31 December 2011

Ballard run

Woke up early again today, why does this happen? I was totally relaxed when I went to bed and then after about five minutes my eyes are wide open. Double plus ungood.

The ride plan did not come to fruition so instead I went for a run with Justin A. It has been ages since I 1) ran on the road or 2) went for a run on the road with Justin. It was once again impressed upon me how harsh the pavement is compared to the dirt, how much I have slowed down since my last running race and how much faster Justin is. Still, mostly good times and it was great to catch up.

This route was pretty much pancake flat with the one hill. For me it was a slap in the face and half way up I had to walk. Not so bad I guess, it was a very steep trail from Golden Gardens up to the top of the hill and finished with some stairs that rival those at Howe Street.

To top off my humbling I had to stop and walk once between the top of the hill and the car. Rats.

I'm convinced this is a mental thing… my legs were tired but not dead. It seems I just have a hard time pushing myself when the going gets tough? I'm not going to overthink this but I have the same issue when riding a bike on the trainer at times. Laser-like focus has never been one of my strong suites yet I would describe myself as someone that does not quit when things get hard, rather I just take short breaks to rally my resources. :) It's all about the spin.

When I was training for running races, 7:30 pace was pretty easy and 7:00 was doable for distance. Today 7:30 was tough after about five miles.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 5:30 AM - Smoothie 2.0
8:00 AM - almonds
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food small bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 1 scoop Cytomax
Injuries Right foot ached a little, Justin said I was limping a bit…?! Lame. Pun intended.
Therapy  
Time of Day 9:30 AM
Workout Type endurance
Weather upper 30s, dry, partly sunny, calm
Course  
Results  
Time 1:54:55
Distance 14.6
Pace 7:37 min/mile
Equipment Brooks Cascadia
Clothing Under Armour boxer briefs, Under Armour tights, Craft short sleeve undershirt, SmartWool long sleeve shirt, wind vest, Patagonia gloves, SmartWool cap

Technorati Tags: ,

30 December 2011

taking the zero

Woke up (really) early for the first time in at least a week. :( Some day I will figure out how to get enough sleep. Without medication.

Having not ridden much lately I was all geared up for another super duper indoor training session with the team! We all arrived early, got suited up, but the equipment did not work.

I guess there was some construction going on and so all the trainers and the laptop and the serial port hub were completely disconnected. No amount of plugging out/in, rebooting, power cycling helped and in the end the four people that stayed were riding using someone else's numbers. After 40 minutes of dicking with equipment I opted to go home instead of riding at a random resistance for 20 minutes.

Crap.

Funny (read: interesting) how this mattered a LOT to me today.

I mean it's just one day of training that I missed but I really wanted to do it.

29 December 2011

UTMB (dare to dream)

Funny how the mind works.

One minute I am surfing YouTube looking at random shit and the next I am freaking riveted by this film here:

Is that beautiful/spectacular/incredibly hard/makes-you-feel-like-you-could-reach-out-and-touch-heaven/all of the above? Oh. My. Fucking. God.

Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (or UTMB for short) is pretty much the unofficial world championship or trail running. Like any prestigious race you can't just sign up, buy a plane ticket and die of exhaustion and/or hypothermia, you need to qualify. Probably a good thing.

This is a MASSIVE event. Just like professional cycling, they have helicopters following the leaders around the mountains:

The more I watch the more I realize there are a lot of athletes in this event that are not elite. Which is really cool. And I'm seeing lots of things you just never see in the ultra events in the states. Like trekking poles. And backpacks. Makes sense though, here you in the mountains and these peaks are the real thing.

The logistics? Staggering. Taking proper care of yourself?

And what if the weather sucks? Tough luck.

  • 166 km long
  • 9500 m of elevation gain
  • start time - 18:30
  • fastest time - around 21:30
  • cutoff - 46:00

For mortals this means you are most likely running through two nights. Ouch.

Check out the course. I will continue to dream. Who knows, I was looking for something to do on the year of my 50th birthday. :)

Joe Friel - The Fat-Burning Myth

http://www.joefrielsblog.com/2011/12/the-fat-burning-myth.html

This is what I'm talking about. Why do people always want to believe that lower intensity will burn more calories?

Nothing against low intensity mind you; just keep it real.

weights

Boy, it was tough to get to the gym today but once I was there the workout was great. My back was a bit sore/weak but otherwise my legs felt strong.

In my head I'd like to increase the weight for squats but why? Just because it seems light compared to what other people do and what I used to do… lame standard I know. My back made me nervous today plus I am able to go really low with this weight and if I increased it I would probably have to stop at 90 degrees.

I am still giving myself very little rest between sets, just enough time to walk 10 steps to the drinking fountain and back. I take more rest between exercises. I think this is the right way to go about lifting for cycling.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 5:30 AM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course
squats 3 x 20 - 105 lb.
lunges 3 x 20 each leg - 75 lb.
incline press 3 x 20 - 230 lb.
leg extensions 3 x 20 - 115 lb.
leg curls 3 x 20 - 120 lb.
push-ups 23
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment  
Clothing  

28 December 2011

Cycle U CompuTrainer

Yes! I'm back on the bike and it feels great. After spending the the holidays (one day of nothing + four days of running) in Las Vegas I was really missing my bike. Especially since I ran two routes that would have been absolutely primo on two wheels. Sigh. You just can't do it all.

This morning was another session at Cycle University and it was great. My legs felt pretty rested and I hope to turn the corner soon and am optimistic I can increase the wattage next week or soon thereafter.

We had another full house and our learning curve continues. Today we decided that you really need to add 20 lb. for the bike to your body weight to increase the realism on the CompuTrainer. As I recall, that's what the coaches did for all the indoor time trials in the past so the preponderance of evidence is growing.

We did another modified 2 x 20. It was the hilly route again which I think is kinda good as it takes you up to and sometimes just slightly over your threshold power and then lets you 'recover' so you can do it again. And the rest between intervals is only a few minutes. Good stuff.

I started the first interval with my threshold set at 310 watts and that felt fine so I started the second one at 320. Also, I'd be lying if I said it did not matter, both Greg K and Ryan D started at 320 and in the past I have been able to do pretty much the same amount of work as them.

About 2/3 of the way through the second interval I upped my threshold power to 330 watts and managed to maintain that to the end. Barely. At one point I stood up to give myself a change of scenery and I think Greg could tell I was losing focus so he urged me on. That helped. Thanks Greg.

My short term goal is to start this workout at 320 watts WITH the adjusted weight and not have to back off. That will feel good.

Name: CRIMINALE, MARTIN
Gender: Male
Athlete Type: Recreationa
Date of Birth: 0/0/1900
Weigh-in: 180
Track Position: 5
Finish Time: 50:00.00 Seconds
Anaerobic Threshold: 330
Average Speed: 20.17 MPH
Peak Speed: 23.16 MPH
Average Power: 265.57 Watts
Peak Power: 369.00 Watts
Average Pulse Power: 0
Average Watts/Kg: 3
Rolling Resistance after 5 Minute Warmup: 2.25 Pounds
Average HR: 0 BPM
Peak HR: 0 BPM
Average RPM: 0.0
Peak RPM: 0.0
Average PP: 0.0
Peak PP: 0.0
Average WPKG: 3.3
Peak WPKG: 4.5
Average SS: 0.0
Calories: 820.8

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 5:00 AM - PowerBar, water
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food half a large bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 2 scoops HEED
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 6:00 AM
Workout Type intervals
Weather  
Course hilly 2 x 20
Results  
Time 50 min
Distance 17 miles?
Pace  
Equipment Single Speed Bike
Clothing  

27 December 2011

Henderson wash run

I was not feeling it today! I guess the company of the past three days spoiled me and when I had to run by myself something was lacking.

Plus, I tried to go a little faster and that plan went over like a lead balloon.

Oh well. Shelley did let me use her Shuffle which was great. Especially since really good songs kept coming on at just the right time. And the sun was out. And it was not windy, And the sky was brilliant blue. I guess it was not so bad after all.

You can see me pause half way into the run… that's when I realized I was not going long or fast. :)

I was running along a paved bicycle and pedestrian trail on the way out and down in the wash (read: dirt trail) on the way back. It's not much but how cool that a trail is so close? That was rhetorical, it's very cool.

Today was my first time wearing a heart rate monitor in YEARS. Stats are fun but I'm still not a fan of the strap.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food half a small bottle w/1 scoop Cytomax
Injuries My right foot felt fine today while running but it still aches when doing nothing. Poop.
Therapy  
Time of Day 11:30 AM
Workout Type threshold
Weather mid 40s, dry, bright sun, calm
Course  
Results  
Time 38:40
Distance 5.2 miles
Pace  
Equipment Brooks Cascadia
Clothing shorts, Patagonia short sleeve shirt

25 December 2011

Lake Mead Tunnel Trail run

After two days of technical singletrack we switched it up and hit the flat doubletrack. Not that I'd want to do this very often but it was a nice change and for sure I like being on new trails.

On the agenda today was the Lake Mead Tunnel Trail; so called because it's an old railway grade and you pass through six short tunnels on the way from the parking lot to Lake Mead. And truth be told it's not totally flat. After the last tunnel you go down a gentle grade, past a power station, across a parking lot and then the path turns to concrete and switchbacks down a steep hill to the top level of a parking garage from which you have a super view of Hoover Dam.

Turns out there is even a race that runs along this trail…

One thing that caught my eye was the River Mountain Loop Trail that looked like it would be a kick to ride. According to the big sign/map at the parking lot it's a 31 mile loop (all paved) that runs around River Mountain. Part of it is along Lake Mead, part of it is in the wasteland and part of it is literally along the bottom of a huge, concrete drainage ditch. I think the novelty would be huge. Something to keep in mind for future visits.

As we ran along there were a few little detours on the side of the trail that I would take while Mike R ran along the trail. These were really fun but I had to gas it to catch up with Mike each time. Also kind of fun. :)

We stuck together to the half way point and then as we started back I ran ahead a bit to the top of the hill and looped back to pick Mike up. Then on the way back to the car I took the two little detours again off of the main trail.

With about 500 m to go Mike surged and finished the run with an awesome kick. Way to go!

I felt really good today except during the first half I was still burping up my breakfast. Too much hot sauce. :(

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 7:00 AM - 2 bananas, peanut butter, apple, water, tea
10:00 AM - 3 eggs, yams, veggies, orange juice
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food half a small bottle w/1 scoop Cytomax
Injuries My right foot still aches but no sharp pains.
Therapy  
Time of Day 1:30 PM
Workout Type endurance
Weather low 50s, dry, sun, light wind
Course  
Results  
Time 1:08:40
Distance 8 miles
Pace  
Equipment Brooks Cascadia
Clothing shorts, Patagonia short sleeve shirt

24 December 2011

Red Rock Canyon trail run

Fantastic trails? Check.
Beautiful day? Check
Brilliant sunshine? Check.
Great company? check.
Amazing scenery? Check.
Warm enough to take my shirt off after two miles and actually get some much needed vitamin D? CHECK.

Once again I am experiencing the beauty of the high desert. I bet if I lived here it would SUCK but coming from Seattle this is a most righteous change of scenery. I love it. LOVE IT.

Mike R my brother in law (Shelley's sister's husband) is a runner and he's been showing me around. Thank GOD he has taken up trail running recently as there are some amazing routes out here.

We parked the car and right away I knew I was not going to need as much clothing as I had on yesterday so I just started in a short sleeve shirt. You have no idea how nice this felt… :)

The first mile is more or les downhill and I was plenty comfy so once we started to climb I started to get warm. I don't like to think of myself as that shirt-off guy but it was genuinely warm out so after debating with myself for a bit I said screw it and got naked. Of course as son as I did that we started to pass loads of people who had on jackets and sweatshirts, you name it. At this point I didn't care. I had a huge perma-grin and was loving life.

half way into the run I opted for a short detour while Mike stuck to the loop. Our pace had been pretty relaxed to this point so of course I go blasting up the hill like an idiot and after just a minute or two had to slow down. Ha! Serves me right.

On the way back down and then on the rest of the loop I had a fantastic time. By this point there were loads of hikers out and I kinda scared one women. :( I was rounding a corner and they did not see me in advance and she shrieked as I burst into view. Oops. As I ran past I was like, "Sorry…"

The last bit of this loop climbs a fair bit and I had to stop once to walk for a few seconds. I used the excuse of having to unscrew my water bottle with full hands but I was sucking wind for sure.

The last mile is basically all downhill with just a couple of bumps and it was a blast. I was blowing past hikers and running up the burms in corners. One word: fun. Wen I got back to the car I was pretty bubbly to say the least. I could come back here no problem.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 7:00 AM - 2 bananas w/peanut butter, beef jerky, water, orange juice
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food small bottle w/1 scoop Cytomax
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 10:30 AM
Workout Type  
Weather mid 50s, sun, calm, dry
Course  
Results  
Time 1:21
Distance 7.6 miles
Pace  
Equipment Brooks Cascadia
Clothing shorts, Patagonia short sleeve shirt
Technorati Tags: ,

23 December 2011

Bootleg Canyon trail run

When I think of Las Vegas I do NOT think of great running trails but oh how wrong I am.

Shelley and I are visiting family in Henderson, NV and it turns out there is an amazing little mountain bike park in Bootleg Canyon just outside of Boulder City which is only 11 miles away. Done.

Mike (my brother in law) and I pulled up to the 'pagoda' that seems to be a trailhead of sorts and has water (obviously essential in the summer) and toilets. Luckily there was a trail map here too so I was able to get one last look at our route.

Santa came early this year and I got a new toy! It's really cool to see exactly how far you have gone, what your pace is, we're talking stats baby!

The weather was amazing. The sky was BLUE. As we climbed we were running into the wind and it was a little chilly in the beginning but I didn't care. I was on a great, new trail, I felt super and day (like the terrain) was a 180 degree change-up from Seattle. Variety is good.

We cruised along at a leisurely pace and I found myself running up on the berms just like I would if I was on a bike. :) In fact, there was a hardly a moment that I was not thinking how much freaking fun this trail would be on two wheels.

As the day warmed up and we got out of the wind I was able take off clothes and suddenly I was running in just shorts and a short sleeve shirt! I was liking this. A lot.

More please.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 10:00 AM - small helping of cheesy/egg bake w/salsa, water
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food small bottle w/1 scoop Cytomax
Injuries My right foot aches a bit just doing nothing but it was fine during the run today. I made an effort not to go fast.
Therapy  
Time of Day 11:00 AM
Workout Type active recovery
Weather mid 40s to low 50s, sun, dry, some wind
Course Bootleg Canyon
Results  
Time 1:15:34
Distance 6.4 miles
Pace  
Equipment Brooks Cascadia
Clothing shorts, Patagonia short sleeve shirt, Patagonia long sleeve shirt, SmartWool hat, Polypropylene gloves

Technorati Tags: ,,

22 December 2011

weights

I added more weight today… I think I'm pretty close to the max I want to lift now. Maybe I'm already there?

It was a good workout, very little rest between sets which is exactly what I want.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries I could steel feel my right foot but it is getting better. Slowly. Too slowly.
Therapy  
Time of Day 5:30 AM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course
squats 3 x 20 - 115 lb.
lunges 3 x 20 each leg - 75 lb.
incline press 3 x 20 - 230 lb.
leg extensions 3 x 20 - 115 lb.
leg curls 3 x 20 - 105 lb.
push-ups 23
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment  
Clothing  

21 December 2011

Cycle U CompuTrainer

Slept okay. Woke up early but this allowed me to eat something prior working out.

The usual gang was all here for our CompuTrainer workout at Cycle University, and what a good crowd it was.

Dawn Patrol at Cycle University.

I decided to lower the bar just a bit today so I could achieve some success! In the past I have been dialing in a threshold power that is too high for me to maintain all the way to the end of the workout. Today I was so close to 100% success.

We did a modified 2 x 20 program (modified in that it had some short hills sprinkled through the 20 minute intervals) and about three quarters of the way into the second interval I had to stop pedaling for three seconds. Damn. It is totally in my head which almost makes it even more frustrating. I am absolutely strong/fit enough, I just can't focus and maintain the effort.

Well, there's always next year. Kidding.

I started the first interval at a threshold setting of 310 watts and it felt okay. During our break Greg K urged everyone to up the watts a bit so I dialed in 315 and then with three seconds to go before the start of the second interval dialed it up to 320.

On the up side, after I caved for those three seconds I turned up my threshold power to 330 watts with three minutes to go and then 340 watts with one minute to go.

Whew… for the cool down I dropped the threshold power back down to 320. Not that it matters much.

Name: CRIMINALE, MARTIN
Gender: Male
Athlete Type: Recreationa
Date of Birth: 0/0/1900
Weigh-in: 180
Track Position: 5
Finish Time: 50:00.00 Seconds
Anaerobic Threshold: 320
Average Speed: 19.39 MPH
Peak Speed: 25.04 MPH
Average Power: 262.15 Watts
Peak Power: 381.00 Watts
Average Pulse Power: 0
Average Watts/Kg: 3
Rolling Resistance after 5 Minute Warmup: 2.22 Pounds
Average HR: 0 BPM
Peak HR: 0 BPM
Average RPM: 0.0
Peak RPM: 0.0
Average PP: 0.0
Peak PP: 0.0
Average WPKG: 3.2
Peak WPKG: 4.7
Average SS: 0.0
Calories: 857.5

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 4:30 AM - apple sauce, banana, walnuts
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 6:00 AM
Workout Type intervals
Weather  
Course 2 x 20 with hills
Results  
Time 50 min
Distance 16.2 miles
Pace  
Equipment Single Speed Bike
Clothing  

20 December 2011

stairs | weights

Yes. Today was a good day on the stairs.

I wasn't especially fast but the first runner felt surprisingly good as did the last one.

Jim K also had a super day and kept pushing me each time up and did not rest nearly as much as usual. Go, go, go!

And in the gym? Why thanks for asking… Martin did indeed have a banner workout there too.

So as not to break tradition I showed up at the Howe Street stairs at 5:40 and started walking. Warming up before running is IMPORTANT. I got up to speed pretty quick (although I did feel rather tired on that first flight) and squeezed in five flights before Jim showed up. Then we did 9.5 flights together.

The reason it was 9.5 is our last runner was 'up two down one' meaning we ran up two sections of stairs, ran down one, and then went back up for two more. Repeat until you get to the top. It's actually a really nice way to break up the monotony of this workout. And it let us finish with a walker. :)

I took lunch a little late but still managed to hit the IMA. For a date with iron. Yeah baby.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 5:30 AM - banana
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries My right foot hurts! :( I sure hope I don't have to give up running this early.
Therapy  
Time of Day stirs - 5:40 AM
gym - 12:45 PM
Workout Type intervals, power
Weather 40, dry, cloudy, calm
Course stairs - Howe Street
squats 3 x 20 - 95 lb.
lunges 3 x 20 each leg - 65 lb.
incline press 3 x 20 - 180 lb.
leg extensions 3 x 20 - 40 lb. each leg
leg curls 3 x 20 - 40 lb. each leg
push-ups 22
Results  
Time 1:08:13
Distance 1.7 miles (14.5 flights)
Pace  
Equipment Brooks Cascadia
Clothing shorts, Craft long sleeve undershirt, long sleeve active T, cap
Technorati Tags:

19 December 2011

core

Lackluster morning, lackluster motivation but I made it to the gym and had a reasonable core workout so surprise, surprise.

A second workout was not in the cards today.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 5:30 AM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
leg scissors 100
twisters 50 each side - 10 lb.
push-ups 16
hip abductors 3 x 40 - 100 lb.
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment  
Clothing  

18 December 2011

Squak Mt trail run | Gold Creek Pond snowshoe

I was looking forward to this day but after pummeling my legs so much yesterday I was a little weary or how I would feel. Luckily I had this to look forward to later.

CIMG8164

The Seattle Running Club group that showed up in the Squak Mountain State Park parking lot was larger than last week. This time it was resolved that we would stick together and so there was lots of doubling back down (and in some cases back up!) the trail until we met the last person and then it was off to the next intersection where this pattern would repeat itself.

It was okay, I kept alternating between feeling okay and feeling like shit so there were a couple of sections where I pushed the pace a bit but mostly I was just falling in line and trying to hang with the guy in front of me.

The trails were amazing once again! This is a really nice place to run and in spite of getting sprinkled on all morning I never got cold. I did get a little hungry which was probably just a result of being out here so long and not having enough to eat. But no bonk or anything.

With maybe half a mile to go of gently descending trail these two guys took off and I went in pursuit. We kept speeding up and up until we were moving about as fast as I could go. The trail was not always down, there were a few rollers and we bounded up and over them. VERY fun.

Once again my GPS (which was in the back pocket of my shorts) came up way short. Everyone else had at least 10 and the consensus was we ran at least 12. Especially with all the backtracking some of us did.

Then it was time to snowshoe!

As Shelley and I drove up to the pass the weather kept deteriorating and neither of us wanted to hike around in the rain but at the exact moment that we crossed the pass it started to get better and by the time we pulled into the parking area it had stopped altogether and there were even bits of blue sky showing through the clouds. The pass makes ALL the difference.

This is a fun place to walk around! Looks like it would be nice in the summer too. We saw tons of picnic tables, two cabins and the water in the pond was extremely clear.

We also saw bags of dog shit hung from branches by the side of the road we were walking up…?! Did people put it there thinking they would come back and get it on the way out? Gross.

The funniest thing we saw was this pair of snowmen that had shrunken after a couple of weeks of sublimation (we need more snow!).

CIMG8166

The trail was really fun. I would go back.

Here are all the pictures.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 5:00 AM - 2 bananas, almond butter, water
6:30 AM - 4 Perpetuem Solids
7:15 AM - gel
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food run - small bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 2 scoops HEED, gel
snowshoe - water, almonds
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day run - 7:30 AM
snowshoe - 2:20 PM
Workout Type endurance
Weather run - mid 40s, drizzle, cloudy
snowshoe - upper 30s, dry, mostly cloudy with some sun
Course  
Results  
Time run - 2:28:29
snowshoe - 1:10
Distance run - 12+ miles
snowshoe - 2.4 miles
Pace  
Equipment run - Brooks Cascadia
Clothing run - shorts, Craft short sleeve undershirt, Patagonia long sleeve Merino 2 shirt, Polypropylene gloves, thin SmartWool hat

17 December 2011

FareStart team ride

At some point riding a single speed bicycle with geared bikes gets stupid. I think I reached that point today.

Things were going okay until we hit Tiger Mt and then it was weight lifting pure and simple. We're talking a full body workout and I was paper-boying all over the damn road. Once over the top the majority vote was to turn around and do it again. You could hear my legs breaking from miles away.

Too much wine last night! And too much food! I feel like a truck hit me this AM. Funny how sometimes eating a lot helps buffer the alcohol and sometimes it just makes you feel fat and bloated. And by 'funny' I of course mean 'interesting from an objective perspective' because I was not laughing. Needless to say, breakfast was not big and included some Ibuprofen.

I rolled down to Leschi and surprise, surprise… there were only a handful of people there. Oh well, we rode anyway. :) It was a great group, we had RC R, Tim F, Gabe T, Jessie N and Dave H of all people! It was nice to connect with him again for sure.

In Renton RC peeled off to loop the lake as he had time constraints.

At the end of Jones Rd Dave lamented the fact that we were not going to climb the big hill. Turns out what he really wanted was to see me TRY to climb that hill on my single speed. Nice.

As we rolled into Tiger Mt I was trying to visualize the pitch and decide if I was being foolish or reasonable. At the very first steeper section Tim scooted up the road soon to be followed by Jessie and foolish was looking like the obvious answer. As we got the first steep corner (I had already been out of the saddle for a bit) I had to literally snake across the road some to keep the bike going. Not only was I getting a killer leg workout I was torching my back and arms as I pulled with all my might on the bars. I had to go pretty much as hard as I could or risk falling over!

To my surprise, going this hard meant I caught Tim! But I gotta say, if that hill had been any longer I would have blown a mile high and the carnage would not have been pretty.

We regrouped at the top and descended where Dave peeled off to finish up on his own. I asked those that were left if they wanted to head back over Tiger or take a right on Issaquah-Hobart and in a show of hands that broke my spirit to my delight everyone voted for up and over one more time. Let's just say I made it to the top using a lot of body English.

The day was turning out to be fantastic!

ASIDE - I had checked the weather forecast which said upper 40s and sun so in my haste I opted for knee warmers. Too bad I did not notice that it was still in the low 30s at home AND PRETTY MUCH THE ENTIRE FIRST HALF OF THE RIDE. Yep, Martin froze for a few hours. Things did not change much until we topped out on Tiger where the temperature was a good 10 degrees warmer than in the valley.

We elected to return home via May Valley for the scenic value and damn we saw a lot of riders heading out… There was a big group from Garage Racing, no less than three groups from Bikesale.com, a group from Audi and two groups of recreational riders. Wow.

Here it was eventually down to just three of us (Tim, Jessie and myself) and so we picked up the pace just a little and rotated. What a blast to be moving along some and not be hating life. Sometimes it's the little things.

As we reached Mercer Island Jessie said he had to head home (plus he had started riding 10 miles further away from where we all initially met) and I was just about to go with him when Tim stated emphatically that this was a great day and he was going to enjoy some more of it by looping the island. I thought about it for three seconds and joined him. It was a good call.

But it also wore me out! On that last climb back to I-90 I finally cracked and Tim rode away from me. :( He did this again crossing the floating bridge and that is when I knew I was well and truly done in.

Still, good times. And a great group to be out with. I did not bonk but I got super worn out. I really need to finish building my geared bike.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 5:45 AM - big bowl of applesauce w/1 scoop protein powder, walnuts, 2 bananas, water
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food 1.5 large bottles each w/3 scoops Perpetuem and 2 Endurolytes, gel, 2 Perpetuem Solids
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 8:30 AM
Workout Type endurance, power
Weather low 30s to low 40s, cloudy at first, sunny at the end, calm, dry
Course  
Results  
Time 4:09
Distance 67 miles
Pace  
Equipment Single Speed Bike
Clothing Sugoi shoe covers, bib shorts, knee warmers, Craft long sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, arm warmers, Windtex vest, Polypropylene gloves, OR Gripper gloves, cap
Technorati Tags: ,

16 December 2011

Cycle U CompuTrainer | core

Finally got some sleep.

Did it help? Not really, my legs were pretty tired this AM. Oh well.

We had another full house at Cycle University today for round four(?) of our CompuTrainer session. Nice.

Unfortunately we are still learning all the quirks of the system and did not get rolling until 6:25 AM. Since I had a meeting at 8 I had to cut it short and only got in 40 minutes of work. :( On the up side we are figuring stuff out and hopefully starting next week it will be smooth sailing.

I opted for a threshold setting of 310 watts today which seemed like a good choice in retrospect. Still, I had to quit pedaling for just a couple of seconds twice during this workout. And I didn't even finish it. :( I started out holding something like 19 mph, would surge to 21 during the breaks but then dip back down to sub-20 when the workload increased. Boo. I should be over 20 for sure.

We had some motivational help this AM from Dan H.

CycleU

Here is how far I got (note red, vertical line). See how shaky the picture is? I was still breathing really hard when I tried to take this.

WP_000179

And here are my numbers; which I still have not totally figured out yet. Like 'Recreational'…? I'm so sure. :)

Name: CRIMINALE, MARTIN
Gender: Male
Athlete Type: Recreationa
Date of Birth: 0/0/1900
Weigh-in: 180
Track Position: 5
Finish Time: 00:00.00 Seconds
Anaerobic Threshold: 310
Average Speed: 13.77 MPH
Peak Speed: 23.42 MPH
Average Power: 182.52 Watts
Peak Power: 401.00 Watts
Average Pulse Power: 0
Average Watts/Kg: 2
Rolling Resistance after 5 Minute Warmup: 2.15 Pounds
Average HR: 0 BPM
Peak HR: 0 BPM
Average RPM: 0.0
Peak RPM: 0.0
Average PP: 0.0
Peak PP: 0.0
Average WPKG: 2.2
Peak WPKG: 4.9
Average SS: 0.0
Calories: 627.9

At the IMA some yahoo sat down on the hip abductor machine just as I was stepping up to it. Not wanting to get kicked out for starting a brawl I took the high road. All the way to the locker room and then the sauna. 'Cuz that's how I roll, all PC and shit.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight 12:00 PM - 181
Body Fat  
Breakfast 5:00 AM - apple sauce, protein powder, orange
5:30 AM - gel
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food trainer - 1/2 large bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 2 scoops HEED
Injuries My right foot is still bothering me! It just nags and nags and will not get significantly better.
Therapy sauna - 10 min
Time of Day trainer - 6:00 AM
Workout Type intervals
Weather  
Course trainer - 4 x 8 min at roughly 905 of threshold
plank 3 min, 2 min each side
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
leg scissors 100
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
push-ups 21
Results  
Time trainer - 40 min
Distance trainer - 13.8 miles
Pace  
Equipment Single Speed Bike
Clothing  

15 December 2011

weights | run

Ouch…!

After finally getting over the soreness of lifting I started to increase the weights this week. Tuesday I added some weight and today I added a wee bit more. I have been trying to keep the rest between sets to an absolute minimum as my goal is not to get bigger or lift much more, rather it's to build muscle endurance. Today was kinda tough. :)

The first set of squats is always a wakeup. My legs - especially at this time of day - are not exactly warm. The second and third set were actually easier. Lunges were okay and then during the leg press I felt myself start to give out and had to focus. Good times!

I was so pumped up about having a good leg workout that I totally spaced and forgot to do my push-ups. :(

At the IMA I went for a total recovery run. Just something to remind my body of the required movements. And you know what? I was kinda dreading it thinking I was going to be beat but it was totally fine. Relaxing even. Nice.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight 12:00 PM (before run) - 182
12:30 PM (after run) - 181
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day weights - 5:30 AM
run - 12:00 PM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course
squats 3 x 20 - 95 lb.
lunges 3 x 20 - 65 lb.
incline press 3 x 20 - 180 lb.
leg extensions 3 x 20 - 95 lb.
leg curls 3 x 20 - 90 lb.
run - treadmill, 1% incline
Results  
Time run - 30 min
Distance run - 4 miles
Pace run - 7:30 min/mile
Equipment Brooks Defyance
Clothing  

14 December 2011

Cycle U CompuTrainer | commute

Argh… I overestimated my ability/fitness today.

Last week at Cycle University setting my threshold power at 310 watts seemed fine so this week I tried 320. Not. I got the first interval done but just barely and had to stop pedaling for roughly three seconds about three minutes from the end just to give my legs a break. I then foolishly started the second interval at the same threshold setting (perhaps I was hoping I had 'warmed up'…?) and about nine minutes in I came apart.

First I dropped the threshold power to 310 but I still had to quit pedaling about FIVE times for a couple of seconds each time during this second 20 minute interval. Rats.

Lesson learned? Probably not but we can always hope.

WP_000177

Greg K - bless his heart - provided me with some excuses. Not that I didn't have some myself already (I had lifted heavier just yesterday, I had gone for a long run Sunday…). He noticed that my rear wheel was quite loose in the trainer and actually got off to tighten it and then to screw down the locknuts. I guess if your bike is wobbling around it will be harder and you will wear out your tire faster. Thanks Greg.

Later in the day I ran some errands which included a site visit at our new house and a trip to REI. Not only have I gotten in the habit of taking my GPS with me everywhere I go now (and posting every foot I ride on Strava! super dork in the making surely), I left it on my handlebar while my bike was locked up outside of the store. When I exited the store and saw the computer on my bars I simultaneously had a heart attack and breathed a huge sigh of relief. I need to be more careful.

Sleep 7
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 5:00 AM - banana
5:30 AM - gel
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food large bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 2 scoops HEED
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 6:00 AM
Workout Type intervals
Weather  
Course 2 x 20 at 90-95% of threshold
Results  
Time trainer - 53 min
Distance trainer - 16.2 miles
commute - 9 miles
Pace  
Equipment trainer - Single Speed Bike
commute - Town Bike
Clothing  

13 December 2011

stairs | weights

It's big double workout Tuesday day! And so far I still have the energy to get it done.

Thanks again to Jim K who shows up year after year for this stair workout - doing these alone is perhaps harder than any other solo workout for me.

I think I have a plan… which is showing up to the stairs early and getting in a few brisk walkers prior to starting the workout proper. It seems to help. I did that today and got in 4.5 flights before Jim pulled up. Even so the first runner did not feel great.

Jim met a friend on the stairs just before our 4th runner and so went kind of hard. I also got held up in traffic twice. Where are all these (read: two) people coming from? The upshot is I had to give a big effort to close the gap by the top but managed to do so. Oh man do your legs move slowly on those last few steps… it's comical really.

At the IMA I managed to increase my weights today. Nice. The soreness is finally gone for real so now I can start doing the work. My squats are still really light but I need to remind myself that I am NOT here to get heavy and instead am just trying to build some strength and muscle endurance.

One of those it's-leg-day-so-that-means-I'm-going-to-do-10-sets-of-the-same-exercise-and-rest-for-freaking-ever-between-them guys was on the leg press when I started my workout and he was still on there until the bitter end so I had to do that last. Funny how there are eight squat racks but only one of these. Oh well. It was a good workout and rested very little between sets.

I noticed that my weight was higher than ever, not sure if that was due to my eating and the time of day or if I should watch out. I also need to SLEEP. Why can't I sleep enough?

Sleep 5
Waking HR  
Body Weight 12:00 PM - 183
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day stairs - 5:40 AM
weights - 12:00 PM
Workout Type strength, power intervals
Weather upper 20s, partly cloudy, light breeze
Course
squats 3 x 20 - 85 lb.
lunges 3 x 20 each leg - 65 lb.
leg extensions 3 x 20 - 40 lb. each leg
leg curls 3 x 20 - 40 lb. each leg
push-ups 22
incline leg press 3 x 20 - 180 lb.
Results  
Time stairs - 1:08:50
Distance stairs - 1.78 miles (14.5 flights)
Pace  
Equipment Brooks Cascadia
Clothing Under Armour underwear, Mountain Hardware tights, shorts, Craft long sleeve undershirt, long sleeve active T, Polypropylene gloves, cap

Technorati Tags:

12 December 2011

core

Except for that insanely fast descent yesterday aggravating the damn injury in my right foot I feel fine today. A little tired but fine.

For a change back extensions were not constantly taking my breath away, what a relief. Everything except for push-ups was pretty good for that matter.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast  
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food water
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 5:30 AM
Workout Type  
Weather  
Course
plank 3 min, 2 min each side
back extensions 3 x 40
clam knee lifts 100 each leg
side leg lifts 100 each leg
leg scissors 100
twisters 50 each side - 12 lb.
push-ups 16
hip abductors 3 x 30 - 100 lb.
Results  
Time  
Distance  
Pace  
Equipment  
Clothing  

11 December 2011

Squak Mt trail run

Woke up feeling a little heavy, holiday parties (with lots of wine) will do that to you.

Today is my first outing with the Seattle Running Club and my first substantial trial run in over two weeks. I can't wait.

I pulled into the parking lot at the trailhead at about 7:20 and there was NOBODY else there, just three empty cars. Then suddenly at 7:28 someone jumps out of one of the cars (had they been hiding?) and then two guys come running down the entry road and then two more come running down the trail! Then a couple more cars pull up and suddenly there are nine of us. Nice. Turns out the two that came down the trail had warmed up with a one hour run.

Introductions are made and we took off with Win Van Pelt in the lead. Not having many group runs to judge by the start felt really fast but as soon as we hit the first climb it settled down and I was fine. Almost immediately we broke into two groups with the men up front and the women in back. After two miles of moderate climbing we stopped and waited and then someone suggested we loop back so I tagged along. We had to go quite a ways before we hooked up and then once we got to the top the second time we waited around some more while everyone decided where to go. It was okay though, I really had no agenda and I was quite comfortable in terms of temperature.

As we waited and talked the light mist that had been present at the parking lot turned to snow! It was beautiful.

We started out again but at the next major intersection some of the men were worried the women might get lost or something? So some of us doubled back again and this time there was no one to be found. Since they had said they knew the way and since one of the women had wanted to cut the run short we opted to just carry on.

It was amazing up here. The trail was in fantastic condition, it was VERY dry and the snow kept slowly building up until we were leaving footprints on the ground. I was loving it!

Occasionally the pace would pick up some but for the most part I was extremely comfortable and considering how long we were out here I got the nutrition just right. I had my gel about 1:15 into the run and pretty much drained my bottle by the end. Perfect.

On the way back to the car we ran a trail descent that was covered in a dusting of snow and three guys went ahead while I took a nature break. Two others waited with me and when we started out one of them took off like shot and flew down the hill. I passed the other trying to catch up but it was hard! The surface was a little slick from the snow and that guy was hauling. I caught him but just barely - I was going as fast as I dared.

There was one other short descent on a hardpack gravel road later on close to the finish where this same guy let fly. This time he pulled away from me and I have never in my life run that fast. Ever. It felt exactly like descending on a fixed gear when you are just about to lose control… my feet were turning over as quickly as I could make them go and if I had fallen it would not have been pretty. EXCITING though. And it makes me realize there is a lot to learn about trail running and that I am not as good of a descender as I thought I was. :)

In addition to doubling back twice for others we also ran this one little loop that ended in the weeds so had to double back a third time to get on the proper trail. Kinda fun to be sorta lost but not really lost. We also had to climb over this huge fallen tree. Good stuff.

I need to come back here, the terrain is very, very fun. And the condition of the trails was so, so good. This group is also so nice! Too bad we had to stand around so much but today it was okay.

My GPS says I ran just under 10 but in my experience with these devices in the woods it was at least 12.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 5:30 AM - 2 bananas, almond butter, Perpetuem, orange
7:00 AM - gel
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food gel small bottle w/1 tablet Nuun and 2 scoops HEED
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 7:30 AM
Workout Type endurance
Weather mid to upper 30s, cloudy, mostly dry, calm
Course  
Results  
Time 2:34:56
Distance 12 miles
Pace  
Equipment Brooks Cascadia
Clothing shorts, Craft short sleeve undershirt, SmartWool long sleeve shirt, wind vest, Patagonia gloves, SmartWool hat

10 December 2011

Fall City on a single speed

First team ride for me in ages. And damn is it cold outside.

I met the 'boys' at the Leschi Starbucks (probably the most popular meeting spot for bike rides in all of Seattle) and off we went.

I was a wee bit concerned about the two climbs on the agenda today being on my single speed but it turns out I did fine.

All of us rode to the top of the Issaquah Plateau where I had to detour the group for a nature break at Caffe Ladro and then half of the bunch turned around to go home and it was just Greg K, Dean J, Aaron, Jessie and myself.

As we left the plateau the speed increased. At one point I was pretty much out of the saddle going as hard as I could just to stick to the wheel in front of me as we crested a small rise. Sheesh. So I promptly got to the front and slowed things down.

Descending down to Hwy 202 was fantastic. The roads were dry and we had zero issues with frost or ice. Nice. Coming back up the old Issaquah-Fall City road was a chore… I have done this just once in the past on this bike so know it was possible but I had to really muscle it on a couple of sections. It felt like I was in the gym! We cleared the first hill, descended a bit and then started the second, steeper section and suddenly Greg blew. As usual Dean was setting the pace and this time I resolved to see if I cold match it. I was out of the saddle the ENTIRE time but managed to stick with him and even ease past him as we hit the top. Not easy. And that was enough manning around for me!

Riding home from the plateau was nice and moderate. Just before crossing the I-90 floating bridge we passed some kids selling hot chocolate and Greg stopped but they were out! :(

I got in a few more sets on the leg press climbing Madrona and Union and it was nice to finally roll into our driveway. My legs were cooked.

Still, I got the nutrition right and my legs did not give out before I got home so a perfect ride really.

Sleep 6
Waking HR  
Body Weight  
Body Fat  
Breakfast 6:00 AM - 2 bananas, apple sauce 2 scoops protein powder, walnuts, apple cider, water
7:00 AM - avocado, egg
Lunch  
Dinner  
Workout Food 1.5 large bottles each w/1 capsule of Endurolytes and 3 scoops Perpetuem, 2 gels
Injuries  
Therapy  
Time of Day 8:30 AM
Workout Type endurance and power
Weather low to mid 30s, mostly cloudy, dry, calm
Course  
Results  
Time 3:57
Distance 57 miles
Pace  
Equipment Single Speed Bike
Clothing Sugoi shoe covers, Roubaix knickers, Roubaix leg warmers, Craft long sleeve undershirt, short sleeve jersey, heavy long sleeve jersey, wind vest, Polypropylene gloves, OR Gripper gloves, cap
Technorati Tags: ,

Popular Posts