Lactate Testing

This week I was a lab rate for Chris' advanced exercize phisiology class, and they did two rounds of lactate threshold testing with me. We did it on a stationary bike with a powermeter and did a 3 stage protocol. The first test set was screwy, which we think was a result of some bad blood measure strips for the measuring mechanism. Today, we did a second test, and it went off flawlessly. Very interesting experience, and it showed that my cycling LT is between 150-160 watts, which seems low, I guess (thinking of the big dogs who can hold 250+ for a long time). My LT HR seems to be about 135-140 when cycling, which seems about right. As I work with the numbers, hopefully I will have more specific details about my training protocol, too. Pretty cool to have this, and to have it done for free...

Gold!

Finished up the Slowtwitch 100/100 challenge on Tuesday with my 90th run, putting me at the gold level for the contest. I was originally shooting for 70 runs, and then 80, but I was able to reel in some runs at the end to climb up to the gold level, which is cool. The last two runs were hard, though, and my legs and back were tired on Wednesday. So, to follow the concept of periodization, I am taking a week off from running and then starting up again this week. Swam again on Friday, an easy 1000, and I went for a nice ride at the end of last week. So, now it is time to being to ramp up and even things out. I have lots of time before my first race in July, so that is good.

We start our lacrosse season, and that is going to be a challenge on two levels. From a training standpoint, I will have much less time in the afternoons and on weekends, which will require some creative training choices. On the other level, I have a pretty big squad, 26 kids, and a divergent talent level, so I will have to coach at a high level for the kids to have a good season. Lots of behind the scenes juggling of new players and experienced ones, all of whom want playing time. More to follow- but we did lose our first game 11-4, which isn't terrible given we have a goalie and two defenders who have never played before, but the other team only had 9 players and played man down the whole game without subs- but, then again, they were all very strong, and I was playing everyone equally, including kids with no experience. So, all things being equal, it was a good day!

Wheeltags Secret Agent

So, I just found out that I was selected as a secret agent for Wheeltags, a decal company that makes cool stickers for bike wheels. They come in many sized, ranging from a traditional bike wheel to the deeper rim race wheels, and even disk wheels. My role will be as a rep for the company, and I will be able to offer anyone interested a 50% off code on any of their products. Since I can't post the code, you will have to contact me for the information. The link is http://www.wheeltags.com/

Getting closer...

I have not updated the blog in awhile, partly because work and life have been really busy, and partly because of the self-indulgence that has been noted on some of the forums lately regarding triathletes who blog about their workouts. I guess it can be pretty dull to read how far, fast, sweaty, etc someone is, or what new gear they just got, or what race they are peaking for, or tapering for, or just got back from, etc. So, I had lost interest there for abit. But, now it is final exam time, and I am trying to find some convenient excuse to not grade the pile of papers sitting in front of me, and this looked like the best option with the least guilt.
The running has been going very well lately. There was a stretch after the last post where I started to get some associated shin pain, and I thought for sure I was headed towards shin splints. But, ironically, I stopped wearing those Asics Cumulus shoes, put the cardboard Gel-Kayanos back in the rotation, and miraculously my shin pain went away. Hmmm. In my never ending quest for better running shoes, I picked up a pair of Saucony Grid Sinisters on ebay for a song, and I have run in them once for a short tempo run and they felt good, but I am not holding my breath that they will continue to feel good after proclaiming the Cumulus as the next coming of the sneaker jesus.
Oh, and as for the Slowtwitch 100/100, I am chugging along and am currently at 71/79 with 3 weeks left (from today!). Legs are tired, but not dead. I have done a few tempo runs lately, but I plan on building the speedwork after the final day of the 100. I don't have any races on the horizon until June or July, unless CB talks me into Devilman in May (Brrrrrrr). I have not been swimming lately, just focuing on the running. Once this period is over, that will pick up as well. But honestly, I get more time off the run than off the swim- I am already pretty decent in the swim by comparison, but my running is woeful. Thats it for now- maybe I'll post more after exams and comments are done and in- before we head up to Maine for a short vaca...

Monday check-up (day 58)

I am up to 51 runs, reeling back some lost mileage from Christmas...So far, I am logging slow mileage to get consistency. Once March hits, I plan to increase cadence and work on speed more with some tempo runs. Alot depends on my body, though. So far, so good. So, I bought a slightly used pair of Asics Kayano 13s on ebay as a winter/slop shoe. Man, these shoes are not great. I have been alternating between my Nimbus and these, and the Nimbus is much more smooth. Then, I found a pair of Cumulus for $20 at Marshalls, and scooped them up and put them in the rotation, and they are cloud-like. I have moved the Kayanos out of the rotation and into the kick-around shoe vein. Clearly, I need more of a neutral/cushion shoe, and I am glad that my legs have held up so far. Thats it for now...

Oooohhhh Half Way Theyah...

Half way through the 100/100, things are lookin' good! Out of the 50 days, I have logged 42 runs, totaling 150 miles. Aside from missing those 9 days in Maine, I have run every day for 31 days, with one double thrown in. On the down slide side, I plan on reeling in some doubles to get up to the gold level (90/100). Gotta stay healthy, though. Some new gear is getting me pumped for the spring/summer, too. I sold my LG Chrono helmet and picked up a Darth Vadar-black Giro Advantage 2 that I will be rocking at races. It should match my bike well, but the new kit might not look so good with it- we'll see. I also got a Garmin Forerunner 305 that I have been running with lately, and it is awesome! So much easier to regulate runs and distances with heart rate. I was toying with doing some Olys this summer, but a few of my races are already almost Olys, and the other Oly is in nasty water, so I will just do the sprint and have fun with it. Thats it for now...

33 day checkup

I am now 1/3rd of the way through the 100/100, and my body is responding well to this running every day deal. I started with some associated pain in my PF, claves tight, slight IT band twinges, and now I am feeling good. I am at 25/33, which if I keep pace puts me squarely in the "Bronze" range. However, that count includes 8 days off while I was in Maine, and that isn't happening again (well, a three day weekend at the beginning of Feb), and I plan to reel some of those days in with some doubles in mid to late Feb, so my new plan is to go for Silver. Or Gold. My mantra is "just keep running...."

100/100 update #1 (quarterly report)

I am now 1/4th of the way through the 100/100 ST challenge. I must so, thus far I have faired pretty well with my stretegy to go easy and try to get consistency before mileage. Aside from the break while we were in Maine, I have been running every day for at least 30 minutes, with my average being about 3.2-3.5 miles. Right now, I am at 17/25, and if I keep this pace I will easily get to the "bronze" level. However, I do not plan on losing 9 days in the next quarter, so I hope to get up to the "silver" level (80/100) by the end of the challenge. I am combining this with my new swim routine, which will be more aggressive than last year as we are now training with a masters coach who is pretty driven towards nationals in the spring. Cycling will have to wait until I have completed the ST challenge, and the weather gets better. Thats it for now!

0909090909!

Back from Maine, and MD, and gearing up for school/classes/the January slog. Had a blast in Maine this xmas, skiing with the kids. They did a great job for their second time on skiis. By the end of the 2nd day, Duncan was off skiing intermediate trails by himself. The girls were sticking to the green dots, but they were throwing down some hell-acious power wedge action as they hummed down the slopes. All in all, the were great troopers and really progressed alot. I was able to get my legs back under me, and by the end of the 2nd day, I was banging some strong arcs, but not pushing it too much so as to blow out a knee- not like last year's hernia debacle. I am progressing on the 100/100, and am currently at 12/20 (I took basically a week off while in Maine, so I am behind). You could say I need to htfu since that is 8 days of sloth, but the weather, snow, wind, and temp were all working against me up there. I'll check back in a few with updates!