Trainer rides and tempo runs

I volunteered at the Mighty Magnolia on Saturday. It was tough watching the athletes. I wanted to be out there. The weather was beautiful. I think I could have competed well.

When I got home from the race I was a little bummed out. I decided to jump on the trainer and smash out a workout. I loaded up a difficult session. It would be 3 x 6 minutes at a challenging wattage. The recovery would be relatively short at 3 minutes. If you remember I was first successful with this workout at the beginning of the summer. I have since failed twice.

I killed the workout out. Yes it was tough but I was able to complete it. However, there were a couple of different variables. First, my heart rate monitor was not working. In addition, my Garmin malfunctioned. One of the buttons got stuck. I could not see my heart rate – not on my computer (hooked to the trainer) or on my Garmin. I was riding blind. I also decided to pedal at a lower cadence so that I could start to build some leg strength.

So I do not know how hard I was working but I was able to complete the session. Once again, I would not say that it was easy but it was achievable. I was satisfied with the effort.

On Sunday I had a solid run. I have been trying to add some speed into my workouts. I have a half marathon at the end of the month. I will be using this race to base my training for the next few months. I believe that my running is improved from this time last year and it should allow for me to build on this base.

Instead of running by pace I decided to mix it up and run by my LTHR. I had previously determined this level by my average heart rate at my last 5k (the pump and run). My LT zone was 175 – 185 beats per minute. I started out on my run at my easy pace – about 8 minutes per mile. I then picked up the pace and tried to keep my heart rate in the mid 170’s.

I ran the next 8 miles at this hard level. This level starts out comfortably hard and then slowly increases to hard. I tried to my pace and just concentrate on the heart rate and rate of perceived exertion. I continued along just running hard. My heart rate climbed a little bit as the run went on but I was successful. After the 8 miles at pace I slowed it down for the last mile. I completed the run on 1:10:24 for an average pace of 7:02. I have run 10 miles at 7 minutes per mile pace before – a couple of times. This can be hard but it is achievable – even in training. However, I was pleased with the 8 miles at speed. I completed the 8 miles with an average heart rate of 172 BPM in 53:46 (6:43 minute per mile). Now this was a training run and in a race situation I should be able to push a little bit harder and a little bit further. On the flip side, I only ran 8 miles – about 5.1 miles short of the goal. I have 20 more days to put it all together.

All in all, I am faster than a year ago but I still have my work cut out for me.

New Max Heart Rate?

There are several formulas for determining your maximum heart rate. Most are so generic that sometimes they are not even in the ball park. They are generalized for the entire population.

Let’s run through a few with my numbers (these are from wikipedia) – Age = 37 (MHR = Max Heart Rate)

MHR = 220 - AGE -> 183

MHR = 206.3 – (0.711 * AGE) -> 180.4

MHR = 217 – (0.85 * AGE) -> 180.0

MHR = 208 – (0.7 * AGE) -> 182.1

The following are from Sally Edwardsand for me seem to be the most accurate - (although a few years old her Heart Zone Trainingbook is very good).

Males: MHR = 210 – (AGE * .5) – (WEIGHT * .05) + 4 -> 187.5

Females: MHR = 210 – (AGE * .5) – (WEIGHT * .01) + 0

Max heart rates vary substantially from individual to individual. I have known blazing fast runners whose heart rates never got out of the 150’s and I have also known people with sky high heart rates. Also, maximum heart rates do not vary much over time. This is a genetic determined value. In addition, as long as you are fit your maximum heart rate will not decline as you age.

Furthermore, maximum heart rates are sports specific.  I cannont come close to my running max heart rate while biking.  There is about a 10 BPM difference.

Also from Sally Edwards:

Max HR is genetically determined; in other words, you're born with it.
Max HR does not reflect your level of fitness
Max HR is a fixed number, unless you become unfit.
Max HR cannot be increased by training.
Max HR does not decline with age.
Max HR only declines with age in sedentary individuals.
Max HR tends to be higher in women than men.
Max HRs that are high do not predict better athletic performance.
Max HRs that are low do not predict worse athletic performance.
Max HR has great variability among people of the same age.
Max HR does not vary from day to day, but it is test-day sensitive.
Max HR testing requires the person to be fully rested.
Max HR testing needs to be done multiple times to determine the exact number.

I have observed 194 BPM several times at the end of all out efforts. These were always race situations with an all out sprint to the finish. If you remember, my last 5k race (the Pump and Run) ended in a no holds barred straight away slug fest with Board Shorts. This was the hardest that I have ever sprinted – period. Further examination of the race data shows that my maximum heart rate is actually higher than the value that I have been using. The reading towards the end of that race showed 200 BPM (on garmin connect and 199 on sporttracks - either way it is about 5 beats per minute higher than I have ever seen).

I believe it – there were no power lines or other means of interference. On top of that I had to sit down at the end of that race. I guess that I had just not been in a situation to really push to the limit. Now I need to reevaluate my training zones.

Pump and Run Heart Rate profile

FYI - DC Rainmaker is giving away a really cool scale!

Pump and Run Race Report

We got a break from the weather Friday night for the Pump and Pant Extravaganza. It was not nearly as warm as it could have been. The race had got me back into the weight room at the gym for the last two months. In addition, I knew that I would have to watch my weight carefully. I do love the body weight lifts (or body weight calculated lifts). You can get stronger or lose weight to get more lifts. I was hoping to do both.


When I first started training for the lift my best was 32 reps (32 x 20 seconds = 10:40). That would not be enough to even place. I kept up the lifts twice a week and had some great gains. While I was training I realized that the bench press has a huge skill component. It is not simply how strong you are. I worked with the timing – I added a pause of the lift. I started to add segments to the lift. I also started to cheat a little bit with the bounce off of the chest. This allowed me to work my way up into the 40’s and then 50. I was stuck at exactly 50 reps for the last couple of weeks. And then I had a breakthrough and was able to push myself to 55 reps (55 x 20 seconds = 18:20). This would get me low – this could win the race. The bounce was saving my arms – it was not like I was being wild but I was getting more reps. The momentum allowed me to overcome the sticking point as my arms fatigued. This was working.

I made a few mistakes leading up to the race. With the run only being a 5k I continued with my normal run training. This meant intervals out on the trace on Tuesday. This was challenging – the speed stayed up (quarter miles at < 1:25) but the recovery dropped to 30 seconds. On top of this the heat and the humidity increased (as if it were possible). I failed on the intervals giving up after 9 repeats. I walked slowly back to campus. I also got back into the group ride on Thursday morning. For good measure I actually upped the swimming and had two breakthrough sessions on both Wednesday and Thursday. And if that was not enough of a ‘taper’ I challenged some friends to a flex arm hang throw down during lunch on Thursday. I could really feel this in my biceps on race morning.
I jumped on the scale Friday (race) morning and scale showed 158.0. This was not acceptable. You see I have been judging my performance on lifting 110 lbs (158.0 x 70% = 100.6). The race would be rounding up. I needed to lose a pound of weight while resting the legs and the upper body!

I was determined to not affect my performance but I need to drop a pound. I normally do not eat any salt in my meals and today would not be any different. That is just what I did not need – retain some water. I ate my normal oatmeal for breakfast and since I was not exercising there would be no second breakfast. I drank my normal coffee all morning.

Not knowing what to do with myself without being able to work out at lunch I grabbed a book and headed to the gym. I need to get my ‘lifting gloves’ from my locker. I also jumped in the sauna for 30 minutes and read my book. I was careful about the length of time.

For lunch I had another bowl of oatmeal. I had some homemade soup in the refrigerator but I knew there was a little bit of salt in the soup – so oatmeal again. I also limited myself to only 32 ounces of water for the afternoon. I normally drink about a gallon of water while sitting at my desk at work. I knew that this would not put me into dehydration but it would limit the extra weight.

After work I weighed again at home. I was seeing 156.6 (dressed in my running clothes but no shoes). This was perfect. However, it was still close. I grabbed 2 gels (with 2x caffeine) and 2 bottles of sports drink. I was going to load up on the sugars and caffeine right after I recorded my weight.

I arrived at the race site and had my bag of goodies. I got in line at the scale and took off my shoes. I nervously got on the scale. I know that scales can fluctuate. The reading was exactly 157 pounds. This was a huge relief (157.0 x 70% = 109.9). I had made my weight. I took a gel and downed a small sports drink. It took about 15 minutes before we were ready to start the lift. Robin explained all of the rules. For each lift to count - Feet had to be on the floor – check. The bar had to touch your check – check. Absolutely no bouncing off of the chest - what? Damn, damn, damn! I was going to have to lift legitimately.

The high school had 10 bench presses and they were doing different weights at each station. There were several people lifting less weight than 110 lbs but most had to lift more – some much more. The guy right before me was also lifting my weight. I let him go first and he put up a huge number – 40 reps! He was wearing board shorts and a wife beater undershirt – I was willing to bet that he could not run.

Feet on floor, bar at chest, no bounce!

Not sure what is up with my arm - fatigue.

I was next. I did a quick set of 10 pushups and I took that second gel– I take this stuff seriously. I mentally broke the lift up in 12 rep segments – I would pause for a second after each segment. In practice this would allow for me to lift 12 / 12 / 12 / 6 / 6 / ? / ? – We would see today. I was extra careful about the clean lifting. I knew that if any of the reps did not count that it would affect the entire lift. I did not want to fail mentally. I just wanted to put together a good set. It was tough. The first three segments went just like training but that is where the arms got heavy. Once I got to 36 reps I broke it down into sets of 3 – this did not work long. Then it was every single rep that I could get. This is where the bounce in practice had helped. I eked out a couple more reps for a total of 45 (45 x 20 = 15:00).



I watched my friends finish up their lifts and then we headed outside for the 2 loop 5k. My friend Neil was there and I was going to pace off of his shoulder. This strategy has allowed me to PR in the past. I saw the guy in the board shorts (he had taken off the wife beater). He was lined up right with me. A little bit of chit chat and then, bang, we were off. I settled in behind Neil and just ran. The pace was hard but manageable. I had my ‘virtual nemesis’ on my GPS watch set for a 19:00 5k. I was killing him. Putting 10’s of feet into him.

Neil and I stride for stride

However, as always, he generally is a much better pacer than I am. The pace started to get hard at the mile mark and I had to let Neil go after a mile and half (I was a couple of hundred feet ahead of the virtual trainer on my watch). My heart rate was sky high – like 190 BPM. This is okay at the end of a 5k but not in the middle. I tried to let my heart rate come back to me but it was not going to happen – I was not going to walk or anything – I just wanted to walk – NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.

I watched Neil pull away. I was trying to maintain my pace and not lose too much ground. I was secure in 6th place. I was still running hard just not at the previous pace. My heart rate stayed high but my pace dropped. The race was hurting. I just went out too fast.

There were a lot of 90 degree turns during the race. I hate it when I do this but I started to look behind me during the turns – to see how ‘comfortable’ I was. He was a good ways back but that dude in the board shorts was right there! I was drifting back from Neil and this guy was gaining – it was all happening very slow but it WAS happening.

I would later look at my splits and see that the first 1.5 miles was clocked off at 9 minutes exactly (that is an 18:38 5k pace – My PR last year was 19:09) – too fast for me. No wonder I was blowing up!

There was a long straight away leading to a 90 degree turn around with a 200 yard sprint to the finish. On this first long straight way I started to hear someone coming up on me. Then I saw a shadow. @#$%!!! I was hurting but I picked the pace up. The shadow stayed with me. I rounded the 90 degree turn around and the guy was so close that I did not see him. He was right there on my shoulder! He was going to slingshot around me! I picked it up again! I was running as fast I could and just trying to hold on. It was dead heat. I crossed the finish line a few feet in front. I was able kept my 6th place finish!

Getting reeled in!

Foot race at the end

Giving it EVERYTHING

Why do we run? - because it feels so good to STOP!

As soon as I crossed the finish line I had to sit down. I have never kicked that hard at the end of a race – NEVER. A couple of minutes later I congratulated the guy behind me for a solid race and thanked him for pushing me. I needed the pressure.

Cooling down

Awards were given to the top 12 (there were 50 participants). I was really impressed with some of the placing. There were a couple of lifter type guys that put up more than 40 reps at very respectable weights. They placed high in the standings. The guy that I had the sprint with ended up with 3rd or 4th. And the second place participate was a young track girl that lifted 50% of her body weight 48 times. She also ran a 21:xx 5k. I only had a rep or so to spare. If the guy had not pushed in the race I could have drifted back in the standings – that is why I love competition.

I ended up taking first with a time of 4:54 (19:54 5K – 15:00 = 4:54). It was a great race and a lot closer than I thought it was going to be. I thought I was going to run a little faster and I thought I was going to lift a little more. I got lucky. Everything came together just enough – my weight, my lifts, and my run.

Sometimes just enough really is enough! I look forward to the race next year.

Pump and Run - Victory

Victory is mine - no PR's for lifting or running but a win none the less!!!!

45 reps and a sub-20 5K = FIRST PLACE

Full race report to follow.

PUMP AND RUN - Go time!

The pump and run is TODAY. This challenge has gotten me back in the weight room for the last 10 weeks – wow it has been that long. I have not been overdoing but I have been making a true effort. I have been lifting the 70% of my body weight one day a week – to complete failure for multiple sets. The other bench day I would lift closer to 90% of my body weight - two plates. These sets were not always to failure but they were demanding. One day a couple of weeks ago I even tried to see what my maximum lift might be – it was not pretty – about 205 lbs. I thought I was a bit stronger than that.  I have noticed that I have a lot of endurance when lifting.  If you give me 90 seconds recovery my lifts don't drop of as much as others.  Now actual strength - that is another matter.

This competition has also made me very aware of my weight – I have been diligent – I feel like a prize fighter having to meet weight.

The competition rules are as follows:

RULES


This event will start with a weigh-in at the field house. Participants will bench press a percentage of their body weight as many consecutive times as possible. Time deductions will be awarded for each repetition completed.


The 5k run will take place 10 minutes after the last lifter has completed their lifts. 5K times will be recorded and bench press time deductions will be calculated. Overall finishing time will be calculated and winners will be awarded.


Female participants will lift 50% of their body weight and Male participants 70%.


Time Deductions per Repetition
Male/Female 39 and under               20 seconds
Male/Female 40-59                      25 seconds
Clydesdales (200lbs) /Athena (145lbs)  27 seconds
Male/Female 60+                        27 seconds

So the race / competition will take place today at 5:30PM at the Oak Grove High School – I imagine the temperature will be scorching.

With the competition taking place at 5:30PM I am sure that the temperature will be a factor – scorching I imagine. There is also a chance of thunderstorms! 

I have some pretty aggressive goals for myself. I have not run a 5K since last March (14 months ago) and I am not sure where my 5K pace is located. I hope that there will be a few rabbits for me to chase. I have had success in the past if I can hold someones shoulder. My last 5K was also a PR at 19:09 - I would love to see 18:5X!

I weighed this morning and I am pushing my upper limit for for my bench press.  I weighed in at 158 lbs - this is a good weight for me but the 70% rule will put that at 110.6 lbs.  I have done all of my 70% sessions at 110 lbs.  The weigh in will be crucial to success.

Furthermore, I lifted on Monday afternoon and my counts were totally off – like 20% off. I need a lot of things to come together to put up my best time.
If you are in the area you should really come out – there is not late fee registration or anything! See Flyer.

This race will be a lot of fun!

Workout recap.

The following is a quick recap of my recent training. Well, as you know I did not do the Crawfishman (well no one did) so I had a good day on the Saturday before. The weather was still raining so I jumped on the trainer. For what ever reason it was unbearable!


I only rode for 30 minutes and decided to brave the mists out of doors. I ran a conservative pace for 8 miles. I was soaked the entire run but I did enjoy it. As soon as I got home I had a message about an open water swim.

I prepared a recovery shake and headed out the door. I had wanted to get an accurate measurement of our secret swimming lake. I bagged my GPS watch in a sandwich bad (I actually doubled bagged it) and put it under my swim cap. You have to remember which way you oriented the watch so that you can hit the right buttons to start and stop the watch. But once I started the watch it recorded my speed and distance just fine. I would say that it is accurate and it looks like I actually swam fairly straight!  The swim is 0.25 miles each way.  We have been doing it twice for a mile of OWS.

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Secret training lake!

Today I was in the pool and did a lot of 100’s. I seemed to be getting a little faster. It was a good swim but I definitely need to be more consistent with the swim. After the swim I tested the bench press again for the pump and run challenge.

I think that I have refined my technique. I have been altering my grip placement on the bar. Obviously the closer the grip the more it works my triceps and the further out the more it works my chest. I am trying to find a balance that allows me to get the most repetitions. In addition, I am now aware that the bench press is actually a skill – not just brawn!

After work I jumped on the trainer for a much feared 6 minutes all out power test! Man I hate these. I warmed up for 15 minutes and then I started the 6 minutes of fury. This all out test is so dang painful. I had some techno music cranked up and I was suffering. I am sure that I was making primordial grunting and moaning noises. When I finished I just had to sit still for a few seconds. My legs were on fire, It has been months since I have done that test and I am happy to say that my wattage increased by 8 percent. This number also reflects not just power but performing the test better. Still, I will take an improvement any day!

Tuesday will be a group ride in the morning and a group running interval session at lunch!

Adding reps to the Pump and Run

At the start of the week I got back in the pool. Counting strokes and working on efficiencies is making swimming easier than ever. I am not adding much speed but the effort is reduced – and I am not losing any speed.

I also retested the 70% body weight bench press for the Pump and Run competition. After last weeks math snafu (I added too much weight – around 87% but thought that it was 70%) I wanted to see an increase in reps. The work out zone was empty so I did not have a spotter but considering the light weight I would be okay.

The bar did feel light this time and I decided to work a plan. I did a brief pause at every 10 reps. I took just an extra second at the top of the lift. Ten reps went by easily. Then twenty reps - no problems. The last time that I truly tested this weight range I got 36 – which was up from 32 two weeks prior. This time I blew through the 30’s. I was hoping for 40 reps but I was unstoppable. I ended up with 50 reps – the last one was difficult but with a spotter I could have muscled up one or two more.

Now for the math – 50 reps X 20 = 1000 seconds. That is 16:40 deducted from my 5k time. If I can put up another 10 reps then I do believe that I will be into the negatives. But, anther 10 reps are a long way to go.

KC asked me what kind of recovery shakes I like to drink. To be honest I usually don’t drink anything but prefer to have a meal. On the weekends when I am home that meal is almost always a big bowl of oatmeal with a huge dollop of peanut butter. I know you are supposed to have simple sugars and stuff after hard cardio sessions but I simply enjoy the real food.

Now, if I have a truly hard session I will make a shake to get some quick calories and this past Friday was one of those occasions. With the Ryders sunglasses KC had also sent me some GU BREW recovery powder. This powder claims that it has “the best protein, the most amino acids, optimal carb blend, essential vitamins and GU’ great mellow taste.” I am not sure about all of that but I it was pretty damn good.

I did, however, mix it up (pun intended) with a whole bunch of crushed ice and about 2 cups of Almond Milk. The vanilla almond milk mixed with the strawberry watermelon GU BREW was fantastic. With the ice and almond milk I go two shakes out of the mix which I drank over the next 30 minutes. After that I had my normal oatmeal concoction.

I can’t comment scientifically on whether the recovery aspects of the shake helped any more than real food but the drinkability was right on.

Treadmill intervals are easier than bike trainer intervals

Wednesday was another morning recovery ride. I once again just churned away on the trainer.


At lunch I put together a solid swim effort. I am still keeping the stroke count low. Counting the strokes seemed to slow me down a little bit but the speed is coming back – and now with a better stroke count. I can’t complain.

Then after work I had another long night. I did not get very much sleep. When I got up I jumped on the trainer for what was supposed to be a hard interval session. I aborted the workout early on and did an easier workout. After the trainer ride I switched to the road bike and commuted to work. I really enjoyed the 6 mile ride. I was not pushing the pace and I was able to enjoy the outside.

I dialed in another timed interval session on the treadmill at lunch. This workout was farther out of my comfort zone. I seem to be able to push the running envelope much easier than the cycling envelope. I did an easy warm up then ramped up the pace. Last week I started with 3 x 3:00 with 3:00 recovery at 9.9 MPH. This was not challenging enough. So today I decided to up the ante to 3 x 4:00 with 2:00 recovery at 10.1 MPH. I was able to complete this first series but my heart rate was sky high. The next series should have been easier – it was just 3 x 3:00 with 2:00 recovery at the same 10.1 MPH. I was overly fatigued from the first series and had to dial the intensity way back to 9.2 MPH. I had blown up! I believe part of that was from the lack of sleep the night before.

After the treadmill I was excited about putting up a good bench press number. Two weeks ago my 1 set max of 70% body weight was 32. Then last Thursday it was 36. I was hoping to improve upon this number. The weight room was busy and I worked in with some guys. I told them what I was doing and I altered the weights to my range. I said I was looking for 40 reps. As soon as I lifted the bar it was heavy. I started putting up the numbers and I actually started to fatigue at around 10 reps. I persevered and topped out at 22 reps. I was a demoralized. I could not believe that I came up so short. I tried again and I only got 10 reps. Vic then tried to lift the weight. He also thought it was heavy. Vic wanted 30 reps but he died at 29. We started to walk back away and call it a day. We were thinking up excuses. The run was hard and the bench press from Tuesday was demanding. Then we suddenly realized that I had put the wrong weights on the bar. I was lifting 135 pounds (87% body weight) and not the 110 pounds (70% body weight). That explained a lot about the workout. I loaded the bar to the appropriate weight and was still only able to eek out 24 reps – but I was majorly fatigued at this point. I would have liked to have known where I was at 70% but there is always next week.

The commute home was great. I tried to push a big gear the entire 6 miles home. About half of this was standing out of the saddle. Once again the outside just felt great.

With the long Easter weekend I plan on getting a lot of volume.

FAST and STRONG

I have been having success after being away during spring break. After the high volume cycling over the weekend I did a recovery trainer ride Monday morning and then biked to work. It was cold in the morning but the temperature climbed into the 70’s later in the day. At lunch I swam with Sam and he pushed and gave me form tips. I always swim better and faster when someone is watching. It an easy 500 warm up followed by 10 x 100 on 1:45. I never do them that fast – I always give myself more time to recover than necessary. These were some of the best 100’s that I have ever swum! I did some abs after the swim.
The commute home was nice. The sun was out but it was straight into the wind. I needed the ride home – it cleared my head. I have been having a little bit of apprehension with my sister and her family moving to Australia – maybe even some jealousy thrown in. I am going to miss them but on the bright side I will be travelling to Sydney in the very near future!
Tuesday brought about an interval session on the bike trainer. I have been struggling with the tempo trainer rides so I dialed in a moderately hard interval session – and I nailed it. I felt strong! The legs were recovered from the volume over the weekend and had bounced back. The cycling is coming along.
STADIUMS were on hand at lunch and we took 10 seconds off of the recovery. Once again the working set was 15 seconds but the time to get across and back down was now 1:25. The first 3 or 4 reps were hard on the legs but they some came back and the session was maintainable. We were all successful. My heart rate was much lower than the same session last year. After the STADIUMS we did 2 reps at the back of the Cochran building. This is very demanding. I would like to add a rep of these each week until it just kills us! That might only be 3 reps – we will have to see.
Back at the gym there was the bench press. I have actually been enjoying the strength training. I loaded up the same weight as last Tuesday – just 2 45’s – approximately 87% of my body weight. Last week I did 4 sets with very little recovery as 15 / 15 / 15 / 12. I was determined to improve upon this!

I started off and felt strong again. I owned this workout and was able to put up the following: 16 / 16 / 16 / 14 / 15! I am not sure where the strength is coming from but I will definitely take it.

Treadmill Intervals and bench press

I tried the bike trainer again on Wednesday morning. My legs have been dead all week. I am actually not sure why they have been like lead. When they are tired I can almost always pick them up for a run – they can and do respond – but on the bike it is a different story. I dialed in a workout on the trainer that I thought I could handle. I got about half way through it and I just had to dial it back. I am not sure if this is a mental or physical failure. Anyway, I got 40 minutes on the bike trainer.

 

At lunch I hit the pool. I was concentrating on my stroke count and the swim came along well. I started with a 500 WU and then 10 x 100 with 20 seconds recovery followed by another 500 cool down. I was not focused on the speed but just the form and stroke count. I think I was a few seconds slower but I was pleased with the effort. Stroke count was right at 17 per 25 yards.

 

On Thursday morning I 86’ed the bike workout. I just did not need another failed training session. The legs needed a break from the bike. But lunch would bring a new running workout.

 

Like I said, my legs are tired but they almost always seem to be able to “bring it” when I ask. I was looking at a 10k interval training session on the internet and I charted out a couple of sets. After a short warm up I would do 3 times each of the following:

 

3 minutes on / 3 minutes recovery
2 minutes on / 2 minutes recovery
1 minutes on / 1 minutes recovery

 

The intensities would be a little faster than 10k pace (actually quite a bit faster than 10k pace). I had been doing those Yasso 800’s a month ago and I was successful at a 6:00 minute pace (give or take a second or two). So I decided to do these intervals at 9.9 MPH (6:03 minutes per mile). Why 9.9 – it is just easier to type it in on the treadmill. The sets of 3 minutes on / off went by pretty quick and they were not as challenging as I had hoped. I played it conservatively and only increased the 2 minute sets to 10.1 MPH (5:56 minutes per mile). My heart rate was still dropping nicely with the 2 minute recovery. On the 1 minute sets I increased the rate again to 10.3 MPH (5:49 minutes per mile). The 1 minute recovery was not sufficient to reduce my heart rate but I was able to complete the entire workout of treadmill intervals.

 

Soaked in sweat I headed to the bench press. I am still trying to add a few reps to my 70% body weight max rep lift. My arms were a little bit sore from Tuesday’s workout but I decided to see how many reps I could get. Success again – I was able to press out 36 at my 70% body weight cold – no warm up. This is an increase of 4 reps from the last time I attempted the lift – or 80 seconds off of my total pump and run time! I did two more sets with only 60 seconds recovery and completed another 15 followed by 14. 65 total reps with 60 seconds recovery between sets. My goal is 40 reps by mid-May.

Easy trainer rides

I jumped on the trainer again on Friday morning. This time I did an interval workout – one that I have done several times. It hasd been about a month since I had been on the trainer. During and after the workout all I could think about was how much harder this seemed the last time I did it. Not that it was easy or anything but it had definietly been harder last month. Now I do know that there are a dozen or so different variables involved but I will chock this up as my bike fitness starting to come back on line.


After the trainer workout I switched bikes and rode to work for the first time this year! It was a little cool outside but nothing like it has been and I was, afterall, still quite damp from the trainer. Even though my feet were cold I had forgotten how much I enjoyed riding to work. I love days that I do not have to get into a car!

At lunch I went on a very easy 5 mile run outside. It was very much conversational pace and enjoyable. My heart rate was in zone 1 reecovery the entire time.

After work I got to ride home again – this time into a head wind but it was not a big deal. I ran into Chris at Jackson Station and chatted for a few minutes.

With the start of spring break I will be out of town for a full 9 days and away from my bikes. (I did get another training ride in this morning – a little hard intensity. Although I am going to be very busy this week I am going to try to turn this into a mini swim / run camp. After holiday I will only have a month to prepare for 70.3 New Orleans – which, unfortunately is just when the taper should start.

As a side note I have started working the chest for the pump and run!

Pump and Run Competition

I got an email from friend (super fast guy Robin) last week.  He was throwing down the gaunlet.

I want to lay down a challenge to anyone interested. I will be training for a pump and run competition that will let everyone know who is the strongest AND fastest athlete in Hattiesburg.

All competitors will bench press 70%(males)/50% (females) of their body weight as many times as possible. For each rep. completed the competitor will be able to deduct 20 seconds off of the 5k time that is run 5 minutes after the final press has been completed. After the run we will tally the overall time and have a winner.

I did a dry run with my teams and was amazed at some of the results. I did 20 reps of 120 lbs and ran 18:40 for the 5k. My overall time after the deduction was 12 minutes. A girl on my team did 40 reps of 55 lbs and ran 22:40 for 5k. After the deduction she ended up with 9 minutes 20 seconds. So, I found out that I need to work on both my 5k and bench to be able to beat a 110 pound girl.

I plan on doing this about 10 weeks from now in May. Let me know if you are up to the challenge.

Thanks,

Robin

I love this stuff. Doing some initial testing - if you want to win this you had better be sub-7.