nice July weather this month, it is slightly uncanny but I am crossing my fingers it might still be like this next weekend!)
I was going to do 4 loops "descending," but it was getting crowded enough by the third loop that I thought I'd just do the fourth at comfortable effort with no worries about safety!
I haven't been riding with HR monitor or paying attention to pace at all - I do have a Cateye computer on my bike, but I never quite figured out how it works, and the sensors always need to be fiddled with before I can get any data anyway, so I kind of have been ignoring it. I believe it is wise to isolate a few goals at a time, and my goal for this last few months has really just been to build mental comfort and basic fitness on the bike.
It will be appropriate round about now, though, to start getting some pace and HR data - I will track info for the Olympic-distance triathlon this coming weekend and the half-iron in October and get some sense of appropriate training and racing zones.
Total ride (didn't count the mile each way over and back, just the loop, which is 6.1 miles): 1:27:23 (avg HR 136, max HR 158). The heartrates seem low to me compared to running ones - I feel that I could bike at considerably harder effort than that, only it is not safe! Also, of course, the downhills are easy. HR not appreciably different on individual loops, so will not itemize.
I did well descending the first three:
23:40
22:13
20:22
The fourth loop felt quite easy at 21:05, and I could definitely descend another step if I were riding at a less crowded time (the weekday hours when the park is closed to traffic are far superior). So I guess my speed is around 18mph on the fastest loop - that is what I will try and hit on the race next weekend, as I feel that I actually should be able to ride significantly faster than that without undue stress on the body!
(I am guessing I would be fine with average HR on the bike, at that race distance, of 150, so it might be that I pace by keeping an eye on HR and not letting it stray into the mid-150s - it is also true that the course is quite crowded and I may need to ride more slowly at certain points for safety.)
25 miles bike (26, really, but 25 is "rounder"!)
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Aquathlon!
And a very lovely one it was too. An extremely nice thing about swimming with a team is that one does not just show up to race and then skulk away exhaustedly afterwards, there are actually teammates to chew things over with before and after - we brunched at the cafe at 72nd St. in Riverside Park.
(Below: me and TNYA lanemate/former student Joe, only Joe had the prudence to put on a clean shirt before being photographed!)
So, just random thoughts.
It was the most beautiful day - overcast early, but it really cleared up, low humidity etc. Water temperature at 70 degrees, which is in my opinion perfect (I did not wear a wetsuit), and good running temperature too (low to mid-70s).
The 1.5K swim was way faster than last year - last year there was either no tidal assist or very little, but this year it was speedy! Hairy bit at the start where we all had to swim slightly upstream and over and around a buoy, bit of a bottleneck as everyone was fighting the downstream current, but after that it was lovely - I forgot to start my watch at the race start, mentally noted time on clock in transition but promptly forgot it again afterwards (c. 26 minutes, maybe, as opposed to 35:15 last year - with proviso that I am not sure whether the transition time goes with the swim or the run).
I had a good run, though I was very aware that I have been doing zero running at hard effort - all my runs are more "comfortable," usually with HR in mid-150s, and it's really time for me to start doing some faster intervals again, because I should be able to run quite a lot faster than that at 5K! Watch time (again, not sure about transition) was 26:28, which I was fairly pleased with (c. 8:30 pace). Avg HR 167, max HR 176. Time to start doing speed bits, as I say - it is still my goal to race a half-marathon at 8:00 miles, which I think is attainable in the next few years, but I will have to work more on speed as well as endurance, I have gotten in the (to me very enjoyable!) habit of just putting in a lot of miles in zone 2...
(Last year's run time was 30:18, though as I say, transition may be included in that - will wait and take a look when official results go up to see what official numbers are this year. At any rate it is encouraging to think that I am at least a minute or two faster than last year - it is not a fair comparison, as it was an easier/quicker swim this year and also a cooler day if I recall, but I was prepared for the worst, so I will take this as good news!)
(Below: me and TNYA lanemate/former student Joe, only Joe had the prudence to put on a clean shirt before being photographed!)
So, just random thoughts.
It was the most beautiful day - overcast early, but it really cleared up, low humidity etc. Water temperature at 70 degrees, which is in my opinion perfect (I did not wear a wetsuit), and good running temperature too (low to mid-70s).
The 1.5K swim was way faster than last year - last year there was either no tidal assist or very little, but this year it was speedy! Hairy bit at the start where we all had to swim slightly upstream and over and around a buoy, bit of a bottleneck as everyone was fighting the downstream current, but after that it was lovely - I forgot to start my watch at the race start, mentally noted time on clock in transition but promptly forgot it again afterwards (c. 26 minutes, maybe, as opposed to 35:15 last year - with proviso that I am not sure whether the transition time goes with the swim or the run).
I had a good run, though I was very aware that I have been doing zero running at hard effort - all my runs are more "comfortable," usually with HR in mid-150s, and it's really time for me to start doing some faster intervals again, because I should be able to run quite a lot faster than that at 5K! Watch time (again, not sure about transition) was 26:28, which I was fairly pleased with (c. 8:30 pace). Avg HR 167, max HR 176. Time to start doing speed bits, as I say - it is still my goal to race a half-marathon at 8:00 miles, which I think is attainable in the next few years, but I will have to work more on speed as well as endurance, I have gotten in the (to me very enjoyable!) habit of just putting in a lot of miles in zone 2...
(Last year's run time was 30:18, though as I say, transition may be included in that - will wait and take a look when official results go up to see what official numbers are this year. At any rate it is encouraging to think that I am at least a minute or two faster than last year - it is not a fair comparison, as it was an easier/quicker swim this year and also a cooler day if I recall, but I was prepared for the worst, so I will take this as good news!)
Friday, July 17, 2009
Random thoughts for next weekend's race
Word on the street (i.e. Triathlete L.'s report on the Brooklyn triathlete rumor mill!) is that the swim will be much slower this year than last - currents have apparently been much weaker, and there is a possibility it will be much more like a "straight" swim and not so much of the magical assist last year (I think my time last year was something like 21 minutes!). Doesn't much affect me one way or the other, I like the swim and am happy to have it lengthened (when it's so short, it's difficult to get into the groove before it's suddenly over), but worth keeping in mind.
I am hoping to go quite a bit faster on the bike leg than last year (will do a set of comparisons afterwards on the numbers), but it's a crowded course and there are definitely points where speed has to be sacrificed for safety. That said, I think I am in a better position than last year to ride with my cohort, as it were - my goal for the whole thing is to finish "middle of the pack" in my age group, and my bike goal is not to lose a lot of places on the bike versus where I was at the end of the swim!
(My mental comfort levels are pretty much exponentially higher than they were last year, so that's very good. The transition from swim to bike is quite long, so there is no way of shaving a ton of time off there.)
There's no scenario where my run is much faster than last year. I haven't been running a lot, and the run at the Olympic distance is tough (hilly Central Park course, too). This, of course, is fairly weather-dependent; last year it really was terribly hot and humid by mid-morning, so if it's less humid, it will be easier (i.e. I might come in a couple minutes under an hour rather than a couple minutes over). I will stay better hydrated and fueled on the bike this year, and it should be less stressful, but I don't really see myself in this case doing faster than 10:00 miles, though ultimately I should be able to do more like 9:00 in this race/on this course (my fastest open 10K run pace was something like 8:15 on pretty much the same course - can't remember now whether it was clock- or counter-clockwise, though - but I'm definitely not in as good running shape right now as I was when I ran that time a year and a half ago). I am prepared to walk the uphills if my HR is through the roof already - I did this last year, and it did not affect my splits as much as I feared, though it is certainly bad for the morale...
My main strategy change from last year involves post-race choices. I felt pretty tolerable when I crossed the finish line last year, but I made a bad choice that involved putting "getting out of the crowds" at a premium over "most direct route back to where the hell I'm going." It's over a mile from race finish back to transition, and I accidentally last year (because I have a truly awful sense of direction, and because Central Park is landscaped in a way that takes one willy-nilly along certain routes) ended up walking all the way down to the south end of the park (i.e. at least an extra mile) before finding my way back up to Tavern on the Green and thence to Riverside Park - it was truly a nightmare. I drank a couple bottles of fluids during the first part of the walk, but by the time I made it back to Riverside Park, I was well and truly overheated and underfueled and dehydrated. They wouldn't let us in to transition right away (I think that because they have so many waves, they only let 10 racers at a time back into transition until everyone is back in off the bike course), it was quite a long wait with no fluids or food ready to hand, and by the time I got home (probably about 2 hours after race finish) I felt mentally and physically very awful, mentally more so.
(Here was my lengthy screed of a race report!)
So this year I am going to make it a priority to really and properly rehydrate, refuel and cool down in the shade before making my way back to transition and thence home - even in best-case scenario, it's half an hour from race finish to transition, after that only a 4-mile or so bike ride home through the park, but I need to be in better train before I undertake this logistically challenging feat (i.e. packing up sensibly, stowing stuff, etc.) which certainly will take at least an hour! The brain fog that comes from really having used up one's fuel does not ease this sort of procedure, and I have a feeling my time will be better spent taking care of myself first and then taking care of business.
For some reason I got a free ticket to the Accenture VIP tent - either the Ps are not actually VI, or else it is because I am registered as a member of the Columbia Triathlon Club & participating in the so-called "Ivy League Challenge" - so I am going to go there and stay there for at least 15-20 minutes, eat whatever they have on offer, drink a couple bottles of stuff and take another with me to consume on the walk back. One does not need a tent, of course, to do this, but there is no doubt that the chaos is slightly overwhelming (it's a multi-thousand-person race, with TONS of spectators), so I think the crucial thing is to have a concrete plan that can be executed even in conditions of mental fog.
All right, that's enough time wasted online - now to WORK!
I am hoping to go quite a bit faster on the bike leg than last year (will do a set of comparisons afterwards on the numbers), but it's a crowded course and there are definitely points where speed has to be sacrificed for safety. That said, I think I am in a better position than last year to ride with my cohort, as it were - my goal for the whole thing is to finish "middle of the pack" in my age group, and my bike goal is not to lose a lot of places on the bike versus where I was at the end of the swim!
(My mental comfort levels are pretty much exponentially higher than they were last year, so that's very good. The transition from swim to bike is quite long, so there is no way of shaving a ton of time off there.)
There's no scenario where my run is much faster than last year. I haven't been running a lot, and the run at the Olympic distance is tough (hilly Central Park course, too). This, of course, is fairly weather-dependent; last year it really was terribly hot and humid by mid-morning, so if it's less humid, it will be easier (i.e. I might come in a couple minutes under an hour rather than a couple minutes over). I will stay better hydrated and fueled on the bike this year, and it should be less stressful, but I don't really see myself in this case doing faster than 10:00 miles, though ultimately I should be able to do more like 9:00 in this race/on this course (my fastest open 10K run pace was something like 8:15 on pretty much the same course - can't remember now whether it was clock- or counter-clockwise, though - but I'm definitely not in as good running shape right now as I was when I ran that time a year and a half ago). I am prepared to walk the uphills if my HR is through the roof already - I did this last year, and it did not affect my splits as much as I feared, though it is certainly bad for the morale...
My main strategy change from last year involves post-race choices. I felt pretty tolerable when I crossed the finish line last year, but I made a bad choice that involved putting "getting out of the crowds" at a premium over "most direct route back to where the hell I'm going." It's over a mile from race finish back to transition, and I accidentally last year (because I have a truly awful sense of direction, and because Central Park is landscaped in a way that takes one willy-nilly along certain routes) ended up walking all the way down to the south end of the park (i.e. at least an extra mile) before finding my way back up to Tavern on the Green and thence to Riverside Park - it was truly a nightmare. I drank a couple bottles of fluids during the first part of the walk, but by the time I made it back to Riverside Park, I was well and truly overheated and underfueled and dehydrated. They wouldn't let us in to transition right away (I think that because they have so many waves, they only let 10 racers at a time back into transition until everyone is back in off the bike course), it was quite a long wait with no fluids or food ready to hand, and by the time I got home (probably about 2 hours after race finish) I felt mentally and physically very awful, mentally more so.
(Here was my lengthy screed of a race report!)
So this year I am going to make it a priority to really and properly rehydrate, refuel and cool down in the shade before making my way back to transition and thence home - even in best-case scenario, it's half an hour from race finish to transition, after that only a 4-mile or so bike ride home through the park, but I need to be in better train before I undertake this logistically challenging feat (i.e. packing up sensibly, stowing stuff, etc.) which certainly will take at least an hour! The brain fog that comes from really having used up one's fuel does not ease this sort of procedure, and I have a feeling my time will be better spent taking care of myself first and then taking care of business.
For some reason I got a free ticket to the Accenture VIP tent - either the Ps are not actually VI, or else it is because I am registered as a member of the Columbia Triathlon Club & participating in the so-called "Ivy League Challenge" - so I am going to go there and stay there for at least 15-20 minutes, eat whatever they have on offer, drink a couple bottles of stuff and take another with me to consume on the walk back. One does not need a tent, of course, to do this, but there is no doubt that the chaos is slightly overwhelming (it's a multi-thousand-person race, with TONS of spectators), so I think the crucial thing is to have a concrete plan that can be executed even in conditions of mental fog.
All right, that's enough time wasted online - now to WORK!
Friday swim
Only a short one, as M. had had a minor accident and was rather shaken up - moral support more urgent than swimming!
I split a lane with J., who is doing the Aquathlon tomorrow also (might be I bring my camera!), and we had a very good little workout.
Warmup: 400 free (flip turns!), 200 kick with board (flutter, whip by 50), 100 stroke (IM with breast subbed for free)
1st set: 6 x 50 stroke on 1:15 (2 fly, 2 back, 2 breast)
2nd set: 2 x (4 x 50 free) on 1:10: #1 fast-easy, #2 easy-fast, #3 fast, #4 easy
1400 yards total
I won't do anything else today - I would like my legs to feel a bit fresher for the run tomorrow, and I need to do a huge amount of work - I have been indulging myself in triathlon training at the expense of writing time, ARGHHHHHH!
I split a lane with J., who is doing the Aquathlon tomorrow also (might be I bring my camera!), and we had a very good little workout.
Warmup: 400 free (flip turns!), 200 kick with board (flutter, whip by 50), 100 stroke (IM with breast subbed for free)
1st set: 6 x 50 stroke on 1:15 (2 fly, 2 back, 2 breast)
2nd set: 2 x (4 x 50 free) on 1:10: #1 fast-easy, #2 easy-fast, #3 fast, #4 easy
1400 yards total
I won't do anything else today - I would like my legs to feel a bit fresher for the run tomorrow, and I need to do a huge amount of work - I have been indulging myself in triathlon training at the expense of writing time, ARGHHHHHH!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Thursday TOB
A very good one with Triathlete L. - I had to rendezvous with her in any case to get back my wetsuit, which I will not use this weekend for the Aquathlon but figure it's worth using for the triathlon next week [not so much necessary in itself as useful practice for future races] - and we did some extremely nice Central Park loops, a bit faster than I would probably be going on my own but it felt very comfortable.
4 loops = c. 25 miles
Initially I was having a day of considerable scheduling complexity, and I decided not to swim this morning in the interest of getting a bit more work done, but the trainer has canceled (or more properly I should say he wanted to change the appointment from 5:30 to 6:30, but I had another obligation with which the new time would have conflicted), which is pretty much for the best - I'm sorry that he and I haven't gotten in a regular routine yet, but it will be better for me not to overdo it before this little race on Saturday. I'll meet him on Tuesday and Thursday next week, and will do sprints Tuesday but not Thursday so as to spare my legs for Sunday's race!
4 loops = c. 25 miles
Initially I was having a day of considerable scheduling complexity, and I decided not to swim this morning in the interest of getting a bit more work done, but the trainer has canceled (or more properly I should say he wanted to change the appointment from 5:30 to 6:30, but I had another obligation with which the new time would have conflicted), which is pretty much for the best - I'm sorry that he and I haven't gotten in a regular routine yet, but it will be better for me not to overdo it before this little race on Saturday. I'll meet him on Tuesday and Thursday next week, and will do sprints Tuesday but not Thursday so as to spare my legs for Sunday's race!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The things men say to ladies on the street #569
Rather uninspired run just now - I didn't do a long one, just five miles, suffering from (a) tired legs (b) excess huffing and puffing and (c) heat - it is still much less humid than usual at this time of year, but it's still 80 degrees - I took the lazy person's west-side route, but in retrospect it might be that I should have done Central Park hills, it is much shadier over there...
Comment from one of three ogling teenage boys as I left the park: "Damn, you're fit as a MOTHERFUCKER. God bless!"
Which I did not really feel, and did not particularly want to be told, but still, I had to laugh as I shuffled up the last block home!
Comment from one of three ogling teenage boys as I left the park: "Damn, you're fit as a MOTHERFUCKER. God bless!"
Which I did not really feel, and did not particularly want to be told, but still, I had to laugh as I shuffled up the last block home!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Short Tuesday run
I thought I was meeting the trainer at 5:30, but we crossed wires - I guess I should have called to confirm! So I ran a couple miles on the indoor track instead - 3 total, but as 1 + 2 with a break in the middle while I waited to see if he would be there!
It is fine, I have been feeling worried about how few run miles I've gotten in over the last couple weeks - it is pretty much my strongest of the three triathlon disciplines, so it honestly makes sense to skimp on it for the sake of consolidating swim technique and improving basic cycling skills and fitness, but of course it pains me to feel that I am not working on it!
I will run longer tomorrow and do similar swim-bike midday workouts on Thursday and Friday, plus a Thursday-evening meet-up with the trainer (have just now telephoned to confirm). "Aquathlon" first thing Saturday morning - 1.5K swim, 5K run - so I will treat that as a speed workout as far as the run goes and pretty certainly won't run on Friday.
Been thinking quite a bit about the triathlon next weekend - I hope I am not setting myself up for disappointment, but I think that even with the last couple weeks of training DISASTER (disaster is an overstatement, I guess, but it certainly felt that way at the time!), I should be able to go a lot faster than last year. (Especially if this weather holds - though the odds are that the usual July heat and humidity will have kicked in by then.)
In any case, I am strongly hoping to take a good chunk off my time, though I will take it philosophically if it does not happen (post-mortem to follow in either scenario!).
3 miles
It is fine, I have been feeling worried about how few run miles I've gotten in over the last couple weeks - it is pretty much my strongest of the three triathlon disciplines, so it honestly makes sense to skimp on it for the sake of consolidating swim technique and improving basic cycling skills and fitness, but of course it pains me to feel that I am not working on it!
I will run longer tomorrow and do similar swim-bike midday workouts on Thursday and Friday, plus a Thursday-evening meet-up with the trainer (have just now telephoned to confirm). "Aquathlon" first thing Saturday morning - 1.5K swim, 5K run - so I will treat that as a speed workout as far as the run goes and pretty certainly won't run on Friday.
Been thinking quite a bit about the triathlon next weekend - I hope I am not setting myself up for disappointment, but I think that even with the last couple weeks of training DISASTER (disaster is an overstatement, I guess, but it certainly felt that way at the time!), I should be able to go a lot faster than last year. (Especially if this weather holds - though the odds are that the usual July heat and humidity will have kicked in by then.)
In any case, I am strongly hoping to take a good chunk off my time, though I will take it philosophically if it does not happen (post-mortem to follow in either scenario!).
3 miles
Tuesday swim/TOB
OK, that was good.
Many musings, about which more anon, but first the workout:
Warmup: 3 x (200 free + 50 stroke as drill/swim - back, breast, fly)
4 x 50 free on 1:15 as (1) fast-easy (2) easy-fast (3) fast (4) easy
200 IM drill/swim by 25
4 x 50 free descending on 1:15
2 x 100 IM on 2:30
4 x 50 (repeat first set)
1750 yards total
Then HILL REPEATS. 1 full loop to warm up (6 miles), then 5 x Harlem Hill loop (c. 1.4 miles), plus 1 mile to and from = 15 miles
(Hill is not drastic but good for this sort of purpose - the whole loop is rolling hills, and this site says Harlem Hill is 0.32 miles, with a rise of 84' and an average grade of 4.4%. I know I should be going over the bridge and riding in the Palisades, but I haven't had the vim - I might try and get out there sometime this weekend, probably on Saturday afternoon if I can manage it.)
Many musings, about which more anon, but first the workout:
Warmup: 3 x (200 free + 50 stroke as drill/swim - back, breast, fly)
4 x 50 free on 1:15 as (1) fast-easy (2) easy-fast (3) fast (4) easy
200 IM drill/swim by 25
4 x 50 free descending on 1:15
2 x 100 IM on 2:30
4 x 50 (repeat first set)
1750 yards total
Then HILL REPEATS. 1 full loop to warm up (6 miles), then 5 x Harlem Hill loop (c. 1.4 miles), plus 1 mile to and from = 15 miles
(Hill is not drastic but good for this sort of purpose - the whole loop is rolling hills, and this site says Harlem Hill is 0.32 miles, with a rise of 84' and an average grade of 4.4%. I know I should be going over the bridge and riding in the Palisades, but I haven't had the vim - I might try and get out there sometime this weekend, probably on Saturday afternoon if I can manage it.)
Monday, July 13, 2009
Monday swim/TOB
Only a short swim - first I could not drag myself out of bed, then there was need for Ritual Chat!
200 free, 200 kick with board (flutter, whip, dolphin, flutter by 50)
2 x (4 x 50 free descending), first set on 1:15 and second set on 1:10 (all with flip turns)
(Mental challenge to keep track of the times other than moment by moment, so I cannot tell you what I did, but I definitely can descend pretty steadily even on the faster interval, from something like :58 to :51-52? For some reason in practice we usually do the kind of descending set where the interval shortens also - those are good too, but these are easier to concentrate on...)
2 x 50 "splash-back" drill (I am thinking that there is more power I could be getting in the back part of the stroke, only I am not sure this is the best drill for me - I get very straight-armed while doing it, I must work on this!)
50 free (build-fast by 25)
2 x 100 free (first 50 drill, second 50 build-fast); I did catch-up, zipper
And then I was taken aback to see that time was up!
1150 yards total
(Instead of going to the 8:30-9:30 swim Tues-Thurs. this week, I'm cleared to go to the Tues-Thurs-Fri 11-12 slot - I didn't sign up for it originally because I am well capable of defaulting to an incredibly late getting-up time, and didn't want to encourage it, but for this week it will be more realistic if I want to get some work done in the morning before I swim to switch to the later slot.)
Then I went and did 4 Central Park loops - it is a beautiful day for a bike ride, humidity in these parts has been uncharacteristically low for July and it was truly lovely.
Lungs still quite congested, so I've bitten the bullet and made a doctor's appointment for Thursday, just to be on the safe side - I am 90% sure she will tell me it's viral and there's nothing she can give me, but still...
200 free, 200 kick with board (flutter, whip, dolphin, flutter by 50)
2 x (4 x 50 free descending), first set on 1:15 and second set on 1:10 (all with flip turns)
(Mental challenge to keep track of the times other than moment by moment, so I cannot tell you what I did, but I definitely can descend pretty steadily even on the faster interval, from something like :58 to :51-52? For some reason in practice we usually do the kind of descending set where the interval shortens also - those are good too, but these are easier to concentrate on...)
2 x 50 "splash-back" drill (I am thinking that there is more power I could be getting in the back part of the stroke, only I am not sure this is the best drill for me - I get very straight-armed while doing it, I must work on this!)
50 free (build-fast by 25)
2 x 100 free (first 50 drill, second 50 build-fast); I did catch-up, zipper
And then I was taken aback to see that time was up!
1150 yards total
(Instead of going to the 8:30-9:30 swim Tues-Thurs. this week, I'm cleared to go to the Tues-Thurs-Fri 11-12 slot - I didn't sign up for it originally because I am well capable of defaulting to an incredibly late getting-up time, and didn't want to encourage it, but for this week it will be more realistic if I want to get some work done in the morning before I swim to switch to the later slot.)
Then I went and did 4 Central Park loops - it is a beautiful day for a bike ride, humidity in these parts has been uncharacteristically low for July and it was truly lovely.
Lungs still quite congested, so I've bitten the bullet and made a doctor's appointment for Thursday, just to be on the safe side - I am 90% sure she will tell me it's viral and there's nothing she can give me, but still...
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Saturday run
Hmmm, it will surprise nobody who knows me to learn that I did not get out of bed quite expeditiously enough to have the 6-mile run that I had envisioned, but I did have time to do four, and it was what we call round here a very nice little run - beautiful morning for it, and singularly good for the mental health to have any kind of run at all. Probably just as well that I did not go longer, as lungs are still very tender.
Now I must rush to get myself out of here in time for that train! Have a good weekend, everybody...
Now I must rush to get myself out of here in time for that train! Have a good weekend, everybody...
Friday, July 10, 2009
Friday swim/TOB
Ugh, still sick, it is making me crazy! Just had some easy exercise - a warmup swim and a ride along the greenway path, which is flatter than Central Park though with some wind that makes for a pleasant harder stretch downtown.
It was a Jim Bolster warmup, left over from the early morning triathlete swim group!
200 free, 50 double-arm back, 200 free, 50 kick-drill fly, 200 free, 50 drill-swim back, 200 free, 50 breast
I did flip turns on all the free, and though I feel very clumsy and as though technique could be much improved, I think if I keep on doing 'em I will get the hang of 'em soon enough - certainly seems more doable than the last time I made a serious stab at it last summer...
(I also note that without my having consciously worked on it, something has happened to make for a marked improvement in the quality of floppy-elbowness that is targeted by finger-drag drill for freestyle. I have always had very rigid stiff arms in the recovery part of the freestyle stroke, though I rationally understand why easy floppiness is better; for some reason today I could really feel it being properly floppy, in a good way. Will do some more drill next week to try and retain and improve that feel.)
1000 yards swim
15 miles bike
My train to Philadelphia tomorrow morning (sister-in-law's baby shower, at the lovely Spring Mill Cafe in Conshohocken) leaves at 9:09 from Penn Station, which means leaving here by ten past eight; if I want to run first, I will need to be out the door by 6:30. I have as usual squandered my jet lag, but I may have held onto enough of it that this would be doable. I'll be home by 1:30 or so on Sunday afternoon, so there will be time for a bike ride and/or a run depending on how I'm feeling - I'm thinking that if I can stand it, I should do the serious bike ride up over the bridge and into the Palisades...
It was a Jim Bolster warmup, left over from the early morning triathlete swim group!
200 free, 50 double-arm back, 200 free, 50 kick-drill fly, 200 free, 50 drill-swim back, 200 free, 50 breast
I did flip turns on all the free, and though I feel very clumsy and as though technique could be much improved, I think if I keep on doing 'em I will get the hang of 'em soon enough - certainly seems more doable than the last time I made a serious stab at it last summer...
(I also note that without my having consciously worked on it, something has happened to make for a marked improvement in the quality of floppy-elbowness that is targeted by finger-drag drill for freestyle. I have always had very rigid stiff arms in the recovery part of the freestyle stroke, though I rationally understand why easy floppiness is better; for some reason today I could really feel it being properly floppy, in a good way. Will do some more drill next week to try and retain and improve that feel.)
1000 yards swim
15 miles bike
My train to Philadelphia tomorrow morning (sister-in-law's baby shower, at the lovely Spring Mill Cafe in Conshohocken) leaves at 9:09 from Penn Station, which means leaving here by ten past eight; if I want to run first, I will need to be out the door by 6:30. I have as usual squandered my jet lag, but I may have held onto enough of it that this would be doable. I'll be home by 1:30 or so on Sunday afternoon, so there will be time for a bike ride and/or a run depending on how I'm feeling - I'm thinking that if I can stand it, I should do the serious bike ride up over the bridge and into the Palisades...
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Postscript
Ugh, once the endorphins wore off I realized that I felt quite ill again - no bike ride - I need to get some work done - I canceled the trainer appointment, but will go to the gym later and do 30 mins. stationary bike and a couple miles run off the bike, that way I can stop at any time if I really am feeling awful...
Thursday swim
Still only about 85%, I would say, but much better than I have felt for the last three days or so, so I will take what I can get.
Just had a short easy swim, will have a bike ride midday since that is what I really need to do most, will play it by ear as far as how I feel. Supposed to meet the trainer later - he canceled Tuesday's, since he was clearly having the same ailment that I was, it was a fortunate coincidence! - but perhaps I should call and cancel and we'll just start on Tuesday next week instead.
10 x 100 as 75 free, 25 stroke: odds open turns + breast, evens flip turns + back
4 x 100 drill-swim by 25: catch-up, finger-drag, fists, zipper
1400 yards total
Just had a short easy swim, will have a bike ride midday since that is what I really need to do most, will play it by ear as far as how I feel. Supposed to meet the trainer later - he canceled Tuesday's, since he was clearly having the same ailment that I was, it was a fortunate coincidence! - but perhaps I should call and cancel and we'll just start on Tuesday next week instead.
10 x 100 as 75 free, 25 stroke: odds open turns + breast, evens flip turns + back
4 x 100 drill-swim by 25: catch-up, finger-drag, fists, zipper
1400 yards total
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Inspiring link
Ugh, I have been much too sick to exercise, very glum and with much worrying about the work and training I am missing! LUNG AILMENT!!!!
However I have just read an inspiring piece about a runner with infinitely more serious medical problems than mine, which cheered me up enough to follow a link from Fe-lady's blog to the Water World Swim website.
I have been having a huge yen to do that Alcatraz swim, but had not realized that one can do it fairly regularly (as opposed to only under organized race conditions) - I have an invitation to read at a series out there - now I just need to coordinate dates (it even looks like they both hew to the second-Saturday-of-the-month rule!) and then see if I can find some university that would like me to give a talk and will actually pay my way out! Hmmmm, that's one to ponder - but it might be worth going on my own dime just for the swim and the reading...
However I have just read an inspiring piece about a runner with infinitely more serious medical problems than mine, which cheered me up enough to follow a link from Fe-lady's blog to the Water World Swim website.
I have been having a huge yen to do that Alcatraz swim, but had not realized that one can do it fairly regularly (as opposed to only under organized race conditions) - I have an invitation to read at a series out there - now I just need to coordinate dates (it even looks like they both hew to the second-Saturday-of-the-month rule!) and then see if I can find some university that would like me to give a talk and will actually pay my way out! Hmmmm, that's one to ponder - but it might be worth going on my own dime just for the swim and the reading...
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Grumpy Tuesday update
Reluctantly acknowledged that I am too sick to exercise today. Gloomily predicting that I will still feel fairly sick tomorrow...
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