Adding Speed, Part II

And still struggling. After blowing up on my planned interval session a week ago I managed a marginally better workout this week. I'd planned 4-5 800m pieces at a rate (a guess) faster than 5K race pace. I rowed 4, and got progressively slower despite a 2 minute recovery:

2:46.4
2:46.6
2:47.4
2:48.6

The total workout, with warm up and down, was 5.5K. The HR capped out at about 145 during the hard bits. I'll do better next week.

Yesterday it was sunny and warmer than is typical (mid-30s F) and Scott and I logged a 7 mile out-and-back on the roads. 30:33 on the out (HR 119), 28:42 (121) back. It was a good workout and gave me 79.3K on the week.

Foolishness

There is a Japanese expression that is translated roughly as "one who never climbs Mount Fuji is a fool, and one who climbs twice is twice the fool."

That's the way I'm feeling about the rowing marathon. I'll do it once but it'll be pretty easy to carry out a vow of "never again". That said, I woke up this morning pleasantly sore all over (how's that for masochism?). There's no part of my body that hurts as much as the legs the morning after a long run but since rowing works virtually every muscle in the body, there's no part that is immune either.

It's flirting with the freezing mark out there and predicted to rise above freezing. The sun is out. I'm looking forward to running outdoors for an hour or so later this morning.

Going Long

Well the good news is that I got through it: 25K in 1:38:56.7. That's my longest row ever and it caps off my longest rowing week in recent memory: 60K, almost 4 hours on the rower. With yesterday's 8K run and a planned 12K run tomorrow, I'll log a healthy 80K week.

The row was tough, though, in a way that long runs in the build up phase are--they just kind of gang up on you towards the end. The last half hour of this piece was a real challenge and my pace slowed significantly. The issues were not aerobic fitness, rather they were muscular. My power was sapped and the butt/low back pain was nasty (not unlike the leg pounding I've experienced in marathon training and racing).

I took 5K splits initially, and drank gatorade every 5K. I cut the last 5K in half and took a couple of pettau splits, I just needed to shorten my horizon at that point of the row.

1st 5K 19:35 116
2nd 5K 19:42 124
3rd 5K 19:35 126
4th 5K 19:47 126

then a 10:16 pettau (20:32 5K pace) at 123. I followed this with a 10:06 in 123. What a struggle!

Next week I'll add a pettau (27.5K total), and experiment with some bubble wrap on the seat to help with the butt pain. I need to find a bar with hard barstools, so I can train off the machine.

I'm looking forward to a day off from rowing and to my run in the morning. I hope that the weather is condusive to running outdoors.

Reflections

2007 didn't go quite as planned. I got reasonably fit in the middle of the year and then suffered from a malaise (both physical and spiritual in origin) that knocked me a bit off kilter. I'm feeling pretty good now though. I'm not quite ready to put my 2008 goals in writing but here are a few things I'm considering:

1. 3600 Kilometers (running and rowing) for the year. That's 300K per month. I feel that if I hit this goal, fitness will follow. I'm not completely sold on the fact that weight loss will follow, however.

2. Row an April marathon in 2:49:37. This was Mike McKenna's Boston Marathon qulaifying time at the Casco Bay Marathon in 1982. He needed to run 2:50 to get in, and he did. I ran 3:10:06 that year, with his help and advice. A 2:49:37 row would be a very tough but attainable goal.

3. Train for and run a road race a month, 5 to 10K in distance (inclusive) between May and November (inclusive).

4. Start a Portland-based running group modeled after Namban Rengo.

5. Learn to drink bad beer. This is a financially driven goal. There is a lot of cheap bad beer around. If I switched to drink primarily bad beer I would save money and, I believe, drink less, because of the reduced enjoyment. I would therefore lose weight because I've recently learned that beer actually contains calories. So there are incentives for this goal but it is drastic. I need to think about it more.

Training Like a Marathoner

After the holiday break (2 days) I hit the machine hard on Wednesday and Thursday. Specifically, I rowed 20K in 1:18:18 and then followed it up with a 15K row on Thursday in 58:33. I don't think I need to extend my midweek long row any longer than 20K. I also feel that if I can consistently follow up the next day with an hour row (15K or so), I'll be in good shape. I'd like to add some short intervals (30 seconds or so) to the one hour piece. Monday will be long interval day. Saturday is long row day (capping at a couple of 36K rows). The other days, like today, I run. Today was 8K on the treadmill, starting slowly but running most of the second half at 5:00 per K pace. 43:30 total.

So, tomorrow is the monster: 25k. No excuses. I'll report back after it is done.

Oh yeah, I completed the Holiday Challenge (200K between Thanksgiving and Christmas) and received my certificate.

A Holiday

It's Christmas eve day, also known as Sarah's birthday in our house. I'm going to take a 2 day holiday from running and rowing. I did manage 5K on the treadmill yesterday, which brought me to 67K (total) for the week. I'll be back in that range this week.

It was warm and rainy yesterday and we had quite a bit of snow meltage. The winter view looked a little different this morning.

The Long Row, Shortened

I bailed out of a planned 25K row after 15.5K. It was a really uncomfortable, slow slog from the get-go. My HR was higher than usual despite rowing slower than usual. My butt is abrazed again and my low back really hurt. The 5:00 alarm was really harsh after having lifted quite a few pints to my departed friend Mark the night (and into the morning) before. With my regular gyn closed I had to go to my back up gym, and they don't maintain the machines well.

So, enough whining (whining would've been really offensive to Mark). I'll run on the treadmill tomorrow to cap a decent workout week, and then get back to the back up gym for a Monday row.

1st pettau 10:08 HR 111
2nd 9:56 124
3rd 9:56 127
4th 9:56 129
5th 9:55 130
6th 10:13 125

and a final 500m in 2:00 to get to 50K for the week.

Some Catching Up

I'm between wakes and memorial services, I want to log some data.

Wednesday's LR2 was a good workout. 17.5K in 68:31.9. The 2.5K splits (heretofore referred to as "Pettaus", for the Yoyogi Park running loop which is 2.5K and is the basis of many a Namban long run) were as follows:

9:48 109
9:50 121
9:50 124
9:50 128
9:46 129
9:48 129
9:39 131

On Thursday, I rowed 11K in 43:13, with a warm-up 1K in3:58 (HR 100). The subsequent Pettaus were:

9:52 114
9:50 119
9:49 125
9:44 129

When I grow the Wednesday row to 20K and then get up the next morning and back it up with a 15K piece, I'll be in full on marathon training mode. Provided I stick the long row--which I need to do in a couple hours.

Finally, I was under a time crunch yesterday but did manage 4K on the treadmill:

5:52 97
5:30 108
4:57 123
4:57 129

Life, and Other Stuff

So, just before we were to leave for Mikey's wake on Tuesday we learned that our friend and colleague Mark Thibeault had passed. Also cancer, also not a surprise at this point, but also a terrible sad shock.

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=156739&ac=PHnws

Mark was a classic work hard, play hard guy. I played basketball with Mark years ago but other than that there's not much of a tie between Mark and this, my fitness blog. I don't track "Jack and a splash" (Mark's drink of choice) data. A year ago I had a Guiness with Mark and he probably knew then that he wasn't going to get better but he convinced me he was. I'm going to miss him.

The Treadmill

Back on the treadmill this morning for a useful 8K run. Felt good throughout, with the exception of my old treadmill left hip pain which kicked in after 7.5K. I need to push this to a 10K run over the winter months.

1st K 5:52 151
2nd 5:34 103
3rd 5:16 110
4th 5:02 116
5th 4:53 121
6th 5:06 122
7th 4:55 128
8th 5:45 120

42:23 total.

It's LR2 on the rower tomorrow.

In Search of Cojones

I planned an interval session this morning but didn't really sell myself on it. The plan was for 2.5K warm-up followed by 5 X 3:30 on (slightly faster than theoretical 5K race pace) with 2:30 recovery. I thought I could cover 1K in the 3:30.

The warm-up went well. I didn't have the cojones necessary to do the hard bit, however. I did 2 (1005 and 1004 meters) and then rowed 1.5K aerobically and then packed it in.

Lesson learned: the race pace stuff is tough and is a shock. I'll try again soon and be much better prepared mentally and marginally better prepared physically. I may also recruit a workout partner. Also, my theoretical race pace is faster than my reality-based race pace at this point.

Tomorrow's a run day, and then it's LR2 (17K row) on Wednesday.

Catching Up

It's a cold, stormy, snowy, windy day out there. That's my son Sam, above, bundled up but not looking very comfortable. I won't be doing my planned Sunday long(ish) run. My workout today will be snow shoveling, perhaps mixed with a walk in the storm. It's a good day to stay inside.

I had a brief 5K run on the treadmill on Friday morning: 27:48 total time with the last 3K at 5:00-5:10 pace.

Yesterday was the monster, my most important workout of the week, 23K on the rower. Other than the low back and butt pain that starts to gang up after an hour or so I felt pretty good throughout. My effort and pace was consistent and I even had enough juice at the end to put the hammer down a bit.

I took a split after the first 3k (11:46, HR 110) and then every 2.5K:

9:50 118
9:52 116
9:51 118
9:50 118
9:50 118
9:51 119
9:51 120
9:38 128

The workout gives me 58 rowing Ks for the week, and 71 total Ks. I'd hoped to tack on another 10-12K of running today but it won't happen.

Mikey

My friend Mike McKenna died today. Mike was my first running mentor--a 2:49 marathoner who guided me through my first race, a 5 miler. A calming "you might want to back off a bit here" as I sprinted down a hill, and, "keep working hard here" as I walked slowly the corresponding uphill--typified his coaching. But Mike was a lot more than a runner who maximized every bit of his talent through hard work and stoic toughness. He was a wonderful colleague, a great husband and father, and a beautiful and sweet human being who leaves behind a world that he made better through his having lived it. I'll miss him, and I'm really sad about his passing. He had a terrible cancer that he fought valiently for 2 years. I feel for his lovely family--wife Sharon and kids Erin and Sam and for his many friends, of which I'm proud to say I am one. May his God bless him and may the gods bless him.

Back on the Horse

OK, not a horse, really. Or even a boat or a bicycle. I was back on the rowing machine this morning for a moderately challenging 10K piece. 39:18.7. I took 2.5K splits again:

9:57 104
9:53 111
9:49 114
9:40 118

Nice to know I can row 2 days in a row and have productive workouts in both. I'm looking forward to running tommorow, though.

The Hour of Power

Kind of: 15K in 58:59.7. I took 2.5K splits on my watch.

9:58 103
9:49 117
9:53 121
9:43 126
9:54 125
9:42 128

A Kenyan Out-Back

Well, kind of. The Kenyans run 15K out and then return much faster, finishing at world class pace. I waddled "out" and "jogged" back. Translated, I ran 8K on the treadmill, and ran the 2nd 4K faster than I ran the 1st 4K. Specifically, I ran the first 4K in 22:50 and the second 4K in 20:22. My unique to treadmill running hip pain didn't flare up until I'd run 7.5K. My time and HR splits were kind of interesting (but only to me):

1st K 6:13 HR Ave = 132 (my tachychardia was evident for the first 3-4 minutes)
2nd K 5:42 101
3rd K 5:28 105
4th K 5:27 108

5th K 5:18 111
6th K 5:10 118
7th K 5:03 121
8th K 4:50 128

So, at my current running and rowing fitness, based on HR data (exertion), running at 5:10-5:15 per kilometer is equal to rowing at 4:00 per kilometer, give or take.

Starting the new week off....

......with a nice 10K row. Total time was 39:11.9. I forgot to turn my watch on at the beginning, but captured 1K splits after the first 2K. They were:

3:58 112
3:54 116
3:55 117
3:54 117
3:55 119
3:55 121
3:55 123
3:54 121

I'm adding duration, both with individual workouts and with weekly distance, and am therefore not adding intensity. But I'm getting tempted to add intensity. Maybe a couple of interval sessions and then a New Year's eve 5K time trial would cure me of the intensity temptation.

Finishing Up the Week

In a run challenged by packed snow and ice on the Back Cove running path, which forced us onto the streets, we logged 10.4K or so in 56 minutes this morning. It was a nice way to cap off a good workout week. I felt general fatigue and some stiffness--mainly in my back-- but no specific pain after the tough row yesterday.

74.5K on the week. I'll be up over 80 next week. Key workouts are a 1 hour row on Wednesday morning and 23K or so on Saturday morning.

M/2 Workout

Completed a half marathon on the rower today, my longest row in a single sitting ever. My chaffing issues seem to be solved. There's no getting around the general fatigue and gulte and low back soreness during and after the workout, though.

I took 5K splits on my watch, and I was fairly consistent. I'll ignore the first 1,097 meters, since that was warm-up time anyway:

1st 5K 19:39 HR Ave. = 119

2nd 5K 19:42 127

3rd 5K 19:49 127

4th 5K 19:48 128

I was very pleased with the workout. I rowed 10K on Thursday and ran 5K, then rowed 5K on Friday. 10-15K of running tomorrow will cap off a nice week. There's still snow and ice covering the favored running surfaces but I'll get the work in.

The M/2 took 1:23:19, which had I elected to rank it would place me 20th in my age group (194 rankings) this year. I didn't race it and won't rank it. I will race that distance in March, and I'll hit it hard then. My training partner, John, pulled a 1:22:45 for the distance. He would've been 57th among the 351 rowers in his age group (40-49).

The Treadmill

There are brand new treadmills in the gym, with functions that I've only scratched the surface of. They are an attractive alternative to the cold and dark of outdoor winter running. As I have found in past winters (and, also weather driven but for different weather, summers in Japan) even the nicest treadmills take some getting used to. I ran 8K this morning. I'd planned to run further but I get a hip pain until I build my treadmill threshold. I warmed up gently and cooled down at a gentle pace but ran 8:00-8:20 (per mile) for the heart of the workout.

In Other News

I've almost put my "plumber's smile" problems behind me, so to speak. A combination of "body glide"--a product designed to prevent chaffing while running, my newest pair of running shorts, and no bubble wrap seems to work well. A problem is that my low back (distinguished from my backside) hurts without the extra padding.

Anyway, I've had 2 decent 7.5K rows. Tomorrow morning it's a run. The recent snowstorm will drive me to the treadmill. On Thursday, it'll be a long-ish row. That'll be a test.

The Race

I have hit "the Wall" in a marathon but I never felt a "wall" quite like the blast of frigid air at the 3.4K mark of the Christmas Rush 5K on Saturday. It was about 20 degrees F at the start of the race and the skies were clear and sunny. The problem was the wind, steady at 15-20 MPH with gusts to 40 MPH. Needless to say, it was a cold wind--really effing cold!

Some background: we (me, Scott, and George--photos above) were challenged by our work colleagues Don (a local champion who has run 16-flat 5K and a 4:20 mile), Marc G and Marc R. Marc G has raced off and on and completed triathalons up to Olympic distance. Marc R has never raced but is a regular jogger and is fit. My team had some challenges: I'm fat and slow and our #1 runner. George is a novice runner who is a regular lawn mower and occasional golfer. Scott last ran in high school.

They offered us 9 minutes (a handicap, based on total combined time of the 3 person team), we asked for 20 and eventually settled on 15. The losers were to buy lunch, which included the bar tab.

George trained diligently and even ran a trial race--he did quite well, finishing in 27:07. I ran 23:35 in the same race and figured if I could cut a minute off that I'd be within 6 minutes of Don. Scott tried running and limped for the next 2 weeks. We were hurting.

George bought running shoes--opting to save his cross-trainers for lawn mowing--and a watch. Scott said he didn't need the watch because he had a phone. We laughed at the thought of him calling for the time during the race but he claimed his phone had a stop watch. When he demonstrated this, though, his phone was in calendar mode. This was not a good omen.

We met early on the Wednesday before the race and "jogged" the course. By that I mean we walked for 20 minutes, ran for 5, then walked and ran the remainder. George had a sore left knee that caused him to grimace with every step, walking or running. I didn't like our chances.

So, back to the race. About the time I hit the wall, Don was solidly in second place overall, on his way to a 17:28 finish. George was neck-and-neck with Marc G. His knee pain was mitigated somewhat by the fact that he'd stepped in a pothole and twisted his ankle and the ankle now hurt more than the knee. Scott's calf was hurting so much he decided that he'd be better off running (he'd planned to alternately run and walk) to get the event over quicker. His pain focal point was his right hand: he'd lost his mitten while wrestling his phone out of his pocket at the one mile marker and was now flirting with frostbite. He also had Mrc R. in his sights, albiet somewhat in the distance.

The "wall" was a fierce Arctic blast--a headwind, of course--that pummeld us for the last mile+ of the race. Nothing to do but put the head down and put one foot in front of the other, even if it seemed like running in place. I did that, and finished in 22:53, 5:25 behind Don. George beat Marc G. by a minute and a half or so, and Scott finished the same amount of time behind Marc R.

As a team, we needed less than 6 minutes of the 15 minute handicap. Our competitors graciously bought the beers and the lunch, which as is always the case with hard earned food and beer, tasted great! It was a good day.