No Longer Sick

It's been a few weeks, but I think I may have finally whipped this cold (or series of colds). As per usual, Saturday mornings are Coach Troy mornings, and I got lucky that my first week of speedwork coincided with the easiest of the workouts, Aero Base Builder V. I think another piece to my benefit is dropping the legwork for my Friday afternoon weights, so I came in a bit fresher. Once more, I made significant improvements over last time, picking up 3w on average, with my average heart rate dropping by 5 bpm. The only problem was the last 10-15 minutes, when my legs were fully cracked. It kind of came up out of nowhere, and considering that nothing that was done during the day was that difficult, it was a bit surprising. Next time through, I'll try to repeat the same level of intensity, and see if the result is the same.

All told, though, I feel pretty good about the day. I'll try to get some good rest today and be ready for another session tomorrow.

Bike: Spinervals 22.0 - Aero Base Builder V, 120 minutes

Don't stop ... ever

Some days you have choices. Like this morning. At swim club, after warm-up, we had a choice: either a workout of the usual style, or 1x3000m. After seeing most of the club choose the more varied workout, I knew I'd be doing the long set. (As a general rule, most people will seek the easier option. Then I'll take the other one.)

Let me just say, 3000m is a long way. Especially with my slightly reduced swim fitness. I got off to a good start, and generally felt pretty strong, but my pace started to fall off during the second kilometre, and it was a fight to keep things together during the last K. I didn't get any chance to draft, so this was a full solo mission. I'm happy to say I finished under an hour (59:40), but I could have been much faster if I wasn't exhausted. Tonight will be a very, VERY good night's sleep.

Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
1x3000 free (~19:05, 20:05, 20:30/km)
c/d - 200 ez non-free
Total: 3800m

Weights:
Bear - 2x4/65
Chins - 2x8,9
Reverse flye/Lateral raise - 2x8,8/15
Side plank w/abduction - 2x10,8
Supermans - 2x8,8
Reverse curl - 1x11/43
Diamond pushup - 1x10/20

Fast legs

The second day of speedwork. These first few weeks are only getting up to T-pace, which should be manageable. Part of my problem is, I have no threshold for pain on the run. Running fast hurts. This is a given. But I'm not absorbing as much as I should be. But tonight was more practice.

The session was more time at speed than Tuesday, but broken up more, with shorter rests. I'm not sure if this is supposed to be easier, but at least it's more manageable to try to talk yourself through the last 2 minutes of a 4 minute interval than the last 10 minutes of a 12 minute interval. I did the whole workout tonight at my newly redefined T-pace, which may still be a little quick, but I'm going to have to learn to live with that. I can't handle scaling this back any more. I know the speed is there, it's just a matter of reawakening it.

Run: 44 minutes, w/ 2x(6 minutes @ 9.0 mph, 1 minute @ 7.3 mph, 4 minutes @ 9.0 mph, 1 minute @ 7.3 mph)

And then things turn around

To recap, on Monday I swam (or tried to do something similar to swimming, I'm not sure what I did qualifies). Yesterday I was fighting a cold, with a runny nose all day, but I did my run at night, and was left pretty tired. When I went to bed last night, I wasn't sure if I'd make it in to work today, never mind if I'd go to swimming. But I dragged myself out of bed at the early hour, felt OK, and decided I could tough it out through the day (both pool and work).

I felt OK but not fantastic during the warm-up, and was left less than impressed with my performance through a descending set on short rest. But then we did a bunch of sprints, and I was running even, if not a shade a faster, than the guy in the next lane (the faster lane ... I'm not about to brag about beating the slower lane, no matter how bad I feel). The next step was an easy pull set, and even completely relaxed, I was pulling away from the rest of my lane, to the tune of 15-20 seconds over 500 yards. Then we repeated, so more sprints, and I was matched against a different swimmer in the next lane, who was faster than me, but I tried to get him every time. And another pull set, and another distancing of my lane. So I guess I was swimming pretty well this morning. I don't even feel that cracked right now, which is even better.

Swim: w/u - 200yds each free, non-free, pull
4x50 descending free, 10" (46", 44", 43", 40")
2x(10x50 as 25 sprint/25 ez non-free, on 1:15
500 ez pull)
Total: 2800yds

The bite was too big

Tonight was the beginning of the running speedwork. If you've been paying attention, there's been a bit of an undercurrent of dread leading up to this. I have a certain opinion where I think my run speed should be, and I planned my intervals based on this, and less on any hard evidence. Well, midway through the first interval, I got my evidence, because things were hard.

These next few weeks only work some Daniels' T pace running into the mix. T pace is about 15km race speed, the type of effort you could hold for an hour. I guess since I was fighting a bit at the 10 minute mark of my first interval, I overestimated my T pace (and related, my VDOT and paces across the board). I believed that I was about a 53, but as Dr. Jack suggests, if you want to train faster, you have to race faster. I hadn't raced fast enough to justify that, and I was wrong. Now I'll work as a 52, which is a bit of a step back from where I finished last season, but should set me up well for the next few months. I scaled things back for the second part, which was a better fit to where I'm really at. I can't say I'm happy about this, but as my legs come back in the coming weeks, I hope for a big rebound effect and I'll be flying come race day.

Run: 40 minutes - 10 min @ 7.4 mph, 12 min @ 9.2 mph, 2 min @ 7.4 mph, 6 min @ 9.0 mph, 10 min @ 7.2 mph

Anybody catch a license plate?

Tough swim this morning. I knew I'd only be able to bluff my fitness for so long before the "one swim a week" plan would be exposed. Today was that day. There just wasn't anything there. And worse, no one from the lane would relieve me of the duties of leading. So while I'm fighting to keep going, I've got folks right on my feet, so I needed to work twice as hard to keep things moving. Now I feel like I've been hit by a truck.

Maybe all this work is getting to me more than I'm thinking. I checked last year's log, and I'm not doing any more work, or even particularly harder work, so I don't know what's up. I think I'm going to switch up my weights for tonight, pull out the leg work, replace with some core stuff, and reduce the upper body work. This might keep my legs a little fresher for the hard stuff every other day, and not demand so much from my recovery system. I'm also going to try to stop eating the whole 1.3 kg bag of chocolate covered almonds in a weekend. There will still be snacking (how can I stop?) but I need to quit impersonating a trash compactor every Saturday.

Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
2x200, 15", 1) ez gloves, 2) ez free
8x50, 10", as 25 one-arm/25 free
4x200, 30", 1-3) pull w/paddles, 4) ez non-free
4x200 descending free, 30"
200 ez non-free
4x50, 30", as 25 sprint/25 non-free
c/d - 100 ez non-free, 100 ez free
Total: 3600m

Weights:
Bear - 2x4/65
Bent row - 2x10,10/95
Pushup - 2x10,10/80
Cross-arm situp - 2x8,8
Pillar opposites - 2x8,8
Barbell curl - 1x11/48
French press - 1x12/35

Snow sucks

This is the start of the build for my running, with an increase in distance on the weekend long runs, and choosing the hillier course. Of course, the main thing is adding the speedwork on the weekday runs. But I'll get to that soon enough. Today was the long run, eight miles over hilly terrain. Except that didn't happen. Although it's almost the end of February, and it should be warming up, instead we got a few inches of snow. I'm done with the snow. It's all well and good in December and January, even earlier this month, but can't it be on its way to Spring now? Since the plows hadn't come by, I wasn't about to head out in sketchy conditions. I've seen the drivers around here. It was back to the treadmill. Sixty-four minutes later, I was done. There really isn't a lot to say about. I got on, I ran. I checked the heart rate at the end, it was 162 bpm. There's no way that's accurate, since I was ridiculously relaxed. That's a higher heart rate than I'd have during a marathon, and I could have kept going for days. I'll keep tracking this, and see if things change in the near future.

Run: 8 miles @ 7.5 mph

More Mercy

I won't complain about being brought to tears this week. Have Mercy, the Sequel is, for me, the easier of the two workouts. My average power is somewhat lower, mainly due to some extended high cadence/low tension and one-leg drills, but most of the rest of the workout is long sets in around my FTP. Once again, my heart rate was higher than it should be, and this is starting to concern me a little. I feel OK in general, not the fatigued feeling I'd have if I was overtrained. But, I don't have an answer for it, so as long as I'm not falling apart, I'll keep going. Power/pace are better measures anyways.

Bike: Spinervals 14.0 - Have Mercy, the Sequel, 120 minutes

Not what I expected

With no swim today, I figured I'd just power through today's weight session. I seemed to have plenty of energy all day. But by the time I finished, I was disappointed with the result, or more specifically, falling back a bit on the chins. It's only one rep, but I always want to go up, never regress. However, looking at the results now, I realize that, in fact, I had a pretty good day.Four extra reps of squats, more reps in every exercise but chins. So I shouldn't complain. I'm not sure if it was a focus thing, or if the squatting took more gas than I thought, but I'll be back and get the missing rep, and then some. No worries there.

Weights:
Bear - 2x4/48
Front squat - 3x12,12,12/105
Jackknifes - 3x12,12,12/3
Chins - 3x9,8,7
Reverse flye/Lateral raise - 3x8,8,8/15
Reverse curl - 2x10,10/43
Diamond pushup - 2x10,10/20

I guess I'd better start training

I've started the process of registering for my races this year. With no big plans, there isn't anything that I need to register for a year or so out. Everything is local, and I could probably get in a week or two before, but I like having my entry form in. It gives me a reason to stick to the program. So now I'm an official entrant of Kitchener's Downtown Mudpuppy Chase 10k. I'll need to take my triathlon plans from "tentative" to "confirmed" sometime soon as well. I'll need to discuss with the other affected parties what would be a reasonable schedule.

Oh, and no swim today. To avoid depressing myself (any more), I'll leave it at that.

Just a few miles

No excitement. Just some running, and not a lot, and not very fast. There you go.

Run: 3 miles @ 7.5 mph

Well-rested

My running may be a bit fatigued right now, but with only one swim in the last two weeks (illness, cancellations, and holidays), my swimming muscles should have been ready to go. And without any numbers to back it up, I had a pretty good morning in the pool. I decided to focus 100% on finishing the stroke, since that seems to be my major flaw right now (ahead of what is, I'm sure, a long list of minor flaws). No flip turns, no "wide flat foot", nothing but snapping the end of the stroke. And it seemed to work. I was leading the lane all day, and moving away from the group (except for the non-free sections, because I really suck at those). I don't know what my times were like, but I felt fast. I think we have a 400m test on Friday, so that will be a better judge. At least I think my triceps and lats will be sore tomorrow.

Swim: w/u - 200yds each free, non-free, pull
4x300, 30" ("swim pretty", 25 scull/25 pull, w/gloves, "swim pretty")
2x(100 ez non-free, 30"
2x200 pull w/paddles, 30")
c/d - 50 back, 50 breast, 100 free
Total: 3000yds

Dull

It's a good thing this is a recovery week, because if tonight's run is any indication, I'm in need of some rest. It was only three miles, but it was surprisingly tough. Not that I was struggling to finish the workout, but this is supposed to be ridiculously easy, a cakewalk, and it wasn't. Just a bit harder than this type of run should be. So, it's shut down after three, stretch everything out, then eat and relax, let the legs come back.

Run: 3 miles @ 7.5 mph

Just a quick lift

Since it's Family Day, meaning a statutory holiday, the pool wasn't open and no swim was happening. (I was also still on vacation.) But, I still got in my weight work when I got home this afternoon. It will be an interesting check when I have to do this after swimming in the morning, since right now I get to hit it with full energy. Not that I expect a big drop-off, if any, but I'm sure some of the numbers will be lower.

Weights:
Bear - 2x4/48
Deadlift - 3x10,10,10/175
Cross-arm situp - 3x8,8,8
Bent row - 3x10,10,9/95
Pushup - 3x8,8,10/80
Barbell curl - 2x12,13/43
French press - 2x12,12/35

Running on vacation

We're taking a mini-getaway this weekend, but since I'm an early-riser and the wife isn't, I can get a chance to get in my run. I didn't want to pack all my clothes for all levels of weather, so just hoes and shorts to hit the resort treadmill. I was the first one in the fitness centre, so I staked out a treadmill, and set out for 8 miles. A few people came and went on the machines beside me. It's always fun to outlast the civilians. I'm sure they were wondering why anyone ostensibly on vacation was clipping along for such a long time instead of doing the usual holiday things. I guess those people aren't the type who are gearing up for a big season. Their loss, and one less person I have to try to beat on race morning.

Run: 8 miles @ 7.5 mph

SKMDT vs. Coach Troy

Coach Troy and I don't seem to agree on a few things. Chief among these, we have a difference of opinion as to whether or not I should start crying midway through a workout. I don't believe it's appropriate, but he seems to be shooting for it. He won't just come right out and say it, but if you're going to schedule five minutes of 4 seconds hard/4 seconds easy at the 90 minute mark of a two hour workout, the point is made.

Back to Spinervals 9.0, Have Mercy this morning. Truth be told, I hit this workout hard and am more than happy with the result. My average wattage was over 10w higher this week, and even though my heart rate was about 7 bpm high, I actually felt better at the end compared to the last time through. Three weeks ago, I could barely turn the pedals during the cooldown, and almost fell over getting off the bike. Not so much this week. I was tired, very tired, but not completely shelled. I guess getting in a few days on the commuter have helped out.

Bike: Spinervals 9.0 - Have Mercy, 120 minutes

Only one

I got the email last night. A pump was broken at the pool, so no swimming this morning. With the holiday on Monday, that means I'll be out of the water until Wednesday. So, I'll have a two-week period with one swim. That's not the way to get faster. At least I should be well-rested.

So, after work, I hit the weights full of vim and vigor. I finally felt really good about the front squat sets, with tight form all the way through. I need to focus on keeping my elbows high and weight on my heels, and exploding my chest up to pop out of the hole. Since I was stagnating on chins, I added an extra rep to the first set, and managed to get through the rest of the work, a good sign. All told, it was a successful day, but I hope it just wasn't because I didn't have two workouts today.

Weights:
Chaosbringer - 2x4/48
Front squat - 3x10,10,12/105
Jackknifes - 3x10,10,12/3
Chins - 3x9,8,8
Reverse flye/Lateral raise - 3x8,8,7/15
Reverse curl - 2x10,9/43
Diamond pushup - 2x8,10/20

Last of the easy runs

Another moderate six-miler tonight. I'm loving that I can roll these out so easily. My heart rate is still too high, but my breathing is incredibly relaxed all through the run, and I'm 100% recovered by the next morning, so I must be doing something right. Now it's time to turn the corner and start to get after it. Next week is a bit of recovery, so only a couple of short easy runs, then after that I add in the speedwork. I'll be doing a modified version of Daniels' intermediate plan (I think it's blue, might be red, I can never keep them straight). Ten weeks from the start of this will be the first real test of the season with a 10k. I'll be interested in seeing where I end up on the day.

Run: 6 miles @ 7.5 mph

Finish the stroke

I seem to have a lot of posts this time of year about getting back in the pool after a break. Probably because swimming is suck a foreign sport for me, if I'm not there three times a week, I lose fitness rather quickly. Today was a good example. Since I've been sick, I didn't want to push too hard, but even if I wanted to, I don't think I could have. It just wasn't there today. Even worse, my form is slipping again. Even though I was really trying to get a nice long stroke, the coach still had to stop me and remind me twice to finish my stroke. And this wasn't during the hard efforts when I always shorten up, but during the long easy sets. That's not a good thing. I really need to work on scraping my thigh for the next week or so. I know it will help the speed, especially when I'm tired, but it's the first form breakdown when I'm tired. More concentration on the easy sets is needed. Time to slow down to speed up.

Swim: w/u - 200yds each free, non-free, pull
600 ez free w/gloves, 1'
2x100 hard free, 1'
2x(200 pull w/paddles, 100 back), 30"
4x50 hard free, 30"
600 ez pull, 1'
2x25 hard free, 15"
c/d - 50 non-free
Total: 2900 yds

Easy jogging

It was good to get back to running tonight. Considering that I'm still not 100% after the cold, things went really well. Even being somewhat plugged, my breathing was strong and relaxed, and I was surprised that my heart rate didn't shoot through the roof. (It's still a bit high compared to what I'd like, but we're looking for small victories here.) Two weeks until the speed work starts, and we find out exactly where the legs are.

Run: 6 miles @ 7.5 mph

Pick up heavy objects, set them down again

I know swimmers sometimes refer to the work they do out of the pool as 'dryland training'. I'm not sure if what I'm doing presently counts, since it's in place of swimming, not in addition to. I still haven't licked this cold, so I stayed in bed again. I did ride to work, and hit the weights, but I think I'm better able to handle that than being half-naked and soaking wet. I know which scenario I think will keep me sick longer. (Remember last year when I gave myself pneumonia by swimming too soon? Yeah, so do I.)

But, as I said, I did get to hit the weights, which is something. I scaled back my deadlift weight to focus on better form. I've noticed I'm using too much lower back, so I made sure there was a split-second pause with the bar on the ground, I dropped my hips to use the leg drive, and snapped the weight up. Things felt much better, and I can build back up from here. The rest of the work went really well. I don't think the damage to my hamstrings should be too much to be ready for tomorrow's run.

Weights:
Bear - 2x4/48
Deadlift - 3x8,8,10/175
Cross-arm situp - 3x6,6,7
Bent row - 3x10,10,9/95
Pushup - 3x12,12,13/60
Barbell curl - 2x12,12/43
French press - 2x12,10/35

Enjoying the warm weather

We're getting a bit of an unusually warm spell running through the neighbourhood over the last couple of days. One could hope that this means spring is on its way, but that seems unlikely. Instead, winter is probably preparing to unleash a vicious couple of weeks on us in the near future. But for now, it's kind of warm, so I get to run outside.

The mileage is still low, and the intensity is still light. There was a very good wind (40+ km/h, gusting over 50), which makes for some quick running followed by a tough slog with every turn. Fighting my way back from this cold, my breathing still sucks, so my pace was a bit down (since I pace off my breathing). That's not a big deal, I consider it auto-regulation of effort. The run itself felt really nice. My hamstring tendon has been bugging me since yesterday, which is the first time since I started focusing on the stretching in January. I'll pop an Advil to take down the inflammation, and try to make sure I'm fully stretched every day this week. I can't let these little things build up in the off-season. Now is the time to clear them out, so in-season I can hit it hard with consistency.

Run: 6 miles, zone 1-2

Almost back

OK, I missed a day and a half, so this morning I was back on the regular schedule, although potentially on a reduced intensity. Just by chance, the schedule called for the easiest of the Coach Troy workouts, Aero Base Builder V. It was a good day, nothing particularly stressful, although my heart rate was a bit higher than it should have been at the effort level. I'm sure this is an after-effect of coming back from illness. My legs felt good all the way through, and aerobically I wasn't taxed, just a quick heart. Next time through I'll keep the intensity at about the same level, and I'm sure I'll be right back in the zone.

Bike: Spinervals 25.0 - Aero Base Builder V, 120 minutes

Comeback

Unlike LL Cool J, this is indeed a comeback. No running post yesterday, no swimming post this morning. Why not? Got sick. Nothing too serious, but yesterday was enough to keep me home from work and going through an entire box of tissues. I was much better this morning, so I went into the office, and made it through the day.

Yesterday, even though I mostly just wanted to lie on the couch, I was also itching to hit the treadmill for a quick jaunt around 4. With a 80% improvement this morning, I really wanted to go to the pool to finish the week of swims. But instead, I actually listened to the advice I've given countless others, and stayed away. Trying to do a little may have caused more problems than good, especially jumping in the water while not completely over a cold. The possible drawbacks outweigh the potential gains, by a good margin.

Still, with reduced symptoms, and all symptoms above the neck, I cleared myself to hit the weights tonight. Not a bad session, I'm not sure if I had more energy from not swimming this morning, and less energy, from not getting that bump of being active. Either way, I'll keep hitting it, and seeing some minor gains.

Weights:
Chaosbringer - 2x4/48
Front squat - 3x10,10,12/105
Jackknifes - 3x10,10,10/3
Chins - 3x8,8,8
Reverse flye/Lateral raise - 3x8,8,7/15
Reverse curl - 3x10,9/43
Diamond pushup - 2x8,9/20

I swam

I'm a bit tired, and more than a bit cold, so today is just the details. Good workout, nice mix of efforts, generally felt pretty good in the water.

Swim: w/u - 200yds each free, non-free, pull
2x(300 ez free w/gloves, 30"
300 free as descending 100s, 30"
300 as 100 back/200 ez free, 30"
300 as 6x(25 sprint/25 ez, 10"))
(missed last 3 sprints on second loop, ran out of time)
c/d - 100 ez non-free
Total: 2950 yds

Shake it out

I was surprisingly stiff when I started my run tonight. I didn't think the leg work of yesterday's weight session would have hit me that hard, but it took a while for the legs to loosen up. Even by the end of the run, it felt like I had done more work, from the mild fatigue already in my legs.

But here's the kicker: I had a lower HR than last week. Still not quite in range (by one beat), but not far off. Does the stiffness suppress heart rate? Or am I actually getting fitter? Or is this just an anomaly? Who knows? All I know is, I ran six miles, felt pretty good doing it, and now get to rest for the remainder of the evening.

After I shovel the driveway, that is.

Run: 6 miles @ 7.5 mph

Groundhog day

Another pleasant morning weather-wise, although it took a while to get moving. Normally I'm quick to wake up, but the late Saturday and lack of quality Sunday napping has me in a bit of a hole. Still, it's Monday, and that means swimming.

A good workout this morning, a little bit of everything, and more distance covered than I expected once I added it all up. The little 25 hard/25 easy block was a nice way to tenderize the meat before the 100s on pace times. We usually do the 100s on 2:05 (down from 2:10), but the challenge was thrown down to make it on 2 minutes even. The first repeat was handled nicely in 1:40, then another in 1:45, then 4 repeats where I was fighting for 1:48. I really need to make sure I keep good form once I get tired. Once some fatigue sets in, my form tends to slip, which makes me slower, which makes me work harder to go a certain pace, which causes more fatigue. Quite the downward spiral. When I can keep things moving smoothly, I go faster with less effort, which is kind of the point. After the 100s, there was recovery, and a strength set with paddles, that didn't go too well, since I was well tired by this point. But, I still did the work, and that's what matters.

Swim: w/u - 200m each free, non-free, pull
6x50, 10" as 25 scull/25 pull
500 ez free, as 200 gloves/300 free, 1'
6x50, 10" as 25 hard/25 ez
6x100 free on 2:00
4x50 ez non-free, 15" as back/back/breast/breast
3x200 pull w/paddles, 1'
2x100 ez non-free
4x50, 10", back/free/back/free
Total: 3700m

Weights:
Bear - 2x4/48
Front squat - 3x10,10,12/105
Jackknife - 3x10,10,10/3
Bent row - 3x10,10,9/95
Pushup - 3x12,12,11/60
Barbell curl - 2x12,12/43
French press - 2x10,12/35

Hooray for outside

We finally had a tolerable Sunday morning so I could run outside. Actually, it was better than tolerable, I ended up a bit overdressed and overheating. So, I used the opportunity to get out and have a nice, easy run in the sunshine. Of course, with all the snow we've gotten so far, I was running through the quickly melting muck, but that's a fine price to pay. All told, I got out for a sweet eight-miler, and have been napping off and on since, making up for the distinct lack of sleep last night.

Run: 8.4 miles, zone 1-2