Mountain bike trails and intervals

I have begun the intensity portion of the training plan. Now, I really like the volume but these hard workouts should provide the necessary speed to meet my marathon goals. With this increased intensity I am taking more time recover. I took an off day from running following the Steam Whistle 12K on Saturday – well actually two days off from running.
 
On Sunday I started out with some of the TRX Metabolic Blast.  This thing is kicking my unstable cores ass.  A little later I joined the mountain bike crew and helped clear some more trails. Oh my gosh, this is hard work. You have to mark the trail then clear it with a power mover. There is a lot of chain saw work and then comes the old fashioned manual labor. The ground has to be racked and then the all of the little stumps have to be removed – with axe, awl or any type of hand implement. This type of work really makes you understand the concept of functional strength.

Birth of a trail.

On Monday I jumped on the elliptical machine. I normally hate elliptical machines – they make my body move in unnatural ways (that sounds funny – not really what I intended). However we have one (1) special elliptical machine – the Cybex 750AT. This thing actually works for me. It lets me workout hard without the impact. Next was some strength training – back to the bench press.

$8000 – dang

Tuesday brought back the trainer. I had been working on 2 x 20 minutes @ FTP but had failed recently. I dialed it back for some success – 3 x 10 @ FTP. This should allow for me to start building my cycling base again.
 
At lunch I attacked my intervals. After a two mile warm up I started the 4 x 800’s at 2:50. Damn, this was demanding. I was out on the trace and it is ‘pretty’ flat but there is a slight incline. So I ran back and forth and the times reflected the incline. The splits were as follows: 2:51 / 2:45 / 2:55 / 2:53 – average of 2:51. I was a little disappointed. These were hard. As I start to add two more repetitions each week it won’t be getting any easier. Time to suck it up.
 
After work I headed to the Family YMCA to help out with the next couch to 5k group. There were about 40 people eager and excited to take up running in their pursuit to improve their health. This is exciting stuff!

TRX planks and Happy New Year

The Steam Whistle 12K has been rain delayed until noon.  I drove down to Jackson Station and put up some postponed signs early this morning – I have been up a while.  However, it looks like the storms have passed and they have brought cooler weather.  The race conditions are starting to look favorable.

I have always kept abdominal exercises in my strength training plan.  I have down the P90X abs cruncher routines and they are challenging.  When it comes to planks I am pretty good.  I can do several sets and hold them for about 90 seconds or so.  They really light up the core.  Since I have been playing with the TRX I have been humbled regarding my core strength.  With the unstabilizing nature of the TRX all of my strength goes out the door.  Take a look (I realize that my butt is too high – something I need to work on).

TRX 40 / 40 Challenge – First Attempt

 

From the TRX website:

The TRX 40/40 Challenge combines two signature TRX exercises we use to measure upper body and core strength: the TRX Atomic Push-up and the TRX Low Row. At our events, we have competitions to see who can get the most of each of these exercises. If someone can get more than 40 good reps, there's a good chance they are going to win! Also, we’ve been known to break out the 40/40 Challenge during our lunchtime workouts here at FAI headquarters.

 

I think I will have another go at it later in the week.

Christmas running and TRX

We spent some time in Texas this past week visiting my father and my sister and her family. It was a lot of fun. I did get two hilly 8 mile runs in and a short visit to the gym. My father has found some friends from the Master Gardeners club who frequent a local gym. This has motivated him to start a training session. We are all very proud of him for taking these steps. I have told him to simply start the habit of going to the gym and then we would work on the program. He is meeting with a personal trainer at the beginning of the year for an assessment. My father also signed up for a smoking cessation program at the gym (which is associated with a medical center).


After we got home it was more running. On Christmas Eve the weather was cold (low 40’s) and I went for a quality session. It was difficult. I wanted 14 miles with 10 of them fast. I did my warm up and then kicked it into high gear – high gear for me anyway. The 10 miles I wanted to run at my hope to be new half marathon pace – 6:35 minutes per mile. This pace only worked for a few miles before I started to implode. I always try to push the pace knowing that there is a slight incline heading out. I usually train on the Long Leaf Trace which is a rails to trails. There are zero hills on the rails to trails but very long slight inclines. It is much more noticeable on the bike than the run; however, the incline is evident as soon as you head back.

Well, I always try to push the pace and I usually fail. And I did fail on this run. However, I did adjust and made the run of a longer interval type run. After the 4 miles at projected pace I shut it down and ran my comfortable pace for a mile (comfortable being 8 minutes per mile). I then ran several sets of 2 mile intervals at pace. I just simply tried to keep the pace as fast as possible which was in the 6:30’s and 6:40’s. I wrapped up the session with 13 miles at an average of 7:30 minute per mile pace. Although the session was not complete as prescribed it ended up being a challenging run.

On Christmas day I went for an easy run. Once again the pace would be comfortable. I was running by heart rate so the pace would settle in around 7:30. The temperature had dropped from the day before and the wind was rather brisk. I wanted to turn around after the first mile. I was cold and running into the wind was tough. I persevered and came up on another running out on the trace. I yelled at him from a good distance – I hate startling people at on the run. He had his music blaring and did see or hear me until I passed. He jumped a bit. He was running a little bit slower than me. I slowed a little bit and he picked up the pace a little bit. He was here visiting family from New Orleans. There are few strangers when out running. We ran the next 5 or 6 miles and just talked shop. We had both done the Jazz Half in October and the Mardi gras marathon back in February. We were evening matched in pace. Oh how I prefer some company when out on these runs. Talking with Scott from New Orleans allowed for both of us to push the pace and get our miles. This run was easy and I ended up with 10 miles at a 7:20 minute per mile pace.

Later, on Christmas day I tried at the TRX for the first time. I set up the trainer in my garage with an older TV and DVD player. After I watched the introduction video it was very easy to set up the TRX suspension trainer. In addition, adjusting the suspension trainer for the various exercises was a piece of cake. The system really is easy to go from one exercise to the next. I also liked how you can make each exercise harder or easier with simply the stance or your proximity to the anchor. The workout was comfortably challenging. It was very different from one of my typical weight workouts. It was more fluid and, sorry for this, “Zen like”. I felt like my body really was working as a complete unit – none of the isolation that I experience with normal strength training. In addition, the workout had several stretching routines at the end. I normally do not do any stretching but I could feel it throughout my body. It was positive experience. I am excited about adding this suspension training to my normal workout routine. I believe that strengthen my core via suspension training will help with triathlon – the swim, the bike and the swim.

TRX suspension trainer - anchor installation

I have been intrigued by suspension training for some time. I have read countless reviews and looked at the many workout routines. That is what I do; I research everything – many times. So I have been looking at the TRX suspension training system for about a year. I have wanted to have an effective core workout that would also be easy to setup and take down as well as be portable. You see, the university is closed for the holidays. In the past this has meant very two weeks of only cardio exercise. Don’t get me wrong, I love my bike and run but I am a firm believer in strength training; especially over the holidays. I do have a full set of hex dumbbells and also a lot of Olympic weights; however, I got rid of my weight bench years ago. It was too hard to have a permanent, dedicated space for the exercise equipment. The TRX suspension training system should allow for me to get an effective workout and allow for me to store all of the gear in a very compact case. I plan on doing a full review of the TRX over the next month – stay tuned.

Over the course of my research I did find several people who have made their own suspension training systems. Some looked down right dangerous and the ones that were the most effective – after trial and error – became rather expensive themselves. I like to construct my own tools and toys, but I knew that it would be easy to be bogged down in the process. I decided to bite the bullet and purchase the legitimate product – I bought the TRX PRO PACK (with door anchor) - see the link below if you are interested.

First, I needed a place to suspend this thing. You can put it just about anywhere. I actually have a park pretty close to the house (Jackson Station) with chin up bars – this would be ideal. I also ordered a door anchor so that I can use it in the house, however, I do not have a door in my living room. I could also do the exercises in my office / workout room but I would have to clean up the floor. There is already a bike on the trainer and two more against the walls. With the computer desk and book shelves, the space is getting cramped.

I decided to do the TRX in the garage. TRX sells an anchor point on their website but it is rather expensive (just like the TRX system itself). I thought I could probably fashion the same type of device for much cheaper. I went to the local big box hardware store. In the pickup truck section of the store with the tie down straps I found an anchor point that would do the job. It was $10. With the necessary bolts and washers the total price was about $11. I also bought a small rug from the same hardware store to put on the ground in the garage. I am also going to set up an old TV with DVD player in the garage. I will be able to use the bike on the rollers in this same workout space.

I watched the TRX video last night and I am pretty pumped to give it a try.

I just happen to have connections with the Fat Man and I knew this would

be under the tree.  It was time for a little DIY in the garage.

The ceiling anchor - max weight 3,666 lbs.  I think it will work.

(Note:  My ceiling is not pink) - As you endurance athletes know,

using a stud finder is difficult.  The dang thing seems to be always going off.

The anchor with the first bolt fastened to the ceiling joist.

The actual anchor in the bractet.

Anchor securly attached to the ceiling of the garage.

Full disclosure – if you click the link below and make a purchase I will receive a small commission. I purchased my TRX suspension trainer with my own money. I have not been instructed to give any review positive or negative and have not been compensated for this blog post.